Immortal's "Sons of Northern Darkness" already marks the 7th album from these mighty black metalers and with all the respect to their previous work it blows its predecessors out of the sky and water, or Northern Waves for that matter. Each triumphant and victorious track leaves a permanent mark on the brain and yanks the knees closer to the floor. Every spin of this CD makes me more proud to be a metalhead and increases my cravings for their next masterpiece... but before that time I'll know every stroke of the guitars, every drum beat and every word and scream that left Abbath's gut. Maybe "Sons of Northern Darkness" it's not your national hymn yet, but it's a hymn of the new millennium, so make sure you know it too. Although all questions were prepared for Abbath, Iscariah handled them with ease and gave me all info I was looking for and more.

Chris


To describe your latest release I have only one word: perfect. Which brings me to an unfair question; do you think that you can top this with your next album?

Hmm... I don't even want to think about it yet. [laughs] We were thinking about that after the "Damned In Black" album; are we going to top that? But it worked, I'd say we topped that. We'll see what the future brings...

Over the last few albums you started to include more and more elements from different genres of metal which ultimately lead you to "Sons of Northern Darkness" which has black metal roots but it's hard to call it a "true" black metal album anymore. Was it a natural progression of the band or did fading popularity of this genre have anything to do with your decision?

When we wrote the album we didn't have any clue as to what we should do because we didn't sit down and say what's popular in music scene, what sells or whatever, we just started writing music from our hearts. We just made music the way we feel it, it's not planned or anything like that. As far as not being black metal, the reason for this is that we don't listen to black metal only so our musical inspirations varies. We still listen to a lot of music from 80s, thrash, metal but our roots are still in black metal.

Do you still listen to the first Immortal releases? Are you still proud of what the band did 10 years ago or is it a closed chapter in the bands life now?

No, no, no. We always listen to our old albums. Those old albums are very special to us they have this special atmosphere; it's the band's history, they show our revolution part and our evolution as well, without them we would not be here today.

I'm sure you talk about this as a band... When Immortal started in early 90s have you guys ever thought that Immortal would achieve such a prestige status as it has right now?

I asked Abbath about this and he said not in his wildest imagination this band could become what it is today. He told me once that after giving the first show he said "that's it fuck it, let's break up the band, it's all I wanted to do" [laughs] and look now, 10 years later we're here, I'm talking to you about our new album... but at that time no one even dreamed about it. In general, nobody ever thought that black metal could reach such a high popularity anyway and from that point nothing surprises me anymore.

Since you mentioned the break up, is there anything that could break up Immortal right now?

Well... I don't think so. We don't feel that at least. We don't care about trends and stuff like that; we do this for ourselves and sales and all that just comes along as the bonus. We don't fear the future. We are really very optimistic about it.

Over the last couple of weeks while I was listening to your new album I got the feeling that "Sons of Northern Darkness" with its epic, hymn-like sound to it, is not about metal styles or genres anymore this album is a hymn to metal in general? How far am I off from your concept of your latest release?

I agree with you here. It has a very triumphant and victorious feel to it. There're a lot of atmospheric parts on this album that we felt they haven't been used very much in the past, for example song 'Beyond the North Waves' has those new elements. We are total metal fans we listen to all kinds of metal... almost, except power metal [laughs] and that's why there's something for everyone on this album, I think.

Where did the inspiration come from to write such a momentous, epic album?

I don't know... I think inspirations are the same as always. After having this album recorded and released now we look back at it from the outside point of view and we can even hear some Led Zeppelin stuff there. So, to point out our influences is kind of hard because it's all there in our subconscious.

Are the lyrics also kept in this same vein... conquering the world in the name of metal?

Actually, the lyrics don't exactly deal with conquering the metal like Manowar style lyrics, some of them deal with our ancestors and our past from the Viking era but we didn't go totally Viking [laughs] we just tried to match them to the music as well as we could. We just did what we felt was right.

Is Demonaz still working with Immortal? Did he write the lyrics for "Sons of Northern Darkness"?

Yes, he wrote all of them and he also took care of some of the management part of the band. He's very supportive and we still see him as a band member anyway. Even though he can't play at this same level since his injury we are very happy that he still contributes to the band.

How is he feeling now? Is it possible that we'll see him playing guitar in Immortal again?

