Audiopain
Petter in action
Hey, how are things in Norway right now?
Ahh, they're quite well I'd say. It's summer here, and we're spending it indoors recording a new Audiopain album. Haha, I'm sure that by the time we're finished the temperatures have dropped below 20 degrees again just so we can't enjoy summer this year. And apart from that nothing is happening in Norway right now haha!
Will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you play hellish and killer thrash metal?
I am usually referred to as Petter and play the Proper Instrument in Audiopain. As for the thrash metal, it must be some sort of mental defect. I try to make and write music, and this is how it turns out. I just can't help it, it seems. But it's an enjoyable thing to do so I think I'll just stick to it.
A small introduction of the rest of the band will be great too!
There's Bjarne, who has a beard. And there's Sverre, who plays some sort of instrument that looks like a 6 string piccolo bass. He can't be enjoying it much though, because he yells a lot too.
How and why did Audiopain get created, please tell us the story behind the creation of the beast?
A long, long time ago, on an island somewhere along the inhospitable coast of Norway, three young and brave men met each other for the first time. Being cut off from the civilized world for some time, they saw that the only worthwhile thing to do was to brandish their instruments to keep the native population ay bay. And so they did. The result of which can be heard on the "LVT" tape, released under the name of HÆ? Eventually, their trials and tribulations came to an end and they returned whence they came. But the rigors they had survived had left their mark upon the three young men, and they were unable to fight off the compulsion to keep playing together. So they kept playing, with the non-thrash elements slowly but steadily being left behind, and the need for a new and more fitting name arose. At that point Mr. Babyflesh himself brought into being the word Audiopain. And the three men in question saw that it was good and immediately adopted the name. Since then a number of demos and CDs have been released and a far greater number of concerts have been played. And if the three (no longer quite so) young men have their way that's the way things will go on in the future.
What is the purpose with Audiopain, what do you want to accomplish with the band?
Haha, nothing! There is no purpose behind the band or any lofty goal we wish to achieve. We like writing and playing music, and it happens to turn out as can be heard on the CDs, and that's our only motivation. We just enjoy playing in Audiopain, plain and simple. As the situation is now get can do pretty much whatever we want, when we want, and no-one else have anything to say on the matter. That's the best part of staying unsigned, we have 100% control over every aspect of the band, so we prefer to keep it that way.
Will you ever reach your highest goals with Audiopain and what will then happen?
Hehe, first we would have to establish just what that goal would be, and we haven't quite gotten there yet. We live in the present and just deal with things as they occur. Of course, touring a bit, getting better distro and things like that would be nice, but we're working on that. So we just keep doing our thing and see where we end up.
How did you end up with the style you play in the band?
When we started out we played just about every type of music there is, but over the years we've come to write mostly thrash metal riffs. If you were to listen to our releases from the LVT tape chronologically (which no sane person would do!) that development is quite easy to hear, with thrash dominating more and more. We have just done whatever felt natural at the time, and somehow ended up where we are today. If we had limited ourselves to one genre from the beginning we would probably have become terribly bored with it and gone off to do something else. So I, for one, am glad we didn't.
Old school hardhitting thrash with elements from both black and death metal, with technical twists as well, your inspirational sources must be many. Will you tell us where you find inspiration for your song writing?
The thrash metal basis is quite obvious. Death and black metal are also parts of our upbringing, as is lots of the 70's metal heroes. Kiss should be mentioned too. Then there's the weirder side of things, with Voivod and Ved Buens Ende and the likes. I'm also into non-metal stuff, like Baccara and Boney M, lots of reggae, funk… Even though these latter genres don't find any outlets through Audiopain it's still a part of who I am musically, so it's bound to affect the way I write and think music to some degree.
Which bands and releases have meant a lot to you personally and for your way of writing music?
Slayer's "Hell Awaits" is probably the single most important release in this respect. Of course, "Reign In Blood" is the Perfect Album, but "Hell Awaits" has made a bigger impact on me. The riffs are somewhat less intense than on "Reign In Blood", but they're meaner, more cunning if you like. And there's some cool bass playing on it too! "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" by Darkthrone is also a very important album, as is "Pleasure To Kill" by Kreator. And of course it's difficult to escape Iron Maiden when talking about bands that have influenced me. After all, they have Steve Harris in the band.
What are the 3 most important elements in your music according to you?
There has to be a groove present throughout the song to drive it forward, and I think we manage that quite well. The songs have to be fun enough to play for us to bother to play them again and again. If we're bored when playing there's no way anyone else will like them. And the absence of filler riffs is also of paramount importance. Every part of a song should be strong enough to stand on its own, and not be reduced to something that just connects two other riffs.
What do you want to tell the listeners with your music?
