With Vider’s debut on cassette tape, the recent split LP with Bluthammer, and the upcoming album ‘Sounding The Horn Of Obliteration’ under the banner of WolfKult Religion, it is of course curious that this Swedish one-man band has not yet been featured on these pages. Although the new album is already finished and will be released later this year, in this interview I look back with A.H. on the band’s formative days.
Hi A.H., thanks for freeing some of your time to answer some of my questions. Let me start firing away about something that I was wondering about for some time. I know that you try to keep things surrounding the band and yourself rather anonymous. We have been in frequent contact for a while now, but I hardly know anything about you and in all of your pictures you are wearing that black hood of yours. I do not doubt that this is a deliberate choice, but what is it that you are trying to establish with that?
Hi Felix, thank you for this opportunity. Regarding the black hood… I think that we as consumers of music, magazines and most obviously the internet, have access to a bit too much information around bands or musical projects these days. The desire to gain information about a band or a person can easily be satisfied by simply spending some time on the internet. I feel that some of the magic of the music sometimes lies in the mystique and the “hard to get” information around the band.
I remember being a kid going to record stores listening to cd’s and reading the magazines available in the store. This was before the internet had become what it is today. So the only information I had about the bands I liked was what I could read in the magazines. There lies something in not knowing everything about a band. The hood is one attempt at preserving some of that magic.
The same goes for your musical background. I know you have had some experience in other bands or even other types of music. What made you start with Vider, and do you think any of your other/previous experiences are reflected in your music within this concept?
Yes, I have spent some time in different bands. Some bands who only wanted to play Guns N’ Roses covers the entire rehearsal. And some bands that wanted to party rather than play anything. I think that those experiences made me realise that doing things alone is the way to go for me. I have a desire to create and a curiosity in music that needs to be satisfied. Also, it was hard to find likeminded musicians in my town, at least growing up. I was born in the early 90’s… Which means that the bands that were forming when I was around 13 in my hometown only wanted to play ‘Paradise City’ and ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ back to back for three hours. Which wasn’t fun for me. I’ve always been searching for heavier music, and ways to express myself through music.
A question that I have thrown in a few more times with other bands, but one that keeps intriguing me is how you actually compose your music. This particular blend of Black-/Death Metal, with its strong grinding edge, isn’t commonly regarded as creatively versatile. How do you try to keep things (relatively) fresh and prevent it from sounding too much like things that have already been done dozens of times?
Composing Vider songs for me is liberating. I have spent a lot of time in other projects trying to do intricate song structures, odd bridges and clever transitions. But with Vider it’s always a focus on force and simplicity. Most often I have an idea for a riff in my head, but rather than starting with the guitar I will start with the drums. I’ll have all the markings and crashes from the drums where I want them for the main riff beforehand. Then I pick up the guitar and see if my initial idea comes to life. If it does, the rest of the song comes quite easily.
It’s simply creatively liberating. To me a good song does not necessarily need any more than 2-3 good riffs. And I don’t really worry about if it sounds different or similar to anything else when it comes to riffs. I sometimes hear mixes or records that I think sound amazing and will want to learn what makes the mix or record sound the way it does. Then I apply some of what I learned to my own mixing. I would not call myself a very good mixer/producer. But I view the mixing and producing as part of my creative process. Once I achieve something close to the sound I’m after, I get inspired and music starts to pour out.
Personally, I think that this sort of music, being the Blasphemy/Proclamation/Black Witchery/Teitanblood/etc.-influenced Black/Death Metal, greatly benefits from a certain amount of spontaneity. It always shows when bands are deliberately try to add “chaos” to their music. To me, the purity of the controlled chaos, whether it is Morbid Angel on vitriol or old Impaled Nazarene-like madness, possess the true magic that makes the music convincing or not. Pure wild energy is hard to rehearse… Regardless whether you are agreeing with this statement, how do you reflect your personal approach to this?
Yes, that is what it’s all about, controlled chaos. And that´s really the hardest part when you’re creating music on your own. I wish I could have been in the room to witness when Teitanblood recorded ‘Death’, when Nasum recorded ‘Helvete’ and when Black Witchery recorded ‘Inferno Of Sacred Destruction’.