For years we were hoping that one day he will be back again but we have to be realistic now and it seems like he's not going to be back. He's functioning OK but he just can't play metal at this kind of level anymore because it might get him back to day one of the disease. So, I don't think his comeback will happen anymore but he's doing all right and he's totally happy with his situation in the band. Everything is working fine...

Are you inspired by the new Black Metal scene today, do you listen to any bands from it?

Right now I listen to Carpathian Forest which is like old school black metal, Limbonic Art... what else... In one moment I can put in Venom's "Black Metal" album and then listen to new Dimmu Borgir so, those bands should do as an example of the wide range of styles I listen to in black metal.

I mentioned that your music sounds less and less black metal with every album, does a change of logo also means cutting links with your past?

I think that this album is actually more black metal if it comes to production than "Damned In Black" which is more like a wall of sound. The logo thing, I think that the reason why the band took away the old logo was not because it was too black metal but because of the cover of "At the Heart of Winter". The old logo didn't match the cover and that's why the more readable one was designed, but we still use the old logo on our t-shirts and stuff like that so it's still definitely there.

Speaking of it... all of your front covers feature a picture of the band except "At the Heart of Winter"...Why did you decide to adopt a drawing instead of a shot for once?

The band wanted to present themselves as a band but there were just two people at that time and this guy, Fournier came up with this kick ass picture idea that captured the mood of that release. It was just a perfect picture for that album...

But since then everything is back to normal and we have band's pictures featured on the covers again, which by the way are more like a tradition to Immortal fans.

That's how I felt when I joined the band too and I said that we should keep doing it because it's quite exceptional and not too many bands do that. I think that our latest album cover is the best we've done so far and it definitely shows the part of us.

It seems like Peter's Abyss studio has almost become your second home. Did you even consider recording somewhere else?

Yes, of course but we didn't have enough reasons to record somewhere else. He really does a marvelous job for us and he really knows what he wants to do and he does it very well. We go out there and we know how we want to sound but he figures out for us how to make the best quality music out of this sound. Not to mention that he's a dear friend of the band and why change that?

Before we end this interview I was wondering if such a well-known band can live from the music only?

Yes, but it greatly depends on how much we tour. If we have a good year with a lot of tours we can make a living out of it but it's not like we are rich, no way, just enough to put the food on the table, pay bills and that's OK cause we are not really willing to spend 8-9 months on the tour just to make us rich, that is not what we are here for anyway.

With their brutal death metal foundation in place, Vehemence have steadily progressed into one of the most unique extreme metal bands to come out of America. Continuing to add more exciting and melodic dimensions to their dark and brutal template, Vehemence are already taking the metal underground by storm. So what's next for the band? I spoke to guitarist/songwriter John Chavez to find out...

Adam Block


For those who are new to Vehemence could you give us some brief insight into the band's humble beginnings?

Vehemence was created in 1995 with intentions of a sound that was to be atmospheric death metal. The band started with guitarist Scott Wiegand, vocalist Nathan Gearhart, and Bjorn Dannov. Searching led to finding bass player/back up screamer Mark Kozuback and drummer Andy Schroeder. With this line up, material for a demo was released. The demo caught the attention of the Phoenix local scene and an album was decided to be recorded in Nov 1999. Shortly after the recording Scott Wiegand pulled out of the band. I joined in January 2000 taking his place and also helping the band in various promotional ways. After enough money was saved and spent on the 1000 copies of this self-released album entitled "The Thoughts From Which I Hide," underground recognition began to take place. With a self released album at hand, Vehemence decided to pursue Metal Blade Records without trying any other labels. Vehemence then went on a self-promoted west coast tour and we signed to MBR in January 2002 due to the hard efforts of becoming an established working performing artist. "God Was Created" was then released in July '02 and we have been doing tours for it ever since.

"God Was Created" was a pretty large progression from your earlier demos in terms of melody. Was there anything that prompted this progression or did it just come naturally?

Our sound came naturally after having two guitar players constantly sit together and feed off each others ideas. I started out with a brutal death background myself but I ended up being a better melodic guitar player. Our band can appeal to those that are into death/black/or progressive. Influences were a big part of certain style changes, but we are influenced by out of the ordinary bands that are not really heard of. Let us just say the debut record cannot be compared to "God Was Created" because it was a much more basic brutal album with solid lyrics. Our newest album "God Was Created," contains a conceptual horror story that appeals to intellectual readers of metal lyrics. We seem to keep our sound unpredictable with each album released.

