Memnock & Tjodalv

AM : As this is our first interview, I’d like to ask Tjodalv how he felt after he left Dimmu Borgir and to be back in a young, unknown band (I do not mean bad !) as Susperia ?

Tjodalv : I felt excited about starting a new band who were unknown.. While I was in Dimmu I would regularly get together with Cyrus to share ideas and write songs. We worked so well that it just felt like a natural thing to do. I was finding more interest in the ideas and music with Cyrus. I couldn’t carry on with both bands so I made the decision to go with Susperia. It’s worked out well and we have had a solid line up now for 4 albums.

AM : I really think Susperia is one of the most underrated bands today, did “Unlimited” bring you to a better recognition ? Anyway, if not, I’m sure “Cut from stone” will ;)

Memnock : Thanks !!! ‘Unlimited’ really opened doors for us. Everything seemed to happen around that time. We had a fresh start with a new record label and new management (TCM). It just went from there. We started doing more tours than we had done before which helped a lot because ‘Unlimited’ is now our best selling album so far. It put tremendous pressure on us to improve with this new album. To out do ‘Unlimited’ on a music level was hard, but I feel we have managed it.

AM : 3 years have passed since “Unlimited”, what happened during this time ?

Memnock : Has it been 3 years already? Man time flies by when you are busy. We have done lots of touring and we have been working for almost 2 years on the new album. It’s a hard and long process. We did some festivals too, but the coolest thing we did was the Testament tour it was killer !! We also released the ‘Devil May Care’ EP. It was meant to be just for the fans to keep the interest while we worked on ‘Cut From Stone’.. It ended up going into the Norwegian Top 20 singles chart, which really surprised us.

AM : Every musician said the new album is his best one, but in your case, I fully agree, “Cut from stone” is just awesome !!! How would you describe the evolution of your sound in this new opus ? I agree that you go on the next level, you surely have put an awesome amount of work in it, what are the elements that brought you to sublimate yourselves ?

Memnock : Hmm hard one to answer. I think one way to explain it is that we dug deep into ourselves and used our inner strength to make music without being influenced by what other people would want us to do. We focused on what we wanted for ourselves and if other people like it then that is good. This is the only way we know how to make music and that is the way we did it !

AM : In the bio, it’s stated that you encountered many problems in the making of “Cut from stone”, what are those ? BTW, I love your analogy of a marriage with 5 wives ;)

Memnock : Heheheh The problems are always about the music or lyrics. We take a long time to fully agree on what riffs and music we will use. Because of this we sometimes have disagreements and arguments. We care passionately for what we do and want everything to be perfect. We get so obsessed and it can get a little crazy. With this album we swallowed our pride, put our egos to one side and just did it. The problems all disappeared after the album was done heheh

AM : Many bands in the genre are using samples and keys, and you, against the tide, still refuse to use keyboards, why ?

Memnock : We really don’t think Susperia need synths, do you ?

AM : Hearing some riffs, and some vocal lines, I think that Metallica played a big role in the sound of Susperia, am I wrong ? Are there other bands who had influences on your sound ?

Memnock : There are many bands that have crossed Susperias’ path through the years. We don’t make music by listening to other bands, but it is impossible not to be influenced by certain bands. If it happens, then it has not been done deliberately. As for one band being more influential on us than others, hmmm I would have to say that I don’t think so.

AM : Do you plan clips, singles, etc ? How are you going to choose the singles as all the songs are excellent, no fillers at all ?

Memnock : There are no plans at the moment for singles, but you never know what the future will bring. It is always nice to have singles, but not a necessity. If we did have to choose a song then it would be difficult. I’m sure that everyone would have a different favourite and we would end up taking a long time to decide.

AM : What is your planning now, composition, touring, or holidays ?

Memnock : Well there is definitely no holidays – that will have to wait. We will be touring to support the album. We start first off with the WASP tour in Europe, then we go out with Onslaught for a short UK tour straight after. There is also talk of dates in Spain and Portugal in summer, then maybe the USA in September. So as you see lots of touring. No rest for us man hehe

AM : Thanks for your time and for the great new album ! Last words are yours…

Memnock : Thanks for the interview. I will leave you with this thought “Under the sky , under the heavens there is but one family , it just happens that people are different” (bruce Lee)