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Ancient Rise (Bel)
Archgoat (Fin)
Der Stürmer (Aut)
Forefather (UK)
Goat Sodomy (Fin)
Morningstar (Fin)
Paysage d'Hiver (Swi)
Satanic Warmaster (Fin)
Urn (Fin)
Utgard (Fin)
Varathron (Gre)
Ancient Rites (Bel) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / answered by Günther
I had Ancient Rites -interview already in Dark Moon #8 but I decided to interview Günther again because many things have happened in the Ancient Rites -camp since 2001.
When did you realize Karmageddon Media is not capable of releasing your next album, and do you have any idea what actually happened with them even if it seems they are still alive?
– When we were ready to enter studio we contacted the Karmageddon Media label owner to see what they were up to. He informed us he was working with people of for our former label Mascot Records and that he could not take decisions on his own but that he would get back to us. The same moment Season of Mist offered a contract deal and since it is a label on the rise and the terms were clear we decided to go for this offer instead of waiting. From what we understood it seems that Karmageddon does not exist anymore.
HHR managed to release “…And the Hordes Stood as One” live-CD/DVD, and it surely is great live album. What do you think of it now, did the gig went as well as you wanted to and how much postproduction was actually made to make it sound as it is?
– I think it is an interesting live document, not a cheap recording taken from the soundboard, we regarded it as a serious release. Since our producers of Spacelab studios recorded it with their mobile studio our sound was close to the studio albums. In postproduction they cleaned up all the feedback and a better balance. Some vocal parts could have been better but I decided not to touch it, leave it as it was.
Jan “Örkki” Yrlund and Ancient Rites parted ways during the Generation Armageddon tour in May 2003. As always, there are, at least, two sides of the story but here is something from Soundi, which is a Finnish music magazine, published in March 2006; (a brief translation)
Satyrian was born from the ashes of Danse Macabre when Yrlund and, at that time, Ancient Rites and Danse Macabre vocalist Gunther Theys' ideologies didn't meet anymore. When Gunther became more politically active and more and more chauvinistic ideas were put to lyrics, Yrlund decided to leave and the rest of the band followed him.
Jan: Gunther formed another band behind our backs and offered it to the label. The label did not however agree with this. We decided to get a new singer and to completely redo all the vocal parts, change the name of the band, to make a fresh start.
Jan: To be honest, I wanted to get rid of Gunther's reputation. When one has got a political stigma, it is really hard to get rid of. I am not and don't want to be a part of any kind of politics.
What do you think of that story? There are also stories of nasty verbal quarrels etc. but maybe you could tell your side of the story.
– Mr Yrlund has a talent for re-writing history but that is old news. It was impossible to continue working with him; we tried to deal with the alcohol problem and verbal conflicts but when he attacked our keyboard player physically, things unfortunately escalated in fist fights. We fired him midst an Ancient Rites tour. Later I was informed by the record company mr. Yrlund had bought the rights to the Danse Macabre band name, erased my vocals and changed most of my lyrics on the D.M. album we had recorded before the incident. I received an official mail in which I was told I had lost my band name and was proposed an offer: if I would state in the press I no longer had time for D.M. and “voluntarily” gave up the band name I would not be attacked in his interviews. I did not accept those terms and revealed the truth. Still have all the mails to prove. I had formed DM in Greece with members of Septic Flesh and Necromantia and invited mr. Yrlund in the band only years later. Everyone knows that. The story is clear on the debut album. Ever since mr Yrlund is trying to compromise us publicly posing as the soul incarnate of Mahatma Ghandi who left this evil band and trying to convince labels and producers not to work with us. Strange it took him so many albums before his conscience suddenly told him he had to stop working with us… J Well, I heard not all my work is erased from the new album mr Yrlund made, my “Invictus” idea on the DM (now Satyrian) album is kept, I wasn't aware he kept my idea so I re-used it on the new A.R. album. Ernest Henleys' ghost who wrote the poem will be delighted to see his work is honoured by two bands at the same time J . My band name and ideas are not enough, shall I give the keys to my house too while we're at it? Haha…
Last time you answered my interview, you told me that your guitarists, especially Jani came up with the ideas to your songs. What is the situation now, are the guitarists still the main composers after all?
– Everyone brings in his own ideas which add to the diversity in sound, we all have a different musical background.
“Dim Carcosa” was released six years ago. The line-up has changed a lot since then and Ancient Rites has now not only two but three guitarists… not unique but rare situation to have three guitarists in a band like Ancient Rites, how does that affect on Ancient Rites in different levels? At least live sound should be very powerful if the overall sound is ok… right?
– Three guitarists indeed enable us to experiment and a guitar trio does not only add to the overall power but also more interesting song structures or melodies are possible: while two guitarists perform twin leads a third can put a heavy layer underneath for instance, the power is never lost yet more things are happening. It offers a certain kind of freedom.
Guitarist Bart Vandereycken is also back in Ancient Rites, how did you manage to get him in the band after such a long absence? Did he just get tired of fighting with people in his job as a bouncer?
– Well, today he still has a quite dangerous job: confiscating things when people don't pay their bills. He got into a fight with bikers recently whose club house he had to empty, recently an Arab tried to run him over by car, he stepped aside, the car crashed, then he gave a few hits to his attacker. I think he will not live to get old, our Bart. He's being shot at a few times, I remember a Turkish mob on his tail. Life with Rites is like a holiday camp compared to his private situation. I don't consider him a violent person; he never provokes but does not step aside when being provoked. And due to his job he is always confronted with people who break the law or do things that cannot see the light of day. It was not difficult to re-recruit him as we always had been good friends; he kept the best of memories of his time in Rites. At the time he decided to leave the music industry behind he had a more normal life, had to pay the bills and as we did not earn a penny on tour and were ripped off by labels and promoters he called it a day. When Cradle of Filth contacted him to play for them he turned the offer down, he never played in any band until he returned to our camp. He lives day by day now and many of his friends actually thanked us for taking him in again, people who always considered A.R. a bad influence at first now see us as his “saviours”, his ticket to a more safe life haha. I think they exaggerate but still it's strange, how life can turn.
You are no longer playing bass but just singing, and according to the Season of Mist infosheet, this decision was made because you wanted more freedom on stage to sing and to interact with the fans. What is that actually like, what do you do on stage and what are the new tricks you couldn't do earlier?
– Playing an instrument “tied” me to the microphone standard, I was “forced” to remain more static because of the vocal duties. During encores when just handling the microphone I had a chance to get closer to the audience, resulting in a more intense interaction with the crowd, releasing extra energy, often handing the microphone to the crowd. Of course musically a bass was missing. So I was thinking of finding a bass player who could take over my task. Our sound engineer and the rest of the band found it a strange idea at first, why change things that worked well for so many years? Why drop my instrument? But to me it wasn't a farewell to the bass guitar anyway; I still play bass in LION'S PRIDE and LES VILLAINS. I always think of what works best for a band and I don't mind putting ego's aside. So the idea was formed in my head to hand over my instrument.
Former keyboard-player Domingo is playing bass nowadays. You told me last time that Domingo broke up your personal relationship because he was kicked out of the band in 2001, so how did he end up playing in Ancient Rites again?
– I could understand he felt disappointed and angry after we dropped him the news we were no longer satisfied with his keyboard playing. He did not do a bad job but keyboards and orchestration had evolved to a high musical standard in A.R.'s music and after all Domingo was a guitarist who started playing keyboards to join A.R., the situation was not in his favour but we never had personal conflicts which made the situation even harder. Also, Yrlund and Domingo never were on best terms. We met again at a gig when his band GRACEFALLEN played support to ANCIENT RITES. We had a great time together, relived old times. I have this old fashioned view on friendship and loyalty and never felt comfortable about the idea A.R. had to leave a person behind who had the best intentions. After this gig I phoned Domingo, knowing he was a good guitarist I offered him to take my place on bass. Offering him total musical freedom, he could consider the bass as a lead instrument as far as I was concerned. We talked openly about the unfortunate earlier situation as well. Conversations on personal and professional level took place. He was surprised by the proposition but the idea grew on him and with Yrlund being out of the band nothing stopped him to rejoin. The others in A.R. were really surprised when I told him I found a bass player and who it was. As a matter of fact he even wrote a complete track for the new album (‘Brabantia')…He does a great job on strings, a musician in the end is always best on his own field.
Could you tell me something about the lyrical contents of the new album? At least there are some metaphorical dimension in the album title, and also e.g. some Persian themes can be found at least on song titles…
– The choice of one word per song title was done on purpose, a Laconic, short title capturing the essence; this in contrast to our former track titles that could be quite long. The album has an ancient “Empire” feeling to it: short, militaristic, compact titles seemed in place to achieve a cohesive touch, a harmony between music, lyrics, artwork and symbolism. The essence contained in one word but still that one word offering different meanings, one word saying many things, telling different stories, and although the viewer is misguided by the short appearance, when digging deeper more will be revealed. You are correct: the titles often have different metaphorical dimensions: of a historical and philosophical kind.
Even if “Dim Carcosa” was very melodic album, “Rubicon” steps even further on that sense. After a few listenings, I felt that having three guitarists on Ancient Rites mean they all must get some duties on the album and that is why so many melodic guitar parts can be heard on the album… any opinion on this?
– No, it wasn't like a guitarist ego fight of who could play most guitar tunes. It was a matter of musical evolution, besides “new” members mean other styles of playing.
Another thing that actually surprised me was the huge amount of keyboard… The title track “Rubicon” even begins with a dimmu-like keyboard-part. I know the old rawer times have been over for some time but where does this more and more melodic touch in Ancient Rites end in the future?
– Until we write complete sound tracks and perform live in opera halls while wearing three piece suits J . Dimmu-like keyboards? Our keyboardplayer does not even listen Black Metal nor does Oliver Phillips who is responsible for a lot of the orchestration, he's into classical music/progressive Rock. Personally I am not even familiar with the Dimmu Borgir material at all, apart from the debut album. When I listen B.M. I always listen 80's pioneers. Our work is epic, I feel our music and lyrics have become more “filmic” which enables the listener to enter the atmosphere and era we describe. We are not influenced by modern B.M. at all, classical music and soundtracks are a source of inspiration. This soundtrack touch to our music I find appropriate. Still I think our music has raw elements, the new album contains some of the fastest parts we have ever written but true: the filmic element has increased. It all adds to a variety in sound. With bands like Lion's Pride or Les Villains it's like a return to basics musically, straight forward and raw music but A.R. is a different more complex musical journey nowadays.
The overall sound and production on “Rubicon” is more heavy and powerful than on “Dim Carcosa”, not to mention the earlier albums. I even like the drum-sound more this time. As “Rubicon” was recorded on Spacelab studios like the two previous full-lengths and even with the same producers… what did happen to reach such a powerful sound this time?
– The drum sound is always chosen by Walter, he wanted to sound that way on the previous record although the producers wanted a more “warm sound” at first. We never interfere with each others instruments. This time he chose another sound option. On the previous albums he worked with triggers like most Death Metal bands do, this time he decided to go for an acoustic approach. He's a hard working musician who likes to experiment, constantly eager to learn and try out other things. Also Spacelab has evolved technically a lot. True, “Rubicon” sounds more powerful yet I still believe in our previous releases as they represent certain periods in the bands career.
Judith “Ciara” Stübers was an additional musician on “Dim Carcosa”, does she also sing the female vocals on “Rubicon” and who is she besides singing in Satyrian, anyway?
– Producer Oliver Phillips introduced Judith to us. Nice lady, great voice. I believe Oliver and her had a musical project together. On “Rubicon” Portuguese singer Rute Feveiro takes care of the female vocals, she is known from her work with Black Widows and Enchantya.
There are still lots of familiar things in Ancient Rites music, even some old parts are recycled on “Rubicon”, but how do you see the future of Ancient Rites in musical sense, how much more you can push the musical limits without turning to mediocre band?
– A.R. is far too controversial to ever become a mediocre band, few Metal bands receive as many boycotts as we do. In our own country many promoters refuse or do not dare to book us because of our medieval Flemish banner which is considered by the brainwashed masses as politically incorrect, religious people do not like the fact we criticize religious blindness and the mainstream masses hate the fact we cultivate our ancestry which they consider unacceptable and translate as intolerance. On a musical note: I think people who understand our work will see that the essence of A.R. still is the same, only we pushed the limits further in every direction: we always had medieval/filmic intro's/outro's ever since our demo days, now this aspect is present throughout the whole song. Our music is as extreme as before but the elements that always have been a part of our sound are now more “developed”.
“Dim Carcosa” reached the 9th position in the Dutch indie chart… where do you expect “Rubicon” to reach?
– Honestly, I have no expectations whatsoever. I do not trust this music industry, it would not be wise to build expectations on the behaviour of the record buying masses. Success on a larger scale depends on how well a band is promoted, how successful or financially powerful the management is, current trends etc We never tried to fit in, we were never financially pushed nor did we ever try to please the mainstream public. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is when an artist believes in his own, work, regardless anyone's opinion, if it is appreciated: great! If not I can't change my taste or bother to try and “score”. That is not my way at all. Popular are Nu Metal or Goth Metal, I don't relate to the baggy trousers and hip hop moves, I don't relate to the latex suits and make up, I don't like the sound. I would feel ridiculous trying to jump on that bandwagon and sell out to gain two minutes of MTV fame. Our musical evolution is a natural one but I don't expect it to be picked up by a large audience. Sure, we work hard and always try to do the best we can but I don't live a naïve rock'n roll dream nor do I expect A.R. to become embraced by the Metal masses, let alone the mainstream public. Thank God, or let's say thank Odin ;-)!
WTC towers were destroyed over five years ago, since then lots of things have been done in the name of war against terrorist. How do you see this development and especially the fact that the western world, as we know it here in Europe, is more and more in trouble with immigrants, political and religious fanatics, etc.? What about the recent cartoon quarrel…
– The cartoon quarrel again proved how blinded and intolerant their approach towards non believers is and how much impact these people have on our Western society. We got rid of the Christian inquisition after centuries of struggle, now a new imported one is installed and bombs explode right under our nose. An evolution I do not applaud. Our Western world is ruled by weak politicians and in the name of pc correctness our identity is sacrificed, the right to mock religion and freedom of speech is a slowly earned European freedom. In Holland TV maker Theo Van Gogh was murdered by a fundamentalist because he had made ironic statements on Islam. Politician Pim Fortuyn was murdered because he had second thoughts on the current pc system etc. The so called intolerant slain by the “tolerant”. It's perfectly safe to state “Jesus is a cunt” in our society but to criticize that other desert prophet has become a danger even in our own homeland, I cannot accept that. Hail to Denmark, let the cartoons be spread, I don't wish to give in to narrow minded fools who are centuries behind and who demand the rest of the world to follow their dogma's. I know I love the middle ages but not all aspects J .
My friend visited a black metal gig in Germany not long time ago, and he was surprised by the amount of neo-nazis and right-wing people in general on the audience. Also more and more black metal is connected to these themes nowadays, how do you see this obvious change in the scene?
– Black Metal always has attracted extreme views/ people since the very beginning; it always had a tendency to push borders, to flirt with what is considered most vile. I am not an insider in the NSBM scene so I can't judge how much is based on ideology or just to shock the masses or play “evil” with the last remaining taboo: National Socialism. I think society in general has become more extreme, everything is turning more black and white, in religion and politics, also life has become harsher. It's a sign of the times. And hard times result in extreme views, it always has been like that: action/reaction. It is not only a Black Metal phenomenon. In Muslim countries and also amongst immigrants one can see fundamentalism grow, introducing terrorism, in Europe the reactions are divided between the ultra liberal left who believe the cultural clashes can be avoided through dialogue or people form a front in defence and are more and more driven to right wing views. I think the musical subcultures simply reflect what lives in society and in extreme music genres the presentation of these views are often extreme.
You surely look like a right-wing activist with your skinny hair nowadays… and you flirt with themes that can be (mis)understood more or less politically incorrect way, any opinion?
– Our society is ruled by the political correct brigade. It does not take much to upset the tree hugging peace and love woodstock generation that is now in charge. Gangsta Rap acts praising violence or Black Power ideology are embraced by the media (because it is violence praised by the so called minority groups, it is considered cool and rebellious, CCCP shirts are sold in fashion stores (regardless the millions who died in that system), Che Guevara looked upon like a freedom fighter etc while European heritage is considered Nazi and ancient Viking runes are forbidden in certain countries. Well, I refuse to play that game, despite the boycotts. I don't consider any other tribe inferior, nor do I dream of world domination or genocides but I will always defend or speak up to defend our own history and heritage. If people hate me for this it is a price I shall have to pay, can't speak against my heart. The military haircut goes back to the time when I served in the paratroopers, I stem of a military family and the haircut also was a ritualistic action, a symbolic deed against the hippie mentality in this world. When I walk the streets today with this appearance drug dealers do not bother me anymore, immigrant gangs stay away in suspicion and I am rid of the countless discussions with would be Stalinists and fake intellectuals who think this world is a peace train. Those who hate me can now even hate me more as by appearance I live up to their cliché prejudice. I always have been a bit of a provocateur. In heart I am a rather tolerant person, I don't bother those who don't bother me, who show respect, but this “look” keeps away the people I don't like to have around wasting my time with endless discussions. And mind you, also amongst right wing people I meet many with a big mouth but who have no clue what they are talking about and who think I am not extreme enough. Nothing I ever did was about trying to be the most extreme or “true”, it's not a matter of competition. On one hand you have the naïve saviours of the world, blinded to see what is happening around them, who lead society like sheep to a slaughterhouse, who spit on their own culture and on the other hand one can find the Hollywood cliché right wing extremists with a lack of knowledge who contradict their ideology by their behaviour, who don't do anything constructive or who have no heart for their own history or culture either. Idiots can be found on all sides. So I'm used to be criticized by all fractions because I have a mind of my own, I don't belong to any organisation or movement. “Many people hate us, we don't care.” I have no problem with one's views if there is a plan behind it, if intelligence is involved and reason. One could label me a European Culture patriot but I don't live up to Hollywood clichés and this confuses people. To me the concept of Fatherland is based on literature, art, history, cultural awareness, tradition, soil, being in league with one's environment and respecting one's ancestry and defending this but I'm not an outcast who supports criminal behaviour, who's constantly looking after fights and who dreams of annihilation. But I'm not a pacifist turning the other cheek either. People must take me the way I am or not. It's up to them.
Have you faced any Antifa actions / threads lately, by the way?
– Only anonymous online articles which are mixing truth and lies, placing words in my mouth I never spoke or are taken out of context, the usual tricks to compromise me. Let them have their fun, I'm sure many believe what they write about me, though. Well, it's a free world.
Anything else to add?
– All is said and done, my friend. Your provocative, critical interview was a pleasure, honestly. Always interesting and a pleasant challenge, isn't it. Feel free to visit our website at: http://ancientrites.be/
Archgoat (Fin) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen
I did end the first Archgoat interview in Dark Moon ‘zine #1 (1993) by telling… “I'm very sorry because this interview was so short, it was my fault and I try to improve that thing in the second issue if it's possible…sorry!!!” Well, 14 years have passed by and Archgoat is back! Why did it take so long to make things work for Archgoat?
– We never had any intension to put AG “back in action”. I tried it for about 3 years ago, being the only original AG member and found out the hard way, that this band do not work without me or Angelslayer. To put it short, we were in no hurry. There was no “inner flame” or motivation do start AG. I had this urge to start for some time, but it took 3 years to discuss with Angelslayer and make his head turn.
What did you do during all these years? Did you play in any other band(s) during the years?
– I was working and studying, the usual stuff. I have not played in any other bands than AG and probably will not do that in future.
Your line-up in the early 90s were… Ritual Butcherer: vocals/guitar, Lord Angelslayer: bass (guitar on stage since the gig in Kuopio March 1993), Blood Desecrator: drums… Unfortunately I throw away our correspondence a few years ago so I can't get the info from the letters but if I remember correctly, Lord Angelslayer is actually your brother? And where is Blood Desecrator?
– Yes, he is my brother. Our current line-up is me (gtr.), Angelslayer (vox./gtr.) and Lenneth, our new drummer. Our former drummer is still our friend, but not playing in AG. There is no bass player in AG and probably there wont be.
You have a new (permanent) drummer as Sinister K. took Lenneth's place. Does he also take part of the songwriting process?
– Mr. Sinisterror is our new and permanent drummer and with his efforts towards Archgoat, he has helped us more than any of our previous drummers. All the guitar parts and lyrics are still done by me and Angelslayer, but the song structures to some point and specially/naturally drum parts are the ones, where his knowledge and visions bring some new aspects to our songs. I think, that there would not be any point to “hire” permanent member, and then shut him out from the composing and creating process. We did see that as an important factor, since more you are “inside” the band, the more you are devoted to it.
Pasi Bunda was connected with the rebirth of Archgoat when I heard the rumours for the first time, did he ever actually had anything to do with Archgoat?
– I played for 1 rehearsal with him, when I tried to form AG with “outsiders”. I did not know him before, only had somebody calling me for a vacant bassplayer place and when I saw and got to know him, I instantly knew, that he has no business in being in AG.
