Daniel Olaisen is a well-known man for Metalheads in Norway. After a couple of years as Norwegian Black Metal band Satyricon’s live guitarist, he started his first band, Scariot, in 1997. Scariot have released four albums to date, and you can read Metal Express Radio’s review of the last one, Momentum Shift, here. Scariot moved away from the Black Metal of Satyricon and is a more Progressive based Metal. One year after he formed Scariot, he went on to form the Death Metal band Blood Red Throne. This band has also released four full-length albums, with this year’s release, Come Death, being the latest. Right now Olaisen is finishing up on the debut album of his new band Zerozonic.
MER: You are currently working on the debut album for your new band Zerozonic. Can you tell fans a little bit about this band?
Daniel Olaisen: Hey man! Zerozonic is a fuckin’ great Groove Metal band I just had to put together back in 2004. I hooked up with bass player Ole Vistnes almost right away, and not long ago Leo (vocals) and Tommy Jackson (drums) completed the line-up. We entered the studio pretty soon after and our debut album, Dead On Arrival, was just finished. 10 excellent tracks and we’re looking for a record deal these days!
MER: You’ve posted a couple of songs on the band’s MySpace site; there’s a little Pantera-vibe from it. How would you describe the musical style of Zerozonic?
Olaisen: Hell yeah. Pantera will always be the number one Groove Metal band of all time, but there’s nothing wrong having such great inspirations and you will find a lot of Pantera in Zerozonic! Leo sings a lot like Phil Anselmo indeed, but we definitely have our own touch to it. We simply play Heavy and Groovy Metal you cannot ignore!!!
MER: The band is pretty fresh; you’ve only had one gig so far. How was the response from the audience?
Olaisen: We did some gigs with the first line-up, but you’re right, we just did our first gig with the new line-up and it went very well. We also did the Southern Discomfort Festival this weekend (September 14, 2007) and it was awesome. It feels good to play and all the feedback we got was really good!
MER: Have you set a release date for the album yet?
Olaisen: We’re currently looking for a deal, and if that works out I guess the album won’t be released until early 2008. If not, we will print it ourselves and release it at the end of this year …
MER: What can you tell fans about the title, Dead On Arrival, and how’s the cover art coming along?
Olaisen: Dead On Arrival was just a cool title Ole (bass) had and it can be interpreted in two ways. I’m not telling anything, hehe. I know Leo (vocals) is working with some cover art proposals and if it looks cool, we’ll use it, of course.
MER: How did you come up with the name, Zerozonic?
Olaisen: I came up with that name and it’s meant to be ironic. You know, zero is nothing and sonic is sound; quite opposite from what Zerozonic is all about!
MER: In Scariot you’ve always written almost 100% of the music. Is it the same with Zerozonic or do the rest of the guys participate in the writing?
Olaisen: So far, I’ve written all the songs. That means the guitar riffs as well as putting the songs together. Leo wrote all the lyrics and melody lines, Ole makes his own bass lines, of course, and Tommy put on his own drumming style on top of that.
MER: Zerozonic and Blood Red Throne are obviously your main priorities for the moment. You’ve said earlier that you consider your third band Scariot to be a studio band. Why is that?
Olaisen: Scariot is history now. I want to focus 100 % on Zerozonic and Blood Red Throne …
MER: Will there be more action from Scariot in the future?
Olaisen: Time will tell …
MER: What’s next for Zerozonic? Will there be a tour?
Olaisen: Most important now is to release the album and play as much as possible. We’re almost finished writing the next album as well, so we’re a pretty productive band. We’re also thinking of making a music video and to just see how things will go!
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