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středa 13. července 2016

Home » » Interview - BLOOD RED THRONE - Maybe one day things have become so advanced and out of control that we can’t stop it from taking over.

Interview - BLOOD RED THRONE - Maybe one day things have become so advanced and out of control that we can’t stop it from taking over.


Interview with death metal band from Norway - BLOOD RED THRONE. Answered Daniel Olaisen.


Ave BLOOD RED THRONE! Your album will be released on July 15, 2016 and it is called “Union of Flesh and Machine”. I listen to it for a while now and I consider it as a great album. It is dark, sharp and uncompromising. Are you satisfied with the result?

Absolutely. This album got everything you would expect from BRT, with a slightly old school vibe to it. The songs are great and the production is top notch. No BRT fan should be disappointed by this one for sure.

The cover for your new album was draw by Jobert Mello. To tell you the truth I haven´t seen for a while a cover which would show what happens on the CD that well. However, we have made an interview together recently and you have mentioned that you would like to continue in cooperation with Rafael Tavares. So, why the change? It seems to me that Jobert Mello shows an absolute apocalypse on the cover. How did you chose a theme for the new album?

I totally loved Tavares work on the self-titled. But, when announcing the idea for Union of Flesh and Machine, Jobert came up with the best sketch indeed and we noticed from his website he was a professional. You’re perfectly right, the front cover really describes the idea of Martin, our producer, who wrote all the lyrics for this album. It’s man vs technology. Can we manage to control it? Will it take over completely? It deals with mankind’s stupidity and our ignorance.



Last time you told me that you write song the same way for 15 years. This means that you do your demos at home, that you like a certain structure in your songs. And you can hear that on the new album. The guitar work is a really varied, there are layers and a lots of them and you can clearly hear the bass. Did you made the new album in the same way? Did Ivan Gujic also add some of his ideas?

Well, 15 years ago, I took my riffs to the rehearsal place and practised them with my drummer. But the last 6-7 years, I’ve recorded guitars on all my albums in my own home studio. The new album is no exception. It’s always about good riffs and putting them together nicely. Ivan contributed with 3 songs this time. It should be easy to distinguish his songs cause he writes very differently from me. But it works great and makes the album even more interesting!

Daniel, your guitar style is unmistakable. BLOOD RED THRONE is a recognizable among others thanks to that. I wonder, how often and how long do you practice? When did you began to play guitar and who were your biggest influences? Our website reads a lot of musicians and they would appreciate to know what type of guitar do you play and what system you use.

Well, thanks. That’s kinda what I was hoping for. To have my own style and sound. You might not call BRT’s music original and innovative, but think about, are there actually that many bands sounding like us? Anyway, I picked up the guitar in 1992 and practised like hell for years. My biggest influence then and still today is Joe Satriani. Believe it or not, you can hear a lot of him in my playing in various bands/projects. In death metal, Chuck Schuldiner soon became my big inspiration. Simply a mastermind and founder of his very own death metal style. I have my own custom made BRT guitar by Halo Guitars. 7 stringer with DiMarzio X2N pick up. I use Line 6 Pod Farm in my studio, but live it varies. Sometimes I use the amps at the venue and sometimes I bring my Line 6 Uber Metal distortion pedal. Besides that I have the usual noise gate, tuner, wireless system and delay pedal.



Since the previous album (which has the same name) in 2013 your vocalist is Yngve “Bolt” Christiansen. He was great the last time, however now he literally overcome. It is another clear hallmark of the band. When he sings in a death metal position I somehow think that I understand where is it come from. However, on the album there is also the black metal “croak”. Is that “Bolt” also? I have to admit that on this album I just eats every vocal from his hand! It must be terribly difficult. Does he take some singing lessons or something? Does he take care of his voice?

Bolt is a great singer indeed. He can mix between the deep growls to the high pitch screaming. Of course he does all the vocals on the album. I don’t think he ever did some lessons, but he treats his voice with alcohol, haha.

Did Bolt write any lyrics on the new album as last time? What they should express? Personally, I consider the lyrics in death metal as an issue and that is actually one of the reasons I buy and original CDs – I just think that without it the listeners don´t have a complex view.

To make a long history short, Bolt was out of the band for a year. So, we actually recorded the album with Martin, our producer, on vocals and he even did some shows with us. He wrote all the lyrics and is responsible for the concept behind this album. It’s about everything getting more robotized. Even man himself. Maybe one day things have become so advanced and out of control that we can’t stop it from taking over.



According to Metal Archives which I do not believe that much I noticed that there is a comeback of drummer Frreddy Bolsø in BLOOD RED THRONE. Does it mean that he is a permanent member of the band? And does he also performs live? I think that he made this new album very special thanks to his work. His work is just perfect. Strong, dynamic and it adds more cruelty to the album.

