EREB ALTOR rises again, weaving their Epic Viking Metal sound around stories from the old days of Scandinavia! “Hälsingemörker” marks a new chapter for the Swedes, continuing their journey through the shadows of Hälsingland.
We had the chance to talk with Crister Olsson aka Mats, on their new album as well as their upcoming show in Athens - Greece, at Up The Hammers Festival 2025.
Read below.
RockOverdose: First of all, congratulations for the new album. It wouldn’t be exaggeration to state it’s the best you’ve done after the first two albums. How do you feel about it and how much it took you to compose and work on it?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): Thank you very much! We are very pleased with the result and it feels great to finally share this album with the rest of the world. To me, this is the best album we have ever made and I think there are more blood, sweat and tears behind this album which we have been working on for over two years.
RockOverdose: I believe there’s a certain heaviest vibe on “Hälsingemörker” compared to the previous album. Where would you put similarities or differences compared to your discography? The flow really helps the listener become quick attached to it. It’s the first album of Ereb Altor with Björn on bass, he’s been with you in Isole for more than a decade, what new does his presence bring to Ereb Altor’s sound? It warmed our heart a bit to see him in the band after Mikael’s loss.
Mats (EREB ALTOR): Mikael decided to quit the band for personal reasons almost a year before he sadly passed away and left us with a strange void in this world. Björn had already stepped in as a session bassist in Ereb Altor many times before Mikael quit. It felt only natural to bring him in and he already knew many of the songs and since we play in Isole together we knew exactly what to expect from him. He is a very proffessional and dedicated musician. Most of the album was already written when Björn joined so his presence didn’t have a major impact on this album. We will see what will happen during the making of the next album.
RockOverdose: You have an excellent cover for the album as usually. How does it connect with the lyrics for us not familiar with Norse vibes? Would you like to give us a hindsight of what the lyrics are about and how you draw inspiration for them?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): On the front cover you can see “The lady of the forest”. And yes, it is a magical creature in Swedish folklore called “Skogfrun” or “Skogrået”. She can aid you if you get lost in the woods if you are kind to the forest but she can also deceive you and even kill you if don’t watch out. Lyrically we always try to keep everything somehow connected to our inheritance and Hälsingemörker is no exception although I have implemented things from the modern world as well. We live in crazy time and I have been inspired by things and events that are happening in the present time. Although, I always try to wrap these stories in old language or old references from Norse mythology for instance to make it fit the image of Ereb Altor. We have to look around us, there is a never-ending flow events that can inspire one to write stories about. Still, I get very excited when I find a book or a story from the old days that I haven’t discovered yet. I love a good/dark story or myth. Also, historic events are something that appeals to me.
RockOverdose: I was lucky enough to have listened to the full edition of the album with the 3 excellent bonus tracks. How easy or difficult does it get to decide which ones to include or not on a release? Is it about the vibe not fitting 100% to the standard tracks?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): The recording sessions ended up with 10 songs and we chose 7 of the songs to be on the actual album. The 3 songs that were left out is of course the bonus material on the deluxe CD and the 2LP. I have to say that these songs were not left out because they weren’t good enough, they were simply left out because of how we chose to make the perfect track list. Somehow the vibes of these songs didn’t fit as good as the others.
RockOverdose: You did an excellent video for the opening track “Valkyrian Fate”. It really grabs the listener by the neck with its hook. Do you have plans for any other video? Was it easy to shoot it as a concept?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): Thank you very much. Valkyrian Fate is the most direct song on the album. It has some “catchy” hooks if you compare to the regular compositions of Ereb Altor. We saw it as a song that might appeal to a broader audience with its heavy metal influences. Still, it has the vibe of the epic and black that is our trademark. It’s a strict performance video and the concept is to show us performing as if it was a live performance. The video is shot at the mines of Sågmur. It’s an old iron ore mine with several pretty big piles of iron ore. We thought it might be cool since this particular song has the vibe and theme of Norse mythology and the Viking age was during the iron age. At the moment there are no plans for another video.
RockOverdose: Officially, counting the albums of Isole also, you have 20 releases in 20 years in total. 10 albums and 2 EP’s with Ereb Altor and 8 albums with Isole. It’s quite an achievement by all means. How do you manage to be so overproductive and not lose consistency and quality through the years?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): I honestly have no idea where this endless stream of inspiration comes from. One day I guess the inspiration will dry out but I am very pleased that I have been able to go on for this long without getting writers-block. The day I feel that our music stop evolving or dropping in quality I will take a longer break because we will never release an album that we aren’t satisfied with ourselves.
