BlackmetalTR - Maniac ( MAYHEM )

1) There is a black metal scene here in Turkiye.Bands, concerts, albums etc..What do you think about that as an idea? Does black metal have any relation with the country and the origin? Can you say any countries that should not have a black metal scene.

I think this is an excellent idea. There are no boundaries as to who plays Black Metal and where it is played, nor should there be. It is very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that all Black Metal should only come from Norway, but that really is not the case. If you truly feel Black Metal inside you, and can express it musically, it doesn’t matter if you live in the darkest northern forest or in the middle of a desert. It is the spirit behind it, not where it was made that matters. And I certainly don’t think that some countries should not have a Black Metal scene, each one brings it’s own influences and contributes to keeping the genre fresh.

2)Which Mayhem song you like best while performing live on stage?

Hmmm. That’s a really difficult one to answer because my performances are always based on what I’m feeling at the time. So one day it could be one song, and another day it will be a completely different one. I don’t think I really have a particular favourite, although Grand Declaration of War is definitely my favourite album.

3)Regarding your live experiences up to now which country have the best audience?

I’ve been around a long, long time now, so I’ve played in most countries in the world I think, but I can’t say that any one country stands out as having the best audiences. It’s more a case of individual audiences on any one night. You can play one club one night and it will be phenomenal, whilst on the next visit it might feel like the worst gig you ever played. I don’t think you can generalise.

4)When you think about the whole black metal genre, which conception is a real cliche and maybe it wouldn’t be a part of black metal ever.

Black Metal, real Black Metal that is, is a state of mind. An attitude if you like. What matters is what the person who is playing it, or listening to it, thinks and feels. People who think that you have to wear spikes and corpse paint and be photographed up to your neck in snow in Norway in order to be “true” today have diluted the genre. They are very wrong. Black Metal always was, and always should be, about individuality and the ability to think outside the accepted norms. The moment you start attaching rules to it, you become one of the sheep that the genre has always despised. The most important thing is to think for yourself. Only then can you understand what Black Metal truly means.

5)Does Skitliv have any tourdates including Turkey? I would like to mention that you have a huge number of personal fans here for your Mayhem carieer and especially with the internet (myspace etc..) Skitliv is being known much more day by day.

We don’t have any tour dates planned yet. We are in the middle of recording the new album, and once that is released then we will start thinking about touring.

Unless of course someone offers us a gig before under the right circumstances, in which case we will come straight over!


6) Did you ever listened any black metal band from Turkiye? Which band is your favorite from the worldwide black metal genre?

To be honest I never listen to Black Metal from anywhere. I haven’t listened to it for many years. The last good Black Metal album to be made was Burzum’s “Philosofem”. People seem to think that just because you are a Black Metal musician, you spend your whole time listening to it. That’s not the case at all. Most musicians have very wide tastes in music, and when we’re not “working” we prefer to listen to other things. I get asked to listen to Black Metal bands every day, but if I did that I would never have time to listen to the music that I want to listen to! In fact, I wouldn’t have time to do anything else. None of us would. You have to draw the line somewhere. My manager, on the other hand, has to spend most of her time listening to Black Metal, and is very aware of what is out there. She works closely with a couple of musicians on the Turkish scene, and she tells me that the bands they are involved in are extremely good. Hopefully I’ll get to meet and play with them if we come to Turkey.

7)what are the differences between today’s and yesterday’s Maniac? In time did any of your opinions changed about the music, especially about extreme music and black metal?

I think today’s Maniac is older in years, but not in spirit. I’m not sure whether it’s my opinions about the music that have changed, or the music itself. What I liked a long time ago, I still like. I still listen to the bands that my father introduced me to when I was 9 years old, and obviously I’ve picked up a lot of bands along the way since then. However, extreme and black metal has changed so much today that it can’t even be compared to what it used to be in most cases. There are too many bands trying to be clones of Darkthrone, Mayhem, etc., etc. There is very little originality anywhere.

8)What are your daily life acitivites? What other genres do you listen except metal music?

I work on my various music projects, and I read constantly and write a lot. As I said before, my tastes in music are very eclectic. I listen to bands I like. Too many to mention really, and they fit into all kinds of genres. Having to restrict myself to any particular genre would be as boring as fuck. Let’s just say that I like what I like, and I listen to what I feel like listening to, when I feel like listening to it.


9)We really wonder your opinions about Mayhem..How does it feel to be a part of a band that has been shown as “legendary”? What does Mayhem represent for you when you look inside yourself?

Of course it’s significant to realise that you have been part of something that has become legendary, although I don’t think that any of us actually ever think about it in those terms. Whether the legendary status is deserved, or whether it’s because Mayhem was one of the very first Black Metal bands, or indeed, whether it was because of all the notoriety attached to us, I couldn’t say. When I look back on it all, I do feel a sense of achievement for some of the work I was involved in. Sometimes also there are moments of great darkness and despair. Like life I guess. There are good times and bad times to remember. It has been a massive part of my life and I will never under-value it.

10)You have been working with Kvarforth for live performances and also in the studio.

Will these featurings and cooperations continue in the future or these are just exclusive partnerships caused by your personal friendship?
Kvarforth is Skitliv’s guitarist, and we work well creatively together, so things will carry on as they are for the time being. There will be times when Shining’s schedule might not fit in with Skitliv’s but that’s something we can work round.

11) Any last words to followers and blackmetallers from Turkiye?

Thanks for all the messages of support we’ve been getting from Turkey; hopefully we’ll meet some of you on the road one day. Keep doing musically what you do because it is what you want to do, not because it is what you think you ought to do