Wulfgar
It seems that in the latest years the Viking Metal way of playing and its Metal scene delivered good bands and become a real and true religion! The road was started many years ago, and right now this scene delivers the best combo ever in this mainstream, I named here Amon Amarth! Wulfgar is a rising star today and its musical content have very good elements, something to bring this combo closer to its well known predecessor I named above! Below you will find a very interesting interview I've done with band leader Morgan, and look what I got about Wulfgar and its latest full length "Midgardian Metal"!
Arcana Noctis: Hello Wulfgar! What's up new out there now that your second opus "Midgardian Metal" is going to be released by Trollzorn Records very soon?
Morgan: Hi there! Right now we're planning the release party and trying to organize with merchandise and so on. It will be held at Magazinet in Kristianstad, Sweden in March 19th and we will have 2 great local bands to play as supporting acts. It will be legendary!
Arcana Noctis: It will be very nice if you could introduce us band history, starting with the very beginning back in 2005 when you decided to form Wulfgar!
Morgan: The band started out as an idea by Jimmie, Emil and Thommy. They wanted to play some brutal music but they needed a guitarist and a bass player. Soon they found Max and me, and we did our first live performance just a month later. Things went really fast from there on; we recorded our first demo "Hate For Mankind" in 2006 and later the same year we made the second demo "Wendigo". Then we signed with Kampas Records and in 2007 we released our debut album "With Gods And Legends Unite". That album opened a lot of doors and we won a lot of fans from all around the world. In 2008 Max was replaced by Reine on guitar and the same year a German record label called Trollzorn gave us a record deal for 2 more albums. And here we are with our new great second album "Midgardian Metal"!
Arcana Noctis: You started this band with the idea to play Viking Metal, if I'm not wrong! What was the main reason that made you to play this kind of music, and what are the newest elements that you want to add at the present Viking Metal scene out there? What will be the main difference between Wulfgar and the other bands playing this way?
Morgan: No, actually we played primitive old school Death Metal in the beginning, with a lot of lyrics about our hate towards Christianity and humanity. When we released our second demo we realized what kind of music we wanted to play. Since we all love the stories about Vikings and Norse mythology we decided to make that our theme. Wulfgar has always been about playing the music we love to play and listen to, nothing more and nothing less. As long as we're having fun and as long as we enjoy ourselves we will break every boundary there is!
Arcana Noctis: What will be the main reason to play Viking Metal, and what makes you the Scandinavians to love this musical genre? Because I suppose that there is something else beside history, old religion and drakkars?
Morgan: I believe there is a nature romantic reason for playing this kind of music. Those ancient melodies have a spiritual connection to the Earth I think. Then there's also the brutality of war sweetly mixed in the sound. It's life, kind of.
Arcana Noctis: Tell us a few words about the line-up that you had on your first live acts, and don't forget to mention about the playlist and compositions you had at the moment!
Morgan: The first live performances was with me, Emil, Jimmie, Max and Thommy. We played a lot of simple and embarrassing Death Metal songs. All of those songs were put in a trashcan when we signed our first record deal. Hopefully no one will remember them ha-ha!
Arcana Noctis: The first record under this name is "Wendigo", a demo released in 2006! The second one was called "Hate For Mankind"! Please try to introduce us these first materials; and tell us what will be the main difference between the 2 materials I've mentioned above!
Morgan: The first demo was "Hate For Mankind" and consisted of the four songs "Visions Of Pain", "Rape", "Hell Is Near" and "God Of Seas". The sound was very simple. It was simple riffs, evil lyrics and quite heavy rhythms. For the second demo "Wendigo" our sound had become a lot faster, more epic and more organized. The songs on "Wendigo" were: "Ridden With Grease", "Wulfgar" and "Wendigo".
Arcana Noctis: Very soon you started to work on band's first opus called "With Gods And Legends Unite", released 2 years ago on Kampas Records! Try to present us this new material, by telling us the necessary technical details that we should know about it, and tell us a few words about this label too!
Morgan: The album "With Gods And Legends Unite" was released through Kampas Records in 2007. It was recorded at Sound Palace in Karlshamn and we spent almost two weeks living in the studio. It was a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun. We were the first band to sign with Kampas and it was a great honour. It's a Finnish label and today they have a lot more bands on their list.
Arcana Noctis: The release party on "With Gods And Legends Unite" took place on 24.08.2007! What exactly happened out there and what crowd reaction on it was?
Morgan: Damn, that was a long time ago, I really can't remember. But I do remember I had a lot of fun, that's for sure!
Arcana Noctis: If I'm not wrong the live activity was a very interesting one I'd say! Very important live acts with known bands such as Dark Tranquillity, Insission, Manegarm, Deathstars or Impaled Nazarene isn't bad at all! So what do you have to add?
