Firstly, thank you for doing this interview! How are you doing today?

I’m fine. A bit tired though. I have been out shovelling snow for several hours. It never seem to stop snowing here.  

Could you tell us about your new album ‘Scorn’?I think it’s a quite natural continuation to our previous releases. With improved song writing better and more complex songs (and much longer). Cold hateful black metal the Scandinavian way, like it was back in the old days. 

The album was delayed for a bit, what happened?

Well the first release day was a bit optimistic I guess. The mail service and the mastering took a bit longer than expected so the release got delayed for a month or so. 

Do you have any particular lyrical themes on this album?

To the most part “Scorn” follows the lyrical themes of our previous releases, hate, disgust and frustration for what the human race has become. The exception is the first song “As the mountains collapse” which is about the end of the world. 

Are there any plans to tour ‘Scorn’?

No I don’t think we’ll be touring.  Since there’s only two of us at the moment playing live shows are not possible right now. 

I heard there might be a vinyl version of ‘Scorn’?

Hopefully yes, at least if everything goes as planned. There were going to be a vinyl version of “Malignant” as well but it never happened.

Are you fans of vinyl?

Yes. I’m a huge fan of vinyl and I definitely prefer it over CD. I think a vinyl has a crispier and better sound and the larger format gives the cover art more justice. 

Why the name Avsky?

Avsky is Swedish for loathing, disgust etc. It covers the feelings we express in our music and lyrics. The name summarize our concept  

Who/what would you say are you biggest influences?

Our biggest musical influences are the early Scandinavian scene. Mainly Darkthrone, Bathory, Burzum (I still consider the first self-titled album to be the greatest black metal release of all time) and so on. It’s the black metal I grew up with. My absolute favourite artist is Tom Waits though. 

What do you think of the Swedish Black Metal scene these days?

The Swedish scene is quite vital I think. Many great band like Craft, Watain, Arckanum, Funeral Mist and Nifelheim for example. The Swedish scene is actually stronger now than it was back in the early nineties. 

What does Black Metal mean to you?

It’s a way of life. Even though I’m not as “hardcore” as I was ten years ago I still consider black metal to be more than music. It is one of the parts that separate black metal from other metal genres. Even though black metal has become quite main stream nowadays. 

Have you been in many other bands?

I played in a black metal band called “Belzen”, with Nox from Craft, between 1995 and 2000.  

How did the record deal with Moribund Records come about?

They distributed our first album “Mass destruction” and since they liked it they asked us if we were interested in working with them, and we were. 

Can people still get hold of the ‘Embrace Armageddon’ and ‘No Cure for Mankind’ demos?

No, not really. I do have a bunch of printed covers left somewhere in my basement but I don’t have the energy to burn the CD’s.  We actually printed 100-200 copies of each demo, but we only sold/gave away about 50 copies of each demo.  

Thank you very much for the interview and best of lucky in the future! Is there anything you would like to say to our readers?

Thanks for the support! Check out “Scorn” if you’re looking for some audible hatred.  

Interview answered by AE, Questions by Carl Sucharyna Thomas