AD: “Ultraviolence Über Alles” is anarchic and extreme in every sense – musically, lyrically and visually. Do you have any boundaries at all?

Hreidmarr: No, we never ever had. Art isn’t supposed to have boundaries, in my opinion. It’s not because modern world is mean, eaten from inside by politically correct, and leftist nazis’ sub-moral that WE are supposed to obey and restrain ourselves. Fuck this and fuck that, fuck it all and fuck the fucking brat.

AD: The musical style and visual imagery are military. Have you declared war, and if so who’s the enemy?

Hreidmarr: The identified enemies are half-heartedness, pettiness, proto religions and so called politics, post modern global fascism, healthiness diktat, internet, and everything that contributes to make our world a funnier place.

AD: Would you describe yourselves as nihilists?

Hreidmarr: No. But the world surrounding us, yes, definitely. As far as we’re concerned, we simply urge people to “live” – in the Wildian meaning of the word.

AD: I must confess that when I heard “Ultraviolence Über Alles”, I appreciated the dark power and the violent urgency but at the same time, it’s so extreme that it makes me laugh. Have I missed the point?

Hreidmarr: No I don’t think so. Humor is an important part of CNK. I think it’s obvious, when you look at our lyrics, artworks, pictures, etc... We’re dealing with many serious problems, right, but we always try to do it with a biting sense of humor and of fun. And maybe this is the reason why our approach seems to frighten more censorship than a simple first degree so-called subversive band. The veeeerrrry annoying point is that many people, especially in France, take us literally seriously. It’s so boring to always have to explain everything, because of people’s lack of culture…

AD: I sense that there are a wide variety of influences within the CNK, not least an electro-industrial element. Is there a dominant mind within the band who dictates the style you should play?

Hreidmarr: Not really. Heinrich is the main composer, but we’re not an “our strength lies in our diversity” kinda band, more an eighties kinda band, like Mötley Crüe or so. Everyone in the band is pretty, got a strong personality, and share more or less the same vision, when talking about art and music. So, no one dictates anything, we even never questioned ourselves about our influences – it was just so obvious for everyone. What we like above all is coherence.

AD: The comparison between the CNK and Anorexia Nervosa is obviously there through the music and band personnel. Given that “Ultraviolence Über Alles” dates back to 2002, and that was Anorexia Nervosa’s most productive period, were you both part of a social or musical movement in France at the time? Where’s the division between the CNK and Anorexia Nervosa?

Hreidmarr: There never was what we can call a real “musical movement” nor a “scene” in France, at least, talking about underground music back in those days. Most of French bands usually just made do with copy and paste musical scenes from other countries. With Anorexia Nervosa, it seemed natural to us to use our French culture and background into our music and lyrics, and it wasn’t a pose, it was our lifestyle.

I would say that CNK and Anorexia share more or less the same content, but not the same form. I was the only member in common between the two bands, when Anorexia was still active. And I’m much older now, eheh. I think CNK is way more cynical, both more serious and funnier. We like it simple and in your fuckin face. We like slogans.

AD: I also sense some similarities with Cradle of Filth who were playing theatrical Black Metal around the same time and promoting extremism. There’s also a sado-masochistic element which I would associate with Rammstein. Were you aware of what these bands were doing?

Hreidmarr: Yeah sure. Even if I liked some early stuff by Cradle of Filth, I never felt close to them, and precisely because of their theatrical side. I mean, neither Anorexia nor CNK have been “theatrical bands”. It has always been about our fuckin life, everyday life, not fantasy. Of course, I use some references and influences from literature, music and movies, but it’s always related to some actual facts.

About Rammstein, yeah, I like them, I think we share the same sense of humor, and I assume that we probably belong to the same scene, even if we feel closer to a band like Laibach, for instance.

AD: Listening to “Ultraviolence Über Alles”, I have the impression that you spent your childhood and teenage years learning Classical music, watching science fiction and horror films, and developing a passion for creative art. How would you sum up your upbringing?

Hreidmarr: Holy shit NO, except for sci-fi and horror movies haha! How do I sum up my upbringing? Well, it’s not quite original: just a run of frustrations, victimizations, wrath, fucked-up love stories, heavy metal distress, and so on. Luckily I got my revenge since then. Profusely.

AD: When and how did you get into the cult of the extreme?

Hreidmarr: When I first heard Deicide’s “Amon: Feasting the Beast” in 1993. I was (and am still) into Motörhead, Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden etc. The most extreme stuff I was listening to was Venom and Kreator. But Deicide was really a fuckin shock! I was like “holy shit, this sounds like a ten times faster and more violent Slayer!”. Their aggressiveness and energy really blew me away. I already had heard some songs by Cannibal Corpse or some others back in those days, but to me it was just some boring crap. Deicide was different, truly “violent”, and not only “fast” or “brutal”. Then I came onto “Under a Funeral Moon” by Darkthrone, around 1994. It was my second “extreme” shock. And there it was, musically speaking: I would be swimming for ever somewhere between Deicide, Darkthrone and Mötley Crüe, eheh!

