Interview with IRMINSUL!

I interviewed Guzten from the Swedish band IRMINSUL; questions mainly on the upcoming album entitled "Fäder".

01. Hi Guzten! Sadly, I know there are some people who still haven’t heard IRMINSUL music. So, can you tell us how exactly was founded this project of band ?

Me and Robin met thru a mutual friend and found out that we shared the interest of music soon. We started to make and record songs on my computer in my home. One friend of mine that listens to the biblical name Josef heard some songs and wanted to start a band and then, asked us if we were interested. We said yes and he introduced us to Jonas whom he had played with in a band during their school years. We didn’t really know what kind of music we wanted to play except that it should be some kind of metal of course... We had made some songs before as mentioned, all in different genres but then I made a song called "Vavtrudner" with lyrics from Edda. The music was as far from perfect as it probably could be but the lyrics and to sing in Swedish were one idea we liked so Robin made "Svikaren" song on acoustic guitar and we played it for friends on parties where we drank and people seemed to like it and then, Robin made "Vakaren" in the same style. We decided to keep that style because it was our best songs, and that is what we have done, more or less anyway... Josef left the band pretty soon but the rest of us have kept going.

02. Why have you chosen that name for the band ? No special meanings behind “IRMINSUL” as for some personal reasons ?

This story isn’t cool at all... We didn’t have a name for the band yet and one day when I was reading a nuclear blast catalogue, I saw a pendant with an Irminsul. I didn’t know what it was back then but thought the name was cool and I searched for it on the internet and then, I thought it would be a good name for our band. I asked opinions to the guys. They liked it and then, it was decided...

03. Your debut album dates back from 2009 and your second is about to come out... Have you met some particular difficulties on the way ?

Well, many things happened along the way: Some personal problems, some major technical issues where things had to be re-recorded. One example is when the person who cleans our local walked into our studio and stumbled upon some cables so the microphone fell and we had to rerecord 7 songs again because we couldn’t get the same sound again. The mixer broke at one point. One of the inputs of the soundcard broke so we had to record 2 songs again... Many small technical things have gone wrong. All of us have also become fathers along the road and that have taken much time from the band and the studio.

04. IRMINSUL has recently finished the recordings for the new album entitled Fäder.  

How did the recordings happen ?

All songs are recorded by ourselves in our own little amateur studio "Cave of Irminsul".

05. Can you describe us the artwork of Fäder, and the meaning of this word, for you ?

The title FÄDER is a Swedish word for fathers. It felt like a good title, because we all have become fathers since the last release.

The artwork in the booklet is connected to the songs. There is one picture for each song that fits with the lyrics. The artwork is all made by Samos of Folkingrimm Art. He is awsome, check him out:
www.facebook.com/pages/Folkingrimm-Art/189173304438878

06. Is it a concept album ?

No its not.

07. All the songs deal with some topics. Can you tell us what are they ?

1. Stupagreven: This is an old Swedish expression for executioner. The song is about a younger man/boy who has lost all his family in the plague. He has a hard time to make his living and starts to steal but gets caught by the kings men. He gets the opportunity (which could happen back then) to choose between death penalty or get the mark of the headsman burnt in his forehead. Afraid to die he chooses the last alternative and become an executioner. It’s a lonely life full of guilt and in the end of the song, he looks deep in the bottle and wished that he had choose to die.

2. Nattramn: In medieval beliefs, an unbaptized child that died or a person that had committed suicide was doomed to not be able to find peace and turned in to a "Nattramn" in the shape of a black raven. A Nattramn can only fly on Sabbaths and has to reach the grave of Christ in Jerusalem to be able to walk on to the afterlife. To gaze upon a Nattramn was a really bad omen and would mean very bad luck, if not instant death. This Nattramn is a small unwanted child who has been left by its mother to die in the forest.

3. Galgaman: This is an old Swedish word for mandrake. Mandrake is probably one of the most mythical herbs in a lot of beliefs and cultures. To own one could bring you great luck but if you didnt treat it right it might  stab you in the back as well and destroy your life. It was a complicated procedure to harvest one and you had to follow many rules to enjoy the benefits of it. The character in these lyrics begins to follow all the rules and treat it well, but when he is rich and used to have everything he wants, he starts to take it for granted. The mandrake gets wrathful when no longer appreciated and ruins his life.

