Dan- The Demo 2004 was very rough, but the music was very good so. How is the new material coming along?
Algar- well, its kind of at a stand still right now. I have two
songs and an intro and outro recorded. One of the songs is 7
minutes long, the other exactly 60 seconds.
Dan- What inspired you to start recording as a one-man project to begin with?
Algar-I tried to form a full band, but no one came along. I even
tried to find a session drummer for a while, but couldn't, and
now I just think that Banshee is best used as a personal
emotional catharsis, and too personal to be a full band. Kind
of like Burzum, in a sense.
Dan- So as an emotional catharsis, What kind of emotions do you put into your songs, what kind of experiences do you share?
Algar- It all really depends on what I am feeling when I
write/record. It is a very good way to get rid of depression in a
healthy way. And I have some need for a healthy method of
dealing with it.
Dan-Your lyrics can be really surreal specially in the song Wandering Eternal, is all of this metaphorical or do your surrounding affect the visions created by the lyrics?
Algar- Both, really. I don't want to write about the mountains
of Norway, because that wouldn't be true to myself and where
I live. The mention of blackened mountains is actually in
reference to a fire near my town in 2000, that turned the
forests to a bunch of ashen toothpicks, and burnt a good
many houses in town.
Dan- The sound quality on your demo was about as un underground as possible, will your new material be the same, or will be increased recording techniques used?
Algar- hopefully it will be better, but that remains to be seen.
Dan- Would you consider Banshee to be a Christian Black Metal project with any tipe of ministry in mind?
Algar- It's kind of hard to tell. I feel that my ministry calling is
more personal, you know, people I know, am friends with,
etc... But due to my faith, there will always be the Christian
aspect to my lyrics, since it ties in to my personal life.
Whether or not it is called a "Christian band" is up to the
listener, I just call it black metal
Dan- Have you gotten any responses to your demo yet?
Algar- yeah, most people seem to like it.
Dan- Any record label interest?
Algar- Like I've told you before, I would like to aim for a bigger
label like Nuclear Blast or Candlelight eventually, but it will
probably be a while.
Dan- Do you think that modern Black metal in general is getting better or worse?
Algar-I think it depends on what you are looking at. On one
hand, you have underground bands like Sigh that push the
bounds of the genre, and create something new and exciting.
On the other hand, you have the underground bands who
think its only BM if it sounds exactly like early Darkthrone,
Burzum, or Mayhem. On yet another hand, you have the
commercial bands, which are either good or bad.
Dan- what band have influence you personally?
Algar- Oh, man. This is where I leave metal behind. First,
Bruce Springsteen got me into rock, and rock got me into
metal. U2 is another favorite. In metal, Emperor, Darkthrone,
Opeth, Celtic Frost, Dio, Ulver, the list goes on. Another artist
that has been inspirational, if not influential, is Django
Reinhardt. I'm jazz-trained, and listening to his music just
inspires me to get better.
Dan- Well , thanks a lot of taking time out to talk to me.
Algar- sure thing.
Dan- Any closing coments?
Algar- Yeah, keep it metal!
Taken from Abril Issue of Centurion Outpost Magazine.
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