Hail! Introduce yourself in depth…

– I am Ketil, guitarist in RED HARVEST. I joined RED HARVEST in 1995 and played in the band until we decided to take a break in 2009. We got an offer to play a concert in 2016, and we decided to do that concert. That was fun, and because of that we decided to play some more concert and to release some new material.

What are the news from RED HARVEST?

– Well right now we are doing promotion for the re-issue/re-master version of an album called „Hybreed“ that was originally released in 1996, we work with new music for a release in 2017 and we prepare for a concert in April. We live quite far apart, so rehearsals and activities must be well planned.

In 2016 you celebrate the 20-th anniversary of “Hybreed” and it was re-released… Tell me more about this new edition.

– We, the French late Cold Dark Matter Records wanted to do a re-release and master it with new artwork and bonus tracks. We thought it could be cool with new ears and eyes, and of course we said yes. So basically it has been freshed up and gotten a nice make over. The bonus live tracks were recorded at our first gig in ca. seven years in Bergen, Norway.

Red Harvest

Let remind to the new generation fans some details… Where and how it was recorded?

– It was recorded in a studio in Oslo in the spring of 1996. It is recorded live. That means we all played together in the studio at the same time, no click or computers. Just additional vocals and guitars were added later. It was recorded on VHS tapes if I remember correctly. We worked with very alternative (at that time) layer structures on the songs, using loops and samples.

Tell me more about your lyrics in it? Who is their writer?

– Jimmi, the other guitarist and the singer wrote the entire album. Music and lyrics. The red line of the album is about cleansing of the soul and finding peace in nature.

Let’s return deeper in the past: RED HARVEST – what is the story behind that name?

– The first name of the band was ARCTIC THUNDER. After a few line up changes in ARCTIC THUNDER, it was also time to get a new name. The guy that played guitar before I joined the band, came up with RED HARVEST. No clue where he had it from. Many years later we have learned it is a very famous detective/crime novel with that name.

How do you describe the music style of the band?

– We play metal with Industrial/Human elements. We are very different from many other bands, so I prefer to call it something like that. It find it hard to label us.

Are you happy with your label Cold Dark Matter Records?

– Yes. It is a very energic and idealistic small label with personal dedication and devotion that I highly appreciate.

Red Harvest; photo by: A. Linnerud

RED HARVEST split up in 2009… Is time for reunion?

– Well, we are in one way at the reunion now. But we are in no hurry and have no stress. We are back cause it is more fun now than in 2009. We stopped because we had no fun anymore and figured out that it was smart to stop before we became enemies. So we are making new music, will soon record everything and then see what happens. And we take the concerts we find cool and interesting and possible to do for us.

What is your vision upon nowadays extreme Metal scene? What is the situation in Norway? Any new bands with young members?

– I honestly have no clue, cause I don´t live in Norway anymore. But metal as we knew it in Oslo is more or less gone from what I hear. Now I guess Bergen and Kolbotn are the hot spots for Metal music.

Do you know something about Bulgarian Metal scene?

– No, sorry.

What are your personal plans for the future?

– I will work with the new Red Harvest songs and try to get all my guitars recorded during spring 2017. I will probably record some music for another industrial band play in called KP RIOT BRIGADE. It is a band with base in Florida USA. The debut album was released some weeks ago. And I have also just recorded all my guitar tracks for another band I play in called GOTHMINISTER. New release and tour for GOTHMINISTER will be October 2017.

Did I forgot to ask you something?

– Hmmm, I don´t know. Maybe you have additional questions when you read my answers.

Last words? Your message for the readers of The Other Side…

– Give the new „Hybrid“ a listen. For those of you interested in our kind of metal will probably hear that we were way ahead of many bands at that time. And I hope we can play in Bulgaria one day, cause we never did that.

Mrazek, January 2017

With courtesy of Cold Dark Matter Records