YGGDRASIL (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What’s the band currently up to?
Hi there! We´re in the middle of rehearsals and preparations for our upcoming tour, North Winds over Europe 2012, which will kick off in the middle of February together with Trelleborg, Vuohivasara and Woodscream.
– First of all, if you don’t mind I would like you to start with some history of the band.
Well, me and Magnus (Wohlfart, guitars, vocals) met back in early 2001 in another band (which later became Broken Dagger). We both shared a liking for the metal with folkish instruments that were available at the time (Storm, Vintersorg, Otyg, Skyclad and so on) and we wanted to do something similar ourselves. Thus, we formed up Yggdrasil. After two demos and some general hassle, our debut album»Kvällningsvindar över Nordrönt Land» was finally released in 2007. From there to today we´ve released two more albums, first «Vedergällning» in 2009 and last year’s «Irrbloss», and played a couple of gigs. for example at the Ragnarök Festival 2009 and last weekend at Pumpehuset in Copenhagen.
– What are the main musical influences for YGGDRASIL?
It´s hard to say actually. From the beginning it was quite clear with bands like Bathory, Vintersorg, Storm or Moonsorrow but as we moved on, I think we broadened our spectrum. A lot of influences comes from Swedish folk music such as Triakel or Hoven Droven but since we all listen to a wide variety of music, from classical to black metal, it´s difficult not to be influenced by that.
– And why the name of «Yggdrasil»? Both its origin and meaning.
Yggdrasil is the ash tree in which the different worlds of Norse mythology are located.The name means in short Odin’s Horse (‘Ygg’ is another name for Odin and ‘drasil’ means horse in ancient scandinavian). The name struck us when we were discussing names for our other band and, since there were no other active metal bands named Yggdrasil at the time, we kept it.
– Your latest effort was «Irrbloss», how was its feedback? Did it fulfill your expectations?
The feedback was quite fantastic, all the reviews we´ve found are linked on our web page and it´s quite clear that people in general think it´s an album above average. For me presonally it fulfilled the expectations, we managed to make a folk-sounding album with metal instruments and while we did use some flutes and a keyed fiddle, the music was sort of founded in folk music instead of just some generic metal riffs backing up of the folk instruments.
– I think this album slows down a bit in intensity near its final, though in that part Folk parts seem to have a more important role. Was this what you wanted to get?
I don´t think that´s intentional, we just thought that it was a good listening order. It does tend to slow down and be more «folky» when you put a slow, acoustic song at the end though… 😉
– And due to this; how was the songwriting process for this record like?
The song writing process is basically one where Magnus writes the music, and sometimes lyrics, and I write lyrics. Sometimes he writes music to my lyrics, sometimes the other way around. Then we sit together in the studio and listen to how it sounds all together, maybe cut a riff there or add some vocals there.
– The band has had different sound changes since your debut album, «Kvällningsvindar över Nordrönt Land» came out; is this a natural evolution or do you plan keep on changing throughout the years?
I think it´s a natural evolution; both «Kvällningsvindar över Nordrönt Land» and «Vedergällning» feature songs written in the very beginning of the band, back in 2001, so it´s quite natural that they have a different sound than those on «Irrbloss» – which were written over the course of the years from the time «Vedergällning» was released. Hopefully, we haven´t stopped evolving but I don´t think we will write stuff drastically different from where we started.
– Benny Olsson and Jacob Blecher helped you with some live shows from 2008 to 2010 but they joined the band full-time in 2010; what prompted this? What do they bring to the band it was lacking before?
Both of them are excellent musicians and they´ve added another two sets of personalities and influences to the band. As you said, both of them have helped out live and I think we realised it was time to take the band a step further.
– Your lyrics deal with Norse mythology, folklore, nature… Could you please elaborate a bit on some of the topics covered on your latest CD?
The lyrics range from, as you say, folk lore to Norse mythology – or rather Scandinavian history as of now. I´ll use Bergtagen as an example: literally translated it means «taken to the mountain» and it is a classic theme in the Scandinavian folk lore, where people are kidnapped by the trolls (or other beings) and taken to dwellings under the mountains. When they are released, they´re never quite the same and the term was often used to describe physological illnesses which had no other explanations. Bertagen, thus, is one such story.
– The cover artwork for your previous «Vedergällning» was quite similar to the cover on «Kvällningsvindar över Nordrönt Land»; was this something natural or did you want to be them similar?
Matilda Mellergårdh Hagel has done all our album artwork and we like her work. I think all of them are similar in way of style, even though «Irrbloss» is a bit more elaborate, but it wasn´t more intentional than using the same artist.
– There aren’t too many Folk bands hailing from a country like Sweden, since there is overall a huge Death Metal scene. Why do you think there are, in Finland for instance, so many Folk bands and not that many in Sweden?
I have absolutely no idea actually. It might be that folk music in Sweden is seen as a bit dorky and since we never had a band being as big as, say, Moonsorrow in Finland, people probably haven´t discovered the folk metal yet – or else there´s just not a big interest for it. We do have a bunch of new and upcoming bands though, such as Grimner, Gastljus or the veterans over at Nattsmyg.
– You filmed a video for «Bergtagen», what could you tell us about it?
We had a great time shooting it, both in the studio and out in the woods. It follows the storyline of the lyrics for Bergtagen, a man is being taken by a being down into her dwellings deep under the mountain. We learned a lot and, well, filming a video is damned hard work! But loads of fun! And people seemed to enjoy it, that´s the main thing.
– Now that 2011 has just ended; what are the best 3 albums released in the year? And the worst one?
The three best ones… I´d say Einherjer’s «Norrøn», Moonsorrow’s «Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa» and Vintersorg’s «Jordpuls» with the first two on a split first place. Honorably mentions: Falconer’s «Armod» and Entrails «The Tomb Awaits». Worst? The new Morbid Angel – «Illud Divinum Insanus» – was really, really bad.
– That’s all from my side, thanks once more for your time. If you now want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thank you and all your readers for your interest in Yggdrasil and I hope you keep enjoying our music!
