MINNERIKET – interview

Norwegian one-man band MINNERIKET celebrates 10 years of existence in 2024 and will prepare a special limited release to mark the anniversary. However, thee cauldron of creativity is bubbling, and there are still whispers in the wind and screams beneath the skin. The band’s mastermind Stein Akslen posts on social media that “I’m not even close to done yet, and Minneriket is here to stay. Here’s to 10 more years of gothic melancholic dissonant beautifully chaotic romantic Norwegian black metal! «That agony is your triumph»”

Below is a quick interview which tells more about the band’s musical style and creative process.

Introduce your band, and describe your latest release:
The band is Minneriket, and there’s a new limited release right around the corner called “A Decade of Darkness: 10 Years of Romantic Black Metal”. Minneriket celebrates 10 years of existence this year, and I’m releasing this compilation of 10 tracks as a limited cassette tape release and a Spotify playlist. There’s nothing new on it, but it’s a neat little collectors item for the fans who have been here from the beginning.

What’s the hardest part about being a band in this day and age?
I’m sick of people focusing on problems, what’s hard or what they’re struggling with… Why don’t we rather talk about what’s the easiest part? We live in a time where almost anyone are able to get their hands on some pretty standard/good equipment and record their ideas. With the Internet people are also able to release their music to a huge crowd from their own basements. It’s a great time to be in a band, to make music and to spread your gospel. People should embrace the easiness of it, the democratic aspect and the availability. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

When did you realise that your project had the potential to be much more than just a fun idea?
I feel like I’m not agreeing to the narrative here… I don’t measure what I do in the eyes of others. I have a vision for my music and a plan for how I want it to evolve, and then I stick to that. It doesn’t matter to me that even the first pre-orders of the debut album in 2015 sold out before the world had even heard a song. I know that’s the kind of answers people wish to give. But I could never rate my bands by mercantile measurements. Minneriket is both “a fun idea” and something with a lot more potential.

Tell us about your latest release, why should we check it out?
Like I said, the upcoming release is a limited edition tape release for the fans who have followed Minneriket for years, so you probably shouldn’t if that’s not your thing. As a new fan you’d be much better of taking a look at the back catalogue, most notably the previous album “Gjennom meg går ingen til hvile” or just wait for the next full-length I’m working on in the studio these days. “A Decade of Darkness” is not for everyone.

How does a song typically come together for you?
I always start with a word, a sentence, or just an image. Something I wish to present. Then I meditate on that for some months, seeing it from different angles and interpreting it into different situations. Slowly the music forms in my heads, and it gives a tonality to the concepts. I guess I have about 75% of the whole song ready in my head before I even pick up the guitar and start translating the music in my head into recorded music. I actually don’t rehearse or play it on the guitar or anything before I’m ready to go and record the music. And when I’m at that stage in the process, I record a demo of the whole track, mainly with riffs, percussion/drums, bass and some vocal lines, before I start dissecting it a little, seeing what works and not, and create the atmosphere that people today identify as Minneriket.

How would you describe your sound to an unfamiliar reader?
I’d ask the unfamiliar reader to listen to an album and decide for themselves. But in broad terms, it’s mostly cold music. Bleak, but complex. Depressing, but with a fighting spirit.

What do you want listeners to take away from listening to your band?
If they can listen to this music, and lose track of time, space and responsibilities just for a few minutes, all the while just existing inside that sphere as a listener when you’re able to connect with the music… That’s perfect. If it’s not for you, then I hope the listener at least can appreciate the complex compositions presented as something much more simplistic than it is, and see the musicianship behind such an endeavor.

Where would you really like to tour that you haven’t done so yet, and why?
I have no intentions to tour. Ever. Minneriket does not play live.

How would you say that the sound of your band has progressed over the years?
Very much. The debut album was a very violent album. Very aggressive, raw and ice cold. It was recorded much like how you record a demo, to be sure it had this grounded, almost noisy quality around it. Fast forward ten years and the sound has evolved through longer, more ambient passages to more riff-oriented songs, and up until the last album which basically was a classical album dressed in Black Metal clothing. And I’ll continue to evolve the music into whatever is necessary for me to find it interesting.

How excited are you for 2025, and what can fans expect from you?
I hope to have finished all the recordings for a new album by the end of next year.