
Dear readers, it is our pleasure to offer you in this article an interview with a Danish band whose sound is somewhere between Progressive Rock/Modern Metal and Doom. We welcome Tidejord.
Hi, welcome to our pages, how are you?
Frederik: “Brilliant, thanks! We are Peter (guitar), Simon (bass) and myself (drummer). Andreas (synths and soundscapes), and our phenomenal vocalist, Liza, could not make it today. “
The band was formed recently, how did the project and the choice of the name Tidejord come about?
Peter: “Some of us came from much upbeat music, and during the pandemic things slowed down and became strangely silent, dark and weird. Many people felt awful and alone. Somehow that darker, slower sentiment, led us to form a darker, slower music project. Tidejord means âEarth tideâ, and is when the moon stupidly tries to deform Earth through gravity, just like sloshing water around as a regular tide. Earth tide is not a very well-known effect, but it’s real. The moon does try to destroy Earth, but fortunately it doesn’t seem to be working. We thought the name was puzzling yet somehow recognizable, and the meaning resonates with our interest in space and the terrible forces that reign out there.“
You propose a blend of modern progressive and doom sounds, how did your passion for these sounds come about?
Peter: “We like the contrast between the sinister heaviness and emotional monotony of doom metal, and the restlessness of progressive rock and metal. Strange time signatures create motion in our heavy riffs and dark atmospheric synth landscapes. Also, it is challenging to make it work musically, but itâs highly rewarding when we pull it off. We are all about getting ourselves into trouble, musically speaking.“
Regarding this, what are your main sources of inspiration?
Peter: âWe have a really broad palette, musically speaking. Within rock and metal, probably what has wiped off most black streaks on our sonic carpet are Meshuggah, Gojira, Cult of Luna, Brutus, Katla, Morpholith, Solbrud, Opeth, Psychonaut, Massive Attack, Oranssi Pazuzu, but also stuff from psych, stoner-doom, surf and industrial. It’s a real crossbreed, Tidejord, but we love it. We don’t try to âstay withinâ any given genre. We have a big tool box, and grab whatever excites us.â
Frederik: âSome of the drum parts are heavily influenced by bands like TOOL, Opeth and Gojira â sometimes less consciously than you would think. It can be tricky being aware of other musiciansâ influences in the music you write. However, in the song âOpdriftâ weâre very aware of the usage of santoor (being a part of the songâs theme) as something you would typically hear Danny Carey [of TOOL] mess around with. We just jammed around it and thought it sounded cool and felt it belonged there.â
Your new EP âVĂŚsenâ was released on January 07, 2025, how would you describe this work?
Peter: “Itâs something as nuts as a concept-EP, pressed on heavy, glorious, white/black vinyl at the micro-pressing plant Nordsø Records, including a 12-page booklet. The four songs took nearly two years to write and record, but we believe we have found our sound on âVĂSENâ. Also, it was hugely satisfying to weave those songs into the same universe, and come up with the âcreaturesâ you see on our artwork and in the music videos.“
Four tracks that explore your different musical facets, how does the creative process of your music take place?
Frederik: âPeter typically has an idea for a song, has it recorded from home with guitar, bass, synth and software drums, and sends it to me and Simon respectively. Then Simon and I comment on this and that, share our thoughts and send some ideas of our own, and from there itâs back and forth until the song takes shape. Itâs not uncommon for us to finish a song before actually having played it together in the rehearsal studio.â
Simon: “To build on Frederik’s point, one of the biggest advantages of our process is being able to write music asynchronously at home, rather than having to jam everything out in the rehearsal studio. Personally, I often need to listen to a song or passage a few times to really feel if it fits, and this approach gives me the space to do that. By the time weâre together, we donât need to spend as much time learning the songs – we can focus entirely on refining and polishing the sound.”
Peter: âWhile that is true, we tend to record parts that we are not sure we can actually play. âDødt TrĂŚâ [Dead Wood] contains a crazy hi-hat that follows its own, seemingly independent rhythm. For half a year, Frederik was all âno way, Iâm not touching thatâ, but finally he gave in and nailed it, which I still quite don’t understand how he did. âDødt TrĂŚâ is now a fan favourite.â
Instrumental and vocal sections are intense and elaborate, what themes do the lyrics deal with?
