A talented newcomer with a certain vision for their music are always more than welcome in a music scene which has been overloaded with clones and copy-cats. Withem are coming from Norway and they continue that prog/power metal legacy of Scandinavia. Since the band’s debut album was chosen as the Best Album of October, here on Grande Rock, we think that an extensive chat with Oyvind V Larsen, who is the band’s guitarist and songwriter, was more than necessary in order to get to know this budding band better. Thus, read below…
Hi Oyvind… your debut album was a nice surprise for all of us on Grande Rock! “The Point of You” has been chosen as the Best Album of the month! Kudos!
O: Wow, Thank you very much, this is the kind of feedback that makes it all worthwhile!!
Hence, since Withem is a totally new band do present it briefly. What are those facts that the fans should know about the band?
O: All of us have been doing this for a while. But some in the “basement”… and some “out there”. What we have in common in the group is our grounded way of thinking and our sky high passion for music.
Since 2011 that you started the band, what was the first goal and has this goal been achieved as yet?
O: So far this has exceeded our goal. We wanted to make an album that we could be proud of and we were hoping for a deal with a label. After only two years, we are here with a finished album, a good label and a gig the USA next year (Progpower USA)… (i.n.: Hard work pays off dude!)
Which was the music direction that you wanted to follow as a band? Did you talk about it or it just came out naturally?
O: The ground fundament is metal, but we draw inspiration from whatever and we listen to whatever comes our way. Whatever comes out isn’t planed, but it has to rock and give that certain feel. It’s all about the magic and rawness combined, if that makes any sense… haha...
How hard was it to find apt members to make the band? That goes for your amazing singer Ole Aleksander Wagenius. I think that having such a great voice in the band is always an advantage in so many ways huh?
O: The drummer (Frank) and I knew we had to do something together, when the keyboard player and I was quitting our old band. So the three of us was more or less there from the get-go. Ole, our singer also was someone we knew from earlier and he was also looking for a home. So in other words, the four of us came pretty naturally.
Our bassplayer was another story and pretty special. Miguel moved to Norway not so long ago and a friend of us asked if he could submit audition video of one of our songs. We received a video and couldn’t believe our eyes. We had Andreas Blomqvist (Seventh Wonder) handling the bass on the album. And Miguel was in the same league!! We just flew him straight over and we found a good chemistry with him right away. We asked him if he was interested in joining the band. He was in… We had a great party that night. And now we are a complete Withem…
When did the actual recordings for your debut album start? Which were the major ups and downs that you faced over that time period?
O: We started the recordings in January 2012, and things went pretty fast. We had a little bump on the road when Ole (vocals) was approached by Kamelot for their vocal auditions. He was working pretty hard to nail that job, so we took a break with the vocals in that period. Other than that recordings went fine… (i.n.: I can see why that happened, Ole is a truly gifted singer!)
You may be young but that didn’t hold you back from producing & mixing the album by yourself. How come? I’m sure that a songwriter knows exactly the kind of sound they want to achieve but it ain’t so easy, right?
O: Mixing the album myself was a risk, but.. I found a sound everyone in the band liked. And we just went for it. We were in dialogue with no other than David Botrill (Tool Smashing Pumpkind, Stone Sour, etc.). We almost went with him. But we also had a label and deal that made it impossible for us. But maybe next time we go that route…
How did the cooperation with Markus Teske (Vanden Plas, Saga, Spock’s Beard, Mob Rules, Red Circuit etc.) occur? Are you happy with the final touches on the album?
O: Absolutely, I know Markus for years. We both are gear heads and he mixed the album I did with my former band.
Didn’t you have a stable bass-player before & during the recordings? Is that why Blomqvist (Seventh Wonder) stepped in? I think the line-up is full now huh?
O: We had a session bass player for live shows, but we agreed with Andreas to do the recording pretty early in the writing process.
What’s “The Point of You”? What does the title declare?
O: Point of view is a pretty common phrase, Point of you sounds the same, but have completely different mean. Kinda like a wordplay.
Do give us a hint about the songs…
O: “Point of You”: Our fasters, most energetic song...
“Miracle”: The first song we ever wrote…
“Phrenesis”: The funniest song to play live…
“Burned by Senses”: Very special lyrics…
“Mr. Miruz”: This I feel is our most original song…
“Born to Live”: Our most commercial song…
“The Paramount of Lies”: The most epic song so far, it was aprox 10 min long…
“Driven By a Blessing”: Inspired by the war TV series “band of brothers”…
“Why Me?”: Probably our darkest song…
How hard was it to find a label that was would actually cover your needs? Did you think at any point of going independent as so many bands are doing nowadays?
O: We wanted someone who could help us print the album, promote it and so on. Ken at Lasers Edge seemed like the best fit. We had 4 other labels interested. But this just felt right at this point. We could release it by ourselves, but there’s too much work for us today and we don’t know how to fumble that ball.
Are there any plans to release a video and if yes for which one of the songs?
