Previously BLACK COUNTESS was known as INTERMENT and further on - THE MISERY, right? What about enlightening us in regards to that period?

- Neither INTERMENT nor THE MISERY weren't early BLACK COUNTESS. They existed by their own, and both lyrics and music were absolutely different. But INTERMENT definitely was the beginning of my musical career. It was the golden age of death metal (1992), and being impressed by such gut & brutal music we started INTERMENT. The line up contained me - vocals and guitar, Mikhail Antonov - bass (now in BLACK COUNTESS), and Sergey Schepochkin - drums. The music was straightforward brutal death metal in the vein of SUFFOCATION and CANNIBAL CORPSE, but a bit slowly. The lyrics reflected our rotting reality and world stucked in irresponsible sin. INTERMENT have released the only MC "Mutilated Reality". It was recorded at Pathogenous studio and unleashed by micro label Dertod Records in 1995. Right after recording drummer left the band. Mikhail and I was keeping the rehearsing and recorded new stuff, this time as THE MISERY. The music became softer and more melodic in the vein of CREMATORY. Lyrics have also changed, now it's phantasmogorical visions of after-life, travels in parallel worlds and stuff. THE MISERY also has only one album "Her Forgotten Face", released
the same way as INTERMENT. Then we had three years of silence. In the year of 98 we found?? the second guitarist Dmitry Martyanov and bought drum-machine. And in 99 we recorded new stuff under the name "Child Of The Demonic Moon". Now the music is very different. New name - BLACK COUNTESS - became quite suitable and now this is our last and real name.

"Child Of The Demonic Moon" features nearly excellent sound as well as pretty well programmed drumset. How did you manage to make your debut work to appear as the one of such a top-notch quality?

- "Child..." is our first work recorded at the proper (though digital) studio and sound quality is really much better than INTERMENT and THE MISERY had. But I think our new album "Blood, Desire and Dead Nenuphars" has even better sound. How did we achieve such a quality? I don't know. We just defered to our own taste and mind. I also can't answer the question of drums programming, it has just went out this way. But I always liked the bands with various drum tracks, so I tried to work in this manner.

I bet, I wasn't the only one comparing your band to GRAVEWORM and CREMATORY. Aren't you going to make your sound a bit more personal in time to come?

- I have never heard GRAVEWORM (and so others have). As for CREMATORY, I don't think that we sound like these Germans too much. Maybe the song "In The Abyss Of Fear" that was influenced by them. As for future, certainly sound will be changed and personalized, you can already hear it on the new recording.

I beg your pardon, but the lyrics of yours sound almost ridiculous! "Red Sexy Lips" and stuff, you know. CRADLE OF FILTH, the first band who started to develop this "vampiric" image, come from England, hence their poetical works appear as much more attractive... while when it comes to BLACK COUNTESS, everything's quite the contrary. Even if your English is fairly good, the lyrics almost made me laugh.

- Certainly, CRADLE OF FILTH is a great band and their lyrics is splendid I even can t compare them with us. However I think there are a lot of bands with worse lyrics than ours. For instance, many of Russian black metal bands have absolutely stupid lyrics, but some people find it cool. Or what about grind core bands? It is not the lyrics, but gore & shit jumble. I write the lyrics about things that I'm interested in. For the current moment it's Vamperotica. I believe, it's better to write lyrics according to your nature, even if you do it not so convincingly as CRADLE OF FILTH. Of course, I agree with you, my English is poorer than Dani's, since English is his native language, but I'm not going to sing in Russian, though I could express myself in more bright and various ways. In conclusion I'd like to say these verses were written in distant 97, and it was rather love than malicious lyrics, more Doomish than Blackish. Now I'm three years older, and I've gained some experience, I hope. So I offer "Blood, Desire and Dead Nenuphars" for your attention and reviewing. Listen and read!

Vampirism... Eroticism... Seems like you're obsessed with these subjects?

- Sure! I have read a lot of literature and saw a lot of movies concerning this theme. I have always liked the beauty of naked female body (who has't? The ...AND OCEANS guys, perhaps? - ED). And in conjunction with art of seduction and demonic nature of vamps it's great. All these fairytales about succubuses and others temtresses are one of the horrible pages in the book of mediaeval mythology. But this horror bewitch by beauty of flesh and infinite desire of blood and sex. Vampirism plays here an important role. It save eternal youth for beauty and sexuality. Can you name me a man, who refuse to be young forever?

Who's that girl posing on the "Child..." cover? A girlfriend of yours, I assume ?

- You're almost right. This is my wife - Natalia.

It is said the newest material by BLACK COUNTESS will be more aggressive and melodic? A bit paradoxical assertion, don't you think so?

- I don't. The new album is faster and more aggressive, this is the fact. As for melodic, I think opinions might be quite contradictory. For example, what is more melodic - DARK TRANQUILLITY or CREMATORY? (depends on what CD by CREMATORY you're talking about - ED) I think the first, though their music is more aggressive. But fans of doom metal might refute me. Or what about GORGOROTH's "Under The Sign Of Hell"? This is ultra melodic and in the same time highly aggressive album. Isn't it? (ultra-melodic? Sorry, I don't think so - ED) The same about our new album, in my mind it is more melodic, but these melodies are more severe than "Child..."'s ones.

