CHTON - And the handicap-toilet
The underground is the cradle of bands. A bunch of them get buried in oblivion for ever, while a bright future awaits for some. Honestly, it's a matter of fortune as well, but basicly you have to be a good musician, and original ideas are also required. I've heard only two songs from Chton so far, but I don't need to be fortune-teller to tell you, these Norwegians hold some more surprises for us in the upcoming years. What made me so amazed about their music? To find out, read this interview, answered by Torstein Parelius (guitar) except where otherwise stated.
- Please introduce the band to the readers. Where is the band from?
- Cheerz! Well, what can I say. We're Chton and we're a bloodthirsty bunch of five fuckers from Trondheim - Norway. We usually call our style dark and brutal deathmetal, but that's nothing more than informative... We play deathmetal basically. Extreme metal. We haven't been around for very long, but we plan to stay... We have only one official release behind us - a self-titled two-track promo - but there's more to come, I can promise you that! We're planning to do another demo/promo later this year if we don't get any better offers from any label than what we've gotten this far. As I said, we're thirsty for blood and wish to take this band further and deeper within the metal-underground! Stay tuned, as they say...
- Who are you and what do you do (in the band)?
- I'm Torstein and I play guitar. Besides me, Chton consists of Terje/vocals, Vidar/drums, Kenneth/bass and Øyvind/guitar.
- What's the meaning behind the band's name Cton?
- Chton is a name derived from the english word "chthtonian" (which again is taken from the greek "chthonios") meaning, if I remember correctly: "pertaining to the spirits and other beings dwelling under the earth". We had several alternatives when it came to naming the band, but Chton stuck out as a great name with many dark & obscure qualities. It is pronouneced K'TON, by the way - with a hard K.
- Who're your major influences?
- I guess all of us has different influences as well as favorites when it comes to other bands and artists. We didn't start this band with the intention to sound like Iron Maiden, Slayer, Deicide or whoever - the music we create now has developed over time. When I joined the band that were to become Chton, they played staightforward necro blackmetal. I brought with me more thrash and deathmetal techniques, so we have influenced eachother, I guess... We've all been listening to metal for as long as we can remember, so that's my answer I think - we try to feed of eachother, not copy someone else. As for favorites in extreme metal I have to mention bands like Morbid Angel, Immolation, Rebelliun, Bathory, Kreator, Slayer, Celtic Frost etc etc. The list could go on and on...
- What inspires you when you write the music, lyrics?
- It just comes to us naturally. Is that a stupid answer or what? I don't know what else to say. Maybe I answered some of it in the influences-bit? I don't know... I just sit with my guitar and play - let's just call it demonic possession, and leave it with that.
- How much time do you spend with the band generally?
- Personally I spend way too much time on this, I guess, but I feel it's right. I really believe in Chton and I live and breathe for music - both as a performer of music and a fan of music. As an underground-deathmetal band, we're not expecting things to be laid in our hands. We work hard to get people to hear our music and hopefully they'll like our shit. It's not for everyone - we know that - it's brutal fucking metal, but we know we have something to offer fans of this genre. Hopefully we can get to play much more live and release a debut album - to bring darkness to everyones ears.
- What is the song writing process like for Chton?
- Usually it's me and the other guitarist Øyvind who come up with some themes or riffs on our own, then just the two of us try to sit down and work with it and "polish" it (if that's the right word for deathmetal). After that we bring it all to rehearsal and try it out with a full band -
first and foremost to hear if it works, and to get input from the rest of the band. Both Terje, our vocalist, and our bassplayer Kenneth are good guitarplayers, so we really work on the songs as a team - with valuable feedback from everyone.
- What are your lyrics about?
- We don't really have an ongoing "concept" throughout our lyrics, so our only guidelines is that it must fit with our music - be it dark & sinister. Both Terje, Kenneth and me writes lyrics, and we have set no limits to the writing-process - it basically has to sound good and have some sort of substance. I can't really speak for anybody other than myself when it comes to the specific lyrics, and I don't really like to talk too much about mine either, but I guess I try to keep it dark, as I said - to venture into the land of occult horror... Sometimes it may be based on things that has happened in my life - or maybe in the lives of someone close to me - and sometimes it may be pure fiction. Either way, it's obscured by a veil of the grotesque...
