EXCLUSIVE: Halifax Collect streaming VORNTH's debut. A metallic feature with fiery consequences, interview and track-by-track commentary

"
A vow to ourselves to live life at its fullest, as destructors of the order and liars"

Full of bile, barbaric fury and taste and sensibility for various schools of godless metal, Vornth comes at you like a deranged snake, spitting venom in all directions, and I wonder, where have they been all my life? The answer to that question will be answered below in a tense Q&A curated by an uninitiated plebe (that would be me), who in return gets dealt with swift blows only a well trained commando could dish out (that would be Erik Hartmann (vocals / guitar)).
The band's self-titled debut (Iron Tyrant Records) comes after what seems like long periods of inactivity and silence, what with the band forming in 2006 and being stable since, working its magic in a dark corner of a town you didn't know. Uddevalla is it's name. Clearly scholars of good metal (sub genres be damned), these guys have crafted a stingy album as raw and bloody as it is explorative and dynamic. There's a lot going on under the hood, shall we say, much more than one grasps from a quick listen. Vornth is a rewarding listen that constantly yields something beastly and surprising. If given a respectful chance, it'll hammer the listener down, nail through each hand and one through both shins, piercing both flesh and wood, hanging its eager victim on a cross, preferably upside down.

Halifax Collect is proud to present an exclusive full-album stream for limited time only (below)

Vornth has arrived. The wait, the patience was worth it.
Scroll down for a feature interview as well as the band's insight into each song, track-by-track!

Congratulations on getting the debut full-length out. Not exactly a new band, you've been at it for quite some time although number of official releases do not indicate that fact. I'm curious to know why that is and why Vornth has opted for this type of approach or if there were some hurdles that stifled the band's output production and touring?

 –Well it wasn’t that we didn’t see it coming, but thank you! There are many reasons all in all. First and second is that we wanted to make the album as genuine and exact as we possibly could. We are an honest band that doesn’t deal with shit. Quality is better in everything! Since we have done it this way it has opened a lot of new doors. And if you have doors you can choose. 

I'm always tempted to pit hellish thrash of bands that are similar to Vornth's against the streamlined and carefully orchestrated party thrash bands that have become quite the thing after Municipal Waste's uprising. Where do you see Vornth amongst these bands and do you like any of these so-called new wave of throwback thrash bands? 

– Who is similar to Vornth? Must be an idiot…  I do not feel that we have anything to do with each other. I think we are introvert wider, and therefor a more interesting band. If they are a BMX, we are a Puch Dakota… We have more in common with Angel Witch and Sodom and Morbid Saint and Kat from Poland.    

The sound on the album is absolutely savage and kills doctored plastic-metal like an exterminator kills unwanted insects. What's the studio approach like and how did you accomplish this venomous and violent sound? 

Thank you, you are a man of excellent and splendid taste in record sound! It was recorded by Michael Thorén at Studio Fabriken in Gothenburg. It is recorded on 2” tape. The key is to record live! Most of my favourite record sounds are from the '60s and '70s, so we wanted that sharpness meeting our thrashing speed metal. The studio also has no window to the control room, which contributes to isolation to focus. 

How many people died during the recording of "2740°," "Devil" and "Darkness and Steel"? 

- Haha! It is my teeth gnissle… But according to the internet it was around 1300 people.

It's not all hell, buzz saw-like riffing and acid venom vocals. There's a respite from the onslaught during "Bleed." Where did that song come from? Do the lyrics call for a different mood and calm tempo somehow?  

 - The first half of the song is written by Erik Kjörnberg and second half by me way back that I stole from myself. We used it to give the record depth and to educate ourselves on ourselves. It is a bit of a '70s feeling to it, and will probably not be on everyone’s plate, but we are not here to please! No! It is just a calm Vornth-song.  

My Vornth promo didn't come with song lyrics. Metal Archives notes Occultism, Metal, Hell as lyrical themes. With titles like "Metal Skies" I'm sure that website is right on the money and vocalist Erik Blackflexer barks, shrieks and spits the word "hell" on various occasions, but what are some of your favourite lyrics on the album and what do they talk about?

 – That is actually true, to not been written by us. I hate that fucking logo on metal archives though! It has come out by mistake once. "Metal Skies" has that title to make wimps think that it is stupid. It has the most devastating lyrics on the album. I write all the lyrics, I am very point to point with them. I like the double meaning of metal, both the music and for example a knife or a cold tank. In "Darkness And Steel" I play an assassin. "Spit Black Fire" is about belief and "Devil" is about exploring your mind. "Evil Blood" is a vow to never abandon that. I guess my favourites are "Rip Rip Rip" and "Devil."

Rather than quote the PR sheet I'd rather ask you. What inspires you to play this type of unholy, raw thrash and what are your influences musically and lyrically? 

– A good question! When I create in Vornth it is always about taming the storm. I think that this is just our music. I am a dedicated record collector. Listen to everything from The Supremes and Howling Wolf to Sadistik Exekution and bizarre metal records few has ever heard of. Integrity is one thing that inspires me, when there is something left for me to think about. The records that has made most impact on me is are Angel Witch's self titled, Iron Maiden's Killers and X-factor, Motörhead's Orgasmatron and Venom's Possessed. Lyrically I like to capture something or extend the music.  

Uddevalla isn't exactly a marquee name when metal cities enter the conversation? What are the characteristics of this town and how has in impacted the band and its music? 

