Funeral Winds – “You should never alienate the roots you grow from…”

When a certain band exists for more than a decade by releasing their own music-style (pure Black Metal) they deserve the recognition and respect as any ‘famous’ band out there is getting. Therefore I took the opportunity to interview the men of Funeral Winds. The core of their power lies within the aggressive feeling and old-school ravage Black Metal has to offer. Welcome to YOUR funeral!

Darkened hails to thee Funeral Winds! After having met some of you earlier last year, before the Behemoth concert in ‘Baroeg’, you agreed to participate in this interview. So here it is, finally. Introduce yourselves and the history about your band as well for starters.
V.XUL: People should know this by now… In short… Founded in 1991. Since then spawned three demo’s, a 7″ep, a live video, a split cd with Abigail, a full length cd, several t-shirts, several live shows, several line-up changes, and there is unofficial bootleg material, like a split LP with Demonic and a split demo with Moonblood.

Thanks again for giving me that special cd ‘Godslayer XUL’ that contains various songs from different time-lines; old and new material. I believe that after a decennium some changes in the line-up are in order. If this activity has been relevant to your status, what where the line-ups in the years ’94 and ’95, what happened to the original/session members and why did they leave in the first place?
V.XUL: The old line-ups are not relevant to Funeral Winds as it exists now, and we don’t care what happens to most of these former members. Funeral Winds is now Hellchrist XUL (guitar, vocals), V.XUL (guitar), Balgradon (drums), and Moloch (bass).

On your website I detected some other Dutch extreme bands on the ‘Links Section’. So what’s the deal with Domini Inferi, Israthoum and Lanz? Do these bands play Black Metal the same way as Funeral Winds does, and do they include any of your breed in their line-ups? Do some of you have any side-projects or entirely other bands at all you’d like to mention?
V.XUL: Domini Inferi is a solo-project of Hellchrist XUL, and brings extreme Black Metal in the vein of early Beherit and Von. It will release a split 7″ep with Botulistum early 2003, and is preparing a split 7″ep with The Parents Of Oude Pekela for later that year. Israthoum is a Black Metal band that has V.XUL on guitar, musically not comparable to Funeral Winds at all. This band released a demo-cd some months ago. Bassist Moloch is also active in Weltbrand, industrialized Black Metal, and Dark Remains, Death Metal. Dark Remains recently released a full-length album. Balgradon is also active in Corpsecandle, Black/Thrash metal like Dissection, released a demo-cd recently, and Infinity, (melancholic) underground Black Metal, which will have a full-length album released early 2003 by Spectral Arts. These are our bands… Lanz is an ancient misanthropic hate music band of Paranoia from Rotterdam, who is also behind the Black Metal project The Parents Of Oude Pekela…

Does Funeral Winds have anything to say about our own small Dutch Black Metal scene? What is your opinion concerning bands such as Cirith Gorgor, Onheil, Salacious Gods and Sauron, whom are certainly no strangers within the Dutch Black scene nowadays.
V.XUL: The Dutch Black Metal scene is a disappointment, with a sickening level of tolerance among its people.
H.XUL: Onheil is definitely not Black Metal, it consists of total losers who don’t have a clue what Black Metal is all about, they even socialize and support Christian scum! Some Dutch Black Metal bands worth to be mentioned are Hekel, Tartaros, Infinity, The Parents Of Oude Pekela, Kerberos, Fluisterwoud, Satanic Blood, and some more… The trend and traitor bands will be blotted out soon! NO MERCY FOR TRAITORS!!!
Moloch: The Dutch scene is one of the worst to be found in Europe. Full of incompetent losers claiming to be Black Metal, yet spending more time socializing with every faggot to be found in the metal scene on the internet and such, accepting and supporting bands that are betraying the very essence of Black Metal, even so called Christian ones!! I’m not saying the Dutch scene doesn’t have sincere and honest people in it, but unfortunately they are a minority. About the bands: The ones I do/don’t support know my opinion already and everyone who wants to see his band named in a Funeral Winds interview should get an aids-injection!
Balgadron: Most of the bands are fake, especially Onheil, they are a disgrace for the Dutch Black Metal scene.

What’s your opinion as cult Black Metal band about the ‘development’ of other cult-bands such as Mayhem, Immortal, Emperor (before they died), Satyricon and Behemoth. Don’t you agree with me that – especially concerning the last three – black and death are combined more often these days to produce something original, and NOT maintaining those Black Metal roots they wore so proudly back then. Personally I think this phenomenon – to make their kind of music ‘easier’ to listen to for a larger amount of consumers worldwide, since they already have made their reputation as trademark – is rather trendy thus commercial in several ways.
V.XUL: Why should I care what other bands do with their music? As long as they do not betray their Black Metal past (or the people that still hold that past in high regard), and more important, as long as they do not betray their Satanic past!
H.XUL: All bands mentioned turned into money making machines, they all turned their back against Black Metal. They all lost the true essence of Black Metal. The mentioned bands are so fucking boring!
Moloch: I don’t give a fuck. I don’t have to buy the music if I don’t like it, neither do I have the duty to continue to support bands whose music turned into shit. Some of the bands you mention I can still listen to, others suck dick. And if you are reading this because you need an opinion to check if the CD you bought yesterday at the record shop is okay, you are weak as well.