RockOverdose: From “Nattramn” and on, all albums include one word as a title on your mother tongue. Do you believe in the power of one word as a statement of what your work is about? Or is is about less being more in this case? What does “Hälsingemörker” stand for as a meaning?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): You are very observant! It is true, I think one word or should I say the right word is more powerful than multiple words when it comes to naming albums. We chose to use Swedish titles as yet another way of completing the package of connecting to our inheritance. The title of our new album Hälsingemörker is something we decided right after Vargtimman was released; I was back in the county of Hälsingland where I as I mentioned have my roots. Spending time in the big forests of Hälsingland wandering on paths I remember from where I was a child and visiting some odd but cool places. For instance, an old cabin where the myth tells a story that a mother killed her own child and buried the child under the cabin. The child turned into a ghost and couldn’t find peace because the child was not baptized, so I went there to give this child a name. On the evenings when the sun is setting over the hills of Hälsingland the turn dark blue with all the spruce trees and pine trees forming the horizon, Hälsingland is filled with magical nature and old folklore and I just knew the name of the next album had to be Hälsingland and a tribute to my roots and where I come from.
RockOverdose: Bathory was always connected with Ereb Altor, especially in the beginning of the band. However, I believe your sound has evolved to something really personal and noone sounds like you nowadays. We know it’s your favorite band, is it limiting to compare you with Quorthon’s vision, or does it still go by honour (pun intended) and makes you happy that you carry his legacy on?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): First of all, thank you! I agree, I think we have developed a unique Ereb Altor sound.
Yes, that is true that we were strongly connected to Bathory in our early years. It’s a fact that we started out with the plan to make two Bathory worship albums and then terminate the project/band. But somehow, we got stuck with Ereb Altor and the band started to evolve. Quorthon wrote music in a totally different way compared to how I write music today. We still perhaps share the same kind of atmosphere as Bathory and I will always love his music and it will probably always have some sort of influence on my musical life but as you said we have found our own path by now and the similarities with Bathory’s music is only a small part of it nowadays. Still, I have to say that everytime someone says that we are helping to carry his legacy on I feel super proud and it’s an honour to be compared to Bathory.
RockOverdose: When we talked about “Vargtimann”, you said that it had a balance of heavy and epic vibe better than ever before. I believe that with “Hälsingemörker” you did it even better, taking it a step further. Do you agree with this, as the album sounds as the heaviest you did in ages?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): Yes, I totally agree. We managed to taking one step further. The unification of the fierce, harsh side and the epic more atmospheric side has become more and more natural for me. When I first started to trying to unite these styles it was more like we made an album with different kind of songs and it felt a bit shattering. Nowadays we bring all these elements more or less in each and every song somehow, it’s hard to explain it but even the harsher songs have the epic viking touch and vice versa.
RockOverdose: Luckily, we will see you as a last minute replacement on Up The Hammers festival in the place of mighty Crypt Sermon. While we were devastated not to see them, as it would be the first time, your announcement made everyone happy. The first time seeing you in Greece was in Up The Hammers edition of 2009 alongside Isole, what do you remember from these days and how does it feel to come back to where people love you the most out there?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): Actually, I think that was one of the first shows we ever did with Ereb Altor. We did a few festivals back then; I think we played on Dutch Doom Days as well. We didn’t have a solid permanent line-up. It was good times and I have some fond memories from UTH, I remember the audience knew our songs and were singing along, I was totally surprised since we were a really small and unknown band. I also remember tear gas from the police during the riots outside hotel, crazy times. We have been back in Greece a few times since then and it is always a pleasure and I really hope we can make it a really awesome and special night now at UTH2025.
RockOverdose: Overcoming the studio flooding issue you had, how much did this relief have an impact on “Hälsingemörker” too? Was it somehow easier to work on it by putting this important issue aside?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): The flooding luckily didn’t have any effect on Hälsingemörker. We had already moved into a new facility and built up the studio again before we started to recordings. The floodings were a mess and we didn’t have a real rehearsal place for months but it’s all behind us now.
RockOverdose: It would be important to some people to have a word about “Anesidora”, the last album of Isole too. Are you fully satisfied with it? We know that the rise and success of Ereb Altor has put Isole as second priority, do we have any news regarding the band or possibly new material in the works?
Mats (EREB ALTOR): Both bands are very important to me and I need them both for my own wellbeing. Anesidora is one of the most personal and intense isole albums for me. I hope we will get the opportunity to do more live shows with isole in the future because the band deserves it. We will have a look at some new ideas later on but right now it’s full focus on Ereb Altor and the new album.
RockOverdose: Last but not least, we would like to thank you deeply for your time once again. We would like to know your plans for the year and the promotion of “Hälsingemörker” and what you have confirmed after your Greek visit. See you soon in Athens, this time we will sound louder than ever, it’s a promise.
Mats (EREB ALTOR): That sounds great, see you soon!
Well, we have some festivals scheduled, mainly in Germany and there will be more. We will also look at the possibilities to do a tour later on.
On behalf of RockOverdose,
Aggelos Katsouras
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