(you can also download interviews in Rich Text Format documents...
if you need some other format, contact me by e-mail)
Acheron (USA)
And Oceans (Fin)
Flauros (Fin)
Funeral Rites (Jap)
Lycia (USA)
Morningstar (Fin)
Night Conquers Day (USA)
Varathron (Gre)
ACHERON (USA) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by Vincent Crowley
I THINK THE INTERVIEW IN ISTEN #5 IN'91 WAS THE FIRST TIME I NOTICED YOUR BAND. AT THAT TIME YOU WERE PLANNING "RITES OF THE BLACK MASS" DEMO... DO YOU REMEMBER THAT INTERVIEW AND THE FEELINGS AT THAT TIME?
-Sure I remember Isten magazine, it was one of the original fanzines that supported us. It was an early stage of my career, that I miss. Back then band's supported each other and labels weren't the corporate bullshit they are today.
YOUR RELEASES HAVE HAD DIFFERENT LINE-UP ALMOST EVERY TIME, SO MAYBE YOU COULD TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT ROBERT ORR, WHO WAS MENTIONED IN THE BOOKLET OF "RITES..." CD AS THE DRUMMER BUT WHO WAS REPLACED BY JAMES STRAUSS, AND ABOUT TROY HEFFERN, WHOSE NAME WAS MENTIONED IN THE BOOKLET OF "LEX TALIONIS", BUT WHO PLAYED BASS ONLY ON "INRI", WHY THOSE MEN WERE ...HOW WOULD I SAY, LEFT OUT FROM THOSE ALBUMS? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE OTHER OLD (FORGOTTEN?) MEMBERS ARE DOING TODAY?
-I have worked with many musicians in the past to continue the work of ACHERON. Many of the old members have pursued other musical outlets, while others have left the scene all together. I haven't talked to Robert Orr in years, but Troy is still a very good friend of mine. Troy builds houses nowadays.
"ACHERON HAS NEVER BEEN A REAL BAND IN TERMS OF PERMANENT MEMBERS. I CONSIDER MY BAND MEMBERS AS DEMONIC FORCES THAT I CONJURE TO WORK WITH AND IF THE POWER GOES AWAY, I START WORKING WITH SOMEONE NEW"... THIS STATEMENT WAS TAKEN FROM SOUNDS OF DEATH MAG. #8. YOU ALSO TOLD IN THE INTERVIEW THAT YOU ARE VERY PLEASED BECAUSE THE NEW DRUMMER, KEYBOARDIST AND GUITARIST ARE THE BEST MUSICIANS YOU HAVE EVER PLAYED WITH, SO WHAT IS REALLY NEEDED/REQUIRED TO BE ABLE TO PLAY IN ACHERON? IS IT REALLY ENOUGH TO BE A SKILLED MUSICIAN, NO MATTER IF THE PLAYER ISN'T A SATANIST, FOR EXAMPLE?
-I only want to work with people that I feel can enhance the ACHERON music. Presently, I am working very well with lead guitarist Michael Estes and I am looking forward to doing some writing with him. You don't have to be a Satanist to play in ACHERON, but you have to at least respect what I am writing about. And of course you must be anti-christian.
THERE'S AN INTERESTING CONNECTION BETWEEN ACHERON (YOU!) AND NOCTURNUS... YOU PLAYED IN NOCTURNUS UNTIL 1988, BEFORE THE ALBUMS, BUT YOU STILL DID THE DEMO CALLED "THE ORIGINAL SIN" AND ACCORDING TO YOU, SOME OF THE SONGS WERE REDONE BY ACHERON ON THE "LEX TALIONIS" ALBUM, WHAT ARE THEY? DID MIKE BROWNING RELEASE ANY OF THE SONGS FROM THE TIME YOU WERE PLAYING IN NOCTURNUS ON THE ALBUMS, HAS HE REDONE ANY OF THEM?
-The old NOCTURNUS songs we used on "Lex Talionis" were Enter Thy Coven; Legions of Hatred; Slaughterization for Satan; and The Entity. The only songs Mike used that I co-wrote were Before Christ/After Death and Standing in Blood.
MIKE BROWNING HANDLED THE DRUMMING ON YOUR RELEASES BETWEEN 1992 AND 1994, SO IT SEEMS LIKE YOU GET ALONG WITH EACH OTHER... DID YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER CO- OPERATION, DID YOU E.G. HELP MIKE WITH NOCTURNUS IN ANY WAY? WHAT IS HE DOING NOWADAYS?
-Me and Mike are still friends and have been talking about maybe working on a project together in the future. Presently, Mike is playing with a band called HELL ON EARTH.
PETE SLATE TOLD IN THE INTERVIEW I MADE IN '96 (DARK MOON #3) THAT YOU WANT TO RE-RECORD THE "LEX TALIONIS" ALBUM, AND I HAVE SEEN A "SPLIT" CD WITH "LEX TALIONIS" AND "SATANIC VICTORY" PUT TOGETHER, AND IT WAS NOT RELEASED BY MORIBUND BUT BLACKEND INSTEAD... ANYWAY, DOES THAT SPLIT HAVE THE BETTER AND MORE SATISFYING VERSION OF "LEX TALIONIS"?
-I did want to re-record that album, but I never got a chance to do so. The Blackend label just re-released "Lex Talionis/Satanic Victory" without my permission. In actuality the Blackend version is an illegal bootleg.
BESIDES THE SEVERAL LINE-UP CHANGES, YOUR STUFF IS ALSO RELEASED BY SEVERAL LABELS DURING THE YEARS... TURBO MUSIC, LETHAL RECORDS, MORIBUND RECORDS AND THOSE ARE ONLY THE "ORIGINAL" ALBUMS, THERE ARE ALSO OTHER STUFF RELEASED BUT WHEN I LOOK AT THOSE TWO NAMES, TURBO AND LETHAL, THERE ARE ONLY TWO WORDS THAT COME TO MY MIND; RIP...OFF! SO, WHY THE HELL YOU CHOSE THOSE LABELS? I HAVEN'T HEARD MANY POSITIVE OPINIONS ABOUT THOSE "LABELS" SO FAR, BUT DO YOU THINK THEY MANAGED TO SUPPORT ACHERON OR COULD IT BE POSSIBLE THAT PEOPLE REFUSED TO BUY YOUR FIRST THREE ALBUMS BECAUSE THEY WERE RELEASED BY THOSE LABELS, KNOWN BY THEIR SUSPICIOUS REPUTATION?
-Every label, with the exception of Moribund records have been rip offs. But I have learned from my mistakes. I'm sure many fans rebuked the rip off labels of the past, while others didn't really know what was going on.
NEXT QUOTATION IS FROM THE ISTEN #5 FIRST THE COMMENT OF LUUKAS LAHTINEN WHO MADE THE INTERVIEW... "SOME GREEDY PIGS WHO RUN THEIR SILLY LABELS ARE GOING TO SIGN A LOT OF NOT VERY INTERESTING NOR GOOD BANDS WHEREAS SOME OF THE MOST TALENTED GROUPS HAVE TO COPE WITHOUT..." AND YOU ANSWERED: "WELL, SOME BANDS ARE JUST WAITING FOR THE RIGHT LABEL THAT WON'T FUCK THEM OVER, AND OTHERS JUST SIGN TO THE FIRST ONE THAT COMES THEIR WAY". SO I ASK; DID YOU WAIT FOR THE RIGHT LABEL? IT'S EASY TO BE SARCASTIC, ESPECIALLY AFTERWARDS, BUT TURBO AND ESPECIALLY LETHAL ARE LABELS I'D AVOID AS WELL AS I CAN... BUT AM I JUST FOOLED BY THE RUMOURS, ARE THOSE LABELS ACTUALLY SO GOOD THAT YOU WOULD SIGN THEM AGAIN IF YOU HAD "THE RITES..." DEMO ON YOUR HANDS, AND JUST STARTING YOUR "CAREER"?
-Well each of these labels were great with us in the beginning. In fact Lethal Records flew us to Austria to record "Lex Talionis". But I never jumped on the first thing that came our way. Our contract were just not honored. And any label can do that. My only disappointment was not signing to Osmose Productions years ago when Herve was interested in signing us.
LETHAL-BOSS MICHAEL PIESCH TRIED TO CENSOR YOUR "SATANIC VICTORY" EP, HE DID WANT TO REMOVE THE INTROS AND CHANGE THE COVER ARTWORK... YOU SAY, HOWEVER, THAT LETHAL DID A LOT OF AD CAMPAIGNS IN EUROPE, REALLY? DO YOU ADMIRE M. PIESCH?
-No, he is a piece of shit in my eyes. He only promoted ACHERON's album to make him more money.
NOW YOU HAVE A DEAL WITH MORIBUND RECORDS, WHAT IS IT LIKE? BIG BUCKS, ADS ON THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE NEW YORK TIMES, OR SOMETHING ELSE?
-Moribund Records is a small label that has been very up front and honest with me since we signed to them. We may need to find a bigger label later on, but Moribund is doing the best they can do for us, without ripping us off.
"THOSE WHO HAVE RISEN" ALBUM WAS FIRST SUPPOSED TO BE RELEASED BY EVIL OMEN... WERE THE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS THE REAL REASON FOR LUDO'S DECISION NOT TO RELEASE IT AFTER ALL? DID YOU ALREADY RECORD SOMETHING BEFORE LUDO TOLD ABOUT NOT RELEASING IT?
-Evil Omen didn't have the budget to put us into the studio to record "Those Who Have Risen". Ludo said he was disappointed that he couldn't put out the album, but at least he was honest and didn't string us along.
"THOSE WHO..." IS A CONCEPT ALBUM BASED ON THE TEMPLE OF THE VAMPIRE... WHAT'S THAT?
-It stems from the ancient cult Hekal Tiamat that was formed in the civilization of UR. Their practices have been secretive for years and years.
YOU'RE AN INITIATE OF THE PRIESTHOOD OF UR, A SECRETIVE ORDER OF THE INNER TEMPLE, AND "THOSE WHO HAVE RISEN" WILL REVEAL THE SECRETS OF TRUE VAMPIRISM... EXPLAIN, PLEASE!?
-It will be a calling to those of the royal bloodline. The predator legions. It will explain various things about the Temple of the Vampire and its people without revealing all its inner secrets. It will explain some of the mythos and teachings.
IN 1994, A.S.LAVEY APPOINTED YOU TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF THE CHURCH OF SATAN... AND I ALSO KNOW THAT PETER GILMORE HAD AN IMPORTANT ROLE WHEN YOU DECIDED TO JOIN THE CHURCH OF SATAN, BUT WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU READ THE SATANIC BIBLE FOR THE FIRST TIME, DID IT ENCHANT YOU? I THINK YOU READ IT LONG TIME BEFORE YOUR JOINING, RIGHT?
-I read and agreed with "The Satanic Bible" long before I was connected with anyone from the CHURCH OF SATAN. In fact, before I was in contact with Peter Gilmore, I thought the CHURCH OF SATAN has disbanded. Peter informed me that it was still active and that people were just trying to spread propaganda saying otherwise. After I saw what they represented I decided to join the ranks.
TO BECOME A MAGISTER OF THE CHURCH OF SATAN, WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN? WHAT DO YOU DO FOR THE CHURCH OF SATAN, WHAT ARE YOUR DUTIES AND WHAT YOU GET FROM THE CHURCH?
-It means that Dr. LaVey recognized me as being a true representative of Satanism. My only duties are to represent Satan in its real form. I get nothing from the church, except for satisfaction helping to promote such an extreme philosophy. The CHURCH OF SATAN is more of an elitist think tank, than an actual church.
I HAVE BEEN OFTEN TOLD THAT THE CHURCH OF SATAN IS JUST AN AMERICAN "SEND ME MONEY"-ORGANIZATION AND THAT THE LAVEY'S PHILOSOPHY IS JUST HUMANITY, AND HAS NO POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD AND CHRISTIAN VALUES. SOME SCANDINAVIAN BLACK (OR WHATEVER) METAL BANDS HAVE CRITICIZED THE CHURCH OF SATAN WITH ANTI-LAVEY LOGANS ETC., SO MAYBE YOU COULD TELL WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS ALL? WHAT IS THE REASON YOU DON'T BURN CHURCHES BUT SPREAD PROPAGANDA AGAINST CHRISTIANITY?
-That's pure bullshit! I feel the CHURCH OF SATAN has done a lot more for a change than some adolescents burning down empty buildings. Remember, Hitler spread propaganda before he evolved into the Third Reich. We are planting the seeds for a new millennium. Do you really think Black Metal followers burning churches down are making a big difference? I'd respect them more if they walked into the same churches and started to slit the throats of these christians they hate so much.
WHAT IS THE EVENTUAL GOAL OF THE CHURCH OF SATAN? IF IT IS TO DESTROY CHRISTIANITY, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF CHRISTIANITY FINALLY DIED...?
-It is to introduce a Satanic Society upon the planet. Christianity will never fully go away, but it will eventually lose its strong hold on mankind. Satanism is the next evolutionary step.
HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED ANY THREATS OR OTHER DIRECT FEEDBACK FROM THE EUROPEAN "TRUE" ANTI-CHRISTIAN LEGIONS... AT LEAST THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY KNOW WHAT SHOULD BE DONE FOR THE CHURCH OF SATAN AND ITS SUPPORTERS?!
-Just some group called THE BLACK LEGIONS from France, which were a bunch of pussies! They idiots don't intimidate me, if they fuck with me I'll slit their throats.
IT'S OFTEN TOLD THAT BLACK/DEATH METAL, FOR EXAMPLE, DOESN'T HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE, IF ANY ROLE AT ALL IN LAVEYAN SATANISM... DO YOU THINK SO TOO? AND HOW DOES YOUR MUSICAL ACTIVITIES FIT INTO THE IDEA OF SATANISM, BECAUSE, AFTER ALL, DR. LAVEY HIMSELF APPOINTED YOU INTO THE CHURCH OF SATAN?!
-It really depends on the band, and I think we do a worthy job representing Satanism. And Dr. Lavey felt the same way about us, so that myth doesn't apply in our world.
YOUR BIOGRAPHY TELLS ABOUT THE DISCUSSION DEALING WITH SATANISM AND BM/DM IN NBC TALK SHOW CRISTINA... WHAT WAS IT LIKE?
-It was a stupid television show that didn't have any idea of what Satanism was about. I regret doing that show.
ABOUT THE DEBAT WITH BOB LARSON, WHAT ARGUMENTS DID HE USE AGAINST DEATH METAL AND AGAINST YOU, AND DID YOU TALK ANYTHING ABOUT NEO-BLACK METAL?
-We just debated philosophies and the impact of ACHERON music on the youth of today. Bob Larson is a fucking joke.
IT IS SAID THAT MR. LARSON HAS ALSO ATTACKED AGAINST FMP'S THORNS AND DEICIDE ...WHAT HAS HE SAID ABOUT THEM?
-I'm not really sure, but Glen did threaten his life on his show back in the early 90's.
HOW DID YOU PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE DEBATE, AND DO YOU THINK THE DEBATE WAS MEANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY OR WAS IT JUST A WAY TO CAUSE A SENSATION?
-The debate was a little bit both. I like pissing off christians. All I did is expound my own opinions.
DID BOB LARSON KNOW THAT YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF SATAN AND NOT "JUST" A METALHEAD WITH ANTI-CHRISTIAN THOUGHTS, AND DO YOU THINK THAT LARSON WOULD HAVE EVEN CARED ABOUT YOU IF YOU WERE JUST ANOTHER METALHEAD?
-Yes, he knew exactly who I was and what I was about.
ORDER OF THE EVIL EYE... WHY WAS IT ACTUALLY PUT TO REST, HAS IT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR HIGHER RANK IN THE CHURCH OF SATAN... I MEAN, THE CHURCH HASN'T BEEN OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZING SUCH GROUPS EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ALLIES "UNOFFICIALLY"!? IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE EXISTENCE OF THE O.E.E. AND YOUR IMPORTANT ROLE ON IT COULD HAVE CAUSED SOME PRIORITY PROBLEMS?
-It was just time to evolve. The CHURCH OF SATAN did support the ORDER OF THE EVIL EYE and had no bearing on its demise. In fact, I was told that Dr. LaVey admired my work with the O.E.E.
HOW DID THE O.E.E. FIGHT AGAINST CHRISTIANITY... ANY DIRECT ACTION?
-We were a propaganda machine. We were making our threat known throughout the world. You could say we helped to awake people about the growing Anti-christian movement.
"CHRISTIAN MILITIAS, RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS AND ABORTION CLINIC PSYCHOS ARE NOW DOING OUR ANTI-CHRISTIAN WORK FOR US." THIS SLOGAN WAS TAKEN FROM THE O.E.E. HANDOUT... DO YOU THINK THAT THE CHURCH OF SATAN, AND E.G. ACHERON ARE SAFE FROM THOSE MANIACS, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THEY THINK YOU ARE THEIR NEXT TARGET? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY DID ATTACK?
-You always have to be prepared for those freaks. If they enter my domain they will be shot or beat to death. I try to always be prepared.
SPEAKING OF EXTREMISTS... ESPECIALLY MICHAEL ESTES LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER MANIAC FROM A MILITARY ORGANIZATION IN SOME PHOTOS I HAVE SEEN, WEARING UNIFORM ETC. WHERE DID YOU FIND MICHAEL...?
-He lives in Orlando Florida. Michael is a talented and intelligent individual. You could say he is an extremist in some ways.
A SATANIC AND ANTI-CHRISTIAN PUBLICATION WOLF-AGE CAN BE SUBSCRIBED FROM YOU. VOLUME 1, ISSUES 1-6 ARE AVAILABLE BUT WHAT'S THE CONTENTS, AND DO YOU THINK THAT IGNORANT PEOPLE SHOULD ORDER THESE ISSUES TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND MORE?
-These are available for people who want to take a look into the O.E.E.'s past.
WORLD IS FULL OF LITERATURE AND PUBLICATIONS DEALING WITH SATANISM, BUT COULD YOU GIVE ANY NAMES OF THE AUTHORS/ PUBLICATIONS THAT ARE RELIABLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION WHEN PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SATANISM? WHAT LITERATURE AND PUBLICATIONS THE CHURCH OF SATAN IS PUBLISHING NOWADAYS, AND ARE THEY AVAILABLE FOR JUST ANYONE?
-Magazines like THE BLACK FLAME, FROM THE PIT, THE CLOVEN HOOF, THE RAVEN, and DIABOLIC are great Satanic publications.
YOU DID A SATANIC BAPTISM FOR YOUR DAUGHTER WHEN SHE WAS JUST A LITTLE CHILD. WHY DIDN'T YOU LET HER GROW UP AND CHOOSE HERSELF IF SHE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED? ISN'T THE INFANT BAPTISM ONE REASON TO MOCK CHRISTIANITY, AS THEY DO NOT GIVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE?
-I never officially baptized her, I just wrote a song about celebrating her birth called "Baptism for Devlyn Alexandra". Read the lyrics, I rejoice her in my belief system, while telling her to walk her own path. I don't believe in forcing a child to believe a certain way.
