Hi guys, first off – congratulations with your debut release! How does it feel and what kind of feedback from the Metal audience have you received?
Giftsvamp: Thank you! We could never believe it would be released even when we recorded it… But it happened )))
Torhall: Thank you! The feedback is ambiguous, especially here in Russia. Some like it, some say we are shit – people always do. But in whole metalheads were satisfied with the release.

Perhaps not every TMO reader is acquainted with the name SVARTBY so please be so kind as to tell us a bit about the band.
Giftsvamp: We wouldn’t retell band’s history here, ok? There’s a great amusing story about how we started, at our web-site. In short – we are a band of five merriest fellows ever, we come from Saint-Petersburg, Russia and we play what we play – a merry, fast and evil music that we like to call “svartcore”.
Torhall: We’re a Rock’n’Roll band that plays Folk Metal!

Where did you get the idea for the name of your band from?
Giftsvamp: First we wanted to be named “Trollby”, i.e. Magic Village in Swedish, but we thought it would be associated with trolls (we never had a single song about them) – that’s first, second – it could be lost among lots of troll-named bands. So we chose another definition (svart - black), most close to what we sing of. Black magic and stuff.

The first thing that struck me when I got to know you was the fact that you are using Swedish for your lyrics. Honestly, I was completely sure that you were another band from Scandinavia playing Folk Metal! I guess I was not the only one, or?
Giftsvamp: Well yes ))))) One of our friends works in a music store and he once sold our CD as a “brand new Swedish release”. That was pretty cool.

What was the reason for writing the lyrics in the language of Strindberg? Has any of you been studying Swedish or been interested in Sweden’s culture?
Giftsvamp: That was the only Scandinavian language I knew at that time. SVARTBY could sing in Danish, or Norwegian, or Dutch if I learnt it. But anyways it would be a Scandinavian language. Speaking about Swedish culture, history, music, literature – it’s great! But I like Astrid Lindgren more than Strindberg anyways )))

Have you ever been thinking about or do you have any plans for creating a release with only Russian lyrics?
Giftsvamp: Well, we have most songs ready for the second album. They are in Swedish too. Can’t tell you now what we will invent after that ))) We don’t know it ourselves!
Torhall: Now it’s our feature – singing in Swedish, we don’t care much about other things.

The majority of your listeners have surely, or will surely encounter some troubles with figuring out the meaning of your texts. Can you describe their contents?
Giftsvamp: In short – they are scary and funny fairy-tales, told from the point of view of evil magical creatures. The first “Kom I Min Kittel” album tells stories about witches. Second album will be devoted to forest dwarves theme – so we can speak of a concept here. Actually we have Russian translations of the lyrics at svartby.com. Translations in English are also ready, but we still can’t put it on our website )))) It will happen soon, I hope.

The lyrics written in Swedish are, apart from the music itself, a thing that makes your efforts being associated with one of the biggest names on the Folk Metal scene, namely FINNTROLL. How do you feel about such comparisons? Are the Finns really the most influential group for you?
Torhall: 2 years ago we were much excited about these comparisons. We used to tell each other, damn, don’t they have enough imagination to say anything else? And now we think that’s a great joke. Sometimes I announced one of our songs as a FINNTROLL cover version at gigs, it was pretty amusing to watch people guess - what’s that unknown FINNTROLL song? )) Surely you can compare us and FINNTROLL, but calling us a mere clone – that’s too much for us! And we never want to argue – if you want to call us FINNTROLL, it’s up to you. The Finns influenced us at the very beginning, and then we forgot about them. Now we’re inspired more by PANTERA and alike bands than by some COPRO-KLAANI ))))
Giftsvamp: It’s obvious we’re compared to the Finns. Yes, FINNTROLL is really mean, and speedy, and mysterious, and folkish, and dance-like – this compilation is really great. That style (or something alike) is what we started with and you can hear it at “Kom I Min Kittel”, for there are the very first songs we wrote – though we never tried to play “true mountain antichristian troll stuff”. We also never tried to copy FINNTROLL and stick their paths. There’s a great mixture of musical styles in our music – and we make a brutal and merry Metal fairy-tale, that’s all. And we develop our own style. People who hear the latest songs at our gigs say we have nothing in common. The latest influences are LAMB OF GOD and PANTERA, and cartoon soundtracks )))) But we won’t lose our tempo ))))

