INTERVIEW WITH SET TEITAN OF DISSECTION (SWEDEN ROCK MAGAZINE #83) < TRANSLATED

Sweden Rock Magazine (SRM) is the legendary Swedish metal magazine founded in 2001 and is still going. It’s written in Swedish, but here is an article translated to English for you.

The interview is made by the mighty Niklas Göransson, check out his work at Bardo Methodology

Were you already familiar with Dissection's singer and guitarist Jon Nödtveidt when you registered your interest in the vacant guitarist position?
"Jon and I had been in contact for a couple of years and I'm convinced that this was something that was meant to happen," says guitarist Set Teitan. "For some reason, I've always had that feeling."

When Jon was looking for new members for Dissection, it was equally important, in addition to musical competence, that the worldview of potential new members was compatible with the band's message. Was there anything that appealed to you? 

This was the main reason why I felt compelled to help rebuild Dissection. Everything else was just logistics and trifles, just like everything else in life. I left my entire life in Rome behind and moved to Stockholm with only an iron will, a focused mind and a little bit of money in my pocket. The driving force behind my effort to help Jon complete this was his relentless and sincere vision of what he wanted to achieve. I shared this 100 percent. My intentions were genuine and sincere from the start, which is more than can be said for some others who became involved. However, we all know how human cattle work and in the long run, and in some cases even in the short run, those with reprehensible intentions always get what they deserve. You reap what you sow. 

So you went to Stockholm to audition for the band?

- I arrived a week before the first rehearsal and during that time I lived at Erik (Danielsson) in Watain, which I knew from before. He assisted me practicing Dissection's songs to drums during that week. It was invaluable. There is a big difference between actually rehearsing the songs live with a drummer and playing after a record, especially if the material is very complex. Already at this stage I discovered what a special flow occurs when Erik and I play together. The pieces of the puzzle already started to fall into place.

How did you get to know Erik? 

- I think it was in 2002 that I contacted him about a project that we were supposed to be involved in together with someone who was a mutual friend at the time. However, this fell through. We kept in touch and finally met face to face in February 2004 when Watain played in Italy together with Mortuary Drape and some French clown band. That's how it went. After that we have both worked and experienced a lot together.

Tell us about the audition with Dissection. 

- They went great and it sounded really good right from the start, at least since it was the first attempt. This was especially true of songs that I was a bit unsure about, like the ones with twin guitars. If I remember correctly, we played "Frozen", "Retribution-Storm of the light's bane", "The Somberlain", "Where dead angels lie" and "Unhallowed". Then Jon played the demo version of "Maha Kali" for me. It was the first thing I heard the new material. I learned the song and then we played it on the next rehearsal. The place we used belonged to the drummer. It also served as his recording studio and is located somewhere far outside central Stockholm. 

When did it become clear that you were in the band?

- Everything happened within a couple of days. It clicked pretty much immediately, especially when Jon and I met in person. It felt completely natural, powerful and disciplined. It was pure magic! It's a feeling that can't be expressed in words, when music becomes a vessel for the spiritual fire and at the same time for transcendent energies; a vessel and a hymn to the divine, to one's true love. 

Which members were already accepted at this time?
- The drummer (Tomas Asklund) and a certain French bassist (Brice Leclercq), who after the tour showed his true self and started whining about not getting enough money. We had a little private conversation with the person in question after his last gig and never saw him again. 

Some people have no shame in their bodies. I'm sure he's living a wonderful life now, just like the others who had to scramble away in shame and humiliation.

For the first time since 1997, Dissection took to the stage on September 30, 2004 at Arenan in Stockholm. What memories do you have of the gig? 

- Sometimes it almost feels like it never happened or that I was witnessing it from an outsider's perspective. I really can't explain it in words. It was a breathtaking evening with sacrifice, victory and celebration. 

This was the start of the two-month long 'Rebirth of Dissection' tour. How was the reception in Europe?
-The response was amazing everywhere. People were hungry. If only they knew what they were really feeding... 

How did Watain become the support act on the tour?
- They were the only band I had in mind, really. There was no other band that would have been worth taking with us. Possibly Nifelheim, but they had no opportunity to do any longer tours. Jon heard Watain when he was on leave from prison and got hooked on the album "Casus Luciferi". One evening Jon and I had a meeting with Erik and after that it was clear that we wanted them with us. I think Jon were attracted by the sincerity, passion and unbridled energy that permeates everything they do. It is still by far the best touring constellation that has ever existed. 

Once back home, the work began with "Reinkaos". Were the songs already written or did you have the opportunity to participate in the songwriting process?
- The material was written a long time ago, but as always the songs underwent a variety of modifications and arrangement changes. It is inevitable that this will happen when rehearsing with the full band. Jon wrote everything and I and the drummer participated in the rehearsing and recording process. The soul that is in the music on the record and the energy that flows through the notes helped to reshape and strengthen myself and my life forever. 

What is your strongest memory from the recording?

- Everything really. A distinct memory is when we finally got the final master production. Jon and I went home and listened to the finished album together for the first time and the unspoken realization of a completed magical work through the art of sound reached us.

How did you experience the studio visit itself? 

- If what you do is strong and true, it has consequences on all levels. That's how magic works. I live by the rules of the old days and therefore I don't speak about it and keep it for myself. The average person doesn't understand it, which makes it impossible for me to speak openly about it. Furthermore, it serves no real purpose other than generating more gossip and rumors, phenomena that I absolutely detest. 

When the album was released, it received a rather negative response with a whole bunch of disgruntled reviews from both hard rock media and fans. This turned around, however, but it seems to have taken a while for people to really take it in. What do you think is the reason for that?

- We didn't care at all about how the album was received by the outside world. On the contrary, we laughed at them. If someone dislikes an album, it simply wasn't meant for that person. People are generally retarded and uneducated, and they will unconditionally swallow whatever is forced on them. The album wasn't written to amuse or please these individuals, but it is a collection of hymns to the Unknown Deity. It doesn't matter to me if people have started to appreciate it recently. What does it matter? Even if it had never been released at all and instead been buried in the soil somewhere, it had achieved what it was intended to do. 

So you don't feel any kind of vindication now that people who previously complained are praising it? Not to mention ninth place in the readers' and 15th place in the writers' poll of the best albums of the last ten years.

- No! The few individuals who can appreciate the album for what it is have already done so. If blood relatives like it, that's great. I don't give a damn about the rest. For my part, it's in my opinion the best album ever made. It is a creation whose legacy will endure for all eternity.

The Midsummer Massacre concert at Hovet in Stockholm on June 24, 2006 was one of the most ambitious and spectacular live shows ever performed in extreme metal. A professional film crew was on site and a DVD was said to be in the works, but it's been a long time since anyone heard anything about this. What's the status of this? 

-Whoever lives will see! 

Persistent rumors claim that there was plenty of material ready for a fourth Dissection album - something that for obvious reasons will never come to fruition. Is this true?
- I refrain from either confirming or denying that. I can only imagine the kind of people who engage in that kind of rumor spreading. 

You are currently a permanent member of Watain's live set. When did you join them? 

- Originally I was a session bassist on two gigs in Finland and Russia 2005. We then did another concert in London in September 2006, an evening that we dedicated to Jon's name and memory.

Do you contribute musically to Watain? 

- Not directly. I have written two lyrics and a couple of guitar solos for some songs. Furthermore, I have recorded a few things here and there on the latest albums. I won't go into details. My musical achievements are nothing meant to satisfy my ego. That's what 'metal bands' usually do, not Watain. 

by Niklas Göransson