As a longtime fan of Dissection, still sharing the same level of love I have for that band after so many years, it was a real honour to chat with someone such as Brice Leclercq, who was their bass player between 2004 and 2005, and also contributed his bass duties on Reinkaos. After Dissection, he was briefly active in Satyricon as their live/session bassist, but ever since he left the band, he wasn't really active anywhere else, up until recently when he announced his new project From Kaos with Dark Funeral's drummer Janne Jaloma. When the debut single "The Outskirts of The Mind" was published on Spotify and Apple Music, I was really impressed with what I had heard, because it sounded like a real return to form for someone who was once a part of a great and important band in melodic black/death metal, and all of extreme metal in general. Along the way, Brice had also launched his YouTube channel where he frequently posts bass covers and Dissection playthroughs, as a great way of helping other bass players around the world, while attracting more interest in learning the songs he covered. During our conversation, we've discussed a variety of subjects from his recently started project From Kaos to hiring Janne as the drummer, while also deeply discussing his experiences regarding Dissection and Satyricon, his YouTube channel and the importance of maintaining musical freedom. If you are a longtime Dissection fan such as myself, I truly hope you will find this conversation incredibly engaging and enjoyable, and I suggest that you also keep an eye out for Brice's new project From Kaos, because you might like it.

Vladimir

Hey! How are you, man? It's good to see you.

Good to see you too. Doing great. I'm launching a new band, so I'm pretty excited. A lot of work behind me last year on this all year long every day. So, it's like it feels like it's good to put it up. Let's put it this way, it feels good to put it up now and see the reaction and see if people are gonna like it or not. And I feel I like what I hear, so I'm satisfied with myself and how people will like it as well. We'll see.

You were fortunate to send the link to the new single on Spotify this morning. I got your email, and I was like "Wow!", I didn't even know you were working on a new project. As soon as I got it, I had to listen to it. I just need to hear what's going on because I wasn't even aware if you were musically active anymore outside of you doing your usual YouTube covers and such. So, when I heard that, I was like "Damn". This really reminded me of oldschool Dissection and the good oldschool melodic black metal with a kind of that kind of heavy metal feel to it. And I really loved it. I have to say, I'm so curious to hear more stuff from you. I hope that we'll get the first full length album in the near future.

I would do the second one. I'm already thinking about it, about the second one, obviously. I don't know how long it would take me for the second one, but it took me around a year to do this one. So, I guess next year, I would be able to do at least one single or singles, because I'm surprised myself, but when I focus and sit to write music, it didn't used to be that way, but now, it kind of just comes up, and I don't just focus on making music, and it works. And then the riff just appears, and then I record myself, and I move on. And it feels great, sometimes I don't even remember what I composed, I'm like not here anymore. It's almost like a spiritual thing. I just write it and then I don't know what I did, and then, I work on it later on. Sometimes I have a hard time finding out what I was playing, really, but it's me. It's me playing everything on top of it. People didn't know that I could play guitar as well, and then I didn't know that I could scream or sing as well. And, it seemed to work out. So, I'm happy, and I'm really, really, really satisfied with it and happy with Janne's drumming as well. I must say that he really contributed to making this record sound like it does, and I'm grateful that I could have Janne on this album because it just did it perfectly. I had a vision before, and I wanted to ask him because my vision was with him. I mean, with that kind of drumming, and I asked him, and he said yes right away. He was very interested, very, very into it. So, I know him from way back. I knew him before Dark Funeral as well. I mean, even though I know him from Despite because we had a common friend. The guitar player is a friend of us both, and that's how we got to know each other. And I saw that he joined and I was happy for him, and he seemed to do very well. And so, when the question came to a drummer, I thought about it right away. I mean, it was a choice that came to my mind right away. And I'm very, very happy that it's him, actually, because I think he plays very well on the fast stuff, he's very used to that. But he plays very well on the slower stuff as well because I like my music to be slow and very fast and very aggressive. I like contrast all the time, and that's what I'm used to with Dissection as well. We used to have this kind of contrast all the time. I was of course influenced by Dissection, but I wanted to do my own thing as well. I didn't want to do a second Dissection. To me, Dissection was Jon's band and I respected that it's Jon's band. It was Jon's band, period. And it was his baby, and he put so much into this band that I did not want to make it sound exactly like Dissection. I mean, of course I'm influenced by it and because I played in it and I loved it. And still today, I love the music of Dissection. I still listen to it. So, it was logical that you could hear a little bit of it in my music as well.

Was this your first musical project that you're working on, or have you tried to do that in the past as well?

Yep. But it didn't work out. In the past, when I was pushing myself to write music, I didn't like what I was hearing, so I just forgot it, and then I kept playing all these years. I played bass all the time, because it's my thing. But last year, when I sat down and tried again because it just popped up, a lot of the planets were aligned kind of, and it was the right time to start writing music. It felt like it and then, when I sat down, I bought a guitar, I started playing and all the riffs came up, and then I recorded everything.

Similar thing happened to me, because when I used to play in my first band, I was only the bass player, and the funny thing was I never grabbed the guitar and I never tried to make riffs. I didn't even know how to make riffs. And it wasn't until like maybe 6 years ago when I bought my first guitar. It was a PRS guitar with bat inlays. It is the model that the former Cradle of Filth guitarist Paul Allender used in the days when he played in the band, and it's such a nice smooth guitar that I even quickly started learning chords and then started writing riffs and melodies. Back in the day, I was heavily influenced by Dissection and influenced by a lot of Swedish black metal bands even more so than the Norwegian ones. Even then I tried to actually learn the classic Dissection songs from The Somberlain to Storm of The Light's Bane and even something from that kind of very mid-tempo stuff on Reinkaos. The funny thing is, I think that I should give credit to Dissection for the fact that now I can write riffs even when I'm not making black metal stuff or death metal stuff, whatever it is, I think I should always give credit to a band such as Dissection for giving ne a wind in the back to start writing riffs on the guitar, even though I am primarily a bass player. So, I think it's great that we both have that in common.

Yeah, and Jon was an awesome guitar player and great composer. I mean, the guy was a genius. I played with the guy, and I can tell you he was a genius. He really was a natural talent. He didn't think much of what he was playing, he just played it. I mean, the time I remember from Dissection is that Tomas, Jon and myself, we could play anywhere anytime, and it was always sounding the same. I mean, I had a great time playing with those guys. Every day was a pleasure because everybody was giving 200%, and then we could rely on each other and not think "oh, he's gonna fuck up or he's gonna fuck up". Everybody just went for it, and it was great. It was really a good time. It was a special time, a very special time. I can tell you many stories, but very special times. Many people don't know that the interest the band had back then in 2004 was incredible. I think it was before doing Stockholm, Sharon Osborne called our manager to do Ozzfest. The manager from Iron Maiden called our manager to open for Iron Maiden in the United Kingdom and they were like within the same week. I mean, we couldn't do the Maiden thing because we had already booked the European tour and we couldn't do the Ozzfest because of Jon's record, and he couldn't get into the US. So, we couldn't do any of that, but it was impressive. When we did Rebirth of Dissection, there were buses coming from all over Scandinavia and people coming from Chile and from Japan. And it was all the labels, all the magazines back then were there. It was our 1st gig together as well. So, the pressure was pretty intense, but the atmosphere was very special to this day and a great memory. Very good memory.

When you joined Dissection 20 years ago, what was your relationship with other members of the band at the time?

Good question. I didn't know anybody, neither Jon or Tomas or Set. Back then, on the official Dissection website, John put an ad saying that they were looking for a bass player and a drummer and a guitar player. At the time, a friend of mine was filming me, and then I played "Unhallowed", and sent the tape to the address that was on the website, and one week after that, Jon called me and he told me that he liked what he saw. He told me that he wanted me to meet him. And so I went to Stockholm, and we talked for maybe 4-5 hours. We only talked. He wanted to know me. I looked at how I saw things in general, religion or not religion, in general, if I was maybe committed enough, all that kind of stuff, but it was a nice talk. It was really not difficult. He didn't put any pressure when he talked. Jon was not like that, he was not that kind of person, and he liked the conversation and he told me "Okay. We will do 4 or 5 songs next week. You come back and then we do with the drummer", which I just joined a few weeks before, I think. And when I got there, I remember we played the first song and I looked at Jon and I said "What did you think?" And then he laughed, he smiled and he told me "Like a glove, man. Like a glove". That's all he said. And, we kept playing maybe 8, 9 or 10 tracks. I mean, we just kept playing because he felt good and then the week after that, it was not over. The last thing of my audition for Dissection was to put bass on "Black Dragon". And so, he told me "Listen, I couldn't come up with any basslines because I didn't get inspired. Put down your bass, just do whatever you want". There was no bass on the track and then we went to the studio together. And then I recorded the basslines you heard, I remember when I heard the track, I thought too much "I hear an AC/DC bassline, man". I'm not sure that it's gonna fit with Dissection, and he told me "No. Just do what you feel. Just do how you would do it". And Jon loved it right away. He told me "That's exactly what I wanted to have". So, then I got in.

That's a great story. I mean, speaking of AC/DC basslines, I always think about Cliff Williams as a very proficient bass player. His playing is so simple yet it's always on the beat and it works flawlessly. The funny thing is, somebody even said "You know what's the best job in the world? Being a bass player for AC/DC. There's no easier job than that".