Morgan: We've been very fortunate to support these kinds of acts and we're proud. There will be a lot more I hope.
Arcana Noctis: You have participated on Iron Age compilation CD with 2 songs. These songs were old versions or it was something especially made for this label? And how did you got in touch with them?
Morgan: I think they contacted us on MySpace and then we wrote those songs especially for that compilation. One of the songs "Valkyria" is also to be found on our second album "Midgardian Metal", re-recorded of course.
Arcana Noctis: Probably one of the most important steps from your career was the deal signed last summer with your old friends from Trollzorn Records! Why did you decided to leave Kampfar Records and what do you expect from this new deal?
Morgan: We felt that Trollzorn had a lot more to give. They are a bigger label and they offered us a great deal. We signed for two albums. The first one will be released March 19th and the second is already in progress.
Arcana Noctis: What is your relation with Trollzorn and what will be the main difference between these 2 labels?
Morgan: We have a great relation with Trollzorn, they are terrific in every way. The main difference is of course the size of their businesses. But we still have a good relation with Kampas too. They're also great.
Arcana Noctis: The mini-tour that you have played in Finland happened before the signing deal with the Germans from Trollzorn Records! What interesting details did you kept from us?
Morgan: I don't know if you could call it a mini-tour; but we made two gigs in Finland, yes! One was at Firebox Metal Fest and the other one at Bar 15, both in Seinäjoki. I was very drunk both of the times but it was a lot of fun indeed. The Finnish people really know how to drink.
Arcana Noctis: You replaced Mad Max (g) with Reine, who did his first show in Wulfgar's rows very soon at the Baltic Youth Festival! Tell us a few words about this fest and please insist on Wulfgar's moment on scene! Also, tell us how a Wulfgar show looks like and if you have something special to improve the live act!
Morgan: That went terrific! Reine is a great guitar player and makes the best solos I've ever heard! Surely a great contribution to the band. It was a nice festival and we did a great performance that night. A lot of headbanging moments indeed. We just try to enjoy ourselves as much as possible on stage, and the crowd really loves our energy.
Arcana Noctis: Very soon you started to work on band's second official material called "Midgardian Metal", the first opus for Trollzorn Records! And you played the Trollzorn Open Air (2009) and as a special guest on Obscurity release party (2009)! Tell us a few words about the concerts I've mentioned and don't forget to mention about the feedback that you received!
Morgan: Yeah, it was a great honour to play in Germany. The Germans are really awesome! But we had a little car accident on the way home from Black Troll Festival (Open Air). We lost a lot of gear in that accident but we're really happy to be alive and well. Still, we would love to play in Germany a lot more.
Arcana Noctis: Now let's talk about the last opus "Midgardian Metal", an album recorded in Nidavallen and Netport Studios! Please introduce us this new opus signed Wulfgar and tell us the story behind the tracks!
Morgan: Well, it was partially recorded at Nidavallen Studio in Sölvesborg but mostly at Netport Studio in Karlshamn. We just tried to make it a lot faster and a lot darker than the first album. We also wanted to experiment a lot more by adding violin and guest vocals. It was really cool. On the song "Norsemen Of Steel" we added some vocals of Joakim Olsson from the Power Metal band "Supreme Majesty". He is a really great guy to work with and his voice is amazing! The one track that is most experimenting is "Nifelheim" where we've added both violin by Julia Brodén and female backing vocals by Lina Svensson. You won't get disappointed at this album; it's really a great mixture of Death Metal, some pinches of Black Metal and also both Folk and Thrash Metal. There are influences from all kinds of Metal.
Arcana Noctis: What does it represent this title for you and what will be the link between Midgard and Metal?
Morgan: That's what we are playing. Midgardian Metal. Not Viking Metal. Not Asgardian Metal. It's Midgardian Metal!
Arcana Noctis: Could you tell us what will be the main difference between this new opus and the first one called "With Gods And Legends Unite", I have to remember? What do you expect from this new opus precisely and what will be the main attraction point of it?
Morgan: I think the main attraction will be our great melodies. We've always created strong melodies and really heavy headbanging rhythms. I am quite certain we will gain a lot of new fans thanks to this album!
Arcana Noctis: Do you think that it fits 100% in all its compartments, especially the lyrical and the musical one? Is this "Midgardian Metal" the most important step from Wulfgar's career?
Morgan: Every new day is the most important day in our career. Every new song is the best song ever written. Wulfgar is in constant evolution. Always evolving, getting better and better.
Arcana Noctis: What will be the next step after the release of this material? And how Trollzorn Records is going to promote it in the end?
