Inculter are a rising force in the Norwegian old school thrash metal scene and are going to release their second full-length album through Edged Circle Productions on April 12. This was a perfect opportunity to ask some questions to the band's front-man and guitar player - Remi!
First of all
Inculter is now with an almost completely different line-up in comparison to
your debut album “Persisting Devolution”. Tell us something about the two new
members.
- Our “new”
drummer, Daniel, has been a member since 2016, he joined the band after our
previous drummer decided to quit. He is also the drummer of Reptilian and
Sepulcher. After being a trio for many years, we decided that we wanted to step
it up and get an extra guitar player. So we decided to ask our friend Lasse to
join the band, he said yes and is now a full time member of Inculter. He also
plays guitar in the thrash metal band Shakma.
Congratulations
about you second album “Fatal Visions”. It is not just a step up from the
debut, but in a completely different league. What do you personally describe as
the main differences between “Persisting Devolution” and “Fatal Visions”?
- Thanks for the
kind words! The main difference between the two albums is probably that the
songs on “Fatal Visions” are more thought-through, instead of just putting
riffs after riffs, we’ve been trying to make the riffs fit in with some kind of
purpose. If that makes sense?
The album will
come out in April via Edged Circle Productions and the limited edition LP will
also include a bonus LP with exclusive material. Tell us more about these
exclusive bonus tracks?
- The bonus LP
is a collection of all the songs we released before our first album. Since our
two first songs and one song from the Stygian Deluge EP had never been released
on vinyl, we thought that it would be cool to print a very limited amount for
those who were interested.
The artwork for
“Fatal Visions” is just fantastic. How did you come up with it? Who is the
painter?
- The painter is
RK Valbo, who also painted the cover for Stygian Deluge, he has also painted
covers for many other cool bands like Obliteration, Execration and Purple Hill
Witch. We have known him for a couple of years now and he always does a great
job, so we knew that he would be the right person for Fatal Visions.
There is a sensible
aura of authenticity about the music of Inculter. It’s not a reproduction of
the 80s speed and thrash bands. It is something new in sound but it carries the
spirit of the oldschool and once again – it sounds right, it sounds authentic.
How do you do that? What is the secret of this sound? Herbrand Larsen of
Enslaved has mastered the album. What did you tell to him? Did he already knew
what you expect?
- The big secret
is that we don’t quite know what we are doing, we just try out different things
and go for whatever we think sounds right. Herbrand Larsen is a teacher at the
school where I study, I felt that he had a very good understanding of what we
wanted with our sound, so we didn’t tell him much, we just sent a couple of
examples of albums that we thought sounded good.
Tell me about the
outro of “Endtime Winds”. When you first posted this part on facebook, I
thought it was an intro, haha. This is truly EPIC short instrumental. Who came
up with that?
- It was
something that we came up with together after being stuck on that song for a
very long time. If I remember correctly it was quite spontaneous, not the style
that we were going for at all, but for some reason it worked.
- It wasn’t
actually something we intended, but we wanted to make something a bit out of
the ordinary, so it’s probably just a result of that. After a couple of years
playing the same genre, it feels natural to try and experiment with elements
from other genres.
Norway and
Scandinavia as general has come with so many great new bands. We already know
about Nekromantheon, Condor, Antichrist… Can you point out some other new bands
that have impressed you recently?
- I recently
discovered Desolation Realm, a really good new Norwegian death metal band,
definitely worth checking out. I would also recommend the relatively new band
Force, kickass punk rock from Norway.
Obviously, playing
live is the best way to present you music to wider audiences. Do you plan more
live show for 2019? We hope to see Inculter closer to the south of Europe!
- We haven’t got
much planned yet, but we certainly hope to do more live shows. We would like to
get out on a tour, but nothing is decided yet.
Two of Inculter’s
band members are also involved in other bands – Reptilian and Sepulcher. How
will the line-up keep up with all engagements? Is Inculter a top priority?
- None of the
bands are super busy, so it hasn’t been a problem to have shared members so
far.
For me,
Inculter is top priority, for the others it all depends on what is happening
with the other bands at the time.
- Hmm, I may
change my mind in two days, but for now I would say something like:
(no particular
order)
Sepultura -
Schizophrenia: This has been my favorite thrash album for many years now. I think it
has a pretty much perfect production, the riffs are always crushing, and the
songs are arranged masterly.
Judas
Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny: I’ve never heard another album that sounds quite like
this. Such a varied album, but still everything fits in perfectly. The vocals
are out of this world and the songwriting is just incredible.
Dark Angel
- Darkness Descends: I love how intense this album is, most of the riffs are very
chaotic and the drum breaks are always a bit to bold, but it works like a
charm.
Slayer -
Reign In Blood: This was one of the first thrash albums i grew to like, and after 10+
years it still amazes me every time I listen to it.
Voivod -
Killing Technology: I absolutely love the weirdness of this album. I didn’t quite
understand what was happening the first time I heard it, but after years of
listening to it continuously this album just keeps getting better and better
every time i listen to it.
Thanks for the
interview, my friend. You have my total support for the band and I wish you
success with the new album and future live shows.
Thank YOU!
Stoyan
Tsonev
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