- Crom
- Having made a substantial impact in 2008 with his remarkably powerful debut full-length, “Vengeance”, German epic metal artist Crom surely has countless exciting prospects for the year ahead. I caught up with him to discuss how the album came to be created, as well as to dispel a few misconceptions that fans may have about a musician whose influences and inspirations seem straightforward, but are in fact more interestingly complex than first appearances suggest. An engaging and generous conversational partner, Crom here gives his honest opinions on many aspects of song-writing and the music industry in general.
- Hierophant Nox: Let
us begin by talking about “Vengeance”, which has been on the shelves
for a few months now. Has the release been successful?
Crom: Yes, in my opinion “Vengeance” is really successful!! My label (Pure Steel) told me last week that the first run of 1000 pieces is out now, and the second run is in production. Also, almost all reviews are from very good to great. There were only a very small number of bad, or not very good, reviews.
Hierophant Nox: Congratulations, that’s excellent news. When you came to read criticism of the album, did you feel that it was fair, or were there aspects you wanted to fight against?
Crom: Most of the times, not really fair. If someone tells me that “Vengeance” is not a good album because it’s not dark enough, then I must wonder. There are a lot of people who don’t really know much about heavy metal and producing CDs. But these people give bad reviews without knowing much about it or getting involved in it. If anybody wishes hear a dark album he should listen to Mayhem or something along those lines instead.
Hierophant Nox: I think people may have a certain perception of you as a black metal artist, due to your prior involvement in Dark Fortress, and this is a little unfortunate, as a black metal perspective isn’t really the optimum standpoint from which to appreciate “Vengeance”. Do you agree?
Crom: Many people talk about bands without knowing anything about the music or the band. There are still some people who think that Crom is a side project of Dark Fortress, but Crom is only me! Seraph and Santura (from the band) were guest musicians on “Vengeance”, nothing more. I think at present, the sound of Crom should be described as ‘epic heavy metal’. Crom is surely not a Viking band, despite the stated opinion of many people.
Hierophant Nox: Indeed, although ‘Viking’ can be useful shorthand when trying to describe a band, so I’m sorry if this is a trap I’ve fallen into myself! I don’t hear too many Vikings on your album…
Crom: I also fail to hear the Vikings on “Vengeance”! And I always say that sounding like a Viking doesn’t mean you are a Viking band. A band also needs lyrics that fit into that Viking theme, and my lyrics definitely don’t deal with anything ‘Viking’!
Hierophant Nox: Your lyrics on “Vengeance” instead seem to cover a lot of different themes - battles, loss, gods, and personal heroism. Is there one 'story' on the album or is it a collection of different ideas?
Crom: The stories are all of different ideas. Only “Vengeance” itself is an exception. I thought about doing a concept album (and many people think that it is a concept album) but I had one big problem; the songs were too old and all had nearly-completed lyrics. It would have taken much too much time to delete the old lyrics and fit new lyrics into my old vocal lines.
Hierophant Nox: Ah, I see; I had wondered about the concept possibility myself. Where do you get your inspiration from for these stories? Some of the songs remind me of the things one might find in a fantasy novel or film.
Crom: It seems like I read a lot of fantasy novels or something like that, but actually I don’t. I think about my life and my environment and then I transfer these feelings into the "warrior fantasy world". If you think that behind every story is a big warrior you’re wrong. But of course I like fantasy films like “Conan”, “The 13th Warrior” and “Gladiator”.
Hierophant Nox: That's really interesting. I guess much music works on the premise of taking emotions and creating something much larger that’s inspired by them, but you take this to quite an extreme.
Crom: I think music must be honest. There are a lot of bands that say that their music is honest, but in fact it is not. If I sing of a sad and old king then I sing about me being sad, feeling fooled and losing my strength. But nobody wants to hear something about me, they prefer fictive persons.
