Interview with Gate 9

First of all congratulations to your first album Moon Ranger Gone Evil to my ears a very very impressing album even though it's a early stage but I wanna know how has the reactions been so far from those who have heard it?

(Jon) Thank you. So far the reactions on the album has been very positive. There has only been a couple of reviews yet, but they have been very good for the band, yours included. We are very happy with the reactions so far, we got nothing to complain about….

As a long time doom freak I have never heard of you guys before you basically came out of nowhere how was the band formed and what reactions have you recieved so far?

(Jon) Gate 9 is a kind of a new creature. It was formed August 2000. Jan and I had another band called Alter Ego which lead us nowhere. We did some jam sessions with Are, whom we have known for years…so Gate9 raised on the remains of and old band. As mentioned, we have known each other for years and have a common interest for fat-ass doom and stonerrock so we just started up. But actually as you said we more or less popped up out of nowhere.

The bandname Gate 9, what does it mean to you has it got any significant meaning to it and do you reckon Gate 9 match the kind of heavydoom rock that you create?

(Are) Gate 9 has to do with the ninth gate of hell, of course. We thought it sounded ok, because it did not sound too obviously metal, if you know what I mean. Besides its simple and you don’t need a dictionary to look up what it means.

How pleased are you with the push from Underdogma and how did you get in touch with the label in the first place?

(Are) We could not be more pleased with Underdogma. They are efficient and professional from our point of view.

(Jon) After we had written some songs we went into the studio and recorded a three-track demo, which we sent around to different labels that release bands we enjoy. Actually we received offers from some labels, both here in Europe and in the States. To us Underdogma seemed like the right choice, and it was kind of important to be on an US label, which would mean a bigger distribution than we could get here in Norway or Europe. Anyway Underdogma is a great label and we are very happy about what they’re doing for us. They have been easy to work with and have given us a total freedom, in our eyes they are nothing but great people to work with.

The title Moon Ranger Gone Evil I really dig that title has it got any significant meaning to it and do you feel that the title represents the tracklist on the album?

(Are) As long as it sounds good its OK. As a whole sentence it doesn't make a lot of sense, but the associations it presents are just as important. We think of the evil moon ranger as someone who would dig the music. Ill tempered, authoritative and spaced out. Besides, anything with "moon" is cool. The title represents the "cosmic" emotions of the songs in general, not a particular point we are trying to make. Sorry, but it doesn't have a profound meaning.

On the album there is a wide spectrum from Pink Floydish cosmic escapades to classic epic doom metal uptempo powertunes catchy melodies classic heavy rock and spaced out tripping stuff when you made the album how much experimental lust did you have in the studio with the album how pleased are you with the mix of the album?

(Are) Thanks. As far as the music itself, the eksperimental lust took place in our garage (yes we are a garage band in the practical sense of the term), not so much in the studio. Time is money in studios so the material was written all in advance of the recording sessions. We would write three tunes and go to the studio, and the write tree pieces and back to the studio and so on. "Mantra of Doom" is the only exeption. The sonic effects and the chanting on "Mantra of Doom" and "Queen of Hades" we came up with together with Thomas the producer. We are very pleased with the whole production and cooperationg with him. Pluss we had a great time recording it. We have elements that people find unusual and refreshing, because we like to break up with parts that sound almost corny. A trick we learned from Sabbath. They managed to make a D major cord sound scary. The reference to Pink Floyd is surprising too us, but not way off I think. They are one of Jans favourite bands so it must be the singing.

To me this the heaviest album out of Norway since Godsends first album As The Shadows Fall released way back in 1994, how is the scene for Heavy Music in Norway in general is it a good following or what?

(Jon) I think that the scene for Heavy Music here in Norway is almost a none-existing scene. I can’t think of any other Doom band from Norway at the moment. Even Black-Metal is not a big thing here. The whole music scene here in Norway is extremely dull. Actually it’s hard to get live jobs here if you’re not into the mainstream kind of music or less heavy musical stuff, anyway. But there are a few good more stonerrock-orientated bands here though. Honcho, Thulsa Doom, Pawnshop to name a few.

With Gate 9 have you played live yet if so what has the reactions been and what is the difference between Gate 9 live and Gate 9 at rehearsal and studio?

(Are) The reactions have been great. People like the dynamics and changes in the songs. It makes it more exiting than a constant wall of sound. Can't think of any significant difference between Gate 9 live and in studio. We do the songs pretty much the same as we recorded them.

Talking about the major influences for the band what are the main influences for you, I figure the original doom bands spacerock bands etc or do you have other inspirations?

