Andreas Vagane: There are many reasons. The members were involved in multiple other projects, and there were several line-up changes. In addition to that, the band wanted to develop its own sound before releasing an album, and there was never any hurry. When the time was right, the time was right.
La Baza Gatului: I know that before releasing the current album, you released 2 demos and a full-length album. What can you tell me about those products? Are they still available for fans?
Andreas Vagane: “Devil” is still widely available, and if you look hard enough you should at least be able to obtain a copy of “Unleashed”.
La Baza Gatului: You were fortunate to play live with bands such as Entombed, Malevolent Creation, Incantation and Rotting Christ, among others. Is there something you feel you’ve learned from any of these bands? Was this experience useful to you in any way?
Andreas Vagane: Experience is always useful. You learn how to handle life on the road, and you grow as a performer and musician. And hopefully you get to have a great time doing the things you love.
La Baza Gatului: Reading your bio, I have found out that in 2006 you had to start from scratch. When qualities were you looking for when started looking for other Harm members?
Andreas Vagane: Steffan was looking for guys who were willing to go all the way and give what it takes. That’s very understandable considering that he is no stranger to quitters.
On a personal and social level we hit it off from square one and has since then become sort of like a family.
La Baza Gatului: I have always wondered about one thing: do you have to previously be a devoted metalhead in order to become a real musician and provide quality metal albums?
Andreas Vagane: Yes, I would say that. In order to make quality music you have to love the kind of music you’re making, because essentially you’re making music for yourself. Simply put; if you’re a fan of metal you will recognize quality by liking the music you make. If you don’t like metal you’ll have no way of telling if what you’re making is gold or shit.
La Baza Gatului: Let us now talk about the new album, Demonic Alliance. What idea did you have in mind when started composing and recording it? How should the album have sounded in order to take the fans by storm?
Andreas Vagane: Everything came out very naturally. To tell you the truth we didn’t really have any solid plan to begin with. Me and Steffan brought our riffs and ideas, fused them together, Øivind brought his own touch and style, we jammed on our songs and tweaked them until they felt right, and the result is what you hear on the album now.
If the fans like it that’s a good thing, but we didn’t keep other people in mind when we wrote the music. If it sounds good to us, we’ll run with it.
La Baza Gatului: What can you tell me about the lyrical concept? Would you mind presenting Demonic Alliance track by track (in a few words, of course)?
Andreas Vagane: Since I did not write the lyrics, I’m not qualified to give a track-by-track description, but the lyrical theme of the album picks up where “Devil” left off.
All of the lyrics are based on actual events, actual people, experiences, thoughts and opinions, all of which are real and have all crossed paths with Steffan at some point of his life.
La Baza Gatului: What producer did you work with and why did you choose him?
Andreas Vagane: We chose Valle Adzic and studio Deadline in Trollhättan, Sweden. He did the mix on “Devil” and we we’re familiar with a lot of his other works. It turned out to be a good choice and he did an excellent job with our music and he was very pleasant to work with.
La Baza Gatului: If we would meet in a record store and I had money to buy only one record, how would you convince me to buy Harm’s album?
Andreas Vagane: I would’ve told you to give the album a listen (most record stores will let you do that before you buy). Then I would’ve left the decision up to you.
La Baza Gatului: If you were a journalist, how would you rate Demonic Alliance (on a scale from 0 to 10)? Please motivate your answer.
Andreas Vagane: I, personally, am very enthusiastic about this album. I love it! I love listening to it. It’s brutal, hard, fast, and fucking merciless all the way to the end. Some people say: “You should’ve thrown in one or two slower tracks in the middle for the sake of variety”, I say fuck that shit. I always end up skipping those tracks anyway. Fuck it!! 10/10
La Baza Gatului: When speaking of musical creativity, Norway always stood in the front. How would you explain that? What is your opinion about the metal scene in general and the Norwegian one in special?
Andreas Vagane: I could start ranting on about Christianity, individualism, and other philosophical nonsense, but in reality the explanation is as simple as it is boring:
Whatever your game or art is, one geographical region will stand out as superior to the rest. It’s a cultural thing.
That being said; I really love a lot of other music from a lot of other countries.
I like the metal scene in Norway and in general. I’m very open-minded towards what’s new, but the classics will always be classics.
La Baza Gatului: Do you listen (metal) music at home? If yes, what recent metal albums impressed you lately?
Andreas Vagane: I listen to a lot of music, metal and otherwise. I actually really like the latest Children of Bodom album, and the latest from Vader, Nile, and Behemoth. Destruction, Kreator, and Sodom’s latest also impressed me.
La Baza Gatului: What should we know about your band colleagues?
Andreas Vagane: I don’t know if you SHOULD know all this, but I’ll tell you a little something about everyone of us:
Steffan is the most uncompromising man I’ve ever met. Expect one hundred percent sincerity in every word he says and every move he makes. He’ll look you in the eye and tell it to your face, I shit you not! A great guy, in other words!
Øivind is a little hellraiser. He’s light hearted and full of wit. He finds a lot recreational value in breaking well established cultural and social codes in the presence of “true” metalheads. He loves to make fun of the obvious paradox that “the only way to NOT be a POSER, is to wear exactly THESE clothes and listen to THESE bands”.
Jørni Johnsen, our live guitarist, is a very sweet and likeable fellow. He just wants everyone to be happy and have a good time. He’s a really nice guy and a fine musician.
His friendly personality is a refreshing contrast to brutal and aggressive guitar playing, and in-your-face stage performance.
And then there’s me, Andreas Vagane. They say I’m the “rockstar” of the band. When we’re out doing gigs or chugging down beers at a bar, I like to crank up the level of obscenity a few notches, so you better have a camera ready. I’m devoted to the rock & roll life style, and I can’t really say I despise the attention either.
La Baza Gatului: How about future plans?
Andreas Vagane: Play a lot of gigs, write a lot of music, and have a fucking blast while we’re doing it.
La Baza Gatului: In the end, before saying goodbye, I’d like you to define the following in only one word:
Andreas Vagane: Ok, here we go:
• Mayhem - Old
• Kvelertak - New
• Emperor - Epic
• Mongo Ninja - Nonsense
• Immortal – Funny
• Dimmu Borgir - Biggest
• Solefald - Special
• Antares Predator – Misanthropic
• Harm - Real
La Baza Gatului: Thanks for your time and kindness in making this interview available. A word for the Romanian metal fans?
Andreas Vagane: Don’t mention it, it was a pleasure. And for the Romanian headbangers: Keep blowing those speakers! We hope to see you on the road soon!
www.harmofnorway.com
www.myspace.com/harmmetal
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