A few days ago Skeletonwitch posted the above photo with the caption:
Rough night on the @amonamarthofficial bus for Ice Dale from @enslavedofficial #IceFail
Ice Dale is of course Arve Isdal, guitarist of Enslaved.
Naturally, I needed to get to the bottom of this. I emailed Scott from Skeletonwitch to find out the story behind the debauchery. He kindly forwarded some questions to Enslaved and we now have answers. First, fellow Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjørnson explains what happened:
What exactly led to Ice Dale passing out?
Ivar: That might have been all the drinks he had after his gig in New York. When Ice Dale drinks, he does it with both hands. And he is probably hooked up to some drinks intravenously at the same time.Who drew on Dale's face?
Ivar: That would be the tactful and sensitive gentlemen in Amon Amarth. Good thing there wasn’t any tattoo equipment lying around.
Here's where Skeletonwitch guitarist Scott Hedrick chimes in:
Who's idea was it to get the t-shirts made?
Scott: It was Chance's idea. This is the logical conclusion when you have a couple hours to kill at the Walt Whitman Mall and you see pictures of your Norwegian buddy passed out and drawn on, online.Ivar: That would be the collective of geniuses that is known as Skeletonwitch and their crew. Those are some of the classiest shirt designs we have seen. Kudos for the initiative.
What was Dale's reaction when he saw them?
Scott: We waited until Enslaved soundchecked and then all took our hoodies off, revealing the #IceFail shirt when they were about to start a song. Ivar was wearing one as well. Ice Dale laughed quite a bit, and probably felt a little embarrassed. But let's get real…… when you're a Norwegian rock god, these mortal things barely phase you. The dude shreds! Props to Ice Dale, and all of Enslaved for being such good sports.Ivar: He thought they were funny, but mostly he felt a bit embarrassed and I think the sentence “I’ll never drink again” might have made a round through his brain at that point.
Thus, a new hashtag was born! When you get too drunk with your friends, it shall forever be known as the #IceFail.
There are still plenty of dates on the Amon Amarth, Enslaved, Skeletonwitch tour. Get dates here and go see 'em
