Grima – interview met Vilhelm (vocals, guitars) & Morbius (guitars)
Grima: “Siberia is an amalgamation, a combination of these everlasting forests, very long and wide rivers and this bunch of craziness”
Ik zie mijn teksten schrijven als een ontdekkingstocht doorheen de wereld, als reizen met de geest, want voor elk interview moet je jezelf in de leefwereld van de gesprekspartner verplaatsen om te begrijpen wat ie allemaal te zeggen heeft. Grima leren kennen is een speciale uitdaging. De dertigers leven in Krasnoyarsk, het hart van Siberië. We krijgen het er al koud van voor we een woord hebben gewisseld. Omdat de heren zich beter kunnen uitdrukken in hun moedertaal, komt er ditmaal een heuse tolk aan te pas om zowel mijn vragen als hun antwoorden te vertalen. Dat hebben we dan ook eens meegemaakt en het was nog een joviaal, vriendelijk gesprek ook. En niet te vergeten: wie houdt van black metal met veel atmosferische pracht moet zeker aandacht besteden aan ‘Nightside’ een album met een nachtelijk thema en indien mogelijk het live gaan bekijken op 23 of 24 mei in onze contreien (Haarlem of Luik).
Vera Matthijssens Ι 18 maart 2025
Congratulations because it is the debut album for Napalm Records, but you are experienced since this is your sixth album. What can you tell about the beginning of the band and its development?
Basically it was a step by step process. It was always a goal in a way to promote the band and it took six records to achieve that. Six records and several European tours, but finally it became possible.
Nevertheless you managed to do some European shows. When was it and what about this experience?
We decided to go for the band quite a while ago and it was important to play in Europe for the band, because the band needed a fan base before going to Europe in order to actually have a couple of shows. So once after several records we had done, and after the numbers for those records and the numbers for the merchandising sales, showed that there was a sufficient amount of people that would be interested to see Grima playing in Europe. Then gradually with the help of our European booking agency, it became possible and obviously it was a great experience.
‘Nightside’ is the first album for Napalm Records, on a big label. How did you get in contact with them and what about the deal?
We expected a deal for a while, since we had great numbers for many records at this point, so Napalm Records sent information to discuss and a record deal early last year basically. It took quite some time to finalize everything and to come to agreements in several things, but all in all it seemed like both sides were pleased by the result of these negotiations and regulations and everything is going well now.
You play atmospheric black metal, so I guess you are not influenced by the first wave of Norwegian black metal, but more from atmospheric parts in music as well, isn’t it?
It is a complex thing to describe. There is definitely a lot of interest in the black metal albums of the nineties, such as ‘At The Heart Of Winter’ by Immortal. That was a paramount standard for this band for quite a while, but at the same time it is quite obvious as well that it is influenced by more modern sounds as well, bands like let us say Deathheaven. You may find some elements of these bands in the guitar sound, not in the singing or song writing, but more in the sound. Also bands like King Diamond for instance. You will see both elements of King Diamond and Summoning in Grima.
In addition to the music, there is your imago. I think the band is strongly influenced by nature. Why are the masks and branches so important?
The masks and costumes were basically the best way of convincing people into the world that was created for the sake of this band and for the lore of the band. It was the most natural thing to do, given the lyrics are also based on being in the forests. So it was a natural way of presenting the band live and in the artwork, introducing people into it in a more effective way.
What are typical features or characteristics for that region where you grew up?
We are not from Moermansk, we are from Krasnoyarsk, the centre of Siberia basically. It is way further than Moermansk. It is zero Celsius now here, just like in Europe. Siberia is an amalgamation, a combination of these everlasting forests, very long and wide rivers and this bunch of craziness. Krasnoyarsk is built on the bank of one of the biggest rivers in the world, called Jenisey.
Melancholy is also a nice and important feature in your music. Is that typical for musicians or people who are living there or where does it come from?
Maybe this melancholy is a result of just being tired of this shit life and wanting and trying to get out of it in a way. We just play the way we feel.
We hear some folk instruments here and there, like the accordion we hear, called ‘bayan’. I think it is a local instrument?
This variation on accordions called bayan is a lot different from accordions in the Western world. Accordions are known for having a set of keys on one of the sides or on both sides. Bayan has two sets of buttons on each side and it is not necessarily specific typical for this area per se, but this instrument has been chosen because it has this pallet of sounds that resonate well with the music that the band writes. It has been chosen specifically because of its capabilities as a music instrument, not because of the folk background of it.