Hehe, this might seem like a lowbrow answer, but as long as the listeners have a good time while listening to Audiopain, either live or on record, we're happy. We don't want to force our points of view on anyone so we have no need to tell them anything.
It seems like the band has gotten more technical through the years, without losing the direct and brutal approach, how did it turn out like that?
We rehearse a lot so it's hard to avoid becoming better musicians. Obviously it's not something we strive towards, but if we like a riff it doesn't really matter if it's easy or difficult to play. Too much technical finesse often gets in the way of the music, and we're conscious of that so I think we manage to weed out any freak show tendencies. If you want to show the world how good a musician you are make an instruction video, not an album. We've had our share of parts that we haven't managed to play properly because they have been too technical. And some of them have been good enough for us to remember them years later, when we've picked them up again and suddenly managed to play them without having to sacrifice any intensity. And that's always great, finding a home to old and abandoned riffs.
How would you describe the evolution and progression of Audiopain as a band and the music?
For us both the band and the music have developed more or less on its own. We've always just done what has come naturally for us so there's no master plan or anything behind it. We started out playing everything, and I guess we have focused on what has been most fun for us to do. Of course, when we started playing a bit live what kind of songs worked in that setting became another factor to consider, even though that in no way conflicts with what is fun to do. Perhaps it has become more mature in a way, in that we no longer explore every possible and impossible type of music, but have found a basis we're very comfortable with. "Revel In Desecration" is probably the most streamlined CD in that respect, after that things started to widen a bit again on "The Traumatizer". But in the end I think the evolution is largely dictated by our whims and whatever we happen to make at any given time.
You are not afraid of making long tracks or including jazzy elements and instrumental tracks on your releases, are there no boundaries for Audiopain?
No, not really, as long as we are comfortable with what we do. We have no need to stick to any given formula, so if something appears that's a bit off the beaten track we'll go ahead and do it anyway if we like it.
How far do you think you can evolve Audiopain musically and as a band?
I can't really see any absolute limits to how far we can push things. We have evolved steadily since the beginning, and every one of our releases has reached a bit further than the previous one, so it looks like things will continue to grow slowly but steadily. And that's far better than being all over the place one day and gone and forgotten the next. And of course, being in charge of everything we can set a pace we are comfortable with so there won’t be any great leaps here.
How far can you take Audiopain?
In terms of popularity the very music we play ensures we'll never get too big. There's just too many rough edges for us to be embrace by particularly wide audience so I believe we'll stay a band for the minority who likes their music somewhat unpolished. And that's fine with us. If we'd had any rock star aspiration we would have chosen a very different approach, like getting signed to a Big Label, going on tour with the Big Bands etc. But we're happy where we are so we won't find out how far Audiopain could have been taken.
Will you tell a bit about your lyrics, your common lyrical themes and so on?
Haha, a common theme? Now that'd be something! But at least for the ones I write I think they can be roughly divided into three categories. The traditional (or cliché if you like) lyrics, which carry no more meaning than your average song lyric. The ones who deal with ideology, be it political or religious or whatever. The notion of god is a suitable symbol, but the opposition to that notion could easily be applied to any fixed set of ideas. And lastly, from time to time, some real-life event forms the basis for the lyrics. Now the challenge there is to remove the references to that event so the lyrics become more universally applicable. But no matter what the subject matter is, the lyrics start and end with words that sound good when sung by Sverre. If an otherwise well-written lyric sounds lame when it's sung it's just not good enough and has to be rewritten.
Where do you find inspiration for the lyrics? It seems like they are spread over a wide specter as the music.
You know, I normally start at the wrong end when I write. I start by picking out single words I like, collecting them until I can start placing them in a song, pretty much like a jigsaw puzzle where half the pieces are missing. Finding enough cool and fitting words is the tricky part. Then it's just the matter of finding some way of connecting them so they make some sense or form some sort or story. I've tried starting out with the theme, but the result is seldom satisfying. But at which point the words and the theme comes together doesn't really matter that much, it's just a way that works for me. The inspiration can be found anywhere, in books, papers, movies, other albums or my own imagination. Sometimes I just know what the lyrics must be like, while other times there are really a lot of work behind them.
Can you pick out your 3 favorite Audiopain tracks and tell us a bit about how they were made, a bit about the music and a bit about the lyrics?
OK, let's start with 'Relinquished', from the "1986" demo. As far as I remember that song just came together almost on its own accord. All the riffs fit together perfectly, yet they all have their individual character and distinct rhythms. And somehow we've managed to write melodic riffs without losing any of the edge. A great song that we still play live, even though it's rather old. The lyrics are about art, how far you can take things in the name of art. Can you hurt someone and justify it by claiming it's a part of the artistic expression? What if you maim them severely, or kill them? Can it still be justified because it is a part of this artistic expression, or is it just plain barbarism? Or what if you put parts of dead animals in some gallery. Is it art or just poor taste? Artists are supposed to be in opposition to the established order, to comment and if necessary shock people out of their complacency, but can just the shocking aspect be called art in its own right?
