Interview: Psalmtanic

Hey readers! We are back once again with another interview from the underground. This edition features an interview with members of the Bergen metal band, Psalmtanic. Matt and Eirik take us through the band’s writing process, the Bergen music scene, what to expect on their newest album Psalmtanic Verses and much more!

I (Stephen) had the pleasure of interviewing this creative metal band right before they released their new album, Psalmtanic Verses. Psalmtanic has a unique sound blending elements of different types of metal in a very cohesive way. After reading the interview, make sure to check out their newest album, Psalmtanic Verses! Lastly, check back when we release our March 2020 edition for the full review.

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Matt interview

Thank you for taking time to do the interview with us! For our readers who have never heard about Psalmtanic, can you tell them a little about the band and upcoming album, Psalmtanic Verses?

Psalmtanic is a concept Eirik has been wanting to do for several years. We demoed some sketches of a few of the songs a few years ago but finally got around to giving them a more thorough treatment in the latter half of 2018/early 2019. The main idea was to take psalms, preferably the more dark and grim ones lyrically, and give them a metal makeover. The album consists of four songs and spans several genres while retaining a black metal core. There are death metal, progressive metal, post metal, and even pop elements on Psalmtanic Verses. 

How did all of you meet to form Psalmtanic?

I moved to Bergen, Norway in 2014 and met Eirik through some mutual friends we have. If I remember correctly a bunch of us went out one night to Garage (RIP Garage), which was the go-to rock/metal bar/venue in Bergen for decades, drank some beers and Eirik and I got to talking about music and drunkenly agreed we should get together and write some music. I think we both woke up sober and somewhat skeptical about the plan but we followed through and have been writing music together since then.

What is the inspiration behind Psalmtanic Verses? Is there a concept, story, or overall idea?

Eirik is probably more qualified to answer this one but I mentioned earlier the general concept behind Psalmtanic. Maybe he will have a little more to add on the topic though.

The metal/progressive scene in Bergen, Norway is arguably one of the best scenes in the world, how has that impacted and influenced Psalmtanic?

There are indeed a ton of extremely talented bands in Bergen in the prog/metal/rock genres. How that scene has influenced Psalmtanic is tough to say since Psalmtanic was a very closed-off project that only Eirik and I worked on. I guess living in a place where it’s not considered unusual or taboo to make this kind of music as well as having access to relatively inexpensive rehearsal spaces helps a lot. There are so many rehearsal spaces in Bergen, off the top of my head I can think of six fairly large complexes that rent out rooms for musicians to write/record/jam in. I also have a theory that the climate here has been conducive to the music scene. For me personally I started writing a lot more music again after moving here because there are so many days where I just don’t want to be outside so I fell back on my hobbies I could pursue inside, which mainly is writing/recording music.

Having listened to some of the album, there seems to be a lot of different metal subgenres incorporated. What are some of Psalmtanic’s biggest influences?

I listen to a pretty wide variety of music but some of my all-time favorite bands are The Mars Volta, Radiohead, Cloudkicker, and Mastodon. As for what I’ve been listening to a lot recently, I’d definitely recommend Warforged’s “I: Voice” (progressive death metal), Himmellegeme’s “Myth of Earth” (psychedelic rock), Iskald’s “Innhøstinga” (progressive black metal), The Physics House Band’s “Death Sequence” (progressive rock), Aronious’ “Perspicacity” (progressive technical metal), and David Bowie’s “Blackstar” (art rock).

What kind of challenges did the band face during the writing and recording process for Psalmtanic Verses?

For me programming drums is always a challenge, especially to get them to sound natural. I don’t know how many hours I spent tweaking, rewriting, and just generally stumbling my way through the drum writing process but I’m assuming it’s 50+ hours. And even after all that time I still hear sections that I’d do differently now or feel I could’ve improved. But that’s just how it goes. Psalmtanic Verses also has my first vocals ever. I do the background growls on the album. I literally had never even tried to do that before we got in the studio to record vocals last year. Either “Naglet Til Et Kors På Jorden” or “In The Bleak Midwinter” has my first ever attempt at growling on it. It was challenging to try and learn some of the skills required for that technique, like breath control, how to project your voice, etc. on the fly while trying to record something usable. In the end I’m mostly happy with how they came out. They’d probably sound pretty lame by themselves, but layered in the background they seem to work pretty well in the mix.

What type of equipment was used to record the album?

We used an Axe FX II to record the bass and guitars. We used primarily two guitars, one is an Ibanez s770pb with Bare Knuckle Aftermath pickups, and the other is an Ibanez RGDIM6FM Iron Label with Fishman Modern Fluence pickups. The bass we used is a Dingwall Super J-5. For the drums we used Superior Drummer 2.0. There are some synths in there too that I can’t remember. Some synth plug in Eirik downloaded and then I just messed around with it until we found something we liked.

