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Interview for Helge of Equilibrium by John Haseltine of
MetalWarrants.com
After only forming for one show back in 2001, it was apparent after
the overwhelming response that Equilibrium were a band that needed to
stick around for awhile. So the guys decided to commit to a career band
and bring to the masses their take on the growing craze that is
Pagan/folk metal.
Here are a few question answered by vocalist Helge for
MetalWarants.com
1. Give us a brief history of the band.
Hi there! We started in 2001, initially only for one
show; we wanted to play Black Metal in a church, ha
ha.Our leader René gathered us for this event. We knew each
other for quiet a while then. After the second show we knew that we'd
like to go on with Equilibrium. So we first did a demo record (2003)
and made a first album in 2005, called "Turis Fratyr". 3 1/2 year later
the second album came out: "Sagas".
2. So originally you only formed the band to play one show?
Fact! Imagine: A black metal concert - in a church! Of
course I agreed this crazy idea ... "in a chuch, that's something new,"
I thought. But, to be honest, the concert was more or less terrible. We
all were quite young and inexperienced at this time.
But the people did a lot of head-banging and somehow we managed one and
a half hour of covers from Dimmu Borgir and
Hypocrisy.
3. Seems like a lot of work forming a band for only one show. Is
this something you do often?
Nope, but luckily I did!! But - hold on - right after the founding
of Equilibrium, we did this again: It was an In Flames cover-project.
But this time it really was only one gig.
4. When was it that you decided to commit Equilibrium as a career
band?
I think the headstone for Equilibrium was layed on the after-party
of our first gig: together with some guys from the concert ,
we drove to the city center, drank lots of beer & wine and had a great
night. I think this after-party really contributed to the founding of
Equilibrium. And after the second concert we really said,
"okay, let's go on with this
thing".
5. Was it apparent early on that this band would come off as
successful as it is now?
No fucking way!! We really had our problems to get people to our
concerts. And when it came to our demo record , we
hardly dared to make 300 copies. But a few weeks later we knew that
Equilibrium had power: the demos were sold out after
4 weeks or so. People liked it - and the price was cheap, ha
ha!
6. How long did you have to shop the demo around?
I don't know how long, but it were around 2 ,200
copies. Then the first album came out and we said "This
has to stop sometime." Keep in
mind: every copy was hand-made ... lots of hours sitting there and
cutting booklets & inlays ...
7. Is this genre of music something that all of you as a band were
already playing?
Not really. I always wanted to play metal with my first band, but we
were too well mixed. So it was everything and nothing. René 's
band did some prog-rock, I'd say. Our drummer had
some experice with hard stuff, but nobody has really
played something like Equilibrium before.
7a. Do you feel this genre is just a current fad or do you believe
the surge of bands are really serious about it?
That will show in time. It could be. Surely many
bands take their music serious, but what does this
tell us about the genre's future?
8. What inspires the Equilibrium sound? Lyrics?
Mostly nature is the well of inspiration for the music. In the
lyrics , I use personal experiences as well as
inspirations from books, movies or even the newspaper.
9. Is this a full time commitment by all members?
It's different: Some of us put very, very much time into the band.
Some not so much. But when it comes to play ing live,
for example: yes, then everybody gives 100%!
10. What other bands are the members in?
I still have a death metal band, called "Reign of Decay .".
But its days are counted ... after 11 or 12 years it will die now. The
others sometime play some projects, but nothing special.
11. Any touring plans set up for this year?
Yeah, the Heidenfest Tour in Fall. 17 gigs all
across Europe. That will be fun!
12. What can one expect from a typical Equilibrium show?
Ha ha, we ask ourselves the same
question every time! It is relative simple: after the intro we just go
out and play. No extras, no weapons - not even t-shirts with a print on
it. Just us. But we do this only for fun. And that is
what the people like. It is just them, the music, and
us.
13. What's up next for the band?
I think we're going to do a new album! And play, hopefully, some
festivals next year. And a tour abroad would be great!!! Maybe North
America ...
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