Class and heavy metal

From an interview with Fenriz of Darkthrone on the Deciblog:

In past interviews, both you and Ted have cited your day jobs as the key to keeping Darkthrone pure.

Well, it’s easy to be smug about having a band and never having to work again. But it’s sad to see that huge bands just can’t keep people in the band—people quit, something must be wrong, but oh, they’re making money. They’re getting into personal problems, drug problems, alcohol problems. Yeah, they meet so many people, they have a huge network, but how many of those people do they really remember? And what kind of music will they get around to listen to? Either they listen to the really old stuff that they’ve always liked or—the worst thing—they end up listening to the bands that open for them because they have no interest left in music. So why the hell do these fantastic over-ground bands start to suck? [Laughs] I guess their influences just aren’t the way it used to be. So for us working class people, it’s a whole different ballgame. It has nothing to do with applause or people kissing up to you—none of that. But I don’t know how many bands there are that we can compare ourselves to in that manner. I mean, I’m not against bands like Dead Moon or Anti-Seen that just plays and plays and plays and maybe don’t like having day jobs. That’s cool with me. But we are working class people and we have to meet normal people on a daily basis in normal situations. We’re not going to become super-assholes or anything like that. And it’s good to have the working class pride, because, you know, that kicks ass. [Laughs]

What do you do for work?

I’m sorting mail, and it’s basically always been that.

Transilvanian Hunger:



Too Old Too Cold: