JP - I Am Esper (5 January 2012)

I AM Esper is an improvised drone ambient project from New Jersey,USA.With influences of black metal, doom metal, noise and post rock,the project was created by Justin Palmieri & has released numerous albums, e.p.s, splits, demos & donwloads over the last few years. here are a few quick words to introduce you to this promising project.

1. A brief synopsis of the projects history/contributing members/release history
JP- The Project was started in summer 2009 when i was living in an attic piss poor with some broke instruments. I released my first demo as a net release on the web. It was well received, and i decided to continue with the project eventually through a new job I was able to afford an electric baritone guitar and turned the project into a more guitar based dark drone act and started releasing tapes and cdrs on various labels.


2. Give some general thoughts on the inspiration behind the music.
The music is influenced by Doom metal and Black metal as well as post rock and noise.
Mostly the themes are seclusion, misanthropy, nature worship, ghosts and outer space...or anything cold and desolate.


3. Some specifics on your sound.
Think low end droning guitar and dark floating soundscapes, with a big influence
on think doom metal guitar, with some black metal ascetics.


4. what does your music portray or represent?
My music represents all things inhuman and the worship of nature
and an empty void.


5. What is your opinion on the state of the underground situation?
I think the underground has some spirit left in it, with so many great
diy labels and bands, I think some out there are fucking posers but
that doesn't seem to stop those who keep the true underground spirit alive.


6. What is coming up for this project over the next 1-2 years?
I cant say really, I'm known to be prolific so most likely a lot of releases
but my music is always evolving in sound, so i can say for one thing there
will be some upcoming releases with a very different sound/approach.


7. Ask yourself one question you'd like to be asked and answer it.
What do you think about illegal downloading ?
I think downloading/ripping and posting music on the web is great promotion
for underground bands. I myself find things on blogs, than if its great I buy it,
if it sucks i delete it. I always offer my music for free, so anyone who buys a cdr/tape
from my project is free to upload it and share it.


8. Thanks for taking the time to fill this out, any last words?
Keep it morbid!


9. Do You Have Any Contact Info? Such As A Homepage, Snail Mail or Email Addies.
I can be found on the web at http://myspace.com/iamesper / http://www.facebook.com/iamesperambient or at new in progress website http://www.iamesperambient.tk and email for trades iamesperambient@yahoo.com and official store http://iamesper.bigcartel.com and http://iamesper.bandcamp.com

Lord Shatanas Whorebanger - Crucifixxx Sodomy (23 February 2010)

1. A brief synopsis of the projects history/contributing members/release history
The idea of CRUCIFIXXX SODOMY occured back in late 2006 when Lord Shatanas Whorebanger (Vokills) arrived back in Canada after living in Australia for a few years. Next things next, I made a "troll" message board account and blamed/accused a band called Crucifixxx Sodomy for "hacking" my computer and taking a shit on our floor (I actually did so and posted the pix, people believed it which amused us) after several people were offended by the topics I posted one night under the influence of crack and cheap booze. Several parties occured in 2007 at the HellHouse, some of the flyers for these piss-ups had our name on them scheduled to play. Pretty hard to play live when theres no actual songs created. The fine lads from Warlock Moon (raw black metal from Toronto) asked us if we would like them to join Crucifixxx Sodomy to fill in on drums and bass. We agreed and started jamming in early winter 2008 on a regular basis. Some songs were created, I have forgotten most of them unfortunally. No live shows were ever performed with members from Warlock Moon. I went threw some serious personal issues and started lashing out on everyone around me without even realizing I was doing so. Due to this, we lost the Warlock Moon guys as our backbone. 2009 comes and Taylor Pill from King/ex-Malaria/ex-Warlock Moon joined us on drums and we started jamming again at the new HellHouse on a regular basis. New songs were wrote and we started finally playing live. Oliver from King filled in at 2 shows, one at Duffys Tavern with Shellshock,Nuclearhammer,King and Malaria and another live show at a dive bar filled with drunk natives and homeys along with Malaria, Nuclearhammer and King. Numerous toxic jams occur with random members, basically whomever was around at the time and wanted to jam with us. Fall 2009 we finally find a deadicated drummer named Max whom plays in a local doom metal band called Kaiju. We played 2 back to back destructive live shows at Duffys with him, which consisted of naked girls dancing, extreme profanity, broken bottles, blood all over us, nudity, body fluids, violent pit and so on. these 2 shows seemed to have created a "buzz" and a small following of degenerates questioning when our next live ritual will be. Just this past weekend we played our 5th live ritual at "The Hard Luck Bar" which lead to us being kicked out of the venue and banned for our regular antics (cutting, swatsika imagery and so on). As of now, there is no Crucifixxx Sodomy recordings available. We do plan on recording a demo very soon and Eternal Darkness Kreations (USA) is interested in releasing it.


2. Give some general thoughts on the inspiration behind the music.
Crucifixxx Sodomy's influences consist of all toxins, destructive and chaotic behavior, satan, bizarre events at the HellHouse. Never Stop the madness.

3. Some specifics on your sound.
We're all over the place. All depends on our mood at the time we summon up demons via creating music. How drunk we are at the time etc....A mixture of all extreme sounds and visions. It's safe to say that we are punk rockers that are into extreme black and death metal.


4. what does your music portray or represent?
Our music is a dark matter and our mission is to continue to keep punk rock evil and dirty. So far, so good.


