Isengard is the solo project put together by Darkthrone drummer Fenriz. Rob Clymo manages to track the man down for a rather controversial conversation and finds the sticksman up to his usual tricks. On calling Fenriz outspoken Darkthrone drummer and man behind the Isengard project, Whose "Vinterskugge" album has just come out on the Peaceville subsidiary Deaf Records, I’m speaking to someone who has rapidly gained notoriety as one of the black metal’s scene’s most outspoken Characters. Peaceville has already distanced themselves from what Fenriz stands for, and Terrorizer Magazine would now like to do the same thing. Having said that, and whilst I don’t agree with the points that follow, I think it is important to let people see what is going on in the mind of someone who has the ability to influence so many others. By all means read the following, but also take time to think about it too...Incidentally, Fenriz tells me he is sick of being misquoted, so the following interview is an exact reproduction of what was recorded on tape.

1. I would like to start by finding out more about the Isengard album?
"Well I don’t talk about that because that’s just for specially interested people. I have no comment to give on that. It’s just. no comment really. It’s not important, It doesn’t give any important information or anything."

2. What, by talking about the album?
"No, the album itself doesn’t give any important information to our followers."

3. So what would you like to talk about?
"Uh, nothing really. As I said, we don’t give any interviews and we don’t want to talk about anything, especially the Isengard album which is not an especially interesting piece of music."

4. Because some of it is old?
"No, it’s not old, we’ve included an old demo, yeah. There are a lot of people who have written me and asked for the old Isengard demo and I never got around to sending it to them. It’s a mixed album, it’s not especially black metal, there is a lot of different stuff on it."

5. So you are working on another album?
"I’m not doing another album, I’m just putting some finishing touches to the fifth Darkthrone album."

6. I didn’t think Darkthrone were going to be doing another album, the last time I spoke with the band said they weren’t?
"Ha ha, I don’t think you have really spoken to Darkthrone, because we will never quit."

7. Well that’s what Ted (Darkthrone guitarist/vocalist) told when I spoke to him after the last album was released?
"No, no, no, that’s just old gibberish, because we have some dry stuff to put on the fire, if you know what I mean."

8. Ted seemed so sure that three were going to be only three albums?
"Darkthrone is built up like a three person dictatorship, so everyone can speak his own mind. Anyone can speak their own mind and nobody can complain or do anything about it."

9. So you believe in the freedom of speech then?
"Not really, we could get in a war within the band, we could, but it seems like we won’t because it was harder for us a year and a half ago. Things have been sorted out now, and we’re like more productive than ever before."

10. You’re actually doing two albums this year right?
"Yeah, we have the ‘Transilvanian Hunger’ album ready for June, and we have something else which will be half inspired by Celtic Frost, and that will be out in January. And Zephyrous will do most of the song writing on our sixth album called ‘Krieg’ and that will be out within two years. It means ‘war’ in German, you get the drift?"

11. Do you think people misunderstand what the band is about right now?
"I don’t know anything. I’m not given any information about what the outside thinks about us and I do not wish to receive any either. We are just doing our thing and we don’t know what others think of us."

12. Yeah because..
"No!, I don’t want to hear anything because it is important for us that we do not know anything about what other people say about us or anything."

13. Does it upset you, or affect you, or what?
"No, it’s important for a band to develop freely with it’s own thoughts and directions because we do not want to have people analyzing our band our band and sending things to our band that we might have to confront. We don’t want any outside influences at all. We don’t want any information about what people write about us in the outside world."

14. But if that’s the case why bother releasing albums, why not just keep things secret?
"Because we want to influence in destroying the holy. That’s why we will never stop, because as long as we can influence people to destroying the holy. It’s that simple, really, it’s very important."

15. By that you mean destroy religion?
"Basically, but there’s different kind of religion. I mean we have to start one place."

16. But what if someone was to argue all religion was bad?
"Ha, ha, that depends, but you can’t really discuss it. If I was to discuss religion with you we would be sitting here around the clock, or at least I would, so I’m not really interested in giving information."

17. But it’s going for people to understand you if you don’t talk about your believes?
"No, I mean we release albums, and that’s what’s important. What is on the album, the lyrics and the music, that is enough, we do not need to give any further information."

18. Did you do everything on the Isengard album yourself?
"Yeah it’s a total project."

19. Do you like doing promotional work?
"No but of course, as you may have noticed, Darkthrone is misanthropic, we don’t like doing interviews, at least recording stuff we get along, but that is the most social stuff we do."

20. It’s a shame you don’t like doing interviews- they’re always interesting?
"I know, of course the less we do interviews the more interesting it is when we do do one. That’s the way it is. If we did one interview each day then it wouldn’t be so interesting sitting here talking to me would it.? No, it wouldn’t."

