Pic courtesy of: Alexander Langsholt "Musically we wish to create the darkness we have within ourselves in a fashion that is extreme, ugly and brutal"

CR: Why don’t you in the lamest terms tell our readers about your music, what is it all about?
Seidemann: Our music is about music, how lame is that? Haha…
Musically we wish to create the darkness we have within ourselves in a fashion that is extreme, ugly and brutal.

CR: What can you tell us about the tour with Gorgoroth? How was the general response of the many crows you encountered?
Seidemann: The crowds were very good all over the tour, and we had a big audience at almost all venues.
1349 and Gorgoroth is a very extreme package, probably the grimmest bands you can experience live.

CR: Any tours planned for 2006?
Seidemann: We are planning, but nothing is decided yet. Check our webpage http://www.legion1349.com for more details.

CR: Let’s talk about your latest work Hellfire; this was released last year by Candlelight Records, and it has already make a big impact, what did you guys wanted to achieve with this album?
Seidemann: We wanted to perfect our black metal into audible hellfire, to make an album that was better than the ones we’ve done before.

CR: Hellfire is definitely, fast, evil and has that great timing in every song that doesn’t let you get bored or confused, would you call this album pure black metal or you don’t like to be restricted to one label? Can you compare Hellfire with other 1349 album or demo?
Seidemann: Labeling is for people that need pointers to their thinking, and as such I’m not very fond of it. Restrictions and borders for what you can do, has never been part of 1349.
Hellfire can of course be compared to the previous albums, and you will see the progression that we’ve had along the way, but we’re still the same band and the vision remains the same: Black Metal the 1349 way.

CR: I love the fact that there are no synthesizers or elaborated melancholic keyboards in Hellfire, are those instruments or tools, something you guys are trying to avoid?
Seidemann: We’ve always wanted a very organic sound, a “live” feeling to what we do. Synths or keyboards can be used to enhance a song, but usually it ends up killing the songs.

CR: How important is the speed of every song for 1349?
Seidemann: The speed is unimportant, the quality and strength of the song is everything.

CR: How far would you guys go to experiment with new sounds or ideas for future releases?
Seidemann: We will go wherever our paths take us, we will do what we want to do, no matter what.

CR: Do you think Hellfire will give 1349 a more world wide exposure? At least more Latin American an U.S.A exposure.
Seidemann: That is probably up to the label and the promotors, personally I feel this is a great album, but then again I am egoistical enough to say that I recorded this album for myself, so what others might think about it is not my concern.

	Pic courtesy of: Vegard Haave "Black Metal is not about having crappy sound or being unable to play your instrument. Black Metal is about the feeling you create with each song"

CR: The last track of Hellfire, title Hellfire, it begins with the sound of fire or something burning in the background, was this song the inspiration for the final title of the cd or does it have a different meaning as and autro song?
Seidemann: Ravn (vocals) had the title for the album ready a long time ago, and when we made that song we knew we had found the title track.

CR: Hellfire is a great follow up to your previous release Beyond the Apocalypse, since the melodies that I could hear on that album are present in Hellfire, but you added a couple of inches of speed and some production improvement to Hellfire; do you think that Beyond the Apocalypse was the record that defined a certain way of doing music for 1349?
Seidemann: Beyond the Apocalypse was just a step along the way for 1349, we have a clear vision of what we want each album to be, and we progress as musicians and songwriters along the way.

CR: Beyond the Apocalypse like I mention before manages to be brutal and evil it shows that you can accomplish this with great guitar riffs, not only because they sound heavy but because there’s something really interesting on what’s actually being played., Do you think that black metal can be raw and evil and still posses a great amount of musicianship and melody?
Seidemann: Of course. Black Metal is not about having crappy sound or being unable to play your instrument. Black Metal is about the feeling you create with each song, with each album. And to create that, you have to know what you’re doing.

CR: There was so much talk about Liberation your first official release, but not as much about Beyond the Apocalypse, how did that album did on record sales? Did people in gigs ask you guys to play many songs from that album? (Beyond the Apocalypse)
Seidemann: I actually don’t know anything about how many records we’ve sold. We usually play 3 songs from that album live these days.

