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Interview with Grá

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Last Updated on 12:24 PM by Lilliana Tseka

Andreas Vingbäck (Heljarmadr) is a pretty active musician. Being the vocalist for Dark Funeral and the mainman of Cursed 13, doesn’t stop him to create beautiful things with Grá. Grá are coming by Greece, for their ‘A Coin For Charon’ tour and Metal Invader grabs the opportunity to have a talk with him.


Hello Andreas. Even though most people have learned your name after you joined Dark Funeral still you have a quiet interesting bio in extreme metal and Grá is band that has a faithful audience. But before telling us about Grá which were the first steps you‘ve done in music?

My passion for music came very early in my life. I remember listening to my uncles AC/DC tapes when I was a kid. Then I found harder and harder stuff along the years. I got my first guitar when I was 10 I think. An acoustic old thing on which I started to write my own music on instead of learning to play other bands music. My first LP was an old Hurriganes album my father gave me. I liked the cover art but thought the music wasn’t hard enough. When I was 13 or 14 I started playing in bands. The first black metal album I got my hands on was Varathron’s ‘His Majesty at the Swamp’ and I still hold it in high regard.

When and how did you decided to start Grá?

I started Grá together with Dimman back in 2010 when we were writing the music for the Cursed 13 album Triumf. We came into a writer’s block and just decided to do something completely different. We brought the studio equipment we had and locked ourselves in at the rehearsal place during a weekend and came out with what became the first Grá EP “Helfärd”.

I know that you may have answered it many times but what Grá means and how connected to you fill with the whole Scandinavian history/mythology?

Grá is a play with words, meaning grey. It’s a mix between the Icelandic Grár and the Swedish Grå. To put it in contest of the music one could say that grey is the “in between”, the area between worlds. I’ve been interested in Scandinavian mythology since I was a kid and I am a Scandinavian so I guess it’s a natural part of my heritage.

1

How easy to be involved in 3 bands/projects not only by recording albums but also performing live and touring? And beside that as probably Dark Funeral is your priority as a band how difficult is to be in a big name (for black metal) and at the same time having personal projects?

Well I am a workaholic so I don’t see the conflict at all. Yes, Dark Funeral is my priority but I am as passionate about all my musical projects and with some effort and planning I have enough time for everything. I’m not only a vocalist but also a guitarist and a songwriter. My position in Dark Funeral is mainly as a vocalist and lyric author so I have so much music that I write that I think deserves to be released.

In a few days you will play here in Greece. You are connected to our country as you first label was Greek, Sonicdeath Armageddon. Tell us more about this collaboration.

Yes we are really looking forward to come to Greece as it was from Greece the first EP was released and we have been digging in the Greek mythology as well throughout the Grá releases. As I mentioned before, we recorded the first EP in a very spontaneous way and when we were done with the mix we asked around a bit to see if anyone would be interested in releasing it and Sonicdeath Armageddon had the best offer. After the EP they vanished somehow and we got an album offer from Unexploded which we took.

”Ending”, your last album, was a triumph as most reviews were excellent. Lyrically speaking “Ending” is the final chapter in the suite about Charon and Death that began with the first “Helfärd” EP. Will it be a new suite? Have you got anything in mind of what the story would be about?

Yes “Ending” has been very well received throughout the world and the reviews have been great as you say. We put down two years of work on the album, we are very pleased with the outcome and it is a worthy end to the Charon suite. Regarding the future, I don’t think that we will do any similar concepts in a while but will try to explore new territory. Actually, those who attend the gigs on this tour might be up for a surprise…

How do you see on recording an album with ancient Greek mythology as the main lyrically theme? We have suffered a lot from Christians too you know…

Honestly I don’t have the knowledge to do such a thing as it would need loads of research, that’s something for Greek bands to do I think. We have been scraping the surface with the song ‘A Coin For Charon’ (obviously about Charon, but also Geras, Nyx), ‘Krämpor och Kval’, ‘Klagan och Längtan’ (about Geras). ‘Necrology of the Witch’ is partly about the witches that were burned in Europe but also a homage to Medusa. The ‘Helfärd’ songs may also be translated to Hades. Fuck the christians, hail the old gods!

2

What we should expect from your live performances Athens and Thessaloniki?

It is up to all of you to some extent. If you are open for a journey, then that is what you will get. A glimpse into worlds beyond this physical existence.

Which are you future plans including Dark Funeral and Cursed 13?

Straight after this tour I will turn my complete focus on the upcoming European Dark Funeral tour named “Shadows over Europe”, to support our new album “Where Shadows Forever Reign”! 26 dates in October/November over Western Europe. With Cursed 13 things are a bit resting at the moment. I’m slowly putting together a new album but I don’t expect anything to really take form until earliest next year. There’s a new single coming soon though with two brand new tracks. Stay updated on our social media and you will get all the details.

The last words are yours. Any message to your fans in Greece?

To come to Greece with Grá is a privilege and a great honour, something we have wanted since we released the EP. We will give you our very best and as I mentioned, there might be some surprises for those of you who are familiar with Grá. See you all in Thessaloniki on the 17th and in Athens on the 18th of September!
Hell Charon! Hell Chaos!
/Heljarmadr

 

Giorgos Tsekas
Giorgos Tsekas
"Κάποτε Όταν Θα ‘χουμε Καιρό... Θα Σκεφτούμε Πάνω Στις Ιδέες Όλων Των Μεγάλων Στοχαστών, Θα Θαυμάσουμε Τους Πίνακες Όλων Των Μεγάλων Ζωγράφων, Θα Γελάσουμε Με Όλους Τους Χωρατατζήδες, Θα Φλερτάρουμε Όλες Τις Γυναίκες, Θα Διδάξουμε Όλους Τους Ανθρώπους" Μπ. Μπρεχτ

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