1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
For sure. We are Avast from Norway, and we play atmospheric post-black metal. I guess we started out merely as an idea in the beginning of 2015. Hans Olaf (vocals and bass) and I (Trond, guitar) had just decided to put our previous band, Agenda, indefinitely on ice. However, we wanted to further expand and explore some of the more peripheral elements from that band. Agenda was a hardcore/crust band with some minor influences from both black metal and post-rock, and it was those elements we wanted to focus on with the new project. We asked Ørjan to join us on drums, and then we were good to go.
2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Fast, slow, heavy and atmospheric.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Well, we do not write your typical black metal lyrics, with occult and satanic themes. Because we originate from the punk and hardcore scene, our lyrics deal more with everyday matters and social issues, but in an artistic and poetic wrapping, meaning our lyrics are open for interpretation. Even though the three of us are all on the left-hand side of things, politically speaking, we do not classify ourselves as a political band, nor do we wish to be portrayed as such. Nevertheless, the full-length record we are currently writing is going to be a concept record, examining the dark aspects of human nature and the fall of civilization. Instead of drawing influences from specific social or political matters, which has been the case with most of my previous bands, we draw our lyrical influences from a broader perspective, including art, literature, philosophy and myths.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Avast'?
Avast is an old nautical interjection that simply means “stop”. There really is no deep meaning behind it; we chose the name because we wanted a name that was short and simple, and that in no way was representative of the music we play. The last thing we wanted was a band name that sounded dark, evil or brutal, or that was pretentiously long.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
So far, we have only played two shows, both in our hometown, Stavanger. We were supposed to do a third show in Oslo in March, but the other guys in the band both caught the flu the day before the show, forcing us to cancel at the eleventh hour. Anyways, the first show we played was at the Tunghørt (Norwegian for “hard of hearing”) festival together with Totem Skin, Ampmandens Døtre and Timeworn, to mention a few. What was cool about that show was that no one had ever heard our music beforehand, and I don’t think the audience really knew what to expect, so I guess they were caught by surprise by both our music and our performance.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Yes, we do! We are planning a European tour with our Swedish crust-buddies in Myteri in October. Apart from that, we do not have any show plans.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We are looking for labels who are willing work with us and release our music, but so far we haven’t really made an effort to make it happen. However, we have been contacted by a label that wants to release our music, but we’ll see how that goes. It’s too early to give any specific details.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and post metal?
We’ve received mostly positive feedback, but to be honest, I don’t really pay much attention to the feedback we receive, and I believe I am speaking for all of us when I say that. Not that we don’t care about the positive feedback we receive, but we’ve reached a point in our lives where we want to create music for ourselves and not care what everyone else thinks. If people like it, that’s great, and if people don’t, well, then there’s really nothing we can do about it.
9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
A full length is currently being written and will hopefully be recorded towards the end of this year or the beginning of next year. So far I have written 5 or 6 songs for the upcoming record, which means that we have about 40 minutes of music ready to go. Where we are heading musically can best be described by the phrase “more of everything”, meaning that a full-length record will sound pretty similar to our first release, except there will be more black metal influences, more ambient influences, more blast beats and more slow parts.
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We listen to so much different music within the band, but I guess our main influences for this band are Darkthrone, Tragedy, ISIS and This Will Destroy You. As for what we listen to nowadays, I can only reply for myself, but Archivist, Deafheaven, Julien Baker, Thurm and Turnover are some of the bands/artists I listen to these days.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I’m a huge fan of storytelling, so I love to read books and watch movies. Recently I read some graphic novels by Alison Bechdel and Gene Luen Yang that were really great, and right now I’m reading a novel by Norwegian author Ingvar Ambjørnsen.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks a lot for your profound interest in our music. We really appreciate it!
Sincerely,
Trond//Avast
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