Old Man’s Child traces its roots back to the late 1980s, when they were called Requiem and played thrash metal cover songs. In 1993 the band became Old Man’s Child, and in 1994 their first demo was released. A string of albums followed over the next years, until Dimmu Borgir needed a new guitarist in 2000 and, since Galder came from the same area in Norway, he became the natural choice. He eventually became one of three permanent members, while other positions were gradually filled by session musicians. But all things come to an end, and in 2024 the news broke that Galder was no longer part of Dimmu Borgir. When one door closes another opens, and it was time to begin a new chapter for Old Man’s Child.
It has been many years since Old Man’s Child last played live. We have to go all the way back to 2000, when the band did a small European tour – mainly in Germany and neighbouring countries. That tour did not even include Norway. To find the last concert, we have to go back to 1999, when the band played at Mars on 7 February that year – a fantastic show that set the crowd on fire. There is also a small link to Inferno Metal Festival here, as the former Inferno boss Jan-Martin Jensen was the owner of Mars.
Very few people have therefore had the pleasure of experiencing Old Man’s Child live, since only a limited number of shows were played in the 90s and in 2000. Now the time has finally come to experience the band again.
Even though Old Man’s Child released albums all the way up until 2009, it has actually been 25 years since Old Man’s Child last played live. How does it feel to be back, and how have the shows and the reception been so far?
– Yes, that is true. And I haven’t really been active with Old Man’s Child since then, so it feels great to be back. I’ve always wanted to return, but at the time I preferred to focus on just one band. Trying to put a band together and play live shows on top of everything I was doing with Dimmu simply wasn’t an option back then. But better late than never, I suppose, and it genuinely feels fantastic to be back again. The response and the offers we’ve received have been overwhelming, especially considering how long we’ve been away.
Tjodalv was there from the very beginning of Old Man’s Child, so it was perhaps natural to bring him back in. But did you consider bringing in any other former members? Or was using members from Tjodalv’s other band, Susperia, such a good solution that it became an easy choice?
– It wasn’t really part of the plan from the beginning that he would be involved. To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking about playing live until the next album was finished. But one thing led to another, and as soon as I left Dimmu, the live offers started pouring in. That meant I had to put a live band together right away. Knowing people from before, and having them living in the same area, played a big role in that process. And of course, the fact that he had performed on a few of the albums also weighed heavily in the decision. So far, the current live lineup works really well. There’s good chemistry, everyone is highly professional, and it truly feels like the right choice.
Hoest with Old Man’s Child at Tons of Rock 2025 in Oslo.
Hoest from Taake did the vocals at the first shows. How did you end up choosing him for that role? What was it like for you to start singing again?
– Yeah, that actually happened more as a coincidence, as we met a few times with mutual friends. We just started messing around with the idea. And since I haven’t been a frontman singing for many years, and even back then we didn’t really play that much live, it seemed like a good idea to have someone helping out in the beginning at least. But in the first US show we did, I needed to do the vocals myself, and since that worked out okay I figured there was no going back to using others after that, so I just did it myself from then on.
We have been playing a few shows now, and it seems to get better and better with each show we’ve done so far, so we are ready to crush.
– Galder
Hoest handled vocals at the first two Old Man’s Child shows in 2025, at Sweden Rock Festival in Sweden and Tons of Rock in Norway. After that it was over to the Fire In The Mountains festival in the United States, and since then Galder himself has been behind the microphone – a job he has done brilliantly. This also means that Inferno Metal Festival will be the first time he sings in Norway himself since the reunion.
You now have all the keyboards on tape when you play live. But I understand it wasn’t just a matter of lifting them from the original recordings. Did you have to record all of that again? Tracking down similar sounds to the ones on the albums can’t have been entirely easy, can it?
– Yes, good question. I was thinking hard about that issue, and it was one of the things I was most concerned about when starting up again. The original plan was to have a keyboard player, but seeing Old Man’s Child as the “band” that it is, having as few people involved as possible is the best choice, since all musicians play in other bands etc. And keyboards are a big part of the sound, so in the end I just thought the best idea was to do it all myself and not have to think about that anymore. To be honest, it was a lot of work. I re-did all the keyboards from scratch, and I had to replicate all the old sounds from the 90s keyboards etc., and all those old keyboards are long gone. So I spent pretty much all winter working on that, but in the end I am certain that was absolutely the best thing and the right choice to do. And it will also make things a lot easier going forward.
