(Our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum has brought us this interview of Thomas Eriksen, the man behind the Norwegian black metal band Mork, whose new album Det Svarte Juv was released by Peaceville Records on April 19th. The interview was conducted close to Mork’s performance at this year’s Inferno Festival, and is accompanied by photos of the performance by Silje Storm Drabitius, to whom we are grateful for his permission to use them.)

How did you get to sign on Peaceville Records, which has in its roster some pretty legendary acts such as Darkthrone and so on…?

The first time I approached Peaceville Records I was told that they did not sign new bands. They said that they stick to the old bands, and then some time passed and I was contacted by other big labels that wanted Mork, but I didn’t really like the deals that they were offering me, so I declined some of them. Then I told Peaceville that it was now or never. If you want us now, you can have us, but if not we can go to another label. Then they started to think, and my good friend Nocturno Culto, from Darkthrone, he actually gave them a nudge. He made them realize that Mork was something worth investing in, something worth checking out, so that was the way it worked out.

Peaceville signed me for my third album which came out in 2017, Eremittens Dal is the title, “Valley of the Hermit” in English. Last year they re-released my first two albums Isebakke and Den Vandrende Skygge. Meanwhile the fourth and my latest one called Det Svarte Juv was released on Friday, April 19th. Continue reading »