Okay, the Black Metal movement is over its top, and perhaps it is a good thing. No more people in it for the sake of hype, and bands doing their thing the way metal was intended. It is hard to come up with new ideas today, so if you have no new influences you’d better do it right. Horned Almighty from Denmark is such a band that displays that feeling. Time for an interview with a band that claims to play ugly Black Metal… Smerte preaches the gospel of Horned Almighty to us!
You made a video for the track ‘Satanic Fatherland’; why is it in your opinion necessary for Horned Almighty (or another Black Metal band) to have a video? After all, it is too loud for the MTVs of this world…
We had the opportunity to make one and it was a chance to make some visual representation of our music. It has never been on our schedule, since we don’t have one. We are not a dogmatic band with guidelines for what we may or may not pursue. The video is not meant for any commercial presentation, nor will it ever be, merely a visual interpretation of the song for those who seek it.
The way you describe what a Black Metal Jesus is, in the title track of the album, is not likely to attract many disciples… First of all, messiahs usually don’t deny that they are not the way. How did you come to this concept?
The concept is based upon the idea of a messiah reversed. Imagine how the message would have been received if the manifesto was to obtain such a discipline instead of the well-known biblical one? How would the world appear today one can only wonder. Whether a prophet has a positive or negative statement, it does not make him a lesser messiah if there are followers or disciples; thus the truth for some.
Never afraid that people might not take the band seriously when you name your album like that?
Not really. If people are genuinely interested in Black Metal, they are intelligent enough to investigate what would be the purpose of such a title. Anybody who has dismissed us because of this, well, I just said it.
Just after the release of the debut you extended the line-up from three to five horned maniacs; did you already plan that before the release of ‘Black Metal Jesus’?
No, pure circumstance. After the release of ‘Black Metal Jesus’, we were offered some gigs and we knew Aries and wanted to add an extra guitar to our live efforts. After the first gig with him, we by coincidence talked to Luger, who plays the bass, and he was given a week to learn the set before playing the weekend after. As every other metal band knows, it sounds best with 2 guitars and bass, so it was just a matter of time before this line-up became a reality.
What consequences will this have for the band, except that you will need more beer backstage in the dressing room?
Good point! But as I said before, it will enhance our live effort, which we value much. It is the best way to state your dedication, too many bands ride on the wave of having released one stupid cassette and call themselves a group! Other than that, they will contribute in the writing process of course, which can only increase the effort and strength with which our blasphemies will be performed!
What is the essence of Horned Almighty, regarding its musical goals and intentions?
Me and Soth have played Black Metal for 10 years now, so we don’t have the least doubt about which way we want to direct our musical expressions. After years of complex musical structures and varying line-ups, we want to keep it simple, ugly, catchy and most of all damn satanic! As long as we are satisfied with this, we will continue.
In the review I describe Horned Almighty as follows: Horned Almighty plays a kind of old school Thrash Metal and Black Metal, and they do it the right way. Musically, they are somewhere between Darkthrone on their more recent albums and Motörhead in their legendary NWOBHM period; Hell, if there had been a cover of ‘Ace of Spades’ or ‘Overkill’ on this one, that would have been a rather well chosen pick! That is my comment; how do you see it? In other words, how would you describe Horned Almighty to those who don’t know the band’s music?
I read a review once, stating that ‘Horned Almighty sounds like Motörhead getting it in the ass by Darkthrone’. I think that sums it up pretty much. We are not sounding like them intentionally, but opinions are like assholes, everybody’s got one, so I don’t care. Could be worse terms. We pursue our own identity and sound, but comparisons will always be made, so it is hopeless to fight the norms. We all have various sources of inspiration, but to namedrop any is indifferent. We do play filthy, Thrashy Black Metal as you describe it, yes.
