Greetings…as far as I know you never released a demo or something like that, but started with a self-financed MCD titled "The human spirit massacre". Why did you choose this way and what can you tell us about the beginnings of Usipian as I didn't recognized this band before?

Hello there! Actually we started out as Gothic Domain in 1995. And under that name we have made two demos that just didn't got out in the public. We decided to change the name as it was quite ridiculous really. It didn't really refer to our style of music. So we abandoned it. We choose to put out the best demo ever released. We might not have accomplished that. But we sure as hell have tried! Also, I think demo tapes sucks beyond the limit of suckness. I don't even own a tape recorder/player myself.

For me "The human spirit massacre" sounds very professional with a great sound! I suggest that Usipian only got great reviews over the world, can you sum up the response concerning this album? How many copies did you send and what do you think about the reviews you got in general?

Thanks very much. We are indeed proud, but of course some things could be bettered. We have send out 200 CDs or so. Which we only have received positive response from. Some better than others though. Some of the reviews are quite accurate according to our intentions. Actually the most.

How do you describe your music by yourself? Can you sum up some very important bands for you because of their influence and what do you think about to category your music? Is it a lack of freedom to describe music or don't you care about things like that. Personally speaking I think Dissection might be close to Usipian, as they combine Death-Black and normal Metal as you do. Do you agree?

I would describe it as a mixture of all the things in metal we ourselves enjoy. Not that we are ripp offs. This comes from our hearts of pleasure. Important bands? Hmm… there are to many of important bands to name. And of course we didn't choose to play a genre we didn't like. But I can't name any bands that we have copied intentionally, you name Dissection yourself. Well, Storm of the lights bane is my all time favourite. But I don't think we sound like them at all. But you're right in that we have the same style. As in mixing the death and black metal. I wouldn't say that describing music is a lack of freedom? I would rather say that describing music in your own terms, is pretty much one of the few freedoms you really have?

I have seen in the booklet that your lyrics are really long (in comparision to other bands). What is the main subject in the lyrics, are they antichristian or satanic or about fantasy? How important are lyrics to Usipian, just a necessary evil or more important?

I can tell you that my lyrics are indeed anti Christian, but NOT in any satanic way. Satanists are just as stupid as Christians. My lyrics are written for the people who can think for themselves. The people that don't need any religion to tag along to. You can say I write about realism in a fantasy written way. My lyrics are important to me because a lot of work is laid into them. They are important to the band because I actually think I found a little niche. Not many bands have these kinds of lyrics. I'd like to think that I make the lyrics sound a little smarter than your average "I kill for Satan" lyrics. And our band style (image, personality) lies just as much in the lyrics as in the music.

In general your songs are quite long and contain much breaks with different riffs, and in the whole they fit together perfectly. Can you tell me how you compose your songs and how long does it take to have songs like "Sealed in continual thoughts" and "Brought within chains" ready? You also use Keyboards in your songs but not too much, how do you see the role of keyboards in Usipian?

I will start out by saying that we are working really slow. The song writing process is something like this: Tais brings a bunch of riffs down in the rehearsal room. We try different ideas with it. We make the start work and then work us through breaks and stuff until we reach what we thinks should be the end, then everyone cries out in joy. Two months later we probably will make some small changes… Then I will find where to put vocals on the finished song, so we can record it on some lousy tape. Then I take it home to write lyrics. The keyboard have a much smaller role now. We only use it when we feel it is necessary. By the way, we don't have a permanent keyboard player anymore.

Your songs are almost fast but you even try to put several slow parts in there, too. Is your aim to concentrate in fast parts first and only use the slow ones for variety or comes it naturally that the fast parts dominate the song?

We like to play fast. Slow music we let others do. But we won't play fast all the time. We're not Angel Corpse (although, strangely enough, we have been compared to them). So we try to do what we feel is best for the flow in the song. So I would have to say it comes quite naturally.

I think one of the best points of your songs is the fact that you use different vocals, which cause a great and more atmospheric mood in the songs. Can you tell us more points that differ Usipian from other bands and what do you think might be really interesting for Metal fans to check you out?

