Doomed Confessionary: Kristian & Rasmus (Witchfang)
Photo credit: Morten Rygaard
Hailing from Kolding, Denmark, Witchfang debuted with a tale of the world overrun with chaos and plagues. It’s an alternative universe but the stories may not be to far from the reality we live in. But diving deeper into the stories we might also find hope for a brighter future.
The idea for Witchfang was born in the middle of the night, in a dark rockbar in Kolding, by the two friends Rasmus & Kristian. Rasmus had an idea in his head, which was hummed and recorded a mobile by Kristian and already the next day started the songwriting, based around just one sentence. That became the first released single by the band, »Dead Rat City«, and soon after came the inspiration for an entire album.
The concept was, to create a horror movie, but with music instead of pictures. The project grew quickly and the interest in songwriting and music production grew even more. Soon they were joined med Mads & Steffan in the rehearsal space, and the band was finally formed.
They call their music genre ‘Occult Horror Rock’, but more directly they play a mix of stoner/doom rock, mixed with hard rock that sometimes has pop-rock elements, with vocals that are melodic and easy to sing along to. They consider their sound to be a mix of Black Sabbath and Ghost, but they have many, broad sources of inspiration, which can be heard to varying degrees in the different songs they have written.
Witchfang are Rasmus Beck (lead guitar), Kristian Eriksen (vocals, rhythm guitar), Mads Vestergaard (drums), and Steffan Jepsen (bass).
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Kristian: The band started about 3 years ago as an idea between me and Rasmus (lead guitar). Rasmus had an idea for a song and a new project. At that time, he only had a melody and the title »Dead Rat City«. He hummed the melody for me, and the next day I picked up my guitar and that melody became the intro for the song.
Soon after we started jamming and writing songs and then we formed a full band, Witchfang!
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
It is probably finding time! We have been DIY since day one, and with that comes a lot of hats! And day by day we get better and more efficient, but then we just find something new to do! And it never seems like there’s enough time to do it.
What can you be most proud of so far?
That we are actually about to release our debut album! It has taken a long time, from writing, recording, mixing and mastering… All things we had to learn. Then comes planning, making release strategies, shooting and editing videos.
These things have taken so much time that 3 years have gone by since we started, where we have been working hard every single day doing everything. But we are finally about to be done! And that feels good, and I’m very proud that we succeeded!
What was your biggest regret?
Kristian: Sometimes I regret that we didn’t hire someone to produce our album, because it would probably have been much easier. But then again, we have learned so much doing that, which I think will set us up for much more success in the future.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Well, we are a fairly new band on the live scene, so there’s not much to choose from yet! But we played a show in Ikast, Denmark that was really cool! I think it was our first time playing for a crowd who only was there for rock and metal! And they loved what we did! People who never heard us before were singing along and going crazy, that was just awesome!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Kristian: I think, just everything related to Yungblud at the moment. Seeing a fairly young guy, moving more into rock, playing at Back To The Beginning and then collaborating with Aerosmith and now The Smashing Pumpkins…
I mean, no matter if you like the music or not, I just think it’s impressive and shows that young people in rock and metal still have an opportunity to get out there with their idols someday.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Kristian: Our friends form the danish thrash band Persecutor is about to release a new album, so I’ve been listening a lot to their new singles. Royal Republic, the cover EP they did last year, was really banging!
And the go-to I listen to almost every day is a mix of Slomosa, Green Lung, Gnome & Castle Rat.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Do the best thing you can in the moment, and then move on. You can spend eternity trying to perfect something, but then you will never release anything. So do your best, release it, and when you eventually become better in the future, instead of regretting it, just remember “I did the best I could at that given moment”.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Kristian: Oh man, have you ever seen the short-film Kung Fury? I love that! I can basically watch it on repeat, I know every line, it’s just so good! If you haven’t seen it, go do it! I mean even if you have, just go watch it now! It’s only 30 minutes long and free on YouTube. It’s so much fun! And the soundtrack is just perfect for it!
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Kolding / Denmark?
We have seen a lot of death and thrash metal in recent years, but it feels like we are finally starting to see more genres. We are starting to see more punk and grunge come back. And in our city, we have got a couple of very passionate people who have started to arrange local rock/metal shows, all from very underground shows to bigger arrangements, called Krypt. They actually booked us for our very first concert, where we got to open for Skinlab.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We don’t have many things booked yet; we’re still working on different options. But it will probably be primarily in Denmark, but you can always follow along on social media or BandsInTown where we’ll announce all of our shows.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Right now, we have a focus on releasing our debut album! We’ll try and play as many shows as we can and then we’ll start making new music! We already have some ideas we’re working on for the next album… So, the plan will probably be to alternate between recording new music and playing live, and then just build our fanbase and hopefully we’ll be able to play bigger shows and go abroad.
How can people best support your band?
Just listen to the music and tell all your friends to do so too!
And if you want to do more, you can always find us on Bandcamp where you can buy our music and merchandise.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Yes! Thank you all for listening and supporting us! When we started this project, we didn’t know if anyone would like it, so I can only say how overwhelmed I have been with all the positive responses!
And don’t forget, we’re releasing our debut album on March 10th, go stream it, share it and pre-save the songs if you can!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well