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A new review section: Buried by Time And Dust

We added a new review section, coincidentally another Mayhem reference following 'The Past is Alive', with the title 'Buried by Time and Dust'. Over the years, a lot of promos have been gathering dust simply because a fresh wave of promos arrived the following month and they were consigned to oblivion. We will review them here to make a clear distinction with our other reviews. We will also use it to complete a discography in terms of reviews. Feel free to contact us if you would like to submit your music or would like to join the staff.

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Sotajumala – “…but what can you do if people are stupid and don’t bother to find out about the truth.”

Sotajumala surprised me last year with their second album ‘Death Metal Finland’ on which they displayed themselves as a fast, brutal and unstoppable Death Metal machine. I dropped a line and plans were made for an interview, but it seemed the Sotajumala guys are constantly busy with all sorts of things, so this took somewhat more time than planned. So with a little delay here’s the story on Sotajumala. Otsala and Häkkinen both took care of the questions and tell you all about this Finnish war machine.

Hi guys. Could you start off by giving a short introduction to Sotajumala, who you are and what you are all about.
Otsala: Sotajumala was founded in 1998 with the intention to play “Finnish Death Metal”, meaning music being in the vein of US (Florida) bands but with lyrics in Finnish. The idea was probably born as well as evolved in the sauna, hehe. We all have been into Death Metal for a long time so it was just a natural thing for all of us to do.

What does Sotajumala mean, and how does it reflect on you guys?
Otsala: It’s hard to explain what the word Sotajumala really means, but the English equivalent could be ‘war god’. It’s just the name of the band, it’s not meant to reflect us as human beings or our ways of thinking or anything. It’s sort of a symbol for all of us as individuals writing and performing this music. I guess you could say that it’s even some sort of a role, which isn’t present in the everyday living so much. Just jovial and fun.

How did you get in touch with Woodcut Records and what kind of deal did they offer you?  Were there other labels interested in signing Sotajumala?
Otsala: Woodcut actually got in touch with us. They’re a Finnish label and at that time they were pretty much the only label in Finland releasing extreme music. They offered us a deal that we thought was fair, so no reason not to take up the offer really. We have a 2 album deal with them and nothing to complain really so far. Things are going well with them.

It seems Woodcut only signs Finnish bands. Do you think of this as a good thing or a bad thing or don’t you care? Do you get the proper promotion in Europe or worldwide?
Otsala: That’s how it seems to be, though I don’t know about the way they profile themselves.  I think it’s really great that Woodcut signs Finnish bands and thus allows people to hear what’s going on in here. Woodcut is a relatively small label and thereby resources for promotion aren’t as great as you would have on a bigger label, but what can you do really. Hopefully we’re getting enough promotion abroad too. I believe they’re doing their best.

Your debut album ‘Death Metal Finland’ is a very good and brutal piece of violence if I may say so. How have the reactions of both press and fans been since it’s been released?
Otsala: Thank you! Reactions and reviews have been extremely good and feedback generally speaking has been very positive, almost overwhelming, so and in a way also surprising. In Finland things have been a little easier because all the songs are in Finnish. As for foreign reviews and feedback I can only say that I’m very happy that people haven’t cared too much about the language barrier, but have listened to the album as a whole and judged us by the music we play. That’s something I admire in reviews.
Häkkinen: Hey, I’m glad to hear you liked it. As Tomi said, reactions and reviews have been truly and utterly great. I’m quite stoked really, hehe. People really seem to love it and that truly feels really great. Thank you to everyone for their kind words and support. Much appreciated!

Why did you name the album ‘Death Metal Finland’? It’s a cool title, though it reminds me a bit of ‘Suomi Finland Perkele’ by Impaled Nazarene, though that means something different. Can you tell us why specifically this title was chosen?
Otsala: It has nothing to do with Impaled Nazarene’s ‘Suomi Finland Perkele’. It was just a natural choice for us to call it ‘Death Metal Finland’ as it has been sort of a ‘slogan’ for us throughout the existence of the band. Good name for the debut album.

Also, can you tell us the reason why the album title is in English? I mean, everything also around you (band name, titles, releases, lyrics) are in your native tongue?
Otsala: It describes in a nutshell what the album is all about, even to people who don’t speak Finnish. Quite a self-explanatory title, ha!

And on the other side, apart from the fact that it’s a good thing to do, can you tell us why all your songs are sung in Finnish? Finnish is a very difficult language and a lot of people will not understand what the songs are about’
Otsala: When we started planning Sotajumala we made the decision to sing in Finnish. Death metal hadn’t really been done in Finnish before, so it was/is a new thing to do. In a way I feel that we’re pioneers in this and it’s nice to see younger musicians and bands in a way following our footsteps and creating their own style where you can see/hear some traces of Sotajumala. We might also write lyrics in English in the future, we haven’t excluded that option by any means. I totally agree that in a way singing in Finnish is also a bit restrictive, as it might be a little harder for foreign people to get familiar with our music. Lyrics always have an important role in music, and many people can’t understand what we’re singing about. We’ll see?

Speaking of which, can you tell us what the songs of Sotajumala are about, what topics they deal with? I heard they deal about Finnish war history or (fictive) war in general, so can you tell us what to expect from both topics?
Otsala: Well that’s basically it, hehe. Some of them are based on Finnish war history, some are purely product of imagination (or the lack of it, haha). We also have some lyrics with a message and which do take a stand, so it’s not all about just killing and then killing some more.
Häkkinen: And the future is still open. We might cover some other topics too, not just war. It’s too early to say, but I think it’s quite likely to happen. I think there will always be lyrics dealing with war one way or another, but that probably won’t be the only subject.

Everytime I hear or read about your choice of topics there’s the statement that it has nothing to do with politics or racism of any kind. Did you had problems with this in the past, or do you still have problems with this?
Otsala: In the past we’ve feared that we might be connected to those things you just mentioned, so we’ve wanted to play it safe. Some of the lyrics which are war stories from Finnish history are patriotic and they show that we are proud of our roots. Some idiots have thought that they mean that we don’t tolerate others and that we’re some nazi band! Well there will always be those idiots, but we don’t really care too much about them. We just want to make sure that people who buy our albums/get familiar with us know what’s the truth. We aren’t racist/right wing people at all. None of us. In fact, quite the contrary!

Häkkinen: Calling us a nazi band just because of the song titles or topics which we sing about is stupid. I think there’s always the chance of getting labelled like that because of the topics we sing about, but what can you do if people are stupid and don’t bother to find out about the truth. Playing it safe with this subject just feels like the best thing to do, really.  I don’t think it would take too much effort from people to find out about the truth seeing how we’re commenting on this subject in just about every interview and it’s on the cds as well. I bet we’d be the lousiest nazi band ever too, as we’re denying it on every chance we get, haha! We’re definitely not nazis/racists/right wing people. Period.

Musically Sotajumala is a very brutal Death Metal band. Where do you guys get your musical influences from? Different corners of the world perhaps?
Otsala: We can’t deny that it has started from all of those classic bands from the USA, but there are influences from other things/bands/places too. Different elements and things that you hear somehow just evolve into Sotajumala riffs and songs.

Häkkinen: I listen to a variety of music, not just Death Metal and Grindcore. As much as I love the brutality of Death Metal, I do listen a lot of “softer” stuff too. As for musical influences, being a drummer, just from different drummers I see and hear all the time. In my personal opinion, I didn’t get too creative on ‘Death Metal Finland’ yet because of time limitations. Now that I’m in the band full-time I have much more time to work on my parts and I’m quite sure you will hear that on the next album. Just a matter of getting familiar with the songs/riffs and then listening to what you’re hearing in your head, what the songs call for? Or alternatively stealing everything from guys like Longstreth, Roddy and Hahto, haha.

Though we already know what your lyrics are about, where do you get your inspiration from’
Otsala: I think it all comes from that fact that making music is fun and we love it. Death metal is a nice thing, ha!

Häkkinen: Music generally, as well as other drummers. On top of those; my own life, views, beliefs, thoughts, experiences and goals motivate me.

Your album is filled with hyperfast pulverizing Death Metal tracks. What I find very cool is that among these little obliterations there are two slow tracks that ser a different sphere on your album and lay down a very threatening vibe. Has this been done on purpose or not, and can we expect more of these slow killers in the future?
Otsala: The songs on ‘Death Metal Finland’ have been written over a longer period of time. During that time span we wrote fast songs. Nowadays we have a lot more in our songs than just going as fast as you can all the time. There’s much more variations. There will definitely be some slower songs in the future as well.

Häkkinen: Hyperfast? Well yeah, it’s fast alright, but it’s usually faster live, haha. Not that speed actually means anything to me anyway. And faster songs only sound fast if there are some slower ones too, you know. If you have ten really fast songs, the first two will probably sound as fast as they really are, but after that the speed simply loses its power. The slower songs were written and put on the album on purpose and I think it worked out really good. Like Tomi said, there will probably always be slower songs among the faster ones. We’re not a grindcore band, yet, hehe.

The cover displays a pulverizing tank. Is this just a relation towards your lyrical subjects or is their also a relation to the album title or to the band perhaps? If so, can you tell us more about this?
Otsala: Well yes, it’s in a way a theme of some sort. There was a tank on the cover of our mcd ‘Panssarikolonna’ so you can see the cover of ‘Death Metal Finland’ as a continuum between the mcd and the debut full-length. Personally I feel that it sort of ends the era between the mcd and the full-length and with the next album we’ll have another theme and a new bag of tricks.

