Skyforger band is important because they are one of the most influential folk metal bands in…Scandinavia and Baltic States…even around the world, blending traditional Latvian folk music with heavy metal to create a unique sound. They have gained a strong following for their powerful live performances and their ability to bring attention to Latvian culture and history through their music. They often incorporate traditional Latvian instruments such as the kokle and other ethnic instruments, giving it a uniquely Baltic sound.
Read the second part of the interview below with Pēteris Kvetkovskis.
A lot has influenced us from the beginning, we have not only listened to metal music but varied other music. Every member listened to different music and this has influenced us independently. This did include Latvian musicians too.
In the 80s in Latvia, popular music scene was highly developed. Many bands were established which followed the trends and tendencies, and sang in Latvian language. They began to play heavy rock and metal even. There were bands like Līvi, Opus Pro and Jumprava. I think, the music from this era has influenced us. I can’t say we were fans of these bands as being part of the youth, we of course were into bands from abroad. The biggest influence was from English, German and American bands…from AC/DC, Judas Priest, Metallica, Slayer and so on. The inspiration we got from these bands was the rebellion of the youth against the ‘stale’ society against the Soviet ‘machine’. The rebellious spirit was what we liked, the harshness of heavy metal…lyrics. We liked all of it and it left an impression on us.
Rock music started in Latvia in the 1980s, alongside the stagnating and suffocating ‘Soviet machine’, when finally people could start to express themselves. You could listen to bands from abroad, see a little bit of something foreign. The big influence from this could be seen by the cover bands, imitators of pop music from abroad. In the 1990s, heavy metal bands emerged underground and the scene was honestly, very developed. There were many bands and it happened as in a parallel universe, in another separate world…away in the basements, underground…and the State was not interested in it. Not interested in what the bands do or sing about. The only thing that happened was sometimes at a gig, concert…militsiya….or police ( whatever was at that time) arrived and chased away the crowd- if it was too crazy, too loud…or if the people were too drunk. But it was caused because of that nature, all the chasing wasn’t that political.
During those times, there were problems with instruments. There were more technical problems at that time. People at that time were very enthusiastic. All this music was created for enthusiasm. There were shitty guitars, but it wasn’t a big deal.
I really like that enthusiasm. The music that this enthusiasts made, it was all truly honest. Now the times have changed, I don't see such enthusiasm. Back in those days, the bands did not receive any money for the performances. You had to invest your own money to be able to play and attend a concert. I have noticed that today, you can listen to it all, see it, learn it on YouTube, create a band and instantly people want to know how much you will get paid for it. Be a musicians to purely receive money, without investing any emotional depth and creativity into your work. Everyone wants to take money for everything. Take a lot of money for everything. But I look at it from the point of view of the 90s, that this amount is inadequate, that the work is not so hard and difficult to pay the most enormous amount for it.
Talking about heavy music, it is commercialized. Projects are created, specifically, to play at big festivals, where the main idea is to earn money, to attract the audience. They are already created as commercial band. In contrast to the times of my youth, when everything was played and made by enthusiasts, today people do it with [money] calculation in mind. I don't like that approach.
I listen to new music, but it is very difficult to find something that I like. From 100 bands, maybe I will find only one that I like. There is a lot of repetition, imitation, new ideas are almost zero. If during my youth, music and genres changed, and developed rapidly, from hard rock to heavy…music became more aggressive, from trash, death, grind, doom to black….these style always showed new ideas. It grew and grew to the point that you can't take in one thing, when already the next one emerged. So, in my opinion, all of it has kind of stopped ages ago. Everything now is somehow called new, but it is the same old ideas, called by other new names.
Possibly, this music is exhausted…burned-out itself. This degradation will continue possibly for a while, maintain a pause…until some genius will think of something new.
Of course, I may be old-fashioned, but I don't see this kind of enthusiasm, which was in my youth. Of course, these were the first time of freedom, when everything opened up, when you saw what you couldn't see, when it was finally accepted, and it gave a massive push.
Maybe all this rock music has already started to settle down, and this genre has started to only survive now. Maybe that's why we don't have this kind of enthusiasm. Maybe, on the contrary, young people can be seen that they would want to go back to those 80s, and to the 90s, to the time of those bands.
This differences between Latvia and Lithuania in the past was much bigger in the 90s. I am talking more about my music genre, about folk pagan metal, which in Lithuania at that time was a very developed. There were many groups, but it was all, as I call it, Lithuanian style. It was very unique, and they were different to everyone else. This music that it created was unique, but somehow it all ended and stopped for them. Finnish music, heavy music, is recognizable, but at the same time, there are a lot of groups that try to play various styles with various influences. You can never say that only this kind of music is played exclusively in Finland, or Lithuania, or Estonia, or Latvia. Not a single Latvian group does what we do, no one imitates us. In contrary, like it is recognized in many other countries, for example, in America, where one group becomes popular and thousands follow it…try to the the same thing. Not in Latvia, not in Lithuania, not in Estonia, not in Finland- it is not like that. Finland is a bit more different, Finland is, as far as I know, very developed. In schools they learn and popularise rock music. Unfortunately, Soviet heritage still drags in with us [Latvia], where heavy rock music was considered white noise, something bad, forbidden and not taken seriously. Not recognised to be part of cultural elements of the nation.
I can’t say that people from South or North America would be interested in our music. There is a part who liked it. Why do they like it? Because, I think that the Baltic States are still very unknown. Everything about them is vague and ‘fogbound’. Plus, we we sing about the Latvian and Baltic history which many people in the world don’t know about. With that, we may also differ from other groups. In a sense, you can only attract interest by making something of your own…unique.
In Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia there are a lot of groups that copy their American or English idols. They look and sound the same, and not one of these groups has great interest because they are specifically from the Baltic States. The fact that you are from the Baltic States does not play a big role here. The most important thing is how original your ideas are, your music, that is what can attract people. If you are from a small country, you do not have much opportunity to spread your music around the world and spread your word on YouTube. You cannot get as many likes on your YouTube videos, as people who come from big countries like America and Germany can.
I do not see any difference between people who come to concerts in America, Europe, Latvia or anywhere else. They all are united by heavy music and subcultures have their own unwritten rules that unite people. It does not matter what country you come from, what ethnicity, race or what language you speak…What unites all those people is music.
As you can see, we also sing in Latvian. If back in the time…the 80s, there was a need and request to sing in English or your path outside your border would be closed…Today that ideas is over, especially, in metal music. If you sing in English, people don’t always understand what you sing, because of specific way and manners of singing. On the internet today, if you are interested in what the lyrics are about, you can read/translate it all. It is possible that this factor also creates a specific identity for the bands, which audiences are interested in.
For example, there was a time when there was a misunderstanding when we released Kurbads (2010) album and somehow people thought the whole album would be in English. You could see that people were judgemental and critical of this thought, they were questioning… as we sing Latvian all the time…and out of nowhere again - English? Which was not the case.
Thank you for reading…In case you missed Part I:
It doesn't matter what country your from, what ethnicity, race or what language you speak…What unites people is music. Pt.II