I’ve noticed that the majority of the set you’re playing now comes from the first four Old Man’s Child albums. Is it the older material you enjoy playing live the most?
– There are a few reasons for that. We usually only have about an hour to play, and we’ve released several albums over the years. That means we can only include maybe two songs from certain albums at most. And if we didn’t play a couple of tracks from Born of the Flickering, for example, people would definitely be unhappy about that. So if we add newer songs, some of the older ones have to go, and that’s just how it is. We did rehearse a few of the newer tracks, but the older songs ended up working better in rehearsal – possibly because they’re a bit less complex, and also because our drummer originally played on many of those tracks, which naturally helps. But we’ll definitely rotate the setlist more over time.
When you look back at the seven albums Old Man’s Child have released, do you have any favourites, or some you’re not quite as fond of? Are there any tracks that stand out in particular?
– Hmm, I do prefer some albums over the others, of course, but that’s mostly down to the sound of the albums and maybe not just the songs themselves. “Revelation 666” I think has a pretty good sound, and those songs are pretty fun to play live because it is more keyboard-based, so maybe that adds a little more spice to them live, etc. But they all have something good in them and something bad, and they all sound quite different to each other as well, in my opinion, so it’s a hard question to answer.
Old Man’s Child at Bosphorus Metal Fest in Istanbul.
What a lot of people are expecting now is of course a new Old Man’s Child album. Is there anything you can share with us on that front?
– Yes, I have been working on and off with that for quite some time now. I have been quite busy this last year with preparing everything for the live stuff, but I have some free time now, so I’m working on that pretty much every day. I have a lot of the material written over the years. It’s just a matter of putting the puzzle together, so to speak, at this point.
Already on “Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion” from 1998 you played all the instruments yourself, apart from the drums, which were done by Gene Hoglan. Will it be like that in the future as well, or would you prefer to have a full band?
– No, I think I will keep it that way. I feel like it really works, since I make everything myself. I don’t really see the point of having others involved. Although it would help to have someone to help out in that aspect sometimes, I guess. But who knows – maybe in the future I can get something permanent.
A new Old Man’s Child album definitely bodes well, and we have to go all the way back to 2009 for the last time the band released anything, with the album “Slaves of the World”. That too was an album on which Galder played all the instruments himself, with the exception of the drums, which were handled by Peter Wildoer from Darkane. So there is every reason to look forward to what Galder has come up with this time.
Old Man’s Child already has some pretty massive plans for 2026 at some big festivals, such as Maryland Deathfest, Fortress Festival, Brutal Assault, Graspop and Hellfest. It looks set to be a pretty intense year for Old Man’s Child, with a lot of activity, doesn’t it?
– Yes, I will be quite busy next year; there are other plans for 2026 as well. It feels good to be back and play in front of the fans again. It seems like Old Man’s Child has some pretty dedicated fans who haven’t forgotten about the band over all these years, and that is such an honour and humbling feeling that I just want to push it while I still can.
But on to the most important thing. Old Man’s Child playing Inferno for the first time. You’re from Jessheim, which isn’t that far from Oslo, so Inferno is maybe a bit like playing on home turf for you? You’ve played Inferno many times before with Dimmu Borgir. But this will be the first time with Old Man’s Child. What are your expectations?
– Of course, as you said, Inferno is just like playing at home, so I’m really looking forward to that, and it will be one of the highlights next year for us for sure. And it’s a nice way to start off a busy 2026, playing at Inferno as the first concert that year.
And what can the audience expect when Old Man’s Child finally take to the stage at Rockefeller?
– We will try to do our best, as always. We have been playing a few shows now, and it seems to get better and better with each show we’ve done so far, so we are ready to crush. And everyone involved is really looking forward to it.
Those who were lucky enough to catch one of the seven shows Old Man’s Child played in 2025 know exactly what they have to look forward to. I was one of them, and I can safely say that Old Man’s Child is very likely to be one of the highlights of Inferno Metal Festival 2026. So there is every reason to be excited.
