TM - Hi, this is Amelia and Elizabeth, and we are here with Tungsten. Thank you for having this interview with us today; we appreciate it.
TN - Thank you.
TM - What can fans expect from your new album Ashes?
TN - The same as the last ones, but a little bit weirder. I think this time, during the process, we had no intention or any idea really what to do. We just made new songs like usual, and during the process somewhere we noticed that we should try to do weird stuff, and it works. We have a song that we have "Yodelling" in for instance, which is unusual for metal music.
We are not afraid to try weird stuff, even if the idea sounds really stupid, we are not going to hinder ourselves from trying it out at least once. And if it sucks, it sucks, and then we don't use it.
TM - What was your writing and recording process on your new album Ashes?
TN - It was like usual, my brother and I write songs from our own homes, and then we sit down and write melodies for it. We talk and sort out: Should we use this or that, yeah or no, this song doesn't work, or this song needs something here. So then we sort out ideas.
TM - How did you come up with your album cover for Ashes, and can you tell us more about it?
TN - It was supposed to be something totally different. We have this mascot that is on every record, and it's just nothing important, but he always has some kind of little story where he takes his journey. So from the last album, it was called "The Grand Inferno," and it was a lot of fire, and we made it more into a natural storyline where everything went to ashes, and it also makes it easier to come up with new ideas for the next album. It leaves the door kind of open for what to do there. There is some red thread between our albums, basically.
TM - How did you go about filming your song "Joker"?
TN - We felt from the beginning that "Joker" was the song that we wanted to put most energy into since it has this yodelling part. We thought this was maybe something that sticks out a bit if we're going to put everything on one track, it would be this one. I did the filming and the editing and everything. We wanted a video that was more storyline-based than just a performance video, because from this performance video I learned how to do this stuff, so I don't have to hire video guys. This video has been an evolving journey for me as a video maker.
TM - You're going on tour in October, so what can fans expect?
TN - This is the first time we're doing a headline run. People can expect longer sets, and more songs. When you are a support band or when you play festivals, you have limited time, and you basically play the most streamed songs. Now we have more time to play new songs.
TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs, which band would it be, which song would it be, and would it be in your style or their style?
TN - ABBA should play "Joker"; that would be fun.
TM - Who was the first band or artist you saw live as a kid, and can you tell us a story?
TN - Hammerfall, our drummer in Tangston is my dad, and he played with Hammerfall during the 2000s. I think that was my first encounter with live music in general. I was 4 years old and didn't know what to expect at all. I barely knew what music was, and to see this and to go on tour with a big band like Hammerfall was amazing, and to see your dad at work and think, " What is going on? He's beating drums with sticks, it was awesome.
Then I realised that the guitar player of Hammerfall, "Oskar", had cool long black hair and a black cape and one of these V-shaped guitars. Then I started to get the idea, that I want to play live.
TM - If you could go back in a time machine and see any band or artist live, who would you see?
TN - Michael Jackson would maybe be cool, to be honest.
TM - Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
TN - Keep on rocking. We hope to see you at our show and enjoy our new album.
TM - Thank you for having this interview with us today, we appreciate it.
TN - Thank you.