Seeing as TrollfesT is a new band it would nice if you could start with giving the readers a background information on TrollfesT.

It all started with a bottle of mead, Finntroll, a guitar, a microphone, and a computer at a party a couple of years back.

After that, a set of 6 songs was made. These are available from our website, and put together, is what we’ve called the TrollfesT Promo.

Trolls have been around for quite some time. Probably just as long as there has been trees in the forests around the world. The Trolls of TrollfesT may not have been around for that long, but they could have been. Anyways, TrollfesT has been known to other outside-of-the-woods-people for about two years, or so...

Since Trolls are lazy, the promotional business wasn’t that much considered at an early stage, regarding any attempt to get a Record deal, and/or concerts of any kind. The website was, nevertheless, promoted for, now and then, also referred to as occasional promoting.

Now we’ll get an album out. And it will be vailable through Solistitium/Omvina (www.omvina.com) with a definite release at March 15th.

Now on to something everyone is curious about. Is Trollfest just a rip-off of Finntroll? What makes you guys different from Finntroll and other folk metal bands?

TrollfesT is heavily inspired, and influenced by Finntroll, but the only actual similarity, is the fact that we play music in the same sort of genre as Finntroll does. The theme of our songs, are usually about Trolls having a blast, drinking, eating priests and other people (especially the priests big fat wives), or fighting for a place to party. Also, our music has become something different from what Finntroll is, since we use more traditional Norwegian folk-melodies as inspiration to make our uhmpah-tunes.

You are soon out with the debut album "Willkommen Folk Tell Drekka Fest!!". Could you try to describe that album for us? How did the recording process go, everything turned out as expected?

We made our music longer, raised the quality and played more of our magically tuned instruments than we did on the Promo, and off course consumed a hell of a lot more beer than what Trolls are used to, to get the right kind of mood, and feeling for the new songs, as we recorded them.

The recording process was mostly fun, and joyful, and it all went rather smooth, for as far as the word “smooth” actually can be used around drunken, partying Trolls.

How is the distribution process for "Willkommen Folk Tell Drekka Fest!!". Will the album be available outside Europe as well? And if so, when?

I believe that the album will be available for ordering online through our record label (www.omvina.com). Probably not to be found in to many music stores, I’m afraid...

Can you please introduce the members of TrollfesT and tell us what role they have? You're also allowed to talk about other bands they might be in.

I’ll just make a list, cause I think that’s the best way to do it:

Trollmannen (Jostein Austvik): Our fantastic storyteller and vocal-Troll (Other bands: Drums in Le Nifty Plot)

Mr.Seidel (John Espen Sagstad: Plays the dark an beautiful guitars (off course magically tuned like a Troll instrument) Other bands: Guitar in Pantheon I (http://www.pantheon-i.com) and guitar in Sarkom (http://www.sarkom.tk )

PsychoTroll (Martin Storm-Olsen): Plays the roaring bass from deep inside the forest (off course magically tuned like a Troll instrument) Other bands: Guitar/vocals in Armada) (http://www.armada.lightbulbsociety.com)

TrollBANK (Eirik Renton): Our eminent drummer (Other bands: Drums in Pantheon I (http://www.pantheon-i.com)

Drums in Sarkom (http://www.sarkom.tk)

TrollFar (session musician): Accordian

This is as far as the main line-up is concerned. As for all the other fantastic magical instruments on the record, we’ve been inventive Trolls, and played all the different instruments ourselves in studio.

Is TrollfesT a serious project. Do you think TrollfesT will be active in many years to come?

When we started Trolling, none of us expected the material to be welcomed in so many forests as they did. I don’t believe we got serious, actually I’m not sure if we’re serious now either, but what I am sure about, is that we’ll keep on Trollin’ for many years to come, since we’ve had such a good experience with the recording of the album “Willkommen Folk Tell Drekka Fest!!”. It also makes it easier to keep up all the good work, since we’ve gotten so much positive response to the little people have heard from us so far.

