Bruder Des Lichts

Joel and I have been trying to get this interview happen for some time now and we finally got it locked down. Read on, to hear Joel tell you the correct way to say the band name, what it was like to work with David from Woods of Ypres, Siegfried Meier and the meaning of Metachthonia.

* I’ve always been a fan of your guitar playing – how long have you been playing guitar and how did you get into metal?
Thanks for the kind words! I’ve been playing guitar since I was fourteen-ish. Had listened to all the 80’s Metallica at this point, but really well and truly got into metal when I downloaded the guitar pro tab for Lake Bodom.

* What are your thoughts on Black Metal in 2017?
Alive and strong. Some great atmospheric stuff coming from all corners of the globe. Definitely different from its origins in the 90’s. Now it seems less political and less extreme than it did at first—I think we’re just accustomed to it and its harshness. Those seeking harshness find it and are at home there. I feel like today it’s less of a medium for political expression and rebellion than it once was, and more a canvas. Black metal allows one to express a multitude of dark wondrous sonic atmospheres, the sort of wide and spacious atmospheres that heavy and complex lyric matter can float through endlessly. It seems a great medium for that at the moment.

* Canada has produced some great black metal bands over the years (Sortilegia, A.M.S.G, etc) – what do you think the uniquely Canadian “spin” on black metal is say compared to Scandinavian, French or American black metal?
I really couldn’t pin down a specific Canadian sound. I think that Canada, because it’s so geographically vast and demographically sparse in relation, has many, many pockets of sound, a state of affairs which makes it really difficult for a genre or spin to emerge. The result of this, however, is that I think Canada has something which no other place has, and that’s this ability to house many, many genres — all of which done with authenticity — under one national umbrella. A lot of the Prairie and West Coast bands like Manitoba’s Wilt, for example, have a Cascadian black metal flavour, a very dense atmospheric take on it, but the lyric matter of which is uniquely Canadian. Quebec’s Catuvolcus had this ferocity and unwavering Gaulish richness to their music and lyrics, which is a sound evocative of Europe’s alpine countries. Quebec’s Forteresse have qualities of the harsher French sound. But it all manages to feel Canadian.

The first thing about black metal is that for it to be listenable it must of course be genuine. I think the Canadian sound is unique in that, as a country with so many tremendous threads of heritage, it can credibly ally with so many different flavours of black metal.

* Didn’t David Gold come up with your band name? How do you pronounce in and what does it mean? I know people today who have problems pronouncing Ypres (EE PRAY)
Now that you mention it, I think there is something alluring about the unpronounceable. Some mystery to it. Maybe it’s just new words, which is the realm of the unpronounceables, I suppose, but it allows the listener to apply their own intuition and taste to it. I’ve heard Thrawsunbl-AT, Thrawsunbl-AHT, Thraw-SUN-blaht. To each their own. I’ve heard Ensif-EAR-um and EnSIFerum, and the half the fun is the mystery. The origin of the Thrawsunblat name, however, is that when David and I were coming up with it, he suggested a word like this huge Germanic dude laughing, slamming a stein of beer on the table and shouting, “Thraws und blaaaaat ah hah hahhh!” which was perfectly pertinent to us, a pair of Canadians with our thrash and blast, who no matter what our output were necessarily and inherently making a sort of bastardized version of northern European metal.

* Can you help me figure out the timeline – where you already doing Thrawsunblat before you played in Woods of Ypres? And if so how did you come to join WOP?
Sure. I bought Pursuit of the Sun from Dave via his mail order business in 2005. After that we kept in contact via mail and I mailed him two or three demos over the years. In 2009 I sent him one he particularly liked (Black Sky) and he said “Hey Joel! Want me to drum on an album for you?!” Which was a jaw-dropping moment for young me, of course. We recorded an album that year, which became Canada 2010. Then the next year in 2010, Woods was touring and needed a lead guitar player. Dave asked me to join. It was sort of like Dave Grohl asking me to join the Foo Fighters, so I jumped on board. Thrawsunblat went on hold for a bit, though I would write Thrawsunblat lyrics on the road with Woods. It wasn’t until after David and I wrote and recorded Woods 5 in 2011, that I was able to give Thrawsunblat attention and energy, at which point I went straight into writing mode for Thrawsunblat II: Wanderer on the Continent of Saplings.

* You worked with Siegfried Meier on Woods of Ypres “Grey Skies and Electric Light” it must have been a weird experience to work with him again or?
Not even remotely weird. Metachthonia was our second time working together since Woods 5. We’d chatted a lot after David’s passing and really were sources of healing and restoration for one another during that time. Working together after on Thrawsunblat’s second album, Wanderer on the Continent of Saplings was a seamless process. Then for Metachthonia—by now we’ve gotten to know quite well how the other works, and Sig is just so damned good at what he does and is such a kind, quick to laugh gent that it really is a pleasure through and through working with him.

* How do you feel the production of this album differs from your previous releases?
Metachthonia is intentionally different from the others — it’s a revisiting of the black metal landscape of the first album, Canada 2010, but in a different headspace. If the albums were spectrums of colour, Metachthonia would feature less of Canada 2010’s greens, and more rich blues, browns, and blacks. With the cellos and the overarching lyric themes, Metachthonia is darker, more refined, and more specific in its production. I think with the longer, more immersive songs, it’s more somber and reflective in some points, and louder and harsher in others, all with a wider array of atmospheres. Metachthonia is of course quite organic – the colour and texture of a bonfire.

* Your album that came out this year, Metachthonia – most of the songs seem very “get back to nature” is this a theme that you are focusing on for this album or is it something that you are aiming to do as a lifestyle? (example the Wolves in the Throne room guys all live on a rural compound together)
An album of course – at least for me – is a compendium of all the things a person ponders and wonders and explores and tries to solve throughout the course of a year or two. The things I found most dissatisfying were the ones involving what felt like the slow dissolution of my connection to the outdoors. While the lyrics may seem a rally cry for others, of course the album is almost necessarily a rally call even more for myself.