Purists might complain the album’s sound is too clean, not grim enough… But somehow I have a feeling that Horned Almighty is doing their own thing, what they like, not what others expect or want to hear…
Cleverly noticed. We produce it all ourselves in our own studio ‘Vomit’, so we have achieved exactly the sound we strived for. With the split with Sargeist, we had a very raw harsh sound and wanted to try something different with the LP. It’s the perfect atmosphere for these songs and it is what they crave. Next time it might be different, who knows…
There is no biography or whatsoever on the site, only a discography, so a brief story of Horned Almighty please…
Well, Horned Almighty was invoked in 2002 by Soth (strings) and me, Smerte (preaching). We arose from several other Black Metal constellations. After a demo with programmed drums, which never really got around, we found Harm (bashing) at a local drug centre, where we recruited his skills, which matched ours… It has been my spiritual guidance and method of expression for 10 years now, since I heard my first Black Metal album, so here lies salvation for me… or not. We have no agenda for the band as earlier mentioned, if it feels right, we will continue that way. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.
Darkthrone is without doubt a major influence, especially regarding the riffs. What is it that Darkthrone has inspired in Horned Almighty?
They represent everything that Black Metal stands for, so you can do nothing but praise them as truly being the masters of this cult. Yes, some of our riffs may resemble theirs, but it is purely inspirational, not copying. There are several clones out there who achieve this better than us.
Aren’t you getting tired of that obvious link with the legend from Norway?
Well if the glove fits… when we play the thrashy Black Metal like we do, the comparisons are inevitable.
Denmark is, like Holland, a flat dairy country; no impressive and dark woods, no real cold… How do people generally look upon the Danish Black Metal acts, in your opinion? (I can give you mine already: seldom completely original, but compensated in quality)
I don’t really care for the Danish scene, since it is very much lacking. There are very few performers, because the way I recognise and acknowledge an act is by their ability to perform, play live and release material. Too few can reach this standard here. I do not consider someone an act if they put on paint, played all the instruments himself and released a shitty cassette. Since too many are projects, one-man bands or have released a demo 5 years ago, there are very few worth mentioning.
The disadvantage of a small country: how is the Black Metal scene in Denmark and is it big, strong or loyal enough to support its own spawn? (I know the site http://www.danishmetal.dk/, but my Danish is not what it should be)
Fortunately, since the scene is very small here in this stupid little country, the support from the metal scene is good from all angles, so people show up to concerts no matter what their musical direction is.
From the old releases (‘To The Lord Our Lives’ split with Sargeist, ‘In The Year of Our Horned Lord’ EP and the ‘Hellhordes’ demo) none of the tracks made it to the debut… Why didn’t you use one or two old songs? 33 minutes is not that much length for a full-length CD…
Wrong. The last track, ‘Complete Utter Darkness’, was also featured on the demo. It was always the plan to re-record this song, because it is evil beyond this world and I still am in awe when I hear it. Other than that, we don’t like repeating ourselves. Too many bands could learn from that position.
Why did you sign to Infernus Rex; because of certain experiences in the past when they released your ‘In The Year of Our Horned Lord’ EP, or for another reason?
They made a good offer when the time was right and it seemed like a natural thing to continue the collaboration at the time.
Is the deal with Infernus Rex a ‘one album distribution deal’ or is the deal for more albums?
Just a one album deal. We’ll see what happens, we’ve had some offers, but since we are not ready yet to record another album right now, it would be in vain to commit to anything. When the time is right, all shall be revealed.
How hard is it for Horned Almighty to obtain live gigs? From checking the site I see that you have done live shows, but not an extensive number…
The scene here is small, so after doing the 3 biggest cities, there’s not much to do. We have heard of gigs being planned abroad but nothing in particular yet…
What are the future plans of the band regarding new songs, releases and shows?
We started rehearsing some new shit and got a couple of basic structures for some new songs, which will probably end up as either an EP or a split with a yet unconfirmed act. This release has no date yet but hopefully before the end of the year. No new live desecrations are planned at the moment.
Those were my questions: any final comments or words to our readers?
DIE IN FIRE!!!!
