After a short Norwegian tour, and just a few weeks after the release of their second full length album, ‘Onwards Into Battle’, Bloodthorn are hitting the French roads for a special tour with And Oceans and Agressor. Sadly, all the guys were ill, because the flew is striking very hardly in that period in France, and even if Harald (bass) was very cool, I guess he was too tired and not feeling that well, which is why this interview is pretty short and (let’s face it), not always very interesting…

You've just released your new album, ‘Onwards Into Battle’. Can you please tell us more about it?

It was recorded in studio Mega, just outside of Gothenburg, in Sweden, in March, during three weeks. After the recording, we changed members, we got Alex from Agressor on lead guitar. We also have a new drummer. Compared to the first one, I’d say that the album is more brutal, heavier, more powerful and more complex. But it also has the same atmospheres as on the first album.

How did you get in touch with Alex?

Krell met him in Marseille, they talked with him, and as we were beginning to have some problems with our lead guitarist…Well, he decided to quit. Otherwise we would have fired him (laughs). So we called Alex, he said ‘Sure’, and that was it.

So, he went to Norway to rehearse with you?

Yeah, he came and stayed there for ten days.

And that means that on this tour, Alex is gonna play in both Bloodthorn and Agressor. Isn’t it a problem for him to play two gigs every night?

No, it won’t be a problem. It will be hard, but he’ll manage it. That’s the reason why we’re playing first on this tour, so that he can have a break when And Oceans play.

About the tour itself, how is it going?

This is the first concert on the tour…We did one in Marseille, but after that, we just stayed at the hotel for four days, drinking (laughs), so we’re tired before the tour begins! But it seems to be good, the bus is OK. The only problem is that we have bad equipment. And it’s not fortunate that there is this festival on Sunday (ndr: just three days after this date, Cannibal Corpse, Marduk, Angel Corpse, Aeternus and Co are playing in this venue) . If I had the chance, I’d go there instead! (laughs)

You’ve released a split CD with And Oceans. Are you happy of the Bloodthorn cover they recorded?

Yes, it’s OK. They did their own version, which is cool. But we’re not really happy with this split CD at all. We’re not playing any songs from that CD anymore, because we’re not happy with the way they sound. We don’t think they have the right atmosphere, we did the two songs really fast, and then we went in the studio. We hadn’t rehearsed the And Oceans cover before… Mikael had called us about this split CD, and we have said “OK if you pay the studio”, and that’s it. We’re not happy with it.

Would you restart such an experience with another band? With whom?

Yes, we could do that. But there are lots of interesting bands…

And what about your last tour in Norway, with Keep Of Kalessin?

That was good, but that was only four dates. It was interesting, pretty fun, drinking and everything. We had that very old bus, with four beds in it, and we were seventeen in the bus, so we slept on a chair every night, and the promotion was very bad. The ticket prices were very high, and we’re not a famous band in Norway, we’re not from the right area in Norway.

How did you feel when there were people like Hellhammer in the audience?

We didn’t really think about it, we just did our show.

And how is it going between Norwegian bands? Is there a sort of competition, or is that more a sort of friendship relation?

I don’t know. We don’t have that much contacts with other Norwegian bands. Because first of all, most of the bands come from Oslo, which is 500 kilometers away from Trondheim. Bergen is thousand kilometers away, so we don’t relate with the other bands…

There has been a special report about that tour in a French mag, and they were saying you were always hunting for groupies…Is that gonna be the same on this tour?

Yeah, if we get the time! (laughs) Because some dates are gonna be a rush. Tomorrow, we’re gonna play Perpignan, and we’re just coming from Marseille, so that’ all the way round France. But we hope we’ll get time to get cheeks and drink some beers.

OK, thanks. What would be your last word?

I just want to thank all the ones who support the band and come to the shows, and everybody who keeps metal alive. Cheers!