Interview with Condor 2011

By Bradley Smith

Can you give a little history of the band?  How did you guys unite to form this beast of black thrash?  What are your goals with Condor and what inspired your sound?  Does Norway’s natural beauty play a role in the mentality of your band?  If so, how?

Herman and Magnus started jamming together in the summer of ’09, but didn’t get serious before Christoffer joined early ’10. Our goal is to get laid because of our music! Still hasn’t happened, so we keep on playing! All cool bands inspired our music, and when it comes to the sound, we just wanted to hear the snare and bassdrum. Christoffer likes to enjoy the beauty of Norwegian nature, and often walk in the forest listening to music. Herman and Magnus like to take pictures of themselves in the forest, because it makes them look badass. Growing up with black metal, the feeling of nature will always be present in our sound, hopefully.

You just released your new EP, Speedwagon.  How do you feel it is a progression over your first demo, Facing The First Winter?  What is the concept behind Speedwagon and what is a speedwagon to you? 

We think both sound and music has improved a lot. The demo was just a mixture of completely different riffs and songs, while on Speedwagon everything connects together much better. We think of a speedwagon as a fast car. Especially a local car in one of our garages, Ford Escort ’96 model, the one on the cover, U dig? Speedwagon is basically an opera about a boy who’s being bullied at school and he meets an old man with a Ford Escort. They become friends, and eventually the old man dies. The young boy inherits the car and uses it to become a superhero, known as SW666, or Speedwagon. Adventures and fun lie in front of him, along with trouble and villains. The car and the boy don’t always get along, but eeeh, no we’re just kidding. There is no concept.

It seems that there is a tight metal community in Norway, with bands being really supportive of each other.  Do you feel this is true?  I know you have gotten a lot of good word of mouth by individuals like Sindre (Obliteration) and Fenriz.  Tell me about the Kolbotn thrashers union and do you think this is turning into more than just a name and into a true brotherhood of metal there in Kolbotn?

No, it’s just a few bands, and all those bands are basically the same people, HA-HA. But they’re all really supportive of each other. Sindre has helped us very much, and is always very supportive, as with all the other cool guys. KTU is just a thing bands from Kolbotn put on their records, and it’s nize to be a part of that. It is also a brotherhood where we call each other BROS, and have secret handshakes. We also have a secret clubhouse with secret passwords. We could tell you the password and its location, but we would have to kill you. No, AGAIN, just messin’ all over the place. No special brotherhood, but it’s a nice emblem to have on the records, and of course we all know each other.   

I have heard several people mention your Youth.  How old are you guys?  Do you feel you bring a fresh perspective to the underground?  And have you noticed a new guard of bands coming up within the Norwegian underground?  I mean in the recent past the underground has been dominated by older metalheads and established bands. 

Herman and Christoffer are 18, and Magnus turns 18 in May! Big boys now, so hopefully we’ll get more gigs in 2012. We don’t bring a new perspective, we sound just like all other thrash bands. No, there are no new young bands that we know of. Still the same old guys basically, plus us young fellas.

So do you have a label yet that you are signed to?  Do you think being from Norway is beneficial to getting label and fan attention because of the already established and highly regarded music scene? 

We haven’t signed to a label, but we’re working on getting Speedwagon released on MC and vinyl by Reinig Records (also released Bunker 66 and Raging Steel!++). There are so many bands all over the world now that are equally great, so we don’t feel we have any benefit by living in Norway.

So you have played a few shows already such as your concert with Deathhammer.  What do you want to achieve when you are on stage?  What bands do you most admire their performance and want to model your own performance on?  What are some of your favorite concerts you have attended?

On stage we want to play our songs right, and not die of nervousness. We still enjoy playing live though, and enjoy it when we get up there, even though we have only played a couple of gigs. We just want to be a cool live band, and be ourselves – that’s the Condor way! Sabbat (Japan) is cool live (almost naked), but we won’t try to be like them for now. And of course Deathhammer, they rule live. Would love to see Antichrist live, the videos seems extraordinary. Favorite concerts (Magnus): Nekromantheon and Summon the Crows on Blitz was heavy live, and Purple Hill Witch is also great!

Christoffers best memories is Yes and Katie Melua.

Herman saw Nationalteatern in Arvika in June and it was the coolest concert he has ever seen.

I read in another interview that when you guys get together to hang out, one of your activities is to mock bands you don’t like.  So besides Dimmu, what are some of these bands?  And why does no one ever make a song about bands that suck?  Do you think most people are too afraid to make such a declaration?

We don’t know, just set Dimmu out there as an example. We try to stay away from that shit as much as we can, and don’t have much knowledge about it. There are also a few local bands that learn from these shitty bands that are very tragic, and you just have to laugh at them too. If people start to make songs about specific bad bands, they promote their music, and who wants that. And we don’t want a cool song we make to be about those UNCOOL bands. Sorry for saying cool way too much, but hey, we’re cool.

So what happens when thrashers attack?!!!  And why did Condor steal my baby?!!!!

When thrashers attack, you die. Simple as that, unless you’re cool. Condor stole your baby because he was hungry, and it looked delicious. The title is taken from a news story that was about a giant condor who stole a baby. We thought it was pretty interesting and suitable for a nekro Condor song, and the great heading in the article – HELP! A giant condor stole my baby!

For me, thrash and metal in general is very aesthetically driven.  What are some of the most powerful things you associate with thrash?  Bullet belts, Patched vests, etc.?  Why do you think these things are such powerful images to other metalheads and what do they mean to you? 

Thrash is long hair, tight pants, leather jackets, denim, war, and hell. All the things you don’t wanna talk about. Or with. Basically things that doesn’t make any real sense, but are really cool. The aesthetics doesn’t mean very much for us, but hey, u know, it’s like, yeah.

So what are your Upcoming Plans for Condor?   Can we expect a full album sometime soon?  Any shows that Condor will annihilate the audience at?

Our upcoming plan is to hopefully get a few gigs, and then live the rest of our lives on the money we make there. No, not an album very soon, but it will definitely come sometime! We rehearse on new songs every week, so check our facebook site for news and upcoming gigs.

I’ll leave any Final Words to you, and give back my baby!!!!  Heh heh

Thank you for the sweet interview! Stay with Christ, have a merry X-mas, and don’t do drugs or alcohol. Again, just pulling your leg! HAVE FUN!
and your baby is staying riiight here with us.