2007 was a landmark year for metal in Denmark. In February, Volbeat’s second album, ‘Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil’, went number one on the domestic chart, an unprecedented achievement for a Danish metal album. The album went platinum and is today still in Top 20 of the official album chart, so heavy rock has clearly battered its way into the consciousness of the Danish public.

But this isn’t some fairytale overnight mega-success story. On the contrary, home-grown metal bands have been making an impact for several years – especially outside of Denmark, where the kings of Danish dynamite have been rewarded with impressive recording contracts.

Below, we focus on three bands who have the potential to achieve the same kind of massive success as Volbeat by dint of hard work and even harder sounds.

MNEMIC - Stars & Stripes & cybermetal
It’s impossible to avoid mentioning Mnemic when you talk about the growth of Danish metal. The quintet were one of the first to a sign a major international recording contract, and their 2003 debut ‘Mechanical Spin Phenomena’ showcased their ultra-modern, ambitious and world-class sound. The album even sneaked its way into the Danish top 100.

“After that, everything started to get bigger and bigger. It moved at a furious pace,” recalls guitarist Mircea Eftemie. In just four years, the cyber-metal outfit went from being young upstarts to being some of Danish metal’s keenest globetrotters. They now even have a French singer and have spent the last couple of years on the American highways.

“We’ve been offered bigger and better tours in the States. Our music really seems to go down well over there. European bands often do well in the USA, and vice-versa.”

Mnemic spend so much time in the States that Mircea has been living in Los Angeles for most of the last year. He still yearns for the familiar extremities of lil’ ol’ Denmark though, and is still one of the bookers for the Aalborg Metal Festival. The role keeps him close the Danish underground, and he has no doubt why Denmark has suddenly started to bulk up in the heavy department.

“The musicians have always been there, but the technology has moved on. Everybody can now record at home on their computer, and it’s easier to forge contacts with people. I also think that we’ve gotten our act together a bit more.”

He’s clearly not the only one who thinks so. One of Mircea’s proudest moments was when the group met Metallica’s James Hetfield when Mnemic warmed up for the legends in the summer. “He said he was a big fan and thought our album kicked ass. That really did it for me!”

MERCENARY - Metal über alles
This year Mercenary released their fifth album, ‘Architect Of Lies’, set to follow 2006 break-through fourth album ‘The Hours That Remain’. Critics and fans loved it and ‘The Hours…’ earned Mercenary a Danish Metal Award for Best Album of the Year. Also outside Denmark their progressive monster metal has been bombarded with praise – particularly in Germany, where the cry is “Mercenary über alles” for tens of thousands of fans.

“We’ve concentrated on the overseas market for the past few years, because there are far more people who listen to this sort of music and the media are far more receptive and open. In Denmark it’s been a bit of a no-no and considered lowbrow to play heavy music. Luckily, things are changing,” says guitarist Jakob Mølbjerg.

And Mølbjerg is generally enthusiastic about the situation in Denmark at the moment. A lot has changed since the 1990s, when the scene was overpopulated with anonymous death-metal bands.

“OK, so maybe none of the new bands have reinvented the wheel, but they still dare to believe in their own sound. By combining metal with elements from the pop and rock world, it becomes more accessible and less traditional. And I don’t think that our own sound is reminiscent of any other specific bands.”

THE PSYKE PROJECT – The Boy-band from Hell (Photo)
When did you last hear of a singer in a metal band who was working on a biology paper about osmotic pressure? Well, this is precisely what The Psyke Project’s frontman, Martin Nielskov, is working away on. Like several other members of the Copenhagen quintet, Nielskov is still studying at university.

“This is high-level intellectual metal,” he says, with a smile on his lips that suggests he possibly shouldn’t be taken too seriously. “But there is also a bit of party involved, so it isn’t just for the nerds.”

The Psyke Project stand out a mile from more or less all other Danish metal bands, because their music is based on an interplay between powerful noise and atmospheric passages. Martin reveals that the heavily atmospheric, dark sound of Neurosis is one of their biggest sources of inspiration.

“We’d like to make music that’s wild and brutal, but with a tablespoonful of something sad and beautiful,” says Nielskov. It’s an apposite description of their music, which over the course of three records has developed towards a more and more personal idiom.

With the closure of their previous record company, The Psyke Project are now trying to find a new home, which shouldn’t be a big problem considering how their following has grown and grown. The band are also warmly welcomed south of the Danish border. Not bad for four guys who like to call themselves “The Boy-band from Hell”.

“We were getting pictures taken and our drummer said we looked like a boy-band with our short hair, nice clothes and shirts. We’re a bunch of nice guys who just like playing metal.”

THREE MILESTONES IN DANISH METAL:

Mercyful Fate: Don’t Break The Oath (1984)
King Diamond’s mob are the most influential Danish metal band ever. This epic milestone has inspired bands from Metallica to Slayer.

Artillery: By Inheritance (1991)
The ambitious standout work by a quintet considered by many to be one of the leading European thrash bands of all time.

Invocator: Weave The Apocalypse (1994)
Virtuoso metal of the finest kind. Band leader Jacob Hansen has, along with Tue Madsen, become Denmark’s leading metal producers.

Brought to you in collaboration with:
Boom Boom Magazine – The Sounds & Visions of Denmark