BAND OF THE WEEK: Blodskam
After 25 years, they just played their first show. (yes, it ruled)
It’s not usual that I use live photos for this Band Of The Week thing, as I typically base these around a new album by the artist in question, but this time it made complete sense. First of all, because Estefânia’s pics are always awesome of course, but also because the main excuse for me to get some Blodskam smeared all over you is that I saw them live a couple of weeks ago at the always fantastic SWR - Barroselas Metalfest. This might not seem like a big deal, and in fact there wasn’t all that much fanfare about this show beforehand - and on that day, on they strode, the core duo of vocalist Dödfödd and guitarist Aghora (also bassist when not on stage), accompanied by their live musicians Kim Filppu on drums, Andreas Baier (Besvärjelsen) on guitar and Marcus Lindqvist (Vorder) on bass, at 7.30pm, atop the Arena Stage of the festival, the smaller stage of the two, situated on the external part of the venue, this band that was formed in 1998… to play their very first live show, ever. You get now why it was a big deal?
See, they also have studio photos and they’re actually pretty cool. So, a few more details about these guys. The band is only technically 25 years old - though they did exist throughout those initial years, they never published any of their material, up until 2019, when finally their debut album ‘Là-Bas’ was released through Suicide Records, so don’t beat yourself up too much if you haven’t come across Blodskam yet. It is, however, high time that you do - this is prime quality Swedish black metal, meaty, razor-sharp, furious and brutal as fuck. So do yourself a favour and check out both ‘Là-Bas’ and its follow-up, 2022’s ‘Ave Eva’, they’re both equally awesome and there’s one of my two favourite Blodskam songs in each of them, ‘Bödel’ and ‘Sharpening The Knives’.
Back to the show though, and it was incredible. They did look like caged animals who have been let loose after decades in captivity, such was the intensity of the performance. Not a lot of people were present at the beginning, at least for the festival’s standards, but I suppose the call of Satan was felt throughout the grounds and by the end a lot of people were standing kind of transfixed with what they were watching on that small stage (all apart from the meandering, mindless drunkard who kept stumbling into me and Suicide Records boss Roger Andersson - of course the most annoying people are always drawn to the ones that seem to be enjoying the show more!). Just now I mentioned ‘Bödel’, the opener on the first album, as one of my favourite songs of theirs, and it was a great moment to watch people’s faces as Dödfödd spat out its delightful lyrics, such as “you are not my father / Satan is my father”, for instance. Don’t get me wrong, I know this sounds a bit like one of those more cartoony “Satanic” bands when put out of context like that, but just know this isn’t at all representative of the band’s ethos, as they actually deal with issues such as mental illness and personal experience, which lends most of their songs an added weight and impact that is very much welcome, while ‘Ave Eva’ is a full-blown concept album about the biblical Eve, as Aghora explains in the interview below, so don’t expect just mindless “praise Satan” kind of stuff, there’s some real thought here. But for that song in particular, you can totally let out your inner demons and it’s great fun to scream that chorus along with them. Near the end of the show, Dödfödd came to the front of the stage, and with little warning, spat out blood all over himself and the people in the front. Just “a tasteful amount of blood”, as the Spell dudes hilariously described an experience they had during a great chat on the latest episode of the podcast, but still, it was great to see, and kinda made me long for the days when black metal shows felt just a little bit more dangerous, more confrontational, without being totally douchey either. I guess I’m getting old. Regardless of your age, however, if you’re into black metal at all, give Blodskam a spin today. Check out a few more pics from that show, and enjoy the interview with Aghora to get to know them a little better, right after the jump.
You can find Blodskam on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
’Là-Bas’ and ‘Ave Eva’ are available through Suicide Records.
I feel those who showed up were in for a treat. It was intense, emotional – and blood soaked.
- Aghora
Blodskam has existed since 1998, but it’s only in the last few years that we’ve had some releases finally. Would you like to tell us a bit more about those first years of the band? Was there any activity at all?
