What about starting our chat with getting back in few years and
recalling that “Preamble To Precipitate The Religious Artifacts” MCD? Are you still pleased with that effort? Hasn’t it been censored because of the definitely obscene (and no less definitely stunning!) coverart?

- Looking back, I think we are still pleased with those recordings... however we have evolved a lot and are more mature now. But back in those days it kicked ass! And the cover artwork... hehehe, it sure shocked a lot of people, but since we released it ourselves nobody could do a fuck about it! We had two kinds of reactions... some thought it was childish, others found it amazing...

Why have you released “Preamble…” on your own? Haven’t any record companies showed their interest in putting out this work?

- There were some labels interested, but ICONOCLASM liked being in total control, so nobody could fuck with us... It was quite some work but we managed to sell about 1000 copies which is not bad for an unknown Belgian underground black-metal band.

What happened to End Of Life Recs? Seems like they were the ones
responsible for the release of “Marching Evil”, however you’ve been kinda ripped off…

- You fucking bet... That's one of the reasons we did the Mcd "Preample..." on our own! When you work with a label you have to trust them, and they can rip you off in a million ways. Anyway, they did us a good offer but then they wanted to change some stuff to the lay-out, and a shitload of other details, so the release kept being delayed... In the mean time we did a tour with LIMBONIC ART to promote our (we thought) soon to be released cd. Then after 7 months we heard nothing of them anymore... they simply disappeared from the face of the earth. So then we looked our possibilties, decided to form "Horned Productions" and release the cd ourselves once more. And so it happened. So "Marching Evil" is a 100% ICONOCLASM piece cos we wrote all the music, recorded in our own "studio", made the lay-out our self and released it by ourselves... This is pure fucking underground!

Would you say, “Marching Evil” appears as undoubtedly different work in comparison to “Preamble…”? To me, it looks (sounds??) like both works of yours are pretty much similar to each other, at least when it comes to your approach to crafting musical canvas.

- You are correct! Although "Marching..." is much more mature they're both true products of ICONOCLASM. On the first MCD we tried to create a sort of unique ICONOCLASM-style and this you can still find on the new album as well.

Seems like you aren’t too fond of incorporating keyboards thus enriching the sound of yours?

- Hehehe, you are referring to the "100% free-keyboard product" huh?? No, I'm not that fond off keyboards as in my opinion they take a lot of the aggressivness and rawness away... A lot of bands use way too much keys, they do not use it to "enrich" their music but build everything around those soundscapes. I'm not saying that keyboards are shit, some bands use them very well, but most of the time...

What’s your attitude to various innovations brought into the black metal’s genre?

- If the music is good and agressive, if the atmosphere is dark and hatefull, I will enjoy it. If it's crap, it's crap!

And what about such as term as “progressive black metal” (represented with SOLEFALD and others of that ilk)?

- Personally I believe black metal wasn't ment to be progressive, but that's my opinion, and who gives a fuck about that?? Hehehe, to me, black metal should be pretty basic with-out to many fancy stuff... So I guess progressive black metal isn't my thing!

Why don’t you use corpsepaint or whatever alike? Would you agree if I said that this makeup looks utterly ridiculous in most cases?

- I would agree totally and completely. Only a few know how to use corpsepaint in the right way... It can be a powerful tool to enrich your performance on stage but if the music isn't good then paint won't help too much! ICONOCLASM used paint in the very beginning of the band but quickly stopped using it.

Do you share any particular kind of philosophy (i.e. world-outlook +
way of living + whatever else)? Whom do you consider yourselves to be, when it comes to religious issues?

- "Iconoclasm" means "to smash false icons". So the majority of the band are atheists but antichristian, anti-anything that puts their law above others... Myself, I try to follow the path set out by La Vey. As I am a psychologist I find a lot of what La Vey is telling to be true (they're also some crap but each has to decide for himself). I wouldn't call myself to be a satanist, as I still have a long way to go, but I follow the left hand path.

By the way, how do you perceive the paradoxical sort of phenomena, christian (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) black metal???

- This is totally ridiculous and should be ignored totally.

Do you know anything regarding Russia? Any metal bands coming from the country of mine you’ve heard lately?

- I once had the pleasure of visiting Moscow and visting a metal festival in Gorki-park. It was a pretty intense experience...but I do not recall any off the Russian bands performing that night. I know that back then there was a pretty strong scene, but I've no idea what's the situation like now. And the same goes for metal bands from Russia. The only band I know of is ROSSOMAHAAR, but haven't heard their music yet... hopefully I will soon!

Pretty short intie this time, don’t you think? Anyway, the final words of yours are demanded.

- Gratitude and respect go out to you Kai, for your support and belief in ICONOCLASM. Wishing you all the best with Vae Solis! Darkest regards,
CULT SESSION MANIACS
 

ICONOCLASM contact -
Email: iconoclasm666@hotmail.com