- Tell us 3 good reasons why people should listen to you?
- The first and only real reason people should check us out, is to find out if we're their cup'o blood, really - to find out if we've got something to offer them... If we do - the 2nd thing to do would be to check us out live. That's when the real aggression and energy surface from the deep. I can't think of any reasons beyond that... Well - Why you should listen to us? It could be to prove for your surroundings that you're a sick fucking morbid motherfucker! A Chton-promo in your cd-collection isn't really a sign of sanity....
- How can people hear your music?
- "In concert" would be my choice answer, but that's maybe not the easiest access to our music, since we haven't played outside our hometown Trondheim yet. But soon... Be sure to spread the word: we want to come to your town and fucking crush everything in our path! Before that happens you should visit our website at www.chton.com and download the two tracks from our promo! Both tracks are pro-recorded in Skansen Studios (Wurdulak, 3rd and the Mortal, Perished, Atrox, Manes, Gorelord, Lumsk etc.) and in full 100% fucking free versions! Download'em and PLAY LOUD!
- What song of your's should people listen to before any other?
- I don't think we have one song that captures the essence of Chton... Download our promo and check out both songs - they're both very representative for our sound and direction. Personally I don't believe in homogeneity as a benefit for a bands' sound. We try to make songs from the ideas we have - and let each song speak for itself - within the limits we each have for what Chton should be and sound like, of course.
- What makes you different from other bands who play similar music?
- As I said in my previous answer - we try to develop and nourish our sound and style. We don't feel a need to revolutionize deathmetal - but rather bring something to it. We don't try to be the fastest, most brutal or weirdest - we make, or want to make - in-your-face, raw and dark deathmetal.
- To whom would you recommend to listen to Chton?
- Everybody into extreme metal should check us out and make up their own mind.
- If you could play a gig with 3 other bands, who would it be?
- Past or present? Well, I don't know... Maybe Bathory (preferrably around "Under the sign..."), "Reign in blood"-era Slayer and Cliff Burton-era Metallica - I guess that would gather the masses... We would headline, of course heheh - NO, I guess that'd be the day! We'd gladly play in the handicap-toilet at that event.
- What one location in the world would you love to play a gig at?
- The aforementioned handicap-toilet.
- What was the main reason you became a musician?
- To do a world-tour of handicap-toilets.
- How much time do you spend with practicing?
- I don't do much concrete practise. It's mostly at rehearsals I get to play much and hard. We rehearse like 2 times a week with Chton - sometimes more, sometimes less. With the other band I'm in, Manes - we rehearse once or twice a week also, so I do my fair share of playing...
- How many instruments do you play on?
- I'm a guitarist first and foremost, but in Manes I play bass. Which is fun too, really. I don't play any other instruments.
- I guess Norway is still better known for the black metal bands. Does it make any difference for a death metal band from Norway?
- I guess the time when Norway was "nothing more" that Black Metal is over. Norway has lots of great bands within a diverse range of styles, genres and sub-genres. I can't say we've gotten any feedback suggesting that our nationality is neither an advantage nor a hinderance with Chton. We hope our music can speak for itself, really...
There is many well-known deathmetal bands from Norway. "Hallucinating Anxiety" by Cadaver was released back in 1990, and we can't forget the brilliant "Soulside Journey" by Darkthrone spearheading the genre... By the way - another album everybody should be on the lookout for is the "Auf wiedersehn"-album by Norwegian Equinox. Not deathmetal at all, but a jewel in any thrash-collection! Nowadays bands like Zyklon, Bloodthorn, Gehenna, Blood Red Throne and Aeturnus play what I would call deathmetal. And Cadaver still does... So, for recommendations - I would recommend "Murder" by Gehenna and "Under the Reign of Terror" by Bloodthorn.
- Extol is one of the few Christian death metal band I've ever heard about. What do you think about bands like them?
