In just five short years, Soilwork have released five critically acclaimed albums and progressed further than anyone could have possibly imagined. Throughout all the changes, however, Soilwork manage to continue to keep intensity, melody, and atmosphere at the top of their priority list. Following the success of last year's record, "Natural Born Chaos," Soilwork are back, without Devin Townsend, to prove not only that they can do it on their own, but that they can do it better. I recently spoke to vocalist Speed Strid on the band’s new direction, upcoming tours, their new video, and more...

Adam Block


2002 was an incredibly busy year for you guys. You released an album, made your first video, which received quite a lot of television airplay, toured like crazy, and ended up starting to record another album by years end. You sold more copies of "Natural Born Chaos" than all your previous records and it also landed the number one spot in Bravewords and Bloody Knuckles magazine. Congratulations on such a successful year!

Thank you very much man. Last year was hectic as you said. We did a US tour and the video recording, the European tour, and the Japanese tour as well. Somewhere in between those tours we managed to write new material and we received a lot of inspiration from Devin Townsend being in the studio with him. I think that Peter wrote like three new songs directly after the recording of "Natural Born Chaos." As long as we find the inspiration and have the time there is no reason to slow down I guess.

How cool was it to know that you have a video out there and that people are seeing it on television? Have you been able to see it on the airwaves yet?

Well, I haven't seen it on the channels because I do not have MTV2 or MuchMusic so that sucks. But anyways the video is very cool and I was very happy to hear that it got airplay on both MuchMusic and MTV2. Unfortunately, it didn't get airplay on Swedish television. They said yes but nothing happened so maybe this time. I am sure we will get airplay this time in Sweden as well.

Many people thought with the quick pace of making your new record, "Figure Number Five," that it might have been rushed and in effect would not have had a significant progression from your previous effort. How important was it to you guys, even though you felt you had found your sound with "Natural Born Chaos," not to just make the same album over again?

Well, it's hard to say. I guess we just went with the flow. We received a lot of inspiration from the touring last year and also from Devin Townsend and the recording. We also got inspiration from ourselves and "Natural Born Chaos" because it is always like that when you're coming out of the studio. You say well maybe we could have done it like this so maybe on the next album. So I guess we just went with the flow and we have rehearsed our asses off to make a great album. As long as we are 100% happy about the pre-production that we always do, then let's record it.

So in the little time that you had you didn't feel rushed at all?

I don't think so actually. We were discussing about this and we had band meetings and so on listening to the material, the pre-recordings, and so one. Everyone was 100% happy about the material so I don't think we rushed at all actually because we have released five albums in five years so I guess this is the way we like to work.

With Devin Townsend out of the picture this time how important was it to show to everyone that you could still do without him. Did it push you even harder? With the vocal performance on this record, I should say it did!

Yeah absolutely! We actually asked Devin to produce this album as well but he was on tour at that moment unfortunately. I still think it's very good that we showed to people that we could do it ourselves. There have been a lot of stupid rumors on the internet about Devin doing all the harmonies on the clean vocals and some of the riffs... blah blah blah. So I think it is a very good thing for us to show to those people that we could do it ourselves.

Plus it seems that there is even more complexity and layers that go into the vocal harmonies this time around as well...

Yeah and I think that the clean vocals are a bit more varied. On "Natural Born Chaos" there are mostly clean vocals on the choruses. On this one, there are clean vocals in the verses and also in other parts of the songs. Overall, it is a much more varied album I think with the guitars and the vocals. I think that the screaming vocals are better than before as well.

That was definitely one of the first things I noticed about the screaming vocals in particular. They seem to be a bit harsher this time around.

I actually recorded the vocals with a hand mic. I think that I should have done this before because I received a lot more power when I was recording the vocals. I could lie down on the floor and scream like hell. When you have a stationary mic you cannot move really but with this hand mic you can move around like you are on stage. So it is like a live gig so I receive a lot more power to do the screaming vocals.

I noticed that the clean vocal styles are also a bit more mixed on this album like they were on "A Predator's Portrait." Was this a goal of yours to keep them varied and not just have straight clean singing on each chorus?

I wanted to try out a lot of different types of vocal styles on this one. I always wanted it to be like a schizophrenic record vocal wise. There are harsh melodic vocals, clean vocals, falsetto vocals, so there is a lot of different types of stuff. I guess the System of a Down (Serj) singer inspired me because he is using a lot of different types of voices and I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I could do everything. It is almost like a schizophrenic album when it comes to the vocals and I think that is pretty cool. It's pretty chaotic.

Some people thought that you had softened up and yet the title track, 'Figure Number Five,' boasts your most intense vocals to date.

I guess we wanted to do a more brutal song. I like to do those Chuck Billy vocals because they worked out really well on 'Follow The Hollow.' We wanted to take it a step further and I think it sounds great.

Yeah, overall I think "Figure Number Five" is a lot more dynamic and a bit more intense than "Natural Born Chaos"...

I actually expected the album to be a bit softer but it actually went out even heavier I think. There is a perfect balance on this new album.

What was the inspiration for writing a song like 'Departure Plan'? It is a pretty big well... departure for you guys musically.

That song is actually a song that Sven wrote like three years ago. We had a band meeting where he showed the song to everybody in the band. We thought to ourselves, "Hey! Does this sound like Soilwork? It's a very good song but... well... What the hell! Let's record it!" Now I think it sounds like Soilwork and I think it is the perfect breathing part in the middle of the album. Of course it was a very big challenge for everyone in the band to record this song especially me I guess. I am very used to having distorted guitars in the background when I am doing clean vocals. This time there was only like a Hammond organ and distorted drums in the background so it was a very big challenge for me. At first I couldn't listen to the song because I wasn't used to hearing my voice that way, but I like this song very much. I am very proud of it.

So, if it came to something like this in the future, do you think you would try something like this again?

Well yeah I think so. This song is not symbolizing that we're going only clean vocals in the future because the screaming vocals are a very big part of Soilwork. We will always keep the screaming vocals. However, we always want to have a big challenge when we're entering the studio. That is very important for us and we are not afraid to try out new stuff. We get a lot of different influences and I think we are very objective when it comes to music. I think there are a lot of people that can relate their daily lives to Soilwork's music.

The lyrics for 'Departure Plan' appear to be about a friend overcoming suicide. Is this a personal song for you?

It's very personal. Maybe it is the most personal song on the album actually. It is about my girlfriend but we are kind of more like friends. We are not really together but at the same time we are, if you understand what I mean. She has gone through the gates of hell so I am supporting her. It is not like a love song. It is more like a 'rise up' song. It is very important to me.

Then would you say that the whole album is a pretty personal record for you?

Well, I think it is like a continuation of "Natural Born Chaos." It is pretty much socially realistic and about the victims of society.

The record seems to have more of an emphasis on keeping the songs tight, short, and catchy. The average song length is a little over 3 minutes. What is the mindset when writing songs nowadays? Do you guys enjoy writing more immediate type of songs? If anything it takes me back to your earlier days when the songs were also a bit shorter.

Yeah, that is true. These days we like to make pretty short songs. If you get five minutes into it, then it gets kind of boring and bit too technical and stuff. Now we will make a short song with some technical parts. It always comes kind of naturally for us. Even though there are riffs sometimes where it is like okay this is a simple riff and then there are people who tell us, "Oh this is so technical!" We don't realize it. We like to write songs in a very easy way I guess. We just concentrate on every riff to make the best possible balance between all of the instruments. We build up the songs very equally I think. We do not like to make a part in the middle that is two minutes long with technical stuff...

Yeah that was the way it was two albums ago...

Yeah especially on "A Predator's Portrait."

There is also a bit more keyboard parts this time around. What apart from Sven's initiation into the band prompted you to want to incorporate more keyboards into your sound instead of keeping them to serve the purpose for the atmosphere only?

Well, he joined the band a couple months before the recording of "Natural Born Chaos." I guess that album was more like an experiment to try Sven in the studio but this time we gave him free hands to do whatever he wanted to do. He worked a lot with the keyboards and tried different types of things with them.

As a band though, do you still, in the future, be a little bit more protective as far as allowing them to get a little too up front or is that not a concern for you?

Well that is hard to say because we are pretty open-minded when it comes to keyboards. On this album there are a bit more samples, loops, and stuff especially on 'Overload.' We want to keep giving Sven free hands to do whatever he wants to do with the keyboards because he is a very skilled musician. He has a lot of cool visions when it comes to music.

What is the meaning if any behind the title "Figure Number Five"?

With "Figure Number Five," I am referring to the people who are the fifth wheel of society. The album is pretty much about victims of society that are not allowed to speak or have their own opinion. In general, it is like a tribute to people who always have to step aside for the upper class.

Your CD will include a bonus disc of older material for the European release. Are these tracks from the original demo or reworked versions of old songs?

They are from the original demo. There have been a lot of people asking about the demo that we got signed for called "In Dreams We Fall Into The Eternal Lake." It also includes a two-track demo that we recorded after this demo for promotion. There is 'Demon In Veins' with different vocals. That song is actually called 'Wake Up Call.' The other track is another version of 'Steelbath Suicide,' which is actually better than the one on the album I think.

Is there any chance of this bonus disc getting released worldwide?

We heard from Jill from Nuclear Blast and they are going to release it in the States as well!

What was it like recording the video for 'Rejection Role'? How funny has it been to hear the rumors of an In Flames and Soilwork fight on the set of the video?

That was actually one of the In Flames members who posted that message to make fun of the whole thing. It was a lot of fun to record the video. The In Flames guys are in our video and vice versa. The videos are similar and we recorded the live shots at the same club. We just used a different background. We act like rivals in the video. We are doing drive bys while we throw water balloons at each other. We are just kind of making fun of everything. It will probably receive a lot of attention because the videos are kind of linked together. We are making fun of the fact that In Flames and Soilwork are always getting compared. It is in response the people saying that In Flames sounds like Soilwork and Soilwork sounds like In Flames. We are very good friends so we just wanted to have a lot of fun with this. I guess we just wanted to do something different. A metal video is always supposed to be like five angry guys in a warehouse with chains hanging everywhere just like [laughs] 'As We Speak' I guess. I suppose we just wanted to make fun of that at the same time.

So is still basically a live performance video?

Well that too, but of course it is mixed with the drive bys and water balloons [laughs].

[laughs] That sounds funny. I cannot wait to see it!

Yeah it is so fucking cool...

How excited are you guys about hitting the road with Children of Bodom for the European tour? How much of the set will be dedicated to old material. Will you guys have a longer set time maybe to play more songs?

We only have like 45 minutes on stage. That means we have to concentrate on our two latest albums. Even though we will do "The Chainheart Machine" and a couple songs from the "A Predator’s Portrait" album, there will not be any from "Steelbath Suicide." There is no time to. We have to concentrate on our newest album though because it is very much about promotion as well. Hopefully we can play a little bit longer in the States.

Speaking of the States, do you guys have any plans yet?

We are coming to the States in July...

Apart from the European tour any word on hitting South America or Australia. You guys have quite a following in those two countries I hear...

All I can say is that the manager is dealing with South American and Australian promoters so I hope there is an upcoming tour in the fall. I really do hope so!

That's all I have for you today Speed. Are there any final words you would like to give to your fans?

This is our best album so far. It is a cliché but we really feel that way. It is the perfect balance between intensity, melody, and atmosphere: all that Soilwork is about. So go check out the album!

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

Even though they boast members of both Darkane and Soilwork, The Defaced want to make it clear that they are just not some hastily assembled side project! In fact, The Defaced are completely the opposite. With "Domination Commense," the band unveiled their potent mix of modern American metal and catchy Swedish licks to the metal underground. Now with their sophomore effort, "Karma in Black," The Defaced refine their sound and take the groove, the intensity, and the melody a step further. I recently had the chance to speak with the band's guitarist and co-song writer, Mattias Svensson, on the new album and more.

Adam Block


I would just like to start right off by congratulating you guys on the high acclaim of the your debut album "Domination Commence." Your new album "Karma in Black" is already receiving large amounts of praise from various metal magazine! How does it feel hearing that stuff when the album is only on the verge of its release?

Oh you know it's really cool because when we write the stuff we just go for the gut feeling of writing what we like playing and what we feel that The Defaced should like that. It's really that is comes across that we hope it will. Of course, it's really, really cool if people like it but, on the other hand, if they don't we are still doing what we want to do. I'm very happy about it.

Well it has to be a relaxing feeling. Some bands send out promos and seem to get a little backlash, but it must feel good that the album is not even out yet and it is already getting good feedback.

Yeah, yeah, yeah definitely. Especially about this one because the license between Scarlet and Nuclear Blast for "Karma in Black" wasn't finished in time so the initial press time was way shorter than it was supposed to be. It was only like a month and we usually want like three months to work the album. I was a bit nervous that the promos would not reach the magazines in time but on the other hand, now when we are doing interviews the album is going to be out. I mean it is released in the States tomorrow.

Yes I noticed that actually. Usually Americans get upset when they hear that they have to wait longer for a CD to come out than other countries do. We always seem to be the last ones. This time it is opposite. How did that come about?

I don't know actually. I think it's that... when we had mastered the album and we sent copies to Nuclear Blast. We have to send everything to Scarlet in Italy first so they handle all the shipping of the masters to the licensed labels but we sent a copy to Nuclear Blast and they were totally psyched and wanted to release it as fast as possible. I guess it was sort of a demand from them to be able to release the album as soon as possible.

That has to be quite reassuring for you then...

Yeah and that is just my theory though you know but it's quite logical that it came around like that. I know the Japanese Soundholic wanted to... they are going to release the album April 2nd and in Europe it does not get released until April 14th.

Now I remember thinking the first time I heard you that you had to be an American band. Even though I was familiar with Soilwork and Darkane, I still sensed the American metal influence amongst the melodic overtones yet you guys seem to be creating more of your own sound with this new release. What was the goal of this record going into the studio as far as the sound goes and do you think you achieved it?

Yeah, you know when we started talking about the second album we didn't actually sit down and plan a whole lot of things. We just sort of took the parts from "Domination Commence" that we liked the most and sort of went with that. We all just let it happen. No planning. We just sort of went with the flow. On the other hand, production wise, we had a lot of stuff that we weren't pleased with "Domination Commence" and we set up production meetings if you can call it that and discussed what the goal would be like. We decided upon a fat, pounding sound and quite hard-hitting but also a natural sound so when we recorded the drum tracks we decided to use only natural ambience for the drum kit, no reverbs, no triggers because it's more dynamic to work with the natural ambiance. It is also a bit trickier because it is less controllable.

The drum sound was one of the first things that stuck out for me actually. I liked the fact that it sounded a bit more live and had better acoustics.

Yeah I think so too because of course you can use triggers to get the punch in every kick...

But when you have Henry Ranta behind you do you really need it?...

Yeah [laughs]... we don't need it.... No man, that's true... He's very umm I don't know what the word in English is... umm

Amazing?

He's ... even when hitting... what do you call it...

Precise!?!

Precise! Yeah! He is... so no use using triggers. It's better to use his dynamics instead.

This album was written in a relatively short amount time. Your debut was released not too long ago. What is the general writing process for you guys and who are the main contributors?

The music is written by me and Klas and I also get the question, "Is it hard to keep the different styles from the different bands apart?" The answer to that is no it isn't because Klas does not write that much for Darkane. For "Expanding Senses" he only wrote like two songs so I guess he gets his musical expression out in The Defaced instead. I think that the writing process was something like 8 or 9 months for "Karma In Black" and we tend to take our time with the songs and work through the ideas real thoroughly to make the most out of each basic idea. Since me and Klas produced this album, the whole production was an extension of the song writing in the creative process. It was really cool to be able to follow the songs real closely and watch them develop the way we had in our heads.

I think a lot of good work was done with the vocals and choruses. They are still heavy but a little more melodic as well. Was that something you guys wanted to focus on while making the record?

We felt that, like I said, to take the parts from "Domination Commence" that we liked the most and as you there are no really super fast songs on this one. As well as that with the melodies we wanted to focus on the things that we thought that we could do the best. We had a lot great ideas that we wanted to pursue so we just went with the flow.

What is the significance or meaning behind the title "Karma in Black?"

Not at the point when we decided upon the title but in retrospect I guess it pretty much sums up all of the lyrics on the album actually. I don't know if that's something that I made up in my own head but if you listen carefully to the lyrics and the meaning that we put into the title "Karma in Black" I guess you can say that "Karma in Black" pretty much sums up every title or every lyric on the album. "Karma in Black" for us is that once in a while or perhaps quite often, everyone is affected by darkness in one's life. Sometimes the dark and bad stuff that you see and you ever think will happen to and instead of being absorbed by the dark stuff in your life, use them as a strength to help overcome them. The lyrics for the song 'Karma in Black' is quite contradictory. There are contradictions all the way through the lyrics. So I guess what does not kill you makes you stronger... you know that old saying? That's "Karma in Black!"

You guys had a chance to play some shows in Europe for the last record. How did those shows go? Any tour highlights that you can recall?

We did a small tour in Holland which was really cool. On that particular tour all the gigs went great and we got a lot of good reactions from the crowds. We also had the chance to hose Klas down one night with a fire hose so that was fun!

I know it may be too soon to tell but are there any talks of you guys heading out on the road anytime soon?

There's actually been talk about a European tour starting in August but at this point I think it is a bit too early because there are still some issues that have to be settled. If it comes true, then I think it will be a really cool package so I really hope that it'll happen.

I saw your new video the other day and I must say that it is very awesome. What was that whole experience like for you and the band? Have you had a chance to see it on television yet?

No, we haven't seen it yet but the whole experience was a lot of fun. It felt like back in your old room in your parent's house jamming to some good music and playing air guitar because you play with a playback when recording a video so it is a bit weird. We had a great time you know and the film crew was really great to work with.

What CD have you gotten recently that has been spending some time in your CD player?

I am in sort of a retro phase right now. I actually bought Guns and Roses' "Appetite for Destruction" the other day...

Man that album never gets old...

[Laughs] no, it doesn't and I wasn't too into it when it came out so that's why I tried it now and I imagine that it is THE rock and roll album. It is really good and I sort of surprised myself by liking it as well.

But it is pretty sad to see what is going on with Axl Rose nowadays though...

Yeah man [laughs]... but he's got some illness...

Your new album has been in the top 5 of 2003 for quite some time now even making it to the number one spot so congratulations on that as well!

That's really cool man! That's great! I hope it stays in there!

Well it was number one for a couple weeks actually!

Yeah... a couple weeks?

Yeah, we had a new mp3 from "Karma in Black" for a while so I guess a lot of people heard some more new songs and started voting!

Well that's cool. Really cool!

Well that is all I have ... Any last words you would like to give to the fans?

Yeah check out "Karma in Black!" It is a strong album in my opinion and it is definitely worth checking out. If you are into hard-hitting, groovy modern metal, I think it will fit you like a glove. Also, for the ones that have supported us up to this point... many thanks! You’re the shit!

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

One thing about this band is certain, you'll never receive same thing twice. During The Kovenant's career they never released same music twice and with "SETI" the trend continues. For some it's a good thing but for some metal fans that's unacceptable. From black metal on "In Times Before The Light" to cyber/industrial "SETI," the Kovenant surprises, shocks or disgusts but like mad scientist never stops in a search of new forms of sounds. I had a pleasure to talk to one of those mad scientists in his computer laboratory about their new creation and here's what Lex Icon (vocals, bass) had to say.

Chris


It's been almost 4 years since your last release, what took you so long and what have you been doing over that time?

Nothing. [Laughs]

Last year you re-released "In Time Before The Light" and for people that didn't know Kovenant in '95 this might be quite a music shock. Was it your or label idea to reissue this album?

No, they really didn't want to have anything to do with the album. [Laughs] You know, when we recorded this album we were 16-17 years old, that's ten years ago. We paid for everything ourselves and we ended doing everything we wanted to do with that album. The production was a little bit poor and . I thought about this as a great opportunity to redo the thing and make it as sort of ultimate edition but mainly we did it for ourselves.

Where does this cyber/electronic fascination come from? Do you still keep track of what's going on in the metal scene or did you cut the cords with your past? For example do you now what Dimmu Borgir is doing nowadays or you could care less?

No, I talk to them everyday. I know they're going into the studio to record a new album, I pay attention and I still listen to metal but the thing is when we did "SETI" we really wanted to do something different comparing to so many black metal band these days. I really don't have any inspiration toward making black metal anymore. I also grow up listening to 80 pop music like Alphaville, Depeche Mode, bands like Duran Duran and I wanted to incorporate some of that electronic 80s into the music and still keep it metal.

Comparing first and last release how would you describe the drastic change in the music style?

Very, very different. "SETI" is so much more mature version of The Kovenant. I think the greatest difference is the vocals other than that we're still extreme. When we recorded the first album we were more or less a black metal band but things progressed. We've been doing it for over 10 years, people change. Except if you play in Mayhem [laughs].

What's the idea and meaning behind the title "SETI"?

"SETI" title reflects upon seeking towards something greater than ourselves. The longing and willingness to explore new paths and to go beyond what's expected norm of our existence. There's also social logical aspect to the album and title. We preach and prophesize and try to highlight the ambivalence that exists in our collective individuality or what people might call a conspiracy theory. It is however in essence of doing "SETI" record, proclaiming and demanding the soul of our world that everything we know is true. And we're strong believers in technology that can be used to recreate, improve and rearrange the old. And that's on all levels; musically, lyrically, visually and conceptually.

Based on the promo material it's also about "proving that God is wrong"?

Well, it's not really about that God is wrong it's always been about that God doesn't exist and never existed. There is no God. Religion is the greatest danger that people face today. Having that message and the kind of music we do at this same time is a great combination to make people think. "SETI" is so much more acceptable in so many ways that I feel it's more of a universal album, potentially for everyone. Some of the music styles on this album are very acceptable to a lot of people and with our lyrics we hope to influence them in some way. Religion is the reason of all wars.

I'd definitely have to agree on that.

We started this whole thing with our previous album "Animatronic" with songs like 'Jihad' or 'New World Order'. 'Jihad' of course was very prophetical about what happened on September 11th and the whole situation. Religion can drive people to do many sick and weird things. Doing it in the name of God doesn't make it right it's still wrong. Religion was created to control people by government or someone who wanted to control people. They're using it because they want you to have a job that you really don't want. You're living a pointless life, you get up at 9 in the morning, you go home at 5 after busy day of work and that's it. Maybe you'll have a beer, watch some football or some pointless thing and deep inside you'll realize that this is actually pointless and it doesn't bring you anywhere. That's why these people had to invent religion to make you believe that ok, if you do this now you'll have a better time when you die. And that's why the new album "SETI" opens up with a song 'Cybertrash' that's about people that are so terrified that they might disappear when they die, cause there's nothing. I mean, would you die for something that someone else created? Hell no, when you die there is nothing, that's it. That's what the whole album is about, to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. We couldn't find any intelligence down here so we have to look elsewhere.

You have two new members, are the permanent or just session musicians?

Angel is a permanent member since 2000 he's not on the new album although he contributed with some parts here and there but he's a permanent member now. Eric was never supposed to be a part of the band. He was just someone we brought in to the band to help develop effects and programming stuff. He was more of a sound designer. He came in because we knew he had a lot of experience in the electronic music field and we really wanted to bring someone in who understood that more than we did and he did an excellent job.

Who's the female that gives her voice on couple of track?

Her name is Allin. She's a professional opera singer at German House of Opera. She never worked with any metal or hard rock band before "Animatronic" album. She didn't have a clue about metal or The Kovenant but I set down with her and talked to her about it and I asked her if she'd be willing to participate on the album. She did a very great job and she really enjoyed the music. She's not the part of the band though [laughs].

In your own words how would you describe the music style you perform now?

I really don't care. You can call it whatever you want. Some people call it nu-metal, some people call it gothic metal, and some people just call it black metal. The main idea behind the whole record was to combine the old classical, beautiful music with hard and dirty machine like stuff, for example the song 'Industrial Twilight,' the last one on the album, where you clearly have the symbiosis between the two. If I had to categorize it I would call it electronic cyber metal [laughs] or something like that.

Since you music style changed so much how different is the composing process right now? Do you still start with a guitar riff or keyboards or electronic samples are main tool now?

The whole thing has changed. Of all our previous albums most of the music was made at the rehearsal place but with "SETI" we really wanted to try something different, to create everything on computers. Since we didn't rehearse, we haven't actually had a proper rehearsal in 5 years [laughs] last time we played together was 3 years ago, I didn't even see the drummer in the studio because everything was finished when I went down there. The whole process was basically me sitting here behind the computer and Psy Coma sitting almost at the other end of the country with his computer and trading fillies. We have a server where we upload everything to and than he downloads it, he recreates it or changes it or rearranges it and than he sends it back to me and we do it back and forth until we're satisfied. It completely changes the way you compose the music. When you are at the rehearsal place you kind of know how it's going to sound life and you get a whole different feeling but when you're sitting behind the computer everything changes so drastically. Actually, the vocals on the album were suppose to be extreme metal vocals but once we got into the studio we found that it really didn't work out that well to use it all the time. We really didn't know what to do and the producer was like "Why don't you try singing it?" and I was like "What? Fuck you! I can't sing" but I tried and everything worked out really well.

Well, it sounds like 21st century studio, two guys with computers trading files.

Exactly, it was a really interesting process because we've never done this before. Everyone else is busy having rehearsal place and... we're broke [laughs], we never got any money from record label so we can't afford the rehearsal place [laughs].

Come on it can't be that bad?

Almost. you know it's a great record label when it comes to promotion and selling albums but when it comes to the financial side it's a little bit harder.

You need to tour more than.

Yeah, we should tour more. That's the plan for this new album. We're going to tour as much as possible, do as many festivals as shows and we're not going to have any manager that takes 20-40% of your money. We've learned our lesson.

Can we count on seeing you in States again sometime this year?

Yeah, there are plans to go there later this year, maybe October, November. I really want to get back there as soon as possible. We really enjoyed playing in States. The whole mentality of the listener is so different from Europe. People here just stand with their arms crossed and watch. In States, I think people are more into it really. They really don't seem to care about this whole "you have to stand around looking evil all the time" sort of things; it's more about energy in the music.

I think that would be all for now, do you have anything to add or say to our readers?

What can I say? Buy our album, get drunk and buy it again [laughs] just don't download it. The only one that's not making anything out of it is the band. I love Internet, it's great for finding new music but if you like it download it but buy the whole album also.

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

Into Eternity has been a band that has grown from the beginning, continually progressing and moving on to bigger and better things. Who would imagine that a small band out of Canada, at the time not necessarily taking things as seriously as they should, would make their way to a small label in the Netherlands, DVS Records, and ultimately to well known metal label Century Media? Into Eternity are at the top of their game, and after their sophomore release "Dead or Dreaming," they're ready to release what will be their third album, and first for Century Media. I spoke with vocalist/guitarist Tim Roth about their past, but more importantly their future and where things are headed with Into Eternity, and he had some interesting things to say about everything and anything related to the band.

Allan 'Enigma'


I've first got to make mention of what a wonderfully well-done album your last album "Dead or Dreaming" was. I'd say it was fantastic.

Cool, thanks.

For those that haven't become acquainted with Into Eternity, do you think you could give a brief overview of the history of the band to bring us up to this point?

Yeah, we started around 97. Me and Scott our bass player and our drummer basically went in and did a self-titled release. We just paid for it ourselves just so we could hear the songs. We had a couple of other members and what not. So we did that and shopped it to labels, and we made up like one hundred packages and sent it out to radio just to see who would bite. We didn't think anything would happen, but we got a bunch of contract offers but basically nobody would do it except for DVS out of Holland. So we signed with them and started to build a fan base. We went to Europe and toured there but the whole time we were talking to Steve Joe who is the A&R Rep. at Century Media, but he was working at Noise at the time and he was trying to get us signed and it wasn't happening so we continued to build that fan base up. After we got back from the tour and Steve moved to Century Media, he said that they're ready and they'll sign us now. So for the meantime we're just kind of changing members and what not and for now we've got a good solid line-up.

So now that you guys have made your way up from DVS Records to a much bigger label, Century Media, when will that new album be released?

After the tour we'll be back and we go right to the studio in April. So it will probably be coming out in summer, late summer early fall kind of thing. It's called "Buried In Oblivion."

What can we be expecting from you guys on your third album that will differ from "Dead or Dreaming"?

Well it's going to be a lot heavier, that's for sure. I know every band says that but this time we'll be losing the vocal melodies and have a little more death vocals. We had our line-up changed so we added two new members actually. For "Dead or Dreaming" it was me, Danny, Jim and Scott – us four. But now after Danny left the band we've gotten two new members, so we have Scott's twin brother singing with us and we have another guitar player Jeff Storry, so now we can have three part vocal harmonies live, if we need it. But the good thing about Chris is that he can do death vocals and sing clean, like I can, so we'll both share the duties. It's going to be much, much heavier because Chris likes the growl a lot, and the music in general will be way heavier and faster and lot more shredding solos, that's for sure. Like in the studio for "Dead or Dreaming" we were almost told it seems to hold back a bit by certain people. Especially if you wanted to rip a solo or something they'd say, "Well maybe you should play a bit more melodic here." This next album is going to be all out.

On "Dead or Dreaming" you had some female vocal parts. Can we expect any of that to be on the next album?

Well what I'd like in the future is to get a female keyboardist who can sing clean vocals but there's just nobody really around. I don't think we'll have them on the next album but I really want to have them in the future. She was just a girl that we found in the local pub and we offered her to sing on the album and she just went in there and did it, didn't rehearse or anything. She was just a great vocalist.

I know it's difficult to do this, but how would you describe the sound that Into Eternity puts out?

Yeah, well just basically we're a progressive death metal band. We've got the clean vocals and off-time time signatures, so that gives us that progressive sound, and then the death vocals and some of the riffs are quite deathy. We're a hybrid band, basically. Progressive death metal is how we like to call ourselves. We're not all death metal because we have those clean vocals and we're definitely not progressive because of other things, so basically we're a hybrid.

Since many members of the band have brought many musical influences to Into Eternity, I was wondering what kind of influence you think you yourself have brought into the band.

Well I founded the band with everyone so I've always had the vision. It always helps when there's a bunch of people because everyone has different influences, but I write like 70% of the music and all the vocals. I sang on both albums, so that was basically my role. But now I've kind of stepped down from the vocal thing and I'm going to concentrate more on guitar. That's basically what I bring – that and the lyrics.

How has the addition of new members affected the sound?

Now we have two new members. A two for one deal [laughs]. Just because Danny played guitar and sang clean vocals it was perfect because he could back me up on everything and guitar-wise we could trade off. So when we got Jeff into the band we decided that, yeah we have to get another vocalist because otherwise it would just have Scott and I singing and it would only be two part harmonies and we need three. So we got Chris, who was actually going to be in the band when we originally formed in 97 but he went on to be in other bands so it didn't really work out, but we called him right away. The good thing is he does clean and death vocals, so now him and I can double up on the death vocals and clean so it's perfect.

Are there any musical elements that haven't been used in Into Eternity's music that you might want to use in the future?

I don't know. My main thing is I want to get some female vocals in there and keyboards. As far as other styles like jazz and stuff, I'm no jazz player [laughs]. Basically I just know how to play metal. This is how we're going to be but we want to progress and make it quite progressive. On the new album we want to have way more off-time signatures and stay away from the standard ones and whatnot, so that's really where the future is going.

What is the song-writing process like for Into Eternity? Is it kind of a dictatorship or does everybody throw something in?

Well it's a whoever has a good riff kind of thing. Jeff and I will get together at my house and we'll write up some riffs and we'll just have a stupid structure and we bring it to the band and that's where everybody will tear it apart. Scott and Jim are good with arrangements and stuff, so we'll come up with arrangements and everyone will add their two cents and we'll kind of switch it around. And then since we have all the music there we'll add some vocal melodies and then I'll write lyrics so usually the lyrics are always last. The music is what I feed off of. That's how it goes really.

When it comes to the live situation, how do you manage to do both the death vocals and the clean vocals? Is there any trouble switching between the two so often?

Not anymore. We've got it down pretty good. Before Into Eternity I was always singing death metal and then I started out with clean vocals. Since like 93, which is a good ten years I've been doing it, so I've got it down pretty well now. I can pretty much turn it on and off like a light switch. It's not a problem.

What is the idea behind "Dead or Dreaming"? The album cover, the title, etc.

Basically it’s not a concept or anything but I guess the album is written around pretty melancholy lyrics and in that way it kind of is. Mattias, the guy out of Gothenburg, Sweden, made the cover of "Dead or Dreaming" and he just came up with the artwork and we pretty much didn't have to change anything at all. It was all his vision, not ours. He did it all, and he'll do all of our albums from now on. It's just kind of a thing. "Dead or Dreaming" just seemed like a good title and it's about how do you know if your dead, that kind of vibe.

Since your debut album, throughout "Dead or Dreaming" and into the music you're writing at the moment, how do you think Into Eternity has grown as a band? What has made you guys stronger, what weaknesses have you overcome?

That's a tough one! Well basically we just want to keep getting better and better and better. When we first started, back on the first album we had no idea that it was going to be reviewed at all. We've never had a review at all in any magazines or websites or anything. So we just wrote songs, played them, and all of the sudden we got signed and realized that we need to start taking this thing seriously! So that's why we upped the ante from the first album to "Dead or Dreaming." They're two completely different albums really. I can't even listen to the first one. So we decided that we want to have a lot more vocals, three parts for sure. On the first album we didn't. And have the songs more aggressive and for sure have off-time signatures, and that's what we're trying to do now. We're trying to keep the music fresh, which is always a challenge. You just have to keep taking things up a notch if it's possible.

What is the goal of a band like Into Eternity?

Originally it was to have fun but it all changed in a hurry. We got to release the first album everyone seemed to dig it and we figured we had to do something with it. I always wanted to try everything and make it but it's always tuff to find the right members, and that was the biggest problem because we live in a small town. There aren't a lot of good musicians around and not too many people were serious. Now that we've got the good line-up now we just want to tour and put out albums, and we want to have a band where it's not just the death or the progressive because that's what everyone is brainwashed into doing. You know, you've either got to be Manowar or Cannible Corpse – very distinctive bands. I always thought right from the beginning why can't you have everything in one band? I just never understood it. So we got right on the press and they were saying "Oh they can't find their sound," but that is our sound and we're going to keep progressing that sound. It was to be sort of unique, which is somewhat impossible, but yeah.

That about wraps it up. Thanks for your time and I hope everything goes well with Century Media and the new album! I can't wait for it. Any last comments?

Thanks a lot man.

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

For a long time, Poland has been delivering us some of the best death metal out there. First it was Vader, than Behemoth, along came Yattering, Lost Soul and Sceptic, but when it came to a decent black metal band, this country always fell short. Recently my friend sent me some MP3s of a very young band from Poland and I didn't know what to expect. I heard a couple of black metal bands from Poland but besides Behemoth who play a mixture of Death and Black they were all on a very low level, and I never even considered them good. Until I've heard Crionics! The last good Black Death metal album I even considered good, was Dimmu Borgir's last offering, and from the songs I heard on Crionics debut, this band is only a step behind this legend. Fury and venomous fire is what came out from my speakers, and I knew that I was listening to the future of Black metal, or at least, what is left of it. All I can say is that this young band rips apart all recent dark offerings that I've heard in a year or so and as quickly as I could I emailed Waran – the mastermind of the band to do an interview. All I can say is that their music fucking blew me away! Tight production, superior drumming and guitar work that could give Old Man's Child a hangover is the least I can say about Crionics. So, if you consider yourself a fan of today's scene take this band into consideration because they are the future of today's Black Metal!!

Mark 'Lestat'


Hail Waran! Tell me a bit about your debut, lyrics, music and all in general. Your album fucking kills! From what I've heard I would call it the new school of Black Death metal.

Hell!!! Our lyrics are a bit satanic as you can notice. Some are more deep than usual. I used some fucked up words but in general lyrics are not the most important part of this band and some of them were written by other people than me. When it comes to music, I think that you are right, at least in some percent. You can hear a bit of an old Norwegian spirit which is definitely a big inspiration for us but we also used a lot of death metal elements. We are not looking for some special originality. We just play music that we love.

From what I've heard you guys like to party hard. You recently went on a tour with Behemoth and it must have been a hell of an experience to party with Nergal and company. What do you think about the bands you toured with? Behemoth, Darkane and another Polish band Frontside.

Oh yeah, we do... [laughs] It was awesome .The whole crew was "rock n' roll". Behemoth and Frontside are great when it comes to partying. So are Darkane whom with we also got a little fucked up once. We knew Nergal before and admire his music. He and the rest of Behemoth are all very cool mutherfuckers.

Your drummer plays in a bunch of bands. You also play in a new death metal project Anal Stench and sing in Sceptic. Tell me, if you had the choice, which one would you consider the one most important right now.

Darkside, our drummer plays only with us and Thy Disease, so does Marcotic our bassist. I play guitars for Anal Stench and have my part as a guitarist/vocalist in Sceptic. Crionics is my life, and I always had hope when we only had like two demos and five shows done, and I'm happy that we finally accomplished something. 90% of music is written by me, unlike in Sceptic where I'm only a musician who plays music composed by Hiro. Crionics is a reflection of my real desires, unlike in the other bands where I don't necessary enjoy the music as much as here. I take it as an exercise to master my guitar and musical skills (Sceptic) and to get fucked up once in a while with Anal Stench [laughs].

Tell me a bit about Anal Stench. Are you guys planning to release an album anytime soon?

It already came out in December, the album contains 10 songs, and two covers and it's called "Stench Like Six Demons". Our label, Metal Mind is promoting the album. We are already booked to play Metalmania in a couple of weeks and we are also supporting Cannibal Corpse and Sinister in Warsaw in April.

What do you think about today's black metal scene?

It surely isn't as strong as ten years ago. Some bands just quit or just simply changed their approach to music. There aren't a lot of bands right now that try to keep the spirit of the real black metal. The world is changing, so do people along with music. I don't consider our band strictly black metal, but people have their opinions and it won't be soon as we'll be labeled as posers, [laughs]. I had some kid on one of our concerts that gave me the finger, I just wonder what does a word "poser" mean to a fucking kid who knows shit, like him.

I've heard that you are a hell of a guitarist. I know that you played on tour with Sceptic on the Thrash 'Em All festival. Are you sure Crionics needs a second guitarist? I think that you can easily do the job by yourself alone.

Thanks. Yea, I played and I still do and that's how it will probably stay because it's hard to find a good guitarist for a band like Sceptic, besides, the less people the more room on stage and more money to share, [laughs]. I'm joking of course. Second guitarist is a lot of help on stage. One guitar will never sound like two. We already found a rhythm guitarist for Crionics but for now we have Yanuary from Thy Disease who helps us out on stage.

Your debut album came out in Poland as a bonus album in Thrash 'Em All magazine. Will there be a chance that black metal fans in USA will be able to buy your album? Black metal fans here are waiting.

Yeah, it came out as a bonus CD in "Thrash 'Em All." From what I know it was sold out so there are small chances that anyone can purchase it at this time. The European premiere of "Human Error: Ways To Self Destruction" will be on the 25th of May. I don't know about US but I hope that Empire Records will talk to the right people. You are joking about those fans right? [Laughs]

Tell me what message you tried to send by creating this record. It's a simple question but I think that every real metal head will answer it with truth.

Are you suggesting that I am a fake? [Laughs]. We just wanted to have a record from our hearts, and it is. So we can hold our music in our hands, with a professional cover, professional recording. We wanted to exist in our country's scene - that was our goal, finally accomplished. We always dreamed to go on tour with Behemoth. Well, it happened. I am happy about our promotion and response. I had done a quite few interviews for radio stations and webzines. We are very glad and are working hard to jump this barrier with our next album.

From what I've heard your record has a very (with a very big V) chance to be the debut of the year in Poland, when it comes to a metal album. What do you think about the barrier you have to cross? I hope you guys won't go the way The Kovenant did?

A lot of people are talking, judging our record as the debut of the year. I personally think that we can prove it with our next record which on we are working right now, and all I can say is that it will be a hell of a lot better, man. Don't expect to hear any violins or female vocals or any shit of that sort, unless they will be Satan's bitch slaves, [laughs].

Is Black Metal a form of a religion or just musical expression? I can't imagine you walking to church with your grandma man. Do you take it as seriously as say – Ihsahn from Emperor?

More of the second. I don’t go to church, unless with a canister of gasoline, [laughs]. How seriously does Ihsahn take it, man?

Vader started the scene, Behemoth followed; I strongly think that you can be the next big band from the land of Poland. What are the plans for Crionics today? Are you talking to any foreign labels? Are you happy with Empire Records?

I don't like people calling us that. It can be all but a commercial sentence for the record company. Both bands that you mentioned worked hard and deserve their fame and are doing well and I hope they will. Right now we are with Empire Records and we're not talking with any foreign labels, somehow nobody is interested. We will release our next album under the Empire and we'll see than.

As I said before, you sing in a couple of bands. Your vocals are phenomenal! Do you train your voice in any way?

As for now, I don't have any problems with playing in all three bands. Yea, I do sometimes get a bit tired like when we played the Thrash 'Em All festival tour. I had to learn all the Sceptic songs in a flash and record the guitars for Anal Stench's album in the mean time. I don't have a job for a while so I have a lot of free time now, but it will change. Thanks man, I don't train vocals. Rarely even scream at our practice. Lately I have been thinking about quitting smoking because it does fuck up my voice. Drinking is enough... [laughs]

That's it for now man. Your album is one of the best I've heard in quite a while. I think bands like Dimmu Borgir and Emperor should watch their asses! Last words brother!!!

I'm glad that you like it. You have to see us on stage sometime, that's where it all happens. Emperor is gone so I don't think we should worry about them (what was I thinking?) [laughs]. Drink vodka, especially Polish and bang your head for the Horned One!!!

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

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.

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

"No fillers, just killers!" (Christiaan, guitars and founder of Katafalk) Such a simple statement, but holding so much weight, and embodying all the Katafalk principles. "Storm of the Horde" is their debut album, and is an exciting journey into the world of horror and reality being woven through the simple tapestry of death/thrash metal. Christiaan gave up some of his time to answer a few questions that I thought you guys may find interesting.

Jack 'Odel'


Greetings from Metalbite. Tell me about Katafalk. How did it all happen in 1995?

Greetings! How was Katafalk started? Well, I met up with some other metalheads and things got going. I wrote some songs and came up with the name Katafalk (which means hearse in Dutch).

Now Christiaan, you were the founder of Katafalk. What did you have envisioned for Katafalk when you started? Did you believe Katafalk circa 2003 would be what had you hoped back in 1995?

I have always meant Katafalk to be a real metal band and so we still are today. No trendy influences. The band has been through lots of line-up changes but always continued and never strayed from its path. Getting signed, recording "Storm of the Horde" (released worldwide by CBI) and getting all those great reactions is really rewarding after years of hard work.

How many lineup changes did Katafalk have to go through to get to yourself (guitars), Michiel (drums), Pier Abe (guitars), Henk Jan (bass) and Wokkel (vocals)?

All of Katafalk's releases had different line-ups except for me (guitars) and Wokkel (vocals). In Katafalk's history there have been about three major line-up changes before getting to the final one. Michiel is our 4th drummer for instance and at least the same goes for the bass and second guitar position.

The inevitable question comes; you started in 1995, but couldn't manage to get an album out until 2003? Why is that? You lads are pretty creative and "Storm of the Horde" is obviously testament to your creativity so I couldn't imagine it would have been a lack of creativity...

The reason is mainly the changes in line-up mentioned above, not a lack of creativity. We also wanted to be a signed band first before recording a whole album. Despite all line-up changes, CBI believed in Katafalk's music and signed us.

With that said has it been a tough 8 years trying to get an album out and a record deal?

The first demo ("Through The Storm", 1997) wasn't really promoted and nothing new was recorded until a promo in 2001 (appropriately titled "Promo 2001"). After that things went smoothly: We toured with God Dethroned and got our first offer from CBI. Still some people wanted to do something completely different and quit. After getting replacements, we signed the deal and recorded "Storm of the Horde" in late 2002.

"Storm of the Horde" deals with some interesting themes, for some songs you guys seem to be focusing on completely isolated topic such as 'Succubus' drawing on no correlation to contemporary topics. But in other songs 'Aesthetic Vampires' being an example it seems you are still using a horror theme but making parallels between the horror theme and topics in the modern world. Such as individuality, freedom and standing up for what you believe in. Am I on the right track?

You're on the right track! For the record, we have used both fantasy and reality lyrics. Fantasy lyrics have the traditional metal subjects and we like them for being very metal. 'Aesthetic Vampires' might look like a horror title but actually deals with the psychic vampires of real life. There are quite some thoughtful lyrics on the album, although we don't want to come across too preachy as a band.

The most striking feature of "Storm of the Horde" and in almost every track is that you guys have seemed to have made it mandatory for a song to be catchy as hell. If it ain't catchy throw it away, ya know what I am saying?

Yeah, indeed, no stupid boring parts! In my opinion Metal is supposed to be exciting and energetic. No fillers, just killers!

What is your inspiration? Firstly as a guitarist and then for the entire band Katafalk, as a unit...

I grew up with traditional heavy metal and then came speed metal, thrash metal, death metal and black metal. I like them all a lot and take the best bits of everything. Some bands I take inspiration from are Iron Maiden, Slayer, Morbid Angel, Dissection, Emperor and Arch Enemy. Every member of Katafalk likes extreme metal, that's why we play it.

As a Dutch band, why don't you write in Dutch? Is it a marketability issue as to why you write in English instead of Dutch? As I am sure you would be more competent in Dutch than English (which is not to say your lyrics are below par)...

We don't write in Dutch as it's more common to write in English. Almost everything in music is in English and it's also the main language on the internet. Every normally educated person can understand it and you really can't say that of Dutch.

How does the song-writing process work for Katafalk? Is it lyrics first and then music compositions? Or depending on each track? Is there a set formula you guys follow for a song?

It's always music first, then lyrics. There isn't a standard formula though every song should have a good structure, killer riffs, strong choruses and decent lines. No cheap stuff!

Musically Katafalk seems entrenched in a black/death/thrash crossover. Is there where you want to stay with Katafalk? Are there more 'diverse' musical soundscapes you wish to explore with Katafalk that maybe live outside of the black/death/thrash subgenres?

I like traditional heavy metal as well and those influences such in 'Empty Life' and 'Blind Envy' were very much praised in the reactions we got on the album. For "Storm of the Horde" we picked all fast and brutal songs to make our debut album really over the top, for the next album we'll maybe do something else. For instance we might incorporate more technical, melodic or epic parts, but Katafalk's style will not drastically change.

Do you guys get to play alongside I.N.R.I. much? I listened to "Hyper Bastard Breed" last year (also on Cold Blood Industries) and it was a great experience. Seems there are some decent bands coming out of Holland at the moment.

Yeah I.N.R.I. is a great band too and they're also cool guys to hang out with. We're on a package with them and regularly play together. New Dutch signings on CBI are Crustacean and Monolith, check them out too!

The live Katafalk experience, is it an awesome event that pulls and sucks the crowds in? Do you guys player better if you can feed off a mosh pit that is chock full of energy and excitement?

You can surely say so! Katafalk's music is really great for both playing and experiencing live! We always go crazy on stage, which involves a lot of head-banging! To see the crowd go wild too really pushes us to the max!

'Humanity I'm not one of you, Sell my soul like Faust...' from 'Aesthetic Vampires', is this reference to the infamous Bard 'Faust'? This is clearly a track about people who flock to the crowds and who will not stand up for themselves. There are actually some pretty positive lyrics throughout "Storm of the Horde" making quite a different listen from the norm in this field.

As far as I know that particular line is referring to the Faust-legend (the man who sold his soul to the devil in return for earthly powers and riches). The subject of people who flock to crowds returns in even more of Wokkel's lyric. He's urging people to think for themselves and don't bother others with their crap, which can be seen as a positive message indeed (although he's also telling those and other sorry people to simply fuck off, [laughs]). Live your own life and be free!

Well Christiaan, thanks for your time. And more thanks for such great album in "Storm of the Horde"!

Thanks for the interview and support! A message to all readers: Check our website www.katafalk.com for news, tourdates, downloads, merchandise and other stuff. Go buy and listen to our album "Storm of the Horde", have a few beers and bang your heads! See you on tour! Cheers!

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Peccatum and Star of Ash have many things in common. Innovation, creativity, originality and Heidi S. Tveitan. Better known as "Ihriel" for some of you, Heidi is the mother of this wonderful offspring made of dark and mysterious landscapes called "Iter.Viator.". Open your eyes, ears and mind to a world where imagination and intellectuality meet through the music and words from this very special lady.

Denis 'Shadow'


Can you present us the musicians and their participation?

After abandoning my initial desire to make a minimalist and quiet record, I decided to bring other musicians on board to help out with some of the acoustic instruments. I ended up using a jazz drummer, three different guitarists, two male vocalists and a small choir. The songs themselves were there to start with, so it is more a matter of musical interpretation in the performance and mixing that my guests have brought with them.

Tell us a bit about the story behind the making of "Iter.Viator."

I guess it's fair to say it was more about being asked to do a solo album, rather than me deciding to open a new forum for my music. That said, it became my wish during the writing process to blend in elements which could create images. The characters in my story tend to fade into the background, leaving the settings and emotions in the spotlight. I like to think of "Iter.Viator." as a journey in the crime noir fashion; at times mingled with the feelings I detain from listening to Arvo Pärt's search for overtones in church bells. My main motivation for making music is the desire to invent stories; to release my work is to read those stories aloud. In that perspective Star of Ash is just another story, and "Iter.Viator." its first chapter.

Were you pretty confident or rather frightened about the reaction of the fans/media?

Neither. In my opinion an artist can choose to take control, stand, rise and fall with his/hers creations. Failing to seize that privilege may force the artist into a position where he/she is controlled. To elaborate I would like to use the more eloquent words of the French surrealistic writer, Georges Bataille:

"I WANT TO CARRY MY PERSON TO THE PINNACLE - If the cashier falsifies the accounts, the director is perhaps hidden behind a piece of furniture, ready to embarrass the indiscreet employee. To write, to falsify the accounts - I know nothing of this, but I know that a director is possible, and that, if he happened upon the scene, I would have no recourse other than shame. There are readers, nevertheless, who have in them anything to cause this disarray. Were the most perspicacious of them to accuse me, I would laugh: it is of myself that I am afraid".

How do you react to bad review or press?

It all depends if the review/press contains a great deal of musical insight or not and in which manner the album is dealt with. Well written and insightful reviews can be helpful to the artist whether they are positive or negative. On occasions where my music simply is not the "flavor of the day" I oftentimes find myself in the same chariot, meaning that I care as little for their flavor as they do for mine.

"Amor Fati" by Peccatum is an incredibly good Avant-garde album and I would go as far as saying that it's the type of work that defines the genre. A true classic. With "Iter.Viator.", we have a rather unusual type of compositions and here the atmospheric meets the Avant-garde in a gorgeous way. I personally enjoyed your voice doing the lead singing and being more upfront. I never heard something like this. Can we say you have created a new genre?

