Chton
Wywiad przeprowadził Aleksander Krzeczkowski
I`m pretty sure Chton will be soon one of the most recognisable metal band from Norway. Norway? Hey no! You`re absolutely wrong if you think they play traditional or modern or anything-like black. These guys, are about to make Hell on Earth with their brutal old school death metal and I was really wonder why they have choosen this particular genre. Therefore I asked Torstein (guit) the most stupid question you can ask a band: "Why do you play your kind of music - was that just a will to be diffrent?"
Torstein>> No, we were never motivated by just a will to be different. Chton is no "constructed" band with any particular musical agenda. We`re guys making music that we want and like to make and play. No hokuspokus. Nevertheless, I don`t see Norway as a country dominated by black metal anymore. Maybe Norway is best know for our black metal exports heh, but Norway has loads of good bands doing other kinds of music. Bands like Darkthrone (with their classic "Soulside Journey") and Cadaver with their first two albums did great death metal, and bands like Zyklon, Bloodthorn, Aeturnus and Cadaver still, to mention a few, carry on that tradition.
Your hot new debut album is entitled "Chtonian lifecode" - I guess it`s not only a coincidence that it is named similar to the first track from Darkthrone`s "A Blaze..."?
Well, the name of the album came from the title of a lyric that Kenneth wrote, and it`s of course no coincidence that it`s "slightly similar" to "Kathaarian Life Code". I guess it can be seen as a homage or "reference" to the extreme darkness of that song, that album and to Darkthrone in general, but it`s also a kind of Chton manifesto saying "this is us and this is what we do: we`re here to fuck you up!" It`s maybe just a different way of having a self-titled/untitled album...
Most of you play with other bands. You are a member of Manes (btw. - their last album is a real masterpiece). Must have really wide horizons if you play in such diffrent bands! Interesting thing - both bands - Chton and Manes started from raw black metal style. Is this correct?
Yeah, you`re basically correct, I guess. Both bands has evolved from a more black metalesque style and sound. I also play in Manes, yes, and I do have a very wide horizon when it comes to music. I listen to stuff I like, nothing more and nothing less.
Torstein, you have written most of the lyrics for a splendid Keep Of Kalessin`s "Reclaim". Quite amazing thing for me. Would you tell me more about that? Are you so famous lirycs writer in Norwegian underground? :) Did anyone tell you what those lirycs should be about?
I`m no famous lyric-writer in the underground at all, but I`ve contributed with lyrics for friends in need of lyrics in the past. I did most of the lyrics on the first Bloodthorn album "In the shadow of your black wings" plus some lyrics for their split-cd with ...And Oceans after that. I also did two lyrics for the Keep of Kalessin debut "Through times of war", and now recently I did most of the lyrics for the new Kalessin MCD and a few for a thrash band called Headspin. Both Bloodthorn and Kalessin are old friends of mine here in Trondheim (and the guys in Headspin too) and it`s just a matter of friends helping friends, I guess... Noone has ever told me what the lyrics should be about, no, but some of the lyrics for the Bloodthorn debut was kinda co-written with the Bloodthorn vocalist Krell, and for the new Kalessin MCD Obsdian C. contributed with some general ideas and the title for the song "IX"....
In retaliation, Attila done guests vocals on "Chtonian lifecode". Frediablo from Necrophagia appears on your album as well. This is another incredible thing for me hehe. Are you all friends?
This is another "friends helping friends" kinda thing. Kenneth, the bass-player in Chton, also handles bass for Kalessin live so he knows Atilla well and just asked him if he could contribute with some vocals for the Chton debut. He does a verse on the track "Book of Black Earth" and it ws just a cool thing to do. I`m a big fan of some of the things he`s done with Tormentor, Mayhem and Aborym, so it`s an honor for me to have hime participate on our debut!
OK - and what are Chton lyrics about? Is there any concept behind?
No, there is no concrete concept on "Chtonian Lifecode". The lyrics are all generally dark and brutal - like the music - and resides in the realm of occult horror. We write about stuff that is important to us... like war and violence for example.
You`ve signed recently contract with Retribute records. How did they found you? Have you had any other proposals?
We had some interest prior to signing with Retribute, but nothing we were seriously considering. Retribute seemed genuinly enthusiastic, dedicated to the kind of music we do and he offered us a good deal. We got an email asking if we could send him our demo, and not long after we sent it we got an offer to sign with them for our debut album. We have signed for only one album, but we`ll see what happens after "Chtonian Lifecode"...
What are the plans after releasing the album? Any tour? How many albums are you obligated to record for Retribute?
