Interview with Grotesque Hysterectomy 2013

By Bradley Smith

Grotesque Hysterectomy’s new album, Sororicide, is finally out.  I think it is your best work to date.  How do you think it differs and shows development from the previous releases?   And why was there such a long time in between recordings?

A: Thank you, I think it is quite obvious with Sorocicide compared to the previous releases that the band has grown and matured. While Piercing Through and Reek are death metal in the veins of say old Morbid Angel mixed with the rawness often found in grindcore, this album leans more towards longer and more, if I dare say, progressive metal. The time it takes to really learn to listen to the album reflects the time it took to make it I suppose. Seriously though, in between school, work, other obligations and everyday life, mixed with the perfectionism of Chris and Alex, time just seemed to run its due course.

Sigve, your vocals are tremendously brutal.  How do you try and get them to fit in with the music?  What effect are you trying to achieve with your voice?  Do you think that vocals are like another instrument in the band, or do you see them as somewhat separate as they convey an actual message or what?

A: Again, thank you. The vocals are, in my opinion, an equally important part of the music as any other instrument. They play an important part, along with the rest of the music, in creating the complete sound of any given band or artist, not confined to metal mind you. The effect I wanted to achieve for the song Pussy Gallore was that of a complete raving lunatic who actually believes he is in his right doing what he does (decipher the lyrics by yourselves). I am possibly old school, and as such I tend to want the vocals to flow along with the melody in the song  instead of colliding with it. I believe that makes for a total package where the brutality, or the tenderness, of the music stands out as one unity.

I read in another interview that Grotesque Hysterectomy tries to play beyond your abilities, faster than you can, bizarre songwriting, etc.  Would you say this is accurate?  How do you feel about GH’s songwriting style as compared to your peers?  In other words, how does GH stand out from other bands?  What about Christopher’s songwriting is “wrong” as Shandy put it?

A: This is definately accurate in the meaning they TRY to play beyond their abilities (speaking about the other guys now mind you ), the only problem is, there doesn't seem to be any limits.

GH's songwriting as compared to our peers... I could not tell you, I can however say this, it is a tedious process, and during this process something is created that just sounds right, brutal and right, but at the same time there is always that little edge to it that Shandy speaks about. There is something not quite right about the songwriting. I myself believe this to be derived from Christopher not listening to, and thus not getting influenced by, other bands in the creative process. He still has the old Deicide and Morbid Angel tunes in the back of his head, but I truly believe that his music comes from all the other influences he gets every day. The misery of the world as put forth by the news agents combined with the beauty of sailing creates a complete disaster, and if you try to listen to this disaster, you can hear Grotesque Hysterectomy, even, as Shandy put it, in between the chords something brutal and beautiful is created.

The cover art for Sororicide is quite unique and breaks a stereotype for what sort of cover art should be used for a death metal band.  Why did you choose this piece and how does it represent the material on the album? 

A: The cover art just fits, the name of the album, the lyrics, the character itself, everything just fits, this is a true freak of nature, and given the oportunity, he will violate you in the most bizarre ways imaginable.

The recording session for Sororicde took place at the new FiasCo studio.  Can you tell me about the recording process and how it was to work with Sverre of Audiopain during the session?  Does it help to have a fellow musician behind the table and how does it differ from working with a non-musician?

A: I myself was only there for one weekend to lay down the vocal tracks, so I can only speak for myself. When working with extreme vocals, it's always good to work with someone who knows what it's all about, and Sverre is precisely such a person. I found the session both effective and good in every aspect of it.

Surely it helps to have a fellow musician behind the table, it always does. A musician can point out the small but neccessary details that need to be adjusted to create that edge you want.

Tell me the concept of the board game that comes with the LP.  I believe it has something to do with a Kid murdering his family.  Who developed the board game?  Have you played it as a band and who won?  And how does it tie in with the lyrics?

A: Christopher came up with the idea after reading the lyrics for the album. The lyrics are all writen around this one solitary caracter who is "getting back" at his family after years of abuse. Simple and well used, as I stole the idea from the TV series Dexter and FBI files in a mix. From there it all went haywire in Chris' head and he came up with the idea of the board game that eventually turned in to The Family Game. As a band we haven't yet played it because we fear the wrath of the hunter among us, Birger, and the possible misjudgement of Shandys anger, so no games with guns for us this far...

Do you think that the metal world is very judgmental?  Why do you think that is the case?  Give me an example.  Do you appreciate bands that are pushing the boundaries?  What are some bands that you think are pushing those boundaries?  

