Tobias Fongelius Jormundgand/Burning Eye Productions (29.XII.2011)

 Interview with Tobias Fongelius 

(Jormundgand and Burning Eye Productions) 

Encomium, 29.XII.2011 

Questions compiled  by Cornelius of Encomium 

and Georgius

"Nowadays there's really just a few record labels left true to the underground spirit and its former magic. So I am really happy to introduce you Burning Eye Productions from Sweden, a young label, which definitely follows the path of the true underground spirit. All the latest news & future plans were kindly transmitted to us by Tobbe (who also appears as guitarist/vocalist for Jormundgand)!"

Cornelius of Castrum/Encomium

Is there any special reason for forming Burning Eye Productions? Tell us in short the story behind your label.

- The main reason to start Burning Eye Productions was because we, Tobbe and Erika, felt that we refused to compromise with our material. One label didn't like our cover art and told us to change. One label didn't like the name "Jormundgand". Another one didn't like the "Occult Sacrifice" and "By the Grace of Death" songs and asked us if it was possible to skip those hymns! (Assholes!) So that was a huge reason for us to start our own label - Total control of the product and our creation without compromising with some fuckheads ideas about how it should look or sound like!

The other reason is that we have a great interest in arranging gigs. So when we had just started Burning Eye Productions we decided to arrange a gig straight away. We wanted it to be a gig to remember and it ended up with a killer lineup! Vulcano, legendary black/death from Brazil, (on their first tour outside South America). The black metal gods Nifelheim and one of the best fucking heavy metal bands around - RAM! We named this magical night to "Thunder Metal Massacre".

Enlighten us the plans Burning Eye Productions for the forthcoming years.

- We will split up Burning Eye Productions in two parts. One part for arranging gigs (with bands that WE think is kicking ass with all other bands) and it doesn't necessarily have to be a big and famous band, as long as the true spark and dedication is there, it will catch our ears! The other part will search for bands that we want to give the mark of Burning Eye Productions. And we won't force the bands to erase tracks, change bandnames or logos! We feel and appreciate the music and the true art behind it instead of just looking at the surface, counting money.

You've done a gig under the banner of Burning Eye Productions with the following bands: Vulcano, Nifelheim, RAM. How did it turn out? Do you have similar actions planned for the future too?

- To return to the question about "Thunder Metal Massacre"; It was truly a great success! It was almost sold out even though the gig was to take place on a Wednesday! All the bands were 100% on top and it was a hell of a great time as well as in the audience as backstage between the bands! The bar had never sold so much beer on a weekday before!!!

We have plans to arrange a gig again in the near future. But first we have some other stuff to take care of... You will see...

Now some other kind of question. Does the Viking heritage influence you in one or other way? Or Satanism is above all?

- Well, I guess that the "Pagan" or "Folk" tunes influence us in one way or another. But the direction of Jormundgand is very clear to us. It's all an obeisance to Satan and the dark depths in our within, where the black flame grows stronger for each day! Lylusay Tateros Volt Sids Lucifer! Ave Lucifer! 

You play in Jormundgand. Can we expect your band's materials to be released on Burning Eye Productions?

- Yes. The thing is that we have some more material to record and after that we are going to release a 12” EP trough Burning Eye Productions.

What Black Metal means to you?

- Black Metal to me is total devotion and dedication to the dark. A tool to place a seed in the inner self of the listeners, and hopefully they will let it grow and find the strength to search the truth and to explore the undefiled paths that is, for the blind, covered in shadows and darkness!

Do you play live with Jormundgand? If so, do you use Satanic symbols or effects to decorate your live performance?

- The thing is that we had some gigs, more or less ready, to play in the beginning of 2011. But as it always has been with Jormundgand, everything just felled apart in our hands and it was total chaos! We had to put the band aside for a moment and catch our breath. But now we rehearse more than ever before and we hope that Jormundgand will be ready for the stage in the end of 2011! The marks of Satan lives in myself and in my flesh. I guess that’s enough, at the moment. But we will have a great amount of bones and bone relations with us on stage! 

For your previous materials you had guest appearances (both for cover art and for backing vocals too). Please tell us about that.