Morgan: We're already working on songs for our third album, and we've been discussing doing a video and also a tour. So stay tuned for the next step!
Arcana Noctis: Unfortunately we are closing to an end. Thanks a lot for the interview and for your answers! If you have something to add in the end do it now!!!
Morgan: Thanks and Cheers!
Arcana Noctis: Hello Wulfgar! What's up new out there now that your second opus "Midgardian Metal" is going to be released by Trollzorn Records very soon?
Morgan: Hi there! Right now we're planning the release party and trying to organize with merchandise and so on. It will be held at Magazinet in Kristianstad, Sweden in March 19th and we will have 2 great local bands to play as supporting acts. It will be legendary!Arcana Noctis: It will be very nice if you could introduce us band history, starting with the very beginning back in 2005 when you decided to form Wulfgar!
Morgan: The band started out as an idea by Jimmie, Emil and Thommy. They wanted to play some brutal music but they needed a guitarist and a bass player. Soon they found Max and me, and we did our first live performance just a month later. Things went really fast from there on; we recorded our first demo "Hate For Mankind" in 2006 and later the same year we made the second demo "Wendigo". Then we signed with Kampas Records and in 2007 we released our debut album "With Gods And Legends Unite". That album opened a lot of doors and we won a lot of fans from all around the world. In 2008 Max was replaced by Reine on guitar and the same year a German record label called Trollzorn gave us a record deal for 2 more albums. And here we are with our new great second album "Midgardian Metal"!
Arcana Noctis: You started this band with the idea to play Viking Metal, if I'm not wrong! What was the main reason that made you to play this kind of music, and what are the newest elements that you want to add at the present Viking Metal scene out there? What will be the main difference between Wulfgar and the other bands playing this way?
Morgan: No, actually we played primitive old school Death Metal in the beginning, with a lot of lyrics about our hate towards Christianity and humanity. When we released our second demo we realized what kind of music we wanted to play. Since we all love the stories about Vikings and Norse mythology we decided to make that our theme. Wulfgar has always been about playing the music we love to play and listen to, nothing more and nothing less. As long as we're having fun and as long as we enjoy ourselves we will break every boundary there is!
Arcana Noctis: What will be the main reason to play Viking Metal, and what makes you the Scandinavians to love this musical genre? Because I suppose that there is something else beside history, old religion and drakkars?
Morgan: I believe there is a nature romantic reason for playing this kind of music. Those ancient melodies have a spiritual connection to the Earth I think. Then there's also the brutality of war sweetly mixed in the sound. It's life, kind of.
Arcana Noctis: Tell us a few words about the line-up that you had on your first live acts, and don't forget to mention about the playlist and compositions you had at the moment!
Morgan: The first live performances was with me, Emil, Jimmie, Max and Thommy. We played a lot of simple and embarrassing Death Metal songs. All of those songs were put in a trashcan when we signed our first record deal. Hopefully no one will remember them ha-ha!
Arcana Noctis: The first record under this name is "Wendigo", a demo released in 2006! The second one was called "Hate For Mankind"! Please try to introduce us these first materials; and tell us what will be the main difference between the 2 materials I've mentioned above!
Morgan: The first demo was "Hate For Mankind" and consisted of the four songs "Visions Of Pain", "Rape", "Hell Is Near" and "God Of Seas". The sound was very simple. It was simple riffs, evil lyrics and quite heavy rhythms. For the second demo "Wendigo" our sound had become a lot faster, more epic and more organized. The songs on "Wendigo" were: "Ridden With Grease", "Wulfgar" and "Wendigo".
Arcana Noctis: Very soon you started to work on band's first opus called "With Gods And Legends Unite", released 2 years ago on Kampas Records! Try to present us this new material, by telling us the necessary technical details that we should know about it, and tell us a few words about this label too!
Morgan: The album "With Gods And Legends Unite" was released through Kampas Records in 2007. It was recorded at Sound Palace in Karlshamn and we spent almost two weeks living in the studio. It was a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun. We were the first band to sign with Kampas and it was a great honour. It's a Finnish label and today they have a lot more bands on their list.
Arcana Noctis: The release party on "With Gods And Legends Unite" took place on 24.08.2007! What exactly happened out there and what crowd reaction on it was?
Morgan: Damn, that was a long time ago, I really can't remember. But I do remember I had a lot of fun, that's for sure!
Arcana Noctis: If I'm not wrong the live activity was a very interesting one I'd say! Very important live acts with known bands such as Dark Tranquillity, Insission, Manegarm, Deathstars or Impaled Nazarene isn't bad at all! So what do you have to add?
Morgan: We've been very fortunate to support these kinds of acts and we're proud. There will be a lot more I hope.