I'm happy you like it. Because I really try to make the vocals not sounding boring. I try to make it as aggressive as possible all the time. I also sing with a lot of feeling. Not just mumbling my way through the songs. But different than most other bands? I don't know. I will let the listener to decide.

What can we expect from an Usipian live gig and how many did you do in the past? Do you think we might see Usipian here in Germany, too? Did you play a whole tour yet and can you tell us some funny experiences or important ones you made during that time?

I don't know really. We try to kick as much ass as possible. We usually succeed. We have performed… hmm… about 30 times or so. We have actually played with several known bands as Vader, Aura Noir and Limbonic Art. And tons of Danish bands of course. We haven't done any tour, but it could be cool to do sometime in the future. Maybe that will happen when we get a deal. Funny experiences you say? We have a lot. But that mostly involves food fights, band fights, and so on… We are pretty childish I guess. One key word though. We always get very very very drunk when we have played. I am usually pretty drunk already when I enter the stage. But that's because I don't have to worry about any instruments. Still, we try to be professional.

"The human spirit massacre" is nearly 2 years old...much time to compose new songs. What can you tell us about the next album? Do you have enough songs ready to record the album and how will it be like? Will you change something in your style or will it be like your MCD? Do you have a title yet for the album and do you have some ideas how the cover will look like?

I said earlier that we are a slow working band. So lots of time doesn't in our case mean 10 new songs. We were also so unfortunate that our drummer had some problems with his wrist (the eternal drummer problem) and therefore had to take a 6 months break after we released the MiniCD. And then we had to work hard to come back in good shape. We are currently working hard to get 8 songs ready to record a whole album, which we hopefully are able to record in January. But we have to wait and see what happens. Our style will be the same, though we are now faster and more brutal… More deadly, hehe. I don't have a title ready just yet. We will decide it when we have an idea for the cover.

As far as I know you are searching for a new label yet, can you tell us some news now and which labels are you interested in? Are there some labels, which show really interest in Usipian?

I won't say anything really. We just have to see what the future brings. Some labels have shown interest, but we haven't signed or agreed anything.

What are you interested in besides Usipian and Metal, do you have special hobbies and are you into sports like football or something like that? What are your thoughts concerning the last football championship, does it beat you, too, that Germany got into the final (like most fans of England)? What can you tell us about "Tattoo World", do you work there?

Yeah man! I have lots of other interests. I'm a major movie freak. I have a 350 plus DVD collection that I'm very proud of. My movie taste is very varied. I like horror movies just as much as I like animated movies like Toy Story and Shrek, but science fiction is perhaps my favourite genre. Films/media/technology in general are just a big hobby of mine. To all DVD fans: Check out www.dv-depot.com and save hundreds of bucks. Another thing is lifting weights and martial arts. That's also a pretty big hobby that takes a lot of my time. Football, I'm sorry to inform you, is a waste of time. At least in my opinion. I don't event watch it when Denmark plays, haha. Tattoo world as you mention is a worldwide union. And we just happen to have one in the neighbourhood. The guy who sits there is a death metal fan, so he agreed to get us cheap tattoos if we would do some commercial. So that's what we did. And will probably continue to do in the future. You see… I have lots of things I want to have tattooed, and so have Tais our guitarist. My next project is one big mean Alien VS Predator tattoo on my back.

What concerts did you visit lately and did you see some of the big festivals here in Europe like Wacken? What do you think about such big festivals and do you think about playing on such festivals in the future, too?

Playing at Wacken in the future would be absolutely fucking killer! The last show I saw? Damn, can't remember. Nothing ever happens here in Denmark. I have been at Wacken myself in 1998. It was a mixed experience. There are always good bands though. If the program is good I think I will attend next year.

By the way, what does "Usipian" mean and why did you choose this name?

Usipian was an ancient tribe in old Germania (Originally named Usipi). We choose it to celebrate our roots. And we changed it with Gothic Domain because it simply sounded way to gay. We are NOT doing make up or anything gothic gay shit like that, we have nothing gothic about us, so it was a silly name. And therefore a very easy decision.

Last words?

No, I can think of nothing wise to say. Stay true or whatever.
Toke Eld - Usipian.