When Archgoat perform gigs again, are you going to pour blood on yourselves before the gig and if yes, shall it be blood bought from a store or your own blood perhaps? I ask this because I remember how Patu/Hrim Grimn'r (R.I.P.) of (Sigillum) Diaboli talked to you before Archgoat gig in Riihimäki 1993 and he was telling you that using animal's blood is not the thing but you should use your own blood instead…
– To be honest, that´s no concern at the moment. There are always people saying what to do, I personally do not give a rats ass on other peoples opinions. Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. But he was a ok guy, did not know that he has passed.
Are you still “The spikest band in Finland”?
– Who knows. We are not interested about, what other bands do or don´t do. We have our own path to go with our own ideologies. When (if) we do a liveshow, we are going to use same arsenal as before, cause its our way.
I told earlier that Lord Angelslayer played also guitar on stage since Kuopio gig in 1993 and therefore you didn't have a bass-player on stage… how did it work and did you change back to the usual guitar- bass- drums -form later on stage? I actually didn't even remember that you had no bass-player on stage, and my only experience with Archgoat on stage was when you played on A- Panimo, Turku in January 1994 (with Morningstar, Necrobiosis and Disgrace) and it was a huge disappointment because, somehow, the whole gig sounded very poor.
– We are now playing without a bassist and really do not necessary need one, because there are only so few people (if any), we would want to this band. In my opinion the soundwall we created on our shows did not lack the low basssounds. Time will tell, if theres going be a bassist or if Angelslayer starts again to play bass on liveshows. (Angelslayer has played bass on stage after the comeback… -ed.)
You played several gigs during the 2005, the first being at the Club Underground on the 1st July. I saw that gig and I must say it was great! But what about you … how nervous you were before the gig?
– As always with the shows, the worst part is waiting, but we had earlier done so many shows in early 90´s having the experience from there and also rehearsed so much for this first show, that we were not too nervous about it.
At the end of October in 2005, you toured Europe with Behexen and Hell Militia. According to all the comments I have read, you were totally adored. Did everything go smoothly, I mean, did you have any bigger problems during the tour?
– The organizing was very professional so we did only have to concentrate to play well at the venues. The members of the other bands, as well as the organizers, were all great and interesting personalities to know and we really did enjoy the tour with them. There were some minor problems with some unprofessional sound engineers, but not to the point of disturbing our playing. We had one “interesting” incidence in Krakow, were one of the supporting acts, Infernal War, decided to question one of the Hell Militia members origins in so disrespectful manner, it got him severely beaten and the whole situation ended up in a massive fight. We got some punches and delivered more. That incident bonded us with Hell Militia; we played together and fought together. But all in all, this minor thingy is just a memory among memories.
What was it like to play abroad for the first time and would you like to tour also in the future?
– It does not make a big difference, where you play when you are on stage. The traveling was so well organized, that it did not wear us down even when we played 8 straight nights and traveled over 5000 kilometers during those days. Too bad, that we were in so tight schedule, that we did not have any free time to see something else than the venues and scenarios from tour bus´ window. There were many interesting places I would have wanted to visit if we had had more time.
You have played Blasphemy cover (Ritual, I think) on stage … I think you played that also on your tour, right? Do you have any plans playing something else (cover) in the future?
– We played that on our tour, a good song to end the show. But I think that “Ritual” has served us to the point, that we'll have to look for some other cover, if we decide we want to play one. We have to check our old and dusty vinyl's for a suitable one. I have few possible nominees for this....
As I have known you since the early days, I was a little surprised that the fact of your background (meaning the parents who are not born in Finland) did not raise any questions until now. The current black metal scene which is more or less full of NS-ideology and stuff like that, could have welcomed you much more ruder, don't you think. I know some people who were devastated when they realized the fact of your background … How does that feel personally and in a general level?
– Well, have they? I could not care less. I see Black metal as a way to express my philosophical points of view and not as a tool to be used to spread political points. Satanism is a philosophy or “one-man-religion” and satanic aspects as well as death orientation has always been the main structure of Archgoat, the backbone where we have focused the black and raw energy of our music. Archgoat´s music has been always and we are the battle horns of the Rebel Angel, not any political clowns. Religion and politics do not mix well and when the political ideology over-rides philosophical aspects, you end up with very little.
Back in 1993 you answered my question dealing with the Norwegian bands; “I wonder how bands like Dark Throne changed their style into black metal just when it was becoming a trend. More strange is that they started to give comments how real and original black metal it is!” What do you think of this comment now?
– To make it short, thing was then, that many death bands suddenly turned black and many of them were false. I do not like scene swappers and automatically thought, that every single one of them were in only for the trend. I found soon after that statement, that I was gravely wrong and I have now a great respect of Darkthrone and their work in black metal scene. We had this little quarrel Finland vs.Norwegen back then and my opinions reflected that.
Do you have any idea how much your “Angelcunt (Tales of Desecration)” 10”MLP has sold and did you ever got any money or even “free” copies of the vinyl from Necropolis?
– Not a slightest clue about that. It sold on 2 first months about 1000 copies, but besides that I don´t know. Would be nice to know that. I do not even know how many re-prints Necropolis did of Angelcunt… We got then as preliminary royalties a load of 20 ls shirts and about the same amount of MPL´s.
How many Archgoat bootleg versions you are aware of?
– Of any specific rip off labels I don't know, but I have heard that there are some odd versions off Angelcunt… and even Jesus Spawn out there. I really despise the rip off mentality of certain subhuman´s in black metal scene.
What was the situation in the early 90s, did you get any other deal offers than the one from Necropolis? Do you regret signing the deal with them as you look back now?
– Yes, we got offers from some other labels like Decapitated, but decided to stick with Necropolis due to their great promises of good distribution. Then, naturally, we had no idea of their mentality. That´s ancient past now and we have to focus on our future. We have never played cause of money or other than our own desire, so my world did not collapse because of their vile actions. They (Paul Thind and Justin somebody) are totally worthless people to me.
Hammer of Hate released “Angelslaying Black Fuckin' Metal” 7”EP in 2005 which includes old, unreleased songs from 1993… but why were they unreleased until now?
– There was no reason to release it before. The band was dead and releasing something always takes time and effort, which we were not ready to give to AG, so there were no point of doing that. Since we now decided to give it a try, it gave us new purpose of releasing some of the unreleased stuff.
How many requests and offers you have received during the years? At least Necropolis has been interested in you even if they ripped you off earlier…
– I have on purpose been off the whole black metal scene. There were other labels interested about doing “business” with us, but to be honest, I do not remember that well since we splitted about 14 years ago.
There were also rumours of Archgoat material which should have been released as a debut album over a decade ago… is this true?
– Guess from where we got the material for the 7”? Thats true. There are about 7 songs that we are not going to release as they were composed, but instead we are going do them a little differently and with no hurry. We were given so short time to compose the material, that we were not totally happy with some song structures and parts. Now we have kind of easy start, because we have a pool of song parts to use for our new material.
Archgoat debut full-length, “Whore of Bethlehem”, was released in autumn 2006. Here are some things Ritual Butcherer told me in 2005, before the album was recorded…
The fact is, however, that you are planning a debut album at the moment, is it possible that any of the unreleased songs from the early days will be used this time, maybe all of them?
– We hope to get ready to enter studio on autumn or winter, but there´s no rush. As I mentioned before, there are few old songs were are going to “re-do”. But this time we´ll take all the necessary time we need to get the release sound right.
– We are at the moment composing few more songs for it, but as we have been absent for nearly 13 years, we are in no hurry to release anything. We actually played 4 of the new songs during our tour. These drummer changes and also the tour slowed our composing, because we had to concentrate on rehearsing, but as these events are now done for some while, we can focus again to composing. We have a clear vision how we want it to sound and about almost everything from the title to the theme of the artwork, as well as for the artist. Our new songs, as our older ones too, focus on the pure raw black energy leaving out all the “unnecessary” factors.
Are there any real changes in style, sound or any other aspects in Archgoat's music in 2005?
– I don't think so, because there is no reason to change it. We are now working on new material and it kind of seems the natural continuing of our older songs. I have not played guitar for 5 years and that alone limits our composing to same level we were on 90´s, so do not except any melodies or melancholy bullshit on our new material. The low tuned guitars, grindcore beats and low vocs is our game.
Hammer of Hate makes also Archgoat shirts, but are they the first official Archgoat shirts ever? I ask this because I had a flyer printed on Dark Moon #1 which tells that 2-sided Archgoat shirts are available from Necropolis…
– Necropolis did the first official ones, we had a agreement about that. All other ones are rip offs.
Here is the quotation from Barathrum interview published in Dark Moon #3 (1996), answered by Demonos Sova…
BEFORE THE DEBUT CD, YOU HAD SOME PLANS TO RELEASE A SPLIT-LP WITH ANOTHER FINNISH BAND ARCHGOAT. YOU WERE EXCITED OF THAT RELEASE, BUT THEN, AFTER MEETING THE ARCHGOAT-GUYS, YOU DECIDED TO KEEP AWAY FROM THIS PROJECT, WHY? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THESE ARCHGOAT-GUYS ARE DOING TODAY?
– I just decided to stay away from that project by some sort of instinct ... and later everything seemed to go wrong with that project – and of course I was really satisfied with the decision I made earlier! And personally I'm not too much into any sort of split-releases... I have heard that one of those Achgott-dudes is playing Rockabillie nowadays...
Any comments and what was that split-plan anyway?
– Yeps, right. This is the first and last time I´m going to talk about this guy. There was a intention of doing a split w/ Barathrum, but their material did not meet the standards of Necropolis (that´s what they wrote to me) and so they decided to do a AG/Beherit split. I even personally recommended Barathrum to them, since then we were in good terms.
“Spiritual / Ritual Black Metal”… definition which was connected with Archgoat in the early 90s, can you tell me what that actually means?
– We have never played anything but black metal . There has always been a mental aspect as well as ideology in the lyrics of AG. There would not be any point of doing black metal without a message. We write lyrics on our point of view and about things that matter to us. That weird term was invented by Necropolis and we saw them for the first time when we got a load of flyers from Necropolis.
“ We take the lyrics directly from the Lord Angelslayer's dreams and visions ”… that is what you told me in 1993 but what is the situation nowadays, whose dreams are captured into the lyrical concept of Archgoat today?
– I was just asked to do some lyrics for the forth coming songs, so that responsibility is now splitted to me and Angelslayer. I have few raw lyric structures waiting to be finished. We never actually printed our lyrics on our releases, and all the old lyricsheets have long a ago vanished, so we have to re do some lyric parts for old songs.
You also told me that your songs come out purely from inspiration and you don't plan them beforehand… is it still the same nowadays or is it possible that we will witness some tighter theme on Archgoat album in the future?
– Our method of composing songs is the same as before, same people doing the same music. We have now time on our side without any deadlines, so we´ll finish the song in our schedule. We are quite critical about releasing material and due to that it takes time.
Your music is totally destroying and intense, fast and chaotic… and the odd thing is that I never really got excited by your stuff even if I really liked Blasphemy at the same time. Nowadays bands such as e.g. Revenge and Conqueror are making somewhat similar stuff, do you like them and their concept? Do they owe anything to you besides the obvious Blasphemy connection, what do you think?
– Revenge I have never heard, but Conqueror is great stuff, sounding pretty much of fellow canadiens Blasphemy. I think that musically Conqueror and AG are quit different, but there are some similarities though. Both of us are playing black metal in grindcore speed and the themes of the songs have same message on. Conqueror is, I believe, from Ross Bay, so I do think their main influence would Blasphemy. When a certain style of music in born, the later appearing bands kind of pass the torch and spirit of older bands forward, causing the message to live after the older have ceased. To whom we are influences I do not know.
What are your musical influences… is it the same old Blasphemy or maybe the older gems… Celtic Frost, Possessed and Venom, for example?
– I would not say influences, but rather the bands I like the best. I was grown listening to CF, Possessed, Sarcofago, Venom and Slayer. Blasphemy´s Gods of War and Beherit´s early stuff are specially important to me of those “newer” ones. Some old death bands like Autopsy, Carcass and early Death should also be mentioned here.
Are you an old-school fanatic in music? Do you try to look for new gems from the massive flow of metal music of today or is it enough for you to listen to the good old bands and releases over and over again?
– Of course I listen to some new bands. Some newer bands have brought their own spice to their music and the evolution of black metal still continues. The age of the band is no factor, but the music and ideology. I really like for example Ad Hominem´s music. The amount of new black metal releases is so overwhelming, that it makes it hard to find, as you putted it, gems among stream of releases. Mostly I still listen to old black- and death metal and some early trash bands like Voivod, Nuclear Assault and Slayer
Do you go to gigs and do you correspond with people within a scene nowadays? Do you have any contacts left from the early Archgoat days?
– I try to go and see as many live shows as it is possible with my limited time. The bands I was in contact most, were probably Macabre, Lord of Pagathorn, Thou Art Lord, Beherit and maybe Gorgon. Of those bands half have splitted and at the moment I have not any reason of contacting them. Of fellow musicians here in Finland, I´ve been in contact only with Corpselord Uutela of Lord of Pagathorn. If I remember correctly, most of that era black metal here in Finland was from northern or eastern parts, so we only saw them on gigs if ever.
Did you ever see Beherit on stage, by the way?
– No, too bad.
Are you becoming a new hype in the black metal underground with this comeback, what do you think? At least it seems like more and more people are interested in you now as the news of your comeback reached the internet warriors all over the world…
– We haven´t done any promotion, so I do not know many even knows of our “re-birth”. The future shall reveal what happens. We are basically doing the music we like to hear ourselves and not for the masses. Would be kind of strange to think us as some kind of hypeband.
According from what I have read, I think you are a satanist… but are you a LaVeyan or something else?
– I think, that Anton made a circus of the most serious things. I try not to follow some ready made paths. I am my own god, why should I raise somebody to be my equal? I know what I want and how, that´s important to me, not how somebody feels about that. I need no masters, cause I´m my own master.
What do you think of this statement made by Vincent Crowley (Acheron)…
I feel the CHURCH OF SATAN has done a lot more for a change than some adolescents burning down empty buildings. Do you really think Black Metal followers burning churches down are making a big difference?
– Well, what did it cause except some media interest in long run?? Nothing in my opinion. The institute that I hate the most, would be the christianity and their inbred societies. But I would not gain anything from burning a church, fucking a lamb or beheading a hen, would I? About CoS, where do they come in picture? I have read some books of late La Vey and they do have some interesting and clever points on them, but how does it connect to people without own identity? Maybe giving them one option more to venture, trying to find the reason of their existence. Following the late news of “priests in action”, both here in Finland and abroad, they are committing things, that might turn the “normal out of habit cristian” to found answers outside the weak and hypocritical church.
Last words are yours. Thank you for this opportunity to interview you again, after almost 14 years!
– Well, the pleasure was mine, haven't done this in a long time. The next interview after 14 years, ok?
Der Stürmer (Gre) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen
After the fantastic “A Banner Greater than Death” album in 2006, I wanted to interview Der Stürmer. Uncensored words of the Hellenic Warriors…
What are you actually doing to destroy the old, the sick and the decadent world?
– By spreading our propaganda and rekindling the Aryan values that stem from the most Ancient Past of our Race. This is done through our lyrics & publications and participating in political actions within the GD. We are aware of the fact that the rabble won't even bother to pay attention: we don't care about fence-sitters and cowards. We are appealing ONLY to those who are willing and able to Fight and Crush the current decadent world and its decadent "values". This world is dying, it is bound to fall, and it will drag alongside all those who still cling on its rotten corpse. We are here to deliver the Deathblow.
The Heathen and National Socialist values and beliefs are widely used themes in the metal scene of today. Some say it's the last real way to shock people because NS-ideology and other related themes are still strongly silenced topics in the most countries. Opinion?
– Many kids use these topics as a way to provoke, we've seen this happen many times. But when the state security and the political police come knocking on their doors, then they whine like faggots, jumping unto a safer bandwagon. Then they start to attack NS by claiming that "it is something weak and human" simply because they try to hide the fact that they are cowards and they failed to be the "warriors" they pretended to be! The True NS Warriors are not into this for fame, to shock their neighbours, or to get laid, but because it's their Duty towards their Blood and Soil. In a way this is good, since all these posers are soon to drop out of the Underground! Only the Strong will Survive!
Your website states; The Message of Der Stürmer is a Pan-European one. So what is your opinion of the European Union? And what is the border of Europe in the East, for you?
– The EU is treason. It's a copy of the USA, another way for the jewish headmasters to run their agendas. Anyone who supports such actions of treason must be taken out and hanged. The EU is a disgrace. It is NOT a European unification based on the Laws of Blood and Soil, but a pro-jewish organization based on money and support of Zionist interests. Anyone aware of the Protocols of Zion will see that the EU was planned long before: "Soon the circle of the Symbolic Serpent, which represents our people, will close. And when this circle is complete, all the European nations will be caught within it as if from an iron grasp". EU has no place in OUR Europe. Concerning the borders of Europe in the east: The border of Europe is its Blood! This sums it up....
Dealing with the previous, what would it mean for EU to accept Turkey's membership?
– If the Turks will begin to enter freely on European Soil, they will turn everything into a third world slum: see Kreuzberg in Berlin and every other places of Turkish presence. Do you think that they will contribute to the countries that they will swarm into? They just dream about the resurrection of their battered, crashed and humiliated "Islamic empire". Not to forget the mongrelization that will further occur. The Europeans were battling the Turkish scum since they set their stinking feet near our Soil. There are numerous Aryan Heroes who raised their sword and slaughtered the Turks by thousands: Vlad Tepes, Hunyadi, Richard the Lionheart, Konstantinos Palaiologos, Prince Eugen... What our Forefathers fought and bled against will now be welcomed with opened arms and legs by the current traitorous scum in the name of profit, tolerance and "universal brotherhood".... But this won't be welcomed by everyone!
I know this is a very wide topic but how do you see the consequences of the World War II, especially concerning your own ideology and ideas?
– It is obvious that things are against us. The victory of the Zionists and the Bolsheviks gave them the opportunity to rewrite history and facts according to their own ends. The holocaust hoax, the "brutalities" of the Nazis, etc. is everywhere, from their stupid movies to kids' books. But lies sooner or later crumble. There are still facts that prove their lies that are why they try to suppress revisionist books and neutral sources (like the Swiss red cross). Never believe the media and the supposed "experts" who pop up on the TV or publish their rags.... Only an idiot would believe everything he's told without further investigation.
When WWII and NS-ideology are mentioned, I think no one can leave aside some issues. e.g. Endlösung der Judenfrage, the holocaust and Generalplan Ost. I know there are several ways of thinking of these things within the NS-movement of today, so what is your opinion?
– Imagine if you'd wake up one day and every jew, half-caste, nigger, etc was nothing but a bleak memory, would you miss them? Yes, jews are bound to destruction, they are our natural enemies. Do you think that if they had the opportunity they wouldn't nuke Europe? Dreams and hopes of universal love and racial harmony are for fools. About the Judenfrage, the jews were hunted and slaughtered by every nation throughout time: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Spain, and Russia, even in contemporary Hellas (during the '30s) there were anti-jewish pogroms, why should anyone sticks particular to the pogroms of the Third Reich? All these Nations had uncovered the secret plans that the jews were hatching in order to manipulate them for their own well-fare so they removed them from their midst. Jews must be treated and considered like cancer......
Dealing with the previous. I have always wondered why so many neo-Nazi is so concerned of the fact that the Third Reich systematically killed millions of people, and especially Jewish. Isn't it like denying the truth to say Germans did not have any systematic agenda to get rid of the Jews? And then the same people declare that the Jewish scum must be exterminated. Arguing of the numbers (was it 6 millions, 4 millions or something else) sound pathetic unless one is not proud of what happened and what was the plan. Opinion?
– The whole holocaust myth is based purely on the jewish plan for further infiltration and control of the masses. They used the holocaust in order to gain sympathy, to show the world the "evils of Nazism", how the "poor jews" were mercilessly hunted down and gassed. I definitely wouldn't have a problem to see a real Holocaust happen, this is what we dream and strife for! But by supporting the particular supposed holocaust, is like giving to the jews credit. The proof that this holocaust never happened is that jews are still here, stronger than ever. Every minute "camp survivors" are popping up like mushrooms reciting their "tear-stained" tales, how the Germans treated them and how they "miraculously" escaped the gas-showers. This is a hoax that helps the Zionist interests, nothing more. Why Holywood is spending millions in making movies like "Schindler's list"? Why revisionist historians like Ernst Zundel or David Irving are prosecuted and jailed under ridiculous charges? If the revisionists are wrong, as the Zionists claim, why they don't confront them with facts but simply throw them in jail? To keep it short, the only thing that grieves us is that the "holocaust" never happened!
Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer ... sceptical people could say that ideology which salutes strong leadership (one could call that even dictatorship) means people who promote that kind of order, are ready to obey the authority, and willing to let other people decide what to do, say and think. What does that tell about people? And how does that actually differ from the current situation in Cuba or South Korea? I mean, the goals and targets are different but otherwise.
