Borknagar Guitarist Oystein G. Brun
Interview by Lord of The Wasteland
Promo pics courtesy of Century Media
After an uncharacteristically long wait, Borknagar, Norway’s
favorite black/folk/viking/prog/avant-garde metallers, have
finally returned with what may be their most ambitious and
progressive album to date—EPIC. While naming a CD this would be
career suicide for many who would fall under cries of
pretension, Borknagar is able to pull it off without even
blinking an eye. For eight years, the band has been surpassing
genre boundaries and expectations, while stretching its outer
limits under the careful guidance of guitarist Øystein G. Brun.
There have been many members come and go from the band, but
Borknagar has finally trimmed itself down to a four-piece unit
and, according to Brun, secured their best lineup yet.
Brun is a fast talker and absorbing everything he said was
not easy, especially with his thick Norwegian accent and the
fact he was on a speakerphone. However during the course of our
35 minute chat, he did dispel the myth of what exactly the name
“Borknagar” means, as well as expressing his feelings on the
black metal scene, offering some hints of what to expect from
Borknagar next and also some insight into his other projects.
The new CD from Borknagar, EPIC, is going to be released
next month (August 10th) in North America, but I understand that
it is already out in Europe?
Yes, it came out about two weeks ago, actually.
Have you read any reviews for it? I looked around and
didn’t see any online yet.
Reviews have been really great, generally speaking, so far.
Of course there are always some people that do not like it, but
it’s cool. We are totally satisfied.
I have reviewed it and I gave it a 4.5 out of 5.
Oh, thank you!
I think that it is an excellent CD and a logical
progression from EMPIRICISM. It seems to me that the band has
not only moved forward but looked backward as well. One of the
songs on the new CD is called “Quintessence.” Is that something
that got left over from the QUINTESSENCE CD or is it just a
coincidence that they share the same title?
(Laughs) No, it’s not a coincidence. I like to make
references to our previous work, both lyrically and musically.
We never did a song called “Quintessence” on the QUINTESSENCE
album. It was just an idea or a thought that I wanted to do one
album with that title and that concept. It was intentional,
though. There is another song on the new album called “Future
Reminiscence” that is also closely connected to a song from
QUINTESSENCE called “The Ruins of Future.” They both have much
the same lyrical concept but with a new perspective, new eyes
and new thoughts.
There is an instrumental piece called “The Weight of Wind”
on EPIC. There have been instrumentals on other releases as
well, but it seems like Borknagar has taken the instrumental to
a new level with all the sound effects and the keyboards on this
track. It almost has a jazz feel to it. Did you intentionally
try to outdo all the previous instrumentals?
You’re right. On all of the albums we have done, there has
been an instrumental piece somewhere. What can I say…on the new
one, we tried to make people stand up and say, “Hey, what is
this?” You should really ask Lars [Nedlund, keyboards] what the
real idea for the song is because he is the man behind it.
“Relate” has got to be one of the catchiest songs that
Borknagar has ever done. Has anyone approached you to do a video
for this CD because I think this song would be a great choice?
We have just done a video actually. We recorded it two weeks
ago or something like that. It’s just raw clips of me and the
other guys but in relation to the lyrics, it suits the concept
perfectly. It’s not the traditional metal video with us being
evil and on stage playing guitars or anything like that. It’s
more like a short movie with a very artistic approach to it.
Do you know when it will be out?
I don’t know. I just know it’s on the way to Century Media,
so they will have it soon and start to distribute it then, so
we’ll see. There is a short version that is supposed to go on TV
and stuff like that. It’s only four minutes or something. We had
to kind of chop down the song a little bit, but we do have an
original version that will probably be on a DVD or something
later.
Do you have plans to put together a DVD?
Yes, but we’re still collecting stuff. Backstage stuff from
touring and stuff like that. We have live shows, too, of course.
We have some ideas about doing something but we’re still
collecting bootlegs from people around the globe and stuff.
We’ll make a DVD for people who like to see the history of the
band, behind-the-scenes in the studio, touring, shows.
I mentioned the jazz vibe in “The Weight of Wind” earlier
and there is also some jazz influences at the beginning of “The
Inner Ocean Hypothesis.” Who is the jazz fan in the band that is
bringing all of this to the music of Borknagar?
No one is really a jazz fan. Myself, I’m not a big jazz fan.
I like jazz. Jazz is cool, but I think that kind of reflects the
general attitude of the band. All of the guys listen to
different music. My inspiration comes from music other than
metal. I find a lot more influence in classical music than in
black metal, for example. We have very open minds and we try to
involve as many interesting musical ideas as we can in our
music.
Who came up with the title for EPIC?