AC/DC's music really is not that easy to play. On paper, it's easy, but if you want to play it right, it's not. And Williams is a really good bass player. It's difficult. After having studied a few of his bass lines, some of them are more complicated than they seem to be. They are very good musicians and I love Cliff Williams, and I love his sound as well. I played pretty much with the same equipment, kind of. I have an Ampeg now. A cool story about the AMPEG, I didn't want to use it because I was looking for an SVT 350 or 450 transistor, because I didn't want a tube bass amp.  It's easier with a transistor when you record yourself then and I didn't want any amp sims whatsoever. So, I wanted real amps. No samples, real amps, no tricks on the kicks. That's all. And then, I found this amp on the second hand in France. And then when I came to pick it up, when I went there to pick it up, I got to know that it was the amp of a French band called Magma. They mix jazz with all kinds of styles. It's a very weird sounding band, but that's the amp that belonged to the bass player and I'm very happy that I got this. I had the vision right away, but for this album, I wanted this album to sound more like a studio rehearsal, also in the studio's environment. Something very authentic, very raw. Not too raw, but authentic because I don't like the way metal is, the path is taking at least sound-wise. I don't like too polished, compressed, clean clinical sound. I don't like that. I think it's not a matter of taste. It's a matter of if you're a musician, you want subtleties and little nuances to be heard. That's what makes the music great, I think. And I cannot have that if I use that kind of sound and even on the bass, I bought the Darkglass stuff, and it sounded like everybody else and I sent it back. I don't like it. You basically just sound like everybody else if you use it. And I get creeped, I'm like "No. I sound like everybody else". Back in the days, I remember in the nineties, bands had one goal, it was not to sound like the other band. Everybody was very eager to have their own sound and now it feels like it's the other way around. Everybody is trying to sound like everybody else, and I fucking don't like it. I mean, it's a risk of course, when you don't want to sound like everybody else, because I might have some people that would say "Hey. It sounds like shit", but I'd rather take this risk and enjoy what I'm making as music, instead of trying to pass and do like everybody does.

Yeah. I mean, imagine if Dissection did Reinkaos with Andy Sneap. It would not be that great. Andy Sneap just completely ruins that feeling, especially with the great bands like Saxon, Judas Priest and Accept, they're all great bands. They still made great albums, but the problem with the production is the fact that they're missing that authentic raw live feeling. Because when I listen to Invincible Shield by Judas Priest and I compare it to something like Screaming for Vengeance, you could say that it's the same band, but it's not the same feeling.

That's right. And once again, it's not a matter of taste. I mean, you can have preferences, and some people like it heavier, and some people like it lighter or whatever. It's not about that. It's about being able to hear the subtleties of the musicians playing the music, and that's what it's all about. And I understand these bands. For example, you're naming Judas Priest. Judas Priest has been playing for so many years. I think they're a little bit afraid to sound as if they cut out an album with the sound from the eighties, you know, because they did it. They did it a lot. It's a bit difficult. For me, at this point, I thought that "No. I want my sound, how I had a vision", and I wanted to go all the way to the end of this vision. I wanted to do something pretty raw. That's about the idea. A little bit like a rehearsal, a good rehearsal.

Speaking about Reinkaos, what were your initial thoughts on the whole album? Were you a bit surprised that the band's direction was a major stylistic difference from what their album sounded like in the nineties?

 No. I got to hear the demo of the album very early when I auditioned, and I really liked it. And I agreed with the evolution of the band. Jon did not want to be a part of the black metal scene anymore and he was clear about that. He was clear about that and he told me "No. I don't want to be a part of that. I don't like the way it became, and I don't wanna be a part of it". So, he wanted to do his own kind of style of dark heavy metal, you know, satanic music. I really liked the way it sounded. But, one of the reasons why I left Dissection was because I did not agree with the main choices when it came to a label, when it came to the manager, when it came to the producer as well. I thought that we needed to have somebody kicking our ass sometimes. We were good at our instruments, but it's always good to have somebody pushing and trying to get the best out of you, and I don't have this feeling on my end. So, I think we could have done even better than that. But that being said, I really like the music, and I really like how the album sounds. The only difference I would have if I was alone, I would have a producer that would have pushed the thing a little further. That's the only thing I would change. But I had one mindset when I recorded. I wanted to make it sound as dark as I could and nice as black and dark as I could. That was my main goal when I recorded it. I remember clearly. I did very quickly. I recorded, I think, in one and a half days, something like that, so it went fast and I think that drums went fast as well. I mean, it didn't take that long because we were very well prepared. We got used to the album quite a lot. We knew what we were going to do and it went well. But, yeah, if I could have changed something, I would have changed that. It's delicate when it's not your band. It was Jon's band once again, and I respect that. So, when I understood that things were not going to go the way I thought they were going to go, I jumped up. And, it was very difficult to jump up. It would have been a lot easier to stay, I can tell you that. It would have been a lot easier, for it took me 3 years to touch my bass again after Dissection. So, it was a tough choice, but I know I did right because things went to hell for them at least when it comes to the financial side of things. But I knew this was going to happen, and that's why I wanted to be surrounded with people that knew what they were doing, and we were not business minded people, neither was Jon, Tomas or I. We were not that kind of people. We played music and we needed those kinds of people around us that could think business. That's what I thought at least, but at the same time, with the age maybe and looking back at it, I can understand why Jon didn't want to sign with any record labels and stuff. And I kind of understand better now that I had my own band, how it feels to kind of give your music away to some label. It's tough. When you make your own music, it's your own, you don't want to give it away when you sign contracts with labels. I mean, he got screwed a few times. He didn't like it and he didn't want this to happen again. That's for sure.

The thing is, before he ended up in prison, they were signed to Nuclear Blast. It's a very major record label and you still have great bands signing to that label. You still have bands signing to Century Media as well as Napalm Records. When I spoke to musicians who are still part of those labels, when they were signed to those labels in the nineties, they didn't really have so many great things to say about them. Nowadays, they say it's a completely different story when you have other people managing those labels and being more cooperative in that sense because you don't really have labels screwing you up. But nowadays, labels have changed. Labels don't really accept everyone under the wing. It's hard to find a record label and it's really hard to find somebody interested, to even listen to your music, especially if we're talking about a record label. I'm talking about this from my own personal experience because when I had my second EP finished, I sent it out to at least 50+ labels. Only a couple of them responded, and everybody said no. We're not talking about major record labels; we're just talking about very small underground record labels with pretty good band rosters. In hindsight, I think it's good that Dissection didn't put out the last album over Nuclear Blast or any of these major labels because on the other hand, these labels would insist that they go on tours, that they do more promotional work and that's how things work out. For a band such as Dissection, it's not really like a mainstream rock star kind of band. It's more like a band that maintains its raw feeling, its very kind of intense energy. Whatever people may think about how Dissection changed their sound, at least they did not change their approach and their mindset. It's authentic and it's not bullshit.

Yeah. And I think the fans love Dissection a lot because of that, because they knew it was not bullshit. Nobody was bullshitting, plus, Jon was really talented. I think Tomas was very talented as well. I mean, he still is, but I think he was great for Dissection. I mean, I never had a bad concert with Tomas. He always played very steady and very solidly, I had a great time on stage with Tomas all the time, and Jon as well. Of course, he was very natural. He was very natural and nothing was forced, and everything was very authentic. That's what I remember about Dissection. That's how I remember Dissection. Everything went very smoothly and even when I play today, I do covers of Dissection on my YouTube channel. When I play them today, it's easy for me to play Dissection stuff, it feels like I'm at home. I don't force it and from the first day it was like that. I never forced myself to play that stuff. It really came just naturally. And I felt like it was like this for Jon, and it was like this for Tomas, and it just worked naturally.

Do you still keep in touch with any members of Dissection that are from the latest lineup, or did you even make contact with any of the previous members from the classic 90's period?

Sure. I'm still friends with Tomas. I'm still in contact with Thomas and he's recording Dawn right now. I also know Johan Norman and Ole very well. I lived with Ole for 2 months actually, after I joined Dissection. So, I know him very well. I've had some problems and he was very helpful. I'm good friends with Johan, I've never met Peter Palmdahl, but I heard Jon met him sometimes when I was in the band, and we talked about it. And he was open again. And I met Tobias as well, once or twice.

Awesome that you're still keeping touch with other members, you even mentioned that Tomas is now working on a new Dawn album as well. I wasn't even aware of that.

Yeah. I liked what he did. He did 2 albums with them and he recorded them because he was interested in music production, which I was as well at the same time in Dissection. And then I went and studied sound engineering in Sweden for 3 years and I have a license. That's how I could do my own thing as well, and now he's doing a bit. He has been doing it for a few years now. He's trying to finish the new album this year, that's what he told me. I know some of the guys in Dawn and Hellbutcher as well.

I just remembered the Rebirth of Dissection video because the twins from Nifelheim even appeared in the front row and I remember Hellbutcher going fricking nuts.

I'm also a fan of Maiden, so we got along quickly because they're the biggest Maiden fans in the world. I mean, they have everything, so it was great.

I really have to ask you about the whole Rebirth of Dissection thing, because it is widely regarded as one of the greatest comeback shows in metal music history and even to this day, 20 years later, it's still regarded as one of the comeback events in metal history. I mean, how do you look back on the whole event? Do you look at it as a once in a lifetime experience?