Thank you for your kind words, but no, my album is too inconsistent to be groundbreaking in that sense.

Everything you and your husband do is innovative. Where do you take the inspiration to come up with all these goodies?

What seems innovative in our music is probably the result of both of us cherishing the isolation of the creative process. To us our products are our own experiments until released, thus we work isolated from outside demand and dictation. That's said, we're of course influenced by outside impressions, but we are too curious about what we have not yet done to go with the flow and easy solutions. Last but not least we're simply addicts to the thrill of experimenting! [laughs]

As a singer and musician, who are the artists you like (not only in metal)?

Arvo Pärt, Ian Gillan, A-Ha, David Bowie, Rob Halford, Diamanda Galas, Jaga Jazzist and Krøyt to mention a few.

Is there any of them you'd like or perhaps plan to work with?

Arvo Pärt is my ultimate favorite composer, and has been so for years. He is musically way out of my league though. [Laughs]

Have you ever heard of Avant-gardiste singer Monika Edvarsen?

I'm afraid not.

Is there a new Peccatum album in the making?

Yes, we're currently working on our forthcoming third full-length, which will be released sometime this year. It will be released on a different label than our previous albums. The musical direction is not fully set as yet, so we'll just have to drift with the flow and see where it takes us in the end.

How do you manage being involved with two bands at the same time?

All of us in Peccatum have other bands and commitments, so it just takes a bit of planning and mutual adjustment to make things function smoothly.

Your lyrics are pretty dark and poetic. With memorable parts like "I yearn to vomit my heart all over you." How do you create your songs?

I oftentimes use the piano or sequencer as a starting point in order to build harmonies, chord progressions and themes. From a rough sketch the selection of key and tempo needs to be set. Once this rough skeleton is made it is time to bring it to life, clothe and feed it. On this production the actual themes became the focus point; some of them stripped, rebuilt and rearranged many times over. The instrumentation is how I wanted to dress these themes. In other words, the instrumentation and the arrangements derive primarily from the themes themselves. My approach to music had grown more mathematical over the years, and I find it to be a time consuming puppet, hard to please and get pleased by. As for the lyrics on "Iter.Viator.", they move between the meaningful and pure nonsense. In many ways it is more about impressions rather than understanding.

Are the words put down first or do the melodies float in your mind to begin with? Tell us more about the creative process.

My work method with words varies, but in general I write the melody structure into the harmonies of the song, with or without the final lyric. I lean towards the perception that when words are used in music, both are dependant on each other and create some sort of symbiosis. However, I find music to be the most intriguing language of all; superior to any word you feed it with.

Now feel free to express any thoughts you want in this "artist final words zone".

Thank you for the interview and support.

"Life will dissolve itself in death, rivers in the sea, and the known in the unknown. Knowledge is access to the unknown. Nonsense is the outcome of every possible sense."

Fragment from Georges Bataille's "Inner Experiences".

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Metal does not come to mind when thinking of the Finnish mellow folk group Tenhi, yet the peculiar thing about Tenhi is that they seem to receive such grand adulation from the metal press around the world. Is the metal world getting soft in its old age or has metal beginning to appreciate some of the world outside its often narrow confines? I believe it is the latter, and "Väre" is fine testament to a band refining their art to their true potential. I had a window of opportunity to email Tyko (vocals, synth, guitar, mouth harp and didgeridoo).

Jack 'Odel'


What prompted Tenhi to come together? Certainly musically speaking, you guys play music that is outside the norms of today’s music standards. Tenhi is obviously a band that is put together to play music for yourselves that comes from the heart, right?

We pretty much do what we please ignoring all scenes and styles. We have an interest in many musical styles as well, but this is just what comes naturally from us when we deal with the topics that Tenhi is about.

Tenhi? What does it translate to in English? Does this word or name have special significance in Finnish?

It means a shaman or a medical man of the tribe, it is not used anymore in Finnish language; it is an old poetic form.

I think you have struck a very happy medium with "Väre". I thought "Kauan" was perhaps too pedestrian, and in "airu:ciwi" it seemed like you were trying to accomplish too much with the instruments you were using for the MCD. Don't get me wrong, these were both good CDs, I am just pleased to see how much you have progressed for "Väre".

It has always been a bit of a problem for us to get the records sounding as good as a whole because there are three of us in Tenhi; me, Ilmari and Ilkka, who write the music, and even our own compositions vary a lot. We try to avoid compromises even if they would help the songs fit better together like on "airut:ciwi". On "Väre" I think we succeeded to create a mood that carries though the whole album although the songs on "Väre" may vary a lot.

How did you find the didgeridoo? It's a funny instrument, eh? I remembering tinkering around with one a few years back; couldn't play it to save myself. It seems as though you guys have used the didgeridoo to good effect on "Väre" though. Was it a hard instrument to get the hang of? The usage of the didgeridoo throughout 'Sutoi' is brilliant.

The sounds of different instruments are interesting just as "sounds". The didgeridoo has one of the most interesting and personal sounds to me and I have been playing it some 5-6 years now. I had the opportunity to get a real Australian didgeridoo made of eucalyptus tree a couple of years ago, the sound depends a lot concerning the wood, which it is made of. It is a very hypnotizing instrument and one can play it for hours just by yourself even if it is the one of the most simple and oldest instruments around.

How did the recording of "Väre" compare to that of "Kauan"? In most respects "Väre" seems like it took longer to record and more time and effort was put into it. Obviously you guys are more accomplished musicians now.

Recording and mixing "Väre" took a very long time as we did everything by ourselves also we weren't satisfied how the mixing turned our on the first time so we began from the beginning after a couple of months break from the band.

Prophecy Productions must provide links to music avenues with which you wouldn't have dreamed (or dreaded) of being associated with. Metal is one such avenue. Do you get good reaction from the metal press in comparison to other music markets?

We got most of the feedback from metal and gothic press but also some from more the progressive music magazines. The majority of the reviews on all our albums have been excellent, it is great that musically different oriented people like our work and can find the same atmosphere in them.

Speaking again of the metal genre; does it bother you guys to be often associated with a lot of metal acts? It seems with every year the metal field is growing to encompass more and more diverse musical acts, you guys are one such example.

Not really, we don't care about any of the scenes and how our music is labelled but maybe we feel the most at home within metal circles as we have all "metal background," still our music has very little in common with metal, maybe it is more a question of the feel in it and the moods it awakes in the listener.

Are you satisfied with how "Väre" turned out?

We are very happy now when it is finished, at some points working with it got too stressful.

Is Tenhi capable of putting together a live set? Or is there too much fiddling around and tinkering with hundreds of different instruments to get anything really solid together?

We have played live a couple of times here in Finland and also in Germany, (Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival) and 9-day tour in Germany and Austria. On live situations our line-up grows to seven people so it is possible for us to get the same feel when playing live that we have on our records.

For me the greatest thing to come out from "Väre" is that this is a band that is far more energetic in comparison to previous releases. It is almost as though you guys have a renewed passion for playing music.

I like the variety of songs on "Väre" as they are faster and more rhythm based songs and some more calm and quiet songs, while "Kauan" was mellower and maybe lacked the eruption of energy at some points.

I have read a lot of press statements and other reviews of your past work saying that nature and the elements are the inspiration for Tenhi. I can't read a word of Finnish could I ask you to give me the translation of each song and perhaps some insight into what each track is about?

The song titles are hard to translate, they often are not literally "correct" Finnish merely indicate to some words.

'Vastakaiun' (means something like "I Echo")
A journey in motions.

'Jäljen' (means something like "I Leave a Trace" or "Traces")
This song has multiple meanings one of them dealing with the process of making a painting.

'Vilja' ("Hay")
It is about the greyness yet uplifting feels after a rain.

'Keväin' ("At Spring Times")
Quite a positive song about the vitality of spring.

‘Vötä’ (“Night/Dusk”)
The feelings that are woken at nighttimes.

'Suortuva' (something like "Curly/Spiral Shape")
Could be understood as a sad love song.

'Tenhi' (old Finnish meaning "Shaman")
A song originally from our demo tape, our only song which hasn't got any lyrics related to it.

'Sutoi' (old Finnish meaning "Wolf" used in poems)
A story told in an old poetic way, people described through animal behaviour and reflected as animals.

Katve' ("One Word for Shadow")
Description of autumn/mire.

'Varis Eloinen' ("Elusive Bird")
Again a fuzzy border between man and animal.

'Kuolleesi Jokeen' ("Lay the Dead to the River") Leaving all sorrow and depression behind.

Again on the subject of content matter of Tenhi, would it be possible for you guys to travel to a new country or continent, such as China or Africa and be inspired by the natural settings there and as such compile an album that is completely foreign to any past work of Tenhi based upon the unique setting of that particular location?

The surroundings have a tremendous affect on the music we make and so our work would probably have special 'spices' from those locations, yet we always interpret the feelings so the music could be still recognized as our work. Even here our work isn't easily related to common Finnish mentality, the music is just us and the way we feel.

What is the biggest accomplishment you have achieved with Tenhi to this date? Is this a personal thing... or do you think the rest of Tenhi feels the same way? For instance releasing 2 full-length albums must be a pretty good feeling for you.

I am very happy just to be able to express special feelings and myself.

Thanks for answering these questions for me and Metalbite.com, any parting words?

Thank you for your interest. We have plans to record something this summer/autumn and hope to release a new album in 2004, while waiting for that get your hands on "Väre" for a trip into the outer spheres.

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...It’s been 3 years since their last studio release... While it might seems like a long time, "Intermission" bonus record in between, butt load of albums from hundreds of bands and with thrilling word events time passed by so fast that what seemed to by an everlasting break turned out to be just a little longer pause between tracks. On January 27th Stratovarius came back with not only their newest child "Elements Pt.1" but they already completed most of the work on "Elements Pt. 2". I talked to Jens Johansson (keyboards) about the break, new albums and American music pirates that eventually might (or not) prevent Stratovarius from playing live in States.

Chris


Did you enjoy your time away from Stratovarius?

I did, it was very nice. I mean we actually played some gigs in the meantime so our break wasn't completely serious but yes, it was nice to take this break. Nice for everybody and everyone was motivated when we went back to work to record this album.

Please tell me the truth, did you guys take a break because of album, tour, album, tour life style or were you simply sick of each other?

I think that was album tour thing. We really had been doing this for 5 years or so and everyone was sick of traveling, especially me.

Did a thought of breaking up ever come to your mind? Did you guys discuss this possibility?

No, but we discussed this in a lot of interviews because people were asking about it. [Laughs] No, that wasn’t really a plan. A lot of people said that but that wasn’t true.

What have you been up to during those years? Did you work on any side projects like other band members or did you concentrate on spending money from your gold albums?

Yeah, that's it. [Laughs] Two guys made solo albums, which if you ask me defeats the purpose of taking the time off but on the other hand during last 5 years we didn't have any time for anything else but Stratovarius, so I can understand that. I don't really care, whatever they want to do... I took it easy. Watching movies, painting walls in my apartment... and there of curse was this September 11th attack and nothing really happened for good 6 months cause everyone was sitting around, scared...

Some critics were saying that your time off was caused by lack off new and fresh ideas. I think your new album can put that rumor to the rest but how much do you think Stratovarius has left in its tank?

I think we can go on for a long time but the question is for how long will people want to listen to us? If you work in a very specific type of music like we are people might get sick off it eventually because you changed too much or you didn't change enough. As long as people will like our stuff we'll continue doing it. I think the guys in the band and especially Timmo will always do some sort of stuff but it might not always be metal.

Are you guys unable to fulfill you musical desires in Stratovarius that some of you form side projects?

That's the thing about side projects... you can explore different styles. It’s not like you can have only one dream or inspiration...

I can understand that but I was really surprised when after all this talk about taking time off, album-tour, album-tour life style I see two members ready to go with solo albums. Who's tired of writing the music and touring than?

[Laughs] I though that was a little bit crazy... but both of those guys were able to record their stuff at home so there was no traveling involved and that was especially important for Timmo because of his family. So, I think it was important for him not to tour for a while. No long Japan or German tours, no drinking, screaming... it was more civilized not usual rock 'n roll stuff. [Laughs] Plus, I don't think he spent a lot of time on this solo album, maybe a couple of weeks. For him it's usually quite easy to write songs and for this project he got right people for this type of music so the whole process wasn't long at all. It's like with everything else if you delegate responsibilities to the right people they would make the right choices so you don't have to manage everything. I don't think that was very stressful. I think Kotipelto's solo album was a lot more stressful. He had to learn a lot of things... In Stratovarius we're not as responsible as Tolkin is. He’s basically the guy who's holding it all together. He's a producer; he's arranging bookings, tours, studios and every single detail that comes along. So, I think that maybe it was good for Kotipelto to learn that whole process which I think he did and with his next album he'll have much easier time. There were very good learning experiences for both of them.

Do you have any rules or boundaries regarding Stratovarius music that can't be broken in order to keep your unique sound?

I think there probably are. Other than basic rules like on each album we have drums the main rule that most probably will never be broken is that the songs will always be melodic, blues like based. I think if we would make something different than that it shouldn't be called Stratovarius. 99% of the people that buy our records expect guitars, drums and very melodic tracks. They'd probably get very angry if we made a grungy record or something like that.

When you listen to the new album you can always say that's Stratovarius but apart from typical fast paced tracks I find this record more diverse than your previous efforts? I'm not talking about fast-slow ratio but overall more epic feeling; was it something you planned when you recorded "Elements, Pt.1"?

Not really, I think it comes from the fact that the tempos are much slower and when you have more space between the notes you can put more stuff without making it too complicated or muddy. It wasn't really a conscious decision it just happened this way.

How was the overall atmosphere before recording process of "Elements"? Can't you guys wait to get together and work on new material or would you rather have some more time off from each other?

No, everyone was very exited to get back to work and that was also a very good thing about the break cause everybody was very motivated. If we would have gotten together in 2000 or 2001 whenever it was after the last date of the "Infinite" tour that really felt like it was infinite, we were joking about it as never ending tour; the album would have been terrible or at least the feel of it. Maybe with the hard work we could have made it good at the end but everything is much better when it comes natural.

After 3 years break did you have so many ideas that "Elements" was broken into parts and we'll see continuation of Part 1?

Ah... perhaps. Yeah... I think... I mean...

Is this a secret or you don't want to talk about it?

No, part 2 is almost already finished. I don't think there's going to be part 3 but part 2 is going to come out around December or January of next year. Everything except vocals is almost done and I think it's even better than part 1.

Is there a concept behind the title? What are the "Elements" stand for? Based on the cover and track titles Part 1 seems to stand for fire, winds and water. Will there be a connection with Part 2?

This is very strange... It's like a double concept album but it doesn't have a real concept... it's a very odd thing. The second album doesn't have anything to do with "Elements" and I really don't know how the fuck we are gonna get out of that one but... basically it's only called "Elements" because of that one song on the first album. In reality it's a giant 25-song album that is split up into two albums released over a year.

Well than, are you ready to hit the road again?

Yeah, I think I feel motivated enough. Believe it or not I didn't think I would say that again. The playing part is always fun but the traveling will really get you.

So, where can we see you? Are States on the list of your touring plans I'm sure the rest of the world is?

There is possibility in the fall; maybe... it's still up in the air. I'm talking about Prog Fest but we might also skip Prog Fest and do couple of shows in big cities like New York, Chicago and LA or something like that. It's a very hard decision. I don't know if you knew that but "Elements" was available on the net before the actual release date so, we took the opportunity to try to figure out what country is actually downloading our music the most and US is very high on the list and as you know touring is for promoting the sales and if there's no way to help record sales maybe there's no point of touring so much. It's a very difficult decision but it's being talked about. We know we'll make money on South American tour so then we'll have to justify how much of that money we want to gamble on making some shows in the States. There are other issues too, some of the guys have never been in the States and maybe they'll want to come just to check it out and treat it almost like a vacation. Fuck CD sales, fuck it if everyone downloads songs, lets see skyscrapers in Chicago, whatever.

I hope you’ll think of something and for whatever reason we'll see you for at least few shows.

I hope so too.

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Immolation. Just the name of the band is enough to send other death metal bands home. With quite a history of hard work and multiple albums under their belt, Immolation continues to move up the ladder of success. Recently they signed with Century Media Records, a step up according to guitarist Bob Vigna, Immolation's guitarist. Now they've got a new album, "Unholy Cult," and it is without a doubt Immolation's most praised piece of work yet. Read on.

Allan 'Enigma'


First off, I've just got to congratulate you and the rest of the guys in Immolation for "Unholy Cult". It is easily one of the best death metal releases of the year 2002. Excellent work! So, How has the response been to the new material from the magazines or the fans that you've been performing for whilst being on the road?

Thanks for the cool words of support Allan, we appreciate it. The reaction has been really good. This is probably the first record that we have done where we are actually getting an overwhelming high response from the magazines, not to mention the fans. They are always supportive, but they really like this one a lot! We did two tours recently, one in the US with Vader, Berzerker and Origin, and we just finished the Xams fests in Europe. The reaction to the new material at the shows was especially good. I think there were many who had not heard "Unholy Cult" yet, but you could tell they really dug it!

Does the new material come out well in the live setting?

Oh yes, it sure does. We are at our best live. The newer stuff probably goes over better and actually comes out better than a lot of our older stuff. The new songs are just so much more powerful it really comes across live.

What are your thoughts on "Unholy Cult" after you've finished it and had some time to let it sink in? The best work yet for you guys maybe?

Oh definitely our best yet. I think that's what people have been getting excited about. They know that each release we put out gets better and better. They are confident in us and look forward to our new material. We always try new things and bring something fresh in, and with "Unholy Cult" we did that better than ever before. When we heard it for the first time, we could hardly believe how good it came out. Paul Orofino is the man!

Since the inception of Immolation how would you say you guys have grown, or improved?

Well we have matured a lot as musicians and as people of course. The more we create new music the better we get at it. You learn a lot from album to album. You see what works best and how to improve on things. Ross and I really fine-tuned each song right before we went into the studio. We wanted everything to flow, and this helped a lot. We would lose all the unnecessary parts or measures and concentrated on making each song direct and to the point.

More specifically, how did Immolation try to perfect their craft for "Unholy Cult," and how do you think that it differs with its predecessor, "Close To A World Below"?

Well it's what I just mentioned as well as just being as creative as possible. We strive to make dark music, but we want it to be interesting and meaningful too. To us there are no limitations. As long as the feeling you are trying to get across are there that's what matters. "Unholy Cult" takes what we did on "Close To A World Below" to the next level. We made sure the production was clearer and more intense, we added more layers to the music and broadened the lyrics a lot too. The lyrics on "Unholy Cult" are less specific, yet they have a lot more to say. They are more personal and more open to interpretation. They deal with religion, but more about what we see in the world today and how we are as people.

What kind of influences play into shaping how Immolation sounds? Is it limited to music?

There are a lot, but I would have to say that a big factor in our being so unique is that we are very open-minded people. We listen to a large variety of music and this really helps us to be more creative in our own. We listen to everything form Bjork and Tori Amos to Jazz to early classic metal like Metallica and Iron Maiden and newer metal like Korn, Slipknot and System of A Down. I personally like to listen to new music. I can't just bury my head in death metal or old school bands. I love all the classics and I like death metal and black metal when done right, but there is a big world out there, and to hear what other things are going on is very inspiring. What we want to do with Immolation is really open up a new territory of metal - taking it to a completely new and indescribable level. There are plenty of other things that play a part in it too. Just life in general, the things we see around us, especially after 9/11. It is just proof of what extreme misuse of religion and leadership can cause.

Where do you think Immolation stands in the death metal genre? Certainly you guys are one of the leaders of the pack, but do you consider Immolation to have the upper hand, so to speak, in some aspects of the music?

Well we do what we do and we do it well. I think we are one of the few bands that are actually trying to make an effort here to move this genre forward, that’s for sure. We feel we have just skimmed the surface of our potential and are very excited about our next release to come.

Has anything changed this time around in terms of the lyrical concepts? Are there any specific ideas that stick out?

As I mentioned earlier, I would say we really have created some interesting lyrics here. They are very broad, but have much more to say than ever before. "Unholy Cult" definitely revolves around the current events of the world, like 'Of Martyrs and Men,' 'Sinful Nature' and 'Bring Them Down.' Even the title track 'Unholy Cult' can be taken in many different ways. We look at the cause and outcome of extreme religious ideas as well as the problem of power in the wrong hands. I hate to go into it too much. You just have to read the words yourself, and you will get your own ideas of the meaning. That's what we aim for. These words can relate to anything, depending on how each person takes the song.

What's the song writing process like for Immolation? Does one member tend to write most of the material, does everybody make an equal contribution, or what?

I come up with all the music and the initial song structures. Then I show what I'm trying to do to the rest of the guys and we get it down and see if it works. Sometimes we add parts, or make changes. On a rare occasion we scrap the whole song if it just doesn't work. That happened this last time. And in the end many of those parts made their way into the last track where they worked perfectly. The fact that we work on it all together helps to find the best material. Once the music is pretty solid Ross starts working on lyric ideas and song titles. I helped out with that as well, titles and lyric passages. And in some songs we would both have a number of paragraphs, and they would just fit together, like in 'Unholy Cult' and 'Bring Them Down.' We are coming from different angles and then everything fits together to make it complete. It's funny because we will have some things that are finished and as we rehearse them and Ross and I both realize certain parts are not working, and they are the same parts. So we really have close perception on how we want the songs to be, how we want them to feel.

What's most important for the guys in Immolation when you put the music together? Do riffs come before solos, do you care most about the atmosphere, whether or not the album is cohesive, etc., and other such things.

Once we are done with the actual song structure and riffs from beginning to end, and the lyrics are ready, then I work on the leads. And since by the time that happens we are usually in the studio recording, it can get a bit stressful! To me when writing I cannot even think about the leads until the whole song structure is done. I have to be happy with the song as a whole. This way I know Alex and Ross are good to go. We all have an understanding of the song. It's at that point that I start working on the leads. It's more important that the song is done and flows right, the leads I just write in the studio or on the spot when recording. Sometimes being more spontaneous is better for the solos. You tend to capture things you normally would not write.

Have you guys been happy with how Century Media has been treating you guys, as opposed to Metal Blade who you just left not to long ago?

Yes we are very happy with Century Media. They have really showed a lot of interest in the band as well as positive support, and Listenable Records in Europe is doing a great job as well. We are the labels top priority, which was needed. We are happy to be in this situation. We have our best album of our career here and it's good that there is a very positive support from those who are releasing it.

What's next for Immolation? Are there any goals you've set that you haven't reached yet?

We feel we have just begun. Our goals are to really bring some new sounds into this music and show those who are not familiar with it just how powerful dark metal can be. We are planning more touring for the next months to come, both in Europe and in the US. We hope to tackle a few places we have not been yet before too.

What albums of 2002 have you been the most pleased with?

"Unholy Cult" of course! Haha! What an asshole I am!

Well, thank you for your time. Again, "Unholy Cult" is one hell of an album and I congratulate you and the rest of the guys on it! Any final comments?

Thanks a lot Allan for the cool interview, we appreciate it! Thanks to all those who have stuck with us over the years and we hope those who have not will check out "Unholy Cult." It is a metal experience that you will enjoy!

Thanks and look out for Immolation in 2003!!!

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Now that just about all of you Viking Metal fans have had a chance to listen to Thyrfing's latest opus, I think it's time to let you in on what the creators of such a good album have to say about it. This interview was done by e-mail with Patrik Lindgren who brought us an unforgettable moment of mystery and mythology. If you were amongst the ones who did not had a chance to discover them, my only hope is that these words will drive you directly to your record store and share with us the pleasures to be found.

Denis 'Shadow'


Now that your last opus "Vansinnesvisor" has been out for a few months, I guess this period allowed quite some good feedback for you guys. Was the effect as good in Europe as it was in the States?

Yeah, the response has been extremely good over here as well. Some "older" fans might have been surprised about the direction of this album, but after they get use to it, it seems like most people embrace it; calling it their favourite Thyrfing-album, album of the year etc.

Your name comes from Ancient stories and mythology. Is it a passion that all the members share?

More or less, yes we do.

What about the photo session?

We wanted something dark and "filthy", more miserable, to go along with the general feeling of the album. We decided some mud and blood would truly extend this feeling, and the shots turned out really good I think.

Was it your idea?

Yeah, it was. And if I remember it right, Thomas and Henrik were the driving forces behind the idea...

How was it to take on a Viking 'role' and going to that limit and having pictures taken up in the woods or even in water?

It's not like you have to go into a "role" or something... I mean it's not like we are walking around looking pissed and serious between the shots. This is artistry, a way to improve the overall impact, and feeling of your music, so it's not a problem. It was damn cold (December actually) and the water was freezing your balls off... but hey...all for the art they say?

With this album you are sure to reach quite a wide range of music lovers. Would you describe yourself as trendsetters in viking metal or was this for you the next step as a mature band?

In a way, I think Thyrfing has always been a quite unique and independent band when it comes to sound. Now, I feel that we have come even further in our musical world, and really found our own style. Of course it's flattering to see people mention you as one of their influences, but I wouldn't go as far calling us "trend setters". But I'd of course prefer to start trends, than following them...

For me (as a French Canadian) foreign European lyrics add a dimension of mysticism in music and I appreciate that. For you, what was the main reason for using Swedish lyrics?

We have used Swedish lyrics, for as long as this band have existed (7 years), so we are quite used to it... We are comfortable with it, and it's one of the strongest parts of our identity. It brings forth a more original and organic feeling, than the English language, which you hear everyday on radio, TV etc.

Were you insecure about how the reaction would turnout in general?

Not at all. As I said above, this is nothing new for us.

Was it for you a potential loss for a worldwide market?

Well, maybe it's not that wise commercially, but also some people find it exotic, and couldn't imagine the music without it.

Two songs are in English. Any particular reason for that?

As we've always used both kinds of lyrics in our albums, we saw no reason breaking that tradition. We always use the language we want to at the moment. No particular reasons or rules...

Where these composed in English already?

Yes, we would never translate any lyrics. Our English isn't that poor...

How do you usually work out the compositions?

It's really different from track to track. Everything between something composed and arranged by a single person, to some total jamming at the rehearsal place. The general order is: 1. Make the riffs, melodies and basic corner stones. 2. Arrange, rehearse and improve at the rehearsal-place. 3. Add harmonies, additional melodies and vocal arrangements. Well, some things might change in the studio after that as well... But this is how we usually work.

Are the lyrics written first or is it the music?

In most cases, we start with the musical arrangements, and after that add vocal lines. However, the lyrics might have been written months ago, but it doesn't have to mean we write the music after it.

Ever since I started listening to metal music, I noticed that most of the best bands I was enjoying where from Europe like Norway, Sweden, Germany for instance. How can you explain this phenomenon?

I guess it must some kind of chain-reaction. If you see people you know or hangout with suddenly get a record-deal, you realise that nothing is impossible. If people help out each other, with gigs, guest performances, inspiration etc. all bands are getting better, and that's probably what has happened in these countries. Also (at least in Sweden), musicians have very good financial support from the government.

Are you guys fan or maybe friends with any of them?

Yeah, of course. I like tons of Scandinavian and German bands. Who doesn't? We have some local friends here who help each other out now and then for example Raise Hell, Hatework, Mörk Gryning, Sins of Omission etc.

What do you think of today's popular music?

If you compare to the 70's and 80's the popular artists of today, they don't seem to be musicians at all. Good dancin', a pretty face and a body in shape seems to be enough. The rest is taken care of by the producer and studio musicians. Sadly, this is how it works, and we have to be glad there's still a scene for underground musicians who play music from their hearts and soul.

Is there anyone or band amongst them that you like or maybe totally dislike? It's ok if you want to tell me that you can't stand such and such singer or band.

Hehe... people who get big heads after their so-called "break" don't deserve any respect. However there are dozen of bands and artists who make/perform crappy music which I hate. Can't say I dislike them as people because of that though. If they like it themselves, and make other people happy... why not?

Do you think about coming in Canada for a tour in a near future?

You never know, but the situation in North America has been very bad for Thyrfing 'til now. That made touring there, economically and practically impossible. However, it seems like things are getting better and better, we have a new promotion agency there, and the new album gets really good reviews, attention from the media etc. We'll see what happens...

If so, is Montreal a city you would like play at?

Yes of course. We would be up for any city wanting us to play there!

The last words are for you. Anything you'd like to add or say to the world?

Thanx for supporting Thyrfing, we appreciate it ... Also, cheers to all fans listening, drinking, banging, fucking, analysing, admiring, and living to our music. See you in Valhalla!

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Whether you were impressed by the metal that came out in 2002 or not, one thing is for sure. That is that Insision released their debut, "Beneath The Folds Of Flesh". It’s a monstrous album of death metal and easily one of the best debuts that came out last year, and also probably one of the best death metal records of the year. Guitarist Roger Johansson had a lot to say about Insision and their new album, so without further ado...

Allan 'Enigma'

Roger, it looks like we have a problem. If I didn't like Insision so much I might feel inclined to take you guys to court, because "Beneath The Folds of Flesh" just completely kicked my ass when I first heard it! Congratulations on such a powerful album!

Thanks a lot man. Feels great to do this interview with a guy that likes "Beneath The Folds of Flesh". Thank you for taking time with Insision.

All right so let's get down to business. To start us off, could you just give us a brief overview of how Insision came to where we are today?

Yeah. The band was brought up from two other bands named Ilddor and Embalmer. Thomas (drums) played in the band Embalmer with the singer Johan Thornberg. Joonas Ahonen (bass) played in Ildoor and one day they met up and talked about doing a death metal project, which became Insision. From that point it goes. The first lineup was Joonas Ahonen (bass), Johan Thornberg (vocals), Tomas Daun (drums), and Patrik Muhr (guitar). Patrik then quit after their recording of the first demo tape, "Ment To Suffer". They then called me up and asked if was interested in doing the guitar. My band at the time, Disfigured, had just split up so I tried the guitar out for Insision.

How do you think Insision is different from other death metal acts, or what do you think it is about Insision that has caused people to take notice of you guys?

Well I think it's all about doing good death metal songs. It should be fast 'n' heavy, with much aggression, and to have a good red line through the whole song. Not over produced. Death metal should be a dirty thing. I don't know if we are different from any other act, it's just that we are working hard to write good music and try to get it out to as many in the crowd as possible and hoping that they like what they hear. I think it's very important to have a good lineup with guys you can trust and not shift it with other members all the time, and also to practice as much as possible to develop step by step.

Every time I hear something about Insision it's usually followed by something about how you guys are from Sweden and that death metal of this caliber isn't normally coming out of Sweden. What do you think about that? Are you guy's fans of the whole Gothenburg movement, or are you as tired as I am with it?

Personally I'm not listening so much to the melodic style. Everything you hear repeats itself. I don't know, maybe I'm just an asshole that doesn’t understand the good stuff in it! We just write music that we like and try to write it in the best way that we can, or as we want it to sound. If it's slow, fast, or whatever, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that it is a good riff and a good arrangement with a feeling in the song but not overproduced.

Are you happy with the production on "Beneath The Folds of Flesh"? Why did you choose Berno?

Well we didn't have that many suggestions as to where we wanted to record the debut. We didn't want The Gothenburg sound from Fredman Studios and we didn't want the Abyss Studios sound. So, Berno was the best we could come up with at the time. Sure I would want to maybe try out to record outside of Sweden. That would have been awesome, but for the first record it's good to do it here (Sweden). Plus the budget we had wasn't that much, so everything went pretty fast. The production is ok but you can always make it better. In mean it's a pretty cool sound with four guitars. I like the drum sound very much, and Carl's voice is great. On the next album I think the sound is going to be much different though.

What has Wicked World done for Insision that you guys weren't able to do in the past?

They got us a bunch of good contacts that a label should have with. ‘Zines, bands, booking agency's, and they gave us a budget that we can work with. I mean we have also very good contacts with ‘zines and bands so that thing we can work with ourselves, but it's the money thing. If you go on tour everything costs you, from food to fucking gas. We're not that rich so someone needs to back us up. All we want is to play this music and have a good time. But the guys on the label are fucking cool people. We have a good contact with them. We have just came back from a small tour in the U.K. that was awesome. We went up and checked out the label and it was just a great time we had there. We still are pretty unknown for many people but the audience who came to the gigs was great and we got good response from most of the crowd. I can't wait to get out on the road again!

I know you're not the vocalist/lyricist, but what kinds of topics does Insision cover lyrically? Are the lyrics and important part of Insision?

Yep, the lyrics have been more and more important for us since Carl joined in the band around 1999-2000. His writing skills aren’t like any other vocalists for sure. Often when he writes his lyrics he's in some kind of mood swing, or having one idea of something like a story or something he has experienced and just building it on until he has accomplished what he wants with the song. Then, after his lyrics are finished we hopefully have the song ready so that we can make the lyrics fit in. Some minor changes always happen in the lyrics and the arrangements in the song to get the most out of everything. Here's a statement from Carl about his lyrics: "There are times when I can feel that I'm more receivable for things in life, call it demons or whatever. It's when I'm having these "times" that the lyrics come out the best. And yes, some are built as rites and evocations. Which is, if you take it all apart, really power words or tools for different purposes."

You (Roger) have influences that aren't limited to metal, but also go into jazz, correct? How does that play into Insision, and what else influences you?

You have got some inside information here! Well when I studied, I was just amazed by all the Jazz musicians and their skills so I just began to practice a bunch of Jazz and Blues stuff. Since I studied I have been into Jazz also. It's good to have like a different thing when you practice so that you don’t get bored with the one or the other. But, when I write Insision songs I try not to fill it in with Jazz. Just pure brutality.

What's the goal or purpose of Insision? I mean, are you guys just trying to have a good time, or is it important to you guys to make a statement in the scene by doing the best you can, or what?

We are serious in what we do. When we play we always take it easy before the shows. People pay money to see death metal, and not some fucked up drunken lame ass dick heads on stage. We're not planning anything, just trying to do good songs and do our best when we play. And of course that means we also have a good time with all the sicko’s out there. It’s awesome to meet kids after the shows who come up to you and say that they liked the gig. One thing I hope is that we'll hang on for a while and do some good death metal records.

One of your previous bands was Disfigured. Why didn't anything ever take off with those guys?

You now how it is when you're 15 or 16. When one or two of the members want to take it to another level, some of the other guys just have other plans, like being a bus driver or something. That was the thing with my band. They where great friends but they just didn't want to rehearse.

Do you tend to write most of the material or just throw in some ideas here and there?

I did write the material for "Beneath The Folds of Flesh" album except for 'My Fever', which both Toob and I wrote. Now we try to work more together though with all the arrangements and stuff so that everybody in the band will have some ideas on it. I think the new songs are going to be awesome. Three of them are finished. Mostly I have an idea of a guitar riff and then we all work from that now. It makes everyone in the band more apart of the songs.

How has your other guitarist, Toob Brynedal, been doing in Insision?

He's a great guitarist and a good friend. Couldn't be more satisfied with the guy.

Do you plan on touring in North America anytime?

Would be a blast, but it's pretty much up to the label though. We try to push them as much as we can so let’s hope that we get over to you guys someday.

Why did you guys opt for spelling Insision with an "s" instead of a "c"?

It stands out from the ordinary spelling, and it looks better in the logo when we did it. Most of the venues we have played have not realized that we spell it with an "s." I hope they learn!

What albums have you been particularly impressed by from 2002? What are you looking forward to in 2003?

Don't now if I was that impressed by so much death metal records, though none have been bad either. I liked Malevolent's record "The Will To Kill" and a Finish band called Deepred is an awesome live act. Hate Eternal's album was pretty good too. That's about it. I hope to get out more in 2003, play and meet up with metal heads everywhere, and to just focus on doing new songs and work hard with Insision.

Have you guys started working on new material yet? If so, how does it sound, and what can we expect?

Yep. Three songs are ready to see the light in 2003 and it's very complex, fast, and heavy stuff. I also think our next album will be little longer. I don't now which studio we will choose though.

That about wraps up all of this. I thank you for your time Roger, and now would be the time to say anything you haven't had a chance to say yet.

Thanks for taking time with us Allan, and if anyone wants to get in touch with Insision visit, http://www.insision.com. Their you have all the contacts. I hope to visit every country we can in 2003 and meet up with all you chosen ones.

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For all of the time they’ve been around, Denmark’s Exmortem has been recieving promising feedback from fans and such, while still never breaking into being one of the more talked about bands of the underground death metal genre. However, things have been getting better for the band ever since they started, and as we can see by them signing to Osmose Productions, only good things are in store for these guys. Recently I discussed issues surrounding Exmortem and their new album,"Pestilence Empire," with guitarist Sigtyr. Here is what he had to say:

Allan 'Enigma'


First and foremost, "Pestilence Empire" managed to put a smile on my face (or an evil grin, whichever you prefer). Congratulations on the fine work you’ve done!

Thanks a lot we are very satisfied with this album! I think that we achieved exactly what we wanted with this album!

First off, could you give the readers a brief overview of Exmortem’s history and how you we got to where we are today?

Sure! The band was started in 1992, by some friends of mine, but I didn’t play guitar at the time so I wasn’t in the band back then. In 1993 they recorded the first demo called "Sould Of Purity" and the band was called Mordor. In 1994 they recorded the debut album "Labyrinths Of Horror" and it was released in mid 1995. A few months before the release I joined the band and we came up with the name Exmortem. After that we recorded a couple of demos/promos and in 1998 the second album "Dejected In Obscurity" was released. Shortly after we recorded "Dejected.." we decided that we could no longer work with our drummer at the time, so we got a new one and with him we recorded a promo and two songs from that tape ended on a split 7" in 1999. But again there was trouble in the line-up so the drummer and singer got out and we got Reno and Simon instead and with that line-up we recorded "Berzerker Legions", but at this point original guitarist Kolle had got pretty tired of the whole thing, which also meant that I made most of the music for "Berzerker.." and recorded all guitars on the album. So again there was trouble and at the same time Reno decided that he wanted to go to the US, so I pretty fast found Michael and Andreas (drums and Bass (first real bassplayer in the band..)) and with them, Simon and myself we have made "Pestilence Empire"…and no one have left yet [laughs]!

Are you happy with how "Pestilence Empire" has turned out in the end, and is there anything you would change about it now?

I’m really satisfied with it, I think that we have made our best album and that we have succeeded in developing our style compared to earlier releases and that must always be the main goal, to make something better and take it a step further. We went for a more organic and darker sound on this album, because we wanted to get away from the very clinical and triggered sound that so many use and that is surely something that we will continue with. I guess that I could find some things to change if I wanted, but this album is done and I don’t really care to bother thinking too much about things that could have been done different. I’m satisfied with the result as it is now and will start to think about that kind of stuff when we are ready to make some new material.

When comparing "Pestilence Empire" to Exmortem’s older material, what do you consider to be the traits that make your latest work superior to the others?

There are a lot of things I would say. The basic riffs, the song-writing (structure etc..), the vocals and of course the production. I also think that with tracks like ‘Pestifer’ and ‘Icecold Ugliness’ we have incorporated some new elements compared with older material and we will of course try to take stuff like that further on the next release. I also think that we play more like a band than ever before, even with all the line-up changes, so I really look forward to see where we can take this!

What is the concept behind the new album "Pestilence Empire"?

The title is very much related to my personal view on this world! All the lyrics deal with the way we see the world and the people that lives here. I can feel really disgusted when I see how people think and behave around the world, it sickening!! So I have written lyrics about those subjects. This is a very misanthropic and negative vibe throughout all the lyrics and we try to express that through the music and visual aspects as well.

The cover art for the new album is quite excellent! What’s the deal behind that?

Thanks man. It’s very much connected to the lyrical concept and I have tried to make it fit with the whole atmosphere on the album. In the booklet there are actually two "extra" covers and a lot of other stuff that is meant to help building up the right visual concept. It’s not just four pages with lyrics and a thanks list!!! I will work a lot more with this stuff in the future as well, also for other bands!

In what ways has Exmortem improved over the course of its career?

We have become more and more focused and motivated. We have become much better musicians and are working on a more professional level (in studio, live and so on…) You learn a lot from your mistakes and I guess we have made our part [laughs]!!

Is there any specific goal that you guys try to reach when writing an album? Do you guys just shoot to make some ripping death metal or is it beyond that?

I’m very focused on what I want when I start to make new material, especially on the last two albums, because I have taken care of most of the material for those. But we have started to talk a bit about the next one and I got some riffs and Andreas got some riffs as well, but we will have a pretty clear idea about what we want before we start to put anything together! But you know, there is also room enough for improvisation and sometimes it can also depend on the kind of riff you make, cause some stuff just have to be played fast and so on...

"Pestilence Empire" is your first record with Osmose Productions, correct? How have they been treating you guys so far?

Extremely well I think! We have had a very good cooperation so far and I think that we can do a lot for each other!! They have good promotion and are working on some tour stuff, so I think it’s great!

I know it’s kind of early to say, but what’s in store for the future of Exmortem?

First of all we want to get out there and play some live shows (a lot!!) It’s my highest hope that we will also get the chance to play the US, but I guess it’s pretty expensive so we will see! We are also working on some video stuff and hope to shot it in February or so!! Apart from all that I’m working my ass of to promote this album and I hope that we will soon start to make some new material as well!

How is the metal scene in Denmark? Are you guys one of the only bands leaving the death metal mark?

The scene here is weak as always, but it seems that the more easy listening part of the scene is getting stronger and there are a few bands lately that have signed to some bigger labels like Nuclear Blast. But I don’t listen to that kind of music, so it doesn’t change the scene in my eyes it’s still weak and there is only a handful of bands that have anything to offer in my eyes! We hope that we can inspire some youngsters to play some more extreme music than the usual death n’roll, nu-metal, melodic etc…we could need that here!

I tend to pick up traces of black metal when I listen to "Pestilence Empire" (albeit small amounts). Am I completely off base here or what? What influences do you and the rest of Exmortem put into the music?

I guess you could be right there, cause we all listen to black metal as well, but I don’t normally think about that when we make music. I guess that we have adopted some of the cold and raw atmosphere that some of those bands have.

That’s about all I have for you at this time. Again, you did an excellent job on "Pestilence Empire". Do you have any last comments you’d like to leave the metalbite.com readership with?

Thanks a lot for the interview and the support! I hope that the readers has gotten interested in the band and you are hereby invited to check out our website and the MP3’s that you can find there from the new album! We have some other projects going on at the moment and I’m working on some other stuff as well, so look out for news on this on our website too! Cheerz

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Enforsaken formed in 1998 as most of new coming acts went through ups and downs in its young career to one of the most recognized bands from Chicago area. Their first EP called "Embraced By Misery" caught not only our attention but also most of Chicago's promoters that resulted with countless shows where Enforsaken have shared the stage with bands like: Shadows Fall, Dismember, Vader, The Haunted, Witchery, Immolation, The Crown, Kataklysm, Catastrophic, Krisiun, Origin, to name a few. Without long overdue here’s what guitarist Steve Stell had to say about the band and their upcoming album.

Tom 'Czort'


Tell us about the history of the band-how it all began, where, when, etc.

Well, Lets see. Enforsaken was formed in Chicago back in the winter of 1998. Back then the band was just a two-piece. Myself on guitar and vocals and Pat O'Keefe on drums and vocals. Enforsaken was just supposed to be a little side project from both of our other bands, but it soon turned into a full time endeavor. We got some other guys to round out the line up. We're now a five piece. Pat is no longer in the band. He was replaced by Dave Swanson in the spring of 2002. Dave also plays in Veneficum. So that, in a nutshell, is our history.

How would you describe your music to a new listener, who's never heard you before?

Aggressive, melodic, extreme metal. I'd also say that we're a little bit more European sounding. When I tell someone that I'm in a death metal band, sometimes they automatically assume that we must sound like Cannibal Corpse or our singer sounds like he's barfing into the toilet. That's not the case with us. I'd also say if you're into bands like Arch Enemy, At The Gates, Death etc. then you might like Enforsaken.

Who writes music and who is the primary lyrics writer?

Steven, our singer, writes all of the lyrics. I only wrote one lyric on the "Embraced By Misery" CD, 'Into The Everblack'. Steven writes all of them now. As for the music, it's usually Joe and I, but we all contribute ideas, work on arrangements, tempos etc together. We all play an important part in the songwriting process. Sometimes we fight about things, but in the end, things get sorted out for the best.

What response did you get after the release of your first CD; was it what you expected or hoped for?

The response has been overwhelming, to say the least. When we recorded "Embraced by Misery", we intended it to only be a demo. We didn't expect to move a few thousand copies of it. Right after we self released the first batch of CDs, we were offered a deal with the European label LifeForce. They pressed a couple more thousand copies. Now we have signed to WW3 Music and they are releasing it again. It will hopefully sell many more with proper USA promotion. We didn't expect this. We've gotten great reviews of the CD in all of the major magazines and have gained tons of fans over the year since it was released. I think we're off to a good start. We're definitely not complaining.

What was the best show that you guys ever played and what was the craziest thing that happened that stuck in your memory (not necessarily the same show)?

Hmm, Let's see. Lots of shows have good moments. I guess the best was with Dismember and Shadows Fall. It was just a huge honor to play with Dismember. We're all big Dismember fans. We played a show not too long ago with Dead To Fall in Chicago. That was a good one. No real crazy shit has happened yet. No chicks throwing their bras onstage, no autographing of tits... no riots. Maybe at our next show I’ll play in the nude. That would be a real crowd pleaser for sure. My hairy ass and gut on display. Yeah, everyone come to our next show. I won't disappoint you! I might urinate all over the fucking crowd too! That would be pretty intense, huh?

What is happening with the band nowadays?

We're just writing the next CD. We need to write two more songs, and then we'll be off to the studio. We're shooting to get back into the studio in March 2003. Hopefully, if all goes well, the new record will be out in the summer.

What can we expect from the new album?

It will be along the same lines as "Embraced..." but, with a few different twists here and there. I think it's going to be a lot more 'Musical'. It's still going to be very extreme and rockin', but at the same time, more moody. I can't really describe it. I think it's just a natural progression from the older material. I think that anyone that got into the first CD will really like the next one... hopefully!

Who is going to do the graphics for the upcoming release?

Hopefully Carlos Holmberg again. I really like his work. It's not for sure yet. Before we had total control over things like that, now we have a contract that says we can do such and such. We'll see what WW3 has in mind for us. If they can come up with something cool, great. They have a good graphics guy over there, so whatever the case, the new CD art should look good. We're definitely not going to settle for a half assed art job.

Where can we come across your merchandise, such as CD's, T-shirts and stuff like that?

You can check www.enforsaken.com. That's the best place for shirts and other merch. If you search the web, you can find our CD at a lot of places. Lots of distros carry it. Relapse, Red Stream, LumberJack, Amazon.com etc. You can find some of our shit on EBay once in a while too. We're actually almost sold out of our band supply. We have like 8 copies left right now. WW3 will be re releasing "Embraced By Misery" in March 2003. However, it will be now titled "Into The Everblack". This is due to legal reasons with our former label.

Do any of the band members have any side projects/bands that they are working with?

Dave is the singer/bassist in the black metal band Veneficum, Joe also plays guitar in Avidost. They're sort of an Opeth style of band. Steven and Eric are always doing some sort of project with other bands. My only band is Enforsaken. This is the only band that I'm interested in. One band is more than enough for me nowadays. I used to be able to play in 3 bands at once, but I ended up spreading myself to thin. I'm 100% focused on Enforsaken these days.

When are you expecting to have the new album to be released?

Hopefully in the summer of 2003. We're going to record it in March, but it is up to WW3 as to when it gets released. Hopefully it won't get delayed.

Are you planning on including any cover songs on the new album?

Maybe. We were thinking of doing a Dismember or Edge of Sanity cover. We were also thinking about covering something off of Darkthrone's "Soulside Journey". I'm sure we'll do some sort of cover. They're always fun to do.

How many songs do you have ready at this moment?

Roughly six new songs. That and a lot of riffs that are floating around.

How does it feel to be recognized at different shows and having people asking about the band and your music?

It's always nice. It's good to talk to the people that really enjoy our music. It's cool.

Any last words for the Metal fans that will be reading this?

Tom, thank you for doing this interview with me. You're a hell of a guy. Everyone please visit www.enforsaken.com and sign our guestbook. Feel free to use lots of profanity.

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If life were as simple as sex, booze and metal, wouldn't it be such a great world? According to the men behind I.N.R.I., these were the main tenets that helped create the extreme metal creation known as "Hyper Bastard Breed". Henri (vocals) enlightened me about the history of I.N.R.I., how "Hyper Bastard Breed" is making waves in the world, but most importantly about what really makes I.N.R.I. tick.

Jack 'Odel'


"Hyper Bastard Breed" is your new album and 'hyper' is a great term to describe the music behind it. Ripping through 15 tracks of 1 to 3 minutes in length, listeners surely won't get bogged down in epic tracks or acoustic melodies that are all too common in metal, right?

No, we are too fucking evil for that! Within our music there is no place for things like acoustic guitars or keyboards, not now, or in the future. Under the banner of I.N.R.I only the real hard stuff will be recorded.

You guys really blew me away with this album. I was a tad skeptical at first, before hearing this album (as I always am with unknown bands), but after I listened to the entire album the first time I was like 'Whoa!' The second and third consecutive times were even better! This is a damn cool album man! You ought to be really happy with it!

Thanks for the compliments, and you are right, we are absolutely happy with the album.

Is I.N.R.I. going to be touring to support this little beauty of an album? Do you have a target country to market "Hyper Bastard Breed" to most effectively, or is this an album more of something for yourselves, and not out there to break record sales?

There are many shows planned here in Holland, for example one with Deicide and another with Exodus. At this stage touring is too fucking expensive for us but maybe in the near future.
The best market for metal is Germany and we absolutely want to crush some skulls over there but we are not interested in breaking record sales. It is something we like to do for fun, not for the stupid money.

You started out as Stigmatheist in 1994 and released an album titled "It All Ends Today". Is Stigmatheist different from I.N.R.I. as it stands today, and could you let us know how the change came about?

Stigmatheist was a bombastic metal band (right, with keyboards!). Not to be compared with I.N.R.I. The band fell apart and two of the members, namely William and Patrick who sang in Stigmatheist and now rapes the six-string, sought and found the three new members. From the beginning it was very clear that this had to be a very extreme, thrashy style band because of where our roots lie. A different game, a different name: I.N.R.I.

Clean vocals. What are your take on them? Please tell me I.N.R.I. won't be another band that incorporates the clean singing into their music, I don't think I would be able to handle it...

Should I sing clean, the birds will fall dead from the sky. Believe me, it isn't a thing you want to experience! I am loud as hell within the band but also outside the band. My fucked up throat never could stand a clean note.

I.N.R.I. is the acronym for Insane Non-commercialised Rock Institute. Interesting name, what is the story behind it? Why not stick with Stigmatheist?

