Todestrieb Records - Woods of Infinity interview - Black Metal Label Distro Mailorder Store Shop UK

A lot of things. This new album really feels like a transformation or a metamorphosis of some kind. We have now left all of the old behind us for good. With the release of F&L, Gaggenau and Hejdå our last lingering threads of what we were have been severed. Our past is naturally a big part of us but now it feels like there's nothing holding us back. The future looks sweet.

The album was recorded during December 2004/January 2005, but you also returned to record some extra tracks, is that correct?

The recording of the album took longer than two months. Everything was recorded in consecutive sessions with the exceptions of "Det Som Hände" and "En Förgången Tid" which are older songs.

Short Descriptions of tracks from Hejdå

Köld
It's a homage to Sweden, to the cold winter and the feeling of purity and peace you can find in the snow and the darkness.

Under Färden
It's excerpts from a disjointed dream or vision Ravenlord had. I can't really comment on it or explain it. A bizarre mix of religion and perversion.

Kärlek och Vänskap
This is a song about pure misanthropy yet the longing to be someone happy and fulfilled, to get a fresh start. It's a cynical and hateful rambling about the disgusting world yet with the insight that the beholder might be the problem instead of the other way around.

Piskar Ut Mitt Hat
A song about love and hate. To desire something to the brink of repulsion and contempt. About HER. Or IT. The object of ultimate desire. The reason why people torture puppies or babies, maybe?

En Förgången Tid
This lyric is very old, written in 1995. It's simply a tale about a journey through the desolate cold in the night and the thoughts and experiences of that journey.

Det Som Hände
This lyric is twofold. I've written the first half and Ravenlord the second. It describes my hatred for our "lost ways". Our people have no pride anymore. Ravenlords contribution is hard to explain. In part a game with words and opposites.

Sakrament
It describes the killing of a best friend. The angst that leads up to the decision and the malice and insanity yet clear and focused determination of the act.

Can you give some examples of your sources for samples? Do you sample many films?

Our sources are many. Odd 60's or 70's vinyl albums. Yes, sometimes movies. Some samples we record ourselves or have others (girls) record it for us.

Which films or paintings, if any, visualise in some way the aesthetic of WoI?

Tough question. To some degree David Lynch movies such as Eraserhead. Opressive and somewhat insane. La cité des enfants perdus was a great influence on me for a while. I fell in love with Miette. I have to admit I'm not a big "art buff". I do enjoy Giger but I don't know if his art has had any influence on what I create. I would say anything that looks decayed, used and filthy could visualise us as a band. We long for purity though.

Is your attraction towards innocence and the power we can hold over it, the abuse of that power or a combination of those attributes? Is it mental, physical, emotional attractions?

Innocense is such a precious thing. The height of pleasure has to be the killing of innocense. To shatter it in one fell swoop. It's a horrible thing to think of. Sometimes I want to cradle the innocense and nurture it. But I suspect mankind has a built in urge to finally destroy it. Any attractions towards the innocense itself is just manifestations of a different kind of mental unhealth.

You want to affect wider changes, what do you hope your records will achieve as they fall into people's hands?
What would be your first command if you could affect everyone who carries your disc?

Sure, most people want to make an impact on the world. I hope "Hejdå" will inspire people. I hope it will ignite some feelings in cynical, dried up minds. I hope people will hate it and love it. All the feelings on the spectra are good. I loathe apathy.
Haha, I don't know what my command would be. "Make a copy and have someone else listen to it or you'll die in seven days"? Jokes aside, it's a difficult question to answer. The egoist in me would command them to give me money. The power hungry would-be despot in me would make them my legion. There are a ton of answers to that question.

Clearly your music DOES affect people, not many others can force such strong pro/anti reactions. Do you enjoy the fact your music pleasures and offends so strongly those who hear it?

I kinda drifted into this one when I answered the last question. Yes, of course ,I love strong emotion.

WOI is a personal catharsis for you I believe? What would you do if you did not have this musical outlet?

I would be hollow and without motivation. WoI is one of the few reasons I get out of bed in the morning. I guess I would eventually find a different way to express myself? Perhaps a more directly violent one.

Do you desire to see urban civilisation destroyed and return to more 'pre-industrialised' times, or in fact does the decay of such areas move you.

Yes, the return to pre-industrial times is a romantic concept. I'm not sure if I personally would like it there but I think mankind as a whole and mother earth would benefit from it. I'm deeply moved by urban decay. I haven't really investigated why that is. A looming concrete building, stained with age and crumbling from neglect almost brings tears to my eyes. Though not just urban decay is appealing to me aesthetically, all forms of decay hold a certain charm.

What is the video idea you have? A Music-video or something more personal / wider focused? You made one before, but this was more just experimenting?

I have a lot of ideas for the upcoming video. It will be a music video but not in the conventional sense. There will be no shots of me playing the guitar or anything like that. The finished result will hopefully be a window into a puzzling mind and one grizzly act of violence. The "video" I made before was just an experiment that leaked out. It's not official and doesn't really represent us.

The cover-song in Hejdå is obscure, but of course we can understand from WoI. Can you explain why this particular song was chosen?

I wouldn't call Barry Manilow obscure. We chose to cover that song because we both are very fond of Barrys music. It's solemn and melancholic and with great skill and talent behind it. Barrys voice is amazing. We chose "old songs" because it held a dual meaning to us - refering to the "old times" of Black Metal as well as Barry Manilows sad love story.

Since the demo-times, how do you think you've changed as a band musically? Do you think you focus on different topics now to before, or is the duality still as strong now?

We've developed a lot during the years. We've grown more professional and more focused in our music. The duality is still there, it's what makes the band dynamic. Sometimes one side has more influence and sometimes they are in balance. I've grown more in my lyric writing and I write about more personal issues nowadays. I'm a lot more honest and open and a lot less pretentious. Though lately I've focused more on writing music than lyrics. Ravenlord writes excellent lyrics so this is no big loss, haha.

Your next release will be the vinyl version of Hejdå and the delayed release split with Joyless. Do you have future plans in mind?

Yes, we've got a few plans. We're recording material for the second (or third depending on if you count F&L) album. Things are moving forward at an hysterical pace and it feels wonderful after the year long period of creative vacuum. Hopefully the new album will be finished this summer.