(Jon) Ares heroes are The Residents and he just keeps on talking about them. Of course there is Black Sabbath which is our main source of inspiration, we are all huge Sabbath fans. Actually we are not so much into the classic doom metal stuff, but enjoy just about anything that Wino touches. To talk for my self I have been a Monster Magnet fan for many years and I find a lot of inspiration in the Spine of God album. And of course there is Kyuss, but I think that the influences from Kyuss is not that obvious in the Gate9 songs. Other bands that have meant something for the musical direction for us are of course, Hawkwind and Zepplin, but also the heavier Seattle bands such as Soundgarden(Badmotorfinger) and Alice in Chains. To speak for myself I think the contemporary stonerrock/retro/doom scene has produced some very good records lately. I just love Goatsnake, Sheavy, Abdullah and other more doomy bands…..
 

 Go into the lyrical standpoint it appears to me that the lyrics deals with a lot science fiction subjects, universal fantasy and historical stuff how important are the lyrical direction for Gate 9 ?

(Jon) As I am the one who writes the lyrics I’d better answer this one. Actually, to me it is more important that the lyrics goes along with the music than that the lyrics should have a significant meaning in it self. And I think that our lyrics go with the more psychedelic parts. When we make songs that are doomier, then the lyrics I think, should have a darker approach. Since both Jan and I have read a lot on subjects as Satanism it is easy to use that kind of themes in the lyrics. But anyhow I am most comfortable with spaced out lyrics, which I feel suits the band the most.

Since you are a trio do you feel you have more musical freedom as a threepiece compare to if you are 4 piece or a 5 piece band?

(Are) The biggest advantage of being a trio is that its easier to get together to rehearse and there is more room on stage. Jokes asides: The trio format means that each of us must make the most of it all the time when we play live. You can't rely on the second guitar, and if a string breaks its fatal. We try to be aware of what we do in the studio, and avoid the kind of dubbing that we can't reproduce in some way on stage.

The production is brilliant,Thomas Ruud is responsible for it how much input did he have in the sound of the album?

(Are) Looking back at the production I think we agreed on almost everything, so it's hard to say how much he influenced it. The voices on the album are from an outrageous documentary video that Thomas had about the dangers of satanistic influences in rock music.

(Jon) I think that Thomas captured the spirit of Gate9 in a way that great. He did understand what we were looking for right away. This is the first doom-oriented album he has done, so I think he has done his job very well. His studio has not been rolling for more than about a year, but he has already gotten a name here in Horten era. If I told you what the actual recording and mixing did cost you’d just laugh, so I’d better not. But the soundcape on the album sounds a lot more expensive I think. We are happy with this production.

More on the production did you record it live or did you made one take at the time ?

(Are) One at the time.

(Jon) Yeah, the album was made track by track, and mostly in just one take. So we are quite efficient in the studio. Of course when we went into the studio all the songs where structured, and we could more or less focus on the more psychedelic parts, mainly arrange the effects and lay more layers of guitars to spice(space) the songs a little bit.

The album have just come out if you would like to describe the album yourself to fans of heavyrock out there how would you review Moon Ranger Gone Evil and what is your hopes for Moon Ranger Gone Evil after the release?

(Are) I think you have said just about what is needed to say. It's a little different, and as we like to say: "you'll be singing along with satan on this one"

(Jon) Look out for the Norwegian three headed doom troll, we’re gonna mess with your head. Heavy Gloomy Doom.

Finally the plans after the release of the album what will happen now for Gate 9 plans for the next album any dates for shows any plans to record a ep fill us in what will happen to Gate 9 after the release of Moon Ranger Gone Evil.

(Jon) There are plans for a split cd between Gate9 and Duster69, Jochen the Daredevilrecords bosses band. I think we are gonna do four songs each. Hopefully we can go into the studio once again in May or June. So I think its gonna be an unholy Underdogma/Daredevil split. I think that our new material is more doomier and heavier than the tracks on "Moon Ranger……"

As far as goes with live dates, it’s quite hard to get live jobs here in Norway. But May 24th, we are playing at Rjukan Rockfestival with Mustach and Peepshow etc. I am really looking forward to it, cause the Rjukan audience is amazing. And to play with Mustach, we consider being an honour. We are going to throw a release party in our hometown Horten 27th of April. Actually we have never played in Horten so that’s something to look forward to. I think we will try to make a small tour this summer, hopefully with some dates outside of Norway, too.

Thank you very much for the interview all the best wishes with Moon Ranger Gone Evil and Gate9 hope you are able to come over to Sweden to do some dates overhere and thanks for this wonderful album it really smokes.

(Jon) Thank you for running a great site. And of course thanks for a great review. Yeah… we would love to go to Sweden for some dates…. You guys got the best scene, and got some of the best bands around, so it would be an honour to play with almost any of them. Thank you for doing this interview with us and…..Doom on.The Gaters

By Gabriel Lilliehook

Order Moon Ranger Gone Evil from Underdogma Records at www.underdogma.com email info@underdogma.com

Gate 9 Web www.stonerdoom.com email gate9@world-online.no