Then we go on to 'The Habit Of Fear', from the split single with Mysticum. One of our more epic songs, but… I don't know, it's just so massive. The riffs, again, have very distinct characters, the way it changes between the slower and quicker parts before it takes off at the end, the close to perfect production… It's my favourite Audiopain song. It was, if I recall correctly (which may or may not be the case…), a bit more tricky to find the right riffs and make them work together properly, but when we finally got there we knew it was right. We even had to record it twice, first in the Revel In Desecration session, but the sound didn't fit the song properly so we did it again. And haven't regretted it one second. The lyrics is (surprise, surprise!) about fear, how being afraid can bind you and control your actions just as effectively as any prison or outside force can. Fear is a habit, a way of thinking and behaving you get used to, but also a habit it's hard to break. Which is why fear is such a prominent feature of dictatorships which make such effective use of it? When people live in fear, of informant, of reprisals if they do anything the authorities do not approve of, of how their actions will have consequences for people around them, they'll pretty much keep themselves in line.
And lastly I'd like to mention 'Psalvation', from the "Überthrash II" EP. This is one of those songs that contain both old and new riffs. Some of them used to be in other songs that just weren't good enough so the riffs ended up elsewhere. But after trying and failing a lot it eventually ended up as a very good song. Our old pal god figures in the lyrics here so you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what the lyrics are about. But we had some fun here making our own words and combining old ones in new ways. Like the title. Salvation is a common enough word, but when you add a p (as in, say, psycho) you add a new dimension to the word. Playing with words like this is just great fun!
You have released quite some things during the years, 3 EPs, some splits and a full length, which of the releases are you most proud of?
That's such a mean question, like asking which one of your kids you are most proud of! Hehe, can I say all of them? Guess not... They all have their strong (and not so strong) sides, but all in all I think I'm most proud of "1986". It was the first thing we recorded in one session and not just a collection of songs we had recorded here and there, and even though there's some room for improvements production-wise, I still like the sound of it. And it helped a lot to have it properly mastered. I like that all the songs are different from each other, yet still they sound like the same band. And we still play like half the demo live so we must have done something right.
How has the reactions to your music and releases been?
Surprisingly good I must say. For some reason we haven't been slaughtered in any reviews yet, but it's bound to happen sooner or later. Every time we release something we gain some new fans, and somehow we manage to keep the old ones as well. I guess it helps a lot that we started when thrash metal was at an all-time low. I think Nocturnal Breed was about the only active band here in Norway then. And being the lucky bastards that we are we got to play support for a lot of established acts when we started out, so all of a sudden people knew who we were. Hehe, and for some strange reason they liked what we did. And they still do. So the reactions have been positive beyond belief (thanks everyone!).
Audopain's 2 first releases "Contagious" and "1986" have just been re-released by Vendlus Records and mastered for the first time. How do you feel about the re-releases?
It helped a lot having them mastered! When we released them originally it was like 100 copies on CD-r, so there wasn't much point spending a lot of money on having them mastered. But we got tired of having more copies done every now and then, so we decided to have a larger quantity made, and it was merely a natural consequence of that to make it sound a bit better. So this is as good as they get haha! Joseph (hi man!) of Vendlus Records has a very good network in USA so he is taking care of things for us there, and we're trying to cover the rest of the world. So if anyone wants to buy or distribute Audiopain titles they should get in touch with us at audiopain@hotmail.com!
How different is the mastered sound compared to the original sound?
They sound more open now, and louder. It no longer sounds like the music is played inside a small box hehe. But we did our best to keep the original sound and feel of the demos, and Tom Kvålsvoll did a fantastic job at that! With what he had to work with we couldn't possibly have asked for more.
How have they been received?
So far so good. Admittedly I've only seen a couple of reviews thus far, but they've been very good at least. But these are old releases that many people know already so we don't expect too much of a fuss with these releases. The main point was to have them available again, there are still some people who want to buy them.
How did it come about to get the 2 EPs re-released?
Hehe, perhaps they have advanced to EP status now, up from demos. Anyway, we didn't have any copies left, Joseph of Vendlus had some money he wanted to waste, and before we knew it the two titles were suddenly back in stock!
Are you and the rest of the band satisfied with the re-releases of the 2 EPs?
We are. And hopefully we have enough copies now to keep them available for a while.
How do you look upon your first full length album "The Traumatizer"?
When we started recording it, it was just another demo for us, but as the session progressed it turned out it was album quality material, song-wise and sound-wise, so we completed it with that in mind. The songs are less live friendly than before, more varied and introspective, and yet they somehow sound distinctly like Audiopain. And it has by far the cleanest production to date. It's probably the release I'm the least intimate with though, even though it took two years to write it. I guess not playing the songs live too much has something to do with that. But when I listen to the CD, my belief in that "The Traumatizer" is a bloody good album is always confirmed!
