Well, recently the band released new album called "Necrovision". How would you describe this album for those who have not heard it?
The sixth chapter entitled “Necrovision” broadens the horizon of D. N. Slaughtercult in every possible direction. Both the musical as well as the lyrical content has been extended further into the occult. While the new material is still easily recognizable as D. N. Slaughtercult the audible part offers much more variety – as far as that is possible within the boundaries of old school black metal. Anyone enjoying traditional Scandinavian Black Metal will most likely find the same atmosphere and spirit on “Necrovision”. We are definitely very, very proud of this release.
What is the concept of “Necrovision”? Is there some basic idea, which brings together the album in one or a linear story starting with the first song and ending with the last one. Or all of the songs - it's just a different stories?
So far we’ve always worked on new material in no particular order. “Necrovision” is a concept album, however, the meaning and purpose would not change a bit if the songs were arranged in a different order. All of them are part of the entire picture, but each track can stand for its own. In their own unique way each and every one is reflecting a part of the so called Necrocosmos. Either as an emotion, vision, perception or philosophy … but everything is revolving about the aforementioned cosmological thought. To some such topics might be “stories” to us it is “reality”
.Compared to its predecessors the new album sounds more cold and frostily. The music became more measured and more detailed. I mean, it’s full of some confident, “controlled” wrath. This is not so much an emotional rage as a tool of knowledge...
Indeed we’ve made minor adjustments concerning the sound. Without going much into detail, especially the guitar sound went back to the roots. We’re writing new material as it comes along. This means that new ideas are composed without anything specific in mind. Any thought that might obstruct creativity needs to be put aside. Obstructing thoughts are for example “is this what people would expect from us”. We do what feels right to us. Honesty is definitely something you can easily recognize on an album. An album that sounds alive and sincere must be honest. Due to the nature of the album it had to be much darker, atmospheric and obscure. Perhaps that is the reason why it sounds more “controlled”.
Has the approach to writing and recording music change from previous albums?
Basically no. Although we’re of course taking advantage of nowadays possibilities to record stuff prior to entering the studio. Several years back there was just a couple of riffs for one guitar which were straightened out for the entire band in the rehearsal room. Today there are ways to write down whole arrangements for the entire band. That’s one of the benefits of modern times. You can work out details and then just add final touches with the “real” musicians.
Actually, where did you lost your classic logo?
Those familiar with our releases do know that we’ve used two different versions of the logo in the past. The t-shirts of “Nocturnal March” as well as “Hora Nocturna” have just part of the logo. Nocturnal March uses solely the banderole, while “Hora Nocturna” pictures the old logo cross only. So, the cover artwork of “Necrovision” is merely the first CD/LP not depicting the entire logo. The artwork is always worked out in detail. Sometimes the old logo fits better, sometimes the new one and yet on other occasions none of them. It is as simple as that.
"Necrovision" was recorded with new bass pla
yer Adversarius. Although not so new. What happened to Emporonorr? As far as I know, the musician of DN Slaughtercult should be not only professional, but also a person who shares a similar philosophy and ideology with the other band members. Adversarius is not the first year together with you. Was it difficult to find the right candidate?Emporonorr decided to leave the band back when “Hora Nocturna” was released. That’s already … what… seven years ago? Adversarius has been a friend of ours since 2002. Living on opposite ends of Germany the contact was rather sporadic during the first years. Anyhow, long story short. A few years ago he moved to our nearby neighborhood. What a coincidence…, we were looking for a new bass player.
How important for you to communicate with other band members? Many musicians are meet only during the recording, the rest of time communicate via email. I think, in this case they lost some chemistry and specific interaction between each other. How important for you to feel the "personal touch" with the other musicians in band, or do you prefer to work alone?
Three of us have rented a house together. Our rehearsal room is in the basement. It has been important to us to also have a personal friendship in between the band members. We’re putting our heart and soul into D. N. Slaughtercult. It is something very personal that we wouldn’t really want to share with just a “musician”. If everything else fails that might work, but in our past there has always been a “personal touch”. Nevertheless the basic idea of new material has always been created in solitude. This is another aspect of Slaughtercult. We get along together, but only because each one of us takes his and her own time of serenity.
Recently you returned from a US tour. The last time you played in America a few years ago. What has changed over time, and what your impressions of this tour? Do not you think that in this country, most people are quite superficial and needs only entertainment? And those people, who listen Black Metal, just looking for a more extreme entertainment and no more...