Arcana Noctis: You have participated on Iron Age compilation CD with 2 songs. These songs were old versions or it was something especially made for this label? And how did you got in touch with them?
Morgan: I think they contacted us on MySpace and then we wrote those songs especially for that compilation. One of the songs "Valkyria" is also to be found on our second album "Midgardian Metal", re-recorded of course.
Arcana Noctis: Probably one of the most important steps from your career was the deal signed last summer with your old friends from Trollzorn Records! Why did you decided to leave Kampfar Records and what do you expect from this new deal?
Morgan: We felt that Trollzorn had a lot more to give. They are a bigger label and they offered us a great deal. We signed for two albums. The first one will be released March 19th and the second is already in progress.
Arcana Noctis: What is your relation with Trollzorn and what will be the main difference between these 2 labels?
Morgan: We have a great relation with Trollzorn, they are terrific in every way. The main difference is of course the size of their businesses. But we still have a good relation with Kampas too. They're also great.
Arcana Noctis: The mini-tour that you have played in Finland happened before the signing deal with the Germans from Trollzorn Records! What interesting details did you kept from us?
Morgan: I don't know if you could call it a mini-tour; but we made two gigs in Finland, yes! One was at Firebox Metal Fest and the other one at Bar 15, both in Seinäjoki. I was very drunk both of the times but it was a lot of fun indeed. The Finnish people really know how to drink.
Arcana Noctis: You replaced Mad Max (g) with Reine, who did his first show in Wulfgar's rows very soon at the Baltic Youth Festival! Tell us a few words about this fest and please insist on Wulfgar's moment on scene! Also, tell us how a Wulfgar show looks like and if you have something special to improve the live act!
Morgan: That went terrific! Reine is a great guitar player and makes the best solos I've ever heard! Surely a great contribution to the band. It was a nice festival and we did a great performance that night. A lot of headbanging moments indeed. We just try to enjoy ourselves as much as possible on stage, and the crowd really loves our energy.
Arcana Noctis: Very soon you started to work on band's second official material called "Midgardian Metal", the first opus for Trollzorn Records! And you played the Trollzorn Open Air (2009) and as a special guest on Obscurity release party (2009)! Tell us a few words about the concerts I've mentioned and don't forget to mention about the feedback that you received!
Morgan: Yeah, it was a great honour to play in Germany. The Germans are really awesome! But we had a little car accident on the way home from Black Troll Festival (Open Air). We lost a lot of gear in that accident but we're really happy to be alive and well. Still, we would love to play in Germany a lot more.
Arcana Noctis: Now let's talk about the last opus "Midgardian Metal", an album recorded in Nidavallen and Netport Studios! Please introduce us this new opus signed Wulfgar and tell us the story behind the tracks!
Morgan: Well, it was partially recorded at Nidavallen Studio in Sölvesborg but mostly at Netport Studio in Karlshamn. We just tried to make it a lot faster and a lot darker than the first album. We also wanted to experiment a lot more by adding violin and guest vocals. It was really cool. On the song "Norsemen Of Steel" we added some vocals of Joakim Olsson from the Power Metal band "Supreme Majesty". He is a really great guy to work with and his voice is amazing! The one track that is most experimenting is "Nifelheim" where we've added both violin by Julia Brodén and female backing vocals by Lina Svensson. You won't get disappointed at this album; it's really a great mixture of Death Metal, some pinches of Black Metal and also both Folk and Thrash Metal. There are influences from all kinds of Metal.
Arcana Noctis: What does it represent this title for you and what will be the link between Midgard and Metal?
Morgan: That's what we are playing. Midgardian Metal. Not Viking Metal. Not Asgardian Metal. It's Midgardian Metal!
Arcana Noctis: Could you tell us what will be the main difference between this new opus and the first one called "With Gods And Legends Unite", I have to remember? What do you expect from this new opus precisely and what will be the main attraction point of it?
Morgan: I think the main attraction will be our great melodies. We've always created strong melodies and really heavy headbanging rhythms. I am quite certain we will gain a lot of new fans thanks to this album!
Arcana Noctis: Do you think that it fits 100% in all its compartments, especially the lyrical and the musical one? Is this "Midgardian Metal" the most important step from Wulfgar's career?
Morgan: Every new day is the most important day in our career. Every new song is the best song ever written. Wulfgar is in constant evolution. Always evolving, getting better and better.
Arcana Noctis: What will be the next step after the release of this material? And how Trollzorn Records is going to promote it in the end?
Morgan: We're already working on songs for our third album, and we've been discussing doing a video and also a tour. So stay tuned for the next step!
Arcana Noctis: Unfortunately we are closing to an end. Thanks a lot for the interview and for your answers! If you have something to add in the end do it now!!!
Morgan: Thanks and Cheers!