You paint pretty grim pictures with your lyrics. What did the ideas for the concept of this album come from? It is a pretty riveting story if you ask me... in the sickest sense of course...

The ideas that Nathan created spawned off the first song of "God Was Created" called 'Made For Her Jesus' and was made after the last songs of "The Thoughts From Which I Hide" days. Nathan is influenced by some of the horror movies that are out today as well as literature from Alistair Crowley and Steven King.

I was surprised to hear some acoustics on the record. It really shows dynamics in a genre that really needs them. Do varying musical tastes aid in adding such elements to your sound?

The acoustics are a big step in our sound and turned out great on the "God Was Created" album. The first album had acoustics on the song called 'Reconditioning The Flock,' but very little was used. Sometimes acoustic tones override electric guitar clean tones in some riffs that you want to capture with a natural feel. What we listen to may be some kind of influence when hearing the studio production used in the album.

You have been touring behind the record for quite a while now. Any tour highlights so far?

Highlights of these past "God Was Created" tours, are the bands we have played with and the friends we have made dealing with them. The Summer of Blasphemy tour last July '02 was our first run throughout the United States. Many shows were played that brought forth new listeners of our band and we remain having a rapid growing fan base. Playing Metal Fests have been excellent because when we are at home and miss a show due to work, we get to see the band eventually no matter what. Touring with Testament was something we enjoyed because they were one of the founding influences for all that is Melodic and Metal. Dealing with Impaled/Decapitated was a blast as well seeing fire blown and seeing technicality proved daily.

I heard you toured with Nuclear Assault who were pretty big in their own right back in the golden years of metal. Were any of you guys big fans before hand?

Actually we were not really big fans of Nuclear Assault until we got to know them and party with them. I knew what I knew from past albums I have heard but they seem to get tighter and tighter with each performance. We got along with John, Dan, and Erik the new guitarist very well and helped each other out when it was needed. We come from the old school death metal background from when Gorefest, Carcass, and Entombed were still around.

Do you get a lot of people with surprised looks on their faces when you are a brutal death metal band and come out with a keyboard player?

Some people jump to their conclusions right away, and some get exactly what we are trying to use the key element for and that is simply for more depth and atmosphere. Jason Keesecker usually writes his composition and then Bjorn and I compose around it. We try and keep the keyboard parts as basic and heavy as possible.

I heard you guys recently got added to the New Jersey Metal Fest. Excited about the possibility of opening the door to new fans?

When we played Milwaukee Metal Fest last year in 2002, it was the first time that we knew that we were performing to an entire new audience. It was actually proof that we attracted a curious fair sized audience and it was a rush. I felt we played a decent show even though the sound on stage was poor, we still played our solid short set the way we always do. It actually went well and people were into Vehemence and I could see the majority of the crowd head banging as well. Hopefully we can influence some mosh pit action since that always happens when we play on tour for other audiences that are already familiar with our songs. The Vehemence hype is defiantly out there I can tell you that.

Any other plans besides touring that you have regarding promotion for "God was Created"?

We are thinking about creating a music video since it is about time we should. A music video with our lyrics will turn out magnificent because our lyrics are very depictive. Maybe we will do a fan vote on what song we should turn into a music video. But I can't say much other than we will want to tour for this album as much as possible and venture on to Europe and other countries.

I also heard you all are working on pre-production for your new album. Any news you can share with us regarding that concerning maybe the sound and the lyrical concept this time around?

We have 4 songs recorded free thanks to Will Solaris at the Conservatory Arts in Tempe, AZ. The new material we have sounds like a more advanced Vehemence with greater skill and with a more realistic lyrical approach. Like I said before we remain unpredictable with our sound and we always try to be. The song titles for this pre-production demo are 'Kill For God,' 'You Don't Have To Be Afraid Anymore,' 'Darkness is Comfort,' and 'We Are All Dying.' It will not be released outright to the public, but we will think of how we will let our fans listen to it in the near future.

Well thank you for the interview John... any other words you would like to say to anyone who may be reading this?

Thank you Adam for this excellent interview, you asked some very important questions! Anyone that is interested in finding out more about Vehemence please visit our website at http://vehemence.brutaldeath.net Feel free and download our "God Was Created" mp3, or any previous mp3s from previous projects. If you need a question answered or just want to email us for feedback you can do so at vehemence@brutaldeath.net.