– History proves that only a strong leadership, dictatorship if you like, led to greatness, not anarchism or democracy. If anyone was to do his think this would lead to chaos. An Iron Rule is imperative for a Race to move forward. See Hellas, Rome or the Kaisers of Germania. Where Europe would have been now if everyone was unrestrained? These Dictators were embodying the Will of their Nation and Race, they were not mindless tyrants. See for example King Leonidas of Sparta, Julius Ceasar, Napoleon the Great. Have they something common with Fidel Castro or the rest of the communist rabble? These Rulers led their Nations to greatness under an Iron Law, but none felt enslaved or oppressed under their rule. Without control, people are often crossing the line: see all these whores and scum that mate with apes, producing half-castes, or these faggots with their "gay rights" parades, or all these liberals who cry about racial bliss and tolerance. This is what happens when everyone is doing his thing. Cuba and South Korea are communists; they use almost the same tactics for entirely different ends. What common did the soviet union and the Third Reich had? NONE! The soviet people were starving while the Germans were flourishing. It all depends on the outcome of the Ideology behind this "dictatorship"....
More and more people are concerned of the happenings in Middle-East... the existence of Israel causes most of the conflicts and tension in the area, but what is the solution?
– The destruction of Israel. Nothing else. All these treaties lead nowhere. As long as Israel exists, tensions will grow.
It's actually quite ironic that the USA must be the most hated country at the moment, and still more and more people say they are tolerant and hate racism etc. Do you think the politics of the USA will cause more direct (terrorist) attacks against it?
– All these idiots who yell that Bush is a "dictator" and a "warmonger" they are nothing but controlled voices of the "opposition". USA is promoting and protecting Zionist interests, it is their screen, and the world won't see who's really behind this. Instead of hating Zionism, they hate its puppet USA, while Israel is left alone, considered as a "nation tormented by terrorism", and everything goes fine for them. The people swallow everything the Zionists want them to swallow: they hate USA for the war on Iraq and Afghanistan but they support the "right of Israel to exist". The "European" governments support the "war against terrorism" but at the same time they open the Gates of Europe to endless swarms of Moslem subhumans. So they keep everything in order according their Zionist plans. But now that USA has failed in this supposed "war against terrorism", Arab terrorism will escalate. Their tolerance will be their downfall, both for ZOG and to this blind herd of voters. This time they have stirred the shit too far and things have gotten out of their control. Islamic aggression will bring only positive things: the Aryan Beast will either awake from its liberal stupor and fight back or fall like sheep under the knife of Islam.
Der Stürmer is influenced by a radical black metal scene of the 90s, hatecore, R.A.C. and so on. Especially NS-black metal is huge thing nowadays within the scene. But what kind of musical paragons (name of the bands perhaps) you actually had when you formed Der Stürmer in 1998?
– Our greatest influences when we started the band were cult acts like Capricornus, Abs Conditus, Morke, Spear of Longinus and Schwarze Sonne...
"A Banner Greater than Death" is absolutely fantastic stuff, a real surprise for me to be honest. What kind of comments and reviews it has got, and does the feedback differ from where it is coming. i.e. from the metal scene or the NS-scene?
– We are very satisfied with the comments and reviews for "A Banner Greater Than Death", so far we've not seen even one negative review on it. I know many people who used to dislike DS music before; they changed their minds when they heard our 2nd full-length. Despite the poor distribution we keep getting e-mails very often and this proves that we are on the right direction...
Some samples from films are used on the album. At least excerpts from Fight Club and Gladiator are used. how did you choose those?
– We were using movie or 3rd Reich samples since our demo days so normally the 2nd album was not an exception. When we saw the "Gladiator" movie we found it "a must" to use the sample that you hear on "Those who lived and Died like Heroes" track as it captures perfectly in a few words the quintessence of our strife today. About "Fight Club", this movie is one of the best I have ever come across. Chuck Palahniuk's vicious, revolutionary and violent dark message and the war against the world of consumers and Multi-national enterprises is definitely a source of inspiration which had a huge impact on everyday life in this grey shitty place called "Modern World".
I am sure you are already tired of questions dealing with the Die Todesrune Records, but are you going to continue the co-operation with it also in the future? Most people I know are totally against it, and even if I have nothing personal against Matei, I truly wonder why you ever signed a deal with him did. or was he the only one who wanted to sign you in the first place?
– Matei had written to us many times the last years and wanted to make a new DS release and also some re-press of older stuff. The deal we've got from him back in 2005 was one of the best we ever got and also the most important is that he was covering all studio expenses that we couldn't afford back then. He risked a lot by signing Der Sturmer and we truly respect this, but "A Banner Greater Than Death" was our first and last release through his label. From now on we will release stuff by ourselves under the banner of Totenkopf Propaganda Productions and the vinyls by a local label. So in this way we will have total control and our releases we will be spread better and wider.
The cover of the album depicts Reichskriegsflagge, but did it cause any problems with the pressing plants or something like that?
– Yes, there were many problems. That was the reason behind its delay. We expect to see many copies confiscated by the treason governments' authorities....
What kind of situation you have in Greece concerning anti-fascist organizations?
– They are a joke, a dozen of kids supported by the state. They pose as "anti-state" organizations but they are nothing but a part of the state (most of these kids' parents are big lawyers, even high police officials). Everyone here knows that all these cunts are supported by the major parties. Whenever happens some of them to get arrested, then all in a sudden they are freed without charges. If they weren't supported by the government it would be a matter of time to get crushed. They are not a threat, they are clowns!
Der Stürmer has not played many gigs, but do you have any plans to play more live more often? What would be the best venue for you; a black metal -gig, some WP/NS-gig or something else?
– Yes, we are thinking about making another gig, but we don't know yet when and where. I think the best venue would be one organized by the Pagan Front, alongside with PF Hordes. Apart from the PF Hordes, a gig with any Fascist band like Satanic Warmaster or Death's Head (Australia) would be great.
What is your opinion of the satanic metal bands in general? I think you actually have the idea that Judaism and satanism are just the different sides of the same coin.
– If these bands are aware of the Aryan roots and heritage, then I have no problem. Personally I see satanism (especially the American offshoots as the church of satan) as another part of judaism since its fundamental principles are based on the lies, misunderstandings and ridicules of the various pantheons that the jews came across. They viewed all else's gods as demons, so these "demons" are perversions of the gentile gods. But there are also those who interpret satanism as the dark or negative side of nature's forces, like the ONA or the Satanic Skinhead campaign. For the Aryan there is no "good" or "evil". Satanism was invented by the Judaeo-Christian in order to justify their dogma. I would urge people to investigate further the Aryan traditions in their pure, unaltered forms.
Are you into Esoteric Hitlerism? I know some basics of the theme, but maybe you could tell me and the readers more about this side of NS that is not so widely known.
– The Esoteric side of NS is much more profound than the political one. In fact the entire NS movement is based on Aryan occult aspects. It is well-known the occult activities of the Thule Society, the main supporters of the NSDAP, as well prominent Rune masters as Karl Maria Wiligut who were responsible for the revival of the Runik and Occult Aryan traditions. These traditions were also researched and in a part revived by another important Runologist, Guido Von List. In his Secret of the Runes one can find a great deal of information about Aryan occultism. Another important part of NS occultism is also found within the SS Organisation. Ordenburgs like Wewelsburg were created for the sole purpose of educating the Aryan Elite in the Traditions. Esoteric Hitlerism found its best representation in the works of Savitri Devi and Julius Evola. I strongly recommend the study of both. NS is not a mundane political movement; on the contrary, it is the manifestation of the Aryan ethics and spirit. Nowadays we see all these supposed "heathens" dressed in their hippie costumes, praying for universal peace and brotherhood. What a joke! They fail to see that the Aryan Traditions can only be based upon Blood and Soil! I could expand further on that subject, but it would take a book!
What kind of plans you have for the future ... any new material released during 2007?
– We have already finished the recordings of 5 new tracks for a split CD/LP with the German comrades of TOTENBURG that will be released in CD/LP during 2007 by DEATHSQAUD REX. Other upcoming releases are "Those Who Want To Create.... Must Have The Will to Destroy" 3 way split 7ep with EVIL & NACHT UND NEBEL that will be released through BREATH OF PESTILENCE Records, including new and unreleased tracks from all the involved bands. Also the re-press of CAPRICORNUS/DER STURMER Split in CD (Totenkopf Propaganda Records) and Gatefold LP (Deathsqaud Rex). That's all for 2007 I think.
I think you visited Finland in autumn 2006, what was it for? Some project with Satanic Werwolf perhaps?
– Yes you are right. Not for any special reason though, we travel a lot outside Hellas (usually 1-2 times every year) visiting the ruins of old Europe and wandering in medieval castles and misty forests. Witnessing with your own eyes the Splendour of Ancient & Medieval Europe is something beyond any comments which can't be described with words. No, there are not any plans for a project with STW.
What is the situation with Golden Dawn organization nowadays?
– As you maybe know Golden Dawn does not exist "politically" for a year now. There were many problems with the state so this forced the leadership to close the offices and officially stop any Political action. Nowadays, another party called "Patriotic Alliance" takes care of political activism, while Golden Dawn is still active in a more ideological way, keeping printing a monthly newspaper, the "Golden Dawn" ideological magazine, organizing speeches and also keeps educating the new members in various ways.
Nothing else to ask for now. Anything else you would like to tell? Thank you for the interview!
– Thanx goes to you Tommi for your support. Anyone interested in Der Sturmer info, updates and news keep checking our website:
www.thepaganfront.com/dersturmer
In a world of Compromise, We Don't! 88 4ever!
Forefather (UK) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen
Another interview which was made already in 2005. Since then many things have not happened in the Forefather-camp, so this is not the worst way of introducing the band.
Forefather is one of the bands which I almost ”lost” because the first impression was not good enough… so I ask, why did you let Millennium Metal release “Legends Untold” CD which material is honestly much worse than the stuff you have released on your full-lengths and you have also told that those tracks/versions were never intended to be released?
– Millennium Metal wanted to release a Forefather CD and we thought it would be good extra publicity. At first we weren't sure because the idea was to use old recordings and demos and we didn't think we had enough stuff. In the end though, we agreed and managed to come up with enough material. Even though some of the tracks were never intended for release, we thought that some people who had bought and liked "Deep Into Time" might be interested to hear some of the demo tracks and also the dropped "Deep Into Time" studio-track "These Lands" which later was added to the 2002 "Deep Into Time" re-release. We also added an unused short guitar instrumental piece called "The Fyrdmen Cometh" and a brand new synth version of "Ancient Voice" which I think worked out excellently. "Legends Untold" was never intended to be on the level of a studio album. It's just a collection of some old and novelty recordings and it's clearly stated that most of the tracks are demos. The only thing that I would say does "suck" about the CD is the artwork.
As the debut album, “Deep into Time”, was released in 1999, I must ask, how old are you and have you had any other bands/projects before Forefather?
– I was born in May '79 and Athelstan in March '82. When we first started writing for "Deep Into Time" we were 18 and 15 respectively. We'd both been playing guitar and writing songs for many years before Forefather but it was mainly just for fun. Forefather was the first time we decided to really do something serious with a plan for the future.
Having only two members in the band is nothing special nowadays but you are also brothers so do you know any other metal band which consists of only brothers?
– Not that I can think of. I'm sure there must be some but I'm either yet to discover them or I already have but don't realise they're brothers.
Your co-operation must be working well as the music of Forefather is developed quite smoothly in every album and fortunately there have not been any big sidesteps during the years… so you surely share similar visions and views in music… how about other stuff, do you also share the same flat (still living in your parents' house perhaps) or do you meet each other to rehearse your stuff?
– We just do our own thing and then come together to record the albums really. Neither of us has ever disliked any of the other's songs. Somehow our stuff just sounds right together, probably because of our similar influences and vision. We both have a strong understanding of what Forefather is and we know what right's for it and what isn't. We do share the same living space so we are in each other's company a lot but we never rehearse any of our stuff. We just write our songs individually and when each of us has enough tracks we start recording. Sometimes we don't fully know each other's songs until they're recorded!
You have always used drum-machine on your CDs and I must say that it sounds better in the newer albums, so have you got negative feedback from people and tried to make it better or has it always been like you wanted it to be?
– There are always a few people who moan about us using a drum machine. We get a lot more positive comments about our drums than negative though. Personally I don't care if a drummer's human or a computer as long as it's done well. Let's face it, a lot of so-called "real" drums are fake these days. It's just the easiest way for us and obviously we do our best to create the drums as well as possible. We have the minds of drummers even if we don't play. One aims to improve everything with every album and drums are no different.
You have had some friend playing the drums when you rehearsed some years ago, am I right? Who is he, does he have an own band and why doesn't he play on your albums?
– Yeah, we had a drummer for about 4 years or so going back to pre-Forefather times. He never performed on any of the albums. With "Deep Into Time" it was impossible for us to get a decent "real" drum sound because the situation we were recording in was very primitive. And with "The Fighting Man" we weren't happy with the sound we were getting either. He wasn't as committed as us to Forefather and as we didn't live very close it became increasingly tiresome meeting up to rehearse. To be fair to him though, I think he was more interested in doing his own thing and he knew Forefather was very much us two. We haven't seen him for about 4 years now so I don't know what he's doing but I wish him well. As far as I know, he's not been involved in anything else since.
Usually bands record some demos and promos, search for a label to release stuff… Well, you didn't do that but released your first three albums on your own Angelisc Enterprises, so what is the story here, why did you choose this way and how you managed (financially) to make it all real, they are quality albums all the way, not any cheap looking CD-Rs with xeroxed covers, etc.?
– It was just the decision we made. Making demos and searching for a decent label could've taken a long while and we wanted to get things moving straightaway. It still actually took a while to get "Deep Into Time" released anyway due to our inexperience of the CD production process. The first press was a little amateur in appearance and that's why we took the opportunity to revamp the artwork in 2002. We received financial aid in the beginning from our family which was greatly appreciated. Our family has always been supportive of our musical endeavours.
You must have been contacted by some labels after the first CDs but why did you choose Karmageddon Media (ex-HHR), instead of some others, to release your stuff in the future?
– There had been various interest over the years but nothing that we felt was so amazing that it was worth giving up the control we had over our music. Karmageddon was the first time we had an offer that we thought was a significant step forward from where we were. Not everything has gone entirely to plan from their side but on balance I suppose Forefather has been better off for the collaboration with them.
Karmageddon Media also re-released your earlier albums with bonus tracks and improved quality in the artwork… they were not remastered even if you wanted to, what was the problem and why did you want that in the first place?
– The re-mastering idea was Karmageddon's but in the end it seems they didn't follow up on it. In a way this was annoying because the bonus tracks weren't properly levelled up with the rest of the album. But in another way I'm happy because we weren't happy with the mastering job they did with "Ours is the Kingdom". We were supposed to be able to hear the result first to OK it but we were never given the opportunity. We wouldn't have approved what they had done but they went ahead and produced the CDs without checking. In future we will handle mastering ourselves as we always had done.
“Deep Into Time” was planned to be released on vinyl too… what is the situation with that and can you tell, what is the bonus track there?
– This is still planned and will go ahead soon through Eisenwald Tonschmiede. It will feature the standard "Deep Into Time" tracklist (including "These Lands") plus a brand new bonus track which I wrote in 2004. I thought this particular track is more suited to this purpose than the next Forefather album because it is more raw and "Black Metal-ish" like "Deep Into Time". It will be nice to finally have some Forefather material available on vinyl.
All of your albums have been recorded at The Croft studio… and according to your bio, it is a home studio, right? What kind of process it is to actually record the new stuff…?
– Yes, The Croft is our home studio which over the years has moved around quite a bit and had many changes made to it. These days it's PC based and we use Cubase for the recording. The first thing that's always done is the drums, just a basic backing track initially. All the fine-tuning of the drums is done at the end of recording around the time of mixing. All the rhythm guitar and bass parts follow. We usually do this over a period of a few weeks, working for 2 or 3 hours at a time. Our guitar sound is pretty simple, just a normal microphoned up Marshall amp sound with some added distortion. Vocals follow the basic guitar and bass tracks, always clean vocals first. You don't want to screw up your voice screaming beforehand! Once that's done it's just adding all the extra melodies and embellishments, some keyboards. There's always something to learn from the last album you made and improvements to be made to the next one.
I must say that the cover of “Ours is the Kingdom” and “Engla Tocyme” are somehow very similar and I actually almost missed “Ours…” CD in the local record store as I thought it was “Engla…” CD. Do you design any of the artworks or are they designed and made by some others?
– I suppose the colours of the two covers are similar but the imagery itself is quite different aside from Chrille Andersson's recognisable style. He has been responsible for all the Forefather covers so far apart from "Legends Untold" and the very first "Deep Into Time" press. We handled both of those and you can clearly see that our artistic skills at the time were rather poor! Chrille's business is known as CA Interactive these days but in the past it has had other names. He has just put together a new Forefather t-shirt for us which will be available soon (maybe by the time this interview is published). Keep an eye on www.forefather.net for details!
When I heard “The Fighting Man” album for the first time, I thought you have some influences from the English Sabbat but you told me that you haven't even listened to that band… so have you listened to it by now?
– Yeah, I think someone made a tape for us so we could hear them but I don't remember anything about it. It obviously didn't inspire me to have a second listen. You're not the only person to say that we sound a bit like them, in parts anyway. It's interesting reading reviews and people saying what we're influenced by when a lot of the time we've never even heard some of the bands mentioned!
What about Latvian pagan metallers Skyforger... have you heard them? I ask this because the beginning melody of the track “Rebel of the Marshlands” sounds very much the same as the start of Skyforger's “The Shortest Night of the Year / Gada Isaka Nakts” song, and being a fan of Skyforger, I noticed the similarity right away, so is it just a coincidence?
– Yes, I know Skyforger, good band. I also know the similarity that you're talking about. I thought the same thing when I first heard the song you mention (at least I presume it's the same song we're thinking of haha). It is just a coincidence as Athelstan wrote "Rebel of the Marshlands" before hearing the Skyforger song. Anyway, once both songs get going they are quite different.
After asking of those similarities, I can still say that Forefather has its own sound and touch… I mean, it's refreshing to hear great music which sounds so much on its own even if some influences can be heard here and there. You have developed slogan “Anglo-Saxon Metal” which probably tells more about your lyrics than the music but why did you want to use this definition instead of e.g. heathen or pagan metal?
– Having an original style, or at least a distinguishable sound, helps I think. I wouldn't say it's something you can really do on purpose. You can only write how you write and if you're lucky you manage to carve an identity for yourself. With most bands the identity becomes stronger with time. To us our music didn't easily fit any previously existing label. We're not Black metal, we're not Viking Metal (lyrically at least), we're not Death Metal, we're not Goth Metal etc etc. We even don't like to use Pagan or Heathen Metal because this isn't always the main focus of our lyrics. Our lyrics are mainly focused on Anglo-Saxon history and culture, and heathenism is just a part of this. So as we felt our style was a bit unique and we didn't fit any existing labels, we decided Anglo-Saxon was the way to go. Some people will be saying "but you wrote English Heathen Metal on the artwork of "The Fighting Man""! Yes, that's right, but after that time we preferred Anglo-Saxon Metal as we felt it was more accurate. Having said all this, we perfectly happy for people to call us Pagan metal if they want. Viking Metal is somewhat less tolerable though as us Saxons spent many a century fighting those Norsemen!
Your lyrics are full of stories from the English history… and you are “specialized” to the Anglo-Saxon period of 449-1066A.D., so actually one can find your themes by reading books dealing with that period but what was the profound reason to choose that period in the first place? Just to make things more interesting for the listeners?
– The Anglo-Saxon period of England is the main inspiration but we've also gone further back like on Fifeldor which is based on events about a hundred or so years before in the former homeland of the Angle tribe. The reason we chose this era as the main concept of Forefather was because it had become something that we felt very strongly about. For us the music is the most important thing but if you can have passionate, heartfelt lyrics it's all the better. I had been inspired by the likes of Bathory to examine my own English heritage and the more I learnt about it, the more I felt a strong connection with it, and I was also annoyed by how ignored England's roots are in the modern day. So this is how we came to use Anglo-Saxon history and culture as our theme.
Thinking of your lyrics and opinions, you must be against European Union, Euro, etc. but do you want England to be isolated and totally independent island… or is the globalization the only possible way anymore?
– Yes, I'm totally against the EU and all other globalist organisations. My dream is of a totally independent England with an English government that serves the interests of a rejuvenated English people, confident in their national identity. This seems merely a fantasy though. At the moment we are ruled by a UK government (or really an EU government) that has serving English interests at the bottom of its list. In fact, I don't think it's even on their list! At the same time that I want an independent England, this doesn't mean I want us to be isolated from the rest of the world. We can still co-operate in ways that benefit us all without being politically tied together. Globalisation isn't the only way but I fear that it's going to continue with increasing speed because I can't see the wretched masses (opposed to it as they may be) doing anything about it.
Your lyrics deal with pride of your ancestors etc., so have you ever faced any problems or allegations of being NS-band or something like that?
– No, we have had no problems. Sometimes we incorrectly get labelled NS music by some people but it's no big deal. National Socialism and WW2 really were the globalist's dream. They put a stigma on nationalism to the point where the tiniest sign of opposition to globalism can be battered down with cries of "racist" and "xenophobe", and they were the catalyst for the founding of globalist orgs like the EU and UN which were begun, they would try to convince us, with the aim of preventing future war.
What do you think of mixing political/ideological issues into metal music? What about NSBM?
– I don't have a problem with people expressing political and ideological views through their music, unless I disagree with them! haha Seriously though, I do have a problem with bands who exist purely to spout their politics. For me, the music must come first and then the lyrics can follow. Personally I have no problem with NSBM as long as it's done with a true passion for the music as well as the ideology.
