The Faroe Islands - a small nation of roughly 48,000 people in the Atlantic Ocean. One would not expect any band of note to come from such a small, unknown place. But as with most things, what one might expect turns out to be off base, for it is the Faroes that TÝR call home. Deeply in touch with their ancestral roots, TÝR offer a unique perspective on Viking Metal. Their new album, "Land", came out this June on Napalm Records.

Tell us a little bit about the new album, "Land", which is coming out in June.

"It's going to be released on the tenth of June in the U.S. and it's our fourth full-length album. It's a little more straight-forward and directly to the than 'Ragnarok' was and a little bit heavier maybe. There's more Faroese text on it, more traditional melodies and also, in my opinion, the most epic music we have made so far."

What are the lyrical themes?

"The traditionals, Faroese tradtionals, have pagan content, are about the Nordic mythology. The texts that I have written myself are about Viking expansion in the 800's from Norway westward to the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland."

What's it like living on the Faroe Islands?

"Completely normal." (laughter)

Is it somewhat of a culture shock touring Europe and the U.S., as far as the size of the cities and so forth?

"Hmmm... yeah. It's seldom we get to see the really big cities up close. For example, New York was a strange thing to see, but no, there's no extreme cultural revolution when you go to Europe from the Faroes. Maybe there was... I mean, I've been there so many times, (laughs) maybe there was the first time, but that was a long time ago. Nothing in particular that I can think of, no."

How does it feel to be the foremost musical act from the Faroe Islands, representing your home country?

"There are no other bands from the Faroes that are known, so... (laughs) ...so it's not a big league that we're at the front of. (laughs) But it's a nice feeling, yes. Most people have never heard of the Faroes before they hear about our band, so we get to kind of be ambassadors."

What's the Metal scene like over there?

"There is no Metal scene. It's just a music scene with everything in it."

So bands of multiple genres playing together or...

"Yeah, exactly. That happens a lot."

How does that go? Like, for example, people that are there for the other bands, how do they react to your style of music?

"We play there very seldom. Lately, we've played there maybe twice in the last two years. But when we play there and people turn out for our music at least... we haven't played any larger concerts there together with other bands for a long time, so I don't know - I haven't been to many concerts either, lately, with Faroese bands in the Faroes. I don't have the time, so I really know very little about the music scene there today as it is, I'm afraid."

I understand that on the Paganfest European tour there were some accusations of TÝR being Nazi sympathizers and other bullshit, shall we say - what were your reactions to being accused of something like that?

"I find it completely ridiculous and especially the reasons for us being Nazis - they're so thin and they grabbed it out of thin air. We tried to contact the man who does this - we found out there was just one man behind the whole thing, it's a German guy in Berlin called Peter Krause and he's just some paranoid lunatic who makes up this bullshit, but unfortunately he has a good network to get to the media. But fortunately, nothing happened - I mean, it was empty threats all the way. He tried to push the venue to close down the show, cancel the show and then he tried to spread the rumours that there was going to be demonstrations, but nothing happened, absolutely nothing. It's empty threats."

What are your thoughts in general on the rise of National Socialism within the Metal community, especially within eastern Europe and the former Soviet countries?

"I find it completely ridiculous, but I haven't looked at it, what kind of people it is, but if it's anything like what I know about, for example, the Klan or stuff like that, it's inbred morons who stayed at home for too long. I mean, there's no... how can I say it? Ethical or moral grounds for anything like that. I mean, it's a thing of the Stone Age and if people jump on that wagon, they clearly have other deep issues that need to be attended."

What do you think sets TÝR apart from other Viking and Folk Metal acts?

"As far as I can see, the fact that we use traditional melodies that relate directly to the Vikings... I think makes us, in many people's eyes, a more true and real Viking Metal band. And the way we put the music together is not like what any other bands do at the moment in the Viking Metal scene."

Is there any possibility of a North American reissue of your debut album?

"I don't think so, not at the moment, no. We have absolutely no plans."

What are the future plans for TÝR?

"Same as we're doing now - more albums, more tours, bigger tours, (laughs) more money, you know."

Is there anything else you'd like to say?

"Yes - buy the fucking album!" (laughter) [FIN]