*When did you really get involved into music in general and into metal specific? Who was responsable for your interest in (metal) music?

Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I have my family to thank for that! Both of my parents are big rock fans, so I was listening to their old Queen and Beatles 45s on my Fisher Price record player. I had one uncle who was a prog bass player, and two that were big rock, punk and metal fans, so they were all instrumental in my musical upbringing. In fact, I still have a mix tape one of my uncles gave me labeled “For Trevor Portz, so he can learn to rock.” I guess it worked!

Metal first entered my purview via a babysitter who was really into Ratt, W.A.S.P., and that whole scene. Coupled with a life-altering moment when my dad taped “Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park” off late-night TV, my path was set. From that point on, I knew I wanted to write and play my own music.

It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I got into the heavier side of metal. Anthrax was the gateway—I actually think their cover of “Got the Time” was my first exposure—and I couldn’t believe anyone could play that fast! That led me into more thrash and punk, and finally grindcore, death and black metal. Once I got into that stuff, and started hanging out with that crowd, I found my home when it came to creating and playing music.

*Which artists or bands did influence you the most?

Kiss certainly gets a lot of credit. I grew up during the non-makeup era, so those albums made a big impression on me. Songs like “Exciter” off of Lick it Up, and “I’ve Had Enough (Into the Fire)” off Animalize still kick my ass.

The Wildhearts are probably one of the most influential bands for me. Admittedly, they are not metal (minus a few bits here and there), but the way they embraced a huge number of styles—often in a single song—really connected with me. I think some bands get too hung up on staying within one genre, and they showed me that wasn’t necessary. They taught me that a good song knows no genre, haha.

As far as extreme metal goes, the bands that had the biggest impact on me were probably those I got into first: Brutal Truth, Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Emperor, Immortal, Sepultura, Bolt Thrower, and one of my top bands of all time, Enslaved. There are plenty of newer bands that I love, too, but those really set the stage for me as a metal musician. Around that time, I also got into power metal—Helloween, Stratovarius, etc—which I imagine influences my writing as well.

*Which instrument do you play and how and when did you learn to play? Did you had lessons in school or private lessons? If so, was that because your parents expected that from you? Or did you learn to play the instruments by yourself? Do yo still follow some lessons?

Guitar is my choice of weapon, and I’ve also played bass for Ashen Horde on everything we’ve released thus far. While I wanted to be a musician when I was younger, I never really had the discipline or patience to learn. My parents were never pushy about that stuff, but were supportive when we showed interest. I took a couple lessons, but learning blues scales and strumming chords just bored me to tears. Finally, a guy I knew from a local record shop (who is now a very close friend), asked what I wanted to play. I told him “Love Gun” by Kiss. He showed me that, and even though I sucked, I felt like I was actually playing a song I cared about, and that changed everything.

It really wasn’t until high school, when I met some other people who wanted to start a band and could REALLY play, that I got off my ass and focused. There’s nothing like the fear of embarassment and need to impress to get you going! I’ve never taken lessons since, and have been strictly self-taught. If I hear something I want to play, I’ll figure it out.

*Do you follow other or are you intrested in other styles of music beside metal? If so, what is the music you prefer to listen to?

Oh yeah—I like all sorts of stuff. When it comes to non-metal music, I really have an affinity for 90s Brit rock. The aforementioned Wildhearts, Terrorvision, Baby Chaos, Supergrass, Senseless Things, Therapy?, Ash, Oasis—I madly collect all of them. I’m a huge fan of the Police, love me some Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull and Queen, of course. Stray Cats were probably my first favorite band (I finally got a chance to see them last summer), and I buy anything Brian Setzer does. I recently got really into Madness, the British ska band. When it comes to punk, bands like the Toy Dolls, H.D.Q., Misfits, G.B.H., and the Adicts are on regular rotation. Other favorites: Backyard Babies, the Hellacopters, Hanoi Rocks, and on and on!