* How do you craft your songs? start with a riff ? a drum pattern? a mood you want to convey? please explain
It is always different for me. Maritime Shores and Goose River started off as lyrics, as did Once Fireveined. Most of the Canada 2010 album started out as music. If it starts with music, then music itself usually originates from me exploring a certain mode, mood, or atmosphere – then I just stay there and write. A riff will happen and, if I’m lucky, then sometimes the rest of the song is just a sort of “well it obviously has to go like this”, and then rest of the song almost becomes more of data entry than of creation. That’s when it’s easy. When it’s not easy, it usually involves sitting in a room and playing a riff, then changing it here and there and playing it until it’s no longer boring. Then finding another non-boring riff for the next section. After that comes bouncing the demo to mp3 and walking around outdoors listening. It’s an exercise in hearing a song fresh and in listening to the momentum of a song, noting when the demo goes in a different direction from how it could or should. Then adding the edits to a new demo. Sometimes I entirely forget about songs, dig them up two years later and put them on an album.

Which actually brings me to the drum pattern you mentioned. This six-song album was, after five songs, in a state I considered complete. But after listening to it for a little while, I wasn’t happy with the first section of Hypochthonic Remnants—which was one of these songs I’d dug up after about five years and put on an album. So I scrapped the first section and using the same drum pattern rewrote it, which then of course didn’t meld with the second section. So I wrote a new second section, which of course didn’t mesh with the final part, so I rewrote that too. So there I was with ten new minutes of music, only having intended to rework the first minute of an old tune. But that’s the how Dead of Winter was written—completely from scratch when I was unhappy with the first section of Hypochthonic Remnants. I of course then re-rewrote the first third of that, and this time it fit.

* My understanding is the title Metachthonia means like the end of this world? This civilization? Is that right? If not what do you see it standing as?
Not the end of the world, at all. It’s this modern age. It’s us, here. Now. It’s a time unique and entirely different to any other age. To discuss a thing, it helps to name it.

And Metachthonia is my way of discussing us, here, now as an entity – what problems exist now that once didn’t, what our daily routines say about us as a culture, how we navigate all this new electronic noise, its effect on us in our endeavour to find happiness and meaning in this wild new world we’re all thrust into.

* Have you done much touring as Thrawsunblat? and if not why not? Any plans to bring the band on full tours? or just one off type events and festivals?
We still haven’t played a live show! Though I play Black Sky, Maritime Shores, and Goose River all the time with the acoustic band I started in town called Oak, Ash, and Thorn. Would love to do some events and festivals with Thrawsunblat, but it’s difficult being in North America, what with the huge distances between cities. We’re working on it though.

* I just ordered your vinyl from Broken Limb Recordings today – how did that deal come about? (the vinyl looks amazing BTW)
Thanks! Glad you dig! The vinyl came about because Rae was working with Broken Limbs Recordings for her own project, Immortal Bird. Pete from BLR, who liked the album, wondered if we’d be interested in putting it out on vinyl, which took very little deliberating on our part.

* What future plans do you have for the band?
More albums! Got the rough idea for the next two albums planned out. With Metachthonia, we’ve just done our long-song album, so for Thrawsunblat 4 we’ll probably go back to something more or less a cross between Canada 2010 and Wanderer in terms of song length and riff style. I had a lot of ideas for Metachthonia which weren’t somber or atmospheric enough, but which will have a warm home on the next record.

* Any final words or shout outs?
Big thanks to everyone for their support, for listening and spreading the word! Thrawsunhats will be available soon! Going to pick them up today, actually!

Today I spoke with the guys in Totenwelt – an up and coming Black metal band from Sweden, we talked about life in small town Sweden, bitterness against society, The raw beauty of the German language and much more. Read on.

* So you guys are from Gothenburg? How’s the black metal scene there these days?
That’s not entirely true. One of us resides in Malmö in the southern part of Sweden but since two of us live in here and we all spent our formative years in a small town just outside Gothenburg it felt convenient enough. I am not the right person to ask since I close to never attend any live events anymore, due to lack of time and perhaps commitment. Jocke would be the one to ask since he is more active in the music scene although mostly in Malmö. I must however mention a band called Walk through fire which In my opinion, although perhaps not black metal, create the most beautiful misery and darkness and did a great show last year I think it was.

* Did you all grow up in Gothenberg? If so you must have seen some great metal shows back in the day. Which ones were most memorable?
As previously mentioned we all grew up outside Gothenburg in a picturesque little shithole of a town called Alingsås. But we tried our best to catch shows whenever our limited funds allowed us. We had the pleasure of seeing a lot of inspiring (and the opposite) foreign and Swedish acts such as Dissection, At the Gates, Morbid Angel, Dismember and Dark Funeral to mention a few. Those shows played a significant part of our own ambition to create music. The impact that these shows had on us, at the time, was truly significant.

* How did you get into Black metal growing up? Who were the first bands that really made you sit up and say “God damn”?
The first time I heard “In league with Satan” by Venom my pubertal senses peaked over the charts. It felt almost overwhelming and you just wanted tear shit apart. Same experience when I first heard Chemical Warfare by Slayer or Arayanism by Napalm Death. A few years later, this repeated Itself when records with bands such as Mayhem, Dödheimsgard, Emperor, Enslaved, Burzum, Dissection, Darkthrone and Dark Funeral, to mention a few, started to present themselves to me. The grimness, raw aggression and mysticism appealed to me and one just wanted more, and faster and uglier…

* Totenwelt means world of the dead – correct? How did you come up with the name? is it more in the Zombie / Walking Dead type of thing or does it have a different meaning for you guys?
In our interpretation it is more something in the line of a dead world, lifeless and it reflects the overall concept of Totenwelt which revolves around more hands-on matters then the stereotypical themes of the genre. Topics such as is pessimism, general resentment and bitterness against society, humans and to an extent life itself. Together with cynicism, general discontent and strong antireligious values. Life sucks and then you die and it’s never too early to quit.

* I really like the work on your ep. Människohataren is a nice change from the break neck speed of many black metal artists – almost has an industrial feel to it – how did that song come about?
Actually, it was first considered, more or less, an introduction to the song, Äta skita sova dö and it revolves around the same Chords as the verse riff of that song. The ambition was to create something that felt slow, monotone and hopeless. And, as we messed around with it, the result we ended up with became lengthier and disgusting enough to deserve an own title and spot on the recording. We do enjoy a lot of different genres of music and industrial music has a lot to offer in the way of creating darker moods in my opinion.

