Interview with death thrash metal band from Norway - GOUGE.
Answered Chris (Vocals, Guitars, Bass), thank you!
https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2026/05/recenzereview-gouge-pure-deathfuck-2026.html
Ave GOUGE! I’m listening to your new album “Pure Deathfuck” right now, and I’m thinking this is exactly what the music will sound like when the world ends. I think you’ve really pulled off a masterpiece. How do you feel about the new album? Have you gotten any feedback from fans yet? Have you played the new songs live yet? And how do they go over?
Aye aye from the abysmal Death Abyss! That’s a huge compliment and I feel much gratitude towards that. I’m happy it resonates. This album stands for total freedom. The release of all feelings and thoughts, to play out the end of the world or whatever you personally want to end. It’s been a huge help for me to have an arena in my life where I can play out a version of reality that should never happen – but also one that through history does happen more than one thinks. It’s very early in the process but the few feedback we have got has been positive. We have not played the songs live yet. That will happen at Hellbotn metal fest at Kolbotn in August.
How do new songs actually come about for GOUGE? Are you a traditional band that locks itself in the rehearsal room to write, or do you use the internet so popular these days and send ideas back and forth via email? I’m interested in the creative process itself.
Gouge is a very face-to-face band, the only thing that really goes over digitally are the text ideas. The text come from nowhere when it’s suddenly urgent to express something or when the most crazy idea pops in from nowhere. We typically meet with some riffs each of us and play them out in the rehearsal room, testing different feelings and attitudes. For the Pure Deathfuck album, I tried something new early in the process; I sat down and improvised short riffs and melodies, one riff at a time. No matter what came out, I added another or two more guitars. I put them together in different „songs“ with no structure to get the feeling of how it works together when you mix fast vs slow etc. – I guess mostly inspired by Acts of the Unspeakable. That worked well to not get locked into a typical „verse, chorus, verse“-structure, and it feels more resonant to the lyrical and visual expression which is too dark and insane to be structured.
The lyrics are a whole other story with GOUGE. What are they about on the new album, and where did you draw inspiration for them? On “Pure Deathfuck,” they complement the music beautifully. Which came first, the music or the lyrics?
That is a correct description of the lyrics! Haha. There’s something magical in the artistic expression of the personas on Autopsy’s Shitfun. That is the main inspiration. For once, I tried to consciously use Gouge as a place for total freedom and anger release. But the „twisted“ insane parts are more artistic, to create a mood, a small insight into crazy, sick minds. The music and lyrics come usually separately and then we find while working on it different things that fits better to scream here and there, and also which descriptions fits better to a certain riff – how to highlight or support the music/lyrics both ways.
I have to admit that the cover for “Pure Deathfuck” is excellent it fits the music perfectly! It literally gives you the creeps. How did you choose the cover, and who took the photo?
This is a photo from late 1800‘s after the Batak massacre in Bulgaria. It just resonated with me the first time I saw it. It was true, honest, brutal, horrible, and what resonated the most was the living people left in the situation, having to grapple with the existence of this unbelievable, morbid tragedy. What do you feel in that situation? What are you supposed to do? What kind of thoughts do you create about other people, humanity in general? What do you want to do to those who slaughtered your family? Who do you become? This part of history is not interesting to most people. They don’t really give a fuck about war. But they should. These are not ancient, forgotten acts. They happen constantly. Hundreds of millions of people all over the world are forced to live through unbearable situations. I don’t think we should look away from that.
The sound of the entire recording is great. It’s dark, cold, and sharp all at once. Which studio did you record the album in? Did you, as a band, have a say in the final sound and mastering?
It turned out better than expected. There are so many coincidences that make the sound. We just recorded ourselves at the youth club at the local school. We used my old drum set that we have used since the beginning (I got it in ca. 2006 for maybe 200 euro!). For the vocals, we have a track with the ambience from the hall. The guitars were just recorded on whatever was there. I believe we used 2-3 different mics at the same time to mix for strange guitar sounds. It worked pretty well in the end, but they could have been even more “present” in the sound – in the fast parts the guitar riffs are not really audible. But the big picture sound on the album is punching and screaming, so that’s a good result. We didn’t hear the masters until it was released on Spotify, so it will be interesting to hear the different formats.
