SoD: Hello there! Thanks for accepting this interview! I am super excited to have you as guests in my webzine. First, I want to congratulate you for the recently released demo tape. It’s already on my “best demos I ever heard” list, I cannot get enough of it. Now let’s get in the ring!
OV: Hey, glad you’re enjoying it.
1. You guys hail from Sweden, a country known for its massive contribution to the extreme metal scene (the sole mention of Bathory should be enough). Does Ond Vind sound like a typical Swedish band? Do you think Sweden is a special place when it comes to this kind of music?
That’s up to the listener to decide if we sound typically Swedish. We’re not sure to be honest, but it would make sense with our influences being mainly Swedish bands we grew up listening to.
And given the history of those old bands like Bathory, Nifelheim and Damnation, but also second wave stuff like Arckanum, and newer stuff like Reveal and Wulkanaz, we’d say that Sweden has something special going for sure. There seems to be a genuine appreciation for filth and death here amongst an unusual amount of people. A lot of people are trying to push the style forward while staying true to the original sound.
But let’s not forget that there’s also a ton of garbage coming out of Sweden as well, and there are also equally special hot spots for good stuff in other countries, especially in South America.
We try to ignore the hordes of trash and embrace the genuine filth wherever it may be from.
2. The name Ond Vind translates as Evil Wind, if I am not mistaken. What does this name mean for you? What are the goals you’d like to reach with this band?
We chose it because it was the only name we could agree on.
Our goals except for spreading mayhem and staying evil all the time is that we’d like to record a full length somewhere in the close future.
We have also had some talks about releasing a split soon, we just need to find another decent band to collab with.
3. The tape released by Rope&Bones sold out very quickly. Do you have plans to release the demo on vinyl as well? A 7” EP would be nice, if you ask me. What kind of reactions did you receive so far?
We’ve talked some about a vinyl release, but nothing concrete yet, it would be nice though.
People have been very positive about the demo and we’ve been really lucky to work with Ropes & Bones. We’re very satisfied.
4. The first thing that struck me when I saw the tape was its cover. I find it a bit atypical, for this kind of music. What’s the story of the fallen armored knight, what happened to the poor fella?
The Arthurian knight was perhaps struck down by an evil wind from the past?
We tried to make something as personal as possible without thinking too much about what is expected, while still maintaining and perhaps enhancing the feel of the music inside.
There’s lots of personal little tidbits all over the release. The knight was an idea from a close friend of the band, and the little funny man in the insert is from a rune stone a member has fond memories of, for example.
Ropes & Bones also helped us immensely with getting it up to snuff after we sketched on the idea.
I hope you’ve tried to decipher the runes. (ed.note: I tried to, but nothing logical came out of this).
5. In the tape’s booklet you mention the melting soundboard at the end of “Power of Iron”. What exactly happened there? How did the overall recording process go?
Well, we recorded the demo live in the order it’s released in, and while recording Power of Iron we noticed the sound card started releasing what appeared to be toxic fumes, but we kept on playing because it sounded great. That’s probably why the recording of that song is slightly distorted. When the song was finished the soundboard caught on fire.
All in all the recording went great, fueled by fire.
6. The four tracks sound very cohesive and very “chaotic” at the same time (I mean that in a good way). How did you get those super cool guitar riffs? Can you describe the writing process in the Ond Vind camp?
We try to keep it really simple and intense, that’s our guideline.
Usually someone comes up with a riff or a concept, and then we take it from there, the rest comes together naturally. Less is actually more in this case, sorry Yngwie.
One thing we’ve noticed, though, is that we’re only playing our songs faster and faster as time goes on.
7. On this demo tape, you combine very well many of the catchy elements of speed/thrash metal with the rawness of early black metal. Did you have this direction in mind when you started the band or somehow it took this shape during the creative process? Were there any bands that influenced you before starting Ond Vind?
From the first rehearsal we had it sort of just clicked, we didn’t have a real plan, we just knew it was going to be something dark and fast. We all have similar tastes and as I said earlier, we all aim for intense and chaotic music. It came together from our natural styles of playing our instruments.
Some bands and albums definitely were in the back of our heads while starting though, Bathory, Nifelheim, Obnoxious Youth, Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All (except for Pulling Teeth, fuck that song), Darkthrone, Morbid and Treblinka. The list can go on, but these give you the gist of it.
8. What can you tell us about the lyrics? They are not available in the booklet, so I wonder what kind of topics they cover. Are there any particular themes you write about?
War, necromancy, horror, and general devilry.
We might release the lyrics from the demo digitally, and they will probably be included the next time around we do a new release.
Also notable, the latest batch of lyrics have been written in Swedish.
9. How does a rehearsal session look like? Do you also jam a lot along your favorite tracks or you focus mainly on your own stuff? If you would do a cover version, what song would you choose?
We try to stay focused and not go on for too long. Short and intense rehearsals. No real jams, we try to catch that initial spark of energy from a new idea and get it in its rawest form.
Though, right now we’re mostly rehearsing a set list for upcoming gigs, and we have one cover planned exclusively for live shows right now.
10. In recent years, there have been many genre revivals, old school this, old school that, you name it. I am not talking about Ond Vind, of course, but when do you think a band loses its own direction and becomes a bandwagon jumper? I’ve seen that quite often lately, that’s why I’m asking.
When a band prints T-shirts before they actually put out any music.
When they play just for hopping on the aesthetic instead of delivering genuine music that comes naturally from their hands and creativity.
11. We’re currently going through some fucked up times right now, but have you guys thought of touring, once the situation will allow it? Do you consider this activity as a mandatory part of the business process? Or you would rather prefer doing local shows instead of travelling through half of Europe in a van (or bus)?
You should do touring as long as you all enjoy it. If it isn’t fun, don’t degrade yourself.
We’d like to play as many locations as we can in the future, hopefully very soon, but we’ll probably focus on local shows for now, setting up a presence.
12. Before ending this interview, let me ask you this: What lies ahead for Ond Vind after the release of this demo? Are there plans for a full length any time soon?
Well, as I said, we’re probably going to try to play some local gigs firstly, letting people know we exist, while looking for a fitting studio to record a full length album in and trying out new songs.
There’s also a reprint of the demo coming and we’re gonna play our first gig at the end of August.
I want to thank you very much for taking part in this project. It was a pleasure to have Ond Vind as guests on ScrollsOfDarmoth. If you have any last impressions you might want to add, now is the moment. Thanks and hope to hear a new OND VIND material soon!
Thanks for having us.
Listen to more Johnny Bode, cheers to death and you’re in luck, here’s a glimpse of some upcoming stuff:
scrollsofdarmoth.com 
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