You’re
involved in black metal scene for many years now; please share with us
your opinion regarding past and present days of this genre...
- Yeah, I
got into metal in 1985. But I didn't get into the underground scene (letterwriting
/ tapetrading) until late 1987. The music was different then. Some general
attitudes existed then that still exist now. For example, in the '80s it
was "kill the posers". Now it's everyone trying to define who's "true"
and who's "fake". It's the same thing. Except back in the '80s almost every
one was fucking fake!! With the exception of certain bands, most of the
rest of them were just bullshit artists. Satanism was a trend by 1984-1985,
and by 1987 it had pretty much died out (except for a few true ones). Nowadays,
even though there are alot of unintelligent satanic dabblers and rebellious
teenagers in the scene, I also think that there is a lot more authenticity
and true elitism in the scene. Time shall prove who is true and who is
not. The current scene is quite overwhelming, just like it was in the '80s.
But in the '80s "black metal" was scarce. BATHORY defined the musical direction
of black metal and VENOM defined it. And I think bands like POSSESSED (debut
LP), NECROVORE and INCUBUS (Aus) all contributed to black metal. It wasn't
until DARK THRONE switched to black metal in 1991 that the whole Norse
scene exploded with BURZUM, IMMORTAL and EMPEROR. And now I see thousands
of bands, many cloning one another. I'm glad to see the fun-core and goof-off
bands disappear. I hated that whole S.O.D. and Anthrax copycat shit that
was coming out in the late '80s. And Bay Area pussy-thrash (TESTAMENT,
FORBIDDEN, etc) died out finally!!! Now it appears that black metal is
the new "trend". I'd prefer a black metal trend over a Bay area thrash
trend. Don't misunderstand me, I do not like trends. It's just that if
something is going to become a trend to the masses, I'd prefer it to be
at least something I can tolerate. The biggest trend of all, here in the
USA, is nigger rap music. Even white suburban youth walk, talk, and dress
like rappers and niggers. It's really pathetic! I find that an intolerable
trend. I'd prefer to see DARK THRONE t-shirts everywhere and black metal
music cranked in car stereos rather than a bunch of wiggers smoking their
blunts, talking like idiots and pumping their hip-hop crap music so loud
that the ground rumbles at a distance of 50 yards. Why couldn't Hitler
have won WWII? It's so stupid to see everyone cry about the black metal
trend. What about the nigger loving trend? Are you all so shallow!!!??????
Two years
have passed since the release of «Abandonment»... Are you still
pleased with the outcome (in general)?
- Generally,
I am. But there are some things I would like to change about the recording
itself. I would prefer to re-do the first 4 songs on the CD. There are
some mistakes that really bother me. But the latter half of the CD I'm
quite satisfied with. Of course a better sound quality would've been great,
but I think the sound is ok. I am mostly dissatisfied with the layout,
which has absolutely NOTHING to do with my ideas. This layout was done
entirely by Unisound Records, and I had no idea how it looked until I saw
the CD after it came out! The cover that I submitted was a photo of an
abandoned farmhouse in a desolate field. It suited the title perfectly.
And the wrong photo of me was used as well. Plus there are some typos in
the lyrics, including some important lines missing from the Sumerian epic.
What about
the studio where «Abandonment» was recorded? The sound on this
CD is very average...
- The "studio"
where it was recorded was actually my friend Evil Eye's living room. It
wasn't even a studio. It was recorded through his stereo system onto a
tape deck. He had a 3 channel input, EQ, and some top-of-the-line equipment.
