Nachdem es Extol mit ihrem neuem Album "Synergy" geschafft haben den Geist der allmächtigen Believer heraufzubeschwören, war es höchste Zeit Bassist John Robert mit einigen Fragen zu löchern.



1. Hello Extol, first congratulations to your new album, all German fans are happy that Ole Borud is back! Can you tell me more about this?
Ole left the band just after the recording for "Undeceived" was finished, which was early 2000, and then Tor Magne, who played bass at the time, took over his place, and then I, John Robert, started on bass just before the US tour. What happened was that Ole wanted to put more time into his own music and his other band, so he wanted a break, and it seemed permanent, but when Tor Magne in early 2002 decided to leave Extol and focus on his other band Ganglion, which is great by the way, we asked Ole if he wanted to rejoin, and so he did. This solution was fruitful, since he had many new inputs and created alot of what came to be on "Synergy".



2. The cover was created by Hugh Syme, how came the contact with him?
I think we just discussed one time what sort of cover we wanted for our new album, and since we are all huge Rush fans and have seen the stuff he has done for them, among others, we agreed on trying to get something in that style. There were different options, and suddenly we just as well asked him also if he would do it, which we honestly hadn't any expectations about, and then he said yes. The result was totally mindblowing.

3. Can you tell me more about the title track "Synergy" and the cover artwork?
The word Synergy has a physical or scientifical meaning. It can be explained by a metaphor: if you have one wooden plank that holds say 10kgs, but then two of the same planks together holds 25kgs, then you have what is called the synergy effect. The easy way of saying this is, the more you are, the stronger you stand. This also goes for Extol, cause when we stand together, create our music and perform it live, we can achieve much more than what one or two of us would have by doing it on our own. My interpretation of the cover (which could be wrong I suppose) is that the monk in the picture is heavier/weightier than the person who is death, because he is supported by or in union with with the other monks behind the fence, even though if they are on the outside. I also think the cover shows a bit of humour, which is seldom in metalcovers nowadays.

4. You recorded the album in the Top Room Studio with Borge Finstadt (Borknagar, Mayhem), please tell me more about this.
The recording studio was a small barn located in the middle of nowhere, or one hour outside of Oslo to be more precise. The place was very nice and quiet, in the middle of the winter, so there was snow and ice everywhere. You had to watch out for not to break your hands, and it was freezing cold outside. The studio itself was small, but had all we needed to produce our music. Our engineer, Børge, was very good at finding the sound we wanted, and as you know he has worked with other Norwegian bands as well, so maybe his little studio is slowly gaining a reputation. We recorded everything in 4 weeks or so on the computer, and during sessions we had guest musicians like Maria Solheim, Tore Moren and Samuel Durling laying down tracks for us, which was great.

5. Musically, come on admitted, you go with the guys from Believer and Betrayal in the studio, why has "Synergy" more thrash influence?
"Synergy" was a natural development for us, and it was something we wanted to do. We have always been fans of the thrash genre, the technical riffing, the agressiveness, and also it was something that was demanding for us to accomplish. We didn't want to do "Undeceived" all over, so we created something new. I think for our next album we will evolve even more, but in which direction is hard to say right now.

6. With which bands do you like to play?
I like all kinds of stuff. To give you an impression, I can tell you what I listened to today: Led Zeppelin, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins etc, and tomorrow I will listen to something completely different. I work in a store, so I listen to music all day long, different stuff. The other guys are also diverse when it comes to bands we listen to. Sure, there are many thrash bands we are influenced by, but not only those.

7. Have you already heard some reaction about your new album?
Yeah, there are quite a few reviews in magazines out now, and I think the response is very good. We have done a pretty risky record if you think about what is commercially popular and selling today, but at the same time we feel that the time is ripe for some of that old-school metal and thrash in particular. Death metal already had its renaissance a few years ago, so maybe now thrash will be in again, who knows. But we don't want to label ourselves like thrash metal or anything, cause we don't intend to sound like the old stuff or do something retro, we want to do our own things, and evidently we are inspired by the 80s and 90s, but that's as far as it goes. What I do like about the reaction we've received, is that that people think our music is creative.

8. Are any plans for the next Germany tour?
No, sorry, no tour yet, but we will at least play one show in december at a festival called Christmas Rock Night. Maybe we will have a tour in Germany, but right now it looks more like it could be in England I'm afraid.

9. Any last words?
Do check out our new record, especially if you're into quality thrash/death metal in the 90s, and check out our web page at www.undeceived.net. Thanks! John Robert

© by CrossOver