A few weeks ago, yours truly caught up with bass player extraordinaire and vocalist V’gandr who is primarily known for his sterling work with Norwegian Viking metal legends Helheim as well as his impressive live work with the inimitable black metal stalwarts Taake. While Helheim’s latest album, namely the perfectly executed HrabnaR / Ad vesa, was one of the focal points of our talk, the conversation was more akin to a laidback chat between two good friends in a bar who are both deeply passionate about music and its many avenues and aspects. Or to phrase that in more apt terms, the whole thing instantly transformed into an entertaining Q&A, and what could be better than that, right?
Greetings V’gandr, how are things at your end, and are you up for a little Q&A with us today?
V: Hello, mate. I’m feeling good as this year’s Beyond the Gates festival is over, and it went really well for both Helheim and Taake. I’m always ready for some Q&As, man.
Do you recall what the first album you ever purchased was? Or alternately, the first (hard) rock album that you were either gifted or that bought with your own money?
V: I can’t remember the first album I bought given that I was so young, but I do remember getting albums from various artists as gifts from mainly my older brother. However, I have a vivid memory of buying TNT’s Tell No Tales on cassette at a gas station back in the late 80’s on a car vacation with my parents. Cassettes were my first physical experience with vinyl coming shortly after.
What specific records were your favorites in your formative years and helped shape you as a person?
V: That’s a tough question and a difficult one to answer, but I must mention KISS, Twisted Sister, W.A.S.P. and Mötley Crüe as early inspirations for me as a little fucker. I used to pretend that I played in front of people using a tennis racket. When I met Tom (H’grimnir, Helheim’s guitarist and vocalist) in first grade at school we both shared the same dream, and the rest is history.
On the other hand, which bands and albums are directly responsible for inspiring you to write and record music of your own? And were there any musicians in particular who prompted you to pick up an instrument and learn how to master the bass?
V: The aforementioned bands had a huge impact, but especially Twisted Sister with their video cassette of Stay Hungry, which was a live recording. I used to watch it every day, dreaming myself away, and to the point where the tape almost couldn’t be played anymore. I picked the bass because Tom picked the guitar before me, and I didn’t want to play the drums – as simple as that. There were no bass players that inspired me, and to this day I have no favorite bass player.
If someone had you at gun point and demanded to know what the five best gigs and shows you have ever witnessed are, what exactly would that list look like? Speaking of which, what was the latest concert you attended and was it any good?
V: Ha-ha, I hate that question, actually, but I will give it a go and in no particular order: The Cure in Oslo some years ago, King Diamond at this year’s Beyond the Gates festival, Rammstein at the Roskilde festival in 1998, Mercyful Fate at Beyond the Gates some years ago, and Morbid Angel at the Hole in the Sky festival at Garage, Bergen. There are of course many more that I could mention, but these were the ones that first came to mind.
I hate the term guilty pleasure but nevertheless, what are some of the dark horses in your record collection, and what might people find that would surprise or even shock them?
V: Guilty pleasures; what a weird term. I don’t have any of those, but I understand what you mean. Okay, I guess Cinderella would be considered a guilty pleasure by some people out there. Other than that, I can’t think of anyone. Maybe The Prodigy? I don’t know . . .
Recommend us a phenomenal book regardless of topic or genre – just something that carries a lot of meaning to you on a personal or intellectual level.
V: I must admit that I haven’t read in a long time other than a book about Venom, but that was basically just interviews compiled together. Sorry, I usually just read educational literature, and that is of no interest to others.
Have any books or movies ever influenced your own compositions, be that musically or lyrically? I always felt that some of your work with Deathcon and Aeternus had a certain cinematic quality to it with respect to the lyrics. You paint very vivid mental images with your words in general, which I love.
V: Thanks a lot, mate. Concerning Helheim there are no movies that have influenced me at all, but rather different books on the Norse subject be they articles or other forms of literature. Deathcon was purely inspired by the city of Bergen and Strapping Young Lad’s City album. With Aeternus I was sometimes given a topic to write about from Ares who is the main man in the band, but I used neither any books nor any movies as inspiration.
Come to think of it, I am curious as to which movies and whatnot have inspired those wicked-looking tattoos of yours. Do I detect a bit of HR Giger in there somewhere? The symbolism intrigues me.
