Today I’m talking to Count Morthos from Gølgaborg, a one man DSBM band
based in Aberdeen, Washington USA.
Hi man, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to our readers…
1- Tell us about Gølgaborg.. when/where/why did you decide to form the band?
It was sometime in December of 2021. I had already been writing songs at this point, but I had so many ideas that didn’t really conform to the genres I was listening to at the time, I was listening to bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Cannibal Corpse, lots of thrash and death metal as well as numerous punk bands. Then one day I left Youtube on autoplay, and Burzum’s Dunkelheit started playing, and it opened my eyes and ears to a whole new sound. It sent me on a black metal rabbithole of sorts. I connected with this style of music on a deeper level than any other thing I’ve heard before.
2- From where do you draw the inspiration for your lyrics and music?
I think I get inspiration from many things. Usually feelings from a personal experience or thoughts that I have, processing a traumatic experience, negative emotions… I tend to write a lot about feelings of being trapped, isolated, forgotten. My nightmares often involve being trapped in a realm I can’t escape, being tormented by figures of my own psyche. This is probably because of some fucked up shit I went through in my past… A lot of the time Nature, the night, and looking to the outdoors inspires the same feeling of creative energy that I get from listening to black metal. I will say, it usually all comes back to darkness… I believe darkness and pain tends to inspire most of the best art.
3- Run us through the new album, which is being released on double CD in July, Suicide & Misanthropy, and the new single, Dejected…
I consider Suicide & Misanthropy to be my first good album. many of my previous releases were recorded and mixed poorly, and to me, not in a good “true kvlt” way. S&M was the first album I was actually proud of! I don’t really think I can add anything else, I feel that the album and single are self-explanatory.
4- Tell us about your other Eps and albums, which as I understand,
will be released later this year on physical formats…A lot of the older recordings I’ve made were recorded using only what I had at my disposal at the time. I had to record everything with a cellphone!
5- Tell us about the new stuff you’re working on…
Most of the stuff I’ve been working on lately is a lot more dissonant and fucked up than much of my past material. I’ve been experimenting more with the instrumentation, using different synths, implementing clean tones. I always want to try something differently than I’ve done before, you know? Like sometimes I find myself feeling like I’m following the same black metal cliches when in the process of writing sometimes, so trying something unconventional or having a different approach can help with my creative process.
6- Gølgaborg has grown quickly over the last few months and has been very well received by fans and critics alike… what are your plans and expectations for the future? Have you thought of forming a full band and perhaps playing live?
As for my plans for the future, I want to continue to make music for as long as I can, and continue to progress and evolve my own sound further. Maybe I’ll make a thrash album someday! As for forming a full band, I’m not so sure. I find solace and peace when recording by myself. I don’t have to talk to anyone, listen to bullshit, its almost like I don’t even have to think. When working with other people as a full band, creative differences tend to clash, and if you’re the frontman, you have to worry about directing everyone. And from my experience, that’s a pain in the ass. I’ve played in bands with several less experienced peers who are always trying to be the “leader”. They all seem to want to always be Kurt Cobain. Like, when the drummer is bossing everyone around like he’s the fucking singer it makes me want to rip my hair out and stab someone! Like, what the fuck is that? I’ve played live as Gølgaborg one time. It was an alright show, nothing groundbreaking. I may play live again in the future, if I’m not to lazy to create mounds of backing tracks!
7- Tell about your arsenal of instruments and the writing/recording process for your music…
My main guitar I record with is a black Epiphone Flying V, my favorite
out of all of them. My second “axe in command” is a Jay Turser JT-220D (Les Paul shape). I’ve also got a really sick vintage BC Rich Warlock that I sometimes record with. I’ve covered it in stickers… I KNOW, why don’t you crucify me? My bass is a black Ibanez Gio Soundgear, a good basic model, no pun intended. I also have two acoustic guitars, ones a very old Airline guitar that’s pretty beat up, Its probably older than myself. The other is an old Honer guitar. When It comes to writing, I usually have an idea in mind of what I want the song to sound like. I’ll have a few riffs ready, then I write the lyrics, although sometimes I record the whole instrumental first, then write the lyrics to the track. When recording the guitars, I will record three rhythm tracks (one panned 100% left, one 100%right, one up the center), Then I’ll record the bass guitar. After bass I record two more guitars as the melody/harmonizing parts (one panned 60-70% left, the other right).
8- Which bands inspired you to become a musician? Which bands are
you listening to these days?
When I first heard Nirvana’s In Utero, I was inspired to start playing guitar. Believe it or not, I am a Nirvana fan. Then my dad gave me Metallica’s Ride The Lightning, and I instantly fell in love with metal. It all just progressed from there.Nowadays I’ve been listening to a lot of bands I’ve just discovered. For the black metal stuff, I’ve been listening to a lot of Xasthur,Durbataluk, Nocturnal Depression, Burzum (like always, literally one of my top favorites), Shining, My Useless Life, Abyssic Hate, Leviathan, NONE, Anti, Decalius, to name a few. I could go on and on. Dead Can Dance has been catching my ear a lot as well.
9- As a part of the ever growing and ever evolving new wave of post pandemic Black Metal, the so called ‘Plague Generation’, how do you compare the new bands and new genres to the so called ‘classic’ and ‘traditional’ sounds from the 80s/90s?
I find some of the newer bands lacking a certain rawness and fuzziness
that I like. On the other hand, many of them try so hard to sound raw that they end up sounding like absolute shit! The colder sounding the better, in my opinion, as long as it isn’t too “posey” or over the top.
10- What is the scene like there in Washington USA? Recommend some local bands for our readers to check out…
The metal scene here is dry and bland. There are 0 even remotely black metal bands in my area. The closest black metal band to me in Washington is Decalius, who I believe lives in Seattle. Alternatively,
there is a good solid punk and grunge scene here in Aberdeen, many good bands. I would recommend the band Clear Nothing if you’re into metal driven punk rock.
11- What are your top 5 albums of all time?
Hard question! If I had a gun to my head I would say it would be
Burzum’s Filosofem, Abyssic Hate’s Suicidal Emotions, Nirvana’s In Utero, Metallica’s …And Justice For All!, Emperor’s In The Nightside Eclipse.
12- What advice would you give to other young and up and coming
musicians looking to follow in your footsteps? Keep practicing, keep recording, and don’t stop. You will find your own process and way of doing things musically. Also Keep an open mind, sometimes the most “un-metal” things can inspire you to write anything. Sometimes folk music inspires me to play black metal.
13- Would you like to add anything for our readers?
Thank you for having me, and thank you for giving me the time of day and hearing what I have to say. Thanks to Count Morthos!! golgaborg https://glgaborg.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/people/G%C3%B8lgaborg/61556635868899/ https://www.youtube.com/@countmorthos Masters Of Kaos Prod. https://mastersofkaos.bandcamp.com/album/g-lgaborg-usa-suicide-misanthropy https://www.facebook.com/people/Masters-Of-Kaos-Productions/100083264766354/ https://www.instagram.com/mastersofkaosrecords/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ5mrPBaMgDuGn71cyYWpbw