asgeir

[ErikSL]

i know your the "occasional drummer", but does it bother you that inferior drummers are more well known then you? When compared to some of the acclaimed metal drummers, like mike portnoy, flo mournier, etc...I think your a lot more seasoned, especially after hearing a skeptics universe and origin. And your work on Vintersorg albums is beautiful. Maybe your just happy being that drummer...on special occasions.

 

[Asgeir Mickelson]

Good question. Thing is, I'm not THAT interested in being a drummer. I'm a drummer when I'm behind a kit but that's pretty much it (I play guitar more than drums.) There are a zillion drummers who's better than me and that's fine. I don't care because I don't practice drums much - and never did. There's a joke in Norway (from Scream Magazine) that I'm the best drummer in the world - and it's all irony (I love irony). It would of course be nice if I was the best drummer in the world but I've never had that ambition. I'm more focused about being creative than being able to play fast or do show-off stuff... I want to play what a song needs to make it perfect and then ad just the little extra to make it special. Neil Peart (Rush) is great at that, so when I recorded the new Ihsahn album I thought "What would Neil Peart do?".

 

[KRaEzTaIuRmED]

Asgeir, drumming by chance?

 

[Blind Guardian]

Sadly enough some people think that best drummer/guitarist/singer or whatever is something you base on what they can play,which is completely stupid. I judge a musician based on what he comes up with,not what he can play.That´s why i think a drummer like for example Mournier is way overrated.Take a drummer like Nicke Andersson for example,his technical skills aren´t that extraordinary,but listen to Clandestine and you´ll know what i mean. And i´d say Asgeir is pretty far up there when it comes to coming up with good stuff by the way .

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

^ Which is why Asgeir is my favorite drummer as opposed to those wankers like Mike Porntoy.

 

[ErikSL]

Good question. Thing is, I'm not THAT interested in being a drummer. I'm a drummer when I'm behind a kit but that's pretty much it (I play guitar more than drums.) There are a zillion drummers who's better than me and that's fine. I don't care because I don't practice drums much - and never did. There's a joke in Norway (from Scream Magazine) that I'm the best drummer in the world - and it's all irony (I love irony). It would of course be nice if I was the best drummer in the world but I've never had that ambition. I'm more focused about being creative than being able to play fast or do show-off stuff... I want to play what a song needs to make it perfect and then ad just the little extra to make it special. Neil Peart (Rush) is great at that, so when I recorded the new Ihsahn album I thought "What would Neil Peart do?".

i agree, playing things that contribute to the overall song is more important. Although asgeir...you do some crazy stuff behind the kit.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

Asgeir do you have any stuff where you play guitar? If there aren't any recordings of you, if you decided to play guitar in a band what would it sound like?

 

[Naglfar]

Being the best at a particular instrument doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll make great music. Especially when you play in a band with four or five other people, and there's multiple songwriters...

As the occasional drummer suggests, being able to contribute what makes a particular song perfect, rather than seeking technical perfection, is more important.

I always think back to Paradise Lost when they had Matthew Archer when this question comes up. That guy was probably the worst recorded drummer EVER. Almost anyone with like a year of drumming lessons could have done a better job than him. But Paradise Lost released their best albums when he was pretending to be their drummer. As soon as they got a guy who actually knew how to play, other than Draconian Times, they began to suck hard.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

It's the old songwriting versus musicianship arguement. And anyone in their right mind knows songwriting wins, every time.

 

[Allfader]

Asgeir, maybe you're not the best, but you're one of my favourite drummers on extreme metal scene. I like a lot the speed, but I like too the progressive influence that you put on your drum lines... I think you hear a lot 70's prog rock, that can be heard on your style. I didn't like drummers who the only think they do are blastbeasts and very fast double bass drums, without a dynamic performance and playing all the way too plain (like a lot of death metal drummers and a good amount of black metal drummers) plus, you're a great bassist after all!! on Epic, the bass is great! I didn't missed so much to Tyr (but I like more Tyr on bass ) and in 'The Weight Of Wind' you play the guitars also... man you're an amazing musician.

The most 'weird' thing I have heard from you was `Enslavement of Beauty'... I liked a lot that gothic black metal or something like that, it's very different and a little strange... tell me, how you was involved on that proyect?

 

[Asgeir Mickelson]

Asgeir do you have any stuff where you play guitar? If there aren't any recordings of you, if you decided to play guitar in a band what would it sound like?

Well, I play all guitar on Lars' song on "Epic"...

I worked on a black metal song today which I'll put up on my Myspace-site soon. Vidar (Thornbound singer) and I worked on lyrics for it today and we'll record the vocal lines as soon as the lyrics are done. That song is just for fun (BM4FUN...) and the style is kind of a mix between Thorns, Mayhem and Keep Of Kalessin (at least remotely.)

My style as a guitarist has always been 80's thrash metal! A mix of Exodus, Forbidden and Slayer.

 

[Blind Guardian]

Asgeir,do you consider yourself mainly as a drummer or a guitarist then?

 

[Asgeir Mickelson]

plus, you're a great bassist after all!! on Epic, the bass is great! I didn't missed so much to Tyr (but I like more Tyr on bass ) and in 'The Weight Of Wind' you play the guitars also... man you're an amazing musician.

The most 'weird' thing I have heard from you was `Enslavement of Beauty'... I liked a lot that gothic black metal or something like that, it's very different and a little strange... tell me, how you was involved on that proyect?

I actually think I did a lot of cool bass lines on "Epic" but it got buried in the mix (that's what happens when the whole band has a say on the mix). I especially like what I played on Andreas' song (4 element?).

The Enslavement-album was done at a time I was really exhausted from working non stop for a couple of months, so the result wasn't that great. I haven't listened to the album since it came out so it's probably even worse than what I remember, haha! That recording came about after meeting Tony (guitarist) at Elm Street pub in Oslo.

 

[Asgeir Mickelson]

Asgeir,do you consider yourself mainly as a drummer or a guitarist then?

Drummer.

 

[ErikSL]

Drummer.

thats right...know your place.

The bass playing on "the wonder" is awesome, especially on the clean parts.

I wasn't really impressed with tyrs performance on Origin, it was good but I expected much more out of him for an acoustic performance.

 

[Asgeir Mickelson]

I wasn't really impressed with tyrs performance on Origin, it was good but I expected much more out of him for an acoustic performance.

He got very little time to do bass so that's why.

 

[Doomtroll]

Oh I was meaning to ask, Are you drumming on Ihsahn's new album?

 

[Asgeir Mickelson]

Oh I was meaning to ask, Are you drumming on Ihsahn's new album?

Jepp.

 

[Undefined]

While you're here... are there any <Code> updates? I've been searching everywhere and found nothing...

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

Too bad he's not drumming for <code>'s next album...damn it. I wanted him drumming with Simen again.

But still Asgeir you must know something about it?! Have you heard Simen on it yet? What did he sound like???