“We simply call our music ‘modern classic rock’…I think that would describe our music the best, at least with this new record!” Audrey Horne guitarist Ice Dale (a.k.a. Arve Isdal) is thoroughly proud of his Norwegian quartet’s self-titled third album, and rightfully so: very few acts—from Norway or anywhere else—capture a sound so elegantly and enigmatically unique as The Horne.
From Day One, Audrey Horne has established a unique niche amidst a sea of plagiarists; a band which is actually original—a breath of fresh air, and a well-kept secret. “On our first two records we were very inspired by the early 90s sound of bands like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Faith No More, but also newer bands like A Perfect Circle and Tool. This time around, we wanted to tone down that a bit and look more back to our roots, so now it’s a more 70s and 80s inspired sound. When I discussed the record with our producer Joe Barresi and he asked me how I wanted the album to sound, I said that we wanted the atmosphere from the 70s, but with a modern approach and sound. So we did the album a lot more like they recorded albums back in the day: fast, with everything played and sang differently on each chorus, for example. A lot of bands these days just spend a lot of time getting one verse and one chorus perfect, and then using cut-and-paste to flip things around. To me, a lot of those records sound flat and boring. There are no mistakes and it all sounds so perfect that you might as well program everything on computers. Of course there are exceptions, but a lot of albums nowadays sound the same to me production-wise.”
If there’s anything you can’t say about Audrey Horne, it’s that they’ve repeated themselves on any of their three studio efforts. While 2005’s No Hay Banda was a grim, neo-grunge affair, 2007’s masterful Le Fol was a deep ‘n diverse collection of the moodiest of metals, cooler than the other side of the pillow. In comparison, Audrey Horne is indeed a more laid back affair; a portrait of the band as their most playful, even containing an honest-to-goodness ballad in the form of the suitably “Sail Away.”
“Audrey Horne is bringing back the good old spirit of the great big ballads!” Isdal enthuses, grinning ear-to-ear. “Indeed, ‘Sail Away’ is like our big power ballad. In the 70s and 80s, all the great rock ‘n roll bands had these big ballads, so we felt we needed one of our own, as well. I think of it as our ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith—which is one of the greatest ballads of all time—although another more forgotten great ballad is ‘Tonight You Belong to Me’ from Paul Stanley`s first solo album!”
Paul Stanley. Oh yes, folks…we went there, alright. Though Ice Dale slings the strings in a number a grim ‘n true bands—from Enslaved and Abbath’s I project, to Trinacria and Ov Hell—the man’s got a sense of humor a mile wide, and it shows. When it comes to his love for Audrey Horne, his Twin Peaks-inspired creation...well, the man is all business.
“No Hay Banda was written as a six piece band,” reflects the guitarist. “We did a lot of compromising musically, ‘cause at that time we were six people with different musical backgrounds and strong personalities. King [Ov Hell, a.k.a. Tom Cato Visnesv, ex-Gorgoroth bassist] and I wrote most of the music, but we had this democracy within the band so everybody commented on every idea brought to life. We argued a lot, and even though we’re very proud of the album, it was a painful experience.”
He continues, “On Le Fol, I wrote most of the music together with our singer, Toshie. During the writing, two members quit the band and we lost our record deal. It was a hard time for the band, and the four of us left had to decide if this was something we wanted to do or if we should break up the band. Breaking up was never really a possibility, so we decided to go straight in my studio to record the songs we had at that point. We then sent the album to Indie Recordings and they loved it, so we got a new deal straight away.”
As Ice Dale further reveals, there was also a number of differences between the production of Audrey Horne versus the two which came before it, coinciding with the band’s new-found 70s rock fetish.
“The thing we did differently this time around was that we focused more on making an album as a whole. These days, many bands put their best songs in the beginning of the record, because people often listen to two or three songs before they make up their minds on whether or not to purchase. Then there’s also the fact that there tend to be a lot of filler songs at the end of most records these days. It’s not like the first songs on our album suck, but I think there is a really good flow and balance on the album, and it never gets boring. We want the listener to play it again when the last song ends. A lot of the feedback we have gotten so far points out that fact, so I hope and think we have succeeded in what we tried to accomplish. They also say that the album is a grower, and the fourth or fifth time you listen to it, it hits you harder. To me, that’s always a good sign, and those albums usually last longer in people’s minds.”
He adds, “Another thing we talked about was getting the keyboard and bass more present within the songs. The use of those instruments on the first few albums were fixated more towards backing up the guitar riffs. On the new record, there are keyboard leads and keyboard parts which stand out on their own. Also, the bass gives the music more color on this album, since we actually have a bass player and not me playing both on record. Other than that, I think the main difference is again how we looked backwards in time towards the 70s and 80s, compared to the early 90s sound we had on the earlier albums. All in all, it’s a more organic and honest album, I feel! It’s definitely our best album so far, and—with the more classic rock inspiration here—it felt like a homecoming for all of us. We're indeed very satisfied and convinced that this is the best album we could possibly make at this time. I hope all our fans will like it and that the people who have been skeptical of Audrey Horne before will check it out ‘cause it’s AWESOME!”