Why do you promote “Englishness” and who else are on your side?
– One of the reasons we promote it is because Englishness is very weak. English people are not confident generally in their identity which we think is a negative thing. The are many reasons for this. You can go right back to the 6th and 7th century and our conversion to Christianity, forward to the 11th and 12th centuries and our oppression under the Normans, and in later times the British empire which was more interested in a "British" identity. The English are also viewed by many people as oppressors because of what our rulers have done in other lands, and for this reason celebrating Englishness has lost acceptability as it is deemed dangerous or even offensive. The English people cannot be held responsible for the actions of those who claim to represent them. In fact, we have suffered under our own elite as have other peoples. Another reason for promoting Englishness is to hopefully correct some misconceptions about us. As to who's on our side...most of the time it seems like very few people indeed. There are Englishmen out there who are fighting the English cause but we're a needle in a proverbial haystack!
If you had to choose one song that tells what Forefather is all about, which song that would be and why?
– Difficult one. Maybe "The Shield-Wall". The chorus sums it up. "In the shield-wall we stand to protect our land, holding on till the end".
By the way, does Stonehenge have any special meaning for you? Why/why not?
– I don't have any special feelings about Stonehenge. It would be interesting to know exactly what it was for, and who built it and why, but I don't have a particular interest. Basically I just don't feel a strong relationship or connection to it and it conjures up unpleasant images of wishy-washy, lefty neo-pagans at solstice time haha.
You wear a Thor's Hammer (or Mjolnir) in some photos but don't you think it contradicts your message because it's not an Anglo-Saxon symbol?
– The English worshipped Thor just the same as other Germanic nations. Our name for him was Thunor which literally meant "thunder". Thursday is named after him and so are various English place names such as Thundersley and Thunderfield. Hammer amulets have been found in Anglo-Saxon graves and hammer symbols are frequently found on brooches and cremation urns. Thunor is also associated with the sun symbol (Swastika) which is also often found on such ancient items from the early English period. So the Thor's Hammer is actually an Anglo-Saxon symbol and it is not contradictory at all for me to wear one. Due to our early conversion, England is not famed for its heathenism, and our heritage in that area is quite sparse. In reality though, it was basically the same as that of our Norwegian and Danish brethren. They just had longer to develop it and are more known for it.
You told your thoughts to the “Anti-American” article for Imhotep… have you got any kind of feedback from the comments?
– Absolutely none at all!
I know you haven't played live shows and it's quite hard as long as there are only you two in the band but could you tell, what kind of show Forefather gig would be? Should you wear some old clothes from the Anglo-Saxon time, etc.
– I think I've said in a previous interview somewhere that we would like to wear authentic Anglo-Saxon clothes on stage, but now I think that just normal Metal clothes would be better. It's like our band photos; a lot people like to wear helmets and wave swords around but we prefer to just wear normal clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love medieval weaponry and clothing, we just prefer to be natural in photos. I don't really know what a Forefather show would be like. I suppose some sort of stage design that matches the current album would be nice. As far as songs go, we would play a wide range of stuff from all our albums.
Have you seen any really good show from a band you like also musically, I mean, do you think that e.g. viking/pagan metal bands should always put up a some kind of show?
– The best band I've seen live is Iron Maiden in terms of show. I don't think it's necessary to put on a "show" though. If I go to a concert and it's plain that the band performs really well and the sound is great, I don't care.
Your first three albums were released by your own Angelisc Enterprises which was also a mailorder and you did also release Symbel CD… Then the name of the label/mailorder was changed to Seven Kingdoms, right? Introduce this label/mailorder. Do you have any other activities going on?
– Yes, our label/mailorder is now known as Seven Kingdoms and can be found at www.seven-kingdoms.com. We wanted to change the name because a lot of people didn't know what Angelisc meant or how to pronounce it. At the same time, we wanted a fresh start too. "Angelisc" (later Englisc) is an archaic word for "English". It is pronounced as modern English "angle" + "ish". The first release of Seven Kingdoms will be by the Dutch band Thronar, probably in February 2005. We hope to release more stuff as soon as we find bands that we like enough! We have nothing else going on, just Forefather and Seven Kingdoms.
Before we reach the end, there's one thing I must add; The Wulfstan photo in the “Engla Tocyme” booklet could easily be mixed with some of the old photos of me and some of my friends have even told that it really looks like me some years ago… I was totally amazed by the similarity when I saw that photo for the first time. Then you got some copies of Dark Moon ‘zine #8 in trade and when I asked whose profile was on the cover, you told me it looks a lot like Wulfstan's… any opinion of this?
– What can I say? You are extremely lucky to share my beautiful features! My father has visited Finland on business a few times but I don't think long enough ago for you to be questioning your paternal ancestry! hehe
If you have anything to tell about the future plans of Forefather or anything else people should know, now is the time to tell!
– Here are some things to look out for. We feature on the new Folkearth CD "A Nordic Poem" performing "Rhyming With Thunder". The music was written by us but not the lyrics. This CD is available now through Stygian Crypt. We are also scheduled to have a track on a forthcoming Burzum covers CD. This is being released by Perverted Taste and our cover is of "Beholding the Daughters of the Firmament”. Some people might remember a cover of this track that we did many years ago. Well, this is a new cover that we recorded in 2004. And finally, the LP version of "Deep Into Time" that we discussed earlier will be available soon through Eisenwald Tonschmiede.
Thanks for this opportunity to interview you! Last words are yours…
– Thanks for the questions. "Deað bið sella eorla gehwylcum ðonne edwitlif!" - Wiglaf (Beowulf)
www.forefather.net
Goat Sodomy (Fin) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen
Please introduce the band! Present each maniac in the band; introduce each release of Goat Sodomy. Also tell what favorite bands of each member are!
– We are Goatsodomy, the line up is: Nekrofuhrer- violent goatskin battery, Too loud-chainsaw fucking the christ, Necrophiliac-basstorture and vomits in the face of god. So far we have only recorded 2 rehearsals (not released for the public) & the DEMO 2005. Our fave bands include Iron Maiden, Venom, Blasphemy and so on...
There's rising amount of these Goat-bands in the scene... How do you think you're going to separate from the masses? What do you think about the other current Goaties in the world? What are your favorite Goat band(s)?
– Well, we are not trying to be original or anything. We started the band mainly influenced by Beherit / Blasphemy. Goatsemen & Archgoat are among the best goatbands alive today! Goatlord was of course great!
Who or what are your main influences??
– Well mainly it's Blasphemy / Beherit, But also stuff like Revenge, Black Witchery, Sarcofago, Nunslaughter, etc...
On the Goat Sodomy -demo there was some points I would like to ask about. First of all how did you record it? The sound is very good, but live-like! The way it should be! How did you do the vocals, and who made you do it?
-It was recorded live (with the exception of the vocals which were added later!) in the studio, you can hear the bass microphones picking up some sounds of the other instruments in some parts. I drank some booze and shouted my lungs out in tribute of the black goat master!!!
Was it easy to find the line-up of Goat S.?
– Yes...
Drums are incredibly fast played in Goat Sodomy! Send my greetings to Necro Führer! Do you think in that way you even have some Grind influence? How do you think Black Metal and grind goes hand in hand? I know this is an issue for some people, but wasn't Napalm Death and some other Hardcore and Grindcore bands the first ones to use blastbeat for fucks sake!?
– Yeah, he's a fucking intense great drummer. Musically BM/Grind might have some common points... but maybe not lyrically- I hate fucking politically correct bullshit. Yes, the roots of speed lies in those early bands like Repulsion (godz!) & Siege etc.
Profanatica's EP and demos are Cult among Blasphemous Black Metal skinheads. What do you think of these releases, and did you worship this band more than Impaled Nazarene? Do you consider P. "true" and ImpNaz "poser"!? What do you think about the fact that many of the Norwegian (and Swedish, like It from Abruptum) Black Metallers thought "I'm Paled Nazare" as joke band?
– Well, Profanatica is good. but I liked Impnaz more. nowadays Impnaz isn't as good as it once was... I don't care much for what the Swedish or Norwegian think about them, not my problem!!!
What about the South American cults, such as Reincarnation, Mystifier (true BLACK METAL!) and Sarcófago. Do you think the form of Black Metal like it was in the early 90's was ever possible without these bastard pablos?? Without their räpellys, there wouldn't be such insanity, wouldn't there? What would you think of 3rd world Black Metal, like Shub-Nigeria (I made this name up...) with only Black Men in the band?
– Old South American stuff rules, they've had a huge influence on BM scene. But I guess the kids of today are quite unaware of this fact...? Nuclear holocausto of bloody vengeance! I wouldn't care if there's only blacks in the band as long as it's killer shit... black black metal he he!!!
Are you racist? Is so against what? What is the scum of the world in your opinion? Crush the Jewish, Nigger or Death to all?
– I'm not into politics... I fucking hate all equally!!! the scum of the world is mankind!!!
You've played covers of NunSlaughter, Blasphemy and Beherit... What next? What makes you making covers?
– We were thinking of doing a Sarcofago cover, but I guess we dropped it. I guess it was a bit too difficult. We also thought of another Blasphemy cover (Ritual), but it's a bit difficult to hear the riffs... Covers are good to fill up the live set, as we don't have many songs, and they're quite short. Also it's a way to show our influences and pay tribute to them!
We can't forget Beherit if we speak about Finnish Black Metal! What do you think made Beherit so special in the old times, and what did you think while listening to their (demo?) for the first time?
– Of course we can't forget them... about their demos: I of course liked what I heard... classic shit, Penetrator Hammer!!! And don't forget Goatvulva...
Many people think you for your past, as member of Pagan Rites. Now thinking back, What do you think of your Pagan years? I heard it's possible you to make farewells with Pagan Rites by playing a gig in Finland! Do you think this is going to happen for real sometime??
– I have had some great times and not so great times with the band, but mostly it's been a good experience. Yes, if they come to Finland I will probably play with them! I don't know it will happen, it depends more on the others (if PR can come & if anyone arranges some gigs!)
Do you want Goat Sodomy to be noticed as a separate group, not just all stars of Pagan Rites, Evoked Curse, Exordium and Evil Angel? Does it piss you off that I mention all these names in Goat Sodomy interview? Do you think these bands as side-project, or something more?
– Well, it doesn't bother me- I guess it started off more like a side project. But now it has grown to entity of it's own...
Btw. How on earth some people link me with Evil Angel and Goat Sodomy!?? I think it's sometimes even ridiculous! I almost lied to Costa / Iron Pegasus, when he asked if I'm a member of Evil Angel, haha... Have you had similar problems with Autopsy Torment or Devil Lee Rot?
– I don't know??? No, I don't think I really had any such problems... and by the way I never was a member of AT. but I played guitar on a improvised gig and did 2nd vocals on another...(long time ago!!!) pure chaos!!!
I heard that you heard the first Bathory LP for the first time somewhere in the mid' 80's! Is this correct? Can you describe your feelings when you listen it for the first time! What do you think if Quorthon would deny his influences of Venom? Venom, Bathory, and ...what comes 3rd for you! Sodom?
– Well, it was actually The Return... which I heard in´85, I was already into Venom, so of course I worshipped when I heard it!!! Yeah, I guess Sodom and Hellhammer / Celtic Frost who have influenced me a lot!!!
Some of my most extreme musical experiences was when I heard Conqueror's split with Black Witchery for the first time! Do you have that LP/CD? What do you think of Revenge compared with Conqueror? What is the most extreme or morbid Recording in your opinion?
– Yes, I have it. I'm not such a big fan of Revenge / Conqueror, I mean it's good stuff but I don't worship it. Most extreme/morbid?- I have no idea...???
You're going to be featured on the next (3rd) Satan's Goat Tribute EP by Goatwatchers United, right? Do you know what other bands will be put on this EP? Goat Molestör?
– Yes, we should have a unreleased song featured on vol. 3. I have no idea of any other bands to appear on it... ask the label!!!
Do you wish for Nuclear Holocaust? Would you like to see the end of the World?
– Death to this world of SHIT!!! Hail war and nuclear armageddon!!! SUFFER!!!
Is Satan Metal's Master?
– Yeeeeeezzzz! Master of the unholy black goats!!!
End this intie, thank you and Fuck you very much!
– Ok, Hails to you and Dark Moon... watch out for a Japanese cassette version of our demo w/ bonus tracks (from our reh. recordings) to be released by Deathrash armageddon. Meanwhile check out our demo tape for 5 euro and FUCK OFF AND DIE IN FIRE!!!
Morningstar (Fin) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / Answered by Ari
This is actually the very first interview made for issue 9. Ari answered my questions already in January 2005 but I think this is worth publishing because not so many things have happened in the Morningstar camp lately. They are planning to release new MCD/MLP but no further details available at the moment. Minotauri played on the Friends of Hell II -tour with Spiritus Mortis and Reverend Bizarre. It took place in the end of 2006, but only couple of gigs were played after all. The 2nd and last Minotauri album is scheduled in April 2007. It will be released by Firebox Music.
The 6th Morningstar full-length album, ”Finnish Metal”, was released in spring 2004 by Northern Sound Records, which exists no more... so, are you, again, without a record deal? Did you know that NSR would end its activities or did it come to you as a total surprise?
– Yeah, we knew that, but they`re a honest label and they will release the Lp version too and they have some real distribution network in Finland too, which was a very important thing. And yeah, we have no deal at the moment, we`ll just play some shows. Northern Sound records is the best label we`ve been so far.
Besides some bad ratings in some magazines (e.g. in Miasma mag. #2 1/10 points), what kind of feedback you have got? Was “Finnish Metal” only liked by the true maniacs who liked the earlier stuff too?
– I`ve only seen a few bad reviews, but 99% of the reviews were really positive! Metal Maniacs (A big Heavy Metal Magazine from the USA) said that we can offer more with one song than some Iron Saviour and Rhapsody together! And that`s because we rock! I can honestly say that "Finnish Metal" is the most metallic album in a few years. In Europe there aren`t bands like Morningstar, there are some "retro" things, but they`re without a such originality & arrangements. The old fans liked it too and we got many new fans.
I must say that the title, “Finnish Metal”, is absolutely perfect for your album and is like a “fuck you” slogan to current Finnish mainstream “metal”… am I totally wrong with this?
– Yes, fuck the mainstream metal! Actually I don`t give a shit what`s going on here,`cos the best things were already done ages ago and looks like no-one can do any classics anymore, except bands like Reverend Bizarre etc. And I think there`s nothing wrong with bands selling a lot of albums, but it`s just the music today is overpolished.
Do you see any good points in the popularity of the bands like Maj Karma, Mokoma, Nightwish, etc.? Do you want to see and feel (heavy) metal scene to be like a big and united happy family?
– Metal is popular today and it`s a good thing, it`s just that younger people doesn`t know what heavy Metal is. We`ll never be as big as those names, but it`s ok, we`d rather have a cult status and we`ll not do any compromises. Our music is for real people, real metal heads. Metal should be a bit dirty, not acceptable for pop-audience. We have a good "family" with some real metal bands, they know who they are.
You mentioned in the last Dark Moon interview (1998) that you know a 40-year-old man who likes Morningstar music… well, I have a friend who is about 50-year-old and he likes your stuff too… but what about the average Morningstar (or Minotauri) fan, is the situation still the same; youngsters don't understand your music because they don't know the older bands you are influenced by either?
– The situation is still the same, except that we`ve made some new, younger fans too. Some younger people are interested in older, real bands and thanks to internet, they can find some information.
Last time I featured you in Dark Moon ‘zine, in issue 5 (1998), you had just been signed to R.I.P. Records but something wasn't right even if they released “Hell”, “Weight of the Hammer” and “Kalevala Mysticism”… the promotion was not the best but there must have been some other problems too… can you tell more about that and the whole thing with R.I.P.?
– I don`t wanna talk too much about it, but I thank to R.I.P.Records for releasing those albums. The lack of funds and promotion & distribution was finally too much for us and we left the company. R.I.P.Records was a good company stylewise, but the business-side sucked.
“Weight of the Hammer” has one of the greatest Morningstar songs ever, “Metal”, but what is the story behind that song… is it somehow more personal than other tracks because its lyrics are not printed anywhere?
– Originally the title was "Metal is My Life", but the label didn`t like it and they wanted to change the title. They didn`t like the lyrics so they didn`t printed it. So...it`s "Metal", I said that Manilla Road had a track called "Metal" too, but the label said that nobody knows it...
I remember when I heard “Kalevala Mysticism” CD (or the adv.tracks to be precise) for the first time and the album started with “Ultima Thule” which was originally recorded for “Inside the Circle of Pentagram” demo… I thought that is this album full of old stuff rerecorded… and there are also three other old tracks. So, when I last time asked, are you a lazy songwriter and you answered “I'm not a lazy songwriter... I think some of our demo trax are still ok. Why not to use them?”, do you still answer this when I wonder why those old tracks were used on “Kalevala Mysticism”?
– With a different sound and some re-arrangements, those older songs suited fine on that album. I don`t write like 20 songs and then choose from them, I write what comes from my heart, so there are no leftovers. Of course I would not put every demo-era song into our albums, there are some shitty material too! Also the line-up on "Kalevala.." album was a such "back to very old days", so we just started to remember some things...
Metallik Warfare released your first CD and MCD together on vinyl… are you satisfied with the LP-release despite some lay-out problems? What about other planned (LP or CD) rereleases… any info at the moment?
– Yeah, Metallik Warfare did a good job, despite the delay. Pakana Distribution will release our old demos & some unreleased reh. material on a limited edition Lp soon with old photos etc. This is just for the old fans and to those who`re collecting early 90`s Scandinavian metal.
What happened to your fanclub? What was voted for the best Morningstar song, “The Eyes of Lamia”, perhaps?
– Hah hah... That was mainly to get to know the hardest fans and to inform them in a regular basis, but things went a bit wrong... Nowdays the internet-shit takes care all of this. "The Eyes of Lamia" was a very popular track, if I remember right! Fuck Tommi, you have a good memory, I forgot all this! Hah hah…
Many people consider the “legendary” trio Honkonen - Paavilainen - Pasanen the only real Morningstar line-up… after that trio Morningstar have had some serious problems finding permanent members, what is the problem? What is the Morningstar line-up at the moment?
– That line-up was born in early 1994 and lasted to late 1997. We did a lot of shows and there are some good memories. Anyway, that is not even near the "original line-ups". Tomi Kankainen was in the band since the very beginning. Pasanen was perhaps the most "famous" drummer, `cos he was a pretty good drummer and an alcoholic and maybe that`s why he managed to get "friends" everywhere. Pasi is still an alcoholic & great guy and I love him like a brother. Paavilainen lost his interest in metal during the years and started to play stoner rock. After a lot of hassle, we do have a good, stable line-up now: Ari Honkonen - guitar/vocals, Jani Lamberg - bass and Miika Möttönen - drums.
What do you think of Swallow the Sun, by the way? Have you seen them on stage?
– I really haven`t listened to it too much, so I can`t say much. I know some of the guys well, like Pasi and Markus (who played a lead on "Kalevala.." as a guest musician). No, I haven`t seen them yet.
Morningstar surely kills on stage and works very well even on the small stage… unfortunately Morningstar gigs are very rare nowadays, but would you like to play more often if you had the chance?
– Yeah, and we will soon! The shows are harder to play nowdays, I`m getting slower all the time, maybe `cos of Minotauri...
You have used shield drawing in your previous releases but I have been told that those weapons on the shield are not actually morningstars… any opinion?
– Well…"Morningstar" is a classic spikeclub and the one people often think is "ball & chain". Perhaps the name is different in different cultures. Actually... who cares?
What is the story with Ironbird? “In the Name of Turisas” demo was released in 1999 featuring 3 out of 4 tracks from the Perkele “Pohjola” demo (new recordings though) + two other tracks but I think that was the only stuff ever released… so?
– I just re-recorded some old Perkele stuff and some newer tracks with a shitty old 4-tracker and released it under the "Ironbird" name, `cos there was so little time since the Perkele`s "Erotic Circus" was released (which wasn`t a metal album at all) to avoid some confusion.
Axe Invasion… I have heard only one track (with poor sounds), anything released with this project?
– No, just experimenting... the idea still lived and I started Heathen Hoof as a therapy band..
Heathen Hoof… more metal from you but this time you are not the main vocalist but guitarist. I have only the first demo which sounds quite good (again) being very much in traditional heavy metal style. What is the situation with this band, are you looking for a deal and if yes, what kind of deal? Split 7”EP with Axewielder was released in 2003 and the 2nd demo in 2004… anything else in your plans?
– Heathen Hoof worked very well and it wasn`t a project anymore. I got some excellent musicians. Nuclear War Now! Prod. from the USA will release our 12" Ep soon. This band will have some future I can tell you... After the Ep we`ll start looking for bigger deals.
As in any other of your bands, also all the Heathen Hoof material is made by you (at least the first demo), where you get all those ideas and inspiration to make new songs and still keep them different to each other?
– I get lots of ideas, mainly inspired by the music I love. Morningstar is inspired by all true metal..be it Celtic Frost`s "To Mega Therion", Running Wild`s "Gates To Purgatory", Manilla Road`s "Open The Gates" or Cirith Ungol`s "King of the Dead". Heathen Hoof is mainly inspired by the NWOBHM movement... Cloven Hoof, Blitzkrieg old Maiden (with Di`Anno) and of course the true metal pioneers Judas Priest & Scorpions. Minotauri is Doom Metal in the vein of Pentagram, Witchfinder General etc..
