What would you like to state as an introductory assertion?

- Ah, the pressure of an opening line. That first sentence that can make or break a literary masterpiece, a relationship or an interview. And I just screwed up mine... I guess I could start by saying hello Kai, hello people on the internet, I’m Maldoror, lead guitarist and singer in SFAGNUM, ready to answer any of your questions.

Perhaps, giving us a brief background on SFAGNUM would be nice as hell, too?

- SFAGNUM is a band from Belgium; we play our own kind of progressive black metal, spiced up with keyboards and some melodic vocals. Over the past two years we’ve released one demo-tape ("Absence Of Light") and one demo-cd ("Duistere Nacht Van De Ziel"). The tape failed to launch us to instant stardom, but the cd has been very well received and we’re working on a lot of great new material for a future record. If you want to learn more about us, maybe see some pictures or listen to some soundclips, feel free to drop in anytime at http://www.angelfire.com/wy/sfagnum.

Doesn’t the latest work of yours ("Duistere Nacht Van De Ziel") possess a certain conceptual line behind it? Actually, lyrical canvas isn’t exactly what I mean; it may be any kind of principal idea or strivings?

- To tell you the truth, our cd doesn’t really have an overall concept; it’s more of an essayistic approach, where every song has its own meaning. The ‘Dark Night Of The Soul’ (translation of the title) signifies a transitory state of matter in the practice of ancient alchemy. This inspired Caldron to write the lyrics to the song of the same name. I’ve encountered the expression in medieval philosophy as well, where it describes a state of extreme over-reflection... you know, when you’ve become so  trapped in your own thoughts that you start drifting off into complete apathy, like you can’t even walk because you’ve run out  of reasons to take the first step. This was usually considered as a passage into higher wisdom...  There’s a lot of stuff like that on the cd, but as I said, none of it can be considered as a principal idea. We’re five very different people and I think the only principal idea we can all support for the moment, is that our music is more important and has to  speak for itself.  So what does it say? Most importantly, you’ll find that we try to be inspired by genres outside of black metal. This can be classical music (some riffs in ‘Het Veen’ were based on the main theme from Rachmaninov’s 3rd piano concerto) but also plain and simple rock or pop music (the guitar solo in ‘Het Veen’ was inspired by a Leonard Cohen song...). I think we’re realizing that even black metal shouldn’t be too hermetic and can even be catchy.

I don’t really know, perhaps it’s only my view, however "Duistere...’s" appearance seem to be rather sublimely romanticized to  me. You know, when you glance at such a coverart, you immediately consider the band whose this CD is, a ‘gothic’ or ‘CoF-alike’? Stuff like that?

- Yeah, but romanticism is such a common ingredient in black metal artwork and music that it would be hard to imagine it  without. There’s a lot of yearning and death and lost love in our lyrics, not because we’re all misanthropes, but because it’s way more interesting and fun to make really dramatic and expressive songs. The coverart is a collage by Arragon, our keyboard player. He insists that there’s no deeper meaning to it, it’s purely a visual composition. We like it very much, and Arragon has already received some other requests to do lay-outs or illustrations.

Wouldn’t you mind enlightening us regarding another band (or a project?) you participate in, ATLAS. As far as I remember,  I’ve heard one song by ATLAS some (long) time ago, and it suddenly stroke as an unusual mixture of charming piano and  harsh black metal?

- ATLAS is a project where I like to live out some of my more exotic ideas. Together with J. Vrient, who provides poetry and  brainpower, I try to create songs and concepts inspired by classical and modern music, litterature and philosophy. The name ATLAS combines lots of different meanings and connotations. First of all an atlas is, of course, a collection of maps. I’ve always liked the metaphor of geographical exploration. Consider the evolution of the western world-view from a flat disc to a sphere: the key difference is that the surface of a flat disc has boundaries and that of a sphere does not. One can imagine an early medieval traveller gazing at his map, wondering what lies beyond its edges or inside the regions of ‘terra incognita’. His ship would sail unknown and dangerous seas, possibly encounter the hideous Leviathan or the legendary Kraken that lurked beneath the surface, but if he made it safely back to the harbour, he would have discovered an entirely new part of the world. That’s something we can’t imagine anymore, since Magellan sailed around the earth and ended up right where he started. Our contemporary world-view, the sphere, has no boundaries; it creates the illusion of completeness. It doesn’t confront us with the unknown anymore. When we start travelling in one direction, instead of discovering a new part of the world, we eventually end up in the same place, just like Magellan: we encounter ourselves, over and over again. We’ve looked under our beds and discovered there are no monsters there. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing. Anyway, the first true atlas was published in 1570 by Abraham Ortelius, and was subtitled ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ or ‘theatre of the world’. I think that more or less describes what I want ATLAS to be: a scenery where I can incarnate my own world-view. Ortelius, by the way, lived in Antwerp, which is also my home city... Then there’s the mythological figure of Atlas. In ancient greek legends, he was one of the titans who rebelled and attacked the Olympus, the mountain of the Gods. Zues eventually won the battle and punished them horribly. Poor old Atlas was cursed to carry the world on his shoulders for all eternity. The story seems to imply that those who question the very foundations of this world, always end up alone and over-reflexive, carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. As for the music, ATLAS is basically me on electric guitar, piano and vocals. I try to find suitable adittional instruments for every song, including some objets trouvés like an oil barrel, an old pair of maracas and a home-made glöckenspiel (a bunch of stolen bicycle-bells...). Though an actual release is still far away, I’m sure you’ll be hearing from us in the future.