- Well, Mortification is quite known still, aren't they... Anyway - I think christians are just plain weird. It's something wrong with christians, wouldn't you agree? I think I have heard Extol somewhere once, but I choose to ignore such people. I'm no big fan, to say the least... Maybe they're all ok folks, you know, but they freak me out - I don't know how to behave when I meet someone like that... It's like believing in Hercules in my eyes. Or Xena, for that matter.
- What's your local scene like? How many opportunity do you have to play live?
- Our local scene is growing and has brought forth many great bands - some more established than others... Atrox, 3rd and the Mortal, Bloodthorn, Thorns, Perished, Griffin and Keep of Kalessin to name a few of the more well-known. New bands appear and disappear all the time, but some "stayers" well worth mentioning, along side Chton - as the new breed - is Manifest, Maelström, The Apparatus and Lumsk maybe... Here in Trondheim we also have some great supportive metalshops and gig-organizers that belives in the local scene and try to do what they can. We've played a few times here in Trondheim yes, but Trondheim isn't really a gigantic metropol full of metalheads - so we're really looking at possibilities to do some shows outside our hometown...
- What's your best gig memory?
- I don't really have any 1 memorable moment really - we haven't done that many gigs yet - so I guess our last gig is my best gig memory. I'm really looking forward to playing live again too, so I guess my best gig memory will be our latest - until something special happens... Playing with Behemoth was brilliant, though...
- What's your worst?
- Nothing REALLY bad has happened yet, so the worst thing, I guess, is amp-trouble after our intro's done, really... We're onstage and waiting for our cue to blast off with our opening song - and there's no fucking sound in any of the guitar-amps - not really the end of the world, but fucking annoying when it happens...
- Do you play cover songs?
- Our first live-appearance ever was at a Black Sabbath tribute night here in Trondheim. We did just two songs - "Who are you?" and "Hole in the sky" - somewhat modified to the Chton way of playing... We've done "Hole in the Sky" live again after that and we've covered "Circle of the tyrants" by Celtic Frost. It's great fun to do cover-songs live, and we're currently getting a Darkthrone-cover together for our next gig...
- Are you playing in other bands too? What shall we know about those bands?
- I play in another band called Manes. We've just released our new album "Vilosophe" on Code666, and it's nothing like Chton at all - more introspective and solemn, maybe... Not music for wild headbanging & hellraising, but more for nightly solitude. If you want to know more about Manes - check out www.code666.net or go to the official Code666-forum located here at UM. Terje also play in a band called Eternal Silence which is more along the lines of epic blackmetal... Kenneth has another band called Exalted which does a technical prog/black whatever...
- Please tell us a few words about the other members of the band, how would you describe them?
- Vidar has two hobbies: drums and working out. Terje is just total Metal/total Satan. Øyvind has a fetish for Japanese horrorflicks yet keeps a mysterious jolly mood and Kenneth is Master of Snappy One-liners & Stabbing Remarks. Me? Maybe a control-freak? That's all you get.
- What do you like more, composing your songs, jamming or playing live?
- I like it all, really - but I think the composing-part is what I enjoy the most. Hearing a song take form is really satisfying and motivating. Live is great too, though...
- What are you plans for the future?
- Nothing much. Die, I guess, but not yet...
- What's the first word that comes to mind when you see the word MANOWAR!
- Suntanlotion.
- What do you think of the current metal magazines? Which rock, and which are shit?
- The best zine I have ever read is ISTEN from Finland. Totally! I really liked SLAYER MAG until the last few issues too, but it seems like Metallion has gone a little too retro for my personal tastes. Other zines I really enjoy is TALES OF THE MACABRE, DESCENT (R.I.P?), FROM BEYOND, THE GRIMOIRE OF EXALTED DEEDS and maybe TERRORIZER (as a representative for the more mainstream press)...
- Where/how can people get in contact with the band?
- Come to Trondheim and we can grab a beer... Or visit www.chton.com. If someone should need a shipping-address for some reason - email me first at torstein@chton.com and I'll mail you back my adress. I could also mention that you can find links to most of the local bands etc that I mentioned in one of my previous answers at our homepage...