Yeah. Definitely. Magical once in a lifetime experience. That's how I would put it. When I came to the show, I took the bus to the place and I had my backpack. When I came, it was all empty, and there were guys building the stage. It was enormous. It was big, man. And, at this time, I was aware that this is gonna be a very, very big show. And then from this point on, the pressure kept on building, but at the same time, it was such an honour to be there with Jon and see that after so many years he came back with Dissection in such good form. And I remember, we were talking about the old members coming up to me after the sound check and telling me "Man, I'm gonna tell you one thing. Dissection has never sounded that good as today. Never. And I know Dissection". And I was like "Okay, man. Thank you". I was very nervous, because Tomas and I worked a lot on the stuff as well. I mean, during the time Jon was still in prison, we worked on this stuff and we could rehearse only every 15 days. So, the rest of the time, we rehearsed on our own, Tomas and I, and worked on the stuff.  And then Jon would come back sometimes and tell us "Okay. Cool. Sounds good", and then we would rest 15 days later.  Remember, he was very confident with us, we had freedom, and he was very confident, and sometimes fans wonder what he was like as a person. I think many believe that he was very hard and tough, but he was not alone, man. Not with us, not with the people he had around him. Once he knew somebody, Jon was very reliable and very nice. The only time I thought it was shit, it's when I left, and I found out after a year that my bass was on the album, and that was not what we agreed on. When I left the band, it was not totally finished. I told them "Okay. You've got a choice. Either we make a contract and you keep the bassline as I recorded it, and it's fine by me. Or, you re-record everything, but in that case, you erase my bassline, and you do something totally different". And they told me that they wanted to erase it. But, when I found out that it was my bass, it was too late. And you won't see who played the bass if you look on the album, because they didn't write it. It's a shame. I found it had a little bad taste, but I moved on. I don't stay in the past and move on. So, I moved on. I turned the page, and I thought he was fucked up, but I turned the page. And now, I think Jon took it quite badly when I left, and I understand. We don't always agree on everything. That's why I say these things. It was harder to leave Dissection than to stay in Dissection. That's for sure. Because I didn't need Dissection to join another band. You didn't see me much. So, I'm not that kind of person.  I didn't join Dissection to make a career during Dissection because I like the music, and I thought that I would fit in the band. And I respected it, and I did my best to the end. So that's the way I see it.

It's good you still have fans identifying you as the bass player on Reinkaos.

Yeah. And I was very surprised by it when I heard the album to hear my bass so loud in the mix. I mean, for a heavy, dark metal album, the bass is very loud in the mix, and I was surprised. There again, I did my best, to work on the stuff, and I remember what I used. I used the Warwick from '87, handcrafted in Germany, as a bass. And I used it because I could go very low, we were tuned down to C, I think, at some point, on some songs, and then I used the 5th string. So, it was very good and I used an Ampeg SVT 4. I'm an Ampeg guy, so that's what I used, it's very heavy. That's what we wanted to have. I wanted very heavy, dark sounding, melodic basslines. That's how I wanted to make it sound.

Speaking of the basses that you used, I've seen you play various basses from Warwick to Spector to Ibanez, and even in your YouTube videos, I've seen you use the Sterling Stingray and even the Squier Precision bass. Which of the basses that you own or that you owned in the past are some of your favourites?

The Music Man.

Ah, yeah. I knew it.

By far. I never had a bass where I was more comfortable with than this one. It just works perfectly and I like the role of The Music Man. I like when the bass has a little bit of rolling, and The Music Man is good for that. A little better than the Fender or another brand. Warwick was pretty good. Spector is good at rolling as well, but the neck was a little too thick on the Spector, I thought. But I like the Music Man better.

It really takes time to get used to it, because I use a Yamaha, and it's a 5-string bass. The funny thing is I bought this bass like almost 10 years ago and back then I wanted to use the 5th string because I needed some songs for the very low ends. And now I'm like "Okay, this 5th string is completely useless right now". I don't even use it. And the worst part is now because the neck is very thick and because you don't really get a nice grip, it's not like a relaxed grip, but I still kinda manage to get into it.

Yeah. I understand. I'd like to put a cover of "Black Dragon" actually or more tracks from Reinkaos, but I need the 5-string bass, I only have 4 string basses. I have two 4-string basses, and I need a 5-string to be able to do so because it's not gonna sound right if I do it otherwise but I'll do it, and especially "Black Dragon". I would like to show people how I composed it back then, it's very important track for me, "Black Dragon" and it's probably my favourite from Reinkaos.

Mine too. It's my favourite from Reinakos. I love the song. I keep listening to it.

Every time I go back to it, Jon sings things incredibly well. Jon sings extremely well on this track, and he plays very well. And, there is a groove that I like on this track, and everybody is on it. So, it's really a good track indeed.

Since we talked about your YouTube channel, I was very fortunate to discover that you post videos on there. I don't even know how I came across that, maybe it was Dissection playthrough videos or whatever. I really gotta ask you, what made you start that YouTube channel?

Good question. First, I thought that some bass players in metal didn't get the recognition they should have. And I'm thinking about it. And I think especially Jimmy Bain. I mean, he played great stuff, this guy. He really was an awesome bass player, but for some reason, bass players are always the last wheel. So, I wanted to make a channel showing the playing of these guys at the beginning. And then at the same time, I wanted to give people the desire to play the bass because I see many guitar players doing this on YouTube, but bass players in metal not that many. I think it's a shame because bass is a really interesting instrument if you take it the right way and that's what I wanted to show. I wanted to focus more on the bass learning aspects of things in metal. That was the goal. Of course, people were asking me about Dissection and Dissection playthroughs, so I started to put in some Dissection tracks as well, and now it's evolving more and more. And now I'm doing some comments, as well on my covers where I try to help people that are trying to play this on bass to give them tips and give them help on special tips or helps according to my experience, according to what I know, and try to share this information with some people that would be interested in. That's all.

That's very good. I presume that the Dissection playthrough videos are the ones which have the most views. Am I right?

You're wrong, hahah.

Really?

Yeah. I'm surprised as well. The interest is here. But you know, not many people know about this channel. I don't have many subscribers, and I think with From Kaos, I think there will be more people, reaching out and checking in at least.

I was actually gonna ask you, do you often have Dissection fans reaching out to you and expressing how much the band means to them?

I have a few now. I recognize them. I have few fans that always come back to the Dissection stuff, and I'm very grateful that I put this out, but not that many. The ones that I find that I like my covers are of course fans of Dissection, but I didn't reach out to everybody yet. It takes a bit of time, I think there will be interest if people know about it, but many don't. And it has to do with the algorithm and YouTube and that shit, then we'll see.

I could help out to spread awareness of the new project From Kaos because it wasn't until today that we all got the news that you were working on this new project. So, hopefully more people, especially if they are Dissection fans, will reach out to you and that they will keep an eye on this project, that they will listen to it.

For sure. I think they might like From Kaos, if they like Dissection, but it's not exactly the same thing. But we stay in the raw melodic field, having dark metal which is a good thing. I wanted it to be a little faster. Like I told you before, I had the vision of very fast drumming sometimes, and I needed a drummer that could deliver that, and Janne was definitely the right choice. He did some stuff that he could do however he wanted. He asked me "Can I play whatever?" and I said you should play what you feel. Because the way I see things, and you would be surprised, with some bands, the leader tells others how to do the stuff and I find it stupid for the sake of the music, because if I asked to play drums, it's because I liked how he played drums, and I want him to put himself in the music. Otherwise, I would ask somebody that I would pay and just do as I tell him to do or even use fake drum stuff. But I wanted him because I like how he plays, and I wanted him to put his personality in the music. 

Speaking of musicians who only want what they want, rather than having some sort of communication as to what would work well in the song, that's the case of Ritchie Blackmore. If we're talking about Rainbow in this case, he always pushed what he wanted, as opposed to what everybody felt like. That's why you had three albums with Ronnie James, and then you had one album with Graham Bonnet, and then there was Joe Lynn Turner. After a while it starts to feel more like a job rather than a passion.

That's right. And, I don't really understand that because he cannot be very constructive in the long run. I mean, the guy, sooner or later, was gonna get the fuck out from the band and do his own thing or do something where he's gonna have more freedom, instead of doing what somebody tells him to do. And I came to realize that I didn't want to play in a band anymore as well in the sense that I didn't want that bullshit anymore. I cannot stand to have somebody telling me what to do and not do. I cannot stand it. That's the way I am. That's the way I always was. And so, I decided that it would be better taking this in consideration to start my own band instead where I wouldn't have this kind of problem. And, that's why I started From Kaos as well. I mean, I could compose music and at the same time decide what to do and how.

I'm very happy that you are still musically active even though you're not playing in a band, because you even expressed yourself in one interview that you don't really want to play in a band because the overall band chemistry just kills everything.

Actually, very often, playing in a band is not only about musical chemistry. And especially at a certain level, it becomes very complicated. And you live with all 14 other people all the time on your tour, and I have a hard time doing that. I really do.

Speaking of bands that you were a part of, you were also a live bassist for another great black metal band, which is obviously Satyricon from Norway. You were their bassist for 2 years, from 2009 to 2011. How did you get involved with the band?

I think I did less than that, but I'm gonna tell you. I saw that they were looking for a bass player. Same thing on the website and I applied for it, and I auditioned, but it was not at all the same audition as this. The old adventure was not at all the same thing. I had eleven tracks to work on in one week to play. I did the audition one time and added another eleven tracks to play the weekend after that audition. It was very tough auditioning for Satyricon, but it went well, obviously. And I got the gig, and then I did the American tour and a part of the European tour, but not completely. But, as I told you before, I was not made to be in that kind of band. Simple as that. I'm not made for that. I'm made for playing music, and I did well when it comes to playing music. I was playing differently in Satyricon than I was in Dissection because the music calls for another plane in Satyricon. And I played a lot harder with Satyricon. I used to break strings every day on the bass, I broke picks and strings every day, but I played very hard. And then it all depends on the music you're playing. I can play very hard, and I can play very soft, and I like when there is both. That's what I tried to do with From Kaos, actually. I tried to have a big contrast with very aggressive fast parts and slow parts, very melodic slow parts and I tried to put everything together. You will hear the album and you will see what I mean. But there are some songs on the album that are more or less a blast beat from start to finish, and others where there are no blast beats in the tracks. So, it's very different.

Since we already mentioned Satyricon, I really gotta ask this. How was your relationship with Satyr and Frost? Were you good friends with them?