It was released last year, so how does it look with new music from you?
We haven't played too much live these last 12 months so we're way ahead of schedule. "Überthrash II" came out this Easter, and we have a new song waiting to be released on a compilation now. Hehe, probably the cheesiest song we've done so far…
How much new music have you made and when will it be released?
We are recording our next CD as we speak (haha, you didn't expect that did you?) so it should be out in a not too distant future. We're also recording a song for another compilation, so we've actually been efficient for a change. The songs are more up-tempo again, somewhere between "Revel In Desecration" and "The Traumatizer", so everyone should hurry up and spend their money on something else before it's released!
Will your future releases also be released by Fias Co Prod. (which I assume is your own company)?
Hehe, the Fias Co logo has been a source of much speculation (and, for us at least, amusement). Fias Co is actually our own studio, which we have built up over the last five years. It has gone from our rehearsal place (with a normal computer and one borrowed microphone) to a professional studio now, and we're recording the new material there again. Hehe, it doesn't get much more convenient!
Haven't you been approached by any labels willing to release your music yet?
We have been approached by some labels, but we're not really that interested in getting a deal. We're doing fine now, on our own, and if we are to give away even the tiniest bit of control to someone outside the band they have to be able to offer something significantly better than we can manage on our own. And so far that hasn't happened. I know this may sound a bit arrogant, but it really comes down to wanting to do things on our own terms. Always! And so far that has worked out quite well for us. But who knows what the right thing to do will be in a couple of years…?
You are without a doubt one of the most slaying and talented extreme thrash bands on the scene today, shouldn't you get more attention than you already do?
Thank you very much Sir! I guess our… (ahem) reluctance… to sign a deal with any labels has something to do with that. Hehe. But quite frankly I think we're getting surprisingly much attention as it is. After all we're just some unsigned and semi-unknown band fooling around in our own little playground. Hell, Aura Noir deserves the attention a lot more than we do! (That's right all of you. Listen to the nice Norwegian now and go out and buy "The Merciless". Now!)
Why did you choose to call the band for Audiopain, what does the name symbolize?
It's a really great name! It tells you that it's something hardhitting, but it doesn't say anything about what kind of music it is. Each genre has a certain kind of names the bands chooses, and you can very often tell what kind of music a band plays just by hearing the name. But you can't really do that with a name like Audiopain so it stands out a bit. But when you've heard the music the name makes sense. In some strange kind of way. But at the end of the day we just liked the word, so we decided to use it as our name.
You are a part of the great double split EP and Inferno warm up show, Überthrash, how does it feel to be featured on that, among 3 other good and more or less legendary bands?
Now that's an honour, there's no other way of putting it! Three living legends (and us) gathered both on record and on stage. And surprisingly enough we've manage to pull it off two year in a row now. (Haha, and we've managed to not have the EPs ready in time for the gigs both years!) All the bands are great, and they have all contributed outstanding songs. Especially the Infernö song on "Überthrash II" is a masterpiece, with the best vocals ever! Having the gig the day before the inferno festival starts is of course very sneaky of us, but Oslo is full of metal people by then so it would be stupid of us to move it just to get some distance to that other festival. For the uninitiated, Überthrash is Audiopain, Aura Noir, Infernö and Nocturnal Breed, each band contributing an exclusive song to the double 7" EP, with three of those bands playing at the gig. (Duplicate records may have a few copies left of "Überthrash II", the first one is long gone.)
When will we see you playing live around in the Scandinavian countries?
Soon I hope. So if anyone wants to see Audiopain in other countries than Norway they should get in touch so we can work something out! The e-mail address is still audiopain@hotmail.com.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums, an all time list and one with Scandinavian bands only, will be appreciated.
Hehe, let's see… The all time faves would be:
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Destruction - Eternal Devastation
Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Glen Brown & King Tubby - Termination Dub
And for the Scandinavian top 5:
Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky
Ved Buens Ende - Written In Waters
Burzum - Burzum
Mayhem - Wolf's Lair Abyss
Edge Of Sanity - Nothing But Death Remains
Thanks a ton for doing this interview, I hope it has been as big a pleasure for you, as it is for me to listen to your music! If you have something to add, please feel free to add it now!
Thanks a lot for this great interview, and sorry it took some time to get it answered! All four CDs we have released are available from audiopain@hotmail.com (which is also the right place for information, trades and general abuse). We also have a few t-shirts left for sale. Also check out Duplicate Records, they still have some copies of "Thrash Metal Dogs Of Hell" left, an EP everyone should have! Vendlus Records also has some cool stuff. And always remember to bring enough cookies!
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