Sevenstring.org Interview: Nils Norberg of Nocturnal Rites

Eaeolian: I know you just did the Chicago Powerfest in May. Any chance of Nocturnal Rites coming over to the U.S. for a tour?
Nils Norberg: Nothing is impossible, and we have contacts with a lot of people over there that want to have us over so it looks promising.

E: Is there a new CD in the works?
NN: Yes, we are working with new stuff all the time and we already have a couple of songs, but I don't know when a new CD will be out. I think the new ides really kick ass - I think it's kind of in the same direction as Grand Illusion but still fresh and special.

E: Your style is a nice combination of "shredding" and smooth melodicism, and your left hand technique (from watching you in Chicago) is kind of interesting, in the way you switch from three-finger to four-finger playing. Are you self taught?
NN: I'm basically self taught. I started playing at the age of 10, and back then I had no help other than from my mother who helped me figure out old Metallica songs. So I struggled on my own for many years then when I was about 18 I went to music school for a couple of years. I mostly studied arranging of classical music and Jazz. I did have guitar too with a teacher at that time but we played very different stuff - Pat Metheny, Bebop and so on.

E: Was there an especially influential teacher or band mate that helped you get where you are as a player?
NN: I get influenced by almost every musician I meet, I suck up the stuff that I like in every player that I see. And I'm open to every kind of music style and instrument.

E: Do you have a particular practice routine that you use?
NN: No not so much any more. I practice a few hours a day, but now I focus more on getting the right "mood" on the guitar playing and contributing to the music more than just technique. Having good technique is just a tool (for me anyway) to make good musi - some people forget that.

E: You list some pretty interesting influences on your website (Olec Balta, Allan Holdsworth, Laleh, Chick Corea, Michael Lee Firkins, Björk, Pantera, Rob Zombie, Coltrane, Miles) - is there anyone you'd say is a major influence? Someone that definitely changed your approach to playing after hearing them?
NN: Hmm. I say Allan really blew me away the first time I tried to play his stuff, I stopped playing for 6 months [laughs]. Also Chick Corea is like a hero for me. But I'm an all-eater when it comes to music, I listen to every genre there is.

E: How did you get into playing 7 strings?
NN: Fredrik (the other guitarist) has played sevenstrings for 12 years and I got into them when I saw that I was limited compared to him when it came to making riffs. When I switched to sevenstrings, we kind of automatically shifted into a bit heavier sound. It was after that we made the album "Afterlife", which had a more darker sound than the previous records.

E: It looks to me like you had an Ibanez (7620?) before you got the Caparison 7 string - is that right? (We tend to be gear heads around sevenstring.org.)
NN: Haha, yes I had a 7620. It's an ok guitar! I did a few tours with that and it worked fine and stood the beatings - and getting drowned in beer now and then.

E: How did you get hooked up with the Caparison deal? Is that the first 7 string they built?
NN: I tested Mattias "IA" Eklunds guitar one night when I met him once way back, and he gave me an email address to Caparison. They've been really nice to me all along. They made their first sevenstring especially for me after I gave them my specs. I'm really happy with them so far. We tried a few different pickups and some stuff on the neck but now its great!

E: I also noticed you make - and use - a lot of your own gear. How did you get into that?
NN: I've always been that way, I didn't get money from my parents to buy gear so I made my own stuff. I studied electronics in school so I know a little bit about what I'm doing. It's also fun to make gear that no one else has.

E: Was your home made amp modeled on any particular kind of amp (Marshall, Mesa, etc.)?
NN: It has four channels so the 2 lead channels are kind of a mix between an Engl Savage and a Mesa Mark4, but with a lot of mid shine. The two clean channels were from a fender Twin Deluxe I think, with a Marshall 800 2203 power amp with 6L6GC tubes.

E: You use an Engl SE, as well. Do you use both amps together, or for specific things? (One for solos, something like that.)
NN: Live I use the Engl for everything, leads, rhythm and clean. Sometimes I only use a V-amp into a power amp if the venue can't get an Engl SE or if I don't want to take the amp on a flight. My home built amp I only use for studio.

E: What are the extra controls on the Caparison and your other 7 string for?
NN: Its a "whammy button". I made it myself and its like a Digitech whammy pedal but on the guitar.

E: You joined Nocturnal Rites for the "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" album. The band's undergone some pretty major changes since then. How did the fans of the earlier stuff react to the change in style and sound on the "Afterlife" album?
NN: Some liked it, some didn't, but I think it was a good direction for us. I'm not sure that we'd still be playing if we hadn't changed in the way we did.

E: You have a some what unusual situation in being in a band with Fredrik, who doesn't play 7 string live, correct?
NN: He plays a 6 string, but he doesn't play that much lead so he does not need the highest notes.

E: Does he tune BEADGB?
NN: Yeah that's correct.

E: What's the future hold for you? Just Nocturnal Rites, or do you have any desire to do anything on your own?
NN: I'm not sure, but for now I only have time for the band. Perhaps in the future I will try something of my own, but I'm not sure what I'd want to do I've written a few songs in very different styles so you never know what it will be.