BLOOD RED THRONE - Tchort
Blood\r\nRed Throne, Green Carnation, Carpathian Forest. Three different bands from\r\nNorway with a common thing. The guitarist Tchort. It was very interesting for\r\nme to have a talk with a guy like him for many reasons. Because of the fact that\r\nthe new album of Blood Red Throne has been released, I had the chance to talk\r\nwith Tchort both for his bands and his personal life as well. So, if you are\r\ninterested in the music of this great musician, if you are interested in Death\r\nMetal but also if you are a fan of Green Carnation, you will find this\r\ninterview very important...\r\n
\r\nMetalzone:\r\nHello Tchort! This\r\nis Vassilis from the Greek Metalzone magazine. First of all let me congratulate\r\nyou for your new album Come Death. It is one of the best Death Metal releases\r\nof 2007.. Do you think that this album established Blood Red Throne in the\r\nDeath Metal scene? If not, which album in your opinion did?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: Hello! I think that Altered Genesis made a lot\r\nof people aware of the band world wide but I think it is also related to the\r\nfact it was our first album that got a world wide release. The two first albums\r\nwere only released in Europe but those two albums made us a great fan base in\r\nthe BeNeLux countries (Hammerheart who released the two first albums were based\r\nin Holland ). Come Death is our "second" album for a lot of people and they are\r\nsurprised to hear that it is our fourth album because the two first albums are\r\nhard to find outside of Europe.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Give me some credits about the\r\nalbum. Who is the producer and in which studio has the album been recorded?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: The band produced Come Death but it was\r\nrecorded in Dub Studios were we also recorded the three earlier Blood Red\r\nThrone albums. Like Altered Genesis it was mixed by Valle Adzic in Sweden and\r\nonce again he did a great job! We tried harder this time to find a sound that fit\r\nthe music and I think we, for the first time, found the perfect sound for our\r\nmusic. The production of Altered Genesis is great as well but it is s a very\r\ndark atmosphere that made our music sound very vile and angry. With the\r\nproduction for Come Death all the instruments are hearable and the production\r\nsounds old school but very powerful still.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Are there any line-up changes in\r\nthis recording? Tell us few things about the band members.\r\n
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\r\nTchort: We got a new drummer and a new vocalist for\r\nthis album. They joined the band shortly after we released of Altered Genesis\r\nso it is their first album with us although they played a lot of live shows\r\nwith the band. The reason why we had a line up change was that the former\r\ndrummer and vocalist lived far away from the rest of the band and because of\r\nwork situation, etc it was very difficult to gather the band to play live\r\nshows. In the beginning Anders and Vald (new members) stepped in when our\r\nformer members had to cancel live shows because of work, so after a while\r\neveryone realized that it was better to make the step in permanent.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Through the years Blood Red Throne\r\nhave changed their sound and the proof is the last album. At the first releases\r\nthe band was more extreme, not so technical and there was just a Death Metal\r\nfeeling. Now, we see a professional band with many things to offer to the\r\nlistener, there are technical songs, powerfull riffs, strong production etc.\r\nWhich is the reason for that change?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: I think we always had the same elements in our\r\nmusic. Death metal with focus on groove and melodies but we have also had some\r\nmore Black Metal oriented riffs in our music I guess that’s because of the\r\nbackground of Død and myself who played with Satyricon, and my background with\r\nEmperor and Carpathian Forest . The reason why it sounds different this time, I\r\nthink, is that we got a production that made our music sound more vital,\r\ndynamic and diverse. It’s less sterile and more organic and dynamic. The\r\nproduction fits the music better this time and that opens up for the listener\r\nto learn more about our music, details, melodies, etc.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Many songs in the album have a mid\r\ntempo feeling. This means that we have to expect something different in the\r\nfuture form the band? It is obvious that there are many fast and aggressive\r\nsongs but there are also some mid tempo parts. Which side of Blood Red Throne\r\nyou prefer most?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: We like the combination of speed and groove but\r\ngroove is the key element in our music. It always was and always will be. We\r\ncan play fast and we do sometimes, but we leave to other bands to set new speed\r\nrecords or whatever they are trying to achieve. We focus on the song, the\r\nmelodies and the groove and makes our music fit the live format very well too.