FEMME METAL

 

 

 Interview By Erwin Van Dijk

 

The interview with Ronny Thorsen from Trail of Tears.

Trail of Tears is a metal band from Norway. Most people will label Trail of Tears as gothic but the music has a lot of other influences, like black metal and symphonic metal. This interview is with Ronny Thorsen.

The first question: Did you always wanted to become a singer?

I wouldn’t exactly say that but I started playing with the idea when I was around 14 years old. I have grown up listening to metal which was partly introduced to me by my father and as the years went by I became more and more fascinated by the so-called extreme ways of singing. I had been listening to bands like Metallica, Pantera and Sepultura for a while and when I heard bands like Edge of Sanity with Swanø on vocals, or Morbid Angel with David Vincent, I guess that kind of lit a spark in me to further investigate these kind of vocals and subsequently I started performing them myself.

And did you follow any singing lessons or other training?

No, I am completely self trained. When I started there were absolutely no way that you could find tips or advices regarding practises, techniques or similar but today this kind of vocal style is of course more accepted and also respected as something more than just screaming and yelling, as it might appear to people with no knowledge about it. This is a way of singing like anything else and it demands a strict technique in order to both make it sound good, and not to mention to keep your voice fit.

Death grunts are not exactly the most natural way to use your voice. How do you keep your voice in top condition in the studio and on tour?

I think the most important thing is to use common sense. This is not opera and when I hear extreme vocalists acting like they are Pavarotti and recommending mint tea/chocolate milk and honey then I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Like I said, take generally good care of yourself, don’t overdo alcohol before going on stage for example, and avoid smoking just before you start singing. Normal warm-up vocal exercises work good too.

To what kind of music do you listen yourself and what are your favourite bands and musicians?

I have a very wide taste. Everything from David Bowie to Darkthrone. If I am to mention some artists/bands that have meant a lot to me I guess I should mention Emperor, Alice in Chains/Layne Staley, Pantera/Phil Anselmo, Dimmu, Moonspell, Aha / Morten Harket, Madrugada / Sivert Høyem, Leonard Cohen. And many more of course.

With Trail of Tears you always use your ‘grunt’ voice. Have you thought of you using a clean voice for Trail of Tears instead of using an other singer for the clean male vocals?

I try to be quality minded and I set very high standards and goals for myself. I feel that I’m very capable in the extreme vocal field and that I have managed to put my signature on those kind of vocals over the years. When it comes to more clean vocals, I don’t think that I’m good enough to add something to the scene yet. Maybe sometime in the future I will feel that my clean vocals are strong enough but to be honest I would rather be great in doing one thing than to be mediocre in several. There are so many god-awful "singers" out there who refuse to accept their own limitations and I have no desire in adding to that list.

 I know from other musicians that Norway is not the easiest place for fans of metal, despite the fact that many bands originate from this country. What are your experiences and have you ever considered to relocate to another country?

I can do little but to confirm that statement. It is hard to be a musician in Norway for several reasons but the two main ones are that people in Norway are taxed half to death and secondly, there are not really any interest in metal in Norway. Might seem hard to believe but it’s just a fact that all Norwegian bands have their main markets outside of the country. To arrange realistic gigs here is close to impossible, unless you’re happy to be paid in beer and blowjobs hehe....

As for re-locating to another country, that is something that we should have done 10 years ago and I believe the band would be on a completely different level today had we done so. It’s easy to learn from your mistakes but we are not exactly getting any younger so something like that is not easy to just do today, however nothing is impossible.

We all know Trail of Tears evolved from Natt. Was Natt your first band or have you been active in other bands before Natt?

I had been singing for a Sepultura/Pantera cover band before, called Sepultera haha...but Natt was my first band. I was around 14-15 when that band started.

Trail of Tears usually refers to the relocation an movement (today we would call it deportation) of the Native Americans (Indians) during the nineteenth century. Is the band Trail of Tears named after this tragic episode in the history of the United States or has it another origin?

Yes, the band name is inspired by these events seeing that our previous guitar player was very interested in Native American history and culture but of course for us it hold no deep reference to these events. We were a bunch of kids who simply saw it as a fitting name to the music.