* Were you pleased with the response your EP got you guys?
So far, we haven’t received that much response but the response we have got has been overwhelming and we are truly grateful that people find it appealing. And as we haven’t actively spread our music that much either we are all quite busy individuals with our respective careers, families and commitments that consume a lot of our time it is great to see.

* It sounds like the spoken word is German and not Swedish – is this correct?
It is indeed German which is a language we tend to use in our lyrics because it carries a certain rawness and an overall classic tone which we find suiting to this concept. Our first lyrics were all in German but over time we have moved more towards our native language. But who knows maybe our next stuff will be all in English.

* What does Människohataren mean in English? is there a direct translation?
It means the nihilist or the person who hates people and derives from the fact that we used the German dubbed monologue from the movie “Seul contre tous” which is something of the lead inspiration and concept for this Ep. If you haven’t seen it yet you must. It is a fantastic portrait of human downfall.

* How old were you when you first started playing guitar? Did you take lessons at all – or were you self-taught?
I am indeed self-taught and started quite late playing the guitar since all other guitarists and musicians surrounding me did a far better job and put a lot more effort into becoming good at their instruments. I did a few efforts at playing the guitar in bands back in the nineties but never felt I was up to the task and lacked the motivation and needed to evolve into a real guitar player and never really aspired to be one either. The guitar was more of a tool for creating music for me and I ended up singing or playing the base instead. Over the years, I have grown a bit more accustomed to playing it but it is still mostly a mean for composing although I have reached some level of skill and taking some enjoyment in playing it.

Robert on the other hand started playing about the same time as me and evolved to a whole other level of skill then me and is overall a far greater musician than me.

* Has the band played many live shows yet?
None so far. Totenwelt began as an outlet for my personal need to write this kind of music whilst either playing other genres of music or not playing at all, at times. Over the years, it evolved into a band containing three people preoccupied with a lot of other engagements in life. It is only in the last few years we have become more productive and even touching the topic of performing live. The other hand of the matter is that I have never really felt the need to perform live and never really enjoyed it all that much especially without numbing myself which sometimes took a toll on the performance.

With all that said I wouldn’t want to exclude the possibility of a debut show in a near future but it would require us to involve more people that share the same attitude towards the music which can sometimes prove to be a delicate process.

* When you guys are not making music what do you like to do in your free time?
Family commitments, sex with oneself and others and self-medicating to numb the sometimes-overwhelming boredom of existence.

* What can we expect from Totenwelt in 2017?
We are just starting to rehearse for an upcoming full length recording which we hope to record late this summer if all goes as planned and who knows, perhaps an on-stage appearance.

* Any final words for your friends and fans?
Att leva är att lida så bit ihop och lid! And thank you for the support and listening to our music.

Go listen to their EP here:

Today I spoke to Raw from Nightgrave – Experimental Black metal from New Delhi India. We spoke about the Black metal scene in New Delhi, Musical Equipment in India and much more – check it out

* Can you tell me a little bit about life in New Delhi?
Life’s hard. It would be a huge surprise if it wasn’t. Living, at least, in the capital of a country gone awry would seem to have a few perks. And they are there, it’s just that the prevalent shitty stuff far outweighs the handful of pleasures out here. Ludicrous traditions, arrogance in ignorance is sadly the norm. Mainstream art is guaranteed to be utter shit. Clubs, pubs only serve the purpose of dishing out exorbitant prices and cringeworthy bollywood hip hop at all times. Live performances mostly revolve around some douchebag pressing play on his laptop and sadly, the hapless, helpless youth eat that up because they have hardly ever known or understood the crushing depth of originality or maybe the mainstream media has them ever so successfully blinded. And the rate at which dumb cunts in the country reproduce is just off the charts. There’s a good chance of getting stuck in a jam whenever you plan to drive. The tube is always a better option but that too is massively crowded more often than not. People aren’t all that bad though or so I would like to think. Nature is within reach. Food’s good too.

* Is there much of a black metal scene in New Delhi?
If there is one, I haven’t seen it. Although I did catch a few black-ish acts about a year ago. It was in a small pub in Vasant Vihar. I can’t seem to place their names but a couple of those bands were good. I don’t think any of them were from Delhi though.

* Are there Indian brand guitars and musical instruments available to play Black metal or do you have all the brand names we use in the USA?
I haven’t been able to invest much time into trying out Indian guitar brands. I don’t think there are any good ones but I could be wrong about this. For now, what I’ve got is a Schecter Demon-7, an Ibanez Rg and a Takamine acoustic.

* How about recording studios? Many bands record at home using their laptop but some people prefer hiring a recording studio – what do you guys use?
As of now, it’s a home studio set up with a fairly decent effects processor running through an equally decent DAW.

* How did you find out about Black Metal?
The introductory phase was initiated by the legendary Emperor. Thank human for the interwebs.

* Which bands are your influences?
Plenty – Emperor, Drudkh, Katatonia, Neurosis – to name some

* Have you seen any European Black metal bands live?
Satyricon and Enslaved about a decade ago. Outside Black, seen Meshuggah, Megadeth in recent times.

* What are your favorite Indian Metal Bands?
I’m sure there are some good ones but nothing springs to mind.

* Can you recommend some Indian black metal bands for our readers to check out?
‘Kouros’, my erstwhile project. It’s not specifically black metal but it somewhat stems from it. ‘Fragarak’, blackened death.

* Do you play live at all? If so do you have any plans to tour India?
Since it’s a solo project, a gig is something that would require a live line-up. I’m looking forward to working towards that and making touring possible as and when the upcoming album is completed.

* How did your record deal with Transcending Obscurity come about?
The usual process, I sent them the links and hoped they liked the tunes which, as it turns out, they did. Mr Choksi got in touch promptly.

* What can we expect from Nightgrave in 2017?
A couple of full lengths and a couple of EPs.