*Is music a full time job for you now or do you have a job beside music? If so, what kind of job are you doing? If you would be really succesful with music, would you quit your other job?

Unfortunately, metal doesn’t pay the bills, so I have a regular day job. In fact, it’s pretty much the antithesis of metal—I work in finance. But it allows me to make music, so I can’t complain. That said, if I could make the same living just doing music, I’d jump at the chance! The hardest part is finding the balance. Spending a couple hours playing after a full day of work can be tough, but luckily I’m a bit OCD about it.

*If you could start a band with other musicians on other instruments, which artist would you pick for wich instrument and why? (Something Like an “All Stars Band”.) Would you still go for a progressive blackened death metal band? Or would you do something completely different?

I feel like I could come up with a millon variations on this—both in style and lineup—but I’ll try to choose just one. In this case, I’d like to do something that’s just super genre-bending and weird. Heavy, but will all sorts of side trips. With that in mind, here’s my idea: Ihsahn (Emperor), Ivar Bjornson (Enslaved) and me (of course) on guitar, with guest solos from Alex Skolnik (Testament), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) and Kai Hansen (Helloween, Gamma Ray). Random John Poole (Cardiacs, Wildhearts) on bass. Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad, Dark Angel, Testament) on drums and John Garcia (Kyuss) on vocals

The fact that I can’t even imagine what it would sound like tells me it would be awesome!

*If you had been banned to an uninhabited island and you may pick 5 albums to listen to, wich albums would you choose and why?

Funny, I was on a podcast recently and asked this question, and I don’t remember all my choices, so I wonder if these will be the same?

‘Earth vs the Wildhearts’ because it’s about as perfect an album as there’s ever been. (Preferably the deluxe edition, because the b-sides are all amazing, too)

Def Leppard: ‘High n’ Dry’—when it comes to hard rock, I honestly don’t think there’s a better album. Again, nearly perfect IMO. At some point, I’d love to cover ‘On Through the Night’, and think we could do something crazy with it.

Enslaved: ‘Axioma Ethica Odini’—picking just one Enslaved album is nearly impossible for me, but that one wins today!

Immortal: ‘At the Heart of Winter’—no other black metal album transports me to a wintery domain than this, and I expect that would be a nice mental escape on a desert island!

Queensryche: ‘Empire’. Another all-time fave, and I’ve been listening to it a lot this week. Every song is great, and the production is unreal. I don’t think I mentioned them above, but I definitely take a lot of influence from Chris Degarmo and Michael Wilton’s playing.

* You started Ashen Horde as a soloproject. Why did you choose to chance that? Is it more easy for you to work with other artists than alone or was it just because working with other artists gives you more possibilities in directions you wanted to go with the music?

When I moved to L.A. from New York, my network evaporated. I simply didn’t know any musicians here. My first goal was to find people and start a proper band, but it just wasn’t coming together. I’d acquired a lot of recording equipment and software (most importantly, Superior Drummer), and figured I could try to just do something on my own. The result was a grindcore-esque thing called Bite Wound. While not perfect, it proved I could record and release an album by myself!

The songs that would become the first Ashen Horde album had been kicking around for a few years, and based on the confidence I’d gotten after the Bite Wound thing, I decided to resurrect them and focus my efforts on the black/death/prog album I’d been wanting to do for years. The response to that album (Sanguinum Vindicta) was amazing, and that solidified my idea that Ashen Horde would be an ongoing one-man band.

Jump ahead a couple years, and I developed bad vocals nodes from years of screeching without proper technique. I ended up having surgery, and decided to give up my harsh vocal career at that point. I really had no choice but to find a vocalist, and through my brother, was referred to Stevie Boiser. He’d worked with Vale of Pnath and Dissonance in Design (among others) and seemed an obvious choice. He was really cool and had a dynamic style, and luckily he accepted the invite to join! The first thing he did for Ashen Horde was the Achemist 7”, and when I got back his tracks, I was blown away. His vocals took things to a level I never even imagined; he could do stuff vocally that I couldn’t even come close to. I also had a live drummer on that EP, so just like that, I wasn’t on my own.

