I spoke to Brisbane Black metal band Graveir’s singer, Gloom on life on the gold coast (Think The Jersey Shore), Black Metal in Indonesia and the wall separating God from Humanity – this was a fun interview to do – so make sure you read it!
* So first and foremost you guys are from the Gold Coast in Australia..What’s it like to live there ?
We are actually from Brisbane, the Gold Coast is a separate city further south. Personally having lived in a number of cities I enjoy Brisbane, despite its humid and unpleasant summer the lifestyle is far more relaxed than other cities and it is close to nature. It has developed its own character in recent years with a number of restaurants, bars and music venues opening.
* Is there much of a metal scene in Brisbane? I would imagine its predominately techno party music there..no?
It’s in reasonable health with a handful of good bands, venues and regular international and local shows. As always the number of people attending shows could be better but this is a problem everywhere.
I don’t really pay much attention to forms of music I am uninterested in so I can’t speak to that in any detail. Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast has always seemed to produce a large number of death metal bands. Portal, Temple Nightside, Disentomb, Laceration Mantra, Impetuous Ritual and Grave Upheaval are some of the current bands that spring to mind.
* How hard is it to keep a group of like minded band members together? I speak to a lot of BM bands that end up being one man projects or duos just as its so hard to find 4-5 guys all on the same wave length?
It is both difficult and incredibly easy at the same time. Creating the right environment and bringing in people in who will thrive in that environment is the key. Graveir had been something I had been working on for a number of years prior to moving to Brisbane but it was always intended to be a band. I was content to let it sit for as long as it needed before entrusting it to others so have been fortunate enough to have chosen well to the point where we all hold ownership of the band and have the same understanding of what is and isn’t right for Graveir.
Everyone owns the band and must take responsibility for its well being by word, thought or deed. The greater quantum of effort goes into creating and maintaining a collaborative and productive working environment. It is natural for everyone to have periods where motivation waxes and wanes, the other members should act as the counterbalance to that.
* Growing up what got you into black metal? I know Death metal has been huge down there for a long time and bands like the Berzerker did well down there (In fact doesn’t Luke Kenny spend half his life in Brisbane these days?)
I’d say it was a natural progression of constantly searching for new music and moving to things that are faster and heavier until you reach a point where you want more than just heaviness and go looking for deeper emotional and philosophical content and a sense of conviction within the music.
Queensland produces quite a few death metal bands and it is a style that continues to be well received. As for The Berzerker I don’t believe they have been active for some time at least not to the best of my knowledge.
* Unlike many Black metal bands these days who record on home studios you guys hired the local professional studio – what made you guys choose this route? Was it easy or tough to get the in house engineer (producer) to go with your sound?
Recording at home is an option however would require far more time and effort on our part, we have enough comfort to demo material and to record dry guitar tracks but a bigger project would be a large learning curve and perhaps not the best way to properly present the material. Choosing to record at Adversary Studios in Sydney was an easy decision for us. Aaron has been a friend of ours for many years so already understands us and were looking for recording wise intrinsically and he shares similar tastes and interests so is very much in his element from a recording standpoint.
* From memory Queensland used to be very conservative back in the 70s and 80s? Do you still get many upright concerned citizens turning their noses up at you (or worse) when you play local shows?
It’s never occurred in the time I’ve lived here. Queensland is conservative but that’s somewhat split between those who are conservative versus those who would just prefer the government had less interference in peoples day to day lives. I think the areas that are largely conservative tend to be further north and fall more into the latter category.
* Do you guys play regular shows in Queensland or do you have to travel to NSW and Victoria to do so?
We have had a pretty steady run of shows along the east coast this year (Melbourne, Wollongong, Sydney, Brisbane). As far as shows are concerned it is our preference not to play more than 2-3 times a year in any one location. Furthermore we choose to do shows based on our interest in the lineup and will not do shows simply for the sake of doing a show. Playing shows is not a money making venture so that leaves personal interest as the only valid reason to do anything.
* Have you toured the whole country yet? Unlike America I am sure there are very few places to play out side of the major cities?