It was me, actually! We had a lot of discussions before we
found a title. There were a lot of ideas on the table that went
back and forth and stuff. None of those titles really suited the
album as a whole. They suited half of the record or some of the
songs but nothing was completely right. We wanted something that
was essential to what we have been doing for a long time and
what the key word for us was at this point and I came up with
EPIC. I think it suits the album and sums it up because it is
very “epic.” The album goes up and down and it’s almost like a
musical storyteller. It’s the most obvious title I’ve ever done.
There is no magic or big secret behind it.
One thing that I noticed right away was the cover art,
which was done once again by your drummer, Asgeir Mickelson.
Maybe he might be the better man to ask, but can you explain
what is being expressed on the cover?
First of all, I should say that the cover should be seen with
the rest of the layout because it’s kind of connected as a
whole. The cover itself is Asgeir’s work and he should probably
be the guy answering that, but for me personally, I wanted a
cover that had some relationship with previous covers. Maybe the
same feeling. That’s something that I wanted to do. I also
wanted the cover to be abstract. I didn’t want a comic book type
of cover. It does what I wanted and he used this book that is
the most obvious symbol of an epic. It’s a combination of a lot
of ideas but basically we tried to visualize some of our lyrical
ideas and stuff. I think it looks great. It’s quite cool.
I only have the cardboard promo, so there isn’t a booklet
or anything that was sent along with it, but it does sound
interesting. On the back of the promo, there is a photo of the
band and is that you with the shaved head???
(Laughs) That’s me!
Why did you cut your hair!! Was it just time to do it or
what?
Yeah, man. You know, I’ve had long hair since I was, like, 14
years old and I always had the idea that the day I started to
lose my hair, I would just cut it off and that was the case.
Nature has taken its toll (laughs). When I started to lose the
hair on top, it wasn’t really what I wanted to do but it was the
only solution for me.
It must feel strange? You had quite the head of hair
before!
It’s quite nice actually! It’s easy to take a shower and
stuff (laughs).
Borknagar released five CDs in six years, but this one
took almost three years to get finished. Why was there a longer
span between the release of EMPIRICISM and EPIC?
There were different reasons actually, but the main reason is
that we just needed some time to relax a little bit and find
ourselves or whatever. As you said, between 1996 and 2001 we did
five albums and several tours and festivals and stuff. It was
really intense, at least for me, to be doing that for so many
years. The second reason was that the recording turned out much
longer than we had expected. Usually we would record an album in
three or four months but we ended up using almost a year for
EPIC. All in all, it turned out to be three years (laughs)!
Would you say that the extended break benefited the end
result?
Yeah, I think so. We needed some time to relax a little bit
and have some time in the studio. We actually cancelled two
festival gigs last summer because of conflicts with the
recording session. For us, the main priority is recording music.
That is the basis for everything, so we had to choose between
postponing the recording session for awhile and not the doing
live shows. We just had to cancel them because we wanted to
focus on the recording session. For the next album, we will
definitely come up with something faster. Our plan right now is
to record the next album next summer and release it next autumn
or something.
Oh! So I guess there aren’t any major tour plans for EPIC,
then, if you’re going to be going back in the studio for its
follow-up next summer?
We have never been a big touring band. We are comfortable
with the situation of just making music. We are old guys now
(laughs)! Of course, we are going to do a few live shows and we
would love to go back to North America again someday but right
now we are kind of focusing on making music. We are going to be
working on the new album as well as making an acoustic album.
Personally, I have other musical projects going besides the
band.
Can you tell me a little about this acoustic album you are
working on?
We have been playing around with it for awhile. When we are
in the studio, we will jam around with some old songs and mix in
a guitar or a piano or something and then think, “This is cool!
We should do something like this.” The basic plan right now is
to make half of the record new acoustic songs and the other half
will be acoustic versions of some of our older songs. There will
be acoustic guitars, acoustic bass, acoustic drums,
violins…whatever. It will be a bit on the sidetrack…something
totally different, but I think it would be totally cool to do
something like that and maybe show a different side of the band.
The idea is not to change the band and just play acoustic music
but it would be cool to do something like that for one record.
Would it be something like Opeth did on their last
records, DELIVERANCE and DAMNATION?
I heard some people mentioning them, but I haven’t heard
those albums myself. I can’t really say.
I was looking at the band’s official site (www.borknagar.com)
and I see that it has been in development since mid-May. Will
the new site launch when the CD is released?
I’m not really sure. It should be up soon, though, I think.
There was a little blurb written on there that the new CD
might include a surprise. Can you tell me what the “surprise”
will be?
The first 10,000 copies of the album will have included with
the CD a fifteen or sixteen minute documentary from the studio.
