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Deathhammer

Deathhammer absolutely blew me away when I got their new release on Hells Headbangers Records. A crushing mix of death and black metal that should not be missed. Here is an interview with drummer Cato (Sadomancer) and pick up “Onwards To The Pits” you will not be disappointed.

MC: How did the 2 of you come together to form the band?

Sadomancer: In 2005 I went to Oslo to see a punk gig and then stayed at Salstens place in hamar where we recorded some rotten rehearsal noise on tape and it sounded good so we decided to form Deathhammer and here we are.

MC: Were any of the members in any other bands before Deathammer?

Sadomancer: Yeah Salsten had another thrash metal band called Warfield which was very good kreatorish thrash (too slow drumming though). They released a demo tape called "Midnight Thrash Ritual" and they also went to my town in 05 to try to record two songs for a split with a thrash metal band I had with a friend at the time. None of those recordings exists now as far as I know since the producer was a Christian and didn’t know how to get a dirty thrash metal-sound we had to skip that split. Funny moment when Salsten`s dad called to ask how the recordings went and he answered "we`re recording with this christian fag" and he heard it, ha-ha. Maybe that’s why the recordings turned out so badly produced, hehe.

MC: Tell me a little bit about your partner in crime so to speak.

Sadomancer: He is a diehard metal maniac just like me. A bit more fucked up in his head too maybe.

MC: How did you start to get into underground music and what were some of the 1st bands that you heard?

Sadomancer: I always just listened to what I checked out and liked and I have always checked out new stuff all the time, underground and more known stuff so it’s hard to say, but I guess when I was 13-14 I started listening to underground black and thrash metal like Sabbat, Nifelheim, Damnation, Orcustus, Witchtrap and bands like that.

MC: How far along was the band before you started to form, what you consider the Deathammer sound so to speak? How does a song come together?

Sadomancer: The band formed on our first rehearsal and I think we just decided to jam some shit since we first were together or something but can’t really remember. The Deathhammer sound is merciless and violent and influenced a lot by the old evil metal godz like early Bathory and Kreator. A song just writes itself when one of us picks up the axe in a possessed moment. Sometimes it takes years to finish a song, but only because we wait for the right riffs.

MC: Did you release any demos prior to the release of the 'Phantom Knights" release? What label did that come on and now that it is a couple years old what are your thoughts on it now? What was it like going into the studio to record it and is it still available?

Sadomancer: Yeah there was three tape-demos released before PK. Barbaric onslaught (2006), Savage Poser Hunt (2006) and Wrath Of The Antichrist (2007). You find them all on the lp-release of Forever Ripping Fast. Phantom Knights was released on Witches Brew and I think it is as good as I thought when it was released, even though I haven’t listened to it in over a year or something. I don’t remember much of the PK-recording sessions, but I think it took some months and Salsten lost his job because he was rotting at my place too long. Way much booze too.

MC: I see the Hell's Headbangers is putting it out (Onwards To The Pits) on vinyl. Are you a big fan of vinyl?

Sadomancer: Yes I`m a big fan of vinyl and I rarely buy cds anymore. The sound is just so much better on vinyl in most cases.

MC: Is it is easy to buy underground metal music in Norway? Are there many places to play live and has the band played many live shows?

Sadomancer: Not easy to get metal records where I live but we got some proper metal merchants like Neseblod in Oslo. I order a lot of stuff from ebay too and shuffling through old vinyl-shops is always fun. Found the original lps of Infernal overkill, morbid tales and scandinavian metal attack 1 & 2 +++ for only 100 kroners each (around 17 USD) in a lp-shop in Kristiansand (my neighbour-town) a while ago. Sick. There are many places to play but we never search for gigs, people just ask us if we want to play so we basically end up in the same old pubs in Oslo. We have played around 30 gigs.

MC: Now you have a new release, "Onward To The Pits". How did you come up with the title and artwork for this release? What did you do in the studio the 2nd time around as opposed to the 1st time? The album is total crushing and I assume you are happy with it.

Sadomancer: We have been in the same studio lots of times before so no big surprises there, hehe. It is located in my basement. The title just came to me many years ago and it fits perfectly with the album since several of the songs are designed to take you to the pits of hell. No big changes from the other times, we just get drunk and record when we are in the mood for it. I think the album slays and it came out exactly like what I envisioned.

MC: How did you end up getting signed to Hell's Headbangers and what is it like working with them so far?

Sadomancer: They just asked if we wanted to release the FRF-ep on lp with them and of course we said yes as they are a killer label and we wanted to release it on lp for a long time. They have treated us excellent so far.

MC: If you could pick 3 cover tunes to do, what 3 songs would they be and why?

Sadomancer: We have already covered several of our favorite songs live and recorded Sabbat and Metalucifer-covers for tribute albums but I don`t think we will record more covers in a studio, it was just something special in honour of two of the most real metalbands on earth. Three songs which would be cool to do cover-versions of would be Soothsayer - Death radiation, Bathory - You don`t move me (I Don`t give a fuck) and maybe Death - Beyond the unholy grave.

MC: What is the vibe and feeling over in Norway now with all the church burnings and murder that went on a few moons ago?

Sadomancer: Hehe, that would be extremely many moons ago and I wasn’t into metal back then anyway as I was only 3-4 years old so I can’t say much about that. Church vandalism is something I support though.

MC: For those who have never heard the band, what would you say you sort of sound like and do you think you are an original band?

Sadomancer: A merciless metal attack heavily influenced by the old german thrash-scene and the darkness of bands like Bathory and Sabbat. No I don’t think we are very original but that doesn’t matter, what matter is how good your riffs are and how violently you execute them. (I agree with that-chris)

MC: Will Deathammer always have 2 members or can that change possibly in the future?

Sadomancer: We will always have only two members because we need no one else to do this.

MC: Do the 2 of you have any goals for Deathammer?

Sadomancer: To release an album so deadly and full of hate and malice that everyone who listen to it will get internal bleedings and after a long and agonizing death-trip they eventually chokes on their own blood and die.

MC: Do you have any merchandise for sale?

Sadomancer: Yeah we got patches, shirts (three different designs) and onward cd/lps (with poster) so just send us a mail on hasse_cato@msn.com or kukkosten@hotmail.com if you want anything.

MC: Plug any websites that you may have?

Sadomancer: Just check our facebook page on www.facebook.com/deathhammerofficial for the latest news.

MC: Where do you see the underground in 5 years? Are they any new bands that have caught your ear so to speak?

Sadomancer: The underground will hopefully be as full of great bands as it is now and maybe even better. New good bands I have discovered lately: Insane (sweden), great bay area-ish thrash metal which is rare these days, hails!, Dark Sonority (norway), black metal darkness, they just released a killer ep and also check out the new Morbus Chron ep!

MC: Any last words and of course horns up for the interview.

Sadomancer: Ride the wings of death!