Interview with Evil Wrath

Hello, thanks for doing this interview with Nokturnal Void.



You recently released a split with Pagan Rites. How did that come about and are you pleased with it?

- Well to make a long story short, Morbid got in touch with Devil Lee Rot to know if he would be interested to do a split and he answered that he had an old unreleased demo, actually the first ever Pagan Rites recording, that he could use for a split, so without any hesitation we accepted. I must say that we are a lot more than pleased with the split, it's probably the best thing to happen to us so far.



How come The Exploited cover “Fuck The U.S.A” if you guys come from Canada? Do you have a lot of punk influences?

- Growing up in the 80's and 90's it's kind of hard not to have any punk influence at some certain extent. As a kid I was a big fan of most of the Hard Rock and Heavy/Thrash Metal stuff that was around at the time that I could get my hands on but, also I was really into the Punk/Hardcore bands ...stuff like The Exploited, G.B.H., Minor Threat, DRI, Dead Kennedys, only to name a few... the totally pissed off, rebellious and "we don't give a shit what you think" attitude really got me hooked. As for the cover song, Morbid came up with the idea of doing a The Exploited cover and we both agreed that this particular song would be perfect because the lyrics, to this day, still remains extremely up to date as to what the majority of the world think of the oh so powerful U.S.A. ...



Do have any political stances?

- Absolutely not, politics are poison, they play the same role as religion a few centuries ago... control/manipulation by fear and lies, for money and power.



How is the scene in Canada?

- First of all, I think the scene here in Quebec is quite different than the rest of the Canadian scene, I might be wrong but it's how I see it. Basically here if you play over the top melodic or depressive/suicidal music your at the right place, as for the rest of Canada I think that a lot of black metal bands almost rely on brutality exclusively. So from our stand point the scene here is kind of weird, but we don't care, we do what we want and thats pretty much the only thing that matter to us.



What are the best current labels you have been interested in and what do think about bands like Nachtmystium signing to Century Media? Do you think this is a good thing for black metal?

- I don't know if it's a good or bad thing for black metal, anyways so many bands are now under contract with major label I can't see what it could change for black metal in general and I don't see why a band would refuse an offer for a major record deal. As far as I know, musicians play music because it's fun and so their music can be heard as much as possible, so why not take the opportunity of having major promotion and distribution when it comes.


How do you feel about downloading and file-sharing? Is it hurting the music industry and do you support it?

- I personally don't mind that much about file sharing, of course there's some mp3 "collectors" that will never buy a freaking album, but mostly I see it as a promotional tool more than anything else. I download some stuff when I don't know a band, when I want to know if an album is worth buying or if I simply cant find a place to buy the actual album. Same thing as tape copying/trading back in the days but to a much larger scale, giving the opportunity for small obscure bands to be heard worldwide. I can understand the big labels/bands to complain about file sharing to a certain point because, I guess, to them every download equals one potential sale lost witch translates to them as less money coming back to the label and the band for promotional and production purposes. As for the underground I don't understand whats all the complaining about, the underground scene really benefited from file sharing, I think that lots of bands would not have been known as quickly or at all if it wasn't for it.



How do you get your music? How big is your collection?

- Well around here it's not so easy to find a good CD/LP in a store, now there is a little record shop in town that only stock vinyls, dvds and used CDs, so every now and then you can find something interesting there. Before that we had to rely on major record stores witch practically don't stock any underground stuff or make a 2 hour drive to downtown Montreal were you can find a decent stock of underground stuff if you know were to go. Other than that I order stuff from distros from time to time and get a lot of stuff from trades too. As far as my collection goes, I never took the time to count them all as I don't really care that much about quantity, it's not a competition.



I noticed that the split with Pagan Rites seems to have a much thrashier sound than
Défaillance Monumentale? Why is that?

- The equipment used for the recording was of much better quality than previously used to record "Défaillance Monumentale", so we had a lot more possibilities to play around with our sound, allowing us to get closer to our main influences in metal. The drums have a lot to do with it too, Zvord's vision for our music was to keep the drums as old school as possible and the fact that it was recorded without use of triggers really gives a natural feel to the whole recording.



How else do you feel Black Metal can expand itself? Has it reached its end?

- Hard to say really, but personally I don't think that black metal has any limits, like any other style of music for that matter.



Do you enjoy bands that apply thrash metal to black metal(Toxic Holocaust, Abigail, Victimizer, Proclamation) compared to bands that have moved into a more experimental sound(Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord, Peste Noire)?

- Well if you look back on how black metal started, everything that has to do with black metal began with thrash, so it's only natural to enjoy bands with that thrash attitude and sound. I have difficulty getting into the more experimental bands but once and a while its kind of nice to be able to escape reality with music that is totally out of this world.