ABOUT SYMBOLISM IN GENERAL... IT'S TOLD THAT "CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ARE NOT AUTHORITIES ON SATANISM, AND THEIR CONCEPT OF SATAN IS AN ALIEN TO TRUE SATANISM..." AFTER THIS KIND OF STATEMENT IT'S ODD TO SEE SO MANY TRUE SATANISTS WITH AN INVERTED CROSS NECKLACES, IS IT JUST PROVOCATION BECAUSE FOR ME IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN AN ANTI-CHRISTIAN SYMBOL, TAKEN FROM CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM, WHAT YOU THINK?
-The inverted cross is a anti-christian symbol. The real Satanic symbol is the Baphomet (Goat's head in pentagram). The inverted cross was taken from the Black Mass, a pre-modern Satanism psychodrama of blasphemy.
RICHARD "THE NIGHT STALKER" RAMIREZ AND CHARLES MANSON HAVE BEEN MENTIONED ON YOUR THANK-LIST, WHY? THE CHURCH OF SATAN IS AGAINST SUCH MANIACS, AT LEAST OFFICIALLY, BUT SEEMS LIKE YOU AND MANY OTHER METALHEADS SYMPATHIZE WITH THEM... OH WELL.
-We may disagree with some of their actions, but many of us are intrigued by their minds. I am a friend of Richard Ramirez and I enjoy Charles Manson's philosophies. That's why they are on my thanks list.
WHAT IS THE BAND RAHOWA DOING IN YOUR THANK-LIST, DO YOU SYMPATHIZE NEO-NAZIS AND RACIAL AGITATORS AS WELL?
-I like the band and was in contact with their singer George Hawthorne at the time. I have many different friends with different beliefs. I am not a nazi, I am a misanthrope.
DR. LAVEY WAS BORN IN 1930, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE CHURCH OF SATAN WHEN HE DIES?
-Well he died on October 29th 1997. His legacy will be carried on. People like me will make sure of this.
DEALING WITH THE CHURCH AND SATANISM, BUT RETURNING TO THE MUSIC... PETER GILMORE IS A KIND OF TRADEMARK IN ACHERON'S IMAGE, DO YOU GIVE HIM A FREEDOM TO DO ANYTHING HE WANTS TO OR DO YOU INTRODUCE SOME IDEAS FIRST BEFORE HE STARTS DOING INTROS ETC.?
-The music is totally his idea, but I do submit ideas for the spoken work stuff he does.
THERE WERE SOME DEBATE ABOUT HIDDEN MESSAGES IN MUSIC A WHILE AGO, HAVE YOU HAD ANY PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF YOUR LYRICS, HAVE ANYBODY BROUGHT A CHARGE AGAINST YOU FOR ONE'S SUICIDE? ARE THERE HIDDEN MESSAGES IN YOUR MUSIC?
-Not yet, but give us time. Our message is pretty much up front in your face.
DIABOLOS REX IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE (COVER) ARTWORK IN YOUR RELEASES... WHO IS HE?
-He is a fellow magister in the CHURCH OF SATAN who does some incredible artwork.
"COMPENDIUM DIABLERIE" IS A COMP. ALBUM INCLUDING STUFF FROM YOUR EARLIER RELEASES, BUT WHAT COVER SONGS THERE WILL BE, VENOM- AND BATHORY-COVERS, PERHAPS?
-We will include "Raise the Dead" from BATHORY and "Countess Bathory" from VENOM, along with a bunch of rare ACHERON material.
WHAT IS THE MUSICAL TRADEMARK OF ACHERON? GUITAR SOLOS AND RIFFS, WHICH REMIND ME OF TRADITIONAL HEAVY METAL, AND E.G. KING DIAMOND PERHAPS?
-Sounds like a winner to me. That is actually a good description of ACHERON.
WHAT IS THE ACHERON-GIG/SHOW LIKE, A BLACK MASS PERHAPS? WHAT IS THE AUDIENCE LIKE, JUST RAVING METALHEADS OR SATANISTS PRACTISING THEIR OWN RITUALS WHILE YOU PLAY?
-It's Satanic militant and blasphemous. And we attract all walks of life, those who practice the Black Arts and those who just enjoy the music.
YOU HAVE TOLD THAT MORIBUND HAVE TRIED TO ARRANGE A TOUR IN EUROPE, ARE YOU COMING?
-Who knows, we soon will see?
DO YOU HAVE ANY FINNISH MUSICAL CONTACTS, BANDS, EDITORS... AND CAN YOU NAME ANY FINNISH BANDS YOU APPRECIATE?
-IMPALED NAZARENE and BELIAL are great bands. There are a lot of great people from Finland.
FINAL QUESTIONS LEFT, FIRST; FUTURE PLANS OF ACHERON AND/OR VINCENT CROWLEY?
-To start writing our next album "The Apocalypse" and maybe doing Live ACHERON album. As for myself, just enjoying life. Since I am now divorced, it's time to indulge with some Satanic sluts.
ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK ME, THIS MAY BE YOUR ONLY CHANCE!?
-Next time lets talk more about the band. I support the CHURCH OF SATAN, but there is much more to ACHERON than my association with this organization. I am not a drone for this organization, I just resonate to its ideas. Not every question should pertain to our connection to it. That's just my opinion.
THAT'S IT... THANKS FOR THE ANSWERS!
-Hail to you and our fellow brother and sister in Finland! We hope to see you real soon! Ad maiorem Satanae gloriam!
AND OCEANS (Fin) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by And Oceans
YOUR BIOGRAPHY TELLS QUITE MUCH ABOUT YOUR PAST, AND THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF A BAND. STILL, TWO VERY INTERESTING QUESTIONS HAVE TO BE ASKED; WHY DIDN'T YOU PLAY BLACK-METAL FROM THE BEGINNING OF YOUR MUSICAL "CAREER" AND WHY DID BM BECOME MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU ONLY IN THE MID-1990'S?
-I don't consider ...AND OCEANS to be bm. At least not "normal" bm. What is normal and what is bm? I don't care if people call us bm, noisecore, or whatever. Anyway, to your question. It wasn't possible for us to find the right members at the time.
YOUR BIO ALSO TELLS THAT THE MUSIC TURNED OUT TO BE THE WAY YOU HAD WANTED IT TO BE FOR YEARS BACK. DIDN'T YOUR MOMS AND DADS ALLOW YOU TO PLAY BLACK-METAL BEFORE, OR WHAT WAS STOPPING YOU?
-We have always been before our time, but practically never accomplished it before our time, due to the lack of competent members.
WHAT IS THAT GRAVE DESECRATION, STOLEN DYNAMITE, ETC. ERA, IS IT JUST A JOKE OR DID YOU REALLY SHOCK YOUR PARENTS AND RELATIVES WITH SUCH STUNTS, AND OF COURSE, BECAME LOCAL MANIAC HEROES? SOME FACTS, PLEASE!
-You: It was something impulsive and gave me an awesome adrenaline kick. A lot of destruction was done, but I also paid a lot of fines. Destruction of the hospital happened '88 or '89 I think and the fine was 16000mk. Grave desecrations and the dynamite-thing happened back in '90-'91. I won't tell any details in any 'zine, because there are other people involved as well. Kyll„ paukkuu jos on tarve. I was involved in a lot of maltreatments after that and accused for arson, but that is another story. The last fine was 12000mk for maltreatment in February'98. I'm not proud of my acts, but I don't regret it either. I just miss my money. After all knowledge has made me stronger and a bit wiser on the mental field.
WHAT'S THE STORY WITH YOUR "MARE LIBERUM" DEMO... IS IT RELEASED YET, AND HOW DID THE SWEDISH DEFENDER PRODUCTIONS BECOME INTERESTED IN YOU?
-Defender Productions got interested immediately when we sent the promo-tape to them. It should have been out months ago, but due to some layout and printing problems it hasn't been released yet. It should be out in a couple of weeks and it will be available for $5 tai 25mk.
"THE DYNAMIC GALLERY OF THOUGHTS"... WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES AND MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CD AND THE DEMO?
-There are 5 new tracks on the CD. The 4 demo tracks are better played on the CD and the sound quality is much better. The demo tracks are even a bit faster on the CD. The main difference is that a CD is a disc and a demo is a tape, heh!
WHAT IS THE DEAL LIKE, DID YOU GET PROPOSALS FROM OTHER LABELS THAN SEASON OF MIST, AND DO YOU THINK SEASON OF MIST CAN SUPPORT ...AND OCEANS WELL ENOUGH, OR IS IT JUST A GOOD START AND GOOD WAY TO GET A CD RELEASED?
-We got two offers, but SOM offered us the most decent one. SOM was also the first label to show vital interest. SOM has capacity and supports us 110%. No details, considering the deal, but it's a fair one that's for sure.
YOU SEEM TO TRUST IN MELODIES... ARE YOU TRYING TO STAND OUT FROM THE MASSES OF BM-BANDS USING SYNTH AS A MORE OR LESS DOMINANT INSTRUMENT, OR DO YOU JUST GO WITH THE STREAM?
-The keyboard is a must in ...AND OCEANS. Behind the keyboard lies an unknown dimension, the colors of our mind.
THINKING OF YOUR STYLE AND OTHER THINGS, I FEEL LIKE YOUR MUSIC IS INFLUENCED BY THE 90S BM-BANDS, AM I RIGHT? COULD YOU TELL US, WHAT BANDS YOU REALLY LIKE THE MOST AND WHAT BANDS ARE INFLUENCING YOUR SONGS, EVEN UNCONSCIOUSLY?
-Some unconscious 90's influences, but we don't try to plagiarize any bands, but it's pretty impossible to create music that doesn't sound familiar. Every decade is influenced by the previous decade. We are mainly influenced by sounds and colors. It's the pleasure to make music for ourselves not for other people.
THE FOLLOWING QUESTION IS AMONG THE MOST UNORIGINAL YOU CAN THINK OF, BUT I HAVE TO ASK... SO, TELL ME YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING 10 BANDS, HERE WE GO:
ACHERON(USA)...
You: No recollection of their music.
Anzhaar: No.
Neptune: Never heard.
Grief: I don't remember.
Gaunt: Never heard.
de Monde: Never heard.
BARATHRUM...
You: JetBlack is their only good release.
Anzhaar: Ok.
Neptune: I don't like Eerie, but JetBlack is audible.
Grief: Hmmm.
Gaunt: Crap.
de Monde: JetBlack is their best release.
DARKTHRONE...
You: One of the best bm acts ever.
Grief: Ok.
Anzhaar: Fuckin' great.
Neptune: Best primitive bm act around.
Gaunt: Awesome.
de Monde: Killer.
DECORYAH...
You: Boring.
Grief: Great.
Anzhaar: Sucks.
Neptune: Never heard.
Gaunt: Don't know.
de Monde: Never heard.
HORNA...
You: I like it a lot.
Grief: Haven't heard.
Anzhaar: Ok.
Neptune: Their demo is pretty good.
Gaunt: Haven't heard.
de Monde: Audible.
IMPETIGO...
You: Haven't heard much of them and I do not give a rat's ass.
Grief: Shitty.
Anzhaar: Total shit.
Neptune: Don't know.
Gaunt: A bit funny.
de Monde: Haven't heard.
NECROMANTIA...
You: Naah.
Grief: I don't like it.
Anzhaar: Shit.
Neptune: Not good at all.
Gaunt: Can't remember.
de Monde: Hmm, well!?
RAVENSTORM...
You: Wc varjo and Nike Bolton. The only true teenager "bm" act in Finland.
Grief: No interest.
Anzhaar: Hahhaa.
Neptune: Lemonade "bm".
Gaunt: Clowns.
de Monde: Crap.
UNHOLY...
You: Now you're talking, awesome.
Grief: I don't like it.
Anzhaar: I don't like it.
Neptune: Gods of doom.
Gaunt: No, I don't like it.
de Monde: Pretty ok.
WITHERED GARDEN...
You: Well, I'm not impressed.
Grief: Never heard.
Anzhaar: Haven't heard and I don't want to hear.
Neptune: Needs improvement, but they have potential.
Gaunt: Don't know.
de Monde: Pretty shit.
WHY DID YOU WRITE TO ME IN THE FIRST PLACE? I MEAN, WORLD IS FULL OF PUBLICATIONS... DO YOU PREFER QUALITY RATHER THAN QUANTITY, ARE YOU TRYING TO ANSWER AS MANY INTIES AS POSSIBLE?
-You: I don't remember why??? I don't even remember when I wrote you for the first time??
-Neptune: I got your address from Jarkko (TIERMES) in order to get some information about gigs. We have no reason not to answer inties as much as possible. It's hard to tell which zine will be the one with quality before you'll get the zine with the interview in your hand.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR OWN JOURNALIST- CAREER... ANYTHING TO TELL?
-You: I had a 'zine back in '89-'90 called Necrogod, but it was never released, due to some money problems and too old interviews.
YOU HAVE TOLD THAT SEASON OF MIST MAY BE ARRANGING YOU AN EUROPEAN TOUR. HOW MANY GIGS YOU HAVE PLAYED SO FAR, THERE CAN'T BE TOO MANY I SUPPOSE?! ARE YOU READY TO FACE THE EUROPEAN AUDIENCE, BE HONEST?!
-Some touring is under consideration, but I think we need to get some routine before heading Europe. We have played about 5 or 6 gigs with ...AND OCEANS.
WHAT IS THE FIRST PART OF YOUR BAND NAME, BEFORE THE THREE PERIODS...?
-That is something for you folks to ponder. It can't be verbally told, you have to experience it. Suomessa on syksyisin paljon sieniä, kannattaa harkita retkeä sienimetsään and you won't get even near the concept of ...AND OCEANS.
I HAVE NOT THE SLIGHTEST IDEA ABOUT YOUR LYRICS, BUT AT LEAST THE DEMO TITLES ARE IN SWEDISH. TELL SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYRICS, SOME BASIC THINGS THAT COULD EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING BEHIND THE SOUND-WALL?
-You: There are always two sides of a story. Everyone can interpret them as they like, but to me they are a way to express my journeys in new dimensions. In a contemplative state of mind trying to escape from reality. Some of the lyrics on "The Dynamic..." are old and pretty obvious, but new ones are way out of line. "The Dynamic..." contains mostly of Swedish lyrics, but the new lyrics are mainly in Finnish and English. It depends a lot which sphere I am in.
YOU CREATED A SONG WHICH WAS OVER 20 MINUTES LONG AND HAD LYRICS IN FOUR DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. THIS HAPPENED DURING THE FESTERDAY-ERA IN '93, WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS SONG, AND HAS IT EVER BEEN RELEASED ANYWHERE, AND IF IT'S NOT, WILL IT STAY BURIED TILL THE END OF TIME? WHAT WERE THOSE FOUR LANGUAGES?
-Some communication problems came up with our old drummer and we never made it to the studio. It won't be released, because we have lost the original tape. It's a shame, because it was a great track and very different. It was written in German, Swedish, Finnish and English.
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST FOREIGN UG-CONTACT, WHAT WAS IT AND IS IT STILL VALID? WHO IS THE STRANGEST OR/AND THE MADDEST PERSON YOU HAVE EVER CORRESPONDED WITH?
-You: It was an Italian or an American faggot, but I don't remember who it was. It was in '88 if I do remember correctly. No, I am not in contact with any UG-bands from that time. They are all vanished. I've contacted a lot of the old dudes, but they all have families or different careers and no interest in music any longer. Finns seem to be the strangest and maddest people after all.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN DARKWAVE, GOTHIC OR AMBIENT STUFF? ANY FAVES TO MENTION?
-You: Ambient/Darkwave is something for me. Lots of faves. The good thing is that it doesn't always have to be regular "music", especially if you like the sound of a vacuum cleaner like I do. To mention few faves: DIANOM is good and HELLTORMENTOR is one hell of a mentally destructive band.
DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT; "CHRISTIANITY HAS BEEN UP TILL NOW MANKIND'S GREATEST MISFORTUNE"? EXPLAIN YOUR OPINION!
-Neptune: What do you mean by "up till now"? Is it over now or has there come some even greater?!?! In the beginning of christianity they were haunted by Romans and ever since they got over it they have others. Christianity stands for anti- individuality and they deny all the human desires as sins. They are a horde with one weak common mind, which is really easy to control, that's the goal of the priests with this anti-individuality thing. As long as they don't bring their own ideas they are easy to manipulate/ control. In this modern society christianity is more likely a leftover from ancient times. It's like a virtue to be a member of the church and if you are not a member you'll be considered as a stranger. Most of the members are not believers, they are just members because their neighbors are too. How pathetic!
IN WHAT WAY YOU'D LIKE TO SPEND THE LAST 24 HOURS OF THIS MILLENNIUM?
-You: In a box with walls made of smoke.
ANY FUTURE PLANS, GOALS, ETC. YOU HAVEN'T MENTIONED YET?
-You: Split CD/LP with BLOODTHORN this summer. It's a "battle" between us and we play each others tracks in a competitive way. Our second full-length will be out early '99.
-Neptune: To do as many gigs as possible here in Finland and abroad. To develop as a band.
NOW'S YOUR TURN TO ASK ME SOMETHING, WELL...?
-You: What would you ask a question that can't ask anything itself?
-Neptune: Do your mom and dad know that you're doing such a money demanding thing as a 'zine? Do you have their permission?
-(Tommi): You's question is too much for this Sunday morning, so I just skip it over, sorry. Neptune is wondering if my parents know what I'm doing. Well, they do know about my UG-activities, and I think they don't give a fuck. Why should they? They don't ask my permission for their activities, so why should I ask theirs for mine? So that's it. Hey mom, can I borrow your skirt, mine is in the laundry?
THAT'S IT. SHORT BUT SWEET, BETTER QUESTIONS NEXT TIME, BUT I HOPE YOU MANAGED TO STAY AWAKE SO FAR. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, FINAL WORDS AND SO ON...
-You: Thank YOU. Hellos to the molecules of O.B.C.
-Neptune: Suomi skene nousuun!
FLAUROS (Fin) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by Kartzu
FLAUROS, BLACK METAL BAND, FORMED IN 1996... JUST ANOTHER TRENDY SHIT, FORMED BY THE KIDS WHO HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT REAL BLACK METAL! DO YOU AGREE?
-Absolutely! By the way... what is "real" black-metal. Is it something that only people from early days of BM can do? I think not... Another thing that's strange is that some bands claim to do music just for themselves and still they have bottomless need to be "real" in the eyes of others. I have no need to be valid about something I do. People can think about FLAUROS what ever they like, I really don't care. I think I know what I can, and can't do and that's enough for me.
BIOGRAPHY TELLS THAT THE IDEA ABOUT FORMING A BLACK METAL BAND HAD BEEN IN YOUR MIND FOR A LONG TIME, REALLY? I MEAN, YOU AND KARTZU ARE GOING TO THE ARMY IN SUMMER'98, AND THEREFORE I THINK YOU ARE STILL QUITE YOUNG, SO DID YOU GET THIS IDEA WHILE YOU WERE IN THE KINDERGARDEN?
-Well, you are quite right. If I had the chance to rewrite that bio I don't think that there would be any "excuses" about band's age, though I didn't write it down that someone could think "Well they are young band, but hey... the idea was born long time ago", absolutely not! Maybe it was just long time for me because I did not know other guys back then and forming the band was not possible.