5. What is your opinion on the state of the underground situation?
Speaking for myself, as I have been running a underground label/distribution service named "SkullfuckingMetal" for almost 10 years now, i've seen alot of changes for the better and for the worse. Those whom are deadicated will always remain deadicated. Basically i've seen alot of people come and go, end up deceased and so on. Not much has really changed in the underground for me personally and I've been involved with it since I was 13, so years back.


6. What is coming up for this project over the next 1-2 years?
I'm pretty sure we will always be around causing destruction unless Shane or I dies. Then it would be time to retire the bands name I believe.


7. What is your view towards politics in black metal?
Speaking for myself, I could give two shits as it doesn't get me drunk. I have to find other means to get drunk. In Toronto, where we come from, the most diverse city in the world, it doesn't take much at all to offend people. Even those whom claim to be extreme. Speaking for Shane and Max, I believe they could care aless and highly enjoy getting wasted and causing destruction.


8. Thanks or taking the time to fill this out, any last words?
Thank you for your support! Last words, ask me when i'm about to die..


9. Do You Have Any Contact Info? Such As A Homepage, Snail Mail or Email Addies.
Crucifixxx Sodomy has no webpage, why, I'm not sure. I guess we have never bothered making one for whatever reasons.

Nattravn - Forest Funeral (26 July 2010)

Here is an Interview with Natravn, the driving force behind Forest Funeral, a Dark Ambient solo project from Belgrade, Serbia. This interview was completed on 26 July 2010.


1. A brief synopsis of the projects history/contributing members/release history
Funeral Forest was created in late 2009, when I decided to finally create some project of my own.I am Nattravn , the sole member of the project.

The current discography:
"Demo" 2009 [Internet release]
"A Funeral in The Woods" [Tape on Vomit Bucket Productions]
"Eternity in Solitude" [Pro CD-r on SkullLine Records]

2. Give some general thoughts on the inspiration behind the music.
I've always connected the music of Forest Funeral with dark and haunting woods, without the presence of civilization, and that's something that continues to provide inspiration for future work.

3. Some specifics on your sound.
Haunting, occult and misanthropic Dark ambient. Just as it should be.

4. What does your music portray or represent?
My music represents mainly my hatred towards humanity. It portrays, as i stated above, the nature, in its original form, haunting and obscure.

5. What is your opinion on the state of the underground situation?
I think underground scene is standing good, as long as there is people to support it and make sure it's there for good. We will never let it fade away.

6. What is coming up for this project over the next 1-2 years?
There is a new release in production, entitled "End..." an it is planned to be released on tape, in late 2010. After that, there will certainly be more releases, especially splits. But you can never be sure what the future is bringing.

7. Ask yourself one question you'd like to be asked and answer it.
Q: Your last wish?
A: Everyone dead.

8. Thanks or taking the time to fill this out, any last words?
Thank you for giving me a chance for this interview, and keep supporting the underground!

9. Do You Have Any Contact Info? Such As A Homepage, Snail Mail or Email Addies.

homepage: http://www.myspace.com/forestfuneral
contact: demo_gorgon@live.com

D. - Woods of Desolation (30th December 2009)

Woods of Desolation is a fairly young project from Australia, creating Depressive Black Metal. They have a few releases out now, one of which is an album which is nothing short of a masterpiece and now that there's a new vocalist working with the project we sent some questions D.'s way.

1. Gegroet, some of the readers may know you from your work with Austere but can you first introduce us to Woods of Desolation.
Hello. Well, Woods of Desolation was formed in 2005, under this name we have publicly released 2 demos, 2 splits, a full-length and an EP.


2. P. knight was doing vocals and bass for Woods Of Desolation, with his being located in South West Wales, UK. How did that affect the recording procedure?
The distance between us didn't really drastically affect things at all. I would record the drums and guitars myself, then mail him the tracks to complete bass and vocals. Whilst this may of resulted in tracks taking longer to complete then the average band, this was never a huge problem for me.


3. How would you normally approach recording a song with Woods Of Desolation? I heard that some of it was improvised, is that true?
Correct. Up to and including the "Toward The Depths" full-length much was improvised. I would usually work alone on songs on an old acoustic guitar and play the riffs over and over again until I found something that worked for me, I would then go and improvise large parts of it during recording. I found this way of creating/recording best to allow me to be able to fully express honestly what I needed to whilst creating music. However, from the recently released "Sorh" EP and on future recordings there will not be any improvisation.


4. When you first came up with the idea of Woods Of Desolation, what made you decide to make a project with someone on the other side of the globe as opposed with someone locally? Was the distance the reason that P. knight is no longer in the band and replaced by Desolate?
When Wooods of Desolation started, I simply wanted NOTHING to do with any "scene" or be apart of anything, it existed purely for my own purposes and inner desires, and still does. I wanted to be able to create what I wanted, and needed to, alone, without any regard for anything or anyone else, which I couldn't do in previous local bands/projects. I had been in contact with P. Knight for a few years previously, so getting him involved was the right choice to make at the time, but getting someone locally, such as Desolate, makes things much easier to complete recordings and achieve the final idea's I have in my head etc.