- When you go to see your favourite bands at a concert, are you listening to them as a musician or as a fan?
- If the gig really kicks ass and I'm "under the influence of large amounts of alcohol", I bang my head like any fan - but not always.... It depends, you know, but I seldom stand like a fool looking to find mistakes or talk shit about the band playing. I'm at gigs to have a good time, basically...
- What are you doing for a living?
- I'm a whore to society like most metalheads that have to eat and sleep with a roof over their heads. I have a shitty job that pays shit - but I need the money to keep up my music-addiction... I'm reluctant to conform to the values of the "grey masses", but I need to work to pay my bills...
- Do you have a musical conception you would like to make, that differs from the music you play now?
- I play in two very different bands that have two very different approaches to music. Chton is sinister metal that is "completed" when played live, you know. Pure dark aggression! With Manes we try to explore and experiment within all concepts of music - including metal. We do not have live-playing and touring as a goal, but rather the actual composing and recording. The path is the goal, you know... So, to answer your question, I would say that most of my musical ambitions could be fitted into one of the two bands I'm already in. I have some ideas and "plans" outside the said bands as well, but nothing I'd like to reveal here and now. Well, one of the "projects" will probably be called Gasskammer, that much I can say....
- Any message for your fans and the UM masses?
- UP THE HORNS! Thanx Perkele for this great and fucking looooong interview hehe! And for your support! Remember to check out the two free traxx on our website www.chton.com! We're hoping to do some gigs in scandinavia soon, and we hope to be able to record some new crushing stuff before the end of this year... That's that - now fuck off!
And some personal question:
Fav. musician/band:
Vidar (drums): Musician: Gene Hogland/Band: Meshuggah
Øyvind (guitar): Musician: Schuldiner/Band: Death
Kenneth (bass): Musician: Ihsahn/Band: Emperor
Terje (vox): Musician: Blackie Lawless/ Band: Nile
Torstein (guitar): Musician: Robert DelNaja/Band: Slayer
Fav. movie:
Vidar: Lord of The Rings
Øyvind: Battle Royale
Kenneth: Blue Velvet
Terje: The Ring
Torstein: Mulholland Drive (Just saw it... - Whoa!)
Fav. writer/book:
Vidar: ?/Sölvpilen
Øyvind: Writer: Neil Gaiman/Book: Neverwhere
Kenneth: Writer: Hermann Hesse/Book: Steppenwolf
Terje: Writer: Eliphas Levi/Book: Trancendental Magic
Torstein: Writer/Book: Douglas Adams - "The meaning of Liff"
Your current playlist:
Vidar:
- Cannibal Corpse "Gore Obsessed"
- Massive Attack "100th Window"
- Meshuggah "Nothing"
- Nasty Savage "Penetration Point"
- Celtic Frost "Into the Pandemonium"
Øvind:
- The latest album by Helheim
- Hate Eternal "King of All Kings"
- Holy Moses "Dissorder of the Order"
- Marduk "World Funeral"
- Devilyn "Reborn in Pain"
Kenneth:
- Vader "De Profundis"
- Behemoth "Satanica"
- The Crown "Crowned in Terror"
- Tom Waits "Alice"
- Gĺte "Jygri"
Terje:
- Decapitated "Nihility"
- Dissection "Storm of the lights bane"
- Nile "In darkened shrines"
- Thorns "s/t"
- Immolation "Unholy Cult"
Torstein:
- Napalm Death "Order of the Leech"
- Primal Scream "Xtrmntr"
- Isis "Oceanic"
- Aborym "With no human intervention"
- Mogwai "EP+6"
What band's concert have you seen last:
Vidar: Jorn/Pagan's Mind
Øyvind: Thulsa Doom/Godsize
Kenneth: Thulsa Doom (...came too late to see Godsize)
Terje: The Inferno festival (Immortal, Vader, Necrophagia etc.)