No. I think we were not made to be in the same band. Let's put it that way. I have a certain temperament, and I take it on me. As I told you, I don't like being told what to do and not do, and I don't take anybody to tell me that. I don't give a shit about the consequences. I don't give a shit if it's Metallica, I wouldn't accept this for anything. I'm free and I will stay that way. That's why I'd rather start my own band than join any band.

You really keep it to yourself, I'm very happy for you that you're confident in that sense that you don't really let people push you around. It's a very common thing in the musical world. A lot more common than people would think.

Exactly. You're exactly right. If you knew the numbers of musicians, I know still today that accept things I would never accept, you would be surprised.

Yeah. I mean, if I could have more frequent conversations with a lot of bands, maybe I could probably tell if one of them is telling the truth like yourself or if somebody is trying to sugarcoat everything and just give a nicer story for the press rather than say how things are. Even if it's an ugly picture, I would prefer to see the truth rather than see things as people would want them to see. Think about bands like Cradle of Filth. How many members were in that band? There were probably over 40 members. Imagine if you were part of that.

No, I cannot. I wouldn't even apply. I'm not gonna name drop anybody, but I've been asked to play bass in bands. You would be surprised. But I say no every time. I'm not interested. I don't do it for the wrong reason. Many musicians do things for the wrong reasons. They do it for the money, the fame. I'm not interested in that. If I didn't do much in 20 years since Dissection, it's because I'm not interested in that. Otherwise, I would have known it. And I've been asked to play bass in pretty big bands and turned down the offer, most of the time.

I think it would have been crazy to see if you ended up playing as a live bassist for Watain, for example, instead of Alvaro. But Alvaro has been a long-time bass player for those guys, because as we all know, Erik did the bass on most of their albums apart from the last two, and he even did gigs for Dissection when the band was still around. That's probably around the time when you left the band.

That's right. I don't know who does what or doesn't do nowadays, to be honest. So, I don't know. But when I left, I think, there was a Norwegian guy for a while and then Erik.

Yeah. There was that one guy, this Norwegian bassist, whom I read that he started some sort of National Socialist movement. And I was like "Well, this goes against what I would imagine for somebody playing in Dissection". But I was like, I'm not gonna judge. It was weird just to read that bio of a musician.

Yeah. It is. It was indeed.

Before we wrap this up, I just wanted to ask, what are your current plans for the project From Kaos? Can we expect a new single anytime soon?

Yes. The current plans, the first single "The Outskirts of The Mind" will be released on November 19th, Tuesday next week, officially, on the digital platforms, like Spotify, iTunes, and so on. On December 3rd, a second single called "Point of No Return" will be released. And on 18th December, the entire album called Synchronicity one will be released.

Brice, thank you so much for taking your time. It's been such a pleasure and I'm looking forward to hearing this new project, and I am honoured to have you here both as a long-time fan and a follower of your work, as well as for Dissection. All I can say is best of luck to you, brother.

Thank you very much. Very highly appreciated. Very much appreciated.

Just for closure, are there any final words you'd like to leave?

Check out From Kaos. You might like it, really.

Yoth Iria's new album "Blazing Inferno" has received a great reception so far, also when you check the reviews for it on our site. I had the great pleasure talking to the mind behind the band, legendary Jim Mutilator who is deeply rooted in the Greek black metal scene since the late 80s. Not only Yoth Iria but also his works with Rotting Christ and his connections in the scene were topic of our chat we had via Zoom. Dive deep into Jim Mutilators' world and enjoy reading!

Michael

Hi Jim, I hope all is fine with you?

Yes, all is fine, thank you!

Your new Yoth Iria album "Blazing Inferno" was out this November. Of course I already heard it several times and have my own opinion about it but what would you personally say is the main difference to "As The Flame Withers"?

I think that I had in mind to make something different to "As The Flame Withers". In my opinion this was a good album but I wanted to create something which is a little bit more different just not to copy "As The Flame Withers" musical direction. I tried with my guitarist to create something more melodic but also still more aggressive. I think that maybe "Blazing Inferno" is not as complicated as "As The Flame Withers" and it has more short tracks and not so many riffs. I think we gave more attention to melody to keep the true black metal spirit into it without so many complicated tempo changes in the tracks. I think it's a good continuation because it's a Yoth Iria album but not a copy of its predecessor. Another big difference is the change of the vocalist. "He" is the new vocalist and replaces The Magus.

I like the super epic melodies that weren't to find in such amount on "As The Flame Withers". Did you want to create a catchier album this time?

Yes, exactly, you are right. I had in mind something catchier, something to be straight to the ears of the fans. I do music for my fans, for my soul but for sure the people will judge if that's a good album or not.

If I got it right, there is a story between the battle of demons and angels that you tell on "Blazing Inferno". Did you want to set some sort of theater play to music?

I don't think there is a battle of angels and demons. In my own belief I don't believe that there are out there some demons and angels that fight each other. Those are energies that have particular meanings in our lives. I think most spiritual and I think that the main subject in our album is that Gabriel and Yoth Iria destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. So the meaning is that an angel and a demon join forces and destroy and anomaly. Those were cities with sin, where fathers raped their daughters and so on and Yoth Iria was the gift of Lucifer to Gabriel to destroy them faster. It's more hypothetic like a subject I wanted to work around. The main meaning of the album is that you don't have to fear anything because life on Earth is too short. If you avoid the main reason for fear you will be invincible. In my opinion inner fear of people is the main reason for most of the bad things. Don't forget that if someone lives in fear it's easier to be like a slave. This is the meaning of the album: metal, magic, freedom.

Did the classic Greek drama play a role in composing the songs or arranging them on the album? I often feel like you are building up a lot of tension in the progress of the songs and which is falling down slightly towards the end.

I really like this question because even nowadays Greece is a poor country with a glorious past. Living in Greece has a big influence on our conscience. I agree that the ancient Greek drama and not only this but also ancient Greek philosophy and the civilization has a big effect in my way of thinking and on the way I build my art. I have respect for other countries and the people there, we all live in the same universe. But everywhere in Greece, there are ancient monuments and this ancient atmosphere and I think you can't avoid this ancient inspiration, especially in us that are occupied with this kind of music because in my opinion it's a different kind of music because we are a different kind of people.

Haha, that's funny because Sakis from Rotting Christ told me almost the same in our latest interview with all the ancient monuments and so on. Listening to a song like "Mornings Of The One Thousand Golds" makes me instantly smile because it reminds me so much of "Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers". How much Rotting Christ DNA is still in Yoth Iria?

I don't want to think that I'm talking with a big ego but in my career so far I think that the best album we ever made, me and Sakis, was "Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers". It's the way I realized music, the kind of structures. Of course I never think that I try to copy "Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers" but now I can say that unconsciously I think that the musical standards of the album always hit on me (laughs). Of course you are the ones to judge how the music is sounding to your ears, I am not the one to judge my music but I think that some riffs in "Mornings Of The One Thousand Golds" after listening to it several times sound like "Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers" but nothing of that happened on purpose (laughs).

You have the same God or Demon on the cover, only that he isn't that majestic and crowned this time but destructive and fiery. Do you also want to tell a story with the covers?

From the beginning I have decided that all Yoth Iria albums, and I hope we will release a lot of more albums (laughs), will have the same demon, Yoth Iria. Of course you know that the first I mentioned Yoth Iria was in Rotting Christ on the track "Fourth Knight Of Revelation" on "Thy Mighty Contract". "Yoth Iria – Unholy Master; Yoth Iria – Prince Of Fire". It was like my personal guardian angel demon and this time it's a destructive one because he is destroying Sodom and Gomorrah and if you check, you can see archangel Gabriel behind him. We have a great artist from India, Harshanand Singh, working also for Ubisoft, the famous label making games for the kids. If you remember, the band started with our EP "Under His Sway" with him like in a throne. On "As The Flame Withers" he was just staring at a universe and now was the time for destruction. Be sure, the next album will be like the rainbow after the storm!

Since the debut album a lot of things have changed – you have a completely new band and with Edged Circle also a new label. What happened that this all had to change?

To be honest, the band is my personal vision. I had in mind to create a band which is totally on my own just with a singer. But what happened? After releasing "As The Flame Withers" suddenly and totally unexpected I had so many proposals for live shows. I like playing live because in my opinion black metal has to be in touch with the fans because we're going to spread the words of black metal. I felt obligated to create a full band. I changed some members but from the first day we started playing live shows I have the same line-up. The guys joined the band a few months after the release of "As The Flame Withers" and I have to make clear that The Magus joined me for the recording of the first album and it was clear for us that he wasn’t available for live shows and his time was really limited because he runs a lot of jobs. From the beginning I had in mind that if I want to play live shows I would need a live singer and of course a guitarist, a drummer et cetera.

Yeah, I remember that The Magus told me about that. But apart from this, you also changed the label and Stian who runs Edged Circle told me how excited he was to have you in his roster now.

Yes, the debut album was on Pagan Records and it was the famous Nergal of Behemoth that suggested us to release the debut on that label. I'm really satisfied with the job they did, it was for one album and we received a very good suggestion from Stian and so we are here with our new album. We have a contract for one album and I am very satisfied with Edge Circle Productions because they are really supportive to us and really spend money for supporting us.

"We Call Upon The Elements" is the first video from the new album. Are there some more planned to release?

We are planning two more tracks from the album. One track will be the title track "Blazing Inferno".

"The Wanderer" was a single you also released this year and which is originally an old Emperor song that too close to the original. Is this your bow to the old Scandinavian black metal scene? How much influence did they have on you?

