Hellinterview #1 Torkjell Rod, Audrey Horne [ENGLISH]

Hi Headbangers!

I'm proud to present the first Hell-interview by Aldo, member of HellfestCult and now Hellfan! Enjoy his first interview of Torkjell Rod, Singer of the norwegian band AUDREY HORNE while listening to their song "Redemption Blues" on Youtube at the bottom of this article.

Alexis - Hellfan

In honor where honor ...Torkjell “Toschie” Rod introduces our series of interviews. With his band AUDREY HORNE, He made a strong impression during 2011 and 2013 editions. Although scheduled early in the morning, and playing a short time (30 minutes each), he literally set the audience on fire. Let’s talk…

Aldo - Before your first participation to HELLFEST was considered, what was your own knowledge about it, from Norway? Did you ever hear about it?

Torkjell - Yeah, I had. I remember a friend went to the first festival ever. And said it was horrible: long lines for everything, the power broke down several times etc… But they learned from it and these days it runs smoothly as hell.

A - How did Audrey Horne and their management get in touch with Hellfest for the first gig? Was it a will from band/management, or initiated by Hellfest Prod?

T - To be honest, I'm not sure. But we definitely wanted to play there. And we were excited when we got the chance, both time. And hopefully we will get to play there again. Let's cross fingers that our last gig there left them wanting more.

A - It seems a bit weird that you say you were excited, as your friend told that the very first edition was horrible. What made you confident enough to finally book a date in Clisson?

T - Well, I received information that they had shaped up, and a lot of people and bands that went there the following years brought back good news about it, and said it had turned into a great festival

A - Some trouble happened while you were travelling to Clisson in 2011. Control tower in Francfort airport got problems, so that you arrived just in time to run your show, have a -very- little rest and leave the site to next date. Can you tell how fest organisation managed the situation with you and band management?

T - Ha ha! Yeah that was a true guerilla stunt. We came in just in time to hit the stage, played, had a beer and a quick shower and left. People asked: “how was Hellfest?” Great gig, but no idea apart from that I replied. But the crew helped us get ready in time, and the audience gave us a warm welcome, so it just made us want to come back. Thankfully we got to see, and enjoy more of the festival the next time we played there.

A -Whatever, from the audience no one was in position to realize that shit happened...looked like everything was ok...Well, now that you have lived a "normal" date in Clisson, from your own experience, what do you think is specific to HELLFEST comparing to other events?

T - Well, it is a good festival, like many others. But what I liked particularly about it was the amazing backstage, the scenery on the ground and the diversity in the lineup. From classic hard rock to underground punk bands. And the food was great. Both in catering and in the stands on the festival ground.

A - It seems that you spent some time on "the other side" (I mean, in the regular ground, with the crowd). How were people with you?

T - Yeah. I like to walk around and look at stuff, buy bad taste 80's t-shirts, and talk to people. They were really nice at HELLFEST. Some guys bought me and Espen beers, and we got feedback from our gig, and talked shit with some really drunk people. I like stuff like that.

I think most artists, with some sad exceptions, like to connect with their audience. They are the reason that we get to do what we do outside our basements. And also like to get feedback on their performance.

A - By the way, as you (and to my knowledge Thomas) are great Kiss fans, how great was it to play under The Spider?

T - He he. It was fun, but to be honest, I did not think about it during the gig. My mind was elsewhere at the time.

A - Yeah I could see that: before the show you were all cool, watching the spider structure with Arve. But as soon as "Redemption blues" intro rang, there was only AUDREY HORNE. as you may have noticed on site, people could find a tattoo stand. As you are a tattoo artist, would you be interested in coming to Clisson to ink some french metalheads?

T - Well, I could do stuff like that. But to be honest, I mostly prefer to tattoo here back home where I have all my stuff.

A - Well, it seems that we're coming to the end of this interview. One last subject remains to discuss. From France, we consider Norway as a land for metal music. It feels like in your country, this musical genre is mostly accepted, and integrated into people's musical landscape. Regarding concerts you've played there, and your own experience of events like MOTOCULTOR, HELLFEST and RAISMES FEST , also regarding your contacts with french fans, what is your feeling/analysis about the situation of metal music in France?

T - To be honest, I would say that France has a bigger, ( though you are off course a larger country), metal fan base, but also a more devoted one. Here in Norway there are a lot of good metal bands, especially in the more extreme genre. But the fan base is not that big. So usually Norwegian metal bands do way better outside Norway.

A - I understand it in a way, but I think that's just due to the amount of population. Also, that's funny to hear that, because this is the same for french bands. Actually metal genre is not that well accepted, french people prefer to listen to pop music, electro and...rap. Various french metal/hard rock bands exist, though it's really tough for them, because potential audience is very small compared to other genres. And very few bands are in position to be known in other countries. Not speaking about Gojira, are there other french bands known in Norway? (Whatever, very interesting what you say about Norwegian fans, because - to my knowledge - this is not really what dumb French people expect to happen...)

T - He he. You guys are not dumber than us...not that this is a good thing. Sadly not too many French rock bands are known here in Norway no.

Huge thanks to Torkjell for his availability.

Aldo