Norvegian black metal band RED HARVEST has released it's Cold Dark Matter in 2000. I think this album is one of the most interesting black metal albums of the year. Guys try to mix cool agressive black metal and pretty intelligent industrial/ drum-n-bass. To me this combination is the good one, and it's definately much better than other contemporary "black metal"+"industrial" experiments.

The interview was done in October'2000.

RED HARVEST is pretty common name on ex-USSR territory, ha-ha. Communists usually called their collective farms (kolhoz) like that. We had collective farms with names like "red harvest", "red communist", "red flag", "red peasant", "red partisan", etc. As far as I can guess your "Red Harvest" doesn't have anything common with communists and agriculture, right? -

WOW, I was not aware of that. Seriously, I'm pretty shure that wasn't in our minds when we came up with the name. The bandname came up even before I joined the band, thanx to a former guitarist. Where he got it from I don't know. Anyway, the name wouldn't have the same "schwung" if we changed to Pink Harvest, Green Tractor or Red Fart he-he.

You have released Cold Dark Matter in June. So, are you satisfied by result? Do you think that Cold Dark Matter is exactly same thing you wanted to achieve this time?

- Yeah, we are really happy about it. We wanted to do something dark and brutal, and I think we managed pretty well.

Cold Dark Matter doesn't sound like conceptual one-piece album to me. Some songs are into black metal vein, some songs are closer to death metal. They differ one from one. Did you write them all at the same period of time? And who writes the music? �

- It's not meant to be a concept album, but I think we have managed to get the album more wholehearted than our earlier releases. Most of the songs are written in the same period, even some of them have been lurking within our heads for some time. We started experimenting with the mix of EBM and industrial riffs and beats with a touch of BM on our latest EP "NewRage World Music", and found out that we really liked it. So I guess we'll try to develope this side of the band. The lyrics and the basis to the songs are written by Ofu Kahn and myself, but I must say that the album is more or less a piece of work made by all the five of us. The reason why the CD is so grim is that we have experienced a lot of shit the last years, so we had to get it out somewhere. It's the sound of the post-atomic winter, the soundtrack to a deathwish.

CDM is your 6th album. I had no chance to listen to rest of your albums so I want you to tell me about them. Do you think that your music evolves with every release or it's doesn't change since your very first release on
Black Mark?

- It started out as thrash, then a bit gothic and industrial, then even more gothic, then more "big" soundwise, still with a touch of industrial beats..... then, on the last EP and CD we just became more brutal. I guess we agreed on making the music and productions more the way we sound like live: More massive and with a harder edge. Anyway, the things we have done felt right back then, we're not ashamed of anything. We have never been "trendsurfers".

The mixture of death/ black metal and industrial is getting more and more popular among metal bands. Unfortunately, not many metal bands understand industrial music, as well as not many industrial bands understand metal stuff, so we don't get really good music often. �KOVENANT, new MAYHEM... Their experiments make me laugh. At the same time your music is extreme and powerful. It looks like you know what is industrial about. What do you think about above mentioned bands and their music? Do you listen to industrial music? What kind of bands you prefer? Do you listen to noise and power electronics?

- Taste is like the asscheeks, divided.... Red Harvest is a lot more free position to experiment and change styles, than the bands you mention. It's good for the music that it developes and don't get stuck in a pattern. I guess you have to crawl before you can walk. Personally I really dig the new Mayhem album, Kovernant is just boring and pathetic.... My own musical taste... I guess I'm alleating musicwise. As long as it's some kind of quality in the music (I don't listen to i.e Aqua and shit like that). I'm married to a music journalist, so I get to hear a lot of different and interesting music.

This summer we got an album from THE BERZERKER, Australian band on EARACHE. They mix brutal death metal and techno a la DHR (Atari Teenage Riot). Have you heard the band? I like their debut album. I think it's one of the best in this genre so far. Do you know someone who can beat them? Are there any Norwegians who explore such music you can recommend?

- I haven't heard about that band from Australia. I guess I'm gonna have to check it out. It's a bit difficult for me to recommend any bands since I haven't heard it.

I believe you know Norwegian band MYSTICUM. They mix black metal and industrial. Unfortunately their fantastic first and the last album was recorded almost 5 years ago. Do you know what happened to them?

- �No not really, but I see one of the guys almost every weekend in a pub I use to hang out.

I like two songs on your new album: Absolute Dunkelheit and Move or to be Moved. They both are very fast, violent and have drum-n-base elements. Both songs are quite different from the rest. Will you write more songs in this vein or you continue to do mix slow and fast songs on your future albums?