The new album was released by the excellent Hells Headbangers Records. Why did you choose this particular label, and how satisfied are you with their work?
We chose them because we have experience with them. They are solid and deliver. They also gave us a good deal that is inspiring us to make more music as well, which is an important motivation.
The band’s history dates back to 2011. How did the idea to form GOUGE come about in the first place? Who were your role models? Please take us back in time and walk us through the band’s history! By the way, you aren’t exactly one of the most prolific bands. Why is that?
I believe Herman and I were sitting next to each other in IT-class in high school listening to music on headsets and just having some ideas about Repulsion-style music. The Repulsion demos were particularly important at that time for us, the mix of youthful punk and horrible seriousness (and serious horribleness). We were very productive at those early years, but got tired of that style and had many other projects and life changes going on. I guess around the time we stopped in 2014, we had Condor, Flight, later I had Black Viper, Black Magic, unreleased disco-project, etc.. Too many projects, and in general a personal style moving away from metal at that time. That was a very healthy break for me. I got back during covid, and it felt like extreme metal suddenly had a new dimension for me.
It’s really obvious how much you enjoy your music. Do you have any goals you’d like to achieve? For some, it’s a famous record label; others might want to play at a big festival.
If we have goals, it’s more as musicians. But Gouge does not have goals like that. The first goal is to express the ideas we have for a new EP or album and go beyond Pure Deathfuck. To find the right next path building on what we have. I am imagining another aftermath-theme, maybe include even more of a desolate black metal vibe underlying the death metal style.
Both members of GOUGE are also active in other bands. You’re experienced musicians, and I’d be curious to know who has the final say in your band? Who decides how a song will sound and look?
It never gets to the point where we need to argue about it (so far! Maybe we stab each other at the next rehearsal). It’s just death metal and as long as it’s close to what we imagine, we can drag and shape the specific ways of expressing it a lot.
What’s it actually like to play death metal in Norway? Do people come to your concerts? Do they support you, buy your CDs? When you organize an event, for example, how many people show up?
We haven’t played live in 10 years, so we have no experience with that. But death metal shows for sure have a crowd in Oslo and around. More internationally, they also support buying merch and albums.
Death metal is a demanding hobby and an even tougher lifestyle. What does it mean to you? What do you enjoy most about it, and how do you see it? How did you actually get into it?
I always enjoyed death metal since I was an early teenager. But these days I don’t live the slaughtering and deathfucking, mostly just making the music. I think death metal as a genre has a specific vibe that I don’t get anywhere else. At the same time, the different death metal styles on different albums are pretty incredible. So much can be done inside a similar style. I think the first albums I listened to were Soulside Journey, Obliteration – Total Fucking Obliteration, Suffocations debut, a few songs by Cannibal Corpse and everything by Autopsy I swallowed whole. It was always more about a certain vibe or mood for me – which means the riffs – It was not about the “death” etc. I had no idea what Suffocation were singing about anyway.
I ask this question to all bands on purpose, so they can get a little publicity for the future. Please tell us, what does GOUGE have planned in the near future? What can we look forward to? If you have something on your mind and would like to share it with fans, labels, or promoters, here’s your chance…
We are playing at Hellbotn at Kolbotn in August as mentioned. That is the only gig we have this year. There might be something in 2027, but not yet planned. We would love to play some gigs if it’s a good offer.
Thank you very much for the interview, and I wish GOUGE lots of album sales and nothing but sold-out venues. May you also find success in your personal lives. I’ll be looking forward to the next death metal apocalypse!
Thank you for a good interview!
Recenze/review - GOUGE - Pure Deathfuck (2026):
https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2026/05/recenzereview-gouge-pure-deathfuck-2026.html
Recenze/review - GOUGE – Beyond Death (2015):
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