Tag Archives: Metal

XieJia: the internationalism in metal from Hongkong

As I set myself the goal to interview bands from each country in the world, obviously, I set myself up for disaster in some cases. Hongkong is a separate country in some forms and not in others. Yet it is a region with a separate identity and a different history. It flies a different flag and is the stomping ground for many creative, interesting bands who balance the west and east in their art. XieJia is one of those bands.

XieJia has been around for a long time and has gone through many incarnations. Their style shifted, and so did their names and line-ups, but the group remains. The topic of their homeland is complicated, but their passion for music is not. Thanks to Michael Leung, for taking the time to answer my questions.

How is XieJia doing, and would you be so kind as to introduce yourselves (so it is clear who is answering)? 

I am Michael Leung, the guitarist from XieJia. We are now recording a new single, which will be released around late 2022 to early 2023. However, for some reason, our members are now living in two separate countries and will not do live performances in the next few years. 

How was the band started, and can you tell us a bit about its connection to the previous bands Orthon and Dark Vampire? Why did the name change?

Dark Vampire was formed in 2002 and disbanded in 2006. Some of the band members reorganized the band and changed the name to Orthon due to the change in the music style. Afterwards, Orthon was disbanded in 2012, and XieJia was formed by some members of Orthon. The music style was changed evidently from symphonic black metal to extreme black metal if we compared the music style from Orthon and the early XieJia. However, I think XieJia is a special case that even though the line-up and music style has obviously changed, we didn’t change the name of our band. Most of the new members agreed to use XieJia as the band name during this decade so we continued to use this name to represent our band. 

As I understand, you’ve gone through quite some changes in the lineup; how has it affected your sound? 

Our line-up has been frequently changed until 2020. It has caused some significant changes in our music. In the beginning, our music is strongly inspired by some traditional black metal and death metal bands like Dimmu Borgir, Fleshgod Apocalypse and CHTHONIC etc. Due to the change in our line-up, our music has become more diversified. We are now inspired by some metalcore and modern metal bands like Trivium, Periphery, DEVILOOF etc.

Your last release was ‘Order of the King’ from 2016. What can you tell me about the themes and stories you are telling through your music on this record?

The central theme of ‘Order of King” is mainly about some traditional stories and Histories about wars in the Orient. We hope our audience can know more about our homeland through our music. 

What is your writing and recording process like as a band?

We usually jam in the rehearsal room and record the demos at home. Afterwards, we will modify the demos and re-record it and send the tracks to sound engineers for mixing and mastering. 

You’ve released some new music this year; what is the direction you are taking XieJia in from here? 

As I have mentioned, our music style has strongly changed to be more modern and diversified due to the change of our line up. Both of the tracks that we’ve released this year can strongly show that, especially our newest track, Mourning The Apocalypse. This track contains some metalcore-like breakdown, Orchestral, and clear chorus that we have never tried before. Hope that can let our audience feel fresh to our music.

I wanted to ask you about the theme of Chinese folklore. Can you say something about how your origin in Hong Kong explicitly finds room there?

This question is a tough question. Due to some historical factors, sometimes we strongly agree we are part of Chinese folklore and sometimes we think we are a bit different or even an outsider from the traditional idea of  “Chinese folklore”. That’s why some of our early music expressed a strong connection with the theme of Chinese folklore which our newest music didn’t. Our newest music mostly focuses on some more general ideas on human beings such as greed, betrayal and wars etc. since we don’t want to just focus on the theme of Chinese folklore. We would like to show that we have a broader and more international understanding of our world. However, such ideas are still strongly connected to the idea of some Traditional stories and Histories in the Orient or the “Chinese folklore”. 

How does, in your opinion, the Hong Kong metal scene relate to that of mainland China? Do you feel like a Hong Kong band or a Chinese band?

From my point of view, I don’t really think Hong Kong metal is related to mainland China musically. Most of the Hong Kong metal music theme is about Hong Kong or the global. It shows that what the Hong Kong metal musicians care about are either our homeland Hong Kong (due to some historical reasons, there are some differences between Hong Kong and mainland China in some sense) or the whole world.

I don’t think we are a Hong Kong band or Chinese band since I don’t think distinguishing bands by their geographical area is appropriate. What I would like to say is that we are a black metal band on planet Earth and we appreciate musicians and audiences around the globe. 