\r\nWe are not going to hide the fact that we enjoy headbanging music a lot!\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: You come from Norway , a country\r\nwhich is most known for the Black Metal scene. How easy is for Blood Red\r\nThrone to survive in that country because of the fact that your music is\r\ninspired by the American Death Metal scene. Are there any bands similar to the\r\nsound of Blood Red Throne?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: I don’t think there are a lot of bands in\r\nNorway that sounds like us. Probably none other than us. The other Death Metal\r\nbands have focused more on the technical type of Death Metal or more a\r\ncombination of Black/Death metal. We have been ranked as the No #1 Death Metal\r\nband in Norway but I don’t think it comes with any advantages for us. People\r\noutside of Norway are still skeptical to non-Black Metal bands from Norway but\r\nwe make them change their minds when they hear us live.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Are there any plans for a European\r\ntour or something? What do you need in order to play in a country such as\r\nGreece ? I ask you this questions because I think that there are many promoters\r\nhere who may be interested in a Blood Red Throne show in Greece.\r\n
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\r\nTchort: We recently played some festivals in Norway and\r\nBelgium and it was great to be back! We haven’t played live in almost two years\r\nnow so we are very excited about every live show that is being booked now. We\r\nare not scheduled to do a full tour but we have booked shows in England,\r\nHolland, Belgium, Russia, Iceland, Norway and we are working on some shows in\r\nthe USA and Canada. I have played in Greece before with Carpathian Forest and I\r\nwould like to return with Blood Red Throne someday. The Greek fans are wild and\r\ncrazy and its something you don’t see too often in Europe anymore, so it would\r\nbe great to play there with Blood Red whos music is groovy as fuck! Promoters\r\ninterested in bringing us to Greece are welcome to get in touch with us! ([email protected])\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: As a band, you are in the scene\r\nsince 2000. Although, there is not an official DVD released... As a fan of\r\nBlood Red Throne I could say that this would be killer because there are many\r\nfans around the world who wants to see you on stage. Are there any plans in the\r\nfuture?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: We were supposed to record a live DVD in\r\nNovember during a mini tour in the UK, but it looks like the mini tour will be\r\npostponed and that we will support Divine Heresy (Dino ex. Fear Factory `s new\r\nband) during a 2 week tour in the UK, Germany, Holland and Belgium. Should be\r\ngreat fun! But we are more focused on doing a live DVD now than before so we\r\nare trying to film some from our live shows and trips to gather bonus material,\r\netc.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Are you satisfied with the guys from\r\nEarache Records and from the work they do concerning the band? For how many\r\nalbums is the contract?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: I can’t remember how many albums we signed for\r\n(too many bands and too many contracts!) but we are pleased with the job they\r\nhave done for us on Come Death. We were very disappointed with their lack of\r\nefforts on Altered Genesis but this time around its better and we hope to grow\r\nwith this album. That’s why we aim to play more live than before and visit new\r\ncountries and places. I think we have a lot to offer and we just need a chance\r\nto prove it!\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Le’ts go to some personal questions\r\nnow. You are a high talented musician and through the years you played in many\r\nbands. To mention few, Satyricon, Emperor, Carpathian Forest , Green Carnation\r\netc... How is it possible to play in those bands at the same time when Green\r\nCarnation plays Atmospheric Metal, Carpathian Forest plays Black Metal, Blood\r\nRed Throne plays Death Metal and so on... How can you manage your time in order\r\nto be 100% focus on each band?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: Some people call me schizophrenic and maybe I\r\nam (?). But I put a lot of effort and time in each of the bands and if I only\r\ndid the same thing with the same band I think I would grow tired soon. Playing\r\nin different bands with different styles, brings new challenges and tasks so it\r\nkeeps me focused and energetic. For many years now I have been a musician 100%\r\nand that’s what I lived from, but now music has turned into a hobby since I\r\nhave a day job now because of my family. But I don’t feel like taking a step\r\nbackwards as I have been fortunate to have lived from and by music for the last\r\n10 years almost. Every year the last 6 years I have done between 150 and 250\r\ngigs a year...\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: There are many different\r\ninspirations in those bands and someone may say that you have many\r\n"faces". In Green Carnation we see your sensitive side, in Carpathian\r\nForest you seem to be a dedicated Black Metal musician from Norway and in Blood\r\nRed Throne we see your extreme face. Maybe my question will be difficult, but\r\nwhich band you prefer most? I know that it is hard to say but there are\r\ndifferent feelings each time and every person has something which suits him.\r\n