O: We have some ideas for a video. Ketil (keyboards) is working with sound to movies on a daily basis. So we have the contacts, we’ll see…
What about your further touring plans? Any live shows booked yet?
O: We have some shows in November in Norway and Progpower USA next year. But we are hoping to find a tour solution next year.
Although Norway is mostly known for its black metal scene, it seems there is also a very strong progressive metal scene. I think that Norway has always been into metal in general not only extreme metal. Is that the case?
O: There are many talented musicians here indeed. Not only Black Metal. It actually seem like Norway is growing in a good healthy progressive way. (i.n.: Yeap, I’ll go with that!)
O: Wow, Thank you very much, this is the kind of feedback that makes it all worthwhile!!
Hence, since Withem is a totally new band do present it briefly. What are those facts that the fans should know about the band?
O: All of us have been doing this for a while. But some in the “basement”… and some “out there”. What we have in common in the group is our grounded way of thinking and our sky high passion for music.
Since 2011 that you started the band, what was the first goal and has this goal been achieved as yet?
O: So far this has exceeded our goal. We wanted to make an album that we could be proud of and we were hoping for a deal with a label. After only two years, we are here with a finished album, a good label and a gig the USA next year (Progpower USA)… (i.n.: Hard work pays off dude!)
Which was the music direction that you wanted to follow as a band? Did you talk about it or it just came out naturally?
O: The ground fundament is metal, but we draw inspiration from whatever and we listen to whatever comes our way. Whatever comes out isn’t planed, but it has to rock and give that certain feel. It’s all about the magic and rawness combined, if that makes any sense… haha...
How hard was it to find apt members to make the band? That goes for your amazing singer Ole Aleksander Wagenius. I think that having such a great voice in the band is always an advantage in so many ways huh?
O: The drummer (Frank) and I knew we had to do something together, when the keyboard player and I was quitting our old band. So the three of us was more or less there from the get-go. Ole, our singer also was someone we knew from earlier and he was also looking for a home. So in other words, the four of us came pretty naturally.
Our bassplayer was another story and pretty special. Miguel moved to Norway not so long ago and a friend of us asked if he could submit audition video of one of our songs. We received a video and couldn’t believe our eyes. We had Andreas Blomqvist (Seventh Wonder) handling the bass on the album. And Miguel was in the same league!! We just flew him straight over and we found a good chemistry with him right away. We asked him if he was interested in joining the band. He was in… We had a great party that night. And now we are a complete Withem…
When did the actual recordings for your debut album start? Which were the major ups and downs that you faced over that time period?
O: We started the recordings in January 2012, and things went pretty fast. We had a little bump on the road when Ole (vocals) was approached by Kamelot for their vocal auditions. He was working pretty hard to nail that job, so we took a break with the vocals in that period. Other than that recordings went fine… (i.n.: I can see why that happened, Ole is a truly gifted singer!)
You may be young but that didn’t hold you back from producing & mixing the album by yourself. How come? I’m sure that a songwriter knows exactly the kind of sound they want to achieve but it ain’t so easy, right?
O: Mixing the album myself was a risk, but.. I found a sound everyone in the band liked. And we just went for it. We were in dialogue with no other than David Botrill (Tool Smashing Pumpkind, Stone Sour, etc.). We almost went with him. But we also had a label and deal that made it impossible for us. But maybe next time we go that route…
How did the cooperation with Markus Teske (Vanden Plas, Saga, Spock’s Beard, Mob Rules, Red Circuit etc.) occur? Are you happy with the final touches on the album?
O: Absolutely, I know Markus for years. We both are gear heads and he mixed the album I did with my former band.
Didn’t you have a stable bass-player before & during the recordings? Is that why Blomqvist (Seventh Wonder) stepped in? I think the line-up is full now huh?
O: We had a session bass player for live shows, but we agreed with Andreas to do the recording pretty early in the writing process.
What’s “The Point of You”? What does the title declare?
O: Point of view is a pretty common phrase, Point of you sounds the same, but have completely different mean. Kinda like a wordplay.
Do give us a hint about the songs…
O: “Point of You”: Our fasters, most energetic song...
“Miracle”: The first song we ever wrote…
“Phrenesis”: The funniest song to play live…
“Burned by Senses”: Very special lyrics…
“Mr. Miruz”: This I feel is our most original song…
“Born to Live”: Our most commercial song…
“The Paramount of Lies”: The most epic song so far, it was aprox 10 min long…
“Driven By a Blessing”: Inspired by the war TV series “band of brothers”…
“Why Me?”: Probably our darkest song…
How hard was it to find a label that was would actually cover your needs? Did you think at any point of going independent as so many bands are doing nowadays?
O: We wanted someone who could help us print the album, promote it and so on. Ken at Lasers Edge seemed like the best fit. We had 4 other labels interested. But this just felt right at this point. We could release it by ourselves, but there’s too much work for us today and we don’t know how to fumble that ball.
Are there any plans to release a video and if yes for which one of the songs?
