Forged in the icy heart of Bergen’s metal scene, Sworn has carved out a distinct identity in the world of melodic black metal. Blending atmospheric soundscapes with aggressive intensity, the Norwegian band has spent the past two decades evolving a sound that is both hauntingly beautiful and ferociously powerful. Sworn stands as a testament to the enduring vitality of Scandinavia’s extreme metal legacy. As Sworn continues to push boundaries with each release and invites listeners into a realm where melody meets raw sonic force.
Sworn’s excellent 2023 release A Journey Told Through Fire is a testament to the enduring longevity of melodic black metal, and fits right alongside the likes of bands like Suhnopfer and Aorlhac for helping to keep the flame of melodic black metal alight in the wake of Dissection.
Sworn’s releases are always a mix of energetic fury and melodic beauty. Blending the chaotic and harsh sounds of black metal with melodic passages to create an atmospheric experience that takes the listener on a journey to hellforged landscape alongside moments of celestial transcendence.
Today we speak with Chris to talk about the band’s origins, the deeper meanings, and what the future holds for some of Norway’s finest.
Appreciate your time today, guys!
Not a problem, thanks for having us!
I always like to begin with, in your own words, what is Sworn, and what caused the project’s creation back in 2005?
Sworn is a melodic black metal band from Bergen, Norway. It started in 2005 as a solo project by myself – basically just a very inspired teenager with a drive to create music. Like many bands are created I guess. After the first demo, my longtime friend Tom Ian joined on drums. We grew up together and had always been in each other’s orbit musically. He was in another band at the time and ended up bringing a couple of his bandmates into the fold as well. By 2006, Sworn had become a full band, and we started playing live shows.
As veterans of the scene, I’m always curious to ask, from your perspective, what has changed in the extreme metal scene over that time since your formation?
The biggest change since we started is, unsurprisingly, the shift from physical formats to streaming. When we released our early albums, we still got a taste of what it was like to put out a CD and go through that whole physical process – distribution, press, promos, reviews, etc. That era didn’t last long before streaming took over, changing how music is consumed and how bands operate.
Social media has also completely reshaped the music scene. Back then, exposure in magazines was important and Myspace was the hub for bands – then came Facebook, and now it’s all about Instagram and TikTok. We’re aware of the importance of these platforms and how they can help bands reach new listeners. But we’re not content creators chasing likes or tailoring our music to fit trends. We’re a black metal band, and our main focus has always been the music itself. We use social media as a tool to keep our followers updated, of course, but that’s it.
That said, one thing I think is cool – and kind of unique – is that metal, and especially black metal, has done a great job of staying authentic despite all these changes. People still buy merch and physical releases, and the underground spirit is very much alive. There aren’t many TikTok black metal bands out there… and honestly, I hope it stays that way, haha.
As a band that has had subtle changes to their sound over time, I was curious, what does the composition process look like for you guys? Is there a main songwriter, or is it more of a group collaboration?
We don’t really jam out songs in the traditional sense – our music is very atmosphere-driven, and that kind of material doesn’t usually come together through improvisation. On top of that, we don’t all live in the same city anymore, so writing in a room together just isn’t part of our process. I’ve been the main songwriter since the band formed, but it’s not a fixed thing – for example, our drummer Tom wrote most of the second album during a period where I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired.
When it comes to lyrics, it’s a collaborative effort. Several of us contribute, both in terms of the actual writing and shaping the themes and concepts. It’s something we build together, and we try to make sure the lyrical and musical sides connect naturally.
To answer how the composition process looks, for myself – it usually starts with a cool riff or some other strong idea. After writing music for many years, I’ve built up what I think of as a ‘bank’ of ideas – a personal vault where I store anything promising that might eventually turn into a full song. So if I come up with something I like but can’t immediately develop it, I’ll dig through that bank to see if there’s anything that fits. And if not, the idea just gets saved for later. Once I find a combination that clicks, the rest usually comes together – just needing some final touches like a solo, a synth layer, or a good vocal arrangement. There are many ways to write music, but this is the process that’s worked best for me. That said, it can definitely be frustrating when you have a really cool minute of music that never seems to connect with anything else. I’ve got a few of those – and some of them have been sitting in the vault for years, or even decades at this point. One day… one day.
Following on from that, I’m always curious what equipment people use to make their sounds? And, is there any equipment you’d like to add to your arsenal moving forward?