5. I heard a few years ago that it snowed for the first time in over a century in some parts of Australia, Did this happen anywhere near you? I just ask while I wonder how much the climate where a band is located influences their sound. Your sound has such a desolate and lonely feeling to it, which generally makes me think of the empty lands in Wales or mountains of Scandinavia, what are your surrounding areas like and how do you feel they have affected you ith the music you create? Do you think it would be very different were you to live in say, Scandinavia or Scotland?
Well it does snow each winter in some parts of Australia, but the story you mention was indeed in area's that have not seen snow for a long time, unfortunately I did not get to see this...Where I currently reside you have the mountains a very short distance away from the coastline, whilst scenic-wise it may well be a decent location, my surrounding climate/area has a minimal influence on the creative process. What is reflected within my music is purely a reflection of myself, so if I was to live in Australia or Scandinavia etc the music would still have the same feeling(s) to it regardless of my location. Negativity, depression, hatred and similar emotions/views/feelings are not necessarily always relative to ones climate/geographical location, but more so to the individual creating the music.


6. The Woods Of Desolation album has a dark depressing feeling about it, unlike many other bands I have heard in a while it sends me into a trance when I listen to it. Does the music have a similar effect for you? Did you draw on any specific influences (musical, emotional, location) to create these trance inducing atmospheres?
When creating the music, yes. I have lost many hours whilst writing/recording material for Woods of Desolation. I do not like to listen to my work after it is finished for various reasons, so I can't really comment on what effect it has on me whilst listening to it afterwards.


7. I felt the newer material which I have heard with Desolate on vocals also sounded quite different musically, was this a result of losing P. Knight's input, or was there always an intention to progress Woods Of Desolation's sound since I felt the album was a big difference from the preceding demo.
All progress was just a natural occurrence over the years, there has never been, and never will be, a concious decision to change anything, not for myself and especially not for anyone else.


8. Can we expect further musical progression on future Woods of Desolation albums? Would you ever have any clean vocals in Woods of Desolation like we see in Austere?
I think musically we will no doubt progress further, but as said, it will not be a forced decision, whatever happens will just happen of it's own accord.


9. Do you think you would ever have more members join the ranks of Woods Of Desolation? Maybe, for instance, to create a full line up?
There is a strong possibility that I will recruit a drummer for future recordings instead of myself. I simply do not have time to play/practice drums anymore, nor do I think my drumming ability is up to the level I now require. Apart from this there is no need to recruit any other members at this stage, and I don't forsee this changing anytime soon.


10. I've seen The One play live with vocals, guitars and a drummer and this worked quite well, they created a dark atmosphere while paying. Would you consider playing live with Woods Of Desolation? If not with a permanent line up, perhaps with a live line up?
I have at times considered the possibility of performing live, but I do not think it will ever happen. Performing live is simply not something I enjoy, plus not too mention Woods of Desolation is a deeply personal creation, and not something I wish to "expose" to anyone else outside the band. I feel with music, especially Black Metal, alot of feeling/atmosphere is lost when performed live. I will always prefer to perform, create & listen to music by myself.


11. With the progression of music involved in Austere and Woods Of Desolation, how do you feel about the people adament with keeping Black Metal "the old way"? Do you think the scene needs more bands like Woods Of Desolation and Austere who push the boundaries of Black Metal or do you think there's a risk where the music you create stops being Black Metal, as happened with avantgarde "Black Metal" bands of the 90s such as Arcturus.
I do understand people who wish to keep Black Metal "the old way", but they need to realise, it is not up to them what the bands do. If the band wants to incorporate different elements outside the usual boundries, so be it, it is ultimately the creator's decision what they wish to do with their music. That said, I do not think or worry about this at all when creating my own music.


12. What can we look forward to seeing from Woods Of Desolation in the coming months or years?
I am currently writing a new full-length, I'm hoping to have it completed and recorded sometime in 2010, but time will tell.


13. Any last words, contact details or distros where your releases are available you'd like to share with the readers?
Thank you for the interview. The following distro's have releases/merchandise available:

www.eisenton.de
www.ruinproductions.com
www.darkadversary.com
www.hammerofdamnation.com.br

And contact can be made via the following avenues:
woodsofdesolation @ hotmail.com
www.myspace.com/woodsofdesolation

Grutle And Ivar - Enslaved (November 2009)

Enslaved was formed in 1991 out of the Ashes of Norwegian Death metal band Phobia. Like so many of the bands around in Norway during the early 90s Enslaved have progressed their sound a lot, and we decided to ask them some questions about that.

This interview was conducted by Long Haired Asshole with additional questions from Parasite and Anders P. Jørgensen. The interview was answered by founding members Grutle Kjellson and Ivar Bjørnson.

1. Our readers will no doubt know Enslaved from the older black metal days, and into the days of the Viking metal sound, but for those who aren't familiar with what's been going on with Enslaved lately, Could you give a short introduction to what's happened with Enslaved over the last few years?
Grutle: I guess the biggest change soundwise, came along with the release of “Below the lights” (Recorded 2002, released 2003). We changed the line up quite drastically and cut off some “dead meat” in the songwriting. We got things a lot more structured after a period of experimentation (“Mardraum” and “Monumension”), and sort of kept the good stuff from the experimentation days and the elements from our early days. I would say that we transformed our older ideas into a new era for Enslaved. After the release of “Below the lights” we got hold of Cato Bekkevold (Drums),Herbrand Larsen (Keys/Voc) and Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal (Lead guitar. He actually also play the lead parts on “B.T.L”). They have stayed with us ever since and have without any doubts contributed a lot to develop our sound both on recordings and live. We are stronger than ever!


2. You've just released Vertebrae which has already won you a Norwegian Grammy. What are your thoughts on this?
Grutle: It was actually released more than one year ago, but what´s the hurry?!! Hehe… I think it it´s cool to win a Grammy. Acknowledgement is always cool. I don´t give a rats ass if some people find it untrue or not very metal or mainstream/whatever….. The Grammy parties are a different story though…not very rock´n roll…hehe. But still, we appreciate winning the awads a lot!!


