The return of Homoferus

interview with homoferus

Homoferus has been on hiatus for quite some time, and even when they resurfaced with a new album of Blackened Gothic Metal bliss it was still a quiet entrance. However, with a new lineup and ideology, the band seems like they are here to stay for a bit longer. With such an ‘unknown’ about the group, I was able to talk with the band a bit to shed light about their origins, how Herocly is a dawn of a new age for the memebers, and where the group is headed in the future as far as tours and other musical works go.

Hello and welcome back to the world of the Metal! What’s been happening lately?
Hello! Nothing so serious happened, except for the bad news on TV.


You’ve been gone for quite some time or at least quite underground. Any particular reason why things have been pretty quiet since the 2003 demo of Plexus?
After recording the demo Plexus, we had a few performances. Then I left Belarus. The band broke up. I have not had the opportunity to gather new members due to personal problems. The desire to play was always there though, even I have when slept. Finally, being here in Bergen, the ‘new’ Homoferus began writing songs for the album Herocly.


There is a limited amount of information out there on Homoferus. Perhaps our readers would like to know a little more about your origins and how the band got started back in 2000?
Well at first I was playing with friends in the garage; we just played and composed music. It was great. We had the old equipment, which is constantly being repaired. Eventually, I came up with the name of the group Homoferus and we were getting ready to record our music. The members of the group often changed. It is hard to find someone with the same outlook on music and with zeal. Most musicians play as a hobby. For me, the group and music is not just a hobby!


In 2003 we recorded the demo Plexus and released it ourselves. We played a few concerts here and there. Then I moved to Norway. After some time I gathered a group again. I was very happy when I found Dan, our drummer, and later Håkon our bassist. We had new power in the Metal world!


With a new perspective in mind, how did you want to bring the best out of Homoferus for fans to really get the best experience, particularly in the Black Metal genre?
We had a lot of plans in the future to remove a bunch of clips that make great stage performances. Homoferus is not intended to change the world. Our music is something you just listen to and enjoy. We want to bring our fans something they can come back to for years. We have a deep sense of the lyrics, which goes in combination with the beautiful music.


Why choose Black Metal anyway? What is in it that really makes the genre that inspiring for a band like Homoferus to dedicate their time?
I like different music, but Metal is my favorite genre. Sometimes I want to sing like Freddie Mercury and play endless solos. But still I love it when the guitar plays a tough and powerful with screaming vocals. It is a pleasure. Therefore, we chose to play Black Metal. Black Metal has unlimited possibilities and the manner of performance is excellent. But we do not adhere to rules of the genre or sub genres. Experiment, create!


Knowing full well that Black Metal has its own sordid history along with the other sub genres, do you get a lot of people who jump to conclusions about what your music or band is about before they listen to it or read the lyrics and go ‘wow, this is better than I expected… it’s not typically evil at all!’?
I do not think that Black Metal has a bad reputation today. This is the story. If we talk about new bands, we can already hear the modernization of the style. Well, as lacking as it seems, a lot of good band play as their idols do (Mayhem, DarkThrone, etc). But the development of Black Metal continues. Of course, there are a lot of people who say to me: "Everything was done before, and you just copy them.” Stubborn people…


So let’s talk about the new album… any particular concept behind Herocly? It is after all your grand full length debut.
Indeed, much time has passed after the trial Plexus. During this time I had a lot of ideas and a lot of melodies and lyrics. But when we already composed songs for Herocly in Bergen, we selected only the best. Better a little, but qualitative, than a heap of shit. Many songs had to be forgotten, as time has changed with musical tastes. Homoferus has changed now - it's different music and a different band.


On the concept of the album, that’s hard to say. We've made it different, not having the same theme of the texts. We get a lot of opinions from people who like the song “Hatred By Name” or “Reality Show,” etc. All the songs are different in structure and execution. Combines them and it’s just sound. But the sound of the album as a whole! Each listener himself can make a conclusion about the album and what it says or means.


There are a lot of Gothic elements to go along with the Symphonic Black Metal ones so it has almost a groove to it as opposed to just a razor sharp presence much like kvlt bands of old. Any particular influences you’d like to name that helped shape your sound?
The sound of guitars we've always wanted to have a hard sawing, if you understand. In fact, when composing music or playing in practice, the sound is in another element entirely. The sound of the album turned out as we wanted. Notice that in general the album has a very heavy sound, the sound ‘saws the body.’ Dan Swanö did as we had planned! Particular influences cannot be named though. I do not want to say that we have created something extraordinary for the first time. We do not think, for example, ‘here in this part we need paste something gothic, in this part dramatic.’ We just do, and the result may not be predictable.


Describe the writing process. Did any of the songs come from spur of the moment due to a random exciting event or was each song carefully planned over time and shaped to fruition, either for the lyrics or instrumentation?
The recording process took up a long time. We had no experience of professional recording. We made a lot of mistakes that had to be corrected. The songs were all planned in advance. Of course, in the process of recording there appeared new additions and ideas. We concluded that in the composing of a song, it can be infinitely "better." You can do this indefinitely. There is always something to add, something to change, delete, etc. We always wanted to add any solo, something that sounds different, and the effect, thinking.... Sometimes it helps with the temptation of modern recording and editing sounds. Recording this album has brought us more experience in the recording industry, which has certainly helped give insight.


Care to share with our readers any particular tracks that deserve special mention or that they should really pay attention to, for either meaning or structure?
No, I would not want to disclose my sympathy card. Just kidding! I do not have a favorite track; I like everything its own way. I can recommend anything from the other music, though, such as listening to the winner of Eurovision 2012. Cult!


So now that the full length debut is out of the way, are there any tours planned or ongoing or will Homoferus remain a studio band for the time being?
We are now scheduled concerts in Oslo later in August and there will be performances in September. Big tours are not yet scheduled. We are always looking concerts though. At the same time we will also be composing new material.


When not involved with the band, what do you like to do to wind down or search out inspiration for music during ‘off time’?
I walk into a bar, drink beer, get acquainted with pretty girls and ask them to buy the Homoferus CD, haha. Mostly it’s playing the guitar and resting though.


Your fans are the heart of this engine you call Homoferus. Hopefully they’ve been faithful in your absence. I’m always curious to ask if there is anything a fan has done either in person or a letter/ email that has really impacted Homoferus in a good way to let it be known that the music is actually doing something more than just making money.
I have not heard of anything, but I have heard that a lot of people like our music, and that is enough to keep me going.


Again thanks for your time with BRUTALISM. Any last words?
Dear fans! If you saw the music of Homoferus somewhere, listen and take 4 minutes to the delight of your ears! Come to our concerts!


Thank you!


 
Interviewer: devilmetal747
Jun 6, 2012
Next interview: The prank of Bodyfarm

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