I can speak for the guitars and synths. Both Gøran and I play ESP guitars, but I’ve swapped the pickups in mine for Seymour Duncan Pegasus models – which, funnily enough, are designed more for progressive metal. I chose them because they offer better clarity when playing chords and dense arrangements with a lot of strings ringing out at once, which I do quite a bit. With high gain, that kind of playing can get muddy fast if the signal is too hot, so the Pegasus pickups help keep everything tight and defined.
We used to play through ENGL amps, but in recent years we’ve both switched to Kempers for live use. They’re incredibly convenient when traveling, and they sound awesome. Plus, having all your effects and settings in one unit just simplifies everything on stage, and you get the same sound every night, no matter where you are. For studio work, though, we’ve taken a different approach – on the last two albums, we recorded clean DI tracks for both guitars and bass, which were then reamped in the studio. It gives us more flexibility in the mix.
As for the synth elements, that part is usually about experimenting in the studio – browsing through sounds, layering, and just enjoying the process. You always stumble across something interesting that way. I’ve been getting more and more into synthesizers lately – enough that I actually started a side project focused entirely on synth-based music. Whether that growing interest will spill over into Sworn… I guess we’ll just have to see, hehe.
In my opinion, Sworn has one of the more memorable logos in black metal. I’ve been wondering, who created this for you back in 2005?
Her name is Kamilla Paulsen and she also did the artwork for the demo Night Supremacy back in 2005.
On that note, for a band that has a two decade long career together there have been very few line-up changes – in fact, none since 2010? I was curious, is there anything that you credit as the secret to success in this regard? What keeps you guys together, focused, and successfully driving forward with your mission?
That’s a good question – and honestly, I’m not sure there’s a magic formula. I usually joke that we’ve managed to avoid drama queens and primadonnas, and while there’s a bit of truth in that, the real reason is probably simpler: we’re just four down-to-earth guys who want what’s best for the band. We’ve been good friends outside of the band for a long time, and that helps too. Of course, we’ve had some disagreements over the years, like everyone else, but we’ve always dealt with them like adults. We all understand that you can’t please everyone all the time, and sometimes compromises have to be made. I think the key is just mutual respect and keeping the bigger picture in focus.
I’ve noticed that both Dark Stars and Eternity and A Journey Told Through Fire were released independently? With thousands of monthly listeners, this is clearly a personal choice (as reflected in the fact you’ve not signed with another label since Twilight in the late 00’s), but I was curious if there were any reasons why? Do you feel labels no longer provide enough benefit in this day and age? (I cannot imagine it’s a lack of interest on the label’s part haha.)
Yeah, I think you more or less nailed it. These days, you really have to weigh the benefits of working with a label against the freedom and control of doing it all yourself. Bands just aren’t as dependent on labels anymore. Back in the day, the label was the gatekeeper – the filter between artists and the world. If you didn’t have a deal, it was almost impossible to get your music out there.
Now, that filter is gone. Anyone can release their music to Spotify and other platforms, and if your music is strong, the algorithms can help it spread organically – which is probably the best kind of promotion you can get. That said, labels can still play a valuable role, especially when it comes to things like playlist placement, physical formats, and logistics. If you’re just starting out, having a label behind you might open some doors.
We haven’t sworn off working with a label at all – in fact, when it comes to physical releases like vinyl and CDs, we’d probably prefer to have one. Managing production, distribution, marketing, and sales – not to mention the accounting and taxes – can get pretty tedious. I didn’t learn the guitar and music production just to sit at my computer pretending to be an accountant. At a certain point, you just want to focus on the creative side. But it is a good thing though, because it just means people like what we do and support us in buying our stuff, which we of course are very grateful for. We’ll see what the future brings regarding labels.
We like the occult, the esoteric, and the obscure over here at Mithraic Magazine. With that in mind, is there any literature you would recommend to your listeners to get to understand any of the band’s deeper meanings or hidden philosophies? The lyrics on A Journey Told Through Fire are particularly interesting, where did the theme of fire come from? (As a zine called Mithraic Magazine, we’re also fans of fire! Though, I suspect our interests in this may come from different sources.)
I totally respect that, but this might be a bit of a disappointing answer because I’m not really into that stuff myself – whether it’s occult themes or literature in general. For me, it’s always been all about the music.
That said, we’re all into good stories and share somewhat similar tastes in movies, music, and games, so storytelling in music is definitely important to us. It really helps reinforce the atmosphere, which is a big part of what we’re about. We put a lot of work into that aspect on A Journey Told Through Fire and are continuing in that direction with our upcoming album.