3. You've taken a swift change on the last two albums, would you say you prefer your music now or the music you made over ten years ago and before? How would you say the band's sound has changed over the past decade? Was this a natural development, would you say?
Grutle: I think it would have been awfully strange if we´d appreciate what we did 10 years ago rather than the music we make nowadays!

Although I really enjoy a lot of the stuff we made in the early days, I find it hard to imagine us looking backwards and make a “Frost II”, to put it that way. For Enslaved, development has always been the driving force. We can´t stand the idea of copying ourselves, and we are prettty simply trying to make our own favorite music at the present time. Also we have never been afraid of taking inspiration from other musical genres. We are music lovers, not genre lovers, so there´s no limits for what we can include in our music really.


4. I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of Pink Floyd influence to your music as of Monumension and onwards, are they a big influence to your writing and approach ?
Ivar: For me they are very important in all aspects.. It has been one of my top five favorite bands since I was 11 years old. I guess I was more concerned about not “mixing” those kinds of influences into our music in the early days. Around the time of “Mardraum” these self-imposed shackles started to dissolve, and personally I think we maybe went too far on the mentioned “Monumension”. Then, from “Below the Lights” onwards I think we got a lot closer to the ideal balance. I guess “Vertebrae” is the album with the most blatantly outspoken PF influences, and I think it fits the album. Some people hate it, but this is my life’s work; not a popularity contest – let the man-dolls in the biz deal with that.


5. The area you live in (early on in Haugesund and now Bergen) is known for its forest surroundings and hills, have these surroundings inspired the way you write music in anyway ? and how?
Grutle: Yes, It has inspired us a lot I think. Apart from the northern parts of Norway (above the polar circle), the western part were we live has got the most gloomy climate in the whole of Scandinavia. It rains more than 200 days a year, and it´s dark and windy. That is undoubtly colouring the way of writing music, and everything else you do for that matter!!


6. How have the lyrics and philosophy of Enslaved evolved over the last years with the progression in the style of music you have written? Did you start of writing traditional anti-christian lyrics and progress onto viking mythology based lyrics with the style of the music, or was there more to it for Enslaved?
Grutle: Our lyrical “platform” has always been the norse mythology/mystisism with a twist of rage towards the monotheistic world wiew of christianity among others. As we have gotton older and more experienced in life, our lyrics has gotten more deeper and philosophical and not so straight forward as they used to be. More or less similar to our music one can say. On our earlier releases it is easier to pinpoint the inspiration, while they are perhaps a bit more methaphorical nowadays. However, they are still full of mythological references.


7. Following on from the last question, Where do you stand on a religious and philosophical point of view today?
Grutle: I would never concider myself as a religious person, cause religion for me means total obediance , like in the before mentioned monotheistic religions. Such obediance is very far from human nature in my world. In the ancient cults they had no such religious systems that we see in todays religions. They based their life upon advices rather than rules and everything was circled around self development and individual thinking. I try to transforms these ideas into modern life.

8. You've also had many line-up changes over the years, why is this? Would you say it is harder to find musicians interested in playing your new direction of music or the older styles Enslaved was involved with?
Grutle: We´ve had a steady line up since 2003/2004, and we are very satisfied with all our members. After the departure of Roy and Dirge in 2002, it was quite hard to find suitable replacements cause we wanted musicans that could add something more than the “usual”. We started to look a little outside the extreme metal scene and after a while we got hold of three brilliant musicans that had a lot of different musical experience, and different from me and Ivar´s extreme metal background. I would say it was a very wise move, although it took some time!


9. Black Metal I hear is Norway's biggest musical export, why do you think this is?
Ivar: We are quite strong in all the “sub”-genres; electronica, jazz, contemporary music, noise ambient and so on. I think the Norwegian spirit, if such a thing exists, is quite tuned into individual thinking and living out the dream of being different and independent. Due to the historical scarcities (Norway was one of Europe’s absolutely poorest nations before the oil was discovered in the early 70’s) and rough living very far apart from each other it might have been a necessity to conform and keep your thoughts to yourself. This could have created a lack of balance in our minds and finally this has found an expression through music. Also we’ve had a particularly “un-glamorous” version of Christianity up here – the Pietism has oppressed vitality and free living to the extent that it had to explode in an anti-movement at some time. And it did. Finally I think the Norwegian Extreme Metal bands are very good at what they do – they focus and work hard. Most of us anyways, hehe.


10. When you started your sound was undoubtedly black metal, and black metal has always been surrounded in controversy over satanic lyrics and murder, were you trying to distance yourself from this ?
Ivar: We were never Black Metal, and we have been clear about that since day ONE in 1991. For us and the Norwegian scene at the time, the foundation of a Black Metal band is Satanic. I still think that way – for me Danzig is more satanic than any band singing about everyday life with a Black Metal “sound” as you call it. So yes, we were indeed closer to the Black Metal bands in the early days in terms of sound, but we were never and will probably never be a Black Metal band as there is no Satanism here.. That is out of respect for both us and our fans, as well as the actual Black Metal bands and their fans. Being genuine is more important than whatever trends are selling at any time. The ironic thing is that I sometimes think we’re “Black Metal” in spirit with all our harmonies and Pink Floyd tattoos than a lot of the shallow stuff that are stamping itself with the Black Metal seal of approval these days hehe.