The real acronym is: Iesus Nazaraeus Rex Judeao, which is what Jesus of Nazareth, King of Jews means. It was a sign above the head of the crucified Christ where the acronym was carved in. The acronym you mentioned is how we feel about our music. Stigmatheist is the past, a book happily closed!

"We raise our glasses high to those who supported us with sex, booze and most of all metal." That's so true. What else do you need in life, eh? The loving of a good woman, a few pints of beer and a couple of tunes cranking in the background and you're set for life.

Probably the shortest answer I have ever given: it is all we need to live in life!

"What aspect I really admire about these guys is the fact that they don't dick around with wispy little ambient introduction pieces that many death bands are opting for nowadays. They are a death metal band and you will get death metal songs. No tinkering with keyboards, no acoustic melodies, just flat out thumping riffs with gnarly vocals. I.N.R.I. play each song and then move on to the next song, with breakneck speed all the way through. For me this is what stands out the most. That and these guys can really play." - This is part of what I said in my review of "Hyper Bastard Breed". Do you think this is an accurate statement about you guys and the album?

Yes, each song we play is really hard work and very intensive! The song at first may sound a bit simple, but beneath the surface lies quite a bit of technique caring with the thundering beats and hyper speed. We don't label ourselves a death metal band, we rather call ourselves an extreme metal band because of the diversity of styles within our sound.

I feel that 'The Glorythrone' is the strongest song from "Hyper Bastard Breed" - mad riffs, slow tempo then following to a fast tempo coupled with some bitchin' solos really lifts the song above the others on the album. What do you feel is the best track from "Hyper Bastard Breed"? Just as a side note, I think 'Spawn of Abraham' is pretty good, also.

I can name three of my favourite songs. Those would be the title track 'Hyper Bastard Breed', because of its intensity in the middle part of the song, 'The Resonance of Triumph', a song written during jamming together and its fucking brutal, and the third would be 'Spawn of Abraham', because it's one of the coolest songs to play!

You are surely a born and bred death head, but I also feel there is a fair bit of black metal influences here. You sound as though as you could be equally as well suited to rasping along with Marduk or some of the hybrid black/death bands. Thoughts?

You are quite right! In the past I also sang in a black metal band, and I still like the scene, but the music has to be relentless. One of my favourite black metal bands is Satyricon. Goddamn what cool shit they produce!

"Kill and destroy all bands who are sliding off the Death, Black and Trash scene under the motto: "We have developed, we're adult now!" Without guilt they are destroying what our metal godfathers slightly built up. Those semi-intellectual philosophical hippy-like mother fucking wimps must be killed!" Those are pretty strong words there. Is I.N.R.I. a nihilistic band that wants to destroy? I do agree that the amount of bands who state that they are 'maturing' and 'breaking the mold' to better themselves musically is getting a bit ridiculous. I mean why did the hell do these types of bands start playing metal in the first place?

Those are merely words, but do express the way we feel about those wimps. I am a moderate nihilist, within music and outside the music I strongly believe that people who do not contribute in a way whatsoever in life, haven't got the right to exist. They are users - nothing more nothing less.

I've seen a lot of good reactions to this album from many dudes in the metal press. Are you happy with how people have reacted to this album?

Yes, the reactions have been overwhelming. We never expected this at all. These are things that chill you and thrill you.

Can I ask why you left Voices of Wonder for Cold Blood Industries?

With Stigmatheist perished, there was no deal left, and C.B.I offered us a deal and we gladly accepted. We know the people behind the screens very well and it was nice to be respected by them.

How does the I.N.R.I. collective function? Who writes the material for your songs?

Well, Patrick writes most of the music, the main ideas come from him, together we melt the stuff into a song. I am responsible for the lyrics though.

Tell me about the lyrics for "Hyper Bastard Breed". What separates them from the rest of the death metal 'rat pack'? Do they have religious connotations at all?

I really do not know if they are different. I just write with heart and soul. They absolutely are anti-religious in all its forms. I plead for one thing only: to live! And to live you have to trust yourself, believe only in yourself. I am proud to say that I am an egoist and a realist. Men have to follow their instincts more often, we all are beasts you know, but we have the ability to choose direction and take responsibility for that. These are themes I put in my lyrics.

That is all I have for you at this stage. Thanks for the answers, and more importantly I am very grateful for this good slab of metal you have provided us with. Stay metal!

Thanks for you interest in I.N.R.I. and to all out there: the only way is your own way - the righteous way! Check us out on the internet at www.move.to/inri.
Stay fucking Metal!

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"Capitale De La Douleur" is hands down, one of the darkest and most depressing albums that has circulated through the course of the metal world. Weltschmerz have managed to put together the whole package for "Capitale De La Douleur"; lyrics, imagery and music. I spoke to Weltschmerz guitarist, Mauro Berchi (and label president of Eibon Records) concerning the new work of art and his label.

Jack 'Odel'


First off, I think "Capitale De La Douleur" is a fine piece of depressing music. You must be happy with how everything turned out on the album!

Well, considering the very low budget we had at our disposal for the recordings, the final result goes even beyond our expectations. But since we all are perfectionists and very critical towards ourselves, we still find many things that don't run like we would have liked them to and this is a pretty frustrating thing to have happen. But at the same time a thing we couldn't avoid, and I doubt we will ever raise enough cash to properly (according to our needs...) record our music.

Does "Capitale De La Douleur" follow a concept? I think surrounding each song is a very dark and somber aura. The atmosphere is incredible throughout "Capitale De La Douleur", is everyone in Weltschmerz happy with how it came together?

I wouldn't speak about a single "concept". Weltschmerz is guided by a huge disillusion about the world and by a disillusion about the nature of human beings - hence our dark music. The different tracks are bound to each other by a red thread made of very negative points of view about what's surrounding us. About being happy with how the album turned out, we are all satisfied with the amount of negative vibes we put in the songs - we don't play for "fun", but rather to convey into our music a significant portion of our negative energies...

I feel that the murky grays and reds upon a relatively simple looking layout design help to bring out a further morose and hopeless atmosphere in addition to the music that you guys play. It is certainly one of the most appropriately put together aesthetic albums, with the booklet being a delight to flick through. Was there a deliberate vibe you wanted to achieve here?

Absolutely. We all believe good artwork is much more than a simple "complement" to the music. We then tried our best to give "Capitale De La Douleur" an appropriate look, and I think we frankly succeeded, thanks also to the precious help of Jordan Tagliavia, an emerging US artist who helped us a lot with focusing the visual side of this project.

Speaking of the booklet, on the third last page of the "Capitale De La Douleur" booklet there is an image of a baby, and again on the back of the album of "Capitale De La Douleur", and on the closing piece, 'Omega Dawn' there is a baby crying. What significance does this have to the album and indeed Weltschmerz?

The babies you can find throughout the album (there are a couple more "hidden" excerpts in the tracks...) can have multiple significances. Aren't we all like children in front of our failures?

Can I ask about the language of "Capitale De La Douleur"? Firstly what does the Weltschmerz band name mean and secondly what does "Capitale De La Douleur" mean?

Weltschmerz is a German composite word whose meaning is "The pain of the world" (Welt = world ; schmerz = pain). "Capitale De la Douleur" is French, and means "The capital of Pain".

Some of the songs on "Capitale De La Douleur" are in English, but yet others in another European language(s). What do the titles of the non-English songs about, and do they follow in the same vein as the other dark lyrics of "Capitale De La Douleur"?

Of course they are. As I said previously, there is a kind of concept behind the band, and all of the lyrics move in the same "fields". Themes like pain, deception, absence, loss. The inadequacy of our own lives. The sense of self-deception we all feel every time we look inside us. In order to express these feelings, we are using several different languages - Italian, German, French, and Latin they're just instruments we are using to reach our goal.

However, while some of the songs on "Capitale De La Douleur" are different to other songs on the album, I think the beauty of "Capitale De La Douleur" is that it is an album that you can understand where it is coming from despite your cultural/ethnic restrictions. Universally people can acknowledge the ideals of each song just through the music. This is the strongest feature of Weltschmerz and an attribute that very few bands possess. The whole album is drawn together under a single banner.

Oh, this is a very strong compliment, and we're glad to hear you enjoyed the album THAT much. We all consider music as the only form of art that totally transcends cultural barriers, and we're glad to see other people (like you...) share the same point of view. What we would like to achieve with Weltschmerz is just focusing the attention of the listener upon a few of the 'negative' things surrounding us. Using music as a "weapon"...

The cover of "Capitale De La Douleur" has the word 'nothing' on it. I also notice that the Weltschmerz lead male vocalist and bass guitar player's name is Nothing, is this a reference to him or to a bleak and hollow world that is 'nothing'...?

No references between Nothing as a concept and Nothing as a member of the band...

Does "Capitale De La Douleur" follow a concept? Within each song there is a depressing richness and gloomy feeling, and entwined with this is the fact that the guitars seem very bleak, also. The atmosphere is incredible throughout "Capitale De La Douleur". Is this something Weltschmerz was looking for with "Capitale De La Douleur", above all else, perhaps?

In spite of the very limited budget at our disposal for the recordings, I guess we managed to convey quite a lot of negative vibes in our music, and this is exactly what we were looking for. With a little bit more money, certain things could have probably been better refined, but this is the curse of all the bands that have to deal with underground music...

Was your label, Eibon Records the only choice to release "Capitale De La Douleur"? Being that you are label manager of Eibon Records is it at all difficult to have equal promotion of all records, because ultimately Weltschmerz is closer to your heart, and I guess there is a subjective bias to your work over others, even if it is not intentional.

Well, we didn't look for any other label, right because we all felt Eibon was the right place for Weltschmerz. We don't play to reach commercial exposure, and we really don't care if our records sell 500, 1000 or 5000 copies. The most important thing of all is having complete freedom in doing whatever we want, whenever we want, without any external imposition and/or request. On top of all, we are conscious that the music we play will keep us forever and ever miles away from "success", so there was really no need to look for another label around...

Why did you form Eibon Records? Being part of the renowned Canaan, too, it would seem that Eibon Records is a good platform for your own musical pursuits and goals. Is there a big goal for Eibon Records, other than releasing quality records each time? Do you want to reach the stature of say... Nuclear Blast Records or Century Media?

Eibon Records started back in 1996 as nothing more than a simple hobby, intended to "find the right place" for Canaan first album "Blue Fire". Immediately after, I started producing a few other CDs, and considering the astonishing feedback I got, I decided to turn it into a full-time job. The label is growing larger with time, following its natural evolution, but I don't think it will ever become a large one. I despise the rules of music "business", where promotion overcomes quality and where music seems to be just an accessory element in the transaction. I am working for passion only, producing music I like and I appreciate, and trying to keep the quality as high as possible. There are already enough crap labels around producing music for the "masses" - I'd like to keep Eibon a bit far from these miasmas...

I haven't heard past Weltschmerz material. Does it stand up well against "Capitale De La Douleur" in your mind? Are you proud of your old stuff or is it something you would rather forget about?

Oh, well, you'd better ask Anthony about this, as Weltschmerz was a one-man-band until in 2000, when the other members turned it into a "real" band. He was the one and only member and the one and only responsible for music & lyrics, so he's the only one who can give you a correct answer. According to my own point of view, the older material doesn't stand a comparison with the newer songs - far deeper, rounder and more complex. But this is just my own subjective point of view.

Weltschmerz is obviously a personal band, do you guys as a collective release albums for yourselves or for the fans? Is "Capitale De La Douleur" an album for Weltschmerz or for us (fans)?

We mainly play for ourselves. We know that releasing an album also means confronting yourself with feedback coming from other people, but the band has a great importance connected more with our "feelings" than with anything else. We are of course glad to notice that people enjoy what we do, but feedback of any kind (including the negative ones) has little value if compared to what Weltschmerz means to us all: a powerful way to discharge tensions and fears...

What is the idea behind the human emotion names for each band member (Malice, Indifference, Prejudice, Nothing and Desire)? They don't feature on your past albums, to my knowledge; is this to keep in theme with the despondency and grim feelings that "Capitale De La Douleur" emanates?

Quite simply, we don't think that our personal names are important. The band lives its own life, and we're like actors playing a role in this representation.

Does Weltschmerz have a chance to play live at all? I imagine you, yourself would have your hands tied down due to the commitments with your label Eibon Records.

We never played live, and I doubt we will ever do. Not because of my commitment with Eibon Records, but rather because we do not like live appearances. We don't feel the need of showing our faces in front of an audience whose receptivity is not guaranteed; and most important of all, we play exclusively for ourselves. So I guess nobody will ever see Weltschmerz on a stage - we can definitely consider it a "studio project" only...

I have mentioned earlier lyrics, music and artwork all to do with Weltschmerz. Are all of these fundamental features important to Weltschmerz? For instance if "Capitale De La Douleur" had only strong artwork and music, yet poor lyrics would you keep working until you got something that would tie everything together for "Capitale De La Douleur"?

We generally work on a very "complete" approach to music, so there's no possibility to have one strong element and another weak one. Music, lyrics, concepts, artwork, everything contributes to the final result in a very important way. And we are all reasonably perfectionists in what we do, so we would never release something that doesn't completely satisfy us...

This is all I have for you at the moment, Mauro. Thanks again. One final question is what lays down the road for you, Weltschmerz, or Eibon Records?

Thanks for the interesting interview, and for showing interest in Weltschmerz. The future? Who knows?

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Beaten Back To Pure is an oddity in the metal world. While there exists hundreds of clones for death metal and black metal, finding two bands that play the same sort of stuff that Beaten Back To Pure does on "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" would prove quite a handful. I was strongly impressed with their second effort and as a result sent out these few questions to Vince, who handles the guitar work for Beaten Back To Pure.

Jack 'Odel'


Man, "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" is an awesome album! I am so glad that you guys were able to top "Southern Apocalypse" in absolutely every way possible. "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" is getting constant play in my stereo (particularly my car stereo, since it makes really good driving music).

Well, hell man! I'm glad you approve! It was our every intention to bump everything up a notch on this record, from production to content. Glad you noticed. As far as "...good driving music", that's how 'Wheels Comin' Off' got its name. Aural Nitro's, I suppose.

Lyrically, what is "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" about? I tried reading through the lyrics but about half way through 'Wheels Comin' Off' my eyes started to get really sore. The writing and color combination for the lyrics inside the album booklet is painful to look at.

Lyrically, this album goes from bad to worse: from domestic violence to overindulgence. The font we used in the CD insert looked better before the final press. It wasn't intended to fuck with your head, but if it does, that's good too. Try again after a 12 pack of Foster's. Impossible!

How much more of an accomplished piece of work is "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" than "Southern Apocalypse"? For me this album is head and shoulders above "Southern Apocalypse". I'm not sure if it is the more dynamic songwriting, the clean vocals, or the just the plain catchy elements of this new album. I think the main aspect that I attribute to this album over your last work is that Beaten Back To Pure seems to be having a lot more fun with it. You seem to have rid yourselves of any inhibitions that held the band back on the last album and truly played through with your potential that "Southern Apocalypse" only hinted at.

Well with this record, I knew that I would be producing it myself, so that gave us a lot more time without the pressure of an hourly rate hanging over our heads. That also meant that there was a lot more room for some of that "studio magic" shit. I don't know if we had more fun with it, but we had more to drink and everything was a lot more laid back.

What happened to Erik from "Southern Apocalypse"? Has the transition of Richie into the band been smooth?

To give you the shortened version, Erik went and settled down. We don't even know how he's doing these days. With Richie, he was always around, so I guess we knew who to talk to when Erik split. Richie is a local guitar hero. It's funny how many fuckers know of him around here. He's a laid back guy with good shit to offer, so we like him ok.

I have seen quite a few comments related to Ben's clean vocals with this album. They are impressive, to say the least. Why did he wait until "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" to open up? Was it just a recent realization to use clean vocals, or did they just not fit with what was going down on "Southern Apocalypse"?

I'm pretty sure the clean vocals were the last thing a lot of us expected from Ben. We had been talking about a lot of shit concerning Beaten Back To Pure's vocal stamp. But then again, who really gives a fuck. It's just something we decided to do. It was just a matter of time, I suppose.

Have press reactions been in awe of "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" or what? The more and more I listen to this record, the more and more this album is going to feature as one of my albums of the year.

I'd say the reviews have been 90% better on average than our last album. I think this rock-n-roll thing is rubbing off on some of these fucks. Album of the year! Give me your address and I'll send you a case of your favorite American beer! Or maybe that's no good...

Does it annoy you when you see reviews of "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" and "Southern Apocalypse" and for the most part they contain so many 'southern' connotations? I am talking whisky, cactus, shotgun, desert, moonshine, and stuff like that.

Yeah, sometimes I guess you got to wonder if they are being dicks about the southern influences, but then again, we don't give a shit about them either. I don't even think any of us has even seen a real desert, but I'm down with guns and booze, if that helps!

One of the best aspects of this record is the clarity in each song, the ability for each instrument to clearly feed off each another through a beautifully audible sound. Do we have Sniper Christian Studios to thank for that?

Did someone pay you to say that? Yeah, I guess that's the bottom line of what we tried to do. Make everything audible all the time. If you and another couple hundred thousand metal-heads believe that shit, then we're in business god damnit! By the way, it's just Sniper Studios now. I got rid of the Christian! I had a little trouble with that shit!

I would love to check out a Beaten Back To Pure live performance. The crowds must be really getting into the groove and accessibility of "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches". Let me know if you ever come to Australia.

Actually, I think we come across more 'pissed off' than 'groovy' when we play live. People don't know what the fuck is going on sometimes! We are quick to empty a family type of environment! One guy said it's like Mercyful Fate meets Lynyrd Skynyrd. I don't know? If we're ever in Australia, you'll be the first Aussie I look up! Make sure your beer cooler is stocked!

Speaking of crowds, do you think this album will appeal to those outside the metal world? I mean, barring the growls from Ben it's a pretty good record for those who don't really dig metal, but they probably could find something in "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" to enjoy.

Yeah, we hope so. It hits on a lot of shit we're influenced by and that's the way we like it! Hopefully others do too! If not, fuck 'em!

Retribute Records is certainly doing a fine job for you guys. I see promotion all the time in the biggest magazines, like Terrorizer. Chris is a top bloke, and he is certainly developing quite a comprehensive list of talent on the label roster. Are you into any of the bands (other than yourselves of course) with Retribute? "Remnants of Deprivation" by Visceral Bleeding is one of the coolest sounding death albums I have heard this year from Retribute.

Chris and Retribute are definitely the oddballs of the metal world! He does what he says he's going do and in a timely fuckin' manner! Not the norm for small labels (if you know what I mean). If we ever get to hang with the man, we'll definitely throw back a few! Cheers to Chris and Retribute! As far as I know, there is no 'incest' at the Retribute! We're glad to be on the roster along with bands like Visceral Bleeding and Rwake.

The guitar solos are something that initially snared my interest and kept me coming back to this album in the early stages of listening to "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches". I am talking songs like 'Carry Me Back to the Old Virginny' which from about 2:30 minutes on is just made for air guitar. There are so many cool solos on that track.

As I'm sure you noticed over the last 10-15 years, the use of solos of any sort have been almost non-existent. I think it was mostly because of some of the 'bubble gum' bands of the 80's being lumped into the category of metal. This fucked-up a lot more shit than that, but we'll leave it alone for now! I don't suspect we will ever be a band noted for our solos, but we dig a bit of that shred-time on occasion.

You guys mix a lot of elements from a lot of different aspects of heavy metal and hard rock. What used to influence you starting out? And in relation to that, what influences you in today's music scene?

My biggest influences, especially as a kid, were Black Sabbath, Trouble, Slayer and Mercyful Fate, to name a few. We all have some pretty varied interests in music, but in today's music, I guess my interests are more in the likes of Isis, Cave In, Weedeater and lately, I've been spinning the shit out of the new Floor album!

What now for Beaten Back To Pure? Heaps of touring/promotion for "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" or time to kick back, and take it easy?

Well, we could never hit the road as hard as some bands, but we try to do our part to piss off folks in neighboring cities and states as best we can. We hope to do a decent jaunt maybe in January so we can get our 'road legs'! Maybe VH1 will come with us and do a special... or not.

Thanks for taking the time out to answer these questions, Vince. Good fucking luck in the future! Feel free to proudly promote "The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches" here...

Let it be known that anyone needing further info on Beaten Back To Pure for merchandise, shows or a place to visit to put you on the F.B.I.'s shit list, visit www.beatenbacktopure.com. Also, we'd like to thank Metalbite and crew for giving a shit! Cheers!

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Lover Of Sin (or side project of Christian Death) self-titled latest release came out as one of the strongest albums of this year. It has an overall heavier sound mostly due to the relatively recent addition of singer/bass player Maitri taking on a bigger role in the song writing. One mystery about this album though: Is it really from Christian Death? To find out more about this album and the band, here's the interview that was done with Valor who produced Lover of Sin.

Denis ‘Shadow’

Thanks for being so kind to answer these questions. Your latest release "Lover of Sin" came as a big surprise and also a discovery for me. I’m glad I was able to get this album since I consider it one of the strongest US underground releases for 2002.

Let me clear up a major confusion that many people are having between Christian Death and Lover of Sin. Lover of Sin IS NOT a new Christian Death album as such. Lover of Sin is the new solo project of Maitri. Yes she is still also in Christian Death.

However, everyone involved with Christian Death helped in some way with the making of this the first of many Lover of Sin albums, thus it is titled "Christian Death presents". Quite literally the other way around.

Would you please present the band’s current line-up?

The Line up:

Maitri - lead Vocals
Punchy Gonzales - guitars
Nabu Cadnezza – guitars, keyboards
Acaddian Ea - bass guitar
Ishtar - drums

Even if it was released very recently, my whish is that it was as well received in the media and the public alike. Can you confirm what are the feed back you got so far?

The album was only released in Europe on Oct 21 2002 and as far as I am aware it has not been released in the US yet but it suppose to be one of the days in this month, none the less the responses so far are ecstatic and overwhelmingly good. I am so proud to have produced this album.

To top it all off, Candlelight will reissue several earlier works the band did, to the pleasure of all your fans, recent and old ones. How did this all come about?

Yes, Christian Death will be releasing our catalog through the Candlelight USA office (it has already been released through Candlelight UK in Europe). Our contract with Cleopatra Records expired so we thought it was a good idea to give USA rights to Candlelight.

What were your reactions to this great project?

I put my heart into this project just as with any Christian Death album I have ever done.

Your new offering has a heavy, more metal sound. Is it mostly due to Maitri taking more and more the lead role? I don’t mean it in a bad way because I think the result is simply great.

Although this album of Lover of Sin is intended to trail blaze new dimensions in soundscapes of aggression, so far, many people have said it still maintains some characteristics of Christian Death and of this I agree. When we recorded "Born Again anti Christian" (not yet released in the US), Maitri had already demonstrated her prowess as a songwriter. She wanted aggression, the end result is one half her aggression and one half my etherealism.

When we set out to work on our new Christian Death album (not yet finished or titled) the songs got more and more aggressive due to the high volume of aggressive material Maitri was producing. Then one day I said it was time to let Maitri really go all the way. So she started recruiting musicians for the project in the Death Metal capital of the world Tampa Florida. Meanwhile, Maitri and I continued to write material. Although we share the writing credits equally, it is unlike "Born Again anti Christian" in that, I followed her lead. Every part that I composed, arranged and/or orchestrated was under her scrutiny. All the lyrics are by Maitri.

We can see on your site some cool pictures on which you appear with some great costume and make up. Is it some kind of passion that you have or just for the image of the band?

Subject to her approval, I conceived and did all the art work and photography.

Many people are misunderstanding you and your work. Would you explain what the band represents and its vision of today’s world?

Regarding Christian Death; I have always tried to expose the dirt in the world from under the rug through my lyrics and artwork. Many people sing about happy snappy subjects that make me puke. Music does not thrill me unless there is some kind of release of the negative influences or an exorcism of ugliness and true evil. We seek out real evil, the kind found in this wretched mankind and once these demons are released then comes the thrill.

What’s the schedule for the coming tours?

We (Christian Death) are doing a South American tour between Dec. 2002 and Jan. 2003. Then an Euro tour through March and April 2003, possibly the USA in summer and hopefully we will finish the new Christian Death album in amongst all this.

What are your thoughts, as Americans, regarding the events of September 11?

September 11th, a perfect example of real evil. Yet there I feel evil also from the so called good guys who use this terrible incident to instill fear into in to Americans and others through manipulative propaganda for the purpose of their own selfish warmongering greed.

How are your relations with the music business now compare to what it was in your early days?

The music business is one of the top risky businesses to be in, it is as cutthroat as ever. If only a few more of the people I have influenced and or have ripped me off, would justly atone!!!

Is there any advice you’d like to give the future generation of musicians?

If you were to ask me how to write original music, I would say, lock yourself up like hermit. Do not bring any recorded music with you. Do not listen to radio, television or internet. Do bring with you every device with which you can manage to make music. Also bring a head and heart full of anger, love, hurt, pleasure or whatever you feel and then sit in a corner alone and do nothing until you start to loose it, then explode.

For the finale, would you like to express anything to your fans and our readers?

For those of you that are caught up in all the negative rumors about me, I am sorry if that has tainted my art for you. Just as those who feed on the negativity of 9/11 so do others create negativity to feed on me.

Yours most sincerely,
Valor

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After going through a fair amount of trouble, a talk between myself and Isis’ vocalist and guitarist Aaron Turner finally took place. Isis, who started around 1997, have recently released their second album “Oceanic”. Isis has been growing in leaps and bounds ever since their inception, and “Oceanic” shows Isis at the best that they have ever been. As Aaron Turner (vocals/guitars) and I talked, I learned a lot about the band, both inside and out.

Allan ‘Enigma’


How has the touring been going?

It went really, really well, man. It’s definitely one of the best tours we’ve done by far. Those guys in Dälek were great, not only as a band but as people. I don’t know, but it’s just really hard to find people that you get along with on the road, and also finding bands that you can enjoy watching over and over again. They definitely were both. Oxes were on part of the tour also, and we got along with all those guys really well.

The whole point of the tour was to put together something really diverse and interesting, but also something made sense. I mean, we wanted bands that we felt like we had something in common with but that weren’t exactly doing the same thing as us.

Isis has managed to stay fairly underground, but from what I can tell it seems like since the release of “Oceanic” the fan base has been growing constantly. Have you noticed a difference in the amount of people showing up at shows and such, and do you think “Oceanic” has had a lot to do with that?

Definitely. I feel weird, like you said, repeating all this stuff because I know I told you all before. But, I think it was a combination of a lot of things. I think having a new album out period just helps. Regardless of how well an album does every time a band puts something out it just kind of raises people’s awareness in them. But the fact that we had a new label supporting us, and it was our first full length in a couple of years, I think that really helped. And, we had a new booking agent, which helped as well. Plus, like I said the package itself was pretty interesting. You know there were fans for all three bands that came to the shows and even for the bands they hadn’t heard before they seemed pretty receptive. Overall I feel like “Oceanic”, already has started to gather more attention than any of our past releases and I definitely think that helped with the turnout of the shows.

Can fans expect a follow up EP for “Oceanic” like we got for “Celestial”? Isis seems to be pretty big on releasing EP’s.

Not a follow-up EP but there will be some sort of follow-up item that’s going to be like more of a collaborative slash remix album where we’re using source material from “Oceanic” as sort of the basis for the creation of a bunch of new tracks. We’re trying to work with a bunch of different people. That’s going to be the next project we tackle, so it will be related to “Oceanic” but I don’t know if it will really be a continuation of it. But yeah, there will be something else coming from that area so to speak.

What changes have been made since “Celestial”, in terms of how the band gets things done?

Nothing really, I mean we’ve just tried since the beginning to take everything step by step. Every time we go out a tour we play a little bit better, we play a little bit harder, we play longer. We concentrated more on our song writing. I think we’ve just taken more time in general to do things. I’d say that would be the biggest change, just that we’ve been more patient, with every aspect of what we’re doing, from finding the right home to put out the label, to writing the songs, to recording. I think overall we just took a little bit more time and put a little bit more effort into what we were doing and just tried to take everything up one or two notches from where it had been in the past. There was no significant change of mind on our behalf. Like we didn’t say, “Ok this is how we’ve done things, we’re going to try and change it up and do it differently now.” It was more of just trying to improve upon everything we had done up until this point.

Do mainly one or two members handle the song writing process, or does the entire band make their contributions?

Well it depends. I mean, mainly it’s me who writes the basis of the riffs but as far as the overall compositions are concerned the band works on everything together. We all decide the ultimate outcome of each song so I’d say it’s definitely a democratic process.

How do you think “Oceanic” differs from “Celestial”?

It’s just more involved. It sounds more simplistic in some ways, but in all actuality the songs themselves are probably a little more complex. The overall song structures are a little more flowing, which I think gives it a more simplistic feel, but really there is a lot more detail on this record. There is a lot more atmosphere. I think that was a big focus for us. Atmosphere and texture and, and melody. All those things were present with the past Isis releases but this time around we definitely gave them a little more thought and a little more attention.

Yeah that’s exactly what I thought when I reviewed both the albums.

That’s awesome. I mean I think we just shifted our focus a little bit from wanting to be totally heavy and bludgeoning to wanting to have something that had a little more of an emotional range rather than just an out and out wall of sound.

I think that having more melody in “Oceanic” takes it out a lot farther.

I think like the melodic aspect really compliments the heavy aspects in a lot of ways, and I think the contrast is really important and I think we worked a lot more on dynamics as well so the album is more interesting overall rather than just sort of becoming monotonous. I mean, I felt like “Celestial” even had a lot of diversity within it for what it was, but I definitely feel like this record is a little more complex and a little more interesting in that side.

You said you don’t want to just focus on such a great part, so you guys still have that element with you?

Yeah definitely, especially when you see the stuff in the live environment you can gain a little more insight into the parts that are heavy. I think a lot of the stuff that sounds lighter on the record comes across a little bit heavier when you see it in the live setting.

What kinds of influences go into Isis?

It’s been so many things. It’s not just music I mean obviously the music is the focus that’s I mean that’s how we choose to express our self so obviously some of the most principle influences are other bands, and those are bands I think are probably fairly obvious in some ways. Obviously The Melvins, our label mates, have been influential on us and maybe bands like Mogwai or Godspeed You Black Emperor! or Slint. Neurosis and Godflesh-like bands that came from a heavy background but then ended up exploring other avenues and really incorporating a lot of other things into their music.

Beyond music I’d say it’s really everything. Everything that we experiences as people - our lives, our relationships, our jobs. All those things are influential in terms of what we do. I think music is obviously a release for a lot of people and that’s one of the most important things for us as a group and as individuals. It’s a place that allows us to vent our frustration and sort of tap into emotions that we were not otherwise allowed to release so to speak. I mean you can’t go around on the street bashing things to pieces and screaming at the top of your lungs, people giving you the hairy eyeball. In the live setting you can act like an animal and throw your shit around and it’s perfectly ok.

I don’t know, it’s everything – it’s daily life, it’s music it’s film it’s literature. I mean all those things come into play as far as what makes Isis what it is, the inspiration, the driving force, and the influence.

So do the influences and the inspiration kind of go hand in hand with each other?

I see those as very similar things. As far as the differences between inspiration and influence, I mean I think when I say our environment influences us I guess I mean those are more like subconscious factors, things that just sort of come out in the music. Whereas something that is an influence is where we’re consciously recognizing an idea and trying to incorporate that into our music.

In my opinion, I think “Oceanic” is a bit farther ahead of “Celestial”. On “Celestial” I would say that you guys had your own sound going on, but at times it didn’t all come together. I think on “Oceanic” you guys have better control of the final product. Do you agree with that?

Yeah I definitely would. I think again it’s just a matter of focus. With “Celestial” it was more like – you know that was our first full length record, it was our first opportunity to really explore ideas in a more in-depth format, and then with “Oceanic” it was like, ok we know what our basic ideas are; now how can we improve upon them. And I think we just took a lot more care in terms of not only the overall songs, but what each individual person was playing. It was more about not so much what they can play, but what can they do to compliment what the other people are doing. More about working together rather than just working on individual parts, and I think that idea of working more as a unified whole definitely helps with the cohesion of the album and the songs. I just think it makes them that more meaningful, the fact that everybody is sort of laying back and letting the other people do their thing when it’s their time, and working together as a group when it’s time to blast out some of the heavier stuff. I think it was just largely because we exercise more focus and more control on this record than we did in the past, and we felt more comfortable with each other as song writers.

I was surprised to hear female vocals in certain songs, but I think they sound fantastic and they really fit the mood of “Oceanic”. What made you guys decide to work with Ayl Naor and Maria Christopher of 27?

They’ve just been good friends of ours for sometime. They’re both in the band 27 who we greatly admire. They’re just an awesome band. We like the idea of exploring our sonic palate so to speak, and the more details we can add to it and the more complex it becomes the more interesting it is for us. Basically we were just looking at them as other tools that we had at our disposal so to speak. We knew that they were like-minded musicians and that they could do something that would contribute to what we were doing without taking away from our own identity. There are very few people that I would trust with something like that, but Ayl and Maria were two obvious choices that we knew we couldn’t go wrong with. We knew that they would dedicate themselves to it as well. They were very excited about participating in the record and they worked really hard on their part, so it ended up being a really great collaboration. I think collaboration is something that will continue to play a larger and larger role in Isis as we go on. It’s just something we really enjoy doing and I think it’s also something where you can learn a lot about your own music as well as learning about others and how to work with others giving you new ideas, which I think is really important as well.

In the live setting and on stage, you guys seem very focused, like you’re not even aware of the crowd almost, yet I think there’s the connection between the band and the audience through just the music. What’s it like for you guys when performing?

For me it’s mostly just about focusing on the music as much as I can and really trying to get into the mood. That’s the most important thing to me is that there is that sort of exciting electricity there. Obviously it’s important to me to play my parts the right way but I can kind of do that without thinking. It’s really more about trying to achieve the right kind of atmosphere and really putting as much into it and sinking myself as much as I can into the music itself. If I can’t get into the mood and I can’t really, really feel the music that I’m playing then I don’t feel like I can give a good performance. So that’s my major concern, just being able to concentrate on the music, having, you know, good enough sound where I can hear everybody, and the rest we just kind of take from there. I feel like when I’m playing music so often I’m not even really conscious of myself or the audience, and that’s the best way for me to be. If I start becoming conscious of the audience and what they’re doing or how they’re reacting then I feel like I’m not focusing on the music enough. Really ultimately for me it’s just about getting in the mood and really feeling the music, and I think that’s probably true of everybody else in the band also.

Yeah, and to me that’s the difference between a virtuoso guitar player and an actual musician. There’s a difference.

Yeah definitely I understand what you’re saying and that’s a point for us as well. We’ve never been concerned so much with writing complicated riffs as writing riffs that mean something to us and carry some weight and have some sort of emotional impact.

Where do you think your vocals stand in the music? What made you choose to go for the style you use now?

I guess it was just what felt natural to me. To me, it seems especially with the heavier aspect of our music, singing just isn’t appropriate. I want something that’s more visceral and has more punch too it so to speak.

And I’m not totally comfortable with my voice. I mean I think that’s one of the few things that I lack confidence about as far as Isis is concerned, so I’m always trying to improve my voice and make it the best that I can but I often feel like I’m still not doing it as well as I should be. But my main focus as a voice is just to have... again its another element to the music and it’s treated more like an instrument than like a typical voice would be in a regular rock band or whatever.

It’s used pretty sparingly. Part of that’s because I don’t feel like them music really needs it all the time and part of it’s just because I don’t really feel like my voice is really as versatile as it needs to be. Like if I was going to sing more often than I do I’d need to learn some other approaches. I think as time goes on I’ll probably start to become a little more dynamic with my voice but I feel like what I do now is pretty adequate and I also feel like the main point of Isis is the music and not the vocals. Not that they don’t count but just that its not the focus as it would be with a lot of other groups.

And from reading the passage in the booklet to the album and the other lyrics that go along with it, it seems like the lyrics are important, but are they second hand?

Yeah, I mean I think the written content in the record is almost more important than what I’m actually singing. I almost meant that as more of a guide and more of sort of a supplement to the music rather than to be the literal translation of the lyrics. I mean, there are bits and pieces of the lyrics in there, but most of it’s just writing that I did to have some sort of theme to the record so that I could have some sort of emotional attachment to the subject matter beyond being, you know, just attached on a musical level. I don’t feel that those things are unimportant and it may be secondary in terms of the fact that the music is the ultimate endpoint and that it’s the ultimate focus but I certainly feel like that stuff only enriches the experience and it gives people deeper insight into where we’re coming from and also helps flesh out the record more. It lends more weight to the record and it gives people something else to think about other than just the music. I think the subject matter is fairly important and I definitely hope that a lot of people investigate it when they’re checking out the record.

What’s the idea behind “Oceanic”? Obviously the ocean is a theme, but why?

I don’t like to give away the specific story. I mean, all the writing I did is based on a particular scenario that I sort of thought up and flushed out over a period of about a year and a half. This goes back a little bit, when we were talking about influence and inspiration. One artist I really admire is the filmmaker David Lynch and one of his favorite tools, or his favorite tricks, that he employs with his movie is that he likes to leave mysteries, he likes to leave them open-ended, he likes to keep the viewer guessing about what really happened or what could have happened or what might happen, and I feel the same way about the lyrical content. I feel like there is enough there for people to go on and sort of get the basic themes but I don’t feel like there is enough there it has to be totally spelled out for them. I mean I like the idea of leaving a mystery there, leaving something for the listener to go back to and dig into each time they go back so its not something that’s just immediately obvious right off the bat and doesn’t require much though. But as far as the things that I write about I think its fairly universal subject matter. Again it goes back to our environment and our daily lives. There are things that I think about, things that come from the subconscious, emotional struggles that every human on the planet faces, and maybe the themes are more specific than that, or the story is more specific than that, but I feel like the themes are very universal.

Yeah and I agree. If I were you I wouldn’t want to explain the whole thing. It takes away from the experience.

Yeah, I look at it in this way – if you go to a museum and you look at a painting or in a gallery. The artist isn’t standing there telling you what it means, and there’s no story next to it to guide you, and I feel that music should be the same way. Obviously some people want to have deeper insight into the creators, know what was the mindset of the people that were making whatever it is, but I like the idea of the unexplored mystery of leaving the viewer not necessarily not up to their own conclusions but at least to travel the path themselves rather than having someone else spell it out for them.

How have things changed since signing to Ipecac?

As far as the band itself is concerned, other than the musical progression that we’ve made, not much is difference. But as far as, I guess this gets more into the business terrain which maybe isn’t necessarily the most important or interesting aspect of the band, Ipecac has been able to provide us with more solid funding in terms of things like recording and promotion and all that kind of stuff, which in turn makes it easier for us to write music and easier for us to go on the road and I think that’s probably one of the greatest gifts is just that we don’t have to fuckin’ worry about being able to pay rent when we go on the road and we don’t have to worry about whether the people who are booking our shows are actually going to promote them and we don’t have to worry about the fact that our records are going to go out to press. We know that someone is behind it. So I guess if anything it has just made being in a band and trying to do what we’re doing a lot easier, and its also helped us move to the next level in terms of gaining a wider audience.

The progression between the EP’s and “Celestial” was there, but it wasn’t a huge change in my opinion. However, there is a huge progression going on from “Celestial” to “Oceanic”. Do you plan on relying on this sound for the next album or two, or do you guys plan on actually progressing with each album and reinventing yourselves?

We’ll never do the same record twice. And it’s not because we feel like we have an audience that expects us to do something different every time, it’s because we as musicians need to be interested in what we’re doing and to be interested in what we’re doing we have to continually have to grow and push ourselves and move beyond each place we get to once we become comfortable with it. And I think once you get to a point where you’re comfortable with what you’re doing then its time to challenge yourself again and I think that’s going to be our plan from now until whenever we finish.

That’s all I have for the interview. Thanks for you’re time and again, “Oceanic” is unbelievable. Any last comments?

Thank you, we appreciate the support.

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Einherjer, musically have crossed to both ends of the spectrum as far as metal quality is concerned with the first album “Dragons of the North” and their follow up EP “Far, Far North”, there were large talks of these guys being the next big thing in metal. Few could argue their potential when listening to these brilliant albums. However after they released the largely indifferent “Odin Owns Ye All”... there was a considerable negative amount of comment concerning Einherjer. Comments were made that Einherjer had lost their way. They temporarily resurrected themselves with “Norwegian Native Art”, but even Einherjer themselves were not overtly satisfied. After a few lineup changes, I dropped Frode Glesnes a line via email, and asked him to give me the lowdown on Einherjer circa 2002. Whilst far from being an in-depth interview, these few questions will answer some of the queries many of you had concerning what is now going on with Einherjer.

Jack ‘Odel’


You guys have certainly been keeping a low profile as of late; not really a peep for a year or so? Or is that just me?

No, it’s not just you. We’ve done a few local gigs, but the last big thing we did was the Milwaukee Metalfest in August. Since then, we have been working on new material and did some necessary adjustments in the line-up. The latter demanded a bit more time than we expected, but now we’re just about ready to enter the studio again.

Is it a perquisite if you are a black metal band from Norway that you need to constantly hire/fire members? Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar and now you guys are guilty of it. Ragnar has departed the Einherjer camp and you are now handling vocal duties.

I can’t really speak for the others, but I think that we’ve had our share of line-up changes. I just hope that Einherjer anno 2002 presents a line-up that will last for years. We certainly feel that we’ve grown stronger through the recent change, and I’m positive that our "new" sound will be welcomed as well.

I know you did the 'grim' vocal sections of "Norwegian Native Art", with Ragnar out of the scene, will Einherjer be a completely grim vocal act or are you intent on bringing cleaner vocals into the mix as well?

The grim vocals will be the main vocals, but I don’t see any reason to cut the clean vocals totally. We are a four-piece band and all the members have very different vocals. It would just be natural to use the qualities of the band, in order to create the right atmospheres for the various themes.

With Ragnar no longer a member, will Einherjer remain a three-piece band? I know Thundra’s Stein plays session bass for you, will he remain a solely session musician?

No, since the departure of Ragnar, we recruited some new blood to our tribe. Stein has not played with us since the recording of "Norwegian Native Art". We’ve finally got ourselves a permanent bass player, Kjell Håvardsholm. He is fresh in the scene and he has shown a great enthusiasm for the band.

Speaking of Thundra, I know you guys (from Einherjer) are quite good friends with them, what are they up to album wise? I really did enjoy "Blood of Your Soul".

From what I’ve heard, they have lots of material ready. I’m not sure whether or not it will be released on Spinefarm, but I’m sure it will be released in a not too distant future.

You said at www.einherjer.com you have strayed from your roots over the last few years. What do you mean by that? Is the deletion of Ragnar the ultimate price for the movement away from the origins of Einherjer?

There is a bit difference between "Dragons of the North" and "Odin Owns Ye All". We managed to collect ourselves during the making of "Norwegian Native Art", but we felt that we needed to take a step further in order to really be 100% satisfied with our sound. We needed the grim vocals. I won’t blame Ragnar for the mess we created. He only did what he was told. The blame is on us. We should have seen this coming.

Will we see a return to "Far, Far North" and "Dragons of the North" for the next Einherjer album? Maybe not identical albums, but the strong elements of "Far, Far North" and "Dragons of the North", especially "Far, Far North", namely the big choir sections would be a welcome return.

You will find some elements from those albums, but I guess that the most accurate way to describe the new album is "Norwegian Native Art" with a darker approach. It is always hard to tell how an album will turn out before we’ve recorded it, but based on my impression from the rehearsals, I’ll say that this will be our most special album to date.

The apparent falling through of Native North Records is a shame. Could you tell me a bit about the details of that, if possible?

It just didn’t work out. Music suddenly became business instead of art, and that was something we definitely didn’t feel comfortable with. So giving up the label was the right thing to do.

No more Native North Records means no more label for Einherjer. Is that correct? Or do you have someone in mind for the next Einherjer release?

True! But we are currently negotiating with several labels, so I wouldn’t worry too much.

'Regicide' was a very interesting track from "Norwegian Native Art"; will we ever see a further exploration of themes running on that song, ie female vocals, cleaner/harmonic sections?

Probably not... [laughs]. 'Regicide' is a good song, but I think it has done its purpose. I don’t find it necessary to explore such "smoothness" any further. 'Regicide' was the final chapter of the trilogy ('Howl Raven Come', 'Draconian Umpire' & 'Regicide') so the story made the song. It had to be a slow song.

Apart from yourselves and a few others, the Viking metal scene seems to be a little underdone. Who do you consider the 'cream of the crop' in Viking metal?

I’m actually not that into Viking metal. I’m obviously into Einherjer, but apart from ourselves I’m not that updated. The early stuff from Enslaved is great. Their best album is definitely "Frost".

What does it take to be a Viking metal band? Lyrics, choirs, etc, etc? Could an Australian heavy metal band play Viking metal if they had the right ingredients or does one need to hail from Scandinavia?

Everybody can form a Viking metal band, but I find it hard to believe that a band with a different cultural heritage manage to pull it off in a convincing way. It is one of those ridiculous "it’s not something you become, it’s something you are"... It probably sounds stupid, but that’s the way I see it...

2000 was when "Norwegian Native Art" was released; it has certainly been a while between drinks. Got any idea in all the realms of possibility when the next Einherjer album will adorn records stores globally?

Yes, I know. Time passes quickly. It’s really hard to say when the album will be released. As I’ve already mentioned, we are currently working with various labels so we just have to wait and see. We are not signing any deal that we’re not 100% happy with.

Even though I am working on the assumptions that you are toiling away at a new album, do you have anything solid penned down? Album/song titles etc, etc?

The working title of the album is "Ethics of the Spear", but I reckon that will change before the release. Song titles include ‘The Eternally Damned’, ‘Dead Knight’s Rite’ and ‘Ware Her Venom’, but all titles are subject to change.

Much live shots I have seen of Einherjer are that you are covered in a blood like substance. What is the significance of this? Does it help convey the mood you try to create on stage?

A live show is not just about the music. It is the whole package. The blood is a very important part of our visual image. It is beyond any doubt that the blood, the make up and the costumes make it easier for us to do a convincing performance. It is easier for us to enter our roles as performers, and it is easier for the audience to catch the atmosphere we are trying to create.

In closing, I would like to thank you, Frode for doing this interview for all who read at www.metalbite.com. Good luck with the future, and I can’t wait for the new album (whenever that may be) and hopefully we can have the chance to chat again.

For latest news and updates regarding Einherjer, check out www.einherjer.com.

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

Formed in 95, it took some seven years for the Infliction to start circulating around the metal world. Thanks to Voice of Life Records, their debut album “The Faint Smell of Suicide” is finally upon us. Some say it is melodic death metal, others black metal with death influences, etc, etc…it could go on forever. What is a certainty, however, is that Infliction in my humble opinion have created the debut album of the year. I.R., mastermind behind the Italian monstrosity talks to us about the new album and the second album in the works.

Jack ‘Odel’


Firstly, a huge congratulations must go to you and the rest of the Infliction bunch; the album is brilliant! I have been in awe of the record as soon as I received it some months ago. What impresses me the most is that it is only your debut album. For me “The Faint Smell of Suicide” is the debut of year thus far. You guys must also surely be excited that this is the only the start of Infliction and there are hopefully some big things on the horizon for Infliction!?

Well thanks a lot for you compliments! We're also very happy with our first album and we consider it as a pretty good beginning (we've spent more than a year in writing, recording and giving the sound the final touches), and now we're really proud of our work. It was worth the wait I guess.

How have the reactions been towards “The Faint Smell of Suicide”? Has the promotion by Frank and Voice of Life Records been as successful as you would have hoped for?

The reactions so far have been really unexpected! We knew that nowadays it seems to be pretty hard for newcomer bands to get positive feedback, but I'd say the hard work always pays. Concerning the promotion we couldn't have received better support, that's why I really enjoy working with VOL records. They're really pushing us on the spot.

You guys are an Italian band, right? How did the partnership between yourselves and Frank at VOL develop? Was it a case of him hearing some Infliction demo material or had you guys already put together the album ad decided to send a few copies to willing record labels to potentially snap you up?

It was our decision after years spent in the underground to get a serious record deal; we financed the recording of the album by ourselves hoping to get something relevant. After sending just a few copies to the labels that we considered potentially interesting we've got in touch with different A & R's, and we picked-up Frank's offer because of the good deal conditions and not to forget, he was really believed in us.

Vocally, is surely the biggest talking point[s] of “The Faint Smell of Suicide”. Certainly the thing I noticed most was the sheer variety of not only differing vocals (clean/harsh/whispered etc, etc), but also the variety in each rasp, bellow and clean verses. Are we going to see a repeat of such a vast and varying vocal performance in the future? I mean most bands are happy with maybe one, two at the outside, but you guys opt for five different vocalists for this particular debut album.

That's for sure! We always tried different solutions instead of one classic ‘screamy’ or clean kind of voice, we believe that with such variety in the songs structure the best would have been to match different styles of singing within the music. The result is something really unique and it fits perfectly with the other instruments.

Speaking of vocals again, “The Faint Smell of Suicide” features the talents of Aphazael (Ancient), Bjorn Gooses (Night in Gales) and both Goth Gorgon and Draakh Kimera from Mork Gryning. This must have been no mean feat latching onto these established names. Were you friends previously, or what?

Yes, I know those guys since years for different reasons:

The Ancient dudes are big friends of us, and our bass player joined them right after the recordings of "The Halls of Eternity" ...but I also help them occasionally as a tour merchandiser (like I did during the Proxima Tour).

The friendship between Night in Gales and Infliction started back in ‘98 when we toured together; they're really cool guys and they always supported us in any way possible! Bjorn offered himself for the creation of the conceptual artwork, and since he really enjoyed what we were doing, he accepted to add some vocals on the album.

With Mork Gryning the situation was pretty different; I was the only one in touch with the guys because I was really into their music... (those guys are such geniuses!), and after meeting up in Sweden they agreed on appearing as additional special guests.

The production for “The Faint Smell of Suicide” is pretty damn nifty, also. Are you planning to go back to Alpha/Omega for the next record or perhaps looking for a completely new face for the next Infliction album?

The studio where we recorded our first album is very well equipped; we also had some endorsement for the drum set, and the producer is one of the most talented in the Italian hardcore/metal scene (he's also the manger of Ancient by the way). Would you believe if I tell you that he worked as the sound engineer for S.O.D., also? We'll record the next album there as well, but we're totally open to experience some other place in the future.

When it comes to song-writing what sort of song is more difficult to write; a song that is very diverse and complex such as ‘Unmorning’ or a track like the instrumental ‘Vanishing Points’? Do you prefer to write an easier track with a quick outcome and finished quick, or writing something a bit more complicated, with a more impressive outcome?

The writing process always takes months; we're pretty pretentious with our material and not all the stuff we compose is picked up for good. I cannot really say what kind of songs I prefer to work on; we work our out ideas very spontaneously so that every song might take shape only after tons of experimentation. It's all about creativity.

