Outlaw – “A representation of the Devil and his sons”

There exists those who seek to discover the esoteric knowledge that lays beyond the stygian void, to taste it’s atrament and copulate with its essence, some may shun the daylight by closing the blinds behind them and believe they have experience darkness, when all they have done is merely create their own artificial might, nothing more…but then there is Outlaw, a Black Metal entity that traverses these unknown energies and like the alchemist, transmutes it’s serpentine motions into that of sound, bestowing onto the listener a transcendental aura, for the music that is manifested creates the metaphorical altar for the mind to take part in this ceremony to interlink with the spell that is being woven. I recently had the honor to conduct an interview with the band, so to you the readers, I hope the words in which you are about to read will be the catalyst to entice you to enter their realm and be entranced within the spirit of their sermon.

Hails to you Outlaw! Firstly, it is my pleasure to have this interview with you, i am most excited, so thank you! Let’s get started, shall we? I am most curious to know how this entity was conceived, would you mind taking us back to the roots of Outlaw’s creation? In addition to this, what was the main force which compelled you to create such a vessel?
Hey, it is a big pleasure for me to give you this interview.

Outlaw was created in 2015 when I was 18 years old. I started to create some songs just to put out some ideas that I had, but at some moment I wanted to record it as a band. I invited a friend of mine to play drums, and all the rest happened naturally.

I think that the main reason for me to create Outlaw was to manifest my desire to make Melodic Black Metal, and at the same time spread my spiritual believing, or whatever I want to share with people who want to listen to it.

If you had to define the entity of Outlaw, how would you express such, to give a meaning and purpose for what the band stands for as both an outfit and its identity? Also, adding to this, you are already three full length albums into the life span of Outlaw, in the grand spectrum of the genre, what would you hope to achieve with the band, in terms of the legacy?
I think that Outlaw is a representation of the Devil and his sons. I think we have to be wild and classy at the same time. We can nowadays use blood and leather jackets and in the future be totally different, because it is always about how I feel the music, so there is no standard, and our visual on stage is just a way to make people understand our message.

In terms of legacy. I don’t know where the future leads us, but the idea is to make our music spread through the people that have the understanding of our art and if it means to be important only to us, it is what it is. This is all about being ourselves no matter where it leads.

Every artist that creates, there usually exists a certain force or energy which fuels them, how would you describe such in the creation process where Outlaw is concerned? Also, from the early days in crafting material for Outlaw versus present day, would you say that the process has changed or transformed in terms of how you get into that mindset of creating?
The music can come from different channels, and on Outlaw it comes from many different places and in different ways. It is very hard to describe it because it is always unpredictable and sometimes a bit crazy. Our songs are just the leads to something else. In the early days of the band I was creating music with a lack of experience, so the songs were more basic and couldn’t convey the feeling I wanted to. Nowadays I already know the way I should go with my music, so it makes the process easier and at the same time harder, as it is easy to get predictable. So I am always fighting to make my art transcend.

Your most recent album, ‘Reaching Beyond Assiah’ possesses a rather ceremonial and cosmic feeling to its composition, the very architecture of it gives the listener the sensation of a ritualistic feeling. Could you delve into the creation of this offering, and the energies imbued onto it, how did the manifest these potent feelings onto the album?
The album was created in two different moments, part of the songs were created in early 2021 when I was living in Italy and in quarantine, and the rest after the 2021’s tour during another quarantine. I had a lot of time to go deep into my mind and find the keys I didn’t have in the early years.

This album is a consequence of the esoteric part, but also my esoteric vision always changes during the creation of an album, as it always makes me question myself and go through different ways of thinking and materializing my worship. I don’t have control and even know all the energies in there sometimes, as it is something beyond my conscience, and I am just the vessel who puts it out to the physical world.

