SOURCE – As a band, Ram-Zet had a very long hiatus, with the last release being Freaks in Wonderland in 2012. What motivated you to release a new album now?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – I think the hunger for making a new Ram-Zet album has been the biggest motivation for me, and it has been a bit frustrating that the band has not been active, but maybe it has also been good in a way, because everything seems so fresh and full of energy now. So it feels really good to be back in business!
SOURCE – What are your expectations for Sapien?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – First of all, I really hope that our very faithful fans will enjoy it, and from what we have heard up to now, it seems that they really do. And of course, I would also love for us to reach a bigger audience, so we can be able to tour a bit in the near future.
SOURCE – Sapien is a musically rich album, full of details. What can you say about the composition and production of this album?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – I have always loved writing music for this band because I really love bands that keep my interest going and that are not too predictable. But it is also important that I try to write great songs, not just a bunch of different parts thrown together, so I spend a lot of time figuring out how the parts blend into each other, keeping the mood of the songs. I have spent at least three years on the writing process, checking with the other members from time to time to see if we are on the right track. When it comes to the production, one of the biggest differences is that we were much better prepared than ever before. We rehearsed the songs a lot as a trio, drums, bass, guitar, and my vocals, and then we went to the studio and recorded the drums and bass without a click track, so the BPM is far from constant, but I think we have never sounded this organic, and it is pretty close to what we sound like live. So the mixing process, done by a friend of mine and really a great producer, Kenneth Skaarholen, took place just 15 minutes from where I live, so instead of sending files, I met up with him a lot during the process, and we would listen together and discuss the direction and levels. I am so happy with the production this time!
SOURCE – Listening carefully to Sapien, it feels like the album expands the band’s musical universe and influences. In Brazil, we have a popular music movement called Bossa Nova. Was there any influence from this style in the composition of the track “Bozzadevil”?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – Haha, yeah, of course. I mean, we do not think of ourselves as really good Bossa Nova musicians, but the one rule in Ram-Zet is that there are no rules, at least not when it comes to what styles we can include. So this idea just popped up in my head, and suddenly, the distance between Bossa Nova and metal did not seem too far. But I have to say, we do it with the deepest respect for the people who really can play this kind of music, because it has a lot of groove and tension.
SOURCE – Ram-Zet released Pure Therapy in 2000. It was a different scene and a different world, with other ways of promoting an album. How do you plan to use social media today to promote this release?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – Wow, that is really a hard one, because I think the way social media has been changing the rules for everything makes it very hard to keep up. None of us are very good at this stuff, and we do not really want to spend too much time on it, but still, there is no way around it, I guess, so we try to post on a regular basis, and we try to answer everyone who gets in touch with us, of course. We recently got ourselves a TikTok account, but I find it very difficult to learn how to use it in the best possible way.
SOURCE – I assume that Ram-Zet is not your only source of income. Aside from the band, what other activities do you pursue?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – I work in Norwegian healthcare as a night watch in a rather small position. Then I am a producer and a freelance musician. I also play in a band named Return, which is one of the biggest melodic rock bands in Norway. Ram-Zet is not making any money at this point, but hopefully it will be possible for us in the future!
SOURCE – Musical plagiarism is not something new. Recently, guitarist Kiko Loureiro accused Arch Enemy of plagiarism in “To the Last Breath,” pointing out similarities with his song “Talking Dreams.” How do you evaluate this approach to musical plagiarism, or the reuse of parts of a song in today’s landscape, especially with so many composition possibilities, such as AI?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – I have not heard that particular case you mention, but of course there will be similar parts in all kinds of music, and if you take a rather standard heavy metal riff, you will find thousands that are almost the same. With all the music being released, it is not possible to avoid. When it comes to the use of AI, there is no stopping it, but for me, it would be absolutely pointless to get AI help to write or play my own music. The process is too much of a pleasure, and I think it is really sad that so much music being released is not made by humans. But of course, computers have been helping musicians for decades, so there is no stopping the development of these things. We just have to hope that enough people really care about real music and the real passion behind it.
SOURCE – Following the album’s release, what are the band’s next steps in terms of live performances and touring?
Henning “Zet” Ramseth (Guitars, Vocals) – We are having our release gig tomorrow, April 10, in our hometown, Hamar. And we are beyond excited about that, of course, and then we have three or four other gigs in Norway during 2026, but for the bigger events, festivals, and hopefully a tour, we are planning for 2027, and hopefully we can get a lot of gigs in the future. Brazil would be awesome!
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