Can you say something about the scene in Hong Kong? How did it get started? Which bands are really worth checking out?

To my mind, the scene in Hong Kong is getting much better (if we compare it to the past 20 years). However, I think it’s a global trend due to the growth of the internet. We can easily share our music on the internet nowadays. Also, there are tons of new musicians in Hong Kong who put a lot of effort into their works. Unfortunately, due to the strict restrictions of live performance (due to Covid-19) by the Hong Kong Government, the live music industry is undergoing a hard time, and many live houses are closed down. It’s strongly affected the scene of independent music in Hong Kong. 

There are quite a lot; here are some personal suggestions: The ancient metal Gainorva Jason kui (a solo guitar artist), Meowmeow, Mourning, Thy Truth, NiLiu, Relinquish, Soul of Ears, and Uchu Yurei.

Do you use traditional instruments in your music? From some of your videos, it seems you do.

Yes, we have tried to use an Oriental traditional instrument called Zither in one of our track ‘Kings of Hell’.  Also, we will try to use more traditional Japanese instruments in our upcoming tracks.

I’m fascinated by the looks of the band in ‘corpse paint’, as it is not the typical black metal look. Can you say something about the aesthetics of XieJia? (this picture in particular)

We took reference to some black metal bands’ outlook in the early years. However, due to the intended change of our music style, we have abandoned the traditional black metal outlook and have some casual dressing during performances.  

What are your future plans? When can we expect a new release?

As I have mentioned, we are recording a new single which is about a famous Japanese historical event, Honnō-ji Incident. The progress of the recording is almost reaching its end, and we are excited to release this track. We hope the song can be released from late 2022 to early 2023.

If XieJia was a type of food, what would it be and why?

I will say XieJia is “Swiss Chicken Wings” which is a famous food that can be found in Hong Kong. It strongly represents the culture diversity in Hong Kong, expressing the Western and the Eastern Culture. As the “Swiss Chicken Wings”, our music reflects the diversity of cultures such as the Orient, Japanese (The instruments and the myth, story and history inspired the theme of our music) and Continental Europe (The origin of black metal) etc. 

Interview with Death SS Steve Sylvester on Ten

For those in the know, Death SS is a legendary band that you can not overlook when you look back on the history of heavy music. The name, always mired in confusing controversy, stands for In Death of Steve Sylvester (get it, (S)teve (S)ylvester). The band was founded in 1977, but it took until 1988 for the band to release the first album after a series of demos and rarities.

Even more rare is any clarity on the times before that, which Steve Sylvester, still the leading man in the band, was kind enough to fill in (albeit partly and often more confusing and obscure than you’d want) in his book on the history of the band. Read it and be hooked, because it is much like the stories about Kiss. Only here the occult is really the occult, the skulls and bones are really skulls and bones, and the weird stuff is… well just as weird (let’s face it, Kiss has a weird history too).

And now, we are at the point of ‘TEN’, the tenth album of the band. Before we continue to the interview, I have to share the press notes on this release:“X”, the number ten in the Roman numerical system, chosen to name this album, is not a random title.
The number Ten symbolizes perfection, as well as the cancellation of all things.
10 = (1 + 0) = 1, illustrates the eternal starting over.
Ten is the total of the first four numbers (and in our case the first four Albums / Seals) and therefore contains within itself the entirety of the universal and artistic principles contained in each of them.
It corresponds to the Pythagorean Tetraktys which, together with  Seven (the total number of musical / magical seals of our pact), is considered the most important number, as it is formed by the sum of the first four  (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10), thus expressing the totality, the fulfillment, the final realization…! The number 10 is divine because it is perfect, as it brings together in a new unity all the principles expressed in the numbers (or albums) from one to nine.
Esoterically the symbolism of the decade represents the perfection relative to the circular space-time, or the divine immanence.
Ten indicates the change that allows the initiate to evolve, grow and rise spiritually.
It is the symbol of the totality of the represented reality.
From a religious point of view it recalls the number of commandments that God entrusted to Moses on Mount Sinai.
It contains the Unity that made everything and zero, a symbol of matter and of the Chaos from which everything came out.
It therefore includes in its likeness the created and the non-created, the beginning and the end, the power and the strength, the life and the nothingness.
There are also ten circles, the Sefiroth of the Tree of Life.
In the Tarot the number Ten, which in the Major Arcana corresponds to the Wheel of Fortune (Arcane X) and to Judgment (Arcanum XX), represents the end of a cycle of experiences and heralds a new beginning.
Finally in Dante’s Inferno, the tenth canto takes place in the sixth circle, in the city of Dite, where heretics are punished, that is, the rebels, the free spirits intolerant of Dogma, those who choose to take themselves out of the ordinary way, to  which this work is dedicated.
Steve Sylvester