Hierophant Nox: I find that really moving, and actually, knowing about the real source of that song makes it more touching. Are there any other bands that you really admire for their honesty?
Crom: Uh, a good question! Let me think about it... The best example for honesty in music is Desaster from Germany. They really live their Desaster, and they are really good with their fans. I also respect Dimmu Borgir for saying that they want to earn their money with music and play commercial black metal. Why not? Everybody would like to earn money with his band. Why not talk about it publicly? Most people don’t hate Dimmu Borgir simply for being Dimmu Borgir. Most people hate them because they know that they are a very, very good band and they also know that they’ll never get the step that Dimmu did.
Hierophant Nox: It’s easy to look bitter criticising an act who consistently deliver, that’s for sure. Did you enjoy their latest album?
Crom: Yes I did. But I think that this album could have been much better if Nick Barker had done the drums again, and not Hellhammer. Hellhammer has done some great CDs, but I don’t like his work on the last Dimmu album. Barker needs to come back to Dimmu.
Crom: I do it all by myself. I begin with programming the drums, playing all the guitar parts, doing the main vocals and adding some choirs. Almost all the rest will be jammed in studio. Through the years I have learned how to play the drums, and how to arrange drums effectively in songs. I only go to practice with a drummer a few times before entering the studio. I also enjoy playing the bass every time. I don’t have a bass guitar, but I like to play it very much!!!
Hierophant Nox: Wow. So, did you find it took a long time to write “Vengeance” because you were doing it all yourself, or was it actually easier when you were the only one making decisions?
Crom: Of course it is easier to write songs when nobody opposes anything. But on the other hand, nobody will help me when I’m down and uninspired. The key fact for the long waiting time for “Vengeance” was money. I had to pre-finance the recordings all by myself and I never had enough money.
Hierophant Nox: Have you received any help from your label, Pure Steel?
Crom: No because it was before signing with Pure Steel, long before signing with them.
Hierophant Nox: Ahh. Will they support you with future recordings?
Crom: I wanted a contract that was only for the publishing of “Vengeance”. After “Vengeance” I will look to the future. Maybe I’ll sign again with Pure Steel, maybe there’ll be bigger labels… we will see.
Hierophant Nox: We talked earlier about your musical past, having been in Dark Fortress. You also featured in a band called Sindecade; are they still active?
Crom: No, Azathoth and I formed Sindecade only as a side project, and nobody wants to produce some new stuff. It’s better for Crom and Azathoth’s new band not to reactivate Sindecade. I still like the songs but I’ve lost a lot of money because of the production of “Terrorcrowned”. In the future, money will be invested only in Crom.
Hierophant Nox: The industry is going to be severely squeezed over the next year or so, and so while that’s a shame, I’m very glad you’re continuing with Crom. Have you written any new material since “Vengeance”, or are you taking a break?
Crom: The next album is already recorded! I did it together with “Vengeance” and there are only some vocals left to complete. There are also a lot of ideas in my head for the third album. So I never will have the stress like a lot of other bands have, like “Oh, I’ll have to record a new album next year but I don’t have any songs yet…”. It’s not like that with me.
Hierophant Nox: I had no idea, that’s great news. Can you tell us anything about your new direction?
Crom: I think that a lot of people will be a little bit sad that Crom will sound a little bit different. The second album won’t be as heroic as “Vengeance”. It will be slower and softer and almost all the lyrics are about being lovelorn, and death.
Hierophant Nox: More like the track “A Life Unbearable” from “Vengeance”?
Crom: A little bit like it, yes. Do you know “My destiny”? It’s from my Demo of 2004. You can download it directly at my homepage. It is a song also about love, and it’s a little bit pop. I guess this song, mixed with “A Life Unbearable”, “Restless King” and a rock sound is the new album. I’m very much looking forward to this album, because I know that people won’t talk all the time about Crom sounding like Bathory, and will hear the real sound of Crom and its own identity.