I guess there have to be some other, non-music sources you get your inspiration from like literature, nature, art…
Torhall: Arts give rise to arts! I’m a musician, and I’m influenced by music, my inspirations are albums of my favorite bands, shows, videos. But nature and literature also have influence on me – you can’t write a piece of good lyrics from the air. By the way, the name “Solnedgång Över Träsk” (one of the songs on their latest album - Sebastian) was taken from Savrasov’s painting )))Giftsvamp: Toons, children books – that’s the point. And nature, of course.

Are your texts also reflecting some deeper feelings or beliefs than just your sheer interest in magic, supernatural creatures and powers?
Giftsvamp: No way, we speak from the throats of our imaginary creatures. It’s like we want to tell a story, a fairy-tale from their point of view, to be in their skin for a while. Our own mythology and beliefs are tits, beer and Rock’n’Roll ))))
Torhall: We’re musicians, not politicians; our lyrics bring positive feeling and sense of humor. We want our audience to relax while listening to our songs, not care about how much ideological we are.

Can you share with us your thoughts about the present Folk Pagan Metal scene? What are your favorite bands/albums in this genre? Is there any band from Russia you would most warmly recommend?
Giftsvamp: I try to listen to all Folk Metal bands I come across – that’s one of my favorite music styles I think. From the latest things that absolutely ripped my head off I would like to praise debuts of SVARTSOT and ALESTORM. Among the all-time favorites are ENSIFERUM, TURISAS, BATTLELORE, EQUILIBRIUM, FINSTERFORST, FINNTROLL (except the last album), and WINTERSUN. In Russia most bands from the Folk scene are slow Pagan or blast-beat Pagan bands, I don’t like that style mostly. There are few really merry and fast Russian Folk Metal bands - I’d name here KALEVALA, GRUFFOLO and DER GALGEN. They are new bands, have few records (KALEVALA just released their debut album, the other two have just demos yet), but they are really great. TROLL GNET EL (“TROLL BENDS FIR-TREE”) – that’s Folk Rock, not Metal, but absolutely amazing. I also like ARKONA and ALKONOST – if to consider Russian Pagan. Really touching melodies.
Torhall: Yeah, Pagan scene in Russia developed greatly, especially in Moscow. But for me most pagan bands are boring. They are dull on the stage, and the music is alike. There are great Folk Rock bands, for example, TROLL GNET EL – these are the gigs to drink loads of beer, grab some plump chick with big tits and go dance with her! From the list of Folk Metal bands I would recommend NOMANS LAND, KALEVALA and young fellows DER GALGEN.

One of the most characteristic and distinctive feature of your music are the keyboard lines. Is this the first thing that sees the light of day when you are composing new songs? How do you use to work with creating new stuff?
Torhall: In 90% of cases a pair of good tunes on keyboards makes the song foundation. But sometimes there’s a great guitar riff, and keyboards are done for it.
Giftsvamp:I usually compose all keyboard lines and simple guitars-bass-drums to support them (hail those, who invented Guitar Pro!!). When I think that it resembles a song at last, not a bunch of musical pieces, I give this unborn child to Lindwurm and Hök, who grind the guitar parts until they become playable and interesting, they change and rip all the song structure sometimes. I never mind it )) And Somna leaves nothing from the first drum rhytms at rehearsals ))) So each song is a product of the whole SVARTBY band ))

Among the very few things I dislike about “Kom I Min Kittel” are the samples where you put the sounds of various animals as well as certain grotesque key passages like in “Solnedgång Över Träsk”. I am sure they were supposed to add even more magical and mysterious atmosphere to the music but they sound a bit joking and not serious. What do you say about that? Are such features going to be a constant part of SVARTBY’s music?
Giftsvamp: We never wanted to be serious! )) Animal and nature samples help to create a song atmosphere – their meaning becomes clear from each song’s lyrics. And our music MUST cause smiling and party feeling – that’s what we’re heading for. I don’t remember where, but I read that our keyboards remind 90's Nintendo games. That’s a compliment for me, I still sometimes relax playing Nintendo’s Darkwing Duck and Chip’n’Dale on PC )))))
Torhall: Those samples were amusing, and they played their role )) If you heard a toad that reminded of an elephant in a coupling period – then the mission is complete ))))