All I can do is to try and lose myself in the music I’m making and not worry too much whether everything is tight or “correct”. But instead try to capture the moment when the riff or part of a song felt right to me. I usually turn up the monitor speakers very loudly while recording guitars. I want to totally immerse myself in the song and let it flow as naturally as possible. Small mistakes will often be left in if I feel that the overall take had something special in it. The feeling is more important than playing every note correctly to me. All the more reason to have the drums done and ready before recording guitars.
And, in the bigger picture of things… As a non-musician, I’m obviously at the consumer-end of music, I am listening and analysing significantly different from the way you’re doing it. That always makes me wonder. So, to kill some of that curiosity, generally, what is your perception of the current state of Extreme Metal, from a musician’s and creative point of view. Some claim we’re currently at an all-time creative low and others believe the exact opposite is the case. What’s your two cents on this thesis?
Well, I think it depends on what you like and where you look. I would say that there are a lot of bands in the underground who are building and innovating on what’s already been done in an creative exciting way. And they seem to have a following and are doing fine. There’s so much music out there… Some strive to innovate, and some want to pay homage to older records and bands by doing something that’s grounded and somewhat retrospective in sound. But I don’t think that there’s lack of creativity on any front.
Back to the soul of Vider, which is a solo project. Most one-man bands are exactly that because of the idea of doing something alone and indulging in your own ideas and the general concept of creating something alone, a way to avoid the democratic dynamics of a full band. few others simply have no choice because they cannot find like-minded people. What camp are you in? Regardless of the reason, do you think it has helped you getting to the current shape of Vider?
To me it was a lack of like-minded people. The only people I knew who liked similar music as me was either 10-15 years older or people that weren’t aspiring musicians themselves.
Which made it hard to find people to evolve with musically. My older friends already had bands of their own and did not need another guitarist. Which meant that the only options I had was either to join people my age in their Guns N’ Roses cover bands or figure out how to do this by myself.
So I started buying the remaining instruments and the studio equipment that I needed when I was around 18 and began to learn how to operate everything. Once I got the hang of that I needed to learn how to mix, since I could not afford sending my tracks off to someone else. I had some people who would chip in with vocals and stuff… But I eventually felt that I needed to learn how to do vocals myself for it to sound the way I had imagined it in my head.
Because Vider is a ship with only one crew member, you are also limited in possibilities of bringing your music on stage. I might be wrong, but in our conversations I never got the impression you have any specific ambitions in these directions. Also keeping in mind your preferred anonymity, do you think the magic remains better intact when you keep Vider off-stage?
As of right now I think that Vider will remain off-stage. But I will not shut that door completely. I have a few friends who often expresses that they would like to help bring Vider to the live stage. We will see… If that happens you will be the first to know, haha.
Vider was not created as a reason for me to get up on stage. Vider is the result of my curiosity in making music. I wanted to see if I could set my own tone to hatred and malice.
With a background in visuals and designing, you are obviously also responsible for the overall imagery and representation of the band, from the visual appearance of the physical formats of your music to the promotional music video you did. How important is this aspect of the band for you?
To me it’s very important. A good artwork can really help set the tone of a record even before you listen to it. And since we now live in a world where most people decide whether they’re going to hit play on a record, mostly based on the image that pops up in their music player, I would say it’s essential to have art that draws in the right people.
I used to like spending time looking at album covers at our towns record shop as a kid. Which probably pushed me in the direction of visual art. I also very much enjoy making artwork of different kinds, which made it natural for me to make the debut album artwork for Vider.
The video was a fun project to make. I had no extensive experience in video editing prior to the filming of the video. Which made it a nice challenge.
‘Strike With Putrefaction’ has been out for some time now, the cassette tape version garnered some attention, a vinyl edition is out as well and some fanzines showed their interest. How do you look back at the whole process of creation and all things that happened in the wake of releasing it? This was your first-born with Vider, what did you learn? Any keepers or things you’d like to do differently next time?
