A day with Tristania – Part III: The Interview

By Michael Brookhuis
While I was following the band, we figured, why not talk a bit about the tour. Thus a small interview took place in which clean vocalist Kjetil Nordhus answered a few of my questions and we discussed the touring life.

Michael: What can you tell me about the tour so far?
Kjetil: The tour is going great. This is our fourth show. We demand dressing rooms with the appropriate number (while pointing at the sign that says: “Dressing room 4”). But all kidding aside, Tristania in 2013 has a lot of old and a lot of new fans. So going on a tour with Dark Tranquillity fits us at this moment in time.

Michael: It seemed to me that “Darkest White” is a bit heavier than “Rubicon”.
Kjetil: We have heard that quite a lot actually. Some even say that Tristania has gone back to their old sound. Fact remains that the band is different than in 1999. But we have gotten a lot of positive feedback. I must say that it is hard to fill a short set when we gave seven albums to choose songs from. That is why we change some songs at every performance.

Michael: You are touring with Dark Tranquillity, who is the headline act. What is that like and how did this cooperation come to take place?
Kjetil: We have gotten an offer from Dark Tranquillity to go on a tour with them. We are both looking to expand our fan base of course, since each of us normally attracts a different type of audience. This way Tristania fans can learn to appreciate Dark Tranquillity, and the same goes for Dark Tranquillity fans who start liking Tristania. For us this has been a really relaxing experience. Since we are not the headlining act, we do not have to arrange that much.

Michael: It also seems as if more and more bands are playing less shows in The Netherlands, just as you are playing in two venues, relatively close to each other. Do you have any idea why this is?
Kjetil: I think there are multiple reasons. For us as Tristania, we have had a couple of headlining tours, with mixed successes. Times are hard for everyone. Not only that, but as we are a Norwegian band, in our opinion it would not be a long drive for anyone in The Netherlands to a show. In Norway, it often happens that you would have to drive somewhere around six hours to attend a show. But we can also see your point in this and we would like to have more shows in The Netherlands as well. Maybe next time when and if we are headlining.

Michael: Are there any plans for a tour like that? Dark Tranquillity is touring the world, so will you be there for the whole tour?
Kjetil: There are some plans in the making, but I cannot say too much about that right now. We will tour with Dark Tranquillity until the end of December. What happens after that, we will let everybody know soon.

So far for my short interview. Make sure to read part I and part II of this report as well, only here on Metal-Exposure!

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