I gather, that this is a fairly long intro, but I could hardly ask Steve to rephrase this in the interview, but here it is. What it tells you, that Steve put way more thought into the title than you’d assume, but also that Death SS may be about the show, shock and theatrics, but has a profoundly deeper layer to it and love for that which is dark.

Without much further ado, here is The Necromancer of Rock himself.

Death SS

Hello Steve, how are you doing? How did you cope with the pandemic (this far)?

Hi! I did as practically everyone did, with patience and trying not to get discouraged by the absurd situation that has arisen. I have dedicated the unexpected free time to further devote myself to music and to my studies, and “Ten” is the result of these last two years …

You’ve just dropped your tenth album, titled unmistakably as ‘Ten’. There’s a lot of significance to this number, as you explain in the accompanying bio. It shows a side of Death SS that not everyone is aware of, which is the depth of thought behind the music.I’m curious as to what resources you have perused to come to this complex idea of the number.

It ‘s something that was born spontaneously .. While I was dedicated to the composition of the album I thought that this would be the tenth “seal” of the career of DEATH SS and this thing should not be underestimated. Gradually all the esoteric and kabbalistic references that are connected behind this magical number have arisen and this has provided me with a further input for the composition of my lyrics …

What can you tell about the creative process of writing and recording this album? Was the relative isolation helpful to you or detrimental?

I would say both .. It was helpful because it gave me more free time and concentration to devote myself to the collection of ideas for composing the songs, but it was also detrimental because it prevented the movements and the relative union between the members of the band because we all live in different cities, and therefore we had to work remotely.

I understand from another interview you did that the album follows a concept, as the songs are connected. Could you elaborate on this? How personal is this record?

“TEN” is personal to the extent that all the records I write are because they represent my mood of the precise historical moment in which I compose them. IT is almost a sort of concept album because all his songs are connected to each other by a common feeling, related to this particular historical period, dominated by the terror, that we have all lived and that in part we are still living today …. Both lyrically and musically there is, therefore, an alternation of lights and shadows, even if the latter often seem to prevail over the first. The mood is very “doomy”, even if there is no lack of power and energy and the desire to rebel and fight, which is the characteristic of all the “heretics” of the Rock people. 

What can you tell about the track ‘Zora’? I’ve read your book, The Necromancer of Rock, so I am aware of your love for classic comics. I also watched the video, which I believe contains exactly what your vision of rock’n’roll is. I can only imagine how much fun it must have been for you, so what can you tell about this?

Yes, it was very funny shooting the ZORA video. As you said, the song is dedicated to the homonymous character of the Italian horror-erotic comics of the 70s and 80s, so I wanted to give it a vintage, sexy and ironic touch, like the comic in question …Death SS red glow

What is the connection between heresy and rock’n’roll for you? I very frequently see those terms together concerning Death SS, so I’m curious about your thoughts about this.

Great question! The term “heresy” derives from the Greek “haìresis” which means “choice”, also in the sense of “turning”.

The heretic is who refuses to accept what is passed off as dogma or absolute truth, who is not satisfied with easy definitions or predefined schemes. Even in music. Being heretics is a way of life. It requires us to dig where someone tells us there is nothing to dig, to speak up when the others try to silence us, to be critical of any dogmatism and imposition.

The heretic is therefore a “free” man, because freedom, as opposed to power, generates a passion for public action and creative participation. For all these reasons I consider DEATH SS and all our followers as “heretics”…..

Death SS is still the horror-inspired band, that it was from the start. A band that delivers a performance. It’s been said that this performative side of rock music appears to be disappearing (Nikki Sixx actually writes that in the last edition of ‘The Heroin Diaries’). How do you feel about this? And how important is the visual aspect of Death SS?

