Heavy Metal
 Season Of Mist Records Faust InterviewConversation With The Legendary Black Metal Drummer
Bård G. "Faust" Eithun is a legendary black metal drummer. He was a member of Emperor in the early '90s and involved in the infamous Norweigan black metal scene of that era. In 1994 he was convicted of killing a man in Lillehammer and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was recently released and immediately jumped back into music. He's a busy man who is currently in 3 different bands. One is Aborym, another is the Casey Chaos project Scum, and the third is Black Tsunami. Faust has put his past behind him and is focusing on a future of making music. He fills us in on all his current projects, what he thinks of the Emperor reunion, his time in prison, and a lot more interesting topics.
Chad Bowar: How did you come to join Aborym?
Faust: I have known the guys for years and our cooperation started out small, with me writing lyrics for them, then later doing some spoken passages over the phone. I also appeared with them live as a guest. The next step was to join the band permanently last year and Seth and Attila went out of the band.
Before you joined the band, Aborym used a drum machine. What does having a live drummer bring to the band musicwise?
A more organic style of playing, more dynamics but at the same time it also means a limitation regarding the speed because obviously I can't play with the speed of a machine. But all in all, I think the band benefited with my joining, at least I can hope that!
How would you evaluate new vocalist Prime Evil's performance on the album?
He is doing a good job. He is very diverse and I also like his more death metal vocals.
How did you decide on the title Generator?
The title was discussed a little back and forth. I think it is a title that reflects the album, the music and the cover in a very good way. It is a strong word, easy to remember and it fits with some of the views behind Fabban`s lyrics.
How has the response to the album been so far?
I have seen only good reviews so far, people being very enthusiastic about it. The album might have turned out a little more symphonic than many expected but I heard no negativity concerning that. People seem to appreciate the change.
Will Aborym be playing any live shows?
Not yet, but we hope to be able to one day present a live show. I am a little bit of a picky guy and I think that if you are gonna do live shows it must do justice to the album and the set and playing must be tight and well done. It is always difficult to arrange things when the members live in different countries. Aborym is still a relatively small band and concerning there are not really big bucks involved it is all a matter of personal involvement on the money side.
Talk about your other current project, Scum, and how it came together.
Scum was the result of Casey Chaos meeting some Norwegian musicians, and from that point spinning on the idea of actually creating something together. The album got released last September. In spite of diverse reception and only two live shows, it has sold 15,000 copies so far, so all in all we are happy with that.
How would you describe Gospels For The Sick and its sound?
It is a crossover of punk and metal with direct references to Darkthrone, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Ministry, Discharge, Immortal and more. The production is consciously dirty and it is all stitched together with Casey`s frenetic punk vocals.
How did the personalities of the various members mesh?
It went ok, although it was a challenge from time to time. Anyway, you never know people real well before you work with them.
You're also in Black Tsunami. What type of music does that band play, and will you also be recording an album with them?
Blood Tsunami is an Oslo band, rooted in the eighties thrash metal. We have done many gigs the last year, mostly in the Oslo area. We are still a demo band but I think we should be able to get a deal. Check out our MySpace site and the band's official site.
What other projects are you currently working on, or plan to be working on?
Aborym, Scum and Blood Tsunami are my official ones. I might also do the session drums for the Polish Hesperus Dimension when they get a deal. It is black metal in the vein of Thorns. Very good stuff, believe me.
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