Peter: âThe lyrics are in Danish. It’s a hard language to sing, but when Liza sings those words in our mother tongue, it just touches us – and our fans – on a deeper level. On âVĂSENâ the songs are about the conflicts and darkness in the inner universe, while we often use the âouterâ universe – space – as a frame, somehow. We try to write lyrics that can be read in different ways; to us they are about the mind: âSkyggemennesketâ is about people who drain others by their negativity and maliciousness. In âRumskrotâ, itâs the isolation you feel when a friend is choosing isolation. âDødt TrĂŚâ is about the demons that whisper in our ears, and âOpdriftâ about the fear of feeling happy. While these are dark themes, there is a lot of light in the music, carried by Liza’s unique voice and charisma.“
This is your second record release, how does it differ from your debut album?
Frederik: âWell, I guess the obvious answer is that weâre more people involved in the creative process than we were on âTidejordâ. That might also be why we only managed to do four songs this time around. However, we wouldnât change that fact and weâre really proud of the four songs on âVĂSENâ. Sonically, you might say that itâs heavier, leaning towards more elements of modern progressive metal than the debut did. And the vocals seem to be more part of the soundscape as a whole, equally stepping in and out when needed, rather than something the rest of instruments merely serveâif that makes sense.â
Peter: âWe just picked the four strongest songs, and left the rest out. So, it’s short:Â âNo filler, all killerâ. Those are the best 21 minutes weâve got at this point. I think we all feel pretty good about that.â
Many of your fans and our readers wonder if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have any plans in this regard?
Simon: “We always aim to play as many shows as we can. Last fall, we had the chance to play some fantastic support gigs, which was a great experience. However, we havenât had the opportunity to perform outside of Denmark yetâsomething weâd absolutely love to do in the future!“
Do you have any anecdotes or special memories related to any of your live experiences?
Peter: âAt a really nice local festival, Spirefestival, in 2023, we brought an actual space scientist from Technical University of Denmark, who started the show by talking for 10 minutes about gravity and black holes, while we played a creepy science fiction soundscape in the background. That was crazy captivating and people are still telling us how awesome this was. We will definitely call him again.â
The Heavy music scene is full of festivals and concerts, how important is it to keep these kinds of events alive?
Simon: âI think itâs absolutely essential to keep the live experience alive as artists. In a world where rapidly evolving AI technology is capable of imitating nearly every form of art, the one thing that will always set human creativity apart is the energy and connection of live performances. No matter how advanced AI becomes, it canât replicate the raw emotion, authenticity, and shared experience of a live showâthatâs where the true essence of art will always shine in my opinion.â
Peter: âAlso, while we love writing and recording music, we just have a massive blast everytime we play live, no matter how it goes. It is such a privilege to play our music to people, and we can’t get enough. We will fight to the end to share this âhighâ with our fans.â
The Scandinavian countries have always had a fervent music scene, how do you see the scene today in your country?
Peter: âOh, it’s on fire. There are so many cool bands popping up like mushrooms during the fall, I donât even know where to start. Denmark always had a solid metal scene, but it has really developed over the last decade. The new bands are bursting with ideas, talent and attitude, and it’s a riot to go to Danish metal festivals. Apart from big names like BĂŚst, I mean, EYES, Syl, Katla, Vulvatorious, not to mention acts like LLNN, creating their own dark hole of hardcore, doom, industrial and techno. Itâs mental.â
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music with sounds like yours?
Simon: âItâs all about thinking outside the box and finding that unique edge that sets your sound apart from the mainstream. Donât be afraid to take risks and push boundaries.â
Peter: âI second that. As an artist, it is really hard to surprise yourself. We have found a set of methods that help us create music that we are genuinely excited about. Like, âhow the hell did we write that riff, or where did that come from?â. Distributing the writing across several band members also means that we constantly challenge each other. I think we try to see how much we can push the songs, while never losing the basic musicality. We don’t want to make scientific art pieces that can be analyzed, but songs that connect emotionally. We use the edge, Simon talks about, to cut through and get that connectionâif that makes sense. I’m not sure.â
Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?
Peter: âI think I speak for all of us when I say that this band covers our creative needs. Keeping in mind that we spend hundreds and hundreds of hours on artwork and videos. So, not much time for ballet lessons. We are already thinking about the next album, and we all know that that will be even harder to write than this album.â
Frederik: âThat being said, we do have a collective case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome. In a way, it earns the right as its own passion. Seriously, being a fly in the room whenever one of us brings some new gear to the tableâif flies could facepalm, they would.â
I thank the band for the interview and wish them all the best for the continuation of their artistic career.
Purchase the new EP on Bandcamp: https://tidejord.bandcamp.com/album/v-sen
Read our Review of their new EP here: [Review] Tidejord â VâĂŚsen EP
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