The visual aspect in our musical performances is and will forever be a very important aspect to me. Since I was a child I have always been attracted to the glamorous and scenographic side of certain artists and I have incorporated this aspect into the DNA of my band. I would not be able to conceive DEATH SS differently!

Since reading your book (which was my ‘get to know’ Death SS moment) I try to explain Death SS as something akin to Kiss and Ghost. I very frequently see this comparison, so how do you feel about this? What are your thoughts on these bands?

Well, KISS have certainly been one of the sources of inspiration for the band, as well as Alice Cooper, all people who started doing what was then called “shock rock” before us, even if when I formed the band in 1977, I didn’t thinking at these artists, but rather at the  SWEET, obviously in a “horror” version …..I like Ghosts. They came out long after us and from what I know, it was probably us who influenced them in some way.

Having mentioned those, it’s as if in the evolution of rock and metal, other bands choose punk or metal, and Death SS did something else. Paving the way for what was to come, yet never really challenged, sounding uniquely like yourselves on Ten. But what is that unique essence of Death SS and the drive behind its creativity?  

Since from the beginning, I’ve never asked myself the problem of labelling what I was playing. It is difficult for me to channel my band into a specific musical genre. This is why I have always said that DEATH SS play “Horror Music”, because it simply means that we want to express certain atmospheres that draw from the esoteric and horror imaginary, in the freest possible way, obviously always with a Rock matrix.

What are the current future plans you have for the band? And in your personal artistic endeavours?

For now I’m simply promoting “Ten” which has only been out from few days. I’m waiting to see how things will go and above all I’m waiting to see if the concert situation can finally evolve without all the limitations to which we all was forced lately, in order to be able to do some important show …

Will there be more writing with adventures from Steve Sylvester? 

Who knows? Maybe in another twenty years … Ha! Ha!

Would you say that rock’n’roll is the secret to keep looking as young as you do, or is it actual vampirism? You’ve been making music with Death SS since 1977, there are artists who started a decade later and look 40 years older than you. What is your secret?

You said it: I’m a true vampire!

All The Be(a)st!

Steve

 

 

 

Skinflint: dark tales from Botswana

Botswana is a metal country and that is something most people will not know. The African continent is not known for their wide range of metal bands, but Botswana is the exception. And while some bands have ventured outside their native boundaries to play their music, none has seen so much as Skinflint.

The band hails from Gaborone and has been around since 2006. Having just toured the USA, the group found itself stalled by the global pandemic. Nonetheless, the spirits are ever high in Skinflint and they were glad to answer a number of questions I had and share why they feel African stories are well-suited for metal music, what it’s like to tour with Soulfly and what comes next.

Skinflint

How is Skinflint doing? Has the pandemic been hard on you?

It has affected us all. But fortunately, we are all fine and getting back to making music again.

What got you folks originally into metal music? What made it such fascinating music for you?

Metal is music that breaks stereotypes and pushes boundaries. It was the best platform for our artistic expression.

I’m curious as to how Skinflint started as a band and how you managed to keep a rather solid line-up for so long. Though there’s a vibrant scene in Botswana, finding the right chemistry would seem like a challenge. How is that for Skinflint?

It is hard to find like-minded musicians here in Botswana as even though there is a dedicated Metal following, the scene here is actually small and does not get much recognition locally. I met Kebonye at a festival in Lobatse many years ago. Cosmos I knew him from another band he played for called Amok which disbanded. When Alessandra left the band I thought of him and asked if he wanted to try for auditions.

Musically, you are hard to place in one stylistic corner. But what I find very fascinating is that you take African mythology as part of your themes and topics in the music. I assume these are regional stories, because saying African mythology is as wide-ranging as saying European or Asian mythology, obviously. Could you say something about this and perhaps give a bit of a background for those not in the know on these themes?

Africa is a continent rich in myths and storytelling. Much of which has not been covered by mainstream media. I thought of incorporating some these tales into the bands music. I believe this gives the listener a new perspective to listen to Metal, and also bring to attention some of these tales. Some are regional, some are inspired by true events and others I have played around with.

Why is it significant for you to use metal to tell these stories? What do you want people to take away from Skinflints music?

