Interview mit Vilhelm & Morbius von Grima

Hello, thank you very much for taking the time for this interview! Let’s get straight into it. For someone who doesn’t know GRIMA – how would you describe yourselves and your work?
Vilhelm: It’s an enthralling cinematic experience. It’s immersive, evoking a chilling atmosphere of cold darkness and a sense of primal despair. Like a magical artifact, but in a sonic form.
Morbius: Our music is dark and icy, a sound that stirs a longing for warmth and peace. It weaves between anxiety and serenity, like a storm that rages again and again after every calm.

GRIMA have been around since 2014, but you have also established yourselves in the scene with the bands Second To Sun and Ultar. How did it come about that you founded GRIMA, or rather, what was the intention?
Morbius: That’s right. Grima and Ultar are our main projects. By the time Grima’s debut album was released, we had already finished recording Ultar’s debut album, Kadath, which we had spent a lot of time working on. After releasing Kadath, we started actively touring. That experience gave us valuable insights into live performances, which later allowed us to turn Grima into a fully-fledged live band. In Second to Sun, we are performers and instruments of the live act’s realization, while Vladimir Lehtinen, the band leader, composes all the music.
Vilhelm: We created Grima as a duo, driven by the desire to write music together. In Ultar, we compose music as a group of five, which is a completely different process. With Grima, we wanted to record albums and release them physically, and Naturmacht Production helped us make that happen. After the successful release of our first album, we started refining the concept of the band—this led to the introduction of masks and our first video. We realized the band had significant potential to exist as a studio project. But things have changed; now we’re a fully live band.

Your name „Grima“ describes the feeling you feel in your body when you hear unpleasant noises. However, it is also the feminine form of the word “Grim”, which means “shudder” or “horror” in German. How do you combine your name with the music?
Morbius: Grima is a fictional character we created. He is the guardian of the forest, intolerant of harmful interference. Grima represents a powerful ancient force that can guide a kind-hearted traveler out of the dense woods. However, a visitor with malicious intentions can expect nothing but ruin. We aim to build a spiritual connection with our listeners. People often find a magical significance in our music, which reflects their deep engagement and receptiveness to what we create. They feel the magic and become part of Grima’s very essence.You perform in masks as part of GRIMA. What’s the deal with the masks? Is there a certain meaning behind them?
Morbius: With our black robes and wooden masks, we transform into spirits of the Siberian forest. We are the decayed, ancient, and wise roots and stumps—the guardians of the Taiga. The bark of trees serves as our masks. Our imagery symbolizes the dark, restless spirits of the forest, where nature is predominantly hostile to human presence and their activities within it.

Many black metal bands currently use the element of masquerade to disguise their identities. Your names and faces are already known from your other bands. Why do you still wear masks?
Morbius: We intentionally hid our identities to create a specific style for the band, allowing people to focus on the music and visually intriguing characters rather than the individuals behind them. Even after our identities were revealed, it didn’t affect how listeners perceived the band. First and foremost, the costumes and masks are elements of the show and a visual style crafted to immerse the audience as deeply as possible into Grima’s mystical aura.

Let’s move on to your new album „Nightside“. With this release you are also celebrating your label debut with Napalm Records. Previously, your music was published by Naturmacht Productions. How did the change come about?
Morbius: At the beginning of 2024, we received a message from Napalm Records offering to release our new album. I believe this happened because of our consistent hard work. Every two years, we’ve made it a point to release a new album and go on tour. Over the past few years, we’ve played around a hundred shows across Europe. The band has become more visible to labels, concert organizers, and festival promoters. We’ve always aimed to sign with a major label. It’s very important for us to have a wide distribution network for our albums and merchandise, which a label’s support makes possible.

What I immediately noticed about your new album – it’s more compact than anything you’ve released before. How did this „streamlining“ of your songs come about and what was the songwriting process like?
Vilhelm: Some songs are shorter in duration compared to what we did on previous albums. We didn’t plan this intentionally, it’s just how the creative process unfolded this time. We always start with guitar-based music; every one of our songs begins with the guitars. As before, all the material is written by the two of us. It starts as home recordings, which we carefully review. Sometimes changes are necessary before we head into the studio.

Where do you see the biggest, perhaps even the most enriching differences between „Nightside“ and its predecessor „Frostbitten“, for example?
Vilhelm: The sound design is entirely different. The new album has a more detailed and nuanced sound, with all the instrumental parts clearly distinguishable from one another. The rhythmic elements have evolved—blast beats are still there, but we’ve also incorporated rhythms we’ve never used before, something unorthodox for us. Another thing is that the presence of the bayan has increased compared to the previous record. Even the album titles hint at the difference in mood. Listeners can expect an unsettling nocturnal ritual.

If I’m informed correctly, you write the lyrics to your songs in your own language. Tell us a bit about the content of „Nightside“. What are your lyrics about and how important is the interplay between words and music to you?
Vilhelm: All our lyrics are written in our native language. Writing them usually happens after all the music has been recorded. I work with the finished compositions and write the lyrics while recording them directly in the studio. With this approach, my words are closely tied to the music and its mood. I become more connected to the structure and become part of the arrangement itself. „Nightside“ tells the story of the mystical side of the Siberian night forest, of a journey into endless realms, and of the cursed entities that dwell there.

On your album you use the bayan as an accompanying instrument, so to speak. Can you briefly explain to our readers what this means and why you integrate this instrument so centrally into your music?
Vilhelm: During the recording, we used an old bayan from around the Soviet era. It’s one of the artistic elements that reinforces our identity. Its sound is piercing and unconventional for metal music, even though stylistically, we use it almost like an organ.

You are supported in the studio and live by Serpentum on guitar and Vlad on drums. How did the collaboration with the two of them work out on „Nightside“?
Vilhelm: As in previous studio sessions, they recorded their parts at a highly professional level. I acted as the recording engineer for the entire album, but Serpentum helped lighten the workload by stepping in during the drum recording sessions at the studio. Additionally, he recorded the bass.

Thank you very much for your time. Finally, let’s have a Metal1 brainstorming session:
Lord Of The Rings: A great work that has influenced the formation of numerous cultural phenomena, as well as musical and visual art. We are no exception to Tolkien’s influence; our lore is inspired by his world.
AI in the music: An instrument that people in the future will abuse. The artistic value, creativity, and the constructive process behind the creation of a work will distinguish true art from a counterfeit.
Tardigrade Inferno: A carnival of surreal madness.
Grima unmasked: Let’s leave that behind the scenes. Our music is a reflection of our dark souls.
Artists you would like to collaborate with: It would be interesting to work with Andy La Rocque in the studio, and to go on tour with King Diamond, Abbath, and Cradle of Filth.

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Publiziert am 25. Februar 2025 von Philipp Sorger