Trail of Tears has been active since 1997. Is it easy for you to combine your personal live with the band?

I have to say yes and no to that question. Yes, because the band is the most important thing in my life and if conflicts occur, then the band always win. However, there are a whole lot of personal sacrifices involved and I would like to see that I could combine certain things easier of course.

 

 I guess the most negative experience you had with Trail of Tears was in 2006 when all the other members of Trail of Tears left the band. Did you ever consider to end Trail of Tears and start all over again under a new name?

Yes, I did consider it but it was not a hard decision to make. I have, as mentioned earlier, sacrificed everything for this band and as long as I personally have the desire to continue and still feel that I have a lot left to accomplish with this band, then it makes no logical sense for me to give up everything because of other people’s lack of motivation and willingness to continue once things get a little tough. That is not the time to pack things up, when this is over I want to go out with my arms held high, not as a weakling who gave up once things got a bit stormy.

This year Trail of Tears released "Bloodstained Endurance" , the sixth studio album. How did the media and, more important, the fans respond to this album?

The response has been mostly fantastic and many are calling this the best album in the history of the band. The shows we have done have been great, people are responding amazingly to the new songs and we’ve met a lot of people with great comments on the album. I have to be honest and say that I think it’s a pity that the album hasn’t gotten a bigger push as everyone seems to think that it has the potential to knock down a lot of doors. We are heading out on tour again shortly to do our part in promoting it further so we’ll see what happens in the time to come.

Trail of Tears music has evolved over the years. When you look back to the first albums, are there things you would have done different with the experience you do have now?

Of course, anyone saying otherwise is lying;-) When you have been in a band for 12 years then there are of course always something that you wish that you had done differently but it makes little sense to dwell on those things. Take lesson instead and look to the future.

What is the idea behind the name of the album?

It is a reference to the band itself and it’s history. We have endured a lot of negativity over the years, we might be scarred but not gone and with this album we have proven that those scars will heal and that what doesn’t kill you, will in fact make you stronger.

And were do you get the inspiration of the songs?

From life and everything that it throws at you. Can’t really say it more simple than that.

Do you have any favourite songs on this album?

It varies, right now it’s "Once Kissed By The Serpent" and "In The Valley of Ashes".

Since the break up in 2006 must have been one the worst episodes in the history of Trail of Tears, what are the highlights for you with the band so far?

There are a lot of highlights of course, I could mention a lot of things like the first record deal, first album or first tour and so on. Each new thing tends to stand out naturally. But I guess the biggest highlight for me so far is to prove everyone wrong, return with a new and improved line-up, go directly on tour both in Europe and North America and then to start immediately making this new album which to me feels like a huge personal achievement as well as a grand statement to everyone who doubted me and my will power.

Trail of Tears will do a small tour this year, including a gig at Metal Female Voices Fest. Have you ever thought of recording a live album and a DVD? (Like Leaves’Eyes, Epica and Battlelore have done or will do during this festival)

We are looking into this right now but things depend on legal rights and boring stuff like that hehe...so we will see.

This will be Trail of Tears second MFVF gig. What can we expect this year? (Last year Trail of Tears was the most extreme band on the Saturday at MFVF)

You can expect a band that will kick the living shit out of you haha! We can’t wait to enter that powerful stage and feel it’s overwhelming energy. The set will include 4-5 new songs and an equal amount of older stuff. It will be an extremely intense and in your face kind of appearance as we will have only 50 minutes.

And will Trail of Tears visit more counties than Belgium and Holland during this tour?

Yes, we are expanding all the time. We are going out co-headlining with Gothminister in November/December, Greece, UK, France, Belgium, Germany among others and we just scheduled our first gig in Russia which we can’t fucking wait to do! We also added 4 shows with Epica later on and more will follow.

Besides the tour, what else can we expect from Trail of Tears in the future?

We will focus on touring now both in Europe as well as looking into other territories but we have also started writing the new album, so far there are 6 or 7 songs more or less finished. Depending on a couple of things we aim to enter the studio in April/May 2010.

And the last question, is there anything the reader should know that I have not asked?

No, you asked everything haha!

Links :

Ronny Thorsen Official Profile

Trail Of Tears Official MySpace

Trail Of Tears Official Site

 
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