The German punk/metal band Lucifer Star Machine has recently released their new album "Satanic Age" and has already given me some wet and happy moments (read review here). Because of the satanic terms and song titles like 'Censorshipped' there was of course a lot to talk about, which I could discuss with the very likable band leader and vocalist Tor via Zoom. The result is a very interesting and in-depth interview, which I hope you enjoy reading!

Michael

Hello Tor, how are you?

So far so good. Tomorrow the release tour starts, we play in Cologne, Essen, Bremen and Hamburg with our labelmates "The Hip Priests" from England and that should be pretty cool.

I have to say that I stumbled across your new album only recently and never heard of you before. Can you tell me a little bit more about the band's history?

I started the band in London, where I lived for 12 years. I moved there in 2000 and started the band in 2002, but the band had umpteen members and there were always line-up problems. It's a long history. Satanic Age is the fifth album and I am now based in Hamburg. When I moved to Germany, I was looking for new people and originally they were all from Hamburg, but that changed again. Now everyone is from a different city, Hannover, Braunschweig, Fulda and Ramon is from Ede in Holland.

You were founded in England and completely reorganized in Germany in 2014. How did this happen and were there any conflicts with the British ex-members because of this?

Sometimes it doesn't fit humanly because of some ego problems or you have some people with alcohol, drug or mental problems. So far everything is there and sometimes you find people with whom you can get along great, sit in the tour bus and have fun and who are accomplished musicians.

Stylistically I would classify "Satanic Age" somewhere between old Volbeat, Hellacopters and punk rock like Turbonegro. How do you describe your music?

When you say Hellacopters and Turbonegro, that definitely fits. Volbeat is not an influence, although I have to say that with "I Wanted Everything" there is a song that sounds a bit like Volbeat, from the guitar rhythm and the melodic vocals above it. A lot of people have already said that. But Turbonegro is a very big influence, "Apocalypse Dudes" was the album why I started Lucifer Star Machine. I listened to them up and down and was just a total fan. I've never listened to a record as much as that one. But we also have other influences, not only the Scandinavian bands, but also Motörhead and American bands like Misfits and Ramones, especially melodies inspired us. But we are also relatively open-minded as musicians, you can get influences from almost anywhere. These are now the influences, the main bands that influenced us, but you can also look at other music genres like soul or rockabilly, which are not so obvious now, but which I listen to a lot. Or also Walt Disney soundtracks, which I have to listen to quite often because of my kids, but that's where some ideas come from (laughs). But we also have metal or hard rock influences. For example, our guitarist used to skatepunk, then got stuck playing guitar and his teacher showed him all the metal heroes like Yngwie Malmsteen and Alexi Lahio and he really got into it and learned all that stuff. You can probably hear that in the solos on the album. We also covered a KISS song on the record with "Naked City." I'm a mega KISS fan, that was the first band that got me into music. As a kid, my whole room was full of KISS posters and I wanted to cover a song of theirs on the new album. I've liked the "Unmasked" record since I was a kid. I'm probably the only one because it's very poppy. I've always been into awesome melodies and it has great songs. With "Naked City" I thought that we could convert the song well to our style, just make the whole thing more punky and harder.

What's with the "satanic" terms? Is rather untypical for this music...

Yes, that's mostly in metal. But with many metal bands it's more of an image. With us it's a bit more, I always liked the philosophy behind it. The modern Satanism of Anton LaVey, it doesn't stand for the devil per se, it was always just a symbol directed against the institution of the church. It is about faith in oneself. The philosophy "do what you want, as long as you do not restrict the freedom of others". I lived before I even came into contact with Satanism more. I liked bands that had such an image when I was a kid, but I didn't really get into it until later. When I founded the band, I wanted to incorporate that as well.

To what extent is this reflected in your lyrics?

That does flow in, but not like for example with Watain or other black metal bands. That's something completely different with us. It's more about "do what you want" and that you shouldn't let yourself be stopped by any rules that are forced upon you.

Other than that, do you have any other lyrical concepts that you incorporate?

I just write about what I feel like. Not everything is satanic of course, I just write about life, death or whatever comes to my mind. Some songs are just stories, for example 'Black Axe' is about the Nigerian mafia of the same name. I saw a report about that once and thought it was pretty interesting. Other songs are a bit taken from life, personal experiences - it's all there. The things that I think are good and that I think can be used are done.