- Uddevalla has always been a strong cultural scene. It goes in waves though, right now it is fucking terrible. Metal on the other hand has been strong as long as I can remember. You can go to a local shit place and drink beer and talk about Root from Czechia and so. I think people like to escape!haha Yes Uddevalla is great if you are a metrosexual hip hopper with plastic diamonds in your ears and have a trained smile, or if you are a hard working metalhead that wants nothing to do with shit! A bit Schizophrenic…

Growing up, was there a metal scene in Uddevalla that pre-dated Vornth and what is it like being a metal band in Uddevalla? 

-Yes there was/is. We used to look through the window to a bar when a band called Sabotage played. Bestial Mockery, Suicidal Winds and Sadistic Grimness members were bands we got to know.  For a while there were four record stores here, there are none now. But honestly we have always kept to ourselves. Today some active bands from Uddevalla are Necrocurse, Nekrosity and Protector.  

How's it been working with Iron Tyrant Records so far and how did this relationship come to be?

- We searched for a long time, even before we recorded the album, for the right company to have the right relationship with. I got to know about Iron Tyrant from buying Mortuary Drape's Secret Sudaria. I was fucking impressed by that release. We spoke for a while over email, and they thought about it and gave us a good offer. We are very pleased with the record. I think they are pleased with us too. 

The cover art peeked my interest. There's a demon or the devil, a woman in grave danger (possibly dead) and those sad cunts in Ku Klux Klan (KKK). With music this evil, an evil cover art is definitely appropriate. But how does this image and its characters correlate with Vornth's music?

- Very well! Off course it is NOT the Ku Kux Klan! The painting is made by a man called José from Mexico for fuck sake. Christian racists, does that sound like us? Haha! 

I wasn't suggesting Vornth being a racist band, it's just the attire is very much in tandem with aforementioned shit klan. Moving on...

- It is nothing less than a Satanic cover! The cloaks are actually black but painted in a way to show the light from the sacrifice, I also used a flash when I took the picture of it. The cover symbolises a birth through sacrifice. On the back the triangles symbolises the womb. The choice of sharp colours is to raise awareness. We like colours! Haha! The birth and sacrifice is off course the rising of Vornth’s first full-length album! The image you speak about is on the back of the record…

With such a strong debut out things will change for the band, I'm sure! Do you have any tours in the works, further releases and things like that people should know about about? What's on Vornth's fiery horizon?

- Yes things change, but we will not. No we have some gigs planned but no tour yet. We have actually never been on tour, strange because we are a live band. But most bands that tour are shit, we are reedy to change that! Next release for Vornth will be a EP, titled Black Pyres funny enough with the question in mind. We will play with Nifelheim and Nominon in a couple of weeks.

- Birkir Fjalar

*** Head on over to Vornth's facebook (here) to follow their trail of fire.

*** For more information on Iron Tyrant and their releases refer to their website (here) and facebook (here).

For more insight into the furious minds of Vornth and the individual pieces that make up the debut, read what the band has to say about each song, track-by-track

2740°
Stainless steel melts at 2740 celsius. It symbolizes a birth of something new. The birth of this record on your plate. It is to involve the listener more into the record. The ravens were recorded outside my window. It represents our hometown Uddevalla. Also the wind…


Evil Blood

A vow to ourselves to live life at its fullest. As destructors of the order and liars. It is written by Erik and Erik together in 2008, we pushed it as over the top as we could. It is meant to feel like you are on one side of a fist. Choose your side!


Rapid Death
Written in 2004. The lack of dignity in humanity always pisses me off! This song is about the world burning. We flee like rats and never think that there is nothing to return to, one could easy blame the “God-gene”! hrrm hrrm haha puke

Rip Rip Rip 

Written in 2003. Same theme as "Rapid Death", but also about lobotomy of youths that take place all over the world. Stuff them full with drugs and then they are ready to become adults? Without never getting a chance to gather experience on their own? If you have a profile on the internet is that who you are? I vote against!

Darkness and Steel
Written in 2005. It deals with a serial killer. I play the killer and on some parts the teller. This serial killer makes the victims come to him, and he makes them wanting him to kill them. He looks after them and they grow to love him as their fate. The man hates himself but he is too addicted to the rush to commit suicide. I know many writes about the topic, but I have an interest in criminology. I tried it to sort of making it a film with differences in harmonies and mood.


Spit Black Fire
Written in 2006. It is about not being ashamed over whom and what you are and what you believe and to express it! Silence is for wimps and soulless collectivualls.

Devil
Written in 2009 I think. I only remember waking up with a ghost light leaving the room. I picked up the guitar and played it. Totally sober. I have never been so sober…

Bleed
Written by Erik and Me in 2008. Again he wrote the first part and I picked up an old part of a song I wrote in 2001 and put them together. I think this song shows something that many bands and their critics are lacking, namely talent and balls! It is about a young man trying to do his best and to develop a path to do what he truthfully loves. Hearing how fucking useless he is, he never listens. He finds the path.

Metal Skies
Written in 2008. It is about a new better and superior mankind arrives on earth and welds the old one in a tank with water. As a sacrifice to their gods, the circle starts to close once again...

Axe Murder
Written in 2005. It is about an axe and a murderer and a combination.

Death's Horse
Written in 2001 and 2010. The title came about since it is a galloping riff. It is a song about fate and justice. To often choose not to listen to idiots. Can you accept a fate, yourself have created?

Grave of the Living

Written in 2011. It is about people that live with a shadow of fear and control. So they accept the lesser, the standard and the shortcuts in life. They are many, and shortcuts are smaller, they get stuffed and suffocate on their each other’s farts. Hirr hirr hirr...