Hierophant Nox: Aha. There’s that. I wasn’t even going to go there, honestly. Well… maybe a little. Does the comparison annoy you or do you think it’s fair but are just sick of hearing it?
Crom: It’s OK that people compare Crom with Bathory because I have my roots with Bathory, and without them Crom maybe wouldn’t exist today. But I’m sick of hearing it all the time. Last week I did an interview consisting of seven questions, four of which were about Bathory and three about Crom. I think it’s much more interesting knowing something about me and my band than about my ideas concerning Bathory. Everybody knows that Bathory was excellent. Is it important what’s my favourite Bathory song or what I think about his death? Of course it is a big shit that he had to die so early. Or is it interesting if I would like to meet Quorthon at Valhalla??!? You don’t know what stupid questions I have to answer.
- Hierophant Nox:
Alright, I wasn’t going to ask anything like THAT. Although I do see you guys getting
on in Valhalla… but no, a lot of my love for “Vengeance” has something to
do with the fact that it references a period of Quorthon's career that I adore- if it were
just a copy then it wouldn't have any respect, so no real Bathory fan would like it.
Whereas I know a lot of Bathory fans who like Crom. Also you have a whole lot more of the
traditional 'heavy metal' sound going on.. and you sound like 2008, not 1984. So now that
I’ve made that long and rambling statement I hope people will stop bugging you on the
issue…
Crom: They will stop talking about it! They’ll love my new album or they’ll hate me!!!
Crom allows me to hear an early mix of a new song, entitled “Fallen Beauty”, which lacks vocals thus far but still packs an impressive emotive punch, with a really epic and moving melody. Apparently this will be one of two ‘epic’ songs on the next album.
Hierophant Nox: That’s very beautiful, I look forward to hearing it with vocals. Are there any guest appearances planned for the new album? The appearance of UK black metaller Dagon on “Vengeance” was a great success.
Crom: I think no. I don’t know a lot of musicians that could fit into the new material. And the vocalists that would fit will be too big for me.
Hierophant Nox: Well, I guess it’s good that you’re up to the job yourself, then. Have you ever received any training, or did you teach yourself?
Crom: I had vocal training for one or two years but it was too expensive for me. But it helped me a lot and I’ll cash in on it for a long time.
Hierophant Nox: The vocals will be one distinctive finishing touch, but so will the artwork. You have collaborated with the artist Kris Verwimp for much of your career; will you be working with him again?
Crom: I don’t really know. I have some good ideas, but I don’t know if these ideas are to be painted or to be designed with photos and computer software.
Hierophant Nox: Do you get very involved with the way your work will finally look?
Crom: Yes of course! I always tell Kris about my ideas and then he goes ahead and creates them. But I never had to tell him a lot how to look because he does everything right.
Hierophant Nox: We've talked a lot about recording, writing and producing music, so the last real area I wanted to ask you about is playing live. Am I right in thinking Crom has had its live debut now?
Crom: I did my live debut in May 2007 together with Dark Fortress. It was the last gig that Azathoth did with Dark Fortress, and my debut. Later in 2007 I played at the Taled from the Underground festival, and in September 2008 I played at the Swordbrothers festival
Hierophant Nox: Do you have any more shows planned for the future?
Crom: I enjoyed playing live, but there are no future plans until I’ve found my own line-up. I always played with guest musicians but this is a lot of stress. And there were only a few guest musicians that really enjoyed playing with Crom, and I don’t want to play with guys like these again.
Hierophant Nox: Will this be one of your main ambitions for 2009?
Crom: I have some connections but playing live is not my main aim. In the next months I’ll enter the studio and finish my recordings, advertise “Vengeance” and then we will see what future will be...
Hierophant Nox: We will be behind you in your endeavours… Are there any final messages you would like to spread throughout the world?
Crom: I only want to thank my fans and of course my manager Patricia; the best manager you’ll find!
Many thanks and best wishes to you for 2009, Crom!