You are correct, outside of the capital cities and the smaller regional cities there are very few places to play and the distance between locations often necessitates long drives or costly airline travel. The east coast run is the cheapest and easiest to do by far. If the right lineup was put together we’d welcome the opportunity to play some of our more remote capitals like Adelaide, Perth and Hobart
* Have you guys made contact with Black metal fans in Asia at all? I know China has a big BM scene although I would imagine places like Indonesia would not take kindly to any form of “blasphemy”
We’ve has very little contact with Asia thus far, but hopefully that will change this year. You may be surprised about Indonesia. It has a number of large metal festivals and is by all reports an excellent place to play with attendances in the thousands. Indonesians tend to favor grindcore and brutal death metal and the president Joko Widodo is a Napalm Death fan. In comparison Australia has no real large scale extreme metal festivals and attendance would be in the hundreds at best.
In fact, Japan and Indonesia are probably the two main Asian destinations as far as playing shows is concerned. As far as blasphemy goes I think most countries couldn’t care less unless you blaspheme against the dominant religion. Any anti-religious themes within our music tend to be more by implication and subtext rather than overt blasphemy so it would be a difficult to mount much of an argument.
* How did you guys get to be on that Terrorizer compilation cd? You get any interesting feedback because of that?
Promo is a surprisingly not as difficult as people may think. Either one of two things happens someone approaches you with an offer or you approach them and you take things from there. In the case of Terrorizer I simply emailed them an enquiry and they got straight back in touch with me with the terms to which we agreed and that was it really. Bands will regularly get approached with various offers or requests.
If you are going to spend money do some research and spend wisely. Any major publication is guaranteed to require payment, Terrorizer is no exception however it was reasonable for what they were offering and there has been an increase in activity on our websites so I would consider it a wise investment.
Nothing by way of feedback as a result but as a wholly independent, self-managed band it never hurts to have another channel to get your music out to people.
* Iconostasis by definition is a wall of icons and religious paintings – why did you guys decided to name your latest album that?
The title was XI’s idea and one which perfectly reflects the band. An Iconostasis is more specifically supposed to be a representation of the link between God and humanity, however common people are forbidden to enter the doorway in the Iconostasis so from another angle it may also be viewed as the wall separating God from humanity reflecting the arrogance of organized religion and the submission of those it considers inferior. At yet another level it can be viewed that religion is the wall separating individuals from the God within themselves which is each persons own ability to project the force of their will, strength and intellect into the universe and by doing so shape the world around them.
A lot of our lyrical content focuses on the exploration of the sacred and the profane often being one and the same dependent on perspective so the title and artwork seemed a perfect distillation of that concept.
* Are any of you guys practicing pagans in real life? if so what faith?
Not really no. Religion holds more of an interest for me as a sociological construct. Religion makes far less sense today than it ever did. For example polytheistic religions such as the Greek and Egyptian pantheons of Gods made far more sense representing facets of nature or of humanity. These gods were used as a form of explanation of the operation of nature and society and these gods having been created by humans were not infallible all powerful beings, they were subject to cruel, petty and irrational behavior and in that regard were no better than the people who worshiped them.
Monotheism if anything is lazy creative writing, where stories, powers and characters can be condensed into a single being with no explanation other than “God is all powerful, just because”. Monotheism starts from the position “there is only one true God, and it is mine” which must inevitably result in conflict where more than one religion exists. Polytheism allows for the worship of any number of gods for any number of purposes without one necessarily being true over another. I’d identify more with trying to act consistently in line with one’s own personal code of ethics and morals over blindly adopting someone else’s. This is a sentiment shared by the other members as well.
* Does the band have any goals to play Europe or any of the Americas?
The goal is always to play on lineups that we would go see if we weren’t playing on them. Whether the opportunities present themselves here at home or overseas is of no consequence. The chance to see more of the world is always welcomed however.
* What can we expect from Graveir in 2017?
There will be a number of smaller releases throughout the year which should keep everyone busy while we work on the follow up to Iconostasis. We have some plans in the works with regards to shows but discussions are still in very early stages.
* Any final words for your fans?
We are humbled by the support. 2017 will not be an idle year for us.