How does the rehearsing go with Sotajumala? Do you guys rehearse a lot or do you all live far each other which makes it difficult or something? And does everybody help with writing songs or is this the task of one or two persons?
Otsala: We try to rehearse as much as we can as a band. We’ve always had long distances between the members in this band, but it hasn’t really slowed us down, the other way around if anything really (the drummer takes care of that, hah hah). At the moment things are quite easy, as I’m the only one living further away, so it has gotten better from what it used to be. What comes to writing songs, we all work on them together. We all make the final song. Of course the guitarists and myself write riffs, but the final song is always a band effort.

Häkkinen: Things are definitely better now. Kosti (Orbinski) and I now live in the same city, so it’s quite smooth for us two to play together and Tomi (Otsala) and Pete (Lapio) join us as often as they can. Things are definitely going to a better direction all the time. There are other priorities as well, like work, school, other bands and personal life which all do take their time too, but playing music is what we all love and we try to do it as much as we can. As for writing songs, of course they usually start from riffs. The songs on ‘Death Metal Finland’ were mostly written when I entered the picture. Now that I’m in full-time I think that’ll change something as well.

Since some time now Timo has joined your ranks permanently, which is a good thing, but unfortunately your vocalist 105 is going to leave, which is a bad thing. Can you tell us why he’s leaving, and do you already have got a replacement?
Otsala: Yes, Timo joining the band was a real stroke of luck for us. We tried to get him to join already when he worked with us on the album, but he wasn’t interested back then. Luckily he changed his mind and he’s now with us. I feel that he is 110% into what Sotajumala is doing.

105 leaving on the other hand isn’t as unfortunate as you might think, even though he had a great voice. And it wasn’t so much that he left the band. The reason that he isn’t in Sotajumala anymore is purely just that he didn’t seem to have the motivation (to rehearse for example) anymore and he didn’t seem to contribute anything anymore.

At the moment we’re working on new material as a four-piece and we have a session singer to handle all the gigs we will be doing before we settle with a full-time singer. We don’t want to rush things. We’ll take our time and see what the future brings. Even though we don’t have a full-time singer in the band, we are in a really good situation here. We will see what alternatives we have and then make our pick.

Häkkinen: Haha, I take that as a compliment. Danke schön.

Can you tell us more about your live situation? Do you play live very often and is there a good scene in finland to play live’ How do you see the scene in Finland anyway?
Otsala: It’s a bit seasonal, so to say. We were on Grind Declaration of War tour with Rotten Sound (Fin) and Defleshed (Swe) in March 2004. After that we’ve done some gigs in Finland and we have three shows booked for the first half of 2005 so far. Not too much, but we’re not complaining. It’s better than nothing. There are a few larger venues in Finland for this type of music, but also some really nice smaller places.
The scene itself over here is quite a small one, but there are some really good bands. You all should check out Torture Killer!

Häkkinen: Playing live is always nice. Hopefully we’ll get to do it plenty, both in Finland, as well as abroad. I see the Finnish Death Metal scene really small, but hopefully that’ll change.

Did you ever play outside of Finland or will this perhaps happen (again) in the near future? What’s a Sotajumala gig like?
Otsala: On the Grind Declaration of War tour, which I already mentioned about, we did seven shows in Sweden on top of the Finnish dates. Our first show ever was also in Sweden. Other than that, no, we haven’t been abroad but hopefully we’ll get plenty of chances in the future. We’re looking forward to it. Ours shows are basically just brutal Death Metal without too much talking or “You’re so sweet, we love you all”, hehe. Just brutal, ruthless and heavy! That’s it.

Häkkinen: Hopefully it’ll happen again! The sooner the better.

Can you tell us about your plans for the future of Sotajumala concerning gigs, recordings etc?
Otsala: Right now we’re just slowly starting to work on new material. No tours in sight, at least not yet, and well’ more recordings when it’s time. Too early to say yet.

Häkkinen: Yep. Now that there’s a full line-up it’s time to start planning the future. See where we want to go and then just the get on to the hard work. The songs on ‘Death Metal Finland’ were written during a longer period of time, so we now have a clean table. I think it’ll sound a bit different, but if anything, only much better. We’ll see what happens. We’ll take our time and I think the outcome should please those who liked ‘Death Metal Finland’.

We abort the interview here man. Thanks for taking the time and any last words or the call for a new growler can be placed here?
Otsala: Thank you for a very nice interview.
Häkkinen: Last words’ Bitte anschnallen! Hahaha. No but seriously. Hopefully we’ll get to play in Germany soon. I would really like to do that. Oh, by the way, Burst from Sweden kick an awful lot of ass. Thanks a lot for a very nice interview and for your support ‘ appreciated!

 

Sotajumala

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Stillhet – “Sometimes pure silence is the ultimate therapy for my soul”

A few days ago I received Stillhet’s debut demo ‘Gjemt I Skyggene’ and from the start on it completely blew me away. Stillhet is a Norwegian Black Metal band playing in the vein of old Burzum, and just like on the older albums of Burzum, also here on this demo from Stillhet there is that macabre and sinister aura surrounding the music. Nowadays I receive more and more high quality demos but at this point Stillhet tops them all. Really interesting and to the core Black Metal the way it should be. I decided to ask Jan Inge some questions regarding Stillhet and this is the result of our conversation.

Hello Jan Inge, how are you doing?
Hello Marcel! Can’t complain at all. Right now I’m just relaxing as it’s finally weekend for me.

Can you first of all tell the complete history of Stillhet as I guess not many people out there are familiar with your band?
Stillhet started with my first attempts at creating my own music after I had been playing guitar for about half a year. That was around December 2003. A month or two later I had made my first song which is the title track of the demo. The first version of that song sounded kind of crappy. It was recorded with my old computer and I had no experience with mixing. My guitars and vocal skills also sucked. In the early summer of 2003 I started playing in a band with Martin Søby, Erik Pettersen and Kristoffer Lukasssen. We weren’t very serious and most of the time went to jamming and playing covers. After a break we decided to start rehearsing my material and the rest of the guys have since then been full-time members of Stillhet. In the meantime I started recording the first Stillhet demo entitled ‘Gjemt I Skyggene’. The rest is history.

And what does Stillhet mean and why have you chosen this name as band-name? Does it somehow reflect the lyrics?
Stillhet means silence in English. I guess you can say it reflects the theme of the lyrics. Sometimes pure silence is the ultimate therapy for my soul. Also, it’s always funny when people who’re not into Black Metal comes up with jokes like ‘this music doesn’s sound very silent to me, haha’…

Now we’re talking about the lyrics, what are they about and are they important to you? Do you have a message you want to spread with your lyrics? And where do you get your influences from when writing lyrics?
Writing lyrics is for me the hardest part of songwriting. My lyrics are mainly about depression, darkness and insanity. They are influenced by my own experiences and imagination. I also try to write something that fits the atmosphere of the music. I mean, you can’t play an utterly destructive and depressing song and at the same time sing about flowers and love.

Musically speaking I would say your biggest influence must be Burzum, am I right here? And why have you chosen to cover ‘Spell of destruction’ for on the demo? I have to say the cover is well done and it captures the same aura as the original version.
I guess you can say Burzum is one of my main influences, but I also try to create something unique with my music. The reason why I covered ‘Spell of destruction’ is because it’s one of my all-time favourites and it’s the song which got me interested in Burzum. I also chose that song because it had potential for me to add my own personal touch to the recording.

Furthermore there is a track written by Akira Yamaoka on your demo. What can you say about this track and who is Akira Yamaoka?
That track is also taken from the Silent Hill videogame. Akira Yamaoka is the composer of all music and sound effects in the Silent Hill series and I really admire his work. No one else can create such an eerie and horrifying atmosphere. I’m really fascinated by the occult themes of these games. I guess people could say it’s kind of nerdy to have stuff from a videogame in a Black Metal release, but I don’t care, Silent Hill is evil as fuck!

‘Gjemt I Skyggene’ is recorded all by yourself but in the meantime Stillhet grew out to a ‘real’ band. So can you introduce the new members to us and in which other bands have they played before? And will you still be the one responsible for the music and lyrics or have you started to work more like a ‘real’ band now in which all members have equally much to say?
We are all very young (I’m eighteen, Erik and Kristoffer are seventeen and Martin is only sixteen) so none of us has played in any other serious bands. Erik and Kristoffer are the ones with most experience since they have been playing together for some years now. A few others have been rehearsing with them before Martin and I joined. At the moment we are trying to rehearse enough songs to play a short live set, so we haven’t been able to create something together yet, but I think we will cooperate more in the songwriting-process in the future.

‘Gjemt I Skyggene’ is only out since a short time but how are the reactions so far from the press? And are you satisfied yourself with ‘Gjemt I Skyggene’? And why have you decided to release it in such a small number? I mean, 150 copies is not much for such a high quality demo.
I haven’t done much promotion yet, but the feedback I have gotten has been really good. I’m quite happy with the result as ‘Gjemt I Skyggene’ was recorded with very bad equipment. I really didn’t think there was a reason to release more than 150 copies, but now I’ve sold out almost half of the copies, most of them to various distros. So if you want a copy of the original demo you have to move fast!

Have you already written new songs for an upcoming demo/ album and what is there to expect in the near future from Stillhet?
Right now I’m working with a record company for a possible re-release of the demo on cd and vinyl. It will include a new layout and a bonus track. I’ve also started writing new songs for a full-length album. You haven’t heard the last of Stillhet, that’s for sure.