The album cover to “The Faint Smell of Suicide” is depicting a series of hands with indications to the wrist and then above the wrist a series of razor blades: obviously suicide. Also the track titles like ‘The Blood That I Crave’ and ‘Pleasure Called Hate’ are pretty depressing suicidal sort of stuff. This is a concept album, then?

Well, it can be considered so because there are links between all the songs; conceptually the lyrics deal with suicide as a form of catharsis from human paranoia. The metaphorical use of the action of killing ourselves stands for a total denial of moral and social doctrines. But if you look at the cover carefully you will also notice the instruction for a successful suicide, instead of the usual way people try out.

This element underlines the fact that if you really want to do something you should have a total knowledge of what you're going through.

Off topic completely, what has been the most impressive album you have heard this year?

Hmm, personally speaking I'd say the new Dillinger Escape Plan EP with Mike Patton: absolutely a work of art!

“The Faint Smell of Suicide” certainly accomplished a helluva lot musically. You went in and out of most metal genres (barring perhaps power metal and stoner) with such ease and then back through a different metal genre seamlessly. Was this first album an experimentation to find out where your niche is musically or a trend that you are hoping to keep going for future Infliction albums (the metal diversity)?

First of all we play what we like, so it doesn't really matter if the songs seem to be filled up with several different influences... We just add what we feel. Lots of fans who ran into us after the shows expressed themselves with never-ending compliments because of our musical complexity and diversity, and that's what keep us alive! Not only we're happy with our style, but we also seem to be pretty much well judged! We couldn't get any better. We'll definitively continue from what we have created.

The opening sample on ‘intro’... ’Mummy, are you scared?’... ’Play with us Daddy, forever and ever and ever’ are pretty horror-thriller esque, but set the scene quite well for ‘A Credit To Dementia’. Was the idea to use a few samples always at the forefront of your mind during the writing process of “The Faint Smell of Suicide” or was it something more spontaneous during recording? Generally speaking I am not such a big fan of spoken samples, but used sparingly they can provide some good atmosphere.

I am a big horror movie fan, and personally think that nothing else other than movie soundtracks can bring you down. We wanted to have a cool frightening intro in order to create the right atmosphere, and we added some samples here and there to provide some interesting breaks, but everything has been accurately worked out. It was just an idea we had for this album but we don't yet know if we're gonna use it again.

Ok, now I.R. you do the singing and are the permanent vocalist for Infliction (unlike the other 4 fellows you introduced for your debut record), correct? You do all the vocals on the title track ‘The Faint Smell of Suicide’, ‘The Blood That I Crave’ and also ‘Hypochrist’ (which I want to ask about shortly), right? Do you use clean vocals at all in “The Faint Smell of Suicide” or is that left up to the other guys who do guest vocals?

Yes, I'm the only one who takes care of the vocals in the band (except for Dhilorz that backs me up on stage), I composed mostly all the vocal arrangements on the album and of course I wrote the lyrics. Bjorn and myself make some of the clean parts together, and somewhere I'm singing alone like on ‘As Coward Meets Coward’. I'm training my voice in order to reach a total variety of pitched voices, but since I consider Bjorn Gooses as one of the best metal singers ever, I decided to let him sing almost all the cleans. However during the live performances I'm the only singer, [laughs].

‘Hypochrist’ is printed with ‘no lyrics... may be offensive’. The cover of the album is depicting wrists with razorblades above them, surely this is offensive too? Could you give me a brief synopsis of what ‘Hypochrist’ is about?

We decided not to include the lyrics of that song because they show a really personal point of view on how we consider religions nowadays. Those lyrics may be misunderstood... even if a personal interpretation is always welcome while listening or reading the words, this time we decided to keep the message for ourselves. Enjoy the music... but forget those lyrics.

Your keyboarder, Jan uses some interesting samples throughout “The Faint Smell of Suicide”, much of it very non-metal and very ambient and atmospheric. Is he a metal fan much? Some of these samples seem very dance club and techno oriented... not that I have anything against techno... Very cool either way.

Jan is a really talented musician, but he's also deeply into different kinds of music (as everybody in the band is). As I mentioned before we're totally open-minded, so whatever we consider suitable for our compositions is included in our songs. He likes metal as much as classical music, pop, ebm or unique bands like Devil Doll or Arcturus. Keyboards play an important role in Infliction: we don't limit the use of that instrument to some background chords or effects, we try every possible solution.

“The Faint Smell of Suicide” was recorded in 2001. I expect you guys have worked on a fair bit of new material between now and then and are looking to put out a new album soon? Any leads or information that you could spill to us about a forthcoming release, guest musicians, song titles, etc, etc?

You're damn right! The new album is almost ready and it will be recorded in February; the working title is "Earshot" and here are some song titles: ‘Life Denied’, ‘The Forensick’, ‘Breakfast’, ‘Instinct To Mistrust’, ‘Skindive’, ‘True Evil Never Shows’, ‘Another Few Seconds OF Stare’, ‘Eardrilled’...
Musically speaking the new album will show a more aggressive approach, but the songs are still going to be really different one from another. I think that “Earshot” will surprise a lot of people...

It has been a pleasure having you answer these questions, I.R. Thanks very much, and I hope to talk to you some more in the near future about the inevitable progression of yourself and Infliction. Good luck with it all!

Thanks a lot for the interview! Check out our album and see you guys on tour across Europe!

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Mess Age are an amalgamation of current death metal mixed with some damn fine riffs which wouldn’t be too hard to find in an early 90s or late 80s thrash concerts. Enthusiastic and invigorating, "Self-Convicted" was their debut album, released under the all Polish label; Conquer Records. Vocalist Raaf roars his way through some 40-50 odd minutes of death/thrash carnage and also takes time out to have a bit of a chat to me about the past, present and future of Mess Age (between his obsessive binge-drinking).

Jack 'Odel'


Firstly thanks to Mess Age for answering these questions for myself and Metalbite.com. I think your new album; "Self - Convicted" is brilliant. It has some truly phenomenally catchy moments that make it for me one of the most fun albums of the year.

Hello to you all! It is very nice to hear such words, [laughs]. It is a pleasure for us that "Self-Convicted" is heard to be something worth listening to. We are hopeful that there are more people like you!

You must be very excited with the reactions "Self – Convicted" has received?

Truly we don’t know what is overall response of "Self-Convicted" at this stage – although the album was recorded in January, the whole CD was ready only in March. Sending promos and waiting for responses takes so long, but for a few weeks we have started to receive a few play lists from radio stations and quite a lot of interviews. I think we have to wait until 'the promo machine' will gather momentum and you can read about us in every magazine, [laughs]. I’m very impatient especially when I think about the Polish underground. I’m very curious what will people say who have known us for many years. I don’t hide the fact we are very surprised and glad with the response from outside Poland... We didn’t expect such kindly words...

What inspirations does Mess Age receive for doing the "Self – Convicted"? Is there anything specific? I mean, I can certainly here some early 90s and late 80s influences in the album albeit with a much harder and ultimately heavier take on things.

When we were working on our debut album we didn’t think of what kind of metal we are going to play. We haven’t worked and won’t work in such way. You can hear 80’s and 90’s because we grew up listening bands like Iron Maiden, Slayer and many more. In the meantime there have been a lot of new bands, many things have changed, also Mess Age members. Many studios have bought new equipment, and the level of technical ability has increased – that’s why so many bands can sound so good.

Mess Age has recorded a few demos; "Resurrection" and "Fallen", as well as a split album with Shadows Land, which was released by Demonic Records. I am not familiar with these earlier works by Mess Age, are they in the same vein musically as "Self – Convicted"?

I would like to correct your question – we have released three demo tapes – "Resurrection", "Fallen" and "Reborn", which one was released by Demonic Records after that we released it by ourselves. Those three demos were quite familiar to Mess Age nowadays. But there are few differences that make "Self-Convicted" the best stuff we have recorded until now. The most important thing is that today there is no female vocals in our music. Joanna left Mess Age in Autumn 2000, so there are only my growls, [laughs]. The second thing worth mentioning is fact that for over four years playing together we have learned a lot, we are more experienced with good and bad things and I’m convinced now we are more mature, musically.

What do "Self – Convicted's" lyrics speak about? I have read some of the lyrics... following them along in the song (as all people do, right?) and the lyrics seem to be centered on a psychological basis, is this correct?

Our lyrics tell about human behaviours: fears, dreams... there is no stories about ghosts, riders on horses or anything like that. There are three authors of lyrics and we all are keen on mental life. In our lyrics you can find many things not said in one way – there are many metaphors, comparisons and insinuations. I believe that good lyrics should have as many interpretations as readers.

Speaking of lyrics again, I noticed looking through the "Self – Convicted" booklet that almost all the lyrics are written by Strzalek, except for the tracks 'Among the Empty Walls' and 'The Existence Door' by Gruby and 'Devoured With Famished Eyes' by you. Why is this? This guy is not a part of the musical input and the band from what I can gather...

Strzalek is my cousin. He is quite close to Mess Age but he isn’t member of the band. He has always helped us with lyrics because I haven’t yet discovered the gift of writing the lyrics myself. Sometimes we drink (a lot of) beer and talk a lot about new ideas for lyrics. Sometimes it took few minutes to write it down but next time it may take a few months. It depends on the mood (and of course the amount of beer, [laughs]!!!).

The production for "Self – Convicted" is extremely sound. I think the drum tracks have a really tight sound which add a nice element to the death/thrash sound of Mess Age. Every instrument is in the mix well, with the drums always being there in the background, which I think is very good for this style of metal.

We wanted to mix drums louder but during mastering the drums got hidden. We like production with drums on the front nowadays, but we are conscious that music we play is mainly guitar music. Well, everyone likes something different.

You have a very familiar sounding voice to me, but I can’t quite place it. Do you draw upon any other renowned vocalists for inspiration for your growls?

I have always wanted to create my own style. I’m aware of the unconscious influence taken from the bands I’m listening to. I’m not keen on renowned vocalist – I like vocalists from Sweden – especially the Entombed singer, and of course J. Ch. De Köer from Gorefest!

What is the idea behind the 'Mess Age' name? Is it 'Message' with a typo or does it have a separate meaning to 'message'? It certainly is one of the more puzzling band names in metal.

The idea of name for the band is taken from one of the Public Enemy’s albums (it was an idea of our bassist brother). We thought it would be suitable to the world chaos and to chaos in our heads, [laughs]... we were 16-18 years old so we had a 'mess' in our heads (I think we still have it, [laughs]!!!).

Does it help having Conquer Records as your new label, being that they are fairly Polish, and all other bands on the label are Polish, too? I think one of the major obstacles for labels in this day and age is the communication can sometimes be mishandled from different languages and other barriers. I think your situation is quite ideal.

Every band in Conquer Records is a polish band. It helps us a lot to speak in the same language because my English isn’t good enough to communicate without mistakes. The second advantage is that we have the same polish habits, if you know what I’m talking about, [laughs]... (something tells me Chris from Metalbite could inform us as to the Polish habits).

I would like to propose a question of how suited you think the current metal market is to Mess Age and the "Self – Convicted", do you think there will be a continuing appreciation for albums from Mess Age? I think the metal market goes through many strong trends. For example in 95-97 we had the symphonic black metal, 97-2001 were many melodic death metal acts and who knows what the future holds?

We fuck metal market trends! We play and create music 'cause we like doing it. All Mess Age members work in different places and we don’t think that one day we won’t have to go to work. The band is our hobby which takes a lot of time and our money but we still do what we love and we are glad that there are people who like listening our music – thanks a lot!!! We are still in the underground and we don’t seem to be the band on the top. We are recording our stuff for the pleasure of playing concerts for our fans and of course for fun in straight way. What will the future bring? Who knows...

From the ashes of Alienator and Age Crisis, Mess Age was formed way back in 1998. I have not heard either of the aforementioned bands, but were their styles somewhat similar to Mess Age, or was Mess Age a completely new musical direction that you guys headed in?

Those bands were very amateur (we were young bloods!). I haven’t heard Alienator but Age Crisis was quite similar to future Mess Age style because Gruby (bass) was the main composer of the music we played. He still does one hell of a job for the band.

Have you penned any new works for another album? I ask can we expect a new Mess Age album in the same metal vein; death and thrash as "Self – Convicted" or will Mess Age write something completely new?

During the holidays we want to write a few tracks for a new album because we are playing a tour around Poland in November. We have three tracks till now and each one of them is different. I hope we will surprise (not only ourselves), but also our fans. Be patient!

That is all I have for you at this stage. I hope you guys are as successful as you deserve to be and I hope to catch up with one of you regularly for future albums.

Thanks for interest, greetings from Poland and see you on some gigs some day!

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I titled my review of "The Book of Lambs" as 'Too much anger, what's that?' I tried to answer the question of how a guy playing in bands like Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal forms a side project and still rips the shit out of my speakers. The answer is simple; Internecine was formed well before Jared Anderson (guitars, bass and vocals) ever hit the stage with either one of those bands. Why he dedicated "The Book of Lambs" to the time of destruction and how people can leave Morbid Angel are all answered below.

Chris


You are a very busy man; the new Hate Eternal album and a solo project... any complications splitting the time between the two?

No, not at all. Actually, I recorded Internecine later than I was supposed to. I wanted to record it in February of 2001 instead of October. It got pushed back a little but not because of Hate Eternal but the label.

Can you introduce us to the band and tell us when and how did it start?

I put together Internecine in 1996 in Cincinnati, Ohio. We jammed together for about 3-3.5 years something like that and that’s when we broke up. We did couple of demos and the name started to get around, we did some shows with Morbid Angel and Incantation because Vader had to drop off the tour and we did like 5 shows than. Now I got a chance to record it so I went ahead and did it. Four songs on the record are between 96-97 and the rest of them I wrote through a few months' period of time.

Where did the name of the band come from and what's the meaning behind it?

The meaning behind it is the destruction of both sides. I'm not religious; I'm not a Christian, I'm not a Satanist, I'm not either and in death metal scene everything seems to be evil, Satanic, whatever and Internecine is not satanic. It's dark but it's not Satanic at all so it's kind of a destruction of both sides. To me any organisation is just nonsense. That’s why I like this name so much cause I'm not into it and it's about total destruction of both sides.

And that's why your lyrics are focused on the total destruction of the whole world rather that one side?

Exactly, that's what it is. You nailed it perfectly. That's what everything is pretty much about. The disgust, the arrogance of mankind it disgusts me...

You already explained it a little but you dedicated this album to the 'time of destruction'... would you care to explain in detail?

It's every day life... As a kid I grow up in Chicago and all I saw was filth, just people so disgusting, arrogant, sneaky, total betrayal... it was all bullshit. That's what I grew up seeing, that's what I've been seeing my whole life and that's why it's dedicated to the cleansing of the earth. Not necessarily the earth blowing up into pieces but just the cleansing of all this bullshit. It's all disgust in everything I see... I believe one day there will be a massive cleansing and that's why I did it, that's what I dedicated it to.

You sound like a very pessimistic guy?

[Laughs very hard] Yeah, I guess you could hear it.

Anything good you see in this world?

Oh yeah, I mean there are good things in my life I'm just talking about things around me. I'm not talking about my life and how it looks like but things I see in every day life, growing up and seeing the way people are. Not everyone but most people and what it is coming to. I'm totally happy with my life, I have friends like everybody [laughs].

Why solo project? Are you unable to release your visions in Hate Eternal?

No, this project like I said was born in 1996 way before I was in Hate Eternal and all material was already written. It's not really that I wanted to come up with something new cause I don't need anything new, this is my original band that I put together, that's where I started from. To get a chance to record it was awesome and if I can continue doing it I'll definitely do it because it's a part of my history. That's what got me into Hate Eternal, that's what got me in Morbid Angel and that's what got me everything was Internecine. I definitely want to pursue it cause it's something that got me long ways. Now, people can get a chance to actually hear what I did before Hate Eternal: before all that stuff.

With that response you actually answered a little bit of my next question; why extreme death metal, why not something like Eric's Alas where you could show us your softer side, if you have one?

Oh man [laughs hysterically]... Yeah, it's extreme death metal but in totally different vein. The riffing is different... I mean it's the way I write with my influences from the time I was young. Internecine is my natural style of writing. I adapted to Hate Eternal cause I've been playing it so much and there's just a certain guideline to each band you are writing for but with Internecine I can write whatever I want. It's nothing I would ever use for Hate Eternal cause it's so much different from Hate Eternal as far as the riffing.

Since Eric Rutan left Morbid Angel to concentrate on Hate Eternal and to make it a fully functioning band, doesn't it mean more work for you too? How will it affect Internecine?

Sure, it's going to be more work for me but I was in Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal and had Internecine so, I mean that was chaos... We definitely are going to put all our time in Hate Eternal now. That's why I quit Morbid Angel for Internecine and Hate Eternal also. It will affect Internecine a little bit as far as I'm not going to be driving it like full time band you see on the road with CDs coming out every year. It will probably be more of a CD every couple of years in my off time. And there's always off time. After you do all the tours for the record like for the new Hate Eternal record there will be plenty of off time for writing and stuff like that. I'm already writing right now, I always write anyway. During that time if I could do some tour festivals in Europe and do like three week tour here in the States that's what I would do. I just got to put together a band and that would take most of the time cause I hadn't have a chance to actually put together a full line up.

When you write do you right away know which riff or song will go to one band or another?

Oh yeah, definitely. Before I even start I'll sit around and play for a little while and play some stuff but when I'm actually trying to concentrate on writing a riff I either put myself in Internecine mode or I put myself in Hate Eternal mode so, I know what barriers I'm up against and that way I don't go too out of hand. I stay within the lines and whenever I sit down and jam or I feel like playing that day I'll say 'OK. I'm working on some Hate Eternal stuff' and I totally focus on Hate Eternal techniques and stuff but when I write Internecine stuff I sit down and kind of write what I'm feeling instead of worrying about certain type or style.

To most of us you are known as handling bass guitar duties only, but on "The Book of Lambs" you show very impressive craft on both guitars (bass and lead guitar). Do you prefer any of those instruments over another? Do you play anything else?

No, I don't play any other instrument. I started playing guitar before I did bass. I've been playing guitar for like 11 years and bass for about 9 years but once I started playing bass I loved playing it so much, I never quit playing guitar I always played it I just didn't practice it like I was. I've always been playing guitar but just not constantly. It was cool to do guitars on the Internecine record and it was cool to show people that I can play guitar. It was not the way that I originally planned because my original guitar player and other vocalist was going to do this but since everything got pushed back from February to October he had to go back to collage, get back to his graduate school. So, I kind of got forced to do guitars on the record. I had five weeks to get my chops up and figure out all those old songs... it was pretty chaotic [laughs] but now I'm glad I did it.

Was decision on picking Erik as a producer based on your long time friendship or other factors?

It was based on our friendship plus I know he's a good producer, plus he had a studio starting out. It was back when his studio was just getting ready and he was getting all the gear and stuff so it was kind of like I was helping him out by putting a record in there for him to do it and he was helping me out by doing a record cause he has a great ear. He's an awesome producer. From everything I've heard he has done has sounded great. That is the one thing I didn't have to worry about recording with Erik. I knew he would do a great job with it.

You were responsible for everything except drums and few solos on this record how was it working with Erik as a producer and not a band member? Are you satisfied with the final outcome?

I'm definitely satisfied. He did a great job, he had a lot of input and he helped out tremendously. Him and Shawn Ohtani (his engineer), they totally helped me out and helped making what it is today. It was a really relaxed atmosphere; working with Erik in the studio is fun. Once the drums were done it was just me and him in the studio all the time. It was awesome working with him as a producer. It was a killer.

Since it seems like Internecine is not a studio project only are you going to promote "The Book of Lams" with a tour?

Yeah, I don't know if I'll do a real long tour like Morbid Angel or Hate Eternal does but when I do have time I'll try to get on some festivals in Europe and I will try to make like a week's run here in the States couple of times. So, Internecine won't be a band touring constantly but if I'll have a chance do a few weeks I'd definitely love to do it to help promoting it a little more.

Just team up with Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal and you'd have everything pretty much covered.

[Laughs] Yeah, no shit. Eric and me we'll just switch the sides on the stage and change the banner from Hate Eternal to Internecine [laughs].

There you go. Congratulations on a very good album and I hope to see you around very soon with either Hate Eternal or your own band Internecine.

Thank you very much man. We'll definitely be around. With Hate Eternal we'll be around very soon and hopefully I can put something up with Internecine too. Don't be surprised when it happens because it's definitely going to happen sometime.

Before we end this interview I have a question that really has bothered me for quite some time... Why are you guys leaving Morbid Angel? Do you really want to take care of your own projects or is this a sign of something terribly wrong going in the Morbid Angel camp?

It's all about happiness man. I did a shit load of Morbid Angel tours and I just noticed that I was happier when I was doing Hate Eternal and writing for Internecine. I was having a much better time doing that than just endlessly touring with Morbid Angel. I mean it was great and Morbid Angel is still my favorite band and being able to play in Morbid Angel was awesome. It was a hard decision. It wasn't something I come up with one day like 'Oh fuck, I'm not happy'; I had to do a lot of thinking. It was just taking a lot of time away from my creativity and to me whether it is Morbid Angel or Creed or whoever, it doesn't matter. It's not about any kind of money and it's not about being in one of the greatest bands but about doing what makes you happy and this is what makes me happy.

It's understandable. It's hard to be just a musician and do what you have been told rather than creating and performing your own music...

Exactly. You see, when I'm not being creative I feel kind of useless. When I'm just doing whatever somebody told me to do it's just… I feel I'm worth more that that, I can do more that that. I'm a writer and I'm a composer that's what I do but I can't expect to jump into Morbid Angel and start writing right away cause it's not going to happen. All the best Morbid Angel songs that I love the most were written when I was 15 years old. I can't expect to write in that mode right away but I have to be able to have some kind of input on a song and with Hate Eternal and Internecine I have all kinds of freedom with what I do and that way I'm much happier with the outcome.

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Truly blasting open the metal doors with their 2nd album, "Iconoclast", Poema Arcanvs have created quite a stir around the metal world. "Iconoclast" released earlier this years has received very high acclaim from many underground magazines and webzines all in favor of the unique vision and musical skill that Poema Arcanvs injects into the metal scene. It is records like "Iconoclast" that truly open new horizons for metal and the world music scenes in general. If you haven’t sampled the mythical world of Poema Arcanvs, then do so! Check out a few mp3s from their website at www.poemaarcanus.cl, in the meantime sit back and relax, while reading these thoughtful answers provided by vocalist Claudio and guitarist Igor.

Jack 'Odel'


"Iconoclast" is your new album and a superb one at that. Rating 9/10 at Metalbite.com and receiving many high scores on well-known metal platforms around the world, this was really an album that has enabled you to reach through to new areas, right?

Igor Levia (I): Of course, and I think this interview is proof of that. The sole fact that our music has crossed the whole Pacific Ocean is something that amazes me. We have also been interviewed from other countries such as Greece, Poland, Turkey, and others, and it’s always amazing. Anyway it is hard to measure how much real interest there is in the worldwide scene for our music nowadays. Only time will tell.

You are relatively unknown band in terms of the world metal scene. How did Poema Arcanvs come together? Also do any of your members have any side projects that they are involved with musically?

Claudio Carrasco (C): Yes, we are an unknown band, this is something we are very aware of, and we are trying to change that through worldwide promotion and this kind of interview, for example. We began in 1992 when Igor and I were still in high school. I wanted to form an extreme metal band, and I used to record some grunts on tapes singing as guttural as I could, over instrumental songs of other metal bands. One day I showed them to Igor (I knew he played guitar very well in “gay metal” bands, [laughs]) and he liked it; then it was a simple and natural “let’s form a brutal band”. Anyway we didn’t start to work seriously until 1995, due to the lack of proper members for the band. Before that it was just something for fun. So, as you see, we weren’t members of other bands before forming ours. We have several side projects but usually only for fun, some Grindcore, Thrash and Punk freak bands as: Foetal Maceration, Mugre, Nonoxinol 9, Atomic Noise Machine.
There are also a couple of more serious side projects as a solo one of Igor in the vein of Nevermore / Voivod, plus the other band of Michel (keyboard player) called Aganice on which he sings (they are recording a demo right now). Anyway Poema Arcanvs is always the prime band.

When did Aftermath Music get in contact with you? Had you started writing any of this new material for "Iconoclast" before Aftermath Music approached you or only after Aftermath approached you guys? Also what is the album contract for Aftermath Music like, how many albums can we expect you to release under them?

C: I have "or had?" a magazine called 'Nubila'. I knew Aftermath and Haavard by reviewing some of their releases in the zine. We recorded the album independently before contacting any label, so after that, we just started sending promos to foreign labels, as we thought this record was good enough to get their attention. Aftermath was very enthusiastic about "Iconoclast", and as we knew about the quality of Aftermath's work we decided to accept their deal. It is only a deal for this album, Haavard (the owner) offers this kind of deal to the bands to let them free after the release; both him and us think it is the best way to work for an underground band and also for an independent label.
Now, if both parties are satisfied about how things came out, we can agree to something for a next record, and if not we are free to look for another label. So in other words, we are almost an unsigned band and we have at least 5 new killer tracks!! [Laughs].

The word 'iconoclast' means something along the lines of a renegade, or a rebel, someone or something that is non-conformist. The music on "Iconoclast" is certainly against the grain of standard dark metal (if you can call it that), is the general idea behind the name of the album, "Iconoclast", because I would have to say it is one of the most aptly titled albums I have ever heard...

I: I guess you are the first guy who notices that intention in our music. When we started thinking about the concept for the album we were kind of tired of the whole gothic metal trend. I mean, there were a lot of cliches being used and re-used, and there were a lot of bands that seemed to be more concerned about their gothic look that about the music. So we wanted to escape as far as we could away from all those cliches. Don’t get me wrong, though, we like a lot of dark and melancholic music, but I think our attitude towards the whole music – image subject is more related with some 80’s – early 90’s bands. Emotional and interesting music has always to be our prime goal. That’s how on "Iconoclast" we didn’t mind on putting some Voivod influences here and there or even some kind of weird death metal song ('Iconoclast'), because that’s the music we love: from Fields of the Nephilim to Napalm Death. We didn’t want to "fit" into the gothic metal thing, so we didn’t care about how the songs came out. We’re just musicians and metal guys.

While you have chosen a great name for the title of your album, I can’t think of a more controversial name for your band. Poema Arcanvs I have seen spelled as 'Poema Arcanvs' and I have also seen it spelled equally as 'Poema Arcanus'. Personally, speaking I spell it as 'Poema Arcanvs', but just to set the record straight could you fill us in?

C: The correct spelling in Latin is Poema Arcanvs, but the majority of people spells 'Poema Arcanus'... but it isn’t a great problem for us. Besides the new web site URL of the band will be www.poemaarcanus.cl with "u", because it is the most popular way to spell the name of the band. About the meaning, it would be something like arcane poetry, a hidden, internal, secret and forgotten poem. This concept fits very well with the kind of atmosphere we put on the lyrics and the way on which we express them, usually through metaphors and some kind of poetical language... at least this is what we intend to do.

Have you (Claudio Carrasco) had any formal, professional singing training? Because with a bit of work you could well expand into opera or something of that nature... not that I want you to leave Poema Arcanvs because that would really be a tragedy.

C: Ohhhh, thanks very much for your words! Well, I took some lessons in the past in my University for 6 months and then with a particular female teacher for almost 3 months; besides when I was a child I sang in the school’s choir... that’s all my "serious" training. When at University my teacher advised me to take serious lessons with a bass opera male singer, but I didn’t have the money and the time. Anyway I’d like to learn more about techniques and it would be great if I could take more formal lessons to sing in an opera and stuff like that (I’m joking)... I think it would allow me to experience a lot more in the band.

Having not heard any material from your last effort "Arcane XIII", I would like to ask whether "Iconoclast" differs much from the previous Poema Arcanvs record?

C: Sure it does, but not in the mood of the music and the dark atmospheres, in other words the essence of the band is the same. The differences are mainly in the instrumental performance, superb production (both sonic and graphical) and the dynamism of the songs. On "Iconoclast" there is a more professional way to compose the music, a major game of contrasts and more identity as a band... "Arcane XIII" is a great album, but only a great doom metal album, as opposed to "Iconoclast", which is the result of a lot of experimentation, a deeper musical quest and the influences from the new members.

Track number three, titled 'Elegía' isn’t an English song. What is this song about?

I: 'Elegía' simply means "Elegy". I could say it is a song taken from real life, although the language could make it not so easy to understand (and that’s even if you speak Spanish).
The song is about how you build your own artificial paradises to forget loneliness: how you can dive into seas of semi unconsciousness, toxicity, different kinds of dirt, etc. That way you pretend you can get friendship, love, etc. At the end of the trip you remain as lonely as before (if not more lonely). It seems like it would be better to live without all that, but somehow you need that "dirt". I have to make it clear that there are no morals involved in the song, we’re not saying whether it is a good or a bad thing, we are just describing a feeling we have had sometimes.

I haven’t seen a copy of the lyrics for "Iconoclast", what is the album about? From looking at the song titles my guess would be a lot of conceptual sort of topics, I mean there are certainly a lot of interesting titles...

I: The album is kind of a semi-conceptual one, I mean, there is a basic background subject which is focused in very different ways for each song. It isn’t a sort of story or something like that, but just different views of the same subject.
This whole thing was born when I traveled to Macchu Picchu, in Perú (the ruins of a lost city that was part of the Inca Empire). Being there I was very impressed, because I kind of comprehended the wisdom which underlies the Inca beliefs. Everything was based on a strong and deep knowledge of nature (they were great astronomers and had a very accurate calendar, to name a few examples), so religion, science and art were a single and indivisible thing. Then the focus moves to contemporary western culture, where we "artificially create" our world. That’s how finally this "human" world is constructed only by fake images, which work as substitutes for real and essential things. Not only religion, but also many times things such as love, friendship, success and others often become just inventions we desperately embrace to avoid the fear of loneliness, infinite and void. The album is about the destruction of those icons, hence the title "Iconoclast".

"Iconoclast" being such a phenomenal album, and you guys being the weavers of the tapestry I hope you have been doing some touring around the world to support it, is this the case? Perhaps Australia may be on your overseas touring destination?

C: I would like your words to turn into reality, but unfortunately a world tour is only a dream for us so far. The band is still unknown and it is very difficult to pull our asses out of our country... we receive a lot of invitations to play in foreign places, but we can’t pay the tickets for ourselves at the moment (they are quite expensive). Maybe we could likely visit South American countries, but the scenes in this part of the world are kind of closed; there’s not a real interest to see a Chilean band in Argentina, for example; except for the ones doing European tours like Krisiun or Criminal for example. If we could choose a country to play, Australia would be likely in our priorities, I want to ride a kangaroo and drink with some metalheads, especially your local wine!!

I: Maybe we should go swimming to Australia! (yeah, right! [laughs])

I think 'Distances' is your most accomplished song on the album. The somber introduction with gentle keyboards/guitars and a sort of eerie atmosphere atop some jazzy bass lines really paves the way for the rest of the song. A wonderful track. Tell me about this track, the idea behind it, the song-writing process... everything to do with 'Distances'. I am truly in awe of this song. This has been one of the best songs I have had the pleasure of listening to this year.

I: Uhhhh thanks! I guess you’ve already said it all!. Well, 'Distances' is a song about how life’s circumstances can freeze a relationship, in this case a friendship, to a point on which the only remaining things are memories. It’s about how a person who was once a close friend starts slowly becoming a stranger, and how useless it is trying to bring those memories back to life. It is something that always happens with people that for different reasons have to take a different path than yours in life.
As you can see it’s a very melancholic and intimate subject, and at the same time it is subtle as it doesn’t involve tragedy, death or something like that; that’s why the music has the atmosphere you described. In this song we did a lot of sonic experimentation and we wanted it to have the "sophistication", we wanted to draw landscapes through sounds. The song is all about the details, arrangements, etc.

One thing I have noticed from listening to "Iconoclast" is that while keyboards feature strongly on the record, they are used very subtly which is a nice change from other dark metal bands who have a tendency to go over the top with bombastic samples and interludes during songs. Was this always in the back of your mind when recording "Iconoclast", to not go overboard?

I: First of all, we’re a metal band, and we don’t want to lose heaviness by over-using keyboards. You can see very often that when a band puts tons of keyboard layers and arrangements, the other instruments are doing just basic lines, just like an accompanying riffing, you know, not interesting arrangements. I think they do so (to put a lot of keyboards) to hide how poor are their compositions for the other instruments. We just try to give enough room for every instrument, you know, to keep a balance, as I think every guy in the band has some nice chops to play.
Another reason could be the fact that we are essentially a live band, I mean, we don’t like to rely too much on sequencers and stuff, we actually like to play our music, and as Michel only has two hands, he cannot try to sound like a full orchestra. Besides, he’s not the typical "I wanna make a lot of fast solos and show how good I play" kind of keyboard player. He likes a lot of minimalist music, and he likes heavy and brutal stuff a lot, so he just tries to make the right arrangement at the right time.

Has it ever crossed your mind to move to Europe or maybe the USA for Poema Arcanvs as it would prove more effective for live shows and promotions and the like? Is there much of a metal scene in Chile?

C: It is an idea that always has been in our minds, but it's a hard decision because we have several compromises in our country; jobs, family, girlfriends, etc... Anyway we are waiting for a bigger worldwide feedback, and it would be a good reason to think seriously in moving our asses there.
I: There’s also the whole visa issue too, you know, it’s not so easy for a South American person to move to those countries, even being all of us professionals and stuff. Anyway we have been considering that possibility quite seriously, because even having a nice metal scene Chile is not the best place to be if you make this kind of music.

Could you tell me how you would describe Poema Arcanvs and "Iconoclast"? I have mentioned to a lot of friends about "Iconoclast", and they ask me 'Ok, man. I'll check 'em out, but what style of metal are they?' As you well know you guys are pretty hard to categorise.

C: Well, I would categorize us like some kind of Arcane Metal [laughs]. Would it be ok for your friends?
I: I think you’re asking the wrong guys, you know, we're so much into our music that we could not even try to label it. The trees don't let us see the forest.

Thanks for answering these questions for me and for the viewers at Metalbite. I am very grateful for your time. Stay dark and metal!

C: We are extremely thankful for your support and interest in the band, we hope to drink something with you one day in Australia. For the headbangers that didn't know us, try to download some mp3s from our site and listen to them without prejudice.
I: Thanks for the cool interview and cheers!!! (www.poemaarcanus.cl) Arcane Dark Cheers!

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Unfortunately, because of the wave of nu-metal tunes washing over the world like a unprecedented tidal wave, Remembering Never may not get the time of day that they clearly deserve. "She Looks So Good In Red" scored very well at Metalbite.com (8 out of 10) and hopefully a few more people around the world will take a peek at what lurks in the dark worlds of hardcore and metal. Lead vocalist, Pete takes some time out to answer my questions, briefly.

Jack ‘Odel’


The genre of music that Remembering Never plays in (whatever that may be), where do you see it going in the next three to five years? Can you see an effective merger with heavy metal? You guys are pretty heavy, and "She Looks So Good In Red" is certainly one of the more heavy releases I have heard from Ferret. Do you mind being lumped in with metal?

We all listen to metal so that's the biggest influence. The first few bands I ever heard were Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden and so on. I was in love from then on. Now with (I regret to say) "metal core" the possibilities are endless...

First things first, I have to say that "She Looks So Good In Red" is a phenomenal album. How have the press and fans reacted to this new material from you guys?

Thanks, surprisingly with a new singer and a bit heavier sound everyone was totally down for the record. All the reviews I've read for the record have been really positive.

What is the idea behind this new album? Was there an objective you wanted to achieve for "She Looks So Good In Red"? I mean lyrically some of the concepts come across as very depressing, suicidal almost. 'Alisons Song' for instance isn't the most heartwarming of tracks. As you read further and further through the lyrics this seems to be an album written about break-ups and divorces; some very personal sounding stuff.

Well, I was very pressed for time with most of the songs because our singer quit 3 months before hand, and I was listening to a lot of that kind of stuff so it was pretty easy to write about. I was really angry at the time and it came out in song.

Again on the topics of lyrics, would Remembering Never be Remembering Never if the lyrics were piss-weak? Even if you had super-cool riffs, song structures. Whatever, would you still put out an album if the lyrics weren't quite there? You guys seem to hammer home each song on "She Looks So Good In Red" with powerful and meaningful lyrics, of course this is a great thing as heaps of bands just write up rubbish and expect it to be an award winning concept. I guess what I am trying to ask is whether lyrics form an integral part of the Remembering Never experience?

Ok, fair enough. My lyrics will never be "piss-weak". I say what I want without worrying about consequence. If I felt that the lyrics don't portray what I am saying, I'll change them until they do. The more recent songs have a lot more subject matter, but the end result is people dying because they deserve to.

66 tracks altogether for "She Looks So Good In Red", from which 54 odd tracks are 5 seconds of silence. The 66th song, what is the story here? Is this a demo track from past recording sessions or from the same recording sessions as "She Looks So Good In Red"?

We did that song as a joke. It was on our first record and we sold it as a demo in south Florida when we recorded it. It is a rotten song and we thought it would be funny to throw it together. We really never finished it, so it sounds all chopped up.

'Last Night Alone' certainly has a different vibe to the rest of the material on "She Looks So Good In Red". Almost all of the tracks on "She Looks So Good In Red" are combination of in your face harsh elements and more mellow touches. 'Last Night Alone' seems a bit different here. Is it just me or was there a deliberate attempt to go elsewhere with this song?

This song is about me killing myself. Slow. It was a moment of weakness. That will never happen again.

Your debut MCD "One Day Saviour" came out last year. Have you found that your fan base has grown more from "She Looks So Good In Red" or "One Day Saviour"? Has the promotion of "She Looks So Good In Red" been what you have been looking for?

Ferret has opened many doors for us just because of the name. We really didn't expect to sell as many records as we did until we started touring.

You guys have got a few comparisons to Poison The Well with your debut MDC. One thing I noticed and found slightly perplexing is that you have got Jeremy Staska to produce and record "She Looks So Good In Red" when Jeremy also has done some work with Poison The Well. Surely this will earn more comparisons, does it phase you guys drawing alongside Poison The Well in this respect, particularly taking into account Jeremy working the album?

Jeremy records most of the bands from south Florida. For the next album there is a good chance we'll be going with James Wisner (Underoath, Dashboard Confessional, Glasseater). Poison The Well is a great band, but it takes away from the bands who get that comparison in any way. I don't want people to listen to us and say "oh, that's another Poison The Well band", because we are so much more than that. It so easy to write off any band that sings and screams even though its been going on for years before Poison The Well was even a band. No one realizes that.

How did you and the rest of the Remembering Never gang come together? Was it the typical "we ran into each other at the local pub and started talking and the rest is history" scenario, or something a bit more unusual?

Some of us were in another band that just kind of fell out. Basically it's just a bunch of friends bringing the rock.

Speaking again of the rest of the band, do any of them participate in side bands or is Remembering Never a side project for them?

Nope, just me.

You were a part of Until The End, doing vocals. Did they disband after you left or what?

No, we are still together and we are recording our new CD in October.

On the press sheet is listed Remembering Never as to be touring all Summer. Are you going to go out later in the year to support "She Looks So Good In Red" further?

Yes. We are going out in October/November up the East Coast and Canada. A few shows with Shai Hulud and Atreyu.

What is special about a Remembering Never live gig? What can you guys offer that some of your contemporaries can't offer on a live set?

Lots of rowdiness and offensive small talk. Just a grand old time. Lots of mosh.

Your clean vocals are very distinct, do you have any particular inspiration for them?

I don't really have any inspiration for singing but my favorite singers are Mike Patton, Elvis, Daryl from Glassjaw, Chino from Deftones, Glenn Danzig, Henry Rollins, R. Kelly, and Marilyn Manson.

The growl/roar from you in "She Looks So Good In Red" is very metal. Do you listen to much metal?

Yes, but I listen to a lot of other types of music also. I listen to lots of oldies, early 90's grunge, 80's metal, thrash metal, hip hop, etc, etc. Lately I don't listen to as much metal due to all the more recent stuff sounding too alike.

Well Pete, thanks for the time with answering these questions for myself and Metalbite.com! Have a killer time with Remembering Never and try to come and do some touring in Australia sometime, I'll be there for sure!

Thanks so much. Keep it gay.

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Myrkskog - you might not be too familiar with that name yet but I strongly advise on making some room for it in your alcohol-rotted brain. The Norwegian trio’s second offering "Superior Massacre" lives up to its title, and like a bullet through the brain delivers a devastating amount of extreme metal leaving nothing but sludge as the remnants. Being just their sophomore release, "Superior Massacre" staggers through the door with the highest quality death metal blasting, and with a touch of black metal (obvious influences from members other projects) guaranties an listen unsurpassed in diversity and zealous fury. Band founder and the man behind guitars and vocals, Destructhor answers my questions.

Chris


Most people should already be familiar with your band, but for those living in the woods can you tell us a little about how it all started and give us today’s lineup?

It all started in late ‘93 when I and Master V formed Myrkskog. Back then we only did a rehearsal tape which we never released or anything like that. We had a couple of different drummers for shorter periods, but we used a drum machine in '95, until we got Anders Eek (Funeral) on drums and Sechtdamon (Odium) on guitar. In late ’97 Eek was out of the band, and Sechtdamon took control of the drums. In '98 Savant M joined us on guitar, and he stayed in the camp until '00, when he was given the boot. Some months earlier Master V had left the band. Today’s line up is: Destructhor: Guitars/ Vocal, Sechtdamon: Drums, Gortheon: Bass.

Myrkskog, a Lord of the Rings reference, is not the most fitting name to describe your music. When you started this band did you have different ideas about the music style you were going to perform?

When we started Myrkskog we were performing a whole different kind of music than we do today, and I can agree that Myrkskog was a lot more fitting name then. But we were known with that name, it means a lot to us and of course... we like it, so we couldn’t see any reason to change it.

The band went through some personal changes since "Deathmachine", what happened?

Master V and Savant M wanted Myrkskog to go in a different direction compared to what I and Sechtdamon wanted it to be. So it was kind of a two against two relationship in the band. But after their departure we finally felt that we were on the right track.

Since you play in both bands, can you comment on a statement I’ve read Myrkskog's musical aggression that "[it] makes Zyklon look like The Monkeys"?

I know there are a lot of people comparing these bands, and personally I think it's stupid. Myrkskog is much more brutal than Zyklon, but Zyklon is not meant to be like Myrkskog either. They are two completely different bands!

Do you prioritize one of those bands over another? If so, which one and why?

I think I work pretty hard with both bands, and also appear professionally in both of them. When it comes to music I'm extremely dedicated to what I do! Speaking of composing music I do more material in Myrkskog. But that falls naturally since I am the mind behind Myrkskog, and Zamoth is the mind behind Zyklon.

If both bands are on the same level to you, then let me ask you a little harder question... If tomorrow you could play in only one of them which one would it be?

That would be Myrkskog! That's simply because Myrkskog was my first real band and I've been working with it for almost 10 years, so Myrkskog is in my blood. As I said, this is my band, and Zyklon "belongs" to Zamoth.

Now, let's talk about "Superior Massacre", first of all can you tell me what's going on in the cover? I was turning and twisting it in any possible way and I still can't get much of it... I guess it's a perfect compliment to the album's title.

The thing is that we just told Konstrukt to create something dark and atmospheric for us and he came up with this suggestion that we found very fitting, so we decided to go for it.

Musically "Superior Massacre" is as twisted as the cover... who's responsible for all those sick tracks?

Mostly me. Sechtdamon has composed one song, and I have composed the seven others.

Composition-wise, is Myrkskog a product of one person or is it the whole band's effort?

Even though I compose most of the music, it's absolutely a whole band effort. Every man's job in the band is important to fulfill the madness!

Does "Superior Massacre" follow a lyrical concept or does each song have its own sick story?

Myrkskog's lyrics are pretty much based on murders and violence. Myrkskog is about getting all our aggression out, to fucking stab the blade through the chest of people that stand in our way. There's a lot of bullshit going on out there and playing this kind of music really gives a good opportunity to blow out the beast we have inside.

Did anything unusual happen during the recording process that sparked this eruption of anger and fury or are you just like that everyday?

No, I think the recording process went pretty peaceful. Of course we've got this anger inside all the time that inspire us to keep on, but at least we (usually) use it the constructive way...[laughs].

I can't call Myrkskog a black metal band but why do you think with basically one record you achieved more than countless Norwegian black metal outfits?

That’s right! Myrkskog is not a black metal band, we prefer to call it what it is; Extreme Metal. I don't know if we can say that we have achieved more than other bands from Norway, but we can for sure present unique music with brutality and aggression that differs from what has come from Norway earlier.

In your opinion, is pure death or black metal dead and the only way to form an attractive and original band is by mixing music styles?

Absolutely not, personally I go for pure Death Metal. Some of my favorite bands are Nile and Hate Eternal, these bands are really interesting to me.

By the way, thank you for the outro... I've been listening to the album on the headphones and I almost went deaf during that high pitched noise. Was that your answer to the people that complained about the last track from "Deathmachine" 'Pilar Deconstruction (Syndrome 9 Re-mix)' being a re-mix and "destroying" the album's atmosphere?

Actually I am not too happy with this remix. The reason we used it was because we had to do an album at minimum 40 minutes, simply because it said so in our contract. I think it destroys some of the wholeness of the album. But musically I'm absolutely satisfied with "Deathmachine".

What are the chances of seeing you on this side of the ocean and what are the touring plans anyway?

Our record company is currently working to get us over to the States for a tour in Feb/ March 2003. I really hope this will happen. I'm really looking forward to bring Myrkskog to America. I think it is an important market for Myrkskog, because you know how to appreciate brutal music! Meanwhile we'll do a European tour with Nile in October 02.

Thank you for your time. "Let the Superior Massacre begin".

Thank you for the interview!

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Into Eternity - remember that name. If they stay together there's a huge chance that you'll hear about them many times in the future. Due to their record deal with DVS Records those Canadians are already known in Europe and finally thanks to Century Media their original mix of progressive and death metal was brought to the North American shores. With basically no musical boundaries, lots of talent and determination, their second album "Dead or Dreaming" feels like a breeze of fresh air in a death gas chamber. Intelligent, original, and thorough compositions are not something you can say about most of the music you listen to these days, so without further overdue I'll let bassist, Scott Krall to explain this unusual blend of genres and everything behind Into Eternity.

Chris


Congratulations on really amazing piece of work that "Dead or Dreaming" is. Are you surprised with most of the very positive and enthusiastic reactions of the press?

Thank you. It is kind of a shock to us. Honestly we didn't expect anything like this. We were expecting to get a little more bad reviews or mixed reviews because it's kind of newer style. I was expecting prog metal fans to be mad about death vocals and death metal fans to be upset about melodic vocals but it seems to be going quite well actually.

Since "Dead or Dreaming" is your first album released in North America, please tell our readers more about the members and the band. Maybe some details not included in your biography?

Actually since the release of "Dead or Dreaming", I guess I should say the European release because it was released on DVS Records first we've had two new members joined the band. One being my brother Chris Krall and he's going to be doing vocals and new guitar player Jeff Storry. Daniel Nargang who was on "Dead or Dreaming" is no longer in the band.
How did it all start? In Regina there is a very small sort of circle of musicians and we've all jammed with each other at one point in another bands. We all new each other from the start, we were 14 when we started playing in bands, so we were sort of introduced to each other but as far as writing together we've only been writing together since 97-98.

How did you end up on DVS Records? Wasn't anyone interested in you from North America that you had to go to Europe to get a record deal?

We've had about four other offers at that time but DVS Records just seemed to be the most realistic and they offered us a pretty good deal percentages of sales and stuff too. We'd have liked to sign to a North American label but pretty much everybody that said they were interested wasn't that big to begin with, and with some other labels we didn't quite fit their band roster but now we'll be signing the deal with Century Media for probably next 5 albums, I believe.

You're getting ahead of my questions... this album and your debut are going to be released on Century Media Records. How did you land this deal, why with CM and were there other labels interest?

Actually, I was talking to Steve Joh, he's an A&R guy there and I was talking to him when he was working for Noise Records and he was trying to get us on at Noise Records but it just didn't happened, that was even before DVS Records. Than he landed a job with Century Media and right before we went on tour in Europe last October I sent him a press kit and when I got back he said "since this album is already released by DVS Records we can license it for North America". Of course we jumped at that opportunity and now they've said that they're interested in releasing 5 albums with us and I think for our style of music Century Media would probably be one of the best choices for us. They have a really good, diverse roster of bands and I think it would probably work out really well with them.

That's great news... maybe we'll finally be able to see Into Eternity on a full tour?

Yeah, actually I think we have something happening in the States but just a West coast for the month of December but I don't have any dates confirmed yet.

At the beginning you've mention new line up changes, Into Eternity seems to have a lot of those in young band's career, is it caused by member's different personalities or is it just a part of band's progression?

Well, the 3 members of the band that have been right from the day one have been me, Tim and Jim and most of the songs have been written with us three. Regarding why people have left... For example Daniel Nargang who was on "Dead or Dreaming", he always wanted to do his own thing like a solo project and it was kind of a more of a mutual decision with that. I guess he just wasn't getting where he wanted with Into Eternity and he wanted to do his own thing. We're still on good terms but maybe it was a little bit a clash of personalities because we all wanted to be a group where as he wanted to be a sort of a one man show so, we just sat down and said if you want to do it do it just let us know so we can find a replacement for him. Regarding the Chris McDougall, our keyboard player... when we were writing "Dead or Dreaming" the songs just started to have lesser and lesser amounts of keyboards in them as compared to our first album and he was basically saying "you guys don't even need a keyboard player anymore" [laughs]. He had plans on going to school and he's going to school in Japan right now and doing some stuff over there so I guess him leaving was probably kind of unavoidable too but we're all on talking terms too.

Judging by very high instrumental skills it would be safe to assume that you all have long and impressive resumes, what are the musical backgrounds of band's members?

Myself I've taken some classical guitar training but regarding my bass playing I've been self-thought and I actually started out playing sax for 6 years which of course I don't use in a band [laughs]. My brother had taken about 4 years of vocal lessons and Tim Roth is more of a self-thought guitar player but I think he did take about a year of lessons when he was about 14 or 15 years old. The one area where we probably get the most experience is just a fact that we've all been in bands since age 14 and 15 and always tried to write songs.

Another very impressive sides of Into Eternity are the vocals. With all those harmonies and styles it's hard to imagine that none of you doesn't have professional musical education.

Usually there're no more than 3 harmonies and anything above and beyond that is just an octave of the root note. When we figure out our harmonies, it's of course always a main melody line, Tim will play a harmony on the guitar and than we have to try to find a note that we are singing. Basically when we do the harmonies we just think of chords, major, minor or diminished stuff like that.

With such diverse music your influences must range from classical music to extreme metal, can you tell us what bands had the greatest effect on Into Eternity music?

There's a lot of different influences. Of course being from Canada we have seen bands like Rush... bands that I'm influenced by are Saga and Yes. I think everybody that listens to progressive music can always say that they're influenced by Dream Theater. Tim has always been into heavier stuff like Death, Slayer, Cynic... the list could go on and on.