What bands have you been listening recently?

- I've been listening to a lot of old stuff these days, from old heavy metal to punk to old hardcore. Stuff like G.B.H., Adrenaline OD, Minor Threat, G.I.S.M., Metal Church, Jurassic Jade, Détente, Twisted Sister, Destruction, etc... usually I mostly listen to black metal in the winter but recently the new Arckanum releases really caught my attention and I can't wait for the new Absu album.



What are your top five records of all time?

- Man that's a hard question, but here are the five records that I enjoy the most to listen to, stuff that I can listen to today and still get the same feeling as at the first spin. Also albums that in my opinion are good from start to end.

So here we go in no particular order:

Darkthrone - Soulside Journey
Absu - The Third Storm of Cythraul
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
The Exploited - Troops of tomorrow


What is next for you guys in 2008 and beyond?

-Still a lot of stuff to come for 2008, our second album "Chaotical Invasion" is going to be released by NHR Records in October, t-shirts for the album will be available around the same time as the CD will be released. A Tape version of the album will be released by Aural Offerings Records by the end of the year, around December. Also, in September a Tape version of the first album "Défaillance Monumentale" will be released by Kuravilu Productions. Thats about it for releases for the rest of the year, but we slowly started to work on new tracks and planning to record a couple of them for an upcoming mcd/ep or maybe a split, so new stuff is on the way for 2009...

Heimdalls Wacht- Ut de graute olle Tied - Deel I

Heimdalls Wacht’s sound on their latest album is one that is certainly difficult to describe, as I am still having trouble summarizing my opinion on this record after four listens in a relatively short amount of time. The sound they have managed to capture is certainly recognizable, but it never really evokes any emotions or imagery that can’t be said for any other dime-a-dozen black metal band. You may think this is a bad thing, but it really isn’t in the case of this album. Yeah, nothing here is Earth-shatteringly unique or revolutionary, but Heimdalls Wacht has taken a fairly basic formula and managed to craft an album that will suck you in and make you think “why is this as good as it is?” quite often.

As I said before, the sound on this record is somewhat distinct, and the best way I could describe it would be a slightly more polished version of mid-era Graveland. The music is rooted very much so in a pagan/folk sound, although it is in a somewhat subtle manner, making the music much easier to take seriously. The prime atmosphere of the album is very majestic and epic, and this is achieved very nicely with the aid of clean sung choruses and well placed synth sections that provide the album with ambient tendencies. These sections of ambience are often placed over some fairly commonplace black metal progressions, as cold, bleak guitar riffs are played along a fairly mid-tempo rhythm.

The most important thing that makes this album one of such high quality is the manner in which the band succeeds at making average ideas great. The album has a very majestic, icy, and melancholic atmosphere encompassing it, and I always feel a sense of bitter nostalgia whenever I listen to it. Now, the previous sentence can be copied and pasted to describe almost any of the countless black metal bands out there making music with little to no substance or soul, but it would simply be complete bullshit. I cannot stress enough that this isn’t the case with Ut de graute olle Tied - Deel I. The music is technically simple (hell, I would even go as far as calling it structurally and aesthetically simple), but it is extremely effective in drawing you in to identify with the emotional output of the music itself. Though I feel it might be a tad too long, Ut de graute olle Tied - Deel I will certainly keep your interest piqued for quite some time, and often make you venture into the cold, sorrowful depths of your own inner conscious.

This album really surprised me, as I expected it to be another decent, yet disposable piece of mediocrity when I blindly listened to it for the first time. The powerful and simple atmosphere here make this album worth listening to multiple times, and I am certainly no exception to this.

Morbosidad- Profana la Cruz del Nazareno

Morbosidad is a name that is fairly commonplace in the realm of death/black metal, and their latest work, Profana la Cruz del Nazareno, only further solidifies their status in the scene today. While nothing on this disc transcends the traditional aesthetic of black metal, Profana… is a fine example of why sticking to an old formula isn’t such a bad proposal in many cases.


While listening to this album, it is clear that Morbosidad were heavily influenced by the legendary likes of bands such as Blasphemy and Beherit. Now, I’m a sucker for bands who achieve an atmosphere similar to the aforementioned groups, but I can tell when a band excels above the rest, and it is certainly the case here. The band quite often uses the phrase “Morboso Metal” when speaking about their music, and I fail to think of a term more appropriate for Morbosidad. The morbid and twisted nature of the music comes across in the most heartfelt fashion, and retains a sense of sincerity that is rarely paralleled by second rate worship bands. The most prevalent image that comes to my mind when listening to this is that of an army of medieval soldiers storming into a village, killing and raping mercilessly at their own will. This image is derived from the very warlike, and at the same time morbid atmosphere that this disc contains, all of which greet the listener with a complete absence of campiness or self parody.


