Webpage: www.weh.erikevju.com
Review: 90/1000 @ PoM.dk


Ever wanted to find out what inspired a particular song?

Was it based on personal experience or simply passive observation?

What happened in the recording studio or on stage to make one song sound different from the rest?

These are just some of the question bands and musicians attempt to answer in Line 'em Up - the newest page of The Power Of Metal.Dk.

This is where your favourite bands comment on their albums, track by track, because as someone once said, “Ideas are the building blocks of ideas”.

Enjoy!

 

Here’s a chance for you to tell our readers about your new release, ‘En Natt Kom Doed’. But could you please start off by introducing the readers to Weh?

Weh came to life in 2002, with the intent of making acoustic guitar based music, with at least one foot on the dark side. The following years I recorded several demos, and a cover of Windir’s “Likbør” in 2004, up until 2006 with the “North” recording. In the following few years I was laying low, but sometime in this period Soulseller Records contacted me about releasing all the demos on a double disc release. This was finally released as the album “Origins” in October 2010, and included 5 songs recorded for this release plus a track from 2009 originally made for a Brazilian online compilation. The feedback was very good. Late in 2011 I started recording the next album, the official debut called “En Natt Kom Doed”. This masterpiece(!) of Dark Folk music was released March 16th this year, and once again the feedback has been great.

And now onto ‘En Natt Kom Doed’ - track-by-track! What inspired you, which topics are you dealing with, what do you want to express with the songs etc.


01. Oedegaarden
This is the important opener of the album, and the lengthiest one as well, with something around 7 ½ minutes. It’s about the Black Plague, which came to Norway by ships where infected rats spread this nasty illness. There’s a long intro to this track with the use of an instrument called a strumstick. I think this turned out great and really sets the mood in a way. Kind of puts a medieval touch to the sound too, in my opinion. Norwegian lyrics on this one, which is also something I think worked out good, and it speaks about a desolate farm where all light and life has left, and just a few meditations around this.  

02. A Testament Of Time
A shorter track this time, but “A Testament Of Time” became one the favorites while I was recording the album. There’s a little different structure to this song, comparing to most of my other songs, with a calm beginning, harder middle part and a calm ending. I even used a little bit of mouth harp on this track. The lyrics are basically about how time takes its toll on mankind, and how we can do very little about escaping this fact. Time may be a blessing for some, and a grief for others, but nonetheless we all perish when the sands run out.  

03. Demon Av Natur
Then follows the instrumental we have here. Just a simple one churning over and over, building up a little bit. Naturally no lyrics to speak about, but you can consider this to be a homage to the beast in man.  

04. La Onde Guder Hvile
This is about how people choose different paths in life, some will walk in the dark by themselves, other will chose a different direction. But no matter how different our choices may be, we wind up in the same place in the end. And if we want night to become day, we must let the evil gods rest.  

05. The Unborn
A song about impending armageddon, how mankind has not been aware of the signs, and how we ultimately deserve utter annihilation. An up-tempo song compared to the rest of the tracks on the album, and much of the song was composed while recording, actually.  

06. En Natt Kom Doed
In these lyrics there is a man roaming about, searching or waiting for death to come, which for him is a livid wish. He sings an ancient song that calls on death, and he does this with a smile on his face, because he knows death as an old friend.  

07. What Is Written
“What Is Written” is a song about not being stifled or ground down by those against you. Continue the search for the wisdom you feel you need. There is also a link to the old norse beliefs here. Last but not least, this is emphasizing how the thought roam free either way, no matter what should happen.  

08. Helvete
The instrumental finale – at least with no spoken words. Simply put a musical tribute to hell. Like in the first song there is an extensive use of the strumstick here. And I think the pounding drums turned out great! That’s not a real drum by the way, but a guitar…  


Tell us a bit about the artwork – who made it etc. and how important do you feel it is to have a cool artwork?
The artwork for the album is done by myself, and I put a lot of time and effort into making it as good as possible. I think it turned out very good actually, and it is obvious that I have a weak spot for the backgrounds. It is a simple but effective cover, that somehow fits the mood of the music and lyrics. In my mind, cover artwork is a very important aspect of an album release.

 


 

Thomas Nielsen, April 2012