Interview with Thomas Ljosak of Vesen 2005
By Bradley Smith
The new Vesen is a much more varied affair than your other demos. Why did you decided to have so many different musical approaches on this album? Tracks like This Harmony and Collapse seem to be prime examples of this. Are you trying to break away from the mold of being a typical black thrash band from Norway?
I wouldn’t say we’re breaking away from anything as we never set out to be a part of any ongoing scene. We like to challenge both the listener and ourselves, and even though thrash metal will always be the backbone of the band we will from time to time stray into other musical landscapes. It’s about pleasing our own musical taste. Also, when composing a whole album, in contrast to a demo, you have to try to keep the listeners attention all the way through. The other option, the way I see it, would be to make the album 15 minutes or so shorter.
When we play live we always concentrate on what I consider to be our “thrash material”.
The acoustic guitar has made an appearance on Ugly quite frequently. It seems an odd choice with the style of music you play. Why did you use it? Also the solos appear to have a lot more traditional rock feel to them. Who is this Stian Krabol?
Again we are back to the issue of diversity, and trying to put in a few twists. I’m not sure if I agree that the accoustic guitar is used “frequently”, it only makes it’s appearance in the intro, the outro and in the song “This Harmony”. I really like the intro, it reminds me a bit of some old Testament or Metallica intro, and Stian Kråbøl’s touch made it into something special. Stian plays in a Norwegian prog/thrash/rock/metal-band called Minas Tirith, and he is one of my favourite musicians. It was an honour to work with him.
Duplicate Records and Vendlus Records have taken up the distribution of your album. How did you work out a deal with them? What exactly are they providing for you and did you guys actually sign some sort of contract?
To my knowledge no contracts have been signed, but I’m really not too involved with that aspect of the band. The album is released through ART MUSIC and distributed by Duplicate and Vendlus.
With this being your first official album how have the reactions been? Also you financed this yourself from what I understand. How much did it cost and do you think you will make all your money back?
The reactions so far have been surprisingly good! The world seems to be ready for ugly, norwegian thrash metal. The feedback has mostly come from various web-zines, but we also got 4 out of 6 in Norway’s leading metal magazine, Scream Mag.
I’m not familiar with the costs of the recording/printing/pressing etc., and it wasn’t my money that was spent to cover the expenses, so I really have no idea..
But from what I’ve gathered from Ronny (guitar) we should be able to make enough money from t-shirts and records to at least break even.
I see that you have had a heavy load of guest appearances on this album. Why so many and how do you think they have enhanced the experience for the listener?
I sure do hope they enhance the record, and in my opinion they do.
The different guests were handpicked because we thought they would fit into the various parts they were given. And the female vocals were added because that was the most unexpecting thing we could think of doing. Jonas (ex-Disiplin) was given the middle part of the title track to give it a feel of black metal, and Stian Sandersen sung on “This Harmony” simply because none of us were able to sing the song the way it was meant to be. I’m more comfortable screaming my guts out than singing.
Two of the songs on the new album are reworkings of older songs, Masterpiece and Idolatry of the Flesh to be precise. Why did you choose these songs? I was expecting Great Whore Enigma.
We weren’t too pleased with the demo-recordings for the songs in question, that’s why we chose to include them on the album. I really like Great Whore Enigma myself, and we haven’t played it for ages now. Maybe we’ll record it again in the future. Thanx for the idea!
You guys will be performing at the Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen. Are you excited? What kind of live show will the audience experience from you?
Excited as hell! It will be great to share the stage with the legends Sodom, and to share the bill with Obituary and Anathema is surreal. The audience can expect a four-headed, beer-drinking, thrash metal monster! We won’t bring our accoustic guitars...
In the not too distant past (April) you launched a new website. How do you feel this has helped Vesen spread its art?
I think it’s a good way to pass on some information, and it’s an easy way for people to contact us. Some people contact us because they want to buy the record, others contact us to tell us how shit we are. It’s all fine by me.
In the not too distant future we will also put the video for “See You in Hell” on the website. www.vesen.org
Vesen used Fias Co studios to record Ugly. It seems that a lot of the new bands are turning towards this studio. Why is this? And do you think there is a danger that it could turn into the new Greighallen as far as everyone using the same studio and getting similar results?
Fias Co is owned and run by Sverre Dæhli (Audiopain), and he knows how to give a thrash metal band the right sound. I wasn’t aware that the studio was used by too many bands, but if that’s true it must be because Sverre is skilled without over-charging the bands. I know the latest Aura Noir album was recorded there, and now us, but I don’t think it will turn into the new Grieghallen or Abyss, Sverre is too anti-commercial for that to be a real concern. And if it does, we’ll simply find another studio.
Why didn’t you include your lyrics for Ugly? I would be interested to see what you guys are singing about. Do you think lyrics are an essential piece of the artistic whole? I know I personally enjoy seeing what the artist has to say and it influences how I view the music.
Good question. I would love to have the lyrics included, as they are really important to me. If you don’t mean the words you are screaming, it will shine through in the recording. The lyrical subjects on the album are all..eh..ugly! It differs from drug abuse, to war, violence, child abuse and mental breakdowns. An army of inner demons, I’d say.
Do you follow world events? I know that Norway is currently debating joining the EU. Do you think it should be a member?
In general I don’t care about things I can’t affect anyway. But I do NOT want to be a part of “the United States of Europe”. We – Norway that is - celebrate 100 years as an independent state this year, and to top it off by joining EU would be sad, to say the least. But the men in charge have already made up their minds, and it’s only a question of time before we’re swallowed by the grey European mass.
Many people use different sources of inspiration to help them create their art. What non-musical sources of inspiration do you use?
Hard to say, as riffs and ideas for songs come to me in all sorts of situations. It might sound strange, but I often find myself inspired by my own lyrics, or lyrics written by Dag Olav (drums). Sometimes I’m inspired by people I find stupid, like religious leaders, but then again – it’s hard to write a good song if you’re too pissed off. Mostly I just try to make music(k) I’d like to play live. It’s almost impossible for me to sit down and decide to write a song, it has to happen naturally (or by accident), and the best ideas are usually those who just seem to come out of the blue.
What else does the future hold for Vesen? When will you start writing new material?
We’ve already written nearly ten songs, and they’re overall a bit more brutal than the ones on “Ugly”. Hopefully we’ll start pre-production this fall/winter. For now we are concentrating on a gig next Saturday, and after that it’s time for us to hit Bergen and Hole in the Sky. There are also plans for a little tour in Norway this fall.
Any last messages for the audience?
Anyone who likes ugly, underground thrash metal should check us out.
“Seven sins, seven days – Route 666 ...See you in hell!”
Hatefully yours - Thomas
