Upcoming Norwegian extreme metallers Pantheon I is about to release their debut EP. There for I thought it would be appropriate to learn a little more about this band that also features a member from fellow Norwegian metallers 1349. Drummer Eirik Renton kindly answered my questions and below you can read the result.

Please start out with a brief band history.
Pantheon I started when I joined the same class as John Espen. We started jamming and got our good friend Andrè with us. It didn`t take long before we realized that we had some fancy shit going on! We did a self-financed demo early in 2003 (you can download this at our homepage, visit http://www.pantheon-i.tk), and received pretty good response on it. We haven't played live yet, simply because we didn't feel that we where ready to do so. But we are now ready to kick some ass and are planning do play live as much as possible. Be afraid!!

The music on your Demo MMIII sounds very promising but the production could in my opinion have been a lot better. Was this done on purpose or was it a result due to lack of money?
We mean that extreme music needs an extreme production. We don't think it's trustworthy to make an extreme metal record with a "pop music" production. These days almost every band sounds exactly the same. They have the same sound and the same production. This makes it very easy for ordinary "pop music" fans to become extreme music fans. We don't want to have this kind of fans. We want our fans to truly understand our music. We wanted this demo to have this sound, and we also knew that we could make this product by ourselves. Therefore we recorded and produced it by ourselves. We could also have used some money to get a better production but that was not in our interest.

Your music seems mainly centred around black metal and two bands that immediately come to mind are Ulver and Månegarm. Are you influenced by any of the aforementioned?
We are all Ulver fans but they haven't directly inspired us. But of course bands we have grown up with have something to say when we make music. But if we should mention band that have inspired us, Ulver is not on that list.

The lyrics on your demo seem very obscure. What inspires you when writing these?
Our lyrics can be described as our utopia. It's how we see things and how we want things to be. It's non realistic, but it's not our intension to write realistic lyrics. The world we live in is so fucked up and destroyed so we try to use this as an inspiration.

You have an EP coming out soon. Is it self financed or do you have a record deal to back it up?
It's self financed. We borrowed a studio and we produced and recorded it by ourselves, with additional help from a couple of friends. It's very necessary for us to have completely control over the production, and to have as few helpers as possible. It's our product, and we don't want more advises or help than absolute necessary.

Is the EP made up of new material or is it basically re-recordings of the songs from your demo?
This EP consists of new material especially written for this release. The demo songs will never be touched again in a studio setting. We will of course play these tracks live.

And in what direction have you evolved and progressed since Demo MMIII?
We have, in our opinion, become better musicians. We have practised very much and we think this can be heard on the forthcoming EP. We have also become better songwriters. The music is more complex, more brutal, faster, more melodic and more distinct. This EP will show which way we will move, musically, in the future. The EP will have a better production, but it will sound yet as extreme and brutal as its predecessor. (This EP will penetrate the listener and make him feel less human)

I read somewhere that you have enough songs laying around to do a full-length! Any plans to record and release those in the near future?
The songs are written and we will most likely record our first studio album in April. We don't have a record deal, but this doesn't matter. We will either put it out by ourselves, or with a record deal to back it up. Time will tell.

You've used cello and violin on the demo. Is this something you'll continue to incorporate in your music? In my opinion it works really well.
We will continue using this type of instruments in the future. Perhaps also use other instruments to make the orchestral parts more complex and interesting. We are an organic band playing organic instruments and it's out of the question to use synthesisers and samplers.

Do you see Pantheon I as a project or a full time band? I mean some of you play in other bands too so I assume it's not easy to run Pantheon I as a full time band!
Pantheon I is a fulltime band. We have other bands but there is no problem for us to get together three times a week to practise. It's a first priority band for all of us.

You describe your music as being "Norwegian Extreme Metal", but what does that label really cover? I mean have you chosen this label because your music is too difficult to categorize as being this or that?
We think it's difficult to place our music in a genre. Black metal for us is old school black metal, the way it sounded in the eighties and early nineties. The same with death metal. Death metal for us is the old school Florida sound. Our music can't be compared to any of these directions. Of course our music has roots in both of these genres, but we will not categorise our music in any of this directions. Therefore we think extreme metal is best name for our music.

Do you now work as a three piece, or have you found a new bass player?
We have played with several different people lately but it hasn't worked out the way we wanted it. We are now a tree piece band and we still are looking for a bass player. Until we find a bass player we will use a session bass player live.

Oslo is considered by many as being the musical Mecca in Norway. Is the scene still growing and evolving?
We are not able to speak of the music scene in general. But if we speak of the black metal scene we think it's rather dead. Of course we still got great bands, but they have been there from the start. We can't say that we have heard one single new Norwegian black metal act that sounds promising. But it's quite different with new death metal bands over here. We got some great bands, which, we think, will be noticed in the near future. We can also mention that the alternative jazz scene in Oslo has grown the last years. It's been written about in magazines all over the world and it has accomplished an international cult status. New young jazz musicians from Oslo, and Norway in general, travelling all over the world to play with the leading jazz musicians of our time. We think this is rather noteworthy.

Any last comments?
Yeah, thanks for the interview. And to all you metal-heads out there, be sure to check out Pantheon I, you will not be disappointed! Hell Awaits!!!