After several years of silence, which for many could have seemed like a definitive end, Haunted Cenotaph returns with a release that reeks of the dampness of ancient crypts and the weight of forgotten rituals. "Primitive Rituals Of Ancient Death" is not merely another release—it is the return of a specter that spent years maturing in the shadows of unfinished stories, breakups, and unexpected reunions. In this conversation, we look back at the moments when the music nearly ended up forever locked away in a drawer, but we also delve deeper into inspirations drawn from H. P. Lovecraft, the doom-laden aesthetics of horror, and the process of creating sounds that resemble a slow decomposition. It is a story of perseverance, darkness, and art born where most people hear only silence. My questions were answered by Golem and Coffin Crawler.

Levi

You have returned with a new EP. Five years of silence separated "Abyssal Menace" and "Primitive Rituals Of Ancient Death" — was this a deliberate isolation, or rather a natural period of incubation before the beast awakened once again?

Golem: We recorded the "Primitive Rituals Of Ancient Death" EP less than a year after the release of "Abyssal Menace", in July 2021, with our new drummer. A few months later, the band unofficially fell apart, which is why we abandoned the idea of releasing the material. Over the following years, we had several discussions about bringing things back to life, but nothing came of them. It wasn't until September 2024, when we met with Coffin Crawler at the Summer Dying Loud festival, that we agreed we had to push things forward—and that is exactly what happened. At that point, the only things missing were the cover artwork and a label willing to release the EP. I decided to take care of the artwork myself, which also became my first officially released album cover. Later, we sent the material to various labels, including Dawid from Fallen Temple, who had released all of our previous recordings. Toward the end of 2024, we reached an agreement with Dawid, and several months later, the EP finally saw the light of day. The entire process took a very long time, but the most important thing is that the music is no longer gathering dust in a drawer.

The new material feels even more suffocating and bleak than your previous work—like the stench of an ancient crypt. While working on it, did you have a particular vision of an emotion or an image you wanted to evoke, something like a ritual performed among the ruins of a forgotten temple?

Golem: We wanted to continue the vision and path of Morbid Doom Metal that we established on our previous releases. I believe "Primitive Rituals Of Ancient Death" can be viewed as a natural continuation of our debut "Abyssal Menace", the "Haunted Cenotaph" EP, and the demo "Nightmares From Beyond". All three original songs featured on this release were written much earlier. 'Plague Of The Centuries' and the intro 'Awaiting The Final Doom' were created around the time our debut album was released, while I remember writing 'Frozen Hell' around the release of our first EP at the end of 2019. In a way, this confirms what I mentioned before—it is a continuation of our vision and our path of Morbid Doom Metal. However, I believe this latest EP contains more fast-paced sections than any of our previous releases, which makes it somewhat of a departure for us.

Your lyrics strongly reflect the influence of H. P. Lovecraft's work. What attracts you the most to his cosmic horror—the helplessness of humanity in the face of infinity, forbidden knowledge, or perhaps the very aesthetics of the indescribable?

Golem: In my case, it is above all the incredible feeling of unease that practically pours out of every story, the omnipresent ugliness, and the incredibly detailed descriptions that stimulate the imagination. Sometimes, however, the imagination plays tricks on you and is unable to visualize what a particular thing could actually look like. There is also always the thought of what must have been going through the author's mind to create something like that. For that alone, he deserves enormous admiration. The fact that these stories still have such a powerful impact more than a hundred years after they were written is truly remarkable. My favorites so far are At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. I wouldn't call myself an expert on the subject, because there are still many of his stories I have not read yet, but I intend to change that. I recently bought an 800-page collection of his stories, so I'll have plenty of reading ahead of me—haha!

