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Embracing The Darkness
An Interview with Seidemann from 1349
By Taliesin Govannon |
The Scandanavian extreme metal scene is getting pretty crowded these days. Every week, it seems like we're hearing about some hot new Black/Death/Doom/whatever-metal band lighting a fire under everyone's collective bottoms and "redefining the future of (whatever genere) for years to come, blah blah blah...". And yet, every once in a while, a band comes along the catches the ears of fan and critic alike and makes everyone sit up and take notice. 1349 (Ravn - vocals, Frost - drums, Tjalve - guitars Archaon - guitars, Seidemann - bass) has been doing just this, and recently I got the chance to ask their bassist Seidemann a few questions.
Taliesin Govannon: A lot of American fans are just now getting to know 1349. Tell us a
little bit about how the band came together.
Seidemann: Ravn (vocals, drums) had been having a vision of playing black metal the
way he wanted it to be for many years, and we teamed up in 1994.
However the project was dormant until 1997 when we met Tjalve (guitars) and
decided to form 1349.
From that point we started rehearsing and making songs, and 2 demos were
recorded in '98-99, and we found Archaon (guitars)
In 2000 we wanted to record yet another demo, but Ravn did not feel he
could play the drums the material demanded so he asked Frost if he could do
the drums. Frost accepted, and the demo was recorded and later released as
an MCD by Holocaust records.
By the end of 2000 we had enough material to record a new album, and when
Frost heard this material he was very impressed and wanted to become a
permanent member of 1349.
Thus the lineup was completed and we recorded "Liberation" in 2001, but due
to troubles finding a label it did not get released until 2003.
We played a few gigs with gorgoroth and Cadaver, and the inferno festival
both 2002 and 2003, With Full Force festival, germany as well as a short
tour of Europe with Aeternus and Red Harvest in 2003.
After the tour we went into Studio Studio Nyhagen and recorded our 2nd
full-length album "Beyond the Apocalypse"
This monster was unleashed upon the world in 2004 and we have toured Europe
again, this time with Gorgoroth.
TG: What does the name 1349 mean?
S: 1349 was the year the Black Death (a bubonic plague) struck Norway,
leaving 2/3 of the population dead and effectively ending the golden age,
putting us under foreign rule until 1905.
TG: Your sound strongly resonates with an "Old school" Black metal sound,
one that's reminiscent of the early 90's Black metal scene. Was that
>intentional or just what came out when you guys got together?
S: We always wanted to play Black Metal the way we wanted it to sound, and
our inspiration was drawn from the "good old" bands of the early 90 as well
as the trash/black bands of the 80's.
TG: The scandanavian metal scene has just been on fire the past few years,
with a seeming never-ending stream of great music coming out. With so
many bands, it must be hard to be noticed, and yet 1349 is getting a lot
of attention. What do you attribute that to?
S: I believe that 1349 has something unique, since our music is a selfish
beast, we made our records because we were tired of boring, synth-infested
"Black Metal" and albums with only a few songs that were good. We want to
make albums with only killer songs.
We do our own thing and will not compromise in any way, what you hear is
what we want to hear.
I also believe that in the beginning many people only paid attention to
1349 because we have Frost on drums, but it seems that when people have
heard 1349 they understand that it is not just a Frost side-project.
TG: Has the move from Holocaust to Candlelight Records helped?
S: Definitely. Holocaust were not able to give the records the attention
and promotion it needed and deserved.
TG: "Beyond The Apocalypse" seriously kicks ass. How's the overall
>reaction been?
S: Like "Liberation" people either love or hate it, with a passion. But
overall the reactions have been very positive.
TG: Would you like to go deeper about the new album, and what the title means?
S: Ravn came up with the title and wrote the lyrics for that track, and we
like people to interpret them with an unbiased mind, so I will not give you
any of my interpretations.
As for the album itself, it's a multi-faceted beast, not only warp-speed
blasting, but also groove and complexity, but always with the 1349 feeling.
TG: Mp3 downloading has been a double-edged sword for bands like
yours. On the one hand, there's a large amount of trading Black Metal
Mp3's, which would seem to hurt CD sales. However, a lot of European bands
would be virtually unknown in places like the US without that underground
market (It's not like you can buy BM CDs at most American stores). Has
it impacted you, and has it been for good or bad?
S: I remember back in the 80's, early 90's when we traded tapes, if I heard
something I really liked I ran to the store and bought the album.
I'm not sure if people do the same these days with mp3s, and then its too bad.
We don't make any money from our music, so I guess it doesn't affect us
directly, though.
TG: I know there's a lot of American Black Metal fans who would love to
>see you guys play live. Are there any plans to tour the US soon?
S: It would have been, if it had not been for the fact that Frost is not
allowed to enter the US because of an old brush with the law, so maybe the
1349 fans in the US should start a petition or something and send to your
government?
TG: I hear a lot of Celtic Frost/Hellhammer in your music. Venom,
too. Were they influences?
S: Definitely! Celtic Frost came to see us in Switzerland when we were
touring, I can assure you that was a strange event. It turned out they were
really into 1349, and we just had to play "The Usurper" and dedicate it to
them.
TG: Do you have any bass influences?
S: My greatest influence is Lemmy of Motorhead, but there's a few local
guys as well: Grutle (Enslaved) and Skoll (Ulver, Arcturus)
TG: Many American BM fans depend on videos to see some of our favourite
bands live (because touring here is so bloody expensive!). Any plans for
a live shot?
S: As of yet I know of no such plans, but I also know that our performance
at With Full Force was filmed, so there may be something lurking in the future.
TG: What does 2005 hold for 1349? More touring? Another album?
S: Expect another album, some more gigs, probably a tour or two.
TG: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
S: I would like to thank you for the interview, keep the flame burning and
remember that there is no cure for the plague - Hell Awaits!
Visit the 1349 website.
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