The year 2004 is history now so time for the annual year-lists. What are your personal favourite albums from last year and why?
Well, I haven’t heard too many albums that have been released in 2004, but there are a few which are definitely worth mentioning.
Darkthrone – Sardonic Wrath: These guys are still going strong and this release is in my opinion their best since Panzerfaust.
Enslaved – Isa: Enslaved is known for pushing boundaries, and this albums is no exeption.
Leviathan – Tentacles of Whorror: There are so many great Black Metal bands from US these days, and this is in my opinion one of the best. Very original and disturbing music.
Audiopain – The Traumatizer: Crushing Thrash Metal!
My Dying Bride – Songs of Darkness, Words of Light: Nicely executed Doom Metal. Guaranteed to increase the suicide rate.

Thanks for the interview. Is there anything else worth mentioning which is forgotten? The last words are completely yours now!
Thanks for your interest in Stillhet! I guess all I have to say is: Kids! Do drugs, drink beer, worship Satan and end your pathetic lives! Happy new year by the way!
And a happy new year to you too!

 

Stillhet

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Unholy Ghost – “I don’t think we sound like anybody else, really…”

Time brings forth changes, and if things works out well, we call it progress. Unholy Ghost represents progress. Kelly McLauchlin, known for Pessimist, joined former Diabolic members to form this band, and they proceeded to create ‘Torrential Reign’. This debut album sets a high standard for future releases. It is definitely one of the best Blackened Death metal albums released in 2004. If you’ve read my review of this album or own it yourself, you’ll understand. Reason enough to gain a better understanding of Unholy Ghost. All answers were provided by guitarist Kelly McLauchlin.

Hey Unholy Ghost, how are you?
Hails! The band is doing great! Our debut CD ‘Torrential Reign’ was just released on Century Media/Olympic Recs, and we just got back from playing the ‘Gathering of the Bestial Legion’ festival in Los Angeles, CA along with Dark Funeral, Impaled and others.

Congratulations with ‘Torrential Reign’! A great album, what a way of letting us know you’re there. Did you get all positive reviews or……?
Thanks! Glad you like the album. All of the reviews have been mostly positive, especially overseas. We get most of the postive reviews from Germany, and all of Europe! We are very pleased with the results, as this is only our debut album… the next CD will be even more crushing and evil!

Did you notice a difference between reactions of American and European zines?
Yes, it seems that the European zines have been especially supportive and really like the album a lot! Some of the American zines complain that the album sounds like “typical” Florida Death Metal, but we are proud to be part of the elite! I don’t think we sound like anybody else, really… Unholy Ghost has our own sound and style, and you will hear this more as we continue to write together as a band.

I guess most people know you all from other bands (Diabolic and Pessimist). How did you get together to play in Unholy Ghost? Was it something planned or did it just come up?
When Aantar had left Diabolic after returning from European Tour, he called me and asked if I wanted to come to FL and jam together. At the time, we didn’t know if this would be a full-time band or anything, as I was still busy with Pessimist. Anyways, we started working with Paul Ouellette (bass/vox) and realized we needed another guitarist, so we asked Jerry Mortellaro to record some leads for us, on the demo we were recording. We started writing a few songs together and the whole thing came together really fast! We had to start from scratch really… we sent the demo out to the underground, and it started getting some airplay on college radio and good reviews in zines. We started getting some gigs and played a couple of fests, Snakenet “Metal Nation” and the Las Vegas Metalfest, which got the attention of Olympic/Century Media, who quickly signed the band!

Will we see Diabolic on a European festival tour in ten years, or will the issues never be resolved?
I don’t really have any opinion about Diabolic at all except that I was a fan of their earlier works for many years. All of their previous CDs, especially ‘Vengance Ascending’ with Aantar, Paul and Jerry was awesome!

How do you think about all the reunions the last years? In Europe we totally freak out on Nuclear Assault, Death Angel, Exodus, etc.
I was glad to see Destruction (Gods!) get back together, as well as Suffocation! I would love to see a Dark Angel reunion!

Considering the period of time between starting the band and the release, you did an excellent job in no time. It almost seems you only had to book a studio date. Are all the songs completely new?
Some of the arrangements were carried over from song structures that Jerry or Aantar had worked out earlier. ‘Soul Disment’ is a song that Aantar and Jerry had written over a year ago, while still in Diabolic! All the rest of the music like as far as actual guitar riffs and all the lyrics are all brand new and written just for Unholy Ghost. We all have similar influences, old-school stuff like vintage Slayer, Possessed, Kreator, Destruction, etc. So when we write, we just stay true to our style and to ourselves, we really don’t worry about sounding like anyone else.

Was it easy to cooperate with three musicians that have been working together before? Sometimes it helps if you know one another, so did you knew them personally before you joined?
Yes, well our bands Diabolic and Pessimist had played several shows and festivals together in the past. We had been friends since way back, as both bands were up and coming in the US Death Metal scene. Also Aantar and I had played together briefly in a previous band, Horror of Horrors. I also knew Jerry and Paul, as we got to hang out while Pessimist was in Tampa recording our latest release, ‘Slaughtering the Faithful’. So when we all had the chance to jam together and form a new band, we knew it would turn out killer!

With Century Media as label behind you, the distribution should be quite ok. Does the album sell as you suspected?
Yes, the album seems to be really taking off! We are glad to see the CD is available in all the major stores here in the US, as well as overseas!

I have seen some tour dates in America on your site, but none in Europe. Will Unholy Ghost tour Europe this year to promote the album?
We hope to tour Europe eventually, but right now we are focused on a US Tour. We’ll probably do some more festivals and shows in the US before recording another album. There’s nothing definite yet, but hopefully by next year we can tour Europe!

Mattias Norén did some amazing cover artwork. Where did he came from all the sudden and will he be amongst you the next album?
Mattias Norén was referred to us from Century Media Recs. He has done several other bands artwork, most notably Evergrey, Jag Panzer, and others. We are extremely pleased with Mattias’ dark and evil style and he was great to work with, in incorporating our ideas into the artwork! We will more than likely use Mattias again for our next CD.

What did Juan Gonzalez achieve with you in the Diet of Worms Studio that nobody else could do?
Aantar, Paul and Jerry had worked with Juan ‘Punchy’ Gonzalez on the previous Diabolic release, ‘Vengeance Ascending’. Punchy has a really good ear and lots of experience working with fast, brutal Death Metal bands! He had recorded and produced the latest Morbid Angel album, ‘Heretic’ as well as doing live sound for Morbid Angel for years! He is also a musician, as well as a soundman/producer so that sets him apart from a lot of other producers. So, when it came time to record ‘Torrential Reign’, Punchy was an obvious choice.

What is Unholy Ghost doing now; rehearsing, writing new material, working or whatever?
Well after returning from the LA festival, drummer Aantar Coates was asked to leave the band, due to ongoing personal and professional differences. So at this time we are currently auditioning drummers! After that, we hope to tour, and will be playing some more shows and festivals in the US. Of course we already have some ideas for new songs and the next record, which we will be writing in the months ahead.

Do you still check the local underground scene? Is it alive?
The Tampa/FL Death Metal scene is still alive! Of course with so many killer bands from here in Fla: Monstrosity, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Hate Eternal… the list goes on and on! Even Obituary played at the FL Metal Fest last March, it was fucking awesome!

Can you name five local underground bands we all should check out?
Some metal bands in the FL area to check out: Contorted, Impurity, Byam Klavor, End Unseen, Vomit Spawn, The Absence…

Well, that’s it. I’m out of questions for this time. Thanks for the time and effort, of filling in another list of I hope not all the same questions. I hope to hear from you soon and let that be on a stage in Holland. The last words are for you……….
Thanks to VM, and thanks to the fans for all your support! For more info, tour dates, etc. check our web site. Look for our CD ‘Torrential Reign’ in stores…we’ll see you on tour! KEEP MUSIC EVIL!

Unholy Ghost

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Ulfsdalir – “I am really attracted strongly to heathendom”

After a few interesting releases I think it was time to get a few things cleared from the man behind this band, R.U.. With this band he released quite a few releases (in a reasonable short period) that were able to attract the intention from a lot of different parties, labels, press but also the fans/audience. And, so he was also able to attract my attention too and with the reviews I presented came a few questions. Not much is really known about this man veiled in mist and his projects. R.U. was kind enough to reveal us something from his background and (near) future plans… So, with this interview I present you one of Germany’s leading underground black forces: Ulfsdalir… Enjoy!

Hail, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions I had in mind for you. Also congratulations with your last album, which was a killer?
Hails and thank you. It’s a pleasure for me to answer your questions.

I guess its getting lame for you to answer this question time after time, but I think there are still a lot of people who like to know the history of Ulfsdalir a little, so could you reveal a little of the story for our readers?
Yes your are right, I do not like this question very much, but lets start. I started Ulfsdalir back in 1997 as a new project after playing in different unknown bands. I recorded four songs without vocals, with the help of a friend. I continued to write new songs, but in 1999 I joined the Band Ewiges Reich, so I stopped Ulfsdalir for a while. I think it was the year after, when I started to record the first album “Baldurs Traum” in five parts. Then I stopped the band again and wrote songs for an other project. These songs, first written for an other band, are the songs which are now on “Christenhass”. I think it must’ve been around mid 2002 when I recorded the vocals for “Baldurs Traum”. Then at the end of 2002 I realesed the split EP with Myrkwid. For this EP I used one part of “Baldurs Traum”. Then in the beginning of 2003 I wrote and recorded the songs for “Grimnir”, which was released in mid 2003 on Christhunt Productions. At the same time I also released the “Baldurs Traum”-album on Dunkelwald Productions. Finally I recorded the songs for “Christenhass” from the end 2003 till mid 2004. This album was released in September 2004.


