HELVITNIR - NORWAY/SWEDEN
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Members Vocals Martyrium, Draugûl, Khaospath, Myronath, Solo, Carnalis Amatoria>>HELLCOMMANDER VARGBLOD [MARK AZZOPARDI]>>Carnalis Amatoria, Myronath, SoloGuitar Perifa, Perished, Wurdulak, Bloodthorn, Maelström, Images At Twilight, Ragnarok, Hennam>>IHIZAHG [TOM ARILD JOHANSEN]>>Maelström, Images At Twilight, Hennam - Lucifer, Carcaroht, Dominus, Throne Of Heresy, Blood Of Serpents, Kāla, Ragnarok, Myronath, The Shining Woe>>BJARKAN [LARS BJÖRKENS]>>Throne Of Heresy, Blood Of Serpents, Kāla, Myronath, The Shining WoeBass Hell Rats, Mannaris, Martyrium, X-Vandals, Draugûl, Khaospath, Ragnarok, Myronath, Solo>>HELLCOMMANDER VARGBLOD [MARK AZZOPARDI]>>Myronath, SoloDrum Mayhem, Mortem, Arcturus, Emperor, Mysticum, Immortal, Covenant, The Kovenant, Winds, Mezzerschmitt, Carnivora, Troll, Shining, Dimmu Borgir, Den Saakaldte, Umoral, Nidingr, Tritonus, Age Of Silence, Høstsol>>HELLHAMMER [JAN AXEL BLOMBERG]>>Mayhem, Mortem, Arcturus, The Kovenant, Winds, Mezzerschmitt, Age Of Silence |
History & Biography The band of former Ragnarok members was announced in November 2023. The act recruited Mayhem drummer Hellhammer, which meant half the group was in Norway and another half based in Sweden. Guitarist Ihizahg had also served in Mayhem years prior. A 7-track demo was recorded. Reportedly, the members had brought material from their Ragnarok days over with them. The July of 2024 gave the black metal world an EP called Helborn through Dusktone. The label was also working with two members' other act, namely Myronath. The next release was the Wolves Of The Underworld full-length, which was scheduled for March 2025. The album, like the EP, featured a wolf (or the Norse mythological canine Garmr) on the cover.Reviews HELVITNIR - WOLVES OF THE UNDERWORLD - DUSKTONE Interviews  It is 2025 years since the birth and, more importantly, 1992 years since the death of Christ. His followers have heralded his imminent return for centuries. Yet, the mythical Nazarene has not materialized. Hel and Garmr, however, have usurped, superseded and supplanted Christ and returned, in the here and now, in the form of the fourfold wolfpack, Helvitnir. Singer and bassist Hellcommander Vargblod and guitarist Ihizahg (the band is completed by guitarist Bjarkan and drummer Hellhammer) were guests of Ali "The Metallian" at Metallian Towers, to speak about the band, the full-length album Wolves Of The Underworld, released through Dusktone, and its music and lyrics. The former spoke less and the latter spoke more as the three dined on smoked salmon from the frozen river, seared caribou and herbed musk ox followed by wild berry sorbet at the Hall Of The Arts well-nigh of the towers' thronehold. The result of the conversation is below. - 24.01.2025 METALLIAN: Wolves Of The Underworld is a hell of an album. Helvitnir is still a young band. As such, would you please introduce the group and give the readers as much detail as you can on your history? IHIZAHG: Thank you for the kind words and the interview. Yes, we are a young band made up of old farts. We have all been involved in the scene for decades and have been members of various bands through the years. Hellcommander V. is from Malta. He moved from the warm south to the freezing north of Sweden because he got tired of sweating. He is now freezing, and loves it… He also plays bass and sings in Myronath. Bjarkan lives in Norrkjöping (Sweden) and plays guitar. He also plays in Myronath along with Hellcommander. Both are really dedicated and extremely talented people. Hellhammer lives in the deep forests of Trysil (Norway) and drums. He is very active at the moment with both Mayhem and Covenant. I live in the woods outside of Oslo and play guitar. Not active with other bands, but I have a side-project, Hennam, which I puzzle with from time to time. Me and the Swedes know each other from when we played in Ragnarok. We found the tone quite quickly, and are quite similar in both values and attitudes. It was also the reason why we continued the collaboration when we left Ragnarok. We started by processing the material we had lying around, and this then became Helvitnir. We published a video of a demo song on Youtube and then we were up and running. Dusktone was quick to show interest, so we signed a deal with them. Hellhammer joined later, so then it was really just a matter of preparing for the studio. In the meantime, we released Helborn to shorten the waiting time a bit. It was well received and we were able to spread the name around a bit. We started the studio process in September 2024 and finished mixing and mastering at the beginning of November. Now we have just released the single Throes Of Transformation and, I have to say that, the response has been overwhelming. The album will be released in mid-March, and it's something we're all looking forward to. An extremely large amount of work has gone into it, so it will be very nice to finally get it out. METALLIAN: Speaking of which, what is the story behind the coordinated departure from Ragnarok? Jontho mentioned somewhere that he personally fucked up. IHIZAHG: Jontho is a very nice person who we are very fond of, but his state of health presented a number of challenges that became difficult to face. It didn't seem to improve either so then a choice had to be made, wait even longer or move forward. I chose the latter because I noticed that the situation was really starting to eat away at my psyche. The others felt that way too, so they came to the same conclusion. I hope that Jontho gets there; that he is able to get Ragnarok back on its feet. It's a band with a long history and I know how much Ragnarok means to him. There is no bad blood between us as far as I know. METALLIAN: How much of an impediment to the band’s future is how the members are dispersed across the land? IHIZAHG: Not much. The Swedes come here to practice at regular intervals. The songwriting takes place in such a way that we send riffs and song structures back and forth, and work on this until we reach the goal. Or that we take it at rehearsals. We have found a routine that works well for us. METALLIAN: Is the wolf to be a band mascot? If yes, why and is there a significance? IHIZAHG: Hellcommander came up with the sketches of what is the cover today and it looked so cool. The title fell into place quite quickly and, because of that, we have put some focus on the wolf in particular. Or Garmr if you like. So yes, in a way it has become a mascot for this particular record. But it is not certain that it will join us on the next one. We're playing around with other ideas, so we don't quite know what we'll end up with. METALLIAN: While we are here, how would Garmr act face-to-face or fare against Powerwolf's companion? IHIZAHG: Now, I don't know either Powerwolf or their puppy very well, but there is little that beats Garmr so he would most likely eat their puppy, then take the band for dessert. METALLIAN: It seems true so I am not even going to bring Lovebites into the conversation. A couple of songs from Helborn made it onto the full-length. What is the difference between the band on the EP and the band on the full-length if anything? IHIZAHG: First of all, we've got a drummer who has lifted the songs tremendously. Otherwise, there is not that much that we have changed, but the songs sound as they should on the record, compared to the EP. I was the one behind the 'production' of the demo/EP. I have too little knowledge and equipment to be able to reproduce the sound image we envisioned. Florian at Nightside Audio worked his magic and added everything I couldn't plus a good deal more. I knew it was going to sound good, but he has really delivered a result far beyond what I had imagined. He knows what he's doing! METALLIAN: As you pointed out, you have two members within the ranks who are also active in Myronath, which is your label-mate. While the sounds of the bands are not identical, they are in fact similar. Does this create a redundancy?  IHIZAHG: There will certainly be some similarities, but at the same time all material goes
through all three of us, and we add new things or other harmonies that make the
difference. Me and Bjarkan are relatively similar in writing style, but I may be more
focused on harmonizing and arranging riffs, so when he comes up with riffs, which he
often does, it might sound quite different when I've taken it. Or vice versa. Hellcommander has a different style, so when he comes up with things, we just repeat the process or build on it. I think it's the mix of the three of us that makes it sound the way it does.METALLIAN: I want to get to the songs on the album in a moment, but first you have recruited your former Mayhem colleague Hellhammer into the fold. Was he simply the last full-time member to join the group or is Hellhammer better thought of as a session player? It is well-known that he is in a dozen acts simultaneously. IHIZAHG: Good question. It's probably a question we haven't even settled on yet. He wants to play with us where he can and then we'll bring in another drummer when it clashes with other things. Ideal would have been to have him permanently in the band, but considering which bands he plays with, you understand that it can get a bit hectic. Time will tell. METALLIAN: Time will tell. Switching topics, how strict is the band with ‘Hel’ in the mix? 