Coffin Crawler: The aesthetic of Lovecraft's stories—the creeping horror, mystery, and ambiguity that flow through them—fits this kind of music perfectly. It enhances the atmosphere and amplifies the feeling of suffocation and overwhelming heaviness. I know this subject matter may seem somewhat overused by now, but it blends perfectly with pitch-black doom/death metal. Just so nobody thinks we focus exclusively on one theme, we also have lyrics inspired by classic horror cinema—'Frozen Hell' (the cult classic The Thing) or 'Seed Of Belial' (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror from 1922). We also had plans for songs inspired by the Polish horror classic Stefan Grabiński, as well as a concept EP based on legends and supernatural tales from our hometown of Rzeszów. Unfortunately, those ideas will most likely never come to fruition. To sum it all up, our lyrics are horror with a generous dose of blasphemy.

The EP also features a cover of "...And The Laughter Has Died" originally performed by Unleashed. Why did you choose this particular song? Was it a tribute to a classic, or did you want to prove that this spirit is still alive and well in the underground? Is it just a homage, or does it have a deeper, personal meaning for you?

Golem: We chose '...and The Laughter Has Died' because of its middle section—slow and crushing. We thought it could sound really good in our own interpretation, and since the song itself is fairly straightforward, we started playing it during one of our rehearsals. After a while, it began to sound quite convincing, so we decided to include it on the EP. I believe the song has a fantastic contrast between the ultra-fast parts (our version is actually the fastest song we have ever recorded) and the brilliant, dark, slow section in the middle. It is definitely my favorite track from "Where No Life Dwells". I hold Unleashed in very high regard as one of the finest bands not only in Swedish death metal but in death metal as a whole. Even after a career spanning nearly forty years, they are still capable of forging excellent albums, such as last year's "Fire Upon Your Lands". It stayed in my player for a long time, and I still return to it regularly. The song 'Hold Your Hammers High!' has a very strong death/doom feeling to it, which naturally appeals to me. Their discography is also remarkably consistent in my opinion. Some albums are stronger than others, but they have never dropped below a certain level. I think I already know what album I'll be putting on next! (laughs)

Since the very beginning, your releases have been handled by Fallen Temple. How has this relationship evolved over the years? Do you see it more as a blood pact than a simple label partnership?

Golem: Dawid has been releasing our material from the very beginning. The cooperation has always been professional, and we have always been satisfied with the final result once we held the physical release in our hands. It was only natural to renew our contact. We are also grateful that Dawid agreed to release material from a band that, in reality, no longer existed at the time.

Coffin Crawler: If I remember correctly, around 2017, I sent our rehearsal recordings to Lech from Oldschool Metal Maniac, who recommended that I get in touch with Dawid from Fallen Temple. Dawid first received our rehearsal material and later the completed "Nightmares From Beyond" recording. We quickly came to an agreement about releasing it in physical form. As Golem said, our cooperation has always gone very smoothly, which is why he ended up releasing all of our recordings. Dawid took care of the promotion and distribution, and our releases were available through many Polish and international distros. In addition to that, T-shirts and patches were also released under the Fallen Temple banner.

In many of the other projects you currently play in—or played in before—black metal, death metal, or thrash metal dominate. Yet in Haunted Cenotaph, your most funeral and gloomy side emerges. Is this a form of purification for you—a place where you allow yourselves to descend into the deepest darkness?

Golem: When we formed Haunted Cenotaph, we wanted to play something different from everything we had done before—black, death, and thrash metal. We chose doom/death because we had always been fans of bands such as Asphyx, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, as well as the classic death metal of Death, Morbid Angel, early Pestilence, and traditional doom metal acts like Black Sabbath, Candlemass, and Pentagram. We combined the influences of these bands, added something of our own, and that is how Haunted Cenotaph was born. However, our music also contains influences from other subgenres, because all of us listen to everything—from rock to black metal. In my opinion, inspiration can be found everywhere; it simply has to be adapted properly to fit the style of the band.