I understood that you first concentrated on your other band Ewiges Reich only. Many musicians that start side-projects do that because of the different musical ideas that doesn’t fit in the main-band. In what aspect do you think Ewiges Reich and Ulfsdalir differ?
As you can read in the answer above, I started Ulfsdalir before I joined Ewiges Reich. Ewiges Reich is a very fast an aggressive band with hateful lyrics and Ulfsdalir is a bit more old school and more atmospheric. The Ulfsdalir lyrics deals with topics like heathendom, nature… So there are lyrically differences, too.

And, just to kill my curiosity, what does Ulfsdalir mean?
Ulfsdalir is a name of a place in German mythology. The translation is something like “valley of wolfs”.

It is pretty obvious that you carry a heavy message with your last album title “Christenhass”. What made you choose for such a title and what is the thriving force behind these ideas?
Sometimes I want to let all hate came out of me and this time the result is “Christenhass”. Normally I am a very calm man, but I need some “hate lyrics” at the moment. The next two or three releases will be more in the old style again, with heathendom, nature, etc.

I might be wrong but it seems that – besides anti Christian ideals – you have a weak spot for pagan beliefs and history. Am I right in this point, if so, what is the main attraction for you in these things?
Yes, you are right. I am really attracted strongly to heathendom, paganism and history. It started when I was younger and read some books about German mythology. There are many points why I am attracted by these things, but I think the main point is to be so close to nature. When you are a pagan, you are closer to nature than a Christ or atheism.

I wasn’t really able to understand the lyrics while listening the album, I guess these are based on the aforementioned topics and subjects?
The lyrics on “Christenhass” are anti-Christian (‘Flamme des Hasses, Christenhass…’) or some are more “looking back to ancient times”-lyrics (‘Elfenwelt, Ruhmtaten der Ahnen…’)


I’m not sure whether you read my reviews on both “Grimnir” and “Christenhass”. But I mentioned a remarkable difference between both albums. I had the feeling that “Grimnir” existed out of two different recording sessions – for the album didn’t really sound coherent. And now I have the possibility to compare two full-length albums, I reckoned that “Christenhass” sounds more as a whole, more coherent. What do you think it the main cause of that?
This is very surprising to me, because I really wrote the songs for “Grimnir” in a very short time and close to each other. And of course I recorded the songs in one recording-session. Maybe the songs are different in their moods. Two songs are fast and brutal and two songs are a bit slower and more depressive. So maybe this is the difference you mean. But of course you are right with “Christenhass”. The songs are all in the same mood, the speed is pretty constant and all songs creates the same atmosphere. So this album sounds a bit more as a whole.

In between the time that I heard “Grimnir” and “Christenhass” I also got the split 7″ with Myrkwid (a fellow bandmember in Ewiges Reich) – which I also liked pretty much.  Can we expect more of these vinyl split EPs? And what about vinyl versions of “Christenhass”,  “Grimnir” was released as a picture disc too if I’m not mistaken?
Yes, “Grimnir” was released on LP, too, but at the moment there is no plan of releasing “Christenhass” on vinyl. Maybe later. Ask Marco of Christhunt. I m not very interested in vinyl (I think I am really untrue now, haha). Between “Baldurs Traum” and “Grimnir” I recorded one song for a split EP with Panzerfaust , which is not released yet. We found no one, how wants to release it. But I hope one day this split EP will be released.

What can we expect from the future from Ulfsdalir?
A song on a ‘Tribute to Burzum’-compilation and an Ildjarn song on an other compilation. I also recorded some new material for a new album and a long song for an upcoming Mini CD.

Alright, R.U., these were my questions – thanks for your time. Feel free to add anything to the story above – the last words are yours?
Thanks for the nice interview and sorry for the long delay and the short answers. And of course thanks for the reviews.

 

Ulfsdalir

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Vidsyn – “…no band can beat Immortal, Vidsyn is only a pale shadow”

Last week I received ‘On Frostbitten Path Beneath’, the debut EP from Norwegian winter Black Metal band Vidsyn. Vidsyn brought back good memories to the kings of frostbitten Black Metal: Immortal. And with this EP Vidsyn delivered my personal favourite EP from 2004 and therefore I just had to do an interview with them. Nattsjel, founder and only permanent member of Vidsyn answered my questions.

Hello Nattsjel, how are you doing?
I’m having a little hangover from last night but it’s nothing major….

First of all, what does Vidsyn mean in English? And why have you chosen this name? I mean, is there some deeper meaning behind it for you personally?
The word can have many different interpretations but if you would translate the name into English it would mean something like “wide sight” or “wide view”. From the Norse mythology, Odin’s ravens were “vidsynte” meaning their eyes could cover a huge landscape and report back to Odin. The word Vidsyn can also mean that one is open-minded about things.

The name just suits the band and I think it’s an excellent name.

Most of our readers are not familiar with Vidsyn yet so can you tell the history from your band?
Founded in 1999, Vidsyn started out as a one man project by me, but have had many members during its life time. Today Vidsyn is once again a one man project. If you want a more detailed biography please visit the website.

You started out as a one-man band. Was this on purpose? Later you had a full line-up with Vidsyn but after that you decided to be a one-man band again using only session musicians. Any special reasons for this? Because of this it seems to me that Vidsyn is a very personal band. Am I right here?
I started Vidsyn because I played in another band at that time which broke up and I also been making some riffs that didn’t suit the band at that time. When I started Vidsyn I really didn’t have big ambitions about getting a record deal or anything. But after I had completed some songs I thought it would be cool to record a demo and that demo took some time to complete. I wanted to record the demo with real drums, although I used drum-machine on the pre-prod of the demo. So then the search for a drummer started and also the recording. But unfortunately the DAT tape recorder we recorded the demo on somehow broke down and the demo was never completed. Due to distance between people, lack of time and other band obligations the musicians that have been full time soon left or got fired. So using session musicians seemed like a good solution to that problem, but I think that Vidsyn once again, someday, will be a four party band. When that is said the music is very personal indeed.

And what are the lyrics about on ‘On Frostbitten Path Beneath’? What inspires you when writing lyrics?
It’s all about the winters and the mood around that time of the year. I write about mountains, ravens,  battles and struggles. I now live beside a mountain, not a huge one but I get the feeling every time I walk or do some winter activities in the mountain. I get inspiration from many places but as for making music and lyrics for Vidsyn I just can’t do it during the summer time.

Now about ‘On Frostbitten Path Beneath’, what can you tell about this recording, like where is it recorded and by whom? It is first released as a demo and later re-released as a EP on Agonia Records. How did you ended up with Agonia Records and are you satisfied thus far with the work they’ve done for you?
The demo and mcd was recorded in Space Valley Studio in Hjellum, Norway. Also it was mixed here and remixed for the EP. This studio is owned by Zet from Ram-Zet so he pushed the buttons in this recording. As for Agonia I send a lot of demos around to different labels and ended up with Agonia Records and Flesh For Beast. Mainly because they believed in the band and had a good strategy for it. I’m satisfied for most of the parts but there has also been some mistakes that I just… well it makes me wonder, see next question.

On my cd it says Vindsyn instead of Vidsyn. What went wrong there?
The designer for the EP send me some cover artwork which had that mistake on it and I told him to correct it. He did and I got the new layout and there was nothing wrong with it. BUT when the first 3000 CD’s was out and I got some copies they somehow used the first layout which had the mistake. This is a major mistake and I just couldn’t believe it but the harm is done. Agonia promised that the mistake would be fixed on the reprint so we’ll just have to wait and see.

For this demo/EP you had quite an impressing line-up. How did you ended up with Nocturno Culto, Helhammer and Assar? And will you use these session members again for your upcoming recording?
I’ve known Nocturno Culto for some time now and I just think he has one of the best vocals in the Black Metal scene. I made ‘Evil Rises Darkness Falls’ with his vocals in mind and he agreed to sing on it but in studio he wanted to do one more so he also sung on ‘Stormsend Winter Realm’. Hellhammer is a good drummer, he learns fast, plays good and get the work done in short time. When the demo was about to be recorded I wouldn’t use weeks of rehearsal with a new drummer and use a lot of time in studio, so Hellhammer was a good choice. Assar is my brother so the choice for duet on ‘Battlefield’ was easy to make. I don’t know if Nocturno Culto or Hellhammer will appear again but time will tell. Assar will play drums for Vidsyn live and on other recordings from now on.

Like I wrote in my review; it is not really the line-up which is impressive. It is the music that impressed me a lot. You’ve managed to get the music melodic without using any keyboards/ synths. What were your musical influences when starting Vidsyn? In my review I also compared you to Immortal because they were also able to write those frosty guitar riffs which sounded grim yet melodic at the same time. Do you agree here?
Musical influences must be old Dødheimsgard, old Ulver, Immortal, old Darkthrone and bands like that. I agree on comparison to Immortal but hey, no band can beat Immortal, Vidsyn is only a pale shadow.

How have the reactions been from the press so far for the ‘On Frostbitten Path Beneath’ album?
I’ve only got two reviews on the EP so far but they were both great. You wrote that it was your personal best album of 2004 and also Panzerfaust Magazine wrote “Buy it and enjoy one of the best Black Metal titles of the year.” and gave the EP 90/100 points. I guess I will get some bad reviews later but so far I’m very pleased!

You were supposed to do a European tour this fall but unfortunately it is postponed ‘till next year. Why was this?
The tour with Atomizer and Impiety was all planned but in the last minute Impiety, which were headliners, changed their mind. When that happened Agonia couldn’t find a replacement soon enough so the tour was postponed. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens and when.

