GEHENNA's DOLGAR Discusses New Lineup, Future Plans

GEHENNA bass player/vocalist Dolgar recently spoke to Antenna about the group's current lineup, the split with Moonfog as well as the new deal with Nocturnal Art Productions and Indie Records. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Antenna: Please give us some details on the current lineup of GEHENNA.

Dolgar: It sure is no secrect that our line-up has been as unstable as a rabid dog on crack, but getting Dirge Rep back behind the drums definetly feels very right. The lineup now is Sanrabb on guitars, Dirge Rep on drums, me on bass and vocals, and Amok on guitar. We have chosen not to have a permanent keyboard player anymore, as there has been less and less use of keyboards on our albums since "Adimiron Black". It simply does not fit our musical agenda now.

Antenna: It appears that GEHENNA almost signed with ANP, Another Norwegian Product, but this deal was apparently cancelled. What's the story?

Dolgar: Not almost; we actually did sign with ANP in 2006! But ANP had very different expectations from us [and also from how this business works] than what proved to be our vision of things. First and foremost they hoped we could record and release a new album more or less right after the deal was signed, which was far from what we were ready to do. And so, as time went on, the label took a few very bad business turns, and in the end could not manage to keep floating. Our contract with them was automatically cancelled when they went bankrupt.

Antenna: What bands are either of you currently involved in, besides your task with GEHENNA?

Dolgar: I am also in THE DEVIANT. We have one album out so far ["Ravenous Deathworship"], and we are currently writing material for the follow-up to that one. Dirge Rep still has ORCUSTUS going; they have a new release just around the corner. Sanrabb has a band called AGITATOR, which I actually have not heard, and I am not sure if they are more than a hobby band with a few friends or what. Amok has been involved in the punk scene, but I am not sure if he still is active in any bands. Last I heard he played drums in some Swedish punk band, but I really do not know the details.

Antenna: What shows are in the pipeline?

Dolgar: So far only one festival is booked for the summer [and I am actually not sure if I can tell you which one yet, dont know if they have released their program yet]. We are also working with a handfull of other things, but nothing has been set at the moment. You know, it seems that for every 20 shows that you talk about, only one ever seem to actually happen. We will try to keep both our website and Myspace updated as soon as shows are confirmed.

Read the entire interview at Antenna.nu.