"THE MYTH..." DEMO'97 WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO BE RECORDED WITH A FOUR- TRACKER, WHY DID YOU FAIL WITH IT? AT LEAST THE FINAL RESULT WITH STUDIO-SOUNDS IS VERY GOOD, IT SOUNDS AND LOOKS PROFESSIONAL... SOMEHOW IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE SUCH A PROFESSIONAL, COLOURED COVER AND FOUR-TRACKER RECORDING TOGETHER ...EVEN IF THERE'RE A LOT OF FOUR-TRACKER RECORDINGS ON CD THESE DAYS, EH.
-How in hell someone cannot fail with 4-tracker, it is impossible to have something you wouldn't regret afterwards. Luckily we found this solution before releasing the demo. I am not saying that sounds makes the music, but I personally don't have interest to listen to anything that sounds shit even if the demo itself would be fine. Yes, it's quite hard to imagine such covers and shitty 4-tracker sounds together, though it's happened more than once! Very often bands advertise their tape as an professional release and the lay-out is fucking great, but that's really all there is. Sounds in "The Myth..." demo are great, we are very pleased with 'em and with the whole demo, of course.
BLACK METAL IS THE DESCRIPTION OF YOUR MUSIC, BUT I THINK IT DIFFERS FROM THE COMMON NORTHERN SOUND QUITE MUCH. AT LEAST YOU DON'T JUST IMITATE MAYHEM OR IMMORTAL, BUT YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE SOME "OWN" IDEAS WHAT THE MUSIC SHOULD SOUND, WHERE THOSE IDEAS ARE TAKEN FROM?
-It's great that you don't consider us as a common BM band, though we do not desperately try to be an original and by this destroy all ideas that would come naturally, it just comes way it is. About musical influences... well, me and Teemu are the main songwriters and mostly mix each other ideas to own songs. Teemu is more like traditional heavy- and I more like a BM-listener, so I guess this has something to do with it. But like I said, we don't try to make music in any "categories" nor try to force out creativity into something completely new direction. Like the most, we make music to ourselves and if someone else finds it interesting, it's positive.
LIKE SOME OTHER FINNISH BLACK METAL BANDS, YOU HAVE SOME LYRICS IN FINNISH, WHY? IS IT SOME KIND OF MYSTIQUE-STUNT BECAUSE THOSE WORDS CAN'T BE UNDERSTOOD OUTSIDE OUR COUNTRY? WHY DON'T YOU WRITE LYRICS IN NORWEGIAN, THERE MUST BE A FEW THOUSAND KIDS WHO ARE STUDYING NORWEGIAN IN SCHOOL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR IDOLS ARE SHOUTING?
-First we thought to name our demo to "Vinternatt i en troll skogen og mork dimension svart". No, not anything like that. The song "Herra ja Vapahtaja" is basicly about turning the back on the morality that is the basis of christian community and by this creating the own being and building the own individual ideology. It's hard to explain why it is in Finnish or exactly the lyrics, because they are more like "visions" and thoughts in words. I just wrote it in Finnish and I liked it in that way. It really has nothing to do with the fact that some others does the same.
"HERRA JA VAPAHTAJA" DOES CONTAIN A PART OF THE LORD'S PRAYER IN DIVERSE VERSION, AND I THINK IT SOUNDS FUCKING EXCELLENT, IT'S JUST A PITY THAT THE SONG IS SUNG IN FINNISH SO FOREIGN MANIACS CAN NOT GET THE POINT. ARE YOU GOING TO DO SUCH LYRICS ALSO IN THE FUTURE?
-If the song was in English, I don't think that Finnish listeners, or even you would have shown such an interest about that part. I mean, that part about Lord's prayer would not sound so blasphemic in English, it would just pass with the music, but now it really arouse people's attention to listen to the song over and over again (I agree -ed.). By the way, that part of Lord's prayer was written about a week before studio. I am pleased that I wrote it because it does sound fucking great! Another thing worth of mention is the last sentence; "Kanna ristisi". I was singing the last song in studio and that wasn't planned at all. The song was almost over when I just screamed it... Kanna ristisi! We might use something like it in the future too, time will show.
THE SECOND DEMO IS PLANNED TO BE RECORDED IN SUMMER'98, AND SOME NEW SONGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONE. ANY CHANGES COMPARED WITH THE DEBUT?
-New material is, of course, better than last by many ways. I have written most of it, and new songs are something like mixture of "The Myth...", "Rider" and especially "Herra ja Vapahtaja" from this first demo. Who likes "The Myth..." demo will like the next, "Chapter II" also, that's guaranteed.
FLAUROS ISN'T SEARCHING FOR ANY KIND OF DEALS WITH "THE MYTH..." DEMO, WHY? HAVE YOU GOT ANY PROPOSALS FROM FOREIGN LABELS, FROM SOLISTITIUM RECORDS PERHAPS?
-Well, personally I think that bands should be more critical about what they are doing and with this demo we knew that FLAUROS wasn't ready for anykind of deal. There's so many bands that really doesn't know how to play, they just release something shit and there's always someone who likes their material so much that would like to sign the band. What I am saying here is that these days it's too easy to get a deal. There is too many bands with nothing to show except their image. We know when FLAUROS is ready and it wasn't with the material of this demo. The demo wasn't sent to any labels.
HAVE YOU BEEN FEATURED IN ANY COMPILATIONS YET, ANY COMP.-CDS PERHAPS?
-In a few cassette compilations, but that is it. Some compilation makers have written to have us in CD-compilations, but we ain't going to anywhere if the guy haven't even heard our music! Anyone could appear in such compilations (and usually does). Another thing is that we have no money to be in any CDs. Getting second demo out will be hard enough because of that.
YOUR BIO TELLS THAT YOU HAVE PLAYED SOME GIGS IN JOENSUU-AREA, WHAT WERE THEY LIKE?
-Nothing special really. Just like going to practise. A while ago we were "Return to the North"-tour with another band from Joensuu, DISORDER and those gigs were something that gigs should be like! There were two mixers, one for the stage and one for the audience, a professional guy handling the lights and a photographer. We played in Rovaniemi and Oulu. (Now, when I have a chance, thanks for all metal people in Oulu!). It was fucking great!
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PLAYING GIGS, WOULD YOU BE READY TO PLAY LIVE ABROAD, AND WHAT IS NEEDED FOR THE GOOD FLAUROS- GIG... DRUNKEN AUDIENCE AND/OR DRUNKEN PLAYERS, MAYBE?
-Hah, both I guess. We could play in abroad. No problem with that.
HOW AND WHEN YOU ENTERED THE UG? DO YOU DARE TO REVEAL WHAT KIND OF MUSIC AND BANDS YOU WERE LISTENING TO BEFORE THE CURRENT FAVES WERE FOUND?
-I entered UG few years back by ordering some demos or something I guess. What was I listening to before...hmmm. I remember DORO, WHITESNAKE, W.A.S.P. and AC/DC. I still listen to AC/DC and W.A.S.P. sometimes... I don't really remember, some heavy stuff I guess. Basicly what my brother listened to back then.
TUNRIDA AND FUNERAL RITES WERE MENTIONED ON YOUR HAILING-LIST, HOW DID YOU FIND THE JAPANESE FUNERAL RITES? I THINK THEY ARE NOT WELL KNOWN IN FINLAND, EVEN IF THEY ARE FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE AS WELL? WHAT IS THE STORY WITH TUNRIDA?
-I wrote to Kentaro (FUNERAL RITES) if he would like to send his demo (Wintermoon) to be reviewed in my first issue of Beherial Baptize and after that we just stayed in contact. I respect their work and Kentaro is an ok guy. With TUNRIDA I interviewed 'em and went to their gig in Savonlinna and after that I visited in Juva. Lots of boozing and that kind of stuff. Now we keep contact weekly. You should check their new demo, Hakonen! It's worth of it!
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN FINNISH BANDS, CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY "NEW" BANDS AND DO YOU THINK THERE ARE BANDS WHICH SHOULD BE IGNORED, REVEAL THOSE NAMES?
-I can honestly recommend bands like TUNRIDA, BETHEL (Hail to Holm), UNHOLA and CRIMSON MIDWINTER. Yes, there are some, more like individuals than bands that should be ignored. I won't give any names, but of course there is always some assholes...
YOU ARE PUBLISHING BEHERIAL BAPTIZE 'ZINE, WHAT IS IT LIKE AND IS THERE THE 2ND ISSUE COMING? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BUYING OTHER 'ZINES?
-First Beherial Baptize 'zine is now sold out, but the 2nd is on its way. There'll be something like 15 interviews, lots of reviews and articles. We will make colour covers in it and compilation tape with great, but still quite unknown bands. Zine will be out again in Finnish, anyone interested in it, contact. I buy almost every 'zine I can find.
LIKE MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU ARE ENTERING THE FINNISH ARMY IN THE SUMMER, DOES IT MEAN FLAUROS IS BURIED FOR A YEAR? IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU AND KARTZU GROW UP IN THE ARMY...AND FORGET THE WHOLE BLACK METAL?
-I don't think that band must be buried for a year. I try to be there that six months, which is the minimum and we will practise every time we can. To stay with contact with some penpals can be difficult, because if I have a choice between writing letters and playing with FLAUROS, there's not a question about the answer! I am not sure if there is really a way to suddenly just forget something that is one of the most important things in life. No, FLAUROS will not be buried.
ACCORDING TO THE NEWSPAPERS, JOENSUU SEEMS TO BE THE CENTRE OF FINNISH RACIAL AND NEO-NAZI PROBLEMS... DO YOU AGREE? WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE FOREIGN STUDENTS AND REFUGEES LIVING THERE?
-Well, I think the situation is not how it seems to be. In Joensuu all the fucking kids want to be some kind of skins and when someone, individual, does something editors go insane! "Nazis rule the city" and all that shit. They should not be so excited by some group, when those skins are just individuals in pilot jackets (made in USA) and boots (made in England). If one skin beats someone in one night, I bet two normal youngsters does the very same. How I feel about all kinds of niggers... well, I don't think they belong here.
DEALING WITH THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, WHAT IS THE LIMIT BETWEEN BLACK METAL AND NAZI-MUSIC, CAN THEY BE MIXED?
-No, absolutely not! I think that nazism can't be mixed in black-metal by any way. They are two different things. I got these flyers one day about "black-nazi- metal"-bands from Portugal and another, better yet, from Poland!!! Lyrics in Germany...hah. True Aryans, hah hah!
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF THIS MILLENNIUM AFTER THE ARMY?
-It would be great to release 7"EP after the second demo. Then a promo and after, maybe a real deal. Something like that I suppose...
WHO IS YOUR HERRA JA VAPAHTAJA (Lord and Saviour)?
-My lord and saviour... I don't like to discuss much about my own ideology...it's a world just for me.
ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK, WELL...!?
-Well, first...
1: What was actually the thing or song you got hooked about FLAUROS and what do you think is the point of originality in our music?
2: What's the strongest song on the demo?
-(Tommi): I answer those two questions at the same time, because otherwise I would repeat myself... The strongest song on your demo and therefore the song that got me excited by you is, surprise surprise.. "Herra ja Vapahtaja", absolutely! This doesn't mean that the rest are shit, no way, but such lyrics and feeling that the song has, can't be heard too often. What is the point of originality...there isn't any certain thing, the whole demo sounds very fresh and like I said earlier, you don't sound like 95% of others do, you at least try to do something else than just imitate the "grandmasters of hell", and I appreciate bands doing that...and when the result is as good as in your case, what can I say...arvostan!
THANKS FOR THIS INTERVIEW, SEAL THE FILE WITH YOUR FINAL MESSAGES AND WORDS!
-Thanks Hakonen ... this was truly an honour to us. Nothing more to say, except that I am more than glad I sent the demo to you back then! I hail you for support and interest!
"...Sillä niin paljon on jumala maailmaa rakastanut, että hän antoi ainoan poikansa, ettei kukaan joka häneen uskoisi joutuisi kadotukseen, vaan saisi ikuisen orjuuden..."
FUNERAL RITES (Jap) download HERE
Questions MW / answered by Kentaro Kameyama
HAIL KENTARO! FIRST THING'S FIRST: ON YOUR HOMEPAGE YOU STATE THAT YOU HAVE DECLARED WAR. SO NOW I'M WONDERING HOW THIS WAR OF YOURS IS GOING SO FAR, HAVE MANY ENEMIES BEEN SLAIN AND HAVE THERE BEEN ANY CASUALTIES IN THE FUNERAL RITES CAMP? AT LEAST YOU HAVE A NEW SYNTHPLAYER ... DID THE PREVIOUS ONE DIE IN THE WAR?
-On our homepage, "We have declared WAR", are the words by Euronymous. His war was anti - trend, anti - hardcore, anti-death metal, etc. These words are common theme for Black Metal people. So we quoted his words as a opening keyword of FUNERAL RITES homepage. Nobody dies in our hand.
THEN MORE ABOUT THE HOMEPAGE, WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO CREATE THE HOMEPAGE AND HOW BENEFICIAL HAS IT BEEN IN SPREADING YOUR NAME ACROSS THE WORLD? HAVE YOU HAD A LOT OF RESPONSE TO YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS?
-Yes. I have gotten many e-mail by our homepage. I could get to know you. They are Black Metal fans, bands, zines etc. I'm very pleased.
AS THE JAPANESE ARE KNOWN TO BE VERY POLITE PEOPLE, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU BOWED TO SOMEONE? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT JAPANESE CULTURE IN GENERAL WHICH FOCUSES SO MUCH ON POLITENESS? WHAT IS THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE FACT THAT CHEWING IN PUBLIC IS CONSIDERED IMPOLITE (ALTHOUGH I GUESS THAT WAS LONG AGO)?
-A bow is Japanese practice. But, it is not surrender. Like a greeting. Many people say Japanese are polite, but I don't think so. In fact, there are many polite Japanese, but there are many impolite Japanese too. Japanese culture is not special. But, old people may think chewing in public is impolite.
AND NOW TO YOUR THIRD DEMO "WEIRD TALES". THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME JAPANESE VOCALS ON THE FIRST TRACK. SINCE I'VE HEARD THAT JAPANESE IS VERY HARD TO FIT TO METAL MUSIC, I WONDER IF IT WAS HARD TO WORK OUT THIS PARTICULAR PART? WHAT DO YOU SAY THERE BY THE WAY?
-Japanese words don't fit to metal music. But, Japanese maybe like a spell and its sound is mysterious. So fit to Black Metal. The words in "Weird Tales" are spell from Cthulu.
THE FIFTH BLACK METAL YAKUZA GIG WAS HELD ON 28TH JUNE 1997. BESIDES FUNERAL RITES, THERE ALSO PLAYED SIGH, AMDUSCIAS, MORTES SALTANTES AND ABIGAIL. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS GIG, HAS IT ALREADY ESTABLISHED A REPUTATION IN YOUR UNDERGROUND? HAVE YOU PERSONALLY SEEN ANY OF THE PREVIOUS B.M. YAKUZA GIGS? WHICH BAND HAD THE BEST GIG THIS TIME AND HOW DID YOUR OWN GIG GO?
-We are live-band forever. So many people liked our live-sound. Black Metal Yakuza vol. 4 is good. Best band is ABIGAIL. Their straight type Black Metal is great. Our drummer could not play for his illness. We play with Yomituti of MORTES SALTANTES as a support drummer. After this gig, our drummer left band.
IT IS SAID THAT NO ONE IS A PROPHET IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY BUT WHAT'S YOUR POSITION IN THE JAPANESE UNDERGROUND, ARE YOU WELL-KNOWN?
-Japanese major metal scene is none. But, underground metal scene is vigorous. We are well-known in Black Metal scene. But, we are not well-known band yet in underground metal scene.
SPEAKING ABOUT ABIGAIL, BARBATOS CLAIMS TO HAVE FRIENDS IN THE REAL YAKUZA (THE JAPANESE MAFIA). DO YOU HAVE ANY CONNECTION TO THEM? DOES THE YAKUZA HAVE ANY CONTACTS TO THE BLACK METAL SCENE?
-Yakuza is strong. Many people feel fear to Yakuza. Japanese Black Metal have contacts to Yakuza like a Black Metal syndicate.
MIRAI (SIGH) SAID IN AN INTERVIEW THAT MOST PEOPLE IN JAPAN DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AND NOT EVEN ALL BM FREAKS KNOW ABOUT THE HAPPENINGS IN NORWAY, LIKE EURONYMOUS' MURDER AND THE CHURCH BURNINGS. SO, IF MOST BM FREAKS THERE DON'T UNDERSTAND ENGLISH, DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE EVENTS IN NORWAY, DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LYRICS OR ALBUMS AND DON'T KNOW THE CONCEPT OF BM SINCE JAPAN ISN'T A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY - DO THEY INTERPRET BLACK METAL MUSIC, THE SPIKES, THE CORPSEPAINT ETC. DIFFERENTLY THAN WE DO HERE IN THE WEST? WHAT DOES BLACK METAL REALLY MEAN TO THESE PEOPLE?
-Many Japanese people can not speak English. But, they can read and write English a little. So they can understand Black Metal lyrics. Japan isn't Christian country. Many Japanese Black Metal fans don't feel reality to Black Metal. They liked Black Metal sound and atmosphere. But, I have passed my school days in a mission school. I became aware of contradiction of religion in these days. I hate Christianity since it. I hate religions.
SO FAR YOU HAVE MADE THREE DEMOS WITHOUT GETTING A RECORD DEAL, HAS THIS AFFECTED YOUR MOTIVATION YET? WILL YOU KEEP GOING AS A BAND EVEN THOUGH YOU'D NEVER GET A DEAL?
-Getting a deal is not our goal. FUNERAL RITES is my life-work.
THE BAND NAME WAS TAKEN FROM SEPULTURA'S SONG "FUNERAL RITES" BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER FAVOURITE BANDS, RECORDS OR SONGS WHICH CONTAIN THE WORDS "FUNERAL" OR "RITES"?
-We like their first full album, "Morbid Visions". So we named FUNERAL RITES. Only SEPULTURA song.
THERE IN THE EAST IT'S VERY IMPORTANT NOT TO LOSE YOUR FACE. THEREFORE I MUST ASK IF YOU'VE MANAGED TO LOSE YOUR FACE MANY TIMES AND IN WHAT KIND OF SITUATION HAS THIS HAPPENED?
-I don't think it's important not to lose one's face. But, many people may not think so.
DO YOU HAVE GOOD DISTRIBUTION FOR YOUR PRODUCTS OUTSIDE JAPAN OR DO YOU SELL MOST OF YOUR STUFF YOURSELF? IS THERE ANY OTHER FUNERAL RITES MERCHANDISE THAN THE DEMOS?
-We could get many good distributions about 1st and 2nd demo. We sold about 400 copies of each demo. We sold about a half ourselves. We are thinking now our new merchandise except demo tapes.
BACK TO THE DEMOS AGAIN. DO THERE ALREADY EXIST SONGS WHICH YOU WOULDN'T PUT ON AN ALBUM? WHICH ONES AND WHY? HAVE YOU FOUND THE DEFINITIVE FUNERAL RITES SOUND YET? IF SOMEBODY WANTED TO RELEASE "WEIRD TALES" ON CD, WOULD YOU GIVE THEM THE GO AHEAD? I'M ASKING SINCE MANY DEMOS ARE BEING RE-RELEASED ON CD THESE DAYS.
-We liked all songs in our demos because we cast off low quality songs before recording. It is difficult to define what is FUNERAL RITES sound. We can't define our sound ourselves. In the future, if some label release "Weird Tales" on CD, we accept it with pleasure.