Torstein: The Southern Discomfort festival (Arcturus, The Crown, Atrox,The Haunted etc.)
torstein@chton.com
CHTON : http://www.chton.com
MANES : http://www.code666.net
Check the review on CHTON - Demo, 2002
The underground is the cradle of bands. A bunch of them get buried in oblivion for ever, while a bright future awaits for some. Honestly, it's a matter of fortune as well, but basicly you have to be a good musician, and original ideas are also required. I've heard only two songs from Chton so far, but I don't need to be fortune-teller to tell you, these Norwegians hold some more surprises for us in the upcoming years. What made me so amazed about their music? To find out, read this interview, answered by Torstein Parelius (guitar) except where otherwise stated.
- Please introduce the band to the readers. Where is the band from?
- Cheerz! Well, what can I say. We're Chton and we're a bloodthirsty bunch of five fuckers from Trondheim - Norway. We usually call our style dark and brutal deathmetal, but that's nothing more than informative... We play deathmetal basically. Extreme metal. We haven't been around for very long, but we plan to stay... We have only one official release behind us - a self-titled two-track promo - but there's more to come, I can promise you that! We're planning to do another demo/promo later this year if we don't get any better offers from any label than what we've gotten this far. As I said, we're thirsty for blood and wish to take this band further and deeper within the metal-underground! Stay tuned, as they say...
- Who are you and what do you do (in the band)?
- I'm Torstein and I play guitar. Besides me, Chton consists of Terje/vocals, Vidar/drums, Kenneth/bass and Øyvind/guitar.
- What's the meaning behind the band's name Cton?
- Chton is a name derived from the english word "chthtonian" (which again is taken from the greek "chthonios") meaning, if I remember correctly: "pertaining to the spirits and other beings dwelling under the earth". We had several alternatives when it came to naming the band, but Chton stuck out as a great name with many dark & obscure qualities. It is pronouneced K'TON, by the way - with a hard K.
- Who're your major influences?
- I guess all of us has different influences as well as favorites when it comes to other bands and artists. We didn't start this band with the intention to sound like Iron Maiden, Slayer, Deicide or whoever - the music we create now has developed over time. When I joined the band that were to become Chton, they played staightforward necro blackmetal. I brought with me more thrash and deathmetal techniques, so we have influenced eachother, I guess... We've all been listening to metal for as long as we can remember, so that's my answer I think - we try to feed of eachother, not copy someone else. As for favorites in extreme metal I have to mention bands like Morbid Angel, Immolation, Rebelliun, Bathory, Kreator, Slayer, Celtic Frost etc etc. The list could go on and on...
- What inspires you when you write the music, lyrics?
- It just comes to us naturally. Is that a stupid answer or what? I don't know what else to say. Maybe I answered some of it in the influences-bit? I don't know... I just sit with my guitar and play - let's just call it demonic possession, and leave it with that.
- How much time do you spend with the band generally?
- Personally I spend way too much time on this, I guess, but I feel it's right. I really believe in Chton and I live and breathe for music - both as a performer of music and a fan of music. As an underground-deathmetal band, we're not expecting things to be laid in our hands. We work hard to get people to hear our music and hopefully they'll like our shit. It's not for everyone - we know that - it's brutal fucking metal, but we know we have something to offer fans of this genre. Hopefully we can get to play much more live and release a debut album - to bring darkness to everyones ears.
- What is the song writing process like for Chton?
- Usually it's me and the other guitarist Øyvind who come up with some themes or riffs on our own, then just the two of us try to sit down and work with it and "polish" it (if that's the right word for deathmetal). After that we bring it all to rehearsal and try it out with a full band -
first and foremost to hear if it works, and to get input from the rest of the band. Both Terje, our vocalist, and our bassplayer Kenneth are good guitarplayers, so we really work on the songs as a team - with valuable feedback from everyone.
- What are your lyrics about?
- We don't really have an ongoing "concept" throughout our lyrics, so our only guidelines is that it must fit with our music - be it dark & sinister. Both Terje, Kenneth and me writes lyrics, and we have set no limits to the writing-process - it basically has to sound good and have some sort of substance. I can't really speak for anybody other than myself when it comes to the specific lyrics, and I don't really like to talk too much about mine either, but I guess I try to keep it dark, as I said - to venture into the land of occult horror... Sometimes it may be based on things that has happened in my life - or maybe in the lives of someone close to me - and sometimes it may be pure fiction. Either way, it's obscured by a veil of the grotesque...