Nostalgic, more and more bands try to accomplish giving birth to the torch that has been passed on since the superior ’80s in Black Metal and other genres. What are your motivations to resurrect these ancient vibes into your music as you’ve clearly stated on your website to be inspired by Venom, Sodom, Mayhem etc. Why isn’t Funeral Winds charmed for instance by ‘extending’ their music such as those Norwegian cult-bands have done before you, introducing a keyboard fanatic extreme, or maybe turning more Satanic Death Metal alike, such as Dissection and Deicide?
V.XUL: Funeral Winds has always been inspired by these bands. You should never alienate the roots you grow from…

Are you going to put some lyrics on your website? Though the lyrics are pretty understandable it’s always nice to read what they’re really about. Besides the Satanic aspects, are the aspects sodomizing women, war and earthly cleansing of the human race your type of writings; what are your lyrics all about?
V.XUL: No, they will not appear on the website. People that want to read the lyrics should buy the album. Funeral Winds is Satanic, and our misanthropy and hatred are connected with this. Satan is our master. That’s what we write about.

Now that we’re talking about music, what do you think of the drastic changes in songwriting material when it comes to the elder thrashers such as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer And Anthrax? Maybe you neglect any other type of music that cannot be described as pure Black Metal? Surely these bands with their outstanding music back then must have been an influence one way or the other.
V.XUL: Your assumption that we neglect other types of music is stupid. You’re an idiot to assume things you know nothing about. How would you know what we listen to? Do you know us that well? The fact that these things don’t turn up in our own music, is our choice, and not a result of narrow-mindedness…

Here it is again! Give your vision on the subject Nazism in metal nowadays?It seems that more bands – especially underground Black Metal – are getting familiar with this aspect nowadays. Maybe to enhance their utter vileness and becoming more extreme? Were do you stand on this subject by the way?
V.XUL: Sincere hatred in whatever form is healthy.
Moloch: Black Metal is all about extremity in every form, so what’s the problem if some bands are spitting out their hatred against immigrants or anything? Fuck off to those who hail the Circus Maximus for killing Christians because of their belief, and at the same time are whining about some Hebrew Pigs who ended up in the oven. WW2 was the most destructive period in Europe in the last century!

In ’94 Funeral Winds was invited to Poland to headline – together with the Polish bands Kat and Vader – on a big festival called “Sthrashydto ’94”. How was this experience and how did you arranged to play alongside with Vader?
H.XUL: Everything was arranged by Pagan Records, who released our “Resurrection…” demo back then. The experience is one to be remembered.

It seems Funeral Winds doesn’t ‘get out’ much for it has been a while since you last performed. Luckily I’ve been to this very occasion (‘Black Babylon’) to see you perform alongside with Cirith Gorgor and Sauron. Have you got any more gigs planned for the (near) future or maybe to rape a festival or two? I reckon Baroeg will be a nice place to put some old-school Black Metal programme together to begin a new tour aye?
V.XUL: We have none planned. We don’t like festivals. We don’t like touring. We don’t like playing live that much, period. We narrow that down to once or twice a year. I don’t think the Netherlands are going to see much of us on stage…

Did you like the review VM put up on your ‘Godslayer XUL’? Maybe you’ve noticed I was under the impression that this year your re-released a version of this CD. Are there any more releases planned for next year through Death To Mankind Records in the vein of the 1980s Black Metal? How did you came in touch in your Death to Mankind Records anyway?
V.XUL: ‘Godslayer XUL’ was scheduled to be released late 2002, but it will probably appear January 2003. After that we will release new material on a full length through Death To Mankind. When there is more concrete news about our upcoming releases, it will be revealed somehow…
H.XUL: Sombre Records will have some vinyl (LP format) out soon with old Funeral Winds recordings, and a split 7″ with Apolokia from Germany.
Moloch: I don’t know about the review, I didn’t read it so I can’t say anything about it.

Especially the production I heard from the ’94 material is raw compared to the rest I heard and reminds me of Dark Storm’s ‘Four Lucan Emperors’, yet the material from ’02 is just as raw as it sound less thrashy overall than on ‘Godslayer XUL’. How do yourselves look back on the older material compared to your new material. I detect for one that there are a lot of Infinity-like riffs used within the new stuff. For instance, ‘From the Depth of the Earth’ resembles their ‘Corvus Corax’ and the overall sound and tunes are also quite matching. Is this due to the fact that Funeral Winds recruited the drummer from this band?
V.XUL: Soundwise we have deliberately taken a step back to the older material, to the rawer underground sound. ‘Godslayer XUL’ is a great album, but could have used a more traditional Funeral Winds sound, personally speaking… The Infinity release with the ‘Corvus Corax’ track was musically not that different from Funeral Winds. About the comparable sound, that’s probably because they’re both rehearsals… Since we all contribute to new compositions, it is inevitable to hear resemblances. But we really don’t care; it is still Funeral Winds.

Anything Hellchrist XUL likes to mention concerning the attempt for this manslaughter-thing I’ve been reading on the web? Any propaganda/warnings to enemies worldwide at all?!
H.XUL: The guy deserved it! … Anyone claiming to be Black Metal risks to get hunted down, beaten up or worse, if they turn out to be false! Traitors will die! HAIL THE BLACK METAL CULT!!!
Moloch: ??? Trying to get some sensational answers? FUCK OFF!!! To those who H.XUL pointed at: we know who you are, we don’t forget, we don’t forgive!

Thanks for the interview!