Norwegian OSDM worshippers Abhorration literally took the world by storm with their debut full length Demonaltry. Razor sharp guitars, cut throat vocals blistering drums were the order of the day. Having played Abhorration numerous times on www.moshville.radio every Thursday night, it gives me immense pleasure to ask guitarist/vocalist Magnus a few questions about the band, the album Demonaltry, gigs and what happens next with all things Abhorration.
After playing “Chamber of Agilrept” numerous times on my show, the from listeners was extremely positive and put you guys on a few albums of the year list (See Lee Cummings from Severe Lacerations for example). How are things with you, Magnus? It’s an absolute pleasure getting to ask you these questions.
Things are good. Loads of shows planned for this year, which started last weekend in Bergen, and continues in Barcelona in a few weeks time. We appreciate the , and I’m glad you’ve had some positive playing our stuff!
One of the main reasons for this interview is that in September of last year, you released your debut album Demonaltry to critical acclaim. How does it feel to have the album finally out there in all its glory, in various formats after all the blood sweat and tears that you guys have put into it? How have the reviews been so far?
It feels great! I think the actual vinyl turned out really well, with only black records, printed on non-overly heavy vinyl, and on a matte cover that I think suited the cover art. It’s definitely the release that I’ve put in the most work, and where I’ve put the most attention to details in both song-writing and in the lyrics. Demonolatry is without a doubt the release I’m most proud of in my musical “career”. Reviews have mostly been good from what I’ve seen. There have been some extremely enthusiastic ones, as well as a few finding it a tad too Morbid Angel-worshiping. That’s to be expected though, as we’re not exactly hiding our influences.
One of the things I had noticed that in your short history, you released your demo a few years ago and with the debut album, I noticed that you did not choose songs from the demo. Is that era of the band pretty much closed now and the demos were used to create the sound you were looking for?
I was the only one who initially wanted to have a demo song on the record. I wanted to re-record “Ten Trenches of Malebolge”, but as none of the other guys were keen on the idea we didn’t. I agree in hindsight though. I always find it disappointing when an album comes out with songs I’ve already heard. I also think it takes something away from the original release, and often makes the original recording obsolete. In our case, I think the EP is good enough to stand on its own. I played them well enough, and the production is heavy as fuck. Lastly, I think we all tend to suffer from demo-itis, so re-recordings will almost always be a disappointment.
Was there ever a conversation of making this an EP or was the idea always an album? The reason I ask this is that the new school like to release a single couple of months single, whereas the old school are true to their roots and want to release albums. Was this a conscious decision by yourself and the band to release an album?
It was always meant as an album. Personally I like to start out doing a demo or an EP, then to progress to an album fairly quickly. This is partly because good songs are often wasted on what then often becomes an overlooked release . I’ve never been a fan of singles, and I hate it when bands release too many promo songs before an album is out. It takes away too much enjoyment of putting on a new release for the first time. With a few exceptions, I tend to stick to albums when I listen to music, unfortunately, but that’s the truth of it. Albums are the real deal, and the hardest to make, but definitely the most rewarding to finish.
How was the recording experience in the studio for you all. Was it pretty much a straightforward experience or was there a song/songs you had to redo over and over again?
We initially planned to have all recording and mixing done in a month, but of course it stretched on for about 4 months. We struggled for a while with the drums, as the songs ended up way faster than planned, but no specific song that I can . If you listen to the demo we made for Kill Town Death Fest 2023, you can hear the original tempo, so it was a bit trickier recording everything than expected haha. I also had to do a lot of the vocals over again, stretching it all out a bit, as we recorded everything in Arilds house about an hour from Oslo.
Is there anything about the way you are recording the album that you will continue to use and have a settled formula or are you quite open to finding new studios/experiences or do you think you have a formula that you are happy with and will stick to it for now?
I’d say we’ll continue doing it as we have been: ourselves. We have the place for it and the equipment, so I see no reason why we would pay someone else to record it for us. We’ll continue recording without all the technical bullshit like triggers and metronomes, Arild will mix it, and we’ll record everything at the volume of 1000 armageddons!! The only thing I’d do differently would be to set aside a whole week instead of doing it over multiple weekends.
One of the things I like about Abhorration is that you have had a pretty solid line up since the beginning. How is it in of negotiating within the band as to what stays in and what goes out of a song? Who is the hardest to please in the band and who is the one that sends the riff at 4am saying this is the best yet haha.
I think the reason why it has worked well so far is that we all have the same idea of what we want with the band, and how it’s supposed to sound. I think I might be the hardest to please, but since we do have a very aligned view we rarely have big arguments about anything, luckily. At the moment the biggest disagreement is that I don’t want us to overdo it with the blast beats, while the other guys agrees that that’s not possible.
How are the songs constructed within the band? Are there the main songwriters within the band or do you feel that everybody has to play their part and making the album a more collaborative effort and elevating it above everything you have done previously?
Until now I have been the main songwriter, but this is changing as we go forward. Since the band was started by Øyvind and I, it was natural for me to write all the riffs, and this continued through the EP, and to a large extent on the album, though Arild and Andreas did contribute sections on Demonolatry. The process used to be that I would had a riff or a section of a song, and then we would play around with that basic idea, and maybe change stuff around a bit. So I would usually have most of the riffs or sections prepared, and we would all have our say on what should be kept, changed or dropped completely. The process has changed quite a bit after the album though. Andreas and Arild write way more than before, so you will probably get a more varied and old school record next time around, as Andreas tend to write 1987 demo death metal riffs, and Arild more thrashy stuff than I do.