V: You’re spot on. My left arm is dedicated solely to Giger, and my right arm is dedicated to the Norse and with Fenris, Jormundgand and Hel being the main focal points. The torso is dedicated to Hugin and Munin, but my feet are just chaos where there is no discernible red thread of any sort; that’s where I just take single tattoos that I want, for example the logos of the bands I play in or other bands that I like.
There are a few albums that I would very much like to discuss with you, and I would love to hear your thoughts on these. Some of them I relate to times in the past when you and I hung out. Okay, here goes . . .
Born Again by Black Sabbath (I do have a vague recollection of you and I blasting the track named ‘Disturbing the Priest’ from that LP late one night while drinking many years ago and thinking the song was the most sinister and evil thing ever ha-ha . . . but then again, it kinda is!).
V: Fucking love that song, and yes, it’s mean as hell with the best opening riff ever. And the title? Get the hell out of here! That’s one piece of evil-sounding title, indeed. It paints pictures.
Wastelands by Venom (I recall you mentioning Prime Evil from 1989 on a couple of occasions and saying that you liked it, but how do you feel about Wastelands? I didn’t want to pick any of the legendary and canonical works from the early eighties).
V: I really like that album, and especially the last track ‘Clarisse’ is awesome. I must stress, though, that I find Prime Evil better.
Orcustus by Orcustus (Is it just me or is this an overlooked Norwegian black metal gem?)
V: Absolutely! It’s one fucking cruel piece of an album. Love it and totally overlooked. Will go into history as a black metal gem for sure.
The Final Frontier by Iron Maiden (The very first time I listened to this was when I stopped by your place for coffee one early afternoon, but I cannot recall what your reaction to it was. Did you like it then and how about now?).
V: I actually like that album. I remember thinking it being the runner up to Somewhere in Time. It’s been many years since I’ve heard it now, though.
Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (I picked one of my favorites here but one that I have absolutely no idea whether you are into or not. This is one of those LPs that I always play late at night, and it never fails to amaze and move me).
V: I have the album myself, and I think it’s one of his best moments.
Now, before we end this little Q and A of ours there are two extremely important events in 2025 that we need to cover; one is your performance of the entire Jormundgand at this year’s Beyond the Gates festival in Bergen, celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, and the other is obviously the release of the outstanding and utterly flawless HrabnaR / Ad vesa. You’re looking to both the past and the future these days, if you will. How did it feel to rehearse those tracks from a bygone age, and did it bring about a whiff of nostalgia while also being musically stimulating. . . or did it simply make you feel old? And speaking of stimulating, how was the creative process surrounding HrabnaR / Ad vesa, which is essentially a split album made by/within the band. That must have been an interesting experience and one that contained a lot of surprises for both you and H’grimnir. Also, can I just say that the lyrics that accompany the LP are some of the most memorable ones you have ever penned.
V: Thanks for those kind words. That really means a lot to be, man. Well, to start off with Jormundgand and the whole Beyond the Gates gig, while rehearsing the material it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary except for the fact that we included a lot of guests to be able to do the whole album as close to the original as possible. We didn’t want to do playback of anything, so as you can probably guess that required a lot of rehearsing. Another factor was the insane vocals I had back then, and they really gave me a huge headache at every rehearsal. As I write this it’s been four days since BTG, and I must say it went extremely well in every aspect. The feedback was beyond what we expected as well. Concerning our latest album there were no major differences compared to our other albums. The process was the exact same other than we chose to sing our respective compositions solely and then have them appear after each other on the album. This led to the idea of the split album-thing. It’s really not a big deal. Let’s say it was a way to make people interested and ask questions (and believe me I have answered many questions on the matter).
What does 2025 hold for you in terms of musical activities and creative endeavors?
V: I have started writing new material, and more or less 3 songs are ready for the next album. Other than that, it’s just rehearsing, playing a few shows, writing lyrics and all the other stuff that you normally do as a Helheim member. Life goes on as usual, but that’s how I like it and want it. Helheim always looks ahead, never dwelling on the past (well, only when we do shows like we did with Jormundgand).
As always, thanks for your time, my friend – it’s always a pleasure to catch up and talk.
V: Likewise, it’s always fun to answer your questions, mate, and it wasn’t any different this time around. Take care and we’ll talk soon.