What I like is that it is black metal, but tempo’s are rather slow most of the time… is that also the kind of music you like the most?
The idea for this record was basically to kind of step away from the well known rhythmical works and to rework the entire approach towards the drum section to make it rhythmically more different, instead of relying on blastbeats and stuff like that. Perhaps, whether it was intentionally or not, the latest Paradise Lost record ‘Oblivion’ influenced this record, because we all bought this one when it came out and perhaps there is some doom-like approach on the record. It is still kind of used in addition with more faster and aggressive things, so it doesn’t sound like a doom record. It still has all the elements of black metal, just a little richer now.
You recorded your records yourself in the past most of the time, but now you have been working with Vladimir Lehtinen. What about this experience of working with him?
We have been working with Vladimir for quite a while now. This must be the fourth album. We have three records before also produced by him. We have been working together for a while on different projects. He has a great style and he also knows what the band needs. In technical terms and for this record we are still responsible for recording all the stuff, so we all work at the studio, but when it comes to mixing and mastering, and basically working on the sound, this is where Vladimir steps in and does the magic.
What can you tell about the song and first single ‘Skull Gatherer’ and its symbolism?
This ‘Skull Gatherer’ tells the story of Grima’s most devoted servants, the skull gatherers, basically known for collecting dead skulls and bodies and using them in their dark rituals.
The second single ‘Flight Of The Silver Storm’ has also a video with very nice nature in it. What is that about?
This song is basically telling a story of a person who gets out in the forest by an unknown will. He’s thinking that he may pass through the forest, oriented by the night skies basically, the stars and the skies, but once he is entering the forest; there is a storm, basically closing this guy away and he doesn’t see the stars anymore and obviously he does not find a very peaceful end. It is a song about the lost soul wandering the way that may never end.
Does every song has its own story or is there a kind of theme running through the album?
The main topic that kind of strikes through the entire record is the nightside of the forest, what kind of things may happen there in the night, what kind of magic started over there?
The music also breathes a kind of mystical vibe…
It is true. We are trying to create a ceremony, both in music and in show, so these things are like naturally entwined into each other and go on pretty well. We are trying to create this extensive mystery and belonging to something from the outer world. Both in music, in lyrics; that is why most songs on the record tell a story, because it is like an integral part of immerging people in the sort of atmospheric circle.
When we compare it with the other records you have made, what is different now?
Maybe the most noticeable thing is that the songs became shorter than before. In terms of the composition it helps to realize the creative effort in a more atmospheric form. That is one major difference compared to the previous records. Maybe this time around there is more bayan on the record and there is definitely more space for guitars on this record as well.
Indeed there was one song with guitar solo, the eighth one. Are there more video clips coming?
Before the album drops, we are going to have one more single and video out, but we keep it a secret for which song.
What are the expectations for the upcoming EU tour?
At this very moment we are in active preparation for the tour. We are working on our visas, that is the most important issue of the day, but there is a lot of work for us besides these visa issues. It is about time to start rehearsing the new record, putting it all together for live shows, but definitely our visas are the number one issue at this point, but we are hoping it is going to be good. During the last tour we had several shows in Russia where we tested our new scenery equipment and new decoration and we are also hoping that we will be able to successfully bringing it all to Europe.
You can work with local branches…
(everybody laughs)
What are the plans for the rest of 2025?
It is quite complicated for us to look further than the EU tour at this point. The most important thing is to release the album and go on EU tour. What is going to happen after is yet to be discovered.
You are both playing in other bands as well, like Second To Sun and Ultar. Are they still active?
Both bands are still active in fact. Second To Sun is going to drop a new album very soon. They are also going on a quite big Russian tour in the Spring. Ultar did a fine EU tour last year and they are also going to drop a new record in the near future. It is hard to tell when, but it may happen very soon.
The artwork is very intriguing and it also has this kind of mysticism, just like your music. What can you tell about it?
Artwork for this record was drawn by the Italian artist Paolo Girardi, the master of harsh metal. He has been working with many famous metal bands as his main artistic focus. He is basically drawing artworks for metal bands. So it was quite easy to communicate with him. He understood what we wanted and we were able to integrate the tale, so that it expresses the kind of artwork we would like to see. He was able to capture that in a very fine way and very detailed. The idea behind the artwork was that the grimness would embody the night itself, would cover the cold dead lands. The initial description was much richer, but the point is that he definitely managed to capture everything that we wanted in this artwork, hence the mystical feeling.