On your official homepage there are two different versions of "Satanic Age". Were you afraid of the censorship or why?

We have a song, 'Censorshipped' against censorship, that really hits you in the face. Because of the song and the video there were problems with censorship. Not that it can't be posted, but for example our label couldn't promote it because of the restrictions on the platforms. We also had that problem with the first version of the Satanic Age video because our models wear latex. I think the video is relatively harmless and I honestly didn't think there would be any problems. But I'm also not someone who says we're going to make a cut now so they're satisfied. But what do you want to do? Of course we want to make our music accessible to more people and we also don't want to stand in our own way. I then had the idea to make another cut without latex scenes. This is also a good video and so it can be promoted better.

Speaking of 'Censorshipped'. Does all this political correctness, which at the moment doesn't even stop at old ladies with sombrero, get on your nerves?

Political correctness has always been a pain in the ass, even before it became as extreme as it is now. The origin of the Woke Culture, for example, I find absolutely understandable. The ulterior motive of pointing out cultural grievances is important and right, but the whole thing has gotten completely out of hand in my view. I'm not a friend of this Woke and Cancel Culture, and here in Germany, everything that people don't like is currently associated with Cancel Culture. I think that is also wrong. Originally, Cancel Culture called for boycotting artists or people who, for example, said something wrong 10 years ago. I think everyone says something wrong in life and I'm someone who thinks that you should evolve and not punish people for something they said a long time ago, even though they might be completely different people now. That's what 'Censorshipped' is about, which we wrote in Pandemic. Free speech is definitely important to us and it doesn't matter how much you don't like the opinion. I think it's worse to forbid people to speak - because of that the opinion doesn't change. They then have it in their heads and if they can't express it, it's far more dangerous.

How far can a (punk) band go to cause a stir these days? Even Cannibal Corpse could play all their songs live the other day without any problems.

What does provoke mean? It's not that important to us to provoke. We do what we feel like doing. There will always be someone who feels provoked. No matter if it's some Christians, which is not the case in Germany, but rather in America, or with 'Censorshipped', where people from the woke scene will get upset. And Cannibal Corpse are rather a slapstick band....

Haha! But I remember when I was a teenager in the 90s and all these bans came for some songs and they played 'Hammer Smashed Face' instead of 'Fucked With A Knife', nobody noticed anyway.

Yes, there have always been consequences of political correctness, but I grew up differently. When you grow up with music like that, I mean it's never been PC. I also grew up more with metal and later got into punk, but I've always listened to hard music and the themes that were there have always been "Fuck You, I don't care what you think!". I just want to say what I think and if someone doesn't like it, that's their bad luck.

Will your old albums be available again as CDs at some point, at Bandcamp there are only "The Devil's Breath" and "Satanic Age" or otherwise as download or vinyl.

Bandcamp makes the record label. Fire In Your Hole is from 2005 and it was sold out. But I recently got a message from the label owner at the time that he still found some in his attic and we are now selling them directly in our own store on our website. They are also available there as a reissue on vinyl. The CDs of Street Value Zero and Rock n'Roll Martyrs are sold out. There are currently no plans for them to be reissued either. The vinyl of RnRM was reissued last year by The Sign Records because the 2013 was only released as a CD. The demand for CDs is not that big anymore, vinyl is taking over.

You are currently on tour, are there any other plans for this year?

We are playing several festivals this year. One is called "Harrys Full Metal Party", which I think will be quite funny. That goes over two days, there is mostly metal, but also another band that also goes more in our direction.

The last words are yours!

Buy the record, come to our gigs and support the underground!

Neter comes from Spain and they bring some high quality, traditionally brutal and (at moments) technical death metal with them. With three albums under their belts and newest being only months old, there were questions needing answers. Andrés Rosales (bass) was nice enough to answer all of them so sit comfortably, click on the 'play' button and get to reading.

Tomek

Spain was always a place where I wanted to visit and explore. Tell me about the area you live in. What kind of places would you recommend to visit?

