Brotthogg (Norway)

Metal-Roos: Greetings, Kristian. Welcome to Metal-Roos, it’s a pleasure to have you here.

Greetings to you! Thanks for taking an interest in Brotthogg.

M-R: Tell us a little bit how Brotthogg was born.

Brotthogg is a quite new metal project, but all the participants have been active with other bands since the late 90`s. It all began a couple of years ago with me having some material that didn`t fit so well in my other band Subliritum. While Subliritum nowadays is a bit more in the direction of technical death/black metal, these songs was a bit more “straight in your face” and maybe a bit more black metal oriented. So, this was the main reason to release this material under the name of Brotthogg. Our first EP The Last Traveler was released in November 2017. The process of recording the songs and the reception afterwards was great, so I decided early on to a full length album.  

M-R: In just 2 years you have an EP and an album, of which the last one was released few months ago. How is or was the reception of the public with your music?

It has been great. So far I haven`t seen a single bad review, and the response and interest has been above expected, both from fans and from magazines. I also think we have managed to reach a fair amount of people worldwide, considering this being a new independent band without a big label. All in all we are very satisfied and thankful for the reception of the public.

M-R: Looking and reading a little bit in social media, I noted that you do all the instruments, which is admirable, how do you feel doing all that?

Well, this whole thing started out as a solo project. It is of course lots of work doing all the instruments and recordings by myself. On the plus side I get to control the whole process from start to end, and I get to do all the decisions myself. I don`t have to compromise anything. However, I`m no singer/vocalist so it was from the beginning necessary to have another person doing the vocals. Luckily I have now two great singers doing the vocals, and this has been a great addition to the sound. The band now consists of me on all instruments, along with vocalists Craig Furunes (Chton, Demontera) and my brother Jonas Moen (Subliritum). Also, all the guitar solos on the new album are taken care of by the great guitar player Stephen Carlson.

M-R: What’s the influence of Brotthogg? And what all of you want to speak through the music?

I think Brotthogg is rooted in black metal, but we include elements from other kinds of metal, like thrash, heavy and death metal in the music as well, but without losing the melancholic cold atmospheres of black metal. I try to make a point of venturing beyond the frames and structures of traditional black metal, but it is naturally still the canvas for my compositions. I don`t think any particular band can be considered a direct influence. The reason for doing this is basically just making music for its own sake. Usually, I just pick up the guitar and try to make a cool riff. When I have a riff or a passage I’m satisfied with, the rest of the song is derived out of this first riff. A riff has usually a certain mood or a feeling, so the rests of the song comes quite naturally out of this mood or feeling.  The lyrics deals with and reflects upon a variety of topics, everything from post-apocalyptic sceneries, philosophy to northern mythology. So, it is no specific concept behind.

M-R: In the short career that has the band, what was for now the most exciting experience to all of you?

It is always a nice experience to be in the recording studio mixing and mastering all the tracks and finally get to hear the final result. I think this is the driving force for me.   

M-R: Any future plans or tours?

Well, considering this being a studio project we have no plans at the moment doing any tours. But I`m already composing some new songs for a new album, and I think the new material is very promising. The goal is to release the new album late 2020 or early 2021.

M-R: Thanks, Kristian, for your time! Hope to get you here soon, also, tell your social media to all the metal lovers.

Thanks for the interview!

 

Facebook

Bandcamp

Interview Date: 2019-11-18

Interviewer: Jhossbert Gonzalez