1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Vikvanir is a black metal project idea I conceived when I was travelling in Norway around four years ago, but never found the time to pursue until last year during the pandemic lockdown in Australia. I perform all the instruments and vocals, and compose the music myself.
2.You have an ep coming out towards the end of October, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that yo went for on the recording?
I would describe the majority of the music as black metal, or at least my interpretation of the style, but with elements from genres such as rock, death, doom, progressive and viking metal also being present throughout the songs, so it is certainly not a traditional black metal release. I also used some more uncommon instruments for the genre such as analog saw synths, acoustic guitars, prayer bells and real strings (courtesy of my friend Elise) for certain sections, along with a varied approach to the vocals with some clean and Gregorian-style chants alongside the usual black metal vocals and growls.
3.A lot of your lyrics cover Norse Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
Just to clear this up, my lyrics never directly reference the characters or settings based within Norse mythology, but as you say I draw inspiration from the tales and themes to create my own stories. The Norse myths have been covered extensively within the black metal genre by artists more knowledgeable in the subject and better suited to do these tales justice through music than myself, but my interest and introduction to the mythology mainly came from listening to acts that covered these topics and reading their lyrics, which then lead me to research and read these stories first-hand. Also, my own Scandinavian background and love of the culture have of course drawn me to these stories and sparked my interest in them as a source of creativity.
4.Lyrically you also cover epic fantasy themes, are you influenced by any authors in this field?
Mostly and unsurprisingly the majority of my influence in that field comes by the works of Tolkien and Lovecraft, but I have recently started reading Patrick Rothfuss, and have been an avid reader of Stephen King for some time now, especially his Dark Tower series which is more of an epic dark fantasy series of works as opposed to his usual horror output.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the cover artwork?
The album cover is a beautiful painting by the late wonderful Mariusz Lewandowski. I greatly admired the sense of scale and dark surrealism in his art, and contacted him about obtaining a license, which I was fortunate and extremely grateful to be able to use to represent my music. The piece chosen directly influenced the name of the EP, and I felt also reflects the themes and moods of the EP. On a final note, Mariusz sadly passed away this year in July, if you are not familiar with his work I urge you to check out his website and browse the gallery which I believe is still run by his family.
5.You recorded most of the music by yourself on the ep, are you open to working with a full line up in the future?
As of now this is purely a personal studio project, and I could not foresee bringing other musicians permanently into the fold as it currently stands, except in the case of a guest performance on future recordings.
6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
There are no plans as of now to sign with a label, but I would of course be open to any interest shown, of which there have yet been none.
7.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
This is an underground project in a sense, as I have decided against using any social media platforms for promotion with exception to Bandcamp and possibly YouTube, instead relying on bloggers such as yourself to promote the project, but there has been a small but very positive response to the music so far, which I am very appreciative and grateful for.
8.Do you also have any experience playing in other bands or musical projects?
Yes, I also currently perform with Sydney death doom band Black Trillium, we released our first album in 2020 and are currently working on a follow up full length record, as well as a small release to come before that.
9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into musically during the future?
I've actually been working on musical ideas, themes and song titles for a Vikvanir full length album so hopefully it will not be too far away! Musically I hope to keep the next release fairly close to what has already been presented, but stylistically it may trend darker based on the demos I have been working on as of late.
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?
Black metal is the driving musical influence to this project and a genre I deeply connect with, primarily groups such as Enslaved, Gorgoroth, God Seed, Blut Aus Nord, Nidingr, Shining, Craft and Vreid amongst many others, but also classical music and the work of Hans Zimmer, and other metal acts like Ahab and Opeth. Lately I've been listening to Gaahls Wyrd a lot, also the brilliant 2021 album by Dold Vorde Ens Navn, and Immolation have become a mainstay in the rotation for a couple of years now, I'm a massive fan of Robert Vigna.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I love hiking and just being out in secluded nature in general, as well as travelling and concerts. Also I'm a bit of an ice hockey enthusiast, I mainly follow the NHL and SHL although we also have a small but competitive league here in Australia.
12.before we wrap up this interview, do you have nay final words or thoughts?
Just want to say thanks for the questions and I really appreciate the interview and coverage, and cheers to anyone who takes the time to check out the EP.
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