Zyklon

Interview with TRYM TORSON (drums) August 6, 2005 
questions by Twilightheart

Time: 6th August 2005
Place: Wacken Open Air festival
Interview partner: Trym Torson (drums)
Method: face to face

I actually did this interview for a British Metal radio station. The Metal Radio wanted the audio version of it to transmit the interesting parts of it “on air”. But when I did the interview with Trym, I asked him, if I could also use the complete typed version of it for Sheol-Magazine and he agreed, so here we go:

Twi ( = Twilightheart) > We´re here in Wacken, 2005. How do you like it here? Have you been here before?

Trym > This is the first time we`ve been here with Zyklon, yeah.  So this is my first time at Wacken at all. I think it`s pretty cool, because we`ve played at 12 o’clock and I didn`t expect to be a lot of people that early. But there were a lot of people, so I was really surprised. And it shows the good will of the German fans. The German fans have always been there and always will. So for Zyklon and a lot of bands in general: in Germany has always been a really good crowd. So playing at a German festival is always good.

Twi > And what have you been up to yesterday?

Trym > Yesterday we left from Norway like at 12 o’clock. So, everybody was kind of drunk when we came here. And we just ate a Hamburger and went to a pub and had an “okay-time”. Relaxing. TRYING to relax at least. So this is the first day we`ve been actually on the whole festival area.

Twi > Have you seen any of the other bands performing? 

Trym > I´ve just seen “Suffocation” so far. Because I´ve toured with them. I´ve been playing drums with them on the Satyricon tour and with Morbid Angel last year in May. And Suffocation was on that tour, too. So it was cool to just see how Suffocation have developed during that time. I think they progressed pretty good for that last year. They have been really really good live.

Twi > Do you think it´s a pity that this festival here is not really Metal anymore? You know, with bands like “Oomph” playing …

Trym > Yeah, kind of. I think when a festival is getting this big, I think they need to bring on kind of non-Metal bands because there are a lot of people that are looking for a different kind of stuff. I don´t like too much of the strange kind of bands playing, but as long as the festival is giving the crowd a variety of different bands, I think it´s good to have different kind of stuff, because there`s always gonna be a band that is going to be cool for you.

Twi > But maybe it´s just too big… you know, with 4 bands playing at the same time… the fans are not satisfied, because they miss some bands, and maybe the artists are not satisfied either!?

Trym > No, I think that`s festivals in general. Because festivals are kind of … you just get a line check and you have to go up there and do your best. So I think being at big festivals brings up how good the bands actually are. Because then you really have to perform. If you`re playing just a regular show the whole setting is made that you are able to perform pretty good. But at a festival you really have to be able to do your best because there`s no rule for error or mistakes. So, in a way festivals are good, because you can tell if the bands are actually trying to do their best. But, like you said, if a festival is getting to big, there is like 4 bands playing at the same time and that`s not a good thing. It should be like 2 stages.

Twi > I have seen your gig at Party San festival last year. Have you noticed that a lot of artists from other bands came from the backstage area in front of the stage to watch your gig?

Trym > No. Actually… ususally I really don´t pay attention to much about it because when we´re playing I really focus on doing my job as good as possible. But TONIGHT it was cool to see that all these people came this early. I was really surprised. But Party San was really good, too, because there was really a die-hard crowd there. And I think Party San has more the right size of festival. Wacken is kind of to big, Party San is more right. You can see all the bands. But here you´re not able to see them all.

Twi > What I told you (that the other bands came to see your gig at Party San)… does it make you proud? Or do you take it for granted that people like you that much?

Trym > No no. I think it´s really cool that other bands show us the interest, because… if you don´t play in a band, I´ve noticed that people that don´t play music themselves they like more stuff, while if you`re playing in a band you don´t like to much stuff, you pick out certain kind of bands and you´re more distanced from the bands, since you´re already playing in a band. So having all those people that are playing in a pretty cool band, too, I think it´s pretty cool when they show interest in Zyklon. I mean, in the beginning we had a lot of struggle with the name and everybody was like “Ah, it´s gonna be like an Emperor-like reunion Death Metal- new thing”. And we had a hard struggle to show that this is a new band. But I think it´s always easier to play in Germany as everybody is really dedicated here.