This track was for a compilation "A Tribute To Emperor" but for me this old thing is a lot more deeper. I had a lot of strong relationships with a lot of Norwegian artists. From the late 80s it was Jon Metalion, if you remember him from Slayer Magazine, who connected me around 86/87 with Euronymous.  Although we never met because he was very young back then we were in contact, also on a weekly basis, talking to him on the phone. We wrote a lot of letters to each other and he was the one who gave me a lot of other Norwegian guys' addresses and in the early 90s I was in contact with the whole Norwegian scene. I was a very good friend to Fenriz, Varg, with the guys from Enslaved and Dissection from Sweden or Immortal – the list is very long. With Rotting Christ in our very early days we had received a big support from Euronymous and the other Norwegian guys. For me in my mind, I always have a big respect for them even now some of them are rock stars. In my mind they are all like brothers and beck in the 90s they were brave guys that made a really big revolution for black metal with burning churches. Of course I don't tell people to burn churches, not now with my 53 years, but I have a big respect for them because they weren't afraid to fight a war for black metal. They burnt churches, went to jail and what was really terrible for me that a friend killed another great friend. Not because of death, everybody of us will die, maybe now or in a few years, this doesn't matter. The bad thing is that Euronymous was an iconic black metal artist and a leader in my opinion, I think that thousands of people out there would agree with me. Varg also was a great musician but it happened. There were a lot of things that didn't happen because of Euronymous' death. If you know Rotting Christ was in contact with Deathlike Silence for "Thy Mighty Contract" and we were ready to release a split with Burzum. Of course nothing happened. I made this Emperor track with lyrics as a very small tribute to all these legendary guys up in the north.

What are the upcoming plans for Yoth Iria in late 24/25?

We will start a tour in late February, about two weeks in Europe, some days in Brazil, we have some shows and festivals in January, probably there will be some shows in Greece in December and we are talking with our agency for a bigger tour in September 25.

The last words belong to you!

Thank you very much for your support and kind words. Hello to all the people that will read this interview and I hope I will meet a lot of you at the upcoming shows!

Since 1991, France's Gorgon has been a voice for true black metal. They were championed by underground mainstay record label Osmose Productions who played a key role in the distribution of their music early on, and since their official signing to said label in 2018, their product has reached all new levels of viability. But the horde has always been there; ever faithful to Gorgon's brand of unflinchingly essential BM: authentic and proud, Satanic and blasphemous.

Gorgon frontman, Chris, is a deeply insightful individual with an astute black metal IQ, so when the opportunity to interview him presented itself, I jumped on it. There are a ton of so-called black metal bands out there, but very few of them even understand the fact that the music they're creating might be blackened, but at its core, it's not really black metal at all… Imposters! And the people who endorse these bands (Emperor, Dark Funeral, Immortal etc.) are a blight upon what began as something pure; a movement that was never meant to be seen in the mainstream spotlight. There's certainly nothing wrong with a band building a career behind their music, but to call yourself a black metal band when you're not only signed to a major label, but also peddling shit like Emperor brand coffee on social media is sacrilege. Chris and Gorgon stand firmly-rooted in the ways of olde: playing select concerts in modest venues for their diehard followers, releasing albums that admonish the mainstream and holding tight to the idea that true black metal is for true black metal people; people whose ears are always turned to the underground.

During this in depth interview, Chris of Gorgon discusses the early French scene, his opinion on the current state of black metal as a whole, his outlook on Christian progressivism and the music behind Gorgon - the under-sung villains of false black metal…

Jeger

Hails, Chris and welcome to MetalBite. Gorgon was established in 1991 during the onset of the Second-Wave of black metal, which was an era largely dominated by the Scandinavians. What can you tell us about the early French scene and Gorgon's formative years?

Greetings and thank you for having us in your publication. Yes, Scandinavia dominated the scene then, but Greece already had its trio: Rotting Christ, Necromantia and Varathron. Switzerland had Samaël and here and there, groups were starting to make waves around the world. France was under the influence of Thrash and Death Metal, which were sweeping the nation, and most of the bands evolved in these styles. For my part, I wanted to play Black Metal, so against the tide, I formed Gorgon with myself and two female members, who came from the Thrash scene. This trio played concerts and recorded a single demo, and then the adventure continued with different lineups afterwards. We were quickly in contact with various groups from around the world, and we saw the movement grow. France also followed with its share of groups claiming this style, which we randomly discovered through flyers or messages received. This excitement took off here thanks to the commercial success of Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, but also thanks to the national labels: Osmose Productions, Holy Records and Adipocere Records who also distributed beautiful lists that were to be envied.

The Norwegian and Polish scenes became Nefarious for church arsons and random acts of vandalism by outfits like Mayhem and Thunderbolt. How did you feel about what were then considered by these groups as "acts of war"?

It didn't bother me, because it went with the spirit of that time period, and many groups in the zines claimed to be a part of this crusade. Nowadays, this has dissipated, even though desecration of cemeteries and other places continues to be carried out by people linked to the scene. This extreme music naturally comes from worshipers who are just as extreme in their actions, so it doesn't shock me. Rap music with its share of "bad boys" and delinquents also know this. There is the music, but also the daily life, which is linked and inseparable from it.

Satanism is a common theme in Gorgon's music. I feel like it's coming from a place of genuineness with you, but the same cannot be said about other mainstream bands who only use Satanic themes and imagery as a way to fit in and sell records. What do you think about black metal bands that peddle their merch and records under the guise of faux Satanism?

Imagery is an important element in BM, so many groups are doing like the others to try and exist without understanding the spirit behind it. This desire to identify with others is natural in men in order to feel safe and not rejected by the group to which we claim to belong. Also, it's true, we manage to see photos or covers of particularly ridiculous groups, even distressing, and this undermines their music, which suddenly loses the little flavor that we might have found there. These mainstream groups do not bring a positive image to the scene, but we cannot prevent their creation. However, given the mass of groups that pollute the scene, ignoring them is not a big deal in itself as we can fall back on other groups that deserve our attention if we look carefully. Time will make them disappear and be forgotten. It's just a shame for the other groups who would have deserved our attention, and whose twists and turns we have to dig into to find them, but that's also the underground - a constant search for rare pearls that are not put in the spotlight of popularity.

You've also expressed vehement anti-Christian sentiments throughout your career. The Bible Thumpers of the '80's and '90's are a thing of the past. Now, we find ourselves in the age of Mega Churches and Christian progressivism, but the doctrines will never change, despite this new wave of supposed open-mindedness within the church. What's your take on modern Christendom and how churches are currently operating?

Yes, dogmas will not change and this is the very principle of religions. There are texts considered sacred, which have been written and to which time will not make any alteration. We understand that there can be an evolution or variations to adapt to the century, or the period in which we live in, but the foundations remain the same essentially. This is also normal, because what credibility would a religion have if it regularly alters its teaching? Using television or the internet, or any other means of disseminating their ideas is a normal adaptation to reach their followers and recruit. But in itself, I don't feel concerned by these small changes. It's their business, their way of continuing to exist and maintaining this whole, which is crumbling here and there in the face of the real expectations of many people.

Okay, let's get into the music. You're set to release a new album via Osmose Productions, "For Those Who Stay". This album is the third and final installment in a trilogy of records that have been released from 2019 to now: "The Veil of Darkness", "TraditioSatanae" and "For Those Who Stay". Can you explain the story or concept behind these albums?

Our 2019 album, "The Veil Of Darkness", is the one that makes the most reference to the Evil One, which treats the subject from different aspects such as black magic, worship and its many blasphemous sides. "Traditio Satanae" - released in 2021 - gradually slides toward more personal themes with stories that evoke different ways of approaching the dark side in the broad sense. It is not always easy to reinvent ourselves in our texts/styles, yet we always try to bring different elements and find ideas that stand out from what we have already written about. Our latest album is based on death; with what I consider to be well-researched mournful poetry and some idiosyncrasies we've never written about before. It is a series of independent stories which form a whole in my eyes.

You signed with Osmose in 2018, and I feel like they've represented your music beautifully. How's your working relationship with Osmose and how would you compare that relationship with that of other labels?

Created the same year as us, in 1991, they have always supported us, distributing our demo from 1992 then our EP and also our first album in 1995. We had to wait until 2018 for them to sign us; 2019 being the year of our first album released with them (the fifth of our career). Our relationship has always been good; further facilitated by our common language for our exchanges. They are based in the North of the country, we're in the South, so this may surprise you, but, I've only met the owner once. He was with the label's graphic designer and they came to see us in 2021 during a festival in our capital, Paris. They give us artistic freedom, and all signed contracts have been respected. They have a good reputation, a back catalog so revered by many fans and our good understanding has continued since our signing: CD, LP, vinyl, tape, streaming, merch, YouTube channel, all the classic media to broadcast our music and our name are made available to us. So, over the years we have not tried to break this union. It's a successful partnership for us and one that we hope will last.

Gorgon is an active live band. How have fans been responding to the new material?

They were very impatient for this new opus, which took a long time to see the light of day, and for the moment, we are seeing real enthusiasm for it. The fact that we have been coming back for several years, performing live in different places and reaching people who didn't know us has only increased the number of people who are interested in us. The response is more massive with each album release, and given the work carried out, this reassures us in our efforts. Live, the new tracks fit well into our set list and there is no downtime. We don't notice any drop in pressure.

What does your live ritual schedule look like moving forward?

We've had two new band members for over  a year at our side now, who, throughout rehearsals and concerts, have progressed in both their playing and stage performances. So, our "In your face" side, direct, without compromise, is accentuated. We have very little props on stage. We base our concerts more on the intensity of our performances. We obviously reworked a set list which covers the majority of our discography and includes new titles. We don't do a lot of concerts, so each date has its own particularity. There is nothing routine. To date, we have played in eight countries including Italy and Switzerland where we are returning in 2025, and two new territories are planned, which will increase the number to ten.