The stories are raw, dark and strange. It fits the kind of Metal we play well. I hope to see these tales told in other art forms too. I hope people can find some inspiration in them and even incorporate them into their own works. Furthermore, I would love to see more of it, in music, art, video games, comics etc as I don’t see much coverage for them. This is why I have been consistent with them throughout my career. They are important to me and most of it unheard of.

After your last record, the self-titled album from 2018, your drummer Allessandra left the band. You have a new drummer now, has this impacted the direction or sound from the band much?

It has. But not too much. But not just because of her departure, but we feel like it’s time to try something new while still retaining the identity of the band.

Before Covid-19 hit, you guys were touring with your new drummer in the USA. What was that like, playing with bands like Soulfly? And since you got home on the 3rd of March, was it tense towards the end?

Playing with Soulfly felt like a dream. Coming from Botswana, the only place we see these bands is on YouTube or videos. Next thing, we are sharing the stage with musicians we watched growing up. The tour was intense and a vital part of the bands’ growth process. These are the things you cannot teach but need to experience in order to achieve a higher level of playing.

You’re now getting work underway on a new album. What can you tell us about it? Has your creative process been different? What can we expect?

The new album is almost done. You can expect the same raw energy the band is known for but with a few surprises. The songs are heavier this time around, with a newfound energy and chemistry within the band. You can hear a band playing with hunger and heart here. I am confident in the new material.

When do you think it’ll be out, and what plans does Skinflint have for the future?

Early next year. We already have some festivals booked in Europe, and then we hope to confirm further dates in the USA too, hopefully.

Botswana is one of the few African countries with a metal scene that is globally known and seen. While it makes little sense to treat it as an oddity, it is very distinct, DIY and creative. How are things there? Which new bands are coming up that people should know about?

We are proud of the scene here. With Covid hitting and the scene being on hiatus for 2 years now, nothing new has come out. It’s still the same bands that I know of. Check out Overthrust if you like old school Death Metal.

Your local scene was subject to numerous articles and documentaries. In what way has that impacted the metal scene? Has it been positive or negative?

On the positive, it brought attention to a scene that may not have been discovered in the first place. Some of it was really good. But on the bad side some of the documentaries were all about the imagery and completely excluded the music/bands. Skinflint has distanced itself from those, as we felt it was more like a fashion show.

If you had to describe Skinflint as a dish (a type of food), what would it be and why?

Braii. Putting meat on a fire in the middle of the bush. The closer to the bone the sweeter the meat becomes. That is what Skinflint sounds like. In fact, we have braii every time the band gets together to rehearse or record.

Check out the band website here. Article originally published on Echoes and Dust.

Bloody Tyrant, the Sun Moon Lake and metal in Taiwan

Taiwan is a strange country to most in the west, yet it has brought forth some fascinating metal groups. The small island state is also known as the Republic of China and Chinese Taipei. Its history and identity is complex, but bands like Bloody Tyrant take up the deep, cultural roots that dwell there.

Bloody Tyrant (暴君) has been around for 11 years and has released 5 full-length albums to this date. One of their topics is the Sun Moon Lake, where the band originates from and which inspires them to share the native stories of the island. The band was kind enough during this time to answer my questions and tell a bit more about metal in Taiwan and their latest album: ‘Myths of the Islands’.

Lords of the Isles: Bloody Tyrant

How is Bloody Tyrant doing? 

We’re doing pretty well.

Has the band suffered from the COVID-19 outbreak much? How has it hindered your efforts as a band?

A lot of shows were canceled, but we’re glad that Taiwan is doing a good job at handling the pandemic, and we’re getting more and more shows back on.

Please, tell me something about your background and how you got into metal music. I understand some of you also have different projects. 

Most of us started with school activities back in the days, and started listening to heavier and heavier music, then started to get our own bands going.

Can you tell me something about the formation of Bloody Tyrant and how the band has evolved?

In the beginning, Bloody Tyrant was an extreme black metal band. But as time moves forward, and tastes and creative directions change, we are now more of a folk metal band.

Taiwan has a fairly lively heavy alternative music scene and a lot of bands merge folk with black metal, like yourselves. What made you choose to blend these styles and create a distinctive and unique sound for yourselves?

Actually, there aren’t that many bands in Taiwan like that, or I would say there aren’t that many bands in Taiwan.