The fire theme actually started simply with the album title. When I came up with that, I immediately felt it could be a strong foundation for the whole record and we had a discussion about it. From there, we worked on writing lyrics and crafting everything to fit both thematically and musically. Beyond that, we like to leave it open to the listener to interpret and find their own meaning.
Following from that, in general what’s one of life’s mysteries that leaves you endlessly fascinated?
I’ve always been fascinated by science, space, and the universe. The mysteries of the cosmos and everything we’ve yet to explore really captivate me. Where did it all come from? What is dark matter? Why is dark energy acting the way it does? What actually happens inside a black hole? What is outside the observable universe? But at the same time, I sometimes fear that – just like a creature living at the bottom of the ocean has no concept of what the world looks like above, or that it even exists – we might not be equipped to truly comprehend what’s going on beyond our own world. Maybe we’re simply not designed to understand it all. The lyrics to the track “The Forsaken” from our last album is actually inspired by all these questions
Norway is obviously the home of black metal, but it’s also the home of the best black metal bands you’ve never heard of because there’s just that much choice available. So, as veterans of the Norwegian scene, it feels like you would be excellent people to ask this question – who are some of the smaller, lesser known Norwegian bands who deserve some recognition for their contributions to the art? Continuing from that, are there any lesser known bands outside of Norway that you’re particularly a fan of?
When you say you feel we’d be excellent people to ask this question, I feel somewhat guilty – I’m definitely not great at keeping up with what’s going on in the scene. I don’t listen to black metal as much as I used to, even though I still love writing it. So when I do put some on, it’s usually the good old ones, hehe. And honestly, I think black metal from other countries is just as good – there’s no “Norwegian elite” in my ears. We have great bands here, but so do many other countries.
The latest album in the genre that really impressed me was Noktvrn by Der Weg einer Freiheit. A perfect blend of emotion and aggression, with excellent production.
I can mention a few good bands that are friends of ours, though. Gøran and Tom from Sworn are also involved in a progressive death metal band called Morgrim, which has some great stuff in the works and will be releasing their debut album in the not-too-distant future. Tom also plays drums in progressive rock band Dim Gray, very atmospheric. Two of our past bassists have gone on to do cool things as well – Leif, from our early days, plays in Bismarck, probably the heaviest band you’ll hear. And Tor Erik, who joined us later, has become a rock star with his stoner band Slomosa, which is doing really well. It’s awesome to see. If you’re into retro synth music, you can also check out my side project Voidforce. And I have to mention Hovmod, a black metal band by our friend (and longtime Sworn supporter) Jørn, who released a very kick-ass album a few years back. Fun fact – as far as I know, he’s the only person in the world with a Sworn tattoo, hehe.
Couldn’t leave today without asking what does the rest of 2025 look like for Sworn? Any plans, gigs, etc, in the works?
Yep! We’ve got two shows coming up in September – one here in Norway at an event called Black & Heavy Nights, and another at Metal Embrace Festival in Germany. Outside of that, we’ll be focusing on finishing up production on our upcoming album. So yeah, there’s a lot happening right now.
Thanks again for your time today, is there anything you’d like to say before we end today?
Thanks for the interview, and for taking the time to write about us. If you haven’t checked us out yet, now’s a good time – and keep an eye out for updates on our new album. It’s shaping up to be a banger. For the shows this fall, we’ll be playing A Journey Told Through Fire in its entirety, start to finish. That’s something special we’ve never done before, and we think fans will really appreciate it. So if you get the chance to come see us live, don’t miss it. Cheers!
BOSTKTB
HTBLOF,
D
If you missed 2023’s A Journey Told Through Fire, or even 2018’s Dark Stars and Eternity, you need to stop what you’re doing and fix this immediately. This is double-fold if you’re a fan of melodic black metal, and triple fold if you’re a fan of modern black metal projects like Suhnopfer, Véhémence, Aorlhac, and the likes!
As with Sworn one thing is clear – their dedication to the craft, atmosphere, and authenticity remains as unshakable as the Norwegian landscape that inspires them. In an ever-changing metal scene, Sworn continues to evolve without compromise – staying true to their roots while embracing the creative unknown and releasing stellar release upon stellar release. Whether you’re a long-time follower or a newcomer drawn to their bleak yet beautiful sound, Sworn’s music offers a journey worth taking. A journey into the fiery abyss, through the firmament, and into the void where meaning often hides behind esotericism.
Links:
Mithraic Magazine 
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