This interview is one of the kind I like most. My interlocutor for this time is Taaken, guitar / bass player, singer and main composer of Odal, an absolutely great an pure Black Metal band hailing from Germany. They have realised, 'till now, a demo, two 7'' Ep and an Lp named "Sturmes Brut" (I invite you to read the review I made of this masterpiece...); is notable how they evolved in each release, making every time better music and powerful songs full of evocative atmospheres. This band is surely one of the best BM acts actually present on the European underground, and I hope they will continue this way for long times in the future... I stop here introducing you Odal and I leave the word to Taaken, a really good musician that demonstrates with his words to be really involved in the music of his band, and whose ideas are absolutely agreeded by myself...

Heils Taaken! How’s going on there in Germany?

            Heils, it’s going fine, like everywhere there are good times and bad times…

While I’m writing, I’m listening again to “Sturmes Brut”, your first Lp; I can clearly say this album is really a masterpiece!! Can you introduce us to the path that have you followed to create it?

            Sturmes Brut was created when I processed emotions that accumulated during my life, things like hate, cult of my ancestors and so on.

The atmospheres of this album are really evocative and sometimes quite “epic”, if you let me use this word; for example in the beautiful song entitled “War”, whose starting riff won’t leave my mind since the first time I heard it. The title-track is also an incredible and powerful song, and the other aren’t less than it, so I’d like to ask you if you can give us a short description of all the six tracks that create this Lp, and eventually even the meaning of the intro and outro on it…

            Well, the intro is an instrumental song, which shall help to get the right mood for this album. You must know this album is not to be listened secondary, to understand it you have to go into it. When the intro has finished the album starts with thunder and fast riffs, now the hate is introduced and the following 5 songs are filled with energy. I think many different emotions and thoughts have been processed, but it’s hard for me to describe them more closely. You just have to listen to the album to understand which emotions are evoked. The outro is a very quiet song played with acoustic guitars. It’s the calm after the storm, the earth is now clean!!! A guest musician, namely Ragnfalt of Surturs Lohe, who realised what I imagined, contributed to this song.
This was the actual album; on the LP there is also a bonus song, "Leichenfeier" which comes from another recording session. The vinyl version is available in 2 versions, a normal LP (400 units) and a picture LP (100 units), both with gatefold cover.

It seems that you like to use both English and German language with your lyrics; unluckily I don’t understand German, so I’d like to know everything you can (and obviously want) to tell me about them. I’m also very curious to know the meaning of “Sturmes Brut”.

            Well, the lyrics deal with my ancestors, with my hate against the modern society and with the beauty of nature. "Sturmes Brut" can be translated as "bride of the storm", in connection with this album it is to be seen as a kind of natural phenomenon, which exterminates humanity, which takes revenge for the deeds, which are and were done against the great nature.
Just look at this "modern society", how it lives, not with the nature but against it, more and more landscapes are destroyed for the artificial habitat of the human race.
The latest incident, which tangents myself happens directly in my neighbourhood. I am living on the land in quietness in a nice little village in Thuringia, which is also called Germanys green heart. Now the forest gets cut just to build an autobahn, who needs such things? Can't they drive this half our longer? I hate the society for their ignorant behaviour in this case. Also our traditions are more and more forgotten, I really dislike this.

I can only agree with you… In your (nice) home-page, I found the lyric present inside your first 7’’, entitled “Traitor” as the song himself: it’s really a strong lyric, full of hate against all those bastards who betrayed the original meaning of BM. What’s your opinion of this individuals and of all those who, after eating at the table of BM, have turn their back to it?

            Well, the text is related to a person named "Svart" with whom I was active in the band "Aske" and then some things have happened and I read an interview he has done himself and there he made statements that he does not wish to be involved into Black Metal any longer and such things. With this EP I ruled off with this incident and settled my account with him. This EP is directed to everybody who acts in this way of course.
I already had created Odal as a side project of Aske; the band was founded in 1999, when I left Aske due to this treason I decided to continue with Odal to realize my ideas. Quite fast Loki was found for the drums and ideas for music and text were not too less because I already had some material for Odal and so we rehearsed a bit and recorded the demo in the end of 2001.

Looking to your band name, your logo, artwork and, most important of all, reading the titles of your songs and hearing their music, it’s clear to the listener your Pagan inclination and spiritually devotion, isn’t it? Am I right or am I wrong? Can you tell us your personal philosophy?

            Yes, I feel connected with my ancestors and think of myself as a "heathen". I also have an antichristian attitude but I don't take pleasure in "Satanism", at a closer look this "religion" was created through christianity. Concerning these things I am more a realist, looking at the heathen belief this traditions can be traced back to natural phenomenon that were assigned to Gods. But Odal is no typical pagan band that happily warbles around like others. It is not funny to be a heathen, someone who should live in harmony with nature, amongst such a society. So I see Odal musically as a Black Metal band with a heathen touch in the lyrics.

Odal is a name of a rune: if I’m not wrong it’s one of the most spiritual of all runes, the one that bring the wisdom of the ancestors. In your logo, besides the name Odal, there’s a raven, a mythological animal connected to Odin (I don’t exactly remember how, to be honest...), and, in this last release, there’s even the mighty Mjolnir behind it. What meaning do you give to these ancient and mighty symbols? Why did you choose them?