I could not afford to go to a recording studio, and I opted not to use
the 4-track recorder that I used for another of my solo-projects. You must
understand that each of those songs is recorded live in one take. I had
a keyboard and 2 synths in a circle around me on the floor. I had one mic
propped up in front of me, and it was fed through 2 FX pedals which also
were in front of me. There were small parts of songs here and there that
were pre-recorded and stored in the memory of my keyboard. But I'm usually
playing one or two keyboards at the same time, while screaming or whispering
vocals into the mic, and quickly adjusting knobs on the effect pedals to
affect my voice (the echoes and flanges). I'm also reading the lyrics which
are propped up on a stand, or in some cases everything is completely improvised
in certain areas. It was very difficult to do. And if I made a few errors
in a song, there was no re-doing it because parts of each song are improvised
and I'd never be able to totally recreate the whole song again. I also
had incense burning, the lights dimmed, a candle lit. It was all about
atmosphere and creating a mood. Recording onto cassette in this most unpractical
way made it more personal. But the end result was that the sound is at
times flat. It needed more fullness. Shadowcaster was always about experimenting,
and this recording process in itself was an experiment. At times it worked
out great! On the 2 1994 promos I did it all the same way, but it seems
like I got better results on the promos. It doesn't help that Unisound
did absolutely no mastering, no EQ or anything to the raw DAT that I gave
to them. I have recorded some new songs (in the summer of '97) and they
were done in my 8-track studio. But so far I've had no label interest in
it.
I believe
that your lyrics are somehow inspired by Sumerian epos, aren’t they?...
-
There is a particular Sumerian epic that has continued on each release.
The story is about Inanna, the moongoddess and lady of the evening. It
tells the tale of her descent into the underworld and eventual resurrection.
It's very similar to the Christ-myth, yet pre-dates it by thousands of
years. And the central figure being resurrected is a beautiful female goddess,
not some homosexual martyr. On the first promo was a simple introduction
to Inanna, a song called «Sumerian Symphony No.1 (Inanna: The Lady
Of The Evening)». The lyrics are about Inanna, who she was and what
she stood for. The words are actual translated text of Sumerian poetry.
On the second promo was a song called «The Essence Of Tragedy (The
Descent Of Inanna - Part 1)». This song begins the story if Inanna's
banishment to the underworld for questioning the ways of the world. The
symbolism and imagery is very entertaining. Inanna is turned into a corpse
and hung from a hook on the wall in Ereshkigal's domain (she is the Queen
of the Sumerian's underworld). So this again is actual poetry lifted straight
from Sumerian text, translated obviously. The story ends with her being
basicly damned to the underworld. On the CD, this saga is continued with
the 26 minute epic song «Ereshkigal's Gift (The Descent Of Inanna
- Part II - The Ascension)». Inanna is resurrected, and leaves the
underworld to once again reign in the night sky. The Kungara and Galatur
go to Ereshkigal's side, who is pregnant, and they console her in her childbirth
agony. As an act of thankfulness, Ereshkigal offers them a gift, and they
choose to have the corpse that hangs on the wall....which is of course
Inanna. They sprinkle the water of life upon her and resurrect her. It's
a very surreal depiction of a resurrection story, obviously later becoming
an influence upon a group of jews known as the Essenes. And the morbid
aspects attributed to one so beautiful I find that fascinating. There are
quite a few Sumerian epics in full, «The Epic of Gilgamesh»
is more well known, I think. But I chose «The Cycle Of Inanna».
Although the new SHADOWCASTER recording contains no Sumerian poetry or
references, I will probably revisit this mythology on a future recording.
Personally
I know enough of that ‘Unisound incident’, however I feel that you have
to tell our readers all the truth about these Greek rip-offs, in order
to warn them against associating with pathetic Unisound Records...
- Unisound
simply caused me alot of problems. They changed my coverart, changed my
logo, fucked up the CD layout, delayed sending me the CD's that they owed
me, and when they finally did send me my CDs they mailed them to the wrong
fucking city! It took me 2 weeks and $150 worth of long distance phone
calls to get my free CDs! AND, I had to pay the freight cost, which was
$360!!!! Panos fucked me over good. But I'm not alone. I have personally
been in contact with MORTUARY DRAPE, DARK HERESY, EQUINOX and THOU ART
LORD, all of whom have either been ripped off by Panos or had lots of problems
with him. And the list is growing too. ROTTING CHRIST, VARATHRON, NECROMASS,
Terrorizer Mag, INSATANITY, all of them have had problems with Unisound.
