145188Interview with

I n t e r v i e w b y A n d r e w S t a n t o n

Hello and welcome to realized that the band became cess because that would only Inside the Darkness. like an independent entity, limit everything, eventually - Can you tell our read- much like a living organism. leading to stagnation and the ers a bit about your his- The band is ever chang- death of Vanhelga. We don’t tory, please? ing and constantly have a his145188: Vanhelga start- tory simply When we are creative we are guided by inspiration, it has nothing to do with rational thinking or reasoning. ed as a one-man project much like Burzum or Arckanum, for example. There were some topics and themes because only the present exists. - What bands influence you? 145188: We are that I wanted never consciousto explore, in evolving. ly influenced by anything. particular the darker sides of There are no rules and sub- Everything comes to us reality. During the years of sequently no genres or styles in mysterious ways that being creative in new ways, I involved in the creative pro- can’t be explained in words.

Whatever reaches us unconsciously is a different matter though and it is hard to say what impact it has had on the music.

- Why did your lyrics change from Satanism to personal issues? Will you ever go back to being a Satanic band?

145188: We will never go back to being a Satanic band on purpose. It’s not up to us to decide the direction of the band. There never was a decision from the members of the band to be Satanic or to write about personal issues. When we are creative we are guided by inspiration, it has nothing to do with rational thinking or reasoning. It’s more like a feeling.

- What do you think of Sweden’s Melodic Death Metal scene? Do you ever want to be a part of it?

145188: We never wanted to be part of any scene. Any categorization concerning Vanhelga is made by people outside the band, never by its members. I don’t know much about the Melodic Death Metal scene in Sweden. My general opinion, as a person living in Sweden, is that there seem to be a lot of confused people who pretend to enjoy metal simply to find somewhere to ‘fit in’. I guess there are many

bands that are copies of each other as well. There’s usually one person who dares to try something new and if it succeeds, in the eyes of the public, other bands will follow and imitate that style. Originality is uncommon.

- What can fans expect from your new album?

145188: They can expect positive music for positive people.

- How does Swedish Black Metal compare to Norwegian Black Metal?

145188: From what I have experienced it seems like Swedish bands are more open to mix styles and deviate, in certain ways, from what is considered to be ‘pure’ within the definition of Black Metal. Norwegian bands seem to be more traditional in some sense.

- Why do so many people find Black Metal hard to discover or listen to?

145188: Some people, or should I say most people, lack the ability to enjoy it. No matter how hard they try, it will never make sense to them. In some cases it is like drinking whiskey, not many people enjoy it the first time but when they get experienced with it enough, they start to notice and appreciate the complexity.

- Can Black Metal live forever without any support from magazines?

145188: Everything lives on forever in the void.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

145188: Stay positive.

Thank you for your time.