* Any final words to your friends and fans?
Thank you very much for the support.

https://nightgrave.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nightgraveofficial

This week I spoke to the guys in Sol Sistere – Atmospheric Black Metal from Chile – we talked about South American UFO hot spots, The Chilean Black Metal Scene, surviving some serious Earthquakes and much much more – read on!

* So you guys are from Santiago Chile right? Chile has had a great and long history of classic Death metal bands – but is there a very strong Black metal scene there at all?

Yes, we’re from Santiago, the capital of Chile, which is located at the very center of the country.

As you mentioned, the Chilean death metal scene (same as the thrash scene) dates back to the 90’s, and it’s still strong in the whole country, especially in the old school sound. Regarding the black metal scene, it’s quite rich now, but it’s kind of new, something that has been developing in the recent years, and it’s mostly focused in the center and south of Chile. The sound of the black metal bands is very diverse, you can find mostly dark and raw oriented music, but also some melodic and very few atmospheric projects.

* How did you first hear about Black metal and what was the first band that really won you over? For me it had to be either Burzum or Darkthrone
Actually, I don’t remember the exact moment I first listened to black metal, but I do remember the first band and album that I was addicted to was Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger. I think that album is relevant until today and somehow, even when our music is mostly related to newer or more melodic stuff, you can listen that influence in the speed of our songs or the type of sad melodies of the guitar. Also, other bands that were important back in the day were old Ulver and Emperor, but I’d like to highlight the Swedish bands I later got to know, like Sacramentum or Dissection, which is still one of my favorite bands, and Dawn, who created one of my favorite albums, at least on of my top 5, which is Slaughtersun. In our music, you can hear a lot of that stuff, while trying to keep a modern approach to black metal.

* How did you get your record deal with Hammerheart?
Well, we got the deal in the simplest way: writing an email and asking. Actually, the process of looking for a label was long and it implied writing to a lot of labels of all sizes to see if they were interested in our album, which was already finished. Most of them ignored our emails, as you can expect, but we got a few replies. Of the ones who replied, most of them told us they weren’t accepting new bands or they simply weren’t interested, but even when it took them some time, Hammerheart Records were the only ones who got interested and wanted to hear the whole album. After a while, they told us they thought the album was very good and they were interested in releasing it. That was great, because HHR was in fact the biggest label on our list, so the fact that they accepted us was a big success.

* Have you been pleased with the promotion of the album so far?
Yes, we think HHR did a great job because we’ve gathered more than 40 reviews and a level of notoriety we couldn’t have gotten ourselves. It’s hard to enter the global scene when you come from South America and are actually still based in Chile, so having the support of a European label, especially an old and renowned one, helps us a lot to get noticed. We are still a very small act, but we feel that the reach of this first full-length was a great start for our career as a band.

* You guys sing a lot about life death and rebirth – do any of the band have any pagan beliefs? Wicca? Odinism? Incan?
Not particularly, but those are all interesting topics. Also, when you read a little about the beliefs of different ancient cultures, you see a lot of things in common, like praising the sun, considering it as a deity or a symbol of birth, death, and the cycles of life. That’s in part what inspires our band’s name.

* Is there much religious repression in Chile like many other South American countries have?
Well, there’s a lot of Christianity here, mainly Catholicism. But I wouldn’t say there’s really repression now, there’s freedom of religion, even when there’s basically no other religion besides Christianity, e.g., the number of other believers, such as Muslims, Jews or Buddhists here is so low that it’s probable you won’t see any of them more than once a year. The different churches (catholic and protestants) always raise their voices when it comes to decide on important matters, such as abortion, gay rights, things like that, but I wouldn’t say it’s different from what happens in the US, I mean, they can’t do anything besides propaganda and try to persuade their believers.

I remember that a catholic priest wanted to put pressure on the authorities to cancel a Deicide show back in 2005 because he was worried about the lyrics, the album covers, and the whole satanic gimmick. I recall he even wanted to forbid their entrance to the country, but he obviously didn’t have any right or authority to do so. He thought he would see a black mass on stage or something, but after the gig (which obviously wasn’t cancelled or anything), he then realized it was all just a music show and nothing more. I bet there are guys like him everywhere, but he just had access to the press.

* Are you familiar with this American TV show Ancient Astronauts? If not the tv show is about the belief that Aliens came and influenced the evolution of humanity many times in the past. Many of the historians on the show belief that the Aliens spent much time in South America – do you have any thoughts on this?
Some sectors of Chile and South America are known for being ‘hot spots’ (places where a lot of UFO sightings take place). To a large extent, this is due to the nature of our geography, our climate, and our location on the planet, that’s why we are very privileged to have a quality sky for astronomical observation. This way, indigenous peoples of South America were nourished from this same sky, and through the observation of it, they developed beliefs expressed through their myths, legends, and ceremonies, which altogether created a very special and powerful world view. These beliefs were related to a power and knowledge that come from beyond the stars, and they have been passed on in one way or another for generations, and even though this ancient world view has been lost in modern society, there is still a lot of interest to study phenomena which are hard to explain in a rational way. This is a topic so rooted in our blood that, for instance, in Chile there is an organism called CEFAA, (Committee for the Study of Abnormal Aerial Phenomena) that is an official governmental agency and part of the DGAC (General Direction of Civil Aviation), which is dedicated to the study of aerial phenomena categorized as unidentified flying objects (UFO); and among all case studies, there is a great number referred to openly as UFO (as in the ship meaning of the term), because there seems to be no other explanation. If we are talking about extraterrestrials or beings from other realities, that’s a separate issue, but if we can conclude something for sure, is that it seems to be clear that something is going on in our sky since ancient times until today.

* I remember Chile has had some serious earthquakes in its time – have you or any of the band ever been caught in any?
Yes, we have a lot of earthquakes, and it’s so common, that we usually consider the non-catastrophic ones as simple tremors, even when they’re actually stronger than the ones in Nepal, Haiti or Italy. Chile holds the record of the strongest and worst earthquake in history (Valdivia, 1960. Richter scale 9.5), and the country is really prone to telluric movements, so we, who were all born before 1985, have lived at least three major earthquakes. Our buildings are pretty well-built, though, with anti-seismic technology, so the damages are mainly in rural areas and/or near the coastline, because of potential tsunamis. Santiago is not near the coast, so we’ve never been caught in a tsunami. Luckily, all of our homes have resisted the different earthquakes.