There hasn’t really changed much since our first concerts in the US - still s
mall venues with maniacs going crazy. Every country is pushed in a specific direction. Especially mass media does a good job in keeping a certain image alive. Germans aren’t all Nazis and always punctual. Just like not all Americans are superficial and own guns. Every nation, every country, every city, every music scene consists of fucking morons as well as very profound individuals. That’s just how humans are. That’s natures’ diversity. Those people who went to our shows in the US and Canada are there to support the band not to get entertained. That’s the experience we made during our first and second trip to the North American continent. Black Metal fans in foreign countries appreciate a foreign underground act much more. It is not completely true, but a prophet has no honor in his own country.I think that the main problem of most modern musicians is as follows. Today, 90% of the bands - are people who just play music and record albums in free time. For them, music is not a way of life and way of thinking. For them, music is not a process of finding himself in the end... That is why most of real musical masterpieces stayed in the past. This applies not only to Black Metal, but metal music in general. It's difficult to create masterpieces, if you don’t live for it, isn't it? What do you think of this contradiction?
It is certainly a difficult task to create a masterpiece without any passion at all. However, playing music just for the sake of music is not necessarily wrong, it might not even be a real obstruction in writing good music. Such albums will be convincing on a different level. They might be musical masterpieces in terms of technical skills, but they will lack atmosphere and emotion in general. Such music is meant for straight forward consumption and nothing more. Indeed nowadays there is not much that is able to compete with albums released in the past, but masterpieces have always been rare. Furthermore music is an individual experience. This experience and opinion about a specific album might even change during the course of time. Hell, there are some albums we really enjoyed many years ago that our now covered by dust. As far as your question is concerned, it is agreeable that an artist
who is living and breathing his or her passion will definitely create art with a spirit and a soul. Do you think that true Black Metal should be only satanic? What you think about Black Metal subgenres: Pagan Black, NSBM, Depressive, Suicidal Black Metal?
True Black Metal should be honest. Anything a person creates should be based upon his or her true will. This implies sincerity and loyalty for yourself. Any self-betrayal is obviously a hoax.
Tell me more about German Black Metal Horde. How far it was serious and what happened with this movement today?
The name sounds familiar, but at no time have we showed interest in any such flocking together. Here’s a general thought: Let gregarious animals find their shepherd. A self-proclaimed shepherd is not more than the loudest bleating specimen of the flock.
Tell me, do you ever had a feeling, that when you're making music, in fact all of these musical forms, gammas and chords you take from somewhere beyond, from a some kind of "external", “outer” space, being a kind of medium?
The process of composing is an altered state of mind. Pretty much every person knows what it feels like being completely focused on something, thus drowning out all the surroundings. Fixing your vision on a single point until the shadows are growing all around, creating a channel of penciled spiritual vigour to the center of the focus. Playing an instrument all for yourself can allow the mind to go “blank”. This process of calming down is literally silencing disturbing thoughts. After a while of mental silence the sound can pass the “watcher”. The “watcher” usually prevents access to our sub consciousness. Having reached such a point means having reached a trance like state. Being in trance shifts the point of rotation of our perception. It is an open mindedness in a different way. Energy and impressions of a more subtle nature are able to reach us. Well, we are actually constantly surrounded and bombarded by it – it is just a matter of perception. Anyhow, this is an excellent source of inspiration and creativity. Not just the music but also the lyrics are created during such moments. Pondering about a specific
song days, weeks, months or even years later often raises the question “how did we come up with that”?There is a view that the roots of misanthropy lie in imperfection of human nature. That is to say the cause of misanthropy is that having a lot of potential, a human doesn't realize it, preferring to be stupid, greedy swine, etc. How could you comment this idea?
As per definition a misanthrope is merely someone feeling a sincere hatred for humans. A stupid, greedy swine as you say, might be a misanthrope just like spiritually higher developed person. They both have their reasons to regard the other as “barking up the wrong tree”. Yet both are right if each of them lives up to their full potential. That means, a “stupid, greedy swine” doing all he can in order to be the stupidest and greediest swine of all - is eventually fulfilling his true will. The essence of these words is that in a way all of us are misanthropes, but instead of caring too much about the “why” we should focus on our own individual path. It is not important why we are upon this path, it is important that we walked upon it with confidence and pure will.
Your attitude to next concepts: “religion” and “faith”. You think that this is one and the same? I think that religion is the source of faith, because you believe in the images that are created by religion...