Though we went back to programmed drums for Fallen Cathedrals, I really started missing the feel of a live drummer. I connected with Robin Stone after getting really into his band Norse, and their album The Divine Light of a New Sun. Not only was it dissonant black metal unlike anything I’d ever heard, but the drumming was insane! It turned out he was not only an amazing drummer, but a super cool guy, so it became obvious that he’d need to play for us. His work on the Tintregen EP is just a taste of what he’s capable of. Now that I’ve got a better feel for his playing, I can write with it in mind.

The last thing missing was a bassist, so I asked Igor (from my other band, Abhoria) if he’d be down. He accepted, luckily. He plays all sorts of stuff I wouldn’t have considered, and thus adds yet another dimension to our sound.

I will say that I actually love working alone. It’s not that I hate people, but I tend to have a very specific idea in mind when I write, and also like having the freedom to work whenever I want. But I can’t deny how much better the songs sound when these ridiculously talented people get involved!

*Every new album of a band or an artist is the best one, that’s what they always say. So here is a chance to promote the album. Why should a music lover buy your album? What are the standout tracks for you on this new album and why?

Haha, you’re right—bands always say that, even when it’s clearly a lie!

But I honestly do think Fallen Cathedrals (and the follow-up EP, Tintregen) represent the best of Ashen Horde thus far. The songs on these releases embody the vision I had for Ashen Horde from the beginning: a black metal core, but veering into whatever style fits the song. Thus, there are elements of death metal, grindcore, thrash, prog and even traditional heavy metal. It has predominantly harsh vocals, but also clean vocals, further adding to the dynamics and emotional core. There are varying time signatures balanced against brutal blast beats, and dissonant riffs colliding with purely melodic solos. I feel like our music should appeal to fans of all forms of extreme metal, as long as they’re open to variety. Of course, if you’re looking for something that fits well into one genre bucket, this may not be the thing for you!

In terms of favorite songs… it’s hard to choose! I think “Parity Lost,” the opening track on Fallen Cathedrals, pretty much exemplifies what Ashen Horde is. Just about all of the elements mentioned above make appearances in that song. For more brutal black metal, “Roar of the Wyrm” from Tintregen should deliver. “Profound Darkness” is a personal favorite, as I think it’s a great mix of super heaviness but with a lot of prog elements as well. I really work hard to make sure each song has its own personality, so I feel like the best way to truly understand Ashen Horde, it’s best to listen to the entire album… and then the backcatalog!

– See “CD-Review” for a review (written in Dutch) for the new Ashen Horde album ‘Fallen Cathedrals’ (Extreme Metal Music / Rockshots Records) and the ep ‘Tintregen’ (Mandol Records) –

*I don’t know if you will promote this ep through live concerts (when of course everyting is getting back to “normal” after the Covid 19 disaster). If so, would you prefer small clubs or big festivals? And is there a chance we can see ASHEN HORDE in Belgium?

At this point, it’s pretty unlikely we’ll be promoting Tintregen live. COVID-19 aside, we’re currently not a functioning live band. Stevie is on the road with Inferi regularly, Igor runs a successful business, and Robin lives in Australia, so throwing together even a small tour would be quite an undertaking. But we are nearly done with our next album, and if that does well—and we’re able to leave our houses—we may look at doing something next year.

In terms of the kind of show, club gigs are awesome, but I’d love to play a couple festivals. It’s such a great way to get the music out to a ton of people at once, and the energy coming from a crowd like that is unreal. Plus, getting us all together for a couple shows at the European summer festivals, with maybe some small shows in between (in Belgium, of course) would make more sense than trying to arrange a club tour. So hopefully one day that will happen!

Until then, thanks to everyone who has supported us thus far, whether you’ve bought the vinyl or cd, streamed the record, done an interview or written a review. It’s all amazing. Stay safe, stay home, and hopefully we’ll see you out there sooner than later!