You released both Perkele demos on CD-r in 2001… have you ever considered to make new Perkele stuff because I still think that both demos are really good stuff?
– Yes I have, but I have to wait the right time... too busy right now!
How many copies of the CD-r you sold and what kind of feedback you got, was it any different than in the 1995?
– I have no idea about the "sales", since it was mostly made for some old fans. I guess that there are some hundred copies in circulation. The feedback has mainly been positive and after all it`s the first "folky metal" recording in Finland as far as I know.
Minotauri has probably been your main band during the last couple of years and as I have all the early demos/promos/whatever, I know the name of the game but what about the first full-length album… released by Black Widow Records, some old tracks and some newer ones… are you satisfied with the result?
– I`m pretty satisfied. The new "Satan in Man/Sex Messiah" 7" single has a heavier sound than the album, but the album sounds really old school..the way we wanted it to sound. This is Doom Metal! B.Widow did a good job, but there was some delay on releasing the album..about a year!
You toured Finland with Reverend Bizarre and Spiritus Mortis on the Friends of Hell tour in spring 2002… I saw the gig in Tampere but what is your recollection of that tour?
– No crowd. We mainly played to ourselves. There are some great memories and we love those guys. We`d like to do it again!
The movie Witchfinder General (1968) was shown before the shows, but what is the story here… I am not a doom freak so I really don't know the connection, so could you explain, please.
– The tour title "Friends of Hell" is also a song by a cult british doom metal band Witchfinder General… The atmosphere was just right!
You studied to become practical nurse and I think some people don't consider that “metal” but what do you think, have the studies given you anything (mentally, perspectively, etc.) you could use in the music in future?
– WelL..I got a job right away when I graduated, so I`m satisfied. I was specialised in mental cases. The job is to get money to live & pay the bills, nothing more. I`ve become wiser ( and more idiot) over the years, so can`t say anything really! Hah hah!!! People are just stupid, if they think that some "profession" ain`t "metal", fuck you! Well, perhaps being a christian piest is not "metal"! Hah hah!!
Was it some kind of different education, not the usual way but something “special”?
– Yes, it was a bit special on some things. Nothing big.
I think you are working at the mental institute, right? Have you ever caught yourself out of humming something like Anthrax's “Madhouse” or maybe Metal Church's “Psycho”?
– Hah hah!!! Actually I`m working in a private company at the moment. The mental institute/hospital was great! There were a lot of "Black Metallers" hah hah!!! No, I wasn`t humming anything really.
Are you interested in seeing gigs anymore and what is the best gig you have seen during the last five years? What about “newer” bands, anything you like or are you just listening to older stuff?
– I`m lazy at going gigs, `cos there ain`t much special going on. Reverend Bizarre is brilliant. The best shows for me are the shows of Running Wild, Uriah Heep and Sceptical Schizo (RIP) years ago! I mostly listen to old stuff at my music-room.
I know you are an old-school metaller but you have still accepted some modern ways of letting people know about your music as Morningstar, Minotauri and Heathen Hoof have all their own websites and you also post some messages in the Imperiumi messageboard now and then… what you think about all this, internet and other stuff?
– Internet is ok. At the moment the Morningstar & Heathen Hoof websites are down (Actually they are working, links at the end of this interview -ed.), but Minotauri is working on: http://minotauri.not4free.com
Do you get more interviews nowadays when internet make it easier to more and more people run their own webzine without a fear of losing money? What's your opinion of webzines anyway?
– I do get interviews, not much, but time to time. Webzines are ok, all promotion is important to an undergroung metal band.
Anything you want to ask me?
– Why you`re still listening to us? You`ll lose your friends `cos we`re so "un-cool"!
– (Tommi): Hah, maybe I should listen to something else than metal, not just Morningstar, to be more cool or at least to be accepted in the circles of beautiful and willing women.
If you have anything to tell about the future plans of your bands, stuff for sale or anything else people should know, now is the time to tell!
-Morningstar is playing live again after a few years silence. Heathen Hoof will play live too and watch out for future recordings. Minotauri just released the debut album, get it if you dig Doom Metal! I have a punkrock band called The Hard Devils and I`m gonna play some shows with them & record more material (we have a demo CD to sell). People can contact me at: powerviking@hotmail.com for merchandise. Morningstar`s "Finnish Metal" is available from stores, label and us as well as the Minotauri album.
The 3rd Morningstar-interview in Dark Moon ‘zine is almost over. Thank you very much for the answers and for the great METAL music… anything to add?
– Thanx Tommi! You`re a true Morningstar maniac! We`ll never forget your support!
Paysage d'Hiver (Swi) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / Answered by Wintherr
Greetings, Wintherr! How is the summer time inSwitzerland and do you already long for the great winter?
– Meanwhile Winter is here and it is most welcome!!
Your music is simply "out of this world"! How onearth you are able to compose such material? What kind of things motivate you to create such impressive form of art? Why do you do it?
– I just do it. It just turns out as it is, nothing very special, really... Paysage d'hiver is very ritualistic, I do it for travelling my own soul at first place, so that might be the reason for it's „not of this world“ atmosphere. It is „done“ in a state of not being in this world, but being deep inside my own mind...
How did you figure out the name Paysage d'Hiver? How do you think this name comes together with your music? If you type the name on yahoo-search you get a lot of French Art, right?
– I was looking for a name being not too much cliché. I wanted something like „Winterland“, but in most languages, it was just too usual. So once I was looking up a word in my French Dictionary, and I just saw „Paysage d'hiver“ at first sight when I opened it. That was it!
“Paysage d'hiver” was one of the very best outputs of yours so far in my opinion. What do you think of that tape nowadays? Are you going to release it on vinyl too?
– „Paysage d'hiver“ describes the world of Paysage d'hiver as a whole, so it might be quite centralistic for the whole story, but it still is just one chapter. So every chapter is important for the whole, there is none to be more important than another. Every chapter always reflects a part of my soul, of my inner world, of the Winterland (aka Paysage d'hiver). Yes, it will also be re-released on Vinyl.
“Schnee” was released as split LP with Vinterriket. How come up with this release? What is your relation with Vinterriket? Please tell me something about a whole of this release! Does it have some kind of concept and how do you think the sides of the vinyls suit together?
– Well, Chris asked me if I'd be interested in making a split-LP at some point and I thought that those two projects would suit well together from their concepts. I had this unreleased song, which I thought would suit well to his style, so that's how it happened. We don't have much contact.
“Schattengang” was also released on vinyl. I think this release has your strongest Doom and Death Metal influences. Do you agree? Do you consider "Shattengang” as something different compared with more typical PD'R material?
– Yes, it has a lot of Death and also Doom influences. But „Steineiche“ has got that as well (second song) and also “Kerker” shows up with those influences.. Well, I guess I have kind of found my own style at some point, which wasn't as clear at that time, compared to „Kristall & Isa“ or „Winterkaelte“ for instance. But every Demo will differ from the others....so does Schattengang. I don't want to put myself in a prison stylistically. Whatever suits will be used (which is, of course, within certain borders… Polka wouldn't suit very well to Paysage d'hiver, would it?)
I know that you consider Finland as the country of Doom! What are the main reasons for you to think like that? Have you had the chance to discover the new Finnish Doom Metal Master's Reverend Bizarre? What kind of bands you consider as real Doom? Tell me more about your impression of Finland and Metal scene.
– I just notice that there have always been great Doom bands from Finland. In Black Metal, for instance, there are many bands, but only very few have something really unique and inspired. In Doom, most Bands from Finland are just simply great and really have to offer something. For instance Unholy, Thergothon, Skepticism, Shape of despair, etc. But that's just my humble opinion. No, I don't know Reverend Bizzare so much, really. I haven't had the time to listen to it yet.
Then it's time to speak about Black Metal! What is Black Metal in it's purest form for you? What do you think makes Metal Black? Why don't you describe your music as "Cold Nordic Misanthropy Black Metal", or "Dark Black Metal", etc. or what do you think of such descriptions anyway? What is Paysage d'hiver music?
– What I want is that special feeling this kind of music provokes in me. It's a souljourney, something spiritual. It's being alone in a world not of this world. Something totally non-physical, something inhuman. Well, over the years „Black Metal“ came to be a certain style of Metal. It's a music style. When such terms where used the first couple of times, as we all know, this was not the case. So you have a musicstyle on one hand, on the other hand you have a more satanic background like the old bands used to have. I don't really care much about describtions, but it makes it easier to have an idea about what a band's music is about. For me, it's just the atmosphere I'm looking for. And this is an utterly cold, dark, freezing, and black place…
Can you describe your current relationship with mother nature? I think I already asked about this on Soihdut#1, but I would like to ask it again. This time you could also view one of your favourite memories while being in a forest or mountain aboard or in Switzerland. What did you find out?
– I live on the countryside, on 950 Meters over Sealevel. I am at the foot of the mountains. I live in the middle of nature. I think that says pretty much about my relation to nature and mountains.
One of my most intense memories was in the Swiss mountains, when I made a mountaintrip with some friends. We where at over 2'000 meter over Sealevel, in winter, wandering through desolate mountain-landscapes, nothing around us. We where walking the whole day already, climbing up 1'000 meters, which we still had to climb down again. We where so badly exhausted, that we where afraid, we wouldn't make it and freeze to death. That was very intense.
What I learned out of it? I learned to know my physical and to some extent mental borders. And that was mind-freeing in many ways…I am a wanderer at borders…and sometimes over the borders as well…in order to broaden those borders, bring them further, gain more spiritual knowledge and experiences. And hopefully some wisdom! Which I seriously doubt at times haha!
Besides making music, you also release it (mostly on vinyl-format) on your Kunsthall Produktionen. What is your reason for making it? What releases you've put out, and why? What are you going to release in future? Do you make some money? Is your aim to sign Mayhem and Dimmu Borgir and get rich and famous?
– Kunsthall was meant as a plattform for Paysage d'hiver mainly, but I always had in mind of let it grow a bit, to offer the plattform to others as well. So meanwhile we have done some other stuff besides Paysage d'hiver and this will continue. Next releases will be “Paysage d'hiver - Die Festung” 12” and “Nefarious – Diabolorum” 7”. Once those two are out and we have the money, we will start re-releasing the Paysage d'hiver recordings on CD. It will be a A5 Digipaks.
No, we don't make any money. The only thing we get are some good records from time to time. That's it. All the money goes back to Kunsthall for releases. We'll just let it flow. If we'll get some money out of it somewhen, we wouldn't deny it. It's so much work we are doing for free, that at some point it is ok to get something back. Spending all that time on those records and not getting anything back can be quite frustrating. IF we really get some money out of it, it will be earned with our sweat and blood! And most likely spent on music in a way or another anyway….
Back to Paysage d'hiver. I heard that you like non-easy listening music. That means, you mostly like albums that maybe not open first, but grow while listening them more? How would you explain this? Is Paysage d'hiver's music ment to be listened more than once? What kind of things can open for the listeners, when they discover "The Truth" or meaning of Paysage d'hiver's music?
– What I am looking for is music, which is timeless and will never die. Mostly, those albums need some time to show their true value, as I have noticed.
And what I want for Paysage d'hiver for me personally is, to put a PDH release in my shelf being part of all those never-dying albums. That's the quality, I want to achieve. I want to make the music I want to listen to. I want to create something, which moves me deep and strong even after many years… What other people see in PDH is out of my sight.
What kind of topics you write about on your lyrics? It must be easier for you to write in German, as it's your father tongue. Why did you choose it, instead of English? Do you think it matters some people aboard won't understand them? Do you make the titles and lyrics only for yourself, or do you wish some people to find out some hidden wisdom if they read them?
– It wouldn't make any sense to write lyrics in English. I just couldn't precisely “draw” the pictures with it, as my English just isn't good enough. But it's also that, in my opinion, the sound, feeling and character of the German language just suits the whole world of Paysage d'hiver much better. It's quite a harsh sounding language, I think, but still very emotional…to form words, be it spoken or written, is something very spiritual for me. I would never have the same feeling and experience with another language….
I don't really write “topics”. It's more pictures, senses, experiences, feelings, certain atmospheres. It's very deep for me personally, but nothing to talk about in “normal” words….it's just not possible. Thus it comes out within Paysage d'hiver… If you'd ask me: “What do you mean with this or that line in your lyrics” I simply couldn't answer. Not because nothing stands behind of it, but just because it's not possible for me to describe it in another way. And it's also very personal stuff, so it's likely I just wouldn't like anybody else to know…
Let the readers know what Paysage d'hiver releases are still available and give each item description, and tell something little about their concept! You can start this list from the beginning by mentioning each demo, even the sold out ones.
– Right now, all releases are sold out! The Vinylversions are still to come out, except for “Schattengang”, which is also totally sold out. But everything will be available on CD soon…
Steineiche – This is the centre of Paysage d'hiver. Where everything started. The Stoneoak is older than anything within Paysage d'hiver.
Schattengang – As the title suggests, it's about wandering through the shadows of this Winterworld (aka Paysage d'hiver)...
Die Festung – „The Fortress“ is the place to find all the powers of Winter of this Winterworld...
Paysage d'hiver – Is a describtion of this Winterworld more in a general manner, focused upon the Wanderer.
Kerker – Is about the dungeons deep below of this Winterworld.
Kristall & Isa - is about experiences of the Wanderer in this Winterworld.
Winterkaelte – is an initiationsritual (of the Wanderer) in this Winterworld
Schwarzä Feus & schwarzäs Isä – is about the rough, black stone and iron of this Winterworld's mountains (thus lyrics in dialect)
Nacht – is about darkness in this Winterworld (especially in a spiritual manner for the Wanderer)
Schnee – all “Schnee” songs are about glittering snow and wandering in solitude!
Please, close this interview!
– Deeply inhale the freezing air!
Satanic Warmaster (Fin) download HERE
Answered by Satanic Tyrant Werwolf
This interview is old and according to our interviewee the questions were bad. So no proper information value here, but maybe the hilarity of it still does the trick. Enjoy! -Lind
Hello Satanic Tyrant Werwolf! How's life?
– Life is an endless struggle. Strife to unchain your spirit to let it ascend and become one with the abyss, with no distraction from the foolishness of modern world, its temptations and corruptive morals. Yet life is the course we must take in order to once rise or fall in the memories of those who come after us and this once great world, thus a path of great gratification.
You have a new SW album coming out on No Colours Records in summer and people seem to have quite big expectations on that one. Tell me something about the upcoming album. Who is going to release your albums after this “Carelian Satanist Madness”?
– The new album, “Carelian Satanist Madness” in my eyes is one of the greatest and most intense recordings I've ever made. It was recorded in March and April of 2005 on an analogue 4-track tape recorder with the noble assistance of my session members T.H. (guitar) and Vholm (drums). I had also the honour to feature a lyrical contribution from Commando Wolf of the Hellenic tyrants DER STURMER. As you might have realized, Torech is not anymore a part of SATANIC WARMASTER. There has been some speculation if my art would regress back to the stage of the 1 st SATANIC WARMASTER demotape because of his absence, but I am sure it will be clear after listening the album if it's true or not, the new album being completely composed by myself. The whole lyrical concept of the album is based on the shadow soul of Europa on a very extensive scale, from the darkest folklore into more recent historical themes, yet in a very clear context to the essence of Satan's name written between the lines of history and myths.
All future SATANIC WARMASTER releases will be released by my own label, WEREWOLF RECORDS. This gives me total control and freedom over my work, with no necessity for the involvement of external parties.
Why did Torech leave SW? Opinions on Torech's own band Torturium?
– It was impossible to continue working with him because of his mentality which corrupted the whole essence of my creation, and would have caused a downfall of SATANIC WARMASTER in the long run as well. I have no comments on TORTURIUM whatsoever.
As I mentioned above, it seems like people are waiting you're new album more eagerly than they would wait for a new Darkthrone album. What do you think are the reasons for this? Do you enjoy being quite a celebrated and admired person inside the current scene?
– This is a normal internet forum illusion, which I should not even need to comment about, it being just as illusive as if it would be by someone taping a video with him telling I would be the king of this planet and broadcasting it to you on TV as the truth (and you swallowing it gladly like a secretion from a male organ). Being in good terms with people does not mean I am a celebrity or an admired person in general. I would consider myself to be a subject for envy, confusion and frustration for spectators of the “game” not consisting of like-minded strong individuals, but spectators, people having the need to simplify and categorize things beyond categorization, self-deceptive minds, washed-out losers in it only for nostalgic musical memories, whiny music fan bitches, humanists, niggerlovers and other scum, who are the many in this time and day.
Finnish scene over all is very hot at the moment, any opinions why? Do we really have so decent bands here or is there some kind of fashion or mass hypnosis in the air that makes people like Finnish bands? What are the best bands emerging from Finland in your opinion?
– Finland is a desolate country, with not so many distractions of the western world, yet being a prosperous enough country to give its children good possibilities to improve themselves. The mentality among the best Finnish bands is very determined and purposeful, which cannot be said about many others. Of course we have many opportunists and losers appearing now with their bands, just to ride the “wave” of Finnish Black Metal, to get their 15 minutes of fame, but those will be ignored as usual, and they will be forgotten. The best bands from Finland nowadays for me are WARLOGHE, CLANDESTINE BLAZE, BEHEXEN, HORNA, BAPTISM, ALTTARI, GOATMOON, HAMMER (LPR), KADOTUS, BLACK BLOOD, BLOODHAMMER, HELWETTI, DIABOLI, SARGEIST, MUSTA SURMA, NOENUM, DEAD REPTILE SHRINE, VORNAT and maybe some others. Bands such as BEHERIT (godz), (very early) IMPALED NAZARENE, BLACK CRUCIFIXION, MEHAZAER, ARCHGOAT and SATANIC EVIL from the early 90's should be mentioned too, being the first ones to appear on our soil, and being some of the greatest bands of all time. Also in the mid/late 90's there was a wave of some really killer Nordic Black Metal bands such as WANDERER, WINTERMOON, THY SERPENT (who turned into total shit after their 1 st album), NIDHOGGR, AZAZEL (1 st demo only!) and some others, who are unfortunately forgotten by most people now.
I've noticed that you've been quite upset about these humorous “blackmetal” bands like Blackthrone. (I personally don't give a flying fuck if somebody likes to make fun of blackmetals image etc, because those jokebands are not capable to make fun of anything truly sacred.) Why do you spend your hate for a joke? Do you take it personally or do you consider those jokebands as a threat to blackmetal? (I'd be more worried about the fact that some of these jokebands have even better musical skills and ideas than a major part of today's real blackmetal bands)
– Maybe you don't really give a fuck about Black Metal at all, and that's why you don't care about such acts of idiocy either? Such bands are starting to get signed by labels run by who knows what kind of subhumans, is this the way you want to go by accepting a joke as a part of something that is supposed to have a bit more sophisticated sense of irony than shit like “Satan lives in Norway”? There are bands started as a joke in the scene already, which miraculously enough change into “serious” bands once a greedy label decides to release their first computer recording on a compact disk limited to 1000 copies. If that's not something that rots the whole essence of the music from inside, then what is? (I think this humorous music is not capable to neither rot nor even scratch anything truly worthy. -Lind) I do not hate those bands, it's irritation and frustration for people who accept it, bands like such would have been kept away with much less than hate. I'd be worried about your motives if musical skill has ever been to you an important standard in this kind of music whatsoever.
You don't need to be worried about my motives really, but I think that people, who deal with Satan's music, should reach as high as possible in every sense. When having good musical skills, you don't have to concentrate on the tool of creation so it's more natural to concentrate on the vision itself. And I am not talking about musical masturbation, if you know what I mean. So do you consider black metal in itself as something to live, fight and die for?
– Musical skills develop when your creation pushes it towards improvement, thus making the emphasizing the (technical) musical skill itself useless. All things dear to man are what he fights for.
You've started to run your own label called “Werewolf records”. What are the reasons for this action? Did you have too much of spare time? What are the reasons for you to sign a band?
– I started the label with the thought of releasing SATANIC WARMASTER albums in the future through WEREWOLF REX, as well as releasing albums of f.ex. local bands that would not get the deserved chance of getting heard otherwise. Unlike other people, I have no problems with free time. I spend all my time on things I really want to do. I sign bands based on my impression on their honesty, musical talent (not skill) and ideology.
You've released albums from Black Blood, Goatmoon and Dead Reptile Shrine. Introduce these bands shortly and tell me why you signed these bands. Future releases?
– GOATMOON: Goatmoon is a fairly young one-man band from Lappeenranta, started in 2002 (from the ruins of the guy's previous project which started in 1999). The musical style is somewhat comparable to early BURZUM or MOONBLOOD, with lyrical concepts concentrating on devil worship, Nazism and total hate. Up to this date GOATMOON has done several very limited demo tapes and the debut album on WEREWOLF RECORDS called “Death Before Dishonour”, which is soon sold out on CD, and is to be released on a very limited vinyl version in the future. I signed GOATMOON only for the reason that the guy behind the band has proved his loyalty to our cause in the course of almost 10 years, growing up to be a respectable Black Metal warrior.