How we’ll keep on making music, I don’t know, but we’ve got some new material already, waiting to be played properly like Trolls do!

"Willkommen Folk Tell Drekka Fest!!" translated to English means something like "Welcome people to drinking party!!". I understand

drinking means a lot to you trolls. Could you ever done this album without consuming any mead/beer?

We wouldn’t have started TrollfesT, if it wasn’t for the beer, and mead involved with Finntroll, to be honest, and I must admit, that I don’t think the record could have been the same without the drinking...

Which beer brands do you recommend?

Seidel, goes without saying!

Mead (especially the Norwegian “Suttungs Mjød”), along with Aass, Borg, Carlsberg, Coop Pilsner (because it’s cheap and still ok in taste), Dahls, Frydenlund, Guinnes(out of respect), Hansa, Newcastle, Polar(because of a fellow Troll), Ringnes, Tuborg (cheap and just great) to meantion a few of our favourites.

Any favourite troll folktales?

Well... It’s not exactly a Troll folktale, since it is best known around Trolls, an not usually heard of amongst people, so I guess I’ll have to give you a quick summary:

As the story begins, we meet four Trolls sitting in treetops having a blast of their all-time favourite way of having a “nachspiel” (the ever so famous NACHSPIEL IN EIN BAUM):

This late night appeared to be like every other night to the Trolls and they soon found themselves on the ground after consuming large amounts of beer and SUTTUNGS MJØD. And as Trolls get hungry, they sit down and wait for Christians. This lucky night the smell of Christian blood saved the night, and supplied the Trolls with a great deal of food and some funny instruments that, in some strange way, got magically tuned.

And so the story goes on, about how these Trolls learned to play these instruments and so forth.

It would be cool to witness TrollfesT in a live setting. Will you go on tour to support the debut album?

Probably not, I’m afraid. We are all busy Trolls, and unfortunately, our eminent vocalist, lives in another forest, near Liverpool, for the time being, but there’s always a shred of hope.

Now this is a question I ask every band: Can you list your top 5 albums by bands from Scandinavia only?

Trollmannen

Farmers Market - Musikk fra Hybridene
Opeth - Deliverance
Emperor - “Prometheus - The Discipline of Fire & Demise"
Anekdoten - Gravity
Jannicke - Jeg vil ha en liten hund

Mr.Seidel:

Gorgoroth – Twilight of the idols
Cadaver Inc – Discipline
Finntroll – Nattfödd
1349 – Liberation
Halvdan Sivertsen – Kjærlighetslandet

PsychoTroll:

Finntroll – Nattfödd
Black Debbath – Den femte Statsmakt
Motorpsycho – Timothy’s Monster
Motorpsycho - Presents The International Tussler Society
Finn Kalvik – Fyll mine seil

TrollBANK:

Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Ingar Zach & Ivar Grydeland - You Should Have Seen Me Before We First Met
Satyricon – Rebel Extravaganza
Thorns – Discipline
Jahn Teigen - Det vakreste Som Fins

Are you satisfied with having your official forum hosted by Scandinavian Metal (now known as Nocturnal Horde)? I mean, can you recommend us to other bands who want an official discussion board?

So far I would say that we are more than happy to have our forum hosted by Scandinavian Metal(now known as Nocturnal Horde), and wouldn’t have any trouble recommending you to other bands.

Solistitium Records is a German label I believe. Why did you choose them and are you so far happy beging signed to them?

We were ever so lucky, that they stumbled onto our website. Since we’ve never promoted our band towards any label, we found it suitable to give this record label a shot.

That's it. Thanks a ton for answering my questions. Any final remarks to the readers of Scandinavian Metal?

AV MJØDEN VART DU VIS OG KLOK, SÅ DREKKA MER!!!!

That’s the TrollfesT life motto (and it should be everybody’s)!!!!

Over and out – Psycho Troll

[This interview was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]