- Tell us 3 good reasons why people should listen to you?
- The first and only real reason people should check us out, is to find out if we're their cup'o blood, really - to find out if we've got something to offer them... If we do - the 2nd thing to do would be to check us out live. That's when the real aggression and energy surface from the deep. I can't think of any reasons beyond that... Well - Why you should listen to us? It could be to prove for your surroundings that you're a sick fucking morbid motherfucker! A Chton-promo in your cd-collection isn't really a sign of sanity....
- How can people hear your music?
- "In concert" would be my choice answer, but that's maybe not the easiest access to our music, since we haven't played outside our hometown Trondheim yet. But soon... Be sure to spread the word: we want to come to your town and fucking crush everything in our path! Before that happens you should visit our website at www.chton.com and download the two tracks from our promo! Both tracks are pro-recorded in Skansen Studios (Wurdulak, 3rd and the Mortal, Perished, Atrox, Manes, Gorelord, Lumsk etc.) and in full 100% fucking free versions! Download'em and PLAY LOUD!
- What song of your's should people listen to before any other?
- I don't think we have one song that captures the essence of Chton... Download our promo and check out both songs - they're both very representative for our sound and direction. Personally I don't believe in homogeneity as a benefit for a bands' sound. We try to make songs from the ideas we have - and let each song speak for itself - within the limits we each have for what Chton should be and sound like, of course.
- What makes you different from other bands who play similar music?
- As I said in my previous answer - we try to develop and nourish our sound and style. We don't feel a need to revolutionize deathmetal - but rather bring something to it. We don't try to be the fastest, most brutal or weirdest - we make, or want to make - in-your-face, raw and dark deathmetal.
- To whom would you recommend to listen to Chton?
- Everybody into extreme metal should check us out and make up their own mind.
- If you could play a gig with 3 other bands, who would it be?
- Past or present? Well, I don't know... Maybe Bathory (preferrably around "Under the sign..."), "Reign in blood"-era Slayer and Cliff Burton-era Metallica - I guess that would gather the masses... We would headline, of course heheh - NO, I guess that'd be the day! We'd gladly play in the handicap-toilet at that event.
- What one location in the world would you love to play a gig at?
- The aforementioned handicap-toilet.
- What was the main reason you became a musician?
- To do a world-tour of handicap-toilets.
- How much time do you spend with practicing?
- I don't do much concrete practise. It's mostly at rehearsals I get to play much and hard. We rehearse like 2 times a week with Chton - sometimes more, sometimes less. With the other band I'm in, Manes - we rehearse once or twice a week also, so I do my fair share of playing...
- How many instruments do you play on?
- I'm a guitarist first and foremost, but in Manes I play bass. Which is fun too, really. I don't play any other instruments.
- I guess Norway is still better known for the black metal bands. Does it make any difference for a death metal band from Norway?
- I guess the time when Norway was "nothing more" that Black Metal is over. Norway has lots of great bands within a diverse range of styles, genres and sub-genres. I can't say we've gotten any feedback suggesting that our nationality is neither an advantage nor a hinderance with Chton. We hope our music can speak for itself, really...
There is many well-known deathmetal bands from Norway. "Hallucinating Anxiety" by Cadaver was released back in 1990, and we can't forget the brilliant "Soulside Journey" by Darkthrone spearheading the genre... By the way - another album everybody should be on the lookout for is the "Auf wiedersehn"-album by Norwegian Equinox. Not deathmetal at all, but a jewel in any thrash-collection! Nowadays bands like Zyklon, Bloodthorn, Gehenna, Blood Red Throne and Aeturnus play what I would call deathmetal. And Cadaver still does... So, for recommendations - I would recommend "Murder" by Gehenna and "Under the Reign of Terror" by Bloodthorn.
- Extol is one of the few Christian death metal band I've ever heard about. What do you think about bands like them?