With so many varied members' influences how did you form the current style you're playing? Did you start as a death metal band and later on added a progressive side or was it the other way around?

When we formulated our style it wasn't really a conscious effort. Every member that contributes to the writing process has its own input and our idea of writing has always been if it sounds good then use it and not really worry about constraining the genre or the sub genre or your influences in the music just because you want to sound one way. So, it's pretty much a compilation of all our influences. When we first started writing the songs and sending CDs out and actually getting some feedback we were all very surprised about the response for it. It just seemed like people really admire the fact that there is a band that is combining heavy, speed riffs and death metal with more progressive passages and harmonies. Now, that we sort of realize that this sound is our identity I guess for future albums and future songs that we write we are definitely making a more conscious effort to make the two styles or all the influences more distinct but more seamless so they don't seem like it just went from one area to another, just make them sort of mesh together a little better.

Is there a main songwriter in a band or is it a collective effort?

Regarding guitar riffs, of course Tim Roth would be the one that comes up with all the riffs but there've been situations that even Jim Austin, our drummer has come up with guitar riffs. I know for a fact he sits at home 5 days a week playing guitar of course when he should be playing drums but I guess that's how the most of the drummers are. They want to play guitar, guitarist want to play drums... I don't know, just to kill time I guess [laughs]. There are a lot of instances where there would be me and Jim coming up with sort of like a technical bridge and then we would use that in the middle and then add the guitar to accent it or double it or whatever. As far as structuring the songs that's done by everyone. Everybody has their own idea of how the song should be structured and what sounds good we stick with that. As far as lyrics are concern Tim Roth writes all the lyrics. For melody lines I guess that would be a split between, well... at least now, it would be my brother and Tim Roth.

How do you decide who vocally does what on the album? Do band members switch styles from song to song or each member is a specialist in one particular area?

That's a tough question but I would say that whoever comes up with the idea first and if it sounds good we'll use it. As far as sticking with only one style of vocals Jim Austin; he sings only death vocals, Tom Roth sings clean and death vocals, actually a lot of higher end death vocals were done by Tim which is kind of funny where people see that. They don't really picture the person who's singing the lead vocals to sing a lot of death vocals but that's how we do it live too. I really can't sing death vocals I just do the harmonies and my brother who just joined the band is doing mostly clean vocals but he's doing a lot of death vocals now too.

Do you adapt the vocals to the lyrics?

I would say that vocals or actually the melody lines are written for the music and same with the lyrics as well. We usually come up with the music first and from there we will establish the melody lines and Tim will write the lyrics. I know a lot of bands write lyrics and melody lines first but with sort of more technical metal is a little bit tougher to do that cause the music is a lot more busier than the vocals most of the time. For us lyrics and vocals are written to fit the music rather than the other way around.

Speaking of lyrics, MetalBite being a metal webzine (at least for now), I have to ask about 'Cyber Messiah', is that song about being addicted to the Internet? If so, why is that a bad thing?

I don't know. Tim said that he wrote those lyrics about me [laughs] because I'm always on the computer and my whole day consists of computers. I use them at work, to record bands, play video games, send e-mails or press kits so, I think more or less he was influenced by me but I guess ultimately if I haven't been on the computer we wouldn't have this interview right now [laughs].

'Shallow's' lyrics is about greed and two-faced people. Did you actually have someone in mind writing it?

Yeah, that was written about the keyboard player we had. He had played with us for a month, not even that and he have got really twofaced for some reason. He played one show with us and it was really bad experience I guess. He was complaining about the venue and complaining about having to drive for 8 hours to go play a show... I guess his heart wasn't in it and after he left the band he was saying Into Eternity is not organized blah blah blah... so, that song was influenced by him.

I bet you are already writing your third release. Can you give us some detail about it?

Let's see... I think I have some track titles here on my computer [laughs]... The songs are definitely sounding heavier and there're more technical parts to it. The riffs are sounding heavier, not necessarily faster or thrashier but they're sounding a little bit more staccato-ish; that's the word I like to use. We're having a lot more clean vocal over the top of that now too but there's still element of death vocals in it and I don't think there's one song without death vocals. I guess I can say that it's getting a little bit heavier but a little bit more melodic too.

You've already mentioned some show in States on the West coast but is there anything else planned for the rest of the world, any festivals?

There's nothing scheduled yet but we were talking to a booking agent and I pretty much can guarantee that we'll be touring a lot more in next coming months now that we have Century Media to help us out. As far as festivals, basically if we can get on any festival we'll play it. We totally want to tour but it's been kind of tough cause we haven't had anybody to book the shows for us. If there's ever an opportunity for us to tour we'll definitely jump on it.

Before we end, can you tell us why Daniel used to put on a kilt before he played live? Was it s some kind of tradition?

Since he already left us there's no more tradition [laughs]... I don't know, he's definitely a Scottish descendent; he did it just for 3 or 4 shows and after that he just kind of got bored with that so, it wasn't something that he did continually.

It just sparked my interest cause it's kind of unusual for Canada...

[Laughs] I know... maybe he was having an identity crisis [laughs].

Once again, congratulation on really refreshing and original album that in my opinion was really due to countless metal releases that don't seem to differ much nowadays.

Awesome I'm really glad you feel that way. That really does mean a lot to us. The more people that we have like you that are saying, "yes, this stuff does sound good" then of course more we're going to focus on making it all that more original too. That's awesome; actually thanks for letting me do this interview with you.

Not a problem, I'm a fan first; I'm here for bands and not the other way around.

That's our pleasure. We love doing interviews and it's great finally getting a chance to talk about the band.

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Last time we talked Construcdead had an uncertain future; they were on their fourth demo and still no record deal. Now Construcdead are back with their full-length debut on Cold Records entitled "Repent". I recently had a chance to chat with their drummer Erik Thyselius and get the latest on the band's blossoming career.

Adam Block


You guys just got back home from the Japanese tour headlined by Soilwork. How did that go?

Time of my life... or the time of our lives. It was great.

How was the crowd response to the music?

Awesome. It's hard to explain because you gotta be there and see it. The Japanese people are awesome. Their responses throughout the gigs and the songs; they were screaming and they were shouting. The girls were going insane and they were crying and I felt like Nick in the Backstreet Boys. It was indescribable. There were girls in the lobbies at the hotels in the morning.

How would you explain the difference between the fans there as opposed to the Europeans?

Yeah definitely, ‘cause the Japanese people have a different social structure, so when bands like us come to Japan I think that they feel that we are a higher class than they are. I think that they see themselves as nobodies and that we are big rock stars but exactly it’s the other way around. There was one time when we were in the record store and we were signing records and there was a girl. She was crying cause I was signing her record.

So you guys are treated like boy bands over there because of your good looks right?

[Laughs] No way... and we were so hung over.

Well that brings me to my next question. How were the parties over there?

Awesome! I actually got free drinks at the bar.

So it's great to be in a band, huh?

Yeah. [Laughs]

Your album, "Repent", is getting very positive reviews so far. How pleased are you guys with the way it came out?

We had lots of ideas of production and it did not turn out the way we wanted but it turned out to be great anyway.

If you could go back and change anything about the disc, then what would it be?

I think the first thing is that we should be a bit more prepared. I mean this is the first record and we didn't know exactly what to expect. Production wise we didn't know what to expect either.

Well I'd say you still did pretty well regardless!

Yeah, but we had more ideas. I am not complaining. It is a great album but on the next record we are going to do it a little bit different I think.

I was a bit surprised when I heard the melodic female vocals on one of the songs. Who supplied the vocals and whose idea was it to have her do it? At first I thought it was a keyboard sample or something.

Actually my sister is an opera singer and the original idea was that she was supposed to come to the studio but she had a couple of gigs in London so she wasn't able to go to the studio. So we had a girl who was going to do it and she was in labor so she was not able to do it either. Then we had to call a friend and she got to the studio at about 11:30 at night or something to do the vocals. It took like two hours or something. It was pretty spontaneous and sporadic.

Most of the music on "Repent" is fairly old demo material, redone of course, but how much of the music was actually written for the album itself?

I think I would say like four songs.

Do you guys already have ideas for new songs?

We have like three songs already for the new album. We want the next album to sound like 'Metamorphosia'. We want to keep that the common line throughout the whole next album. Know what I mean?

So what your saying is that you want to try to make it more straightforward. Then does this mean that you will spend less time focusing on melodies and go for a more ferocious attack?

I think that the album is going to be more dynamic and production-wise it is going to be a whole lot different. We're going to get help from Peter from Soilwork to help with the production and Klas from Darkane and Terror2000.

You also recorded drums for the new Terror2000 record. How difficult was it for you to do two intense recording jobs so close together?

To be honest, it was a bit hectic. I think I recorded the "Repent" album, the Constructed album, in November. Three days after that I went down to Helsingburg and started the Terror2000 recording, so basically what happened was I had a tape recorder and I listened to the song and I recorded right after that. It was a bit hectic and it was a mistake on my part to do the recordings on such a tight schedule.

Are you still happy with your performances?

Yeah, definitely. I can always complain but I am not going to do that. [Laughs]

The album is already out in Japan and Europe. Any news on a license deal for the States yet?

I talked to the label about a week ago and they had some kind of deal going on in the States with an internet company, so hopefully we will have the album out pretty soon in the States too. We have had a lot of response from the USA on our website.

You guys shot a video for the track 'Metamorphosia'. How was it to make your first video?

Confusing! We did it on a low budget and was self produced. No big casting or no big production. We did it by ourselves. I think it turned out pretty well. We had a couple of cold nights when we recorded the live scenes in the warehouse. Hopefully next time we'll have money from the label to do it. The Japanese people love it. As far as I know that is the only country that plays the video. Actually when we went there, we were able to see it on television.

That must have been pretty exciting!

Yeah, it was. It was kind of confusing. I mean it's Japanese television. It felt like we were at home watching it on video. Confusing...

I could not help but see that you were wearing a Soilwork shirt in the video.

Yeah, definitely! I support my homies! Why not? Actually the label was kind of pissed because I had the Soilwork shirt on and I gave them the finger and I said "What the fuck?" I mean they are buddies. They are my best friends.

Do you guys have any upcoming touring plans in the works?

Not really; we are doing material for the next album. We have a small label and they do not have that much contact, unfortunately, to do the tours.

Where do you see Construcdead being in the next couple of years musically?

I know this is far fetched, but we want to have our sound. We don't want to be like At the Gates 2 or The Haunted 2. Hopefully we will have that in a couple of years.

Thanks for the interview. Do you have any words for the fans or maybe some advice to metalheads out there looking for a great thrash record?

Definitely you should check out our "Repent" album and visit our site www.construcdead.com, stop by www.terror2k.cjb.net and check out the new Terror2000 album. It's a killer!

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...And Oceans - is it metal or is it industrial-techno? You can't really categorize them and in my opinion you shouldn't even try. "Cypher", their recently released album will not answer those questions but it will show you how seamlessly those elements can be combined and how original and unique this band is. So, how did that mix of cold electronics and aggressive metal come to life? Kenny, the band's vocalist answers that and anything ...And Oceans. Here's the result of our conversation...

Chris


Would I be mistaken if I said that "Cypher" is a concept album? Can you tell us what is it about, a reason for 3-part song titles and describe the idea behind the title "Cypher"?

Each and every song is divided into three sections, but one of them stands as the profound title. The ones in cursive are the actual titles for each song, but it wasn't correct on the promo version. On the actual CD the titles are in bold and those are the correct titles. Making a concept album has been floating deep down in the corners of the mind for a while and as the music for "Cypher" turned out pretty compact, I chose to write the lyrics to go hand in hand with the music. The music is not complex and neither are the lyrics this time. The basics are pretty much the same throughout the whole album and decadence is under focus, but there are lots of different small nuances with different insights of what some people call reality. I have never been too concrete about anything and I never probably will because I always leave some space for the personal interpretation. It's like with any book, movie or painting: the first impression is your own interpretation. I can't see any relevance in the concrete forms before you have worked on it in your own personal way. It's better to formulate your own thoughts and if you then later on come to the same conclusion you feel much lighter and you can just sit back and enjoy with a tiny smile on your face. The lyrics on "Cypher" are covered in simplicity compared to the previous lyrics, but sure I have left some symbolic segments for the mind to chew on. It's not much different from the music itself, they are compact and therefore there are connections to one another. It's the same theme throughout the whole album and one can surely find the linking patterns, which the whole lyrical content is built upon. And what comes to the title itself is: "Cypher" has several meanings and most of its nuances are implanted behind the lyrical curtain, but one of the meanings stands more concretely out and bears a certain value, and that is "a person or thing of little importance" because it reflects the different perspectives in the lyrics. After reading the lyrics one will comprehend the actual meaning of the title. The word "Cypher" is so versatile so we decided to use it, as it reflects the different nuances in man and the presence of man. But what I was striving for with this title, in a more concrete form, of course, was the relevance of man's unimportance. I don't think I have ever made such "down to earth" lyrics as on "Cypher" and I think it's pretty obvious what the, so called message is, but of course I have left some gaps for the personal interpretation on the mental level.

On the album cover, does the writing on the wall, "Insect Angels and Devil Worms", only relate to the original title of your limited edition of "Cypher" or does it carry a special meaning?

The official CD version is titled "Cypher" and its subtitle is still "Insect Angels & Devil Worms", but this particular subtitle will more directly be used for the double vinyl version because as it is a double version we thought the bipartite title suited better the vinyl version. The original title "Insect Angels..." is taken from my forthcoming book which consists of the same topic and the title melted nicely into this theme of this new concept album. We also changed the title due to the fact that the cover artwork changed from its original form. We could of course have used the same title for both of the releases because they both represent the same idea and purpose, but we still wanted to divide these two formats from each other.

The band went through some personal changes did this in any way affect the songwriting or recording process of "Cypher"?

This time we have all been part of creating the music, and by having six members participating on the process all added their own salt to the soup. In a way it was easier than before, but at the same time much more difficult because you are very critical towards your own ideas nowadays. All in all the process of creating new material is always demanding and stressful if you have a schedule to follow. The new members of course brought whole lot of new ideas, ambition and most of all motivation to evolve the music into another shape.

Can you introduce the new members; tell us how you found them and about their musical background?

Well, I got in touch with Pete when he moved from Sweden to this shitty town and we just started to rehearse some material for some projects, and firstly he kind of was more of a stand-in musician when 7even ii was not present, but after a while Pete just melted into our mentality at the same time as 7even ii was drifting further and further away from us. And at that time we were already looking for a new drummer, but couldn't find a proper one for that job, so Kai from Rotten Sound was supposed to fill that gap as a session musician for "Cypher". After some weeks we just got the idea of trying out Sami, who we thought could be an option for us after hearing what he was able to do. We tried him and the package was ready to go. Pete's own death metal band is called Deathbound and they will release the debut album on Woodcut Records, but of course nowadays he is also involved in all these other bands and projects we are part of. Sami has at least two bands, All In Me being some sort of metal plus some other band, which plays Pearl Jam material.

Why did Martex and 7even ii leave the band?

When we started creating new material our old drummer Martex and the rest of the members got stuck in a gap called dilemma because Martex wanted to create something more melodic and music similar to our previous albums, but the rest of the members wanted to create something different and reach for new musical fields. And this time we decided not to do any compromises on this field, so Martex decided to leave us. Shortly after this the second guitarist 7even ii was drifting further and further away in a sinking boat and got finally replaced by a new member. There's no use in having members in the band when the chemistry isn't working together any more, so we needed some fresh energy and more motivation, which the new members brought along.

Which band member is the biggest industrial/techno fan and which one is still deep into metal?

I guess when it comes to music we are very open minded and we listen to a lot of different variations and genres of music. Anti and me are maybe the biggest techno-heads, but the rest of the members are also into industrial music, but maybe just not as much as the two of us are. We listen to music that feels great at a certain moment of time and it all depends on the mood may it be metal, techno, MTV or whatever. As long as the music feels good for that particular moment, it's great. I could never see myself categorized into only one genre. It would be like eating the same meal every day the rest of your life.

...And Oceans being above any style definitions and trends might be very hard to swallow for a typical metal fan and too heavy for the electronic/industrial crowd. Does the people's reaction concern you at all or do you write the music for your own pleasure first and foremost?

We make the music for ourselves because otherwise we wouldn't be honest to ourselves. And as we don't do this for money or fame it works more as therapy. But of course it's nice if people like the material we have done.

You came a long way from being a black metal band to today's version of ...And Oceans, can you tell us why did you chose this path and didn't try, let's say, symphonic black metal? Where did the fascination with electronics come from?

I don't think we have consciously chosen any certain path it's more like a development in a natural way. We had some so called symphonic elements inserted for a while, but it all took new forms after we got new soft- and hardware, and of course along the years the mental state has been pulsating its own life. We just wanted to create something more suitable for our minds of this presence. Maybe on the next album the electronics will be excluded, who knows? As we don't plan anything too much you can never actually know what kind of material will be created next time. The fascination of electronics is basically the atmosphere of a mechanical coldness that fascinates, as well as the wide range of possibilities to mix different blends of sounds and patterns.

Have you ever received any hate mail or personal threats regarding use of electronics and betraying black metal?

No, should we? Sending hate mail to people really shows how brilliant a person can be. We have received some mails from some moralists, who have pointed out that we are on the false path, but when their points of view had no impact on us they vanished. Seems like ignorance is still the strongest weapon. Haven't heard anything from any similar people in several years though.

Do you regret anything from your career? If so, do you try to plan next band's moves to avoid same mistakes or do you let everything fall into place?

I guess there are some moments that could have been left undone, but then again it's not like I'm ashamed of it or keeps me awake during nights. It's all in the past and has no affect on me anyway, so...but as we act out of impulses you never know what pops to your mind and what you manage to do.

I'm really interested in how ...And Oceans writes songs, do you first come up with electronic stuff and then add guitars and drums or is it still the way our fathers of metal did it: good riff first?

It varies from time to time sometimes a whole track can be based on a singular keyboard pattern and sometimes on a guitar riff. Some of the tracks on "Cypher" were created out of a drumbeat, keyboard pattern and a guitar riff. We don't have any particular formula to follow because one instrument affects the other as well as a certain pattern or sound affects the whole outcome of the track.

I think it has become an ...And Oceans tradition to make the last track fully electronic. Are you trying to prepare us for completely electronic album or just to piss off die-hard metal guys like me [laugh]. I have to say those are not my favorite ones from your catalogue.

Instead of having a cover track as bonus we usually tend to make a special track or a track done in collaboration with some other artist. This time we just wanted to get a cold oriented track for the end to wrap up the whole thing in the end. If the last track appears as an annoying one, I can sit down and just smile, [laughs].

Since the band is so dynamic and eclectic, it makes some wonder, does ...And Oceans have any musical restriction? For instance, would you limit yourselves to never play country, power metal or mix black with pop, or is the sky the limit?

We don't have any restrictions when it comes to creating material, but of course there are elements that never will appear in this constellation, and especially elements that don't appear in a positive way to us. Country is one of those repugnant elements, but it could work as an irritant, [laughs].

How do you deal with rather heavy involvement of the band's members in side projects? (Rotten Sound, Deathbound, Black Dawn, 6 Billion Ways To Die, Faeces - did I miss something?) Is ...And Oceans always everyone's main priority?

Yeah, you missed a couple: O, Irene's Kunt and Epäjärjestys. Each and every band is more of a main priority band, it just depends one, which one is under the microscope for the moment. At the moment we concentrate on ...And Oceans and Rotten Sound, next will be Deathbound and Black Dawn.

What are the promotional plans for "Cypher"? Where can we see you in a live environment?

Nothing special out of the ordinary: interviews and hopefully a European tour. I don't have any details on touring yet, but Century Media is keeping their eyes and ears open for a possible tour for us.

Speaking of tours, do you have any special or unusual requirements before you go on tour? What does your typical gig look like?

Nah, Century Media has been taking care of all the details when it comes that point, but of course it would be cool to make something really astonishing on a live performance. But we are just a tiny band among big stars and we can't require things that we really would like to do. We try to add something a bit more different to live shows, but unfortunately it's pretty difficult to do that during a tour. Something small will always be added, but we'll see what it will be this time [laughs].

I think that's all for now. Thank you for your time and patience answering my questions. Stay true to yourself, stay original and most important stay heavy. Anything you'd like to add?

Thanks for the interview and for the end: You are all my friends, if you got money and nothing to spend. It'll make no difference in a hundred years or so sooner or later we all make the little flowers grow. You will all get the fire and never get out of this world alive. Don't run and hide, it's no use I know, but sooner or later we all make the little flowers grow. All of you and the rest please don't blame me because I didn't start this mess. Some of us stay, but all of us will go, sooner or later we all make the little flowers grow. Thanks to Thrussell for lighting up the stars.

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After making album of the year in 2001 at this very webzine, Darkane wasted little time before crafting their next masterpiece, "Expanding Senses". I had a chance to speak with guitarist and co-songwriter Christofer Malmstrom just before the release of the album concerning the band's new record and future plans. Read on!

Adam Block


First off, congratulations on winning Metalbite's album of the year along with Dimmu Borgir for the year 2001.

Yeah, thank you. That is very cool. I am very happy about that because I think Dimmu Borgir is very cool and it is great to be among them. Also, of course, it's very cool to be number one!

How did the shows in support of the "Insanity" album go? Any tour highlights?

Yeah, of course, The Milwaukee Metalfest! That was a very cool experience for us. It was the first time we were in the US as a band. We were there only for two days. I think we spent more time on the plane than in the states but it was awesome. It was so cool to meet all the cool American people. It was quite a crazy crowd. That was the coolest thing. We did some shows in Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and Austria but nothing compared to the US trip.

How was the reaction to the material? Were they comfortable with the new singer?

There have been different opinions since we got him. Some people loved him and some people thinks he sucks. Well, it's been like that since we released "Insanity"...

Well, I am pretty sure the new album will shut them up!

Yeah, I hope so too! He sings better on this album. We didn't know how he could sing when we recorded "Insanity". On "Expanding Senses" we tried to discover what his own style was. I think it turned out real well.

I have also been hearing other opinions of people who think he actually fits your music better than the old singer.

Yeah, definitely. I think there will always be some true death metal fans who will hate us for this but it's always like that so it's nothing to care about.

You guys are now gearing up to release your third album entitled "Expanding Senses". How happy are you guys with the way it turned out?

I am happy. I am very satisfied. Like I say on the website, this is the album we have always wanted to make. I think it is way better than "Insanity". When I heard this album, I thought that "Insanity" sucks because this is how it should sound. This album is more groovy, aggressive and brutal and "Insanity" is more sterile. It seemed dead. On this album it feels more alive.

I have seen that there are already several metal webzines and magazines that have given your new record excellent reviews. Does that make you even more anxious to get the record out to the fans?

Yeah, sure. Of course, the best thing about recording and releasing an album is to get the crowd's opinion. We cannot wait!

What were some of the main goals you had going into the recording for this album?

We didn't want people to say that the singer is annoying. You shouldn't have to hear a band that has an annoying singer. Maybe you hate him a lot but you shouldn't have to say he is annoying so we really wanted to focus on getting the vocals to be good this time. Also, we wanted the sound to be as fat as possible. Like in Strapping Young Lad, but more clear so you can hear what we're playing.

It took around three months to record this album. Was there a feeling within the band not to rush things and to make sure everything came out exactly the way you wanted?

You can say that but the truth is that we had no choice. We need like six weeks to record an album but we couldn't get six weeks in a row at Dug Out productions because we're recording the album there. We recorded for one week in February then In Flames went in the studio to record their album for six weeks. We continued to record the guitars and bass in our home studio and that was very cool 'cause we could do it...

Your way...

Yeah, exactly. We had no rush and I could play a solo and go back and see if I liked it and change it if I wanted to. When we record in a studio like we did with the two previous albums, if I had recorded a solo there was no time to change it. When In Flames were finished with their album we went in to record vocals and do the mix and stuff like that. I think we were recording for six weeks at dug out but just not in a row.

You decided not to do an instrumental intro like you have on past CDs. What stopped you this time around?

We want the listener to get metal when he or she presses play. We're done with intros for now. Maybe we will do it again on the next album. I don't know but we thought that...

Maybe you should just cut right to the chase...

Exactly, I know a lot of people fast forward in the intros. We thought the first song was a good way to start the album.

I read that your old vocalist returns for a guest appearance on this record. How did that come about?

It was nothing we had planned. He lives in the same town as the studio in Uppsala in Sweden. He had been working in that studio. That's how we found him the first time. We went to that studio to record "Rusted Angel" and Lawrence was working there so he sang on it. (Laughs) He called one evening and asked how it was going and asked if it was possible to come over and listen. We asked him to do a guest appearance and he did. I think it turned out really cool.

I checked out the cover art and it has sort of a different approach than with your previous albums. Who did the concept and artwork for this one?

The concept is from Peter because he has a twisted mind. He has had a lot of nightmares. He has been dreaming that he is standing with half of his head in the wall. It's like the eyes and the ears and nose are covered in the wall so they can only eat and breathe with their mouths and stay alive that way. Peter has been thinking of this. It has been something that we have been working with since '95 and '96 when we played with Agretator. It was Thomas Ewerhard who did it. He also did the cover for "Insanity". It's the same guy, if you can believe that because it is a very different style.

Yeah, it's much lighter but still evil.

A lot of bands have light covers these days; In Flames and Soilwork. It just turned out that way I don't know why. The people on the cover are friends of ours. The right guy is actually Andreas, our singer, and the left guy is the guy who is doing our video right now. (Laughs)

Are you in there anywhere?

No because I am not thin. (Laughs) Peter is also in it but not on the cover but in the booklet. He is standing upside down with his head in a concrete block.

You guys recently shot a video for the track 'Innocense Gone'. How did that go?

It went very well. We have been cutting it for over a month. Those people who cut the video are not professionals so that's why it took a little bit longer. It turned out really cool I think. It's quite brutal. The song 'Innocense Gone' is about the brutality of incest. We want to show how brutal it can be so we got a little girl acting, but it is not too obvious in the scenes...

So no children were harmed in the filming of this video...

No and she was a grown-up, but looked like 14, 15 I don't know. I think she is 23 but there is quite a lot of blood and things. We want to shock people. The thing with incest is very brutal. This is how it is. It is existing. There is also a lot of headbanging of course.

You also have a show coming up in late August. Are you anxious to try out some of the new material live?

We will play like three new songs. We just rehearsed. This rehearsal tonight was the best so far with the new material because it takes some time to grow. We have a song that ends with a classical guitar outro. The guy who played that is not one of us from the band. He is a professional classical guitar player. He will do it live also on this show so that's very cool. It will be cool because it is where I work. I work at the culture center here in Helsingburg. There is a concert hall there that we will be playing in, so all my coworkers will be there so I think it will be very cool.

Getting back to the new album... How much input did Andreas have on the new album? Who works out the vocal arrangements?

It was mostly Andreas and Daniel who did it and Peter was also present. I wasn't there much because I was working. Daniel (the producer) has a lot of ideas; so, much of it is his work, I would say.

Are there any talks or plans yet for full-blown tours in support of the new album?

Yeah, it is in Poland in Europe and also in France so far. We are trying to get a real big tour somewhere both in Europe and in the States.

I wish you guys the best of luck. I know there are many Americans just waiting to see you guys and I know they are trying to get the label to bring you over.

Yeah, that's very cool. We are also trying to get the label to bring us. I have been mailing with Jill at Nuclear Blast and telling her that we want to tour in the States. It is a possibility but we will see about the sales first. I hope we will sell so we can come over. It is like a dream for me. I would like to tour in the States and I would also like to go to Japan. Soilwork is in Japan every year so I hate them for that. (Laughs)

So, besides Darkane, what other music so far this year have you had the fortune or misfortune of hearing? Which genre of music do you find that you listen to the most in your spare time?

That's hard because I listen to a lot of different stuff. I love like classical music and jazz and stuff like that. There is not much new metal that I like these days. Not "nu-metal," but bands that play metal. (Laughs)

Most of the bands "they" label as nu-metal I do not consider to be metal anyway.

The interesting thing is that there is quite a big war between nu-metal fans and true metal fans. It is quite stupid. Put those two groups together on a board and you have wars that will never end.
I've heard the new Meshuggah album and I didn't like it all. (Laughs) Have you heard it?

Yeah, a bit of it. There are a couple opinions I have heard. One: It is better than "Chaosphere". Two: It's nowhere near as good as "Destroy Erase Improve" and that they are slowing down too much and the music gets monotonous. So I tend to agree with the latter opinion.

It's too slow. I want my metal to be fast...

Right, but it is all a matter of preference because no one can deny their extreme talent.

No of course not but I think they are lazy or something. It has been like four and a half years...

And people who wait that long should expect something more, you would think.

It is a funny thing though, because they recorded "Chaosphere" just before we recorded "Rusted Angel". Now we have recorded our third album and they will just be putting out their follow up. That's quite cool.

I have been meaning to find this out for a while. What are some of Darkane's influences as a band and some of your personal influences as a guitarist?

I have three influences as a guitarist and it's Yngwie Malmsteen; I used to listen to him. I don't like the new stuff but I liked him in the 80s. Also, Allan Holdsworth if you know him. He is a fusion guitarist. Also, Steve Vai. He is very good at expressing feelings with a guitar. He has a lot of attitude and I like his playing a lot. Those three guys are the main influences for me. For Darkane, it is very hard to say. We have been listening to like Death, Meshuggah, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Slayer, but we also have influences from classical music and jazz. We are not trying to sound like one particular band.

You also have a bit of a Hellraiser influence that I first noticed with the artwork in the "Rusted Angel" booklet.

On the song 'Emination of Fear' from "Insanity"; right before the solo there is a part with some fusion drums and the melody played on the guitar. That is very influenced from Hellbound when Tiffany opens the box and the cenobites come into the room. I was influenced by the music there when I did that guitar part.

As other bands seem to be getting softer, you guys just seem to be getting even heavier yet still focusing on strong melodies. What do you see coming up in Darkane's future musically?

Well, it's hard to say but we promised each other that we will never get softer. The brutality and heaviness is like our trademark. We've been disappointed a lot when we've heard our big idols getting soft like Entombed and Dismember. It was more brutal in the beginning.

I always thought Entombed were one of the most musically confused bands out there. Whenever they seem to have a sound they seem to change again.

I think it is more rock and roll now and not metal. We don't want people to hear Darkane album and say "well they got soft like everybody else." But regarding our style; I don't know. It's hard to say.

Well thank you for your time and this interview. Have any final words to say to all the Darkane fans out there?

Well check out "Expanding Senses" when it comes out. Give it a few listens because you might need to hear it a few times before you get into it. I hope to see you all on tour. I really hope we will tour this time!

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You may love them or hate them, but you can't deny the fact that for almost twenty years Manowar rocked the house all over the world and helped in shaping the face of today's heavy metal. Their dedication, loyalty and belief in what they do got them distinctive name of 'Kings of Metal' that they carry with pride and back up with outstanding records. After 6 years since their full studio album Manowar comes back as requested by fans with the epic album "Warriors of the World" that might once again leave the fans divided. Why? I had a chance to get all the answers from guitarist Karl Logan who explains musical ideas behind this epic and talks anything Manowar.

Chris


It's been over 20 years since Manowar was born... with "Warriors Of The World" you prove that you're still alive and kicking, how do you manage to keep it all fresh and how long do you feel it's going to last?

Well, it's the love of what we do and the sincerity with which we do it. I mean, how is it that anyone can have a career that you know, and when you work at the company for 30-40 years they'll give you the gold watch and all that; you do it because you enjoy what you're doing and if you love your job you've been working your whole life. That's pretty much describing all of our lives here working in music and heavy metal. That's what we love to do. It's never really work; it's just about having fun and being paid for it. I think that explains the reason that we are still around. Another reason that we are still around is 'cause the fans want us to be. The fans love us and we keep getting more fans. We never let them down we always do what they want us to do, we listen to them, we read e-mails we read letters. Without fans you don't have anything. This is a band that always values its fans and values their opinions. They make us who we are so, as long as we have fans and as long as we continue playing we're going to keep doing it. There's no reason to stop.

Is there a chance of you guys finally settling down and becoming husbands and fathers?

Well, sure I can see myself doing it, I'm just speaking personally for myself. In one way I'm married to music... I guess when you're a musician you're relationships suffer personally because of your commitment to your music but at this point in my life I can see myself getting married, getting involved with someone. It's always nice to have someone to share your success with.

What would be the hardest thing to do: quit music, alcohol or women?

I think... definitely to quit music because there are a lot of times when you are not with women. There are a lot of times when it's just you and you alone. You can be in a foreign country and there are beautiful women around but you can't talk to them, you can't communicate with them so, it's kind of hard to socialize [laughs]. So, there are times that you go without women. We drink, we like wine, we like beer when we are in Germany but as far as getting drunk every night we don't do that. It's something you do when you're kind of just starting in the business you just go crazy and doing it all. After a while you learn that it takes more of a toll on you than anything and we're always about business and putting on a show and making sure everything is running smoothly and making sure we are in the best shape we can be to perform. There's not much temptation I would say for drinking. Giving up music? What else would we do? That's really what makes us who we are. I couldn't see us giving up the music.

Although the last six years you've spent on the road or releasing live albums and a DVD, don't you think that a six-year period is a little too long between new releases?

Well, yes and no. I mean, if you look at it from the point that it has been 6 years and if you think "ok, we release a record and then we just sit on our asses for 6 years and don't do anything" of course 6 years would be too long but in that time there was so much that the band was doing and there was so much the fans were asking of us. For the longest time people have asked us for a live record and when we did live record we had so many songs we had to do a double live record. Then, when we got done with that one the fans said "well, you didn't play my favorite song, you didn't put this on it, what about this song?" So, we had to do another live album and had to make it another double live album because there were so many songs that still the fans were requesting. For years they've been asking us for videos. They've been asking us for information on the band "What it's like to be in Manowar? What are the people like? Where's the concert footage?" So, we put together the DVDs. This is something the fans were asking for. The earlier records a lot of them were out of print and they were hard to find they were impossible to get on CD. The fans were asking us "How can we get these?" So, we took the time to re-master and re-release 3 or 4 of our early CDs. All that stuff takes time; to go through boxes and boxes of boxes of photographs and archives to select it, to organize it, to put it into some sort of script. The band has really been busy doing stuff the fans were requesting and if we didn't do it, it just wouldn't get done. That's what we've been doing for the last 6 years. In that time we also put together a studio and then only in a spring of 2000 that we really started writing this new album. So, the writing of the record and the recording of it actually took less than a year, to be hones with you but in between that time we've been busier than hell.

When you write new material do you think of your fans, of what they want and expect or do you satisfy your own goals first?

Well, there's an element of that. I mean, every time we put together a record there're our ideas of what it should be and than we also take into an account the ideas of the fans or things the fans have said in their letters or e-mails. A lot of fans were asking for something more epic, more like our earlier albums so, we took that into an account on this record. We made it a very broad album with a lot of influences and feeling of grandeur rather than just a straight heavy metal album. It's easy to play things that are faster and it's easier to write songs that are fast and heavy when you just play million miles an hour and you turn up the volume to 11. We wanted to show something a little more, I don't want to say experimental but a little more diverse. That's why a lot of songs on this record are powerful but a little slower or a little more delicately arranged.

Being called 'Kings of Metal' must carry tremendous pressure during song-writing process, how do you deal with that?

That's the title we were given by our fans really so, it's not something that we've taken upon like our own personal mentor. We don't write songs because we're pressured to it. I don't think we could write a better song just because we had to live up to a pressure or title. We write what we write because it's in our hearts. That's really a definition of what's really a true metal is. We don't write because somebody expects something of us like a record company expects a single or a hit. We don't write because the radio expects something that they can play in certain format. We don't write something because it's trendy or we think it's going to get on MTV. We write what's in our hearts and that's what true metal is all about. Whether we had that title or not it wouldn't make a difference in a music we're playing. It would still be Manowar, it would still be this same thing you would get. The fact that we were given the title by our fans is just an extra little you know, icing on the cake but it doesn't really affect who we are because we are what we are.

Since Manowar are 'Kings of Metal' who do you think qualifies as a 'Prince of Metal'?

There're a lot of bands out there that are playing stuff that's from their heart and there're a lot of bands that are not as successful commercially because they're doing this same thing we're doing. They're doing stuff that they love to do. I mean, there's a lot of good power metal from Europe and a lot of stuff that's really cool and pretty innovative so, I don't want to single anybody out saying anybody's better than anybody else because there's a lot of shit bands out there but there's a lot of people who are playing from their heart as well. And as long as that's what you're doing and as long as you're not writing from your wallet, you're writing from you heart then everybody out there who's following their sort of credo is pretty much alright with me.

I'd bet that almost every journalist asked you why the album seems divided into a calm side for the first half then a much heavier side for the second. So to avoid redundancy, just tell me what your definition of 'true' metal is, because with so much extreme music out there, the first half of your new album can easily be classified as 'rock' compared to some of those extreme acts out there.

Yeah, that's something I was talking about; having a diverse catalog of songs on this record. A lot of this stuff you might call a typical rock but first of all we wanted to show that heavy metal is really just a classical music played with guitars, loud guitars and drums. So, some of this stuff is classically influenced on this record just harkens back to that theory. I think the song that is the most rock-like is probably 'The Fight for Freedom'. The drum beat and the theme of that song is kind of like a parade march so it had to be an upbeat song. It had to be something that was reminiscent of a march of a parade type feeling because the song is about freedom and a fight for freedom and what it means to you. Not just being American but I mean people around the world are fighting for freedom everywhere. It's kind of a universal theme. So, I don't feel that in anyway we betrayed who we are. I think we just wanted to show that the band is not just about playing fast, loud and powerful, it's not one-dimensional, there're many sides of this band. There's depth in our songwriting and we wanted to really explore that on this album.

Manowar must be one of the most committed bands to its fans; almost every album in one way or another pays tribute to your loyal fans. Is 'Nessun Dorma' one of those tracks (paying tribute to your Italian fans)?

Yeah, in a way it is, in a way it is a tribute to our Italian fans. Originally we did that as a tribute to our Italian fans in 1997 at Monsters of Rock in Italy and the response was tremendous. So, in one aspect it is but on the other hand it's also a song that is a beautiful piece of classical music in opera and we just wanted to show the relationship between that and heavy metal because the music of that song is definitely, undeniably powerful. Again, it's just another side of the band and it's a reminder that heavy metal is about melody and memorable melodic moments not just percussion, it's not just about a drum beat like a lot of today's music is really build more around a beat. It's easy to play fast, play loud and play powerfully it's a lot harder to play something settle and to arrange something that's more just dynamic and deep in terms of its interpretation. It's a lot more difficult to do that. We really wanted to tackle that and show this aspect of our band, our songwriting and our love for this type of music, which really does kind of run through a lot of our heavier stuff even.

Is 'An American Trilogy' a tribute to a man (Elvis) who, like you, didn't give a shit about what people were saying and was doing his own thing and never compromised?

That's right. On one hand it's a very beautiful and powerful song and it's kind of relative to what's going on in the world today because there're a lot of wars going on, there're a lot of civil wars.... In someway it harkens to contemporary events but at the same time Joey is a huge Elvis fan, the band respects Elvis for exactly what you've said, the fact that he stood up for what he believed in, didn't let people to change him and he changed music in the process. It's 25th year anniversary of his death and we thought it would be a nice tribute to a man that we really feel contributed a lot to rock 'n' roll that eventually became heavy metal. It just fit on this record... we actually wanted to do this song on the "Louder Than Hell" album but it didn't fit with the concept of that record. This was a perfect time cause this album is more expansive, broad and dynamic... we're really happy with the way it turned out.

Do flags on the cover represent all the countries you've been playing or is there a different meaning behind it?

Nope. That's it. The flags represent countries we've been playing and along with the flags the fans, the people that we've been playing for. They are the warriors of the world. They are the reason we exist without them we would be nothing.

Why there are two different labels (Nuclear Blast in Europe and Metal Blade in States) representing Manowar?

To make a long story short it's just a business decision. We decided to go with who had the most advantages strategy for the band, that's all. It's just business stuff.

I guess you get used to headlining all kinds of festivals and tours but do you remember when the last time was that Manowar played as a warm up band?

Well, we don't really say a 'warm up' band... we've been special guests at some shows. I think it was 1997 Monsters of Rock in Brazil, we went on 3rd from the last I think. After us was Megadeth and then Slayer but to tell you the truth I actually prefer a lot of times in that slot because for instance, we just played in Spain and we went on stage at 2 o'clock in the morning, we were headliners, and I don't care what anybody says but at that point it's 2 o'clock in the morning after you've been standing in the sun for 12 hours and banging your head to the music the audience is just fatigued at that point. When you are a special guest you're really hitting the audience right at the peak of their frenzy. Monsters of Rock is one of those shows that I can remember and we just completely destroyed that place. Even the magazines that wrote about it said "Manowar came out and just kicked ass"... once we left the stage it basically was over. We're used to headlining but it really doesn't matter anymore. Let me put it this way, if you've never headlined before, when you're an upcoming band and just rising up basically all of a sudden when you are a headliner it's something to reach for, it's an achievement, you feel proud about it. At this point I don't care and I don't think the band cares when we're playing, it doesn't matter. Once we get on stage we give 110% and once we're done our fans are happy and the rest of the audience is happy and that's it, it's over.

It seems like that during your career even when you were up and coming band not too many bands wanted you as a supporting act anyway...

That's true; we've never done a major tour supporting anyone. There is a term in the industry called "The Giant Killer" and when you're the giant killer nobody wants to tour with you and play after. We've come all this way without ever being a support act for a major tour. We've done it the hard way, we've done it all ourselves.

Since now you have your own studio and even own label (Magic Circle Music) I don't think we'll wait another six years for the next release, right? Have you thought of putting Manowar on Magic Circle Music and become independent?

There is a possibility maybe in the future if it seems like the right thing to do but at this point I think we're happy with what the relationships that we have right now and as long as that's working for us there's no need to change that. Anything is possible in the future; the music industry is really right now in a stage of siege and a stage of major transition with this Internet bullshit, Napster crap. There's going to be a lot of things happening in the music industry that we can't even foresee just because of the way the thing are happening with computers, MP3s and all that... so, who knows what's going to happen but we'll continue making music.

Before we end, tell me what would you do if tomorrow there was no Manowar?

If tomorrow there was no Manowar I'd be looking for another band. I'd be looking for something else to continue playing and making music 'cause that's what I do.

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Among the bands in an overcrowded power metal scene, Nocturnal Rites are not just the latest addition to the never-ending list or another copycat of the style's predecessors. With "Shadowland", the 5th album under their collective belt, Nocturnal elevates their craft to the new heights and stands tall among its peers as one of the genre's best. By improving every aspect of the writing process and adding heavier and more aggressive production "Shadowland" marks the most complete album in the band's career; without a doubt it'll be their biggest album to date. Nils Eriksson (bass) gives us the inside view on band's history, details behind "Shadowland" and future plans...

Chris


My first introduction to Nocturnal Rites came with "Afterlife", and I'm no expert on Nocturnal Rites trivia. I'm saying this because I've heard that Nocturnal Rites started out as Death Metal act. What made you stop playing that type of music?

Wow, that was long time ago... We started out back in 1990 and back then the flavor of that time was death metal obviously, every kid was playing death metal back then... We kind of jumped on it and started doing it but the stuff we grew up listening to were heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and all those bands, so it actually didn't take us very long to sort of get around to how we sound right now. It happened gradually over the course of the years... it took us about 2 years to realize this is what we want to do.

Can you tell me a little bit about the members involved in Nocturnal Rites nowadays? Who's still left from the original band?

Fredrik Mannberg started the band in 1990 and I joined in 1991 so we're the core members I guess...

How did you hook up with Jonny Lindkvist?

7 or 8 years ago our drummer had a band and Jonny was singing in that band so, when Anders Zackrisson left we knew that we had a world class singer just around the corner. We just called him up, he came down and it worked out really well.

On "Shadowland" I feel that you guys took another step away from power metal and went towards a more classic, heavier American sounding heavy metal, was it intentional?

No, I don't think so. If you'd listen to our back catalog I think you're gonna realize that we've never done 2 albums that sound exactly alike. We always try to evolve and change with every album. We've never sat down and wrote songs intentionally and try to make them sound in a certain way. We just write whatever feels right at the moment and it usually turns out really well. I guess "Afterlife" sounded a little bit different than the other albums due to the fact that we had a new vocalist Jonny. Jonny's voice is a lot rougher than Anders' and I guess that triggered some kind of, I don't know, a thing for us as songwriters which is write around his voice a bit and stuff got a little bit tougher.

It seems like he sparked a lot more energy in you...

Definitely, it's like a new start to get a new guy singing. It's just inspirational to hear his great voice on the tracks that he did... everything was just so much easier when Jonny joined.

Since he joined each album is getting heavier and heavier. Do you think one day you might go full circle to the starting point and record a death metal album?

[Laughs] I don't think so. I mean, I think that new album has actually a lot more melody and a lot more sing along kind of stuff than the "Afterlife" did have. This new record is a lot more melodic than the "Afterlife" so it's probably more like step back then step towards death metal [laughs]. I mean, we never gonna start playing death metal again.

Yeah, I didn't think so anyway...

[We laugh]

You already pointed out a few things, but in your own words, what are the biggest differences between "Shadowland" and "Afterlife"?

I think we've managed to get some more melody into our songs and we've worked a lot more on vocal lines, vocal arrangements and also incorporated a lot more guitar work to the album, just get it more complete sounding album I guess.

Did you guys change anything in the way you work, rehearse or record since "Afterlife"? How does the typical birth of a song come about in Nocturnal Rites?

It's pretty much all this same scenario. It's either Fredrik or Nils Norberg, our guitarists, they come up with an idea or riff and than the 3 of us meet up in the studio, we have our own studio, and make an outline for a song. Once that's done we make a simple recording of it, we take tape home and I start working on vocal lines and lyrics. That's really how it works and it's been working like that for quite some time actually.

Although it worked out extremely well, I found your choice of Daniel Bergstrand's Dug-Out Studio very surprising. What made you choose his studio since up till now he always opted for much heavier bands (SYL, Meshuggah, Darkane)?

I think that's why we chose him actually. I think we've always been looking for a really heavy sound and someone that can make us sound like, we are much angrier than we actually are. I mean, we do realize that we play melodic power metal but still we want to sound and have a production to have your speakers burn [laughs]. We are a more aggressive band than a lot of the other power metal bands right now and I think our sound justifies that too.

Definitely, it's one of the things that impress me about your band, you are not just another sweet power metal band or a copy of Helloween.

I think that the fact that we are all very different is that we listen to different styles of music and often very heavy music. I still listen to death metal and even some country, Fredrik listens to a lot of thrash metal, death metal. Nils Norberg listens to a lot of fusion, jazz and all kinds of different stuff so, we're all very different and I think that shapes our sound.

From the front cover you look like a fully fantasy-inspired band but most of your lyrics seem to deal with different subjects, more down to earth ones. Is there any relation between the cover and lyrics?

We have some fantasy kind of oriented lyrics, not traditional fantasy in a sense of dragons and that kind of stuff but everything that we describe from real world is a fantasy in some way. My lyrics are not really describing the real world in that sense, real evens and real people they are my fantasies, a bit of science fiction and in that sense I guess we are very much fantasy oriented band lyrically.

What did you mean with the title "Shadowland"?

"Shadowland" is sort of continuation of "Afterlife". Shadowland is a place where you go right before you pass out. You can go either way and that's why we have that kind of dual landscape thing, one dark and one light side, you can go either way sort of a crossroads or something.

Looking back at your work are you completely satisfied with "Shadowland"?

I think so, but you know what? I don't listen that much to my own albums once it's done it's done. I can't change anything about it so I just leave it. I'm not that kind of guy that sits and listens to my own albums and go all critical on them. Once it's recorded, it's done, you move on. But to answer your question I think it's probably the best album we've ever done in terms of writing a complete album. In terms of all moods are expended on it and songs are ranging from aggressive, fast ones to slow and almost epic ones. I feel very, very confident that this album definitely is going to be our biggest album so far. It did very well in Europe and I hope it will in States too.

Since you don't waste your time on your previous albums what are you doing right now, already thinking of the new one, writing new songs, rehearsing, preparing for a tour?

In coming weeks we are doing some festivals in Europe, after that I guess we're coming back home for a while and we'll start planing our tour schedule for a fall. I guess that's really what's occupying our minds right now. We always have a few songs cooking so we've been working on some stuff that we have left from the last album plus a new stuff too. We never rest...

I guess it's the nature of heavy metal business, you either record an album or go on tour to stay on top of things...

Yeah, we do what we love so we're not complaining.

Thank you for the interview. Any final comments?

Give the album a try, hopefully you'll like it and someday I hope to see you all on tour in States.

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It is rare to find a grind album that is so dynamic and intense but without losing any of the killer brutality that this genre is known for. Visceral Bleeding haven’t been in the caper all that long as a unit, but with "Remnants of Deprivation" they have created one of the more interesting formulas for a metal album. However while not breaking down any major musical barriers Visceral Bleeding are certainly giving other well known names a reason to stand up and take a listen to some truly vigorous metal. Peter (or Laughing-Pete, for the amount of times he laughed during the interview) gives us the low-down on a few of the more intrinsic factors that make up Visceral Bleeding and the new album.

Jack ‘Odel’


Congratulations on "Remnants of Deprivation". In all truthfulness, "Remnants of Deprivation" is one of the best death/grind albums I have had the pleasure of listening to. You guys must be very proud of how "Remnants of Deprivation" turned out!

Thanks man, and Yeah! We are very happy with the way it turned out. Perhaps it is a little short, we actually had one more song almost finished but we couldn’t seem to get it done so I guess it will be on our next album.

Could you give me some background information as to how Visceral Bleeding got together?

Well, Niklas Dewerud and I are old friends and we were jamming a bit back in 96-97 and then we decided to do something serious with it and started to look for a perfect line-up. We tried out a few guitarists but none of them were serious enough. And then all of a sudden we met Calle in a pub here in Kalmar and started to discuss music and it turned out he was a guitarist and that he would love to be part of Visceral Bleeding. He played the guitar for a while but we couldn’t seem to find a bass player either so we decided that Calle was going to take care of that and Marcus, a very old friend of mine from Växjö joined in as Lead guitarist. Somewhere in the middle of all this Dennis joined in as singer and we felt right away that this was the perfect line up. Sadly Niklas has now left Visceral Bleeding, but we have found a perfect replacement in Tobbe "Rotten Boy" Persson.

Was the Visceral Bleeding sound an instant overnight achievement? Did you have to work and work to come up with a suitable arrangement, which would make Visceral Bleeding what it is today?

We have worked incredibly hard on all the arrangements. Trying out riffs and so on. Now we have a pretty good idea of what V.B is about so the next album will probably be much easier to write. But we have to stay focused so it doesn’t turn out to be a rip off of "Remnants", it has to be a completely new album if you know what I mean.

