NAI HARVEST
UNLEASHED
INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/BASSIST JOHNNY HEDLUND BY CHAD HENSLEY INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST BEN THOMPSON BY JOHN HILL
Fun is the most important thing on earth, aside from shit like food and water. Self-described “Pop Scum” duo Nai Harvest from Sheffield, England, is going to beat the fun into you, no matter what it takes. Their new record Hairball—available April 18 via Topshelf Records—shows the band moving into even faster and more fun territory, not caring if you get lost in the stale beer-soaked carnage in their wake. Nai Harvest is fairly new. What was your prior experience playing in bands? We actually formed in 2012, but stayed a little quiet. [Drummer] Lew [Curry] played in a really cool hardcore punk band before called Grazes. I did the odd bits and bobs with shit bands, so Nai is my first real band, I guess. Online, people often lump you in with British bands like Moose Blood and Basement. Is that something you’re comfortable with, or do you feel disconnected from that scene? We actually don’t feel connected to those bands you mentioned at all. We haven’t played shows together and don’t play the same kind of music at all. Not that what they do isn’t rad, but we’re not a pop punk band and never have been. We’re more associated with the DIY “indie” scene, and mostly play shows in the U.K. with our friends in Best Friends, Playlounge, The Black Tambourines, [and] Bloody Knees. We feel very connected to those bands and are all part of a collective “scene” if you will. Each record has changed up your sound, and Hairball is pretty poppy and in your face. How do you figure out where to shift the band next? Yeah, we tend to mix it up per release. That’s due to the fact that no one wants to listen to a band put out 24
the same record over and over, but there is no real rhyme or reason to the change; it just happens naturally [and] depends on what vibe we are feeling at the time. I think, also, it’s taken us a while to find the sound we wanted to stick with, which I think we found in Hairball. What’s the dopest part of being a duo rather than a bigger band? More food and booze on the riders for us. It’s easy to tour as two people. People always come up to us and go, “Wow! I didn’t know there were just two people in the band.” We’ve developed an “E.T.” type connection. How do you write sad shit without taking yourself too seriously? I don’t think we really do write sad shit. We write weird shit, but to us, none of our music has even been sad. We’re a summer band. Is there a difference between U.S. and U.K. shows? What is the most stoked city? Hmmm, they’re pretty similar. Americans are more enthusiastic about everything and don’t get our sarcasm. In the U.K., London is always a riot, and Sheffield obviously, ‘cuz it’s our hometown. In the States, I think we popped off in New York and Chicago well. We’ve had a lot of people ask us to come to California, so we’re gonna do that soon. If you gave Hairball to someone who’s never heard your band, and they went to listen to it alone in a room, what would you hope they get out of the experience? We’d hope to sneak our heads ‘round the door about halfway in to catch them dancing around naked, full of joy, smashing all the things in the room into bits.
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Are you happy? We are very.
A frigid Nordic wind wails from afar across the snow-covered countryside. Out of the frost and ice strides a battle hardened warrior, Johnny Hedlund, founding vocalist and bassist for the Swedish death metal band Unleashed. A former member of Nihilist and Entombed, Hedlund is an Odinist—a type of Germanic neo-paganism— who embodies the spirit of the modern day berserker. After forming in December of ‘89, “Unleashed chose that name simply because that is what we are all about,” he explains. “Our music and lyrics deal with issues that are normally considered taboo by the average person. During our live shows, we unleash everything that we have inside us.” Unleashed is far from being a typical death metal act. The band dares to tread where few others in the genre can follow, away from the trappings of Satanism and the occult. The demonic imagery is gone, replaced with honor, faith, and pride drawn from their ancestral Norse history and mythology. As a result, the band was at the forefront of the genre dubbed Viking metal. “The upside down cross in our logo is not a symbol of the devil,” explains Hedlund. “The Christian cross is usually a symbol that people want a leader. We turned it upside down to show the people that we don’t need a leader. We want to be free and we want people to think that way.” “We still believe in the same symbols and values that our ancestors did,” Hedlund continues. “The Thor hammer is the symbol of Odinism; it means that you are an honest person and that you will fight for your family. It also means that you care for your country and your culture. But also, that you respect other cultures, of course. It also means that you are a bright person and that you fight for what you believe in. You will not surrender for anything that would try to make you think differently.” “I do not believe in the existence of gods,” confesses Hedlund. “A thousand years ago, our ancestors believed in the physical existence of Thor and NEW NOISE MAGAZINE
Odin, but I chose to use them symbolically in our lyrics. When I say, ‘Odin, guide my sword,’ it is a symbol for justice. People need symbols these days: something that unites them. I find that very positive. We do not call Odinism a religion.” Hedlund explains a bit about the band’s 12th studio album Dawn of the Nine, released April 24 on Nuclear Blast. “Our new album and the previous one [Odalheim] take their story from a book I have been working on for many years now, ‘Odalheim,’” he says. “‘White Christ’ means ‘cowardly Christ’ according to the Icelandic sagas in our forefathers’ tales. Being ‘white,’ at the time, meant being a coward. White Christ is the name of the Christian forces in the future world of Odalheim, and on Dawn of the Nine. Their social and political structure looks somewhat like the fascism of the 1940s. Meaning the freedom and needs of the individual is secondary to the needs of the state and its political force. In the future, White Christ will turn this into a much different and harsh fascism.” Hedlund elaborates that Dawn of the Nine represents nine characteristics a person must have to survive in the new world of Odalheim. “A future warrior and a member of a Hammer battalion—a group of Midgard warriors who play a key role in several of the songs on Dawn of the Nine—need to possess these skills to be successful in Odalheim. The nine skills are inspired and drawn from the nine worlds of Yggdrasil: an immense tree that is central to Norse cosmology.” “In short, you need to be the fire filled with hatred towards the unjust,” Hedlund continues. “You need to be the light, driven by passion and lust. You need to lead a life guided only by nature. You need to be your own god, master, and slave, free from all leashes. You need to be a warrior holding high the sword of courage. You need to be a giant crushing the world of lice. You need to be good and evil; whichever suits you best for the moment. You need to be death to all who oppose you. You need to be the shadow. If you can’t get vengeance now, wait… Your time will come!”
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