BLACK BLOOD: An obscure Black Metal band from Laitila, Finland. Musically very distant, sinister and with a morbid groove. Their debut album “Cryptic Rituals” is still available from WEREWOLF REX. I signed BLACK BLOOD because of the great qualities their music possesses.
DEAD REPTILE SHRINE: Possibly one of the most controversial projects from the Finnish soil, far away from the typical “Black Metal” sound, yet having a clear Black Metal background. Like the band stated about their debut album, “A Journey through the Darkest of Forests”: “ You do not classify this stuff by instrumentation, composition or sound, simply because it is NOT musik. And it's not a matter of whether or not you like this; it's a matter of whether you are able to handle it. If you are able to, you will probably cast it aside as "unlistenable" musik. The blessed chosen ones whose 1st attention has been weakened enough so as not being able to handle it, will be thrown out towards the event horizon of self-consciousness and control, and cannot help but succumb to the pure energy that flows from this aural experience. It will force you to meet Infinity in all its beauty and terror. ” …I can assure you this is not bullshit. The first cd of DRS is still available. I signed the band based on years of comradeship and respect.
Upcoming releases:
SATANS SIGN OF WAR (ger) CD (should be out when this interview is released)
WODULF (gre) “Wargus Esto” CD
SATANIC WARMASTER (fin) “Gas Chamber / B.M.K.” CD
KADOTUS (fin) MCD
FOREST (rus) “Forest” DLP
MYRKR (swe) “tba” 7”
Where do you get your living from? Do you think it's important to have a real job instead of just laying home unemployed like a parasite in this society?
– I get my living from my life's work. It's not much, I can barely survive, but that is my mission and what I must do. Employment issues at this time are unimportant, when work in general has lost it's meaning to the modern man. It's about career, success and useless shit like that. Which one do you think would be better, to have a social security which also covers unemployment, or to have nothing? The whole system wasn't created thinking about the leeches, so why should you think about it now either, when it doesn't matter anyway. You'd pay the same taxes anyway.
So do you pay taxes of your business?
– 0116484-0 (A very tasteless question, by the way.)
Fuck with good taste, by the way. You stated somewhere that your music “reflects the shadow side of the European soul and blood cult religious devotion” or something like that. Can you define what you mean with “shadow side of the European soul” and “Blood cult religious devotion”?
– The shadow side of the European soul is the underlying dark essence of the European nations, the destructive (thus initially creative) force that has driven the achievements of European blood to great heights in the course of history in war, conquest, magick, philosophy and in other fields as well. The blood cult is the cult of the indo-Aryan blood, where there essence of Satan was culminated in the ancient times. Devotion to the cult is the key to hear the voice of our blood, the command for honour, strife and supremacy.
Do you consider for example Gogol, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky as a part of collective European soul? (They're Russian humanitarians after all) Eastern blackmetal is quite popular nowadays too. What's your opinion on these topics?
– Such writers are only important for humanist literature lovers. For me they have no meaning whatsoever. There is a great uproar in the Russian lands with a radical Black Metal hammer striking harder than ever, with many bands I respect to a high degree.
Do you read a lot and what kind of literature? Do you consider education in general to be important after all or do you prefer to sophisticate yourself independently?
– I have been quite passive in the past few years when it comes to reading and literature in general. I still read a few books in a year, but not that much. I prefer occult/philosophic/political literature above all. Two of the most recent writers I've read have been Savitri Devi and Johannes Nefastos.
General education is important to a fairly high degree for a basic understanding of your surroundings (if you lack the insight yourself of course), yet at least for myself the most important things are not taught in any school.
So you don't think there could be anything important hidden in classic western literature?
– Isn't there important things “hidden” everywhere?
Sure there is. You mentioned “the ancient times” before. What do you mean with ancient times? Does old times inspire you more than these modern times we're actually living now?
– Ancient: Of great age; very old. Yes, old times inspire me more, but the modern world enrages me
the most, which is a source of high inspiration as well.
I was a bit disappointed that there were no lyrics included in Opferblut, why? Don't you think lyrics are important in blackmetal?
– The concept of the album was mainly very personal, with little importance to others in my eyes, that is why I decided to keep the lyrics for myself. I think lyrics can be too important to be shared.
Do you consider your lyrics as propaganda, poetry or what and what's the reason of using German in lyrics? What's so special about that language?
– I consider my lyrics as partially propaganda, partially poetry, partially discussion with myself or a monologue about my inner feelings, beliefs, ambitions and ideals.
There has been even more French in my lyrics on my published albums than there has been German, maybe the reason for the featuring of French language was too natural to ask about for you. Would you care to explain what's so un-important about French not to ask about? The “special” thing is about German is the aesthetic and strength it gives to expression, underlined by dark history, human fear and pan-European spirit.
I see. You can explain your fascination towards French too if you like to.
– Stop humiliating yourself.
I'm not humiliating anyone. I'm asking you questions and hoping that you'd answer them properly.
– There is a major difference in creating your questions based on facts, and based on vague impressions based of irrelevant things.
So you just give me the facts, man. But let us move forward.
– How elevating to see I would obviously have to teach basic interview techniques to our “journalist” here.
“Black Katharsis” is a fascinating title for an album in my opinion. How did you come up with that title? Could your earlier works be considered as “Black Peripeteia” and “Black Anagnorisis” then?
– The hybrid name is a culmination of the very dark epoch in my life, which even made it to culminate in my music and lyrics. Thus the purification and rejuvenation from this black torment in my heart initially formed into something that became “Black Katharsis”. There is no particular development that could make releases preceeding that mini-album to have any particular attributes of peripeteia or anagnorisis as a whole, yet “Strength & Honour” has a certain aura of change within, so your idea might not be totally wrong either.
Do you have interests in occult? (I bet you have) Do you practice magic and have you ever cursed anybody?
– Yes (I bet you guessed it).
So you don't have anything else to say about this topic?
– That's about as fucking lame as asking “missä kävit intin” or “paljonko rautaa nousee penkistä” or “paljonko kuluttaa satasella”.
OK. For a reason or another you just don't have anything to say about this subject. I can live with that and I believe the readers can as well. Could you kindly and briefly tell what do you think about the following persons and topics?
Kabbalah?
– Jews.
Eliphas Levi?
– One of the writers on which the whole western esoteric traditions is based on. His influence is undeniable.
H.P. Blavatsky?
– Some of her racial theories have fascinated me to a high degree for years. Her other writings are highly interesting, too.
J.R.R. Tolkien?
– A great fantasy writer.
Josif Stalin?
– Stalin is good, Hitler is bad, right?
Aleister Crowley?
– A pervert and an evil genius.
European Union?
– Perversion of the idea of Pan-European gathering of tribes.
What about self mutilation, do you cut your flesh and why/why not?
– No I don't. I don't have any need for such activity now.
“When the fullmoon shines the werewolf strikes”, what a nice rhyme you've got there. What is this whole Werewolf thing about? Why did you change your pseudonym from Nazgul von Armageddon to Satanic Tyrant Werwolf? Is it important in any sense to use pseudonyms anymore? You've had quite a few in different projects and your real name isn't a state secret either, I guess...
– The lycanthropic archetype of the werewolf is a powerful symbol, portraying the most pure essence of the Luciferian flame in man. A predator and a beast, preying on flesh to survive, yet with a bond to the wolfish tribal spirit, which is one of the most primal characteristics of European man also, leading ancient tribal culture into city-states and all the way to (fallen) empires of modern days. A wolf walking among men, superior instincts and senses able to mold the surrounding society of fools as he sees fit. A power of change within, waiting to be unleashed in uncontrolled lust, with no moral obligations, no feelings of immature hatred, just a predatory survival. The berserker warriors of the northmen.
I changed my name because I wanted to. It's great to see you twisting the facts again, wanker. Your “quite a few” in fact is only practically these two names and their variations I have ever used. I never expected my real name to be a secret.
Where did I twist the facts? You're a white, grown-up man and you call me a wanker when I just asked about your pseudonyms! My heart is bleeding Mister Werwolf. So you don't know who is “Sexual Hammer” of Mental Terror or “Raul” of Ravening for example?
– I have never been a member of the latter band and never will be.
OK. Then I twisted the facts. Apologies for that. I have been misinformed that you have performed some vocals on their 7” with the pseudonym “Raul”. But let us move forward with this conversation. Do you hate people?
– Hate is not the word. I feel pity, frustration and disappointment towards most people.
Why are you disappointed to people? What they should be like then?
– Humans should be better / more humble / dead.
Why so?
– Because humans are worthless / think too much of themselves / alive.
What's your opinion on suicide? Do you enjoy being alive? And what will happen to you after you've left this carnal life?
– Suicide has two sides to it, either an act of extreme weakness or an act as an extreme fuck off-gesture against the world. Life and death walk hand in hand. To love life is to welcome death when it's time arrives. For me death is a hidden iron gate waiting in the end of this path, which shall remain for me as a place kept with a silent awaiting in my hard with uttermost adoration. To become a part of the eternal cycle again…
I think Satanic Warmaster's cover artwork was OK on the three first albums and I understand the wolverine on “…Of the Night” also, but why is there a picture of you standing in the woods in full make-up, spikes, cloak and stuff on the unofficial cover of “Carelian Satanist Madness”? Is Carelian Satanist Madness just standing in the woods with all these blackmetal properties? Or what are you really doing there on that picture? What is its deeper meaning?
– I have no idea what the fuck are you talking about here. If you understand the wolverine and ask me about a very traditional Black Metal album cover, it's not anything I can explain anymore. You must be really fucked up from the cover of “Transilvanian Hunger” with a Norwegian guy in the cover with candles and fairly well-fed cheeks, or “Thousand Swords” when there's hardly ten swords in the cover in the re-issue cover and even less in the original version covers. (I think swords, hobbits and such “symbols” are quite pussy anyway. –Lind) Maybe you should once in your life concentrate on thinking concepts of basic symbolism, and ease a bit on the smart-ass shenanigans. By the way, it was “Black Metal” what VENOM wrote about, not “blackmetal”.
I have that Venom LP too, and I love Transilvanian Hunger, but the question was why YOU decided to put your own image on the album cover. I really thought there would've been some other reasons than because Darkthrone did something similar in the nineties. You don't need to educate me in thinking basic symbolism. I'm quite a sophisticated guy really. So don't you really have anything reasonable to say about your new album cover?
– Stop humiliating yourself. Glad to see you say it out loud, since your “sophistication” is just not there. (This is a Satanic Warmaster intie, I just happen to be the person who makes up these questions. My sophistication or humiliation is not the point here. -Lind)
C.S.M. cover symbolism for retards:
Carelian = The forest in the depths of my home village.
Satanist = Myself.
Madness = The hatred and the dark elements of nature brought forth in the shape of a blade and the ram's skull.
So it wasn't so difficult to explain that very simple symbolism for retards after all. Satanic Warmaster performed a gig in Turku, Finland in May 2004 and you all wore just dress shirts and black ties (I kind of liked that image). And after that there have been many pictures of you in corpsepaint, candles and so on. What does wearing spikes and corpsepaint mean to you? Is image important really?
– I had pictures of me in corpsepaint also before the first live appearances, so once again you don't know shit you are talking about. (I've been reading zines and buying demos and stuff since mid nineties, so I know quite well that you've been using make-up for years before that show, mister Wolf.) I want to invoke the obscure Black Metal feeling of darkness, the rejection of the human face to become one with Satan, the appearance of the beast within. Image is important, but it should never be placed before the actual essence of a creation, and this is the reason for the way I initiated the first live shows of SATANIC WARMASTER with such a different approach. The show in Germany with all the disappointed “fans” being shocked about our appearance made me 100% sure of the mentality of most of the people into Black Metal now. People were weeping about not buying my albums anymore because our show was “boring”. For me this is a similar atrocity as if people would complain people from Black Metal bands eating, sleeping and fucking. YOU DON'T CARE WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS; YOU JUST CARE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
At least I was positively surprised that SW performed that gig without any glam stuffs and the gig was just great and hard without the usual BM circus. Did you enjoy disappointing the German posers by lacking a traditional show?
– Yes, it was one of the greatest moments of self-gratification to see their reactions. Those people wouldn't have deserved it anyway.
You've been involved in quite many different musical projects. Are you so creative that you are not capable to channel all your ideas into one great form, but you have to have number of different projects? Where does your creativeness spring from?
– Vision. That's what makes it impossible for me to write all my material for one single project that would pervert the vision and the concept, that is always clear (I'm also somewhat of a purist when it comes to musical expression). That's what drives me to create. Also if you inspect things, less than 10 active projects (most with very few releases) in the 10 past years are not that much.
Part of blackmetal people is getting old and some have even families. Do you think it is suitable for a Satanist to produce descendants and why? Do you believe in love?
– I had a family even on the day I was born; I had a father, a mother and even grandparents. Procreation is our only chance of survival. Only a selfish egoist mind poisoned by the modern hedonist way of life cannot admit the fact that our nations will collapse under the huge amount of immigration from outside of Europe if we do not secure the flow of our blood into future. There is no glory in not wanting to live through blood through the ages. This is what is also clearly explained in the principals of aeonic magick. Obviously you don't think of such issues, knowing your sexual orientation etc. I believe in all emotions.
No I'm not into aeonic magic. What's glory worth for anyway? What's that stupid speculation about my sexual orientation? Do you think I'm a homosexual?
– Glory is what writes our names down for the future generations to see. There are orientations within heterosexuality too.
What's your relationship with nature? What's your opinion on nuclear power?
– Nature is a great source of inspiration, nature is all. Nature goes deeper than the lakes and the trees; nature is all that is beyond the human eye. The dark essence of nature and the cosmos, known also as Satan is everything to me.
Nuclear power?
– NUCLEAR DEATH is one of the most fucking extreme bands ever! I just cannot stop praising “Carrion for worm” and “Bride of insect”!
Lori Bravo surely is one of the greatest women in extreme metal.
When is the world going to meet its end and how?
– It won't end. It will change and life will not exist as we know it anymore, but it will never end.
Ok, thanks for the interview Satanic Tyrant Werwolf and good luck with your business. Anything left to say in the end?
– Yes. This is must be the most helpless attempt of a quick-witted interview ever seen.
Your total lack of interest towards Black Metal reeks through the whole interview makes me
wonder of your motives. I hope the other interviews in this magazine are not as bad.
All my best regards to Mr. Hakonen and DARK MOON ‘zine. May he find better assistants
the next time.
WHEN THE FLAME OF LIFE GROWS COLD
WE CHIME THE SILENT BELL
AND THE UNBORN CHILD IS OLD
THE SEVEN GATES OF HELL
For those respectable spirits seeking for some concrete information about SATANIC WARMASTER, philosophy and music, feel free to contact me through e-mail.
Band contact:
SATANIC WARMASTER
PO BOX 169
53101 LAPPEENRANTA
FINLAND
e-mail: werwolf@blackmetal.fi
Urn (Fin) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / Answered by Sulphur
I tried to feature Urn already in issue 8, but finally got a chance to interview Sulphur in 2005. So, these questions were made and answered long before the new album, so questions are not dealing with “Dawn of the Devastation” album, which was released by No Sign of Life in autumn 2006.
You had a website but now there is the following text, written by ex-drummer Tuska;
3.4.2005 ”As of this day, I am no longer in URN. The Reason: Sulphur does not want me in the band due to him thinking I'm not capable of pulling off the drumming anymore.. It's that fucking simple, all else is speculation. Megatons will be re-released some day, just don't ask about that from me since I will have no part in the re-release.”
Anything to add from your side? Is Hellwind your new drummer?
– Hell!!! Really great website isn't it? Fukking Tuska idiot made some crappy webpage for Urn (his several side projects have better sites than the one for Urn). He just asked from me is it ok, if he does a web page for Urn. It was ok for me BUT what a fukking surprise it was when he sends me a sms and told new Urn site is running. I check the site out and it was the worst what I have ever seen. really fukking awful!! Aaarrgghhh... I was horrified, hehe. So the site has made his job. Awful, but still very stupid. Like we are! Fukk, have to call him and tell him to take that site away.
Well... to the point. There is several reasons why he doesn't play in Urn anymore, have to think where to start. 'Cos of him many fukking things have been fukked up or almost... ahhh, what the fukk, ALWAYS!!
As all started years ago when we noticed he is very nervous before the gigs and he never admit that he is afraid of playing live. He has played only one gig without a bigger mistakes and that was our hometown last autumn. Every fukking other gig has been fukked up by drumming. Even in rehearsing he played almost every time different way and making weird fills, stupid progressive jamming and other shit. That doesn't belong to metal. Let him play his gay jazz pudel shit... but not in Urn! he have told me that drummer have to improvise… Hmmm, really? Never heard anything like that! Basically his capability of drumming was enough for Urn but we got sick of his progressive way of playing and when we said to him play straight and tight, he took it too personally and said to us we should use drum machine in next studio sessions. Fukk...never... Also he was always asking when we do a next rehearsing as he wanted to rehearse at least four times in a week and we found it too frustrating ‘cos there was no sense to rehearse so much 'cos he would fukk up the next gig anyway and what more we rehearse the songs, that more he made his own improvising in drumming and that was awful. Whole basics of the songs was gone totally.
Arghh...too many painful fukked ups but I am getting angry, have to jump to the next question. Let's keep the rest of him infamous sentences, behaviour just secret! Hahaaaaarrgghhhh... Is something engraving me? Noooo....
Now the things are going very well as Hellwind is now playing in Urn and we have also new rehearsing place (closet room in Tuska's home was total shit!!!). We made a new promo with Hellwind and it really shows he is really tight and straight playing drummer. That is what we want and finally we got it, so no complains! Now it's our time to strike, so watch out all of you!
Why is it so hard to find a drummer who is good enough for Urn? I know you gave a chance even for infamous Lord Satanachia some years ago… you must have been quite desperate back then.
– It was a really hard to find a new drummer as I have been looking for it for years. From Tampere it seemed to be impossible to get right kind of drummer with the same kind of music taste. We just kept Tuska in band 'cos haven't found a new drummer and we didn't wanted to stop Urn.
Satanachia, hmmm...we played few times together and we noticed he is too fukked up for us. We have been cursed concerning this for years. Yes, we have been very desperate!!
Iron Pegasus released Urn/Decayed split-CD/LP in 2004 and I thought they would release more stuff from you but did you have the deal only for that release (or the 7”EP in the first place), after all?
– First we talked with Costa for seven inch but he contacted me and asked for split release with decayed. That was ok for us. we had enough songs and we decided to record it in very raw and filthy sound, as last release we did was too fukked up by sound and we weren't satisfied with it, so wanted do this like a fukk off to it. Totally different kind of sound. We recorded it rehearsing room(infamous closet room in Tuska's home)in four hours.
Well... at least I suppose Costa is interested to release more Urn and all the co-operation with him have been going very well, so no complains.....hmm...at least I though like that in the past but since he released split I started to ask possibilities for new releases, he was interested but after all it seems he is not interested in Urn anymore. I don't know why, he doesn't even answer my mails so often. Some time ago he have sent an e-mail for Urn and Flame and asked are the bands interested to appear Venom tribute LP. I called to Blackvenom and asked should he want to do cover with Flame or Urn. We found better to do it with Urn... We said it to Costa that we will join on tribute with Urn... and few weeks ago Blackvenom got an e-mail from Costa and he asked again that Venom tribute but I never got that message. For now it seems he wants Flame to be there, not Urn, like that was the very first plan.
So reading between the lines all these, it seems he doesn't like Urn so much and don't want to co-operate with us anymore. So fukk that, we will attack against every people who have tUrned their back on us with the next album and show to everyone who's on the top of Finnish underground metal throne!!! Hahaha...am I saying too big words for now? Does this put pressures on us? Fukk you all, we don't fukking care. FUKK OFF!!
Your side of the split, “Morbid Death”, has the song “Hell…Torment” but I think it should have been on ”666 Megatons” already, am I right?
– Yes, you are right. Back then we entered in studio Perkele to record “”666 Megatons”” and it was a big surprise for us that there wasn't analogic equipment there anymore as there wasn't even a computer to use for recordings. We have to rent a computer and it took one day for engineer to get everything ready there. During the recording sessions there was lots of problems and the very first thing was Tuska once again...it seemed like he was very nervous and he surprisingly played d totally different way than on rehearsing. Fukk, I told him to play them again but we founded that we were running out of time, I had one day left to put guitars, bass and vocals. Sound engineer told that I should play four guitars and two bass guitars, so I had a kind of a hurry to get them ready.
Afterwards it was a really big mistake to let the drums be like that. Basically I like the songs but drumming really ruin the feeling and basics of the songs. During vocal recordings we noticed that guitars were disappeared from “Hell...Torment”. We haven't got a time to record them again, so we decided to drop it away. Fukking computers, analogic way rules!
“Morbid Death” continued where the debut full-length ended, but which one, and why, would you recommend for the metalhead who have never heard any Urn material?
– Hmm, hard to say as both are totally different kind of sound and both really don't represents Urn as its best. Debut was fukked up and the second was fukk off to fukked up first album. They should check us live before hearing anything... or take the new promo which really sounds the way we wanted, its close to the “I am Your Nightmare” 10" sound. We are totally satisfied to the sound now and it seems the studio where we recorded it fits perfectly for Urn. Nihil i.n.r.i studio in Lahti rules. Hahaha...this studio will be more known in the future as for now it seems every band wants go there! That is a bit stupid, but everyone wants to follow the way of Urn...! Haha!