We live in the south of Spain, in a city called Seville. It is the fourth most populated city in Spain, and one of the most visited by tourists. Fortunately, we live in a very beautiful city with famous places like La Giralda, El Real Alcázar and Plaza de España. Walking through the streets of El barrio de Santa Cruz or on the banks of the Guadalquivir River and tasting our varied and rich gastronomy is delightful. There are plenty of things to do here, but we also recommend a trip to Granada to visit La Alhambra. You will love this city. We strongly recommend visiting Seville because you would really enjoy your time here, but I have to suggest avoiding coming in summer. Spring is an ideal time to visit the city, but in summer the temperatures are extremely high, and it is unbearable to go outside.

What kind of scene do you have over there, is there a lot happening?

Some years ago we had a good scene, but nowadays we sadly have to say that the scene is getting smaller and smaller. Young people don't seem to be interested in metal music, and the attendance to concerts is decreasing. We do not know if this is something that is happening throughout the country, but in this situation we have been forced to seek our audience outside of Spain, and we have found great support in countries like The United States, where fans continue to support the bands buying music in digital format.

Let's talk about your newest album, was it a blast working on it, how was the whole process?

We enjoyed the process but it was very tough too. We forced ourselves to complete the whole process in less than two years, because we wanted to take advantage of the success of Idols, and we needed to work very hard to achieve it. We don't make a living with our music and we have jobs, so the time we can dedicate to Neter is limited. But despite the difficulties, we got the right the songs on time, and we are very happy with the result.

Did you find yourselves employing anything from the first and second record onto the new one?

We don't usually recycle anything from previous albums. When we started to write Inferus, we didn't have anything written yet, so we started from scratch. We see an album as an independent ensemble with its own entity, and recovering old discarded songs can affect negatively the result.

Was there anything that influenced you differently while composing; were there any non metal influences that surprised even yourself?

We listen to a lot of music of many different styles, but our main influences come from extreme metal groups. We are not afraid of including new aspects in our music, and we like to try new formulas, but Inferus is more like an evolution from Idols. We wanted to add some groove and more variety but keeping the same essence. We had a very clear concept in our minds, and we wanted to add more personality to the new songs, but we have avoided big changes in our style.

Which song gave you the most trouble and why?

Without a doubt, the song that has given us more headaches has been 'Atlantis of the Sands'. We didn't finish writing this song until day before entering the studio, and even after finishing the recording, we considered removing it from the set list. Finally, we didn't eliminate it, but we decided to cut a part of the song, and paradoxically at the end it was one of our favorites - as it is for many fans.

Which one was a breeze to finish and record, why do you think that was?

Unfortunately, no song has been easy to write or record. Technically, some have been more difficult than others, but all of them have at least one detail that has been a challenge for us. 'Blazing Fallout' is a slower song, and it has probably been the easiest one to record, but it also has a quick passage with difficult wrist movements. Whether in a technical or a compositional level, in every song we always try to step out of our comfort zone because it is the best way to evolve as musicians.

What do you consider the most important element in creating your music, is everything buttoned up when you go in the studio or there is still room for a little improvisation?

We have sometimes made little changes during the recording of an album, but we prefer to prepare everything as much as possible. Before entering the studio, we always record a homemade demo of the entire album because it allows us to make a good review of each song. Spending time in a studio is very expensive, and there time to record is very limited, so we must be as prepared as we can. Anyway, even if we had limitless access to the studio, it would make no sense for us to improvise. The way we write music is not compatible with that. We like to write concept albums and giving every song a meaning and it is not possible to do so improvising in the studio.

How did you make your decision when choosing album cover, tell us about the process?

We worked with many concepts throughout the album, and we considered different options, but finally we wanted something related to the temple of Göbekli Tepe. We knew the theme we wanted for the cover, but it wasn't an idea that we had developed too much, so we left that job to the designer. We called the same artist who made the cover of Idols, and he sent us different sketches using a very similar style of drawing and colors to Idols. It made sense for us because we wanted to reflect the relation of Inferus with the last album, so we decided to work with him again.

Whose work do we see on the album cover, how does it correspond to the lyrics and music?

All the artwork from Inferus has been made by Daví Orellana. Daví has worked with us many times in the past, and we are very close to him. We love to work with him because of the quality of his work, and because he usually adds a meaning to every detail of his drawings. Everything on the cover is there for a reason, and that reason is something related to the lyrics, and that’s why we are so happy with the result. We talk about different civilizations in the lyrics, but the temple of Göbekli Tepe is the most representative symbol, so that had to be the chosen one for the cover.

