Fyrgast Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

Well, it’s something that I always wanted to do and something I began with probably in 2006 when I was recording vocals in a friend’s studio. I had some ideas I wanted to record and he helped me with that. The sound of the guitar I owned at the time really made those recordings forever unreleasable though (haha) but I liked parts of the ideas and it sounded pretty much like the Fyrgast you hear today when it comes to the writing process or the riffs anyways. The aim was to get kind of a 90’s black/death sound flirting with Iron Maiden.. Sort of.. Of course with room for improvements. 

 

2.So far you have released a full length and an ep, musically how do they both differ from each other?

Since the songs for the album has been written on since 2016 somewhere and with many things added in 2021 to complete them, they sound a certain way. The EP is kind of the same but there’s a big difference. With the EP it’s based on two demo songs from 2016. They were already exported from my daw (music making program) and I couldn’t find the “work files”, so every sound was set. Guitars, drums etc. I never really liked the sound. Recently I found these songs again and made a choice to give them some life and release them in the best way I could, despite my own initial thoughts. Just for them to not vanish in a mailbox or on the hard drive. Musically I had more chances to really adjust things the way I wanted with the album. But songwise, it’s from the same era of Fyrgast so it sounds just about the same.

 

3.The musical project has been around since 2016 but you waited until 2022 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the earlier years?

I know that sounds strange, but I’ll explain.

So the idea of this kind of music and some riffs date back to 2006. Back then I didn’t own any studio equipment and didn’t know how to use such equipment. The years went by and I played in different bands as a singer. In 2009 something like that I kind of quit music and went to school. Then in maybe 2011/13 something I started to wanting to learn how to record and I spent years trying to learn all the different aspects of that. I never thought it sounded good enough though so time just went by and ideas were recorded. In 2016 I was kind of happy with the songs I had then and I came up with the name Fyrgast. Around this time I made some of the “bones” for most of the songs on the album, but it was also time to study again and so I went back to school to continue towards a master’s degree and here we are now in present time. I had some time to finish the album and the EP, now I’m writing on my thesis and new songs (whenever there’s time).

 

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with your music?

So far it’s been about our nature in the north, snow, frost, winds and all that usual stuff. Some mysticism, symbolism and philosophical themes. A lot of things I write these days are about mortality/immortality, light/darkness, the travels your soul takes during a lifetime. Many times it’s about opposite polars in that sense.. I just typically write what I’m interested in. Be it history, philosophy, a bunch of cool words with/without meaning. Doesn’t matter. I left all that serious stuff way back and Fyrgast is primarily about the music and the emotions the music brings. 

 

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Fyrgast'?

It has a strong personal meaning, but it's mainly inspired by the works of Tolkien and the lyrical and visual works of John Bauer. 

 

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the covers of your releases?

Yes. I’ve made that too. It’s a photograph from where I live. The EP is also a photograph from the woods where I live outside the city. I did the logo as well and I don’t have any other plans of letting go of the visual stuff with the band. I know people who are much better than me at it, but I kind of like the simple DIY for this project, at least for now. I just make something as I go, and try to put my effort into the music.

 

7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

I have. I have already received some proposals in that matter, if it will end up being Fyrgast or if it turns into something new, we’ll see. 

For now though, I have once again a bunch of songs and I have been working on drums for them and with improved sound so it’s not something I feel is a must, but never say never. Like I said before, even if I think I have a recipe for this project, there’s always room for improvements.

 

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

I don’t know. I like the attention from the underground scene. While I have been approached I wouldn’t say it’s something I’ve considered so far. Maybe in the future depending on the deal.

 

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic black and death metal?

It’s been really good, or at least I think so, but I don’t have any preferences. I told my wife before I released the album that if one person likes it, that’s all I need to be motivated. But people have been mailing about a lot of different things and it’s from Brazil, Greece, Germany to name a few. All with different errands so yeah, I’m very happy that people seem to like it. 

 

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

I see myself in kind of the same spot I guess, but with better production, better songs. Just better in all departments, but quite the same. I know that I want to continue to record and release records, and that’s about it. 

 

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

For Fyrgast, A blend of Celtic frost and Iron Maiden is a crucial part with influences like 90’s Norwegian black stuff and Swedish bands like Bathory, Dissection, early Marduk.

What I listen to nowadays is hard question. Actually I don’t listen that much to music because I’m never really alone and can enjoy it fully. But when I work out I listen to metal or something with pace. I guess I listen to the same things I’ve always listened to but not as often these days. And that could be anything really as long as it’s good. Don’t care about genres like that.

 

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Yeah. It’s been fun answering these questions and be sure to check out the music of Fyrgast! 

 

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Fyrgast/As Darkness Swept The Lands/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Fyrgast  are  a  solo  project  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  melodic  and  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2022  album  "As  Darkness  Swept  The  Lands".

  A  synth  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.  Most  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Swedish  era  and  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Elements  of  death  metal  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  couple  of  tracks  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  as  well  as  the  faster  riffs  also  utilizing  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  the  album  closes  with  an  instrumental.

  Fyrgast  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nature  and  Philosophy  themes.      

  In  my  opinion  Fyrgast  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  blackened  death  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Shores  Of  Infinity"  "Commanding  The  Storms"  and  "The  Chains  Shall  be  Broken".  8  out  of  10.

https://fyrgast.bandcamp.com/releases