A: he he, yes the metal world can be judgemental, but so can Hip Hop, trance and folk music be... We are (almost) all of us victims of some sort of uniformed life, beeing Metal or Hip Hop is a way of life for a lot of people, which in it self is not neccesearily a bad thing, but in my personal oppinion this will limit you as a person. If you can't open your horizons and see past the first impression you will most likely miss out on a lot of good people and a lot of good music. If you do not belong to the right crowd within the curcuit of Norwegian metal, then you are not very likely to get people to even bother trying to listen to you. Metal fans are actually extreemely judgemental towards other metal fans. I mean, look at the Norwegian sceene and who gets attention in Norway. Then look at the Norwegian metal bands that gets attention outside of Norway and tell me the difference. Some of the finest Death Metal in the world are made in Norway, but if "the right people" don't like you or your band, you won't get any pull form the Norwegian scene, that's for sure. There are a lot of really good Norwegian Death Metal/Extreme metal bands that could use that extra weight, but most of them will never even make it out of the rehearsal studio, and I believe that with a bit more unity in the Norwegian Death Metal Scene, more bands could be lifted to the European level. Not forgetting the obvious fact that you have to delliver a good product first!

Boundaries are, in my humble opinion, ment to be pushed and expanded. Musically I for one lists two favourite bands, Napalm Death and Jethro Tull, but in my collection you will find close to all music gandres there is, not claiming to know all there is but amongst my albums there are things that most people can't relate to in one way or another. Theese days I am playing a lot with a Tom Waits tribute band, but we also do coversongs by Stones, Zappa, Cohen, even Shakespears Sister (yeah, look them up ) and Hoffmaestro, so I claim to be pushing my own boundaries all the time. In Norway you have a strong tradition for Black Metal, it has gone from total,underground, mythical and scary in my youth, to representation in the Eurovision song contest of late, without pushing boudaries BM would have remained as it was during the first three years following 94. Norwegian Death Metal is also trying to grow by pressing hard on the boundaries, Execration is pulling off,in one direction, the "new" Blood Red Throne in another, Kraanium in yet another direction and my old band The Sickening in even a different direction, as is the case with Grotesque Hysterectomy in my point of view, all the listed bands play Death Metal, all these bands sound completely different from the other bands listed and none of the bands sounds like something you could call "Norwegian Death Metal". We just haven't found our own national DM sound like they did in Sweden. I suppose the closest we have to something we can call a "Norwegian" DM sound would be the early Blood Red Throne albums, or perhaps the sound found in and around the scene in Trondheim in the late 80s, early 90s...

But yeah, push the boundaries, respect those who do, like the ones I have mentioned among others, but also respect those who "play it safe", if there even is such a thing as playing it safe...

OH, and don't miss out on all the decent bands that are coming out these days that finds themselves in the void between crust, hardcore punk, grindcore and death metal, cause if you do you are missing out on a lot of good music!

Since Norway is in the grip of summer right now but is known for its winters, I was wondering how you felt about the Norwegian winters.  Do you like them, or would you like a break from them?  Do you consider winter as a part of the Norwegian cultural identity?  If you could go anywhere in the world during the winter, where would you go and why?

A: Well, I am off to Thailand for the summer since the forecast is really shitty here. In the middle of Norway where I live there is hardly any winter at all. During Easter we head up in the mountains to go skiing and ice fishing, this is in my opinion as big a part of Norwegion identity as the stories about the Trolls and the brown cheese, for which we are infamous. If the winter is as winter should be, cold and full of snow, it is beautiful, but if it is wet and grey and soggy, well that makes for a sad panda. If I could go anywhere I guess I would try Australia, always wanted to go on a walk about there;)

I know there is a bit of Norway vs. Sweden cultural rivalry and I have heard a few jokes recently from some Swedish musicians where the Swedes are mocking the Norwegians.  Are you aware of this rivalry?  What are some jokes that make fun of Swedes?  I know you guys must have a few.  Heh heh.

A: Rivalry you say? There is no contest! Actually we feel pitty towards the Swede. The Swede never closes the door when he is using the restroom, someone could peep through the keyhole... He always bring a ladder to the grocery store because he heard prices are rising... The Swede is even known to never to have tasted any of his own produce eg Milk due to the fact that on one side of the box spells out the words "don't open here"... But seriously, there are some jokes that are passed back and forth across the border, but the problem is the Swede forgot that the border was expanded in their advantage some houndred years ago, so what they are actually doing is passing jokes back and forth amongst themselves, so you see, we dont mock a nation that mocks itself.

Peace in the Valley tonight!!

So what near term plans do you have for Grotesque Hysterectomy?  Any important performances or tours coming soon?  Did you guys do a record release party for the new album?  If so, how did it go?

A: Right now we are in hibernation due to family ties and Birgers urge to walk in the wilderness. The record and the release did not get the attention and the follow up we expected from the Label that released the album, so that also plays a part in our hibernation, but this does not mean the band is done for by a long shot. We are only biding our time so to speak:) We are currently looking for a possible re-release of the album, and this time with the deserved and needed attention by a label. We do own all the rights connected to the album and the recording, so we are not in violation of any contract or such by doing this.

I’ll leave any final words of bestial reprisal to you freaks of nature.  Make sure you let loose with your murderous rage.

A: More people should learn how to dance Salsa.