Stormfågel Interview

INTERVIEW: Heathen Harvest Interview with Stormfågel

he years 2005 and 2006 will always stand out as one of the highlights in the long history of Cold Meat Industry. We saw new music from Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Desiderii Marginis, Atrium Carceri, Brighter Death Now, Sephiroth, Mz.412, raison d’être, the return of IRM, and live performances across the world. They also seemed to have had an increased interest in Neofolk, introducing bands such as Medusa’s Spell, Rome, and Stormfågel. At first I was a little hesitant, if I recall correctly there was a heightened interest in Neofolk at the time, and a sort of power vacuum as well. It would be about 4 years before we would see a new Death in June album, 7 years for a new Blood Axis, and a number of new bands coming out, some looking to make their mark, others retreading the same ground. With Stormfågel, I initially wondered how they would define themselves, but it didn’t take long before I picked up on the subtle, hidden references to Existential films and literature, and took them to be far more intellectual than some of the other new bands coming out.

Over time I felt some internal conflicts within myself, in that I’ve felt rooted in traditional ideals, but fully aware of my own functions and contributions to a modern world. After a closer examination, I was surprised to see Stormfågel also lamenting on these conflicts and with that I was even more excited for their new release and to interview front-man Andreas Neidhardt for Heathen Harvest. The following conversation was had over an extended period of time in early 2012 over e-mail, during which time Andreas was finalizing the new album “Dödsvals”, and towards the end of the thread actually saw its release.

Heathen Harvest:  First of all, thank you for taking the time to correspond, I imagine you have a lot going on with your various projects and the upcoming Dödsvals album. Care to give us an update on Dödsvals?

Andreas Neidhardt:  Well, Dödsvals have been more or less finished for quite some time now. The only thing left to do is the art work and unfortunately I’m very lazy so it will take another couple of months before it’s ready for release.

Max from Steinklang is also (or at least I hope so) working on the art. We were supposed to finished it when I was still living in Austria but I guess vodka and work came in the way…

HH:  Unfortunately not many have the luxury to work on their art full-time, so that’s understandable. A few months would be in time for Wave Gotik Treffen, any plans to attend or have a release ready for the event? A mini-release might be a good idea.

AN:  If WGT wants me to play I would love it! It’s a great arrangement, lovely people and wonderful concert halls. I know that CMI had some kind of contact with them but I’m not sure about Steinklang. And from what I’ve heard it’s quite meaningless to contact them yourself and beg. They are too big I guess. Besides all that, maybe they don’t want me there after last time…

Hopefully there will be some kind of mini-release or similar in time for WGT. I have some ideas I’ll talk to Max about. We’ll see. (Note: Stormfågel did not attend WGT 2012, but Dödsvals was released at about that time. More on this further in the interview.)

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