- Well, Mortification is quite known still, aren't they... Anyway - I think christians are just plain weird. It's something wrong with christians, wouldn't you agree? I think I have heard Extol somewhere once, but I choose to ignore such people. I'm no big fan, to say the least... Maybe they're all ok folks, you know, but they freak me out - I don't know how to behave when I meet someone like that... It's like believing in Hercules in my eyes. Or Xena, for that matter.
- What's your local scene like? How many opportunity do you have to play live?
- Our local scene is growing and has brought forth many great bands - some more established than others... Atrox, 3rd and the Mortal, Bloodthorn, Thorns, Perished, Griffin and Keep of Kalessin to name a few of the more well-known. New bands appear and disappear all the time, but some "stayers" well worth mentioning, along side Chton - as the new breed - is Manifest, Maelström, The Apparatus and Lumsk maybe... Here in Trondheim we also have some great supportive metalshops and gig-organizers that belives in the local scene and try to do what they can. We've played a few times here in Trondheim yes, but Trondheim isn't really a gigantic metropol full of metalheads - so we're really looking at possibilities to do some shows outside our hometown...
- What's your best gig memory?
- I don't really have any 1 memorable moment really - we haven't done that many gigs yet - so I guess our last gig is my best gig memory. I'm really looking forward to playing live again too, so I guess my best gig memory will be our latest - until something special happens... Playing with Behemoth was brilliant, though...
- What's your worst?
- Nothing REALLY bad has happened yet, so the worst thing, I guess, is amp-trouble after our intro's done, really... We're onstage and waiting for our cue to blast off with our opening song - and there's no fucking sound in any of the guitar-amps - not really the end of the world, but fucking annoying when it happens...
- Do you play cover songs?
- Our first live-appearance ever was at a Black Sabbath tribute night here in Trondheim. We did just two songs - "Who are you?" and "Hole in the sky" - somewhat modified to the Chton way of playing... We've done "Hole in the Sky" live again after that and we've covered "Circle of the tyrants" by Celtic Frost. It's great fun to do cover-songs live, and we're currently getting a Darkthrone-cover together for our next gig...
- Are you playing in other bands too? What shall we know about those bands?
- I play in another band called Manes. We've just released our new album "Vilosophe" on Code666, and it's nothing like Chton at all - more introspective and solemn, maybe... Not music for wild headbanging & hellraising, but more for nightly solitude. If you want to know more about Manes - check out www.code666.net or go to the official Code666-forum located here at UM. Terje also play in a band called Eternal Silence which is more along the lines of epic blackmetal... Kenneth has another band called Exalted which does a technical prog/black whatever...
- Please tell us a few words about the other members of the band, how would you describe them?
- Vidar has two hobbies: drums and working out. Terje is just total Metal/total Satan. Øyvind has a fetish for Japanese horrorflicks yet keeps a mysterious jolly mood and Kenneth is Master of Snappy One-liners & Stabbing Remarks. Me? Maybe a control-freak? That's all you get.
- What do you like more, composing your songs, jamming or playing live?
- I like it all, really - but I think the composing-part is what I enjoy the most. Hearing a song take form is really satisfying and motivating. Live is great too, though...
- What are you plans for the future?
- Nothing much. Die, I guess, but not yet...
- What's the first word that comes to mind when you see the word MANOWAR!
- Suntanlotion.
- What do you think of the current metal magazines? Which rock, and which are shit?
- The best zine I have ever read is ISTEN from Finland. Totally! I really liked SLAYER MAG until the last few issues too, but it seems like Metallion has gone a little too retro for my personal tastes. Other zines I really enjoy is TALES OF THE MACABRE, DESCENT (R.I.P?), FROM BEYOND, THE GRIMOIRE OF EXALTED DEEDS and maybe TERRORIZER (as a representative for the more mainstream press)...
- Where/how can people get in contact with the band?
- Come to Trondheim and we can grab a beer... Or visit www.chton.com. If someone should need a shipping-address for some reason - email me first at torstein@chton.com and I'll mail you back my adress. I could also mention that you can find links to most of the local bands etc that I mentioned in one of my previous answers at our homepage...
