Doomed Confessionary: Nick (Fusskalt)
Out of Skanderborg, Denmark comes Fusskalt, the five-piece, bastard child of seasoned musicians from various parts of the Danish metal and rock scene. Fusskalt consists of Niko on vocals, Nick on rhythm guitar, Thomas on lead guitar, Janus on bass and Jonas on drums.
Fusskalt plays a no-nonsense, upbeat stoner metal/desert rock hybrid that makes you wanna yank the throttle, put the pedal to the metal, and cruise on into the sunset. Influences are many, but a few prominent ones are Mustasch, Red Fang, Monster Magnet, Clutch, Sasquatch, Wo Fat, B.L.S. and the likes.
Fusskalt’s latest release, »Faceless Man« EP, just dropped on June 6th, 2025 in digital format.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
We’re Fusskalt (pronounced “Foos-kaahlt”, but with short wovel sounds) from Skanderborg, Denmark. We’re just a bunch of guys around the 50-year mark, getting together for your standard ritual virgin sacrifice and devil worshipping thing… and also to play some fuzzy shit. Mostly the latter. Been together for… 15 yeras or so, with minimal changes to the line-up. We’ve all been in different musical constellations previously, and I guess we’re doing it because we can’t not do it, and also to escape the daily routines for a bit. Fusskalt is our “Faceless man”, you could say.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Staying together, I think. Especially during Covid, where we did have to say goodbye to our previous singer, Lars. But in general we have the age where there’s a lot of life changing events happening for each of us, completely at random and out of the blue. In many of those events, you would almost expect members to part or go their seperate ways, but we’ve managed to keep it pretty much together, on the account of things not moving very fast in Fusskalt. But we value the comradeship, so it’s absolutely worth it.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Staying together, as mentioned above – but more hands-on, I would definetely have to say the »Faceless Man« EP. The amazing feedback it has gotten so far is absolutely overwhelming, especially given the fact, that it’s a DIY project, where we’ve done the entire production ourselves, except for mix and mastering, which was done by Kent Stump (Wo Fat) out of Crystal Clear Sound Studio.
With the costs of being in a band, producing and recording music, it’s a big pat on the shoulders for us, to be able to do it ourselves, and actually have a good result in the end.
What was your biggest regret?
We don’t have any. Whatever is done is done, and you can’t change it anyways, so it’s pointless to fill your head with regrets. We learn from our mistakes, and move on. There’s a bunch of things we could/should’ve done differently in the past, but that’s in the past, and we can’t change that. Also you shouldn’t change the past even if you could, due to the butterfly effect. So there.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
That’s hard to say, really. Every show leaves a foot print. Some bigger than others, of course, and some more memorable than others.
I think Hads Herred Rock/Metal Festival was really great, because it was one of those events that is driven by passion for the scene, by people who gain nothing from it financially, but manage to create something special, in a place where you’d think it shouldn’t be possible.
Then there was the small 2-day stoner rock festival in our (at that time) home town, Aarhus “Roam The Streets Vol.1: Aarhus koger”. It was just great because we got together and shared the stage with so many friends in cool bands.
But generally, we try to make the best of any show we play – I mean it’s hard work, but we’re still there to have, and provide a good time for everyone.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
How many leeches, vampires and vultures are out there, profiting on musicians who get nothing in return. How music is a product that everyone in the supply chain, will profit from – except the actual musicians providing the product. That fuckin’ breaks my heart. Hearing more and more bands and individual musicians talking about how not even touring is viable anymore, and with the major streaming platforms paying out pennies, while at the same time getting flooded with AI music. Give it another 5 years, and festivals will be headlined by a big ass screen with visuals generated by a computer, dancing to the sound of music generated by another computer. Yeah – we’re fuckin’ doomed.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
For me, almost always some Sasquatch, Droids Attack, King Buffalo, Somali Yacht Club, Baby Woodrose (and so many others) – and anxiously awaiting a release from our friends in Super Collider and also from Bersærk.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Mostly everything our old producer, Henrik Hjortnæs, has ever said to us in a production setting. It’s because of him (and the fact that we actually paid attention to what he said), that we were able to record and produce »Faceless Man« on our own. His words of wisdom has been instrumental in the making of this EP.