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With yourself being the main vocalist of the band, do you write all the lyrics or do all contribute to the lyrics? What type of lyricist are you. Do you always have a notepad and a pen and you see something on the street and take notes or do you watch a lot of films, documentaries? Has there been talk of two vocalists?
I’ve written all the lyrics, simply because I like to be in control of the phrasing and structuring of it. I usually need a clear source of inspiration to write them, like a mythical or historical event or place, so a lot of my lyrics are heavily inspired by books and texts. This time around they were based a lot on grimoires and witchcraft treatises. The closest we’ve come to thinking about two vocalists is that Andreas is slowly learning all the lyrics in case my voice goes before a show.
With Arild also being a vocalist in other bands, was there ever a conversation for him to do the vocals, you both do dual vocals or was this a time where you wanted to progress your vocal style after Hecatomb?
We’ve never really spoken about it, as he ed after we had recorded the first EP so I had already taken on the role as singer. There was talk about Andreas potentially being the vocalist before we did the EP, as a back-up in case it didn’t turn out well. I’ve also said that he’ll have to take charge if my vocals ever turn shit, I hate it when bands stick with a bad singer just cause he used to be good.
Recording the same vocal lines over and over again over maybe a short period of time for the album….do you go through some vocal techniques before you start recording and what rituals do you have before you go on stage?
No techniques or rituals. I usually record the whole song in one go, and then re-do parts if needed. I strain my voice a lot when recording, but live it’s okay, as I’m not able to push it as much when playing guitar. I did lose my voice halfway through the set at Tones of Decay last year, but that was because I was sick, so that was hopefully a one-off.
The artwork for the album….who done the artwork, what information did you give the artist? Was it the album, the lyrics or ideas that was in your head at the time?
Kristian Valbo from Obliteration, Avmakt and Saprophage, who also did our two logos, did the cover. We actually didn’t give him too many pointers. I sent him a collage of cover’s we liked, in the sort of primitive black/white style we ended up with, as well as lyrics and demo versions of a few songs. The actual image he came up with himself, and I think it fits the record really well!
Talking of the visual side of the album, we have to talk about videos for the album. Do you think that there is going to be more videos for new songs coming from the new album. What you got planned…who is the visual one in the band? Couple of singles before release?
I don’t think you’ll ever see any video material of us other than live clips. Lyric videos are fucking lame, and I don’t really care for music videos either. Especially not in extreme metal. As for singles, I think one single is enough, the rest you should wait for the album to be released to hear.
Abhorration have a history with Irish underground label Invictus Productions. How did this come about, how has the relationship been so far and what would you like Invictus to do for Abhorration?
I first got in with Invictus for a vinyl release of the demo from my previous band, Hecatomb. Once Abhorration got going I asked whether they’d be interested in doing our demo as well, which they luckily were. The collaboration with them has been really good. Darragh is a no-bullshit guy, and I have a lot of respect for how the label has never compromised in regards to style and quality of the bands they release. So far Invictus has done a lot to spread our music around, which is what a good label should do!
I think its fair to say that if you ever come to the UK, you have bands who have listened to Abhorration who would welcome you to tour the UK. Bands like Scottish titans BrainBath, Yorkshire lads Blasphemer and Cumbria boys Severe Lacerations for starters. What are you looking to do gig wise in 2025 and is there any scope of touring the UK with the aforementioned bands?
That’s good to hear! We have shit loads of shows planned for 2025, but unfortunately none in the UK. We are fully booked for this year, but there’s always 2026! At the moment the announced shows are Barcelona in Feb, Host of all Fevers in Innsbruck in march, Oslo with Sadistic Intent in April, Helsinki in May, Hellbotn in August, Morbid Catacombs and a short tour with HAR in Aug/Sept, and Metal and Hell in in November. There are a few more coming too, so beware!
Wee bit of fun for the end of the interview. When you have a gig time of 30 minutes, what song off the album are you personally looking forward to playing and why?
Hah, honestly I find all songs off the album difficult to play, so they all suck. I guess Ai Apaec is the least shitty, so I’d say that one.
Now is the time I normally ask what make and model of instruments do they play when recording the album….
Guitars are Ibanez Rocket Roll and a Jackson Kelly with Dimarzio Super Distortion Humbucker pickups, with an Engl Fireball amp and a Sound City 120 with a Tube Screamer pedal, as well as some other distortion pedal. For the bass we used the same Sound City with a HM2 pedal, a huge Orange cab and the instrument was a Westone Spectrum ST. We borrowed the drums from Kickan from Nekromantheon, so I’m not sure exactly what make they are.
Grim picture….but you are lying in a coffin with your arms folded and allowed to take a sheet of paper with lyrics that you are most proud of. What of the debut album would it be?
Any line or phrase that means the most? I think the lyrics for “Invoke Them” are the best overall. Honestly, none of the lyrics mean anything to me. Cheers!
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Demonaltry is out now