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\r\nTchort: Depends on the mood, etc. but the fact that\r\nthey are all so very different allows me to say that I prefer them all. If I\r\nplayed in two bands that were related in some way then I would have to decide\r\nwhich one I prefer, but since they are so different it’s almost like having to\r\ndecide if you prefer tits, pussy or mouth. They are very different but you\r\ndon’t want to live without either of them!\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Recenty I saw some bad news\r\nconcerning Green Carnation. Could you please explain to our readers what\r\nexactly happened and what will happen in the future?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: I split the band up and will take my time to\r\nfocus on song writing for a huge project. Things started to go in a direction\r\nthat I didn’t feel comfortable with and I am not talking about musical\r\ndirection alone. We have an expression that I don’t know if it’s possible to translate\r\ndirectly, but it goes something like "Too many chefs in the kitchen, too much\r\nmess". I am sure you understand where I am going with this and I made the\r\ndecision before things started to get ugly. We were very different people both\r\nwhen it comes to personalities and musical preferences and it was always a\r\nstruggle to get everyone to focus on the same goal. When we managed we could\r\ncreate magic and magical moments with the band but when we didn’t manage it was\r\njust half hearted and soulless. Green Carnation will return and I believe it\r\nwill be great when it does.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: As it is known, you are a dedicated\r\nparent too! Do you have time to spend with your family or its too difficult\r\nwith all those activities?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: My family is one of the reasons why I stopped\r\nbeing a full time musician and got a day job at home, because it allows me to\r\nspend more time at home. It was difficult to go away with one kid saying good\r\nbye at the door, but when there were two crying when I left I just broke my\r\nheart every time and I had to face the fact that I played almost every country\r\nand every city and every stage in each city many times in the past years. I\r\ntoured with the same busses many times and I met the same fans many times. Even\r\nthe groupies started to become familiar to me so it was time to make a change..\r\nhehe!!\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Before we finish that interview, I\r\nwould like you to tell me if someone plays guitar many years now and you are\r\nhis idol (I think there are many out there) what would you recommend him? You think\r\nthat its easy to play in many bands at the same time?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: That’s a difficult question! I haven’t\r\npracticed my guitar playing in the last 8-9 years so I am not as good as I once\r\nwere and I never rehearsed enough to become a super guitar player. Instead I\r\nfocused more on creating music and of course sometimes when I meet guitar\r\nplayers who shred their guitar I wish I could do that, but at the same time I\r\nmet a lot of guitar shredders who couldn’t put together two riffs or make a\r\nsong. To me, creating music is the ultimate thing but you also need to able to\r\nplay what you create so I would say that practice both and don’t neglect\r\neither. I think it sucks when you meet a great guitar player but he is only\r\nable to play other peoples music and unable to create music himself. Writing\r\nand creating music is what gives me the most in return, not hours and hours of\r\npractice just to master a scale or two in insane speeds.\r\n
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\r\nMetalzone: Thank you so much for the interview\r\nTchort.. It is great for me to talk with someone like you. Is there anything\r\nyou wanna say to our readers and your Greek fans?\r\n
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\r\nTchort: Thanks for the interview and readers should\r\ncheck out the new album Come Death and prepare for a visit from Blood Red\r\nThrone! Also if there is a promoter who\r\ncan book a gig at Santorini, I would be very interested! That’s where I got\r\nmarried and I would love to return! www.myspace.com/bloodredthrone666 for news music and videos!\r\n
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\r\n\r\nVassilis Mazaris \r\n
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