It is just us filming each other playing our instruments and
recording the album in general. It’s just something fun for the
fans. It’s not a big thing but some people might find it
interesting anyway.
You are also two members shorter on this record than you
were on EMPIRICISM, with Tyr [bass] and Jens F. Ryland [guitar]
having left the band. Are they still playing music or have they
moved on to other bands?
Jens is not doing music at all. I think Tyr is just fed up
with the whole music business. I don’t know what he is up to
these days. He is doing something totally different—running a
firm or something like that. I think he is still playing bass
and stuff but he is not in a band at this moment.
Besides the drums, Asgeir also played the bass tracks on
EPIC. Have you decided who will be playing bass and second
guitar for your live shows yet?
We haven’t done it so far. We’re just relaxing right now and
doing a shitload of interviews with the media as well as working
on new material so we haven’t got to that point, but of course
we will need a bass player and also a second guitarist for the
live shows. We have some ideas but no official things going on
yet.
Was Asgeir a bass player before he was a drummer?
No, but he had been playing guitar before he played drums. He
is a gifted musician. He managed to adapt to playing bass quite
fast and I think the results are quite cool!
Yeah, you’d never know it was someone who wasn’t a regular
bass player at all.
He definitely knows what he’s doing. He’s a killer bass
player!
Asgeir, Lars and Vintersorg [vocals] all have several
other bands that they play in. How do you keep Borknagar as a
priority for them?
We have Lars with Solefald and Vintersorg with his band but
none of the bands are really that big that they demand all their
time. When we are recording a Borknagar album, that is the main
focus of all the guys. Of course before we actually record, we
have to write the songs and rehearse and there are different
times of the year where guys spend more time on different
things. Right now, for example, I’m working a lot on a symphony.
We are not so busy with Borknagar that we don’t have time to do
other things.
You mentioned this symphony project that you are working
on. Do you find it just as easy to get into the mindset to write
classical music as you do with metal?
It’s basically the same thing. I mean writing music is
writing music, but the symphony is much more complex and just
takes more time. I just do this from time to time and then I
have evenings off, but it takes a lot of time. There are 24
different tracks at a time with violins and stuff, so it is
complicated and takes time but it is the same basic structure, I
think. It’s just like building a house, really. If you have one
melody, you just add another brick and so on (laughs). It’s fun
and it’s been cool to be working in a different way. I have a
little mini keyboard that I’m working on. In the band, I’m
working more on guitar to make music but with this symphonic
stuff, I’m more using the keys.
Has Vintersorg written most of the lyrics for EPIC?
I’ve done about half of the lyrics on this album and
Vintersorg has done three, I think, and Lars has done three.
Where do you get your lyrical inspiration from?
I really don’t know. I’m not the type of guy that can just
point my finger at one thing and say that’s it. It’s everything
from music, movies and books to daily life. It’s a combination
of everything for me personally. Lyrically, I’ve always had a
very philosophical approach. I’ve always been wondering about
things and reading about science, so it’s very natural to do
those types of lyrics.
Vintersorg has really given an exceptional vocal
performance on this record. The one song that stood out for me
was “Sealed Chambers of Electricity.” He has a black metal
shriek, a death metal roar, clean vocals, whispered vocals…he
really does it all on that one song!
Yeah, I mean that’s the cool thing about him is that he is so
multi-dimensional when it comes to the vocals. He is able to do
whatever you want him to do. As you said, he has the clean
vocals, the screamed vocals and that other stuff and what’s cool
is he isn’t just doing it in the studio but he can do it live,
as well. That is quite amazing, I think.
How did the two of you meet and end up working together?
It goes back several years, I think. He wrote me and said he
was fan of the band and stuff and we just had contact via mail.
Sometimes he would call me or send me some CDs, but he was a fan
of the band already. It was quite a coincidence that he came to
visit me just a few weeks after our previous vocalist, Simen [Hetnaes,
former vocalist/bassist; now ICS Vortex in Dimmu Borgir], had
quit the band. Vintersorg had no intention to join the band but
we drank a beer together and kind of listened to music and
stuff. We same to the point where we have the same ideas and
decided that we had to work together.
Between when Simen left the band and Vintersorg joined,
was there ever anyone else considered to fill the empty vocalist
position?
We had some demos and we had contact with people and did some
auditions and stuff like that but at the end of the day, it
wasn’t necessary.
Borknagar has had many members come and go over the years.
Why do you think that is?
