Violent X are a devastating thrash band with some death metal thrown in and after hearing the band’s debut release I knew it was time for an interview with them and here it is with band member Mats BerntviK

Where is the band based out of and where did you grow up?
Hey. We all grew up in a little place called Hemnesberget, at the moment the drummer lives in Mo i Rana and this is also where we do our rehearsing.

Did you come from a big or small family?
Strange question Ah, I would have to say a regular size family for both me and the Killi Brothers

How and when did music enter your life and what were some of the early bands that you heard?
It started early for us (12/13), I remember Kjartan (guitar) taught me how to play Smoke on the water on the guitar, Yeah I know it`s a cliché, but that’s how it started for me. Kristoffer have been bashing the drums since he was 8/9 I think. The first record I got was ac/dc`s back in black, and soon after Metallica, Megadeth and Maiden followed. Kjartan and Kristoffer, I believe grew up listening to a lot of progrock/metal.

Now how did you discover the underground and what did you think of this style of music when you 1st heard it and what were some of the 1st bands that you heard?
For me personally the first "underground experience" was when I got the Rebel extravaganza album from Satyricon. Still to date one of my favorites

What was the 1st underground show that you saw and what did you think of it after it was over?
Again, Satyricon, at the age of 15. Made a huge impact on me!

Now were you or any of the other band members in any other bands before Violent X came along?
Yeah we have had different bands, but we also played a lot together before we started this band.

So tell me how the forming of the band came about and did you go through many member changes before you came to the line-up that is now?
It actually went very smoothly, Kjartan was moving back home from Oslo and he asked me if I was interested starting up a band and since Kristoffer is the brother of Kjartan the choice was obvious.  

Now what were the early practices like and did you immediately begin writing music or did that come a few months later?
The first practice was actually in my living room when I lived I Mo I Rana. We made a song on the first rehearsal (disconnect), and I laid down some vocals on it. I think that sparked a lot of creativity in us all, so the first bunch of songs basically wrote it self. Both I and kjartan have the possibility to record at home, so guitar riffs and other kind of ideas are easy to bring to rehearsals, and that makes the process very productive and fun.

So I see the band has been around since 2013 and I got your debut release, which is very good by the way, so how long did it take for the songs on this release to come together?
Thank you for liking it!
Uttrykksikonet smile
It took about a year I would say, off course somethings weren't even decided when we went in the studio, but I guess that’s normal. We are very satisfied with the results!

Have you or do you plan on trying to get a label to put this release out in the future?
We released this album on our own label (Violent X Productions) and Indie Distribution is helping us distributing it in Scandinavia, we don’t have any plans to change that but If a good label are interested in signing us, and the deal is "ok" we would very much consider it

Where did you record this at and how was it going into the studio? Were the songs pretty much all ready to go when you went in there?
We recorded it last summer in Oslo, In Lionheart studios. The recording sessions went very smoothly, we were relatively good prepared for that. Some lyrics and some arrangements were not yet finished, but you know, I actually liked that, the pressure can make you work at 110 % sometimes.

Now you’re a 3 piece band, any thoughts of adding a 4th member at all someday?
Yes we are, and we like it that way. We are tight as brothers! I don’t see that there will be a 4th member any time soon, but who knows what will happen in the future. Never say never!

How does the writing of a song come together and who writes and comes up with the lyrics and what are some of the things you write about?
It normally starts with me or Kjartan brings a riff or an idea to the rehearsal room, Kristoffer is very good at finding interesting drum patterns and beats over it. When the songs are "ready" I write the lyrics. The lyrics are basically about decay and bad hangovers. "Laughing"

How did you come up with the name Violent X and were any other names thrown around?
I think I proposed the name Violent, and then another guy said we should add an X. We think it fits our music good. Don’t you?  (absolutely-chris)

For someone who has not heard the band yet, what would you say you sound like and would you call yourself an original band?
Always a hard question to label your own music, but I would have to say Thrash/death metal with different elements of prog and even hardcore sometimes – And yes I would say that we are an original band

Have you got to play many live shows and if so what is a, live show like of the band?
I think we have played about 14/15 gigs now, 9 when we were touring with Vredehammer on their vinteroffer tour, and the rest in Norway. Might add that we participated in the wacken battle metal contest and got to second place in the finals. Our live show is always a blast; we do our best to always have fun on stage

Does the band have any goals at all?
Our goal at the moment is getting on the road and play as many places as possible.
Second in line is to record a killer record, maybe during the end of 2016/early 2017. I hope!

Around in any given week, how much stuff is spent doing band related things?
It comes and goes. The other guys (Killi brothers) are traveling a lot due to their work, but when they have time off, it’s normally pretty filled up with things to do. For me that works out great!

Please plug any websites the band has.
http://violentx.com/
https://www.facebook.com/violentx
https://soundcloud.com/violentx
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLl5oUekuQP9QttDz4S3U2Q

Any last words and horns up for doing this interview?
I can`t think of anything other than, thank you very much for the interest! We appreciate it very much! Skål

February 2016