11. Let's take a step or 2 back in time, to the band prior to Enslaved, Phobia, a dark and heavy death metal trip into the obscure. What happened back then when the band demised, and how had you changed personally and mentally since the new incantation Enslaved had changed from death metal, into black/viking metal?
Ivar: I think there is some kind of connection to our previous question here. We started Phobia and had a great time, being influenced by Death Metal like Autopsy and Morbid Angel (which we still are 100% into) – but I think me and Grutle grew tired very quickly from the shallowness; the lack of real commitment, the lack of a direction, a concept. The other guys were more or less having a good time and dreaming of naked chicks backstage and free parties. Not being patient people me and Grutle dismantled the band and started something of our own, determined to inject meaning and direction into the band. We were the same people but the band was us, and we were the band.


12. Later on when Enslaved's atmopshere turned darker, did you draw on inspiration from the same sources as with Phobia or did they come from somewhere else?
Grutle: We were totally into bands like Entombed, Darkthrone, Autopsy and Carcass when we played in Phobia and those influences are very significant on the Phobia-songs, no doubt! We brought with us some of those influences when we formed Enslaved too, yet they are not THAT visible. You can find some Death Metal influences here and there on our first demo tapes, but I think you will find more influences from bands such as Master´s Hammer, Bathory, Mayhem, Destruction, Sodom and Celtic Frost.


13. How much did the Darkthrone demos and Soulside Journey mean to you as a person and as a band? As I keep on making myself believe that I can hear traces of it in Phobia's material and later on in Enslaved, not directly, though in the way you built up some of the music, the suddenness of new elements and the dream-state like use of technical pieces.
Grutle: “Soulside Journey” is an amazing album, and I´m pretty sure that´s the album from that era that has been spinning around most on my record player! It meant a lot to us, both in Phobia and later in Enslaved. It sounded like nothing else emerging from Norway when it came out in 91. The technical playing, the dark sound, the complex yet melodic songs totally blew us away. It still does! It is one of my all time favorite albums. Darkthrone is an utterly great band! Both musical and personal.


14. Well, let's get back to Enslaved, I have a really hard time to pick out a favorite album by you, though Frost, Mardraum, Below The Lights and Isa are all fighting to get the top spot. If you had to pick out the Enslaved album that means the most to you and you find is the closest to perfection, what album would you pick?
Ivar: No surprise it is “Vertebrae” for the time being. The only surprise I can offer is perhaps that “Isa” is in the second place (so it is not ALL about chronology hehe). I think the common denominator is that “Isa” and “Vertebrae” have a production that fits the atmosphere of the music and lyrical concepts; the wholeness of those albums is something I am very proud. Also on the top three I would put “Hordanes Land” the MLP from 1993. Don’t get me wrong I love ALL the albums, but these three have something “magical” between the music, concept and production. I am pretty confident our next one is on that path too.


15 . As mentioned earlier, you seem tied to nature as a band, and the productions and sounds of the more recent albums have also gone in a more harmonic and organic direction. So how do you look upon the environmental tasks that we are put in front of these days, with global warming, the ice-melting at the poles, the overall state of the polluted earth and so forth, any thoughts on that, do you do anything to save energy, recycling etc. and how does it sound if one of Enslaved's new ventures would be, being the first CO2 neutral metal band around?
Ivar: That is a VAST subject, so I’ll only be fooling around with some thoughts here – not the entire chain of thought. I think a natural disaster, the natural holocaust would be very well deserved. Man has been putting himself one a false throne now for so many centuries; using monotheistic religion as an excuse to disband any personal responsibly (“God wants me to use plastic”). I really do believe in the global warming and the coming of very hard times – but I do not fear them; there are too many people and too much resources being spent. Some of us have to suffer, it is inevitable. How it happens or when I don’t know, but I think it is ridiculous when people act as if it isn’t happening. Myself I try to save as much energy as possible, I enjoy walking around Bergen as well as taking public transportation. Also my office is freezing cold all the time to save heating. Let’s see about the CO2 neutrality – not a bad idea!


16. Of the new bands that are popular in today's metal scene which would you say are the most individual in approach and sound?
Ivar: Hard question… I don’t know how new they are, but I like the Norwegian (!) Shining a lot – the experimental progmetaljazz band. They are due soon with a new album that is a lot more metal, a real breath of fresh air in a stale scene!


17. Any chance of a full U.K tour I know there are plenty of people here wishing for you to return?
Grutle: Absolutely!! We love playing in the UK. It has always been among our favorite territories! We seem to have a solid fanbase in UK, and our British fans (and the press!) always seem to embrace our albums! UK is awesome, thanks!!


18. You performed at Bloodstock this year, I personally prefer a smaller club venue as I feel it is more personal, and the crowd can connect more with the band and work of each other. How do you feel about festival gigs or smaller gigs? Which do you prefer and how do you approach each differently?
Grutle: I like both, and there should not be any difference in the performance! One should always act like you play in front of 20.000 people…hehe. But of course, in real life there is a difference. It´s of course extremely cool to hear the roar of thousands of people in the crowd, but the intimate and often energic symbiosis you can create together with the audience in a small club is simply magic!


19. Thanks for your time to do this interview, take the your time to say any last words, tell us What we can expect from Enslaved in the future, and any contact details you wish to give out to the readers.
Ivar: Expect a new album sometime in the 2nd half of 2010, and more massive touring. Also a new DVD should be coming after that… Check out our Facebook, Myspace and Twitter pages; for the more old school oriented there is of course still www.enslaved.no hehe.

