By Martha Hughes

MARTHA HUGHES: What's the history of Covenant? How did you five find each other?

BLACKHEART: Well, basically, I guess we started out with me and Nagash (vocalist & bass) in 1992, just the two of us due to the lack of talented musicians interested in this type of music. We recorded "In Times Before The Light" and we had a lot of problems releasing that album. It was supposed to be released in '95, but wasn't until '97. One by one we found talented musicians we could work with. We completed our lineup a year ago.

MARTHA: I'm impressed that Covenant's drummer is Hellhammer, the original drummer from Mayhem.

BLACKHEART: He's done a lot of good things for Covenant. His style makes the music so much more dynamic and he's a cool person as well.

MARTHA: He's one of the best drummers in black metal.

BLACKHEART: That's true. When we decided to get new members, it wasn't easy. We don't have the luxury to bother with musicians who are just sitting around in their basements doing nothing. We just asked him, the keyboardist and guitarist if they wanted to play and everyone was interested, everyone was thrilled.

MARTHA: He just said, "Okay, I'll do it?"

BLACKHEART: Yeah, Norway being a relatively small country, everyone knows each other and we asked him, "Do you want to try drumming in this band?" and he said yes. Hellhammer is very interested in trying different styles of drumming and he's really excited about it.

MARTHA: I don't know if you could do that here because there's so much variety and the country is so large. Does the band have a philosophy, or did it have a particular stream of thought when Covenant was formed?

BLACKHEART: Hmm...we've always been musical people. As for me and Nagash, we've always been interested in music and making it as musicians. Our goals were to express ourselves as true musicians. Covenant is preoccupied with a futuristic mentality. Reinventing ourselves and taking ourselves to the next level is always on our minds. We try to reinvent ourselves every time we do something, trying to embrace ourselves with a new way of thinking and being better than we were before. I wouldn't say we're a religious band, we're not religious at all; we're a seeking band.

MARTHA: That leaves you open to a lot of growth.

BLACKHEART: We're a complicated band and we deal with philosophies that have grown since just a couple hours ago. There's a lot of positive energy and you get motivated to experiment and try new things; we're not interested in repeating ourselves. We also want to try to keep our integrity. We're not into marketing and sales. We leave that to the record label. I don't think you'll see this band compromising its integrity.

MARTHA: So you're not going to put out an album called "Reload?"

BLACKHEART: (laughs) I don't think so. We're just trying to be honest about ourselves as musicians. We're not really into the potential fame and glory; it's not about that for us. Of course, we wouldn't mind living good, but it wouldn't be honest if you make a compromise to do it.

MARTHA: You'll sleep well at night.

BLACKHEART: Yeah, that's probably true.

MARTHA: Who writes your songs?

BLACKHEART: I guess up until now I've been doing most of the songwriting. Most of the stuff I write, but all of the members give their input. I'm the one who sits down and takes the chaos of ideas and puts them into real songs. The rest of the members are getting more and more involved now.

MARTHA: There are many influences in "Nexus Polaris," yet it succeeds in having a very individual sound. Where do you find your inspirations?

BLACKHEART: The strange thing is that I'm not really inspired by musical movements; I'm more inspired by different mentalities. For instance, the techno-trans movement, but it's more about the mentalities, not the music. I've also been inspired by classical poetry, such as Yeats and Blake. Music is what I love the most, everything I do is related to music. I do have a rule that if I get a new CD and really, really like it and listen to it a lot, I won't make any music for a couple days afterwards because I know I'll start writing things that will sound like that CD.

MARTHA: Do you listen to classical music?

BLACKHEART: I don't really listen to it; but I used to take piano lessons professionally for a couple years. I was playing a lot of classical and was really intrigued by the structure of it, but I'm not really into it. I don't have the patience to listen to it, really.

MARTHA: You catch onto music quickly, then.

BLACKHEART: Yeah, it's an advantage you get by playing music. You can say you know how everything works and won't work. You get to see behind the scenes---in a way like in a movie.