I feel like Euronymous is turning in his grave at the current state of black metal commercialization: kids eating nachos while watching Emperor perform at festivals, Dark Funeral touring with nothing but death metal bands and things of that nature. What's your opinion on how the mainstream black metal scene is impacting what was meant to be an underground movement?

Just like Punk and surely other movements before, Black Metal has allowed itself to be perverted by a mass of groups and pseudo fans who dishonor it. Many people who say they are fans of the style are in fact only fans of a handful of affiliated groups such as Dark Funeral, Emperor, Belphegor, Immortal or Behemoth. Apart from these popular groups, they have no knowledge of the underground and do not support the groups that comprise it. In France, if you organize a Mayhem concert, you will have five times more people than a BM concert with groups not exposed to the spotlight. However, in both cases, the listener is supposed to like it and come to see BM live. Taking a step back, we see that the same is true for Heavy Metal. Where Iron Maiden will attract thousands of people, more modest groups also playing Heavy Metal will have much fewer entries. It's all about popularity and media exposure. Many local tribute bands to AC/DC, Megadeth or Pantera bring more people to concerts than groups playing the same style who have their own repertoire. The arrival of the internet and social networks is the major cause of this drift which touches BM. Previously, you had to know someone to be able to enter the scene, see distribution lists, listen to demos and acquire fanzines. For many years now, without leaving the comfort of your home, with a connected computer you can listen to everything for free, see live concerts, get information and order what you want without going through a third party. In the end, there is definitely a lot of waste in this mass of "fans" who access everything without deserving, it or even understanding its spirit.

The French scene has become increasingly grandiose and elegant over the years. There are some enthusiasts who feel like this sort of beauty is unbecoming of what constitutes true black metal. Do you feel like some of these bands are misrepresenting the genre, or are you a proponent of French black metal's evolution? 

I think I see what you mean, but for me, some of these groups that claim to be Black Metal are not according to my criteria. Many groups label their style like that, but do not manifest it in their approach. They make a kind of extreme metal musically, but that's where it ends. Black Metal is not a big catch-all with blast music and screaming vocals. Incidentally, I note that it is the same for Death Metal. Many bands use this name (sometimes even "Modern Death Metal") but they just make metal with a big voice and there's nothing Death Metal about it. In short, in France, Black Metal goes in all directions and deals with everything: the stars, life in the countryside, the history of our country, the First World War, mental illnesses and the "evil" side of historical origins. The "Black" side, in short, has disappeared. So, we have our share of bands calling themselves ridiculous nicknames like Post-Black Metal, and the lyrics go with it. It's not that there's no work behind it, that it's poorly played, that their texts are poorly written or even that they don't have the right to exist; it's just that it's not Black Metal. It's not an evolution of the scene; it's a perversion made by people who don't recognize themselves as Black Metal, but who take ingredients from the genre to spit it out into something else. Therefore, they have "general public" admirers who also have the impression of being fans of black metal when this is not the case.

Do you have a message for the horde?

The story continues for us with this new album - the wildest according to the person who recorded us and who prefers this word to "brutal". A new phase which will involve concerts here and there, and in which we hope to meet those who follow us, have already seen us or are eager to discover us on stage. We have remained faithful to what this style should be, and will enjoy showing it.

If there is one thing that is very clear about Czech's Metal Scene, it's the fact that it has obviously come a long way since the days of cult bands like the black metal legends Master's Hammer. Thanks to the magic, aggression and the spiritualism of bands such as them, Root, Törr, Crux and Fata Morgana to name a few, you can see how it drastically evolved from there and pretty much it never stopped going further with its evolution. Even if Master's Hammer has been officially split-up for a while now, the interest still remains strong, if not stronger than ever before. Since last year, the label Darkness Shall Rise Productions has re-released their classic demos and the Live Occult Rituals live album, with the high demand from fans who are there to remind us that the legacy of Master's Hammer lives on. Recently, I've decided to reach out to the band's vocalist and guitarist František "Franta" Štorm regarding the decision of re-releasing their demos on vinyl, but we've also discussed other subjects along the way such as the everlasting legacy of Master's Hammer, his other project Mortal Cabinet, as well as Franta's calligraphy and artwork which he still does to this day. I hope you will stay along for the ride and enjoy the interview with the great Franta Štorm.

Vladimir

Greetings Franta, welcome on behalf of Metalbite. How have you been doing lately?

Hello, thanks, today I'm painting and designing a book.

Lately I've seen new Master's Hammer physical releases from the Finished and The Mass demo re-releases last year and the Live Occult Rituals live album this year. What is the story behind the reissues of the demos and the live album on top of it? Were you reached out by the Darkness Shall Rise Productions label with the interest to put it out on vinyl?

Denny Wolfram / DSR convinced us to do it. I'm usually reluctant to dig into the past, but his attitude changed my mind. Some weird memories reached me when doing the interviews for the booklets, so fans can read about the circumstances at date of origin, they can smell the dirty rehearsal-room air with us. The feel is back without sentiment: I wonder if we had just a fraction of today's knowledge - and the opposite way - what if we had just a little bit of the young energy nowadays... That's the project's lesson for me.

I'm very happy with the Live album - not only is the sound great, but it combines old and newer stuff on stage. I'd like to mention some details that are not so obvious: all Ritual and Okultista songs are originally composed in E-tuning, whereas newer songs from Mantras are deeper in B, but Fascinator is all in D. For live version we had to unify all of them into D, which made them sound more consistent (and made the touring lighter with just one set set of guitars instead of three). When I first heard the rough live take, which is about 100 minutes of playing, I was surprised how well we played actually, but for me - so many mistakes in singing, but it's live, and that's the nature, and Honza Kapák did a great job on mixing. I was also happy that I could finally use my painting on the cover.

Since these old demos and compilations have been reissued on vinyl, was there high demand from the fanbase? Were there large sales of record copies involved?

To be precise, these are not compilations but faithful demos with just very little adjustments, just lots of recovered original archivals, memories and photos. Denny says there was a high demand from fans and the pre-order sales confirmed that. The "Live Occult Rituals" is another story - the concert is pressed as was played with just two or three songs swapped for technical reasons. No post- corrections, no over-dubbing in the studio, each mistake on stage is reproduced. Authentic professional and amateur photos and an interview. That's the way we like it.

It's been made clear that Master's Hammer disbanded officially four years ago, only a couple of years after the release of your last full-length album Fascinator, so what can you tell me about what happened that led to the demise of Master's Hammer? Was there anything that forced the band to cease activity in 2020?

We've been disbanded all the time, except for our 2018 world tour. We've been releasing albums regardless to personal line-up, e. g. Vagus Vetus, Formulae, or Vracejte konve na místo - we just met twice in a studio - once for taking live drums and second for mixing and photo together and afterwards we went back home to our businesses. I admit it's a special band. Live playing is a full-time job and I'm not a metalhead, loud noise is exhausting and boring.

After the band has stopped playing in 2020, the interest in the band still remains relatively strong and I've seen much more interest shifting towards metal bands from Eastern Europe, especially towards the pre-second wave black metal bands such as yourselves and Root. Do you feel the same way that the love and support towards Master's Hammer is still relevant or perhaps even stronger?

The fans' interest really surprises me, we're not typical "love product", some say that we're the only underground band still selling some archive stuff - it's true, but in quite little numbers, focused on nice limited editions. I wanted to do experimental black metal, but my band-mates used to hate synthesizers, so now I'm on my own way of composing. In this context the old-school sound is certainly nostalgia, and perhaps the reason why some young listeners go for it. The support also means I can get rid of those memories, to create new music.

I also want to talk about your other project Mortal Cabinet, which you formed with horrorcore singer Řezník and Sodoma Gomora Samir Hauser. What's the story behind the formation of this project? How did you guys manage to incorporate so many different elements from a handful of different genres?

In 2015 we decided to mix the most radical decadent sorts of rap, electro and metal together, people loved it, it was great timing to play apart from our other projects. The idea was that each of us will write one third of all songs and we'll sing some together, which we did. I like Marty's / Řezník (the Butcher) poetry - he is best rap songwriter and film producer in Czechia. Samir is an excellent manager, songwriter, and had great ideas on image, stage acting, and I did 90% of Mortal Cabinet music in my studio, John Fryer did the mix of the album. We had only 10 shows - all crowded, epic parties. We are great friends and still inspiring each other.

I see Mortal Cabinet as a nice blend of various musical ideas fused in with occult themes and philosophies that fuel its output, but are there any influences in particular outside of music like movies, poetry or literature?

We were crazy as animals, taking the worst ugliness for inspiration, deviation and madness. But Mortal Cabinet was mostly about fun. And so are horrors in general. We had a song about A. Crowley, very ironic, also about televangelism, about abuse, pain and despair taken from local legends, but taken with a lot of humor.

Mortal Cabinet's album Necrotica is nearing its 10 year anniversary, but since then there wasn't any news regarding a follow-up album. Are you guys planning to return to the studio and work on another album?

You're right, it would be nice to do something - at least one song in common...

Anyone who is familiar with you also knows that you work with calligraphy and artwork, which were an integral part of Master's Hammer discography, and I see you're still very active in that field. How and when did you start with calligraphy and artworks? Also, how did you manage to develop your own artstyle?

In fact, visual art is my current occupation. I'm a designer, illustrator, painter, typographer, among other activities. None of them is actually "primary". My inspiration is perhaps nature and present life, also travelling, but mostly my inner worlds, it's difficult to describe briefly here, I'm writing a whole book about it now.

How frequently do you follow the music scene nowadays? Have there been any new artists or bands that really got your attention?