* How often do you guys play live shows?
Quite often, actually. During 2016 I think we played a gig every month, sometimes twice. We tried to play in different cities. But now we’re resting from live gigs and we’ll work on our next album. We have several songs and we have to rehearse them and look after every detail before entering the studio, which is not scheduled yet, there are no specific dates, so I guess we also have a lot of planning to do, and temporarily stopping our live presentations is important to do it right.

* Do you have any plans to tour countries like Brazil, Argentina and Peru?
Currently, there are no specific plans, but it would be great and we’re definitely interested. We have talked to a couple of Argentinean guys, and I think that’s probably the first place we’ll visit, especially the cities of Argentina which are closer to the Chilean border, but it would be awesome to play in Buenos Aires, which is a massive city. Regarding the other South American countries, I think we have more fans in Colombia than in Brazil, for instance. So maybe that’s another possible destination for a tour.

* Any plans to tour the USA?
Again, we’d love to do it, but we don’t have concrete plans yet. So maybe there are promoters reading this who are interested, and if that’s the case, we’re open to discuss this and actually we would be very exited.

* Do many of the big name Black metal bands Dimmu Borgir, Watain, Mayhem, Marduk etc ever play in Chile?
Yes, all of the bands you mentioned have played in Chile and we have this kind of concerts all the time. In fact, Mayhem was here last October playing the whole De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album, and it was pretty solid. And Borkganar is playing for the first time in Chile next March.

We haven’t been able to share the stage with any of these big bands yet, but the bands we’d really love to play with will probably never come here because they’re not that big, I’m talking about names like Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Wode, The Great Old Ones, Void Omnia, and a long etcetera.

* What can we expect from Sol Sistere in 2017?
We are planning to record our next full-length. As I mentioned before, we don’t really have dates for our new album, but I can tell you it’s going to be similar in style as our first one, but more diverse at the same time. We’ll keep all the atmospheric and melodic elements, and we’ll show a few new tricks.

We’re also planning a short European tour in mid 2017, mainly in Eastern Europe. I can’t give you details by now, but we’re still working on getting dates and talking to promoters.

* Any final words to your fans?
Thank you for this interview and thanks to all the fans who support our music in one way or another. We’ll give you a great new album and we hope to see you on the road.

Today I spoke with the guys in Ordinul Negru – in case you have been living under a rock for the last 11 years these Romanians have been making some of the best Black metal you are going to hear in all of Europe – scroll to the bottom of the page to hear their latest masterpiece “Sorcery of Darkness”

* The name Ordinul Negru mean Black order in English? Is this a magickal path or some occult reference ?
The name represents the hidden, the essence of black metal, an eclectic cult only for a few devoted entities not for the masses, it is a personal approach, we do this for ourselves, for the sake of being alive in an environment that builds shells. This is our primary goal regarding this project, of course we interact with individuals that appreciate what we are doing, we like to play live now and then, we are happy if we receive good words and our albums are spreading into musical world, but we don’t want this to develop into a full-time job, it’s only for the soul because in our opinion this is the true statement of the art: for the sake of art not for the sake of an economic development.

* How is the Black metal scene in Romania these days as opposed to before the fall of Communism
Ironically it is less popular than it was in the nineties…there are fewer bands, but the quality has risen meanwhile…I don’t know if there are possibly ten (black metal) active bands in the scene right now.

* Do you remember how you discovered Black metal? What was the first band you heard that totally blew your mind?
I had a small group of friends and a colleague in school from whom I discovered black metal…I don’t remember exactly but I think the very first black metal album I listened was “Blood Ritual” from Samael…but also the very first releases from the Norwegian scene blew me away, and I still like and listen today to that music…Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor…and the second wave Ulver, Satyricon, Arcturus, In the woods…

* You guys have been extremely prolific with your song writing and musical releases – what drives you to be so productive – many bands do not even manage 3 albums in 10 years let alone 7 albums and numerous EP releases in 9 years
I think the passion to express ourselves, as I said we do not look for commercial success, we enjoy the process of composing, doing a pre-production at rehearsals, thinking about the songs, the lyrics, the graphic concept …taking pictures or working with professional photographers…things like that, if you are not under pressure for releasing something you are doing things naturally, without being something artificial, or because it has to be done and to be out at a certain date.

* From memory you did all the vocals up until 2015? Why the change? Do you feel more free now just focusing on the other parts of being in a band?
I just wanted to expand the project, and S is a friend of mine and a good vocalist, so I thought it will be something new and and a different approach.

* I see on your facebook you guys play live with extra members? Do you see the band as a touring entity? or would you rather focus on only playing Special events?
Well now we are a five-piece band, it developed through time, it was nothing planned, actually I wanted to record “Sorcery of Darkness” with Andrei Jumuga on drums and S on vocals, and then to work alone again for another material and to ask them for sessions again…but in the mean time we received some offers to play live and I liked the atmosphere inside this newly formatted group, so we decided to become a band, to play and record together new stuff.

* Your town is Timisoara correct? How is the music scene there? What sort of jobs do you and the guys in the band have so that you can create music?
S lives in Brasov, that is in the middle of the country, and the rest of us yes, we live in Timisoara, that is in the west part of Romania close to the border with Hungry and Serbia.The music scene is pretty decent, we have good stoner/post rock and jazz bands, but into metal or extreme metal territory there are only a few “old” guys that are still around.

Job-wise we are quite different… some are working in the corporate business, one is a professor at the University, others are freelancers as tattoo-artist or working in a musical studio; it’s interesting when we meet late at night how we transform to the other existential personality/dimension and unleash black cords into the rehearsal’s room-air.

* I know that in western Romania there are 3 main dialects spoken Romanian Hungarian and German? Is this why you included some lyrics in German on the Sorcery of Darkness release?
Actually S has German citizenship as he lived there many years, so there has been some musical passages that I though will sound better if he will sing them in German language, there is nothing more to that…also the rest of that song (In ceas de noapte) has Romanian lyrics, it was an experiment…on the new album I don’t think we will do it again, the lyrics will all be in English.

