Hi this is Jay reporting from Bogota, Colombia
Today I’m talking with Rufus from UK one-man BM outfit, Glamsdring
Hi man, thanks for taking the time to talk with our readers…
No problem at all man, it's a pleasure
When/where / why was Glamsdring created?
So a couple of years ago I had a band with my friends at school, which was kind of a crossover thrash band. Basically around this time I was seriously getting into metal to the point of obsession, and I noticed that lots of people in bands had black metal side projects - Phil Anselmo from Pantera for example. So I basically thought “Why not?” And started writing the 2023 demo in 2022. The material kind of lay around doing nothing until I finally got recording it in 2023. Eventually me trying to follow a trend of having a side project turned into a genuine fascination and love for black metal. That band I had with my friends doesn't exist anymore and Glamsdring is 100% my main focus.
Tell us about the first 2 releases, 2023 demo and the EP, Svarte Skogen…..
Yeah, so as I mentioned 2023 Demo was just me figuring out what I wanted to do in terms of black metal… there's quite a range of styles present on that demo, like Insufficience and Die Hoffnungslosigkeit being basically DSBM tracks and Tulikultti, more of a melodic black metal epic which I'm working on a re-recording of for an upcoming release which you'll hear about soon. And yeah the demo after that, which I called an EP for reasons that I don't really remember, was just a continuation of that really, but I think it was more aggressive in some ways - rawer, faster etc. I'm proud of them for sure.
What are the influences behind the lyrics and music you write?
Generally in terms of lyrics they're quite spontaneous. I'll pick up the mic and decide “Okay, I'll sing about WW2 today”, or whatever. So there aren't really many lyrical influences as such, but I find myself coming back to last events in my music. History is so boundlessly interesting and I love singing about it. Maybe I'm the Sabaton of black metal, hahaha.
Have you thought about taking Glamsdring to the live stage as a full band?
Oh yeah, absolutely - You're gonna hopefully hear more about that pretty soon.
What are your musical influences?
Inside of metal, Opeth I really love and have loads of influence on what I write not so much on the first two releases but more on later stuff I've been working on. Also, the live album Levende i Bronshøj Vandtårn by Solbrud from Denmark is one of my favourite albums of all time and is a huge influence on me. Black Medium Current by Dødheimsgard is alsoy favourite album of all time so obviously that rubs off on me quite a lot. But all of those bands influence more the stuff that is unreleased right now, whereas the two releases being printed on Masters Of Kaos are much more straightforward - I can remember writing the material and just thinking “You know what, I'm just going full on, straightforward black metal”. So it wasn't a particular album or band which influenced me so much on those two.
Do you have any other projects apart from Glamsdring?
No, but I'd like to start one - Glamsdring is quite melodic so I'd like to do something on the more brutal side of black metal, like Tsjuder or Marduk type thing. Desert Northern Hell and Panzer Division are two great albums and I'd love to record something like them.
We all know UK is a seething hub for Metal..recommend some good local bands for our readers to check out…
Cradle of Filth, hahaha. In all seriousness, everyone knows about Winterfylleth already, but if you've somehow missed Nikharskag you need to check them out. Very similar to the band Dissection and it's really good. They're also pretty well known though - I’m not really part of the “scene” here so if you want underground bands I’m not really the person to ask to be honest.
What is your opinion on the current BM scene in general?
Good question. I like that it’s so big now, lots of subgenres and all. But I hate the Mayhem TikTok kids. Ultimately though, I do actually like that the scene has grown into something huge and global. There are so many good bands now, which is a result of the scene being bigger, which can only be a good thing.
What are your plans with Glamsdring for the long term future?
Well, I’m hoping to start playing live with a band soon, which will be awesome. There’s also a full-length in the works and I even have some material written for the full-length after that as well as a couple of splits I’ve got lined up. Exciting times!
If you could play with any band or musician, live or dead, who would it eb and why?
Great question. I took ages thinking about this one but I’m gonna have to be a basic bitch and say Fenriz. Absolute legend who played in some of my favourite bands and played a huge role in the evolution of the genre. People also forget that he’s an incredible drummer too, because on the Holy Trinity of Darkthrone albums, which he’s most famous for, he doesn’t show off his chops so much, but if you listen to Soulside Journey and the Goatlord demos you realise he’s an absolute monster drummer. So yeah, I’d say Fenriz, he’s a legend.
Do you have any words of wisdom for any young musicians looking to follow in your footsteps?
Well I guess the project is really only getting started, but from the footsteps that I have laid down, I would say to just get started. Just record stuff. And who cares if it sounds like shit? You’;; get something good eventually and someone’s bound to like it. Have no fear.
Would you like to add anything for our readers??
Make sure to buy the CD for 2023 Demo/Svarte Skogen from Masters of Kaos and also to follow my Bandcamp page where I post all my updates. I am hoping to start some social media pages soon so stay tuned.
A massive thanks to Rufus.. Ave 666 Glamsdring https://glamsdring.bandcamp.com/ Masters Of Kaos Prod. https://mastersofkaos.bandcamp.com/merch https://www.facebook.com/people/Masters-Of-Kaos-Productions/100083264766354/ https://www.instagram.com/mastersofkaosrecords/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ5mrPBaMgDuGn71cyYWpbw