Freddy is our original drummer and he made his return in 2013 when playing some live shows with us. When Emil decided to leave the band, it was quite easy to welcome back Freddy as a permanent member again. He’s a way different drummer than Emil and suits BRT perfect!

In 2014 you told me “Believe it or not, but publishers were interested in us more last year than today. Of course a part of it is caused by industry but I am still shocked that no publisher in Norway exalt some bigger death metal band.” Is it still the same? Last time you published your album by American Sevared Records. This year you did it with British Candelight Records and Spinefarm Records. Why the change?

There are too many bands these days. CD’s don’t sell anymore. Labels don’t make money. Sure, BRT has been around for almost 20 years, but labels are not interested if they can’t make money on you. Of course there are some underground labels doing it for the passion. Anyway, it was time for us to step it up again. Sevared Records is very small and underground, but they treated us fair. Nevertheless, when Candlelight Records showed their interest, the decision was easy. They are a professional label with tons of experience and a great network. Spinefarm Records is a sub-label to Universal Records and they bought Candlelight Records some months ago.



Lately, I hear more opinions that it is no longer meaningful to published CDs because people just download music on the internet. The sold of CDs is just very low. What do you think? Haven´t you thought about selling digital format via Bandcamp, etc.? Personally, I´m and old school but there are a lot of bands which do that.

CD sales are lower for sure these days. Luckily, many metalheads still enjoy buying almost at shows and get their hard copy signed by the band. But I totally understand the easiness, time and money-issue to go digital for sure. I’ve collected CD’s since 1993, so I can’t stop now, haha. Of course we have a bandcamp, but we’re not allowed to have all our releases there; bloodredthrone.bandcamp.com

I have a friend who literally worships your band and he asked me where to buy your shirts. Apparently he searched the Internet but there was nothing. So I have to ask you which I do. J Where can people buy BLOOD RED THRONE merchandise?  I know that the easiest thing is to go on a concert but what about fans from countries where you don´t play?

Say hi to your friend and horns up! Usually we bring t-shirts on tours, but they can also be ordered directly from me. I know some of our shirts are on e-bay and our coolest shirt ever can be ordered here;www.jsrdirect.com/merch/blood-red-throne/blood-red-throne-old-school-death-metal-tshirt

When I searched the internet for some songs from new album, the video with new song “Revocation of Humankind” was prohibited a few times. Have anyone told you why? At the time when there is no problem to find some footage with real cutting of heads is available, that is something which puzzles me – on your video was nothing wrong.

I totally aware of this. It’s not because of the content. I cannot comment on this right now, but the video is available here anyway; https://vimeo.com/170337496


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I looked at your Facebook page and it looks like you play more on festivals. Does it mean that you like festivals rather than clubs? I got this set up differently, for me I like more to be in a club and be closer to the band. I find it more personal and there are only true fans on these concerts. But that is my point of view. How do you see it?

Yes, both please, hehe! We just wanna play everything and meet our fans and have good time!

And I have to ask – are you going to support the new album with a tour? And if so, do you want to see the Czech Republic? Do you want to do a tour with some big band?

We were supposed to tour Asia in July, but it’s postponed. We will support the album anyway. Headliner or support tours. Bring em’. We’ll do it all!


Death metal is not the style when there are money flying in the air. It´s often about renunciation, irreversible investments, concerts where there are just a few fans. Daniel, BLOOD RED THRONE will celebrate 20 years anniversary of its existence. That is the time for retrospection. Have you ever wanted to dissolve the band? What is the force that drives you and your band to be ahead?

I’m not in this for the money. I have a life-long passion for death metal. Running a band is ups and downs. I’ve released a bunch of albums, toured most of world and had a good time with the fans. Money is just a bonus.


Due to your social networks pictures you seem like “very cheerful” band. Does it mean that you go well with each other and you enjoy concerts? Do you go to a pub together? I think that holding a band with 5 different people must be very difficult. 

We don’t hang out besides the band related stuff. We all live in different cities and myself have plenty of other stuff to do, hehe. We work well on tour and we get enough time to party and get tired of each other.

Thank you for the interview and I wih the new album the best feedback and marketability. I wish only the best to BLOOD RED THRONE and I am looking forward to see you on a concert somewhere!

Ditto! Thanks for supporting BRT. We’ve played Brutal Assault two times. You should check us out next time. Cheers!


https://www.facebook.com/BloodRedThroneOfficial/?fref=ts
https://www.youtube.com/user/brtofficial
https://www.reverbnation.com/bloodredthrone
https://soundcloud.com/bloodredthrone
https://twitter.com/BloodRedThrone1
http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk/
http://www.spinefarmrecords.com/


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