* Historically has there been much bad blood between Romanians Hungarians and Germans?
It depends who is writing that history, in the region we live in there has never been a big problem between nationalities, as far as I know we are the only city in Europe to have in three languages a state theatre: Hungarian, German and Romanian… this is one example; you can also study in this three languages(and others) University degree included…so the bad blood sometimes is provoked by others, maybe occult forces from outside of the country that have strategical interest in this area or left/right side extremists who are taking themselves too serious or have nothing else worth-living to do.

* Have you done much touring in Western Europe yet? If so what are your favorite cities to play?
With Ordinul Negru we played only in Romania until now, with other bands I toured more…I don’t know there have been many great places were I played…in China I had a great time last year for example… festivals I like also because I have the chance to play for bigger audience and meet cool peple…Hell Fest, Party Sun or Kilkim Zaibu in Lithuania (probably my all time fave festival).

As cities Paris, I remember it was a very nice experience.

* What can we expect from Ordinul Negru in 2017?
Well hopefully an European tour in march as far as I know from our booking agency; right now there are being made the last preparation before we announce the country’s/cities we will be in.

Also a new album definitely…we are working very hard in that direction these days.

* Any final words for your friends and fans?
Thank you very much for your attention and support!

The Furor are a great Black/ Thrash / Death band out of Perth Western Australia one of the most remote cities in the world. I spoke to main man Disaster this week about life in Australia, the emerging metal scene in China and other parts of Asia and inspiration found in bleak post apocalyptic films. Read on

* You guys come from Perth Western Australia one of the most isolated cities in the world. Do you think that’s a blessing or a curse for the band?
It probably leans more towards the curse side of things I’d say, but it’s still ok, we have enough of a scene here in Australia to keep us busy, and most of the motivation to do this comes from inside anyway. The biggest downside is travel expenses-It costs us A LOT in airfares to leave our hometown Perth, which coincidentally is the most isolated capital city in the world. Touring in Australia can be difficult – eg not too many cities to play, long travel times etc and to get to another country, we pay 4 times as much as anyone else.

When you see an Australian band touring Europe or America, it’s a display of pure heart, because you know they’ve spent their everything to get there. I’m lucky enough to have toured the world a few times already, but many Australian bands unfortunately never make it out into the world. People always seem interested that we are black metal band based in Australia, I guess it’s a novelty to Europeans, but I don’t reflect on it. I just write the music I enjoy. Geography doesn’t really influence my songwriting.

* How did you guys get into Black metal? what was the gateway band or artists for you? How does a “grim and frost bitten” genre of music that started in Northern Europe translate to people living in Australia?
I would generally say Australian Black Metal has more of a Thrash or Death metal influence. That dry, barbaric, straightforward in your face intent is what defines it much of the time. Sure we have bands that hang our in the fog and sing about nature and stuff, but generally I think Aussie Black Metal is more militant in approach. More like the Canadian bands. We don’t have much history to sing about, so often we just sing about WAR and DEVASTATION. Plain and Simple. The bands that turned me on to extreme metal were Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel, Terrorizer, Bestial Warlust, Destroyer 666, Angelcorpse, Mayhem, Impaled Nazazrene, Marduk, Impiety, Absu etc I first heard Death/Extreme Metal in 93 and continued from there. It was obviously the most vibrant and interesting music choice.

* How hard is it for you guys to tour down there? I know there are great distances between all the major cities? Is touring even something The Furor does? Many black metal bands don’t tour in the traditional sense but choose to play ‘events’?
The Furor has been inactive on the live front for 12 months now, but we toured Australia a lot between 2004- 2007. We did national Australia tours with Behemoth, Marduk and Nile, plus approximately 70 shows in our home town. I like playing live more than anything,but…….. Touring is a huge fuck around in Australia. A very expensive undertaking. Driving between shows is probably more trouble than it’s worth, so we fly around this vast country of ours, and that is expensive. Plus you can only line up about 5 shows for a tour, so making consistent money is very tricky. I was blown away by how easy it was to tour around Europe. Their definition of ‘hard travel’ is laughable by Australian standards. They have the world market in their backyard.

* As a 2 piece band how do you guys deal with playing live shows?
We don’t play live anymore because it’s too hard to find willing members. The lineup was stable for the first 5 years, but members left the band due to lack of enthusiasm. I reformed a 3 piece lineup for some shows last years, but again, the members could not commit. So I moved on too. I have other bands now that are more active than The Furor. The general lineup is myself on drums and vocals, ‘SOMEONE’ on guitar and ‘SOMEONE’ on bass.

It has varied quite a bit over the years.

* What’s been the biggest live show to date you guys have played? and How was the band received?
The biggest and best live show I’ve played with The Furor was probably with Behemoth in Sydney in 2006. Only bout 300 crammed into a club, but there was great energy. That was on their Demigod tour when their popularity was huge! I’ve played much bigger shows with other bands though. Germany…Wacken, With Full Force fest, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Pulp Summerslam in the Phillipines, Dubai Desert Rock fest, these were by far the biggest shows I’ve ever played, 50,000 people plus. A huge buzz. I love it.

* What’s the Black metal scene like in Perth? I have had friends in the death metal scene (in the 90s) tell me they are lucky to draw 40 people to a show yet when a big name band like Bolt Thrower or Carcass come to town 1000s of people show up? Why do you think that is? Do you think Perth people have an attitude..”oh they are from over seas they must be good or they are local they can’t be good”? or is it something else?
People generally do come out for the bigger bands of course, but the turnouts for our local bands on a weekly basis are quite good, bout 100ppl for the average weekend show. Sometime twice a week, every week….not bad for a bumfuck isolated town! A lot of it comes down to the promotion, or what else is on that weekend etc There is a large group of people who ONLY come our for International bands and know little about the local scene, because promotion of the local bands is slim I suppose, or local bands don’t have the same quality as touring bands?? Maybe… Many people can’t afford to see every show, so they just pick the big ones.

