Please introduce yourself and Baresark.

I am Count Gorgul, the sole musician of Pagan Black Metal project: Baresark.

As a guitarist, who has influenced you in your music?

I would say Varg, and Quorthon, in that I try to create the greatest effect with the fewest notes.

And as a vocalist?

Probably Attila and Akhenaten.

Do you admire today's USBM scene?

I do. Some of the best black metal coming from the US right now. Bands like Judas Iscariot and Grand Belial's Key are among my favorites.

Is there really much of a Pennsylvanian black metal scene?

The is something of a PA black metal scene, but there’s not much of anything in Pittsburgh, where I‘m located. The "scene" here is awful and is only getting worse. The two good venues here are closing/ have closed. That, I would say, is one of the reasons I do not have a live band.

Could you tell us a little bit about Baresark's latest efforts?

The Split CD with Uvall entitled, "Tales of War" was released sometime early on in December on God is Myth Records and is limited to 100 copies. (www.god-is-myth.com)

What does Baresark mean?

Baresark is the old Norse word for the berserker warriors. Ones who went to battle with little or no armour, with the belief that their quick deaths would please Odin and earn them a high place in Valhalla. The word Baresark I believe, became berserk, due to its spelling in Elder Futhark runes, which looks very similar to the spelling we use today in the English language.

What's your favourite instrument to play?

Definitely the guitar. I have been playing it the longest and I record all other instruments around it.

How has your split with Uvall gone?

I think it has gone well. I’m happy for the most part with the way my songs came out, and I like Uvall's half very much. God is Myth did a really great job with the packaging as well.

Is there a chance that Baresark will ever play live?

No. Baresark will remain a solo project, but there may be some side projects with full lineups, and perhaps some live shows. Only time will tell.

So, no live = no groupies huh? Haha!

Haha not yet.

Apart from metal, what do you listen to?

I have really been getting into the band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, they’re really strange ambient post rock great for late nights, I highly recommend them. Other than that I listen to 80's Goth, older rock, ambient, classical, and electronic.

Have you heard any new metal releases lately?

The newest I have are Judas Iscariot - To Embrace the Corpses Bleeding, and Nigrescent - Palace of the Dark Light. Both are very good.

I noticed that the quality from your first demo varied quite a bit. The first two tracks seemed very different from the rest of the demo, any particular reason?

Yes. I recorded the first two first, at a friend's home studio. Then I lost all contact with him. So, the rest of my songs were recorded in my home, with what little equipment I had. I have since gotten use to it, but just recently I have obtained a decent bit of new software and recording equipment, including real drums. So look for my new music to take on a much more organic feel.

I quite enjoyed your demo. How long approximately did it take you to write that demo?

Ah, I’m glad to hear that. It took 7 months of on and off recording. I would write one song, record it, struggle to mix it, and forget about recording till I felt inspired again. That is why the songs are so different from each other. I am taking a different approach to recording for my next album, to make it more consistent: writing everything, then recording it all, a much more structured way of doing things.

What can we expect on this new demo?

Well I don't really plan on releasing a demo, I may record some demo tracks, but they will mainly be so that I can decide what works and what I need to change, some may be compiled for a promo, but I‘m not sure just yet. In the next few months I will be doing all the writing for a full length, then in the following months recording and mixing it. I don't know what I will do in the way of releasing it, I will look for labels when the time comes.

Anyway, that's about it. Any thanks to give out?

Thanks, of course, to you, and to Raging Metal; you've given me support from the very beginning, and I thank you for continuing in that. And thanks to anyone who has supported and will support Baresark.