And have you done a lot live gigs yet? And what can we expect from a Vidsyn gig?
Yes Vidsyn have done gigs, I will soon add some video clip on the website. I think you can expect to see a great show! I’m really happy about the live line-up I have now so I just can’t wait to play live again.

You have also started up your own festival with some others if I’m correct. The Legions on the North festival. What can you tell about this festival and will there be more editions from this festival in the coming years?
Legions Of The North is a Norwegian festival located in Hamar. It’s a festival created by myself and Assar and it has been arranged for 2 years in a row now. But as for this year it collided with the tour Vidsyn was planned to go on and other stuff so it was postponed. But I think that we’ll be back stronger in year 2005!!

What is your personal top 5 album list at the moment?
In no special order:
Immortal – At The Heart Of Winter
Ulver – Bergtatt
Thorns – Thorns
Dødheimsgard – Kronet Til Konge
Enslaved – Below The Lights

What goals do you have set for the future for Vidsyn? And what can we expect in the near future from you?
There are a lot of things happening with Vidsyn in the future. I can’t reveal it all but I can tell you that a 7” is coming, 2 new full-length albums and Vidsyn going to do some gigs in the near future.

Thanks a lot Nattsjel for this interview. Any last words?
Keep checking http://www.vidsyn.net/ news will be added as soon as they are made.
Stay Metal! Cheers!

 

Vidsyn

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The Chasm – “…there are no real feeling in the majority of bands, it’s all a pose…”

I’ll introduce you to the The Chasm with an excerpt from their bio: “The Chasm came to be in December 1992, in Mexico City. Daniel Chorchado left his old band Cenotaph to embark on a dark journey: the procreation of an unique form of obscure and bizarre Metal of Death. Chorchado carried with him the inspiration of the ancient masters: Celtic Frost, Slayer, Black Sabbath, Sacrifice, Destruction and the pure essence of traditional heavy metal plus an infusion of more contemporary acts like Carnage, Winter, Autopsy, early Mayhem and Dismember.”

Since then The Chasm has gone a long way to earn the attention and respect they deserve. A path that wasn’t always easy to walk, but The Chasm battled on. With The Spell of Retribution they made an instant classic metal release that should not only appeal to Death Metallers, but to a much broader metal audience. In my review I made it clear The Chasm isn’t a band to ignore as it has been a long time since I’ve heard so much genuine and intriguing metal. Daniel Chorchado is answering the questions and it has become an interesting interview. Hail the Metal of Death!

First of all, congratulations on your latest effort “The Spell of Retribution”! It’s not that often I hear an original Death Metal classic nowadays and you’ve pulled it off…It seems things fall into the right place for The Chasm after more than 10 years of hard work. Can you give us the major landmarks of those years and your thoughts on what has changed since your on Wicked World?
Yes,it seems that finally, after a long hard journey, things are getting better now, I believe that the main points in our career have been when we released any of the past albums, as well as the demo, each and every one is/was an important step in the creation of this entity known as The Chasm, it was another step in the creation of this style of ours, and each one proved to be a completion of a small battle in this war and crusade we started in late 1992…so far the changes we have experienced in Wicked World are very positive, we were able to get a decent recording budget, meaning a stronger production, and now the cd is pretty much everywhere, the promotion is been immense too, for a band like us, very underground, this is something very special and it gives us some hope for the future.

Somehow I got the feeling your two previous albums suffered slightly from the production. Although the compositions have quality, the sound of the harmonies on the guitar and some leads got a bit too dissonant for my taste, which made it hard to listen to. All that is gone now and all compositions just shine through a very decent production job, even better ideas and handling of the instruments. What has made the difference?
I think it was a matter of experience, good equipment/studio and being able to have enough time to get the right sound, when we signed to Wicked World we knew that we were gonna have a very decent recording budget, so that made us feel more comfortable and relaxed in the studio, another very important factor was that I was able to get all the tracks to do the final mix in my own place (lux Inframundis), that was a comfortable thing too, even if it put some extra pressure and stress on me, in the end it was all worth it, i think we came up with our best recorded sound so far…past recording were not very optimal, I agree, but in one way they gave that very special aura to the past albums…

To respectfully use old school elements and blend it with an own identity isn’t new of course, but to create an original approach to Death Metal unheard of previously is. You have been called pioneers, but you’ve worked for about 10 years to reach this level and already released a couple of albums. How do you look upon this?
I only can look at our achievements with face towards the sun, proud of what we have been able to do as musicians and fans of this extraordinary Music entity called heavy metal, sometimes I hear our music and even if we have this traditional approach to it, I know and that we play every note from the heart, we believe in what we do, since day 1, that was the purpose, to create music to fulfil our souls, and I think that has been the most important factor in the creation of The Chasm’s sound.

All songs seem to be like great epic stories with many twists and plots. Who is the main force with the biggest imagination behind it all?
Lyrically speaking, I have to say that I’m responsible for the creations of this tales/stories/poetry, it always been like that, my main influence is my inner temple, my own visions and ideas of another dimensions and existence, the search for the other side, sometimes very hard to really understand by some, but with a lot of meaning for me, with the music, is something similar, but in this case we have 3 minds working at once, and we always had this thing for creating/arranging unconventional songs, is hard to explain, but that is the way we create and feel our music, it doesn’t matter if it’s long or short, or fast or slow, we play what we really feel, and if we like it we’ll use it, but overall as you can see, we always prefer to write longer, more epical songs, in order to create something more memorable for us.

Taking the concept behind the album, which is explained on your site, what exactly has gone wrong in ancient heritage and in underground metal in your opinion?
Well, I cannot go too long for this matter, it will take me hours to go in detail, but in brief, I can say that as Mexicans, we are totally disappointed in the actual state of our culture and country, is really annoying and depressing to see a country lie in such a state of misery and corruption and non -identity, when you look at the past and know that this was the same land where the mighty Emipre of the sun once ruled everything, ruled with wisdom, strength and honour…in the case of the Metal scene the feeling is very similar, if you look back to the 80’s, early 90’s, the grand majority of albums had something very special, a feeling that is very hard to find this days, of course things have to change, is a sign of the times, but sometimes I just cannot believe how trendy, empty and at some point, idiotic, some bands are carrying the name metal within them…I cannot go further, since there is nothing we can do about it, as long as we play our music with personality/identity and respect for the tradition of years past, The Chasm will be fine….

The Chasm is all about “feeling” and how to change it into musical energy I think. It seems loads of (death) metal bands have lost it and are chasing dragons in the form of big productions, blastfests and image building don’t you agree?
That’s what we were talking about in the last question, there are no real feeling in the majority of bands, it’s all a pose, or a hobby for them, if I remember well, Death metal as a musical form, was supposed to carry this dark feeling of destruction and strength, nowadays so many bands are copying each other, and the creative factor is getting very buried, fortunately there are still some carriers of the burning flame, and that is what really matters, as long as there are believers, not everything is lost…

Which bands are the major inspiration for your music and do you still listen to?
Our taste for Metal is very wide, but we have always been more obsessed with the ways of the old masters, we are not young kids, we grew up with the might aura and essence of the mid 80’s and early 90’s, that’s where our inspiration comes from, arcane masters like Black Sabbath, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Sodom, Kreator, Exorcist, Saxon, Dio, Infernal Majesty, Winter, Priest, Maiden, Accept and so many more…and yes, of course we all still listen to this bands and more…

On to religion; do you believe in ancient gods or are you a purveyor of the heretic beliefs and in what way does it affect daily life?
With time I have learned that whatever I do and create/destroy is because of myself, I believe in only my own essence, I’m the one who controls my destiny, and I believe in using reason as well as emotion to create this fate, for my ancestors it was different, they were more into pagan worshipping and stuff, and I respect it, but i also see that in the end they created their own destiny too, I believe there is a strong occult force that everyone carries inside, but the majority of people do not realize they have it, this force is what it makes an individual being just that “an individual”, not a sheep or a faceless anybody in a sea of shit…

How do you look upon life and death, considering your heritage?
Considering my heritage I definitely think and believe that after this life there must be another one, a place where a new journey begins, to a place where the spirit will dwell in peace finally, converting the experiences of this life into the ultimate answer to the big question.

Are your albums going to be re-released? Or is your whole catalogue, incl. vinyl versions, still available?
Our first 2 albums are sold out completely, I think the vinyl versions of the last 3 still can be found somewhere, I’m not really into the idea of re-releasing our past albums, as much as I respect them and like, I think they accomplished their mission when they were released, this is a difficult decision since it involves my own principles but also it involves those who are interested and support the band…we have this idea of re-recording some older tracks and is still active in our minds, but we just have to find the right time to do it, 2005 maybe that right time.

When can we expect you over in Holland for some live dates? Maybe I can give you a hint for the support? Mortem and Inquistion would be great!
Yes, those bands would be killer to play with, especially the demons from Mortem, of course we have plans to go to Europe, but it all depends on how the new album does, sales wise, If we have a strong reaction, I’m sure we’ll have tour support to do this, let’s hope for that, time shall tell.

Do you expect any trouble in reproducing all those riffs live? I mean, the structures of your songs are miles away from being simple.
Well, yes, is gonna be complicated but not impossible, I agree, our riffs and structure are getting harder to play, but that is something we looked for, to become more bizarre and fresh, at the same time, darker and more destructive, in The Chasm’s way…

Thanks for the interview and good luck for future endeavours! Your final words for the readers?
Thanx a lot for your time and support, good luck with VM and hopefully we’ll be thrashing Holland in 2005…Utter death..

