Formed more than 20 years ago, Blood Red Throne officiates, despite his norwegian origins in a very american death metal. Very classic and at the same time marked by a personal and almost modern touch, « Imperial Congregation » has what it takes to please all the fans of in-your-face death metal. A new album that pushes the brutal death machine a little more towards a more mature and technical form. Død tells us about it here…
RiskTheDeath: Hi Død! How are you?
Daniel/Død: Cheers! I’m pretty good. I have 4 albums out this year and things are going very smooth. No live shows due to the pandemic, but lots of time to create and record music. And do other interests!
RiskTheDeath: Hello Død, can you start by introducing yourself and Blood Red Throne for our readers who don’t know you?
Død: I’m Daniel from Norway. Founder and still remaining member of Blood Red Throne for almost 25 years. We play death metal and our 10th album is coming out on Nuclear Blast in October 2021. We have toured most parts of the world the last 20 years. I started my career in Satyricon in the 90’s and since then I’ve released 25 studio albums by my own bands.
RTD: You signed with the German label Nuclear Blast Records last May: does this signature mean new adventures? Is this signature a « career goal »?
D: We have been around for ages working our asses off. Touring and releasing killer albums all the time. Many fans claim us to be the most underrated death metal band in the world. We did sign with Earache back in the day, but Nuclear Blast is something different and way bigger. I met Gerardo and Oscar from the label 11 years ago when we played in LA. They were huge fans and we stayed in touch. Every other year from then I tried to get a deal and I always sent our latest album. However, it was not their decision even though they wanted to sign us. But, 10 years later, they got the green light from the main office and it was a huge day for me personally, my band and also Gerardo and Oscar when we closed the deal. Finally, we’re working with the big guys and a new chapter is about to begin.
RTD: « Imperial Congregation » is your tenth album; how was it recorded: collectively or individually? In other words, did the global pandemic impact the recording of the album or even influence your state of mind at the time of its composition?
D: The pandemic means nothing. We don’t rehearse anyway and I write most of the songs and record everything in my home studio. Some of the songs were written before the pandemic as well. Anyway, we hooked up with Ronnie Björnström this time and he made a killer sound for us. The band only met when we made a music video that will come out right before the album. I like working this way. No bullshit, just straight on and get things done!
RTD: Is the title of this album a way of pointing the finger at religious scepticism or extremism?
D: Always! Bolt‘s lyrics deal about anti-religion and stupidity of mankind. Totally free mind and no worshipping please. It’s too late thoough I think. The world is going to hell, muhahahaha.
RTD: The artwork is by Marcelo Vasco, and features churchmen secretly gathered, surrounded by skeletons: can you tell us the history of this cover / give the meaning of this cover?
D:“Imperial Congregation“ was one of the first titles Bolt came up with. I immediately thought it was an good album title as well and I envisioned this gathering of old, religious men, discussing their oppressing laws to the people. Nuclear Blast recommended Marcelo early on and he was the coolest guy to work with indeed.
RTD: Musically the eponymous track seems to take a leap backwards and offers a 90’s death metal sound: was this your goal, your will?
D: Blood Red Throne has always been about 90’s death metal. This is the decade when death metal was at its best I think. We have been true to our style all the way. I’ve said it a thousand times, but we are not here to invent new metal. We are here to deliver quality old-school death metal!
RTD: « Gore Encore » is the only title that appears on any of your albums: why did you make this choice?
D: We always released albums every second year, but when we signed to Candlelight, this cycle was broken. That’s why we released “Gore Encore“ as a single to have some new stuff out until the next album was released. Now, we don’t care anymore if it goes several years between releases. The most important thing is to bring killer stuff to the table.
RTD: Today Blood Red Throne is 25 years of career and 10 studio albums: how do you explain such longevity? How do you manage to stay creative after so many years?
D: I like many metal genres, but death metal is my favorite. It’s a passion. I’m a creative person and I write a lot of music. I’ve built Blood Red Throne for more than two decades. It’s a train that will not stop. There are still a whole lot of extreme metal fans that don’t know about us. This drives me too. I still want more. I wanna tour new places. Old places. Meet old fans. New fans. Write even better material. Have fun. Not regret anything!
RTD: Yngve ‘Bolt’ Christiansen has lent his voice to the charity Old Dog Haven: is it important for you to use the fame of an artist to defend different causes, like the animal cause for example?
D: Well, I’m a huge animal lover, so defintely. Though we play extreme music, we are super-nice people and have no problem defending those who deserve it. This is something everyone should do. Famous or not.
RTD: When the concerts and tours can start again, with which band(s) would you like to share the stage?
D: It’s a mystery that we still haven’t toured with Cannibal Corpse yet. They know about us and like our shit, so it should happen. We always love touring with our friends in Deception and Wyruz. We just signed with a big booking agency, so many tours and festivals will happen when the world opens up.
RTD: Finally, let’s talk about your side project Valdaudr, that you share with Vald (former Blood Red Throne singer): what made you switch from death to black metal?
D: Cobolt 60 was a black metal project me and original singer of Blood Red Throne started in 2000. We did two albums and 4 gigs in 18 years. A couple of years ago, he decided to quit the music scene. I already had several songs written for the next album. We agreed that I could use this, but find a new name. The 2nd singer in Blood Red Throne, Vald, who also helped out Cobolt 60 when we played live, was an obvious choice and we created a mix of our artist names and it became Valdaudr. Black metal has always been a huge part of me and I started listening to Darkthrone in 1991. I also played 3 years in Satyricon, so there’s no switch. Both black and death metal has been with me for 30 years now!
Thanks to Valerie for the opportunity of this interview; thanks to Blood Red Throne and especially to Død for his answers and his time…