Twi > You are focused on your life performance, as it seems, when watching you playing.

Trym > For me it is really important to do my best when I´m playing live. Especially like on festivals, because when all these people are coming all the way from all over Europe, you wanna give them something back. You wanna give the totally best of what you can. If I´m not able to bring out my best, or Zyklon not able to bring out, then people are kind of being dissapointed and we try to not dissapoint people. The fans have always stuck up for us, so that we need to stick up for the fans.

Twi > You´ve been touring in Japan, the States and so on. Please tell a bit about your experiences and if the fans are different in those countries.

Trym > Japan in general is like coming to another planet. It was really strange. I mean, it could have been like in a fucken distant galaxy.

Twi > Is it true that there are chairs in some concert venues.

Trym > No no, there were no chairs. But the fans there are even more dedicated than the German fans, because I think in Japan they don´t have to many extreme Metal bands coming there. So whenever there is more extreme music, everybody is really really into the band, showing their best interest. Everybody takes really good care. They make sure that everything is in schedule, everything is perfect. So it was really cool being in Japan. It´s been a totally different experience for me and for the whole band. Japan is a small area for that kind of music, so you can only do 2 or 3 shows there. While in Germany you can go for a whole tour. But in Germany are actually to many shows going on. There are tours that are going on like all year. So some people are like: “I don´t wanna go to that. I can see them next time.”, you know. So, in Japan they are really satisfied that bands are coming over there.

Twi > And in the States? How`s the market for extreme Metal over there?

Trym > Oh yeah, America totally is the biggest country for that kind of style, Death Metal like we play it. Because there are really really good Death Metal bands coming from America. Like Morbid Angel, Deicide, there`s a lot of brilliant bands coming from there. They are more used to that kind of music while Europe in general are more old-school Death and Black Metal kind of thing. But I think the whole extreme Metal scene is getting bigger in general.

Twi > Have you ever experienced anything bad on tour, in what country ever!?

Trym > Not really actually. I mean people can be dissapointed about maybe the sound, but I never had any bad experiences being on tour. Not when it comes to playing. I never had any bad experiences from the crowd.
But I had some bad experiences being on the road. Like, last year I was touring with Satyricon and the bus got attacked by special forces.

Twi > You must be kidding!

Trym > No, really! I woke up like 5 in the morning and there was a guy from the special police force in the bus with a sniper arsenal with a red laser point. And he was pointing at us and he said: “Everyone off the bus!”. And I was like “What!?!”, I couldn`t believe it`s true. I just closed my curtain and hoped that I was dreaming, it was unreal. Everybody had to go off the bus and there were about 10 police cars outside the bus. Everybody was surrounded. They were pointing with guns at us. I had to line outside the bus and it was raining and we were freezing. It was unreal. But the whole thing was that the tourmanager had more or less attacked the bus driver. And the bus driver called his office and said: “Hey, the tourmanager is attacking me with guns and knives”. So they sent in the police. Yeah, it was a horrible thing. It was a strange experience.

Twi > I can`t believe it…

Trym > Neither could I. Because I was drunk and I was like “No no no, I have to be dreaming…”

Twi > And are there any funny tour experiences?

Trym > I think it´s just pretty fun being on tour in general. I feel like I´m really dedicated to be able to go all around the world, see different places, meet people. And the thing is, if you go to America, you go to Europe or Asia… people are more or less the same. People are not that different. And I think it´s cool to see different cultures and meet different people.

Twi > Let´s get back to the band. I´m sure in Germany and Scandinavia everyone knows Zyklon`s history and where the members are from. But I´m not sure about Metal fans from other countries, and as we are international, please (for those who might not know yet) summarize the band history very shortly!

