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Dolk: Greetings! Yes this is a question every magazine wants to know it seems. Unfortunately I have the same answer here as always. After our second album both me and Thomas had a very rough time and a lot of personal issues had to be solved before we could get back together and start creating music again. This was a really hard time and we just had to put Kampfar on ice for a while. Also I want to explain that Thomas and I were never enemies or anything, we have always been friends and we also knew that when the time was right Kampfar would rise stronger than ever again. We just had personal problems in life on each side, and this had to be solved before something could happen again with Kampfar. This whole process took us almost 3 years. And when we got back together again we had really two options. One was to continue in the same way as before, releasing albums and creating songs, or alternatively get a whole band together for further evolvement and live shows. Luckily we chose the last option. To get this whole new band working as a unit and in a professional way took us two years more. So all in all it took us almost 5 years before something serious could start happening again with Kampfar. So here we are now, back and better prepared than ever and this is the most important thing for me now!
PW: You are going to have to help us out with a bit of background information here as Norwegian is your key language and some interpretation would help put things in context, firstly does the name Kampfar have a specific meaning?
Dolk: First of all, I am Norwegian and therefore I do of course express myself best in my own language and yes…there have always been an idea about this because a lot of the topics my lyrics are deal with are Northern topics such as nature, mythology superstitions and heathendom. These are very important issues in Kampfar’s music and aura and therefore in my opinion are best expressed in Norwegian.
Kampfar translated means Odin or Wotan but it is an ancient war name that the Northern warriors used to scream out before they went to battle and so on, just to gain their powers to an extra high level. So its a very powerful word with a lot of strength and history and I think it suits our music well !
P.W: Also I was intrigued about the new album title Kvass. I discovered that this is a popular and no doubt lethal brew served by street vendors in Russia and the Ukraine. That strikes me as being pretty apt as the pounding rhythms of the music here are the perfect accompaniment of a good drinking session, is ale your muse?
Dolk: Hehe.. yes i have heard about this! However that was definately not the intention when we named this album “Kvass”. But yes go ahead I would definately not stop you drinking ale with this album hehe, both ale and whiskey are my muse.
“Kvass” translated into English means “sharp” this is a very powerful word and can be put in several settings, either when it comes to nature, music, coldness, feelings or whatever. I really leave this up to the listener to decide what to feel here. Its really a universal word which I think suits this album very well.
P.W: It might be difficult to analyse the themes of your music but as the likes of Enslaved proved it didn’t hinder their progress by singing only in their native tongues. You decided to do Ravenheart in English though, why was this and do you plan to perhaps expand upon this in the future, or is that song a one off?
Dolk: Yes we have done 2 different songs in English now,“Norse” and “Ravenheart”. This was done to try and explain to the non Norwegian speaking listeners out there what our lyrics and music are really about. These songs could of course also have been done in Norwegian, but we decided to do them in English for our foreigner listeners.
If this is going to expand in the future or not would certainly not be decided due to sales or progress in sales. So maybe there will be more or maybe not. Every single song lives it’s own life, so its impossible for me to say anything more about it at this stage really.
P.W:Where do you consider you fit as far as your musical style is concerned? Calling Kampfar black or Viking metal would be far too lazy as you have had both classical compositions, folk interludes and even passages of didgeridoo on your albums.
Dolk: Yes of course, I had a clear vision about the outfit and how Kampfar should sound from the very beginning in 94. This is a special sound that I think we have succeeded in retaining. The new album “Kvass” does also have this special mixture of folkloric stuff and the more rawness of our metal. I think that if something has changed here from the very beginning I would say that the folkloric stuff is now much more included in the songs and in the guitar riffs as a whole unit now than before and in that way you can say that the whole idea of Kampfar and what it should sound like is done in a more professional way now than before. Considering this you could of course say that the new album is a monument of Kampfar’s sound and expression through all these years. “Kvass” is Kampfar anno 2006 but in the same time Kampfar from the very beginning, if you know what I mean.
I named Kampfar’s music back in 94 as “Norse pagan folklore metal” and to me no one has come up with any better explanation or labeling for our music since , so?
