Viceland Magazine recently conducted an interview with former GORGOROTH frontman Gaahl (Kristian Espedahl). In the interview Gaahl talks about his past involvement in the fashion world, his love of young boys, his music, and more. Read excerpts from the interview below:

Viceland: OK. What is the relationship between your musical projects and aesthetic?

Gaahl: “In Gorgoroth we had a lot of chaotic ideas. It all depended on what was practically doable. During the final years we were able to do much more of what we wanted. At the concert in Cracow, for example, we were able to outline a consistent use of symbols. Most of the symbols we’d used earlier, on a smaller scale, but we hadn’t gotten around to assembling the models on the crosses. In addition to the sheep’s heads on poles, it was beautiful—aesthetically brilliant.”

Viceland: Why did you choose to leave black metal behind?

Gaahl: “Gorgoroth had to die. I had to crush it. I had nothing more to offer. You’re onstage, not moving, just regurgitating the same thing again and again. The growth had ended. The way I work demands isolation. When things become business, with large amounts of interviews and attention, there’s no time for content. It destroyed the art. It also makes people take advantage of their positions. I can’t work under those conditions.”

Viceland: OK, no more Dan questions. When it comes to boys you’ve been quoted as saying that you’re more interested in the aesthetics than the physical parts.

Gaahl: “I guess I’m somewhat of an ephebophile. I don’t really understand the physical contact. It’s an element that’s foreign to me.”

Viceland: You’re saying you prefer boys in their mid - to late teens, aka ephebes.

Gaahl: “When it comes to the ephebe as a symbol, I’m more into the aesthetics of it all. Also, there’s something about the gaze and the will. The will to discover the individual, to become something unique, that I think is very strongly present in the young man, prior to being colored by his surroundings—when you’ve exited the fantastic universe of childhood and are in the finishing stages of the hardest and most chaotic transitional period. I can’t explain why, but I know that this is something I’m deeply captivated by. I love it: the unlimited will to be.”

Read the entire interview here.