We`ll do a mini-tour of Norway starting next weekend with the releaseparty here in Trondheim and continuing with Bergen, Oslo and Kristiansand in August and September. Hopefully we`ll be able to do a few shows outside of Norway too soon. We hope to do something in England and maybe Denmark soon, but we`ll just have to wait and see... And as I mentioned, we`ve only signed for this one album with Retribute.
There is a video for the track "Book of Black Earth" available to download from your website (www.chton.com). Really nice but (I`m sure) expensive thing. Who paid for it? Retribute or you? And where was it recorded?
Well, the complete budget for the video equals approximately a Double Whooper Cheese Meal w/ beacon and a large coke at BurgerKing in sum, so yeah, we paid for it ourselves. Two friends of us, Lasse and Anders, came up to Trondheim from Oslo to do the actual shooting over a weekend. We got to borrow Uffa, the location for the "live" shoot for free, and we did the "desert" shots at a local footballfield (working as a "greenscreen" for the postproduction desert images)... Lasse and Anders do stuff like this for the enjoyment of it, and they`ve done several shortfilms earlier, so we put everything in their hands (apart for some initial brainstorming for the actual overall concept) and gave them no deadline nor demands for the final outcome. We just thought it would be cool to have a video for one of our songs and they love to do stuff like this, so we just did it...
You are a quite new band, but you`ve already played a lot of shows in Norway (i.e. you are confirmed for Hole In The Sky festival). How come you are welcomed on so many gigs?
I hope we get asked to do shows because people know we`re a good liveband, or at least has heard that we`re a good liveband, or basically just because they appriciate our music...
Which aspect is more important for Chton - live presentation or studio recordings?
With Chton doing gigs is the most important thing. Pure violent aggression! Recording albums is more of an excuse to do gigs. I really like making music too, so I guess that`s almost as important to me as the live stuff, but the actual recording is just a necessity - it`s fun but tedious...
You shared a stage with Polish death metal monsters Behemoth. There was a gig with Vader in plans but I guess you canceled it(?) And this is not the end of the whole story about your connections with Polish scene - you also have a split MC with another great Polish act Supreme Lord. How did it happen Time Before Time contacted you to take part on this split? What is your general opinion about our scene? Have you got some more contacts here?
The Polish death metal scene is among the strongest in the world at the moment. Surely at a secure 2nd place behind Tampa... Bands like Vader, Dies Irae, Behemoth, Supreme Lord, Yattering, Decapitated etc. shows that Poland has what it takes to deliver lethal death metal! The deal for the re-issue of our two demo-tracks on that split with Supreme Lord was just something that was a stroke of luck for us as Tomasz of Time Before Time offered us the deal. A cool thing to do as our first official release: a spilt cassette in 333 ex. Fucking great! And no, apart from meeting the Behemoth guys and writing a little with Tomasz from Time Before Time, I`m not in contact with any of your coutrymen... We hope to be able to come to Poland soon to do some gigs, though... Spread the word!
Non-musical question - I red somewhere your favorite movie is "Mulholland drive". I`m a big D. Lynch fan and "Lost Highway", "Fire walk with me" or "Mulholland drive" are my absolute favorites. Do you know half of "Mulholland drive" is just a dream of a main character? Do you think it is possible to understand fully the meaning of his movies?
What is my "favourite film" changes all the time. Selecting just one film to be my "number one" is kinda difficult. I`m a huge fan of Lynch and I really love all those films you mention - nowadays I think "Lost Highway" is my favourite Lynch film because of the overwhelming dark mood throughout the film... Anyway, I`ve seen "Mulholland Drive" several times and I`ve read several articles about it (I study film-science at the university here), so I know of the dream-aspect in the film, but I do not think the films are made to be understood fully nor do I think Lynch himself makes films that are meant to be understood fully. Films, as music, when looked upon as an artform, should give you "something", but not necessarily a "meaning" or some sort of deeper understanding. Have you seen Tarkovskys "Stalker"?
David Lynch says he uses no drugs while creating all those bizarre ideas. And how about you? Do you use any herbs, magic mushrooms or synthetic drugs to stimulate the brain? Be honest! ;)
Drugs is not something that I think can enhance the creative flow of such a hard discipline as death metal, but feel free to crank the stereo to max with "Chtonian Lifecode" on that cold depressing monday morning as you shoot your final deadly dosage junk. That would be an honor for us! Anyway, thanks for the great interview Olo! Be sure to check out "Chtonian Lifecode" and stop by www.chton.com for live-dates, merchandise etc.! Up the horns!
www.chton.com
