Extol was originally formed in 1993 when brothers Peter and Christer Espevoll teamed up with David Husvik and Ole Børud. Their style has varied and they have always kept a unique sound. They have shown influences from death metal, black metal, thrash metal, and progressive metal all at some time in their career. After five years of absence, they are now officially back. With a DVD documentary which will be released somewhere in 2013, also the band is working on a new album. Here is an interview with Ole Børud, the mastermind behind reactivated Extol.
TMR: Heey guys this is´The Metal Resource’ from Holland, how are things going there in Norway ?
Ole:Things are fine over here, thanks! Autumn is here with all it’s glory..
TMR: First of all, welcome back, It is great to have ‘Extol’ back in the metal-scene. Will you Introduce the new line up please ? [name and instrument].
Ole:The line up anno 2012 is David Husvik (drums, vocals), Peter Espevoll (vocals) and Ole Børud
(guitars, bass & vocals)
TMR: Five years of silence, what have you done in the past years ? [for everyone personal]
David has been working as a daily leader of the Sub Scene/Sub Church in Oslo and has also been a part of different band projects such as Dr. Midnight and the Mercy Cult. Peter has been busy with both work and also establishing a family life and has now two kids with his wife Rebecca.
I (Ole) have been busy working as a professional singer/musician here in Norway and have also released two solo albums.
TMR: Can you tell us something about the reforming of ‘Extol’ ? The story behind the new line up ?
Ole: The story is David and I started talking about a possible get together of the band a couple of years ago. At that point Peter needed a little time to adjust to the idea of doing something with the band again so we let the idea rest a little bit and when the time was right we brought it back to life through mail correspondence. And from there on mail correspondence developed into the making of demos, and so forth.
The idea was to have the main part of the old line up get together which also included Peter’s elder brother Christer Espevoll. But unfortunately as Christer is a very busy man both family wise but also with work and church, it became clear that he wasn’t gonna have the time to be engaged in a new album.
TMR: What is the major difference between the ‘Extol’ from the early years and ‘Extol’ of today ?
Ole: We’re older I guess.. and personally I feel that what we’re doing these days has a stronger maturity to it because of that. At the same time there is a very fresh approach to what we’re doing now, probably because we’ve had a bit of a ‘sabbatical’ from this kind of stuff together.
TMR: Are you guys full time musicians ? If not what kind of job or school do you do beside the band ?
Ole: See the answer in q above.
TMR: What is your marital status ? And what do they think of your activities in the band ? [for everyone personal]
David is not married. Peter is married and has two kids. I’m married and am expecting.
I think both Peter’s wife and my wife are very much supportive in that they want this to happen.
And I think it’s important for Peter and I that whatever we do with the band doesn’t compromise private life.
TMR: What is your musical background ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: Personally I have grown up with a family that has been very active with music, we started singing together when I was 5 years old, and ever since I’ve been working with music more or less.
David and Peter are cousins and they grew up in the same church, so they have been connected for a long time and I think they started thinking about doing music together in the early 90’s.
TMR: For the people that dont know anything about ‘Extol’. Why the name ‘Extol’? Is there a story behind it ?
Ole: I wasn’t there when the name was decided upon, as I joined the band later on. But I know that Extol means to lift up, or to praise higly. As we all are believers in Jesus the name refers to our wish to promote his name through our music.
TMR: Who writes the music/lyrics in ‘Extol’? .. how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?
Ole: On the new stuff all of the music is written by me and David. As far as lyrics goes, it’s Peter and David who does that.
Usually I tend to somehow force myself into the mood of writig music and once I’m in it I’ll stay there for quite awhile..
Otherwise we let ourselves be inspired by lots of different stuff, it might be sections of old stuff such as Rush, Genesis or Yes. But it could as easily be an old church hymn or a jazz tune from Chris Potter. Or it might even be just a mood from a certain day that will trigger a certain melody. As far as groove and beat goes we are all fans of the old school death metal approach such as old Death, Pestilence and all of those guys.
TMR: How does ‘Extol’ stands in life till events in the world, religion and politics and in which proportion stands that till your music and lyrics ?
Ole: It’s quite clear that there is an unbalance in the world with the western society sitting on most of the resources, and personally I would like to be a part of seing that change, at least as much as possible. And also as a beliver in God I see that many places in the world church has become merely a religious institute and not presenting life as it should be. So I’d love for people to get a different point of view on this.
TMR: For a lot of bands the lyrics are just a accidental circumstance, but for some bands they use them to communicate ! ..can you tell us how that is for ‘Extol’?
Ole: We are definetely aware of the lyrical content in a song and that it is a way to express personal issues or experiences in a direct way.
TMR: Do you have an highlight what you will never forget, since the beginning of ‘Extol’ [1993]?
Ole: I immediately remember a gig we did in the US back in 98 at Cornerstone Festival. It was a gig we never knew we’d have, but it sure was a blast. I played a borrowed Telecaster (..) which was kinda weird, but everything worked out great, the mood was very special that night and I’m sure all of us would say the same about that gig.
TMR: And the worst thing were ? [if there is one].
Ole: Hmm. Hard to say.. probably driving in a van all night and going straight on stage in a dump somewhere, he he..
TMR: Name some of your favorite bands to play with live [past and future] and tell us why ?
Ole: That would probably be Opeth for my part as I think they’re a great band. I know that Extol went on tour with Mastodon (not when I was in the band) and that too is a great band if you ask me.