IN BANDS, BASSISTS ARE OFTEN THE SUBJECT OF JOKES. DO THE OTHER MEMBERS JOKE ABOUT YOU A LOT OR IS SOMEONE ELSE IN F.R. THE SUBJECT OF JOKES?
-I don't think so.
SODOM INCORPORATED THE GERMAN NATIONAL ANTHEM INTO THEIR SONG "BOMBENHAGEL". ARE THERE ANY F.R. TRACKS INTO WHICH YOU COULD INCORPORATE THE JAPANESE NATIONAL ANTHEM? YOU ALSO USE DISTORTION ON BASS SOUND, IS THIS IDEA A TRIBUTE TO SODOM?
-Japanese national anthem, "Kimigayo" is not melodious. It may be difficult to incorporate into our song and we are not patriots. So we won't use our national anthem.
ARE THERE ANY RUMOURS GOING AROUND ABOUT FUNERAL RITES WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE TO CORRECT? HAVE THERE BEEN ANY RUMOURS ABOUT FUNERAL RITES?
-We don't and didn't have any rumours till now.
FLEURETY USE A BALLET DANCER ON STAGE TO CHANNEL THE STORY OF THE LYRICS INTO PHYSICAL MOVEMENT. WOULD A BALLET DANCER BE ABLE TO CHANNEL YOUR LYRICS INTO PHYSICAL MOVEMENT OR WOULD YOU RATHER USE A SUMO WRESTLER?
-We express our sound-world ourselves. So we don't use any actors in our sound.
YOU HAD SOME DEALINGS WITH A RECORD COMPANY BUT IT DIDN'T WORK OUT BECAUSE THIS COMPANY DIDN'T AGREE TO YOUR WISHES. WHAT KIND OF REQUIREMENTS DID YOU HAVE WHICH THEY WERE UNABLE, OR DIDN'T WANT TO MEET?
-It is two years ago. Some label said me they'd like to release our next release as a split tape or something. But, the negotiation was broken. I'd not like to tell more words because it's old episode.
A TRACK FROM YOUR SECOND DEMO WILL BE (OR IS) ON A COMPILATION TAPE. PLEASE TELL MORE ABOUT THIS TAPE LIKE WHAT OTHER BANDS ARE ON IT AND WAS IT YOUR CHOICE TO PUT THE TRACK "BEYOND THE GATES" ON IT OR WOULD YOU HAVE CHOSEN ANOTHER SONG?
-French compilation tape name is "Son of Wotan". I forgot details. It may not be released yet. "Beyond The Gates" is middle tempo number. I think it's the best number in our 2nd demo.
WHAT KIND OF ACTION WOULD YOU BE READY TO TAKE AGAINST ANOTHER BAND COMING OUT WHICH WAS CALLED FUNERAL RITES? AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF SEPULTURA TRIED TO FORBID YOU TO USE THIS NAME?
-We keep using the name FUNERAL RITES forever. SEPULTURA will not forbid us to use our name because they are already forgetting their 1st album.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THEM SING?
-No. I don't know.
DO YOU PRACTISE MARTIAL ARTS?
-No. But I like martial arts very much.
WHAT KIND OF FUNERAL RITES WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE FOR YOURSELF? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FUNERAL RITES IN PRESENT DAY JAPAN, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D CHANGE?
-I am FUNERAL RITES. FUNERAL RITES is my life-work. So if my mind change, FUNERAL RITES will change.
DID YOU LISTEN TO ANY MUSIC WHILE ANSWERING THIS INTERVIEW AND WHAT DID YOU LISTEN TO?
-No. I was listening to television while answering this interview.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK ME ANYTHING?
-Special thanks for your interview.
OK, NOW I MUST BID YOU FAREWELL BUT MAY YOUR WAR BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE FUTURE AS WELL!!
-We keep playing true Black Metal forever!!
LYCIA (USA) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by Mike Vanportfleet
YOUR LABEL PROJEKT HAS RELEASED A MERCHANSISE, WHICH IS "COLD" T-SHIRT, AND THE PHOTO OF YOU AND TARA IS... VERY UNIQUE. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF THIS PHOTO AND DOES THIS SHIRT REPRESENT YOUR MUSIC AND IDEAS IN ANY WAY?
-The photo is our version of the famous painting "American Gothic". We sort of did it as a joke. We've been labeled as a gothic band from the start, a label we've always been a bit confused by... So we just figured we would do this... to see if anyone would make the connection. The photo came out well... The starkness and distance of it represents our music quite well.
I DON'T BORE YOU OR MY READERS BY ASKING YOU TO TELL THE HISTORY OF LYCIA, BUT THERE ARE A FEW THINGS IN YOUR PAST I'D LIKE TO KNOW... YOU FORMED LYCIA 10 YEARS AGO, BUT YOU HAD PLAYED IN SOME OTHER BANDS BEFORE THAT, SO WHAT WERE THOSE BANDS OR WHAT KIND OF MUSIC THEY WERE DOING, AND DO YOU KNOW IF THEY EVER MANAGED TO RELEASE ANYTHING... DO ANY OF THEM STILL EXIST?
-All of my pre-LYCIA bands were in the moody post-punk style. Most were short lived and there are no releases from that period. All of those bands are long dead. The last breaking up in 1988.
I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE CO-OPERATION BETWEEN LYCIA AND PROJEKT, BUT THERE MUST BE SOME TIGHT BONDS BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU, BECAUSE PROJEKT IS STILL RELEASING YOUR ART. I'M SURE THEY DIDN'T JUST SAY "OK, WE WILL RELEASE THE NEXT FIVE LYCIA-ALBUMS, JUST HOLD TIGHT", SO WHAT'S THE DEAL LIKE, IS IT CHANGED AFTER EACH NEW RELEASE? HOW MANY COPIES PROJEKT IS RELEASING AT A TIME AND HOW DO YOUR RELEASES SELL IN GENERAL?
-The CDs sell alright, enough for us to make a meager living. I've been with Projekt since 1990. They have been good to me and it's an honest label... So I'm happy to stay put. Until recently we had a verbal agreement, now we actually have a contract... So I'll be with Projekt for at least 8 more years.
YOU HAVE SAID: "I THINK THE ONLY WAY WE WOULD LEAVE PROJEKT WAS IF SOMETHING REALLY BIG CAME ALONG. SOMETHING WE DID NOT HAVE CONTROL OVER." ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT A "BETTER" DEAL PERHAPS? I MEAN, WOULD YOU STILL STAY ON PROJEKT IF A MAJOR RECORD COMPANY CAME AND OFFERED A MULTI-MILLION DEAL WITH WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION, TOURS, ETC.?
-If a deal of that size was offered I would naturally take it... Unless we had to change our approach. But this is something I'm pretty sure I'll never have to deal with.
TALKING ABOUT TOURS... YOU DID HAVE A TOUR WITH 26 (!) SHOWS IN APRIL-MAY'97, AND I KNOW YOU HAVE ALSO TOURED EARLIER EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T THAT HUGE THEN, SO DO YOU ENJOY TOURING OR IS IT JUST A GOOD PROMOTION FOR YOU AND FOR PROJEKT, IS THIS KIND OF TOURING ALSO INCLUDED INTO YOUR CONTRACT WITH PROJEKT?
-Projekt helps to promote the tours... but it's a self run operation when we are out on the road. Touring is a love/hate thing for me. If everything is ready in a city... good promotion and a good P.A., playing live is fun. If it's not, it's sort of a miserable thing. We actually did around 50 shows this past year. That was a lot and it sort of burnt us out. Next year we plan to do fewer shows... and make sure the ones we do are worthwhile ones.
IT'S QUITE HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT THE LYCIA-SHOW IS LIKE. I'VE SEEN ONLY METAL/ ROCK-SHOWS, SO COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT IS IT LIKE WITH LYCIA, AND ARE THERE SOME SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS BEEN MADE TO GIVE YOUR ART MORE POWER? WHAT ABOUT THE AUDIENCE, IT IS VERY HARD TO IMAGINE, WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE COME TO SEE/HEAR YOU AND HOW THEY ARE DRESSED... DO YOU GIVE ANY DRESSING-CODES FOR YOUR SHOWS?
-No dress codes, we want people to be exactly as they are. We mostly get gothic people, but lately we've had a few rockers and ambiant types show up. Our live show is like our CDs... slow and very moody... with lots of smoke and dim flashing lights. If the show goes well the people just space out, if it goes bad they just get bored. I must note that the bad shows are usually because of a bad P.A. or unqualified soundman... So no, special arrangements are not made, we are unfortunately at the mercy of whatever a club gives us.
WHAT KIND OF PLACES YOU DO PLAY AT? IT'S QUITE HARD TO IMAGINE HOW YOUR ART COULD BE PERFORMED IN FRONT OF HUNDRED DRUNKEN PEOPLE AT A DUSKY BAR, WHAT IS IT LIKE?
-We mostly play in bars in front of those drunken people. We would prefer to play in a more appropriate environment... but there are not a lot of places to choose from. In the U.S. bars are the places that pay... so we really have no choice. At least not yet.
IF A LYCIA-VIDEO SHOULD BE MADE WITHOUT LIVE-MATERIAL YET HAVING A RUNNING TIME OF 60 MINUTES... HOW WOULD IT BE DONE, AND WHAT ALBUMS/SONGS WOULD BE USED?
-It would probably be spacey and organic. Various stark landscapes, with Tara and I off in the distance. The material would be new... no need to try to redocument the past. We might actually do a few videos in 1998 for songs on our next CD.
NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO INTRODUCE THE OTHER LYCIA-MUSICIANS AND TELL IF THEY HAVE OTHER BANDS/PROJECTS BESIDES LYCIA?
-At the present LYCIA is just Tara and myself. All of the side projects (BLEAK, DUST, and ESTRAYA) have been reabsorbed back into LYCIA. There are three former LYCIA members... David Galas, who left over a year ago, and two people from the early years, John Fair and Will Welch.
WHAT ABOUT BLEAK, A PROJECT OF YOU AND DAVID... IS IT BURIED FOREVER?
-When David left LYCIA, BLEAK was finished. There will probably never be another BLEAK release. Though BLEAK-like material might appear now and then on LYCIA releases.
ISOLATION, ATMOSPHERE, SYMPHONIC, BARREN... THESE ARE JUST A FEW WORDS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED WHEN LYCIA'S MUSIC IS TRIED TO BE DESCRIBED, AND IT IS A REALLY HARD TASK TO TRY TO TELL WHAT YOUR MUSIC IS ABOUT, IT JUST HAVE TO BE HEARD BEFORE ONE CAN EVEN IMAGINE WHAT IT IS LIKE. I KNOW THIS KIND OF DESCRIPTION IS EVEN HARDER FOR YOU, THE ARTIST WHO HAS CREATED THE ART ITSELF, BUT TRY TO DESCRIBE LYCIA'S MUSIC FOR THE READERS SOMEHOW, TO GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY HAVE MISSED SO FAR!
-Your description is pretty good I think. Someone once told me that they thought LYCIA was electronic and organic, warm and cold, and sad and uplifting. I like that description too.
YOU LIVED IN PHOENIX WHEN "IONIA" AND "A DAY IN THE STARK CORNER" WERE RELEASED, AND YOU HAVE TOLD THAT YOU USED TO TRAVEL OUT TO THE DESERT TO CATCH THE EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS, LANDSCAPES, FOR THOSE ALBUMS... WHAT ABOUT NOW, YOU LIVE IN KENT (OHIO), WHICH SURELY DIFFERS FROM THE ARIZONA DISTRICT...HOW HAS THE CHANGE IN CLIMATE AND LANDSCAPES AFFECTED ON YOUR MIND AND MUSIC?
-It's hard to really explain... I live in a very different place... In a completely different environment and I'm sure it has changed my perceptions, thus the music must have changed in some way. "Cold" to me feels like an Ohio winter. "Stark Corner" feels like the desert. I'm sure if I moved again, to yet another environment, the music would change again. Though I think these changes would seem mild to everyone except myself.
YOU HAVE SAID IN AN INTERVIEW I HAVE READ, I THINK IT WAS MADE IN '95, THAT WHILE YOU LIVED IN ARIZONA, IT WAS VERY HARD TO GET OPPORTUNITIES TO PLAY LIVE... WHAT IS THE SITUATION NOW, IS THE WEST COAST STILL IGNORING YOU? YOUR "COLD" TOUR ITINERARY TELLS THAT YOU'RE PLAYING IN PLACES LIKE HOUSTON, AUSTIN AND DENVER, BUT NOT ANY FURTHER IN WEST. DOES IT DIFFER TO PLAY IN DENVER AND IN E.G. NEW YORK?
-Now that we don't live in Arizona, we seem to have no problems getting shows there. It's not because we are no longer locals, we're just a bit more known now. We played a show in Phoenix last October, and we also played in California on that leg of the tour. The West Coast didn't ignore us last spring. We decided to do a separate West Coast tour in the fall. The actual shows themselves all seem the same, whether it's New York or Denver. The crowds all seem the same.
THIS LANDSCAPE THING IS OFTEN USED WITH METAL BANDS, AND ESPECIALLY WITH BLACK METAL BANDS. IT IS SAID THAT SOME SCANDINAVIAN BM-BANDS HAVE THE ICE-COLD TOUCH IN THEIR MUSIC AND LISTENING TO THEIR MUSIC IT IS POSSIBLE TO IMAGINE WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN THE ANCIENT TIMES HERE IN NORTH... WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THIS, I THINK YOU DON'T KNOW OR EVEN CARE ABOUT BM IN GENERAL, BUT WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS IDEA? AT LEAST YOUR ART CREATES SOME LANDSCAPES AND "PICTURES"... FOR EXAMPLE, I'M LISTENING TO "A DAY IN THE STARK CORNER" ALBUM WHILE WRITING THESE QUESTIONS, AND EVEN IF I KNOW THIS ALBUM HAS A LOT OF DESERT IMAGERY, MY IMAGINATION CREATES A DIFFERENT PICTURE, A PICTURE OF A HUGE LABYRINTHIC CAVERN WHERE I WALK TRYING TO FIND THE WAY OUT BY FOLLOWING THE MUSIC WHICH I HEAR FROM AHEAD... SOMETIMES LOUDER BUT USUALLY TOO SILENT TO BE ABLE TO REALLY KNOW WHERE TO GO. IS THIS KIND OF IMAGERY ACTUALLY UP TO PERSON'S OWN LOCATION AND IMAGINATION, IS IT JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH THE SAME "FEELINGS" WHEN LIVING IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CLIMATE AND DISTRICT?
-I really don't know a lot about black metal... I've heard a bit, and some of it I like. I do like the landscape aspect. I'm glad "Stark Corner" plants a very personal landscape in you. That's what it should do. That release means something to me... but there is no way I can completely present that. Once I finish with a release it's no longer about me... It's about how people percieve it, and what it means to them.
BANDS LIKE ENIGMA AND ADIEMUS HAVE SOLD LOTS OF ALBUMS HERE IN FINLAND DURING THE LAST 2-3 YEARS, AND IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO SPEND MONEY FOR A MUSIC THAT IS MORE OR LESS RELAXING AND ALSO TARA HAS TOLD IN AN INTERVIEW THAT HER MOTHER HAS BEEN SELLING YOUR DISCS AT HER WORK AND THE FELLOW WORKERS LIKED IT! SO, WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS ALL? IS THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM TURNING PEOPLE'S HEADS TOWARDS THE MORE ARTISTIC AND BEAUTIFUL (EVEN IF RELIGIOUS) MUSICAL FIELDS?
-I really don't know. This kind of music is sort of new to the mainstream... I think it has a wide appeal. The more people that are aware of it, the more it will spread.
THERE ARE A LOT OF BANDS IN THE WORLDS THAT TRY TO CREATE ATMOSPHERIC SOUNDSCAPES, AND I KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK THE ONLY WAY TO REACH THE RIGHT FEELING IS TO USE DRUGS. WHAT ABOUT YOU, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF DRUGS AS A SOURCE OF FEELINGS, AND DO YOU USE ANY KIND OF DRUGS TO BE ABLE TO CREATE EVEN GREATER ART?
-I used to think that way... and I did a lot of experimenting. For me it just numbed my ability to really get deep to create. I feel more comfortable with a clear approach to writing. I've found that I personally can go much farther this way.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT SAD AND SHUT-IN PERSONALITIES ARE ABLE TO CREATE THE HAPPIEST AND MOST POSITIVE FORMS OF ART AND MUSIC, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY HAPPY ARE ALSO CREATING THE MOST PESSIMISTIC AND MELANCHOLIC FORM OF ART? I MEAN, IT'S OFTEN SAID THAT PEOPLE WHO COMMIT SUICIDE OR HAVE ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, LOOK VERY HAPPY AND ARE ABLE TO CREATE CONTACTS WITH OTHER PEOPLE, BUT ARE ACTUALLY VERY VULNERABLE, SAD AND ALONE, AND THE HAPPY EXTERIOR IS JUST AN IMAGE THEY WANT TO SHOW TO OTHER PEOPLE. THIS IS JUST AN IDEA, AND CAN NOT BE GENERALIZED, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAS THIS ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU... YOUR ART CAN'T REALLY BE DESCRIBED AS HAPPY OR GLAD EVEN THOUGH BEAUTIFUL, DOES THE MUSIC REFLECT YOUR INNER FEELINGS AS THEY ARE, OR IS MAKING MUSIC A GOOD FORM OF THERAPY FOR YOURSELF?
-I vent my feelings in an almost subconscious way with my music... everything comes out. The music is sad and desperate at times... but I am not a sad and desperate person... I'm just like everyone else... I feel a wide range of emotions, and these emotions flow through my music. I think that everyone deals with things in their own way. Depressed people could write happy or sad music, and an upbeat person could do the same.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SAM ROSENTHAL'S BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL? DO YOU FEEL THERE IS ANY COMPETITION BETWEEN YOU AND B.T.F.A.B.G., OR IS SAM CONSENTRATED ON THE LABEL MAINLY? WHAT ABOUT OTHER PROJEKT-BANDS, DO YOU LIKE ANY OF THEM AND DO YOU HAVE ANY CO-OPERATION WITH THE OTHER BANDS?
-I like B.T.F.A.B.G. There is no competition between us. Sam is a good friend and I think our music is quite comprable. I like most of what's on Projekt. We play with other Projekt bands quite often.
I HAVE DEALT WITH YOUR MUSIC IN GENERAL, BUT COULD YOU TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR LYRICS, WHAT SUBJECTS YOU ARE DEALING WITH, AND HOW IMPORTANT ROLE THE LYRICS HAVE IN YOUR MUSIC? I THINK THAT YOU'RE USING THE LYRICS AS AN INSTRUMENT, APPEARING JUST WHEN NEEDED, AND AS I THINK THAT ESPECIALLY METAL BANDS ARE USING INSTRUMENTALS TO ADD NON-LYRICAL MESSAGES AND CLIMATE, YOU DO JUST THE OPPOSITE... USING LYRICS TO CREATE MORE FEELINGS AND ATMOSPHERE, AM I RIGHT?
-Yes, to a degree. When I write lyrics I just sort of let them flow off the top of my head. To be as natural and honest to the music as possible. They are there to flow and complement the music.
I THINK "AND THROUGH THE SMOKE AND NAILS" WAS THE FIRST LYCIA-SONG I EVER HEARD, AND I WANDER WHAT THE LYRICS ARE LIKE...THE SONG ITSELF IS VERY "HARD" AND THE TITLE IS VERY INTERESTING, SO MAYBE YOU COULD EDUCATE ME WITH THIS, PLEASE?
-The lyrics are also "hard". That song is about pure frustration... and the music and lyrics, especially in the second part of the song, really reflect that. I went into that song with the idea of a man being dragged behind a horse in the desert. That's the feeling I tried to capture with the second part of that song.
WIRE; THE CURE; THE COCTEAU TWINS; BAUHAUS; JOY DIVISION... THEY ARE ALL BANDS WHICH YOU HAVE MENTIONED WHEN ASKED ABOUT YOUR INFLUENCES, BUT I KNOW YOU'VE ALSO BEEN INTERESTED IN PUNK, AND THE BANDS LIKE PINK FLOYD, DAWID BOWIE,... WHAT ABOUT METAL... HAVE YOU EVER BEEN INTERESTED IN ANY KIND OF METAL MUSIC? THE BANDS I MENTIONED ARE KIND OF A SOPHISTICATED AND MATURE...DO YOU THINK LYCIA SHOULD ALSO BE CALLED DECENT MUSIC, AND WOULD YOU RECOMMEND LYCIA AS A SECURE CHOICE WHEN MOMS AND DADS ARE LOOKING FOR A BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR THEIR KIDS?
-When I was young, before getting into punk, I mostly listened to metal. I rarely listen to it anymore... In fact I really don't listen to much music at all. I think parts of LYCIA are "safe" for mass consumption. I don't think I would recommend "Stark Corner" or "Vane" as a birthday present for a kid though... The mood may be a bit too dark.
SOME GEOGRAPHY NEXT. I THINK PROJEKT IS NOT VERY WELL KNOWN IN EUROPE, AND SOMEHOW I THINK THAT LYCIA ISN'T KNOWN EITHER, AM I RIGHT? WHEN IS TALKED ABOUT INDUSTRIAL/DARKWAVE ETC., EUROPEAN PEOPLE USUALLY KNOW COLD MEAT INDUSTRY FROM SWEDEN AND THEIR RELEASES, SO DO YOU HAVE ANY WIDE SPREAD EUROPEAN SUPPORTERS OR JUST INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE MANAGED TO FIND YOUR ART?
-Back in 1993 things seemed to going well in Germany. Now it's mostly an American thing. There are small pockets throughout Europe that support LYCIA... but it is really underground. Projekt's working on better distribution for Europe... Maybe even some licensing deals. I think in the next few years it should be comprable to the way it is over here in the U.S.
YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PLAYING IN EUROPE YET, BUT DO YOU THINK LYCIA COULD BE INTERESTING ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO ARRANGE ANY SHOWS IN GERMANY FOR EXAMPLE? HOW MUCH MAIL YOU GET FROM EUROPE... AND IS YOUR NAME KNOWN IN COUNTRIES LIKE JAPAN OR SOUTH KOREA?
-There is serious talk about us playing in Europe sometime next year. It all really depends on whether we can afford to do it. If we get better distribution or a licencing deal in Europe, I'm sure a tour will follow soon after. We are pretty unknown in Japan. I get a lot of letters from South America, and we played last summer in Mexico City. I think there is a potential large market in Latin America.
DO YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE FINNISH BANDS AND MUSIC SCENE? CONTACTS YOU COULD MENTION, OR NAMES OF THE BANDS YOU KNOW AND MAYBE LIKE TOO?
-I really don't know much about the Finnish scene.
YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT YOU MAY RECORD SOME OLD "LOST" MATERIAL IN THE FUTURE, WHAT STUFF IT'D BE, MAYBE FROM THE ERA BEFORE "IONIA" OR TRAX WHICH COULDN'T HAVE BEEN USED ON YOUR ALBUMS YET, KIND OF LEFTOVERS? OR IS IT SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT, WHICH WOULD NEED A DIFFERENT NAME AND NOT TO BE MIXED UP WITH LYCIA?
-Those plans have been aborted. I was going to rerecord pre "Ionia" LYCIA material... But I decided to let the past be the past. It's better to look forward.
WHATEVER, A NEW LYCIA ALBUM SHOULD BE COMING THIS SPRING, WHAT IS IT LIKE? ANY CHANGES OR SPECIALITIES COMPARED WITH "COLD"...!?
-The new CD is called "Estrella" and it's scheduled for a May 5th release. I'm finishing the recording this week and plan to mix it in January. I'm excited... I think it's the strongest LYCIA to date. I guess the best way to explain its sound is to say it's like "Cold" with "Wake" and "Vane" like drums... with a few tribal pieces thrown in. It's much more song and drum oriented than "Cold"... though it still has the LYCIA atmospheric sound.
I ENJOYED LISTENING TO YOUR ART WHILE MAKING THESE QUESTIONS, WHAT ABOUT YOU, DID YOU LISTEN TO SOMETHING WHILE ANSWERING? WHATEVER, THANKS A LOT FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND THE BEST OF LUCK FOR THE WHOLE LYCIA-CAMP...TAKE CARE!
-The only thing I listened to while working on this interview was silence. I'm currently working on "Estrella"... so when I'm away from that I prefer the quiet.
MORNINGSTAR (Fin) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by Ari Honkonen
DO YOU STILL REMEMBER MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH YOU, DO YOU STILL REMEMBER MY ORIGINAL AND CLEVER QUESTIONS, AND DID YOU THINK BACK THEN THAT DARK MOON WOULD BE STILL ALIVE NOW, BE HONEST!?
-Yeah... I remember that interview very well. At that time it was ok... I was hungry for every interview! Actually there was something that I knew you will last...at least a while!
AND AGAIN, UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE TO SAY THAT MORNINGSTAR IS JUST ANOTHER BAND WHICH HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH LABELS THAT RELEASE THEIR STUFF. SO, I ASK YOU...WHY DID YOU SIGN A DEAL WITH WILD RAGS REC.? AND WHAT WAS RICHARD'S EXPLANATION FOR THE HUGE DELAY WITH YOUR MCD AND CD?
-Nobody else was interested in us! Perhaps only H.S.B. from Holland, but that came too late... They wanted to release "Rivendell" in vinyl (1000 copies). So, Wild Rags wanted to release both "Rivendell" and "As the Wolves Howl" and we said ok... We actually didn't lose anything 'cos both releases were already quite old stuff and already recorded... The explanation for the delay was quite funny... a bad weather in California and they changed the printing company which caused some shit etc.
I QUOTE YOU FROM DARK MOON 'ZINE #1 ('93) WHEN YOU ANSWERED THE QUESTION DEALING WITH WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST KIND OF LABEL FOR YOU; "IT MUST HAVE SOME DISTRIBUTION ALSO BUT MONEY ISN'T THE MOST IMPORTANT THING! MAYBE LETHAL OR OSMOSE WOULD BE GOOD FOR US...". SO, DID YOU EVER TRY TO GET A DEAL FROM THOSE LABELS, AND WHAT WOULD BE THE ANSWER TODAY, CAN YOU NAME ANY LABEL NOW? DO YOU REGRET NOT HAVING A DEAL WITH LETHAL OR OSMOSE?
-Osmose was interested in us (I've heard) when "Heretic Metal" was released, but not anymore... They rather sign shit. I never sent anything to Lethal, I heard some bad rumours of 'em. I think there are no good labels at all... If there are please contact us!!!
WHAT ABOUT MOONLIGHT...THINGS SEEMED TO BE FINE UNTIL "HELL" WAS RECORDED, HAS OLIVER TOLD YOU WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
-I've heard nothing... He disappeared! "Hell" is recorded, just ready to be released... but by whom?
HOW MANY COPIES EACH MORNINGSTAR-RELEASE, INCL. DEMOS, HAS SOLD SO FAR? DO YOU CARE OF SALES OF THE DISCS ANYWAY?
-1st demo=couple hundreds; 2nd demo=about 1500 copies; "Alcoholive" live demo was limited to 50 copies, sold out; promo'94= I don't know...about 500-600 I guess... 7" was limited to 1000 copies, sold out. About "Rivendell" CD and "As the..." MCD I don't know... Wild Rags says they print 1000 copies of both at first and claims there are some left from the first pressing... Well, I have seen different kind of discs of "As the..." (different colours), so I don't know what to say. "Heretic Metal" was our "best seller", 3000 copies printed, some left. I don't care much of the sales...
SPEAKING OF YOUR EARLIER RELEASES, ALMOST ALL THE DEMO-TRACKS HAVE BEEN RELEASED ALSO ON DISC... DOES THIS MEAN THAT YOU RATHER RE-USE THE OLD TRAX AGAIN THAN MAKE NEW INSTEAD? I MEAN, ARE YOU PROBABLY LAZY SONG-WRITERS...?
-I'm not a lazy songwriter... I think some of our demo trax are still ok. Why not to use them?
YOU WERE (STILL ARE?) COLLECTING THE LISTS OF THE BEST MORNINGSTAR-SONGS FROM YOUR FANS, AND I THINK THAT INFORMATION WILL BE USED IN YOUR "FAN-CLUB FANZINE", BUT COULD YOU REVEAL, WHAT IS THE MOST POPULAR MORNINGSTAR-SONG? BY THE WAY, I JUST NOTICED THAT YOUR FLYERS STATE THAT "ALL MORNINGSTAR FREAKS WITH BIG BALLS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN OUR FUNCLUB FOR FREE!" WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF "BIG BALLS" IN THIS CASE, AND IF ONE HAS SMALLER THAN IS REQUIRED, WHAT IS THE PAYMENT THIS PERSON HAS TO PAY TO JOIN? AND WHAT ABOUT WOMEN, ARE ALL OF THEM WELCOME WITHOUT ANY "SPECIAL" REQUIREMENTS? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THAT FAN-CLUB ANYWAY?
-At the moment, "The Eyes of Lamia" is the most popular track. This "big balls"- thing means just our fans...our hardcore MORNINGSTAR-fans. The membership is free for everybody! Women are welcome also, no problem. The purpose is that these people will be informed of future things (recordings, special news, etc.). We'll make some merchandise and it's cheaper for members. We'll make a fanzine which is free for members. For us, they're the most potential "customers", they will help us spreading our flyers etc. And it is cool to see where are your fans from!
PAGAN KALEWALA WAS YOUR PUBLICATION SOME YEARS AGO, AND I REMEMBER THAT YOU INTERVIEWED NORWEGIAN BAND TROLL BACK THEN, AND REALLY LIKED IT TOO. IS THIS THE SAME BAND WHICH HAS THE CD "DREP DE KRISTNE" AVAILABLE...? YOU HAVE ALSO HAD OTHER PUBLICATIONS, COULD YOU GIVE A SHORT INTRODUCTION ABOUT THEM?
-Yes, I think they're the same. I've only heard their very first demo (which was ok 'cos its primitiviness and at that time I used to like all dirty-sounding shit). I don't know their future sound. I'm making a 'zine called "Spellbook"... dedicated to 70's hardrock, 80's metal (mostly powermetal), doom etc. #3 will be out soon. "Spellbook" is unique 'cos all the featured bands are excellent... old cult legends, the new masters... not the usual crap.
ONE, KIND A STRANGE DIRECTION OF YOUR CAREER IS A PROJECT BAND ANAL-JESUS. I'M NOT SURE WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT BUT AT LEAST SOME PEOPLE TOLD ME THAT THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ABOUT YOU AFTER THAT "SADO-METAL" PROJECT. TWO DEMOS WERE RELEASED, "SADO-RITUAL" AND "NOISE-RITUAL", AND TRACKS LIKE "JEESUKSEN VIIMEINEN PANO", "SADISTI MARTIN LUTHER" AND "VAGINA" ARE SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY IRRITATED SOME OF THE FANS OF "TRUE AND ORIGINAL BLACK/SPEED METAL BAND MORNINGSTAR"... WHY WAS ANAL-JESUS "FORMED" IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND DO YOU REGRET RELEASING THOSE TWO DEMOS?
-It was just an "inside-joke"... I had couple twisted minded friends and we just had some fun. The lyrics were influenced by Finnish movies, like "Simpauttaja" etc. But we had to stop 'cos it became too serious... We started to receive fan- mail from all over the world etc. Nothing very serious... Anyway, I've heard that some dudes are going to reform the band, but I'm not involved!!! The demos were funny... Fuckin' shit noise, hah hah!
AS YOU ARE AN OLD SCHOOL METAL FAN, IT'S NOT A SURPRISE THAT YOU ALSO HAVE A BAND CALLED MINOTAURI WHICH PLAYS HEAVY/ POWER-METAL, AND YOU JUST RECORDED YOUR 3RD REH./DEMO TAPE. THERE ARE SEVERAL INFLUENCES PEOPLE CAN HEAR, SO ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO ADD YOUR OWN CONTRIBUTION TO THAT OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF BANDS REVIVING THE METAL OF THE 80S? AND IF YOU ANSWER THAT MINOTAURI ISN'T JUST ONE OF THOSE BANDS, THEN EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE AND THE REASON FOR THIS BAND/PROJECT!?
-MINOTAURI is different compared to any band today. MINOTAURI has a sound of early 80's/late 70's in the underground- vein. All these new "80-sounding"-bands try to sound like old KREATOR, FROST, DESTRUCTION or even HELLOWEEN! They have not even heard of such cult names like SARCOFAGUS or early MANILLA ROAD! With MINOTAURI we have a sound like mixing doom, old powermetal and NWOBHM. Nobody plays that kind of music today... That should say it all!
YOU HAVE TOLD THAT MINOTAURI-STUFF HAS GAINED SOME POSITIVE REACTIONS, AND EVEN SOME PLANS ABOUT ALBUM-RELEASE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, ANY FURTHER DETAILS?
-Well...nothing is sure in this business! Let's hope the best. We're looking for 7", 12", CD-deals ...so labels get in touch!
CAN YOU DESCRIBE A MORNINGSTAR-FAN, IS MORNINGSTAR FOR OLDER METALHEADS OR DO YOU HAVE ALSO YOUNG, LET'S SAY 12-15 YEARS OLD, FANS TOO? IS MINOTAURI-FAN SOMETHING ELSE THAN WHAT YOU JUST TOLD ABOUT MORNINGSTAR-FANS?
-We have young and old listeners... I know a man who's very much into our stuff and he's 40 years old! I'd say that our fans are mostly over 18, young kids usually don't understand us 'cos they've grown up while listening to new bands and they don't even know the older bands... some of them will discover us later on... MINOTAURI fans could be even older!
COULD YOU MIX THE SONGS OF MORNINGSTAR AND MINOTAURI, I MEAN, TO RECORD A MINOTAURI-SONG TO MORNINGSTAR ALBUM AND VICE VERSA? OR ARE THEY TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS?
-They're are very different things...both are metal but still different.
WHAT IS THE LINE-UP OF MORNINGSTAR AND MINOTAURI, AND WHAT ARE THE OLD MORNINGSTAR-GUYS DOING NOWADAYS, DOES ANY OF THEM HAVE ANY BANDS ANYMORE!?
-MORNINGSTAR = Ari-guitar/vocals, Mikko-bass and Pasi-drums. MINOTAURI = Ari- guitar/vocals, Viljami-drums and Tommi (a new member)-bass/b.vocals. About the old MORNINGSTAR-members... Pete (drums) and Tomi (bass) have a prog. rock band called "WATERFRONT WEIRDOS", they just released a self financed CD.
PERKELE...THAT'S RIGHT, I'M SWEARING AT YOU MOTHERFUCKERS... PERKELE. I MUST SAY THAT "POHJOLA" DEMO'95 IS STILL ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC PIECE OF FINNISH PAGAN ROCK, WHY DID YOU CHANGE THE STYLE TO WHAT IT WAS ON YOUR DEBUT CD "EROTIC CIRCUS"? I MEAN, "POHJOLA"-STUFF REALLY KICKS SOME ASS EVEN TODAY, AND YOU REALLY CREATED SOMETHING THAT MAY BE CALLED "ART" BECAUSE EVEN MY WOMAN, MIA, LIKED THE SONG "NAINEN PIMEYDESTÄ" IN ALL ITS NAIVETY...WHY DID YOU CHANGE THE STYLE SO MUCH, PERKELE?
-"Pohjola" is ok... but I was tired to this thing 'cos suddenly there was a hundred bands singing in their mother- tongue and adding folk-stuff into metal. PERKELE's "Pohjola" was the first in Finland. "Erotic Circus" is different stylish material... more gothic rock. Anyway, the band is on "ice" at the moment... There's only me left... maybe I'll do a comeback some day in the vein of "Pohjola"... (give me a deal!).
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF PERKELE, ARE YOU GONNA RELEASE THE 2ND ALBUM THROUGH HAMMERHEART, OR DO THEY EVEN WANT YOU ANYMORE, AT LEAST YOU DIFFER FROM THEIR OTHER BANDS A LOT!?
-No... Hammerheart said it was a mistake to release the album (they only print 1000 copies) 'cos they mainly produce 90's "metal"... Some like it, and a lot of people hate it... it's too "funny" for gothic people, too pop for a metalhead. I'd say it's more like my "solo-album"! It has a lot "inside-stuff"... By the way, I've heard that there's some kind a new black (?) metal band in Finland called "PERKELE", shame boys! There can be only one...
I KNOW YOU LIKE A LOT BANDS LIKE MANILLA ROAD AND SARCOFAGUS, AND YOU REALLY DON'T GIVE A FUCK FOR THE 90S BM-SCENE, WHY? WHAT IS THE "THING" THAT MAKES A BAND SPECIAL FOR YOU?
-The sound, the playing, the style, the attitude, the lyrics... There's no return when you hear those bands! Today's bands have a plastic sound, same screamy vocals and lyrics which are boring for me. It's the matter of taste... I just can't get into 90's!!!
I FOUND SOME SISTERS OF MERCY (I.E. GOTHIC) INFLUENCES FROM "EROTIC CIRCUS", DO YOU LISTEN TO GOTH-STUFF OFTEN, AND WHAT ABOUT DARKWAVE/AMBIENT...ANY FAVES FROM THAT GENRE?
-I listen to SISTERS OF MERCY, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM and old THE CULT sometimes, and that has influenced the PERKELE-CD... I don't listen to darkwave/ambient...
CAN YOU NAME ANY NEW (FORMED '95 OR LATER) BLACK-METAL BAND YOU LIKE OR ARE ALL THE NEW BANDS CRAP, BE HONEST?!
-There's no excellent bands in the black-metal vein...but there are some brilliant bands like POWERSCOURT (power metal), THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG (also power) and ABIOGENESI (70's type prog.rock). Black- metal was VENOM, HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST, BATHORY, SODOM etc. and it was back then in the 80's.
HAVE YOU MADE ANY COVERS DURING THE YEARS, WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE COVERS IN GENERAL AND WHAT BAND/SONG YOU WOULD BE READY TO COVER IF SOMEONE OFFERS YOU A CHANCE?
-No... we don't play covers... but we have planned to rehearse a RUNNING WILD or a MANILLA ROAD cover... don't know when we'll do it. Usually I'm not into covers...it's like raping!
LET'S TALK ABOUT ARI HONKONEN... YOU WERE EARLIER KNOWN AS SINISTER SATYR, WHY DON'T YOU USE THAT NAME ANYMORE?
