Soon Vanir will release their new album called Aldar Rök (check our review here). Time to ask them some questions! So does DutchMetalManiac’s Henric van Essen.
Hello, how are you?
Fine thank you. And thanks for wanting to hear about the making of Aldar Rök!
Four releases in six years, that’s quite a release rate. Are you guys that fast, or do you simply have that many inspiration?
Good question. I guess it has to do with the fact that we love to write and record our music. That being said, we have a lot of song writers that brings a lot of cool stuff to the table and we kinda feel like, if there is a song that our crowd needs to hear! We must do what it takes to get it out there…
Releasing at that rate there’s always the risk of having to settle for less quality, how do you make sure every release lives up to a certain standard?
Every album has had its own frame when it comes to standards. Our first stuff was folky and not as perfect in the recording process as our new records which is a lot more metal focused. I guess that every album has its own criteria for what makes it good quality.
Furthermore we always write enough songs to discard the ones we don’t want on an album.
How does the process of creating a release take place?
That has changed a lot from when we started. With our current lineup almost everyone comes to the table with a riff, a song or an idea, and from there we work together to finish the material. This time around we also chose to record ourselves. Sitting behind the buttons ourselves gives us a more controlled environment with the songs. There’s more time to switch back and forth between the creative process and recording process because there is a lot less time pressure. And it gives more ownership to the material as well.
Your lyrical themes, apart from mythology, are important historical events and wars. What is the reason for the choice of such often politically and religiously charged issues?
Well the historical events are because we find our Scandinavian history and lore interesting. And history in general is a cool place to find material for lyrics. The world around us is written in the blood and tears of men and women! And their stories are important to tell.
Are your lyrics historically correct, or are they your personal interpretation?
They are a little bit of both. We usually take the frame of a historical event and create a persona around it to tell the tale.
In your bio you state that you have been subject to a lot of changes in the line-up. How come?
The reason for our line-up changes has in every case been creative differences.
You also state that those changes influenced the musical style of Vanir, which is evident when you listen to your entire discography. Are you still evolving?
I think we will be in a constant process of evolving as musicians and as persons. But Aldar Rök might be the best example of what Vanir will be in the future. One thing is for sure though, we won’t go backwards!
What can we expect from Vanir in both the near and the further future? For instance, do you have touring plans?
At the moment we are actually in a writing process yet again working on new material. We are planning to play some gigs in 2016/2017 but can’t go into details about it just yet.
Is there anything else you would like to add or say to our readers?
We hope that you enjoy listening to the album Aldar Rök, it has been fun to record and the songs are in our opinion some of the best songs we have released to date! Keep It metal and stay strong! m/