The Chasm

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Enthroned – “Enthroned’s black flame wasn’t dead…it just needed to be tickled a bit…”

Belgian Black Metal veterans Enthroned have recently released their 6th full-length album ‘Xes Haereticum’ and thus I considered it time to contact them for a small chat. So I contacted guitarist Nornagest who answered a few of my questions…

Hails, how are you doing?
Fine, a bit sick though.

You have recently released a new album, titled ‘Xes Heareticum’. How have the reactions been so far?
Reactions have been in good, for many it’s our best album…

Could you tell us a little about how the new album came into being? Who is responsible for the writing of the music? And are you satisfied with the final results?
Yes, we are pretty satisfied it turned out like we wanted, the production gives the right atmosphere to the songs etc…
I mainly wrote the music, but also Sabathan and N.Daemon wrote some stuff and we did all the arrangements together. This album is a bit different, much more feeling, our emotions were really on a  high level during the writing process, you can feel it.
It has something special compared to the previous releases…

The atmosphere on the new album reminds me a little of ‘Towards the Skullthrone…’, was this a deliberate step or did it just come naturally this way?
It came like this, I think it’s just a question of feeling, Enthroned’s black flame wasn’t dead… it just needed to be tickled a bit… Which doesn’t mean that we didn’t write our previous stuff without any feelings but we had many line up/ internal problems in the past and now we know how to bare those things…

Who writes the lyrics and is there a general theme in them?
The general ‘concept’ is based upon the different faces of Heresy; self glorification/worship, sophisticated views upon emptiness and nothingness, the cult of Thugs, of Amon, Suicide… I wrote lyrics for ‘Dance of a Thousand Knives’, ‘Blacker than Black’, ‘Vortex of confusion’, ‘Daemon’s Claw’ and ‘Hellgium Messiah’; Sabathan wrote ‘Crimson Legions’, ‘Night Stalker’, Nerath Daemon wrote ‘Last Will’ and Ashmedi of Melechesh wrote ‘Seven Plagues, Seven Wrath’.

You recruited a new drummer with whom you also went on a tour in South America. How did you get into contact with him and does he fit in the band on a personal and a musical level?
We were in contact with him through e-mails etc… and he proposed to join when Alsvid quitted, so we tried him and he fitted both mentally and musically.
He proved himself on the South American tour and he’s now a permanent member of Enthroned.

What was it like to go on tour in South America? Any memorable events you want to share? And are the fans over there really as crazy as I have heard from e.g. Gorgoroth?
South America is totally different, people there are real maniacs, really into metal and for the Black Metal fans really into the concept and ideas, they really live it!
The Colombians are pretty extreme which is cool, a guy got stabbed, his stomach sliced and the club was covered in blood, the police came but left as the organiser gave them money so the guy was lying there in his blood for some times…

You also have a new guitar player, who also plays in Aguynguerran. Is it difficult for him to combine two bands and do you find Enthroned must be his number one priority?
He can combine both bands pretty well, no problem at all with that. We don’t ask him to consider Enthroned as his main priority, as long as Aguynguerran doesn’t cause any problems to Enthroned it’s fine with us, we are used to deal with members playing in several bands so it’s ok for us. Nguaroth knows that…it’s a kind of mutual respect which is normal I think.

In the past you have had many line-up changes. Did this have any influence on the music or was it only a cause for unnecessary delays?
Yeah…delays are the main problem with line up changes, but it got it’s positive sides; it brings fresh, new blood in the band. But the Enthroned style is for 90% made by me and Sabathan so there’s no major changes unless we want so.

Are you going on a tour to promote the new album? Any plans?
Nothing is planned yet, we have several shows confirmed or in preparation.
One thing is sure though; we will tour less than in the past. We have other things in our lives that takes much time and thus we wanna make our live appearances more a special thing than ‘another concert of Enthroned’. I mean by that, that we do not wanna play for example 5 times in the same place per year.

Last words…
Thanx for the Interview…
‘D.W.T.W.S.B.T.W.O.T.L XES.’ Frater Baphomet

Enthroned

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  • Bands: Behexen
  • Review Date: December 7, 2004

Behexen – “…It took years and years, blood, vomit and sweat to complete and we never compromised anything”

Eventhough I am into the underground blackmetal for quite a long time already I never really took the time to take a listen to Finnish Behexen. And shame on me for that. Behexen proved with their latest output “By the blessing of Satan” to belong to the best bands in the real underground blackmetal. This is music spawned by Satan himself. Because I didn’t knew anything about Behexen I decided to ask them some questions about the past, present and future. Horns (H) is responsible for all answers except for some which are answered by Torog (T). (MarcelB)

Hails, how are you guys doing?
Apart from the grey daily routines I guess we are doing quite fine as there are not any major problems on our way at the moment. We are right now working with our new material which should be out before the end of this year but that deadline is quite optimistic, so we have to wait and see. We just recorded 6 new tracks and we still have to mix them and add some vocalparts here and there. These tracks are for the special limited-edition box-set release and they are quite unique as they are compiled of some very old material as well as some new. So things are ok.

In the beginning of this year you released your latest album “By the blessing of Satan”, what can you tell about the album? Where it is recorded, by whom etc.?
We are very satisfied with BTBOS as it took years and years, blood, vomit and sweat to complete and we never compromised anything. The whole process of creating that album took 4 years, we seemed to have problems with everything. Sometimes we had no place to rehearse because the places were closed down or rented for another purposes, and then we had to get rid of our shitty old label, which released our debut “Rituale Satanum”. And then we had to find a new label to release the BTBOS and we did.
It was like when you had one problem solved, the next one was already lurking behind the corner…it almost felt that someone had put a spell on us. But in the end we survived as winners and finally got that album out. So it was not an easy-going trip but rather a hard spiritual and physical experience.
Musically BTBOS is quite different from RS, as the tracks are longer, and there are more variation in the songs like tempo-changes and other hooks. BTBOS was recorded at Fantom studio which is located in Tampere, Finland by the guy called Henkka.

And are you completely satisfied with the album? And how have the responses been so far from both press and fans?
We are very satisfied with the album, but it is always the same thing that some little things could be done differently. I personally am not too fond of drumsounds on the album, but we did our best then and that is the way it is, so it is no use to complain now. And there are some other little things as well that we are not completely satisfied with but I think in overall we all are very satisfied with it. We got very praising responses about the album from both press and people which we never suspected, because our first album was totally crushed by the press, but we never cared. And we still do not care about such a mundane affairs, if people like it, great, and if they don`t, it is their problem. We just do what we feel and we are not doing it for the sake of good feedback or to please some worthless criticians.

The album is released by Finnish Woodcut Records. Are you still satisfied about the cooperation and is it easier to be on a Finnsih label as Behexen being a Finnish band?
Things have gone fine with Woodcut so far and there has not been any big problems, but as always there are those little things that could be worked better out. But Woodcut seems to invest in us and support us which is good of course. It is easier to be on a Finnish label, because then it is easier to communicate and negotiate with, and it is not so easy to rip us off.

To be honest, “By the blessing of Satan” is my first introduction to Behexen but I’m quit impressed with the album so can you tell a bit more about the past from Behexen as well as introducing each member to us?
We started in ’94 under a different name (LOTLH) and our first demo “Reality is in evil…” was released in ’95. The first line-up was Torog, Horns and Reaper. With that line-up we did our 2nd demo “Eternal Realm” (’97) and 3rd demo “Blessed Be The Darkness” (’98), which brought us a deal from Sinister Figure. And then Reaper left the band and we found Gargantum for his replacement in guitar, and not so long after that Lunatic joined in on bass. With this line-up we recorded a promo (’99) and our debut album “Rituale Satanum”, which was released in 2000. On those releases there are mainly same songs. In those days we started doing liverituals. After that the troubles and bullshit started, but we survived and at some point Veilroth joined in the 2nd guitar. With this line-up we recorded the material for the split-lp with Horna and later BTBOS. Lunatic & Veilroth are no longer in the band, but Reaper is, so the current line-up is;
Torog (litanies); heavily into satanism & occultism, rituals, alcohol and underground. Dedicated and tattooed. Responsible of the lyrics.
Gargantum (razors); heavily into gore, kickboxing, guitarplaying, drinking and metal. Real metalhead with awesome playingskills and inclination to violence.
Reaper (saws); heavily into guitarplaying, metal, alcohol and computers. Thin and ugly.
Horns (bloodbarrels); heavily into esoterics, satanism & occultism, porn & drinking. Retarded and demented. Responsible for the music.

What was the main reason to start with Behexen back then and are things going the way you wanted it for Behexen and what goals do you still want to achieve with Behexen?
T: Attraction to Satanism and extreme music. Those were the accomplishing and uppermost reasons to start Behexen. From those times we nevertheless have developed musically as well as mentally, but the meaning of Behexen still is the same, that meaning being the cultivation of Satan and death!

Behexen exists for a decade now, so are there any special events or releases planned to celebrate the first decade of Behexen?
Yes, the special release I talked in the first question is also to celebrate our first decade, and like I mentioned earlier, those tracks are quite unique and by this I don´t mean they are very original or some ambient. They are different, special, and they have a sort of haunting atmosphere. There will also be something special in the edition itself which will be limited. No gigs are planned at the moment, but there has been some interaction with organizers and we will have to wait and see if anything concrete will come out of it.