-These "artist-names" are so funny nowadays and everybody use them, so...why not?
ARE YOU STILL INTERESTED IN KALEVALA AND OTHER ANCIENT STORIES? I HAVE NEVER BEEN REALLY INTERESTED IN SUCH TOPICS AND E.G. TOLKIEN'S STORIES ARE SOMETHING I'VE NEVER READ, SO WHAT IS THE "THING" YOU GET FROM THOSE BOOKS? IS IT JUST ESCAPE FROM REALITY?
-Escape from reality is easy with a good book. I haven't read Kalevala for years 'cos it's so hard to read and sometimes boring. Old stories, legends and history is always interesting. I hate this "American-plague", called UFO's, FBI, serial killers, shit, rap, politics, etc.
THEN ONE GORY DETAIL FROM YOUR PAST; YOU WERE WORKING IN THE CEMETARY IN SUMMER'93, SO WHAT WAS IT LIKE AND DO YOU HAVE ANY DELICIOUS DETAILS TO TELL US? AND AS ISMO (UNHOLY) ASKED A QUESTION, TELL US ... HAVE YOU BEEN IN 2,40M DEPTH WITH A DROWNED BODY?
-It was hell. I'd rather be in a beach than working in summer. I saw and handled some bones and skulls and it was interesting but nothing special. I have been in a pit, but alone... I'm not interested in corpses, etc. shit. What kind of question is this?
YOU ARE LIVING IN ÄÄNEKOSKI, AND AS I KNOW HOW BEAUTIFUL THE NATURE IS THERE, DOES IT INSPIRE YOUR WORK...? I KNOW THIS SOUNDS A CLICHE, BUT IT'S HARD OR EVEN IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE WHAT IS IT LIKE LIVING THERE, BUT AS I SPENT A BIG PART OF MY CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH ONLY 50KM NORTH OF ÄÄNEKOSKI, I KNOW WHAT IS IT LIKE...IT'S SOMETHING SPECIAL!
-Yes, in some point. The summer is great here... Lake Keitele rules!
BACK TO MORNINGSTAR. I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT EVERY MORNINGSTAR-GIG I'VE SEEN HAS BEEN A GREAT EXPERIENCE. IS IT THE BASIC LINE-UP, THREE GUYS WITH GUITAR, BASS AND DRUMS WHAT MAKES YOUR MUSIC SO GREAT NO MATTER WHERE YOU PLAY? YOUR GIG IN A LOCAL PUB WAS GREAT EVEN IF YOU HAD PROBLEMS WITH PEDALS AND THE PLACE IS SO SMALL THAT IT'S HARD TO PLAY THERE WITH A BAND WHICH HAVE MORE THAN 3-4 GUYS, BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY IN BIGGER VENUES TOO, AND WHAT ABOUT GIGS ABROAD?
-I'd like to play almost everywhere! I like small places as well as a bit bigger ones. Gigs abroad? Why not, but give us a good deal at first!!! Playing live is great...just great!
"HELL" WAS RECORDED A YEAR AGO, AND EVEN IF IT'S STILL NOT RELEASED, DO YOU ALREADY HAVE NEW TRACKS READY FOR NEXT RELEASE? WOULD YOU LIKE THE IDEA THAT MORNINGSTAR STUFF IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON VINYL...?
-Yes, we have tracks like "Hakkapeliitta" and "The Last Dragon" + couple of others. The new tracks rule! Vinyl rules! I'm a vinyl freak... fuck the CD-industry! It's hard to find a vinyl-deal but I'm trying!
ANY OTHER PLANS OR GOALS TO TELL?
-Just to get "Hell" out and then find a new deal.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEND THE LAST 24 HOURS OF THIS MILLENNIUM?
-By having a good time.
ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ASK ME?
-Would you like to sign us for an album, hah hah!!!
-(Tommi): Don't laugh, Ari. If I had the money, I'd release "Hell" right away... That is not possible at the moment, so I just tell you that if you'll ever need such help, and I had the money, I would help you with pleasure!!!
THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR TIME, ARI. ALL THE BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR MUSIC ALSO IN THE FUTURE....
-Thanx a lot Tommi! You have been supporting us for a some time already... We won't forget you!
NIGHT CONQUERS DAY (USA) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by Mikael Bayusik
USUALLY AN INTERVIEW STARTS WITH A LOGO, BUT THIS TIME I HAVE A PROBLEM... WHICH LOGO I SHOULD USE THIS TIME, CAN YOU TELL ME?
-I guess it's up to you. I'd prefer a NIGHT CONQUERS DAY-logo since that's the main band I'm "promoting" right now. SHADOWCASTER is rather quiet at the moment. And I do have two other debut CDs coming out soon for two other solo- projects, but it'll be a few months 'til they are released.
I PROCEED CHRONOLOGICALLY FOR A WHILE... BURIED BENEATH WAS FORMED IN MAY 1992, AND THE STORY IS QUITE INTERESTING, BECAUSE THE DEBUT CD OF B.B. WAS RELEASED IN THE END OF 1997, OVER TWO YEARS AFTER THE BAND'S DEATH! BUT ACTUALLY THIS ISN'T ANYTHING SPECIAL THESE DAYS, BECAUSE THE CD CONTAINS OLD DEMO-SONGS WITH NEW VERSIONS, SO I MUST ASK WHY DID YOU WANT TO RELEASE THIS STUFF ON CD, BE HONEST!?
-Actually that CD was just released this week after some delays at the pressing plant. The reasons for putting out this CD are simple: 1. I wanted vindication for 3 wasted years and 2. I wanted the band recognized. In my personal opinion our old demos sucked. But the songs that I had written did not suck. They were let down by poor vocals and half-assed sound quality. BURIED BENEATH really was a huge waste of my time and money. A debut CD was supposed to come out in 1994 but we got fucked over. A 7"EP was supposed to come out in '95 but we got fucked over. And in early '97 I was just fucking around in my home studio when I pulled out the old reels for the BB demos ('93 and '94). I basicly "fixed" them up to my satisfaction. Then by chance Majestic Union Records was interested in putting it out on CD. Then Stefan (Majestic Union Rec) collaborated with Dark Trinity Prod. and money was sent to me to go mix the material at a professional studio. The result is a remarkable album of black/death. The songs sound totally different from the weak demo versions. Putting out this CD closes that 3 year chapter of my life. The CD sounds like something I can stand behind. I'm amazed that it's actually out because it seemed like that band was cursed. We were always getting fucked over. If the album did not sound good, I would not release it. Believe me, it's a very heavy and dark album.
BURIED BENEATH - 7"EP WAS PLANNED IN '95, BUT ACCORDING TO BB-BIO, YOU WERE RIPPED OFF BY A SLOVAKIAN ASSFUCK... WHO WAS THAT ASSFUCK, AND COULDN'T YOU FIND ANYONE ELSE WHO COULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN RELEASING THAT STUFF?
-It was a guy named Jano Kralik. He was actually collaborating with Stefan of Majestic Union Records. They were going to put out the 7"EP. But Jano was the one to whom the master DAT tape was sent. Jano never did anything. He ripped off both me and Stefan! The original DAT tape is still in Jano's possession. He never returned it! So it'd have been impossible for me to seek another label to put out the 7"EP since the original DAT tape was not in my possession. The songs that were meant to be on the 7"EP are on the CD in a newly mixed version. They originally appeared on the 3rd demo ('94). The versions on the CD sound better than the mix that was done back in '95.
QUOTATION FROM YOUR BIO; "...IN THIS OVERWHELMING WAVE OF BLACK METAL CDS THESE DAYS THIS RELEASE WOULD DEFINITELY STAND OUT AMONGST THE HERD." WHAT COULD MAKE IT SO SPECIAL THAT IT REALLY STANDS OUT FROM THE MASS, I DO WONDER, REALLY, SO EXPLAIN?!
-I think that the songs are exceptional. When I was in BURIED BENEATH we were writing technical songs because that was what we had sort of compromised on. No one wanted to buy BATHORY type stuff. So we explored technical riffing and more death metal oriented music, although by the 3rd demo my black metal influences had definitely crept into the music. The type of death metal that I'm into is NOT the usual New York State shit (CANNIBAL CORPSE, SUFFOCATION, etc.). To me "death metal" was POSSESSED, NECROPHAGIA, early AT THE GATES, INFERNAL MAJESTY, NECROVORE .....this is what death metal is. So our brand of black-death had an original approach at least. With the presence of keyboards there is also a dark haunting aura present in the songs. And with my vocals on the songs, there is much more of a black metal element because I do not grunt and growl like our old vocalists did (although I did keep our original vocalist's voice on one song so one can hear how he sounded at his best). I think it's an original CD. It doesn't sound like "just another black metal album". There's more to it. But this is my opinion. Listen and decide for yourself.
SHADOWCASTER WAS BORN IN 1993...AND IT'S SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT COMPARED WITH THE BB. ACCORDING TO THE BIO, THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT WAS TO DO AN LP'S WORTH OF INTRO'S". AND THE ONLY SHADOWCASTER-MATERIAL I'VE HEARD SO FAR, "ABANDONMENT" CD, IS BASICALLY SYN H/KEYBOARD-STUFF ADDED WITH STRANGE EFFECTS AND SHRIEKS... AND TO BE HONEST, THIS ALBUM SOUNDS QUITE FUNNY. DOES THIS KIND OF "MUSIC" REALLY ATTRACT YOU?
-Well you would not be the first to call the music "funny". I will say that I'm much more satisfied with the outcome of the 2 promos that I put out in 1994. And yes, the original concept was to put out an albums worth of intro's. But by 1995 it had evolved more into longer compositions and more experimentation. On the CD the idea was to explore a more symphonic and melancholy approach. But I'm not quite as satisfied with the result on the CD. I mainly would have preferred to re-do the first 4 songs. Perhaps this type of atmospheric music is an acquired taste. The reviews that the CD has gotten are very mixed. Some people think the CD totally rules while others think it totally sucks. I like synth based music: TANGERINE DREAM, TUU, KLAUS SCHULZE, KITARO, and many others. But SHADOWCASTER is different, mainly in the use of the vocals and tons of effects. And if you bother to read the lyrics, there is more going on than just shrieks.
USUALLY MUSICIANS TRY TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING WITH THEIR WORKS, SO WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH SHADOWCASTER-STUFF? AS I SAID, THE DEBUT ALBUM DID AMUSE ME EVEN IF I HAVE A FEELING THAT THIS ALBUM IS MEANT TO BE SOME KIND OF DARK HORROR EXPERIENCE, SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? IF THIS IS MEANT TO BE SOMETHING ELSE THAN FUNNY, SHOULD I USE SOME DRUGS BEFORE LISTENING TO THIS ... EDUCATE ME, PLEASE!
-Yes, take some drugs. That will help!!! I have heard about some remarkable experiences that some people had on acid while listening to SHADOWCASTER. On the CD I was trying to achieve something more symphonic, but I am still learning to play keyboard so there are mistakes. The songs were all recorded live in one take through a home stereo system. A very unconventional and difficult way to record an album. At that time I did not have my 8 track studio nor could I afford to go to a pro studio. You should realize that on those album tracks, I'm playing one or two keyboards at the same time while also doing the vocals into a mic while ALSO turning knobs on the effect petals....it was very difficult to do it all at once. Only small little parts here and there are pre-recorded and stored in my keyboards memory. With some newer SHADOWCASTER songs I want to achieve a more ambient quality. Something that you can listen and basicly "lose yourself" to. It's definitely directed at people who like to listen to some far away music while meditating, tripping or smoking a lot of cannabis. And I'd like to still record an albums worth of intros.
THE DEBUT CD WAS RELEASED BY THE GREEK UNISOUND RECORDS...DO YOU LIKE THIS LABEL? COULD YOU TELL THE READERS THE WHOLE STORY, IT'S TRULY WORTH READING!?
-I hate this fucking label. Panos is a liar and an idiot. I'm really bored with wasting any more space on them. Just be it known that a growing number of bands have bonded together in a united hatred of Unisound. Not only myself, but also ROTTING CHRIST, MORTUARY DRAPE, EQUINOX, THOU ART LORD, INSATANITY, DARK HERESY, DIABOLI, Terrorizer Mag., we have all been either fucked over or ripped off by Unisound. I shall have nothing to do with them again nor will I buy anything they put out (unless I buy it from the band directly). For further info visit the SHADOWCASTER website: http://hem.passagen.se/davthvs/shadowcaster
FIRST UNISOUND, AND NOW WILD RAGS... I MEAN, WHY THE HELL YOU SIGNED A DEAL WITH WRR, THEIR REPUTATION IS NOT ANY BETTER THAN UNISOUND'S? AND AS YOU DID COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DELAY WITH UNISOUND'S SCHEDULE, DO YOU THINK WRR IS ABLE TO RELEASE YOUR WORK AS SOON AS THEY HAVE TOLD YOU... OR HAVEN'T YOU HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT E.G. MORNINGSTAR OR CENTINEX, OH WELL. AND ONE MORE THING, WHEN YOUR DEAL WITH WRR IS OVER MAYBE YOU COULD TRY LETHAL RECORDS FROM AUSTRIA NEXT, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
-There's no deal with Wild Rags Records. I talked to Richard back in November and he wanted to put out the 2nd SHADOWCASTER CD. But he blew me off. I e-mailed him twice more since and he never responded. So I guess he lost interest. I have personally never had any problems with Richard. I've done some big trades with him and he never gave me any problems. But I have heard about his problems with others. No, I will not seek out Lethal Records. Maybe I'll see if Seraphic Decay Records are still around? (hehe) Actually I am talking to a USA label now about maybe putting out the new recording on cassette, but we've really only minimally discussed it. I'm rather busy with some of my other projects at the moment.
NEXT...NIGHT CONQUERS DAY. DEBUT CD RELEASED BY DUTCH HAMMERHEART REC. IN AUTUMN'97, AND "THE FIRST SNOWFALL" IS THE TITLE. AM I TOTALLY OUT OF MY MIND, OR ARE THERE SOME NORTHERN BLACK-METAL INFLUENCES IN NCD'S MUSIC? AND TO AVOID MISTAKES, DEBUT CD OFFERS MUCH MORE THAN ONE MAY THINK, REALLY, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ASK, OK!
-Of course there are some Northern Black Metal influences in our music, but there is a lot more than just that! I love the first IMMORTAL LP as well as all of the early BATHORY albums. I've turned on all the other band members to black metal, and each has their own favorites. Gregg and Justin are into more of the Swedish stuff (DARK FUNERAL, DARK TRANQUILLITY, MARDUK,...) while Tim and John are more into Nordic stuff (EMPEROR, ENSLAVED, VED BUENS ENDE,...). I'm into all these bands too, but I'm also heavily inspired by BATHORY, MERCYFUL FATE, and old school stuff. I think that our CD is not an easily categorized musical style, although "black metal" is the easiest generalization. I'm into a lot of Norse bands but I try not to emulate any particular bands. What did always bother me was bands singing about winter and ice who lived in regions with no snow and ice. Even parts of Norway are not very cold. We get long cold winters here where I live, and I write from experience about our winters. I think it's really stupid for bands in warm climates to write about cold winters. Although singing about winter is not a new concept, I think we can more adequately relate to what we are focusing on because we live it. I think a lot of our "sound" reflects our environment, and perhaps could be a reason for our comparison to Northern Black Metal. We live in the Northern region of New York (it's known as the "northcoast" here) and also I have strong Norwegian roots in my family. My great grandmother was borne in Arendal, Norway, and to my knowledge we have family there still. Her husband (my great grandfather) was from Stockholm, Sweden. I also have a lot of French blood in me. I may be borne in America, but my heart is with my ancestors who came to this shit pot one century ago. To be compared to Northern Metal and described as very un-American is of great compliment to me.
OH WELL, THERE ARE MORE...TO ASK. I WONDER, AS IT'S SOMETHING REALLY AMAZING AND ORIGINAL, WHY DID YOU PAINT YOUR FACE LIKE IS SHOWN ON THE CD-BOOKLET PHOTOS, I MEAN, WHAT IS IT? IT'S LIKE KISS DID BACK IN THE 70S, BUT SOMEHOW IT LOOKS MORE DARKER (OR MAYBE IT'S YOUR ANGRY LOOKS?), DO YOU HAVE ANY NAME FOR SUCH FACE-PAINT? HEY, I KNOW, LET'S CALL IT CORPSE-PAINT, RIGHT!?
-Yes, I am adorned in face paint. Originally I was only going to wear it for our live shows since NO ONE does that up here!!! No one!! But it began to be more than just something to do at live shows. I really find it to be a transcending experience. I think many others would agree. It's sort of like meditation.....a different mindset is evoked. It also has a theatrical aspect. It goes hand in hand with the grim haunting atmosphere that some of the music has to offer. Although a lot of bands use facepaint, few use it effectively. They usually look like idiots. OLD MAN'S CHILD look like a bunch of fucking clowns! They're a great band, but they look ridiculous. I think I use it effectively, and I wouldn't bother wearing it in a photograph if I looked ridiculous. Our keyboardist wears face- paint as well, but he's not on the CD so he is not pictured. It appears that you might be one of those anti-facepaint people. If so, I can understand your skepticism, but I do not totally understand the instant joke you try to make out of it.
TO BE HONEST, I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST FACEPAINT, I DON'T ACTUALLY CARE IF ONE WEARS SUCH, EVEN IF YOU ARE RIGHT THAT SOME BANDS "RUIN" THEIR IMAGE WITH POOR FACEPAINT, BUT FOR ME THE MUSIC IS THE ESSENTIAL THING. THAT'S WHY I DON'T LIKE KISS, BUT I DO ADORE KING DIAMOND, I'D LOVE OR HATE BOTH OF THEM IF THE FACE-PAINT WAS THE ESSENTIAL THING TO ME, OK. BUT LET'S GO ON WITH THE QUESTIONS… I'M NOT SURE ABOUT YOUR OTHER BANDS, BUT NCD HAVE PLAYED AT LEAST ONE GIG IN NOV.'97 ... AND THE DAY AFTER YOUR FIRST SNOWFALL! HOW LONG YOU HAD TO WAIT FOR THIS SNOWFALL... I MEAN, YOU HAD TO WAIT FOR IT UNTIL YOU PLAYED LIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME BECAUSE SUCH COINCIDENCES DO NOT JUST HAPPEN, SO HOW LONG DID IT TAKE, BE HONEST?! AND ONE MORE THING ABOUT THAT DEBUT GIG, AND BE HONEST AGAIN; DID YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THE BAND WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYING THERE, COULD NOT BE THERE DUE THE SNOWFALL, AND YOU JUST "HAPPENED" TO BE OUTSIDE THE BACK-STAGE DOOR WHEN THE CLUB-OWNER DID OPEN THE DOOR, WONDERING WHERE THE HELL THE SCHEDULED BAND WAS...AM I RIGHT?
-This was a pre-scheduled show. After the concert as we loaded our equipment into our truck it began to snow. And it truly happened to be our first snowfall of the season. We have since played 2 more gigs, most recently with the Norse-American band ANCIENT.
I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER ANYMORE, BUT WHO CARES. TEARSTAINED WAS BORN IN DECEMBER'95, THE DESCRIPTION "GRIM BLACK MELANCHOLY METAL" SAYS IT ALL, OR DOES IT?
