TYR – Heri Joensen
Milton: Cool. Let’s talk a bit about the history of TYR. Where did the idea to mix traditional Faeroese music with heavy metal come from?
Heri: Well, the idea to combine both styles is quite old, actually. I was in a band before TYR with Gunnar, the current bassist. I remember I had the idea to combine a Faeroese folk song with heavy metal and it was never done with that band, but I knew I wanted to do it at some point. I finally had the chance with TYR. It was really easy to see that this particular song became the most popular song in the first album. So it was clear that this was something that attracted people. What we did on the next album was to put out more of the same kind of stuff, without plagiarizing ourselves or selling out in any way. It just was very self-evident that that was the way to go. How I got the original idea, though, is not very easy to recreate. I’ve always been very interested in traditional Faeroese music, ever since I can remember. As for metal, I got into it at the age of 14. All I did was just combine the two, really. There was no large epiphany as such. I’ve seen it done with pop music and jazz. All I did was apply heavy metal instead of those. It was quite un-mystical for me to do it.
Milton: What was the reaction of the non-metal community when they saw this bunch of long-haired metal guys applying the traditional Faeroese music to heavy stuff?
Heri: It was mixed. Some are very positive, some are indifferent and the rest are decisively negative. Those who are positive about it, say that we attract the young people to the original style of our traditional music, so they advertise it to their advantage. Others don’t listen to it at all, either they like metal or folk music. And then, there are those folks who accuse us of being cultural vandals of sorts. (laughter)
Milton: (laughter) That’s the first time I hear that term.
Heri: They’re afraid that our form of music will take over the traditional, but I don’t think that will ever happen. They are of course free to continue listening to the Faeroese music and I hope they will regardless of what we’re doing. I think those accusations are completely ungrounded. I am convinced that we do more good than harm with what we do. I have no doubt about that.
Milton: I would assume so, especially considering that it’s a good tool for people from abroad to get familiar with the Faeroe Islands and its culture. I mean, as it is, not a lot of people know much about the Faeroes. Take me for example, I don’t think I would ever known traditional Faeroese music if it wasn’t for TYR.
Heri: Exactly. Believe it or not, the same thing goes for people in the Faeroes. So yeah, there you go. That goes to show it.
Milton: I did some research on the Faeroese music as I was preparing for this interview, and found that it is mainly vocalized, is that right?
Heri: That is correct. Originally it was only vocals. I think in the 1700s the violin and the fiddle were introduced to the music, and later the acoustic guitar and the accordion. Nowadays you obviously can hear it played with any instrument, but originally it was only vocals. As a matter of fact, the original versions are quite well preserved. There are many enthusiasts who get together and perform them regularly.
Milton: That’s cool, have you ever taken part on that aside from TYR?
Heri: Oh yeah, definitely. Of course they have societies and get-togethers especially in the winter half of the year, where they meet every week. Then in special occasions like Christmas, New Year’s, national holidays, weddings, etc. you also perform these ballads so everyone who lives in the Faeroes has experienced it first-hand. Unless you are some sort of fanatic Christian who denies all sorts of Earthly pleasures, which definitely happens.
Milton: That’s another subject I was saving for later, but since you mentioned it. There are lots of bands that try to pass forward a message that they don’t really believe in. A clear example is how some Black metal bands that have openly admitted they’re not Satanists, but their music’s message says otherwise. You have stated before that you consider yourself a Pagan.
Heri: Yes, but culturally. I mean, I don’t really believe in any of it. If I had to classify myself, I’d say I am a Pagan-Pantheist-Atheist, I think without contradicting myself. It takes a very long explanation, but generally I’d have to say I’m an Atheist.
Milton: Okay. For a band like TYR, do you still get a lot of criticism from the Christian fanatics in the Faeroes? As it is, it must be frustrating to know that Christianity was forced down the throats of your ancestors in the North, and here you are trying to preserve and relive the old culture and beliefs…
Heri: That’s an interesting question, and surprisingly the answer is no. Not really. We get very little of that actually. I think both cultures and creeds up here sort of blended into each other. I don’t think there’s much of radicals from either sides actually. There’s a lot of Christians who are totally fine with the Viking heritage and what not. Technically the Vikings were Christians after the year 999. It was a political decision, not an ideological thing. I am not sure it would be much different, had it not happen. You find radical fanatics in all groups, even if the Pagans had survived to this day. It might well be that we would have the same problems we do now, say we had Pagan fanatics. All of these ideologies can be synonyms of hypocrisy when taken to an extreme.
Milton: That’s an interesting point of view.
Heri: It’s not a simple scenario.