Where do you get your inspiration from when writing both music and lyrics and can you tell the contents on each track on the “By the blessing…” album?
T: Inspiration for the lyrics comes from many things. From our own emotions and experiences. But the greatest source of inspiration is myself though. “By the blessing of Satan” tells about how we are blessed by Satan to walk this dark path, and how black metal found us from amongst thousands. United us together to establish the cult which spreads the black evangelium. It could be said that we are blessed by Him and that is what the songs of the album are dealing with. I am not going to start to tell from all songs one by one. Read the lyrics from the album or ask me to send them for you.
H: Inspiration for music comes from our occult experiences. Sometimes I feel that I am just a medium for Him, that something or someone else is emanating through me into existence. Almost like automatic, but musical, writing. And sometimes I just start playing guitar and something may draw my attention, the dark aura or something and then I just know. I hardly never intentionally think that now I am going to write a song but that can happen too. And I guess we are inspired by hundreds of other bands wanted we that or not.

The Finnish blackmetal scene is getting stronger and stronger and more and more bands deliver high quality albums like Calvarium, Horna and Behexen. How do you see this and what do you think of the Finnish scene nowadays? And what other bands are worth paying attention to?
Here are a few good bands and shitloads of crap bands like elsewhere, but the group that plays actual black metal is very small, very mariginal. Many talented individuals play in several bands, so circles here are small and introvert. And that has its benefits and disadvantages. We are doing our part here in keeping things pure and without outside influences, without things that have absolutely nothing to do with black metal.
Warloghe, Diaboli, Enochian Crescent, Torturium and Musta Surma came first in mind but there are other promising acts as well.

Does Behexen play much live gigs and what can we expect from a Behexen gig?
We play live but not often. You can expect dirty, disgusting and primitive performance with intensity. In one of our gig we offered dead rats to our audience, but that is just an example of what might happen. Our gig is more like a ritual which it actually is. Black metal gig is never made only for the sake of playing, there has to be other elements as well. We stick to traditions with leather, spikes, robes, corpsepaint and blood, and we may use whatever we might find stimulating.

Is Satanism an important way of living for you guys or is it merely an image that goes hand in hand with the music? (By reading forementioned answers I already know enough about the importance).
T: Pretty foolish question when we are talking about BLACK METAL. Satanism is the whole foundation of my life and the most central source. It comes forth from me every place and it follows me to the grave. Music is what is of lesser importance. Music is only there to strengthen our Satanic message. When the time comes when we are not able to perform music anymore, then the most important part of the Black Metal still remains for us, Satanism!

What is to expect in the near future from Behexen?
In the near future there will be a cd-edition of our split with Horna, and then there will be a very limited pic-lp edition from it also. Then that earlier mentioned special-edition box-set (3 x 7″), and right now we are also working with the lp-version of BTBOS. T-shirts are now on print and those should be available soon from us or Woodcut. We have some new tracks under work at the moment for our next album but it is too early to say anything concrete about it.

Thanks for the interview. Anything else you want to mention? As usual the last words are yours!
T: Thanks to yourself. Better interview than usually. Out soon Behexen 3×7″ box- set by Woodcut rec. T- shirts also available. Hail Satan!

Behexen

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Severe Torture – “The whole atmosphere is more dark and threatening and maybe we changed a little bit from a Cannibal Corpse-style to a more Immolation and Morbid Angel sort of style”

The beginning of the 21st century was the time of Dutch Death Metal band Severe Torture. With the release of two very brutal and well received albums and intensive touring in both Europe and US these guys got a lot of positive feedback and gained international hails. More than a year ago it got rather quiet around this band, with tours being cancelled, no new recordings and just a slight amount of shows. This didn’t meant the end of the band, and in fact they were very active. Thijs tells us what Severe Torture has been up to and what the future will bring us and them…

Hi Thijs. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Severe Torture. Your last releases”Misanthropic Carnage” and  “Butchery Of The Soul” dating from more than two years back and since the beginning of 2003 you only did ten gigs so far.  I’m sure there still was plenty going on in several areas, right?
Hey Danny, what’s up? Sorry to correct you but our latest release was “Misanthropic Carnage” from October 2002. “Butchery” was released early 2002 (my bad; DB). But anyway, it has been a while since we released something. After the European tour with Cannibal Corpse in 2002 we started to write new songs and we were still thinking about adding a second guitar player. We also had something going in the USA for a tour there but suddenly Hhr (Hammerheart records; DB) stopped with the USA department. Our album didn’t get a proper release and promotion overthere so that tour never happened. But we kept on going and tried out Marvin as second guitar player. It really turned out good, both musically and personally so we decided to give it a go. It took us some months to work him in and we did some shows which were great.

I’ll now immediately kick in with the ‘breaking news’: you recently have parted with your former record label Karmageddon Media, formerly known as Hammerheart Records. What kind of deal did you have with Hammerheart and can you tell us the main reason why this separation took place?
In total we were signed by Hammerheart Records for four years and they released 2 full-lengths, 1 mini-album and some vinyl stuff. During those four years we were treated very well, we got tour support and we were one of the few bands that actually got royalties. But we felt we wanted something different and therefore we opened up the contract and worked it out with them.

Karmageddon will release another album of you, namely a live album with some extras. Can you tell us some more about this upcoming release?
To properly finish the contract we agreed to release a live-cd with a cover song and with our demo “Baptized…” dating from 1998. The live songs were recorded in Aarhus, Denmark by Tue Madsen (Exmortem, The Haunted, Born from Pain and many more) and we mixed them at the Excess Studios in Rotterdam. The sound is amazing and you can hear everything very clear, even some minor fuck-ups!! The cover song is “Lost Souls” from Pestilence. We like Pestilence a lot and we didn’t want do to the obvious thing and record a US-death metal song. The demo is the same as the original version, we only re-mastered it a bit. All in all it will be a cool release with cool artwork done by Sven from Dirge Design/Aborted/Leng’Tche.

As said before it’s been rather silent around Severe Torture with all these happenings surrounding the band, but you didn’t sit still, right? Can you tell us what you all’ve been doing this time?
Well, We took some time to get used to play as a 5-piece again and when it felt right we started writing new material. We did some shows, worked things out with Hammerheart Records and were confronted with some tour cancellations. We took some time to record, mix and master the live album and time flies when you are having fun, right?

Right indeed! So you say you have recorded new material which you are finishing up now for an upcoming album. Has another label already shown interest in signing Severe Torture? Rumours have been going around, you know…
Of course there are some interested parties. Some even showed interest before we decided to leave Hammerheart Records. I cannot reveal any names but I think we will make a good step forwards. And yes, we recorded some new songs during rehearsals but they will mainly be used by ourselves to help the song writing lyrical-wise.

And can you tell us some more about the new material? Is it going to be a continuation of the Severe Torture style as it is or will there be musical changes/broadening? I heard that more blunt and threatening dragging parts would possibly be included as well as solo’s. What can you say about this?
Well, when we started writing we decided to let it just come as it comes. With Marvin in the band we have a great riff-master and song writer. So that will definitely change our sound. We also noticed that we wrote more slow and mid tempo parts instead of blasting insanity all the time. It sounds great and it’s great to play. The 8 songs that we have so far are more balanced and groovy than what we wrote before. And yes, there will be some solo’s in it. The whole atmosphere is more dark and threatening and maybe we changed a little bit from a Cannibal Corpse-style to a more Immolation and Morbid Angel sort of style. We also found out that Dennis can do way more different grunts than the ones he used on the previous albums so that will also be more interesting on the next album.

For about roughly 16 months you are a five piece outfit again with the spawning of a second guitar player in the form of Marvin, known for his work in Blo.Torch. Why did you make the decision to become a five piece band again and how did you team up with Marvin? Were there other people interested or qualified?
Since our first album we were thinking of adding a 2nd guitar but we never found the right person. We know that 2 guitars sound better than 1 guitar live and especially when you double some parts and give the breaks some extra power. During the Cannibal Corpse tour we noticed that Marvin, who was playing session guitar in Dew-Scented, was a cool guy and we got along really well.

After the tour we met eachother a few times at shows and during one show a friend advised us to check out Marvin for 2nd guitar. We actually never thought about it but after some talking we gave it a chance. There were some other guitarists we discussed but we realized that we needed someone who would add something extra. We discovered that Marvin is the perfect guy so we couldn’t be happier with this choice!

He played six shows with you so far. How is this co-operation going so far and how did it improve the live situation/rehearsing/song writing for the band?
Like I said it works out perfectly! Marvin learnt our set list in a month or so and live he played the songs very well. The few shows we did went great and I can’t wait to do a tour with this line-up!

Do you still rehearse a lot nowadays? Now with five members and new labels to look forward to and all? How was this situation let’s say… eight months back?
We rehearse twice a week and we are almost finished with the writing of the new songs! I also think we will be more prepared when we enter the studio because we play all the new songs every rehearsal now and that will only improve the quality we will lay down in the studio! And we are really looking forward to sign with a new label of course. We have the feeling that this 3rd album is going to be very important for us so we will do everything in our power to deliver a super album!

You seemed to have had misfortune the last 18 months, with the cancelling of a European tour with Hate Eternal, Dying Fetus and Deeds Of Flesh and the cancelling of several Swedish shows with Dying Fetus. What was/were the reason(s) for this?
– Yeah, those things really suck! We got the offer to go on a 6 week tour with Hate Eternal, Dying Fetus and Deeds of Flesh in Europe starting September 2003. We would do this tour with the four of us (our old line-up without Marvin) because we got this offer before he joined us and he was ok with that. Then a month and a half before the tour would start it was cancelled because Hate Eternal got the opportunity to tour with Hatebreed in the USA. I cannot blame them for making that decision and they postponed the tour to January 2004. We got the same offer but this time Marvin was in the band for 7 or 8 months and it didn’t feel right to go without him. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough space in the bus for 5 people, so we decided to not join the tour. After that we worked on some other European tours which all let to nothing. We got the offer to do 6 dates with Dying Fetus in Sweden and Finland but that also was cancelled 5 days before the first show. That sucked ass!

