Interview with Lords of Metal Magazine

Lords of metal interview with Vasco - Sebastiaan

When I put Offerings... in my CD-player, I immediately noticed the good old Fenris sound. The songs are in the style of the old demo 'Words of the Ascended' but with the necessary improvements. How do you explain the typical Fenris sound?

I think it is a combination of soundsetting, intension of playingstyle and the compositions. I accept this as a great compliment. A band can be very good or original, but creating an own sound is something different. I have to say that the songs of 'Offerings...' contain much more quality than those of 'Words...'. I've read that Paul has left the band and is replaced by Arjan. Well, to be honest, he knows how to hit the drums quite well!

From my own experience I know that good drum-players are difficult to find. Did you've got more candidates besides Arjan?

No. When Paul left Fenris Arjan immediately joined us. I have to say that we've been very lucky with him. As you've said, it can be very difficult to find suitable drummers, who can handle a big portion of black and/or death-metal. We came into contact with him through someone who played with him in death-metalband Concrete Earth. In that period Paul had some problems and Arjan didn't got any band. We made an arrangement for a jam-session and after a few riffs the double bass and blastbeats battered through the room! We immediately know we had to keep this guy.

In contrast to 'Words...' there are also a few lyrics in our own language. Is there a specific philosophy behind the lyrics? And do you have plans to write more Dutch lyrics?

Of course there is a philosophy behind the lyrics. However, not all lyrics have the same one. Each song has its own atmosphere and subject. Themes where I write about differ between pre-Christian ideas and event, human feelings and spirituality. We wanted to use some Dutch lyrics on 'Words..', but it just didn't happen then. The Dutch language is a very strong one and is good for explaining specific meanings. And above that, we are from the Netherlands ourselves and we strongly respect our mighty Germanium culture. We'll keep writing Dutch lyrics, but English will keep the upper hand.

Fenris has, both in its music and in its artwork, a strong interest in the Germanium myths. Does every bandmember share this feeling?

Yes. However, the real knowledge about this subject is in my hands. I write all the lyrics and I spend a lot of time with this. The other members are fine by that: you don't need to know all the historical facts to feel the atmosphere of this subject. We are 'brainwashed' by the Christian culture and way of thinking by now, while there still is a treasure of information and philosophies of the pre-Christian time. Nearly nobody is aware of that. I think we have to be proud of that. Unfortunately there are still many negative visions about this subject; many people do bring this into contact with aspects like fascism. But there is nothing wrong with respecting your own heritage.

As I wrote in my review, I've heard in 'The blood opens gateways' a death-metal riff, in the style of Morbid Angel. Is this an exception or may we expect more riffs like this on the upcoming Fenris album?

Haha, it won't be like that. By incident, this riff existed. You took one example, but there are more parts on the CD which are something different than our 'regular' riffs. Everybody pretends that metal is rebellic, but actually it's not that 'open' as it seems. As soon as a band tries to be original everybody starts screaming. Music is, in my opinion, an expression of creativity.

It seems as if the songs are becoming longer and longer. The title song and 'destroyer of worlds' are somewhere near 12 minutes, followed by the 10 minutes during 'Fier is the wind'. Is this intentionally?

Yes and no. We don't want to make only long songs, but it's true that long songs do suit better in the epic character of our music than those short songs of 3 or 4 minutes. Often the songs are part of a musical or lyrical theme that we are exploiting completely. Now that the CD has been released for some time, I notice many people have a hard time dealing with those long songs. I think that's strange, because bands like My Dying Bride, Opeth and for example the old Enslaved also have quite long songs. Even on the new Dimmu Borgir album there are songs of over 8 minutes. No one is complaining about that...

What do you think is the best song on 'Offerings'?

I think that most of the bandmembers think 'The Blood opens Gateways' is the best song, but my favourite is 'Fier is de wind'. That song has a great 'flow' and the lyrics and music mix perfectly. The album is recorded in the famous Harrow studio's, which is known for her good sound quality.

Was this your own choice, or did the record company played part in the choice?

This was totally our own choice. The label only took the writing of the CD's and a part of the distribution for her part.

May we expect a great tour after the release of the CD? I've looked on your homepage ( - outdated link removed - ), and I noticed that the performance-list is not too full.

Haha, no tour unfortunately. Getting good performances isn't easy, despite the fact that you've released a good CD. Besides that, we've played much when we started. On a certain moment you've played nearly everywhere. You keep depending on the particular podia who has to book you. By the way, our internet-adres can be reached at www.fenris.nl by now.

A detaillistic question. What is that dark castle/ruin that appears at the 'Words...' and also at the Offerings artwork?

That's a ruin of a castle near Nederhemert (Holland). I think from the 14th century. It's situated in the middle of nature and people are not allowed to go there. There is a dark atmosphere and some parts of the castle are ruined.

Finally, are there any aspects where you pay more attention to, while making the following CD? With other words, what's your opinion about the final mix?

We have enough aspects which we are going to deal differently on the next CD. However this doesn't mean that we are not happy with the production of 'Offerings...' It sounds much more heavier than the average black-metal release and it's got a good sound. Besides production-aspects we will try some new stuff with arrangements and playingtechnique also. What that will be, well... you just have to wait some time!