O: We have some ideas for a video. Ketil (keyboards) is working with sound to movies on a daily basis. So we have the contacts, we’ll see…
What about your further touring plans? Any live shows booked yet?
O: We have some shows in November in Norway and Progpower USA next year. But we are hoping to find a tour solution next year.
Although Norway is mostly known for its black metal scene, it seems there is also a very strong progressive metal scene. I think that Norway has always been into metal in general not only extreme metal. Is that the case?
O: There are many talented musicians here indeed. Not only Black Metal. It actually seem like Norway is growing in a good healthy progressive way. (i.n.: Yeap, I’ll go with that!)
How do you see all this “free download culture” of our time? Do fans/downloaders have the right to claim that if a band wants to make some bucks it must go on tour while it’s their “right” to download the albums for free? What must be done to get people to buy the actual product in the end?
O: Well, this is a BIG subject. But there’s nothing we can do about it... my motto is; If you like it GO BUY IT!! (i.n.: I’m with you dude!)
OKz time for our “weird questions”! Why did you call the band Withem in the first place?
O: The simple answer is that we wanted a name which wouldn’t stigmatize the band to a specific genre. And we wanted a simple name…
Do you believe that all those incidents in the Norwegian black metal scene in the early 90s caused problems to other music genres or generally helped the scene to become more known all over the world?
O: There waere some bad things which happened in the old black metal scene. This put the genre in a light that fascinated some and disgusted by others. I don’t think what happened earlier helped, at least in a good way.
Put the best prog metal band together… (vocals, guitar, keys, bass, drums)
O: Tommy Karevik, (SW/Kamelot) on vocals, Mats Haugen (Circus Maximus) on guitar, Tony Macalpine (He is a great keyboard player) on keys, Anthony Crawford on bass and Mike Mangini on drums.
Name 3 top prog metal albums…
O: Shadow Gallery – “Tyranni”…
Dream theater – “Scenes from a Memory”…
Symphony X – “Devine wings of Tradgedy”…
Which is the record you wish you had written and why??
O: “The Wall” by Pink Floyd... Why… cuz of the money!! Moreover it’s a pure genius album!!
Which is the most overrated band today?
O: Metallica! (i.n.: Ouch! That hurt!!)
Which will be the best soundtrack to play in the day we will be forced to evacuate planet earth?
O: Peter Griffin (Family Guy) “Bird is the Word”!
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
O: Back in time… and put in the correct Lotto numbers, it was about 34 million bucks or something. Would help a bit!!!! (i.n.: Where’s my damn Almanac!)
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
O: Hey Taxi!!!
Imagine that your wife/girlfriend is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?!
O: Honey, OK sell it but make sure you rip everything to high res, digital files and download front, back cover and booklet for everything. Ready, set… GO!!!!
Well that’s all for now Oyvind. Close this interview in your own way… Thx for the music… Take care!
O: Thank you. This was the longest one so far… But it was great!!! Keep up the good work!!!
O: Well, this is a BIG subject. But there’s nothing we can do about it... my motto is; If you like it GO BUY IT!! (i.n.: I’m with you dude!)
OKz time for our “weird questions”! Why did you call the band Withem in the first place?
O: The simple answer is that we wanted a name which wouldn’t stigmatize the band to a specific genre. And we wanted a simple name…
Do you believe that all those incidents in the Norwegian black metal scene in the early 90s caused problems to other music genres or generally helped the scene to become more known all over the world?
O: There waere some bad things which happened in the old black metal scene. This put the genre in a light that fascinated some and disgusted by others. I don’t think what happened earlier helped, at least in a good way.
Put the best prog metal band together… (vocals, guitar, keys, bass, drums)
O: Tommy Karevik, (SW/Kamelot) on vocals, Mats Haugen (Circus Maximus) on guitar, Tony Macalpine (He is a great keyboard player) on keys, Anthony Crawford on bass and Mike Mangini on drums.
Name 3 top prog metal albums…
O: Shadow Gallery – “Tyranni”…
Dream theater – “Scenes from a Memory”…
Symphony X – “Devine wings of Tradgedy”…
Which is the record you wish you had written and why??
O: “The Wall” by Pink Floyd... Why… cuz of the money!! Moreover it’s a pure genius album!!
Which is the most overrated band today?
O: Metallica! (i.n.: Ouch! That hurt!!)
Which will be the best soundtrack to play in the day we will be forced to evacuate planet earth?
O: Peter Griffin (Family Guy) “Bird is the Word”!
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
O: Back in time… and put in the correct Lotto numbers, it was about 34 million bucks or something. Would help a bit!!!! (i.n.: Where’s my damn Almanac!)
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
O: Hey Taxi!!!
Imagine that your wife/girlfriend is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?!
O: Honey, OK sell it but make sure you rip everything to high res, digital files and download front, back cover and booklet for everything. Ready, set… GO!!!!
Well that’s all for now Oyvind. Close this interview in your own way… Thx for the music… Take care!
O: Thank you. This was the longest one so far… But it was great!!! Keep up the good work!!!