I gotta ask… Tobias "Rotten Boy" Persson plays drums permanently for Visceral Bleeding now. What is the story behind the nickname?

[Laughs]… Actually it’s from Spawn of Possessions song ‘Church of Deviance’. We started to call Tobbe "Rotten Boy" after we had been to the Sweden rock festival where he made sure to prove he didn’t deserve any other name! [Laughs] Drunk as a goat all the time and so on, we felt that he was completely rotten so… check out the gallery on the Spawn of Possessions site and you will find a picture of Tobbes tattooed leg.

Are you guys all Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel fans? Because I seriously dig "Remnants of Deprivation", yet I find it very, very hard to get into anything Cannibal Corpse has ever released upon the world.

I really really like "Vile" by Cannibal Corpse; perhaps not the best sound in the world but I love how much time they must have spent on arranging those songs. Of course we like Morbid Angel, especially the old albums, but we’re not super fans, except Dennis who is a Morbid Freak [laughs]. I listen to Monstrosity – "Millenium", Gorguts – "Erosion Of Sanity" and Suffocation – "Pierced From Within" a lot. Those three albums are pretty much the reason I’m playing the way I am.

Many friends that I know who have listened to "Remnants of Deprivation" are more impressed by the amount of tempo changes and variations within each single song you have composed. The death genre seems to be a little bit null in regards to this aspect. Do you have any thoughts?

We love to make the songs as "deranged" as we can, with tempo changes and so on. I think it’s just a way to keep us on the edge of what we can play. The next album will follow in those footsteps I can assure you, [laughs]. If you like that kind of death metal, you have to check out Spawn of Possessions upcoming album "Cabinet". It’s the sickest piece of music I have ever heard. Oh man… you have to listen to it like 5-6 times before you even understand what the hell is going on!

Vocalist, Dennis has a great voice, I can't remember the last time I heard a human bark like a dog, like in the track 'Butcher Knife Impalement' and other selected parts of "Remnants of Deprivation".

[Laughs]… Yeah, we call it "Burken". It didn’t turn out just like we had hoped, but I still think its pretty cool. And yeah, Dennis has a great voice, too bad he had a really bad cold when he did his vocals otherwise it would have been even more aggressive and brutal.

With a name like 'Visceral Bleeding' surely the press and feedback you would get back concerning the death theme may be rather negative concerning the sheer weight of death/grind bands out there with the death/gore lyrics and aspects. Is it possible to be a death/grind band and not specifically called 'Visceral Bleeding' or something of that nature? Don't get me wrong though, I don't have a problem with your band's name… but I think you can see where I am coming from.

I absolutely understand what you mean, and yeah we have had a lot of questions about why we don’t try to break any new ground with our lyrics and so on, but I think it’s a way to make the bigger picture, and the whole "image", more brutal. I definitely think it adds brutality and aggression to the band and the music.

I have seen some of Mike Bohatch's artwork around before, yet "Remnants of Deprivation" is the last album I would expect him to be working on, that being said the cover is very cool. It does wonders for the album having such good artwork.

Absolutely, and a big piece of that pie should go to Paul Bailey who did the amazing layout. Chris didn’t want us to have a typical gore cover so we had to make sure we found a picture that was really cool and dirty, you know? And I think we found one that is perfect for the album. I’m glad that we didn’t take a gore image, if we had there would have been thousands of questions about why… [laughs]

The banjo on 'To Disgrace Condemned'? What is going on there? That has to be one of the most innovative musical moves in death metal, which frankly there should be more of. Was this intentional, or were you just mucking around in the studio and thought, "what the hell we'll bring a banjo in on this part!"?

[Laughs] It was decided a long time before we hit the studio. We even rehearsed it. The whole song is a tribute to the movie "The Deliverance". See that movie and read our lyrics and you will understand it perfectly. [Laughs] It is a great movie, you will love it.

Again speaking of the banjo… is there a possibility for more unique instruments in future Visceral Bleeding albums?

You’ll never know, but there is nothing planned at the moment.

Was the song writing a collective band effort on "Remnants of Deprivation"? Also how do you go about writing the lyrics? Is there a real inspiration for impaling people with butcher knives or do you flick through the pages of the thesaurus and dictionary for some natty phrases (I know I would)?

I wrote most of the riffs on "Remnants of Deprivation" and Niklas and I arranged most of it. But of course we re- arrange a lot in the songs during rehearsal. When I write the lyrics I just sit down and think of a cool title for a song and then I just write around it. Nothing deeper than that I’m afraid.

Is there a meaning behind the title for "Remnants of Deprivation"?

Sort of, the song is about the extinction of life. And new forms that start to evolve. I don’t know if the picture is showing you the annihilation or the new forms evolving… I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder…

Does it pose much of a problem Retribute Records being located in Britain and you guys being a Swedish band, and based in Sweden?

No problems at all, we haven’t had a single problem with Chris. We have e-mail contact almost every day, so it has been working out great.

Just a final question. Have you guys got much live playing lined up to support "Remnants of Deprivation"? If you ever feel the inclination to travel to Australia for some live action, rest assured you will have one bloke to see you play! Thanks for answering these questions.

[Laughs] Cool man!! After the show I’ll buy you a beer man [laughs]… but seriously I don’t think we will do much touring on "Remnants of Deprivation", which is a shame, but we are at the moment moulding Tobbe to be a perfect Visceral Bleeding drummer and we are writing new material and so on.

Thanks for the interview and the great support, hail!

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Vomitory – the name speaks for itself. I don’t think anyone can affiliate that name with nicely cut boys playing melodic tunes with orchestras while girls in white dresses joyfully dance. Vomitory is all about pure, old-school Swedish death metal that grabs, kicks, bites and in the end spits out the useless living creatures that we are. With their new outstanding album “Blood Rapture” those four Swedes delivered so much brutality that it might be more than enough than half the Scandinavian bands could handle in their lifetime. I asked Ulf Dalegren (guitar) why they don’t play melodic death, if there will be violins on their next release and few other things you might want to know.

Chris


Congratulations on your outstanding new album! “Blood Rapture” took over my player and doesn’t want to leave...

[laughs] That’s great!

Your new album has been out for some time now; what are the reactions of the press and fans? Are you satisfied with this reaction?

Oh yeah, we’re extremely satisfied with the response. We’ve basically been reading reviews from European magazines mostly and it’s beyond what we were expecting. We knew it was a good album, we were very satisfied with it but reviews are just excellent. 9 out of 10s, 4 out of 5s are almost everywhere... we’re extremely satisfied and we hope it will continue that way.

Vomitory is one of the most recognized bands amongst Death Metal fans, how hard is it to satisfy them with a new release? Do you feel any pressure writing new songs?

No, we never felt any pressure. What speaks to that is when we signed to Metal Blade we joined the list of one of the best death metal bands in the world but we felt like we should go on and do our own thing, don’t try to change. The way we sound today is something we have been doing for many years. Vomitory is what it is and trying to change something is just getting into troubles. We write songs how we feel them and what we would like to listen to ourselves and be satisfied with. I don’t thing we’ll ever change our style or direction; Vomitory is Vomitory, it sound in a special way and it’s going to continue that way.

Since I didn’t have a chance to talk to you sooner I’m going to ask few questions from the past. After “Redemption” in 1999, Jussi Linna left the band. What happened?

Basically it just didn’t work out. There were difficulties with everything, not like we had fights or anything but things just didn’t work out. The four other guys in the band had pretty much same thoughts and same kind of ideas about things, how we should sound or how we should try to make songs. When it came to tours there were no problems between four of us but the fifth member always messed things up, he didn’t know anything, didn’t show up in time... those were small kinds of annoying things that happened all the time so we finally got sick and tired of it. We discussed all those problems with him and he told us that he’s going to change and everything is going to be better but when we went to the studio to record “Redemption” album it appeared to us that he wasn’t involved and he wasn’t a good songwriter or a singer either. If we wanted to continue the members in the band should be able to trust each other and be able to relay on each other and he was the guy who always wanted something else than four of us and because of it everything took much more time and energy. So, we told him to leave and I don’t think he understood why even though we've explained everything. Well, things work out much better these days when he’s not in the band and that speaks for itself.

Back then you also changed labels, how did you end up on Metal Blade and are you satisfied with the work they do for you?

We are extremely satisfied. It’s basically what we wanted at the moment and when it became the truth that was something big. The biggest reason why we wanted to be on Metal Blade were all those great bands that already signed with them like Cannibal Corpse, Vader, The Crown... you name it. They have all kinds of great bands and we wanted to be a part of that great label. Another big reason why we wanted to sign with a big label were possibilities of doing bigger and better tours. Those were basically the biggest reasons why we wanted to be on Metal Blade.

Are any members of the group involved in any other projects?

No, at the moment none of us is involved with any side projects. Vomitory takes up pretty much all of our time and we also have full-time jobs on the side when we are not on tour or in the studio. We are satisfied with the music we play in Vomitory and we don’t feel any urge to start anything new, we’re happy with what we do in our band. Maybe in the future...

Does each member of the band have an equal role as far as producing lyrics and the music?

Tobias (Gustafsson), our drummer is the main songwriter; he does like 85-90% of the music. He’s an excellent songwriter, he’s very talented and everything comes to him very naturally. Nobody complains about him writing most of the music; if he’s the best composer then why would we? Everyone in the band is responsible for something, for example, Erik and me are writing the lyrics and some music... like I said everyone in the band has an influence on our songs. Every song is open for a discussion and if something needs to be changed it’s changed. It’s not like Tobias writes 90% of the songs and the other guys can't say anything about it. Everybody is free to express his own opinion and make changes if needed so at the end everyone is satisfied with what we’re playing.

Most of the Swedish bands play some kind of melodic metal style, how did you stay away from this trend and remain playing pure and brutal death metal?

I think the main reason is that we don’t like melodic death metal [laughs]. We always wanted to play what we like ourselves. We play the style of death metal that we’re listening to and when this new trend started we weren’t interested in it at all and we didn’t want to be a part of it. We play what we like to listen to and we didn’t feel the urge to change that when melodic metal became popular.

With each release your music and production is getting better and better, what do you do every time you enter the studio that makes each album top the previous one?

Well, the first album “Raped In Their Own Blood” was recorded in a really cheap studio, we had really small budget and sound on that album really suffers but that was all we could afford at that moment. For the second one we received much bigger budget and we also got in touch with producer Henrik Larsson who we met at the tour few years back. He offered us a good deal and we recorded “Redemption” album that we were really satisfied with. We wanted to keep working with Henrik and for the “Revelation Nausea” there was no question whose going to be the producer. We wanted to develop “Redemption” sound a little bit further and from learnt mistakes from previous session improve every aspect of “Revelation Nausea”. On “Blood Rapture” we used two different guitar amps to create a little different guitar sound but than again we didn’t try to loose the sound from our previous releases. Most of the changes are in equipment ones, new drum’s microphones, amps... stuff like that. From the first album we did with Henrik we tried to improve and I think we succeeded.

Now that the new album is out what are your plans to support it?

We recently finished the European tour with Amon Amarth and at the moment we’re rehearsing for Wacken festival. We are trying as hard as we can to go to the States and do a full American tour but we have nothing planned at the moment. We have some people working on it to make it come true. That’s our biggest goal at the moment. I hope that it will become a reality but you never know how long it might take.

Would you ever experiment with your music (violins, female vocals or choirs)?

Violins? We don’t have room for them. [laughs] We had some sound effects like church bells or stuff like that but that’s just to increase the mood of our music. We also had some choirs in the background but we try to keep everything as simple and basic as possible because in the live environment you can’t use all that stuff without having computers. Two guitars, bass and drums that's all Vomitory is about.

And that’s the way it was meant to be...

I think so too. That’s what makes a band’s core to start with.

Thanks a lot for this interview. You can finish this interview any way you wish!

Thank you for your support and this great interview. If you’re into death metal check out our new album you won’t be disappointed. One day we hope to come to States and show all our fans how the real Swedish death metal is played.

Personally, I can’t wait!

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I love "Winds Blow Higher"; it was the most thought-provoking album of recent years for me. Sleepless is a band that has sprouted from two radically different Israeli musical visionaries. David Bendayan and Maor Appelbaum have two vastly different perspectives towards the music scene, yet both are able to find solace in the musical project known only as Sleepless. David represents the more mainstream and jazz avenues of music, while Maor prefers his recipes dark, brooding and extreme. I spoke to Maor on the phone in Israel and he was gracious enough to provide me with sufficient information to compile at least half a biography on himself and Sleepless. We talked long into the night...

Jack 'Odel'


How did Sleepless come together? I'm not too sure concerning the details of the Israeli music scene, was it hard to find someone else with the same sort of general approach to music? Were you friends previous to Sleepless or did you bump into each other at the local bar or something...

We knew each other from school and stuff, but we weren't in the same grade or anything. Once I took a ride with David's friend, because I wanted to go to a place and you know I asked him 'can I take a ride with you to this place?' and he was like 'yes' and we started talking. I was into sound engineering and David was working on some of his stuff, but he was not working on engineering anymore. So I gave him some tapes and I had some equipment, a few microphones and he had a bit of equipment, but it was really bad you know? Anyway, we had to work with some really bad equipment, a bad sound card, a bad computer and we did some improvising with music samples and the material turned out really well. All this improvising that David and I did actually turned out to be something very productive.

So from what you told me it sounds as though Sleepless was an accidental occurrence, is this correct?

Well it is like a big fusion of a lot of elements, some of them we were doing on purpose and then again some of them we were not doing on purpose. So what happened actually is that we were taking a lot of elements that we liked and a lot of elements we didn't like all that much. I come from a lot of different musical perspectives; progressive, gothic, metal; all types of metal you know? Doom, heavy metal, true metal, speed metal and also industrial. David comes from a more mainstream background and had some jazz stuff and I also like some jazz. However the point I need to make is that a lot of stuff influences me, even though I don't hear it. So in the end it (Sleepless) is between a progressive style of the 70s, like King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Genesis to the stuff with a gothic vibe, like Sisters of Mercy to more alternative stuff, like The Cure to more metal stuff, such as The Gathering and Arcturus to more avant-garde, like Devil Doll.

Now, you were speaking before that you did sound engineering. What musical background do you have for Sleepless? In terms of education... I mean "Winds Blow Higher" draws upon many, many varying musical styles and tastes.

I worked with sound engineering, a lot of years I was working with many bands coming to Israel and I was doing technical supervision for productions and gigs. I was doing lighting engineering, sound engineering, mastering, mixing, backlining. I work with a lot of bands when they come here (Israel); Alphaville, you know the guys who sing 'Big in Japan'? I worked with them as a technical supervisor and technical producer. I studied sound-engineering for 1176 hours and then I started working in studios as a sound engineer and after that evolved to broadcasting. I have a diploma of sound engineering. But mainly I have a lot of experience and I also teach audio engineering.

Is David in the same boat for background/education?

David is not educated in terms of sound engineering but he is self-taught. Both of us are not musically trained in terms of proper schooling. I play bass, but I don't know the theory of playing and theory of music. We just play. Also in sound engineering I started in PA and stuff like that, later on I studied it, but after I was already working on it, you know? Today I manage studios and I am an audio-consultant at the University of Tel Aviv. David is more into computers, but both of us really didn't study many instruments. I really don't have any theory background; I just played in bands from when I was younger. At the ages of 16 or 17, I was in a speed metal band so I really had to play well, everyone else was really competent, and I had to show what I could do. I worked hard to play well. Then I had a rap-metal band much like Anthrax style, Public Enemy influences... I played more in different projects and also I play other kinds of music. I have a solo album only on bass guitar and sound samples/effects, which is dark ambient, experimental and avant-garde.

Wow! What label is the solo bass album on?

I only have songs on compilations... but I have a finished album and have some labels already interested in it. I have one compilation in Israel, three compilations in the US and one compilation in Australia, also. And I have another project, which is not limited to bass guitars. The one that is limited to bass guitars is called Screening. [Maor then goes on to mention 5-6 projects that he is working on, but due to static I couldn't make out the names].

So Sleepless is your main thing?

Sleepless is a project, I have another main band of mine which is an industrial, techno, hardcore and metal band called Vultures and we have finished an EP of 4 tracks; 3 of which are songs and the 4th is a remix of song not appearing on the EP. Vultures is produced, mixed and mastered by me. Sleepless is mixed, mastered and produced by both of us.

Sounds great, let me ask how did the name for Sleepless come about?

Ahhh... because there is one song I really like by Anathema, I knew the music of Anathema, but I wished all the songs would be like that, you know? And the second thing is because I am always sleepless. Right now as we are speaking I have gone 24 hours without sleep.

Geez, why is that?

I don't sleep much, because I am thinking all the time...

You waste time sleeping?

I dunno... 5 years ago when we started Sleepless, we worked 2 years on the demo and after the demo I would come home from work and then I was the chief engineer of a broadcasting studio at a university in Israel. I would come home at 11pm and then I would work until 4am for promotions to get a label to sign us up. Then I would sleep maybe 3-4 hours before having to go to work again.

[Laughing]...ah ok...lovely.

Yesterday, in fact for 2 days now, I have been doing mixes for an album by a student of mine who does abstract/electronica stuff. I did 24 hours of mixes for this album and I have not had sleep since yesterday.

Speaking again of music backgrounds, what music do you listen to? The "Winds Blow Higher" album uses some harsh vocals, some jazz elements etc, etc.

Umm... I can tell you that a lot of stuff that I have done I did it without knowing, like Screening, when I worked on it 4 years ago and started thinking about it and I didn't hear that kind of music that Screening is, and did not know that such a sort of music existed. But I wrote that kind of music, and today I think there is a genre like that. So a lot of stuff if you do something without listening to a particular style of music, but still come up with that specific style, to me it says that the music comes from the heart. Sleepless is something that from my point of view Devil Doll were really inspirational for me. The first time I heard Devil Doll, I was like 'Wow! This is progressive but it is very dark and avant-garde'. Also of lot a metal, too. I am the main metal DJ here in Israel too and I got of a lot the stuff here in the clubs I play in, that wasn't played previously. Like King Diamond, Dream Theatre, Blind Guardian, Manowar, Overkill and even Rammstein. I hear a lot of kinds of music. David, as I said before is more mainstream, and some jazz stuff, and he has his own Hebrew stuff he is working on.

You have composed songs as long ago as 1997, yet "Winds Blow Higher" was released in very late in 2001, how come the time difference writing songs took sooooooooo long for you to release "Winds Blow Higher"?

What happened is this: the thing is when we started recording we had a computer that was only 166mhz or even less, the soundcard was really bad and the equipment was so bad. But we started recording and all of Sleepless was actually improvising and working on it. It took us two years to make a demo of five tracks. After that it was quite hard to redo and record those tracks because they had a very good vibe in them and it was hard to 'renew' that vibe. We worked very hard in improving and improving and doing better mixes and tweaking it to make it sound better. That music was written then and it is the same music as today. As time wore we bought better equipment and kept improving the sound quality. They are actually the same tracks, we worked on them very hard and did a lot of productions from the demo and to the demo and we got fantastic reactions from people. The reactions were great, we got 5/5 and 7/8, a lot of good reviews and we tweaked it to make it sound better.

If you and David had by chance only been able to stick with the poor sound quality of 1997, would you have gone about releasing a Sleepless album, despite the sound quality?

Well the time that we were shopping for labels in 2-3 year period, we sent more than 200 demos and all the labels said, 'yeah, this is great original music, but we are afraid to release it on our label, but is too risky because you are new band,' you know what I mean? So all that time gave us even more time to work on the sound quality even more.

So how did you come across working with The End Records? As I understand you signed to Raven Music in Israel?

I know Andreas, and he liked the music, but at the time he wasn't sure and when Raven released "Winds Blow Higher"; or when one label releases something then people can jump and work with it, you know what I mean? So what happened is a lot of people wanted it, but they were all afraid to release it and when Raven Music took it, (and Raven I also knew from a long time ago) it seemed they were not afraid anymore. In the beginnings we had recordings on cassette and it had a potential. In time we worked on the demo and improved. And the labels saw we were getting better and better. We got more Internet access and people became aware of it and we began to get more airplay, and reviews in magazines. So people were interested in what was happening and when Raven Music released it, it sold really fast and reviews poured in. And in the end, The End Records really liked it. And Sleepless fits with what The End Records was working with.

Do you listen to the other bands' music on The End Records roster? There seems to be a underlying element that you could draw a line through all the bands that form The End Records and come together with a single identifiable element that makes an The End Records band... do you agree? Like Arcturus and Winds...

Right... and Green Carnation.

Yeah, absolutely.

So we fitted as the mellow part, you know? Mellow, more jazzy, more dramatic, more melancholic music. Don't get me wrong, we have some peaks in our music but they are not really aggressive.

Does Israel provide a big market for your sort of music? As I said previously, I am unsure of the music scene over there, could you maybe let me in on a few specifics?

We don't rely on the Israeli market, but lately the sales have been really good. You see, David and I come from different scenes, ok? I was sure the Israeli scene could handle Sleepless, but there were a lot of people who were skeptical about us. I said it could be because that we are a crossover band; progressive, metal, gothic, avant-garde and alternative. For the metal labels we were too progressive; for the progressive labels we were too gothic, for the gothic labels we were too metal, know what I mean? For each one, we were too something else [laughs].

[Laughs] Yeah I know what you mean...

...So in the end the crossover is good because is it more fitting and original to various people. But at the beginning many were skeptical about the potential for sales from a crossover band in Israel. But the sales in Israel are very good if you compare it to a lot of other stuff. We have sold quite well in Israel and in the US, also. Europe too also, I hope. I don't know how well it is going in Australia though.

...Well at the moment I am actually trying to establish a distribution for The End Records and their bands to get distributed down under.

Great!!! This is very important to me because now with all the things with terrorism and terror everyday for us this is something to show the world and that we are suppressed by terror everyday that we still make music and don't preach.

Yeah well hopefully more quality music will be able to be heard in Australia.

I really respect that, it is important to me as an Israeli band. For someone that has sent 200+ demos and got no, no, no, no every-time. And for five years I have been working on Sleepless and I respect a lot that people can buy it outside Israel because this is something against terror. And this is something we can show that says, 'look we are an oppressed and troubled land, but we can still make music'.

Speaking of which, would I be overstepping the mark asking what the current situation between Israel and Palestine is like at the moment? Is it hectic for you living there?

I don't have a problem telling you that, the best thing I can tell you is that when you are here, you will understand. I can say a lot of stuff, but it won't help anything unless someone is here. If you are feeling endangered all the time and fear of bombing and shooting, then you are living a different life. You are afraid to ride the bus, afraid to go to the mall and to a pub. You know 500 meters from my house there were two shootings and a bomb? Also from my friends' and my girlfriend's house and when people go to pubs they explode. So I can't explain really to an outside person. The best way to explain is to tell to someone to try living in this situation. I can tell people this, but they will say, 'yeah, but why do you do not try peace?' I am not against peace, I want peace. But it is very hard to make peace when you are living in the way and people are threatening you, and they are not threatening soldiers but civilians. It is different, it is not war against armies, but war against civilised people.

It is terrorism, isn't it?

I can't explain politically what is right and what is wrong, but the best thing is to understand is if you see TV then it is not enough. To really understand you have to live in this situation.

Hmmm... from my point of view terrorism in any shape or form is not on. One only has to look back to the September 11 attacks.

Yeah for sure, look at September 11? Look what happened? Try and make peace with the terrorists and they will surprise you. They don't do it for reasons you can understand, suicide and such. Really something you can't explain. Mothers are sending their sons to it and it is not like they are gaining something for it. There are always extremists.

...And you can't reason with someone in this frame of mind.

And that affects our music because even though we don't show it aggressively, people don't feel right, you know? We feel very sad. We are trying not to put in under the table, but we are trying to live with it. I mean it probably makes us stronger, but we still fear a lot of stuff. And a lot of the lyrics that I write are general lyrics about relationships; friends, love, feeling under pressure, terror. And the music of Sleepless flows with these general lyrics.

Now as we were previously speaking about The End Records and their bands, do you listen to many of them?

I like the Green Carnation album, I can't remember if is their second or third album. Arcturus is a band that I like, actually I started listening to them after I was involved with Sleepless. When I was doing DJ work I remember there was the first black and green album from Arcturus [Maor is referring to "Aspera Hiems Symfonia"], but I didn't know Arcturus then you know? I really got to know them from their second album ["La Masquerade Infernale"]. Also when I heard Agalloch I really liked their material, too. I like the stuff on The End now, they have some really good bands, I am quite impressed with their newer signings, now. Very 'thumbs up'.

Yeah for sure, I don't really think The End Records seem to be coming out with any bad or mediocre records as of late.

Yeah, but to tell you the truth I am not really familiar with the older albums on The End Records. I heard some of it, I mean speaking again of Agalloch, I really like their new stuff, but have not heard the old stuff. Scholomance is a band I think I quite liked, also.

Have you heard any of Australia's Virgin Black?

Ahh... yeah, Virgin Black, yeah. Yeah I really liked them. They reminded me of a little bit of stuff like Devil Doll, but not in that kind of way, you know? I like many of their bands; Virgin Black, Winds, Arcturus, the new Scholomance and also Green Carnation, they had a very, very good album.

Yeah it was, wasn't it? Even though it was 60 minutes long for one song.

Yeah I actually like short albums, also. That is why "Winds Blow Higher" is a short album, it sounds long but it is not.

I think "Winds Blow Higher" is a great album, and it has a good running time [laughs].

42 minutes, 42 seconds [laughs].

How did you come by Travis Smith to do the artwork for "Winds Blow Higher", it is quite uncanny how many big metal names he has worked for; Opeth, Iced Earth and King Diamond to name a few... I imagine you would be pretty happy with end result?

We were looking for someone that could make a really good image that could fit "Winds Blow Higher" and Raven Music sent him a copy and he loved the music. So he made a first cover and it didn't fit, and then he made a second cover and it fitted well. It fit very much the concept of the "Winds Blow Higher" album. And we said 'great' and we liked it and from then on it stuck.

Does Sleepless work for the fans or for yourselves?

We can't work for the fans for one reason; when we made that music, we didn't know someone would like it, we just enjoyed making it. It was an improvisation. I respect working for fans and I respect working for yourself. I think a band, in one period or another works for the fans because they want the fans to enjoy their music. If someone is releasing something they are doing it for the fans, you know? Otherwise they would keep in for themselves, on their shelves, for example. But because this is a project a not a live band that is performing right now; hopefully in the future but right now it is hard as each song has live 5 tracks of bass guitar and a lot of keyboards. Right now it is a studio project, I don't want to rush and do a second album without the first one getting adequate attention.

...And maybe not the right impact that you were looking for?

Right. I would rather the people know "Winds Blow Higher" really well and expect a second one, not to make a second one to sell the first album. That is important for me. I am doing it for me. If I was doing it for the fans more, I would have probably already released a second album.

Does it phase you how many records you sell or is it just a bonus for the way you can express yourselves by other people enjoying the musical collaboration?

I won't lie to you. I care because I do want people to listen to our music. I don't care about the money, because I do not make money from Sleepless. You probably know today that musicians don't make money from it music. I don't make any money from it; I just put more money into my projects that get money out from them. I have spent a lot of money, you know? For 200 and something demos sent by mail, and phone calls and pictures and mastering for $400 and everything. That is quite a lot, you know what I mean? I don't expect to make money from Sleepless, it is how many people know about Sleepless and this is important for me. Even though I said that the music is personal, I want people to listen to it. I like to know that people feel connected to the music, connected to the lyrics and that they have a feeling with the "Winds Blow Higher" album. If it fits people's views, great. If it doesn't fit, well I am not going to change anything, you know? However, it is not an easy album to listen to, though. It takes time to listen to and understand the vibe of "Winds Blow Higher". It fits different situations in life; you sleep with it, you take a walkman and listen to it and sometimes you have to be in the right mood, you know?

Yeah I hear what you are saying... by chance do you listen to Ulver much at all?

To whom?

Ulver.

What is Ulver?

You know Garm/Trickster G. from Arcturus...

Ahhh...Ulver!!!!! Oh sorry about the pronunciation.

[Laughs] Don't worry it is probably mine.

Maybe... Actually I really got into Ulver quite recently. I knew about them earlier because they were a black metal band.

I was just thinking that their latest album; "Perdition City", gives off the same sort of similar vibe to "Winds Blow Higher".

The trip-hop one, you mean?

Yeah.

Yeah that is a good one. I got this album just under a year ago or something, maybe a shorter time... I can't really remember. A lot reviews I have received recently say they can see some connection between Garm and me, and the music and whatever. We have had a lot of comparisons; King Crimson, Sting, Arcturus, Ulver, Pink Floyd, soundtracks of music. Even once we were compared to Rotting Christ, Tiamat I can understand, but Rotting Christ I do not see the comparison.

Yeah, well the point I was making is that there is a common easy-going/laid-back theme that exists between "Perdition City" and "Winds Blow Higher", you know? I mean a lot of stuff is nihilistic and destructive in the music scene.

We have some peaks in aggression in our music, though, but they are not high peaks but don't stand out or in your face too much. Like in 'Winds Blow Higher' and 'Change', the middle part which is quite aggressive.

Do you have a goal for Sleepless? Where do you want to see you Sleepless in five years time?

I would like to release a few more albums with Sleepless. I am frank with you, you know? I am not saying 'blah-blah' or something. Of course I would like to release a few more albums out to the audience. We don't get paid as musicians; we have our day jobs. Music is a hobby for us.

"Winds Blow Higher", seems to follow a concept of reality; human emotion, time, space and travel all seem to be strong elements that make up this album. I am right here?

Yeah, for sure. It is like dreams, visions, sounds that we hear, entities that we think about. Lyrically everything is very general, and everything has a lot of views and there is more than one side to a story. There is stuff about relations, the meaning of time. Future, Past and Present also. And musically I think the vibe fits very well with the music also.

Do you have a favourite track from "Winds Blow Higher"?

It is not that I have a favourite track...

...Maybe a favourite part or section?

I like the instrumental 'Rain', because it fits well with the song after which is called 'Moments'. Each track symbolises something, and then in the same manner each track symbolises everything.

It fits well together.

Yeah it is like a whole concept. I like how it starts and I like how it ends.

A lot of releases I listen to nowadays are seemingly trying to incorporate everything at once. It almost as though they are compilation albums with the lack of direction and focus they show. I don't think Sleepless does that. I think this is one of the best elements off the "Winds Blow Higher" album.

Yeah it is like a trademark, each song has the work of Sleepless. It doesn't matter if it is upbeat, slowbeat, in your face, aggressive, more ambient; you always feel that this is Sleepless. Always it is important to have the signature for us.

On "Winds Blow Higher" the bass seems to be mixed extraordinarily high into more or less all of the songs, providing a subtle backbone to each song and maybe giving them a launching platform, is this a continuation we will see for future Sleepless albums, or just a one off?

Generally "Winds Blow Higher" has a lot of tracks of bass: lead and rhythm bass and various playing techniques and fretless, fretted, distorted and fuzz bass. There are many different kinds, some of which I told you sound like an acoustic guitar or samples or whatever. The beginning of 'Strings' has [Maor makes a humming/clicking noise]; that is bass, I don't know if you knew that? Did you notice that it was bass?

No, I didn't notice that it was bass, no.

Also, some of the noises of 'Change' like the [Maor rolls his tongue] 'prring' sound. This is also bass. There are a lot of bass guitars, but they don't do regular stuff, so some people will not recognise that it is bass.

Was "Winds Blow Higher" an album based around bass?

It depends, the bass has a lot in it such as riffs and like that. Sometimes the bass is added on and sometimes it acts as the backbone. Like 'Solitude' it is the backbone of it. Whereas in songs like 'Do You Remember?' the bass has been added on. But then again on the instrumental track 'Rain' it is the backbone, there is heaps of fretless bass and a few fretted bass. But generally speaking the bass does play a big role in the structure of "Winds Blow Higher". The end of 'Lying In Wait' does have many tracks of bass, the jazzy part has four or five tracks of bass. I also played guitar on three tracks, and I am not a guitar player.

So the guitar you played was just self-taught?

I took a guitar and probably started playing the notes at the right time [laughs] for the tracks, 'Lying In Wait', 'Change' and 'Winds Blow Higher'. In 'Solitude' and 'Sands of Time', I bought in an electric guitar player, and on 'Rain' and 'Moments' we bought in a classical guitar player. On the track 'Strings', we have a saxophone player and finally on 'Solitude' there is a fluted saxophone player.

Now being that Sleepless is just you and David, do you think there is a possibility of becoming more than a two piece band?

I believe we will always be a two piece band because it is very hard to make this music already and to give it the right vibe. But we may probably have some guest musicians in the future, like in "Winds Blow Higher". We work the best this way.

Yeah I agree, a clash of four differing opinions wouldn't work at all well...

...Exactly. We already know what we want. It took five years to release "Winds Blow Higher", and we understand each other's temperaments and taking into account arguments over specifics and such...

It would probably hinder and detract more from the next album if you had more creative minds inside Sleepless. Speaking of a new album have you been working on any new lyrics/compositions for a new EP/album?

We have some stuff, I have some new lyrics and some new ideas for songs, but right now we are basically working on increasing awareness of "Winds Blow Higher"; we are pushing the album out more and when the time is right we will come back to the studio. It depends on the feedback we get. When I know a lot of people listen and like "Winds Blow Higher"; it will give more motivation to start work on something. Also, we have got writer's block after you release a lot of emotion, in which "Winds Blow Higher" did. It will take a little time. We have some stuff and ideas that we worked on before the album and we have some stuff that we worked on after the album.

Are you happy with the press and feedback that "Winds Blow Higher" has received back from fans and press?

Yeah very much, I am very happy. If Sleepless will grow then great because I will be interested to see if more people know about us I would like to see opinions; both good and bad on the album.

Any last words? I am indeed, very grateful to you for answering these questions for me, Maor. I await a new Sleepless album soon!

Ahhh... 'My Last Words', that is a nice song from Megadeth. [Maor starts singing the Megadeth song].

[Laughs] I am not a big Megadeth fan.

[Laughs] Just joking. I hope people will take the chance to listen "Winds Blow Higher", those already have listened to the album, I hope they keep listening to the album for years to come, because it is a timeless album.

And I am sure those people hope you bring out another album soon.

I would be interested in doing that, and hopefully that will happen. Thank you very much.

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The ever-increasing leakage of goth/darkwave bands into a crowded and sometimes confined metal genre is always a welcome addition. The Wounded are one such ‘intrusion’ into the dark recesses and abyss of an individual mind and it is through their newest album “Monument”, they successfully probe and stimulate each cavity that a person may be hiding away from. Marco V.D Velde, co founder of The Wounded and responsible for the impressive emotion-conveying vocals pours open his comprehensive mind to my invading questions, providing a bounty of insight into The Wounded and how they tick...

Jack ‘Odel’


Thanks for answering me these questions about The Wounded. How did The Wounded come together? Did all the members of The Wounded share one unique musical vision that they needed to thrust upon the world or was it a more gradual thing when forming this band?

Andy and I started after playing in several bands and The Wounded at the end 1996. We wanted to play the music we liked ourselves and make a bit a combination of it all. After a while we discovered that I should be responsible for the music and the lyrics and the other guys more for the managing thing. Not for reason that the mighty Atomic Jedi described in a review on Metalbite, that we wanted to do something totally new. He was totally wrong (Atomic Jedi), and I don’t understand how people can talk that way about a band for which they don’t know anything about, a cheap shot if I may notice. We crafted the band for the love that we had for 80s music, the new wave, gothrock and the metal from the early days. Sometimes it’s hard to hear someone criticise your creativity, especially when I know that some of the songs were written on an emotional base like a death in a family. I know that it may make him laugh, but sometimes maybe a reporter should have more respect for the creativity, the time and work that is behind an album. But of course someone has the right of an opinion, but a good reporter should know that the best period of the band is almost never is on a debut album, and it is stupid to compare a band like us with albums of Anathema and The Cure at a time when they had a lot of money to spare on both instruments, the album and mixing it...

What music experience does each of the members of The Wounded possess? Did you guys do any professional training, past band experience...?

As musicians we don’t have training at all, I played in a few bands before The Wounded like some other members of the group. So we put all our experiences in the band. It is obvious that we are not the best musicians in the world, but that is not the main thing in The Wounded. It is about playing music with the heart.

“Monument”, is your newest album and the second to be released by Cold Blood Industries. How did The Wounded come by Cold Blood Industries, it seems to be a more metal oriented label than what may suit you guys...

Well there is more in the world then metal and so I think it's better for a label to sign also other bands then only metal bands, to maybe create a more open market for yourself. And of course there is still a lot of metal in our music, so it isn’t something from another planet for them (Cold Blood Industries). We had a few interesting deals from other labels but we signed up with Cold Blood Industries because they live quite near where we live so the communication is much better. It turned out that we became a bit more like friends after a while. Which was better for the communication also. The best reason is that Cold Blood works really hard for their bands and the main thing is that your not a number 16 band on the band list. We are seen as the guys from The Wounded. Of course Cold Blood also want to get better financial turnover, but the main thing is that they do it for a love of the music, until now that is all we need and so we there is more trust.

Speaking of “Monument”, are you happy with how the album turned out? I mean the production is beautiful, the mix of each instruments are all spot on and your vocals get their deserved recognition by sitting quite high in the production mix.

Yes, we had much more money, in my opinion the songs were much better and more mature and we had an open-ended period in the studio to record. I had much more time to record my vocals and I recorded my voice totally at night because I could get in song more then. And it is great to work in a professional studio now.

To someone new to the world of The Wounded, how would you describe yourselves and the new album “Monument”?

Emotional and bombastic music with a new wave gothic /rock, metal base. With autobiographical and psychological lyrics.

You feature a lot in metal publications, yet aren’t really metal. What is your perception on the whole metal scene? Does it phase you being slotted into a metal spectrum along with the Niles, the Soilworks and the Dimmu Borgirs, when The Wounded is clearly not a metal band?

But we were also not a non-metal band. You know I listen a lot to metal besides the other music? I have listened to metal from the time I was a kid. My first real metal album that I bought was “Scream Bloody Gore” from Death. I still like the Scandinavian bands like Entombed and the old Carnage, Carcass and Dismember. They really are the main reason that I started to tune my guitar a lot lower. The death metal gods Morbid Angel still rule. Also 16 Horsepower, Marillion and Placebo I like very much. It doesn’t matter to us really who likes us. For now were mentioned in metal zines, gothic zines and pop zines, so it is okay to get attention from so much different kinds of zines and people.

I was particularly impressed with “Monument” in how your vocals were definitely the detail in which you guys made of point of. It seems that the various keyboard/guitar/drum elements of “Monument” were all arranged to be perfect in harmony and create a suitable backdrop for you to give the lyrical message across.

We write our music before we write the song lines, so maybe that is an answer to your question. When I write the song lines I get in the character totally, so that is why this intense and deep way of singing gets in, I guess.

Is The Wounded in a general state of apprehension and negativity towards the world? On songs like ‘Red’ and ‘Chaos Spectacle’, you have a more than pessimistic view upon the world we all live in.

The lyrics are in a way always autobiographical. I see writing my music and words as a form of therapy. To write away my daily frustrations and fears. But it is not that I am depressed all the time. I see a lot of beauty still in this world, but it is hard to stay positive and live your days with hope. Who can be positive when two planes crash in two towers full of people just because some people believe something other different to others? And of course America isn’t free of terrible things done in history, but that goes for a lot of countries as well as America. Just to kill innocent people is so wrong and most of all scaring. ‘Chaos Spectacle’ was written a few days after 11 September, I think it opens up totally to what I felt at that time. Who can be positive when two countries threaten each other with nuclear weapons?

‘Garland’ features some interesting sound samples in the form of rifle and automatic weapon fire. What is the reason for this? I personally think it adds a very tasteful flair to an already accomplished song. Was it meant to hammer home the point you are making that nothing lasts forever and everything must come to an end?

‘Garland’ is a song that goes about war. It is from when I was a kid and also I am interested in war, especially WWII. Not so much the strategies, but more the mental side of warfare. I made even a study as a hobby out of it; and while interviewing older people I got a sense and an image of what they felt and what they experienced. Additionally I live directly at the German border and I got the chance to hear stories from both sides. The youth nowadays cannot imagine what went on during those days. To live each day in total fear. ‘Garland’ is about the last few thoughts of an individual who is in the middle of war. At the time he dies. I tried to imagine, based on the years of reading and talking, what it should do to me and what I would think. Of course I can only imagine but I must say that on 11 September I maybe got a glimpse of the fear and terror in those early days.

Is The Wounded a necessary part of your life and an avenue to express your obvious talents and abilities or more of a fun hobby or recreational activity from which you make a few cookies ($$) from?

If it was about money I think we should think of other more financial satisfying hobbies. Because for now we loose more money than we get. But it is the experience and the good discussions that I have with the fans about my lyrics and our music that we see as payment. Money cannot compared with the time that you stand playing in front of 300 people who dance on your music, sing with you the lyrics that you wrote in your bedroom and especially the times, when I even see people cry at our music. There is no bigger satisfaction then that, when someone says to you that your music helped him or her.

What happened to the harsh vocals from “The Art of Grief”? Why did you get rid of them? Was there a point in The Wounded that you guys felt they were not contributing towards the music of The Wounded anymore?

Well, it is simple, the new songs were not really asking for it anymore. But on the next album they may easily appear again. I see a lot in the harsh way of singing, but there is a lot of aggressive in it.

On the last page of the “Monument” booklet are printed the words ‘FAIL TO ME, AND BECOME UNDONE’. From reading this one can decipher a varying amount of meanings. Is this an open ended statement that people can perceive how they want to view it or does it have a special significance or message that you want to portray to your fans?

I wish not to explain everything I write, simply because I would like that the listener uses also his own imagination and interpretation. But as it may sound as a cheap answer I will try to explain, okay? ‘Black Heart’ is a song about becoming beware of your guilt and the things you have done bad in your live. I had a time when I was looking at my own life a lot, and discovered that I became scared for some of the things I did that were not too good. ‘Black Heart’ is about the time you become beware of that and totally dislike yourself for that. ‘Fail to me’ is the way you see your self doing the bad things, like fail to me is to fail to myself and so doing the things that I would not normally do, doing the things that totally disagree with the morals of your individuality. When you fail to yourself you betray yourself in a way. So you loose yourself from yourself and so you become nothing. So you become undone... It is not being put in the booklet as a message like “hey you, beware!” But, more as a line that the rest of the theme of the album is based on. Guilt, aware, fear, judgment, death.

Are you going to be doing or done much touring for “Monument”?

We play a lot nowadays, particularly in Holland and Belgium. We plan to do some in Germany, but for the future I don’t know anything yet, as there are plans for a European tour. But that also depends on the fans and on the clubs in other countries.

On the biographical sheet provided by Cold Blood Industries it says you were going to record a video of ‘Billet Doux’, did this go ahead? And if so how did it turn out?

Yeah the video-clip was broadcasted in a few different countries, but I do not know how much and where really. But it turned out to be great for us. A real video-clip , who doesn’t want that?

Thank you again for answering these few questions, Marco. I hope The Wounded remains to be successful in the future!

Hey, thank you for the attention and the time for this interview. I really appreciate it.

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Finally, after more than a two-year break Sentenced comes back and maybe while not as suicidal as they used to be, they are still comprised of enough misery soaked into their latest opus that it will make you think about death more than ever before. Stronger than ever and with excellent compositions, "The Cold White Light" is filled with their best material to date and Sentenced stands tall as 'The Northernmost Killers'. Vocalist Ville Laihala reveals his deepest, but not always darkest thoughts.

Chris


Let me start by asking how close was Sentenced to a break up? After "Crimson" the atmosphere in the band wasn't the most pleasant...

No, I guess we played too many shows, supporting the "Crimson" album and at the end of the last tour we did with In Flames we started fighting with each other and things got kind of ugly so it was either we split up or take a long break. In total we had 7 months off not being in contact with each other that much.

It looks like the break did a lot of good for a band because in my mind "The Cold White Light" is the band's best album to date. It seems like you were able to generate a lot of energy and great ideas because of it [the break].

Yeah, you can actually hear on the album that the band is well rested: there are new ideas lyrically and musically and some even humor is back, us not taking us too seriously. The whole album feels kind of fresh to us; it's like a new start.

Where you so happy to get back together so that it turned out to be the least suicidal-oriented Sentenced record?

[Laughs] I guess so. I mean there is still some depressive elements, there is a song called 'Excuse Me While I Kill Myself', but it's not meant to be taken seriously. We are presented as a suicidal band but I think we are much more than that, we've always been much more than that and that's why that song was taken a little bit over the edge.

Uncharacteristically you even found some room for a black humor, what is up with the mentioned 'Excuse Me While I Kill Myself' or 'The Luxury Of A Grave'? Is it a parody of the Sentenced past?

We like to joke about stuff that you shouldn't joke about, death and stuff like that. It's a way of laughing at death, life and most importantly laughing at us on those songs and not taking everything so seriously. We joke a lot, our humor is pretty dark and you kind of want to express that in our music sometimes.

With band's "The Northernmost Killers" tag most people must think that Sentenced is the most pessimistic group of guys, who just think of the varying ways to get out from this world. Obviously impossible cause you'd be dead by now, but just to set the record straight tell me how are you guys in real life?

I guess we try to enjoy life like everyone else we're not living the way that our lyrics are. For us it's just much easier and natural to write about that kind of stuff. I don't know why but it just comes out easy. Anyway, we are like everyone else. I mean, of course we are from Finland where people tend to have a low self-esteem and we have a down way of looking at life, but still I don't think of myself as a suicidal person, at least not yet anyway.

Each album seems to go into a little softer sound direction and although few tracks have a real nice kick, overall "The Cold White Light" belongs more to rock than metal. Is this the direction you want to go?

We don't really want to limit ourselves to anything. We just want to do what feels right for that time. Next album could be heavier or softer but it doesn't mean we'll go into softer songs and we'll know already what we're going to do with the next one. It's just a way we do music I guess.

One thing I can't stress enough is variety of songs on "The Cold White Light". "Crimson" was a great album, but all tracks seemed to be in exactly same mood, type of lyrics and sound. This time you go from rocking, energetic tracks to more melancholic, did you have this in mind while writing this material?

Not really. Because we had this long break everybody wrote the music on their own, at home just playing stuff with a guitar... and when we started rehearsing we found out that the songs are quite different from each other. It didn't bother us in any way we just gathered them together. I think it's more interesting when the album has 10 different songs rather than one song going through the whole album anyway.

A few things away from the band, do you follow career of former Sentenced vocalist Taneli Jarva (The Black League) and if so what do you think of his new band? Do you guys still keep in touch with each other?

Yeah, we're pretty good friends and we know what they're doing. I'm not really a big fan of their music; it's just not my cup of tea but they are cool guys.

Either I missed something or you guys are 100% dedicated to Sentenced only. I can't remember any member playing in any side projects. Does anyone of you have something on a side?

Yeah, I have another band and we're actually recording an album at the moment. I guess it's going to be out in October but I'm not sure yet.

What's the name of your project and in what music direction is it going?

It's called Poison Black and we're going into heavier direction. I'd like to think it's a mix between Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost and Type O Negative. I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years now and I still have an ambition to do that, so I play the guitar in this band. Zakk Wylde is my god with a guitar... You'll hear it.

What do you think of the fact that your new album was available on the net before the release date? In the future do you see this as a reason for bands to go broke and eventually break up?

Yeah and record companies too, maybe. I mean, we have to be away a lot because of the type of the music we do and we'd like to get paid for it cause we have to eat also... You have to put out promo CDs for reporters before you release the album but there can be just one asshole who puts it on the internet and one day it might get to the point that no company will give any promos, just samples of the songs...

Which will not work for the journalists because it's pretty hard to make out the atmosphere and structure of the album based on few second samples...

I know. We'll see what happens...

Back to "The Cold White Light", after so many years in 'the dark' where did this fascination of 'White Light' come from?

There is just a twist of positive feelings from us throughout this whole album and I guess 'Light' symbolizes hope, at least for me. I don't know where does it come from but I became a father 10 months ago and I have a pretty good reason to see some hope at the end of the tunnel.

Congratulations!

Thank you very much.

Since everything looks so un-Sentencedly (I think I just come up with a new word) bright, now let's try to switch moods... did you have any problems, anybody pissed you off during the recording process? Anything will do... anything bad.

I hate to do vocals...

Really? You don't sound like one...

[laughs] I mean I hate it because I'm never happy with anything I do. We were recording in this pretty small studio in our hometown and the room where you sing has this door straight out from the studio. When I sang I felt like I didn't quite get it so I went through the door straight to my car and drove home, while the guys were thinking that I'm still in the booth. They were asking me, 'do you want to try one more time?' I was already on my way home. You suffer for one month but after that when you listen to the whole album you feel pretty good so it's worth the suffering.

What are the tour plans? I guess you won't be planning as many shows as after "Crimson" to avoid another downfall or are you? After all it turned out in an awesome new album...

[laughs] I guess, all together we're going to tour for like 3 months. It's going to be a lot but it's almost 2 years since we actually played the shows and we're looking forward to it. We're going to play some festivals here in Finland and some club shows and festivals in Germany. In September we're going to tour with In Flames in North America and in October we'll do a five week long tour in Europe and before Christmas we're going to come back to America.

Two tracks on "The Cold White Light" have titles in you native language. I'm not going to try to pronounce them but can you tell me what do those titles mean?

The first one, the intro of the album ('Konevitsan Kirkonkellot') means 'The Church Bells of Konevita'. Konevita is a historical place in Finland and it's old traditional Finish folk song and we just wanted to put in on the album cause it's really Finish and it fits to our music. This other song 'Everything is Nothing', the Finnish sentence actually translates to 'Time Buries the Memories'. The sentence is kind of a phrase in Finland so it's kind to hard to translate and 'Everything is Nothing' is the closest to the whole meaning of the phrase.

What song is your personal favorite from this album and why did you select 'No One There' as a first single to represent the new release?

We didn't want to put out a typical catchy rock song like everyone else is doing and there isn't a song that gives you a full picture of the album. We all like 'No One There' so, we kind of figured lets put out that for a single and maybe it's not the wises thing to do commercially but we don't really give a fuck about that. If it pisses people off at least they are talking about us. It's promotion anyway. My favorite track is 'Blood and Tears' it's one of the best tracks we've ever written and 'Everything is Nothing' is pretty personal song for me, I like that also. The album is still so fresh to me I like them all.

Since everything went so smooth and Sentenced turned out to be bunch of happy guys you have to end it on the dark side...

You mean kill myself?

[We laugh] No not you, the interview.

I think it can't get any darker than that. [laughs]

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Autumnblaze recently shot through the Metalbite office (at least for me anyway) with extreme competence in their composition at mood and melody within the fields of EMO-rock. "Mute Boy Sad Girl" is the newest Autumnblaze record on the market and according to me an enthralling experience in the dark and aggrieving arts of a romantic work. Alvar Eldron (Markus Baltes) from Autumnblaze recently took a momentary lapse in his wailing pessimistic moods to scribe a few answers to some muddied questions...

