Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Norwegian progressive metal band Course Of Fate has just recently released a new album “Behind The Eclipse“, so we had the opportunity to chat with guitarist Kenneth Henriksen about it. What we talked about? You can find it here!
How are you doing at the moment?
Kenneth Henriksen: Besides the dark and the cold, we’re actually pretty ok! Excited by the positive reception we’re getting on our new album.
After “Mindweaver”, what made you decide not to make “Behind The Eclipse” another concept album? Was that liberating or limiting?
Kenneth Henriksen: At first, it was kind of liberating. We didn’t have to keep track of a overarching story when we where writing, and we have more freedom to connect the lyrics to the emotions in the music, without having to think about if things in the story happens in the right order. That being said, this album got kind of a common theme between the songs anyway, as all the lyrics ended up revolving around the same issues – the struggles between light and darkness.
Can you share with us a moment while working on “Behind The Eclipse” where you chose simplicity over complexity, and why was that the right choice?
Kenneth Henriksen: Sometimes is harder to do simplicity than complexity, in a way. We often find that the most beatiful songs isn’t that complex, but does something that isn’t done before. The best ideas is the kind where one think: “Why haven’t any one thought of that before? It’s so simple!” It’s important to make boundaries around what we are trying to do, and the struggle to make it fit into those rules and restrictions challenge us creatively.
In Norwegian culture, you experience extreme darkness and extreme light seasonally. Does that physical reality shape how you conceptualize this theme differently than bands from other climates?
Kenneth Henriksen: Perhaps! Long periods of darkness does something to the way one percieve things. There’s probably a reason that nordic melacholy is a concept in art. We got Munch and Hamsun, Black metal and nordic noir, that probably derives from that sense of sadness. On the other hand, the swedes is really great at huge and happy pop songs, but that’s where the long periods of light comes in, maybe?
I agree! When I listen to “Behind The Eclipse”, I can sense that a lot of effort and dedication went into it. How does one find the balance between perfectionism and feeling when it comes to working on original material?
Kenneth Henriksen: Who knows! It’s a neverending argument. It all boils down to if something feels right. And deadlines… We all have some parts of the album we wished we could just make a tiny bit better, but hopefully that’s all in our heads.
Which is more difficult to write convincingly: genuine darkness or genuine hope?
Kenneth Henriksen: Both! Life is all about grey areas, and the album is about that very thing, in a way. We need both light and darkness.
Was there an influence on “Behind The Eclipse” that would surprise people – something outside metal or even outside music entirely?
Kenneth Henriksen: That’s a great question, and difficult to answer as we’re not always conciously aware of our own influenses. Some of us listen to pretty much anything. When some riff or melody pops up we don’t alway know where it comes from, if that’s the right words to describe how we humans create things from thin air. It’s always fun to read rewievers hear influences in our music that we haven’t even concidered our selves. Sometimes we remind people of bands we haven’t even heard of!
That’s epic! Have you ever had a live performance moment so powerful that it changed how you understood one of your own songs?
Kenneth Henriksen: We can remember we played “Valkyries” from the “Somnium” album for the first time. That song was a different kind of beast live, than on the record. Some kind of energy we hadn’t felt before.
I wanted to play a little game with you, if that’s alright. Which track from “Behind The Eclipse” would you choose to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest?
Kenneth Henriksen: That’s a great one! Some of us (not all!) is huge ESC-fans, and watch every finale! If we edited “Acolyte” a bit that could probably do alright? Or maybe “Don’t Close Your Eyes” could be a dark horse entry? There’s been a while since a somber balad won the contest.
True that! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview! Is there anything else you’d like to add to our readers?
Kenneth Henriksen: We would like to thank all our old, and new, fans that buy and stream our songs! Hopefully we will soon be on the road playing a venue near you!