How is the cooperation with your labels going on? Are you satisfied with promotion and marketing they have made for you?
Torhall: We are much satisfied with our labels in Russia and in Europe. FONO promoted us here, and it was them who made us record our album. And we were released in Germany thanks to them. And we are ecstatic about how Trollzorn works!! There are many reviews, interviews, feedbacks. And that’s a level up for a band in Russia – to be issued in Europe.

Can you tell us how many albums you have sold so far?
Torhall: It’s hard to say, here in Russia people don’t buy many CDs – especially at gigs. But if both labels are pleased – then things go well. )) But we think it’s more important how many people heard our music.

You are going to play several concerts in your home country in April (when this interview is published the tour will have probably been finished - Sebastian), of which the one with MÅNEGARM seems to be the most interesting and perhaps most important. What are your expectations? Have you ever played together with a band known to a wider audience at least to same extent as the Swedes?
Giftsvamp: We played with ENSIFERUM and CRUACHAN, that’s not embarrassing at all )) You play your songs and then you can go listening to other bands, or go headbanging, or drink beer, or go home )))) By the way, I didn’t wait for CRUACHAN when we played with them and left the club right after our show. This gig with MÅNEGARM – well, all the bands are great bands, we’ll blast the audience with “svartcore” when our time comes and then we will have a great time! When you step from the stage after your show, you become a part of the audience and you can do whatever you like.
Torhall: There was one gig already that I consider more interesting – a storm ride to Moscow! I waited for it more than MÅNEGARM’s show. We met our friends and fans, played in front of superb audience and acted like Rock-stars enough )))) We had gigs with ENSIFERUM and CRUACHAN, and hope to have a great gig now, play not worse than the Swedes and shake up our Northern audience )))

Is there going to be arranged any SVARTBY gig outside Russia? Do you have any plans or wishes for an international tour? If so, who would you like to play with?
Giftsvamp: Whew, any band )))) It could be a great festival (doesn’t matter – Folk Metal or not) or a small gig in a little city. It pleases to play both with the grand masters of Metal scene and to hear local bands known mostly to their friends )))
Torhall: We all dream of it, there are some ideas – but there’s nothing certain yet. It would be great to roll over all Europe, it’s a child dream! We could go on tour with any band, it may have been not popular – the thing is that the guys there were cool and nice to deal with. One of my personal dreams – tour in Germany with DESTRUCTION and SODOM!

Where do you get the most fan-feedback from?
Torhall: It’s hard to say, people from different countries write us. We are not the band to divide fans by countries, we haven’t been anywhere yet!

Do the SVARTBY-guys have any other passions apart from playing Folk Metal?
Torhall: We certainly have a great passion except music – our JOBS!! If we weren’t interested in it, we’d be without money and live in boxes like Dr. Zoidberg did ))) All of us have their ways to rest from music and work. Somna rides a bike, Lindwurm likes hiking. I like to walk down the streets and lie on my sofa watching “The Simpsons” or something like this.
Giftsvamp: When I’m home, I’m mad about watching cartoons, from “South Park”, “Futurama”, “Family Guy” and “Metalocalypse” to Japanese “Spirited Away” and Disney’s old fairy-tales. I like things that carry you to another world for a while. Also like to plunge in the worlds of Heroes and Warcraft. And visiting gigs is my greatest passion!! It could be a shittiest gig ever, with only local lousy metal bands, and I know it beforehand but I can go there and spend a nice evening.

Thanks again for this interview guys! I wish you all the best in the future. Any message you would like to leave for Metalheads reading "The Metal Observer"?
Torhall: Thank you for the interest to our band! Hope to see you at gigs! Rock ON!
Giftsvamp: Thank you for the great questions! Guys, listen to different music, stay Metal, drink beer, love your life and everything will be fine!