Lava aka Radek - Amok (November 2009)

Amok hails from Norway and I discovered them as the attachment to a Taake split EP "Nordens Doedsengel" (Where Amok delivers the "Sadistic Attack" demo). I wasn't that impressed by the music in the start, though after some spins the music started to grow on me, and when the band released their debut full length in 2006, I was hooked. Now 3 years later the band is working on their second album and I hooked up with mainman Lava also known as Radek to hear what was going on and a lot of other things!

1. Hails Radek, please start this interview up by telling a bit about yourself and what fuels your drive for metal!
I have earlier been playing guitar/bass in bands such as Aeternus, Taake and Slavia. I was also a member of Dead to This World for a short period, and did some minor contributions on Orcustus' selftitled full-length album (out on Southern Lord Records – check out this rabid grimness!). Beside that I have had Amok as my main band since 2000.

As for what fuels my drive for metal, there is a lot of stuff I guess. Today I would have to mention Megadeth's "Rust In Peace", Dissection's "Reinkaos", Tragedy's "Vengeance", Massacra's "Final Holocaust" and Deicide's "Deicide", "Legion" and "Serpents of the Light". I also recently got introduced to the Swedish band Agrimonia and had to get their album immediately. Check them out on www.myspace.com/agrimonia and buy their debut CD/LP!

When it comes to music inspiring me to compose music for Amok, it is stuff both within the metal genre as well as non-metal music.

2. You are the mastermind behind the entity Amok, how and when did you get the idea for this band?
Amok started up in 2000. I was playing in Aeternus at that point of time, but I wanted to do some more old school, furious, aggressive and chaotic music. The main inspiration then was Sadistik Exekution, VON, Blasphemy, Beherit, punk and raw thrash from the eighties. I started writing a few tracks, and got Stanley to help out with drums and bass. We recorded a 4-track rehearsal, it consisted of two tracks: "Flamethrower" and "Reptile Gate". In 2001 Mord joined us as the new drummer, and from then Stanley only handled the bass. With this line-up we recorded our two demos ("Sadistic Attack" and "LAVA Dictatorship") and did a few live performances.

3. The music you deliver with Amok is put together by quite a wide range of styles, elements and at times a quite claustrophobic atmosphere, how did you end up with that expression?
In the beginning we had kind of stricter frames we worked within, when composing material for Amok. But after a while I did not care to bother, because I felt the band would stagnate. I have always been inspired by a lot of stuff, both from music and from life in general, and I wanted to use all of this to get a more personal and diverse expression. In the end it all culminates with an annihilating darkness. This atmosphere is what we reach for while composing the material.

4. What is the philosophy behind the band?
Darkness, doom and self-honesty.

5. How do you work when you write music and how do you get inspired to make new music?
There is no certain way I create a song for Amok. Sometimes I get inspired by a lyric I have written or a lyrical theme I have come up with. Sometimes just the right chord is enough to get the ball rolling. Other times I have almost all the music already composed in my head before I start. When I have the music ready for a track, I make a pre-production of the track with guitars, programmed drums and occasionally bass. So the rest of the members can check out the stuff.

6. What is the main-inspiration behind Amok and what would you like the ones listening to your music to react from it?
As mentioned earlier, there is all kind of different stuff that inspires me to compose music. The important thing is that all the moments of inspiration are channeled through me and end up as Amok. I do not give much thought about how the listeners will react. But hopefully they will be sucked into morbidity their own mind-fucked brain processes, and discover pure beauty.

7. A thought that have popped into my head several times while listening to your music, is that it possesses the same youthful and experimenting elements as Mayhem's "Deathcrush". What does that album mean to you and have the music, atmosphere and expression from that release inspired you?
I personally like "Deathcrush" a lot. It sounds fresh even today. It is more raw and brutal than any "blast-beat band" and much more punk than any of today's bands playing punk/black metal/rock 'n' roll.

I can not say that we had this EP in mind while we composed music for Amok, but I sure can say that the expression "Deathcrush" delivers is a perfect example of the period of death/black Metal that inspires me even today.

8. You are as we speak, in the middle of preparing a new record, you have already made the pre-production for it, and is now looking for a label, if I'm not totally mistaken. Have you had contact with some interested labels and what kind of label would be a perfect fit for Amok?
We have fished the recording of all guitars and bass for the coming album.

In December we will record drums and vocals, and then mix the album in Grieghallen in the end of January 2010.

A few labels have been in touch, but nothing of great interest yet. Then again we have not been very active in contacting labels either, since we are in the middle of a studio recording. We want to make some sort of promo when the album is recorded, and send it out to some interesting labels. A label like The Ajna Offensive or Rise Above Records would be perfect.

9. Your first album "Necrospiritual Deathcore" was released by Planet Satan Revolution, why did you part with that label?

We want to sign to a bit more active label, which can support our coming album with proper promotion. The label also has to be able to pay for our studio costs and has to have a decent distribution network.
All serious labels with interest can get in touch: amoklava@gmail.com

10. How was that first album of yours received by the fanbase you made yourself with your demo and vinyl releases?
The reviews of "Necrospiritual Deathcore" have been both positive and negative. But I have got the impression that people who have been into our music since the beginning likes the album.

11. How do you yourself feel about the album, now when you have gotten some distance to it?
I am personally satisfied with that album. That goes for the music, the sound and the whole package (cover/booklet/design).