- When you go to see your favourite bands at a concert, are you listening to them as a musician or as a fan?
- If the gig really kicks ass and I'm "under the influence of large amounts of alcohol", I bang my head like any fan - but not always.... It depends, you know, but I seldom stand like a fool looking to find mistakes or talk shit about the band playing. I'm at gigs to have a good time, basically...
- What are you doing for a living?
- I'm a whore to society like most metalheads that have to eat and sleep with a roof over their heads. I have a shitty job that pays shit - but I need the money to keep up my music-addiction... I'm reluctant to conform to the values of the "grey masses", but I need to work to pay my bills...
- Do you have a musical conception you would like to make, that differs from the music you play now?
- I play in two very different bands that have two very different approaches to music. Chton is sinister metal that is "completed" when played live, you know. Pure dark aggression! With Manes we try to explore and experiment within all concepts of music - including metal. We do not have live-playing and touring as a goal, but rather the actual composing and recording. The path is the goal, you know... So, to answer your question, I would say that most of my musical ambitions could be fitted into one of the two bands I'm already in. I have some ideas and "plans" outside the said bands as well, but nothing I'd like to reveal here and now. Well, one of the "projects" will probably be called Gasskammer, that much I can say....
- Any message for your fans and the UM masses?
- UP THE HORNS! Thanx Perkele for this great and fucking looooong interview hehe! And for your support! Remember to check out the two free traxx on our website www.chton.com! We're hoping to do some gigs in scandinavia soon, and we hope to be able to record some new crushing stuff before the end of this year... That's that - now fuck off!
And some personal question:
Fav. musician/band:
Vidar (drums): Musician: Gene Hogland/Band: Meshuggah
Øyvind (guitar): Musician: Schuldiner/Band: Death
Kenneth (bass): Musician: Ihsahn/Band: Emperor
Terje (vox): Musician: Blackie Lawless/ Band: Nile
Torstein (guitar): Musician: Robert DelNaja/Band: Slayer
Fav. movie:
Vidar: Lord of The Rings
Øyvind: Battle Royale
Kenneth: Blue Velvet
Terje: The Ring
Torstein: Mulholland Drive (Just saw it... - Whoa!)
Fav. writer/book:
Vidar: ?/Sölvpilen
Øyvind: Writer: Neil Gaiman/Book: Neverwhere
Kenneth: Writer: Hermann Hesse/Book: Steppenwolf
Terje: Writer: Eliphas Levi/Book: Trancendental Magic
Torstein: Writer/Book: Douglas Adams - "The meaning of Liff"
Your current playlist:
Vidar:
- Cannibal Corpse "Gore Obsessed"
- Massive Attack "100th Window"
- Meshuggah "Nothing"
- Nasty Savage "Penetration Point"
- Celtic Frost "Into the Pandemonium"
Øvind:
- The latest album by Helheim
- Hate Eternal "King of All Kings"
- Holy Moses "Dissorder of the Order"
- Marduk "World Funeral"
- Devilyn "Reborn in Pain"
Kenneth:
- Vader "De Profundis"
- Behemoth "Satanica"
- The Crown "Crowned in Terror"
- Tom Waits "Alice"
- Gĺte "Jygri"
Terje:
- Decapitated "Nihility"
- Dissection "Storm of the lights bane"
- Nile "In darkened shrines"
- Thorns "s/t"
- Immolation "Unholy Cult"
Torstein:
- Napalm Death "Order of the Leech"
- Primal Scream "Xtrmntr"
- Isis "Oceanic"
- Aborym "With no human intervention"
- Mogwai "EP+6"
What band's concert have you seen last:
Vidar: Jorn/Pagan's Mind
Øyvind: Thulsa Doom/Godsize
Kenneth: Thulsa Doom (...came too late to see Godsize)
Terje: The Inferno festival (Immortal, Vader, Necrophagia etc.)
Torstein: The Southern Discomfort festival (Arcturus, The Crown, Atrox,The Haunted etc.)
torstein@chton.com
CHTON : http://www.chton.com
MANES : http://www.code666.net
Check the review on CHTON - Demo, 2002
