BLOOD RED THRONE
Interview with Daniel Olaisen (Guitar)
By Metal Mike
I first got my introduction to BLOOD RED THRONE over a year ago supporting DIMMU BORGIR and ENSLAVED and the sheer brutality and presence of the band blew me away. I got to catch them again with GRAVE and their performance was no less awesome. So when I heard that the band had parted ways with vocalist Vald and bassist Erlend Caspersen I was saddened but also curious as to the next incarnation of the death metal beast. When the opportunity came to interview the band about the same subject, I of course jumped at the offer. So to find out more about the bands current situation, I asked guitarist and founding member Daniel Olaisen about the bands’ split, the search for new members, and how the new lineup sounds.
2011 saw a big change for BLOOD RED THRONE as the band parted ways with singer Vald and long time bassist Erlend Caspersen. I’m sure a lot of people are curious, why did these two members decide to leave?
There’s nothing dramatic behind this, but nevertheless very sad to split with such great people and musicians. I kind of had a feeling about Erlend the last few years. He started to get tired of the whole touring thing and I was not surprised and somehow knew he would quit after our last US tour in September 2010. We’ve toured most places in Europe, the US and been to Mexico twice, so he was pretty satisfied and just lost the spirit to do this.
About Vald, he really wanted to continue, but running his own business didn’t allow him to go away on tour. It’s very frustrating cause he’s one of the coolest guy I know. But that’s life and having that said, I’m very happy with the new guys and honestly speaking, Blood Red Throne has never had such a killer frontman as today, so we look forward to present this new line-up on stage!
How did you guys go about finding replacements, was it difficult?
We put out an ad. We had like 20 singers being interested and 10 bass players. Among the bass players was a young and skilled bass player from around, so it was an easy choice. Then we invited 6 of the most interesting singers and had a cool audition. 3 of them were really killer, but there was never a doubt in my mind, Bolt was the perfect BRT frontman.
And who did you guys end up choosing to fill the void left?
Ole Bent Madsen on bass and Yngve “Bolt” Christiansen on vocals.
How does the new BRT sound? Still as brutal as ever?
The sound is the same, but I dare saying that we have the most killer frontman ever these days. He’s just born to be on stage and he can sing both hi pitch and deep growls.
Sick! Line-up changes are never easy, but now that some time has passed are you guys ready and excited to get back out onto the scene?
It feels very exciting these days and we have plenty of gigs ahead. The line-up change went smooth and the fans have accepted the facts. BRT is here to stay for a long time man!
Are you guys planning to do any touring soon, and if so, will it continue to be in support of Brutalitarian Regime or have you guys already started writing new material?
We have a couple of shows here in Norway before we go on a European tour in March with Suffocation amongst others. We’ll also play Hellfest this summer and several other festivals. About new material, I’ve just started writing new songs and hopefully we will enter the studio late 2012!
