Hyperborean

Bio:

The members of Swedish band Hyperborean are Magnus on vocals and Andreas on guitars and bass and then there is Fredrik Widigs who played session drums on both of our albums. Andreas and I knew each other from a previous band many years ago and when a spot opened up in Hyperborean I asked Andreas to join and he did. We have been going for a long time, off and on since 2000. Originally we were a seven piece band but during the years the line-up has changed many times. We picked it up as a duo in 2008 I think it was, and that seems to work rather well for us so far.

Genre:

Well we have never really been too bothered with fitting in to any specific genre. We just make the kind of music we like and that’s it really. There are a lot of influences from different genres (and non-metal music as well) mixed into our music, but the strongest ties are of course to black metal, so we just say we play black metal, or an experimental form of it. But what black metal means to me, at its best it is a great form of music that is full of very strong ideas, musically and lyrically. When it’s done well it can create great emotion and immersion in the music, concept and themes that are presented. When it´s done bad it can be quite terrible with endless repletion of watered down ideas, unoriginal riffs and mindless lyrics that have nothing to say beyond the pointless regurgitating of themes long since bled dry of any emotional impact.

Evolution of the initial musical and thematic elements:

For the latest album Andreas wanted to channel misery in all of its forms so that was the starting point musically. We wanted to somewhat move away from what we did on the first album and do something harsher. The lyrical themes expanded, but they have always dealt with man and his nature, the darkness or the animalistic essence that lies beneath the controlled and civilized surface. On the first album we explored that through a lens of warfare. On the latest album we explored it through disease and how man acts when confronted with terrors he does not understand. I had a larger narrative in mind when I started writing them, and we would need to make a couple of more albums to finish it.

Ideas about the album:

We are very happy with Mythos of the Great Pestilence. I think it represents the peak of our current musical ability. We are satisfied with the sound and the overall production of the album. We are proud of our efforts, Andreas worked his ass off in writing and recording his parts and I gave all that I had when I recorded the Vocals. We actually had to take a break for a few weeks because I fucked up my voice so bad during the first week of recording. I had to come back and redo some of the vocals because of that. If you listen to the song Änglamakerskan Hilda Nilsson you can actually hear my voice breaking in a few spots. But on that song I kind of liked how it sounded so we kept it there.

Reception:

Well the reception has been very good in terms of the reviews we have gotten. But since we don´t have a big label backing us it´s hard for us to get any coverage in the big Magazines etc. But hopefully the online reviews, interviews and word of mouth can convince people to give our album a listen.

Touring:

We are currently a studio band. So for right now we will be promoting the new album and after that get to writing new music.

Future plans:

Honestly, I have no idea what will happen. Hopefully the album gets some attention but it’s hard for us to know really, as we don’t play live it can be hard to gauge how our music is received.

Composers:

Andreas writes the music and then we discuss the arrangements of the songs together. I write the lyrics.

Inspirations:

There really isn´t one particular band we look to for inspiration. We prefer to just write what we feel like, and if possible, to add an original touch to what we do. But for metal bands I like to listen to, I like Taake, Marduk, Nile, Deathspell Omega etc.

Preference; cater to the audience or music for its own sake:

We have never catered to anyone but ourselves when it comes to writing music. And that is the way it will remain.

Greatest Accomplishment:

So far it would be Mythos of the Great Pestilence.

Thank you for this interview and for supporting Hyperborean! You can listen to our album on Spotify, Youtube etc. Visit our Facebook page.