Strange New Dawn, new vocalist

I have already presented Tom, one of the new vocalists in the band, now it’s time to travel to Belgium to find Arne, the second part of the duo. How does the band work when Arne is located abroad? What did Arne know about the members and their past, and will the band ever perform live?

Les intervjuet med Tom HER. Read the interview with Tom HERE (In Norwegian).

Fotograf: Sven Rothe

Hello, and welcome to Heavymetal.no, life’s good?

«Hey Yngve, thanks for reaching out. Summer is over, kids are back to school, life is back to normal, and all is well I guess :).»

Good to hear :). For me the arrival of fall is precious, haha, summers over folks!!

You are one of two new vocalists in Strange New Dawn, how did you hear about them needing a replacement for Roy?

«Well, I’m of those old skool Facebook users. They had a post asking for a new vocalist, and specified it could be anyone from anywhere basically. It crossed my timeline and never shy of a new challenge, I applied, without thinking too much of it. Sven (drummer) replied rather swiftly and from there on things really took speed, with me visiting Kristiansand last month to really get to know each other and even record a first song.»

«It crossed my timeline and never shy of a new challenge, I applied, without thinking too much of it.»

Arne on when he saw the band was searching for a vocalist

History

And what was/is your knowledge of the band? Was it a band you have been following?

«I got to know the band in 2016. I remember exactly how it went actually. In The Woods… played Graspop (the biggest Belgian metal festival) and after the show Christoffer threw some cd’s in the audience. A friend of mine grabbed one and gave it to me, as he guessed I would like it more than him. It was Strange New Dawn’s first album. I really loved it. Brought me back to the first Green Carnation album actually, which is not a bad thing. Afterwards I lost sight a bit but eventually I got back into the band through the Fortune Bringer video. I really loved the music and was mesmerized by the video itself. It’s not particularly good, but it has a certain hypnotising charm to it. My girlfriend is still asking when they will give me that crown btw, haha. The progression in sound from the first to the third album is huge, and made me crave for more!»

You are active in several bands, if I’m correct, what are these?

«Yeah, I’ve been in bands since 1998 non-stop. Currently these are Marche Funèbre (https://www.facebook.com/MarcheFunebreDoom), which is fairly big name in the European doom death metal underground scene. We are active since 2008 and our fifth album is about to be released. Really proud of it too. It’s thanks to MF that I started using my clean voice. It took me some years to master that craft, but I’m really glad with my range now.

My other band is called Sunless Aeon (https://www.facebook.com/SunlessAeon), a rather new melodic black metal band, Swedish style, rooted deeply in the 90ties. We are working on our first album as we speak. Unfortunately we had some setbacks in the drummer department, but I hope 2025 will bring us a first album.

Sometimes I do some session work as well. Just last month I recorded a black metal EP for a friends’ project, called Eternal Blood of War. Really cool stuff!»

Rehersals

And how will you communicate with the band regarding music, through the net? I guess, as you live in Belgium, there won’t be weekly rehearsals, hehe.

«Obviously we are using the world wide web to communicate. The guys record their stuff anyway, so our keyboard wizard Morten can add his magic to the basic songs (guitar, bass, drums). Whenever they recorded a song like this I can add vocal lines to it and send these back, so Tom can start working on his (backing) vocals and eventually the guys can even rehearse with my voice on the backing track (next to the keyboards). I participated in one rehearsal last month, which was really fun, but indeed, it’s rather impossible for me to come to Kristiansand every month or so, due to my kids’ schedule, work, and my other bands. But we will make it work for sure. Now and then we do live meetings through video call too, and they always happen to be good times.»

Foto: Joanna Rothe

When I see your musical inspirations, some black stuff, Fields Of the Nephilim, Arcturus…In the Woods…, I guess you can appreciate the strange new dawn, and hopefully this will be a fruitful relationship. How will you influence the band you think? What do you think you will bring to the table?

«Since I’m in charge for lead vocals I will add something of my own to the band for sure. I have quite a wide range, from Candlemass alike clean vocals over black metal screams to death metal growls, but always within my own reach, not trying to copy this or that vocalist. I usually go with the flow when it comes to picking a vocal style for a certain part in the song. For sure, I’m not going to rewrite the songs they create, but just add some extra flavour to them. It’s really encouraging when the rest of the band really likes what I’m bringing to the table, especially since I got inspired in this style by (Jan Transit from) In The Woods… in the first place.»

Touring

I know the guys, and I wouldn’t predict a world tour, but if some live shows are happening, if the band get some offers, you ready to go? I know you got a family, probably a job, other bands, how do you prioritize?

«Of course, I love the stage, did hundreds of shows all over Europe (and even the US), even with bands I hadn’t met before touring together, haha. So when we would receive interesting offers for cool (summer) festivals, and the guys feel they are ready for it, I will make it work. Since it’s a logistical challenge we won’t accept any offer, but I’m sure that at some point we could be on a stage as a real band.»

I grew up with the guys, remember when they borrowed our rehearsal space, and drums, haha, so for me they are just a bunch of cool guys for many years. For you following the band from outside, what’s it like to be able to take part in the Botteries adventures? And you know, Morten was once almost the drummer in the Woods…, back when the debut was release.

«It’s fair to say they (because of my love for In The Woods…) are the main reason why I applied. HEart of the Ages opened the portal, and later on Omnio, Strange In Stereo etc. All the side projects back then. I consumed it like an addict. One of the biggest regrets in my humble life is missing out the farewell show back in 2000. I knew it would happen but it was a logistical and financial nightmare to get there so I stayed home, with enormous regret. So in a way it’s a bit full circle for me. Being in a band with guys that influenced me hugely. It makes it rather easy for me to really feel the music as well, as it’s deeply rooted in my musical heart so to speak.»

Thanks! Good luck with your new musical challenge, looking forward to hear the band with you and Tom :).

«Cheerz to that. Really anxious to hear it as well, in some sort of finished version, hehe.»