I’d like to take a deeper dive into ‘Reaching Beyond Assiah” regarding its spirit and themes, for lyrical wise, it deals with occult-like topics as well the Kabbalah (in referencing the title), can you expound and these themes and how they relate to you as an artist on a internal level? In addition to this, the way the album is structured, it is obviously fashioned by someone who has knowledge in these areas, so if i may ask, how did you find this path? Regarding the occult?
You can find different ways to transcend and reach beyond, but I think it will always lead in the same place if it leads somewhere. All the religious parts in my music are aspects that I recognize in different cults and find usable on my own path. Everything on Outlaw is very personal about me and the people who write the lyrics, and that’s the nicest part of making music, you can let people understand it in their own way, and maybe use it to find their way to beyond.

I personally found occultism when I was a teenager, especially because of Black Metal and some friends, but with time I started diving deeply into those themes and it started to be more present and important in my life. Nowadays I learn with a lot of different people about many different themes, and it is making my own path. Reading books and knowing every aspect of the sinister path is not going to make you transcend or be spiritualized, just a nerd, so that’s the reason why I think that knowledge from books is less important than learning with the right people and practicing.

The artwork for ‘Reaching Beyond Assiah’, feel free to keep me honest here, but it seems to resemble the Hindu Goddess, Kali, how exactly did you decide on the art and it being the bridge to the actual music? Can you explain the meaning behind it?
The decision was very easy as the album is about transcendence, and Kali would be a good symbol of that.

‘Reaching Beyond Assiah’ can be viewed as a chalice which holds an esoteric energy to its nectar, so as the creator, how would you want another to ingest this album? Besides its melodies, what value would you hope they derive from it?
Sincerely I don’t expect that people will understand everything in the album as there are so many personal things. But I hope that people understand that you have to chase your truth and look for the light that illuminates you, not just believe in people that want to sell you an idea. The whole message of the album is transcendence and I think that you can’t transcend if you are tied to a pre-created idea.

I want to go back to the ‘Total Devil Worship’, live demo and the first full length, ‘Path to Darkness’, firstly, seeing as these represent the first recordings of the band, what was the feeling in crafting these two pieces, would you say your mindset has evolved in how you approach creating and recording since the first demo? Also, you can correct me here, but the sound on the early release resembles that of Dissection (you even did a Somberlain tribute) and parts of Watain, can you divulge into this as well as what were your early influences in this genre?
I created the songs of the first demo when I was a teenager so nowadays I hate it, haha. I also don’t like the first album, but I understand the meaning and why it was important to record it at that specific moment. I was really influenced by Dissection and Watain, and nowadays these bands are still my biggest influences. But at this time I was really in love with Chaos Invocation and Ofermod, and these bands were part of the reason to create Outlaw.

You recently signed to AOP records which in turn released your newest album, a label that has a rich number of bands teeming with quality, so how has the relationship been thus far with the label? Also, how did you get under the radar of AOP? In addition to this, would the previous two albums be repressed by the label?
Signing to AOP was probably my best decision since I created the band. The label works well and they really care about quality and delivering a good material to our crowd and at the same time, they do their best to help the bands. It is kinda hard to get into a good label as you need to find someone who really likes your music and pays attention to you, and thinks that you are worth the work. In our case, I sent him some emails trying to make him listen to the music, and when he listened we got signed.

We are not planning a repress of the first albums, but maybe in the future. Now we are already working on a new album, so we are more focused on bringing something new and superior instead of pressing our old music.

If you had to translate the album of ‘Reaching Beyond Assiah’ into a live performance, in order to truly encapsulate its atmosphere and themes, to bring to life the sounds in a physical form, how would you describe such experience, and from your imagination, what form and live setting would it assume?
That’s a hard question as there are many different ways to do it. I would like to have 2 guitar players so I would be able to sing and have more action on stage, but as an underground band the costs would be too high to afford, so for now I am still playing guitar.

I think that our show is supposed to be dangerous but not frightening.

I know with every artist, the answer tends to vary, but in your perspective, how would you view Black Metal, do you think it transcends more than just merely a genre, but it can be looked upon as philosophy and a tool? How would you express such words?
Black Metal for me is just music, but music can be more than just music. I think that any kind of music can have a spiritual approach and any act done with devotion

In ending with this interview, I want to extend my thanks to you in having me host this, for it was truly my pleasure, i shall leave the final words to you! What words would you like to leave to the readers?
I don’t have anything specific to say, just listen to our new album and find your own meaning to it.