They were jailed for their metal songs in Iran. Now they're releasing an album in Norway

Metal singer and guitarist Nikan Khosravi knows how tough it is to have a protesting voice in Iran.

After his band Confess released their last album In Pursuit of Dreams in 2015, Khosravi and bandmate Arash Ilkhani were jailed on charges of blasphemy and propaganda.

Now in Norway as political refugees, they're set to release a new album about the 18 months they spent inside Iran's Evin prison, and how they faced solitary confinement.

"It feels awesome to be able to put out music again after seven years," Khosravi told As It Happens host Carol Off. "It's a big relief."

It's like a double-edged sword. You want to speak for people and at the same time you don't want them to be in danger.- Nikan Khosravi, speaking about his fans in Iran

Khosravi spoke with Off about the metal band's new album, Revenge At All Costs. Here is part of their conversation. 

How did you find metal music in Tehran? Where did that come from?

I was in junior high school. One of my friends ... he gave me a CD and he was like, 'Go check this out. It's great music.' So when I got back home, I put this in my computer and it was like a bunch of music videos captured on satellite TV.

I was [an] 11-year-old and I was just faced with this huge, energetic and angry music. It was so fascinating. So ever since, I became a big fan.

It's one thing to actually listen to music in your home and to get access to that. But it's another thing to actually make metal music with really strong protest lyrics in it. When did you come to the point where you actually wanted to become a metal artist yourself?

I guess after following this music for a year … I asked my mom to buy me [an] electric guitar. And after a couple of years when I became better [at] that, I wanted to write my own music and write my own lyrics. 

It became the biggest purpose of my life to form a band and be able to share my own music with the world.

It brought the attention of the authorities on you, didn't it? Especially when you put out your In Pursuit of Dreams album in 2015. Tell us what happened then.

We were arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in November of 2015, two weeks after releasing that album. That album was specifically very focused on the political … challenges in the society in Iran and criticizing the religion…. We were charged with blasphemy and doing propaganda against the state in our lyrics. 

After they captured us, they kept us in solitary confinement in Evin prison for three months. And then [there were] interrogations…. Then they sent us to [the] public sector of Evin prison. 

Altogether, we were in jail for almost a year and a half.

Eighteen months and not even knowing what would happen to you. How did you endure that?

I really don't know. I just had this hope that one day I'm gonna come out. 

I remember that I used to look at this door in the solitary confinement. And I was [thinking] like, one day I got to get out of here. I don't know how, but I'm just going to keep doing this. I don't know how because I cannot be anything else. This is the love of my life, and I'm innocent.

The day that I could make bail for $80,000 and come out of jail, it was great, but I felt like even living outside of jail … is not way better than inside because with all the stress that what's going to happen to me and what's going to be my trial look like.

You were just out on bail, but you weren't out in the clear, were you? You were still facing those charges. At what point did you realize that you were going to have to leave?

After the first trial. They gave us six years like they were tossing candies. 

The moment I got out of the Justice Department, [which is] basically an injustice department … my family [was] like, "You got to go."

And now you're a political refugee in Norway.

Yeah.

We're not saying where you are in Norway, so obviously you're still not completely safe. But you do have this album out, Revenge At All Costs. How is it being received? Are people in Iran hearing your music?

We're very happy to note this fact that we have a huge number of fans now in Iran, too, because we're getting messages on social media from them, emails that … they are digging our music and they can relate to it. 

One of the messages that really moved me was [from] this teenage boy… He [was] like, "One day I'm going to be like you." And I was like, "Oh I don't want you to go to jail." You know? It's like a double-edged sword. You want to speak for people and at the same time you don't want them to be in danger.

But at the same time, the regime trying to punish you has given exposure to your music to another generation.

That's the biggest mistake they made. Because I literally dedicated my album to my judge and my main interrogator in jail. 

It's in the physical copy. I wrote a couple of paragraphs and at the end I dedicated the album to them. Because I remember that they were like, "You're not going to see the light of day again." And now I'm here.

Written by Mehek Mazhar. Interview produced by Kate McGillivray. Q&A edited for length and clarity.