21. But if you don’t talk much you tend to get misunderstood a lot more?
"Ha, ha, ha,"

22. A lot of people might accuse you of being something you’re are not, for example.
"Well who knows what we are? The main thing is like, destroying the holy, and that will be done, even if they say we are racist, Nazi’s, or whatever, it doesn’t matter."

23. Does he believe in using violence to achieve that?
"I don’t want to comment on that."

24. So what else would he say about the other Darkthrone albums that are on the way?
"There is a lot of atmosphere and although it is very, very hard it’s not an album for the headbangers, it’s for the people seriously into atmosphere. That’s what I want to say."

25. Does it make you laugh to see the black metal scene turning into a trend?
"I haven’t seen a thing. I don’t read newspapers, I don’t watch the news on the telly, I don’t read magazines, so I don’t know."

26. What do you do with your time?
"I make music."

27. Can you make a living from that?
"That would be false. You know if someone comes up to me and says they’re doing a band full time then I just crap on him, because it’s what you do in your spare time outside of a job that really matters because that is what you do in your own free will and that is what you believe in. Like Venom, they probably did the band full time and I don’t believe in that. Venom really suck, they don’t have any jobs when they were doing Venom full time and that is why you can’t believe in them. They had to prostitute themselves just to make a living from the band."

28. So you have to do a day job then?
"I don’t have to do it, but I will do it because then what I do in my spare time - that is what is the most encouraging, and that is what true means, what you do in your spare time, and what you do for money doesn’t, because that is prostitution and we don’t do Darkthrone for money. If we were to quit our jobs and try to make a living from Darkthrone then we would have to go gigging, we’d have to do interviews all the time, just to make promotion to sell more records, and that’s false. So I’d rather be stuck with a job and doing Darkthrone spare time because that is true."

29. So does that mean Darkthrone will still not be doing any gigs in the future?
"We will never do any gigs. It’s almost three years since we did a gig and it’s out of the question, totally out of the question."

30. Why not?
"There is numerous reasons for that which I do not want to discuss."

31. Is the material to difficult to play live?
"No. We don’t want to do it. As I said earlier in this interview, we are a misanthropic band, so we don’t want to see a lot of people looking at us if we should play a gig. We can’t stand a lot of people around us. That is what misanthropic means. So we can’t do a gig because misanthropy is our nature, so I sorry but we can’t handle these stupid these stupid people."

32. Do you think the people that listen to your albums are stupid?
"No."

33. Because they are the same people that would come and see your shows?
"No they’re not stupid if they listen to the albums. But I like a lot of bands but I would never go and see them in concert. Do you get the drift? A lot of bands I like have come to Norway, played live and I have not gone to see them, because I do not like being there with lots of other people. I want to enjoy them for myself. I will just have to say that the people that buy Darkthrone albums should be just like me and if they aren’t then I wouldn’t know."

34. So you don’t want feedback, people writing to you and stuff either?
"I enjoy it, and some people that write are extremely interesting but we just can’t write back. We try but there’s no chance."

35. What would you say then if people want to join you in destroying the holy as you say? Would you openly encourage them?
"They would have to do that on their own initiative."

36. Figure it out for themselves?
"Yeah. It shouldn’t be to difficult, ha. ha."

37. So what is it like living in Norway right now?
"It’s an excellent winter over here. Cold. I will never leave Norway, that is why I will never do press meetings in England, or none of us will do them in any foreign country. We would not risk to die in any country other than Norway. We just want to stay here, the northern ground."

38. Do you fear reprisals because of your outspoken views?
"Yeah, we will probably have a lot of anti-racism people going on about us."

39. And what do you think of that?
"Here in Norway it’s almost illegal to be a racist, but if you’re anti-racist it’s very nice and we don’t think that’s right. We think it should be legal to be racist and think it should be almost as illegal to be anti-racist."

40. Maybe you should because a politician? You could change things?
"I don’t think so."

41. You don’t believe in them?
"I don’t comment to that. I don’t want to discuss politics."

42. You don’t like talking about politics or religion then?
"No, not now, not today."

43. Anything else you’d like to add?
"I’d like to add that you may please inform people that our ‘Transilvanian Hunger" album will be out in June and the next album will be out in January 1995. If you can at least put that right."

44. Have people been getting it wrong?
"No, but I’m used to being misquoted. I don’t do any interviews but when I do I always get misquoted. So at least get the release dates right. And we have no intention of stopping. I would like to also add that the reason we have done at least three interviews this year is because we fight the rumors that we’re split up."

45.That’s wrong?
"That’s very wrong! But people are slow, ha"