Does Psalmtanic have any plans after releasing the album?

We’ve been discussing some merch ideas but beyond the release of the album we don’t have any concrete plans. We’d need to find a band and relearn the songs if we ever were to perform them live.

What are some bands that y’all enjoy and think deserve more attention?

So many. Shaman Elephant, Himmellegeme, Atumatu, ISA, Tanjiir, Seven Impale, Effuse, The Organ Machines, A Novelist, Sunless Dawn, King Goat, Naeramarth, Left As Rain, Entropy Created Consciousness, Fremtiden, I could go on and on. Also, feel free to check our other bands Nautilus and Værbitt. We released our debut album for Nautilus in 2018 and it’s called “The Oceanwalker”. The album is all instrumental and I guess is a post metal/prog/rock album. The next album will have vocals and we’re currently in the process of writing it. Værbitt released its debut album “Tid” in 2016. We’re also currently writing the follow up to that album. Værbitt is an atmospheric black metal band.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us! Anything you would like to add in closing?

Thanks for having us! I hope you all enjoy the album if you check it out. Wash your hands and stay safe out there in these strange times. 

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Erik interview

Thank you for taking time to do the interview with us! For our readers who have never heard about Psalmtanic, can you tell them a little about the band and upcoming album, Psalmtanic Verses?

Psalmtanic vas initially more of a joke idea for a gimmick band that would cater to both christians and satanists. Easter psalms tend to focus a lot on Jesus, and his sufferings, as does a lot of black metal. That makes easter psalms the perfect material for this crossover. We recorded some demos a few years ago, but they weren’t that great. I wanted to rerecord them last year, as we have learned a lot more about recording. When we started redoing the songs, they turned out way better than we thought they would, and so we decided to make it a more serious release.

How did all of you meet to form Psalmtanic?

I’ll refer to Matts answer here, as I met him the same way he met me.

What is the inspiration behind Psalmtanic Verses? Is there a concept, story, or overall idea?

In Norway we have a thing for something called slow tv. We have had shows of whole train rides, lasting 8 hrs, a cruise lasting 3 days and so on. There was even one where they had many musicians play the whole psalm book from start to finish. During this I randomly tuned in during Naglet Til Et Kors På Jorden. It dawned on me that for the most part, the lyrics could easily be mistaken for black metal. Adding to that, we all know that making metal from folk music is a proven success. Just look at Windir, or all of Finland.

The metal/progressive scene in Bergen, Norway is arguably one of the best scenes in the world, how has that impacted and influenced Psalmtanic?

I would say a lot. I am from Bergen, and have lived here my whole life. That has no doubt influenced me to make the kind of music I do now. We also have access to some of the best musicians and producers in the metal scene, and almost all of them are really keen on helping smaller bands with good advice. It’s really not that expensive to get an album mixed and mastered from some of the best in the business either. The music scene as a whole, makes it possible for a lot of musicians to realise their visions.

Having listened to some of the album, there seems to be a lot of different metal subgenres incorporated. What are some of Psalmtanic’s biggest influences?

With Psalmtanic we basically decided that anything goes, and so the influences are almost anything we listen to. We were obviously listening to a lot of progressive metal while making this. Personally I always listen to a lot of atmospheric black metal, and traditional black metal too. There are some elements of that in Psalmtanic, but not too much, as we ended up cramming a bit of everything in there.

What kind of challenges did the band face during the writing and recording process for Psalmtanic Verses?

For me this thing was almost pure joy to do. As I mentioned, it was meant to be way less serious, but then the songs started improving dramatically. The most challenging thing for me as such, ended up being deadlines for the final recordings. I would some nights finish up at 3 am, and then meet up with Robert in Underschön studio at 8. All in all though, I think it was way worse for Matt with all the drum programming.

What type of equipment was used to record the album?

I’ll refer to Matt again on this one.

Does Psalmtanic have any plans after releasing the album?

Hard to say. As Matt said, live playing will be a bit of a pain in the ass. The songs are layered so much, that it would take a lot of arranging and good musicians to do. As for future material, there is still one psalm I really want to do. Other than that, it is actually a bit difficult to find psalms that fit the bill. Most of them are entirely too positive, and that would just be boring.

What are some bands that y’all enjoy and think deserve more attention?

I think Matt has a nice list here. If I add to that, it would just be more well known bands, and they already have the attention they need.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us! Anything you would like to add in closing?

A big thanks to you, and everyone else who take it upon themselves to do promotion for smaller bands. Without that effort, it would be impossible to get anywhere.

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Psalmtanic’s social links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/psalmtanic

Bandcamp: https://psalmtanic.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7i8eNdmNv7qoXJWiHvVeqP?si=wCMpag0CQXW3iyNU3x6ElA