AD: What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Hreidmarr: Wow, I don’t really know, my life has been a succession of weird things those last years, haha! Maybe it was to run out of gas in the Arizona desert with my red convertible mustang, right after my shout at the devil marriage in Las Vegas on Absinthe and LSD. Crazy.

AD: Lyrics like “I wanna see ya dead, I wanna see ya slaughtered, I wanna see ya tortured to death, Fucking kill yourself” are unlikely to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Do you write basic lyrics like these just to provoke controversy?

Hreidmarr: Not really. Provocation for provocation is vain and useless. As I said before, we like the power of short slogan-like sentences. Ultraviolence is undoubtedly more primary, brutal, and punk than what we’re doing nowadays. It’s like a violent Adrenalin discharge… L’Hymne à la Joie is more focused on the atmosphere, something emphatic and victorious, when Ultraviolence is an escape valve. Still I can see connections between the two albums, at least in our approach of music, based above all on the transmission of emotions. We don’t consider ourselves as “musicians”, but more like vectors, or carriers. That’s maybe why we love so much bands such as Joy Division…

AD: After the original 8 re-mastered tracks on reissue of “Ultraviolence Über Alles”, there are 8 interesting cover versions of the same tracks by other bands. There’s a wide range of styles, from raw and minimalist indie-punk to deeply disturbing and disturbed electro metal. I know you’re involved with some of the bands involved and have read that you approve of these remixes of your tracks. What do you like about them?

Hreidmarr: Everything! We chose those bands cause we know and appreciate them, both personally and musically. Most of them are close friends. We gave them total free hand cause we were convinced that the result would be awesome anyway. And yeah, I’m really glad of them all, there’s a wide range of styles, you’re right, and every band has managed to strongly inject their own personality in its cover song. But the funny thing is that despite all these dramatically different styles, the “cover part” of the record is quite smooth, it works well, in the end.

It’s a strange and interesting thing to listen to someone else’s interpretation of your own music. It’s a bit like receiving a gift, in some ways.

I’m also fuckin glad because Blackrain just recorded a new version of “Get a Gun” and decided to add it to their next album’s tracklist!

AD: Does the CNK have any desire to cover versions of other band’s tracks? If so, what are they?

Hreidmarr: Yeah sure. Doing covers is a lot of fun. We want to record an entire cover-album for years, and I’m so excited, cause finally, we’re gonna make it, right now! We chose some cool tunes from bands of many different styles. From hip-hop to black metal and glam. It’s gonna rock.

We also recorded a demo cover song of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” some months ago, it’s on our myspace player.

AD: “Ultraviolence Über Alles” is “back by popular demand”. Who demanded it? Is your fan base made up of angry young French people, disillusioned 40 year olds or other sectors of the population?

Hreidmarr: Haha! Both of them! Seriously, I’ve seen a lot of different kinds of people at our shows. A majority of girls, to tell the truth, but yeah, not exactly the kind of population that show usually at metal gigs… Maybe because it’s not “just music”. And I’m quite proud of that.

AD: How did your collaboration with the Season of Mist label come about? Is it likely to lead to a resurgence of the CNK?

Hreidmarr: Our collaboration with them is over. I still don’t know at the moment on which label the next album is gonna be released.

AD: What musical and artistic projects is the CNK currently working on?

Hreidmarr: Well, as said before, we’re currently working on our cover album, in collaboration with Snowy Shaw (Therion, Notre Dame, King Diamond, etc), who is someone we admire and we’re actually pleased to work with!

Then, we’re currently thinking about starting an art exhibit presenting stuff related to the band such as photos, paintings, artworks and installations by both members of the band (mostly Valnoir) or some artists we’ve worked with.

AD: Following the re-release of “Ultraviolence Uber Alles”, do you have any plans to tour?

Hreidmarr: Some shows are planed in France and bordering countries in Spring. Then, we’ll see what happens. We maybe have some plans for September/October, but nothing sure at the moment.

AD: Is it possible that you will come to the UK?

Hreidmarr: Yeah, we’re currently talking about it with some local promoters! More infos pretty soon on our website or myspace!

AD: What’s the future of the world, based on what you see going on around you now?

Hreidmarr: Logical and inexorable fall of the Western world, which naturally deserves it.

AD: Thanks very much. Is there anything to say to our UK readers?

Hreidmarr: Your beer is awful.

Cheers (and beers) (though not English ones obviously LH)! I look forward to the next instalment from the CNK.

For more on the band check out http://www.thecnk.org
http://www.myspace.com/thecnk

Interviewed by Andrew Doherty

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