Pic courtesy of: Harm "The main focus for Harm has not been to make thrash metal, that’s only the way the music came out"

CR: Why don’t you star by introducing the band to our readers?
Steffan Schulze: Well, Harm was started back in1997 by me. It was like a one man project for a year or so. There has been some line up changes through the years. The band today is as following: Steffan Schulze bass/vocal. Ronnie Eriksen rhythm guitar. Frank Ørland solo/lead guitar and Tov Aanonsen drums.

CR: I though Norwegians only played black metal! How did you got into thrash, what was the main band that got you into this genre?
Steffan Schulze: The main focus for Harm has not been to make thrash metal, that’s only the way the music came out, but of course we have always listened to bands like Testament, Megadeth, Voivod and more.

CR: Got to tell you I loved “Devil” (I m not going to reveal the sources where I got the record!) fast, aggressive, insane thrash, a very modern way of playing a genre that lately has lost some of its flare you guys actually remind me a lot to another USA band Demiricous both Harm and that band I just mention give thrash metal a sort of new breath, how would you best describe the sound of Harm?
Steffan Schulze: Pure aggression, both musical and lyrical wise.

CR: Harm is with Sublife Productions, how did those guys get you? Is there an specific number of albums Harm has to put out with this label?
Steffan Schulze: Tchort has been a friend since 98 and he liked our first unofficial demo from the same year. He has always been positive towards our music. This resulted in a request to sign Harm on his own label, Sublife Prod. He has always showed big interest for helping Harm reaching the top, so we only sign for one record at the time. Now we have signed for our second album on Sublife Prod.

CR: Just watched the Aggression video, dude you got sicko on that poor bastard, funny part when the ban runs over the doll I don’t know why every time I see those human size dolls getting destroyed it makes me laugh… ok to the question, the video looks pretty amateur, fun though, and the song is really good, who recorded that for you?
Steffan Schulze: hahaha. I agree with you. It's supposed to be pitch black humor, and you are sadly one of few that gets the meaning of that video. The recording of the devil album has been though mentally because of the lyrics, so we wanted to have some fun to get away from all the serious stuff for a little while. A friend of ours, called Jon, did some filming with Green Carnation earlier, we wanted to put together a music video with some feel from the 70’s. We did it simple and straight forward. We had plans to blow up the car but the fire brigade wouldn't let us. Hehe.

CR: Recently you guys were touring Europe with Rotting Christ, Malevolent Creation, Mystic Circle, Incantation and others, how many countries did you guys visited and which in your opinion was the crowd that reacted the best to Harm?
Steffan Schulze: On the tour we played in 9 European countries. I have to say without a doubt that the people from Checkia was the best audience along with the fuckers from Switzerland.

CR: Your cover artwork is from Niklas Sundin, apparently this guy works as hard in his designs as in the music he makes, how did you guys got in touch with him?
Steffan Schulze: I did have big problems with the cover art for Devil. I looked though hundreds of cover designs and there was no match for my visions on this album, but Niklas was the one that came closest to it. The cover design came through Tchort.

CR: Getting back to Devil, the album is furious but only 34 minutes long, why is that? Did you guys wanted a short album like that or many songs just didn’t cut it for the final recording?
Steffan Schulze: We wanted it short, powerful and right in your face. We didn't know that it would come out that aggressive, so we felt that we had to cut down three songs. Maybe one of them will come out in the future.

CR: Devil, has a nice variation on tempos, not all the songs are played completely fast, some like Harm Unleashed have a more mid tempo, killer guitar solos and a nice vocal line guiding the rhythms, how important is for you the balance on the record, I mean how important is to manage the speed so that it doesn’t get out of control?
Steffan Schulze: To be quite honest I don't think about that at all. There is no retro-thinking thrash metal in Harm. We make what we make, and there is nothing else to it, music wise.