-TEARSTAINED is hard to categorize. Musically it's either very grim black metal or very melancholy and suicidal metal. Some songs draw heavily from old BATHORY. Even emulating the smallest details of "The Return..." LP right down to the sometimes slightly off-tempo drumming. But the vocals're very surreal. There's mostly a very sad, lamenting, near-weeping type of vocals, while other parts are a lot like old MERCYFUL FATE. Of course there are Quorthon-like vocals too. It's truly an exceptional brand of music.
WHO ARE THE OTHER MEMBERS, THERE ARE SOME STRANGE "STAGE-NAMES" USED THIS TIME, SO INTRODUCE THEM SO WE ALl KNOW, PLEASE!
-This will take some explaining to do. Initially TEARSTAINED was a solo-project. I recorded one song in December'95 that got very little recognition except for a great review in Nordic Vision Zine. In the summer of '97 I recorded a debut CD and have signed to Mordgrimm Records. Now for a while I was trying to distance myself from TEARSTAINED. I didn't want it to be just "another solo-project of Mikael", so I "created" a band. I made up band members and promoted it as a band that recorded in my studio. After Mordgrimm called me and wanted to sign TEARSTAINED, I told them it was actually just me. They were ok with that. And I planned on continuing the charade. But now that the album is mixed, and it has come out so great, I just can't stand by and not to be credited. Besides, too many people know it was me and there were loopholes in the story. I thought it would've been a good idea, sort of in the vein of PILEDRIVER and EXORCIST (anyone remember them?). So now the truth is known, and it's another of my solo projects. But TEARSTAINED has a particular ideology to it, both lyrically and musically. It has a distinct "sound".
INTO THE SUNLESS MERIDIAN .... YOUR SOLO-PROJECT (WHAT THE HELL?), AND THE DEBUT ALBUM AVAILABLE FROM NEAR DARK PRODUCTIONS... WHAT IS I.T.S.D.?
-I.T.S.D.?? I don't know. I.T.S.M. is the initials for INTO THE SUNLESS MERIDIAN. (Oops!!!! -ed.) I simply use ITSM to abbreviate the name if I don't feel like repeatedly writing out the whole name. The ITSM debut CD is done. It is yet another solo-project, but it's much more of an '80s evolution. It's a little more raw than TEARSTAINED and explores different musical avenues. ITSM has technical song structures and I experiment with a lot ideas. I try a lot of new vocal styles out in ITSM. I also experiment with strange effects and merging of musical genres.
THERE ARE STILL TWO BANDS I KNOW HARDLY ANYTHING ABOUT; ...AND HERE I LAY AND A BAND CALLED NEO-BARBARIAN. NEO-BARBARIAN IS "WAR METAL" A'LA KREATOR; RAZOR; VOIVOD; RUNNING WILD; SODOM; ... SO THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY ROOM FOR ONE MORE BAND WITH THESE INFLUENCES, INTRODUCE THIS BAND! MAYBE YOU COULD ALSO TELL ABOUT ...AND HERE I LAY AS WELL?
-Well the NEO-BARBARIAN concept as a separate project has dissolved. Instead the second ITSM CD will be entitled "Neo- Barbarian" and will encapsulate all of the ideas I was going to vent into it as a separate entity. It'll deal with the concept of War Metal and draw influence from the bands you listed. It'll be a concept album that is based heavily upon the themes of movies like "Mad Max (The Road Warrior)" and "Escape From New York". As for AND HERE I LAY, this was A band that I played session keyboards in last summer. They play gothic atmospheric doom metal and they needed a keyboard player to do the keyboards or a comp. track they were doing. So I rehearsed with them for about 5 weeks and recorded this one song with them. The result were disappointing. Although it was some of the best keyboard playing I had ever done, I was not present during the final mix and on the final version the keyboards are really low in the mix. You can barely hear all of what's going on in the music, in the keyboards. So I did not rehearse with them anymore. It was sort of a waste of time. I also did not have time to rehearse with them. They have since recorded a full length debut CD that'll be out in the summer'98.
DID I FORGET TO MENTION ANY OF YOUR CURRENT BANDS/PROJECTS?
-Maybe. It's for me to know and for you to find out.
ARE YOU A MILLIONAIRE SOON? AT LEAST YOU SHOULD GET SOME ROYALTIES FROM THE ALBUMS?
-Ha ha ha! This is the first question to make me really laugh!!! In this kind of music one does not make money. I often wonder what people in these bands do for a living. Most of them seem to either still live with mommy or they are on welfare (collect money from the government). This is such a hypocrisy to their extreme views. They hate the world and have this "grim and evil" outlook, yet their own well being is provided by either their parents or the government. I live with my girlfriend, we own our own house, I work full time at a shit job (easy, but shit) and we get by just fine. It would be great to live off of this music. Right now only the NCD CD is out. And we will not make much money on that at all. The BB CD just came out this week and again there's not much money to be made on it either. The other 2 CDs I have coming out are not out yet. I made NO money off of SHADOWCASTER. My main priority for putting out so much music is that I live for this music. I'm just at a very productive and creative point in my life musically.
NORMAL HUMAN-BEING WOULD NOT NEED MORE ACTIVITIES, BUT THERE'S ALSO SONIC INSANITY, IT'S NOT A BAND (NOT IN THIS CASE), BUT IT'S...WHAT?
-Are you insinuating that I'm not normal? (If you say so. -ed.) Define "normal". (Disco. -ed.) "Sonic Insanity" is the metal radio show that I've DJed with my friend Ron since 1989. I guess you could say that metal is my life. Music is the only motivating force in my life. Well, maybe sex as well, but that's a given. "Sonic Insanity" is a large part of our local music scene, what little there is of it. All the other guys in my band got into all of the metal they're into through the radio show. We enjoy playing extreme music for those that want to hear it. It's also a way to sit back and crank some music for 3 uninterrupted hours. I do it voluntarily.
YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT YOU ARE AN 80S FANATIC...AND YOUR FAVES INCLUDE BATHORY; POSSESSED; DESTRUCTION; EXUMER; KREATOR; CELTIC FROST; DEATHROW; ETC. YOU GOT INTO METAL IN 1985, STARTING WITH MERCYFUL FATE AND VENOM ... AND I KNOW YOU ARE COLLECTING THE OBSCURE '80'S STUFF YOU MISSED BACK THEN. I THINK YOU ADORE THE BANDS FROM THAT ERA, SO I MUST ASK, WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT BANDS WHICH IMITATE WHAT THE ORIGINAL BANDS DID BACK THEN, AND DON'T YOU THINK THAT YOU SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM THE SAME IDEAS, OR IS YOUR "ART" JUST A PRAISE FOR THE ORIGINALS?
-Some bands do simply "praise" (or copy!) the old bands. It's sometimes cool to hear someone emulate a forgotten style. But how far can a band go copying another bands style really? I really like GUILLOTINE(Swe). They do overdo it a little and they get monotonous, but they really pay tribute to German speed metal and play it very tight. There are some old bands that I constantly re-discover, so to speak. I always pull out some old stuff I haven't listened to in years and get into it all over again. There's some albums that I disliked back in the '80s that I now fucking love. I can't explain how that happens. Back in the '80s I really did not like "Power Metal" type stuff. But now I fucking love it. I mean I liked SAVATAGE and HELSTAR back then, but I wasn't REALLY into it. In the past few years I've REALLY gotten into them and bands like them. My first impression on these retro-thrash bands was that I liked them. But after a few listens I realize I prefer the bands they emulate much more. I still haven't heard a retro band that really evokes anything but nostalgia in their music. NOCTURNAL BREED does write some good songs. And NOCTURNAL RITES and HAMMERFALL are doing some incredible Power Metal type of music that stands on it's own. In my solo-projects I try not to copy the '80s bands that influence me, but simply attempt to recreate their aura while incorporating it into my own style. INTO THE SUNLESS MERIDIAN does this exceptionally in my opinion.
HOW OLD ARE YOU, BY THE WAY? I WAS 13 BACK IN '85, AND I DID LISTEN TO MANY SAME BANDS YOU DID, EVEN IF I DO NOT LISTEN TO MOST OF THEM ANYMORE, JUST THE BANDS I DID ADORE BACK THEN, AND STILL DO ... LIKE MERCYFUL FATE; BATHORY; CELTIC FROST; ETC. WHAT IS THE POWER THOSE BANDS FROM THE '80'S HAVE, DO YOU REALLY LIKE ALL THOSE YOU HAVE MENTIONED, OR IS IT MORE LIKE A HOBBY TO COLLECT ALL THE RARE ITEMS FOR YOURSELF?
-As of March'98 I am 26 years old. I was borne August 22, 1971. So in 1985 I was 14 years old. No, I really fucking love all those bands I mentioned and I continue to listen to them. What point is there to list them all if I don't actually listen to them? I am definitely a fanatic over it. I do have my favorites, the ones that I listen to over and over and over. MERCYFUL FATE, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON ANGEL,...... I mean a lot of it is listened to regularly. But there's a lot of new stuff that I listen to a lot. This week for example I've been listening to DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE, DARK FUNERAL and ANCIENT repeatedly. I listen to tapes every time I'm in my car. I listen to metal before, during and after the radio show. And every morning as I go to sleep I listen to something. If I am having trouble sleeping, I'll listen to about 2 hours worth of stuff before I finally fall asleep. I listen to a lot of fucking music. And it's not just metal. I'm into ambient/atmospheric music too. TANGERINE DREAM, LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS, LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH, DEATH IN JUNE, TUU, KITARO, CAUL, RUNE ORDER. As far as metal is concerned, I do collect vinyl, and it's stuff that is my favorite. In the '80s I think I wanted to buy every album. But since 1990 it's just priority stuff. I have just about everything I want. There's a lot of CDs I'd like to get, but money doesn't grow on trees. With a lot of stuff I'm content just having a good dub of it on tape. I just recently found the CHASTAIN-"Mystery Of Illusion" LP which I had been seeking for years!! I'm quite fanatical about tape- trading. I do want to get a dub of every good '80s band doing power/black/speed/death/doom metal. No poser mosh thrash type of shit though. I love finding really obscure stuff. Even '70s stuff. Kaiaphas (of ANCIENT) just dubbed me an LP by a band called BANG (1972). They are fucking great!!! All of these bands captured an aura and a sound of a time that was but shall never be again.
WHAT DID YOU LISTEN TO BEFORE YOU GOT INTO METAL...DO YOU DARE TO ANSWER?
-As a child I actually had no interest in music. There are songs that I remember hearing on the radio in the car on trips with my parents. Certain songs stand out in my head by YES, ABBA, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, and others. But they were just songs on the radio that I heard. It was nothing I really got into or listened to. Usually my parents would put on easy- listening shit, and I really tried to tune it out. At age 9 I started playing violin in school, and I guess that was the start of my interest in music. I was a "suzuki" violinist, meaning that I learned music by ear but I could not read music. I was second best in my class. Although we learned a lot of stupid songs, I liked a piece that was called "Perpetual Motion" that I can barely recall. It had a lot of notes in it with a climbing scale. Apparently playing violin was not considered very masculine by my schoolmates. By the age of 12 I was being teased heavily, so I quit. At age 13 I was visiting my cousin in Pittsburgh Pensylvania, and he brought me into his bedroom, turned off the lights and told me to listen to this album he had. "In the beginning good always overpowered the evils of all man's sins....". It was the intro on MOTLEY CRUE's "Shout At The Devil" LP. I was hooked. For a year I loved MOTLEY CRUE along with some other poser bands. But one day in 1985 I was in a local record store and I spotted a record by MERCYFUL FATE "Don't Break The Oath". And I think that same week I bought VENOM "Possessed". I suddenly realized what fucking posers MOTLEY CRUE were. But at age 13 what did I know? MOTLEY CRUE was the first metal I'd heard. I just know that MERCYFUL FATE and VENOM truly changed me. That MERCYFUL FATE record totally blew me away. And the intro on the VENOM song "Possessed"...... y'know: "Look at me Satan's child, born of evil thus defiled...". That made MOTLEY CRUE seem so lame!!! Then a kid that sat next to me in my 9th grade science class had IRON ANGEL and other satanic shit written on his school folder. He told me about this local radio show called Metallic Overdrive that used to be on Saturday nights. I tuned into that show just around Halloween'85 and suddenly it was metal overkill!!! RUNNING WILD, KREATOR, RAZOR, PILEDRIVER, EXODUS, METAL CHURCH... from then on I was totally into black death stuff. I was especially into the satanic bands like HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST, BATHORY, and POSSESSED. Of course back then "black metal" really only applied to VENOM. It was difficult to really categorize who was death metal and who was black metal. I believe that although VENOM captured the essence of black metal (as well as coined the term) it was BATHORY that are the progenitors of the black metal sound.
WHAT ABOUT THE STUFF FROM THE '70'S ...ANY FAVES FROM THAT ERA?
-BLACK SABBATH, AMON DUUL II, YES, OMEGA, TANGERINE DREAM, BRAINTICKET, PINK FLOYD, HAWKWIND, AGITATION FREE, JUDAS PRIEST, WITCHCRAFT COVEN, BLACK WIDOW, THE DOORS, BO HANSSON, MIKE OLDFIELD, KLAUS SCHULZE, LED ZEPPELIN(IV), IRON BUTTERFLY, BLACK ROSE(pre-MERCYFUL FATE),.....and the BANG LP that I just got into two weeks ago. I love a lot of '70s stuff. Especially the really buzz-oriented doom stuff or very trippy space rock. I'm always seeking more obscure '60s or '70s rock.....synth/ prog/space/acid/doom/moog stuff. Any suggestions?
SOME OLD HEADBANGERS COMPLAIN HOW PATHETIC THE CURRENT BLACK METAL IS, DO YOU ALSO THINK SO, ARE ALL THESE "EVIL" BANDS PATHETIC? DO YOU THINK THE REUNION OF VENOM IS PATHETIC, AND WHAT ABOUT EXCITER PLAYING LIVE TEN YEARS AFTER THEIR "FAME"?
-Parts of the scene are stupid. But there is an equal number of great bands emerging. I just think that the underground is oversaturated. It's really overwhelming. Some of these bands trying to be evil come across so immature. Half of them cannot grasp the English language and end up writing stupid songs with nonsensical titles like "Brew the Satanic Host For Satan" and shit like that. And 80% of the facepaint I see looks so stupid!! I mean it looks really clownish. VENOM's reunion? I haven't heard the new CD yet. They sure don't look like VENOM! It's not quite the VENOM I remember. I have the VENOM "Possessed" poster on the wall in my house. That is VENOM! As for EXCITER...again I haven't heard the "new" album. But a new vocalist? Ha ha ha. Wasn't Dan Beehlers voice sort of the EXCITER trademark? I wish KREATOR would just split up or change their bandname!! The ONLY '80s band that still lives up to their name is VOIVOD (minus the horrible "Angelrat" LP)).
DID YOU SEE YOUR FAVE-BANDS PLAYING LIVE DURING THE '80'S? WHAT ABOUT CURRENT BANDS, DO YOU WANT TO SEE THEM AT ALL? IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO SEE TWO BANDS, LIVE ON STAGE...WHICH BANDS YOU'D CHOOSE, ONLY TWO?! WHY YOU CHOSE THOSE TWO?
-I did see a few of my fave bands live in the '80s. But there's a lot more that I did not see. My first concert that I saw was SLAYER in November 1986. And I saw every KING DIAMOND tour. I also saw DEATH in '88 and '89. As for 2 bands I'd like to see live: one would be CRADLE OF FILTH. They appear to have an entertaining stage presence as well as some great songs. The other? Hmmmm.....I could not pick just one other. Maybe DEATH SS, VENOM or MORTUARY DRAPE. I've seen video of them live and I'd like to experience them live in person. I'd even like to see DARK FUNERAL, DIMMU BORGIR or SATYRICON live to see what they sound like live. ANCIENT played here in Rochester two weeks ago and they put on a GREAT show!! 3 years ago I saw ABSU and ENSLAVED live and that was great fucking show!! Back in 1992 I saw VITAL REMAINS and they put on a decent show. At one time MORBID ANGEL and IMMOLATION were great live (back in '89 and '90 when I saw them both). We do not get any good shows here in Rochester. The ANCIENT show two weeks ago was the first good concert in years. We usually just get shit like TESTAMENT, OVERKILL, PRO-PAIN, bands that I either totally hate or are over-the- hill. I saw SLAYER at an outdoor show back in 1991 and that was one of the most memorable headbanging onslaughts I'd ever seen! I was so stoned I'm surprised I remember anything at all.
IT'S HARD TO ASK ABOUT YOUR VIEWS AND LYRICAL INSPIRATIONS BECAUSE YOU HAVE SO MANY BANDS/PROJECTS, SO I WANT YOU TO TELL ME, WHAT ARE THE MAIN "THEMES" IN YOUR LYRICS, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY PARAGONS OR INFLUENCES YOU COULD MENTION?
-Wow...this is a difficult question to answer. There are some similar themes in all of my lyrics, and some of my solo- projects do have particular themes. All of my lyrics deal with my own experiences as well as dreams, symbology, metaphors, philosophy, and personal viewpoints. I almost always write about what is real, what I relate to or have personally experienced. My newer solo-projects have more specified ideologies. TEARSTAINED focuses primarily on suicidal thoughts and misanthropical despair. NCD has some dream symbology and philosophical metaphors, as well as praise given to our living environment (in the context of our long cold winters and the symbolic metaphors associated with it). Pagan aspects of my personal views are also expressed. ITSM lyrics are mostly very personal poems about past relationships, music, things that I've experienced in my life. Sometimes a poem I wrote in 1994 can have just as much relevance now as it did when I wrote it. Each lyric exorcises a particular emotion or thought at any one given time and it can be revisited at any future time. Back in 1995 I wrote a lot about sexual themes. And I still have a lot of unused lyrics that will be used eventually. Did I really answer your question? I don't know.....
YOU HAVE ALREADY MADE SOME COVER- SONGS WITH YOUR BANDS/PROJECTS, ARE THERE GOING TO BE MORE? ANY BANDS/SONGS TO REVEAL YET?
-Yes, I'll occasionally do cover-songs. On the forthcoming ITSM Cd is a cover of MERCYFUL FATE's "A Corpse Without Soul". And there are 2 hidden cover-songs on the forthcoming TEARSTAINED CD: one is a BATHORY cover of "Equimanthorn" and the other.....well, let's keep the other one secret. It should be easily recognizable when you hear it. I choose songs that are personal favorites both musically and/or lyrically. It must be a song that has had some sort of impact on me. I did a poor cover of SLAYER's "Necrophiliac" on the second ITSM demo that was marred by the poor sound quality. I'd like to try that one again. But I already know what song I'll cover on the next ITSM CD. It fits in with the theme of that album. NIGHT CONQUERS DAY plays that BATHORY song "Equimanthorn" at our live gigs. And we'd like to learn a handful of covers just to shuffle around at different gigs. We've discussed learning DESTRUCTION's "Bestial Invasion" and we are working on IRON MAIDEN's "The Trooper". I like jamming a cover song if a good version of it can be performed. Most bands destroy the songs they cover!
HAVE YOU READ THE SATANIC BIBLE OR OTHER LITERATURE DEALING WITH SATANIC THEMES? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN MYTHS AND LEGENDS, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN POLITICS OR RELIGION...? IS THERE ANY "-ISM" YOU COULD USE WHEN ASKING ABOUT YOUR IDEOLOGY?
