Efreeti is a Norwegian group of Extreme Metallers fronted by founding vocalist/guitarist Kristian Wangberg, and the band released the third chapter in their discography this spring with the latest record, Man of Sand. I had the chance to conduct a quick Q&A via email with Kristian, who was kind enough to take the time to give some insight into the band and record:

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“Man of Sand” marks the third full-length from Efreeti – what elements of the band’s sound and style do you feel you’ve kept consistent, and in what senses has it changed or evolved, since “Chapter One”? 

I think the music is pretty similar to what we used to make, although there is definitely an evolution going on. The feel of the songs are pretty similar, at least to me its pretty easy to hear that its Efreeti. The earliest stuff was pretty riff based, but the music is moving towards being theme, or melody based.

All of your records so far have been independent releases, tell us what that looks like for you in terms of recording and producing them?

It just means that we need to pay for everything ourselves and keep anything we make. I would be happy to catch a deal when we first started, but now, I think its better to stay independent.

In terms of recording, most of the music over the records are done in my living room, and drums are done in pro studios, except chapter one which is programmed.

I’d like to ask about the “Man of Sand” album art. It looks like something I’ll take the liberty of assuming is an Efreet emerging from a bottle, and there’s an overall sense of ancient themes right down to having a song titled “100BC”, how does it all tie in to the music/lyrical content for this album?

Yes, that is indeed the Efreet! Many of our songs are fictional stories based on this mythology. We take one event that happened, and we sprinkle a little demon dust on it. We have quite a few songs describing fictional events in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, and the Saffarid Dynasty. I don’t know much of actual events there, but some basic knowledge.

I notice a similarity between the artwork on your previous albums and this one, have you always had the same artist?

All art for Efreeti has been done by Mckinley Illustration.

You’re often referred to as Extreme Metal, so would you define Efreeti as not quite fitting the mold of “Black Metal” or “Death Metal”, etc., but having elements of multiple genres?

I think you answered it yourself. There are lots of different styles involved. I think extreme metal is a nice broad term that loosely defines us as heavier than the Beatles.

Talk to me about the Efreet and what it meant to you in naming the band originally. 

In the beginning, we went through a few names until one stuck. Efreet came up because we were all fans of Heroes of Might and Magic, and the lore behind it turned out to be really cool. So I still use the name and lore today, but the songs are not really strictly about demons anymore.

Many Metalheads tend to think of Norway practically as a source for Black Metal at this point, with many successful bands of the genre coming from there – do you feel a connection to that side of the metal scene, or more like you’re doing your own thing that’s a bit different? 

I personally don’t have strong connections with any of the metal scenes here, so totally doing my own thing! I do respect many local guys here, but its not like I try to sound like anyone. Most my music buddies are people I meet online!

Tell me about the story behind the video “Its Inner Pain” – both the meaning of it, and a little behind-the-scenes on shooting it. You’ve said you brought back a character from a previous album, and I wonder what made you tie that character into this song in particular?

The video vaguely describes what I imagine in my head when I hear the song. Its mother earth setting free a demon out of pity, and later getting tricked into death. The song itself is about meeting a demon, and the emotional and physical scar it will leave on you.

The video shoot was 3 cold days of our actress walking bare-feet in the forest!

It was a very simple production, but I think the result turned out alright! I will probably continue to tie in mother of all as long as I write music. Its a great way to describe a well meaning person, a fierce warrior, an abused victim etc. It makes as much sense as any other character.

What can we expect next from Efreeti?

We are currently planning a few live-shows, but nothing official yet. Later this year, I hope to release some more music, and hopefully some fun stuff while you wait! Thanks for this interview!

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Man of Sand is available now via the Efreeti Bandcamp Page and iTunes (affiliate link). Keep up with the band here.