A TRIBUTE TO NORDIC TRADITIONS

Falkenbach are back with a new album entitled Heralding – The Fireblade, which in all ways lives up to the expectations towards a new release from this excellent one-man band. Needless to say, when I was offered an e-mail interview with Vratyas Vakyas I immediately jumped to it with a view to learning more about the influences behind his music, the long hiatus between the two releases of Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri… and Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty… - and last but not least to uncover a few things about the latest opus Heralding – The Fireblade.

# Greetings! First of all, please introduce Falkenbach to our readers and elaborate a bit on the music (for those who have not yet had the pleasure).

“Well, Falkenbach started in ‘89 with the first tape called Havamal. Throughout the years some more tapes followed, and meanwhile the fourth official album Heralding – The Fireblade was released by Napalm Records. More details about the biography of Falkenbach can be found at the homepage www.Falkenbach.de.”

# Falkenbach succesfully combine epic and catchy stuff with clean vocals as well as aggression and growls. Which element is – to you – the most important factor in your music, the epic parts or the aggressive ones?

“I think it depends on the song you’re listening to. Every aspect of Falkenbach is important, whether we are talking rough or epic, slow or fast arrangements. To me, personally, a rough part in a song like “Of Forests Unknown”, for instance, is exactly as important as an epic part as in “Heathenpride”.”

# What are your main inspirations as a musician? Do you think the inspirational bands are obvious in your music, or have they mainly inspired you to become a musician yourself?

“I do not think any musician or band influenced Falkenbach. When Falkenbach started more than 15 years ago, it was more or less pure folk-inspired music with acoustic guitars, flutes, percussion, clean vocals etc. But at that time I mainly listened to classical composers like Wagner, Grieg, Groothe (and I still do) on one hand, and bands like Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sodom etc on the other hand. I do not think there are too many influences of those bands/musicians that could be found in any Falkenbach song.”

# Falkenbach released its first release in 1989, the tape entitled Havamal. What’s your view on the career of Falkenbach from then on, and have you acomplished what you hoped for up to this point?

“In the beginning it’s been something very personal to take part in creating music. There were no aims to be reached, the tapes were always limited to nine copies and given away to friends only. The first (and only) tape that has been released in a little higher edition (33 copies) was Laeknishendr. The official releases on CD format were intended to reach people, to give impulses, to show relevant aspects of cultures and traditions. I’ve to concede that back then I expected more people to really understand what Falkenbach was about; meanwhile I learned that only a few really care about the real message. Most just listen to it and enjoy it. Maybe only 1 out of 1000, but this one person is worth everything.”

# Do you have any plans to re-release the demo releases Havamal and Laeknishendr on CD somewhere down the line for the fans to discover the origins of Falkenbach?

“No, there are no such plans, except maybe for the Laeknishendr tape. Some stupid arsehole decided to put it online and meanwhile everyone is able to download it via Soulseek etc. This means that everyone who tries to act in a loyal way cannot listen to it; those who support the stealing of art, on the other hand, can get this privilege easily. Then again, here and then you can find dick-heads selling cheap copies of that tape on Ebay for totally silly prices as original. So maybe some day a strictly limited edition of this demo will come out to deal about this problem.”

# You signed with Napalm Records and released Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri... in 1998. How were the reactions in the media as well as the underground, and did the contract open new doors for Falkenbach compared to the debut album ...En Their Medh Riki Fara... on No Colours Records?

“Well, the number of interviews I received increased somehow, but I did not answer much more of them than I did before. Back then Napalm Records was by far not as big as it is today, and the step from NCR to Napalm wasn’t that hard. Meanwhile they released the third album of Falkenbach, and I am quite ok with what they’re doing for Falkenbach.”

# After almost six years of silence you finally release the next album Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty... Why did almost six years pass between Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri... and Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty...?

“Mainly private reasons. A lot of people told me such a long time of silence means the death of a band, but to be honest, I did not and do not care about such business things. Whoever understood Falkenbach will be there even after six years; that’s what is important. I am not going to release albums just because the market is asking for it. I am not going to record average songs just to fulfil the wishes of distributions and magazines who just want to see the money flying to their hands. If it takes ten years, it takes ten years – if it takes one year, it’s ok as well.”

# You have now released Heralding –The Fireblade. What is the title of the album meant to signify or refer to more specifically?

Well, when the album originally was meant to be recorded, the recordings had to be cancelled, unfortunately, due to a lack of competence and the quality of the equipment of the studio. The album was never released therefore, and whenever people asked me about it, I used to talk about the Fireblade album, as this has been some sort of working title for it back then. Now, as the album was completely re-recorded and released, I wanted the people to know what to expect from this album – at least those who know about the Falkenbach biography – and I added the Fireblade to the title.

# The Fireblade was the original title for your debut album, and you started recording it in 1995 but stopped the recording due to problems with the studio equipment. Are some of the recordings from 1995 present on Heralding – The Fireblade?

“All the songs are taken from the original album, and the arrangements are 90 % of what they have been back than. One difference, for example. is the fact back then it was meant to be recorded with a drum computer. Now it’s been recorded with a real drummer. The only track that’s not taken from the original album is the bonus song “Gjallar”. Another fact is that another three songs from the original album are missing. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time at the studio this time to record them also.”

# What made you decide to put the material on the shelf for so many years and record the debutalbum ...En Their Medh Riki Fara... instead?

“Well, one of the songs was used on the En Their… album in the end, another on the Magni Blandinn… album and a third one on Ok Nefna…. The idea was to release this album in a re-recorded version for the 15-year anniversary of Falkenbach in 2004, but unfortunately it’s not been possible, and the release was delayed one year.”

# What has happened musically and personally in Falkenbach since the release of Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty…?

“My personal situation is something I do not talk about in interviews. Falkenbach itself did not face any bigger changes meanwhile, except for the fact that some rehearsals with a live-line up took place.”

# If you were to single out one track on Heralding – The Fireblade for a favourite, which one would it be and why? Would it be detrimental to the overall ‘texture’ of the album to listen to the tracks separately, or can each and every song stand alone?

“There is none, really not. There’s never a single track I prefer to another one on any album or tape. Of course, sometimes I listen more often to a particular track, but a couple of weeks later I prefer another track more. About the second part of your question: well, on one hand you can pick out a single song and listen to it, and it contains something of its own, but on the other hand the combination of all songs, not just one album, adds something more.”

# What would you describe as the most significant musical difference between Heralding – The Fireblade and your previous releases?

“The most significant differences can be found between Heralding… and Ok Nefna…, of course, as this album has been a pretty folk-inspired album with loads of acoustic guitars, clean vocals, choirs etc. The new album is much rougher and contains more (black) metal aspects musically.”

# What does the future hold for Falkenbach and viking/pagan metal in general in your opinion?

“I’ve no idea. I do not make up my mind about such things. Maybe a new album will follow soon, maybe it’ll take a couple of years, maybe none will follow at all – time will tell. The only thing that is planned for now is to let maybe one or two small live shows take place, but nothing is sure yet.”

# I have no further questions. Thank you for your time and please close this interview with any final comments and random thoughts that you wish to share.

Thanx for your support!
Check www.falkenbach.de for further details.

Conducted and written by Bo