P.W:Listening to Kvass I sense the pace is a lot more upbeat and driven, the whole album just romps away with a real sense of melody. After such a long break away would you consider that you have developed as songwriters and would you say that there is a big progression between the last 2 albums?
Dolk: If you compare Kvass to our previous album you could say that this album is more one whole unit with different topics than it was with “Fra Underverden” for instance. Because with that album you could almost say that there was a thick red line going through it all, both considering music and lyrics. This was more an album that told a story from one specific time and period here in the North and it also was a kind of mirror to this in the music and lyrics. This time it’s different and in one way you can almost say that we have gone back to our roots now, but each song is now dealing with its own topics and each song is standing more alone than before I think. “Kvass” tells in short sentences about the true soul of Kampfar, namely nature, heathendom and superstition in mankind.
Kvass is also the sharpest album so far in my opinion both when you consider the production of the whole album and with the lyrics and music. We have never used so much energy in making an album like Kvass before in Kampfar’s history.
P.W:I know I gave it a glowing review, how have you found reactions to the album to be in general?
Dolk: The reviews and interest in Kampfar have really been overwhelming I must say. So right now…everything is great and I’m very satisfied with the situation!
P.W: Napalm have also just re-released Mellom Skogkledde Aaser and Fra Underverdenen to coincide with the release of Kvass. I guess it was difficult to find the original albums which came out on Malicious Records and Hammerheart? Do you feel Napalm are now giving you the support that you perhaps deserved but did not get from these labels?
Dolk: The whole back-catalogue (except the first mcd) of kampfar is now being re-released. Why? Well it’s very simple indeed. Our two last albums and the mini cd “Norse” have been sold out for almost 5 years now and impossible to get hold of. So it’s a logical reason to release them again. I get around 10 e-mails each week for the last 3 years or so from people just asking about these releases. So I guess it’s about time to get them out and available for the public again!
Due to a lot of shit with our previous labels we (Kampfar) had the fully legal rights for these releases. So when Napalm came along it was a very natural thing to do. I have definitely not been too spoiled when it comes to good record labels through time and a lot of shit has always happened with our previous ones. So you could say that I have not so very high expectations when it comes to record labels anymore. But I must say that I’m very pleased with what Napalm are doing and have done for us so far. Things that our previous labels have done wrong, they do right. The choice for just picking Napalm was simple, as they where the label that showed the most interest in us (not money, but interest) so the choice was very obvious for me!
P.W:There only seem to be a few dates in support of the album announced at present in Germany, Sweden and Belgium. Any plans with the rest of Europe, you have never played the UK?
Dolk: Well that’s not correct because we have just finished our European tour now and yes it has been a very nice one taking in a lot of great places, a lot of great shows and of course a lot of great people to meet, so this has been a very positive return. It’s definitely not the last tour we are doing that’s for sure!
Kampfar is my life! It’s as simple as that really. It makes me really proud to be able to travel around and play gigs all over, and to meet peoples that have traveled for up to 10 hours just to see a Kampfar show. This is for me so much more real than just selling a lot of albums. This is what I live and breath for and it makes me really humble and proud about what we are doing.
No we have not played in the UK yet, but we really have a lot of offers for different live shows now. So i guess we just have to see what happens next !
P.W: Also scouring the Internet I noticed there are very few interviews with Kampfar online (in fact I just found one in German). I noted that people on your Forum were having problems finding interviews as well, are they something that you simply haven’t participated much on in the past?
Dolk: Well we have been away for about almost 7 years now and we have not exactly been the most active band on the interview front either that’s for sure. So I guess there is something here hehe..
P.W: What are the plans for the future of Kampfar? Now you have this new found impetus are we going to see a follow up to Kvass or are we just going to have to be patient again?
Well that’s all I have for you, thanks for a great album I have a feeling Kvass is going to be one of those timeless classics that I will be enjoying for years to come. Any parting words?
Dolk: Thanx! We will now do a few festivals and gigs this summer and after that we will start creating new songs again. I can tell you for sure that it will not take another 7 long years before you hear from Kampfar again! Kampfar is my life and will always be and this time I will not let it go! Thanx for thy interview.
Interviewed by Pete Woods