I don't own the album so can you tell me about the words a bit, what are they about, what topics or themes can we expect to find on Inferus?

Inferus is like a journey through history in which we talk about how different cultures have faced their own disappearance and, in other words, their own death. Many primitive religions worshiped death like a god, and we have referred to death the same way in our lyrics. So, it would be as if that deification of death was behind the end of civilizations, and mankind venerates it because they fear it. We prefer not to express these ideas explicitly, so that’s why we use metaphors and symbolism to tell these stories.

In your opinion, which song from the new album is the best representation of it?

We had a long debate to choose the song that best represents the album, and we didn't know which one to send for the promotion. 'Primordial Entity' is a very powerful song and it has a very recognizable guitar riff, but it is too different from the rest of the album. 'The Pillars of Heracles' and 'Rebirth Of The Overthrown' are killer songs, and we could choose any of them as the single of Inferus, but finally we decided that 'Faceless' is the most representative because of the lyrics and the potency it transmits.

Which one seems to work out best in the 'live' setting?

In the shows we are playing the album almost completely, and they are all working quite well. 'Triumphant March' is still the most claimed by the people, but songs like 'Faceless' or 'The Pillars of Heracles' are standing out above the rest.

New album has been out for few months now. Response has been good from what I see. How does it feel to know you did well, what is the best thing and the funniest you've heard about the album so far?

We are very happy with the feedback we are receiving from the fans and the media. Sales are going better than expected, and we are reaching a lot of people thanks to the good promotion of our labels. It is comforting to see that we are doing things well, and that we are on the right track. We still have a lot to learn and improve, and we have great aspirations, but we are enjoying the process which in the end is what matters most. It's very easy to choose the best and the funniest thing we have heard about Inferus. We have read in some reviews of the album that we are probably the best Spanish metal band, and although it is a very daring consideration, it is one of the best compliments we could receive right now. And the funniest things we have read are the references to the phallic form of the pillars of the cover. It seems that many people have a slightly perverse mind, and can’t avoid making the comparison.

Thank you for finding time to this interview, good luck with everything. Last words belong to you.

Thank you very much for your support, and thanks for making us this interview. We also want to thank our fans for the support we are receiving, and we can't wait to see you at the shows.

There are two things that one can't deny about Finnish black metal, first is that it's one of the strongest ongoing black metal scenes in the world, and second is the fact that the cult band Horna is still in the league without a shadow of a doubt, proudly carrying their everlasting flame that burns as high as ever before. The band has remained in their prime over the last 30 years of existence, and what better way to celebrate their 3 decade legacy than with the release of their upcoming twelfth album "Nyx (Hymnejä Yölle)". Not long after I had heard the new album, I got in touch with the band's guitarist and songwriter Shatraug, where we talked about the work on "Nyx (Hymnejä Yölle)", as well as other subjects such as celebrating Horna's 30th anniversary, and what keeps the band still going after all these years of hard work and dedication. Please join me on this hellish journey to dive deep into the abyss of Horna.

Vladimir

Greetings Shatraug! Heartwarming welcome to you on behalf of Metalbite. How are you doing?

Hail hail! All things normal and waiting for the autumnal live reaping to begin next month. Finally returning to Spain since 2002 with Horna, it's been a long while coming!

I recently got the pleasure of checking out your new album "Nyx - Hymnejä Yölle", and I personally really enjoyed it all the way through. It truly is a raw and nocturnal piece of work that the fans will appreciate. Considering that Horna has been around for 30 years, I think this album wonderfully marks the band's everlasting 3-decade legacy. What is your opinion on this? Do you think that this new album is a great testament to Horna's 30 years of existence?

Nyx is another facet to the ever-varied expression that is Horna. The most conscious thing I have in mind when writing music is never to do the exact same thing twice and instead aim for the unexpected, even if in the case of Nyx we are not new or unfamiliar to epics. The album is unmistakably Horna yet incorporating much more than the usual elements.

What can you tell me about the overall work on the new album, regarding the songwriting process and the direction that you guys were going? Is there a background behind this album being split into multiple chapters?