12. Let's return to your coming album, it is entitled "Exodus Reversal Hex" and consists of 5 tracks, I reckon those tracks are of a certain length and contains the same pummeling power, as your music has hold so far. Though now when I have you, why don't you tell us what we can expect of the music, how it is compared to your earlier material and what the theme behind the lyrical side of the material is?
As you have mentioned, the album will consist of five tracks. The titles are: "Remembered With Uttermost Hatred", "East Of the River Where Life Is Drunk", "Triangular Corridors", "A Glimpse of His Splendor" and "Speak Up Your Sins, the Winds Are Howling From the Sea".

The tracks length varies a bit, the shortest one being 6 minutes and the longest one being 12 minutes.

It is difficult for me to explain the music on our new album. I guess I can say it is going to sound more doom and trance. Well, people should check it out when it is released next year sometime.

The lyrics are more open for the listener's interpretation this time. It might not seem as direct as the lyrics on our earlier releases, but the message behind them is still pretty clear-cut.

13. How long time did you use on writing the material and how long time did you use in the studio recording the pre-production?
I started to write the material in the end of 2006, after the release of "Necrospiritual Deathcore". The material was finished by the end of 2008/beginning of 2009. I took my time and let things flow naturally. I did not want to repeat myself nor stress the flow of development. I guess I used a few months for the pre-production.

14. Do you already have planned where you wanna do the actual recording, who you want to produce it and what about the cover artwork, is the actual work in place or have you pinned who you want to make it?
We have already recorded all the guitars and bass for the album. All keys/effects/programming are also finished. We will start recording the drums in the beginning of December, and start recording the vocals after the drums are done. We are recording the whole album ourselves. The plan is to mix the album in Grieghallen in the end of January 2010.

I have the cover and some of the design figured out. This time we are going to work with a designer that is a friend of mine, and who is located here in Bergen.

15. You have also changed vocalist since the last release, Necrocum is gone and Kybermensch has entered. Why the change and how is Kybermensch's vocals compared to those of Necrocum?
For this album we wanted a different approach regarding the vocals. The way things ended up, I will do the main vocals. There might be some contributions from Kybermensch. He did the clean vocals on "Goatflesh Removal" ("part I (Corpus Christi)" and "II (Memento Mori)") (From the "Necrospiritual Deathcore" album, Anders).

16. You are a part of the Misantrof AntiRecords family, a site where we can find a compilation of your demos and 7" material, some live material and so forth. Why did you enter the cooperation with Misantrof and how active is the organization nowadays?
I think that Misantrof AntiRecords is really interesting concept. They asked us if we wanted to contribute with some material, and I thought it would be a good way to make our old recordings available for new listeners in a very easily accessible format. We have put up the "Execution Compilation" (consisting of: "Sadistic Attack" [demo 2001], "LAVA Dictatorship" [demo 2002] and "Effective Mass-Torture" [promo 2003]) for download. The promo-video for "Effective Mass-Torture" and Amok's debut concert is also available for download.

I think Vrangsinn is putting quite an effort into his work with Misantrof AntiRecords. He is working with some new stuff with his Phobia project and it seems sick and wicked.

Misantrof AntiRecords is something fresh compared to the regular way the corrupt record business is ran. Beside music, Vrangsinn also gives tips about open-source programs etc. People should check it out for themselves: www.misantrof.net. Support!

17. Who came up with the idea for your awesome logo of Amok and who has drawn it?
Our former vocalist, Necrocum, has designed this logo. It is developed from our first logo, that also was drawn by him.

18. In the past you used to be a part of and helping out quite a few bands, which bands are you a part of and helping out nowadays?
These days I only play in Amok. The only thing that I have planned for the future is to contribute with guest vocals on a couple of tracks for the Danish band Sagntid (www.myspace.com/sagntid). People should check out this band, it is ambient music with a great atmosphere to it.

19. How does it look on the live front, do you have some gigs lined up?
We have not played lived since 2002, and we have no plans for doing that in the nearest future. Amok has been functioning as a studio band since 2003, and we are 100% confident with our situation. I am not saying that we will never perform live again, but I do not see the point in playing live for the sake of playing live. To put it in a different way, I would rather read a book myself than having the author reading it for me.

20. Do you have more material planned to be released on vinyl in the near future?
We have recorded two bonus tracks ("Chapel of Embalmment" and "Silent Worship") in 2007 for the LP edition of "Necrospiritual Deathcore". The plan is to mix these tracks when we will mix "Exodus Reversal Hex". If all goes as planned, this LP will be released through Nuclear War Now!. We want to release the LP in 1000 copies, where 300 copies will come as a “die hard” edition including a bonus 12" EP with these two tracks.

We also want to have our coming album released on LP.

There were, by the way, some plans about releasing a 10" split EP with Iperyt. Agonia Records contacted us in 2006 and wanted to do this release. They got all the material and layout stuff, but we have not heard from them since. Seems as a pretty fucked up and frivolous label, from what I have heard from other people working with them. Amok's side was supposed to be the 2003 promo "Effective Mass-Torture" (including a bonus outro), so it was really nothing new for the listeners. The only thing is that I think Iperyt is a really energetic and violent band, and releasing a split with them would be good.

21. Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you think I have forgotten anything or you just have something to add, feel free to add it now!
Thanks for the interview. Check out the new Amok album, "Exodus Reversal Hex", to be released in 2010.

"His blood shall be upon us and on our children."

H.V. - Wormlust (November 2009)

There aren't many bands from Iceland. Here is an interview with one of Iceland's Black Metal bands, Wormlust which arose from the ashes of another project named Wolfheart. This interview was conducted with H.V. on Friday 13th November 2009.