Jack ‘Odel’


I love the new album, "Mute Boy Sad Girl", it was my favourite album that I listened to in the month of May. Could you start off by talking a little about how the concepts for "Mute Boy Sad Girl" came together?

Well, thank you for the compliments. As for the musical concepts I can say that I've gathered a lot of song ideas over a period of several months. Then, when I had enough song material for the album, I began to work out the lyrics and the vocal lines, too. This time I wrote all lyrics within one month so they are even more intimate and closer than before. But in the end the development of Autumnblaze's music is always a floating process without barriers. The music is drifting on invisible roads, so to speak...

What is the idea behind Autumnblaze's name?

Oh, I have chosen that name five years ago and the idea behind isn't so important. But I've been often inspired by the autumn. Many beautiful and tragic things happened in that season and Autumnblaze simply stands for the diversity and the emotional evolution of the indiviual. That's my present definition of our name. Maybe I'd tell you something different if you asked me a few weeks later. [laughs]

You are a German band, yet you write in English. Has your penetration into the music markets been more successful in German or English speaking countries?

I guess we have more success in Germany at the moment because we have a German label and the distribution is fixed on the German market more than other countries. But Prophecy Productions does a great job and they are always working hard to improve the distribution in other countries. I think it's important to reach as many people as possible and I wish that the Australian music lovers get the possibility to listen to our albums, too.

I've seen Autumnblaze get many positive reviews in a lot of metal press around the globe (obviously including us). Autumnblaze is not a metal band, do you think it is the label connnection via Prophecy Productions that has enabled you to work quite exclusively within the metal scene?

Of course, Prophecy Productions started more or less in the metal scene but now it becomes more and more an independent label with a strong weightiness on individual and trend-setting music. I don't know how Prophecy Productions is seen in other countries but in Germany they have the reputation of a small, exclusive and precious company and it's growing with the success of its artists.

The success of Autumnblaze infiltrating through the metal market is obviously unquestionable. Do you hope to succeed through other music genres as well? Where else do you guys get good exposure?

Well, we also have good response in wave, gothic or alternative magazines. I guess, Autumnblaze can't be seen as a metal, wave or gothic or alternative band but the different press is important to promote the band. Actually, I don't think too much about such things. I just want to concentrate on my music. That's all.

I imagine the reactions towards "Mute Boy Sad Girl" have been quite glowing. Are you happy with how things have turned out so far?

Yes, of course. Press reactions all over the world are great and promising but as I already said these things are not so important. It's flattering and good for the band promotion but not for my life. Just words and perspectives, so to speak.

Did the outcome of "Mute Boy Sad Girl" turn out the way you wanted? Would you have changed anything specifically about it, with a few months worth of hindsight?

One would always change something after some weeks or months as one is never 100% satisfied but you need the mistakes to learn again and to make the next production better. With "Mute Boy Sad Girl" I am quite satisfied but there are many things to improve for the future. But that is secret. [laughs]

Can you give me an idea about what sort of stuff "Mute Boy Sad Girl" deals with in a lyrical sense?

It's about relationships, fears of life, music... about things that are important for me and how to deal with difficult emotional situations in life. For each one who is interested in lyrics - read them. I won't explain too much.

What gives you guys inspiration to continue writing albums for Autumnblaze? Is it what deal you with on a personal basis each day or more from bands that come up with an interesting concept for an album that spurs you on to create songs?

It's everything. I need music to breathe and when I've written a song or a lyric, I am a happier person. The inspiration is given - it's everything that surrounds us, every word, every smile, every look, every dream...

Do you tour much for Autumnblaze? If so how many touring musicians do you need to help fill in the gaps, if any?

We've started playing live this year and including me on the vocal front we have four musicians (Jochen - guitar ; Carsten - Bass ; Michael - Drums) and the samples are about on mini disc. It's a very dynamic line-up with a lot of potential and we'll do some festivals in the summer and in autumn we are on tour with label-mates The Third and The Mortal. I Hope we'll have a great time together.

What would be your top 5 records of all time?

This Empty Flow - "Magenta Skycode"; Katatonia - "Discouraged Ones"; The Cure - "Bloodflowers"; Red House Painters - "Retrospective"; Sunny Day Real Estate - "The Rising Tide".

But I could also name five other records.

Is Autumnblaze a full time job for you? Do you work besides Autumnblaze? It seems most bands need to work nowadays to put food on the table in addition to their musical careers.

Autumnblaze isn't a full time job at the moment but music is a full time job for me. I also work on other musical projects and I am constantly thinking about music, songs or things like that. Unfortunately I can't really live from the music alone but I work hard to do that sometime in the future, but it's a question of patience and belief.

Why does Autumnblaze consist of only two members? Has it always been that way? Surely the workload must get pretty heavy when it comes to cutting an album...

I do all the songwriting and also I write all the lyrics for Autumnblaze. Schwadorf is my helping hand in the studio and it's always a pleasure to work with him and his skills. One could say that Autumnblaze is on the one side Schwadorf and me, and on the other side the live band. Both sides I control so the Autumnblaze vibe will never fade. [laughs]

I don't imagine you would have too many ideas brewing for a new album sometime in the next 2 years or so... or I am wrong?

Oh, don't think so. [laughs] In July we are recording a few new songs for a mini album to be released at the beginning of the following year and I suppose the next full-length album will be recorded in spring or summer 2003.

Now judging from some of the somber vocals and overall depressive aspects of "Mute Boy Sad Girl", would it be a wrong assumption to make that Autumnblaze as a collective unit are pretty down on life and somewhat pessimistic in judging things? Would that be a fair statement to make, or I am completely off the mark?

"Mute boy Sad Girl" shows just one side of me. It would be wrong to transfer it to my whole personality. I guess I am a very optimistic person with lots of dreams and visions and I have a very sick sense of humor. You will see that because I am currently writing on a very humorous and grotesque story and maybe it'll be translated into English sometime.

That said, will Autumnblaze ever record an upbeat, happy and ultimately enriching album that consumers will put in their CD players and will be instantly joyous in the happy lyrics that Autumnblaze write? The reason I say that is because it seems so easy to write more morose and disheartening music as a pose to the happy kind. Doesn't anybody get happy anymore??? What is wrong with humanity!?

I am just someone who loves melancholy and the feeling of yearning in music. Autumnblaze isn't a depressing band. We handle with deep emotions and there is always a little hope in our songs. But to answer your questions - I think you can say that if the music is happy mankind will be happier. I can only say that I feel better when I listen to This Empty Flow than I do when listening to a kind of happy pop music. There's something completely wrong with humanity but you can't solve the problem with happy music.

Are you ever going to tour Australia and maybe do a bit of a promotional tour down here? The main problem I imagine would be that exposure you would get down here would be next nothing... as in most music cases in Australia. Which is a shame because your music I believe would appeal to a wide consumer base in Australia.

I would love to play in Australia cause I have always dreamed to see Australia some day in my life. I guess the people are very nice there and it would be really a big dream for me and the band.

That is about all I have for you. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. I look forward to the next empowering and uplifting Autumnblaze album! Any final thoughts?

I want to thank you for the interesting interview and if there is a possibility to play live in Australia we'll do it.

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With two CD's and two EP's under their belt, Destroyer 666 is quickly becoming a more established act amongst not only the Aussie metal scene, but also elsewhere. Their new album, "Cold Steel..." is an epic slab of death/thrash metal. I talked with Shrapnel about his thoughts on the new album, Australia, and lots of other things surrounding the band...

Allan 'Enigma'


First off, I really enjoy the new album! I just want to congratulate you on it.

Cheers!

So, where do you think this new album is leading the band? Is it a progression since "Phoenix Rising" or just continuing on with the same idea?

Well I think that the new album is a much better release than our previous release. Whether it's a new direction or not, I can't really say. We are a band that doesn't really make a focused decision on what music we write. It just happens. We are all a lot happier with how the production turned out this time round. It sounds very real and raw, which is something I think the "Phoenix" album lacked.

Are you happy with the final product?

Yeah, the final product is a ripper. It's a kick to the face to all 'nice ' metal out there these days! The songs are easily the best we've written and the playing is also a few notches up.

Do you think that after two albums and two EP's that the band is being a little held back because of their origin of Australia? It seems to me that many great Australian bands are rarely recognized.

Actually this album is number 4 for Destroyer 666. "Violence is the Prince of this World" is the first & "Unchain the Wolves" is the second both thru Modern Invasion Music. But, back to the question. Yeah, coming from Australia makes it harder to get your music heard, it's just so fucking far from everywhere. The scene in OZ is a fucking great one, though with many killer bands, which is growing very rapidly. There is also quite a large following of the Aussie scene throughout the world, much similar to the Brazilian and Canadian scenes. So, slowly us damn Aussies are getting some attention. The last year Destroyer 666 moved to Holland, giving us the chance to attack the European scene. This was fucking great for us. We were able to do two European tours and a stack of metal festivals, not to mention the mighty Wacken Open Air, which was just fucking amazing. I think in reality if bands want to really get noticed they have to tour Europe, Rebellion and Destroyer are good examples of this.

What do you think of the metal scene in Australia right now?

Well I haven't been there for the last year, but I do know that there are some bloody amazing bands coming up. Gospel Of The Horns have a new album out on Invictus which kicks ass. Astriaal has a new one coming soon. Same with Atomizer. The mighty Sadistik Exekution with their killer album "Fuk". Destructor are now releasing brutal shit as well as the raw as hell Vomitor. So lots of stuff is happening in a scene that's is rapidly growing.

When I listen to Destroyer 666, I get a few different ideas of whom your influences are. To me, it often feels like you're influenced by Bathory. I think it shows in the atmosphere of the music, particularly. Is this assumption correct, and who are your influences?

We all listen to lots of metal, whether it's heavy metal, black, death, speed, thrash or whatever. We draw on everything for inspiration. I think a big problem with a lot of today's music is that many people who write a certain style of metal, only really listen to that style that they are creating, thus ending up with an album that just sounds like 50 other bands. Having some individual qualities is something that makes music stand out from the rest. I think we have managed to achieve that on our albums. As for Bathory being an influence, of course, who isn't influenced by such a fucking classic band!?

With all the music that comes from Destroyer 666 and the influences and everything, what would you classify the band as? I hear the term 'war metal' tossed around quite a bit, but I'm interested in the band's view on things.

I think Destroyer 666 could be put under all sorts of styles, that's what gives us our own. 'War metal' is typical of a lot of Aussie bands, but somehow I think Abominator and Bestial Warlust take that flag.

I've wondered whom the main songwriter for the band is. Is it a process handled by one individual or is it more of a group effort?

We all write songs for Destroyer 666, but KK writes the majority. We work as a band with structuring so there is very much a band effort on all the songs. All of the leads are written by me, and majority of the melodies are also. S. Beserker does all the bass lines and helps out with beats with Chris Mersus (Battery). Destroyer 666 is very much a group effort.

So how is Seasons of the Mist? How many more albums do you have with them, and do you think you'll stick with them after your contract runs out?

Season of the Mist has done a great job for us with everything except their Graphics Department. Oh fuck what a mess they made out of the "Cold Steel..." album layout. Wrong shit, crappy photo (which doesn't even have our drummer on it), they changed the fonts, left stuff out, etc. So the only problems we have had is with that side of things. I suggest that everyone buy the vinyl version with the correct layout. It looks far superior. As for whether we will sign with them again, I don't know. We'll have to see.

How has the new bassist S. Beserker done with filling the job previously done by Bullet Eater?

S. Beserker has done a fucking great job. He had big boots to fill but covered it no fucking problems. He's a maniac, who can drink like a bloody madman and thrash just as crazy. Metal to the fucking bone!

I must ask, what is the reasoning behind the band name? Does it have to do with the bands beliefs or is it just something the band felt like using for the hell of it?

KK came up with the name before I joined the band. I think if you hear Destroyer 666 you can tell why he adopted the name. Brutal fucking onslaught.

That's all I have to ask you today. Any last comments?

Thanks for the interview. Hail the new Dawn!

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Arch Enemy has been a leader of the Swedish metal scene since the beginning. With four great albums and a line-up to back it up, there is no question as to why the bands latest album "Wages of Sin" is getting as much attention as it is. The band is making its way over seas into North America this summer to promote the album, so I talked with lead singer Angela Gossow about not only the new album, her role as a singer, and the tour, but what she thinks about the band, the future, and the past. Read on!

Allan 'Enigma'


So you’re going on a North American tour! How did that come about?

Yeah we just got the offer, so we thought it was a good opportunity to burn down the States, so we just got on the tour.

What do you think about Nile? They don’t seem like a likely Arch Enemy tour companion.

No, but I mean it’s kind of interesting for the fans, you know? It’s not like three bands that all sound the same. It’s more of a various package. I mean, I think they are cool. I’m not so much for the music. This kind of death metal I don’t listen to so much, but I think it is an interesting package.

How do you think the Nile fans will react to the Arch Enemy show?

Well, we don’t really know. I hope they’re not totally intolerant or whatever, but I hope it’s good and we’ll see.

How is it being in the band now? Do they give you a hard time being the new member?

No, if they would I would of already left the band! No, they’re very, very nice. I mean, I’m not a new member anymore, I'm with the band since the end of 2000. We’re kind of a family now, anyway.

Do you feel intimidated taking on a male dominated role in a metal band?

Yeah, every female does in the metal scene, I think. I mean, I think every female feels the same about this. You know, you watch people and you have to be better than most males I guess, because people really get into detail and they really look on your fingers at what your doing, and they listen to what your saying, and you have to be careful with what you say, you know. Yeah, I think so.

Do you have much input as to how things go, or do you just handle the vocal duties?

Yeah, this is a job enough! I mean everybody has lots of input in this band, because we rehearse regularly. Twice a week or so and we write the music together so everybody has got a position in the band. It’s not like, "Yeah this is a song, we have to play this like it is", everybody has their opinion. I think what makes the music of Arch Enemy so interesting is lots of input in the music. It’s not just one mind or one person writing the music so that in the end all songs sound the same somehow.

Being a woman, do you think that your looks will appeal to people, in turn selling more records or bringing more people to the band?

People wouldn’t buy a record because I’m a woman. I mean, they still have to like the music and still have to think the music is good. If somebody gets interested in Arch Enemy because they see a cover or a story with me and wouldn’t have checked out the music before, nothing is bad about this. So, I guess women are still very seldom or kind of rare in the metal scene anyway, so I guess this attracts people.

Don’t you think it’s possible that people will be turned to Arch Enemy for the wrong reasons then?

Then I would think that those people are stupid. What are the wrong reasons, you know? I don’t think that anybody is going to buy the record because they like my looks. People have to think about where to spend their money. There are so many metal releases every month. I would think twice before I buy a record because I like the looks of somebody in the band.

So what about the future of Arch Enemy? Can you or will you ever sing with a clean voice?

I could, I don’t know if I will, you know? If people want this or if they expect this, for the girl to start singing like a woman some day... maybe you'll have clean vocals in the next one, but maybe it won't be me doing the clean vocals.

Do you feel the need to try and win over the Arch Enemy fans that prefer Johan’s vocals?

No, I mean I really like Johan’s vocals too. It never works out to say you have to change your tastes now. Everybody has a right to have their own tastes. I don’t have a problem with somebody saying, "Yeah I like Johan’s and I also like you." This is ok, you know, music is a subjective thing. But I mean of course there are enough new and old fans that like Arch Enemy, so I don’t have a problem to leave some fans to Johan.[laughs] He wasn’t a bad vocalist.

In your opinion, what is the big difference between this album and the last one?

It sounds much more fresh and modern I think. It’s got a better sound anyway. A bit more like music for fans, not only music for musicians somehow. It’s not so extremely tricky, it’s more straightforward, more to the point, more aggressive.

What do you think differentiates Arch Enemy from the rest of the metal scene?

First of all, Arch Enemy are really good musicians. It’s not like mediocre or whatever, we really know what we’re doing on our instruments. And we have, being a death metal band, very rock and roll influences somehow. We are not twenty anymore, everybody sits around between 25 and 35 somehow. I’ve got some musical experience to bring into the band like different influences. We really think about it, we want to make a living out of the music so it’s really important to us that this is a good product. We not only deliver good music, we want to deliver for example, a good package too. We think about what we have to do on a stage, we have some kind of interesting stage show, and look nice. Practicing is a big concept in Arch Enemy. It’s not a hobby band.

What elements, if any, are the band developing that will help make their sound grow?

That’s a good question (laughs). I’ve never though about this. I don’t know. I have to discuss this in the rehearsal room next time! I mean, everybody in the band has got their own style obviously. I mean you know, if you wouldn’t have Sharlee on bass, I guess our rhythm section would sound different somehow. Danny is a great drummer and he’s very young, very talented, and his brother is in Cradle of Filth. And the Amott brothers they have their own unique style, this kind of twin guitar stuff going on.

Yeah, I think Danny’s drumming is a lot better on this album than previously.

I think he has always been a very good drummer but maybe he didn’t have the space. Because if you pack the music full of tons of solos and tricky riffs then drums get lost somehow because you don’t have any space to shine through really. There is always the question, "Well what is dominating in the music?" you know? This time it’s a bit more equal. It's not like you have these hero guitar players so that everybody else is not important in the band. It’s a bit more balanced this time.

How do the members of Arch Enemy interact outside of the band?

Oh we are friends. We meet up and have a few drinks, and we talk. We’re just friends.

You were an Arch Enemy fan before you joined, I believe. What do you think about the new album compared to previous material?

I mean, I think every Arch Enemy album has its ups and down somehow. The great excellent songs on there, and there are not super killer songs. I really like "Black Earth", it’s some kind of raw death metal album, and I wasn’t so much into "Stigmata". I think they lost a bit. They got a bit lost in their own music. "Burning Bridges" was a kind mellow, but I really liked this too. I think every album of Arch Enemy has a special vibe or whatever. It’s not like if you have one album you have them all. It’s like every album has got its own unique style somehow. I’m not the one that says "Wages of Sin" is the best one, you know? I think every band cares about their latest release anyway, that it’s the best so far. It’s different, because there is a new vocalist and some kind of new music going on.

That’s all the questions I have for you. I would like to thank you for your time. Do you have any last comments?

We hope we get to rock America!

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In the wake of the recent “mellowing out” of ‘Speed’ Strid’s main band Soilwork, many fans were starting to get worried that the thrash had been lost in our fellow Soilworker. Well those fans can indeed rest assure that this is certainly not the case as Terror2000 get ready to release their sophomore album. Harsher and faster than before, Terror2000 take you on a thrash ride you will never forget. I had a chance to speak with the singer/bassist Bjorn Strid about the new record and possible future plans for the project. Read on...

Adam Block


First of all I would like to ask you how does it feel to be releasing a new Terror2000 record? I know for a while many people might have been thinking that you had softened up or something.

Well I guess Terror2000 is like a substitute for Soilwork. A way to get all the thrash stuff out of your head. The album is even faster than before. It’s even got more retro thrash influence like Kreator, Sodom, Slayer and stuff like that. So it’s a hell of a fast album with a lot of ripping riffs...

So a nice balancing act with the more melodic direction that Soilwork has taken...

Yea [laughs] exactly!

With each Terror2000 member dedicated to his respectful project, how difficult was it to get everybody back to do another record?

Well I guess it was pretty much the label that pushed us. (In a label exec. accent:) “Hey guys you gotta record another album.” and we went “Oh!” cause we had not thought of Terror2000 in a long time. We started to go down to the rehearsal room to see what we got with the riffs and stuff and try to pull songs together. I think it worked out pretty good cause we had received such an amazing response on the first one so we decided to do another one. I guess we wanted to be even faster than we were on the debut.

Doing new Soilwork and Terror2000 around the same time, did you have a moment where you just had the give the chords a rest for a couple days. I hear Devin worked you really hard on the new Soilwork album.

Yea that was very tough being in the studio with Devin I’ll tell you. Oh man! He pushed us to the very limit. I think we recorded the vocals for like 12 or 13 days and that’s like 5 days when my voice was totally fucked up and I couldn’t sing. I couldn’t sing a tone so I had to rest for like three days or something.

Did you do Terror2000 before or after you recorded the Soilwork one?

After... directly after actually because the day that I got the master of the Soilwork recording, we started to record the Terror2000 album. So that was a pretty tough time. Maybe it was a little too much I guess...

Well your new record is called "Faster Disaster". What would you say you went about differently when writing the music on this one as opposed to your debut?

Well I guess we wanted the album to be even more retro cause that was the whole idea for the first one. but it went out pretty 90s thrash I guess. It was pretty much At The Gates II, but when we started to write new material we wanted it to be more retro while putting a little bit more heavy metal into it, but keeping it very fast. I guess that was the thoughts about writing the new material. The previous one was pretty technical and it is still technical but more straight forward.

The artwork is incredible! Who came up with the idea for the cover art?

Well I guess I had some ideas to make a very ironic cover with racing stuff. You know... with the racing flag and all that stuff and I think it was me and Carlos sitting at his place drinking some Vodka trying to figure out a cool cover. The motorcycle was supposed to be the original cover, but this one is even better with the skeleton holding the flag and some burning tires on the back and I think racing is very suitable for thrash music. The lyrics are ironic with lots of mumbo jumbo stuff so it’s pretty cool.

So Nuclear Blast is releasing the record June 25th in the states. Did the fact that Soilwork is on the same label help to get this deal together?

Well I guess it started when we went to the Milwaukee Metal festival last year and I talked to Phillip about it from Nuclear Blast. He had heard the first album and liked it very much and we talked about it and he said that I should send the next album to him to check it out. I sent it to him and he liked it very much and they really wanted to put it out in the states so that’s how the deal came through.

Do you ever see you guys doing any touring as Terror2000 or do you think it is best to be left as a studio project?

I think we’re keeping it as a studio project because there isn’t too much time to tour with Terror2000 because of...

Darkane, The Defaced, Soilwork, Construcdead...

Yea exactly and I work part time and I have a girlfriend so I guess we will have to keep it as a studio project. It would be cool to do some gigs but I guess it is impossible. There is a pretty tough schedule for Soilwork this year.

I am curious to hear about some of the guests you have on the new album. Peter from Soilwork was telling me it was almost like Terror2000 with friends. Did this help to fuel a carefree and fun environment while in the studio?

Yea that was very cool to invite some friends into the studio for some guest solos and some guest vocals too. That was a pretty cool thing to do. As you probably know, Peter has a guest solo on the track 'I Am Speed At Night' and then we had Christofer of Darkane with a guest guitar solo on I think it was 'Back With Attack'. Henrik from The Defaced did some guest vocals on one of the tracks so there was a lot of people in the studio and when we had the listening session for the new Soilwork, all the journalists did some gang vocals in one of the songs. I guess there were like 30 people doing gang vocals so that was very cool.

What would you say was the main inspiration for some of these lyrics?

[laughs] I guess the main inspiration is alcohol... alcohol, racing... you know all that stuff... death and destruction... all that thrash is about. Those would definitely be key words for this album.

Do you see yourselves doing another record further down the road?

Well that’s hard to say. I guess we will busy with Soilwork for the next two years I hope. Hopefully we will get to tour a lot more. We will see in the future but there are no plans yet. We will see how the album goes and if we find any inspiration to make another album.

This year Megadeth, who were one of the leaders of the American thrash movement along with the now country trio Metallica, have announced their breakup. Has events like this along with the deaths of Chuck from Death and Paul Baloff from Exodus effected you as a metal fan in general?

Oh it is so terrible to hear all this stuff. There are a lot of metalheads who are dying. And I don’t know why there are a lot of singers dying. I hope it’s not all about the screaming vocals. That’s very sad to hear because Chuck was a great singer and a great guitarist too of course. I hope I will never get cancer...

What are some of the bands you are into right now and what are some you just would like to go away!?

I do not listen a lot to the new metal records at the moment. I am pretty much listening to old AC/DC vinyls like "High Voltage" and stuff like that. I still like the Opeth album. I listen to that album a lot and also the Dimmu Borgir album...

Aaaaaaaah...

Yea you like that one...

Hell yea... it is really fast and whenever I listen to it I feel like jumping into the walls and stuff!

Exactly, that is the same with me.

With bands like Dew-Scented, The Crown, and Carnal Forge gaining a massive underground following, do you feel thrash is making a comeback within the extreme metal community?

Well that is hard to say. Melodic metal seems to be very popular at the moment but I guess the thrash scene is growing. I have heard that Carnal Forge have received a lot of good response for their latest album and hopefully there will be a growing thrash scene like the one at the end of the 80s. That would be cool.

Well that is all I have for you now Speed. Any final words you would like to share with the Terror2000 fans reading this?

Well just check out the album cause it is even faster than before. That’s a good reason to buy it I guess (laughs). It is hard to say if we are doing any shows. I do not think so, but check out the album and I hope there will be a lot of Terror fans at the Soilwork shows so we can grab a few beers!

Official Terror2000 Domain

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Germany’s pure metal powerhouse Primal Fear were forged by four well-known individuals in the scene including Mat Sinner, founder and songwriter of popular 80’s band Sinner, and Ralf Scheepers, the robust singer for Gamma Ray. Their unrelenting metal attitude and oldschool approach has made them the kings of metal in their own country and if they keep it up the world will follow. Their latest album “Black Sun” has been compared to Judas Priest classics like “Painkiller” and I’ll be the first to admit this band is the true successor to the Metal Gods! This is modern Priest mixed with classic Iron Maiden! Excited? Let’s hear from Mr. Sinner himself.

Luka ‘Wrath’


A congratulations, first of all, on the brilliant album "Black Sun"! Tell me, what has the reaction been like so far around the world?

It’s been really good all over the world so far, it came out just Monday in Europe, last Wednesday in Japan and Korea and the response from fans and magazines has been great! It’s on Germany’s Top 40 charts... so it looks good for us!

Can we expect a tour anytime soon?

We will start with Russia in June and we’ll be all around Europe in September and October. After that we’re heading to South America and perhaps the U.S and Canada... and Japan is calling too, so... we’ve got a lot to do!

The whole world, essentially! Now how did the plan to go to Russia come about? Not a lot of bands tour the country, what is the scene like in eastern Europe?

Well Nuclear Blast has a good distribution deal there and so they invited us. Russia was mainly a land of bootlegging so far, but now they [NB] have an official distribution plan there and they’re doing a lot for us. We have a lot of fans out in Moscow, so that will definitely be a big show for us!

The closest bands Primal Fear can be compared to are modern Judas Priest, and Halford. How much of an influence are these bands?

None.

For me, at least (laughs). I mean, everybody else in the band is into them and we are seen as a band that is very influenced by Judas Priest, because I think the guitar riffs are similar, and Ralf [Scheeper]’s vocals are very similar to Rob [Halford]’s, but if we do have a strong Priest influence it would be from albums like “Screaming for Vengeance”, or “Defenders of the Faith”, and of course “Painkiller”, but not the new material.

What do you think about bands like that, Priest and Maiden, still cranking out pure metal after so many years!? Do you think the energy and power is still there, or are they getting old?

Yes it’s good, why not? There’s a lot of new bands arriving on the scene so the music is still very alive, and the old, quality bands can still survive and they’re doing a great job.

Do you think all the energy and power is still there?

Yeah, of course! They can still put on a great show, I saw them [Iron Maiden] about a year ago and it was great.

Do you think you could do it for another, say ten, fifteen years with Primal Fear?

Wow! We’ll see! I mean, it depends on whether it’s still fun for us or not, that’s all.

OK, let’s talk about Sinner, after almost 20 years of running that band, you‘ve built up quite a reputation and fan base in Europe. With Primal Fear, does it feel like you’re starting all over again, from the bottom?

No, that’s the great thing! With Primal Fear it was a lot easier: it was well accepted and well reviewed from the first day and we started on a very big label right from the start. There was no playing small clubs or anything like that, the reaction in Europe was very good from the first day, so we were never really newcomers like Sinner. When Primal Fear came out on stage it was, like, everybody wants to see it, you know?

Are you still gonna keep going with Sinner, or have you made a complete switch?

We’ve had a lot of talk about that. For the last few months I’ve had to focus totally on the new Primal Fear album but I think there is some songwriting coming up in the summertime for Sinner. I’ve been getting calls from the old line-up and they’re definitely interested. So we’ll see, perhaps we’ll have a new album out by next summer!

Sounds good. Do you keep in touch with today’s huge underground metal scene? What are you favorite bands as of today?

Yeah of course, we listen to a lot of bands, I mean we have a lot of support bands from Europe for our shows and we’re really into the kind of stuff they’re doing. It is just impossible to pick out any in particular ones though, there is just so much going on. The scene is very big.

I agree, it just keeps growing; 2000 and 2001 have been very groundbreaking and productive years for underground metal, the strongest in a long time. Do you think real metal is slowly returning into the mainstream world once again?

It depends on a lot of things and not only on the number of fans. There is a lot of them, certainly, we saw the turnout last year in the U.S. was great and the people, they knew our songs and all that. But it also depends on the media. A lot of them want to ignore traditional heavy metal, or other types of really heavy metal and give it very little exposure, so that is what makes it difficult for us.

How do you like playing in the U.S., as opposed to Europe?

Well Europe is home for us and we can basically play our whole show with the pyrotechnics and everything there. Now flying over to North America all we’ve got is our guitars and that’s it, you know? So the show is kind of stripped-down, but in the end if the band is in a good mood and the audience is enjoying the show then it can be something really special.
We did a festival last year there and all the fans that were used to their American bands saw us as some kind of strange and “exotic” band from Europe or something (laughs), the crowd was really loud, I mean, they gave us a great time and we enjoyed playing there.

Now how do you feel about Napster and all the internet pirating going on? Is it a positive thing, or negative?

It’s negative, of course. I mean, people will download a whole album for nothing so how can a musician even exist? For us it’s all work, songwriting, lyrics, producing, it goes on for months and months and then two weeks before the album even comes out you can download it on like Audio Galaxy or something. And I think this will eventually destroy the music. The people who always use this should think about what they’re doing to the musicians they like. If we were selling millions of albums and were rich I wouldn’t give a shit, you know? But a lot of people and musicians in Europe really believe in what they’re doing and they’re not rich off their music. So they’re working really, really hard and if their music is downloaded for free it will destroy their career.

Tell me, what was it like working in the little-known Sonic Ranch studio in Texas? Why did you choose to do the mixing there, it is basically in the middle of the desert!

Yeah it was kinda weird but very nice, we decided to go there for complete peace of mind and total focus on the album without any outside distractions. No cars breaking down, no lawyers, tax people, girlfriends or any of that (laughs), so we got to really focus on the album and it was a great time for us.

I understand you contributed vocals on a few songs like 'Mind Machine'. Is this something we can expect to hear more of later on?

We’ll see. I do a lot of backing vocals anyway so it was not new to me or Ralf either. We share vocals all the time on stage and it was his idea to put it on the album. Normally I’m coming more from a rock side, I’m more of a rock singer than metal singer so I don’t contribute as much.

My favorite song from Black Sun is definitely 'Mind Machine', do you have a favorite?

Lots! (laughs) Well, working on the album for such a long time and working on every single detail it becomes very hard to choose. 'Armaggedon', 'Lightyears From Home', 'Mind Machine', 'Fear', 'Controlled'... they’re all like babies to me.

How does the songwriting process happen? Do you write all the music or does everyone contribute?

Well the good thing with Primal Fear that helps us keep the pace with album releases is that every guy in the band has a small recording studio at home where we record all our ideas and bring it all together in the practice room where we work together on the material. We’re a very creative team and we generally have a lot of fun in the creating process!

Can we expect the sound and musical direction of Primal Fear to change over the next few albums?

I don’t think so, no, it’s just that we know the basic idea already for the next album and we will prepare it well because it’s a long way down the road, and we just released this one! It will definitely be a variation of the sound but it will still be very much Primal Fear.

It’s certainly good to hear bands that still have so much commitment.

Yeah, our slogan is that “if Primal Fear is on the outside, Primal Fear is on the inside” so anyone buying our CD knows exactly what they get, and it’s top quality.

The good thing about European fans is that they’re very committed, and we have a very strong fan base here, and I think that maybe it’s easier for us than some of the American bands who are trying to change their sound to always be modern. So there is no real need for Primal Fear to go on the modern side, a lot of new bands that are popular now like, say, Puddle of Mud, are nothing new for me because I’ve heard their sound before and they are just following trends. With traditional metal, it never changes, so I could be doing this five years earlier or five years down the road and still be successful.

That’s right. Well some things never change, and this style of metal certainly wouldn’t be called traditional if it did.

That’s right (laughs).

Well, thank you for your time Mat, any closing remarks?

Thank you very much for the interview, and I hope to see you sometime when we tour!

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With an incredible career and impressive discography, Blind Guardian is well known to all metal fans around the world. Whether you like power metal or not, you can at least respect the talent and hard work these guys put into every album. From the beginning, Blind Guardian was characterized as a groundbreaking group that sets the standards for this genre and with each release takes it to another level. Their latest masterpiece, “A Night at the Opera”, sports remarkable orchestral harmonies, fantastic melodies, and unlimited musicianship that only strengthens their position as a leader in power/epic metal world. How do they remain true to themselves and stay on top enjoying worldwide success? Recently I spoke with famed Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kürsch (vocals/bass) and here’s what he had to say...

Chris


One of Blind Guardian’s goals was to record a metal opera. Did this album fulfill your aspirations?

No. [laughs] People are maybe mislead because of the title but that’s not the opera. I wouldn’t even say that we envisioned writing a straight opera I mean, we work on the stuff that we don’t usually do but that’s not the stuff on the album. This album because of the orchestration of the songs and the vocal harmonies is somehow related to the classical music but it’s more of a raw, energetic and aggressive metal album.

Since one of the main components of the opera is orchestra did you think of using one during the recording of this album?

At one point we did, especially during the recording of ‘And Then There Was Silence’ because there is so much orchestration there but we used a program to record those parts. During the production we really considered having that part played by a real orchestra and we already started writing tabs but at the end we didn’t feel too comfortable with it. And you really need a proper orchestra to work out that shit and that would be too expensive.

Then I won’t be mistaken if I say that there are plans to use a real orchestra on albums in the future?

Yeah, but not with the metal band. That would be something for our musical, operatic stuff we are working on because there would be nothing else but vocals and orchestra.

What is it? Are we talking about your new side project?

We’re not even sure if that’s a side project or we’re willing to record it under the Blind Guardian name because it’s Blind Guardian music but it doesn’t contain the metal part. Vocals are kind of story telling, very characteristic and the music is kind of classical but it’s very entertaining and very melodic. We started working on it years back during the “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” and we’ve composed 8 songs so far but that has been a second priority because we always consider Blind Guardian as more important. We feel that it’s almost the right time to release it but we need at least 4 more songs and then we have to record it and that will take a hell of a lot of time.

If ‘And Then There Was Silence’ took you four months to record how much time did you spend on this album all together and can you give us a glimpse of how Blind Guardian works in the studio?

We spent a whole year producing and mixing this album. How does that work? Well, we’ve started with a production in October of 2000 but haven’t done anything but pre-production up until January, that’s when we finally started with real production. The whole drumming session took about 4 weeks and then we’ve worked on single pieces where each piece usually has 60 to 150 tracks and that takes a lot of time. For example, I’ve done 32 tracks of vocals with almost each song including choir and each single voice that can be heard on the album and then afterwards on top of it we brought to the studio 3 or 4 good backing vocalist and they do this same shit as well. We spent 3 or 4 months just on the vocals!

When you enter the studio do you have at least skeletons of the tracks or everything is developed in the studio?

Theoretically they’re done. You would be surprised how much is done already. [laughs]

So, let me get this straight. You’re done with composing the songs and then you spend a year in the studio recording them?

Yeah, exactly. I mean there is a bunch of stuff, bunch of problems that you are not aware of before you enter the studio. Let’s say you have 60 guitars, 8 vocals, 3 counter vocals and counter melodies... when they all get together you don’t have a chance to figure out what is going on before you actually enter the studio.

Writing so complex and multi-layered songs raises a question; how do you prepare for live shows? How close are your live reproductions of your material? Do you prepare different arrangements for them?

They are really close. We focus on main key elements first and then we check what other elements we can bring or we have to bring to make it as close as original track. That strategy usually works extremely well but of course there are differences on few songs between studio and live version but you’ll still listen to this same song and you’ll feel it this same way because we have the talent not only to present the song but we also have the talent to present them slightly different and still with this same way of attraction.

Can you tell us the story behind the “Night at the Opera”? Is it based on some real events or is it complete fiction?

It is complete fiction and it’s not a concept like “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” has been. The title is more connected to the album cover that presents an orchestra pit occupied with fantasy creatures playing in a band and trying to get through a song. There is kind of an autobiographical aspect in the cover as well [laughs] because it reminds me of Blind Guardian.

The cover looks like bunch of guys playing pretty chaotic music and you don’t sound like it...

No, we don’t sound like it [laughs] but at the beginning we looked exactly like those guys. Everyone writes something then we start picking up pieces, collecting pieces, trying to match those pieces... [laughs] and final result is great but from certain point of view we can be seen as those guys. That’s how the title got in; we had the cover and we thought if there’s an album cover looking like that and we have so many orchestral and operatic elements in the music why not use something with orchestra or opera in the title. First thing that came to my mind was Queen’s album the “Night at the Opera” and because there is relation between Blind Guardian and Queen ‘cause we are big fans of their music, why not use that title again. So, we took it as a title. The songs itself deal with several topics like religion, mythology, history and pure fantasy.

Compared to your single track ‘And Then There Was Silence’ the rest of the album surprised me because I was prepared for those long epic tracks and instead you delivered tracks half the length where everything is more condensed. How did that happen? ‘And Then There Was Silence’ really stands out from the rest of the album...

That’s true. If you leave out ‘Battlefield’ that probably goes into this same direction but it’s a shorter one, that’s absolutely true. We wrote ‘And Then There Was Silence’ somewhere in between of the songwriting so, it wasn’t the first or last track we did. With the whole album we tried to make a jump away from the “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” because we felt that it was our pick point with regards to such kind of music and we didn’t see too much sense following that root again. But in certain point during the songwriting we had those ideas for ‘And Than There Was Silence’ and that was connected more to “Nightfall...” than any other song for the album. It grew naturally and after a while it was 4-5 minutes long and it didn’t have a chorus at that point so it became obvious that it would be a long song. We of course paid a lot of attention to this song during songwriting and production because we knew if we do a song connected to the “Nightfall...” music wise it must to be better. Just because of that this song got a little more attention than the rest of them. I think it simply blows away the whole “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” record.

Over the years Blind Guardian evolved from power/speed metal to a more epic style band. Was it a natural evolution or did too many clones on the music market have an influence on the direction of your compositions?

No, I would say that everything out of Blind Guardian is a natural development but we always have in our minds to create different albums compared to our previous ones. We’ve done that from album one and as you’ve said we started as more of a melodic power metal band and we just discovered new fields and there was no chance to stick to the old staff and just improving that. Every time after we finished an album we felt that we’ve accomplished something and now it’s time to go into different direction and we really work on it especially on the latest one. We really worked hard to get away from “Nightfall...”.

As a big fan of Tolkien and “Lord of The Rings” what were your reactions to the movie? Did it meet your expectations?

Honestly, it did. I was blown away. I’m a big fan and of course I was well aware of most of the changes happening there and to be honest I don’t care about the changes and I don’t care about changes in characters or how the story was developed. I think that the way he did it was made just perfect for a theater. Some things were featured exactly how I saw them in my mind and I spoke to several people and most of them agreed on it. He did do a great job and I’m anxious to see how he did the second part because from my point of view that’s the most interesting one.

You wrote some material for that movie, is it ever going to be released and how different it is compared to the movie’s soundtrack?

It is completely different from the soundtrack but it would definitely fit in, there’s no doubt about that. That’s the stuff I’ve talked about. That’s the music we’ve done over the last 5-6 years. It’s really interesting, very melodic and entertaining and story telling stuff.

Haven’t you contacted them about doing the music for the movie, what happened?

Yes, at some point after we’ve heard that we’ve won the contest on their web site we did try to contact them but at that time we weren’t able to provide them with a proper version of our ideas and we decided not to send it at all. It would not have been the quality we usually provide people with. That thing is too big just to send out a cheesy demo.

“A Night at the Opera” marks the first time that someone really took care of promotion of your band on this side of the ocean. Did you plan this move or did Century Media pick you up thinking that the American public is finally ready for that type of music?

That’s true. To be honest it was more from the Century Media’s side. We’ve been in contact with them since the beginning of 1998 and they are doing a great job on our back program especially “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” and motivated by that we both figured out that there’s a strong interest in Blind Guardian in North America. They know that we are really successful here and I guess they feel that American underground is drastically growing each year and if they’ll have right bands at the right moment they could be the upcoming company as well.

Did you at any time think of promoting your new album with Iced Earth and at this same time with Demons And Wizards?

Yeah, Jon and I have spoken about it several times but the problem is that their album was released quite some time ago and they’re about to complete their tour activities already. It would be very difficult to put those two bands together on one tour...

Is there a plan for a follow up to Demons and Wizards?

Yes, we had a discussion about it and Jon is already work on the new material and if everything goes as planned the next Demons And Wizards album should be sometime in 2003.

Thank you for this interview Hansi, and since you’re very successful in Europe and Asia I wish you the same success in North America. I hope to see you on a full tour on this side of the ocean.

Thank you, I appreciate that. It was great doing an interview with you and I hope to see you on our tour.

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Hailing from the grim and frosty tundra’s of Norway, Khold are a band who will not submit to the huge amounts of commercial bullshit being produced around them. “Phantom” is their latest record and it stands as an ethereal, and to many a refreshing and translucent record, untouchable by the masses. I caught up with Gard and had a natter to him about “Phantom”, his son’s awful taste in music and how much he cares (or doesn’t care) about any other band in the world.

Jack ‘Odel’


I would like to take the opportunity to thank you Gard for taking the time out to answer these questions I have. Firstly, what does the word “Khold” mean? And with the pronunciation of “Khold” is it said like our English word ‘cold’?

Yeah! Khold is pronounced “cold”. And it means “cold” too.

The lyrics behind “Phantom” seem to follow a pattern that seems to take place in the medieval landscape of old. Song titles such as ‘Witchcraft in Loom’ and ‘Butcher’s Oak’ remind me greatly of medieval coined phrases/titles that I would have heard of in history. Could you please explain some of the lyrics behind your new album?

The lyrics deal with different topics as people, nature, time, feelings and myths. We always try to write from a different point of view than the most obvious. In “Phantom”, we’re trying to comprehend what it would be like for a father to loose his daughter, and how the memory of the daughter comes back to haunt him. ‘Fra Grav til Mørke’ is about a dead person’s life after he or she drowned, and how he/she is buried in the cold and dark ground when found, to rest in peace?

‘Slaktereika’ (‘Butcher’s Oak’) is a story about a mad man who actually lived a few kilometres from here. He lived in an old house under a oak. And he killed anybody who came to his house and hung them up in the oak. The whole oak, with victims and all, was a shrine to him.
And so on. All of these different views make Hildr’s lyrics more interesting.

Speaking of lyrics, why write in 18th Century Norwegian? If you were to write in present day Norwegian, as it stands, would you lyrics loose much impact that they do now, would the end result not be as satisfying as in 18th Century Norwegian?

Our lyrics are written in present Norwegian, but the sentences have old-fashioned structures.
So, that’s why Moonfog and other people who have read our lyrics call them 18th century language. The lyrics fit our music perfectly.

“Phantom” seemed to suddenly creep out of the black metal market. Was it deliberately kept quiet, promotions wise?

Moonfog did not want to promote “Phantom” just with spots in magazines, but mainly by getting reviews and interviews in radio and magazines. And so far, we have sold a lot more of “Phantom” than we have done of “Masterpiss of Pain” already. So, things are looking good so far.

Are you satisfied with your performance as a vocalist and guitarist on “Phantom”? Looking at “Phantom” is there any things you would change?

There is nothing I would change on this album. The sound is cold and primitive. Our performance as musicians is excellent. We did everything the way we use to do it. Not to much rehearsals before we enter the studio and a lot of improvisation. And we always work fast.

“Phantom” and to the same extent Khold are the cold, dark Norwegian side of black metal. Could we ever expect a Khold release in the future where keyboards are used to provide a synthetic feel?

No, I wouldn’t bet on it! Up until now I have never been a big fan of keys in black metal. But as we are opened minded people, we don’t want to say we’ll never use them. But my guess is that it will never be a significant part of our music.

I think “Phantom” is a much more fulfilling and wholesome album than what “Masterpiss of Pain” is/was. If I could use eating analogies... I would say that “Masterpiss of Pain” is the snack that you eat to make hunger go away for a limited time, “Phantom” on the other hand is a main course that completely satisfies your appetite. Any thoughts?

That’s a good analogy! I’ve never been compared to food before!?! (Is this a common thing in America?) But it seems to be the overall thought in the black metal scene. And I would agree with you all. “Phantom” is a more complete album than “Masterpiss of Pain”. But musically there is not a big difference. Our music has and will evolve as time passes by and we get older and more experienced. So, our next record will be even better. Cold and heartless!

I am pleased to see that you have kept up the rather short lengths of Khold albums. With all the elongated and pompous 60 minute plus albums, it is refreshing to have an album that does not beat around the bush, but delivers a short and punchy impact. It certainly gives you a different scope and edge to work with.

Yeah, we don’t put to many themes in our songs. We’re always trying to keep things simple and raw, and we’ve found out that by putting too many ideas in the music you will have, in most cases; chaos! You would have to listen to the songs a million times before you could set them apart. When you listen to a Khold album you would know instantly which song it is. Even if you’ve only heard it once! Our philosophy is that the less you put in, the more you could get out of it.

The prominent figurehead emblazoned on "Masterpiss of Pain" and now “Phantom” has certainly become a Khold icon, certainly press photos have done nothing to deter such sentiments too. Whenever I see a painted bald head, I automatically think of Khold. Could you tell me the story behind the idea of the heads?

It’s my head and there isn’t a story behind it!

Joke aside, we use this head (my head) as the face of Khold. It works like a logo. When you see the face you know it is Khold! No doubt about it!

You asked earlier if I wanted to change anything. And if there was something it would be the booklet. Although I love it the way it is now, but there are no pictures of the other guys in the band. So, it might look like a one-man band. And that was not our intention. But the booklet and the pictures tells many stories from the lyrics. Be sure to catch those stories when you buy the album.

Do you feel that metal has lost its way temporarily? I just get the feeling with the latest releases from Soilwork and Hypocrisy for instance, that the original hardness that some of these bands possessed have been brushed/swept aside in favour for a more melodic and dare I say ‘accessible’ edge. “Phantom” is anything but accessible, but still contains a strong sense of identity and melody that help it stand out in a crowd.

I don’t care what other bands think or do about music, or any other thing for that matter. So, if people want to write their music one way or another way, it is totally uninteresting to me. Only interesting music is something that I want to listen to. There are a few bands, but most bands are not interesting. That means I care for “good” music (my opinion) and not for “bad” music (my opinion, again). So, I don’t care if it is metal, pop, jazz, folk, classical or whatever. I can’t explain what makes music interesting. It could be a melody, a cord, big arrangements, small arrangements or just a single note. As long as it is interesting.

In terms of contemporary metal, do you guys as a collective, listen to much metal? Dealing with metal constantly would probably get tedious. What are some metal CDs you are listening to at the moment?

We differ a lot within the band on musical preferences. Sarke listen to a lot, old or new. Rinn listen to mostly new metal I think, and techno. I have no idea what Sir Graanug listens to. I listen to Celtic Frost and Soundgarden by choice these days. And I’m forced to listen to Linkin Park by my son. (I’m listening to them right now. And every fucking time we’re in the car). I guess it could have been worse, but anyway...

You guys are now being distributed by The End Records in the United States, how is that faring so far? Metal and black metal from Europe in particular has always had a certain problem in being distributed and recognised in America. Hopefully The End Records can help bridge the gap for Moonfog Productions.

I don’t know much about sales right now, and especially not in America. But of course I hope our music will be a success over there. And every success story in America is bigger than anywhere else in the world. So, be sure to get a hold of “Phantom” all of you readers out there. It’s definitely a record which stands out from the rest as a groovy and un-commercial record. Be sure to buy one now at a record-store near you! Thank you!

Growing up as youngster (and presently) who would your musical influences be? Vocally who are/is the main inspiration for you? You have a rather uniquely venomous form of black metal rasp. More ‘grunty’ than a lot of similar artists in your field of metal.

Death, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Mayhem, Kreator, Led Zepplin, Deep Purple and, of course, BLACK SABBATH! And a few others I guess. I don’t have any bands, which give me musical influence today. But all of these bands have of course formed me as a musician, so the influences are still in me. Musical inspiration comes from everything around us. Nature, news, thoughts, people, art, literature, TV, music and so on. Everything!

In the early days, it was Tom Warrior (Celtic Frost) and Chuck Schuldiner (Death). But now, I’m my only inspiration. (And Sarke gives me inputs). And what do you mean by “grunty”? Is that a positive thing!?

‘Grunty’ is a good thing, if the metal scene was more ‘grunty’, it would be a much better place. Again, I would like to say thanks, Gard, for doing this great interview for Metalbite.com, and may Khold continue to keep churning out filthy, raw and frosty black metal. Good luck with everything!

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While being in the underground for almost 10 years and releasing 4 demos, Chicago’s Bludgeon finally sparked the interest of Brian Slagel (Metal Blade Records) and recorded their first full-length called "Crucify the Priest". Contrary to the album’s title Bludgeon doesn’t consider themselves as a satanic band and their version of speed/death metal is based on old school formulas grounded on their favorite bands they grew up listening to. With high expectations of their future, Matt ‘Chewy’ Dezynski (drums) and Mark Duca (vocals/rhythm guitar) introduce us to the band that lives and breathes music 24/7.

Chris


Since this is your first record, tell me the Bludgeon history, how did it all start?

We formed the band in 91-92 and since then the only change in the lineup is our new guitar player, but besides that it’s basically this same lineup, we all live together in the same house. After we’ve put out our fourth demo, first on CD, we released that and Rebel Radio was playing a couple of songs on it and that’s how Joey had heard us. He called us, came down to our house and we played him a couple of songs, cause we practice right here in our house, and after hearing the songs he was like "Man, I think we could talk some business here because people need to hear you guys". So, next thing you know we signed the deal and recorded our first full-length CD.

Where did the idea of Bludgeon come from and why this type of music and not, say heavy or power metal?

Pretty much it’s along the style of music we listen to. I mean, we listen to a lot of different styles of music but mainly we listen to speed metal, death metal… I mean, I’m not too sure how people are going to label our style but pretty much we’ve been playing this same style since we’ve started and we just feel comfortable playing with. Although a lot of bands have stopped doing it since we’ve started but this is what we like doing and this is what we’re going to do. We’re not going to sell out or play something different just to get some radio play.

After listening to "Crucify the Priest" my first impression was that you went for an old-school death metal formula. Was it intentional? Did you just want to play the music you grew up on?

