PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Lee – You are just coming up to the half way point on your current tour (“The Sign Of Hell”). How is it going so far?
Pest – The tours been really good the majority of the audience have been really good and a majority of the clubs and venues have been good too. Of course you come across things once in a while where things are a bit shabby, but generally speaking we’ve been surprised that our first show I the UK yesterday with the exception of a minor detail, a little fuck up on stage, as far as where we were located at that resulted in booing everything was fine. We played in Manchester and I referred to the audience and Birmingham, and it didn’t go over well, but other than that it was a good turn out and a good audience and that kind of stuff and we’re pleased with how things have gone so far.
Lee – Can you tell me a bit about the band for those just discovering you through this tour?
Pest – The bands been around since about 1992 although I was not an original founding member, I didn’t join until 1995, but there has been a lot of changes in line up and that kind of stuff. There is a lot of history behind some of the changes in the line up, I was the second singer and I finished up some of the vocals on the Anticrist, the second album, then I did Under The Sign Of Hell and I did four tracks on Destroyer before I left he band in 1997 and then I came back 10 or 11 years later. So there has defiantly been a lot of changes but I think that whether you still listen to the first album or the latest one you can still hear that its Gorgoroth, so there’s definitely something distinct about the material.
Lee – For this tour what has been your favourite venue been so far to play in and why?
Pest – As far as audience, the turn out and the reaction from the audience Sweden was fantastic. For venues both of ones in Sweden and the one we played in Aalborg in Denmark was fantastic. Very professional people behind it, they do the best they can to make sure we have what we need and all that kinda stuff. So Sweden and Denmark have definitely stood out. Of course we have just started the UK so that sort of remains to be seen, but turn out and audience has been good pretty much all over the place, as far as the venues some are really nice and some are shabby looking so it’s a little bit up and down but the ones in Denmark and Sweden were very nice.
Lee – I know that there have been some delays on the release of your new album “Under The Sign of Hell” is there any news on an official wide release date yet ?
Pest – Actually when we played in Aalborg the second date which we did in Denmark that’s when the CD’s arrived that day and were put out for sale, so we didn’t have them in Germany and we didn’t have them the first date in Denmark because they were delayed, but they came for the second show in Denmark for the Aalborg fans and we had them in Sweden and we have them now so. And they’ve been doing well, especially in Sweden where we sold quite a bit of them and the fans seem to get into them quite a bit, so its been doing well.
Lee – In terms of the album, can you tell me how it came about?
Pest – Has a lot to do with the fact that the material from the album has always been, see Under The Sign of Hell is sort of like Gorgoroths’s Reign in Blood or something like that, its always been a popular album with the band, with the fans so its always been natural that we’ve always played a lot of material from that album when we’ve played live, with me or without me on vocals for that matter, and it was just natural with me back in the band that if we had an opportunity to do something over again now would be the time to do it. And since this material has been very close to us, we felt it was not necessarily a need for but an opportunity to do something over again and to perfect on some of the things we had done back in 1996 when we originally recorded it. And it just so happened that it worked out that way when we recorded the Quantos Possunt (ad Satanitatem Trahunt) album that it just worked out that way when we had the time and effort to put into it and get that done at the same time. So we’re very, very pleased with the fact that we had the chance to do it over again and that being said of course, I still love the original recording, but this is something different, and there has been a lot of controversy around it, a lot of people have had that attitude like that shouldn’t have been done, but it is what it is and people who don’t have a lot of interest in it, its not like you have to buy it or listen to it. It’s the best of both worlds, if you buy the new one and you like it and if your not interested then just don’t bother.
Lee – What are your favourite tracks from it?
Pest – Probably Satan-Prometheus and Ødeleggelse Og Undergang I would have to say are my two favourites and we do both of them live.
Lee – How do you think it compares with your other releases such as Destroyer, Incipit Satan, Pentagram etc ?
Pest – I definitely think that there is a lot of similarities between all of the albums, production on Quantos Possunt and under the new re-recording of Under The Sign Of Hell is a lot tighter, not just sound and engineering but as musicians and stuff like that too, its not technical in the sense that its more complicated riffs necessarily, but they are just tighter and better played in the arrangements and you can just tell immediately that there’s been a lot of time and thought put into the production side.
Lee – Over the years you have played at quite a few festivals including Bloodstock, Wacken etc. Do you have any planned for next year ?
Pest – Nothing that’s concrete, there’s been an offer here and there, but we don’t have anything that I would like to make public as of right now.
Lee – Any UK Offers?
Pest – Hmmm I can’t think off the top of my head. No I don’t think so.
Lee – Are there any bands from the underground/extreme metal scene do you recommend keeping any eye on right now ?
Pest – I was very surprised with the Norwegian opening act that are just with us for a few days, they are going to be with us until London I think, The Sickening. I wasn’t familiar with them before, but when I heard them the first day in Sweden in their sound check, I was thinking something along the lines of Deicide, but a little more technical but it was actually really cool, and as far as Death Metal goes I don’t like just anything, but I actually thought they were a pretty cool band.
Lee – Are there any messages that you would like to pass on to your fans ?
Pest – Again I was very surprised and pleased with the support that we’ve had here since we came, this is just the second show here, but I’ve heard good things about the presales for the shows for the rest of the UK and stuff, so we look forward to present some more material to the British audience. We appreciate all of your support.
Gorgoroth
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