	Pic courtesy of: Harm "I had to write lyrics about my own life and experiences, but of course there is nothing original about that. In my case I had to dig deep into the darkest sections of my life, which involves the loss of a child in extreme conditions"

CR: How long did it took you guys to record Devil, and where did you do it?
Steffan Schulze: We recorded the album in our hometown, Mandal, and it took about two weeks.

CR: To some in order to write angry, fast unafraid music you need to be pist off at something, when you write a song or a lyric, in what aspects or inspirations around you, do you pull that energy to transform into music?
Steffan Schulze: I did not want to write typical fairytale-bullshit metal lyrics like 90% of the scene today. I had to write lyrics about my own life and experiences, but of course there is nothing original about that. In my case I had to dig deep into the darkest sections of my life, which involves the loss of a child in extreme conditions, that I don't want to reveal more of in this interview. So the lyrics you hear on the Devil album are a clean cut through extreme hate and aggression towards real people in real life.

CR: Harm has also another album and a demo, Unleashed been the full length, how much would you say the band has grown since that album, I mean how much has your sound develop from 2004 to 2006, any specific techniques that you guys are applying now to your music that just weren’t there before?
Steffan Schulze: There is no specific technique for our music; we are only a Norwegian thrash metal band that has developed over the years. The only technique that I can think of is that if you can severely beat the shit out of someone that deserve it really well, like the town rapist or other scum of the earth, then I guess our music will do as a technique.

CR: How important are the guitar solos for any thrash band?
Steffan Schulze: I think it is very important. It breaks the music up to keep it a little bit more energetic, so that you feel more satisfied and re-energized when it breaks down to the main course. I guess you will hear faster and more intense, aggressive and energetic solos from Harm in the future when we return with our next album.

CR: In your web site it says that you guys had to cancel the Mandal Rockfest due to hospitalization, what do you mean by hospitalization? Are you guys ok?
Steffan Schulze: Our guitarist, Tor Erik, has some serious health problems. He had to cut up his chest to relief the pressure on his heart and lungs and then alter his bone-structure in the chest. They had to run a steel bolt though his ribs and some steel wire to keep his chest from cracking open. I know it may seem incredible, but this is true.
Up to this date his chest won’t grow to attachment and he was touring with a wiggely wiggely loose chest. The chest and with a new child on the way made it even more difficult for him to proceed in Harm. Did I mention his fractured lung? I know it sounds amazing, hehe, but it is true. The one who took his place in Harm is Frank Ørland who I played with in another band, called Scariot. He's a freaking solo-God!

CR: When you guys just started up back in 97, what did you though of the entire music business and how much have that perception change over the years?
Steffan Schulze: I guess all musicians are naive in the start, so where we. Up to this date my perception of the music business has rapidly fallen to its knees. It feels like if you don't kiss ass you won't get forward in the music business. I think it is rotten to the core, and I don't like it at all.

CR: What s in the future for Harm, what about a DVD?
Steffan Schulze: The future looks real good. I am really satisfied with the material for the new album. A DVD will never come in the first line for Harm. I think DVD's nowadays are spit out by bands that don't have anything to offer. It's so easy to make a DVD's these days. You have to earn this, not just spit it out! So I recon after Harm has released the third album it may come a DVD, but not before that. No doubt about it

CR: For some reason in this new edition of the magazine I’ve been asking every band what do they think about Iraq, so here it is, what do you think about the situation on Iraq?
Steffan Schulze: I think all the soldiers should pack their bags and get the fuck home and let Iraq and UN do the job! UN should be there to keep the civilians safe, if possible. USA should summon up all the money that have been using on warfare and give it back in a donation so that Iraq can get back on its feet, and be proud again!

CR: Ok man thank you very much for your time, and congrats on a kick ass record, anything else that you will like to add!
Steffan Schulze: Thank you for a great interview! And for the readers; if you would like aggressive, catchy Thrash check out www.myspace.com/harmmetal
Stay true! Hails from Norway!