Speaking in religious terms faith is the result of it. Religion and faith is something very important – as it provides strength and knowledge for every seeking individual. Please do not mistake these words! The term Religion is aiming at the original meaning of reuniting with God, where God doesn’t stand for any manmade deity like the Christian God or Satan. Our mind is not capable of understanding the enigma of “God”. Attempting to grasp the essence of this mystery equals the attempt to fill an ocean into a chalice. The cup will overflow after a single driblet of wisdom. Those having enough faith welcome the thought of getting drowned over and over again. For each spilled drop dripping upon us is enlightenment and thus a step closer to our ancient origin.
If we talk about religion, it seems to me, any religion - it is a temp
orary phenomenon. Modern religions in terms of History have appeared very recently. Over time the new religions will replace the current religions. This is a natural process. Most often the state of religion displays the status of civilization. So, don’t you think that all these anti-religious rhetoric and images are just a kind of a gloomy, dark romanticism, which, however, can be a versatile tool for the expression of dark emotions, whose roots lie not in religion?Both religious and anti-religious beliefs are based on universal laws. That itself is certainly not a temporary phenomenon. These fundamental laws never change they are merely interpreted or redefined in more modern terms. Speaking of being anti-religious implies that this person is reducing himself to just biological mass. Not necessarily denying that fact of being part of the universal whole but certainly pushing away the thought of multi-dimensional existence, which is the thought of being more than just a pile of skin and bones. We dress, act and behave based on our character. We're expressing ourselves in a way that’s comfortable and understandable to us. The roots for this expression are nowhere else to be found but within ourselves.
By the way, many people mistakenly believe that theomachism in music began only in the era of Black Metal. Well, thrash, sometimes. But perhaps the first anti-religious album was “Aqualung”, released by Jethro Tull in 1971! On the cover of the second album of The Doors "Strange Days" Jim Morrison wanted to put a photo of the band surrounded by dogs, because if you read the word "God" backwards, you get a "Dog" (Label declined to release the album with this cover). Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath… and many others. Some don't respect the roots of this music, and they are wrong... How do you generally feel about the continuity of musical generations? Do you like to dig deeper?
Each generation is said to have its own sound. However, the message transported is timeless. Why else are some albums and songs years old and still "up to date"? Honest and sincere art will always outlive its creator. Such artists leave a legacy. It is inherited by others and carried on. Although not exactly in the same way but still with tradition in mind. It is good to know the roots, it is even better to know the soil in which they are embedded.
Because one of the key members of the band is a woman in the D.N. Slaughtercult was formed a rather unusual alliance. Onielar is very charismatic and has attractive features. I think it's hard not to have sympathy to Onielar, being often close to her. And even more... Is that trial? Don’t get me wrong, I'm not asking this question in terms of gossip tabloids. No. In this case, I'm interested in how closely intertwined spiritual craving and more carnal desire for a woman? Is it hard for you to separate these two concepts? Or you perceive her only as a companion?
Velnias: Without going much into detail all I’d like to mention is, that nothing is more valuable than having found THE counterpart to complete the bipolar fundament. This affects every level – that of an ordinary mortal man as well as the level of magical works in order to fulfill the process gaining the status of being a complete man.
Did you ever think that thanks to the presence in the band of Onielar, and given the mystical nature of your art, there was formed an ancient alliance of two origins - Osiris and Isis? Inextricable connection of birth and death. Thanks to her charisma, Onielar can personalize the feminine symbol of divinity, the roots of which, as you know, goes back to the ancient times. Many ancient mysteries had a trace of worship to the feminine. You did not think about this aspect of creativity D.N. Slaughtercult?
Velnias: Every member of the horde has its assigned role on as well as off stage. As mentioned a moment ago, the relationship between Onielar and me has a different “status”. This role and status is left uncommented.
Evil and darkness are multifaceted and often involve conflicting notions: self-destruction, decay and degradation; and opposite – narcissism, selfishness, hedonism, pride, vanity. These are all different aspects of the same phenomenon. What is your path? What is darkness for you?
"Darkness" in spiritual terms is something undiscovered. It needs to be explored and enlightened in order to reach the equilibrium of being "whole". One must walk the heavens and the hells in order to live up to its fullest. That means there is no love without hate, no darkness without light, no good without evil, etc. This is a simple binary law. One-sidedness is limiting spiritual development. Thus "Darkness" always lies ahead and literally begs to be conquered. To drown in darkness is pure ecstasy. To feel its sorrow and pain is on the contrary joy and fulfillment.
Well, that was all my questions. There is a saying that for stupid is easier to ask, than for clever give an answer. If you see fit, you can comment on this phrase at the end of the interview.
Either remain silent or reply with words more fitting than silence.
Interview: Alias
19 àïð 2013
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