THEKOVENANT

You guys seem like quite a radical departure from the rest of the Scandinavian (black) metal scene both in terms of the music and attitude.
Lex: Why thank you! Yes, it is different and intentionally so. As time passed new people came into the black metal scene and took all the ideas and values wrongly, so we felt that we didn't have anything in common anymore. We also felt that we wanted to make music for a totally new generation and be more inclusive to people as a scene.

Given the fanatical elitism that was (is?) characteristic of the scene I'll bet that was a minority opinion!
Lex: Yeah, we came close to being fire bombed a few times! There were personal threats and we're probably the most hated band in Norway..

Even with Hellhammer being in the band for 4 or 5 years!?
Lex: Not from the old guard because they knew us but from the new scene which is all these 16 year olds who think they know what's going on.....

Whats your fascination with space?
Lex: it's just ...hmmm we just wanna get off this fucking world I guess ha ha! That's why we play songs like 'Spaceman' - its just escapism. We can't change the world and instead of committing suicide we just wanna leave it. Just kidnap an alien, get in a spaceship and get off world ha ha ha ha!

Okaaaay. I get it. Changing the subject, you've gone thru several image
changes, why?
Lex: Everyone comes to a certain point where the press or someone says 'oh, they can't go any further now, the next album's gonna be shit' and they always seem to turn back to the old school or go more extreme. We decided to adopt a different approach.

But Emperor and Satyricon, especially Satyr, have expressed their desire
to move on....(I see a sceptical look on Lex's face at the mention of
Satyr's name)...don't they have much credibility with you?
Lex: NO. Satyr's basically the stupidest fuckin idiot in all of Norway. You can ask anyone. The most pathetic little fag - ever. If he's saying that then he's lying because after he heard our album he went back to the studio and took away almost all of the keyboards and changed some of the songs because he didn't wanna be a Kovenant copy. But who cares, not even Phil (Anselmo) cos they're not friends anymore.

But what about your roots? I mean, I saw you burning a Bible at Dynamo 2000.
Lex: There's nothing black metal about that, that's just anti Christian. Black metal is music, whereas being anti Christian or moreover, anti religious is a philosophy. Of course the two can be connected but we just have the philosophy, not the music as well. I should say that I don't just use Bibles, but any religious book that I can get my hands on such as a Torah or a Koran...there's no discrimination!

So is that what your song 'Jihad' is about?
Lex: y'know, we've had a lot of weird things happen to us because of that song (I can imagine! - SS). In East Germany people thought we were shouting 'Sieg Heil' instead of 'Jihad'! 2 days ago this Jewish girl came backstage and she was outraged and called me a fascist but I explained to her that its a song against all war mongers, dictators and Bill Clinton - a big fuck off to all of them.

But didn't the Norwegian scene have its own dictator (Fuhrer?) in the form of Count Grishnack (aka Varg Vikernes)?
Lex: (spitting) Dictator?! More of a fucking lunatic idiot. What the hell did he do? Count whatever

Well, he killed Euronymous...
Hellhammer: (suddenly spurred into action): It was his way to fame...revenge...it was his way to be famous
Lex: Is it famous to be in prison - he got 21 years!
Hellhammer: I think he still continues to write and get money .
Lex: No, he gets nothing cos he has to pay 14 million kroner for the church burnings. And his mom is being sued too I think...but anyway, who cares about them...they'll end up in heaven where they belong! Hey, I say what I feel and thats why we're called The Kovenant. It was a device which in ancient times was used by God to speak to the people.

Kovenant?
Lex: Y'know, the Arc of the Covenant

Ah yes, I see - no wonder that Jewish girl was upset!
Lex: There'll always be elements that'll try to ruin everything but still the Black Metal scene in Norway is still very strong. Just look at the new Mayhem. But the problem is...well, theres still a movement but nobody knows who they are....

What? Are you talking about the infamous black metal circle? Are they still around? Are you one of them!?
Lex: Heh heh, maybe...yes, it still exists but not as it was. That ended with Euronymous. He was the power centre because of the label (Death Like Silence) and the shop (Helvete) as well as the respect he got for creating the first Norwegian black metal band. But things have moved on now. With The Kovenant, its a mixture of White Zombie, M Manson, NIN, Rammstein and Depeche Mode. We're more interested in becoming electronic rather than industrial - less distorted but more nice. A cross between disco with the fag beats and the Sex Pistols ha ha! We put it all together onstage with DAT machines and samplers and Pyschoma pushes everything. Going back to the electronic aspect the next album will probably have more guitar, a cross between Nexus Polaris and Animatronic but more darker and also more metal.

Ok Lex, thanks. Now I have a few questions for Hellhammer. How did you come to join Mayhem?
Hellhammer: I joined back in 1988. I heard there was this band called Mayhem looking for a drummer so I sent Euronymous a tape and I got a call from him saying 'you're in' - as simple as that. No need to burn a church ha ha!

How come you were the only person who survived the tragedy of Mayhem?
Hellhammer: Well maybe I was just lucky! But also I didn't go around doing things like burning churches cos I was against that from the beginning. There's nothing new about burning a church, its just stupid.

Did Dead really commit suicide?
Hellhammer: Sure, of course he did, he was alone in the cabin I mean, we weren't involved. The police were satisfied

Couldn't you guys have seen it coming and prevented him?
Hellhammer: we didn't actually know that he was gonna do it. It just seemed another normal day when I said "bye" to him.

Normal? But he blew his head off with a shotgun!
Hellhammer: well, he tried with a knife first but it wasn't sharp enough - this is in his letter - so he used the shotgun that we kept in the house.

Did his family blame Mayhem for his death?
Hellhammer: I never actually met them but Euronymous wrote to them and Necro Butcher went to the funeral

Whatever happened to the pieces of Dead's skull?
Hellhammer: We lost them. They disappeared mysteriously. As for the smaller pieces I think the Marduk guys may have them.

Do you still speak to Varg?
Hellhammer: Actually, I haven't spoken to him for many, many years but he is doing his thing and I'm doing mine.

What was Varg like?
Hellhammer: He's a very polite and nice as person but I haven't seen him for some time. Of course, many hate him because of his killing of Euronymous and his beliefs.

How the fuck did you manage to drum for 3 hours( Kovenant's and Mayhem's sets were one after the other) when I saw you at Dynamo?
Hellhammer: Actually it was pure coincidence as I had been delayed from a previous gig so I flew in jetlagged ran up the stage, sat on the drumkit and played The Kovenant's set, then ran off, changed clothes and ran back for Mayhem.

Just like that (shaking my head in disbelief), no soundcheck?
Hellhammer: Just like that (beaming a broad smile of confidence). And it wasn't even my kit.