Aghora: Yes, we did some work but it was never made public. More or less, it was just a few unfinished songs and a photo shoot at a local cemetery, with classic corpse paint, blood and some very large knives. Then we basically pursued other musical projects, separately. But we always have shared an interest in dark and occult stuff, since we both were very young. To finally channel this into black metal came naturally.
So we reach 2014, when reportedly you reactivated the band. What expectations did you have then, and have you achieved some of them in this time that has passed?
Aghora: It was really in a sudden spur of inspiration that I sat down and finished the old songs and made a couple of more. It was not planned, but turned out pretty well. When we had recorded the tracks we felt we were onto something unique and that it had to be released somehow. It took a while, but finally Suicide Records found the means to press the vinyl issue. This was important for us, we did not want to put out only a digital release.
I suppose ‘Là-Bas’ was a very important record for you, being the first proper release after such a long time. How do you still look at it now?
Aghora: It was of course important and I am proud of it. A lot of people seem to understand and appreciate it. But when I listen to it now I just hear things I would do differently today. And that's a good reason to carry on writing and recording new stuff.
I find Blodskam very distinctive from most black metal. It’s raw, it’s heavy, it’s dense, the songs are catchy but never easy-listening, there is always a sort of an aura of urgency about the music, of despair, as if you’re running from something terrible. Or into something terrible… What, in your opinion, sets Blodskam apart from your peers? What would you say makes your sound really “yours”?
Aghora: Hard question, but I do think we have a special tonality and vibe. The songwriting process is really fast and visceral when I finally get into it and maybe that is the key to the urgency and hopefully honesty. I tend to brood on riffs and melodies in my head for quite some time before I sit down with the guitar, but from then it is a fairly rapid process. As a guitar player I tend to be inspired not so much by other metal guitarists, rather the likes of, say, Rowland S. Howard, and that may contribute as well to our sound.
Mental health/illness is always a subject that comes into discussion when you talk about Blodskam and your albums. Is it the main vehicle of inspiration for the conceptual side of the music? Is any of it auto-biographical in any sense?
Aghora: It was the theme for ‘Là-Bas’, and some of that stuff is taken from our own experiences. Some of the songs are inspired by the fate and lives of patients at a local mental institution. Others are purely fictional. On ‘Ave Eva’ we wanted to tell a coherent and chronological story about the biblical Eve, her rebellion against god, the killing of Adam and finally the destruction of the whole creation. The six songs are each a chapter in this tale, with ‘Chaos Reigns’ as an epic climax.
What about musical inspirations, are there any artists you particularly look up to, or that have been important in the development of how Blodskam sounds?
Aghora: No particular bands, but we are obviously inspired by classic 90s black metal. We have listened to satanic music like Mercyful Fate and others since childhood. And a lot of other genres as well, it all seeps into our songwriting.
I am very honoured to have witnessed your first show, at SWR. Had you envisioned playing live before this opportunity arose? What were the main reasons that made you advance with it this time?
Aghora: As a duo we did not have the ambition or even will to play live. Blodskam was a studio thing. But SWR seemed like just the right place to play and when we were offered to do it it was a no brainer. We asked some people we knew would pull it off and put together a live lineup. It turned out very well. The core of the band is still the two of us, however.
And, well, how did it feel for you, being up there? Hopefully like an experience you’d like to repeat?
Aghora: It was really a great experience, not many people knew about us, but I feel those who showed up were in for a treat. It was intense, emotional – and blood soaked.
How do you see the future of Blodskam? Are you already working on a successor to ‘Ave Eva’? Perhaps a few more shows? Do you feel there is a potential for longevity with this band, or should I say “more longevity”… but this time maybe a bit more active?
Aghora: Yes, we are currently working on new material. I started that process the day after we came home from Portugal. And we will certainly play more live shows, I kind of wonder why we didn´t do it before! We may not be ”young and promising”, but still have many years ahead of us and the ambition is to continue to evolve.