'Hel' in the name and Hellcommander and Hellhammer within the ranks, finding someone else (with 'hel') to replace Hellhammer may prove very difficult. Would someone like Inferno of Behemoth, etcetera do? IHIZAHG: Huh. I guess our names are as varied as our music and our personalities. The most important thing in Helvitnir is that we share the same values and point-of-view. That is the main reason why we get along so well. There is room for discussions and disagreements, but we always find a solution because we are quite similar. Big egos would probably not thrive in Helvitnir. METALLIAN: Then we have narrowed down potential recruits since we now know Malmsteen, Mustaine and anyone associated with Kiss should not bother preparing their resumes. Could you speak to the lyrics? Is there a concept at play? The titles hint at such. IHIZAHG: Hellcommander will have to answer this. HELLCOMMANDER: The main theme of the lyrics for Wolves Of The Underworld speaks about a dark and twisted side of Norse mythology, mainly revolving around Hel, the ruler of Helheim, the underworld, also with a touch of dark fantasy added to the theme. The lyrics explore the realm of Hel and her minions, the souls that inhabit the desolation of the underworld, and other esoteric characters from Norse lore. METALLIAN: This makes for marvellous reading. Back on the musical side, it looks to me as if the band has gone out of its way to deliberately insert a few impurities into the mix. I am referring to the synthesizer popping up on Odinsbane, the clean chanting on the same song and the clean snippet on Draugr or even the acoustic bit on Draugr. IHIZAHG: It is deliberate. We really do exactly what suits us without thinking about what others think or would have done. If you listen to all the songs as a whole, you will notice that there is a good variety in the way of expression. Something can be very '90s, while other things could be a bit more modern or pompous. If we imagine that it fits with clean vocals or acoustic guitars, we do it to bring out the atmosphere or mood we are looking for. We are not so concerned with the rules for true Norwegian black metal. I guess, we've all lived by it long enough to know that it's really just an obstacle. But it is clear that we follow some rules because it suits us. But that is because we have chosen it ourselves. No one should tell us what to do or not to do. Incidentally, the synth you mentioned is a small nod to Burzum. You can say what you want about Vikernes, but you can't ignore the earliest records. They are brilliant. The acoustic guitars are something I brought with me from Perished. The clean parts on Draugr and Helvitnir are sung by the children of Hellcommander. As I said, we do what we want. METALLIAN: Well, Ihizahg, you are an artist and your answer has to be respected. Moreover, the details you just offered are appreciated. My thrust was more around the rules of metal, period, and not just rules of Norwegian black metal. With that said, as someone who was even in contact with both Christian/Varg and Euronymous in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I look down on Varg, Burzum and his music. And that's even before he went wimpy wuss. Back to realms mighty, one wonders, do the few first seconds of Void Of Emptiness represent the sound emanating from a void of emptiness? Or is it just my imagination? IHIZAHG: Hmm… What sounds do you find in an empty space? Is there any sound at all? Or is it just your own thoughts making noise? The guitars in the first seconds are stripped of effects, in order to get the effect at the start of the song, which is then experienced as being violent. For those who have experienced a kind of emptiness, even the smallest sound can be experienced as violent. METALLIAN: Informed answer, Ihizahg. The membership is comprised of veterans, or almost veterans, of the scene, as you inferred earlier, yet the group excels at delivering an extreme, brutal and fast slap at everything mundane and mainstream. Where does the energy and will come from after all these years? IHIZAHG: The fifty-year crisis? I think it lies latent in us in Helvitnir. We are fairly calm people who have children, a job and a house. I think all frustration and irritation has to come out somewhere and then it is natural that it comes out in the form of music for us. At least for me. Music has been very therapeutic for me ever since I was little. If you're having a bad day, or you're feeling dark, there's nothing better than expressing your feelings through music instead of suppressing it. That's probably how I got into metal and especially black metal. You transform negative thoughts and feelings into positive energy. Then what comes out will be violent. METALLIAN: Negative thoughts, positive energy. The metal world should read that twice. Where next? Any news or plans you would share with the visitors? IHIZAHG: We've already started writing a bit for the next record, but we're trying to get out to play a bit. There have been a few offers, but nothing has landed yet. METALLIAN: Very well. Everyone everywhere acknowledges Metallian as the only source for metal that matters. What are your reasons for agreeing? IHIZAHG: One word: MEEEEETAAAAAL (screams it like Rob Halford)! Shadows had long fallen and the hour of midnight was behind us. The castle walls reverberated with the sounds of the Wolves Of The Underworld and yet it became time to take refuge in the embrace of Metallian Towers and let sleep take hold within the stone walls. More information here
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Helvitnir