Founded in 2018, in the northern climes of Germany, along the Baltic sea, the anonymous black metal collective Dødsdrift are about to release their second full-length titled "Ødnis", on October 15th on Vendetta Records. In this new opus, the band invites the listener on a bleak and mesmerizing journey straight into the depths of the human being.
Dødsdrift wear their hearts on sleeves and deliver an intense and moving black metal release not to be missed in 2021, therefore Metal Imperium decided to catch up with the band to find out more details. Check it out here!
M.I. - Why have you opted to name yourselves Dødsdrift, using a Norwegian word? Why is this the best name for you?
First of all, our band name is considered to be the Danish word for “deathwish” but there is the same word in the Swedish and Norwegian language too, so let's say it's a Scandinavian term.
The aim of our music is to combine the dark beauty and the cold/rough atmosphere of black metal. We want to cause the fascination for darkness in a beautiful way. That's what our music is about and that's why the paradox band name was chosen.
M.I. - Dødsdrift is another mysterious collective in today’s music scene. This is no novelty at all. Why do you want to do it this way? Being anonymous adds any extra spice to the whole thing?
As most music projects who are acting in an anonymous way, we want to be reduced to the music and not to the people behind it. It’s important for us that everyone in the collective will be looked at in the same way.
M.I. - Are you experienced musicians? Are the members involved in any other projects?
Yes, all of us have other music projects within the field of metal and heavy music for several years.
M.I. - Is the label aware of your true identities? Apart from yourselves who knows who you are?
Vendetta Records is not aware of all the true identities but of all the other music projects we are involved in.
There are just a handful of people knowing exactly who's behind Dødsdrift. We try to keep that as secret as possible hence we won’t show our faces nor share real names.
M.I. - Considering the band has a Norwegian name, I assume Norwegian Black Metal has had a big influence on you. Is that correct? Mention the bands that have had a bigger impact on you.
There are a few bands out there we like to listen to and who are influencing us. If you want to read some names we can call out Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Winterfylleth or Harakiri for the Sky.
Of course, there are also other well-known black metal bands from Norway or Sweden we take inspiration from.
M.I. – Which album turned you into Black Metal? Why?
There are some masterpieces out there every Black Metal head listened to, either s/he liked it or not. Darkthrone’s “A blaze in the northern Sky” or Dissection’s “Storm of the light’s Bane” are just two to call out here.
Especially with all the stories and legends going on in Norway during the 90’s are fascinating if you are new to that kind of music. It was not just being a badass on the record, but also in real life. I guess a lot of people found their way into BM that way.
M.I. - Name the 10 best albums of all time for yourselves.
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the northern Sky
Dark Fortress - Stab Wounds
Dissection - Storm of the light’s bane
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in time
Mgla - Exercises in futility
Winterfylleth - The dark hereafter
Behemoth - Demigod
Dark Funeral - Where shadows forever reign
Immortal - Sons of northern darkness
Deafheaven - Sunbather
M.I. - So, your first full-length “Weltenszission” was released on the 20th October 2019 and the new one ‘Ødnis’ will be released on the 15th October 2021… anything special about the month of October?
No. Pure coincidence.
M.I. - I read that “on their upcoming record Dødsdrift wear their hearts on sleeves and deliver an intense and moving black metal release”. Do you agree? How important is it putting your emotions into your tracks?
There will always be songs you’re not completely sure about the final result. But the most important thing is always to put all your energy into it and focus on the pieces which are most important for you. For the upcoming album we wanted the songs to sound more wide and powerful than on Weltenszission. So, we decided to make them sound clearer and more straightforward. Also, we doubled the vocals at some points to make them more wide and powerful.
As for a lot of musicians, putting your emotions into your music is important for us. That doesn’t necessarily mean that lyrics have to reflect your feelings 1:1, but you can also achieve this through your instruments and the voice.
M.I. - The new album is titled “Ødnis” and includes 10 tracks with German titles. What are the lyrics about?
The lyrics of Ødnis are about the urge to find your own path, to thrive in critical moments, the power of nature and conflicts the whole globe is facing. You’ll never see us writing songs about Satan or the punishment of Jesus Christ. Although these are typical themes for Black Metal and the members behind the music, we won’t choose this approach as it wouldn’t feel authentic for us. And this is a big point for us. There are so many bands out there worshipping the devil in their songs and spitting blood on the stage, but after the show you see them making fun about all of it. That’s not up our alley.
M.I. - Why have you opted to write and sing in your native tongue?
There’s a quite simple answer to that. We think that emotions and ideas behind the music are thriving most in our mother tongue. When we started the project Dødsdrift it felt the most natural thing to do and we never had discussions about using English or another language.
M.I. - How was it recording an album during a pandemic?