TMR: What is your favorite food and drink? [no idea why people always want to know that][for everyone personal]
Ole: Hard for me to know what the other guys would answer on this one.. but I enjoy most of the stuff my wife makes! (which could be wok, thai, mexican, fish dishes etc) She’s a great cook. Water is always popular with me.
David: Lately I’ve been fan of raw meat – meat from fish or whale. Can’t really get enough of the Japanese cuisine.
Peter: Indian/pakistani Lamb Karahi and mango lassi + my own home made juice made out of pressed beetroot, carrots, toamtoes, apples, ginger and lemon..
TMR: First record you bought ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: I think it was Paul Young..
David: Must have been “Live to Die” by Bride on vinyl.
Peter: Don’t remember.
TMR: What makes you laugh ? [for everyone personal]
Ole:Don’t know where to start.. a lot!
David: I don’t know. Its hard to not laugh when I’m around Peter and Ole. Those guys will never grow up…They’re pretty funny, I guess.
Peter: My 3 year old son!
TMR: How do you promote your band and shows ?
Ole: Social medias mostly.
TMR: How do you prepare for a show ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: Most of the times I try to warm up a bit basically. A prayer doesn’t hurt either.
David: Lots of coffee and 30 minutes of warm up will do it.
Peter: Hang out with people and the guys in the band, short time of focus and prayer.
TMR: Describe your show, visual and musically ? And tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
As of right now we are mainly committed to the making of a new album, and if we take it on the road we’ll have to deal with that at a later stage. This has to do with busy schedules mostly. There is absolutely a chance we’ll play live in the future, we’ll just have to wait and see.
TMR: Favorite movie(s) ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: For me that would be the Christopher Guest movies.
David: I’m not too much into movies. I’m a huge fan of John Cusack though.
Peter: Many good movies. “The Insider” to mention one.
TMR: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: Sorry, don’t know..
David: I guess; “what’s the fastest beat you’ve ever played?”
Peter: Cant think of any dumb enough to mention right now.
TMR: What is your favorite ‘Extol’ song ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: There is a new song presently called “Open the gates” which I’m quite a fan of these days.
David: After all these years I still appreciate “Things I Found” and “The Prodigal Son”. There’s a song from the new album; “Behold the Sun” – it’s pretty cool.
Peter: “From the evryday mountain top” is a song I really like.
TMR: Do you have a life philosophy / favorite quote ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: Life is here and now.
David: Never go with the flow.
Peter: “Don’t eat yellow snow”
TMR: Are you visiting many gigs, and what do you listen to these days ? [for everyone personal]
Ole: Not very many I’m afraid.. As a full time musician I rarely get a chance to see other acts. Don’t remember what the last I saw was. I listen to a lot of different stuff really, the last couple of albums I bought was Donald Fagen “Sunken Condos” and Trepalium “HNP”, two very different albums.
David: I don’t remember the last gig I went to see, it’s been too long. Jazz fusion from 69-74 has been my cup of tea for the 5 past years or so. Miles Davis, Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Peter: The last gig I went to was Iver Kleive (church organ) & Knut Reiersrud (guitars) playing the entire “Blå Korall” album. It was one of my top 3 concert experiences ever! As I write this, Maria Solheim´s brand new record “In the deep” is playing on my stereo.
TMR: Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please ?
Ole: Where I live I really don’t know too much about that scene (if there’s any..) There’s a lot more going on in Oslo.
TMR: How do you think about downloading music from the Internet ?
Ole: As long as you pay for it it’s cool.
TMR: How are things going with the ‘crowdfunding campaign‘ for the documentary you’ve started recently ?
Ole: The campaign was started by Åsmund and Peter who are responsible for the documentary, as it is not an initiativ from the band but from their production team. I’m very glad to say that they have reached their goal! I’m very much looking forward to the documentary which will be out sometime next year.
TMR: About the upcoming ‘Extol’ album, can you already tell us something about the album [such as the songs, recording process, label, possible release date ?] What can the fans expect ?
Ole: As of now what I can say is that the process of writing and recording has been very rewarding in my opinion, I feel that we have given ourselves the time to make sure what we deliver is the best we can do in any way, meaning that arrangements are solid, and I have also made sure that we’d have the time to properly produce the album. Can’t say anything about label or release date yet..
I have never been this pleased with the outcome of an Extol album as I am now, so I hope that it will be reflected in the response out there!
TMR: What advice would you give to fellow bands?
Ole: Kick ass.
TMR: What are the biggest obstacles for bands ?
Ole: It could be a lot of things; internal struggles, labels, bad timing, poor economy..
TMR: And what about the [near] future, any plans ? [European Tour ?]
Ole: We’ll see.
TMR: Guys thanks for your time and the interview, we wish ‘Extol’ all the best ……Is there anything you wanna say at last ? Something we have forgotten to ask … [any final statement ?]
Ole: Not really.. except that we certainly hope people will buy the album when it’s out!
Be blessed!
Current Line Up:
Peter Espevoll – vocals
Ole Børud – guitars, bass & vocals
David Husvik – drums, vocals
Discography:
Northern Lights – Split (1996)
Embraced – Demo (1997)
Burial (1998)
Mesmerized – EP (1999)
And I Watch / Human Frailties Grave – Single (2000)
Undeceived (2000)
Paralysis – EP (2001)
Synergy (2003)
Pearl – Single (2005)
The Blueprint Dives (2005)
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Website / Myspace / Crowdfunding Campaign