MARTHA: Are you living in Norway now?

BLACKHEART: Yes.

MARTHA: Where in Norway do you live?

BLACKHEART: I live in Hamar, which is a little over an hour from Oslo.

MARTHA: What is the music scene like now where you are?

BLACKHEART: I guess Oslo's a very interesting music scene now. A couple years ago in back metal there was a collective feeling to it, music's version of Hell's Angels. There are a lot of creative things going on around Oslo. A new wave of rock and metal bands are coming from Norway and Sweden. Turbonegro and Glucifer Hellacoptors are two bands becoming famous in Europe. They both have a twist of not taking themselves seriously.

MARTHA: Are you able to play a lot of live performances?

BLACKHEART: Yeah, we just started doing that. We did a short mini-tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

MARTHA: Did you play at Dynamo last year? How was that?

BLACKHEART: We had a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 people. It's a really good feeling to stand on stage and have people holding posters with your name on them. It's an adrenaline rush.

MARTHA: I wish you guys could make it out to California.

BLACKHEART: In time, in time. I think Americans are a bit of a tougher nut to crack. Americans like to buy things that are more popular, they need more proof, but I think there's a lot of potential for us in America. Also, for personal satisfaction, we'd like to go to America. All Europeans want to go to America, and all Americans want to go to Europe. It's very strange. I guess it's a case of the grass is always greener...

MARTHA: ...on the other side of the ocean.

BLACKHEART: (both laugh) Exactly.

MARTHA: We'd definitely love you in San Francisco.

BLACKHEART: We'll be there sometime.

MARTHA: Many of the songs on "Nexus Polaris" are focused on childhood fantasies gone awry. Do you read many fantasy or science fiction books?

BLACKHEART: We do, actually. I mean, at least there's no lack of imagination within this band. It's apparent in the lyrical side of this band. Both me and Nagash were writing the lyrics and we used the words as symbols, while at the same time it's a common theme we've developed. It's difficult to describe, but we found a lyrical dialect that goes hand in hand with our music. I think we're being honest with what we do with our music; we're not cheating ourselves or trying to be something we're not. We made up a name for our lyrics. We call them "Tivoli Terror." Tivoli is the Norwegian word for circus. It sounds sort of silly, but it's scary.

MARTHA: Childhood terrors are the scariest.

BLACKHEART: Yes! That's what we did with "Polaris," we made it bizarre and strange, almost sounding a bit immature, but at the same time stunning and good.

MARTHA: One of my favorite pieces off "Nexus Polaris" is "Bizarre Cosmic Industries" because of the images it summons...those of stepping into a funhouse and realizing things appear differently than the way they really are. Kind of like the music business. What does this song mean to you?

BLACKHEART: It means something about looking at the whole situation from the outside, realizing that the world really doesn't revolve around you and that you're a tiny dot in the cosmic machinery, breaking illusions. Like the lyrics say: "Can you really see behind the clown's mask?" Maybe you'd better step down from your high horse and not be so arrogant. I think the funhouse idea is really accurate.

MARTHA: That's my favorite song because it says so much.

BLACKHEART: I think so, too. When Nagash came up with that title, I said, "That's right!" I'm very impressed by him as a lyric writer. He's very talented.

MARTHA: All of you guys are very talented.

BLACKHEART: Thanks.

MARTHA: There are so many black metal bands that sound the same.

BLACKHEART: I guess what we're doing is the counterpart to a lot of black metal bands. When the musical movement stays the same and doesn't evolve, I say, "Do something different!"

MARTHA: As we say in America, you don't talk the talk, you walk the walk!

BLACKHEART: (laughs) I guess that's what we do. We don't just talk about it; we do it.

MARTHA: What is Covenant's next project?

BLACKHEART: We're going to take some time, maybe late spring, early summer.

Copyright 1998, BallBuster, The Official Int'l Underground Hard Music Report