I’ve wondered that myself, but I really don’t know. I’m not a
dictator who kicks people out just because of…whatever. I like
to think that I’m a pretty diplomatic and democratic guy, so I
don’t think it’s my fault. It’s different situations with each
lineup change. For example with Simen, he enjoyed Dimmu Borgir
and they became quite a big band and felt that they needed him
more than we could allow if he should continue with both bands.
He had to make a choice and he did. Musically speaking, there
has been a long way to go. The current lineup is very good and
very unique. We have a good friendship and very good musical
chemistry. I think it was all worth it to get where we are
today. Of course when someone leaves, it always brings problems.
Cancelled tours and stuff because someone leaves can be very
frustrating.
So is the current lineup the best that you have had since
beginning the band?
Yeah, I think so. We are all good friends and have the same
ideas. It is also very important that we all have the same goals
for music. Before we had some guys that wanted to tour for a
whole year and some guys that didn’t want to tour at all and
things like that. Now we are very dynamic as a band. We don’t
force each other on to the road. We just kind of do what we want
musically. It’s very relaxing.
There is a lot of speculation and rumor about where the
name Borknagar came from. Can you tell me the real story behind
the name?
It was ten years since I came up with the name. It was back
in 1994, actually. It doesn’t mean anything. It may sound like a
northern mythology name but the idea when I came up with the
name was inspired by an old fairy tale that I heard once. It was
about a guy who climbed up a mountain called Loch Nagar in
Scotland. That’s really it. I just changed Loch Nagar around a
little bit (laughs).
(Laughs) I read somewhere that it is actually Ragnarok and
you just shuffled the letters around and added a “B” in front!
(Laughs) Really?? I’ve seen some funny things in different
forums with people discussing the name. “If you turn the letters
all backwards, you get…blah blah blah.” The truth is that there
is no meaning.
On every Borknagar CD, there is a bird on the actual disc
itself. What does that represent? Is it some kind of a mascot
for the band?
You mean the dragon?
Oh, it’s a dragon?
Yes. It’s actually a file that I found back in ’94 or ’95. It
has been our mascot for a long time. Back in ’95, I wanted to
have more than just a logo. I actually have that tattooed on my
arm! It’s stuck with me (laughs).
When you listen to the early Borknagar CDs, are you quite
critical of the sound or the songwriting, especially since the
band has changed so much from the first CD?
No, not really. I tend to look at the albums realistically.
You have to look at them from the time they were actually made.
I was ten years younger than I am now when we did the first
record and I was not the musician that I am today. For the time,
I think most of the album is really good. I’m very satisfied
with it. Hypothetically speaking, if I had done the album these
days, I would not be too satisfied with it, but for the time, I
think it’s great.
Where do you see Borknagar going on the next album?
Well, we always try to progress a little bit but we try to
keep the music to the core of the band. I don’t want to do a
sudden change and just do something totally different because
that’s not our way of doing it. With each album we do, we have a
different focus, a different perspective but it’s really hard
for me to say right now. It’s always more difficult to say how
it will be until we get to the actual recording session. I will
say that I think the next album will be a little bit darker in
the general approach of it.
Will you ever take Borknagar to a death metal sound that
you did when you were in the band Molested, or is that something
that will be left in the past?
I don’t think we will play death metal, but…well, maybe! Not
at this point but maybe five years from now? I don’t know. I
would love to do something with death metal because I have been
a big fan of it since I was a tiny boy.
Many people consider Borknagar to be a black metal band—I
don’t personally except for maybe your first album—but where do
you think black metal is going? Do you think it has run its
course with the whole church burning thing and controversy that
first got it noticed? Is there a way for it to progress beyond
that?
For me, it’s almost like two divisions. There are the black
metal bands in Norway that are still doing the old stuff like
Bathory-type of music. The hardcore, cult metal type of stuff.
Then you have another division that is bands like Solefald and
us doing more progressive, experimental music. I don’t want to
say that the second division with the progressive stuff is
better. There are a lot of creative bands with great musicians
in Norway.
Which bands do you think are helping to move it
forward—besides yourselves (laughs)?
(Laughs) A band like Solefald is definitely one of the bands
who really stretches the borders of the music. Jorn [H. Svaeren]
from Ulver, who really don’t have any black metal at all in
their music at all anymore, is one of those guys who has been a
pioneer when it comes to trying new stuff.
Thanks very much for calling today, Øystein. It was a
pleasure to finally get to speak with you. I believe this the
first time Metal Rules has got the chance to interview you!
Same to you. Thank you very much.
Good luck with the CD. I can’t wait to hear some of the
other projects that you mentioned, as well. They sound very
interesting.
Thank you. Take care!
Official Band Site:
www.borknagar.com
Label:
www.centurymedia.com
Thanks to Heather at Century Media for
setting up the
interview and for the promo.