Coffin Crawler: We actually tried forming a band several times before. There was a project called Sepulchral Spirit, which played something in the vein of first-wave black metal, and there was also another project inspired by dirty, filthy speed metal, but everything eventually fell apart. Either someone left the lineup, we couldn't find a drummer, or perhaps we ourselves did not push hard enough to keep those ideas alive. Eventually, we decided that it would be interesting to play something completely different from what we had done before in bands such as Excidium or Necrosadist. There, we played fast music, so this time we wanted to go in the exact opposite direction—extremely slow and crushing. This time, everything fell into place. We quickly completed the lineup and began rehearsing. Slowing down so dramatically and changing our musical approach was definitely something refreshing and exciting for us.

Your music has a very evocative, almost cinematic atmosphere—especially the intros and slower passages. What does the process of building that atmosphere look like? Does it begin with a riff, an image in your mind, or perhaps a specific story?

Golem: As far as I can remember, it often started with an idea for a song—an outline of how it should sound or what subject it should explore. Then I would come up with a riff, then another one, and another, gradually putting the whole thing together. I recorded these rough skeletal versions so I wouldn't forget them and brought them to rehearsal. If it worked, we would move forward and continue developing the song. If it didn't, we would modify particular parts together until we achieved the desired effect. Then we would play the song for some time, improving and refining it until we felt it was finally ready to record. Every one of our songs went through that exact process. The longest time was spent preparing and polishing the material for "Abyssal Menace", although even then, I think the whole process went very smoothly.

Death/doom often operates at a pace close to decay itself—slow, heavy, and inevitable. Do you believe that this slowness is where metal's greatest horror lies?

Golem: I don't think that is necessarily the case. Horror can be found in any subgenre of metal, regardless of how fast the music is played. In the case of Haunted Cenotaph, it was more about finding a different kind of extremity. While most bands strive for ultra-fast playing, we chose to push the extreme in the opposite direction, creating it through slow, crushing tempos with only occasional bursts of speed. It is something similar to the first Cathedral album, which is a massive inspiration for us. I consider it an extreme album through and through, but its extremity does not come from frantic tempos. Quite the opposite—it comes from sluggish riffs, a funeral atmosphere, and an ever-present haze. That was the direction we wanted to follow with Haunted Cenotaph.

To close our interview, I would like to ask about another form of your artistic activity. Apart from playing music, you also create artwork for metal releases. Which of your works are you the most proud of, and with which band did you enjoy working the most, both artistically and in terms of having a good creative flow?

Golem: It is difficult for me to choose just one cover or one particular collaboration. Every piece of work I create is a new experience, a new challenge, and a new opportunity to make something worthwhile. So far, two covers of my own have been officially released, with a third coming out in March 2026 and a fourth one to be announced soon. These include the latest Haunted Cenotaph EP, "Crippling Madness", the third album "Armia Umarłych" (cheers!), and the album "Do Krzyża Abarotem" by the Rzeszów-based band Aborcja (cheers!). The project for Aborcja was the most difficult one I have done so far. It took over a month to complete, but it was worth the effort because the final result really delivers. I am very satisfied with all of these works, and it makes me happy to see them released—or soon to be released—on physical records. I can't wait for the next projects, and I'm open to collaborations. Depending on the format, completing an illustration usually takes me three to four weeks. If I am not satisfied with the final result, it will never be made public. I am always happy when the people who trusted me are pleased with the cover or any other artwork I created for them. The vast majority of collaborations I have had so far have gone smoothly, and I hope it stays that way. Thanks for the interview! Talk to you soon!

Swedish-Canadian collaboration AngelBlast has recently released their second 7" called "Throne Of Ashes" on Edged Circle Productions (review can be found here). The guys who are also involved in bands such as Darkened, Necrophobic or In Aeternum deliver a really awesome mixture of black/death metal on this two-song piece. I was pretty much (attention, a pun) blasted when I listened to this and had to get more into this band. So, I took the chance and asked guitarist Hempa Brynolfsson some questions about the band and their future plans.

Michael

Hi Hempa, I have to confess that I wasn't aware of AngelBlast until I stumbled over the new promo I had in my mailbox. Can you introduce the band a little bit?

