Hailing from the cold landscapes of Norway, a one-man Black Metal project named after a monstrous entity from Icelandic mythology, Gryla released its second album ‘The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass’. With dropping names of Gorgoroth, Darkthrone and Craft, Seth Nekromancer was quite positive about the output. I caught up with Torbjørn, the mind behind Gryla, to talk about this festering creation.
Hello Torbjørn, how is life treating you in Norway at the moment?
Hello. Life is good. I’m done with my exams at the traditional carpentry school in the mountains where I’ve been living for the past year. Moving back to Oslo soon. Being way out in the middle of nowhere has been really inspiring to create but it is time to come back to civilisation and start playing gigs again.
Please, could you walk us through how Gryla came to be?
Yes. I started Gryla back in January/February 2024 because I had 2 bands that didn’t fit the music I wanted to make at the time. At first, I wanted it to be more of an intimate melancholic style of Black Metal with a lot of acoustic parts and at the same time very groovy riffs and over time, as one of the bands broke up and I started putting more effort in, it quickly evolved to be the nasty, brutish riff-heavy Black Metal it is today. Although I started the band with a clear vision about how I wanted it to sound and the very specific genre I wanted it to be in, I got very tired of having to pick one style and stick to it. I am a huge fan of Black Metal but I feel like a lot of bands fall into derivative, repeating riffs with little to no variation in style. I’m not really trying to write a Black Metal riff when I write it. That just seems to be what comes most naturally to me but it’s fun to experiment with different scales and textures.
What lit the fuse for you to unleash Gryla in this style?
Without a doubt Svolder, Blood Libel and Rites of Tara. Three bands that are the brainchild of mr. Colin Woods (aka Sam Hyde). His style of riffing and the way he moves a song in a particular direction is really inspiring to me. I must have played Desecration Of The Five Holy Pillars on drums everyday for over a year. Other notable names are: Grand Belial’s Key, Arghoslent, Craft, Ungfell, Slutet, Infester, Hate Forest, and Crucifier. Although a lot of these bands hold controversial opinions in their lyrics, that does in no way represent me or my beliefs and opinions.
Good music is good music.
And to continue our conversation about Black Metal itself, in combination with Gryla, in your opinion which historical release(s) absolutely defines the style you’re playing?
Like I said, ‘Desecration of the Five Holy Pillars’ but also: ‘Stormvold’ by Molested, ‘Hornets of the Pogrom’ by Arghoslent, ‘Peste Noire’ by Peste Noire, ‘Love and Beauty’ by Slutet, ‘Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes’ by John Fahey, ‘Kensington Blues’ by Jack Rose, basically everything by Lead Belly etc… I’m very inspired by genres outside of Black Metal. I think that’s the key to a fresh sound in a genre that has repetitive tendencies. My non Black Metal inspirations are: Death Metal, blues, bluegrass, americana and anything that has a lot of emotion and dreamy qualities. The next Gryla release will be heavily inspired by Cross the North Fork by Jack Rose.
Your second full-length, ‘The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass,’ recently dropped via Iron Bonehead Productions, which, as mentioned in the intro, was well received by our own Seth Nekromancer. Feel free to talk about the creative process and all…
The album had sorta been a long time coming. I sat down and really tried my best to create the most thought through, cohesive album I could make because I wasn’t too happy with the first album. Everything I write is made to be a bookmark in a specific point in my life. That album came after a very rough couple of years and the writing and recording process was a big healing point for me.
The album cover is drawn by my best friend and bandmate, Olav. I let him experiment a little bit with the cover and I’m glad he did because in my opinion, it could not fit the music better. His art style is very unique, yet old school and I think that’s how Black Metal art should be. So far, the reactions have been very good. I’ve gotten a lot of praise for it and some constructive criticism that I definitely agree with. This is my first release that has gained international attention and has been reviewed by people who don’t know me or have anything to do with me and it’s very refreshing to hear that people judge it fairly and don’t immediately give it a 10/10 because I was 16 and 17 when I wrote it. Looking back, the pacing could be done a little better. It’s important not to milk every riff for all its worth, rather to leave people wanting more for each song so it never gets old. This is definitely something I will keep in mind for the next release.
I chose not to release the lyrics because I don’t see them as an important aspect in my music. I don’t want to draw attention away from the riffs and the production. I prefer to look at vocals as a part of the rhythm section rather than lead. I put more effort into the riffs and song writing than the lyrics so I want that to have most focus. Gryla is a visual and auditive project. Not so much lyrical. Also, I just find it uninspiring to slave over lyrics. I’d rather do that for my Death Metal band, Nedgravd.