What is the reason to make your country’s mythology part of your theme? How important is it that your music reflects something of your heritage?

Part of the reason why we started using those traditional instruments was that some of the members were in those Chinese traditional orchestras and studies traditional instruments back in the days.

On Metal Archives, special reference is made to Sun Moon Lake. Can you tell me more about why it is so significant and an important topic in your music? 

Sun Moon Lake is located in the only county in Taiwan that’s almost next to the sea – Nantou, and that’s also where Bloody Tyrant started. So to have mythologies about Sun Moon Lake as our theme was a way to be connected to our land.

In the middle of this pandemic, you have released a new album, titled ‘Myths of the Islands’. What can you tell me about the recording and writing process of this record?

Actually, we started to work on this album back in 2018, where we started to look for those mythologies about the aboriginals. And just like the two previous albums, we tracked and mixed the album in 2019.

What story can listeners learn by listening to this album? Most songs you’ve shared are introduced as stories from your land. Can you provide a small introduction to these stories?

The stories from the album are all from the Taiwanese aboriginal mythologies, and just like many other cultures of religions, there are mythologies about the genesis, the flood, shooting the sun, and plague and that kind of story. Some of those mythologies are related to their rituals, totems, and such.

How has the reception of this record been this far? 

Although the style is very different from our previous albums, for the folk metal fans they have been enjoying the album, and for some people who are into the Taiwanese aboriginal cultures, they are also happy to see a Taiwanese metal band promoting such stories.

What’s happening right now in Taiwan’s metal scene? What bands should people really check out today and what interesting things are happening?

There aren’t many metal bands in Taiwan, but slowing getting more. And since there aren’t that many metal bands, so the styles are very limited. Again, because there aren’t that many metal bands, so the bands with styles that aren’t as modern would be very interesting, such as melodic death metal band Sacrifice, Taiwanese folk style gothic band Crescent Lament, black metal band Efflore, symphonic black metal band Raven Skull, etc.

As an island nation, do you connect to scenes from neighboring countries? 

Although we use the instrument that is commonly seen as a Chinese instrument – Pipa, a lot, and indeed the instrument was imported into China way back in the days and became populated by China, but this kind of instrument also got into Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Ryukyu, etc and they each became their own, so we just call it an oriental instrument.

Taiwan was ruled by Japan for a period of time, so not only the domestic development was influenced by the Japanese, but also culturally, even until this day, and that’s why we had the album HAGAKURE.

Politics are often involved when bands talk about their origins, history, and legends. Being a band from Taiwan, is that a part of what focus on as a band, especially today? 

It’s actually kind of sad, as when rock n’ roll, metal, or the freedom movement were at their peak back in the 70s or 80s, Taiwan was actually under martial law, so that inhibited our cultural development by a lot. In order to have Taiwan be known in the global artistic field, Taiwanese bands would really have to catch up, and also we really have to have some political views to get rid of the old, outdated way of thinking.

Also, politics is about people, it influences how we live our lives, everything is connected to politics, every culture, every language, and every story is a byproduct of politics.

What future plans do you currently have and do you plan to tour Europe again? 

We will be going into the promotion phase for our new album. We will definitely be planning to go back to Europe after the pandemic, as we received really good feedback from our European tour this year.

If Bloody Tyrant was a dish, a type of food, what would it be and why? 

I’d say we would be Japanese style Naples pasta. Because Bloody Tyrant fuses different cultures together and it became its own kind, just like Japanese style western food, when different cuisines were imported to Japan, they became their own Japanese food.

Dödsrit – Mortal Coil

Dödsrit

Band: Dödsrit
Label: Wolves of Hades
Origin: Sweden/Netherlands
Genre: black crust ‘n roll

Swedish-Dutch Destruction

The project that is now Dödsrit may have started in the forests of Sweden, when Christoffer Öster created it, it has now more or less become a Dutch affair for 75%. With members of Morvigor, Nuclear Devastation and Destructo in its ranks, it’s become a full-fledged metal machine, blending black metal coldness with a hard-baked crust sound and heavy metal sensibilities. In short, it’s tasty as fuck.

‘Mortal Coil’ is the third album of this international outfit and it is a prime piece of metal destruction. The bio reads a little dramatic, this album representing the world in flames, the hell they call home. I think metal can do with some drama and theatrics, it’s after all not fucking punkrock, is it? I like punkrock though, but it’s simply another beast. Ok, pointless chatter, let’s go to the music.