            Right, Odal is the name of a rune, but I would not say it is the most spiritual, every rune has a special spirituality and I have decided to use this rune because it meets with my way of life and the lyrics of the band. What I wish to achieve and express with Odal is said with this rune, therefore it fits perfectly. The raven and the Mjölnir emphasises this and hint to the heathen attitude behind.

What’s your relation with the tradition and the wisdom that our mighty European culture, and on the other hand your Germanic origins, have given to you? Do you feel them as important parts of your life?

            My relationship with my traditions and ancestors is rooted deeply within myself, inherently through my education. This is my way of life, and this is important to me. But this should not be mistaken; my relation to my land and my ancestors has nothing to do with politics!!! I mention this here to avoid some accusations, Odal is no NS band as some have said, and no text is related in any way with politics. Of course I have my private opinion upon this but I don't want to expand this here and in no case it can be related to Odal.

Odal are a quite young band, being your first release (the demo “Germansk”) dated back to 2001: at the same time, the music you play seems to come out since the golden era of Black Metal, having inside all the most important feelings and qualities that, for me, must be part of every album that I really consider a milestone in the genre: cold feelings, a “melancholic” but yet aggressive vein and so on… Do you agree? What are the goals you try to reach every time you keep your guitar and start to play your music?

            As I already have said, before Odal I was involved in the band Aske, but only on the vocals. Then I started playing guitar and therefore it suggested itself to realise the cumulated ideas, what was done with Odal in 1999. We released the demo at the beginning of 2001 and two 7"s shortly after this and in December 2001 we also recorded the album which was released with many delays in the end of 2002, the LP was finally out at the beginning of 2003.
I am influenced by the Black metal of the early 90's and I am around in the scene a long time, first passive as listener or fan if you wish to say so, later active as band member. During all the years some ideas manifested themselves in my head, I think that's why those tunes came to live and you just have to be confronted with this long enough to understand. Unfortunately many bands nowadays lack this. Therefore I agree with your statements above, but if the album is or will be a milestone others shall judge. The goal I want to reach is very simple to put my thoughts, emotions and my hate into music and to make the listener think.

What inspires you most of all composing a song? Are you inspired by the beautiful landscapes, darkness, winter an all the other (wonderful) things that every person really inside the genre usually admires in his life, or is there something other that makes you able to write a lyric or compose a riff?

            There are many sources of inspiration that I use, those mentioned from you play a role, as well as the history of my ancestors and hate against the society.

In your very good demo, “Germansk”, you covered one of the manifesto of BM, the immortal “Transilvanian Hunger” from the masters DarkThrone: besides them, what other bands did and actually do give you inspiration? What are the albums you will listen ‘till the end of times?

            Other bands which inspires me are Isvind, old Immortal, Moonblood, Burzum, Venom, old Emperor, old Satyricon, old Mayhem...
Albums which I will play until the end of time are, additionally to the above mentioned, Clandestine Blaze - Night Of The Unholy Flames (a masterpiece, in my eyes), Katharsis - 666 (equally great), but also Graven, Deathspell Omega, Musta Surma, Autopsy, Judas Iscariot, Satanic Warmaster...this should be enough as a small excerpt, I could write a lot of more but this would go beyond the scope of the interview.

Can we say that Odal is a kind of one-man project, being you the original member of the band and the most composer of all its release? What were the problems you had with the other past members who played in Odal?

            Well, I alone compose the music and up to Sturmes Brut all lyrics were written by me, but in the next release there could be some lyrics from C.K., but this is not sure yet. I will always write the music alone, but I would not call Odal a one-man project as I depend upon a drummer who can consequently realise my ideas. Loki has left the band for personal reasons, but we still understand each other, there were no disputes or something like that. Berserker never has been a band member but a session musician and he should be second guitar player during live gigs. He wasn't involved in the EP's, I included him there because he should play at live gigs, he never played a role in Odal, in contrast, and he rather disturbed me.

What’s your opinion of live gigs? Do you think they can fit with BM attitude or not? Have or will Odal ever play live?

            As I mentioned above, we planned to do some live gigs, but shortly before the first gig Loki left the band and I had to cancel everything. Some time later I found C.K. as a new reliable drummer, now we are two and always dependent upon session musicians. But I am planning to present Odal live during underground concerts in the future.

I know that you are going to publish a split Ep with Surturs Lohe, another great band. What do you think of them? How will it be this release? I heard an excerpt of your song in your site, and it seems very good, even if you have changed a little your vocals…

            Yes, the split EP was planned but what will happen with this I cannot tell. Surturs Lohe are personal friends of us and we shared the same rehearsal room not long ago. As at the moment it is very uncertain if this release will ever happen and I don't know how it will look at the end. The Odal song is already recorded and will be released, if not on this EP then in another way. And yes, you have recognised correct that I used the vocals in a different way on this song, but this was an exception as it was planned for an EP and the vocals fit better to the song in this way.

Ok Taaken, thank you so much for your patience and collaboration: feel free to end the interview with the words you want to say, or eventually ask me something you need / want to know…

            Thanks for this wonderful interview, one of the best I have done. It is notable that you have been engaged in Odal before you asked your questions, unfortunately I also had done interviews were this was not the case.
Only thing I have to say now: stand for the underground and let the flames rise!!!

Heils and again compliments for your wonderful Black Metal art.

I'm sure that the flames will rise as long as we'll have band of this kind in the so called "scene". I think that one single band like Odal, can make you forget tons of shit poser that infest nowadays BM and thousands of "Svart"...