Erlend Hjelvik Talks To Matt Pike

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Roadrunner Records) Kvelertak frontman Erlend Hjelvik and High On Fire leader Matt Pike were interviewed together by ArtistDirect this week ; they talk about how they got into metal, what inspires their lyrics, and more.

Says Erlend, "I got into metal when I was a teenager. I didn't know too many other kids in the village where I was living. I got into nu metal when I was 14- or 15-years-old. Then, I got into some cheesy Norwegian black metal like Dimmu Borgir . When I turned 18 and moved to a city, I discovered more music and some better bands...We had satellite with MTV2, and that's where they showed all of that nu metal as well as Marilyn Manson and Metallica videos. That's what I started listening to as a teenager. That's about it. I had an older brother, but he only listened to Kiss . His favorite band was Pearl Jam . I found metal on my own."

Regarding Kvelertak 's lyrics, which are a) in Norwegian and b) not printed in the CD booklet anyway, he says, "I get inspired by the same things like watching documentaries about space and horror movies. I come up with lyrics that fit. I don't come up with the music myself. That's our guitarist BJ. I listen to the song, start to think, and make something that fits musically. It's in Norwegian so I guess nobody really catches it, but I try to give people hints through the artwork, t-shirts, and things like that. Then, they have an idea of what we're singing about."

Read the whole thing here: https://bit.ly/1d0TCSy

Kvelertak and High On Fire are on tour together through December 12 - find a show near you !

The band's latest album, Meir , is available everywhere now; grab a copy from the www.top40-charts.com webstore!