Wolves Of Hate Interview

1. Can you give us a brief history of the band?
Wolves of Hate was started as a side project while I was the vocalist for And Hell Followed. I've always been into Norse mythology/culture and war. So I started jamming with longtime friend Rodd Hamann, just to see what would happen and the songs came together nicely. We recruited Scott Schultz, from And Hell Followed as well, to play bass. We recorded 'Battle Hymns and War Songs,' sent it to a few places, got a few offers to release it and released it through Iron Age Records from the UK, which were my first choice to begin with.

2. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you before?
Very straight forward black/death metal, with kind of an old school mid paced vibe, with lyrics about battle, victory, brotherhood and blood-stained snow covered battlefields.

3. I know some of the members were in And Hell Followed, what made you decide to break up And Hell Followed and concentrate more on Wolves Of Hate?
That wasn't up to me or AHF drummer Stephen, that was all Derek, our guitar player. I don't want to go into it to much, but things were never better for And Hell Followed, we had finished recording or 2nd CD, which will sadly probably never see the light of day, and everything was great. Derek decides to quit to focus on playing session bass for Satan's Host. Wolves of Hate wasn't meant to replace AHF, just be a studio project I did on the side. But it is now my main project.

4. When can we expect shows in the Rocky Mountain area?
Maybe in the future, we don't have a full time drummer, but we are working with David from Acheronian Dirge on the next album. We are looking for a drummer a little closer to home for a live situation. We really want to do it eventually though.

5. Are there any plans for a tour?
Again, at the moment no, without a full time drummer or live situation is what it is. We all have families as well, so long periods of travel can be tricky. There was talk of possibly going to Europe from the label at sometime, but we'll just have to wait and see.

6. When can we expect new material?
We are planning on recording our 2nd album in the summer. So it should be released late this year or early next.

7. How would you describe the musical progress of the band over the years?
It's defiantly getting more epic/folkish. Still keeping the 'black/death' roots, but expanding to incorporate more influences like folk and doom stuff. I want to explore many other types of music as well and integrate them. We have been talking about possibly doing an acoustic ep with songs based on the Norse Sagas. I hope it continues to evolve into whatever direction it takes us.

8. What are you listening to nowadays and what are some good bands or releases that you would recommend?
Other than basic black and death metal I have been listening to a fair amount of doom type stuff and a lot of 'black-n-roll' type stuff as well. Watain, Black Anvil, Carpathian Forrest, The Gates of Slumber, Book of Black Earth, High on Fire, The Sword, Moonspell, ect.

9. What are your main influences music wise or non music wise?
Musically Bathory is a huge influence, both black and viking periods. Others include Marduk, Behemoth, Unleashed, Danzig, Summoning, Immortal, Motorhead, Amon Amarth, Tyr, Graveland, Destroyer 666, ect.Non music would be Conan stories, the Norse Sagas, Tolkien, the art of Frank Frazetta, and human nature, and by that I mean war being the true state of man.

10. What role do the Norse Gods or Runes play in the bands music or life?
We have definitely  been using more and more references to the Gods in the newer stuff and will probably be using even more mythology in the future. I see the Gods as arch types of human nature and potential. We use runes a lot in the art work as well, although we do have to be careful as to which we use as some are allowed to be published in parts of Europe because they were used by the third reich. We actually had to change the original cover for 'Battle Hymns and War Songs,' because it contained the Othala rune.

11. What are some good books or films that you would recommend?
Old Robert E. Howard Conan stories and The first Conan movie, Lord of the Rings, 13th Warrior, The Icelandic Sagas, Lords of Chaos.

12. How would you compare the metal scene from The Fort Collins/Cheyenne, Wyoming area to Denver or Colorado Springs and what are some good bands from that area?
Here in the Northeastern part of the state there is little to no black or death bands. Whereas in Denver you have a handful. Its hard to find people around here who like or want to play this type of music. Good bands from Colorado in general are Acheronian Dirge from Denver are fucking amazing and great guys, the best black metal in the state! Also Cobalt are actually from the smaller town where I live as well and they are amazing as well. David and Clay from Acheronian Dirge's viking doom side project Flight of Sleipnir is great as well. Deadspeak from Wyoming are a great metal band as well.

13. Any final words?
Thanks to those who have supported us this far, please check us out and add us at myspace.com/wolvesofhate. Look for new material towards the end of the year! HAIL!

14. Thanks for the interview?
Thank you.