On a even more personal level, the best advice I was ever given as a (to-be-musician) was from Esben, who played guitar in a local band called DesExult back when I was just a teenager. He took me under his wings and gave me guitar lessons. I think he tried to teach me power chords and stuff, but maybe he thought it was too complicated for me, so he said something like this to me: “If you wan’t to play death metal, you just put your finger on the fretboard and move your pick like a power drill – and then alternate the tones as you see fit”. Now it can be discussed if this simplification of an entire genre was actually good advice, but it got me going, and it kept my interrest as I felt I was actually doing something right. I bet he’s still laughing about that today…
What are your guilty pleasures?
Well…. let me see. Niko likes to shoot things and ride his ATV. And also go skateboarding. Janus likes cats and soccer, but is too lazy to actually play soccer himself, so he just watches… with his cats. Jonas also likes skateboarding, but he prefers to do it at festivals while being drunk and possibly hurting himself – which is super practical when you’re using all your limbs to operate your instrument….
Thomas is a sucker for port wine and dancing on flimsy tables. Also his King Diamond impression is legendary… in his own mind anyways.
Me? I like cheese poofs in any shape or form, to a degree that it becomes concerning. That and dog rescue videos. A highly impractical combination. Ever tried wiping tears from your eyes with cheese poof covered fingers? Yeah… don’t.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Denmark?
Since Denmark is such a small country, I think it makes sense to talk about the national scene. And I believe it is thriving. Lots of upcoming bands, lots of venues and festivals. In general, I think Denmark is more into extreme metal (death/thrash/black/etc.) than stoner. But for what it’s worth, Fusskalt has always been well received, wherever we have played. Before covid, we wanted to “gather the stoner scene”, and we arranged a bunch of stoner themed concerts, under the “Stonerado” name. I think we did 4 or 5 of those. We may actually do this again at some point, since a lot has changed since then, and some bands are no more, but others have emerged.
What I really like, is how the scene in general is thriving in even the most remote locations and in small towns. Also more and more small festivals are appearing. I’ve mentioned Hads Herred Rock/Metal festival previously – hopefully that’ll come back again at some point. But the people behind it, has run “Metal i Forsamlingshuset” for as long as we’ve had Fusskalt, I think. And it was where we played our first show ever (and many since). Then there’s Metal Magic, Heavy Agger, Boringhell and Fuzztival. Mutually for these events is, that it is driven by passionate people. With no guarantee for an event next year, they put so much heart and effort into what’s right in front of them: the current event. Primarily volunteer based, and with profits going into hopefully securing the next (year’s) event – it gives some hope for the future of the scene, all odds considered. I think THEY are the true beacons in the dark. And the future of the scene as we know and love it.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We have a few shows planned in the autumn, and more will surely follow, but for now there are no huge world tour plans. You’re always welcome to stop by band practice on wednesdays though.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
I think we’ll continue along the path that we have followed for so many years. Hopefully we’ll get to play more shows, and hopefully it will not be another 7 years before we release something new. But when life happens, you gotta go with the flow. We would like to do a bunch of things, but it’s always a puzzle trying to squeeze it in between work and family life. But rest assured that we will keep you posted on our SoMe platforms.
How can people best support your band?
Come to our shows, and bring your friends. Drink cheep supermarket beers before you arrive, and spend your savings on merch.
Or just spread the word. If you want to support us financially, and put some money into our next production, then buy merch. Buy our music on Bandcamp, even if it is available for free on the major platforms.
Much like the before mentioned venues and festivals, whatever we earn, goes into securing our next production.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
If you’ve been with us from the start – thank your for still being with us. If you’ve joined us more recently – thank you for taking the interrest. We appreciate every one of you. And your feedback and interaction matters.
Trust the fuzz.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well