Nyx is entirely based on and inspired by the poem "Hymnen an die Nacht" by Novalis with a lyric translated and adapted by myself. I had read the official Finnish translation of it and did not feel connected to many parts and thus did the work from scratch. The reason for the album also being divided into chapters is that the lyrics are one, an epic poem dedicated to the Night. Musically speaking this has been the album I took most time in writing over a span of several years and in fact I had begun working on it nearly two years before Kuoleman Kirjo. The aim was always to compose something timeless and nocturnal, with each song chapter enveloping the essence of Night's majesty and desolation.

One track that stood out for me was 'Hymni III' for its well-thought-out songwriting which has these incredibly catchy mid-tempo black 'n' roll moments that smoothly switch into this aggressive and hateful blasting black metal. What experience did you guys have while working on this song in particular?

To be honest there isn't much difference in the working process for any song in particular.
Everything we do follows the same pattern - I make demo versions, our drummer does his magic and the rest is built upon it. We almost never have any lyrics set or arranged into songs before the final form of music is present either. Nyx undeniably has a much broader source of inspiration than usual for Horna yet still with all the characteristics that we are known for.

The epic conclusion to this album was presented with the reimagined version of 'Kuoleva Lupaus' from "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne", which features your former bassist Hex Inferi performing the entire track in a dark neofolk style. What is the story behind the work on this reinterpretation of 'Kuoleva Lupaus'?

That is fairly simple - Hex Inferi had been inspired to make this version of the song and presented it to us as a surprise while giving us the freedom to use it as we saw fit. When I got his vision expressed as it can be heard I knew instantly it would make a perfect ending for Nyx.

One of my personal highlights about this album is that it truly feels like a story progressing from start to finish, which I experienced as a journey through the dark that gradually builds up with every next song on the album. I usually say that Horna's music feels like you're descending further down the abyss, and the deeper you go the darker it gets, especially on this album because it's got such an intense atmosphere. Was this exactly the kind of goal that you wanted to achieve with your new album?

The album follows the progression of the poem and it's form, as it begins with love and devotion for the night, deepening by every moment and chapter to the point where one comes to terms with the nocturnal truth that eventually we are all joining the Night with our final breath, and with it comes the liberation unburdening one from all the mundane and the earthly. Unlike most work in our history Nyx is an album of love instead of hatred, although one can not truly love without amplifying the whole span of emotions.

What's always been significant about the works of Horna is the fact that you guys have always stayed heavily focused and even remained faithful to your roots, which is one of the reasons why you still have your well-deserved status in the Finnish black metal community, as well as the worldwide black metal community. I usually believe that the love and support from the fans is what fuels the everlasting engine of Horna, especially since you have years of experience with the kind of music that you create. Do you think this is the case or do you think it's something else entirely?

I'd say it has everything to do with being driven by the same vision and devotion since the beginning. For me that has never changed, rather say only grown stronger from the foundations laid in 1994. Built up with stern roots and with unending resolve, it becomes stronger than the passing time with no passion to falter. Obviously it falls to the fanbase whether we have remained relevant or not yet I would still not change a thing and keep on driving the whip with a thousand bloody lashes.

I'd like to say that this album wonderfully encompasses everything that the band has done for the last 30 years and it shows how Horna has developed in terms of songwriting and performance, while still managing to stay strong all the way through. Do you have your own personal highlights about this album and how do you think this album compares to some of your other notable works from the past years?

As mentioned earlier my sole point of vision in regard to song writing is never to duplicate an album I already did. Instead on many an occasion I have been envisioning how to fill in the gaps I felt were missing from past work and create what fits the whole. Nyx however stands on it's own and as an epic it required it's dramatic arch to be built and thus challenge every soul to pay more attention than a usual metal album may do. Nyx is not meant to be taken as individual songs but one body of work solemnly standing as homage to the Night.

Last question I'd like to ask you is: What is next after this album has been released? Are there any talks of doing future tours to promote "Nyx - Hymnejä Yölle" and celebrate 30 years of Horna's existence?

Our official 30th year celebration has already been done at Steelfest with the three nights for three eras special but we will continue to perform old and new as always. There will for sure be something off Nyx in the forthcoming live set as well.

Thank you so much for doing this interview, Shatraug. I am highly looking forward to the release of "Nyx - Hymnejä Yölle" and I have no doubt that the fans of Horna will enjoy it as much as I did. Are there any final words?

The Night is coming, embrace it.