Hessian Scrum Special: Snorre Ruch (Thorns, ex-Mayhem)

And now for something truly special: Raphael sits down to talk with Snorre Ruch, one of the pioneers of Norwegian Black Metal (and, consequently, of the modern black metal sound), which by itself earns him a special spot in the history of underground music. Besides his main project, Thorns, Snorre’s contributions can be heard on Mayhem’s iconic “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” and some albums by Satyricon. He also produces music for art galleries and installations under Thorns Ltd. A new Thorns album is in the works, as well as material from a new band named Sigma. In this interview we discuss, among many other things, the origins of Norwegian black metal, the influence of Nordic nature and folklore, inspiration from classical music; our conversation also takes us to perhaps unexpected tangents, from videogames to spaghetti westerns.