Exhausting. As nearly all the members are living in different areas along the Baltic Sea coast in northern Germany, we were not allowed to meet each other as we wanted. Our guitarists were in luck because they are living in the same city, so they could work out the songs together and support each other during the recording. In general, we didn’t have one session where all of us were in one place during the recordings.
Same with the artwork and layout of the CD and Vinyl. The whole process took place remotely.
M.I. - Both of your album covers include the image of Nature. How important is mother Nature to you?
Nature is always important. The cover of Weltenszission shows parts of the rough shore of Island which fits quite well with most of the themes in the lyrics. Ødnis' cover picture on the other hand was taken in northern Germany. It shows an abandoned area within a swamp, where not much is allowed to grow there beside an old tree, which consists only of dead wood. Just a couple of days later this tree got hit by lightning and fell apart, which is quite poetic as this is exactly what the lyrics in the Song “Moorbrand” are about.
M.I. - Your music video to "Fährde" hit the 10.000 views mark on YouTube. This is great! How powerful is the internet these days? Do you think it can make or break a band? Why do bands still need labels?
Thank you. The internet nowadays, and also over the last decade and more so to speak, is great for bands. Much more musicians have the chance to show their potential to a bigger crowd. Processes which took many years in the past can be accelerated easily within months or less, new genres get discovered and also the options to purchase physical items like vinyl or CDs are way better. On the other hand, there’s so much crap out there and people get pissed if you don’t comment on their music like they’ve expected. The metal scene is quite benevolent here, especially with young bands. But if you head over to other genres outside Metal people are going crazy in the comment section.
M.I. - The first album was released independently but the new one is being released by Vendetta Records. How did the deal with the label come up?
The whole first release of Weltenszission was DIY. Only exception was the mastering which was done by a friend of ours who works in the live music business.
Just the CD version of Weltenszission was a pure self-release. We got some requests from different small independent labels. But all the offers didn’t match our expectations. For instance, one label asked us to resign rights to our own music... But a few months after Weltenszission was released, Vendetta Records asked us if we were interested in a vinyl version of the release. And so we’ve found in Vendetta Records a strong partner, with whom we are also releasing the upcoming record Ødnis. We are in great company in Vendetta records.
M.I. - What is the main difference of releasing an album independently and through a label?
This depends heavily on the label. For instance, Vendetta Records gives us full artistic freedom in the way we want to make our music, the layout, or interviews and cooperation with other labels. Other labels, especially the big ones are way more strict in terms of what a band has to deliver and how the promotion should look like, etc.
The biggest difference to a self-release is for sure the network you won’t have as a new band. It’s not just about knowing bookers or venues for live gigs, but also the experience in terms of the operational stuff itself until a release is finally done.
M.I. - Vendetta Records has lots of quality bands in their roster. How did you feel when you joined them?
We are very proud to be part of Vendetta Records and to be in such good company with Bands like Ultha, Verheerer or Afsky to name just a few great ones out of this cosmos. We are also looking forward to join the Vendetta fest in Berlin at some point to get to know all the other great minds behind the music.
M.I. - Did you receive offers from other labels? Why was Vendetta Records your choice?
Yes, we received a few offers from other underground labels. We decided to go with Vendetta Records for several reasons. First of all, we found ourselves very comfortable with all the other bands Vendetta has in its roster and the label is known for a lot of quality Black Metal bands. In addition to that, we enjoy complete artistic freedom in our music/art/style, which is for us (and should be for nearly every band) one of the most important things.
M.I. - Dødsdrift could do a tour with any band at all, which band would you pick first and why?
No consensus here tbh, ha.
M.I. - The perfect tour for you as a band now would include which bands on the bill?
Difficult question. But Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Dark Funeral or Deafheaven would be very high in the ranking.
M.I. - Your first album was released a few months before the pandemic kicked in and you probably didn’t do it justice with live promotion because of the lockdowns, do you intend to do it now that the world seems to be opening up again?
With the reopening of clubs and festivals we’ll be able to share the stage with other great bands and want to focus on playing live during the end of 2021 and in 2022. The first show in 2021 will take place in northern Germany in November.
M.I. - Will the live shows include tracks from both albums or will you focus mainly on the new one?
As we didn’t have the chance to perform our first album live so far, the setlist will contain a lot of the old songs, but of course also new ones.
M.I. - What are Dødsdrift’s plans for the future? Anything planned already?
The release of Ødnis will mark our next big milestone on October 15th. It’ll be released again through Vendetta Records on CD and vinyl, maybe at some point on tape.
During the pandemic we had the chance to work out some new material for the 3rd album, but we will focus on entering the stage and bringing Ødnis to life.
M.I. - Many thanks for your time and music. Please leave a message to the readers of Metal Imperium Webzine.
Thanks for your support!
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Questions by Sónia Fonseca