SAHG have been playing
their blend of Psych Doom/Stoner Metal for the best part of 12 years
now. They've released 4 albums to critical acclaim by fans and
critics alike. SAHG are about to release their new album – Memento
Mori.
As you can tell from
the title of the album it's a very dark affair compared to their
previous albums. This sees SAHG leave their Doom/Stoner Metal roots
behind and venture into more heavy based Progressive/Heavy Metal
territory. Though you're still treated to the classic style SAHG
sound.
It looked like the end
of SAHG in 2015 when two members of the band (Thomas Tofthagen and
Thomas Lønnheim) left to pursue other interests. Most bands would
have quit but SAHG pressed on, regrouped and made one of their
strongest and heaviest albums to date.
I recently caught up
with Olav Iversen (Vocals, Guitars) from SAHG to see how they came up
with this album and how the untimely deaths of musical icons Lemmy
and David Bowie help inspire this album.
Hi
Olav. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with SAHG
today.
Things
are good! We are excited about having finished the new album, and
getting ready to let it out in the open.
Congrats
on your new album – Memento Mori. Such a stunning and brave record
compared to your previous albums.
Thanks,
we are very proud of it, considering everything that has been going
on since the last one.
What
can people expect to hear from Memento Mori.
This
album has some of the most metal-oriented songs we have ever made,
and on the other hand, there are things like (Praise The) Electric
Sun, which is probably our most mellow song ever. There is great
variety, but also a strong tendency towards a darker and heavier
expression than we have had in a long time, and perhaps ever before.
I
read the press notes on the album and Olav stated the album took a
different direction when Lemmy and David Bowie sadly passed away.
What was the original vision of the album. And was it very different
to final version being released.
Lemmy
and David Bowie both died while we were writing and recording the
album. Rather than changing the direction of the album, their passing
confirmed the direction we were already heading in, and gave it a new
perspective. It made us make the final decision about the album title
and it affected the general theme of the album. Seeing icons like
that pass away was yet another reminder of our mortality. Even the
"immortal" are mortal, after all. Their deaths definitely
made an impact, it created a special vibe in the studio, and gave us
inspiration in the remaining work on the album. It is good that such
tragic events at least can have that positive effect.
Was
it a stressful and emotional time recording this album compared to
your previous works.
Stressful
– less than ever. We had a very smooth and well planned process,
without the usual unforeseen problems and tight schedule.
Emotionally, we were affected by Lemmy and Bowie's deaths, as
mentioned, since they happened during the busiest phase of the making
of the album. It gave us an extra sense of solemnity, and made us
focus even stronger on bringing across the gravity of the music in
the best way that we could.
Did
the songs changed dramatically from those sad events or was it just
minor things that were changed.
It
affected the way we approached certain songs and parts of songs in
the studio. Vocal ideas, intensity and dynamics – things like that.
The album would sound differently without that inspiration.
Memento
Mori is very different to your past albums. It’s way more darker,
doom orientated and perhaps even more progressive. But I can hear
vibes of David Bowie and even Lemmy running through out the album.
Was that the plan for the new album. To release something different
to your previous works.
We
always try to renew ourselves to a certain extent. The last thing we
want is to end up making the same album over again. But of course,
the change in line-up made the biggest difference this time. The new
guitarist, Ole, and new drummer Mads both hail from the more extreme
ends of metal, and that certainly makes the band sound heavier and
more aggressive.
The
artwork for the album is very cool and very subtle indeed. Who
designed that cover. Did you give the artist an overall theme or
objective to work from.
The
cover art was made as a collaboration between graphic artist Robert
Høyem, who previously designed the artwork for Delusions Of
Grandeur, and myself. Robert has an incredible hand-drawing style
that we wanted for this artwork, so we presented him with the overall
theme and the idea that we wanted the cover to be very simplistic and
iconic. We worked closely together, juggled around some ideas, and
through his pen stroke, we drafted out the front cover idea and some
other illustrated elements. I took charge of the graphic part myself
this time, since I had a very clear vision of how it should turn out,
which became even clearer after working on it with Robert.
