Cemetery Lights

This is an excerpt from the full interview that will be published in issue #1

Interview by Sakis

-Hails Corpse and thank you very much for this interview.When I found your band and ordered the ‘’Lemuralia’’ ep.[self released on tape and later on Lp by N.W.N],I was impressed by your unique sound.‘’The Necromantical delirium rooted in the sounds first pioneered by early European ancestors’’ as you describe it on your Bandcamp page.What prompted you to bring back the early 90s Mediterranean black metal sound?

My favorite black metal style was played by those Mediterranean bands (as well as Tiamat, Samael, Moonspell, etc). It had its own evil, mystical atmosphere. Their music gave me vivid mental images of foggy graveyards and secret rituals. I wrote and rehearsed some songs from 2011 - 2012, then took a break because of personal matters. Years went by. I worked on the project slowly. An opportunity to record came up. I resurrected the project and finally recorded the “Lemuralia” EP.

-In regards to the genre of Black Metal, what exactly does it mean to you? Would you regard it as an ideology or a feeling? 

I regard black metal as a feeling and an ideology. It requires both.

The feeling of black metal is quasi-spiritual. It is another manifestation of the “Memento Mori” motif—a reminder of the human condition and inevitability of death. It is a union of intellectual and technical prowess, as well as primal desire and aggression. It tames those extremes into something which is both terrifying and empowering. 

Black metal ideology incorporates Classical and Romantic ideals. Culture and history are very important. Individualism is important as well, which is why the music can be iconoclastic in spite of its emphasis on tradition. It is adversarial to hypocritical, parasitic institutions and movements. However, it is not a Post-Modernist genre. Strains of those ideals may be found, but it is incidental rather than essential. 

Therefore, black metal should resist the molestation and defilement which Post-Modernist trend-hoppers try to force upon it. It is not something to be molded to contemporary sensibilities. It is not to be sanitized, emasculated, and mocked for the amusement of the irreverent masses. It is not a propaganda wing for aforementioned hypocritical, parasitic institutions or movements. Black metal is not “just entertainment”, and it is certainly not “for everyone”.

-My top five Mediterranean black metal albums are focused on those early years. It is hard to choose favorites amongst the powerful Greek scene, and especially hard to choose favorites from the bands I named! It feels bad to leave amazing bands like Agatus, Zemial, Septic Flesh, and Obsecration off the list. But, these albums are the ones which impact me the most:

"All the Witches Dance" by Mortuary Drape

"Crossing the Fiery Path" by Necromantia

"Thy Mighty Contract" by Rotting Christ

"Apollyon" by Thou Art Lord

"Walpurgisnacht" by Varathron