It is worthless to listen to small fragments of this album at once, as each track works with another to form a bestial, warlike sonic experience. Twisted and sickening guitar riffs are scattered across a pummeling rhythm section that brings many classic second wave black metal bands to mind. Over this are some truly revolting and disgusting vocals that serve the purpose of completely justifying the band’s status as “morbid”. The overall theme of the album seems to be a ruthless and vicious thrashy black metal attack that is quite similar to that of a primitive battleground, though there seems to be a deviant and depraved sexual theme that plays a minor, yet crucial role in defining the experience of this album. When all of these elements come together, they form a cohesive and relentless musical ride that is to be experienced time and time again.


These guys simply wanted to make a simple, yet effective piece of unrelenting black/death metal that compels the person listening to go slay some nearby Christians, and I can attest that they were most definitely successful. The spirit and simple honesty of release play a huge part in making it such a great listen, and I recommend this to anyone who likes their metal played raw, repulsive, and uncompromising.

Avsolutized-Den Svarta Våndans Genealogi(2008) Neinsphere Records
Japan

Walking into Aquarius Records I knew nothing about Avsolutized expect that their website praised them as strange and fucked up black metal from Japan. A formula that sounded good so I picked it up. It sounded better than I would have ever thought and I now present to you what maybe just be the best album of 2008 after only four months.

Avsolutized play strange but strongly melodic black metal that does not sound far from a mixture of Emperor and Arkha Sva. The guitars play hugely epic riffs under the over-the-top vocal lines. The guitar lines are still raw, in a good way, but it does not get contaminated with bad musicianship, which happens to be very tight here, or noisy production. The clean guitar breaks sound very similar to cheaper version of Opeth expect with the very cool opera styled falsetto singing.

The album holds its interesting quality through unique composing with strange bits and pieces here and there. The use of epic guitar breaks with break neck speed gives its breed of raw black metal a different vibe and refreshing vibe that is very rare to find in black metal. I would not tag this album as “progressive black metal” but it does show a much more experimental and full sound that you do not find in the genre much. Songs like “An Everlasting Circulation of Void” build and develop into catchy hymns of darkness that include a fair amount of super high vocals and demented weeping. A very scary song it is.

The minor key melodies play a huge part in the instrumental tracks that create a sinister atmosphere and prelude the track that follows in a proper way. Avsolutized certainly know how to write full songs and not just string riffs together, this skill is shown in “A Lament For You There” and “Utan Död...” , where powerful riffs mix with the extraordinary vocals.

There is a lacks a full album feel though. It is not a declared full-length nor does it have the intention to and it is too long to be an EP but has somehow been called compilation by the band them-self. I am not as to what is being compiled here because of the lack of much released aside for a short demo before this. Keep in mind that the album features a Setheral cover. “My Veins Are Open” sounds excellent but I have never heard the original. I will be sure do to do that soon.

While I would not call the drum machine sounds bad by any means, it does lack a fair amount of diversity and interesting patterns instead of blasting throughout the whole song. The tones do sound real, enough that I did know that they were being produced

The vocals stay sick throughout the whole record. The vocals go from super high falsetto a la Arkha Sva or Peste Noire to low growl vocals. It is perhaps the highlight of the whole record. I can consider this one of the best albums in terms of vocals to come out in the past years. The clean singing is not like much I have ever heard. It is proper classical singing with what seems like a intentional slightly off-key delivery The lyrics have not been really released so I can not comment on them but for some reason they sing in Swedish but are from Japan? Badass indeed.

For fans of: Peste Noire, Emperor, Arkha Sva, Enslaved and Dissection

The album is limited to 500 copies and can be bought through their label Neinsphere Records or Bay-Area record store Aquarius Records.

Originally written for my solo blog known as Obscure Art. http://strangeandobscure.blogspot.com/

Mission Statement

Both of us at Nokturnal Void feel that the diversity and versatility of black metal is something that should be acknowledged and respected. In justifying this statement, every style and form of black metal will be given the appropriate and equal amount of attention as we see fit. Whether it is bands paying homage to the forerunners of the genre, or newcomers looking to expand the genre to new musical grounds, each of the previously mentioned will be acknowledged equally as art, without bias or preconceived opinions. We feel that black metal is a form of art that is very special in a multitude of ways that separate its self from other genres, and each individual component of the music should be analyzed and scrutinized to allow a complete understanding of the enormously expansive genre that is black metal. We plan to show a taste of the underground is producing, thus showing the underground is not dead and can only grow from this point on.