Olav
- you’re the only original member of SAHG. Has it been a hard
process recording SAHG albums with different line-ups. Or do you
thrive on challenges such as this Did you ever think of letting SAHG
end so you could focus on different musical projects.
Sahg
has gone through several lineup changes through the years. I guess
nobody can stand playing in a band with an asshole like me, right??
Hehe! No, changing members is never something you plan or intend to
do. But when it happens, it is a challenge and an inspiration both at
the same time. It always takes some time before the new members find
their place and fit into their natural role in the band. But most of
all, it is an inspiration working with new people who bring new
assets and influences into the music.
I
try to let the quality of new players and the way they play influence
my song-writing That makes me always think in new ways when I write
music, and helps my song-writing from becoming uniform and
repetitive.
About
one and a half years ago, two of the band members quit at the same
time. At that point, it looked like Sahg was coming to an end.
Suddenly losing half the band like that was a tough blow to take, and
it certainly brought up some existential issues. Was it worth going
on? It really felt like hanging from one hand off the edge of a
cliff. But Tony and I soon realised that we had too much unfinished
business and unrealised goals to give it all up. We just had too much
more to give. But we got a feel of how fragile existence is. But Sahg
is still alive. Memento Mori is living proof of that.
Will
you be touring this record heavily or will it be select dates.
We
will do a good lot of touring on this record. There are only a few
dates announced at the moment, three in Norway and Leafmeal Festival
in Dortmund, Germany. But there are many more dates for this year
ready to be announced very soon, and we are working on another run of
touring next year. So you'll be seeing us around, we can't wait to
get out and play.
You’ve
been involved with SAHG for over twelve years now. Did you ever
expect the journey would last that long. Five albums and countless
tours.
No,
like all new things, it was all about the there and then when we
started Sahg. I never thought about how long it was going to last,
and I certainly didn't think it would last twelve years, and
counting. But time flies, and it's been a blast. And all of a sudden,
here we are, with album number five on our hands, and who knows how
many gigs. It makes me proud and very positive about the future.
What
have been your high points and low points with SAHG. Any interesting
stories you could share with our readers.
There
have been so many of both, mostly high points. But if I was to
mention one of the top ones, it would be when we opened for Iron
Maiden at a huge outdoor gig in Bergen, Norway, two years ago. Maiden
was on the Maiden England Tour. And just walking onto that stage with
the stage props from the Seventh Son album artwork, and seeing the
huge Eddie at the back of the stage, was just completely surreal. And
not least playing that show in front of thousands of our home fans.
That was a moment for the books.
The
low points don't stick that well with me. But one of them would be
when we played a show to celebrate the release of Sahg III, our third
album, back in 2010. This one guy among the audience made the effort
of walking out of the venue, across the street to a 7 Eleven, bought
a pack of eggs, and smuggled them back inside the club.
The
fact that he made it back inside with a pack of eggs in the drunken
state that he was in, is no less than a miracle. Anyway, this
shit-faced moron started throwing eggs onto the stage in the middle
of our set, and our bass player at the time didn't take it nicely. He
snapped instantly, threw his bass on the ground and jumped off the
stage, into the crowd to get hold of the 'egg man'. They disappeared
out of sight for quite a while, and in the meantime, the rest of us
just had to keep the jam going, waiting for our bass player to turn
up again.
He
eventually came back on, and we finished our set. We were all sliding
around up there though, the stage was slippery like ice from all the
broken eggs. It wasn't our best performance.
Words
by Steve Howe and Olav Iversen
Thanks to Olav for
taking the time out to doing this interview. Thanks to Andy at Palmer
Turner Overdrive for arranging this interview. Memento Mori will be
available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Indie Recordings from
September 23rd 2016.
Links:
