Interview -Pelle Ahmen-In Solitude

When the Decibel Tour rolled into town, I was lucky enough to have sit down with Pelle Ahman in the In Solitude van. Wil- So first off man, whats up with your death metal band Invidious, when is that project seeing a release date ? Pelle- the mix is taking a really long time because it needs to have a certain sound, so we are taking our time with it.There is something rewarding about being able to release it about being able to release it yourself. Wil- so what is the plan for following up " The World, the flesh, the devil" . It got a lot of critical acclaim, so where are your heads at in terms of a follow up? Pelle- We are writing pieces of songs here and there. We came up with a good foundation of a song in Portland. On the road we are really just limited to writing on guitar. As far as after this tour, we are playing some festivals then after that maybe another tour. Wil - your guys did a Samhain cover for the flexi disc, Revolver released and after seeing how much rawer and explosive you guys are live , how big of an influence is punk rock for you ? Pelle- Huge, punk rock and hardcore . Stuff like the Birthday Party, Danzig, the Misfits..though really Samhain , had more of a darkness. Discharge's music when you hear it has such an emotional connection. When I listen to Discharge though it might be political, I don't hear the politics I only hear the emotions. Wil- So how have you liked touring in America and how do the crowds differ from European ones? Pelle- Europe it's more of a social thing. They are there to drink beer and wanna fuck. In America the are up in front of the stage having this emotional release. When we toured with Down, it was slightly different. It was more of a hillbilly crowd. Sometimes they were shooting birds and fuck off, but I respect that it's a strong emotion. That is what I want for people to feel something whether it is to cry or bleed.It's power which transfers to the performance for us to create something that is devastating. Wil- Maybe that is because in America there are not many healthy outlets to find emotional release. Pelle- Yes, there is very much a sense of being hand cuffed, of living under a gun.It is something like they are living in betrayal. Wil- It seems to me like this has made the climate in the States, to where people are looking for more, causing a flourishing of interest in the occult. The first seeds of this being in popular culture and media . What's your perception of this ? Pelle-With the occult I think a lot of people like the imagery. I did at say 13 or 14. But it is a whole other thing.It's life and death, the whole idea of the occult. To choose to destroy and rebuild. The destructive force, you might choose to call Satan. But then again the Bible is very inspiring,some of the ideas. As a teenager music and literature are great gateways. Blessed and burned, when you look inward. Religion is about frame work, the occult is about isolation. You speak to a christian about these things and they don't understand. Wil -So back to music... Pelle-Yes lets talk about music. Wil- how was touring with Down? I know Fenriz also choose you guys to play the festival he curates, so between him and Phil how have those relationships influenced you as a young band ? What have you learned from those guys? Pelle- Phil was more of an influence on a personal level and the biggest influence of the Down tour was having the experience of playing with intensity every night and destroying yourself. Wil- I know you get pegged with the Mercyful Fate thing all the time and there's alot of classic metal like old Maiden in your sound but what other types of music are you into? Pelle-Everything from Darkthrone to P.J Harvey to Swans. Wil-Did you catch Swans on their most recent re-union tour they did without Jarboe? Pelle- Yes, I saw them in Sweden it was incredible. Wil- Yeah, When I saw them it struck me that in the sonic sense they are heavier than a lot of metal bands. Pelle- Yes,defiantly. Wil- What about My Bloody Valentine ? They are one of those bands whose influence is being felt on metal bands now. Pelle- I know is one of our guitarists' favorite bands.You said Mercyful Fate and that is easy to say at first listen, though if you listen to us for 30 or 40 mins or see the live show then there is much more there than that.Why write reviews? Write poetry don't write reviews. Wil- What about on tour is there anything you are reading or listening to help you escape? Pelle- as a singer I mainly listen to music with out words, this tour just modern classical piano music. We live out of this van so the road is meditation and medication. We are all loners. Everyone on this tour is a loner. So you go inside yourself. Wil- Well it was great, talking to you and was refreshing to go to a show, where all the bands connected with me on a very powerful level, it's not often a tour comes through like this. Pelle- Yes, it has been a very intense and rewarding.