- Well, on the first demo "Satanic Attack", it was just me and Erika that played in the band. But our friends of the great band "Vornth" was helping us with the instruments that we needed. It all ended up with a full band for a while! Something that's quite rare in the history of Jormundgand! When it was time for the vocals I felt that we needed something more in the song "Satanic Attack". I asked "Hellbutcher" from Nifelheim if he wanted to put some backing vocals and he liked the material so he agreed. He helped us a lot with that demo. He painted the cover art, took the band photos and made the T-shirts as well! For the next coming release it will be "Tyrant" from Nifelheim doing the cover. I told him what I wanted and he delivered the most impressive piece of art! Both Tyrant and Hellbutcher are true artists!

If there would be a chance to invite a Ukrainian or Hungarian Black or Death metal band, which would it be?

- Hm, hard to say. It would be a great honor for us to have Tormentor if they started up again! Then we have Pokolgép, Nocturnal Rites, Domhring and Castrum.

I'm not that conversant in the Hungarian and Ukrainian metal scene and I'd really like you to recommend bands that you think I should listen to! 

(I would definitely recommend you to listen to these Ukrainian bands: Nokturnal Mortum, Khors, Ulvegr, - Cornelius)

Tack!!! Hail Satan! Hail Azerate! Last Satanic rites for the end...

- Thanks my friends! If there is anyone who thinks that Burning Eye Productions sounds like the label for YOUR band, send a mail to our myspace: 

www.myspace.com/burningeyeproductions. An email to burningeyeproductions@gmail.com 

Tobias Fongelius (Jormundgand) 9.VI.2013

Interview with Tobias Fongelius 

of Jormundgand  

Sadistik Witchfukk (9.VI.2013)

Questions compiled by Georgius and Sorin Necrotrooper 

Hail Tobbe! Because this is the first interview with you, please give us a short bio regarding your band.

- Hail! Well, we are JORMUNDGAND from Sweden. We have been lurking in the underground since 2004. The first demo "Satanic Attack" was recorded between 2008/2009, and at that time Hellbutcher from the mighty NIFELHEIM helped us a lot! He was with us in the studio and he even put some vocals to the song "Satanic Attack". He painted the cover for the demo and t-shirts, took all our promo pictures with his camera and more. In 2010 we recorded our single "The Eleven Path". I (Tobbe F) started my own record label "Burning Eye Productions" and the plan was to release the single on a 7" vinyl through Burning... But the dream hasn´t been transformed to reality yet because of different reasons.... In 2012 we decided to record our first full length-album. It is now finally finished and ready to be unleashed upon the surface of the world, to spread the poison of the mighty Black Dragon of the abysmal ocean of Chaos!

How  did you get introduced into metal, and did you played in any bands before Jormundgand?

- It came quite natural to me, I guess. I was around 6 or 7 years old and I heard Guns'n'Roses on the radio! It was "Paradise City" and I felt like totally blown away by the music! Then on the very same radio show they played "Poison" with Alice Cooper, and then I was trapped forever! Very soon after that I started to listen to more hard music like Metallica and Iron Maiden. When I was at the age of 14 I started my first band. We named it "Confused" and we played some kind of Swedish straight edge hardcore! Haha, the music really sucked! hahaha! We played live one time and split-up shortly after that! When I was around 16 years old, I came in contact with Black Metal for the first time... And I can still remember the feeling of coming home, that I have finally found my musical way in life!

You are working on your first LP. Can you tell us all about it? (stuff such as recording process and so on). Did you signed with a label to promote it, or it is self-released?

- Yeah, this will be our first full length album! The thing is that it´s only two "new" songs on that recording! Those are "Malice Striker" and " Beyond the Bound". The rest of the songs were written between 2010 and 2012. I felt that we had too much un-recorded material to move on forward with the other new songs that will be on our next release. We have taped all our earlier material on a tape recorder. And everything has been recorded live in the studio. But this time we did a lot more time in the studio. We recorded all  the instruments in separated steps, beginning with the drums, then bass, then guitar...... It was more time-consuming than I could ever imagine! And money-eating! That's why it took us more than one year to record the album! All my money has been pumped in this record, so I can´t release it by my own label, through "Burning Eye Productions". Not just because of the money, but because of all the time it took away from the music and creation of music. To make Black metal you need a very strong connection with your inner self. If you don't find that state of mind, then you will loose all the true spirit of your creation, especially now when we play live as well.

Are there any guests on the album? ( Hellbutcher or other ones?)

- I had plans to invite Hellbutcher to the studio again, and to ask Oscar from RAM to put some heavy metal song to one of the tracks, but, it never felt like the right thing to do! So, no guests on this album!