- �I think we'll get more and more dedicated to the style of "Absolute". It's great to make songs like that and also very interesting.

Unfortunately I do not have your lyrics so I'd like to ask about them. I guess they deal with technology, scary future, cyborgs, virtual horrors and other fairytale shit. Don't you think that we have enough interesting topics in our current life? Look, this century is one of the most cruel and mysterious ones. Russian revolution and millions of it's victims, Third Reich and World War II, today's global economy and it's dictate over people.
If you begin to dig those topics you'll find that there are millions of enigmas and lies hidden. The one who know the past controls the future...

- The lyrics are on our webpage http://www.redharvest.com/
The lyrics are about being fucked up and dropped dead by machines, your own head, �drugs and assholes that think they're a lot better than you.

Contemporary black metal scene is divided in two pretty equal parts. The first part consists of people who believe that black metal is art. They write their music for pleasure and for entertainment. As a fact those bands are incorporated into global industry of entertainment. The second part believes that black metal as all extreme music is music of protest. So people express their protest against this system and society through the music. Those bands usually called "underground" or extremists. For example, BURZUM, ABSURD, GRAVELAND, VELES, JUDAS ISCARIOT, DARKTHRONE. Do you agree with my picture of contemporary black metal scene? The music of Red Harvest is art or protest?

- Our music is a mix of self-therapy and protest I guess. I'm more the kind of guy that screams "fuck you" than I'm an artist. I guess your statement is right. Some bands are more wholehearted and underground and deserves more respect.

Since we began to talk about "extremists" I want to ask you about your view on renaissance of right-wing ideologies inside bm scene. What do you think about all those NS bands who managed to create very strong and well-organized scene?

- I don't like the far right or the far left. Fanatic people political or religious, suck.

Press-release tells that Fenriz took part in recording of your new album. How did it happen? Did you enjoy your cooperation with him?

- We have known each other for more than 12 years, and are really good friends. Fenriz dropped by one evening during the recording of the album. We did some stuff, drank and laughed a lot and had one hell of a headache the next day.

Since we began to talk about Fenriz I'd like to ask your opinion about the last album of DARKTHRONE. I think it is one of the under-promoted albums. It looks like this faggot musical industry forgot that DARKTHRONE is the true legend of black metal and it's new album is another proof that black metal is alive. Look at those coverstories about CRADLE OF FILTH, DIMMU BORGIR, KOVENANT, MAYHEM and other crappy bands but most magazines forgot about DARKTHRONE! What do you think about their new album?

- Darkthrone rules! "Ravishing Grimness" is a great album... and I really think the singer is one of the best BM vocalists around.

Are you interested in politics? What do you think about last year's scandal in Austria and reaction of European Union? What is your opinion about wars in Kosovo and Chechnia?

- Politics affects you, no matter what you do, where you are or who you are. The stupid thing is that you usually is exposed to one point of view. There's a good and a bad guy. Sorry, man. This might sound a bit nihilistic, but I don't like to discuss political issues in public. I'll leave that to Bono.

You belong to Norwegian BM scene since it's very beginning. You have seen it's very beginning, you have seen it's "golden age" and you are still in this business. You are still rather unknown band. What does help you not to give up? Some bands did, some have changed their music for softer genres.

- We love to make music and we believe in what we do. And we're all good friends in the band... we like each others company.

An album/ book/ movie you enjoyed most in this year?

- The Canadian movie "the Cube" was pretty cool (I think it's a bit old, but it was shown in the movie theathres this summer in Norway). And I think "Go" was a cool movie too. Even Tarantino will forgive them, I guess.

Please list your top 5 albums of this century.

- This is a tough one.... �I could probably change this list 4 billion times.

Pink Floyd: Animals
The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper
Slayer: Reign in blood
Terje Rypdal: Chaser
DunkelHeit: Obey

Press release tells that you tour a lot. What is your best gig so far? And what makes it best?

- We did a great gig in Copenhagen some years ago. The place was really crowded, the sound was great and the audience totally amazing. Our latest gig in Oslo was also really cool. So many people turned up to see the release-gig for "Cold Dark Matter".

Did you celebrate your band's 10th anniversary? And how do you plan to meet New Year/ New Century?

- We played a gig and got drunk. The rest of this year we'll go touring and start working on new material. �Personally I'll try to enjoy life a bit more. Maybe go on a long vacation far away from Norway.

More info on www.redharvest.com