I released ‘Strike With Putrefaction’ with no expectations. I had worked on the Vider songs in the background of other projects for a while. I eventually felt that Vider was the right fit for me… It was the most genuine expression of myself, and I wanted to see it through. Vider was always the most rewarding project to write and record since it all came very natural. I think that the idea of Vider is the one I’ve had in the back of my mind for the longest time. So naturally I was stoked to see that people seemed to resonate with it. I could not be more thankful for all the people who expressed their thoughts on the music or helped spread it.
I think that Vider taught me to stick with what feels right to me and not worry much about impressing someone else. I will try to improve on the sound until it matches the feeling I want to express. At the best of my ability.
Speaking about next times. As we speak there is a split LP that has just been released with what for now seems your musical soulmates of Bluthammer from Germany. You referred to that new Vider material as the harshest, rawest, most brutal and uncompromising stuff you have ever created. How would you exactly compare those new tracks with ‘Strike With Putrefaction’, purely based on the music as well as in the overall creative process?
Yes! I’m stoked about this split LP. Bluthammer makes very heavy shit and are great to work with. We really hit it off. As far as my contribution to this LP, I wanted to see if I could dive a little deeper into the atmosphere of Vider. And the result was far more hectic and chaotic than I anticipated. I would not say that it is overtly different from ‘Strike With Putrefaction’, but it´s an exploration of the maniacal side of Vider. I wanted to see if I could create something that leaned into madness and this split LP was the perfect opportunity for me to try it out.
The vinyl version of ‘Strike With Putrefaction’ was released a few months ago as well. There isn’t much difference from the cassette tape edition in terms of musical content or design? Was that a deliberate choice?
Indeed, the graphical design sticks very close to the cassette design. With some added art since the layout-format allowed for more space. And the musical content is the same aside from it being mastered differently for vinyl. Something else I needed to learn.
And, more generally speaking, I know you do buy vinyl records yourself, so does the idea of your music appearing on vinyl format hold something special to you or are all formats of equal importance to you? While we’re at it, are there any plans to release “Strike With Putrefaction” on CD as well?
Yes, the vinyl format is a bit special to me, as I’m sure it is for many people. To have you own album pressed on vinyl is truly a milestone accomplished for me. But I’m also very proud of the Cassettes, they turned out great and it was very cool to see my music come to life through that format as well. Since the Vider cassettes was the first physical edition of my music, they represent something different for me personally and I’m very proud of them. There should be CD’s in the making as well. Necro Records reached out and are handling production of both the vinyl and the CD’s.
We’ve already discussed the differences in sonic appearance between ‘Strike With Putrefaction’ and the split LP with Bluthammer. I know that you are working on a follow-up, is there anything to tell yet? What can we expect in terms of production and possible musical progression or differentiations compared to your previously recorded material?
The plan for the next album is to improve on the sound of ‘Strike With Putrefaction’. I feel that the debut album had a decent foundation when it comes to its sound. I will try to emphasise some aspects of the mix that I liked and alter some elements that I feel can be improved upon.
When it comes to songwriting, I will simply continue to chase a state of chaos. I had many moments on the split LP that I felt like I lost myself in the riffs, it almost felt spiritual in a way. I don’t think that the next album will sound very similar to the split LP, but I learned some stuff that I will take with me into the next album.
About expectations, now that we have discussed live appearances, upcoming releases and the work on new material that has just started. Is there anything else in the pipeline?
There seems to be happening stuff all the time. A limited edition of Vider patches was released by Temporal Dimension Patches, which looks awesome. We will see what the future has in store. As you mentioned I’ve started to work a bit on the next album. I think that most of my time will go towards recording and making sure that the next album hits even harder and grinds even deeper.
Alright A.H., time to wrap things up. I think we touched upon the most important things for now. Yet, in case you feel I left anything out: the stage is yours. Any final words?
Thank you a lot for this interview. I had a good time answering your questions. I would like to give WolfKult Religion a big thanks. Greatest underground label out there. I would also like to thank everyone who supported Vider this past year. It has been amazing to see this project come to life and being so well received. This is just the beginning.
ODIUM.SUPRA.OMNIA – A.H / Vider