What have you done to promote BLACK COUNTESS so far? Just submitting your stuff to various mags worldwide for a review ?

Roman (manager): The question of promotion is the question of money. So we had quite limited opportunities for it. But we try to do all things that we can. Yes, we have sent our stuff to the some mags and zines, and we get good and excellent responses. Also "Child..." is distributed by some Russian distro services (Blacksmith is our main partner for now). As for foreign labels, we have sent some
promo tapes, but there were no real proposals till now. Only Shiver Rec. have offered to distribute "Child..." CD-Rs. Also Latvian Beverina Prod. will distribute "Child..." very soon. That's all for now, I'm sure we'll achieve more with "Blood..."

I believe, you know that there's a worldwide movement preaching Christian black metal... What are your principal thoughts upon it? Isn t it somehow ridiculous (I mean, even a word black should contradict the christian theory of goodness and all that stuff)?

- Of course, it is ridiculous. Black metal is a certain cult, and this cult is not christian at all. Why do somebody need to perverse already perverted things?! I think, they want to deprive BM of its ideological origin. Fortunately, most of people in the metal underground understand it, and christians have no chances here. But some "true" black metal fans spread the thoughts that word "black" means "satanism". I don't support it. I assume some BM acts might preach ideology not absolutely according with classic BM satanic postulates, but they should be antichristian anyway. BLACK COUNTESS is neither satanic nor religious band at all. And though many of you - journalists -determinate our music as black metal, we don't tend to determinate ourselves as 100% BM band, cause black metal is something different.

Everything has it's end, and it would foolish to think we are an exception. Nothing lasts forever but nothing itself. Many are awakening to a world which grows darker by the day. Explain to us your thoughts on the world in general and if you see a hope for it s future? Do you believe things will inevitably grow worse?

- Humanity is progressing with every minute in terms of science and techniques. It might be both our only hope to survive and our way to self-destruction. Somewhen Sun will be cold and only our technical achievements will be able to save us. But these times are so far away, and global ecological catastrophe is so close by us. I believe we have hope for a long-long future, but somewhen humanity will end its days, this is inevitable. Nothing lasts forever, you are right.

On the topic, what do you think of the idea of Armageddon... a great disaster or a series of them that will hurl man into either oblivion or chaos? Your thoughts on the very real possibility?

- I incline to the great Nostradamus's idea of Armageddon with its beauty of total annihilation, but the idea of series of disasters is quite possible too. Maybe the End of Days have already began its countdown. And chaos of our life (wars, diseases, etc.) is explained by it. Although humanity treat old wounds, but at the same time it inflict even more painful ones.

The state of human existence is a fragile one. And the balance between man and his world is no different. We are a part of Nature, as Nature is a part of us... and it was once said 'Nature does not belong to us, we belong to Nature.' Your thoughts on the decay of this balance?

- Good question. I always thought that humanity has gone too far, and it's time to stop. Balance between man and nature is corroded by erosion of human irresponsibility. Humanity made an attempt on its mother's life trying to rape and kill her. Humanity grew and mutated. It is still growing getting more and more divided from Nature, infecting her with mortal virus. But all is correlating in this world. And who knows, maybe Armageddon is just expiation.

We all question our mortality from time to time, now let me question yours... when the day dawns that marks your last, and as you lay dying, what do you envision might be on your mind in those last fatal moments?

- Nobody knows how and when Death will visit you. Thus it might be a lot of various envisions. To say the truth I have never thought about it.

What is view on contemporary Russian black metal scene? Sometimes it seems to be a parody on itself...

Ilya: I'm not interested in Russian scene too much, thus I better forward this question to our manager Roman.
Roman: The worst tendency is that some people talk to their listeners (readers): "Society is bullshit, humanity is bullshit, all men are fools, and so (personally) you are". And some fans like it, they even don't want to think it is talked personally to them. Do they have any selfesteem? (I guess, "Sotsirh Susii" zine is what you're talking about... As well as Valhalla and Ters websites (in fact, Sotsirh's copycats)... Poor bastards - ED). Put this aspect aside, our scene is neither better nor worse than others. The fact, some bands are clowns, but it doesn't mean that the rest of scene is bad. Stupid people are stupid people, doesn't matter the style. Take a look onto any foreign scene, all things are the same. Yes, the originators of the style come from Scandinavia or Greece, but it doesn't make their modern scenes better.

I guess, that's all for the first time. Hope to hear from you soon and while now, thank you for answering this interview and fare thee well! The last words should be laid here...

- I don't want to dictate anybody how to live. Just follow your soul and do the things you like. Thank you, Kai, for the interview, keep the good work. Maybe one day Vae Solis will become biggest metal webzine, I hope so (oh... I hope so too. Even though, I guess it will never come true - ED).

BLACK COUNTESS contact -
Email: faceward@mail.ru