I guess you’ve already took part in a couple of compilation CDs, right? Tell us more about it. Besides, what is your opinion on compilations of all kinds; do you consider ‘em promotionally effective?

- Both SFAGNUM and ATLAS have appeared in compilations like "Lugburz II" and "Riding Hellwards II". Although it’s a great feeling for a young band to be on a cd that goes around the world, I can’t say we’ve had a lot of results yet. There’s probably too many good bands on those compilations for us to stand out in the crowd.

What does this self-parodying ‘Left hand path’ movement mean to you, as it is now? Hasn’t it completely already discredited and profaned itself many years ago? Contemporary ‘satanism’, ‘occultism’, ‘paganism’ and all these ‘ism’s are appear as a nearly ridiculous kind of ‘hired public performance’, y’know. You just got paid to scare few kids and their grandma. The same goes for modern-day black metal, by the way. Now it’s so f***ing harmless?!!!

- You’re forgetting how funny it is to see the scared faces of the native inhabitants of a small village where IMMORTAL plays a concert... hehe... But you’re right, there’s no substantial threat in any of those movements. That’s more or less what I meant by what I said about our world-view. The unknown doesn’t play a part in our lives anymore, and a bunch of kids in corpse-paint won’t change that.

Looks like you’re kinda obsessed with the past times? If my supposition’s correct, let me wonder how would you compare  medieval times and the modern day? I believe, each one has it’s advantages and disadvantages, don’t you think?

- Yeah, I don’t think any era, be it ancient, medieval, modern or postmodern, holds all the answers. Although if I had a choice, I’d definitely still want to live in the 21st century. I suppose that writing about a distant past, just like writing about religion or some obscure pseudo-spiritual fantasy world, is just black metal’s way of trying to be timeless. And I must admit, I still prefer listening to an early BURZUM song about a dying orc or something, rather than hearing Fred Durst rap about ‘his generation’. LIMP BIZKIT will be dead and forgotten in a few months, while those old BURZUM songs still have meaning. So as an element of style, a fascination with past times can be a good thing. That said, there are other more creative ways to write a song that can survive the force of age. Just look at SOLEFALD, singing about the internet and Calvin Klein and stuff: they make timeless songs in a contemporary idiom.

Would you dare to assert that SFAGNUM appears as an inalienable part of your life? What was the reason for giving it birth and what’s the main reason for keeping it alive now? Everything has already been invented, black metal became a trend, and there you have your family and job and so on and so forth, hence is there any sense in bringing forth the light another band with no real future? Sorry, I didn’t mean SFAGNUM exactly, this way of thinking is just so damn common nowadays?

- Don’t apologise, you’re actually making a very good point. Every young band, and of course any project in general, essentially finds itself dangling above that bottomless pit of insignificance; but a black metal band in particular would have to be really brilliant to make a difference. So you often sit down and think, hey, I’m a 22 year old philosophy student, fifteen years from now I’ll hopefully be an esteemed philosopher with a wife and kids & stuff; and here I am investing a lot of time and money and energy in this bizarre occupation that no-one understands, hurting my back carrying around heavy amplifiers, driving around the country in the middle of the night to do a free concert for five people in some shithole... for what? On top of that, people inside the scene usually tend to exagerate the impact of black metal in general; they don’t realise how marginal the genre really is if you compare it to some other cultural movements. Try talking to a classical musician or a philosopher: you’ll find that, as you said, it’s all been done before. So how do I cope? Well, I just take it one day at a time and see where it ends. It’s great to be able to express myself, even though I don’t take any of it too seriously. When we’ve worked hard on a particular riff or harmony, it’s great to be appreciated for it. And there’s that feeling, when we’re rehearsing or doing a concert and everything just fits, you know; I sometimes close my eyes and just listen to the music as it flows, and it really strikes me: how lucky I am to be making the music I like with the people I like. I guess that makes it all worthwile. To answer your question: I consider SFAGNUM as an important part of my life, no more, no less. When we first started, being in a band meant everything to me. Now I’ve learned to see some things in perspective, and I still find reasons to keep going... and who knows what we might accomplish?