1. Not many people will have heard of wormlust so please introduce yourself.
Wormlust,-the vessel from which asphyxiaton metal is spewed. I have a forthcoming split coming out on Total Holocaust Records with Haud mundus titled Oblivio appostitus and a demo this year that explores the paths we must all travel down into the void.


2. Most bands change names due to line up changes or drastic changes in the sound. What was your reason for changing the name?
It was exactly that, a drastic change in sound . It also gave me the means to a modus operandi, a singularity to draw from. the meaning also runs deeper than that of the first name I chose - but that one is up to others to decipher.

3. Wolfheart/Wormlust has had other members in the ranks, but I believe you've written most of the music. Will this always be the case or will you have other members who will become permanent members and have an input on the material?
Wolfheart was to be a live band and I rehearsed all of the material that later became the Ave Nokturnum demo with a drummer but nothing besides the demo became of that. At this stage its not a band but the musical journals of my trips into the extremes, and I doubt that anyone could keep up with my work schedule. Its erratic at best, most of my music has been written in one go with long hours behind it.

Outside of vocal contributions It has only been me and will remain that way. The only additional personnel I think might work would be drums,and that in the mixing stage.

One ultimately goes down the paths to oblivion alone and the work ethic of Wormlust reflects that fact.


4. You worked with some other bands in the past. Are you still working on other projects? Do you prefer having multiple members input into the music? Or do you prefer just having your own input as you have done with Wolfheart/Wormlust?
I currently have one other band beyond Wormlust, but mostly to further extend my abilites as a musician. It´s an expression of my fondness for psychedelia and psychedelics, something that has translated rather poorly into blackmetal I feel. We shall see.

I have been in traditional bands countless times and working with others can have its rewards but it rarely translates into anything meaningful.

I like having total control in Wormlust, and idea of control itself. - With music you can influence a person aurally into a certain mood by something that you create. Art defined as the act of personal expression outside of the primal urges does not exist I believe. It´s all about dominance. By myself I can keep the overall vision and ultimately the control.


5. You spent some Time studying in the UK. Did you feel that the metal scene was very different in the UK to Iceland? Did you work on any music while you were in the UK? And if so did you feel the music was very different from when you were in Iceland?
Yeah, the most notable difference I remember were the pre-rehearsed rockstar poisturing of many of the bm bands I saw in the uk, I honestly can´t see that here. It´s probably because of how small the venues are for underground bands in iceland, I suppose its harder to act like a blackmetal bon jovi when you are on eye level with your audience.
Icelandic bands on a large degree also seem to have more of chaotic vibe to them.

I saw a show f.i with Svartidauði where they played in a middle of the crowd and the frontman would from time to time physically assault audience members, by the end the crowd had been beaten into a kind of state of submission. It was intense.

The material I did for the split was all recorded in London, It was a turning point musically. Because of negative outside factors I shut myself from the world and wrote the songs. The urban landscape gives as much as it takes.


6. You are having vocals done by Wann from Rebirth of Nefast. How Did this come about since Wann is from Ireland. Did you meet during your studies in the UK? Do you think you might have any other members joining wormlust in the future, and if so, think you'd ever play live?
Yes, He did the vocals for the split and an excellent job at that. But I cant really comment beyond that. He does not want to broadcast his personality - So I must respect those wishes.

As for playing live I dont think that would be a possibility, there are up to 200 overdubbed guitars at time , and the idea of translating that into a live show is a nightmare -also it would lose the drowning feeling which the guitar orchestra creates.


7, DOes Iceland have a good live scene? DO many gigs come through there? Or do you have to travel to other countries in order to be able to see any live shows?
The live scene is active, I go out once in a blue moon to see the bands that I like - seeing that most of them play about hundred times too many a year you can usually pick when.

All of the foreign bands that come through here are horrible, reflections of how out of touch with reality most promoters are. I dont have enough fingers and toes to count all the horrible power/prog/hair-metal bands and at the same time a limbless person could count the really good ones.


8. How does the Icelandic landscape affect the msuic you make with your projects? Wormlust's demo didnt really have a traditional sound and sounded rather unique. Do you think this is a result of where you were located? Do you think the sound would have been different if you stayed n the UK and continued to record there?
I cant say that the landscape influenced me much in the making of the demo, the external didn´t really move me . I let the internal be the guide when making the demo- the theme was the path to mental absence. Under the influence of days of sleep deprivation I started recorded things I would not have been created otherwise, I kept on pushing myself and recording until the music started to smother everything out of me. It is the map to my streams of consciousness for the listener then to drown in.

I dont think I would have made another sound if I had stayed in the Uk, it got rather intense in the end.

9. You have a split coming out with Haud Mundus threough Total Holocaust Records. How will the material on this split differ from the material on the demo?
It is a reworked recording of a 2006 demo I did while living in london. Its more brutal and raw,but still has the similar emotionless feel to it. Like the demo it was written in one go but this one has the benefit of hindsight.


10. What else can we expect from yourself and wormlust in the future?
I am currently mapping out the execution of a Lp which deals with the theme of drowning and all that it entails,that is asphyxiating mentally,aurally and physically - exploring more paths into oblivion.


11. Thanks for taking out some time for this interview. Do you have any last words you'd like to share? Website or snail mail contacts?
You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it.

To get the split : http://thr666.horde.se/

For band contact : Hafsteinn1@gmail.com