Band Interview: Minneriket (Written)

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life bring you an interview with ‘romantic’ black metal artist, Minneriket.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

My name is Stein Akslen, I’m from Norway, and I am the founder and the sole member of the one-man band Minneriket where I write and compose all the music. I founded Minneriket in the early 2010s to have a personal and empty canvas to express myself. Starting as a one-man band Minneriket has released four original full-length albums. In addition to Minneriket I’ve also released music with both Blodsgard and Æra and a few other bands.

Collaboration takes a toll on me, and after the success with Blodsgard I needed to do something completely on my own, with no other ambitions than to create and exist in the moment. This is where Minneriket began, as a sort of polar opposite to the other efforts I’m involved in.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

Minneriket plays what I call romantic black metal. It is a gothic blend of black metal with punk-vibes and heavy atmosphere. The black metal of the 90s are dead to me, it served its purpose, and I want to branch outward while at the same time staying true to my roots.

3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.

There’s a whole lot going on now, actually. I’ve written most of the demo material for a new Minneriket album and I’m about to start the real recording sessions. Hopefully the drums will be done sometime by easter, and then I’ll begin on the strings. I hope to have a whole album ready for release in 2024.

In addition to Minneriket I also recently released a single with the band Månesyke together with Count Squall where I did vocals in 2017, and hope to go back into studio to record some more for that project in about a month or two. In addition to this, me and Rex from Blodsgard have been working on the next Blodsgard album for quite some time now, and we have a demo version of it almost ready now. It’s been 10 years since we released our last album together, and hope to have this one ready soon.

No tours. I’m not an entertainer or a trained circus monkey. I create, I do not seek to entertain.

4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?

I create music for just one person: me. I enjoy the creative process, and I enjoy listening to the music. I create music I want to hear, the way I want to create it, and that is the most positive experience I have. Of course, I am very pleased that I have an audience and I love getting the feedback from the listeners, but when push comes to shove the only reason I create music is because of myself, and if I got tired of it I would quit. I don’t owe anyone anything, other than doing what I do the best way I can.

5. Likewise, what has been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?

Minneriket has been fighting a constant uphill battle. I continue to lash out against the drunken degenerate party-rockers of the scene, and I refuse to be assimilated into the black metal orthodoxy and herd-mentality of the underground. Minneriket will always pride itself by being on the side-line, and not part of any scene. It’s hard to digest, and serves me no other purpose than to alienate myself from a lot of listeners, but so be it.

When creating the last album «Gjennom meg går ingen til hvile», I worked with a lot of session musicians in different countries, and we were delayed by just about anything and everything. Forest-fires, blackouts, state of emergency, global pandemic and personal issues got in the way, and the album took 6 years to finish. Once I released it the cover art got rejected and censored both by social media and by the bigger streaming services. That lead to a shadow-ban on socials who made it nearly impossible to promote the album.

In addition to this, Minneriket has gotten a lot of heat because of the Burzum cover album I did earlier, and have been flagged for supporting violent organizations – which is completely obscure and false. I support great artistic music, that’s it.

Recently even my Wikipedia page got taken down for reasons unknown. The cultural gatekeeping, cancel-culture and narrow-minded scene mentality have all been obstacles on the way, but it would never make me question my music or my agenda. Minneriket will prevail.

6. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?

I hate it! Haha, no, I’m very ambivalent to it all. Since Minneriket is a one-man band I do everything myself. That includes not just the music, but also merch, distribution, promotion, web presence and whatever administration. Being in several bands, while also trying to maintain a personal life, is something you either need to balance or miss out on.

I try to be available to press and to fans and listeners. I enjoy engaging in conversations, listening to your feedback and networking with other creative people across the globe. The Internet is the true underground of today, and I wish I had more time to both meet and collaborate with new people, but it’s difficult like you say – to always be available.

Like I said, I’ve had a lot of problems with social media for various reasons, so I’m not even trying anymore to fit in to their algorithms. I can’t put out content for clout as much as the algorithms wants you to, and I would absolutely never measure my success in the empty clicks of the like-button. My success is to be proud of what I do, and the feedback from the listener. One person telling me they like this or that song or album of mine means a whole lot more to me than 500 meaningless likes from faceless Internet personas.

7. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?

Prejudices and orthodoxy, no doubt. I get that people wish to be nostalgic about the music they grew up with, but that doesn’t mean that everything else should sound the same as that. I absolutely completely refuse to conform. Labels needs to let the artists decide what their art should be, and listeners needs to let bands evolve. I’m sick of the expectations, the blueprints and the general narrative of how you need to sound, look, walk and talk. Great art comes from individuals, not from the sheep.

From a more business perspective the whole industry is of course also rotten to the core. Bands get so little of their streams and so little from their labels. The worst I’ve seen are bands that actually pay labels money to release their music, then being a slave to a contract for X amount of years. Those labels really prey on the new and inexperienced musicians, and they deserve every horror you can administer. Those kind of industry predators ruin the creativity of the artists and makes far too many young bands give up. The only way to fight it is to give them the finger, tell them to fuck off, then work your ass of for 30 hours a day (yes, a day) in order to succeed. The bloodsucking vampires that try to profit on other peoples efforts should be impaled.

8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support your music?

Listen to it, and tell your friends. I don’t mind piracy, I don’t mind music sharing, I don’t care about how, why or when you get access to my music. If you like it, add it to your playlists, share it with your friends and help spread it. If you have contacts in local zines around the world, tell them about Minneriket. I say this, and I mean it. At the same time, music recording and distribution is expensive, so if you are able to – buy some music, a shirt or anything, so that I am able to keep this work up.

9. Outside of the music, what’s do you do to relax?

Idle hands are the Devils tools! I have my music, and I have my personal life. I enjoy nature hikes in the forests or mountains. I’ve done a lot of running and obstacle courses to keep in shape, I enjoy movies and graphic novels for relaxing at home in the evenings, video games, and I often find a new hobby to pursue. I can’t stand stagnation or getting bored.

10. Where can people find you?

The latest updates about Minneriket will always be available at the official website at www.minneriket.com where you’ll also find both merch and music. You can also find the music on most major streaming services, and I myself are available on most social medias.