1. Greetings... Preliminary I´d like to thank you for time, you spend with my questions.
Could you introduce yourself a little bit?

Greetings! I am TRS, I play the bass.

2. I´m very impressed with your peculiar covers. The motives are not very specific, but they have some coherence. Could you tell something about the cover of your next album, whose work it is etc. ...?

Ah, yes, The cover is painted by a very gifted individual named Kjell Åge Meland. I have never met him, but his dark and surrealistic art falls very nicely into the same mindset that the music of Pantheon I inhabit. His work is similar to the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch, a particular favourite of mine. There is a disturbing element, perfect for an extreme metal band.

3. To use cello or violin is very untypical for black metal band. Darkestrah, if you know them, do something similar – very exotic band. From this point of view Pantheon I is a very unique group. How did you come to this?

To be honest i came into this band a few years after its birth, and the cello and violin was already incorporated. But for me the inclusion of "proper" instruments rather than synths create dynamics in the music that are often lacking in popular and especially metal music. It is a question about setting a mood, creating a feeling, and the cello and violin can express so many things hard to achieve with guitar and bass.

4. Cello was a nice surprise, it even makes your music harder now and then and adds some basses... I believe, that many fans were astonished, when you came on stage with this, but I personally like it very much. How is it actually at the concert? The whole „result“, atmosphere...?

Live situations are of course entirely dependent on sound. But in an optimal setting the atmosphere at a Pantheon I gig is a brutality laced with melancholy, even beauty. We are an extreme band, and a fist in the face, but there is time and place for some respite and solace in there.


5. Do you plan to add some more untypical instruments? I suppose, that those two, I have already mentioned, we find on new album... Do you plan to use them even more?

We will add what is good for the song and the music, it is not about being atypical just to be different. On the new album we have mostly used cello since our violinist left after the previous album. The cello fits in nicely between the bass and the guitars and Live is talented enough to contribute to each song in interesting ways.

6. Maybe you could say some more about the new album; what we can look forward to, some interesting moments on album or tell me some story from its recording. Are there any guests on „The Wanderer and His Shadow“?

You can look forward to 8 excellent tracks, ranging from mid-paced melancholy parts to full-blast madness. In fact the album has more than a few surprises for the listener.
Guest vocalists on this album is Lazare from Solefald/Borknagar and Nachtgarm from Negator.

7. I haven´t read any lyrics, therefore I don´t know what your band disserts upon. Could you foreshadow their overall idea? Do they develop continuosly anyhow?

There is no continous story through all the lyrics, this is not a concept album lyrically. Although most lyrics have taken a turn towards the more antichristian, some are reflections, some poems, all good.

8. How did you come to the name of your band Pantheon I?

As mentioned above i was not with the band from the start, but a Pantheon is a house of all souls or a system/order/gathering of gods, thus Pantheon I would be being your own god, or a good metaphor for the mind. Your mind is the house of all souls in you, the voices in your head so to speak. In your mind you are both god and devil.

9. What did you learn from your first album? Did you get any valuable experience?

The first album was a rush-job on my part, but we learned a lot about recording, and also a lot about the workings of the music industry.

10. You changed your label and your debut gained great acceptance (you could also say something about responses on your first album). Or did you speak to Candelight yourselves?

I could say many things about the debut. But it would be meaningless, since the debut is in the past and "The Wanderer and his Shadow" is now. Is the future, and such a future. The details of the story behind us and candlelight are not known to me on a very detailed basis so i will not say much about it.


11. You probably avoid common black metal cliché. What do you think about bands, that keep on playing always the same black metal music?

Well. People are people, bands are expressions of peoples efforts and minds. Some minds change, others stay the same. Some are content with one style and doing their thing, and that thing they stick to. Commendable. For some adventurous spirits, though, there must be change, chaos and the unexpected.

12. Do you like any classical music? You could even mention some favourite composers of the lady.

Since i have no intention of calling the lady at 2 am and ask about favourites i will stick to my own : Chopin, Rachmaninov, Bach and a bit of Wagner for those pompous moments...

13. You all are very experienced musicians. When I listen to Pantheon I and 1349, I can hear some thrash influences. What´s your opinion of this „father“ of metal genres? Do you like the old bands like e.g. Exodus, Destruction, Sodom...?

I enjoy most kinds of music, of course i listened to for instance Sodom as a kid, and their work is an inspiration for many. Pantheon I is the brainchild of all involved in it, so influences will of course be diverse and many.

14. Sometimes I think about how strong instrument guitar is. Its impression is astonishing, when there´s a good sound. You, as bass guitarist, stand for the harder component of your music, yet... Don´t you have this strong feeling, when you hear some good guitar solo on a live performance?

I have strong feelings towards music, especially songs as a whole. Good guitar solos are good in moderation, and NEVER as an excuse for shoddy songwriting. I am more than happy that "Shred is dead" As a bassplayer i had the challenge of finding the sonic space between cello and guitars, building basslines that support them both, insinuating my way amongst them, like a snake in the grass if you forgive the metaphor.

15. You also play in 1349, as I have already mentioned. You released your last album in 2005, how does it look like with this band into the future?

1349 is going strong, will tour the US again very soon and play a lot of festivals this summer. A new album is in the works.

16. What do you think about the last album „Moribund“ of your former band Koldbrann?

Former band is kinda harsh to them, i did bass on 4 tracks as a favour to the guys, and i am very happy to hear they have grown into their own right with the killer album that "Moribund" is.


17. You like beer, am I right? You´ll visit Czech republic in May, which is famous for its beer high quality and also beer consumption. I´m sure, it´s another extra reason to look foward here, hehe...

To say I like beer is to say that a fish likes water. Some things are necessary.

18. You all have got beard (except from Julianne ;-)) Probably a pretty strange question, but do you think, that there are more men with beard in the Scandinavian countries?

Well, its cold up here. We need our fur to stay warm, and of course it is a man thing. In many ways having a beard these days is a rebellion against the perfectionism and "trust is cleanshaven" mentality of the world. And we are all quite lazy and cant be bothered with shaving.

19. That´s absolutely all from me. I hope, you were not bored with the questions and I look forward to Brno, goodbye!

Thank you for the interview. Hope you are happy with the answers. They were honest and direct, similar to the music of Pantheon I. See you on Tour!