That’s the style of music we started playing and it seems like it’s has taken us a while to get it out. We’ve been doing this the whole time it’s just taken so long for us to get out it seems a little outdated now but that’s why we’re trying to throw in the heavy parts in there just to stay more modern. We’ve been doing a little bit of changes just to stick with the times but mainly we are speed metal band.

Who’s the main songwriter in Bludgeon and how does the composing process work in your band?

Mark, our singer, he pretty much writes all the lyrics but as far as the songs go… no one ever comes to the practice and says ‘Oh, I have this song finished’ and everyone sits down and listens how it goes. We’ve just been sitting around, like I said we all live here, that’s where we practice, so someone will be just messing around on the guitar or bass or I’ll be back there beating on the drums and someone will hear something that catches him will say ‘OK, play that again’. We pretty much go with everything… of course not everything is kept. There is a lot of songs where we complete the whole 4 minute song, I mean not on the spot it would take us a week to get it all together, and after a listening to the whole thing we’re like ‘it’s not something we’re going to do’ and we drop it.

Do you want to send some kind of a message with the title of your album?

Not really. The lyrics and stuff pretty much just go with that style of the music and we’re not trying to put on any image like a… not that we have something against Deicide but Deicide puts on real antireligious thing and we are not out to do that at all. It’s just the name of one of our songs and we though it does grab people’s attention so it couldn’t hurt to name the album that. We had mentioned it to Ken Kelly, the artist who did the cover, and within couple hours he had a sketch that we really liked so we figured you know, just go with the good thing.

So, when Mark writes the lyrics do they reflect the band’s view or they are there just to fit the music?

It has a lot to do with the music but a lot of this stuff touches base with him personally too and he would actually be the best person to answer that… He’s actually in the room, hang on one second…

Hi Mark, I just have a few questions about your lyrics… Where do the inspirations come from, do they reflect your personal views or do you write them just to fit the music?

Hi Chris. Well, the lyrics come from a lot of different places. It could be a dream I might’ve had, the trip I’ve taken, maybe something inspired me to write in the movie I’ve seen you know, just anything. Sometimes I let the songs speak to me.

But as I was talking to Matt, it seems that maybe you are not really an antireligious band with exception to the title of the album and few other lyrics?

You have to read between the lines on that one. It doesn’t literally mean to go and crucify the priest, it’s just telling you to look and see a little bit deeper. There’re some priest out there that are using the collar maybe just to manipulate people. There’s a lot of stuff going on in today’s society you just read between the lines and don’t take everything just from what they tell you.

Do you have any goals that you want to achieve with Bludgeon or right now is it just about having fun and doing what you love to do?

We want to just go out there and play as many shows as we can. Make as many records as we can and our goal? Like any other band to maybe someday be like Ozzy or Zeppelin or something that’s going to be there that 30-40 years from now somebody is going to say ‘Yeah man, these guys fucking still kick ass!’

You’re starting on pretty high note anyway… you are going to open a few shows for Manowar. How did that happen? Many bands would kill for opportunity like that…

Yeah, they are a great band. They’re loud! They put on a great show I mean, it’s almost like when you go to the airport and you look at the plane and see the air behind it because of the heat that’s how you can almost see the sound. It’s so loud you can just feel it in your chest inside! It feels like someone is just begging you!

How did you end up on Metal Blade Records? Was it one day out of nowhere that they showed up at your door?

No, Joey set it up. He called us and said 'I’m bringing Brian Slagel over, we’re going to be there and I want you guys to jam a little’. Next thing you know there is Brian Slagel in our living room. We sat down, we jammed a little, had couple of beers and said let’s make a record. He really liked our music and that’s why we wanted to go with them because we want to work with someone who likes the music for what it is and doesn’t want to change it. Like in a lot of bigger labels, they’d say we like the way the band sounds but I want you to sing like this… We don’t want that. We are who we are and if you don’t like it then…

Your bio says you didn’t want to go to a professional studio because you wanted to sound more brutal and you decided to record everything at home. Who came up with this idea?

Joey suggested that we could capture the band right here in our living room. That it would be almost like sitting here with us checking it out. He thought that it was the way that the people needed to hear the band and we said ‘let’s try it.’ We never did anything like that, every time we did a demo we’ve always gone to the studio and that was something new for us. I think it really worked out good for us.

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Scholomance have been around for a few years but are only now becoming a bit more widely recognized. With their new album, "The Immorality Murder", the band has once again pushed their limits and they are becoming a better band. Guitarist Scott Crinklaw and I discussed the band, the music scene, and the future.

Allan ‘Enigma’


First I would like to say thanks for giving me the time for this interview.

Thanks for featuring us!

For people unacquainted with your music, could you describe your music and tell us a little bit about the bands history?

Our music is hard to put a label on. It has elements of classical, progressive, death, black metal, and some weirder influences too. It's very technical, built in layers, and each instrument is usually doing something entirely different from the others. Maybe the closest comparison you could make would be Arcturus mixed with Meshuggah or something along those lines. Our lyrics are also quite complex and usually tell an ongoing story. The music should appeal to those who like more intellect in their metal and is designed to not just be an easy listen. We began in 1996 or so, and we continue to hold true to our original wish to create challenging metal. The CDs we have released are "A Treatise On Love", and our latest, "The Immortality Murder" double CD.

Why do you think it was your new album, "The Immortality Murder", that the band has become more widely recognized instead of with your previous album, "A Treatise On Love"?

I don't know. Are we more widely recognized now? It feels about the same to me. If we are indeed more recognized I'd attribute it to the better sound quality and packaging on the new CD. Plus having a double CD doesn't hurt either. I still think the first CD is very good, but the recording quality sucked. It had some excellent songs but most people aren't willing to check them out because it's not an expensive sounding production. If I could, I'd definitely re-record some of those songs. The new songs are much heavier overall and certainly more thought out in the classical sense. There's a lot more piano on the new CD and I think that appeals to people because we approached it in a very heavy sense. It wasn't the usual major keyed neoclassical stuff that people are used to. We feel that our music is also original and something different within the metal scene and I hope that is one of the biggest factors that draws people to us.

You have been with The End Records for a few years. Are you still glad to be apart of The End Records and how has the experience been?

Yeah, we've been with them from the start. Working with Andreas has always been pretty easy. It doesn't really feel like a label/business situation at all since I've been in touch with him for so long now. Lately the label has grown immensely so some things have changed a bit - some better, some worse. I'm pleased to now share the label with Arcturus, Green Carnation, and Winds. I have a lot of respect for the musicians in those bands and it is nice to have something in common with your label mates.

For a unique band like Scholomance, what is it that influences you and your band mates to create something so unique or become an experienced musician?

I don't understand why anyone would not want to be unique. There is no reason to simply blend in or follow the lead of another, in music or in life. Ultimate satisfaction is in creating something of your very own. If you also desire success outside of yourself, you must stand above the rest in what ways that you're able. In music, we feel you should never stagnate and settle for less than the best you're capable of. Always improve. Always progress. Results come with trial and difficulty and there is no reason to fear improving your abilities. Ability and experience are two different things. Experience comes with time and will come about naturally. It really cannot be rushed. In music, experience can easily outshine pure ability but if you have both, you're on the road to personal bliss. Music is probably the most beautiful form of expression. To fully express all the emotions within myself and my subjects, I've always felt that I need to have extensive musical knowledge and skill. Though some disagree a bit, I still have a very long way to go and will probably never be satisfied with what I attain.

Since you think that you always improve and progress, do you think Scholomance as a band will continue to push their own boundaries? It seems to me that a lot of progressive metal bands reach their goal with a progressive album, but then they quit pushing themselves.

Yeah, if we don't feel challenged anymore, we'll no doubt put the band to rest. We would like each album to be a bit different while still keeping some of our signature ingredients. We won't do anything like Ulver and suddenly switch to electronica, but I hope each CD will have its own identity. There's still a lot we can do with this band and many things we haven't even tried yet. I think it can only get better in the future.

With "The Immortality Murder", you released a second disk that was without vocals. What was the reasoning behind this?

We thought it would be cool for people who were into traditional prog and shred metal. It's also nice to have something to show people who aren't into metal at all. The piano instrumentals can appeal to those people especially. We're great fans of instrumental music so it seemed logical for us to try it. People seem to enjoy the instrumentals a lot.

Yeah. I think it's a nice thing to have to show people who aren't into metal, because it's always the vocals that turn people off. Do you think you'll do this with your next release also?

We might do it again. I've wanted to do some acoustic guitar instrumentals for a long time. We almost did an acoustic version of 'Virus: The Theft of Knowledge' this time, but it didn't turn out how we liked so we scrapped it. I'm sure you can expect some instrumental madness, even if we don't do a whole CD of it. This time the piano stuff was improvised for fun, but I think if we did more piano stuff we'd probably do some more intricate and thought out pieces.

If there was another band playing the same music you guys did, they probably wouldn't have chosen black metal vocals. Why did the band go with black metal vocals as opposed to another style?

We just like aggressive vocals and playing aggressive music. We're death metal fans from the start. Aggression has always been appealing in what we listen to and like. There are tons of prog bands out there with melodic, and usually badly performed, vocals. There are not many technical death metal bands in the world. With a more brutal style of music, you have fewer limits on what you can do creatively. Melodic vocals are more limiting in my opinion. The music must suit the vocalist and must be flowing enough to allow for longer sustained vocal lines. With music like ours that constantly changes time signatures and key changes, a real singer would have nightmares trying to do it all correctly and in key. You can bet we're not going to simplify our music for anything. It only gets more complicated.

If you found a singer that had the ability to perform to the music, would you ever think of using clean vocals?

No, we wouldn't. I'd consider it on one or two songs perhaps, but it would really need to fit in and have a purpose. Like I said, we're death metal fans and I think the music will only continue to get heavier and more complex. A full time melodic vocalist would probably only take away from the overall heaviness. Maybe if it was someone like Warrell Dane or Tim Aymar it'd work, but certainly not your Stratovarius or Hammerfall kind of vocals. That kind of vocalist who can stay in key and still sound pissed is something that's truly rare.

"The Immortality Murder" is a concept album. Could you give us some insight into the concept, and if there is, what is the relation with the album and the cover art?

The concept follows the thoughts, personal work and writing of a serial murderer. It continues where "A Treatise On Love" left off. There are many details in the lyrics that deal with psychology, sociology, religion, love, and mental affliction. I don't really like to go into step by step detail of what everything is because I always feel its best for people to have their own perceptions on poetry, prose, and music. The cover and booklet art is an extension of the story and adds some locations and faces to the story.

It seems like the lyrical concepts are important to the band. Who writes the lyrics? Do they have input from the entire band?

The lyrics are just as important as the music! I usually write the conceptual lyrics and Jimmy writes some of the other ones for the single songs. We write separately and pretty much let each other do our own thing. I generally think shared lyric writing is very confusing. When we have two people with their own ideas and equal but different writing technique, it just works better to do the lyrics on our own.

In the future do you plan to get a drummer to work on the album instead of programming them?

I would like to say that we plan to get a full time drummer, but we can't count on that happening. We are an extremely demanding group of guys and we have yet to find anyone who is willing to put forth the effort needed to be a drummer in this band. We need someone with both a brutal playing edge and finesse and mastery, most likely from jazz training. It would probably need to be someone with at least 10 years of constant practice and band experience.

It should be pretty hard to find a drummer to meet those standards, unless somebody from an established band wanted to join you guys. Do you ever plan on touring or performing live?

We have never been offered a decent tour. We do play live in our area of the country. It's not that often anymore due to work schedules and other obligations, but we still do it. We practice a lot so we are more than capable of pulling off most everything you hear on the albums note for note.

In the metal scene right now, what do you think is good?

Hmm, not a lot is good in the current metal scene. It's all pretty redundant right now. All the bands that were once good keep releasing the same album over and over. I think Nevermore are a good metal band who continue to improve. I enjoyed the new Arch Enemy CD, Winds, and the new Arcturus. I listen to the older bands like Death, Entombed, Forbidden, Malevolent Creation, Gorguts, Cynic & Meshuggah. Apart from that I'm listening to extreme, technical hardcore like Every Time I Die, Burnt By The Sun, Eighteen Visions, and Poison The Well.

What are your plans for the next release? Any ideas yet?

I have lots of ideas in my head. It should definitely be a concept to surpass the first two albums completely. It will be more unified and one of the most in depth and detailed concepts in the metal genre. It's a daunting task to begin putting things together because of the vision I have for it. Musically it's in the infant stages right now.

Well I would like to thank you for your time. Do you have any last comments for the fans?

I hope everyone checks out our latest CD! If you liked the first one, you'll definitely dig the new stuff! Thanks for the interview.

Email: XscholomanceX@aol.com
Scholomance HTML: http://www.angelfire.com/sc/scholomance/main.html
Scholomance Flash: http://www.theendrecords.com/html/scholomance.html

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Getting a little bit tired of all those melodic death metal bands? Pick up the latest The Crown outburst "Crowned in Terror" and I promise you won't be singing any of those sweet melodies for a long time. Although their music is also based on good dose of melody; aggression, speed and power is what makes them stand atop their peers. Those five guys are like bulls on Speed ready to tear any place down wherever they show up. With the addition of Tomas Lindberg (ex-At The Gates, Skitsystem, Lock Up, Disfear, The Great Deceiver) The Crown opens a new chapter in their career and sets the bar even higher. Just a week before they hit the States I had the pleasure to talk to Janne Saarenpää (drums) about their new member, album and musical inspirations.

Chris


Ready to conquer the States?

Yeah. [laughs] I hope so.

What's next, what are the plans for the rest of the world?

I don't know. There's a lots of talk and a lots of stuff going on but you know, there's always a lots of talk in the music industry. [laughs] So, there's not much worth mentioning since nothing is decided yet. We have two festivals booked; one in Germany and one in Finland but we're hoping for a good European tour and there's actually a talk about second US tour so, we're hoping for the best.

Tell us more about the latest news of Axis Percussion officially signs you?

Well, cool thing. I'm using their pedals and they were interested with endorsing them with people like me. It feels really cool to have my first endorsement deal; I'm actually first in a band to have one. I'm nothing but honored.

Maybe that's your first step to live from drumming only?

Yeah, I hope so. [laughs]

Since At The Gates called it quits Tomas Lindberg was involved in and still is, I think 4 (Skitsystem, Lock Up, Disfear and The Great Deceiver) projects so, how did he end up in The Crown?

We have known him for several years, actually. When we did our first tour in Europe we had a warm out band called Sacrilege and they didn't have a singer so he was hired to do the tour with them. That whole tour was one big ass misery; poorly arranged, everything was shitty but from all this we could always get into part mood and do great shows and have fun. We could see it right then that Tomas was really a cool guy and if things could go rough with The Crown he would be the good guy to work with. So, when Johan quit we wanted to have a guy that's experienced who've worked on the scene for many years and is as hungry as we are. Tomas was really the first and maybe the only name that come out when we were talked about replacement.

Aren't you afraid that with all these bands that are issuing albums with Tomas fronting that his voice won't be recognized as a unique for The Crown only?

Yeah, of course that's never good. I, personally really want to stay true to The Crown because playing in only one band only I'll help to preserve our sound somewhat unique. Of course he's wearing his voice out in many ways with those other bands but most of those bands are maybe not that... big and they are not into this same kind of music. OK, it's metal but it's not death metal so, it still feels it's really worth the shot because he's a great singer. You can hear that on this new album that he's at least as hungry, if not even hungrier then we are. It's a move in the right direction anyway.

Since you've announced the change of the vocalist so long ago was Tomas involved in the writing process of this material?

It was pretty much lyrics only, also Magnus, our bass player, he also wrote some of them since he already started coming up with the titles and concepts for them. It really helped Tomas to get into the band even faster. So, for this album he worked on lyrics only but I'm sure on the next one he will have as much input as everyone else in the band.

Since 'Death Metal Holocaust' features Johan Lindstrand as a guest vocalist does it mean that the band's members are still good friends with him and there was really no bad blood when he quit?

That's pretty much it and that was very cool way for him to say goodbye to us and fans. Of course it was hard when he mentioned that he wants to quit the band but he was nice enough to say it in due time. When he actually quit it was almost a year since the first time he mentioned it and that's of course helped us to still be friends through all this.

Was it also like returning the favor since Tomas guested on your previous album?

Yeah, that also. It was cool, Tomas sang on our previous album so why not switch everything. [laughs]

Going back to the hunger topic... It seems like The Crown have sped up the tempo and it's even more aggressive than before. Was it intentional or new blood ignited the flame?

No, it wasn't intentional and I feel really good saying that because you can tell that many band are only aiming to get more brutal and that sucks 'cause you can see that their songs aren't turning out as good as they could have been. It just turned out this way and I think the main reason that our songs are faster and more brutal is because we have been touring with these total high quality bands. The US tour with Cannibal Corpse, Nile and Krisiun [laughs] it can't get any better. European tour with Morbid Angel... after seeing those bands every night for four- five weeks it brings back memories how it is to play fast. They are gods in handling their instrument so all those bands really inspired us a lot. Plus we are big fans of those bands too so; it just felt natural to speed it up.

The Crown started as a death metal band but it's hard to call "Crowned In Terror" a death metal release. Did it also just turn out this way or you don't want to limit yourself within one music genre?

Well, when people ask us what we're playing we say death metal but after the second album we were quite confident in ourselves that we could try stuff that all of us like even though it might not be the purest death metal. We didn't want to limit us to one genre only we wanted to do death metal but with other elements in it that we like and what style it would be it's not really important as long as we feel it sounds as The Crown.

What in your mind differs The Crown from the rest of the Sweden's scene?

I don't know... there's a lot of talk about Gothenburg sound that is almost purely about melody and we're not about melody only. It's hard to say... but I think we are a bit more brutal and faster than usual Swedish bands.

I've got one more that's even harder to answer... where do you feel you stand among your peers (Entombed, The Haunted, Soilwork...)?

Somewhere in the middle... [laughs] It's really hard to say. I would pay money to get a chance to jump out of the band and become a fan not involved in the band just to know how people look at us. Are we big in Sweden? Are we small? It's impossible to tell from where I stand, really.

Wasn't the choice of Mega Studio a conscious decision to separate The Crown from all those bands that record in Fredman and Abyss?

Well... [laughs] We were actually about to go to Fredman's studio again but as usual we were very lazy booking the studio and stuff, so when we called him he told us he has some free time in March, right now. So, we would begin recording now and that made us to pick Studio Mega. We knew he didn't do any big albums before but he has a good equipment and right attitude so, we felt like we can take a shot and try it right there. The plan was to mix that stuff in Studio Fredman and we did so, but it didn't sound good, those studios didn't mix well. So, we went back to Studio Mega, which was a good decision because at the end we could really hear that we sound as good as it does on the album. We weren't afraid to get Gothenburg sound going to Fredman because we're pretty confident that when we go to the studio with ourselves and our equipment I'm sure we will preserve at least parts of The Crown. You'll always hear it's The Crown album, no matter what studio we're in.

Can you explain why on the back cover of the booklet your logo remind me so much of Venom? I don't see too many similarities between two bands?

No, it's very much a coincidence. It was this German friend of our bass player who had made it for fun on his computer and he send it too him to check it out. We though it was so well made that we might as well put in on the album. Yeah, we don't sound as Venom but having this sign there is kind of a paying tribute to them for being there when this form of music was created. They are one of the most important bands for us; we wouldn't sound like we do if Venom wasn't there at the beginning. I hope Venom guys won't take it as a plagiarism...

Since you've started playing as young kids I was wondering if are you still good friends that meet together for a beer, go out or wives and families (or girlfriends) took it all away?

No, that's pretty much part of the magic. When Johan quit I was afraid that we would lose this because we have always been very good friends, seeing each other often and going out together but we still do. That's pretty much the magic of the band because we stayed together for so long and we're still good friends and I really hope that it will last forever.

Unfortunately it's time to end this interview... all I can say is to congratulate you on really great album and I hope to talk to you in person in two weeks in Chicago. Any final comments?

Cool. I hope that all the people that would read this interview will check out our album and maybe come to the show to see us 'cause we love playing live and the more people the merrier, as they say. [laughs]

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Even though Winds is another all-star band from Norway (and you all should know how I feel about those kinds of projects by now), after checking the line up I immediately knew that we are here for a special treat. Lars Eric Si (vocals), Carl August Tidemann (guitar), Jan Axel von Blomberg (drums) and Andy Winter (keys) are the names behind this band and if you’ve heard their work with other outfits (Arcturus, Mayhem, Kovenant, Tritonus, Khold…) you’d know that they don’t disappoint their fans. After the very good mini CD “Of Entity and Mind” came time for a full-length, “Reflections of the I”. And what can I say? It’s one of the most intelligent, mesmerizing and captivating albums I’ve heard to date. It’s a perfect blend of classical music with metal, from outstanding lyrics performed by Lars to flawless musical arrangements “Reflections of the I” deserves a listen by everyone to whom music is more than just an entertainment. Winds create art of the highest class. So, without further introduction I strongly recommend picking up this masterpiece and reading what Andy Winter and Jan Axel von Blomberg had to say about it.

Chris


How did Winds come to life? Did the overall vision of band's sound and music direction have any effect on the selection of the members?

AW: Basically, how it started out was a little bit a coincidence actually where it started out being kind of like a project that eventually developed a little bit here a little bit there by coincidence, everyone come together. And than after we recorded the first CD, when we kind of didn't have a clear plan of what is going to be happening with Winds, after that the four members forming the Winds today we decided that we want to keep doing this and pursue the band further and we decided to make it a band instead of just a project and we continued working on it till where we are today.

Actually I just wanted to ask you does heavy involvement of Winds members with other bands makes this band a side project or fully functional band? So, you are a regular band now.

JA: Yeah, absolutely. I have all sorts of different bands and project and I also do a lot of work as a session musician but it's not the case with Winds because Winds is...
AW: Your band as well.
JA: You bet it is. [laughs]
AW: Absolutely, and also the other thing is that Jan Axel is really the only member who has the major bands on the side because the other members of Winds really don't. For me, Carl and Lars Winds is the only band and our main priority. All the other involvements we have are just minor side projects and not really that significant when it comes down to it. [laughs] I know Carl works on his solo album and things like that and he also has Tritonus but Tritonus really hasn't been able to do too much lately because I think they're very busy with other things and because of he's involvement with solo album that he's working on and that will be actually happening. Lars is no longer playing in Khold so for him it's only Winds too.

That's great to hear cause I already can't wait for the follow up...

AW: You just got it and you already want a follow up? [laughs]

It's not like I just got it... I listen to it for at least 3 week now.

AW: OK, that's better. [laughs]

What were you and other members looking for while joining this band? Looking at the list of bands you guys play with you cover almost all aspects of metal, from black to power. (Mayhem, The Kovenant, Arcturus, Tritonus, Khold, Sensa Anima, and now Winds)

AW: For me personally what it was is to explore new musical ground and to do something different. I mean, what I've been doing in my background before is more like I played in different rock bands and things like that and never really played in any metal bands. So, for me it's interesting to venture new grounds and I think it's also this same for everyone; it's something different from what they've done before. It's always a goal to try to evolve musically and not to get locked into one thing because if you do that you can very easily become locked as a musician and not grow musically.
JA: I'm sure that we have some aspects of other metal styles in our music but I feel that with Winds we have our own sound and I haven't really heard any other metal or rock band I can categorize with us or compare to.

I don't want to give your band any tags like dark/progressive metal or anything like that cause I don't think that other than characterizing Winds as just a beautiful music, anyone can fully describe you sound...

AW: I accept your description. [laughs]

Do you have your own description of your sound?

JA: Do we? I don't know.
AW: No, the thing is a lot of us really hate labeling music. It's like people have to put labels on everything. I think that any label you find for Winds it won't completely cover what it is and it's better to take music for what music is and just listen to it. If someone wants to put a label on it that's fine with us but we're not going to put any label on it. We're just going to say it's music and that's it.
JA: All that I can say is that it's in realm of rock and metal. That's for sure but it also incorporates classical music so, if you had to you could call it a neo-classical-progressive metal.
AW: Yeah, that at least should cover our first MCD.
JA: Our new albums is a little bit different; it's heavier, it has a little bit different sound, it's more...
AW: Symphonic
JA: Absolutely.
AW: I agree. You can come up with many different labels but at the end you wont find one that would suite our sound. It has neo-classical element, classical elements, progressive, elements of jazz and pretty much anything. All musical skeletons we have we try to put into our sound. [laugs]

It has to feel great to come up with something new that no one can really put a tag on it especially in today's scene where almost hundreds of bands are formed every year?

JA: It does. That's the reason we stayed as a band and wanted to make it a full time band. We felt we have something unique going on and I think Winds is really making a name for themselves.

Musically you represent one of the best blends I've ever heard of technicality and taste without compromising the atmosphere and overall melancholic feel of the album. Did you make it one of your main goals while writing "Reflections of the I"?

AW: I think when we wrote the album we didn't really keep in mind that we're going to make it this way or that way, it was more just writing the material and coming from our feelings and musicianship and trying to create something based on ourselves. For me at least it's a very personal album I've put a lot of my personality into songwriting and pretty much everything. But I think also that it's really important thing for us to not to overuse our technical skills even though in my opinion everyone in the band is quite superior as far as technical musicianship but it's important to keep in mind that technique is not what makes great music. It's actually taste and feelings. For me it's important to write the music that can be on a high technical level but it also has to have a good musicality behind it, it's really important...
JA: Absolutely, it's good to have technical skills but musicality has to be good too. If you can combine those two together then you can make something special.
AW: I think we kept in mind to do so and that's why our music is so diverse with some intense sections with really fast double bass drums and really fast guitar picking and also quiet parts with jazzy typo of beats and very symphonic parts with strings and piano.

The music just flows from the speakers... After listening to the album I had the felling that I wasn't listening to your first full-length CD but rather to a group of people that played together forever. It seems like each one of you feeds of each other and Winds wouldn't exist without one of you, is your music in any way a reflection of the relationship between the members?

JA: Yeah, I think that's one of the things that makes this band so special. Each one of us throws something unique... My drumming, Carl's guitar and Andy's writing and excellent musical skills make like the essence of this band. I think it pretty much lies in the name of the band; Winds is a perfect name for this unit...
AW: We must not forget about Lars...
AJ: Sure, sure...
AW: [laughs]... who does a lot of work also with strings and vocal arrangements. I have to agree with you and actually other people have said it too in their comments about the band and when we talked about it we've said that if one of the members is not in Winds it's not really Winds anymore. Our music is really a reflection of four of us.
AJ: We are like four winds; West, East, North and South. We just don't know which one is which yet. [laughs]
AW: I also had a comment on... Oh shit, I forgot. What were we saying before this winds stuff?

The way you guys feed of each other musically?

Oh, I remember what you've said now but I think my comment was totally lost. Maybe I'll think of it and come back with it later on.

OK, so lets move on... there are too many great songs to mention, almost all of them...

AW: Almost??? [laughs]

Yeah, cause some of them are more like intros to the real songs and that's why I've said almost... All songs are great, I'm sorry, it won't happen again...

[We laugh]

...But 'Reason's Desire' with its beautiful music and lyrics moved me so deeply that for the first time in years I dusted off my guitar and started playing again. I was promising myself to do this for a long time but this album actually made me do it. How does it feel to know that your music inspires people all over the world?

AW: Wow...
JA: It feels very good.
AW: It feels awesome and it's really an inspiration for us too to hear that other people are inspired by our music, it really is and there's nothing more rewarding for us as a musicians to hear that.
JA: It's the best complement you can get as a musician.

Inspiration by classical music is well evident; use of piano and the full string of violins enhances the dreamy fell and adds more natural touch instead of computer or keyboard driven effects. Are you against using artificial effects or in your mind there's no place for them in your music?

AW: I'm not against it but as you've said there's no place for it in our music because Winds is a very organic band. If you want something to have a violin feel to it use real violin and not just a keyboard that has a violin sound. Actually we've got a review from a magazine that really liked the mini CD and they though that very very modest use of synthesizers that I've used on this album enhanced our sound and they've missed it on our new album. All I have to say to that it's not really our sound and on our MCD we worked towards to find our sound and on the new album we found it. We now know what it is and keyboards are not part of it and there won't be much use of it in the future. We're going to use acoustic instruments of different kinds tied in with our normal instrumentation.

And speaking of what was on MCD and it's not part of the "Reflections of the I" are classic guitars. As a big fan of classic guitar I have to know why since you've used it on "Of Entity and Mind" you didn't save at least one part for it on your full CD?

AW: Actually we have written quite a few different things for an acoustic guitar on a couple of songs and we even recorded some of it...

Can I have a copy?

AW: [laughs] Well, basically the reason we decided to not to use it was because there was no room for it with the piano and strings. After we recorded it we said that it would have been too much and decided not to use it this time.

But you're going to use it again in the future?

AW: Yes, that's one of the things we're going to be using and for our future work as you've seen in the past, we are not going to repeat ourselves and do exactly this same thing. We're going to continue in that fashion and try to do something new every time so, next time we are going to make room for many different type of instrumentation. Strings, acoustic guitars, piano, guitar solos... everything.
JA: From my side, I'm going to incorporate some kind of classical percussion instruments like gongs, concert based drums... stuff like that.
AW: Maybe orchestra drums... there are really no formula. We've kind of decided to what we want to do and we do it. We just do what suites the songs and for this particular album there was no room for an acoustic guitars because we went for more symphonic feel with strings and piano driving the music. I'm not too much of a fan of totally over arranging music because I feel it makes it too chaotic and you have to kind of keep a little bit of openness in the sound where you can hear all the elements.

Lyrically "Reflections of the I" is a logical continuation of "Of Entity and Mind" and represents the next chapter of your soul. I wonder how true is the "Reflections of the I" of the writer himself and are we going to hear next chapters with following releases or this concept is closed know?

AW: Basically, the reason why the title of the album is what it is it's because that's what it is, it's very literal and it's a very honest title. And as Jan Axel said with the Winds... that was my comment before, I remember now! Actually, when I thought of Winds while we were recording the drums in the studio for the mini CD and we were driving I told Jan Axel what do you think of the name Winds. He immediately liked it and though that was perfectly suitable name for the band and that was also important to me with the title to emphasize that it's very literal and it means what it means. "Reflections of the I", that's what it means; it's a reflection of us.

But since this is already a second album with this concept are you going to follow it on your next releases or start something new?

AW: No, I think our next album won't be as concept based as this one. Basically because this concept is, to at least some degree, finished but the way the album ended is also in a state where it's not completely closed. So, in the future there might be lyrical themes that would touch, at least on a parallel level but it's not going to be direct continuation as it was the case with mini CD and this album.

Speaking of the next releases, since this material was written almost a year ago I'm sure there are new songs already waiting to be recorded. If so, what can we expect from Winds in the future? Unless you're not going to tell me since this CD is not really out yet?

AW: Well see, the only thing I don't like is to promote the next album when this one is not even released yet. [laughs] But to answer your question, yes I've actually completed all the songs for the new album from my side and the other members are working on them right now. We always try to make something that is a little bit different but it's not going to be too different that you won't know it's Winds. I would say our new compositions are a little bit darker...
JA: What I feel is that those songs are like solar with darker atmosphere... I also feel that they are much stronger composition than our previous ones without saying that this songs are not because they are all absolutely beautiful.
AW: In my opinion they're all absolutely fantastic [they laugh] It's always easy to say that it's going to be better but it really reflects badly on what we've done before and that's not really what we think. For us musicians is important to always improve and to always get better. If we wouldn't be sure that our next album would be better we would probably quit because there's no point to put out the album that's not better from the previous one. Honestly I have to say that it's a very strong material and it's going to blow people away but this album is also really from our souls, it represents our musical journey and we're extremely proud of it.

Oh yes, we've already established that... it's an outstanding album with no weak songs. [We laugh]

AW: That's what we tried to do and it's very nice to hear that we accomplished our goals.

Do you plan to perform with Winds live or is it just a studio band?

AW: We have talked about doing it and we are open to do so if the right opportunities present themselves but we also need to be very picky about it considering that our sound is very difficult to transform from the album onto the stage. With all those different elements we're really dependent on having excellent sound live for it to be something we can stand for. As of right now we don't have any plans but we actually though of doing some festivals in Europe this summer but it's probably not going to happen simply because we need to wait a little bit and find out ways to make sure that everything will be in a way that artistically we can stand for. Sound is so important and it's very difficult to drag the whole string, orchestra on stage because it's very expensive.

Since there are two members of Arcturus playing in Winds, one ex-member and one still active, and both bands new albums are coming out at this same time, is there a competition which band will make better album even though your music differs so much?

JA: Those two bands are completely different. It's just a coincidence that those two albums are coming out at almost exactly this same time. Arcturus material was written like ages ago... I mean, I recorded the drums like 2 years ago and the music was written almost 3 years ago so, those two bands got nothing to do with each other other than I play in both bands.
AW: In having them released at this same time there were two issues as far as Winds was concerned. One was that we would get less priority from the label because Arcturus has been around for a lot longer but on the other hand we though it might actually be good, even though those bands have nothing in common, because people who like Arcturus can also like Winds and people who like Winds can also like Arcturus. Hopefully those two bands will be able to help each other instead creating a competition.
JA: We don't have any competition at all. It was just a coincidence but it was a nice one.
AW: Yeah. The other thing also to emphasize is that Arcturus has been around for a while and I'm not going to take words out of anyone's mouth but as far as I understand it it's going towards the end, isn't it?

No, no, no... Axel, don't tell me that Arcturus called it quits?

JA: I'm afraid so [laughs]

That's not funny... Don't do this. My best bands are breaking up!!!

AW: On the other side of that Winds have just started and we are on the way up...

And that's what keeps me alive, man.

AW: [laughs]
JA: That's cool.
AW: So you know, it's two different bands with two different kinds of music and two different areas of their career. There really is no comparison but even so, both releases can have a potential to be very much appreciated if you like Arcturus and Winds sound.
JA: Also, both bands represent something entirely unique.
AW. Yeah absolutely, I agree.

Is it also a coincidence that both bands ended up on this same label in the States?

[Both laugh] AW: What happened there was, when Andreas first got in touch with me regarding Winds and ended up signing the deal, he told me that he always was a big fan of Arcturus and he would really like to sign them and he asked me if I could help him. I contacted Hellhammer but what he told me was that they are already signed to a different label. So, same as with Winds, Andreas had to talk to the label and I guess they've come to an agreement. That's how that happened.

I guess, it's too early to ask for opinions on The End Records but it seems like they are the hottest label on the market right now.

AW: We are very very satisfied with The End Records and the work they've done for us in US. It's really incredible how professional they are; they are always on top of things. We foresee a great cooperation in the future with them.

So, we found out a lot of great things about Winds, we also found very sad news about Arcturus... I just hope that Winds will for years bring us many, at least as good albums as "Reflections Of The I", and that it will never break up.

AW: No way.
JA: Winds will always be around.

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

Dornenreich are a peculiar entity; riddled with peculiar German lyrics that seem to transcend the barriers of each human emotion whilst taking the listener on a journey of thought about the existence of ourselves. All this from a band that many uneducated minds would deem a common form of black metal. Dornenreich are clearly far, far more. I try to delve deeply into one of Dornenreich’s lyrical mechanics. Through a tumultuous tornado discussing Dornenreich’s English capabilities, Hexenwind and forthcoming albums, Dornenreich’s Eviga has much to offer…

Jack ‘Odel’


First off I would like to thank you Eviga for taking the time out to answer these few questions for Metalbite.com. Could you please tell me how you came together to form Dornenreich and perhaps a bit of background information?

Established in winter 1995 by Valnes, I joined the band in summer 1996 and finally our first line-up was completed by Gilvan in April 1997. Then, in May we released our only demo entitled "Mein Flügelschlag" ("The Beat Of My Wings"), which opened us the door to CCP-Records in July 1997. Well, Valnes and me were sixteen years young yet, the songs we had composed for our debut were ripe and all we wanted to do was record them in a studio as soon as possible. We signed the contract and entered the studio in September 1997. Finally, our debut-album "Nicht um zu sterben" ("Not In Order To Die") was released in January 1998. We received very enthusiastic reviews and great reactions throughout the entire world and after the release of our second album "Bitter ist's dem Tod zu dienen" ("Bitter it is - Serving Death") numerous people seemed to be overwhelmed, indeed. Some appreciated our musical skills, our various individuality and our extraordinarily high level of intensity. But despite of all the encouraging reactions CCP rather failed in promotion and distribution, therefore we made tracks for a label that truthfully appreciates our expressions and emphasizes both quality as well as credible authenticity. After all we found these characteristics in the label-conviction of the German Prophecy Productions - for the people behind Prophecy devote themselves to their ideas and beliefs idealistically and continuously.

"Her Von Welken Nächten"< (even though I could not understand a word of it) was one of my favourite releases of 2001 and I am deeply impressed with the musical abilities of both you guys. Are you happy now, a year down the road with how "Her Von Welken Nächten" turned out? Anything you would want to change?

Naturally "Her Von Welken Nächten" ("From Faded Nights") would sound different if we would record the album over again these days, because we have developed ourselves further of course. However we are proud and we will stay proud of it for the rest of our lives, because we know that we dedicated everything we had to that album; we had an inner vision and we tried our best to create it as similar to this inner vision as possible at the price of total physical and psychic exhaustion.

Now I'm going to be a real pain in the ass by asking this, but could you tell me what each of the 9 songs on "Her Von Welken Nächten" means?

In fact it's impossible to translate every single title literally for my lyrics are based on a rather individual use of German grammar and even vocabulary, but you asked for it, so I'll try my best, however I will leave it up to you to get yourself a rhyme on its sometimes truly ambiguous meanings...

Starting of with the opening song 'Eigenwach' I would say that one might put it like 'Awaken To One's Inner Individuality', for the second song 'Ich Bin Aus Mir' it could be 'I Am (consist/am built) Of Me', then there's the third song 'Wer Hat Angst Vor Einsamkeit?' - possibly 'Who Is Afraid Of Solitude?', furthermore the fourth one 'Grell Und Dunkel Strömt Das Leben' could mean something nearly to 'Life Streams Dazzling And Dark', the fifth title 'Innerwille Ist Mein Docht' might be translated as 'Inner Will Is My Wicked', moreover the sixth song 'Hier Weht Ein Moment' could mean 'Here Waves A Moment', the seventh song 'Schwarz Schaut Tiefsten Lichterglanz' possibly 'Black Sees The Deepest Glimmer Of Lights', the eighth title 'Trauerbrandung' approximately 'Surge Of Sorrow' and finally the song 'Mein Publikum - Der Augenblick' is to mean 'My Audience - The Moment'.

Well, it is really hard to put the hidden puns and various meanings of the original version into another language, especially when this language does differ in the use of grammar - like English does in this very case. Thus I can only hope that you get a vague idea at least. By the way, I am quite sure that the English translation lacks the poetic and aesthetic appeal of the original totally, so...

In the booklet for "Her Von Welken Nächten" it lists Dornenreich as being as three member band; you on vocals, guitars and bass, Valnes on vocals and synthesizers as well as Gilvan on drums and percussion, yet on the Prophecy Productions website (www.prophecyproductions.de) Dornenreich is specified as just you and Valnes. Will Dornenreich likely include Gilvan as a third member for other albums or is he more of a session musician for Dornenreich?

That refers back to a rather sad chapter of the band-history, for Gilvan left Dornenreich last summer due to personal reasons, which Valnes and me can't fully understand in turn, but what are we to do? Well, we have to continue our journey without him. Doubtlessly we had a difficult period back then, but recently we have found a session-drummer, who will play this year's summer-festivals with us and who will support our forth-coming recordings with Dornenreich and Hexenwind too.

Chaos; it is the one word that I can visualise to correctly sum up what I think when I hear Dornenreich. Your music has so much going at once, so many ideas incorporated into the one song...it clearly does become chaotic at times for the listener. But I guess that is a sort of trademark of Dornenreich, to jump from quieter acoustic sections to bombastic heavy guitars and obliterating vocals.

I would put it the following way myself: we tend to burst with ideas (fortunately!). Actually we try to get across numerous moments of varied passion, that is, we intend to do justice to the variety and the contrasts of human emotions, moods and perceptions. We primarily focus on a three-dimensional and thus truly alive expression within the harmony of music, words and visual appearance.

Obviously you feel very at home writing in German as you are able to express yourself better and more sincerely, but is there any possible chance of you doing an English album so people that are not German speaking can understand (like me)?

Possibly I will start English studies at the local university in autumn, consequently I would grow familiar with this language by and by. Then, I would be introduced to all the details, puns and grammatical nuances that are indispensable when trying to write individual and personal lyrics, which has always been incredibly important to me. Apart from that we plan to record a cover-version of Tori Amos' song 'Little Earthquakes' for the fourth Dornenreich album and we are keen on elaborating at least English summaries of our upcoming lyrics in order to include them in the booklets.

Whilst many bands in your former field (that being a variation of black metal) sing about Satan and other silly lyrics, you guys deal with a slightly different form of subject[s]. Could you elaborate about the lyrics that Dornenreich writes?

Basically my lyrics deal with archaic and profound topics such as transitoriness, emotional raggedness, intuition, the balance between reality and dream and will-power to name only a few, because I consider them to be timeless and Omni-relevant for every single human being. Thus these contents affect even my own inner source of existence which enables my special level of delivering my soul through my voice as intensive as it gets at the edge of total physical and psychic exhaustion.

Does Dornenreich get into the whole metal scene much or do you prefer to operate at a distance to all the confines and cliches that metal can often contain with all its cursed genres and labeling of bands? I am guessing you don't so much, as with your signing with Prophecy Productions who support innovation and individuality from their musicians.

You are absolutely right. We are definitely tired of all those categories, cliches and reductions. So Dornenreich and Hexenwind stand out for independent artistic passion far off the stumbling masses.

What do you listen to music wise? What would your top 3 records be at the moment?

As one will probably guess when listening to our music we are really into many different artists, ensembles and bands. We deal with everything that moves us emotionally or saves us from daily-routine superficiality - regardless of any borders of genres. We appreciate authentic and thus credible expressions of black metal, avantgarde, ethno-music, northern folklore over pop, ambient, ritual to classical Music, however it has to be organic, original and intensive. At the moment I'm totally crazy for a band called Notre Dame, which I think is one of the most underrated ensembles of artists at all. I honestly love their unique charisma.

Is there any CDs you are looking forward to this year Eviga? Personally I can't wait for the new Arcturus album; 'The Sham Mirrors' and Thyrfing's 'The Fourth Outrage'.

Nowadays most new releases disappoint me, for they often lack passion and uniqueness, nevertheless I'm anxious about the upcoming albums of The Kovenant, Arcturus and the next full-length album of Notre Dame.

Are you still going ahead with the Dornenreich home video? Is it just going to be VHS or you going to go DVD with it too?

Just yesterday, during a Garmana concert we met a guy who offered us the possibility to cut the first scenes, though I have to admit that we would rather shoot a Hexenwind video this year, because we are full of ideas for that band. So, let's see what will happen...

Are we going to see Dornenreich album number 4 released in 2002?

We plan to start the recordings in summer, but with Dornenreich we will take our time to develop the conception and I think that the album won't be released before winter 2003. Anyway we have already composed material for four CDs.

Has there been any new Dornenreich material prepared since 'Her Von Welken Nächten"? Or you guys just taking it easy at the moment... I know you did a lot of touring after the release of "Her Von Welken Nächten" to support it. If you have prepared any material, is it going to be in the same vein as "Her Von Welken Nächten" or is Dornenreich going to walk down a different path as far as its musical output goes?

Primarily I speak of the forthcoming Hexenwind double-album, which will be released in winter 2002/2003. Besides there is existing a project album for which Valnes wrote lyrics in English and which will feature my guitar-playing exclusively. I in turn have already finished four new Dornenreich songs, which of course will differ from our previous album, for we have in mind many artistic visions. By the way, I will also record vocal parts for the next Angizia album which will be some kind of a cynical, grotesque and even bizarre radio-play. And apart from all those studio-activities we, as I've mentioned above will play at the two biggest German summer festivals, namely the With Full Force Open Air headlining Slayer and the Wacken Open Air headlining Blind Guardian, which will be quite a challenge for Dornenreich.

I would like to give you a big thank you for this great and informative interview Eviga, and truly do look forward to any new musical outputs your creative mind comes out with. Do you have any final words or such?

Well, to come to an end I would like to thank you for your honest interest and support, it has been an honour to do this interview.

Previous Interview OvO with Bruno Dorella (drums)	Next Interview Septicflesh with Sotiris (vocals/bass) & Christos (guitar)

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.

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Aeternus - this name should ring a bell to most fans of extreme metal. Through the years of their Dark metal career they've served us with heavy and powerful hymns, brutal lyrics and their trademark dark atmosphere build upon slow classical guitar passages. Their latest release "Ascension Of Terror" shows a slightly different side: shorter, more aggressive and faster Death style sounding tracks that have only one purpose; level everything in its path. This interview was conducted almost two months ago but for some mysterious (or 'dark' if you prefer) reasons I just got my answers, and Ares straightens me up on some of my vision problems and explains all the personal and musical changes since their last release.

Chris


First of all I'd like to congratulate you on a brilliant piece of work "Ascension of Terror", but what took you so long to release it? It was definitely worth the wait but the material was written last summer.

Allot of delays occurred and we couldn't control any of it. Basically it all came from HHR, but some were on our shoulders as well. Yes, I wrote these songs a loooong time ago, when it came out in Europe this November, it really felt strange as we're way into the new material already.

It's nice to hear that it was worth waiting for: Thank you! People seems to be quite happy with this release and they all say it was worth waiting this long, but then again it should have been out early this year (2001) so...

A few months ago Morrigan left the band and was replaced by V'gandr. How did you find him and is he a permanent band member by now or still with a status of permanent session member?

V'gandr gas a status as a permanent session member, this means that he's there for us as long as he has the time. We didn't actually "find" him; he was the first and best choice for us. He's good at playing and we've seen him live with his own band and were mostly interested in someone who believes in the aggressive way of performing Metal on stage. Aeternus puts allot of weight on that so...

You also have a new guitarist Radek. Can you give us a little background on how did you get him, where did he play before.?

He never really played anywhere, we never really knew him that good either. The thing was that we were tired of having a session guitarist on every damn tour so it was time to get a person who would be with us at all times, doing guitar on tours and at the end, of course, give of himself to the band in the shape of lyrics, music and so forth. When we learned that he played guitar, we asked him if he was interested and he was very, very interested as he was actually a huge fan of Aeternus.

Did Radek have any input, was he involved in a writing process of the new material or he's role for now is just to play what you give it to him?

As far as "Ascension..." he was involved in nothing, but certain arrangements on 'The Lair of Anubis', the last song on that album. I am still the composer of the Aeternus material, but it doesn't mean he can't make stuff for the band.

Even though there are four of you now, the cover is missing Radek (what the hell was I smoking, I meant V'gandr and it turned out to be Morrigan anyway) as a 'source of terror'. Didn't he make the photo shots with the rest of the band?

Hehehehe, Radek is actually on the cover my friend. It's Morrigan who isn't there!
The reason for this was that her interest and time didn't fit with ours and since she had quit the band, we decided to go on ahead without her.

Did lack of Morrigan in any way affect the composing process of the new material?

Aeternus is functioning 100% without her; the only thing I miss sometimes is her great lyrics. They really inspired me and they are all great. Erik and me mixed "Ascension..." alone with Pytten, our Producer and that went just fine. At times I remember that we felt that her opinion could solve problems, but we managed just fine. Morrigan has a strong musical insight and great ideas so not having her there felt weird, but not in any way where we felt that she should have been there.

Your new material differs from your previous releases, is it a natural progression of the band or did you want to do something different and whole process was calculated from the start?

What we wanted with "Ascension..." was to increase the brutal atmospheres within the music by using Death Metal elements in the songs, mixed with the typical Aeternus riffs. This worked out really great and we also got songs that sounded really interesting, looking at them as Death Metal songs. Not typical Death Metal, but something more and melodic. People have told me exactly this and they look upon it all as very interesting as well... Now, allot of people missed the folk elements and acoustic parts, but this was too unsuitable for what we were headed for so we left those aspects out. Our new material contains more "good old" Aeternus riffs and we'll have some folk elements and acoustic guitars on the next album along with some Aeternus elements which people can recognize as Aeternus and nothing else.

Although typical Aeternus dark elements are still preserved, the new album shows much more death metal influences in it. Is this the direction you want to go?

We don't want to go this direction at all. This is stuff we did for "Ascension of Terror" and that's that. However, there are some of these elements on the new material, but that's only natural. I'm trying not to do too much of this, I'm really into the "New thinking" right now and that takes allot of time and hours of playing/practicing and not at least composing.

What happened to your signature classic guitar parts? Are you going to include them on your future albums?

Yes, this I kinda answered on the above answer.... I still really lay the sound of acoustic guitars and I feel it should still be a part of Aeternus and so forth. On "Ascension..." it was simply unsuitable.

Your songs got also much shorter which in my opinion are easier to get into but at this same time more powerful. What was the main difference during this writing session that caused so many differences from your previous releases?

We just wanted to change in different ways you know? It was important not to completely "Take Off" and I don't feel we did. Having shorter songs was natural due to the Death-feel most of them had yes? Powerful and more in the face, yes, that's another thing we wanted with this album. Something that really hit you hard without you understanding what hit you before putting the album on a couple of times you know?

If that's not enough changes you've also lost the corpse paint and Erik goes under his own name instead of Vrolok. Did you get tired of all those black metal comparisons and decided to end it once and for all?

Yes! That's exactly what happened. Erik chose to go by his real name as Vrolok didn't appeal to him in any way any longer and I think that's great because I personally feel that one shouldn't have an "artist-name" unless it means something to you.

Are you or any members of Aeternus still involved in any side projects? I know V'gander has Helheim, you have Corona Borealis...

Right now, I don't have anything, I'm glad though as I have no time these days for something more than Aeternus when it comes to music. Yes, V'gandr has Helheim, so far there has been no complications with him helping us and so forth.

Since "Ascension of Terror" was written over a year ago I bet there is a new material already written for the new album. If so, what can we expect?

Allot of brutal shit of course, but also stuff we haven't done before. We'll try to do some things that one can't really relate too much to Aeternus. This is hard and I'm not sure if we're doing it now, but we'll see... We have to move on as time goes on yes? The challenge is to sound like Aeternus and still be original and make music that gives a feel of something new.
So, we'll see...

What is the promotion plan for the "Ascension of Terror"? How's the touring schedule look like? Any plans to visit the States?

No, USA is not among the tour plans; it's not easy to get things done over there. We'll tour in Europe in March to promote "Ascension of Terror". So far it seems like it's going to be almost a month of touring and that's good.

Speaking of promotion, are you satisfied with the work Hammerheart has done for you so far?

They've done allot of great things for us and they have done some shitty things too. It's like this with all labels and we've been a pain in the ass too, I'm sure. One can't agree on every damn thing in this world so...

Anything else would you like to share with you fans?

Well, Stay Metal and be good!