4. Hagridden: This song is about Vanlande Swegde´s son in the ynglingasaga.

He married Driva and got her pregnant and then, promised to return to her within three years. But he never did so she sent a witch to put a curse to him. Here is a link for those who wants to learn more: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanlandi

5. Letters from the past: This one is about runes/runestones and the mystic that surrounds them.

With the tales carved in the stones they are like "letters from the past".

6. Bäckakarlens dans: A tale about a loving couple, the girl never comes home in the evening and her husband waits and waits but she never comes back because she has been enchanted by the watersprites enchanting fiddle music and is lured to come and dance with the fairies. The watersprite drowns her in the end. She tries to contact her husband in his dream but he can’t sleep because he is so worried. The years go by and in the end, he takes his life in sorrow. The moral in the song is. If you hear fiddle playing near water, don’t stop and listen. RUN

7. Clades Variana: This song is the tale of the romans biggest military setback, when the roman general Publius Quinctilius Varus lost 3 legions in the Teutoburger forest in Germany. Here is once again a link for those who wants to learn more: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest

8. Ölbänk: This is the only song this far by Irminsul that is funny and written with humour. Its about party and consuming absurd amounts of alcohol in a real viking manner. For those who are interested  I wrote these lyrics during a day when I was drunk from morning to night. Most of it I wrote down on a wrinkled piece of napkin while strolling around on wobbly legs on a food market in the middle of the rice fields to the north of Thailand.

The lyrics aren’t about a specific myth or actual happening as our other songs, but I have to admit that I was a bit influenced by parts of the awesome book "Röde Orm". There is an English translation of that book, then called "The long ships". If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and do it!

08. Are the lyrics available in the booklet ?

Yes they are. 

09. Does the band have some particular influences ?

No, not really. We try to create our own thing.

10. Are there some guest’s appearances on the upcoming album ?

Yes. We have Linda Fagerberg doing all the female vocals on the songs "Nattramn", "Hagridden", "Bäckakarlens dans", "Ölbänk" and "Neverending story". The female choirs on "Letters from the past" are made by Linda Fagerberg, Anna Fagerberg and Sophie Stenfeldt.

Jim kjell is singing half the verses on "Galgaman" and also some additional vocals on "Clades Variana"

The male choirs on "stupagreven", "Galgaman", "Clades Variana" and they are made by Robin Lövenhamn, Jonas Rehngren, Jim kjell and Glenn Fagerberg on "Ölbänk" song.

11. Musically speaking, how sounds Fäder ? Is it very different from your debut cd ?

Well of course it´s a bit different, we evolve and want to try new things. The main changes are technical more and contain far more muted heavy riffs than the last one where we mostly used open chords.

12. Is IRMINSUL signed at a label ?

Yes with "Purity through fire"

13. Where could the people purchase Fäder ?

If you want to support the band please visit our website caveofirminsul.se and buy it directly from us :) We also still have copies of our old album for those who wants.

14. Are the previous IRMINSUL records always available for sale ?

Yes as long as people are interested.

15. Do you plan one official video to promote the new release ?

If our label wants it, we will do it. But nothing is planned at the moment.

16. Will IRMINSUL play live somewhere, soon ?

Not soon but hopefully we will in the future.

17. Is the band ready to play in Germany, France, USA….Worldwide now ?

No, we all got small kids under 2 years now and we don’t have a live setting either. To perform live in a serious way we need at least one more guitar player or else we would have to use to much playback, which isn’t cool at all. But we are opened for it in the future!

18. What are your other plans to promote your new album ?

Mostly to reach out to as many webzines and music magazines as possible, so the people who don’t know anything about us or our music will find out. We have just re-build our old homepage from scratch, so this time we have control over it ourselves. www.caveofirminsul.se And lately we have been and will stay more active on facebook. 

19. Can we know the release date for Fäder ?

No because we have just sent it for mixing and mastering so this is out of our hands now, but hopefully it won’t take too long.

20. Do you want to add some words to the Sword Chant Community ?

Thank you Krissy for the opportunity to do this interview and thanks to all the others who have read it. If you hadn’t heard of Irminsul before I hope that you check us out, and if you already heard our old album I hope that you won’t be disappointed of the new one! Hails and Cheers!