In our continuing series to release the Kraken of brutal tone, we turn to Dark Funeral and one of the brutalest guitar players around, Lord Ahriman.

How did you get started playing metal?
I’ve been into metal since my early childhood, played various instrument when growing up, but I didn’t start playing guitar or write music myself until the age of 17. I come from a somewhat musical family, so I guess once I really had figured out what I wanted to do in my life, music came quite natural to me. The big change, however, came to me in 1988, when my family moved from one area in Lulea (a town in the north part of Sweden where I grew up) to another. There I met this guy named Hasse, who was a killer guitar player already at that time. We became good friends and it didn’t take long until we start jamming together, and eventually formed our fist band called “Satan’s Disciples” (1989/91).”
How did you come to play in Dark Funeral?
“Actually, I’m the co-founder. And since 1996 I’m also the only original member left. In 1991 I decided to move from Lulea, to Stockholm to be able to focus entirely on music. And after approximately two years of planning and auditioning different musicians, the first line-up of Dark Funeral was born in early 1993. During 1992, for a short while, and with another drummer, we called ourselves “Ahriman”, but once the real line-up was completed we changed the name to Dark Funeral.”
“Anyhow, ever since the original line-up split up (1996), I’ve been mainly responsible for all the music and pretty much everything else concerning the band. We’ve been through numerous line-up changes over the years, but “Dark Funeral” is where my soul belongs. And as long as my passion remains, I’ll keep doing the band. At the moment and with the current line-up I must say that the atmosphere and the chemistry within the band feels absolutely fantastic. Furthermore, every single member of Dark Funeral is once again sharing a tremendously strong commitment, an absolute dedication as well as utter professionalism.”

What gear do you use to get your brutal tone?
“At the moment I’m playing a BC Rich Warlock NT Guitar spiced up with Seymour Duncan’s Blackouts Metal. With that setup plugged into either a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifire or a Randall V2, I personally think I get the ultimate guitar tone. Crunchy, yet clear and with tons of bottom edge.”

Tell us about your upcoming tour.
“Well, since November 2011, we’ve more or less been touring non-stop, with only short breaks in between. And as it seems, we’ll continue to tour throughout the spring 2012, with several festival appearances during the summer as well. And in between the shows and tours we’ll also work on a new album.”
What advice could you give to those getting into playing metal?
“Do out of passion and not for any other reasons. It’s a very tough business, so be careful.”
Check out Lord Ahriman on Facebook.
Check out Lord Ahriman on Myspace.
BAND-SITES:
http://www.darkfuneral.se 
http://www.facebook.com/darkfuneral
http://www.myspace.com/darkfuneral
http://www.twitter.com/darkfuneral
http://www.diaboliswear.com
http://www.facebook.com/diaboliswear
http://www.myspace.com/diaboliswear
Click here for Tour Dates.
Tickets:
http://www.dragon-productions.com
http://www.facebook.com/DragonProductionsOfficial