Looking back, what distinct musical differences do you see between ‘The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass’ and ‘Jaundiced Hag of the Wood’?
‘Jaundiced Hag of the Wood’ is mostly just a demo that turned into an album halfway through because I had more riffs I wanted to use. I plan on reissuing it with better production eventually. I had no album concept in mind when writing it. All I really knew was I wanted to do more melodic stuff than I had done previously with my old death/war/grind projects at the time. I wasn’t even gonna release it at first but I played some of the songs for my friends and they really liked it so that inspired me to put more effort into it. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted the sound to be at first so there’s a little bit of everything. The main inspiration for that project was ‘Mocking the Philanthropist’ by Grand Belial’s Key. The same day the album came out, I started recording ‘The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass’. I wanted to give it another shot because when the album was done I knew I could do better.
Let’s keep the focus on about ‘Jaundiced Hag of the Wood’. Instead of starting with a demo or EP, what led you to jump straight into recording a full-length debut? Was it a matter of opportunity, or something else?
Good question. Making a full length is just more fun. It’s more difficult than making an EP because you have to set higher standards for pacing and flow in my opinion. I want to get good at writing albums and I generally like full lengths more so every release I’ve made so far has in a way just been practice for future releases.
And back to ‘The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass’, as mentioned Iron Bonehead Productions released your latest album, Seth Nekromancer stated in his review that “it is quite nice that this important underground label has given space to release it on CD and vinyl to a young man and his band“. How did you got in contact with them?
I contacted them to see if they were interested and luckily they were. This is my first time working with an established label and I am beyond honoured that my first label release is with Iron Bonehead.
With vinyl in your discography, it’s clear that format matters. Any thoughts on a cassette release down the line? As both a recording artist and a collector, how do you view the significance of vinyl and tape?
I am a big fan of vinyl. My collection isn’t huge but it definitely makes a difference listening to an album on vinyl contra streaming or cassette or cd. Although I love cassettes and cds, I definitely prefer listening to vinyl. The quality is just that much better. I love sitting down and giving an album my complete attention and looking at the big cover while I listen. Definitely more of an elevated experience. Cassettes will come eventually. But they’re not nr.1 on my priority list.
Another vinyl enthusiast…noted! Back to Gryla. Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for Gryla? Any new tracks in the works, and how might they evolve from your current sound?
I’m a little over halfway done writing the new Gryla album. I have about 25 minutes of music recorded already so for a while, I was considering making it an ep or a split but I quickly found the album-drive again so I might cut some of the material and add some parts. Mix and match and see what comes out of it. Since its inception, Gryla has been a solo project. But now I have the nagging urge to play it live so I’ve put together a live lineup and will start playing gigs this summer.
You already mentioned your Death Metal band Nedgravd earlier, any other bands or projects you would like to share?
Ormpest has been on hiatus for a while. We plan on starting back up again this summer when I move back to Oslo. As for other projects, I plan on joining Svolder. They just don’t know it yet.
I have a Death Metal band called Nedgravd where I do bass and vocals. We intend to release our long awaited debut mini album this year. It sounds like a mix of Infester, ‘Soulside Journey’ Darkthrone, Molested, Incantation etc. beware…
I also have this bestial Black Metal side project with Trevor of Blasphamagoatachrist where I play drums. Demo coming sometime in the future.
We will definitely keep an eye on those. But beyond Gryla and your other projects, what’s been hitting your ears lately? Any killer bands or albums you’ve been digging and want to share?
Nederlag from Norway does the most unique variation of War Metal I’ve ever heard. Really good stuff. Undercrypt (from Florida I believe) just released their debut EP and it sounds fantastic. Super brutal, evil and unique. Herdicide plays doomy caveman noise/Black/Death.
On a broader note, hat are some of your go-to underground labels when you’re looking for new music?
I intend to kick down the door of Terratur Possessions and force feed them my new album. Hopefully they like it. Other notable labels are Goatowarex, Crows Nest, Cult Never Dies, and Tour de Garde.
And what about illustrators whose work you always admire?
Favourite illustrator has to be Olav from Nedgravd. Especially when it comes to logos. I don’t know of anyone that has a style I like more than his.
Thank you for giving us and our readers an insight of Gryla…and more…any last thoughts or anything you feel we missed?
Thank you for the good questions
– Torbjørn
