Interviews: Grimskull

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Heavy Metal band Grimskull from Norway. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

Marita, our guitar player, came up with the idea for the band's name while playing Guitar Hero back in 2007. We still don't know if she had heard the name somewhere, or if it came out of nowhere. It might have been inspired by The Grim Adventures Of Billy and Mandy. So when it was time to start a real band project a year later, the name was still stuck in our heads and we wanted to use it.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

This genre has everything we love about music. The awesome power, the cool image but most of all the actual music. The tones. How they are structured, the lyrical themes, everything. It just appeals to us on every level.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Yes indeed. The project was started in the late 80s by brothers TJ and Geir Solheim when they were just kids, and slowly evolved into an actual real, metal band. TJ and Marita are married and have been together since 2005. So it's kind of a family band, like Van Halen.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Geir and TJ's favorite band is by far Iron Maiden and Marita's favorite is Dio.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Each member of the band has a little different approach. Geir our drummer and bass player is driven by different rhythm ideas and often makes his music on an acoustic guitar, and his lyrics range from movie inspirations to historical events. TJ our singer and guitar player is mostly inspired by musical ideas and is the one who usually takes all the ideas from everybody and makes them into complete songs. And Marita usually writes music and lyrics inspired by things that piss her off. She's the one that makes sure that we don't get too melodic and goofy, since we are not very serious people in real life.

6. Where was your last gig?

Sad to say it's been many years now since the last one. Where we live there is not much market for traditional metal and touring isn't something we are very interested in, so we have been focusing on writing and recording music instead.

7. Where would you like to act?

My big dream has always been to play at the Monsters Of Rock festival at Donington Park. We know the festival is not called that anymore, but maybe they could ressurect it just for us? lol

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Iron Maiden would need to headline! We would also love to include Queensryche, Halloween, Judas Priest, Kiss, Ozzy, and all our other heroes. Of course, we would be too starstruck to be able to play.

9. Whom not?

We welcome anyone who want to play together with us. We used to be bitter about grunge bands in the 90s, since they were very harsh against metal music and all our heroes, but we are way past that now. We are all older and wiser.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Oh yeah, big time. It used to be a huge problem. But knowing the songs in and out is the biggest trick of them all. 'Cause once you hit that stage, there just isn't any time to think. It's all instinct and muscle memory. I would also say the second biggest trick is to warm up like you are about to run a big race.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Iron Maiden has always been the biggest source of inspiration for us. But you also have a ton of other bands that have been a part of it, only in a smaller way. Black Sabbath from the 80s, Queensryche, Helloween, Deep Purple, Dio, Judas Priest, Slayer, Megadeth, and so on. Most of the big, classic metal bands of the 80s.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

We've met some strange people over the years, it seems we are kind of weirdo-magnets. But maybe it's because we are weird too? Who knows. We can't remember any weird requests, but we quite often end up in discussions about metal bands we have never heard about. People seem to assume that if you are into metal you are familiar with every band on the planet.

13. What do you think of your fans?

We love our fans. They have stuck with us all through the years, even when we haven't been too active. We mostly make music for our own sake, to hear music that is not out there yet. But it's really inspiring to hear that other person like our music too.

14. What do you think of our site?

We love your site. We appreciate everybody who helps artists connect with potential fans. We owe a lot to people and sites like this.

15. Something to add?

Hope people will give our music a listen and hopefully like it. We know how hard it is to get into new music. We are still stuck with the same old bands we discovered when we were kids. But once in a while, there is a song or an album that just captures the same vibe we love about the old ones. That is what we are trying to do with our albums too. Capture old vibes with new music.