* Being closer to Asia than the USA and Europe have the band formed ties with say the metal scenes in Korea? China? Singapore ? Malaysia etc?
Yes, I’m not sure you’re aware, but I also play drums in Impiety, one of Asia’s longest running Black/Death Metal bands. In my years touring Asia with Impiety, I’ve made many strong contacts throughout Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, The Philippines and China. We played all these places and I can assure you, the scene is very active and the bands kick arse.

The Asian scene is often overlooked in the world scheme of things. I was impressed with the intensity of it when I saw it first hand. Not only the metal scene, but Asia is an amazing place to travel in general, so much diversity and history.

* Have any of the band visited the USA before and what did they think of it? Did they enjoy it?
I’ve never toured USA before unfortunately!! That’s one of my dreams actually. People tell me it’s a great place to tour. They say it can be tough, but ultimately, VERY WORTHWHILE.

* When I think of Perth and Armageddon I think of the film “These final hours” an end of the world movie filmed in Perth..have you seen it – if so what are your thoughts?
No I haven’t seen that before? This is the first I’ve heard of it?? I’m a big fan of films AND the apocalypse, so I’ll be sure to check it out.

* Speaking of end of the world / Post Apocalyptic films do you have a favorite?
The Day After was a great one, we used to watch it for inspiration. I’m a big fan of the George Romero Zombi films, very bleak and apocalyptic stuff there. The Quiet Earth from New Zealand was a good one too. The Bronx Warriors Ha! Those 80’s Italian action films set in America were great!

* Your new album is called “Cavalries of the Occult” Do any of you guys practice in the occult arts? If so which ones? and what results have you seen so far?
No I don’t personally practice any Occult Arts, although I believe there can be worth to it. The universe is wired up in a very mysterious way, and with the right knowledge, I believe you can attract certain circumstances and tap into non local powers. That’s my intuition anyway. I’ve not looked into it too deeply. I’m too busy playing music.

I’ve had some very bizarre transcendental experiences on Magic Mushrooms and DMT, so I’ll believe almost anything. Almost…. The term Occult in conjunction with the artwork featured on the cover, seemed perfect. The Furor’s music definitely has a dimension of ‘Occultishness’ to the sound, a violent bombardment of sinister evil.

* What was the recording process like for “Cavalries of the Occult” – do you go to a studio or prefer to record with a home set up?
I recorded everything at home on my own computer. The drums were recorded live in my rehearsal space, and guitars were tracked at a friend’s house. The final mix was done by Nizam Aziz at studio 47 in Singapore. Nizam and myself have a long history together. We toured and played in Impiety for a few years, he’s mixed 5 of Impiety’s previous releases which were great. It was very easy to work with him because of our history together, he knows my style of music extremely well!

* How are the songs written – since you are a drummer and a guitarist, do you start with a guitar riff or a good drum pattern first?
I always begin with guitars. I write enough riffs for an clever arrangement, all guitars, then I write lyrics/vocals, then drums are the last thing to be added. I’ll demo the songs with myself on all instruments, then I write it out for the members to learn. I think our music is actually quite riff based. Some think it’s mostly drums, but I’d beg to differ. Mindless brutality doesn’t interest me too much, even super fast extreme drumming can bore me. I need to hear riffs with intention and a story. The riffs carry the song.

* Was it always your plan to drum and sing? Would you ever want to step from behind the kit at all?
I originally started drumming and singing in 1997 with my previous band PAGAN. Then I wanted to do it for the Furor years later. I love doing vocals and writing lyrics, I always have. It can be physically demanding to do drums and vocals simultaneously, but it’s rewarding. It looks insane and it seems to command respect from people. I also sing in a Black/Thrash band called BLOODLUST. It’s great to play a show as vocalist, it gives you a whole different angle. I mosh my ass off when I’m doing vocals alone. You can throw your whole body into it, unlike doing drums and vocals.

* Do you guys have a ‘bucket list” of shows you want to play any where in the world? if so let’s hear them.
Not specifically, but yes of course, we take our music seriously and want to go to as many places as we can manage. USA tour would be great, I’d love to see your country in full.

* Any final words to your friends and fans?
Check out the new album ‘Cavalries of the Occult’, soon to be unleashed on Transcending Obscurity records. Thanks for the support thus far and I promise to do my best making the sickest music possible. Hailz!!! Urghhh!!!!

I spoke with Roel from the Dutch band Soulemission today – if you like your black metal with Dissection and Emperor influences then check these guys out.

* How did your record deal with Black Lion records in Sweden happen?
We sent out quite a few promo packages to metal labels. There were labels, also one bigger one, that showed interest but nothing really materialized. One day I saw someone on Facebook mentioning the band Hyperion. I checked them out, liked what I heard and then I saw they were on Black Lion Records. I just sent them 2 songs and almost immediately got a reaction that they liked our material and wanted to sign us. So that worked out great. It’s cool to have this album finally released.

* How did you get Niklas from the Shining to do vocals on Seas of Emptiness? Did you guys work together in the studio or did you just do everything over the internet? If you did indeed work together how did you find him to be in real life – I know a lot of people get mad at the guy (which he loves)
Niklas is a longtime friend of Benny, they also work together in Shining.

We thought that “Seas of Emptiness” would fit perfect with his type of vocals, and it worked out great! He recorded his vocal parts in Sweden and then send it to us, easy as that.

I understand if people have difficulties with him but he is a good friend of us and a professional in his job.

* Was it a deliberate choice to not have a drummer in the band? How do you plan your songs? Computers? drum machine?
The way this band started out is that Benny and myself had an idea to make some good extreme metal with variety in it. We threw some riffs around and recorded this at Benny’s home studio with a computer drum program. After this we asked Michel to join on vocals. We looked around for drummers but it’s hard in our neighbourhood to find one that fits our style. So we utalized the skills of Menthor (Enthroned), another friend of Benny, and he did an amazing job. Live we will use a session drummer and bassist for now.

* How do you guys write your songs? Does it start with a guitar riff? A lyric? An idea for a mood?
It always starts with riffs, yes. I have a riff library on my computer and I store riffs that could go together in a song. Then I’ll bring that to Benny and we record it decent on his computer. He puts the computer drums under it, then we check if it goes together with some of his riffs and that’s how we write. When the music is finished Michel will come up with the lyrics.