Yes, Hi Michael! AngelBlast are a new project by me and Gord Olson, also vocalist in my other band Darkened. It all started with some tracks I wrote one evening in late 2019. And it didn't really fit for Darkened, so instead of just putting in the vault of riffs (that I usually do) I thought that this would be cool to do something with. So I contacted Gord and said: Hey, I got two tracks that are too good to just put away. And asked him if he was interested to work with me and put out a 7". And he thought it was a great idea, so the same evening I wrote down the foundation lyrics for 'Rotting Paradise' and 'Descending Of The Immortals', and Gord finished them later on. So, we were a two-piece band, me doing the guitars and bass, and Gord doing the vocals and lead-guitars. The drums are programmed, but I think it sounds ok, not as good as real drumming of course. Gord did a great job with mixing and mastering. So, we had a product ready for release. I talked to our label that release the Darkened stuff, Edged Circle Promotions. They really liked the tracks and agreed to release the 7" vinyl in late 2019.

You released your new 7" in January which is called "Throne Of Ashes". I was really amazed about the aggressiveness and the energy that the two tracks have. How did you get the ideas for the composition?

Well, after the release of Rotting Paradise we felt that when the time comes, we really wanted to do another 7". So, again I wrote two tracks in the same vein as the other ones, and right away felt that we really need a real drummer this time.

A really cool element in the title track is the gloomy piano part in the end. Who had the idea for it and who played?

Yes, that's Gords idea, and he's playing it. Just a perfect ending to that track. It really gives the right mood to the track.

Listening to the songs, I find quite a lot of influences in the tracks, just to name a few: Dark Funeral, Necrophobic (which isn't such a big surprise having Johan as bass player), Slayer, Morbid Angel…would you agree with me?

Well, I'm of course influenced by all the metal I grew up listening to. And I like that you're mentioning Slayer and Morbid Angel, that's two important bands for me, along with the early releases from Possessed/Death/Pestilence/Sepultura.

In comparison to the 2019 EP, where only Gord Olson and you were involved, you are now a quartet playing together with Johan Bergebäck and Perra Karlsson. How did it come to this?

Yes, when we prepared for the second 7" we realized that we really need a real drummer. So, I asked Perra if he was interested, and he was. Then we thought that Johan would be perfect for doing the bass. Me and Johan have been close friends for 30 years, and we've never been playing together, so that is really cool that we finally managed to accomplish that now.

Talking about Johan, I was pretty surprised that Sebastian Ramstedt isn't on board, too. Quite usually they always use to play together in a band, haha!!

He he, yes that's true. They are great guys and always doing great things together.

What are the lyrical topics you mostly deal with? Looking up on metal-archives, there are mentioned giants, Nephilim and demons…. quite general.

When it comes to the lyrics of AngelBlast it mostly dealing with Armageddon and the end of humanity. But again, it's more up to the listener/reader what the lyrics is about. There can be more to the lyrics than you can see in the text, many different layers, and ways to perceive it.

What is the 'Throne Of Ashes' you're singing about?

The 'Throne Of Ashes' can be a symbol for mankind's ego and immaturity, that we think we're the greatest species that exists. A throne of gold, that in reality is just a throne of ashes, as we're nothing compared to advanced civilizations that may exist beyond our knowledge.

On which formats will "Throne Of Ashes" be released? Will it only be as a vinyl single and as a digital version or also on CD?

It will only be released as vinyl and digital version.

Now, my most important question….do you have planned to record a full-length?

Well, we've recently decided to start the progress to do a full length album. We're blown away by the reviews and feedback of the 7", and I think that triggered us to continue this path of pain!

Are there some other plans for the future (as far as one can figure out something these days)?

We've just finished our second full-length with Darkened, mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö, sent to the label, will be released in May 2022. So now I'll just continue doing music for AngelBlast and Darkened.

Do you have some last words for our readers?

Thank you, Michael, for this interview! Cheers to the readers of MetalBite!! If you haven't heard AngelBlast, check it out and be prepared to be blown away by brutal aggressiveness and pure HATE!! Hails from the northern cold, Cheers!

Thank you very much for the interview!