Trym > Well, the whole band started with me and Samoth after Emperor in 1999. Me and Samoth have been jamming for like half a year before Emperor was getting to an end, because we knew that Emperor is shutting down. So we started just playing in the rehearsal place and when Emperor came to a final end we just talked to Destructhor from Myrkskog and asked him if he was interested to join and make a full-time band.And he was up to it and that´s how Zyklon started. And then we talked to Daemon from Limbonic Art and he wanted to do the vocals. So we were just like “Okay, let´s make an album”. And then after a tour we did in Europe with Morbid Angel, Daemon wasn`t really able to do all the touring that we wanted to do. So we needed to bring a full-time member into the band. So we talked to Secthdamon (also from Myrkskog) and he was able to play the bass guitar as well as singing. And then we had a perfect line-up that we wanted to have from the beginning. We tried to just make a lot of music and tried to go on as many festivals as we are able to do. We all have been really lucky to be in the situation to make the music that WE wanna play and at the same time be able to go all around the world and play the music for people & get a good feedback. So, it´s been a really really good experience for us. 

Twi > Do you have any information about how many copies of your last album you`ve sold?

Trym > The first album sold by now about like between 25 000 and 30 000 on the “World ov worms”. And “Aeon” is just like a bit more. I don´t know the exact numbers but it´s like maybe 40 000. So, it´s not much, but it´s kind of okay for a starting band. Every band needs to get out 3 or 4 albums before people are really recognizing and seeing the band as a full time band.

Twi > Are you working on new material?

Trym > Yeah. Probably we wanna be recording the new album album in October. So hopefully the new album will be out in spring 2006.

((addendum Twilightheart February 2006: title of the new album is “Disintegrate”))

Twi > Will you come up with some variations in comparison to the last album or improvements in style?

Trym > Yeah, I think the new material is a mixture of the 2 first albums. It`s more kind of groovie, it´s more like headbanging kind of style now. We have fast songs, but we still have a lot of the slower songs. For us it´s important to be able to play more than just that really extreme thing. We try to play different styles. So hopefully the new album will be more Metal than the 2 first albums.

Twi > And how serious are your ambitions with Zyklon? Let´s just imagine 2 members leave the band. Would you stop the band or would you keep it alive with new members as long as it`s successful?

Trym > Well, for us it´s not all about the success. If we get some success with the band, that`s a bonus. The main thing for us is that we can play the music we like to play.That`s the main and the most important thing for us, to be able to do what we like. And if the people who listen to the music, if THEY like it, that´s a really cool thing. But if, like you said, 2 members are leaving the band, I think it would be really hard for us to continue the band, because we are so dependend of each other. If 50 % of the band is leaving I don´t think the band would be Zyklon anymore. Like me and Samoth have been playing together for a really long time now, so if we split up I think we have to start new bands actually.

Twi > Now to some less serious questions! Tell our readers which Norwegian beer you would recommend them!

Trym > I don´t drink much beer anymore. I prefer to drink hard liqueurs. But there´s a label called “Hansa” that`s pretty good. We do really have a lot of good beer in Norway in general. I prefer actually to drink more darker beer. Like “Guiness” and also German beer.

((A groupie walking by, bringing me spontaneously to the next question: ))

Twi > How do you like the groupies in Wacken?

Trym > Haha. Well, actually I´m not that interested in groupies in general. I think they are kind of cheesy, you know. I´ve never really been interested in Metal girls in general. I prefer regular girls that are more interested in me as a person rather than just like an Icon. You know, because there are a lot of people like “Oh, he´s playing in this and that band” and they don´t really care about the person. So, I´m not really that interested in groupies, to be honest.

Twi > Okay, last question: which is your own favourite song from the Zyklon albums?

Trym > I think maybe it´s the song “Psyklon Aeon” from the “Aeon” album, because it´s a very energizing song. We put a lot of energy into the song, but still there are some parts that are really kind of headbanging stuff. So I like the mixture of extreme and headbanging style. So that´s probably my favourite Zyklon song. If we can put a lot of energy into a song and be able to transmit that energy to the audience, that`s the best thing for us.

Trym (photo with friendly permission
 taken from www.emperorhorde.com)

For photos of the Zyklon gig in Wacken 2005 go HERE!

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