1. Debut album is a really precious matter which I adore. Me and others are rating your album as more above average. How do you rate the "First Strike for Spiritual Renewance" after the slight period of time?

I think that it has stood the test of time to a certain degree, and taking into concideration it is our debut effort, I am quite satisfied with how it came out. I had a vision and quite a clear idea of how I wanted this to sound, so it was ok for me to work focused with this. We did not have unlimited time in the studio...well, of course not as it is a debut album. Recording budgets in general for this type of music is getting smaller and smaller it seems. For the next one however i hope to be able to do as much production ourselves in out own studio which we will set up for the second offering. I cant wait to continue this legacy..

2. How many members includes the active formation of "Dead to this world"? Can we treat the "Goat promoter Lava" as the full time member or he is just a hired musician?

Goatpromoter Lava is no longer a member of Dead to this World as he left the band before I started to work on the album. He wanted to focus only on Amok and he is no longer interested in the concert-side of things. So, obviously, it was a decision which was necessary for the band to move on. I did all the guitars and bass on the album, and I must say that it saved alot of time in the studio since I wrote all the music. Dead to this World is Iscariah on bass/guitars/vocals & Kvitrafn on drums.

3. Also my next question will refer to the line-up. I would like to know who drummed on album? Kvitrafn or Mord? Why Mord left the band?

It was Kvitrafn who drummed on the album since also Mord left the band at the same time as Goatpromoter Lava to focus on a band called The Battalion from Bergen.

4. As I listen to "First Strike for Spiritual Renewance" more my interest in seeing you live grows. Is there any eventual chance?

Yes, there will be live shows in 2008. We have concerts coming up and they will be announced in january 2008. We will however avoid long pointless tours with stupid bands that noone has heard of. If we are doing something live, it has to make sense. We are not into this for reaching as many idiots as possible as we are not aiming for rock stardom.

5. Band consists of 2 members. Both with plenty of experiences from other bands and projects. Why did you choose to play Black/thrash metal?

This band is a product of my time growing up on certain influences in the 80s and early 90s. It is what is a direct result of my tastes in music & it is me letting go and not thinking in terms of what I SHOULD be doing. I grew up on Thrash, Death, Heavy & Black Metal so it is quite obvious.


6. Why you approached to the name Dead to this world? Some people may be discouraged, Who came with it?

I came up with this name in 2003 as it describes this band in a perfect way and also relates to the lyrics to a certain degree. I did not want to call the name Nordfrost, Grimheim, Satan Syndicate Extravaganza Inc....it is so incredibly soulless and boring. Also, I did not want to name it linked to beer drinking retro thrash bands in spiderman outfits and bulletbelts at some party being an idiot. Haha.

7. I would like to know if you rehearse together? I think that you live quite far from each other. Do you depend on internet or are you able to gather?

Me and Kvitrafn live about 45 minutes from eachother, so when we get into the mood of needing to rehearse we will gather up easily for that. We are starting heavy rehearsing now in January to get ready for the live gigs. Usually during the writing of material I write them alone and send him ideas on the internet, and we then rehearse later to make them complete with all details. We have found a way which works most effective for us. We will see however for the future what will happen.

8. One song from the "First Strike for Spiritual Renewance" is entitled 1942. Is some interesting event tied to this date?

This song is linked to an event which inspired by a true story from the war which a relative of mine experienced. The lyrics for this song explains the story very easily.

9. You´ve gone through some important metal bands. Which experience you regard as the greatest from all the band you participated in?

Well, obviously Immortal learnt me alot when it came to the business side of things as I did alot of the management work for them during those years. On a more personal development level I must say that my time in Enchanted during the years 1992 to 1999 was the most valuable for me. Also, Dead to this World now is very personal to me, so if you ask me again in 10 years I am definately sure that I will label DTTW as my sole most personal and spiritual development of all the bands I have been in. The other bands like Necrophagia, Wurdulak & Amok are more other individuals creation, so it is not very important to me.

10. Did you want to break loose from the chains of classic black metal, create your own style with the addition of the best elemenents you posses?
More or less problem with "copy" bands peeps out. It happens that the bands are copying other bands or they even copy themselves. Well it´s possible to be succesful if you become a perfect kitsch. How do you imagine a perfect kitsch? You can tell some bands if you consider them as a perfect kitsch.

I did not really think too much about breaking any chains at all. It was mostly important to me to do exactly what I wanted to do. If it for some reason was to be classic Black Metal, then it would have been classic Black Metal, but it was not! I cannot explain logic sense. I think 99% of all bands, and specially Black Metal bands, are a kitsch.

11. You play in death metal band Necrophagia, in Amok where the grind influences can be heard. In Immortal it was pure black metal and Dead to this world has a Thrash feel. That´s a quite load of music styles. Which one grew to your heart most?

All the bands you have mentioned here are products of others, so obviously they are not a product of my visions at all. I do like those bands though of course & in some of them it is more a question of helping them out. When it comes to me, it is only Dead to this World.


12. I think that Hate belongs greatly to Black metal. Lyrically it is often about war, anti-religious stance etc. You don´t put a much effort into it, just Fuck the god or christ and Done. Try to imagine that you shall meet Jesus in next three days: What would you tell him?

I dont believe that Jesus was the son of god, so this question in a way is very irrelevant to me. I would however probably like to learn some tips of how to manipulate a bunch of people to my likings so that I also could become seen upon as being the son of god. That would be great! However, Dead to this World is not solely an anti-christian band as it is but a drop in the sea of the big issue! There is so much more things in this crap world that I would like to obliterate, so to only talk down on judeo christianity would be very much like shooting only in one direction. I think that extreme religious groups should be promoted to create more war and chaos, so in that way, Dead to this World thinks christianity is one of the best religions you should promote and join. Sacrifice your life to God like a true warrior!

13. The situation in Gorgoroth quite thrilled the black metal scene. After years problems occured and splitted the band on two parts. It´s interesting that both parts wants to continue with the name. What do you think about it? Kvitrafn played in the band so he probably knows circumstances in the band. Have you talked about it?

No, we have not talked about this at all. I don’t care about this & I stopped listening to Gorgoroth many years ago anyways. I don’t understand why people find this so interesting. Sort your own lives!

14. Well...I have to ask. You played in Immortal. What was the cooperation with Abbath? Why did you end your activities with Immortal?

It was great to work with Abbath of course! He is one of the best in the scene, but even though I learned alot, at the same time I was not able to write any music during those years. I went through 3 years of non-creative times. It was all about Immortal then, and it took alot of time. I needed more & the dedication became less and less. Immortal is Abbath’s creation now & he wants to keep it that way & I agree with that!
During the last months in Immortal, I was in a state were I had to choose between some big comitments in my life as I could not do both. My lack of dedication to Immortal made me NOT choose Immortal. We are still friends to this day of course.

15. Do you still observe the doings in Immortal? It´s interesting that also Abbath wanted to have a break from Black metal and created I. For me, Abbath is a mr. singer no matter in which band he plays. What do you think?

Yes, I agree & I am sure he agrees as well. His vocals are very unique so it is hard to shake that off of course. I understant that he needed a break though. If it was not for the band I, I doubt that Immortal would have come back now, but that is only my personal opinion.

16. I am done with my question all that lefts now is to say thank you for the possibility of this interview.
Let your music punish more!

Thanks to you for this interview as well! New merchandise will surface soon as well in 2008, so watch out through our site at: www.myspace.com/deadtothisworld Thrash till Death!!!