I love modern classical music like Arvo Pärt - we have tickets for the next Prague Spring. Actually I like all kinds of music (except for folklore and jazz), and I love silence. Recently I've discovered a very special artist named "Omnion" - very focused and relaxing, with some spirituality and humor at the same time.

So far, what are your plans for the future? Can we expect anything new from you in regards to music or other contributions?

I do exhibitions with animations projected with beamers - on last Brutal Assault in Josefov for instance. It's always a special installation in dark space with canvas paintings, video and of course original music - I call this "sound design" - I don't do "songs" anymore. Next exhibition will be in December / January in Prague's Avoid gallery - come to see!

Thank you so much for this interview Franta. It's been such an honor having you here, especially as a longtime fan and follower of Master's Hammer and Mortal Cabinet as well. Best of luck to you in life and I hope our paths will cross in the future. Are there any final words?

Thank you for having me. You're right - our paths may cross anytime, so is with music and fans, we never know...

Anyone that actively follows the Serbian black metal scene was very fortunate to have witnessed the triumphant return of Nadsvest with their brand-new debut album "Slovo Meseca I Krvi", 5 years since the release of their first EP "Kolo Ognja I Železa". For those of you who are unaware of them, Nadsvest is a two-piece band formed in 2018, founded by S, whom you may know as Atterigner of Gorgoroth and ex-Triumfall fame, alongside A, also known as Krigeist of bands such as Svartgren, Barshasketh, Belliciste, Ophidian Coil, Thy Darkened Shade (live/session) and many more. Both members are highly experienced in their craft thanks to being constantly active in the field of black metal, which serves a great contribution to their work in the band. Nadsvest has gained a lot of attraction for being highly influenced by European dark folklore, particularly Serbian, which is omnipresent in their music and atmosphere that is predominantly focused towards the style of occult black metal bands such as Master's Hammer, Root, Malokarpatan, Tormentor, Negative Plane and others. When it was unveiled that the band had signed to Soulseller Records and that the new album "Slovo Meseca I Krvi" is on pre-order sales with the official release date of May 17th this year, it was an unexpected turn of events that caught many by surprise. After some time had passed, it's clear that the feedback from fans and critics regarding the new album was a highly positive one, and thus it resulted in more interest shifting towards Nadsvest. If you are interested to learn more about Nadsvest and thread into their territory, please join me as I share a few words with both members of the band, discussing their history together, their work on the new album, and plenty of other things along the way.

Vladimir

Greetings brothers, a heart-warming welcome on behalf of MetalBite magazine. How are you doing today?

A: Hi, doing well today. Thanks for the interview!

S: All well here, and thanks from my side too.

I have just heard your new album "Slovo Meseca I Krvi", and just as I mentioned a couple of times, it is one mean album that successfully exceeded all my expectations. It is very different from your debut EP, it's much darker and more menacing as a whole, but that's what I like about it. How did you guys focus on the songwriting process of this album? What is it that you wanted to achieve this time differently from your "Kolo Ognja I Železa" EP? What was the direction that you were going with?

A: The songs developed over a fairly long period of time, and were reworked a number of times until we'd achieved the atmosphere we wanted. I think in terms of what we wanted to achieve and the direction we took, it was something quite vague and nebulous. It was more about achieving the right mood and atmosphere, rather than aiming for any particular sonic style.

S: Nothing to add here, A explained it perfectly.

Although the album was successfully teased with the single and first track of the album, "Vihori Boja", which song from Slovo meseca i krvi would you guys choose as your personal favorite and for what reason?

A: I think for me, the fourth track "Pojanje Crno" is my current favourite. I think this track perfectly encapsulates the menace, malevolence and mystery we were aiming for. It's hard to choose though, as every song has its purpose on the album and the overall flow of the entire work was something we considered very carefully. We wanted to ensure that the musical narrative flowed and followed the narrative laid out in the lyrics.

S: I can agree with A here that abovementioned song has almost all touches we wanted to encapture in this album, which make it very representative and it does stand out for me too. On the other hand, closing track with Alexandros on guest vocal appearance is something I also revisit often. I feel like that one is crowned with some of the darkest moments of the album, both lyrically and musically and takes me exactly where I want to be when listening to black metal.

It's been 5 years since your first EP was released and fans have been hungry for the new album to come out, and now that it is finally here you can tell that it was worth the wait. Was there anything challenging or demanding that you faced during the making of this new album?

A: I don't think there were any particularly demanding challenges that we faced during the writing and recorded process, except for perhaps a lack of time. We are both involved in a lot of other pursuits, artistic and otherwise, so finding the time needed to fully dedicate to crafting the album was difficult at times.

When you guys started out with Nadsvest in 2019 with your first EP, you obviously had a lot of past experience that you brought to the table and then used it to craft this new devilry. What can you tell me about how the band came to be and what were your initial plans when you formed Nadsvest?

A: We had already known each other for a few years before Nadsvest was formed. The idea grew organically out of many discussions and a shared passion for black metal. The initial plans were fairly basic in the beginning – to create dark and sinister black metal with a distinctly Serbian flavour.

S: I guess we also wanted to explore some fields we haven't been able to touch with our other projects and try to create something that we were missing so far.

I always loved the fact that the band's sound and style never shifted towards that second wave black metal like most bands do, in fact there are a lot of elements of bands such as Master's Hammer, Sarcofago, Beherit, Blasphemy, Mortuary Drape, Tormentor, Bathory and so forth. How did you guys come up with the decision of incorporating this kind of sound for Nadsvest?

A: I don't know if it was a conscious decision to incorporate those sounds. The first EP had a much heavier dose of second wave black metal within it, but those sounds were largely absent by the time the split with Necrobode came about. We are certainly fans of the bands you've listed, especially S. but from my side, the style came about naturally in the songs I wrote. I aimed to sonically capture my experiences of living in Serbia, from the greys of urban settings in the cold months, to the mystery and darkness that lies over the wilds of eastern Serbia.

S: I always felt that rural ritualistic atmosphere of the bands like Master's Hammer/ Root, necromantic and horror invocations of Mortuary Drape, early Death SS and chaotic aggression of Sarcofago embodied the unique energy essential for black metal music, but somehow that sound, in shadow of 90s and early 2000s bands wasn't widely spread. I found myself many times drawing inspiration from those gems in order to make our tunes more "wild and free, primordial"!

The band's lyrical themes deal a lot with the Serbian dark folklore, this time it's more focused towards the predominantly lycanthropic aspect. Are there any particular works of literature and cinema revolving around dark folklore that have influenced your work?

S: Lyrical themes were strongly rooted in researches of folkloric symbolism, rituals we could find in some works of historians of religion of 19th and early 20th century. A lot of inspiration also comes from Serbian epic ballads, both in spiritual and morphological aspects which can give transic vibrations to the lyrical lines. If we had to mention something regarding cinema in the context for this release, then it would definitely be "She Butterfly" (Leptirica) with its haunting soundscapes.

Both of you have performed and still perform in various other bands, with you A. especially being involved in lots of different projects and you S. doing band artwork under Khaos Diktator Design. How do you guys manage to keep up that tempo?

A: I can barely keep up to be honest. I've put a lot of projects to rest and ended my cooperation with some other bands. The well of creativity only runs so deep, so I made the decision to focus on the projects that held something unique and gave me some artistic satisfaction.

S: I guess it is the same with me.

This might be a bit of a difficult question for both of you, but here it is: Since you guys are very active and also experienced in the field of black metal, and on top of that you are always staying inspired to keep on going. What exactly fuels the engine and the hunger for you guys to continue working in this extreme form of metal?

A: At this stage, it's not even a choice really. I have a compulsive need to create, where it springs from, I couldn't say. It's actually pretty inconvenient at times, with sleepless nights, not being punctual for other engagements. When the stream of creativity opens, I'm pretty much incapable of doing anything else until things are just the way I want them to sound and the mood is just right. It's almost like squeezing an infected wound, prodding at it and applying pressure until all the pus and corruption has been expelled. One of the reasons I reduced my number of projects was to ensure this stream of creativity didn't dry up and so I could direct it to things I'm more passionate about.

S: Again same. It is certainly not a matter of choice and that stream of creativity can also be a burden a lot of times.

As a last question, what would you say is what matters the most in black metal music? What is in your honest opinion, the definition of "true/pure black metal"?

A: Obviously it has to spring from the nightside, in whichever form you might interpret that. It requires a fanatical devotion to the artform and its associated ideals. It requires a deeply personal relationship with darkness on a daily basis. It is more than riffs and composition, it should reflect the artist's journey on their path and all the struggles and triumphs that entails. All things severely lacking in today's scene. Personality, character and a zealous devotion to the art are key things and can clearly be heard in any black metal of note.

S: It is a vessel of adversarial forces.

Vastum's latest work is a death metal masterpiece touching many areas of the psyche. Fantasies and mysteries alike take province within the band's music that seems to always outdo prior efforts. "Orificial Purge" is their 4th full length record that once you've heard it, you'll be unable to put it down. Six songs of muscle and monstrosity make way to the headbanging beholder; though veiled to an extent through its lyrics, the tonality lifts the covering to reveal the horror ever frequently. As vast as the band's collective image may be, "Orificial Purge" is but a new revelation of the landscape. MetalBite was lucky enough to catch up with Daniel and Leila to give some insight about "Orificial Purge". 

Alex

Thank you for granting MetalBite the time to conduct this interview. Also, congratulations on the new entry into Vastum's catalog; How has touring been? Are there any upcoming shows planned in support of "Orificial Purge"?

L: What little touring we've done has always been a positive experience and hope to do some more in 2020. Our next show is at Shadow Frost Fest in Maryland, Feb 21-23.

How did the band meet and form?