Have you ever been interested in so-called ‘occult sciences’? It looks like a pretty common ‘hobby’ nowadays, when it comes to those who’re involved in a black metal scene this way or another. Why such a pathetic word, ‘hobby’? Well, you know, to me it seems nothing but a mere fashion; and besides, it’s such an exciting way to spend your spare time, writing all these pseudo-occult lyrics and sharing the world with the experience you have in this field, while chatting with mass-media’s representatives!

- Haha, you’ve hit the nail right on the head! Anton LaVey, Crowley, Blavatsky, witchcraft, druidism... one big circus-act, if you ask me. Apart from that, I’ve always been intrigued by the occult, but my interest is more of a historical and literary one. A few years ago I read a lot of Baudelaire and J. K. Huysmans. I used to love the french 19th century decadent scene of post-naturalism and symbolism. Well, there’s more to art than that, of course. I guess there’s a period in everyone’s life where you feel attracted to romanticism and stuff; don’t a lot of people flirt with Wagner for a while before they discover Bach? It would be interesting to see if black metal could survive without its occult connotations. In other words, does the essence of this movement lie in the music or in its dark aura...

May I assume that you’re getting high on so-called ‘fantasy’ literature? You know, this genre is often considered an  escapist one? What’s your view on this and alike assertions?

- Actually, the only fantasy work I’ve ever read was ‘Lord of the Rings’, so I don’t consider myself as an expert. But I think that work rises above all claims of escapism. The same goes for Baudelaire’s poetry, by the way, which often faces the same claims. In my opinion, when a literary work is really good, it doesn’t matter if it takes place in Middle Earth, or outer space, or the pits of hell...

Furthermore, previously most of literary works reckoned to the genre of ‘fantasy’ this way or another, couldn’t be imagined without any moral admonitions (or at least sermon-alike principal idea) majority of them were impregnated with? As time passed by all the things became different, and so did the literature. I guess, the lack of ponderous moral spiced with no less ponderous religious supply is the sort of metamorphosis that’s only for better. Would you agree?

- As far as I can tell, early fantasy literature was rooted in our cultural heritage of myths and feary tales; maybe its initial moralistic nature was a remnant of that. But as you said things have changed, and hanging on to any Big Moral Ideas is obviously uncalled for in the age of postmodernism. Realizing that no-one can claim the autority to declare his own ‘ultimate truth’ is a huge step forward for any artform. So I think I agree that this evolution is a good thing. On the other hand, a genre that chooses to abandon all its values also risks losing its relevance. Ethical relativity should never become an excuse to write without any commitment.

Personally I appear as an advocate of so-called ‘theory of opposites’. ‘Search your light in my darkness, for my darkness  is your light’? I guess this quotation fits here quite well. Therefore, nothing can exist without it’s opponent; moreover, figuratively speaking, these ‘opposites’ often perform some kind of castling. What’s your opinion on such a theoretical assumption?

- It can be a useful tool for understanding and describing the world. Your model’s a bit like Hegel’s dialectic system, although there are some differences. I’m especially intrigued by the notion of castling, which I may like more than Hegel’s solution... I guess you mean something like the metamorphosis that ULVER or ARCTURUS went through: it’s the only example I can think of right now but it seems to fit your model quite well.

What do you know (and think) regarding Russia? Any metal bands coming from our lands you’ve heard lately?

- I visited your country 5 or 6 years ago, and I’m definitely coming back some day. I’d always had a crush on Russia from reading Tolstoi and stuff, and actually being there was a great experience. I talked to this kid called Dmitri, who was really into death metal; he said he was very pleased with the dissappearance of communism. There was still a lot of poverty on the streets though, I don’t think capitalism or democracy can change that.
I don’t know any recent Russian bands, sorry... I’ll try to find a cd by ROSSOMAHAAR somewhere, I promise!

I hope I didn’t bore you to death with my questions. If you wish to add or wish us anything, go on?

- Thanks for this interview, I hope I didn’t bore you to death with my answers. Vae Solis is great, you seem to put an incredible amount of work in it as it gets bigger every issue! Keep it up...

SFAGNUM contact -
Email: ortelius@winbox.com