* What made you guys want to play black metal as opposed to say traditional metal or thrash metal?
We already played in Thrash and Death metal bands so now it was time for Blackmetal….just kidding! I don’t really see our music as pure Black metal. I think it also has elements of Death/Thrash and traditional metal. But of course Michel’s voice is pretty Black metal. What we wanted to do is play a style that was not too limited. We wanted to create strong moods, dark melodies and dynamics but still be raw. We especially like the Scandinavian scene from the nineties because a lot of those bands have these elements. So it was just a matter of playing the music we like and not care about being current or trendy.

* Does the name Soulemission mean in English Soul Mission? Do you believe in life after death? in past lives?
We threw around lots of bandnames and Michel came up with Soulemission. It’s Soul and Emission glued together. You can see it as the process of dying, the soul leaving the body which a lot of people believe. But also the outpouring of our souls into our music.

I believe in Live after Death as being an amazing live album by the one and only Maiden haha! None of us believe in religious fairytales, we don’t need that in our lives.

* Michel has been in Cirith Gorgor and Roel was in the classic band Prostitute Disfigurement when you guys formed Soulemission what did you set out to do different from your previous bands?
Well Benny was also in Prostitute Disfigurement. Him and I go way back and we’ve always been a great team. On stage, in the studio and in the bar! We had a great time in Prostitute Disfigurement and experienced a lot of cool things. The only thing I was missing was being able to spread out musically. So now we can use the occasional acoustic guitar, a synth here and there. That’s very important for me. Because I listen to a lot of different stuff.

*Eindhoven has always been a great city for metal – are all of you guys from Eindhoven or have you come from other parts of Holland?
Benny is from Eindhoven, Michel has been living in Eindhoven for a long time now and I grew up and live in a town next to Eindhoven. Of course it has a great metal history because of the Dynamo bar and festival but there aren’t a lot of metal bands from Eindhoven that made it big. Eindhoven is more famous for it’s rock bands.

* Did any of the band attend Eindhoven metal meet in 2016 ? if so what did you think? I used to attend some of the Dynamo metal festivals in the 90s – you dutch guys know how to host a great party!
Benny attends the festival every year, mostly for his job (sound engineer). It’s a great festival and always nice to meet up with a lot of people from the business again.

* Have you guys played many live shows yet? Are you planning to tour? if so what would be the dream cities for Soulemission to play?
We did two try out shows last summer. One with Dutch band Carach Angren which went great. We are hoping to play more. We are signed to Doomstar booking agency so that’s already a step in the right direction. We don’t have a preference for certain cities but of course for certain festivals…because that’s where you can show yourself to a big audience.

* Any final words for your friends and fans?
I know there are a shitload of bands nowadays and it’s hard to be recognized as a new band but if you like some challenging, varied, exciting extreme metal please take a moment to check out our band. Please leave us a reply and spread the word. And we’ll be eternally grateful! www.facebook.com/soulemission

I spoke with the artist Severoth this week read on to hear about life in the Ukraine, conflict with the Russians, his black metal influences and much more

* You are based in the Ukraine correct? How is life there? Please tell our readers what its like
– Hi, Yes, I’m from Ukraine. Well, I don’t lived in other countries to compare, so I’d say all is OK. At least I’m still alive.

* Your province is Dnipropetrovsk Oblast correct? My Ukrainian friends say this is the big industrial part of the country –  Birmingham England (the industrial part of England) has spawned some of the best metal bands in the world ? (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest etc) do you think coming from an Industrial place makes you become more creative as an artist?
Yes, I live in Dnipro.

This is big industrial city indeed, but I don’t think that this inspires me somehow… I don’t very like big amounts of people (and people at all) and prefer to be in solitude or with my family. I feel much better when I go to my special places outside town or in my journeys through Carpathian Mountains.

* One of my favorite bands Drudkh is also from the Ukraine – why do you think so much good Black metal comes from the Ukraine and Eastern Europe these days?
I think this is connected to history of our land. It filled with betrayals and blood. Our language was forbidden more than 30 times (and they’ve done it. Many people here speak Russian…) Countries tried to occupy our lands for generations (and they did it too with soviet union until 1991). In 1920s  Soviets killed mostly all Ukrainian traditional musicians and then many poets who write in Ukrainian language. They did Holodomor in 1932-1933. I think we have much hatred in our hearts. Good reason to play BM, heh?

* Countries like Poland still have a very strong Catholic influence in the society (probably why so many “satanic” bands come from there) is The Ukraine a Catholic strong hold too?
We have strong influence of church on people, but this is orthodox church. Some catholic influence we have too. in Western Ukraine.

* Is there much tension between people from the Ukraine and Russians? Living in America it is not easy to see through the propaganda of the mainstream media to know what is really going on there.
We have war in country. They started this war. I consider Russians as enemies. That’s all.

* What subjects do you sing about?
I’d call it “Nature Philosophy”. Lyrics are just my minds while I walking among forests and mountains. Also Ukrainian classical poetry influenced me heavily.

* Which bands inspired you to become a Black metal musician?
Burzum

* How do you write your songs? Do you start with a keyboard part? A guitar riff? or is it more the idea to create a “mood”?
Definitely a guitar riff. Often I hear some melodies in my head and then I pick them on guitar.  All keyboard layers I do after guitars are done.

* As a one man project do you have any plans to play live in the future? If so would you play with backing tracks or would you prefer a live band?
I don’t think that there would be some live performances of Severoth. My other project MOROK has much more chances to do live shows. I know some good friendly musicians, so gather a live line up would be easy to do. Also I already play live as drummer in Endless Battle.

* Have you traveled to many countries outside the Ukraine? If so what were your favorites?
I was in Latvia once. We play gig with Endless Battle there. To get there we crossed Poland and Lithuania. Good countries. I liked that I saw there.

* Have you ever visited the USA? If so what did you think about it?
No, I’m never been in USA.

* What can we expect from Severoth in 2017?
Third album. I’m working on it right now.

* Any final words to your friends and fans?
Be yourself.

regards!
S.