L: I met Dan first, around 2007, when Acephalix was just getting started and met Kyle and Luca shortly after that. Dan and Kyle go pretty far back, I think. I introduced Dan to RD sometime in 2009; RD used to play drums in Infest and I think is still playing in (The Infamous) Gehenna. Dan, RD and Kyle formed Corpus and recorded a demo; it was a deathpunk kind of thing. A month or so after recording the demo, and right after my old band Saros broke up, Kyle asked if I wanted to play second guitar. So I jammed with them, and started writing new songs with Kyle, which changed the direction of the band to a darker, doomier and slightly more technical sound (very slightly!). The new direction warranted a name change, so I came up with Vastum. Luca joined on bass shortly after the name change.

How did you arrive at the name Vastum?

L: Coming up with a band name is never easy. I came across Vastum in a Latin glossary, and the meaning of it (waste, empty or vast) felt like it captured the essence of our lyrics and what we're about as a band.

Vastum's style of death metal is sexually corrupt with all kinds of depraved and grotesque imagery and lyrical content. How did this idea of blending pleasure, pain and wickedness come to fruition?

L: Extreme music warrants extreme lyrics. But life is also extreme. We delve deeply within ourselves and our experiences, thoughts, fantasies, nightmares and the lyrics and images you read and see are the result of this process.

D: I'm interested in the psyche as a source of horror, and I'm interested in how there can be something religious and erotic in the horror that the psyche begets. This approach is related to intellectual interests, but it's also related to a certain kind of emotional orientation to the world. I think I've always been drawn to complex internal experiences, especially those of a darker sort, so that's what you get in our lyrics.

Was it difficult to acquire members to play in the band?, And more-so, finding members that share similar musical philosophies and subject interests.

L: Not at all. It came together naturally and easily, more so than for any band I've been a part of. We never seem to struggle finding new members when needed, and I'm grateful for the many people who have offered to play in the band. The Bay Area is a good place to be if you're looking for death metal musicians.

To me Vastum is like an underground death metal super-group, all members are associated in other notable acts, thus how do you balance and find time to commit to this project?

L: It's our biggest challenge, to carve out time to write, record and play shows, because of all of our collective commitments to other projects. It can be a crazy and hair pulling thing! Everyone is experienced and talented enough to pull it off in the little amount of time we have, and we do the best we can.

I have listened to your new record "Orificial Purge" and I'm impressed at the level of detail you were able to place into 6 songs; was the writing and recording process for this tedious or prove to be more difficult than in the past?

L: Thank you! It's always hard to try to outdo ourselves with each new release. Shelby, Chad and I spent a lot of time preparing for recording and demoed the tracks before we went into the studio, which we hadn't done as much previously to this extent. We also didn't have a lot of time booked in the studio, so we had to utilize the time wisely. I tend to write in bursts; I won't have any ideas for a long time, but once I get started, I can get half of an album's worth in a relatively short period of time.

Who makes the final decision as to whether a record is complete and fit for release?

L: We all do, to varying degrees. All of us took part in the mixing process for "Orifical Purge".

How do you work around musical disagreements within the band, if any?

L: I think one of our collective strengths is that we are able to solve disagreements in a civilized way where at least everyone's voice is heard, even if not everyone's preferences are incorporated 100% of the time. Sometimes compromise is necessary.

There is a magic between Daniel and Leila often times created through the vocal toggle, like a dangerous affair occurring between domination and fragility. Was it a conscious decision to have 2 vocalists as a means to evince an atmosphere of oppression submission?

L: Dan and I are both quite dominating vocally - unbeknownst to many, because I don't sound stereotypically female - but we work together very collaboratively. We knew from the beginning we would both be doing vocals and were mutual fans of our previous vocal work.

D: I'd been a fan of Leila as a vocalist and guitarist for some time prior to forming Vastum. I wanted to play in a band with her, and I'm pretty sure I'm the one who really pushed for it (I first introduced myself to her at a restaurant where I was waiting tables; she was eating with a former collaborator, Eric Wood of Man is the Bastard). I wanted both of us to sing, so yeah, it was a conscious decision. I think our vocal dynamics have grown over the years, and that they're more interesting and complex on this record than any other.

Adding to that is your provocative song titles and lyrics such as 'I on the Knife', I might be wrong, but that sounds like a less venereal way of indicating penetration. Am I correct? Please elaborate even if I've been misled into a false interpretation.

D: 'I on the Knife' is a weird song. I wrote most of it in one sitting. It's about dissociative states or moments when we're commanded by another, a figure outside the self, and how this figure's command constitutes the self and so isn't technically outside of it at all. Like a lot of the songs on this record, I'm bridging the violence of mysticism, eroticism, and dissociation to tell something like demiurgic myths. The dissociative commands come from a God-like figure who instructs a subject to mutilate themselves - or who instructs the subject to keep their 'I'/'eye' on the knife - and it's through the subject's self-mutilation that a new world is born (creation ex-nihilio). The self-mutilation is a kind of deicidal gnosis, by which I mean the subject mutilates the divinized knower (the 'I' as a God), and it's through this (pleasurable) self-mutilation that the unknowable - a new self/world, one born of blood and a time beyond time - comes into being.

I have also noticed each of your full-length records contain 6 tracks, what is the meaning behind this? Is it some reference to occultism in sex (6ex) or is it mere coincidence or other?

L: I don't think this was ever consciously intentional. However, I think the 6-track format works very well for Vastum, both for the sonic experience and the logistics of releasing vinyl.

Moral boundaries are crossed in your music, particularly where the ideology behind love is concerned, hence it appears you must be fans of Friedrich Nietzsche's work or at least inspired by it. Would you share some insight here?

L: I discovered Nietzsche's writings when I was 14 years old, and although I haven't delved too deeply since, I wouldn't say it's wrong his work has affected me on a subconscious level at least.

D: I'm not totally sure what you mean, but I'll try to roll with the question. I'd say we're quite Nietzschean, largely via Bataille. Nietzschean ethics go beyond good and evil, which is what makes them radically evil. For Pseudo-Dionysus, what's radically evil is not opposed to the good; rather, the radically evil is opposed to production - it is that which is useless and so cannot produce any kind of 'good' at all. Nietzsche espouses a similar view. If Nietszchean vitality opposes the production of goods, which in turn opposes a certain relationship to time in which the goodness of my life in the present is dependent on the goods that I produce in the future (slave morality), then its reverence for momentous vitality is a form of radical evil. How does this relate to love? The love of life is an indifference to the production of goods; it's a form of radical evil in that it's an immersion in the moment. This love is not about persons or respect for personhood; it's about something more like libido and a celebration of (a potentially violent) vitality that transcends the person to more deeply commune with the world.

Would you agree the traditional concept of love is all systematically fabricated to veil the truth behind physical attraction, fetishes and social preferences?

D: Love is what sexuality struggles with and against, so I don't think the two can exist separately, nor do I think one veils the other. The veil is a doubling in which both conceal and reveal the other to create an ineradicable antagonism.

Would you say the term was constructed to suppress innate survival instincts and necessities of man?

D: I wouldn't actually. I think love or attachment is about survival, whereas sexuality is about destruction.

Is Vastum's music a take on true human nature to some degree?

D: I don't know about human nature, but we're definitely drawn to some diagnosis of the human condition.

Does it attempt to exhibit what is considered as 'foul' to be very much associated with the idea of affection?

D: I think we cherish the things we call foul but repress or dissociate that cherishment.

Are the philosophies represented through Vastum's music a reflection of any personal experiences?

D: Yes and no. I wouldn't say they're autobiographical. I don't like the idea of autobiography. It assumes too much conscious control of a narrative. Our lyrics aren't confessional in any way. They're about psychic life, which exists at the border of reality and fantasy.

How much of a role does each member have within Vastum? Is it an autocratic band or is it open to internal constructive criticism?

L: We are not autocratic, but not entirely democratic either. Everyone in this band does have a voice and everyone is heard but sometimes compromises are necessary to be able to move forward with our business.

An obscene spiritual intimacy also materializes through your work; would you agree or disagree that there is an ethereal element present within Vastum's music and particularly on "Orificial Purge"?

D: Definitely. That element is supposed to evoke something of the connection between violence, spiritual or religious experience, eroticism, etc. It's always been there, but I might be more pronounced on this record.

The artwork on "Orificial Purge" appears to be an extension of that on "Hole Below". Hence I suppose its contents are a further step taken in advancing "Hole Below"?

D: Laina Terpstra's painting is her response to Vastum. It's a response to her experience of meditating on our aesthetic and vision, which connects to her own in various ways.

I enjoy the way you play with words, whereby a blur of sorts between pleasure and hostility manifests. Please elaborate on this.

D: I suppose that reflects my/our insistence on violence as a part of life, or as something that transcends morality and form. I'm trying to link the physical and the psychical, the mystical and the erotic, whenever I can. It's an impossible link - such phenomena are ultimately irreducible to each other - but I feel a responsibility to try to make it anyway.

Do you think "Orificial Purge" speaks to the inner urges oftentimes hidden behind societal restraints? As though we are all vulnerable to succumbing to our temptations.

D: Prohibition reveals transgression as much as it tries to conceal it. I don't think people are very restrained actually - just look around.

Last time I checked "Patricidal Lust" was out of print, are there any plans to reissue the record?

L: 20 Buck Spin plans to reissue "Patricidal Lust" in 2020.

Excellent work on "Orificial Purge", I look forward to getting it on vinyl. Thank you for taking the time-out in contributing to this interview. MetalBite wishes Vastum all the best in future musical endeavors of introspect and provocation. Is there anything Vastum would like to add in closing?

L: Thank you, and thanks for the interview.

D: Thank you for the very thoughtful questions.