Several years back Seth and Patrick were part of Centurian. They quit and they could fully concentrate on Severe Torture. Now, the former guitar player of Centurian formed a new band NOX and again Patrick and Seth are part of the line-up. But this time, your new guitar player Marvin is also still playing in his other band Blo.Torch. Don’t you think this will create some problems when playing live with Severe torture when the taste for the road will hit again? Do you have solid agreements on this or something?
I don’t think all 3 bands will tour that intensively, so that won’t be a problem. When 2 tours will come at the same time we would probably look which band needs that tour the most.

Something funny I saw on your site is about your merchandise section, where Georgina Verbaan (a known Dutch soap’star’) is posing in two of your new girlies. How did this happen and how willing was she to show off your merchandise?
Well, Seth’s neighbour is a photographer and she worked on a movie with Georgina in it. Somehow she brought a girlie to the set and Georgina liked it and wanted to pose in it. After that she asked for more and we gave her another one. But actually we really needed someone to pose in those girlies so this was a good moment.

And did sales improve or basically just stopped right there? I hear a lot of diverse comments; though I think it’s a cool stunt…
Of course we got negative comments and a lot of people actually thought that we did it with Photoshop (like we would pick Georgina if we could use anyone we wanted…) but all in all it gave us some publicity and we sold some extra girlies.

Are there any new plans you can reveal already to the fans concerning Severe that haven’t been told yet?
We will probably enter the studio in January 2005 for a spring release. We will be touring after that and hopefully we finally can do some good summer festivals! The live album called “Bloodletting” will be released around March 2005 through Karmageddon Media, watch out for that.

Ok, we’ll leave it at this. Thanks for the interview, good luck and feel free to voice your disgust or anything…
Thanx for the interview, hope to see you people at the few shows we will play until the new record comes out. Cheers!!

Severe Torture

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  • Bands: Master
  • Review Date: October 28, 2004
  • Authors: FelixS

Master – “I have always been fascinated by the old Western movies”

When I met Paul Speckmann on the Obituary tour – Master opened up for them all around Europe – we talked a bit about Master and labels and stuff. That reminded me that I wanted to interview him after the release of the “Unreleased Album 1985”-album by From Beyond, though, it never got through. And though I haven’t heard the latest Master album yet we agreed of doing this interview as soon as he returned home in the Czech Republic after the tour. He, as promised, was able to squeeze it in between the Obituary tour and the ones he was going to tour manage (both Dismember and Dissection). We talked not only about the latest activities in the band but also a bit on the infamous history of Master and its career. Rather interesting to read, if you’d ask me, so: enjoy…

Hey Paul, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!
You know I always try to make time for questions. Interviews such as this are important in spreading the music message aroung the globe. Master has been an underground band for many years and I am trying to spread the music to a bigger audience.

First of all, some time ago you released a new album on System Shock (“The Spirit Of The West”) which is entirely based on the Western culture. What was the idea behind this – slightly conceptual – choice?
The USA is a piece of shit trying to force its values on countries that aren’t in the least bit interested, I think it was a big mistake to invade Irak and now Americans as well as Irakis are paying a high price for this fowl up. I think Bush is the modern day Hitler and will stop at nothing to get what he wants from everyone. He wishes to rule the world and force Democracy on cultures that aren’t in the least bit interested. America has always been pushy. Let’s face it when they stole all the land from the Indians, they never looked back. Now its the worldwide quest for the most oil reserves. Greedy sons of bitches is what they are. I must say living here in Czech and standing on the outside looking in is a better way and gives me a clearer picture of what’s really happening!

What were your main influences/inspirations for this album?
The same influences as always. Western culture always has played a big role in my writing. Just read the lyrics from all the previous cds I  have released over the years.

Tom Angelripper (Sodom, Onkel Tom) also did something alike in 2000 with his Desperados-project. Did he inspire you to do such a thing?
I have always been fascinated by the old Western movies and this played a big part in the decision to do this cd cover. But, on the otherhand I have always liked Sodom. I always thought this band was under-rated.

It was already some time ago since you released a Master album, just over two years. What’s new since the release of “Let’s Start A War”?
I released another cd from Krabathor called Dissuade Truth and I must say it was a killer album, but the band and the cd fell by the wayside. I will only concentrate on Master for the next several years. Also since “Let’s Start A War” Master played several festivals throughout Europe and has been touring for more then two years now. My label just hasn’t done enough in the way of promotion lately.

The guys you played with on the last tour are from the Czech thrash band Shaark, these guys are new in the line-up of Master (at least, they were not on “Let’s Start A War”). What made you chose for them and what about Shaark, do they still exist?
I found the best drummer in the Slovak Republic as well as a killer guitarest from The Czech Republic and there is no turning back. Aleš Nejezcleba and Zdenak Pradlovsky are seasoned veterans on the Czech and Slovak metal scenes and they are the perfect addition to Master. As for Shaark, I cannot answer that. Shaark and Master played several festivals and shows tpogether last year and had some killer evenings together. As for the future, you would have to ask the guys. I really hope that the new players become permanent fixtures in Master.

We – journalists – at webzines and magazines don’t get too much support from System Shock, what is your experience with the label? Are you satisfied with them after all?
Well I have to say that in the beginning Mr: Kulosa and company were great and really helped Master get back on track, but these days they are concentrating more on the Punk scene which is where System Shock began. Apparently there is more money in Punk rock. System Shock has done a lot for Master and I will always be greatful, but soon it will be time to move on to a bigger Metal label.

Some time ago the “Unreleased 1985” album – which never made it to a proper release – got released through the Dutch label Displeased Records. What made you decide that this album needed a release after all?
Actually From Beyond Productions contaced me and wanted this release and afterall many people got a bootleg of these recordings in the early eightees, and the sound quality was horrendous. I figures re-mastering might be a bit better for these Combat recordings and the rest as they say is history. The recordings are noisy but nevertheless capture the original spirit of the band back in 1984-85.

And didn’t it have a title at first?
Master debut, that’s it.

You were on a European tour with Visceral Bleeding and Obituary, how did you experience this?
The experience was better than most. The houses were full at most of the gigs and I was finally able to show a decent size crowd what Master is and was always about on a nightly basis.

And what are your best memories on the tour?
Too many to tell. That’s to general of a question. every tour has its good and bad and that’s what books are for. I will release “On The Road With Grandpa” after another twenty or so tours and you can read about it then.

And what about the choice of touring with these two bands?
Obituary chose Master after playing Fuck The Commerce together in May of this year. I would say the name of the tour: “Legends are Back”-tour, pretty much speaks for itself, wouldn’t you?

You and your bands (mainly Master and Deathstrike) are seen as pure cult bands that were of an enormous influence on the scene back then. How do you look back on such a thing?
Surviving The Underground, my autobiography addresses these and other issue. Look out for it in 2005.

And did you know you were heading toward this status back in the days?
Of course. Many bands wrote me letters as children, asking advise or just complimentig Master, Deathstrrike and also Abomination. Bill Steer for example.

Your influence is indeed huge, for instance: Napalm Death covered a Master track of the unreleased 1985 album on their last album, what do you think of such a thing? Barney, their vocalist, is really worshipping the old Master albums, that must feel great, doesn’t it?
It’s an honour of course, but let’s face it we all no that Barney was influenced by Massacre (Kam Lee) and Paul Speckmann and one must congratulate such a successful legend in this difficult business. Actually it was the Benediction boys that told me this about Barney on the last tour a month or so ago. Napalm has and always will kill in my book, and I wish them all the best. It’s funny, when I met Benediction in Praha for the first time they were hanging up their backdrop. I put mine up over theirs and Daz said (Yeah Paul we stole the logo!) Rewy later informed me that at the first Benediction gigs they opened up with the song Terrorizer from the original Master demos. We all smiled and this was the beginning of a good friendship. Most of the bands from the early days from England are quite cool.

You were also in some other bands, for instance in Solutions. The story behind that band is rather unclear to me. Could you spend some words on it please? What happened?
A simple story. Brady from Master and I decided to record a project after the Lost over Euro tour with Malevolent Creation,
Master and Krabathor. We recorded a Punk cd with our friends from Tilburg Holland. We had many guests recording and doing vocals as well as producing the cd. The label Metal Age Records Germany (ex-Turbo, known for some works on early Beherit and Acheron for instance, FelixS) ripped me off just like their friends Nuclear Blast Records.

What is your opinion on the death metal scene of today, it faded far from what it once was. Only a few bands are still true to the original roots these days. That makes a band like Master or Acheron for instance more unique at the moment…
Well the originals will always survive. As for this new generation of garbage I really don’t have much too say. I hear an
occasional Master riff still today.

On the tour with Obituary I saw that you had some nice black and white self-made xeroxed flyers, I was kind of surprised that you were still doing these things…
Underground promotion is and will always be the only way for me. I am still Surviving The Underground as you can see. Are you still as much of an underground freak as you were back in the eighties? Of course I am still broke as I was when it all began for me. If it was about money, I would have given up long ago. The underground made me what I am still today. I really don’t think the underground is what it was in the eightees, but there is still hope for its return.

So I suppose you are still checking new bands, demos, zines etc?
Of course!

And just to kill my curiosity, what have you been listening lately?
Motorhead, Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow, the classics.

Ok Paul, that was it for now, thanks a lot for your time and your answers! Hope to see you soon on stage again!
You will as Master will do another big tour with another legend next year, watch fror details. Meanwhile gotta go. I must tour manage for Dismemeber 27 days and then 14 days for Dissection.

The music awaits me cheers, Paul!!!!!

Master

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