-I read "The Satanic Bible" at age 14. I was totally into Satanism for quite a few years. But I have done a lot of my own pathwalking and for me satanism was a step on a ladder to a greater consciousness. I am not sure that an –ism exists to describe me. I'm more certain of what I'm not, than what I am. I fucking hate christianity and I despise organized religion. I have in me a mix of neo-pagan, heathen, atheist, agnostic, misanthrope, antichristian, nihilist, tibetan buddhist and extremist. I don't fucking know. It's really hard to label oneself. I could go on for 10 pages with this answer and analyze myself, but then who really fucking cares about what I believe? I do NOT believe in a god, a deity, the jesus myth, or a creator. The myths and legends that interest me most are pre-christian: Sumerian, Egyptian, Atlantean, Mayan, and even christianity itself is an interesting myth. The gnostic sects of the first millennia had some very entertaining views about their interpretations of christ and the afterlife. I think many of us are fascinated by myths and legends, aren't we? The Norse have introduced us to their fairytales and Nordic folklore. And now bands in other countries are introducing their own homeland's folklore into their lyrics. I'm more interested perhaps in factual historical data, but since the advent of christianity it's sometimes hard to decipher what is real because the fucking church used to burn important documents that threatened the beliefs of it's followers. The greatest tragedies of history have been a result of the Church. The burning of books and people, the changing of texts to suit their advantages. I have read extensively on the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as a variety of occult topics. I have a small library of occult books at home. As for politics, I have no interest other than I think religion does NOT belong in politics. All politicians are lying two- faced ass-kissing scum. I have no trust in the government. And I currently practise no religion, unless you consider hating people a religion.
WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE EXECUTION OF KARLA FAYE TUCKER? DO YOU HAVE ANY FRIENDS OR RELATIVES ON THE "DEATHROW"? AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FORM OF EXECUTION?
-Kill her. Kill more people. As long as it does not affect me personally, I could care less. I have no relatives on deathrow. As for my favorite forms of execution: hanging, drawn and quartered, broken on the wheel, guillotined, buried in the sand on a beach up to one's neck, crucifixion, and electrocution. I guess I really prefer the medieval execution methods. They were so brutal. Our modern execution methods are an attempt to be "humane". But it's once again a denial and hypocrisy instilled into the general public by christianity.
I WONDER WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE MILLENNIUM?!
-This summer I want to record the second NIGHT CONQUERS DAY CD as well as the 2 nd ITSM CD. I would like to get out the forthcoming CDs of my new solo-projects. So far I have 4 separate recording contracts for 4 separate bands/projects of mine. I think that's already quite an accomplishment. I'll probably hang myself sometime soon, too. Who knows. It might happen.
YOUR CHANCE TO ASK ME SOMETHING... ACT NOW!
-Do you always ask this many questions?
-(Tommi): This time I asked 31 questions, and I must say that this is not a record, not even close.
NOTHING MORE FOR NOW. THANK YOU FOR THE ANSWERS! ANYTHING TO ADD?
-You owe me two fingers. I just have these bloody stumps after answering this damn interview. Seriously, thanks for the interview. These are some very thought provoking questions. I think you could almost do a biography on me now. Embrace Pure Darkness.
VARATHRON (Gre) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by Stephan Necroabyssious
DO YOU STILL REMEMBER MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH YOU, DO YOU REMEMBER MY ORIGINAL AND CLEVER QUESTIONS, AND DID YOU THINK BACK THEN THAT DARK MOON WOULD BE STILL ALIVE NOW, BE HONEST!?
-Well, it's been a long time, my brother. I remember my first interview in your magazine, and I wish to give you an interview in next 5-10 years!!!! RULES!!!
LIKE MANY OTHER GREAT BANDS, ALSO YOU HAVE HAD SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH LABELS... AND I CAN ONLY WONDER WHY SUCH THINGS HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. I MEAN, DO YOU ACCEPT THE FIRST DECENT SOUNDING PROPOSAL YOU GET, OR WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
-Really I don't know! I think we have a "bad" luck with labels!! Cyber Music was a good label, make a perfect design on CD but not promotion on mags, radio-shows, promos etc. Unisound says a lot of "big" words in the beginning but not promotion, not honestly, not...nothing!!! I hope we will be more "lucky" in the future!! Now, our mini-CD "The Lament of Gods" will be released by Pagan Records, a label which makes promos for promotion on radio-shows and mags, etc.!!
I JUST READ OVER OUR CORRESPONDENCE (SINCE '93), AND I NOTICED THAT BEFORE YOU DID SIGN A DEAL WITH CYBER MUSIC, ALSO H.N.F. HAD OFFERED YOU A DEAL, DID METALION CHANGE HIS MIND OR DID YOU JUST CHOOSE CYBER AS A BETTER OPPORTUNITY?
-Well, Metalion he's a great brother and wanted VARATHRON on Head Not Found Rec., but he didn't give any money for studio-recordings!!! The Cyber Music gave us the money, so I wrote to him and I told him about all that situation!! Our main problem is that we need money for the studio-recordings because we don't have money for that!
AFTER CYBER-SHIT, YOU SIGNED A DEAL WITH UNISOUND... A GREEK LABEL WHICH REPUTATION IS AS BAD AS CYBER'S. IT'S FUCKING EASY TO JUDGE FROM HERE BUT DIDN'T YOU HAVE ANY BETTER ALTERNATIVES? VINCENT CROWLEY SAYS IN ACHERON-INTERVIEW THAT HE REGRETS NOT SIGNING A DEAL WITH OSMOSE, WHAT ABOUT YOU, ANYTHING YOU REGRET NOW?
-Well, after the Cyber Music, Jim Mutilator had a good situation and friendship with Panos of Unisound and he tried to get us signed on Unisound Rec.!! Panos was paying for the studio and he told us "big" words about promotion on mags and radio-shows, etc.!! Of course, in the beginning he made some good "waves" but later absolutely nothing!! ACHERON is a very great band and one of my faves all over the world!! My opinion is: "I never sign a deal with a label which I don't know, who makes the work, promotion!!" Now, we have signed on Pagan Records, because I saw they work and I think we make a "perfect work"!!
WHATEVER I THINK ABOUT THE LABELS, THE MUSIC OF VARATHRON IS EXCELLENT, "WALPURGISNACHT" AND "HIS MAJESTY AT THE SWAMP" ARE GREAT PIECES OF GREEK METAL ART! BOTH ALBUMS ARE ENGINEERED BY A GUY CALLED G. ZAHAROPOULOS (M.W.DAOLOTH/ MORBID), AND I THINK THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT CONNECT YOU TWO, TELL US ABOUT THIS BROTHERHOOD!?
-I know Morbid from 1989! He's a great guy and he help us a lot of times!!! He's a brother for me because we lived some "bad" situations and we know each others! He makes the production for our two full-LPs!!!
IS IT A RISK THAT M.W.DAOLOTH IS INVOLVED IN GREEK METAL SO MUCH, AT LEAST IT'S SAID THAT MOST OF THE ALBUMS HE HAS ENGINEERED SOUND BASICALLY THE SAME. IS IT A BAD THING, WHAT YOU THINK?
-Well, M.W.Daoloth was an soundengineer on Storm Studio!!! All the Greek death/ black bands they recorded on Storm Studio by the same soundengineer!! Sometimes that situation is very bad because the most bands sounding the same.
"WALPURGISNACHT" WAS RECORDED TWO YEARS AFTER THE DEBUT ALBUM, AND I THINK IT'S MUCH STRONGER SOMEHOW, THE SOUNDS ARE HEAVIER FOR SURE, BUT WHAT'S YOUR OPINION WHEN YOU COMPARE THESE ALBUMS?
-I think "Walpurgisnacht" was more technical and heavier than the first album! More good riffs, atmospheric parts and more "work-time" on our songs!!! But, I like all our songs because any album of VARATHRON is created by a lot of hard work and "sacrifices"!!! You will listen to our new m-CD and you can see our new "invasion"!
THEN A QUESTION I MUST ASK BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING I HAVE BEEN WONDERING FOR A LONG TIME... WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SONG "DEEP BENEATH AN ANCIENT DOMINION"? I THINK IT WAS MEANT TO BE ON "WALPURGISNACHT", OR...?
-Well, that song was recorded in the same time with the other songs of "Walpurgisnacht"! But, we use that song on "Metal Hammer Mag. comp.II" and on our CD "Genesis of Apocryphal Desire" by Cursed Productions!!
WHO IS E.A. ROBINSON WHOSE LYRICS ARE USED ON SONG "THE DARK HILLS"? AND WHAT ABOUT THE SONG "BIRTHRISE OF THE GRAVEN IMAGE", LYRICS BY VULPECULA... ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE AMERICAN BAND VULPECULA? WHY DID YOU USE THOSE TEXTS, THEY HAVE TO MEAN SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOU, DON'T THEY?!
-Well, I like poems, I read a lot of poems of E.A. Robinson, who was a great poet!!! I like that poem "The Dark Hill" and I used it!! About the lyrics on "Birthrise...", wrote by Chuck Keller (ex-ORDER FROM CHAOS) now VULPECULA!!!! He's a brother, who help us with a good promotion forever!! So, he wrote a lyrics from a song and I used, of course!!
WHAT IS THE REASON THE CD "GENESIS OF APOCRYPHAL DESIRES" WAS RELEASED? AND WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE TEXT ON THE FLYER WHICH TELLS THAT BESIDES YOUR FIRST TWO DEMOS, THE CD FEATURES ALSO THREE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS... THOSE TRAX ARE NOT UNRELEASED, SO WHAT IS THIS, CAN YOU TELL?
-The CD "Genesis of A.D." is released by Cursed Productions!! It's a great release ...a gift for our fans!! The three tracks "The Great Seal Of Graal", "The Mystic Papyrus" and "Deep Beneath..." are never released on CD- or vinyl-format!! So, the two songs are unreleased and "Deep..." (re-mixed on that CD) is unreleased, too! So, the text on the flyer is absolutely right!!! (Ok, I had just heard them from some promo-tapes or something -ed.)
ACCORDING TO THE PROMO TAPE'97, YOUR NEW MATERIAL CONTAINS MORE SYNTH-MELODIES THAN BEFORE, BUT IT STILL SOUNDS FAMILIAR AND EVEN IF THE QUALITY ISN'T THE BEST, I MUST SAY THOSE TRAX SOUND FUCKIN' GREAT! CAN I DRAW ANY CONCLUSIONS FROM THOSE TRAX AND WILL I HEAR SIMILAR, POWERFUL, VARATHRON ALSO ON CD?
-The promo'97 contains three tracks from our upcoming full-LP "Crowsreign" which will be recorded on summer'98!!! Yes, I think the songs are more atmospheric and melodic but the original sound-style of VARATHRON remains the same!!!
THE PROMO HAS AN INTERESTING COVER, DID YOU TAKE THAT PHOTO, PERHAPS?
-The cover from promo'97 is a photo from a game! I saw it on a magazine and I used it because the title meaning; the flesh- desire, the passion and the lust! "Sarmutius Pegorus"!!!
YOUR NEW LABEL WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MEGATHERION RECORDS... WHAT IS IT, NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE? WHAT HAPPENED WITH THEM?
-Well, our new material, MCD "The Lament of Gods" is on Pagan Records! Megatherion Rec. is a new label in Greece, but I do not know if it will be "reality" because I don't have any news from them!
"THE LAMENT OF GODS" MCD IS YOUR NEXT RELEASE, AND IN SUMMER'98 WILL BE RECORDED THE 3RD FULL-LENGTH "CROWSREIGN" ...WHY SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT?
-We have a full-LP almost ready, which is called "Crowsreign"! Megatherion Rec. told us to give us money for the recording on summer'97!!! The summer pass away and they told us, "VARATHRON must record the new stuff on Xmas, December"!! Well, in 10 days (our vacations on Xmas) it's impossible to record a full-LP, ok? So, we created a new material for a m-CD! So, now with Pagan Rec.! We are recording our m-CD (because we don't need so much time such a full-album!!!) and in summer 1998 we can record our full-album! That's the basic reason.
WHY DID YOU MAKE A COVER VERSION OF "NUNS HAVE NO FUN" FOR THE MERCYFUL FATE- TRIBUTE CD... DID YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE YOURSELF?
-Still Dead Prod. told us about a comp.CD ...a tribute to M.FATE. We chose that song "Nuns Have No Fun", because it's one of my fave songs!! I hope the CD will be out, soon!!!
WHAT IS THE BEST KING DIAMOND AND MERCYFUL FATE SONG? AND WHAT YOU THINK OF HIS LATEST EFFORTS ... DO YOU AGREE THAT THE "INTO THE UNKNOWN" IS THE WEAKEST MERCYFUL FATE ALBUM SO FAR?
-I like all the stuff of MERCYFUL FATE and KING DIAMOND! I have all the LPs and CDs! I think the newest album "Voodoo" of KING DIAMOND is a very good release! ETERNAL RULES!!!!
YOU ARE STILL VERY ACTIVE UG-PERSON, SO I HAVE TO ASK WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?
-It's a good question! Well, now I am 31 years old and I love that music from 1978!!! So, I still believe on some "old" things like friendship between bands, good stuff for release, interviews on underground mags, promotion with flyers on letters, etc.! I like all that scene and I want to continue for as many years as I can!!!
I KNOW YOU PUBLISHED BLASPHEMOUS MAG. SOME YEARS AGO, AND NOW YOU ARE WRITING AT LEAST SOME REVIEWS TO MORTAL NOISE MAG., ANY OTHER ACTIVITIES WITHIN UG-PRESS? COULD YOU TELL WHAT WAS THE BLASPHEMOUS MAG. LIKE, WITH WHOM YOU MADE IT (AT LEAST MORBID WAS INVOLVED) AND WAS IT BLACK/DEATH-METAL PUBLICATION ONLY OR SOMETHING ELSE?
-Blasphemous mag. was a very good mag. with a great material on black/death scene! The writers were Morbid, Gothmogth and me!! We published only two issues and the 3rd issue will never come out! The reasons were the money and the free-time which we don't have anymore! Now, I write some reviews and articles on Mortal Noise Mag.!
THEN KAWIR, "EUMENIDES" 7"EP OFFERED TYPICAL YET GOOD GREEK OCCULT BLACK, BUT THEN THINGS CHANGED, WHAT HAPPENED? AND WHAT ABOUT THE KAWIR-CD WHICH SEEMS TO BE AVAILABLE, IS IT SOME NEW STUFF OR JUST OLD RECORDINGS PUT ONTO CD?
-After the split-7"EP with SIGH, we released 7"EP "Eumenides"! After these releases we created some more new songs. But Panos, who's playing guitar now (bass on our two 7"EPs), kicked out the two guitarists and the situation was bad on KAWIR! So, I left the band and 3 members who stayed were so stupid and fashion- victims! No brain, no personality!!! Then they recorded a simple Norwegian black metal music, nothing else!
DO YOU HAVE OTHER PROJECTS/BANDS AT THE MOMENT? INTRODUCE THEM, PLEASE!
-Well, I have something on my mind before a lot of years! The band-name is ACHERODION!!! We are recording something near soon!
AND MAYBE YOU COULD ALSO TELL US THE CURRENT VARATHRON LINE-UP...PLEASE!?
-Well, VARATHRON are: me-vocals, Spyros (Wolfen)-drums, Bill-synths & Pyrphoros-guitars and bass!!!
ROTTING CHRIST IS SURELY A KIND OF TRADEMARK OF GREEK METAL MUSIC, BUT WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THEIR LATEST EFFORT, "A DEAD POEM", IS IT TOO SOFT? ARE YOU STILL IN CONTACT WITH JIM MUTILATOR, AND WHAT IS HE DOING NOWADAYS, CAN YOU TELL?
-The new ROTTING CHRIST is a good death- metal album! Jim Mutilator have a record- shop, a family and a good life!
WHAT ABOUT THE VARATHRON ON STAGE, HOW MANY GIGS YOU HAVE PLAYED DURING THE YEARS? I THINK YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED TOO MANY GIGS OUTSIDE GREECE, WHY?
-We have always played great gigs, but not so many because we had problems with our members, especially with our drummer!
THEN A FUNNY THING I READ FROM THE NEWSPAPER SOME TIME AGO... ASIMAKIS KATSOULAS, MANOS DIMITROKALIS AND DIMITRA MARIETI WERE SENTENCED TO LONG IMPRISONMENTS BECAUSE THEY WERE LEADERS OF THE DEVIL WORSHIPPERS WHO RAPED AND KILLED AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE IN 1992. DO YOU KNOW THIS CASE, AND IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO TELL ABOUT IT?
-I know that case and I think all things are not usually so simple as we read on newspapers! A lot of political and other troubles in that case!
HAVE YOU FACED ANY PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF SUCH INCIDENTS AND WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN GENERAL, DO THE AUTHORITIES BOTHER YOU IN ANY WAY DUE TO YOUR ACTIVITIES? WAS YOUR PLACE RAIDED DURING THE EURONYMOUS-INCIDENT?
-Now I live in Ioannina and I had a lot of troubles with police here. The society is so closed here and a "black sheep" always is a mystery for this society! Now, about my friend Euronymous, he was visiting in Albania, a country near to Ioannina, it's 80km north from Ioannina!
YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT IT'S A FUCKIN' SHAME THAT MANY GOOD BANDS HAVE DIED WITHOUT GETTING ANY ALBUM-DEALS AND STILL SO MANY UNTALENTED BANDS RELEASE CDS ALL THE TIME. COULD YOU MENTION SOME OF THE "LOST JEWELS"... I'M SURE YOU HAVE A FEW NAMES AS YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE UG FOR OVER 15 YEARS!
-Yes, it's a shame for some perfect bands like MALIGNANT; MATRICIDE; NECROPHILIAC; SATHANAS; NECROFAGO; IRON WARRIOR; BATHYM etc. A lot of names which I don't remember now! The past years were so "hard", not "easy" like our nowadays!
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEND THE LAST 24 HOURS OF THIS MILLENNIUM?
-To listen to music, to see movies, to make sex and maybe a good fighting on kick-boxing!!!
ANY PLANS AND GOALS YOU OR/AND VARATHRON HAVE, AND WHICH YOU HAVEN'T TOLD YET?
-For now, we have a new MCD "The Lament of Gods" from Pagan Rec. Watch out for this release!
MAYBE YOU'D LIKE TO ASK ME SOMETHING ...ANYTHING?
-Well, I'd like to ask you (like a fan of VARATHRON who you are), what do you like the most from my band? Music, lyrics, all the image, atmosphere, what? Thanx for the answer!!!
-(Tommi): Surely the general atmosphere!! It's hard to explain, but you have some special hooks which fascinate me, and I must say that some other Greek bands have a similar influence on me, I just love your music, the feelings I get from it!!! "Sarmutius Pegorus" promo'97 was an incredibly great stuff, so I think your next releases will kill for sure!!!
THANKS A LOT FOR THE ANSWERS! VARATHRON BELONG TO THE ELITE OF MY ALL-TIME METAL-BAND FAVES. STEPHAN, ALL THE BEST FOR YOU AND FOR THE BAND! FINAL WORDS ARE YOURS!
-Thanx for your support, brother!!! You always help us and I appreciate it very much!!! You listen to our new m-CD and spread our name all over the world!!! Eternal thanks and embrace our occult music!!!