1. Greetings to Canada! I think we can skip over the descriptions of band history right away and get to much more interesting part - to your future. Well, what can listeners expect from Operation Winter Mist in the near future?

Currently we have recorded three songs for a split release on None More Black Records with Thundra (Ita) and Ruina. These are Battleflag, Suicide Warfare and a cover of Slaughter’s (Can) Nocturnal Hell. The cover has been very well received by the members of Slaughter as well, which was great! Other than that we have some other songs together and are collecting ideas for more.

2. "Imperial Grand Strategy", the last record so far, woke up a lot of interest past me. Did you notice how was the album evaluated in Canada or other countries?

I’m sure that it was used as drink coasters everywhere. It was well received as far as I’m aware and the label is happy with how it’s done so far. Die Todesrune Records did a second pressing of it early this year.

3. Is "Imperial Grand Strategy" somehow connected with the first record "Winter Warfare II" or are they just bound together through their war theme? Can we say that they are conceptual?

Most of the songs on both cd’s were written around the same time. They had a specific feel that ran through both albums. I’m hoping that the material we’ll come up with in the future has more depth and comes off somewhat more brutal. That said, we’re happy with the releases and how they came off.

4. You are quite different from the other bands focusing on war themes. You don´t use word "war" in every second sentence and you are not so particular about just extremely fast compositions. You rather embark on extraordinary peculiar melodies, which became characteristic for your band. I like this approach. Does your music come straight from your heart or do you compose it so that it support your ideas? How long does it take you to make one song? And what does come first - lyrics or music?

The music always comes first. Panzer takes a lot of time to compose his lyrics around it. He collects his ideas then comes up with pages of lines to work with. He then hones them into what he wants to present. At which point we go over them to make them fit perfectly. Our theme is reality and real war. Our first releases were mostly centered around world wars I & II with forays into some Canadian/American skirmishes as well.
The music used to come a lot faster, however I don’t want to just repeat what we’ve done. I want to expand on it without losing the original “feel.” As a result, it’s taking longer to come up with new material.

5. As I have already refered to your authenticity, I would like to ask a little bit more. I find the sound of both your records quite impressive (I don´t know how it is with demos). Did you record them in the same studio? Which one was it?

We recorded the majority of the two cd’s with Jeff Muller at Alchemy Studio here in Calgary. The first three songs from WW2 were from our first ep Winter Warfare which was recorded at CMSS Studio with Joe Sikorski (Thorazine, Caveat, Exit Strategy) recording us. The newest recordings were done by myself in the Bunker, our own private studio.

6. Both your two albums were released by a different label, how is it with the following one? Do you have any contract or do you still search?

We’re not on a big label. We have good relationships with both labels that have released full cd’s and they both would work with us again. If a bigger label became interested, what do you do? We’d listen to what they have to offer.


7. There is a cover from the legendary Bathory on your „Winter Warfare II“ („Sadist“). Was Quorthon an idol to you? And how is it with your listening to black metal? Do you have any favourite bands, which you respect?

Quorthon was one of the people that actually made me want to play guitar more when I was young. He had a sound that stripped skin! He was only a few years older than me when he passed, what a shame. Piggy from VoiVod was an even bigger inspiration and influence. I have respect for many musicians. Too many to mention as they are varied depending on instrument, genre, and personalities.

8. Canada is not exactly a domain of black metal. Do you think it is a big disadvantage? A lot of people reject transatlantic black metal, although it´s got some qualities... What is your opinion on Canadian scene? Do any worthwile concerts take place or do you meet any interesting people there?

There’s a lot of black metal in Canada. Most of it seems to be centralized in the province of Ontario. Alberta, where we’re from, has several “war” metal bands. Canada has a lot of metal in general, our city has some sixty bands in it!
More and more big name “extreme” bands are coming through. I got to finally see Celtic Frost after waiting over twenty years!
As for rejecting our music? I don’t care. People are fickle creatures; if they like it they’ll buy it. It’s all a matter of preference.

9. Now just theoretically... If you should write down five essential rules of yours, how would they sound?

That’s a different question and I’m not sure how to answer it. I’m sure that they would vary from each member of the band. For myself? Basically, live your life to the best of your ability, rise above adversity, conduct yourself with honour, be truthful, and don’t take anyone’s shit.

10. What is your attitude towards literature? Do you specialize in any certain theme or are you open to any interesting genre? Has any book, document or film held your interest recently?

Again, that’s quite subjective to each member of the band. I would say that literature is essential. Reading is a must. I personally have found great meaning in the Poetic Edda and thrills in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. I haven’t been able to see many films lately but ‘Beowulf and Grendel’ as well as ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?’ were great films.

11. It is known that you have fans even in the real army, could you tell something more about it? Does that please you? Do you consult your ideas with some of these specialists?

When a member of the Armed Forces contacts us and tells us that they appreciate what we are doing is a real boost for us. I’m glad that they got what we were wanting to convey with our music. The men and women that have chosen to enlist and defend our freedoms are very much not given their due. That’s a shame, really.
On the other hand, it’s pretty cool to know that there were U.S. soldiers blasting our music while doing patrols and chasing insurgents in Iraq! We have our own soldiers listening to us in Afghanistan as well. Damn good people our soldiers are.

12. Now a little bit unusual question: did you play the soldiers, when you were children? Has your fascination with war gone along with you since the childhood?

This is North America, we played cowboys and Indians! We played soldiers as well though. Of course there are now so many PC, granola crunching hippies around to ruin that. Toy guns are evil things, you know.
It’s more a matter of respect than fascination. These men put their lives on the line so that we could have free lives. In our country, the government would like to see all mention of ourselves at war erased. If you look through the National Archives of Canada you’ll see things omitted and facts slightly blurred.


13. Why is this fascination so strong? What does hold your interest concretely as for war? Pain, suffering, machines, the whole atmosphere? Imagine yourself on the place of those people, who died in anguish or survived just because of cannibalism...

People died for you. So that you would have a chance at a good future. I’ve looked into my grandfather’s eyes when he spoke of willingly walking into enemy fire. I can’t imagine the courage it took. Knowing that the next moment could very well be your last, leaving your family with uncertainty but doing it so that the greater good would prevail. Come on man, that’s absolute heroism.

14. What is the meaning of wars in relation to people from your point of view? Do you regard them as a necessary purification, some kind of cataclysm? Or are they just sign of human nature?

Its definitely human nature to be evil toward one another. But we as human animals can overcome that urge. We have greater intellect and should be able to reason away the things that cause us to lash out and destroy each other. Not to say that there aren’t reasons to actively rout out problems and silence them for the safety of the population. Preparing for conflict is essential for the safety of a nation. War is sometimes the only solution.

15. Are you proud of your country? What Canadian thing are you most proud of? (I don´t expect it would be Celine Dion, heh...)

I am a very proud Canadian. Canada isn’t perfect; we have our internal problems and are working to rectify them.
The Canadian thing I am most proud of is my son.

16. What do you think of pacifism and anti-military campaigns generally?

I think that they are led and perpetrated by delusional people. There will never be peace because there will always be a subversive element within society. There will always be someone that believes that you are so utterly wrong that you must be destroyed. Religion sums that up. Look at the current situation with Muslim extremists and the western world. They believe that their god wants us dead, we are the infidel and must be eradicated. Its sad but true. There will always be danger and putting your fingers in your ears and humming won’t make it go away.

17. Thank you for the time you spent with our questions. May the winter swallow up the earth!

Thank you for the opportunity and for asking some rather interesting questions. Stay safe.