There will soon be a website just for those who have been fucked over by
Unisound. It's being put together by Dauthus Mag. You can visit my SHADOWCASTER
site for info on this.
As far
as I know, Panos menaced with proceeding «anti-SHADOWCASTER»
campaign some time ago... Did he do anything, according to his threats?
- As far
as I know, he did not follow through on this threat. He claimed that he
would send out material to his mailing list (claimed at 2000) to somehow
prove that I was wrong. But he has nothing to prove. So therefore I would
conclude that he was simply going to spread shit about me. That's what
prompted me to type up the letter that I spread around (info on it is in
the SHADOWCASTER site as well as in the new Dauthus Mag). And now it's
stirred up the interest in everyone else who's been fucked over by Panos.
So I never intended to really be anti-Unisound until Panos began making
threats back in September '97. I hate even wasting time discussing this
any further. Just visit the website:
http://hem.passagen.se/davthvs/shadowcaster
Did you
discuss the possibility of issuing SHADOWCASTER’s second CD with other
labels after you stopped collaborating with Unisound? Whom you’d like to
sign with most of all?
- I was talking
to Richard of Wild Rags Records, whom has never ripped me off in all of
my dealings with him. He wanted to really put out the 2nd SHADOWCASTER
CD in October / November '97. But in December he just sort of disappeared.
I've emailed him twice, and no reply. So perhaps he lost interest. I haven't
followed up on it due to my other activities. I would like to put out the
2nd CD. It's already recorded. I just need a label! I did talk with another
US label who said that they might want to put it out on cassette. So that
could be a possibility.
You said
that SHADOWCASTER is rather quiet now; does it mean that you decided to
stop your activities with this band for a while? Are there any plans to
release new material in the near future?
- Yeah, I'm
taking a break from it for awhile. As I said, a new CD is recorded. Two
15 minute epics were recorded in the early summer of 1997. The second release
simply needs to be mixed / mastered at a studio. After I get some other
projects out of the way, I will focus again on SHADOWCASTER. I'm involved
not only in my band NIGHT CONQUERS DAY, but also 2 other solo-projects
that are completely different from SHADOWCASTER’s music. I'm in no rush
to get the new stuff out. I'll have 4 CD's out on 4 separate labels this
year (2 are out already) so I've got plenty to do!
NIGHT
CONQUERS DAY, INTO THE SUNLESS MERIDIAN and BURIED BENEATH also appear
as the bands, you’re playing in. I’m not acquainted with any of them, so
it would be nice if you’re kind enough to let us know what they are all
about...
- NIGHT CONQUERS
DAY is a band that formed after BURIED BENEATH split up in August 1995.
Our debut CD «The First Snowfall» is out now on Hammerheart
Records. We play epic atmospheric black metal with some elements of true
death and old heavy metal. On the CD we were basicly just 2 members: I
did the drums, guitars, keyboards and vocals while Tim did the bass and
some rhythm guitar. We have since increased our line-up by adding a drummer,
guitarist and keyboardist. We've played a couple shows, most recently with
ANCIENT, and now we are working on new songs which will be on our second
CD that we plan to record this coming summer. BURIED BENEATH is pre-NIGHT
CONQUERS DAY. We broke up in 1995. But I took the old demo reels ('93-'94)
and basicly "fixed" them up. New vocals were added, a new mix and mastering
was done, and a CD is now out on Dark Trinity Productions / Majestic Union
Records. It's sort of a vindicative CD for me. I thought that I had written
some good songs in that band, and I simply improved them from the pitiful
demo versions. It's an excellent CD of brutally atmospheric black-death.....