You shared the stage with Necrocurse on 5th of April in Gothenburg. How was your concert?

- Ah! It was fucking great! We feel more hunger now than ever before! We did a gig in Trollhättan 4 weeks after the Gothenburg gig, and it was fucking awesome as well! Hail Satan!

(my awesome Swedish friend sent me Necrocurse-poster and dedicated by Hellbutcher digipack CD in 2016 -GF)

What is the situation regarding your new shows? have you decided to tour Europe, or it will be just in Sweden (or Scandinavia)?

- We will play as much as we can. I feel that we have a great potential to be a killer band on stage!

How are the things going with Burning Eye Productions?

- Well, I am a little bit unsure about the future of Burning Eye Productions, at least with the Jormundgand thing. But I will have the label active in one or another way. Maybe releasing other bands' material and organizing concerts and tours. Time will tell!

What is JORMUNDGAND's current line-up and if the members of the band take part in other projects?

- It's me Tobias Fongelius on bestial vomit and guitar! And Ingo on drums. Erik K on guitar. He is active in a few other bands as well, like Vornth, Autokrat and Xul. Tobbe P has been involved in everything we have done so far, all the recordings and our two first live shows, but not anymore. He wants to give his main band "RAM" all his focus, I believe. So it's a fucking shit situation right now to be honest. But I understand and respect his decision. All hails to the mighty masters of "Heavy Metal Tyranny" - RAM!

Your top 10 all-time favourite albums are?

- Shit! Haha, what a question! Ok.... Starting from 1.

Storm of the Light´s Bane

The Somberlain

Reinkaos

Servants of Darkness

Lawless Darkness

Blood Fire Death

Altars of Madness

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

Morbid Visions

Again Shall Be

Well, I will probably change my mind tomorrow, but what the fuck: all this albums are fucking killer!

Do you know any bands from Hungary, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova?

- It's funny that you're asking me that, because when I was down to "Halmstad" in Sweden last month to bang my head to Nifelheim, Vulcano and The Stone, it was something unexpected that happened on the stage! As you maybe know, Tamás from the Hungarian band Tormentor is now a member in Nifelheim. And in the middle of the show, Hellbutcher went off from the stage and Attila Csihar came up instead and they started to play the intro to the "Anno Domini" record, and then they played "Tormentor" with Attila on vox! That was fucking legendary! But besides Tormentor, Domhring, Castrum and Chamos my knowledge about your bands is very thin I'm afraid.

What bands can you recommend us from Sweden (and also from the rest of the world)?

- Well, Vornth (Swedish speed metal), Xul (Swedish black metal), Necrocurse (Swedish Death Metal), Mordant (Swedish Black Metal), Trial (Swedish Heavy Metal), In Solitude ( Swedish Heavy Metal). And of course, RAM (Swedish Heavy Metal).

Now regarding your local cuisine: what foods, drinks, cigars, tobaccoes can you recommend?

- Hmm, Sweden is very famous for our great KebabPizza! So if you come to Sweden, just order Kebab! We have something called "Systembolaget" in Sweden. And that's the only store where you can buy your alcohol. It's forbidden to sell alcohol in food-shops etc. Quite shitty if you ask me, but it have one big +. Every "Systembolaget" store have like 100 different beers, and maybe 100 different whiskeys and like 1000 different wines! So we have a lot of different brands to pick from! Personally i like scotch whiskey and Irish dark stoutbeer!

I was very pleased to find out that Jon Nödtveidt (Rest and Reign in Chaos) is your hero as well as mine. From your letters I've got to know that you didn't know Jon personally, but what do you think of Him as a person and musician?

- Because I have a lot of friends that knew Jon personally, I know that he was a great person and musician! He was like a never ending source of musical energy and inspiration and the guitar riffs just sprayed out of his fingers into his guitar! He is, and will always remain, my greatest inspiration both musically and spiritually! Hail the Bloodline of fire! Hail Jon Nödtveidt! Might His legacy never be forgotten.

Tack så mycket, my old friend Tobbe! Hail to the Northern Dragon of Chaos! 

Your message to readers of Sadistik Witchfukk...

- Varsågod min vän! I hope to meet you in the mighty Carpathians soon! Hail Satan!

You can listen to the music here:  myspace.com/jormundgand666

Burning Eye Productions:  myspace.com/burningeyeproductions