You have recorded a new promo, are you looking for a label again? Any changes in songwriting or lyrics… any female vocals or synth passages this time perhaps?
– Yes, of course lots of synths and romantic feelings on new promo... we are romantic gothic warriors, we like to drink red wine in a moonlight at graveyard and wearing silk gloves while writing romantic poems inspired by the vampires who are lying in a grave surrounded by roses....
We will do new record for very big label because all this is so trendy and we make really good money with and get very famous. All money goes to the new gothic clothes, roses and maybe we buy three bottles of red wine too.
Maybe we buy some gothic style instruments made by the customized and original way.... guitar with rose shape, bass with the shape of wine glass and drums should look like gravestones with some spider web around. Cool isn't it?
Every gothic slut should contact us as we need lots of them to raise our visual look to the next album, also they can join for a backing vocal parts. It doesn't matter can they sing, it's only enough that they look nice....
Do you have a zero tolerance for the use of synth in (black) metal?
– Yes. that doesn't belong to metal, fukk synths... Try to imagine Sarcofago, Sad x or Nifelheim with synths... worst than nightmare of being married to Jehovah witness! If someone likes synths, no problem... but never call that metal!
If one of the Urn songs became a hit in the radio or even in charts, would it be a bad Urn-song?
– No, as I know there will be no a radio hit.... or maybe our new song "romantic warriors” would be the one? This kind of music we play will never come to mainstream. So don't be afraid Tommi, you don't have to hear our musick from radio!
Damnation Records did release “I Am Your Nightmare” 10”EP and “666 Megatons” CD but then they just disappeared, do you know what happened to them and did you get everything you should have got from them? How many copies of “666 Megatons” CD was actually printed?
– Actually I didn't know they are going stop as a label after releasing ”666 Megatons”. We were playing in Holland with D666 and Carpathian Forest and that tour was a kind of goodbye to Damnation Records. Jeroen told me that he still do Pentacle and Urn vinyl but when I called him and ask Urn vinyl, he said he won't do that. Costa from Iron Pegasus was interested to release it and he told a long time ago he'll do it. Suddenly he didn't wanted to do it, one of the reasons was, didn't know for sure was this the main reason but Jeroen wanted ten percents of vinyl for himself and Costa didn't want to give so much copies for him. As we have the rights of the album and no reason to give huge amount of copies...!
No Sign of Life will re-release ”666 Megatons” in CD-format and also on LP for the first time, but the album is not remixed and the thin sound is still there, why? Are you satisfied with the album otherwise?
– Album is remastered and it is really heavy sounding now... except the drums are still really fukking shit. Mr. Oksanen like the album, so the label gets my gratitude as he is doing finally a vinyl which I have been waiting for years... As soon as it's out, I really get drunk and listen to it whole fukking night. It's a really big thing for me to get the vinyl. On vinyl will be also very much bonus stuff as CD version includes an 11 track live gig and on vinyl the same plus new promo. So it's a re-release but still there is much new to offer and the sound is good. It's a good album but I hate it!!
Video of your gig in Tampere on the 22nd September 2004 (supporting Bestial Mockery) is featured on the NSoL-release as a bonus… does that video present Urn at its best?
– Hahaha... Tuska made his best. One and only gig without bigger mistakes as he did really bad work for Urn in every fukking gig. Only reason was 'cos he was so nervous before the gigs, so he wasn't the right drummer for us as we think we are a total live band and that's why we keep going on... we want to play gigs as hell!!!!
You did play at the Hellbanger's Festival in autumn 2004, what was it like? Did you see any other bands there? Did you do your best to maintain the Finnish drinking tradition cult in Germany?
– Hellbangers was really great time, we met lot of people and drink lots of Pitburger (that's the best!!!). Haha... I miss some bands just 'cos of drinking with Desaster bastards! At least I see Blitzkrieg sound check and Throneum gig... and some songs from Metal Inquisitor. Really great live band! Nice time, unfortunately too short time being there. Well, next time will come soon and this time we can enjoy a few days more... arghhh, Pitburger, yes!
Urn has been playing gigs more often during the last few years. Are you trying to boost Urn to finally achieve more attention because I think Urn is still very unknown for many metalheads who would appreciate your pure and authentic style?
– I think we have been the same all the time. I have just been thinking how the hell it's so hard to get the gigs from Finland and recognition from the magazines etc. Don't blame us! Fukk the all bastards who hasn't come to our gigs. Aaarrrggghhh!
Blackvenom has been playing in Urn for some time, but is he still just a session member?
– Blackvenom is in a current line up. He moved here, so finally we can enjoy each others more... we are gays both. So it s really great we can finally conquer Tampere and Finland with devastating new tunes of destruktion! We fukk the posers bitches in the name of Urn.
As I don't know the facts, I am eager to hear what lead to the fact that ex-Barathrum members Pimeä, Infernus and you, Sulphur, did form Urn already in mid 90s and a few years later you were alone with Urn… how did this all happen?
– Well, I moved to Tampere in 1998 and founded too hard to travel all the time to Kuopio rehearsing with the others. I wanted to move forward with Urn and try to find members from Tampere, but surprisingly it was impossible! So good fukked up was what I got then. Years after trying to move on have made Urn maybe going even more down and more worst sometimes. Luckily Blackvenom and Pimeä helped me out many times doing a sessions when needed line up for gigs. For now it seems everything goes better than ever!
How are the things between you and Sova nowadays? Any opinion of the last album of Barathrum?
– Fine I think, I talked to him in Helsinki some time ago. He was just got out from hospital (well, everybody knows what happened to him...). He was sober and it was easy to talk with him. So no problems. I don't have anything against him. In the past we have been good friends but many reasons leaded us to other directions, but what the fukk, however, we are not enemies. To be honest, haven't heard newest Barathrum but the albums what they made to Spinefarm are too overproduced, so I prefer more older ones. Sanctus Satanas studio session is total killer, also old studio session somewhere around ´94 which supposed to be MLP or split (I am not sure which one), represents Barathrum as its best!
What's your opinion about all these reunions of old thrash bands? Does their comeback ruin some of the original feeling? Can you name any of these comebacks which you actually like?
– Reunion seems to be very common and it seems time have passed too much and all the reunion bands cannot reach the same feeling what they had in the past. Good reunions are Destruction, Judas Priest (Judas Priest is thrash, right?) and Hobbs Angel of Death. Long live metaaalllll!
Record labels like Nuclear Blast and Earache started way over a decade ago as small labels and are now very big and well-known. Do you think such labels are actually one of the reasons metal music is so strong and appreciated style nowadays? Or do you disagree with the whole thing and metal is nowhere near of being stronger than before?
– I think the labels which have started as small ones and grew big selling labels are happy with that they earn lots of money with that. If they want to do it for earning lots of money, let them do. I would be glad if I own the biggest label on universe and get lot of money with it. Then I have enough money to do really cool underground parties and invite every friend over the earth at same venue. And do really cool and looong metal gigs. I can give you a playing list of first party here: Nifelheim, Exciter, W.A.S.P., Master's Hammer, Nunslaughter, Repulsion, Master, Toxic Holocaust, Iron Maiden, Desaster, Impaled Nazarene, Sodom, Destruction, Törr, Deströyer 666, Vomitor and Warfare. So loooong night. Everything for free, but only for the maniacs. Interested to join this party, are you enough metal for this? Well, for me in true underground metal hell money doesn't rule. It is fukking same which label is big and good selling as I never listen or buy their overproduced products. I only metal... what the fukk I am saying????!? Is Judas Priest in small or big label? How about Iron Maiden, hmm, maybe, I still only metal... and always metal should be metal. And this shows I lie to you all the time, like now saying don't care about releases of big labels.
When and how you entered the world of metal music and when did the listening experiences lead to the decision that you wanted to play metal music too?
– I think it was 1983 when I heard Slayer first time which immediately melt my brains and lead to the path of endless metal hell. 1984 W.A.S.P. album was the most important release for me, I really don't remember how I get into it... just remember walk in to record store with my cousin and we bought W.A.S.P. LP. I have grown with metal music and being in to it over 20 years, so I guess it comes out naturally to please my soul with metal worship .
What is your source of musical inspiration today and has it changed during the years in any way?
– Iron Maiden, Exciter, Sodom, W.A.S.P., Slayer, Bathrory… hahaha... I am old fukking stupid bastard and listen to that stupid old school shit... it is so fukking idiotism to listen old shitty sounding metal, right. All true evils prefer only high quality super production huge selling bands, like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, right?
You prefer vinyl-formats instead of CD, is this only because of the feeling and nostalgia?
– Yes, what the hell you have if you hold a crappy CD in your hands compared to vinyl format. On vinyl you have much more, even the sound is much better.
Surprisingly many people who consider themselves (true) metalheads don't know or don't like the bands of the 80s. Is it necessary to know and maybe even appreciate the past especially if one is playing metal, what do you think?
– No.... why should they have to know 80's bands? Everything which come from eighties are bad sounding shit. Let the bastards do their unholy shit without knowing and understanding the feeling of metal what was it like in the past.fukk off!!! I have experienced it and it's essential part of metal history. Sorry...
Is alcohol and metal together the only way to go? Is it still ”sex, drugs and rock'n'roll” and shall it always be?
– Everyone decides what they want to do with their life. Personally I am not into drugs as I have seen what the result will be...
You have lived quite a long time in Tampere already but what is it like compared with Kuopio? Is Tampere a better place for a metal musician?
– For now yes. In the past Kuopio was very different town compared to Tampere or many other towns in Finland. It was more like a big brotherhood but suddenly everyone disappeared and things changed a lot. Now Kuopio is total shit poser faggot town! There is still old friends left but the feeling of the glorious days have gone...forever! Talking about Tampere, here isn't so much people in to metal but I think we have good scene for now. Not so many but cool heavy bastards anyway.
You have been a tattoo artist for a long time and occult/satanic symbols are no problem for you but are there anything you would deny to tattoo even to a friend who seriously wants that?
– All pictures concerning Christianity are total poison for me! Religious idiots should put Jesus dildo in their ass and feel the real pleasures instead of dreaming what is coming after death.
You are a busy guy having a band, job and family… how has the fact of being a father affected or even influenced your musical ambitions and dedication?
– I'll do my best to raise new metal generation... for me that doesn't change anything, do I have kids or no. I still only praise the metalhell. No problem for me, if it's problem for someone I'll gladly talk about this "face to face".
Tell me the future plans and goals of Urn, anything you haven't told yet?
– We have started to work with the new trax and probably in the end of this year we enter the studio to record second full length "heavy as hell". Also we try to do as much gigs as possible. so mostly things are the same what we are doing all the time...
Anything you want to ask me, go ahead!?
– Where is your vinyl collection?!?
– (Tommi): Lost and forgotten long time ago.
Utgard (Fin) download HERE
Questions Joni Virolainen
Northern black metal … Utgard interview made by Joni Virolainen in the end of 2006.
How are things currently going in Utgard's lair?
– Orch: We're currently waiting for a couple of albums to be released. The first in line is the Utgard “Utgard” album's CD version and the t-shirts from Die Todesrune Records. Later the vinyl version will follow by the same label. There's also “compilation” CD titled “Brethren of Wolves” coming from Witchammer Productions, which consist two of our demos and two tracks that didn't fit to our albums concept.
You have been playing over ten years. Can you name any special moments from the band's career? How do you feel about that despite the long timeline you are still quite unknown band?
– Orch: I think I'm living my special time every year, every month, even every day – otherwise I would simply quit this band, and search something else that could fulfill my needs. I don't see a point going on, if everything feels somehow unsure or doesn't have reason. Right now, I'm pretty confident that I'm doing the right things to reach my priorities. Even if we have had such a “long” career, and are rather unknown, that is completely irrelevant of what we really want from this band. Our purpose is not to get famous to typical masses by any means. Also, Utgard is still a pretty young band comparing to time we've been active between the Burialmound. So, it's not that many years - maybe three or four.
How has the response been comparing Utgard and Burialmound? Why two different bands with same members ?
– Orch: We simply came with some really different material we were playing with Utgard, so it was a natural decision to separate these two bands and change the name. At the time, I was a bit fed up with the current commercial trend that Black Metal was going on to and thought to create something different for instance. Ironically then, Death Metal came to be a trend and something similar happened for me as before. As for now, I really don't care about trends or such anymore – I just concentrate on doing something that I really enjoy and I'm good at. Sometimes it's better to see things from a distance to really know what you're wanting. This time from a Burialmound was a good learning experience and it was a vessel to tighten up my vision and my ideals.
– Wakboth: I was never in Burialmound, neither did our new drummer!
After the release of Devil's work Burialmound was put on ice and Utgard made your active band again. Did the problems with Sound Riot play part in this decision?
– Orch: I don't know was it that big reason for the Burialmound's split-up. Usually it takes more than one reason for things like this to happen. Of course the delays are frustrating and it eats up your creativity, but the band also had fair share of other problems that would eventually lead into something like this, no matter what the influences from outside would be.
Northern glory demo was quite standard material and at parts monotonous, yet somehow manages to captivate enough to visit my deck every now and then. How do you feel about your debut release?
– Orch: No doubt, it's the one of the finest performances we've achieved, and it's definitely a great cornerstone to build on a career. We were young, ambitious, and very determined to create something really “big” from our perspective. Of course it was at parts very naïve, but that was also the driving force behind it, and seeing it that way, I think we managed to get it sound rather convincing. Even if it's a bit lacking in musicianship, the atmosphere makes up for the most of it. I'm rather happy that nowadays it has got some recognition that it really deserves.
– Wakboth: I have no interest whatsoever to listen to Northern Glory these days…It's a good demo, better than Nightly Verses at least, but I'm just fed up with it.
– Raven: I like it, as all of our releases. Is there point of releasing anything if it's complete shit? I put my soul to every song and that makes them important to me. Every Utgard and Burialmound recording is and will be great.
The demo was also re-released by Mirgilus Siculorum. Do you think there was need to release it again, as it was quite typical primitive BM of its time ('95)?
– Orch: I don't know if it was that much typical release at that time. We had a particularly dark sound and influences apart from which others didn't had, at least around here in Finland. We blend the harsh sounding DarkThronish elements to the Southern Europe stylish riffs and atmosphere blended with some nationalistic touches. Not many did that at that time, or even now.
– Wakboth: The re-release was a good thing. This way the younger listeners have now a chance to get that tape. I didn't like the cover/artwork though; it should have been with the original cover! I guess the others agree with me in this.
What about the second demo, Nightly verses ? The songwriting had become tighter and this time there were synths added. Apparently you weren't completely satisfied with the demo, as there haven't been synths on any releases after that?
– Orch: Seeing it now, it's definitely the weakest release from Utgard, and not only because the synths, but for the whole songs and the atmosphere. Still, it has it moments, and someday it sounds rather good, but it's not something that I would like doing over and enjoy. Of course when it was done, it had a very deep meaning, but I could not feel it like the same today. Still, I'm not saying it's that bad record overall, but I think we have the ability to be far better than that.
– Wakboth: Few good riffs, that's all for me. Also that excessive use of synths annoys me. They should have had me in the band back then, hah.
Two previous Utgard releases, Great years of blood and the ancient ones , contained previously unreleased material from 1994-2000. What do you think about the material so many years later?
– Orch: Sadly, these tracks were never recorded in real recording studio. They sound a little flat, and are at times hard to follow, but some of them were really good and captivating enough to get released both in lyrical and musical aspects. Maybe we could use a track or two in the future from these demos and re-record them – I think they could fit in as bonus tracks on LP's f. ex.
– Wakboth: Great releases both. In fact, I really am more into these than ”Northern Glory”!
Your deal with Sound Riot turned out bad, with numerous delays and fuckups from the label's part. It's easy to be later the wise, but why did you choose to become involved with them in the first place?
– Orch: Easily said, it was stupidity on my side. They offered a nice looking deal, but I didn't take their background into account, nor did I question it. Thankfully we're now through it.
Any insults you want to send to the label's way?
– Orch: I don't think any insult would be enough for them!
Why were the Black Death songs released again on the Devil's work CD?
– Orch: This was because those jews wanted to sell this record bigger quantities, and they thought that “an album under 40 minutes won't sell on some biggest global distributors”. Obviously, we weren't asked about this.
Cover of Devil's work 's cassette edition has a picture of the church of Saarijärvi, your hometown. Why was this chosen for cover? Has it connection with the album title, message being that the church hasn't been able to stop you from doing the Devil's work?
– Orch: Well, we were always closely related with our hometown church, and it's one of those places that have gotten some of our real attention, so we decided to give it a special place in our covers.
– Raven: Devil and church (Christianity) will always walk hand in hand.
Did the problems with Sound Riot influence the songwriting as the album is (in my opinion) your least noteworthy release with quite trite songs? Compared to Devil's work , your new album sounds much more inspired.
– Orch: No, absolutely not! They didn't have any influence on our songwriting. I, at least, believed that this time the album is going to be out in time. I think the main reason why this album might sound uninspired, is because the sounds are quite horrible – to say so - and they lack the desired punch that is needed in Death Metal. This album still sounds better overall in my opinion compared to Black Death, and it actually also has some references of what we're doing nowadays, so it's not that uninspired at all. You just have to dig it deeper.
Tape edition of your self titled album has already been released and Total Holocaust will release CD later, but what about vinyl?
– Orch: As you may have noticed, THR isn't going to release the album; instead it will be Die Todesrune Records. THR is currently having some problems, and they said they could not release the CD until next spring, and we were free to search someone else to publish it, if we were to find one before the spring. So, obviously we did find, and the LP is also coming out.
Is there any deeper meaning in your pseudonyms, as they seem quite cliché?
– Orch: Yes there is in a way, the pseudonyms are a way of reflecting the feelings that we get from the music and what we want to reflect to others too. There's not any real “deep” meaning on those - which is probably what you were after, and I guess there isn't necessary need to be something like that. They're just a vessel into our music and they fit better into the concept than our birth names.
Raven, most of the Utgard's lyrics deal with anti-christian hate, darkness, death and northern myths whereas Burialmound's lyrics are more about horror, misanthropy and blasphemy. Let's take a look to the purposes (both internal and external) of the lyrics. What do your lyrics mean to you personally? And what effect do you want them to have to the audience?
– Raven: Basically I write stories, dealing with mentioned topics. Stories reflecting my visions, interests and way of thinking. If audience gets into the songs that's good, but I don't want to share any guidelines or whatever. I write lyrics to make songs complete and living organisms. Once finished they will live forever.
Your views have been Satanic since the beginning, but you have also written lyrics about Paganism and northern myths. What are the common ties between them?
– Raven: This is in me and North is my home and will appear through Utgard songs, lyrically and musically.
How important do you see lyrics in Black Metal?
– Raven: Music and lyrics are equally important to me and both must be in balance, without the other tower will crumble. Of course if music is created to serve only instrumental aspect, lyrics aren't needed.
How do you see nowadays your early actions that gained you some trouble with the police and certain reputation in your hometown? Has the fervour burned out or been channeled by other means?
– Raven: Times change and so does the enemy. Other means are necessary to point the blades to right direction. Maybe the churchburner in me has been evolved to mosquedesekratormoslemslaughter.
Any hints for unholy (phone?) terrorism for young and impressionable readers? Any memories you wish to share?
– Raven: Only hint I can give is: Get your ass up from chair and do something.
What made your long time drummer Mordja to quit from the band? I recall him, Orch and Raven once talking that Utgard/Burialmound probably couldn't continue if one of the three long standing members would quit. Was it hard to carry on without him?
– Orch: Mordja lost his interest on doing this kind of music – he also concentrated more on his “everyday life” and became quite distant from me and Raven during past few years he'd been with us. He did not share the same beliefs or thoughts anymore and was getting into all kinds of new-age shit. We did not see a point to let that ruin our band and its soul, and decided to part the ways with him. That was a mutual decision also from his side. Some people tend to change along the years – some in totally opposite directions and without real reasons or for lack of interest on one's ideals – and these changes have taught me to be vary of people's commitment; and as for now, I think I could see better who has the “real soul” and who are capable of progressing on their path rather than just having some fun to be part of something “different”.
Wakboth left both Utgard and BM scene for years and you weren't in particularly good terms with him on the time when he left the band. How has the reunion worked out?
– Orch: We are in good terms with each other right now. Wakboth has always had a great understanding on how to create some memorable music – he brings that harsh and aggressive edge to our music, which is a part that I'm not handling so well.
– Wakboth: I got so bored with the whole thing, Utgard and BM-trend in general. Well, things come and go. I have this kind of music in my blood, so it was just a matter of time to ”get back into it”. I was thinking about it back in 2000-2001, to make pure black metal music again. At the time, I was doing black thrash (with the original Utgard-drummer Janne btw!). It wasn't until the summer `05 when this thing popped into my head – why not ask Orch to form a black metal group? We almost immediately thought, ”why not Utgard again!?”…Fortunately Raven committed into this too! Some months ahead, we found this great drummer Them. Yes, we had our ”disagreements” in the past but so what. We all get along well now.
Quote from an interview with Watain (Grievantee Journal #1): "We have become mediums of something far greater than our own yearnings, and where it is taking us, we cannot know." Do you see the making of music as self-expression, self-exploration or channeling forces beyond your own being? Can Black Metal be approached as mere entertainment, disregarding the ideas and intentions behind it?