a style that BURIED BENEATH did quite well for a while. The CD is called
«The Last Rays Of The Moon» and I have it for sale at my address
for $15 (USA) $16 (world). Over an hours worth of music, and it includes
a bonus track that is actually a NIGHT CONQUERS DAY song left off of that
CD. INTO THE SUNLESS MERIDIAN is my solo-project. I started it in late
'93 / early '94. I put out 2 raw demos, then recorded a debut CD which
will be out in April or May 1998 on Near Dark Productions. INTO THE SUNLESS
MERIDIAN’s music is a combination of atmospheric black metal with '80s
influenced power-black-speed-death. It features myself playing all the
instruments.... NO DRUM MACHINES. Just total heaviness. It's really very
different. I do a MERCYFUL FATE cover on it as well, the song «A
Corpse Without Soul». INTO THE SUNLESS MERIDIAN explores more of
my personal influences, the bands that I've listened to the longest stand
out in the sound I've created on this album. And just so you know, I have
another solo-project called TEARSTAINED. The debut CD comes out soon on
Mordgrimm Records. It's a hybrid of old MERCYFUL FATE and old BATHORY.
Truly a dark and very original album full of suicidal misanthropy.
Are you
a superstitious person? Do you have anything in common with people believing
in predestination and the afterlife?
- My contemplation
on the concepts of death and rebirth have been quite time-consumng. I have
no proof to offer, only theories that I find to be somewhat rational. But
as usual, I’m usually able to sometimes convince myself otherwise. I'm
more certain of what I do NOT believe in. The entire concept of heaven
and hell is obviously ludicrous. The concepts of punishment, resurrection
and purgatory are purely human creations. It's amazing how fearful weak
people are and the bizarre explanations they come up with so as to not
have to deal with reality. I do think that reincarnation could have some
relevance to it. I just get intuitive thoughts, almost past-life regression
thoughts. It's hard to describe, really. It's sort of a feeling of having
experienced alot before I arrived here. And it seems comprehendable that
each individual could have a spirit which is reborn. It could thus be taken
further that only some of us reincarnate. Some would not, but then
where do they go? What happens after death, and whatever state of consciousness
(or non-consciousness) we enter, I do not think it would even be comprehensible
to us. That's why whenever any religion is telling their followers what
death is like, it's surely nothing like what their describing since they
probably could not even begin to fathom it. I seriously doubt that some
southern baptist, who thinks that sex is "naughty" and finds nudity in
films "obscene", could possibly be open enough to know what comes after
death. How could such a small-minded weak induvidual know so much? Human
beings, in general, are garbage. The gene pool has thinned, most of you
are pawns. That's my opinion. My viewpoints on spirituality are confusing,
because I think it's meant to be confusing. I'm misanthropic, nihilistic,
atheist (in the sense that I do not believe in gods as deities, or in one
supreme god. To me, gods are human personifications of emotions, or dream
symbological entities), antichristian, neo-pagan (to the point that I respect
nature and feel close to it than I do to people, yet I recognize my dependence
on electricity and the ways of the wretched modern world), I have a respect
for certain elements of Tibetan Buddhism (though I'm by NO means a buddhist!!),
and really this list and analogy could go on and on and on. It just occurred
to me....who the fuck really cares what I think? I don't care what you
all think about me or about the world. I guess I'm not too much into a
philosophical debate today. The more I contemplate the world today, the
more I hate it. The afterlife can be pndered forever, Yet only when my
eyes are stilled shall I be able to share the truth with you, and by that
point I will not be able to. Worms and maggots may be the only benefactors
of our death. Life could be totally and completely pointless. Anton LaVey
wrote that we live on through the memories of those after us. To be totally
forgotten is to be truly dead.
Huge number
of completely different people adore Nostradamus and anxiously expect the
fulfilment of his prophecies nowadays... What is your opinion of this man?
Do you agree with those who consider his writings as some kind of inexplicable
phenomena?
- His predictions
are entertaining to read, but far fetched comparisons are usually made
to accomodate his predictions. True that some of his predictions do strike
some uncanny resemblances to events that occurred, but this could also
be our desire for some "divine intervention". I do think that there is
a sixth sense that some people are more in tune with. I unfortunately do
not have this sixth sense, so curse you all you bastards! I think that
the Apocalypse will occur as predicted. But NOT because it is fate or that
it's some "work of god". I think some very very orthodox christian fanatic
will feel compelled to fulfill the prophecy, and launch the apocalypse
upon us. Be it my prediction that if the world does end, it will be by
the hands of christiandom. It will be the ultimate downfall of our civilization,
this christianity!!! Or perhaps even by the hands of Islam, some psychotic
fulfilling Allah's prophecy. It's so fucking stupid, really. It's just
plain pathetic. I hope I'm dead when the world ends.