CR: Lets go to Liberation, that album was your first and it sort of open the doors to the world wide critics to worship it, they even called you guys in a review a just read “The savior of Norwegian Black metal” how important were the good reviews from the critics to your process of continuing to record more music, and do you think that Liberation could become your all time best album?
Seidemann: 1349 has never really been about what anyone else than ourselves think of the music we make. That others enjoyed the music we do is good, but is not a necessity. What I’ve noticed is that people either love or hate our albums, and I believe that is a good think. When music forces you to take a stand you know it is powerful and has an effect.

CR: Liberation is a good album, there is no doubt about it, but the production is not very…good (that’s just my opinion, and I’m not a producer…so….its just an opinion) you guys tried to make it sound more raw and underground right? Do you think that maybe producing an album trying to make it sound underground or low budget can affect the final product?
Seidemann: Liberation had exactly the sound we wanted it to have. It was a nod to our inspirations as well as a fuck off to all the slick overproduced shit out there.

CR: In Liberation the tracks are shorter than the rest of your albums, why is that?
Seidemann: We went for a very direct and fast, brutal in your face feel on Liberation. Thus the songs are shorter and less complex than on our later efforts. We wanted to show that we knew how to do it the necro old-school way.

CR: In Liberation there are a couple of thrash metal riffs in the mix, and that makes this album very unique, why did you guys decided to place those riffs in there?
Seidemann: We’ve all listened to trash a lot, so the trash parts felt natural to us. There are trash- and deathmetal influences on all our records.

	Pic courtesy of: Alexander Langsholt "There are good BM bands from other countries as well, but I believe that the best BM is from Norway"

CR: Your demo Chaos Preferred was very raw with a couple of interesting guitar riffs, what was your purpose when recording that record?
Seidemann: We recorded that for ourselves to listen to, and to see if any labels were interested. It was never intended to be spread to the public.

CR: What about the lyrics on that first demo, what was the goal that you wanted to achieve with them? How did you guys distributed that material?
Seidemann: We didn’t. Any distribution of that demo is without my approval or knowledge. Ravn wrote all the lyrics back then so I cannot say too much about them.

CR: In the follow up to Chaos Preferred, the self tittle1349 you guys recorded the drum part with Frost from Satyricon, I can really hear a great difference from the first demo, more complex compositions, better song structures and a general better sound; why is it that in a previous interview I read that you guys didn’t like that record, and that you didn’t wanted it out for sale, I’m right, if so why didn’t you like it?
Seidemann: It was a demo. A demo with Frost of Satyricon on it, so of course somebody wanted to release it and make profit from it. We do not feel that the material on that demo was anything that shows 1349 for what it is, merely a step along the way.

CR: Is Norway still the “Mecca” of black metal, have you seen a change in that tendency lately, in what other country do you see a big proliferation of the black metal movement?
Seidemann: There are good BM bands from other countries as well, but I believe that the best BM is from Norway.

CR: Have you guys ever consider getting a drummer that is full time dedicated to 1349 (nothing against Frost he’s amazing)
Seidemann: We have a drummer that is so dedicated to 1349 that he asked us to join back in 2000, he’s called Frost. Why would we need anyone else?

CR: In live gigs do you guys play many songs from your demos?
Seidemann: We never play songs from our demos, I’m not sure if I even remember the songs from the demos. I’m not even sure if I own the demos myself.

CR: What do you think of people that go around burning churches in the name of black metal?
Seidemann: If you feel like it do what thou wilt shall be the law, but then again don’t blame me for choices you have made. The most pathetic thing is people who do things they cannot stand for and then blame something else. I’m not an idol, oracle, or guide. I’m a man who plays black metal the way he wants it to be.

CR: Well thanks for the time it was and honor, hope someday you guys could come to Costa Rica and bring the HELL FIRE!!! If you would like to add something else please do:
Seidemann: Thank you for the interview! 1349 will hopefully tour the US and Latin America soon!