– Orch: I fucking hate all the entertainment – there's nothing more around today, it's on the TV, radio etc.! You can't go anywhere without being affected by the media and the entertainment. It's on the most bands (in BM scene) too – they just want to be loud and they find Black Metal to be entertainment for the people. I have learned during the years been a part of the “scene”, that the ones who are the most “loudest ones” and who have most to say of all the stupid shit, will usually wither away in some time, and no-one remembers them afterwards.
How do you feel about the change of the underground metal scene, when chatrooms, webzines and filesharing have mostly replaced earlier ways (fanzines, flyers, tape trading, releasing tape demos)?
– Orch: That's hard to answer actually, as it is in connection with all the other evolution in technology. So, from that point of view, it's definitely not the direction which I want to go… But still, why not gain some advance from it, while it's the most common way to speak today.
– Wakboth: I hate this new shit! In a way Internet destroyed the (metal)underground… It's more and more like some clash of the egos, people playing with each other in messageboards and such. I don't follow any sites, boards anymore, it was even quite fun at first! Hah, ”fun” usually doesn't last long. Sure there are lots of ”good” people too, but I've had my share.
Most people find concept of death too depressing or frightening and don't want to think about it. What are your views about death?
– Orch: I certainly don't fear death itself or don't find it frightening, but something that I fear is, that am I worthy enough to die, and have I lived a life that I could be proud of, or would I carry it as a burden on my shoulders afterwards. That is something that makes me really live.
Nature has inspired Utgard quite much, so how do you see current environmental state? What are your views of radical ecologists, such as Pentti Linkola and Theodor Kaczynski?
– Orch: Radicalists and radical plans are needed, if we really want something to change within the earthly aspects. I can't say that I wouldn't care about the future of our planet, if I won't be involved in it in the future. We're born here for a reason, and I believe I have a reason to find that reason, and try to learn from it and share it with those of worth. Right now I'm sharing it with my music. This is really a wonderful planet to live, and sooner or later it's going to be destroyed. Definitely, I want to be the ones to replenish it and to rejuvenate it to its healthy and ancient form, even if it needs some radical planning and actions. In my opinion, it would be narcistic for not to care about it and jump into same wagon as all consuming capitalistic modern degenerated citizens. Someone might argue over this, but I'm a rather earthly person with earthly believes. Gods did not want this world to be destroyed; otherwise they would not have to create it (earth) at all.
How do you feel about the current surge of Islam in Europe? Do you think that it undermines Christianity or could the Moslems become even worse enemy?
– Orch: You could easily see at today's Christian nations that they're the worst pestilence around, but other way around, I think it is just our Christianity and our modern world that is doing it. One thing that I “admire” in Moslems are, that they're so insanely devoted of their religion that they won't give up and are willing to fight, instead of being gutless and spineless like Christians, who have lost their faith in everything else than in technology and some integrated moral issues, and don't care about anything in their lives. Still, the surge of Islam is not something that I want to see happen here, as then there's one enemy more to fight; and as mad as they are, they could easily be a bigger threat than gutless Christianity has ever been.
– Raven: As I mentioned earlier, priorities may change. Whole globalization and “be happy family” shit disgusts me, moslems should never be part of Europe. Just too many cultural differences, let them build their clay huts buried in sand.
There have been couple of Nationalist/NS references in Utgard's releases (black sun symbol and "Sunwheel" track on the latest album and lyrical lines about "pure Northern race" on Northern glory ). Do they have a deeper place in the band's ideology or are you just playing with the theme as many other bands nowadays are doing?
– Orch: Nationalist references and ideals had always been a part of Black metal and its Satanic ideals, and they're very closely related. I don't see a point to rule out either of them since they're so close, and I think we could benefit on both ideals, and that is what we have always been doing. I never had liked the sole negativity of Black Metal and I have always tried to bring the “positive” things to it, and I feel that the NS references that we have, are bringing that to our music. I think we're doing the “right thing”, so I don't see a point why would we want it to sound negative or depressing rather than hopeful, triumphant or purely joyful. We have some songs that are rather depressing and that suits on some themes, but I don't want sound like that all the time, as I'm not a negatively acting person in any sense. That's very degenerating in my opinion.
– Wakboth: I hate mixing of the races and the idea of multi-culturalism. I've been interested in subjects like the history of Third Reich for years, but I really can't describe myself as a national-socialist. NSBM is one big trend, some good some bad, like in every scene basically.
– Raven: There is national romanticism in my lyrics, because I love my Fatherland and feel sad for seeing it sacrificed on altar of globalization and false blood.
How do you feel about NSBM? Right wing attempt to gain hold of BM scene for recruiting purposes or natural political manifestation of BM ideals?
– Orch: As I stated before, it has been a part of Black Metal since the beginning, and both share some similar ideas, so what's the point even calling them out in different names. As in general, I think it has been a huge trend nowadays to label your band as NSBM, just for the sake of it, even if you are just a typical band with some trendy images and lyrics on the cover sheets. I don't like the way to be categorized in any sense, as it's puts you in a sort of a space, where there's nowhere to go, and in time, you'll be dried and starvated to the core.
Now that you have stable line-up, are there any gigs in sight? Any other future plans?
– Orch: I have not been a big fan of gigs or haven't seen them as necessary for any reasons - I don't really like to visit other bands gigs either. I'm not after the “attention” nor do I want to be in crowded places, so it has always been a better option for me to listen to bands records at home. Obviously many bands want to do gigs, but that just isn't for someone like me, who doesn't want just to entertain people for the sake of entertaining - I'm not that kind of person. I'd prefer to do things patiently and one move at time. But still, I'm not completely ruling out the gigs either – we have three more persons, and if they're willing to go, of course I would come along, but I just don't see them as a must and something that all bands must do.
Thank you for answering this interview. You're free to close this any way you like...
– Orch: Thanks for this interview, which no doubt has been the best and most depth that we never have had. Please, check out our debut album, which is also soon to be released as CD and later on vinyl. Hail, Hail, Hail!
Varathron (Gre) download HERE
Questions Tommi Hakonen / Answered by Stephan Necroabyssious
This is the 3rd time I interview Varathron in Dark Moon ‘zine. These questions were answered by Stephan Necroabyssious already in spring 2005. After the interview their unbelievably bad luck with the labels seem to continue as Black Lotus Records faced some serious problems and Varathron must find new label, again. Hopefully they manage to continue after all the problems, at least some new material is already recorded…
I interviewed you in Dark Moon ‘zine #5 (1998) and as it was my 2nd Varathron interview already, I asked if you remembered my first one… here's what you answered;
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!
Now, nine years later, Varathron is featured again in Dark Moon ‘zine… how does that feel and do you think we could arrange yet another interview again in the future?
– Well, thanx so much for your support all these years! Yes, I remember what I said to you in 1998. Believe me, I wish the same thing again. Because we have plans for more new albums in the future! Varathron rose from our own ashes like a phoenix and will reign again!
Because I told you about the trustworthiness of Pagan Records before you signed a deal with them, I think it's your time to tell what happened with them… was it all worth it?
– After the release of “The Lamen of Gods” and the re-release of “His Majesty at the Swamp”, we had new songs almost ready for a new album on Pagan Records. The problems coming not only from Tomasz but most of them from us! Tomasz, he had some personal problems and he can't release “Crowsreign”, but the most serious problems coming from us. Our synth-man gone to obligatory army service, our “old” guitarist had troubles with his job and last our drummer enjoy a band with a different style of music. So, all these things together was our big delay! I left alone and I tried to “save” my band! Yes, we're back again!
After all the shit from Pagan Records, you still have put Tomasz on your “mega thanx for the big help” -list on the new album… sounds odd, so what is the reason for this? Shouldn't Panos' name be on that list then too?
– Well, as I told you, I think Tomasz he never was against us. Besides, he helped us with our “The Lament of Gods” and he was very good in our agreement on this album. I'll never say the same thing for Panos, ultra thief!
Did you ever receive anything (money or free copies) from Still Dead Productions, they released the Mercyful Fate tribute-CD which included your version of “Nuns Have No Fun” and which was later used also for “The Lament of Gods” MCD…
– We had troubles with that release. I talked with Julious from Still Dead Productions, when he planned to release a tribute CD to Mercyful Fate. His idea was the first, before the tribute to M.Fate, which coming from Listenable Records. So, we recorded a song for a tribute, “Nuns Have No Fun”, and I send it to him. Then the problems was coming. First, he never give us the money for the recordings what he told me on his letters. Second, the tribute was delayed so much, 2 years, I think, because some bands delayed the cover songs. And third, he never send me the free copies he told me. Only 4 copies for the members. I send to him so many letters but I never received an answer. After some years, I saw the tribute under the license of Dwell Records. I send a letter to them but I received a zero. So, that was the story for this tribute!
What happened to the plans of releasing your stuff on Megatherion Records (Greece)?
– Hmm! The years between our release “The Lament…” and our release “Crowsreign” was so full of troubles, fake promises and so big disappointments. About Megatherion Records, was a fake dream, too. The guys from a Greek Metal Hammer had an idea to make a record label and they wanted us. So, I was so happy, because they had a lot of contacts and the distribution was so great. But the things are changed. They never created a record label, only a distribution label with a name Megatherion/Sound and Vision
You had also some plans with Nazgul's Eyrie and Iron Pegasus but they never went any further, what was that?
– The same thing, brother! Opyros of Nazgul's Eyrie/Barbarian Wrath now. He wants to release our new album, but he had some problems with his health and all the plans are gone. About Iron Pegasus … I never received a “clear” reason from Costa, just some words; “is not right time and we'll working together on a future”. As I told you, I tried so much to make a deal with any label, but I had so “bad luck”, because I found only troubles and nothing else!
Ordealis Records did release compilation LP with your demos, 7”EPs and some live material, are you satisfied with this release?
– Ordealis Records makes a great work with that vinyl! I think it is a cult release and I say a big thanx to them, because they help me to exist the of our band in a distribution lists. This release was so perfect in time, for Varathron. I salute them!
Mutilation Records (Brazil) did also release 2CD with both full-lengths and MCD… are those albums in their original form, without remixing, and is this release meant only for the South-American markets?
– Sergio of Mutilation Recordssent me a mail and he had a plan for a “trinute” double-CD to Varathron. He wants to put our two full albums and one mini-CD, on original forms, on a great DCD for our fans in Brazil. Yes, this DCD released only in Brazil, but I saw it on some lists in Europe and Japan, too. The lay-out and the design is so good. He makes so perfect work and he is a honest person.
You released “Sarmutius Pegorus” promo in 1997. It has three tracks from the “Crowsreign” album… even if the tracks have different versions on the album, but was this promo for finding a new label in the first place or what was the reason for it?
– As I told you on our letters, before the release of our mini-CD, we had a lot of new tracks for a full album. In 1997, we recorded 3 of them and we sent them to the labels for a deal. Also, the same tracks are in our new album “Crowsreign”, with a different members, of course, and different versions. Besides, from the beginning, these tracks belong to our new album.
Why did you use the track “Grim Palace” for the re-release of “His Majesty at the Swamp” by Pagan Records… is it taken directly from the promo?
– Yes, Tomasz, he told me for a bonus tracks on the re-release of “His Majesty at the Swamp” and we put the “Grim Palace” from the promo 1997.
Your 3rd (!!) album, “Crowsreign”, was released at the end of 2004 by Black Lotus Records, over seven years after the first plans with Pagan Records' releasing it etc. It must have been a great feeling to have this stuff finally released, but do you think that without Black Lotus and this cursed release, Varathron would even exist anymore?
– Of course, the satisfaction is so fantastic, for our new album and the big help of Black Lotus Records. Well, the big reason our existence is my “passion” for my band. I found new members and with their help Varathron is alive! Then, Black Lotus Records given us a great help, we signed on a great label and, in general, we are satisfied with all!
Did you realize that there are a mistake on the track-list of the CD? “Creation of Satan” and “A Vision of a Nameless Soul” have changed places on the covers…
– Yes, I know, it's a mistake on a record-factory and this mistake will not exist on our vinyl-release, which coming from Agonia Records in September 2005.
I think the cover-art of “Crowsreign” is not too good, and I know many people have also thought that way… It was created by Seth (Thou Art Lord, Septic Flesh,…) who is also an art-director of Black Lotus Records among many other things past and present, what is your opinion of the cover and other art in the booklet?
– Well, I don't like the cover, too. I told to our label but was almost too late, because they print all the covers, booklet of our album. Also, Seth makes some mistakes on booklet, too. Especially on my thanx list and one big for me is this; “I dedicate our new album “Crowsreign” to my blood brother Thomas – Quorthon from Bathory who live us before months”. So, Seth, he forgot to put these words on booklet. I already send my full thanx list to Filip of Agonia Records and I think will be done great work!
I didn't like “The Lament of Gods” MCD very much but the new album sounds absolutely brilliant. It has much more synth and other melodic parts than on the first two full-lengths and that has caused some controversy because this is “new” style for the most old Varathron fans. What is your opinion of the Varathron style of today?
– First, I think the style of Varathron is the same on a basic level. The new album have an instrumental tracks and more synths, because the most songs written by our synth-man, Bill and our old guitarist Kon! Varathron have a lot of atmospheric parts on our tracks from our beginning! I think the new album is a “step” beyond the “Walpurgisnacht” album. The next album will be more doomly and fast on the same time. Will be just another blasphemic opus!
The sound on the album is very powerful and I think Praxis Studios is one of the main reason for that, am I right?
– Yes, the main reason for our “new style” who you tell, is the new sound of Varathron. Yes, we have a new sound beyond any “misery”-recordings all of these years! I think it's the first time, Magus of Necromantia told me a lot of times, who Varathron have a professional sound! Lambros, sound-engineer of Praxis studios, and Magus, they make so perfect job for this! Rules!!!
Storm studio used to be the place where you recorded the earlier albums together with the mighty M.W. Daoloth… now he is a producer (and running the Black Lotus Records as well) but how much Mr. Zacharopoulos has helped you during the latest, hard years?
– Magus, G.Zacharopoulos, he helped me from our first album. We're so great brothers all of these years and we continue our friendship. George, helped me on the production of “Crowsreign”, but almost helped me so much, when we signed on his label, Black Lotus Records! I say a big thanx for all to him!
Almost all the songs of Varathron, since the beginning, have been credited both lyrically and musically for Varathron but are you responsible for the Varathron's music / lyrics after all?
– Well, I wrote the lyrics for Varathron songs. Also, I say my opinion for the music and together with the other members we create the final “face” of any song. I don't write songs, because I don't know any instrument so good, only a little bass!
Greece has very strong cultural and historial heritage but Varathron has never really been band with strong (at least direct) patriotic approach in the lyrics but much more occult touch, do you agree with this opinion?
– Yes, I agree with your opinion. Also, we put some ancient Greek elements on our music and on our lyrics, too. I love our ancient history and one point is our new track, “The King of Asine”. But I never made an album for it. Besides, a lot of bands here talk about this point!
What is your opinion of NSBM? There are lots of more or less NSBM bands also in the Greece, do you have any connection with them and do you support any of those bands?
– I know some bands here and out of Greece. I have a metal radio show, here in my town, called “Twilight Zone” 98.7FM, and I support any band which send me promo stuff.
Another great come-back emerged in 2003 as Black Lotus Records released “Rebirth: Metamorphosing into Godhood” by Acheron… What you think about this album?
– Acheron is one of my fave bands through the years. I love any work of them! Total Satanic rules!!!
What about Thou Art Lord's “DV8”? Many people hate it because it doesn't sound the good old Thou Art Lord anymore but I like it a lot, and its satanic atmosphere is very strong.
– I don't like so much, but I like the new one, “Orgia Daemonicum”, which have a “sick-rotten” sound like Possessed.
Black Lotus Records has very diverse catalogue of bands… and I can honestly say that the most of them are not my cup of tea at all, what about you?
– Well, Black Lotus Records have a lot of bands and he signed many new bands now. Some of them I can listen some others no, but it's a “policy” of any label. If you have a label, and you want to live, survive from it, you'll sign a lot of bands. Not only the bands which you listen on your CD-player.
When could we expect the new Varathron album, which should be released by Black Lotus again as you have a deal for three albums with them? Do you have many “new” songs already made for it? At least you have had time to make songs during all these years or did all of them go for “Crowsreign” after all?
– As I told you, my brother, the tracks on our new album “Crowsreign” are “old” on a basic level. Now we have a lot of newest tracks ready. The new tracks are created after the last album. Our next album will coming from Black Lotus Records and I think will be out on the early days of Autumn 2006 because we'll recording on the spring of 2006.
You told me several years ago that your new album is a nightmare with all the problems with studio, labels, members, etc. Did some of the old members leave the band just because everything seemed to be so fucking hard and frustrating or did you kick them out…?
– I never kick out any members of Varathron from a band. As I wrote you, the problems was so big. Bill, our synth-man gone to obligatory army service, Kon, our guitarist had problems with his job and last Spyros, our drummer he enjoy a new band and he played hardcore. So, I stay alone. Then I decide to reborn my band here in my town Ioannina. Also, Bill return to Varathron, after the army service and now we're so strong again! About our new album, yes, was so “cursed” because when I closed one problem today, tomorrow a new one coming! Members, labels, distance between Athens and Ioannina, 450km, and so many personal problems are enough to make you a total zombie! Anyway, now all belongs to the past. We have our own place for rehearsals and we're so united!
Do you still have a contact with the former members and what are they doing in 2005?
– Yes, I have contact with them. Jim Mutilator have two record shops now. John, our first guitarist, is working on a club like dj. Spyros, Captain Death, he is working on a bank he have a family. Our guitarist Stavros, have the band Horrified. Kon, Pyrphoros, our last guitarist have a family. Spyros, Wolfen have a hardcore band Lifecode. Adrastos, our old synth-man, is working on different works. I don't remember if I forget someone.
Varathron line-up on “Crowsreign” is Stephan (or is it Stefan now?) on vocals/whispers, Bill “Crazy Wizard” on synth/piano, who was also on “The Lament of Gods” MCD and two new members, Achilleas (guitars/bass) and Haris (drums)… where did you find them and did you have other people to choose from?
– As I told you, I found the new members here in Ioannina, my place. They played on some local bands here. Also, we have a new members only for the gigs, Sotiris on second guitars and Apostolis on bass.
You are almost 40-years-old (38 I think) and other guys look quite young in the photos, what is it like to play with those guys? Do you feel (too) old in the band and in the underground?
– Well, yes I'm old on the age, but I have the same passion and energy like my first years on the band! The other members are so young and they give me their energy, too. I don't want to split-up my band and I don't like to think something like that. I'm strong and I continue!
We're so strong than the “typical” – every-day rutin of our life, cause we lived on a glorious past times of underground!!! Today all are so “fashion-victims”, so empty on their words, their interviews and their music!!! Stay untouchable!!!
Something you wrote me some years ago, any opinion?
– I'm still alive with this! I live with my memories from the glorious past times and all these memories given to me so power and so strenght to continue on our band Varathron. Also, our times are full of “kings and queens” who blind your eyes and still your dreams. Ronnie James Dio say this on “Heaven and Hell” and is absolute right! Today a lot of fake bands, ideas, emotions, values! The evolution is perfect on science level, but on human character, personality is total decadence! So, stay untouchable!
You have also other activities within underground, introduce them for us!
– I'm a singer on a black metal band Chaotic Symmetry and I have a metal radio show, called “Twilight Zone” 98.7FM and I support any metal band who send me a promo stuff! Also, I have a side-project band called Wolf, but I never release something because all my attention was on Varathron. Now the things with Varathron are going great and I make something with a Wolf soon.
I have a Varathron t-shirt which was made for “Crowsreign”… this must be cult stuff as it was made several years before the album was released, how many shirts did you actually sell? Do you have plans to make new shirts, to “celebrate” the new album?
– The Varathron t-shirts are so rare stuff! When I printed some t-shirts are selling like a mad! I say this because all these years I printed some t-shirts, except one design who released from Pagan Records. So, now Agonia Records will be print some shirts Varathron and I keep some money from my summer work to print some new soon!
Are you still in contact with some people from the early days of Varathron? I mean, old members and also other people who you were corresponding with 15 years ago…
– Yes, I'm so “traditional” person who I still have my big correspondence via my post pox! A lot of old friends, mags, bands, labels. I like it, because is so strange all these situation. So, great friends from 1988!!! The most of them I never saw. This situation born a strange feeling! when you live it, then you feel it! Great!
What is the situation with Acherodion, Chaotic Symmetry and Enoch, bands you have introduced me during the years?
– Acherodion, is a band which I created with some other guys. Never make something and split-up before make anything. Bad luck!
Chaotic Symmetry is a black metal band, I sing on them and we'll release something new, soon.
Enoch was a band who I helped on production for their first demo tape but now is R.I.P.
Anything you want to ask me?
– Good question! I don't have anything now! I just say a total great thanx for your support and your powerful friendship all these years!!! You rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Total support for you and for Varathron! All the best for the future and I hope we will meet some day, and at least you will be featured in Dark Moon again…
– Thanx very much, I wish the best for your magazine and I tell you this; we walk again on the next years, in interview I mean!! It's not a promise, it's an oath!!!!!!! Hail and kill!!