I know,
that mighty ANCIENT recently performed a gig in your hometown and later
the whole band stayed at your house for a couple of days... I suppose that
it was really crazy time for you, eh? Are they the kind of people you really
respect?
- They played
a great show with us, and yes I respect them. They live for this music.
It was really the first time in a long time that I'd really hung out with
a band into the same type of music that I'm into. Here in Rochester I don't
really relate to anybody except for a friend or two. I am quite reclusive,
living with my girlfriend in our house beside a graveyard. So to meet and
hang out with likeminded individuals was surreal. I am sort of under the
impression that the whole human race is pathetic, yet there are a select
few that I can actually relate to. Perhaps if more intelligent people lived
around here, I wouldn't be so reclusive? Who knows. It was quite crowded
having 7 people in a house made to hold a max of 4 people. Our house isn't
huge. My girlfriend sort of freaked out. With everyone walking around in
boots, she was getting very paranoid and having nightmares of boots everywhere.
He he. I didn't mind it so much. It was great jamming some MERCYFUL FATE
covers in my basement. ABSU is another US band that I respect and have
met in person. As well for CRIMSON MOON. There are other bands that I like,
but you never know what they're like in person. I have not met many bands
in person, so it's hard to say who I respect as a person. I'm more into
a bands music than them as people. But if they're truly into what they
do, then it just makes the music seem all that more monumental. Once you
find out that a band is fake, or have the personality of a retard, it robs
some of the essence of their music away. Sometimes. Not always, but sometimes.
Is Aphazel
an American citizen now? Do you know the reasons why he decided to leave
Norway?
- No, he's
not a citizen to my knowledge. He comes back and forth between USA and
Norway. I did not ask him why he came here, but maybe it was to work with
Kaiaphas. They're mainly based in Virginia now.
What do
you know about my country and think of Russian people? Are you familiar
with any black / death / doom / gothic / ambient bands coming from our
lands?
- I don't
know too much about Russia. I saw the great movie «Citizen X»
about that russian serial killer and the investigator that hunted him for
years under stubborn leadership. That was a great movie. I think there'as
a lot of barbarity in your history, which I have some respect for. There's
a strong history in your country, and cultural conflicts. But your leaders
in the past were always so stubborn and arrogant (a compliment and detriment
both in one!). I have come across some Russian bands in my tapetrading:
THY REPENTANCE, PAGAN, KRUIZ, ENS COGITANS, and maybe just a few others.
It's still confusing as to what is considered Russia or not ever since
the USSR collapsed. There are some great Estonian bands, as well as from
Belarus. But they're not USSR anymore, they're independent countries. But
could they be called "Russian"? I have interest in hearing some of the
Russian black metal because as I said I think barbarity runs in your gene
pool and perhaps would breed grim black metal. I certainly would have a
lot of hostility to vent if I grew up behind the iron curtain. Of course
that's my opinion from the outside looking in. Perhaps it's completely
different for you.
Ok, it’s
time for an end... I hope that we’ll do some more interviews in future,
and this goes not only for SHADOWCASTER but for all other bands of yours!
If you want to add anything, you can do it here...
My contact
address is:
Mikael, P.O.Box
174, North Greece, NY, 14515, USA
And that
is regarding all my bands, as well as for my radio show which I've done
since 1989. All relevant info on my bands, radio, etc. is on my website:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~mikael
I can also
be emailed at: mikael@frontiernet.net
The BURIED
BENEATH CD is $15 (USA) $16 (world).
The SHADOWCASTER
CD is $12 (USA) $13 (world).
Both from
MY address. Thanks for the interesting interview. Your webzine looks great.
It's one of the best I've seen (right up there with Inferno zine). Embrace
pure darkness........... M I K A E L