Burning the fields with Dödsrit

The sound of Dödsrit is more of a journey, as the songs drag on and on. This is not a bad thing, since it nicely blends aggression with the richness of atmospheric passages. In its desperate nature and forlorn feeling, the sound is like everything is burning behind you. The world is indeed on fire, and hope is racing away from you. ‘The Third Door’ is a song full of story, and as one of the four, a great start of this record.

‘Shallow Graves’ takes it up a notch with epic guitars, roaring vocals and some of that melo-death grandeur. I noticed here how well polished this album sounds. Not to demean any of it, because the production quality is essential to really make you feel those hooks and riffs. In that sense, it even has a bit of that Dissection/Immortal vibe going. The title track is even more accessible, though it’s got that dragging sound going too.

I suppose ‘Apathetic Tongues’ kinda knocks it out of the park after that. Nothing else to say honestly. In many ways, Dödsrit fits the mould of the more new-school black metal bands, like Downfall of Gaia and ilk. Wide space in the music, bursts of energy, a little hybridization between genres, atmosphere… In four excessively radio-unfriendly songs, the band just drags you along. It’s got a bit of everything that makes this music good; it’s catchy, furious, melodic, yet still full of grit.

Arka’n Asrafokor: Togo heavy metal warriors

Togo is a country you probably haven’t thought about in a while. Maybe not even in the last 14 years, since the world cup participation of the African coastal nation. That’s likely going to change because Arka’n Asrafokor is turning heads with their specific blend of metal music.

With their debut album, Zã Keli , the band didn’t just set their own country on the heavy metal map. They made an impact on the whole continent. Telling us more about it is rapper and keyboard player Enrico Ahavi, with some additions from bandleader and guitarist Rock.

Due to a lot of circumstances, it took a while to get this interview done. That has a lot to do with the band being quite busy. But here it is: Togo heavy metal warriors!

Breaking the mold with Togo heavy metal

How is Arka’n doing? Has the pandemic been tough for you guys?

The pandemic has frozen many things. Many activities in many domains. And just the same way a doctor lives on his work, an artist lives on his art. An art they cannot fully express yet. It’s not only about having income but the public also. Being on stage and feel the crowd, these people’s energy and joy to be there. So yes it’s tough but we are holding on and we’ll get through this. We’re still working and we are working on new projects. The band is doing well.

Did you change the name to Arka’n Asrafokor in the meantime? I understand it means warrior, but can you tell more about this?

No, the addition of Asrafokor came prior to the pandemic. Asrafo means warrior in our mother tongue. And Asrofokor refers to the music of warriors. Warriors were icons in our culture. They were always ready to fight and die for the community. Ready to die for honor, justice, truth, peace, and love. And this state of mind and soul should always be alive and kept deep within each of us. That’s the spirit of Arka’n. That’s the kind of people we are. That’s the warriors we are, walking in our ancestors’ steps.

So can you tell me how you guys all got into this music, what bands inspired you and how you all met?

The musicians were all friends and playing here and there in clubs. Rock, the leader, was working on an album project meanwhile. He suggested to build up a band with the others. He explained the concept, the spirit behind it. They all agreed because sharing the same point of view, spirit, and culture. I (the rapper) was not hundred percent in the band. I used to sing a couple of songs with them on stage but later on joined the band as a full-time member.

We’ve been inspired by many bands. We can’t mention them all but we think the most relevant ones are Slipknot, Korn, Killswitch Engaged, Linkin Park, and more.

The African continent is known for having a very sparse metal scene and only a few notable exceptions. How was this in Togo when you were coming up and exploring this music? Did you have any musical peers?

Truth is it was really tough because there is not a single metal scene in Togo. There was no stage for us. And people don’t know what that music is. But we tried strategically to perform here and there in Togo. Not everywhere and anyhow. The places were selected according to our objectives. Little by little, we’ve started getting people to know what metal was. And specifically what our style was. And surprise surprise: they’ve loved it. Though some people had never heard of metal before. They’ve loved it because of the traditional aspect of the music. They could understand it. The music was the mirror reflecting their roots.

People know rock music here. There are good rock bands. But we are the sole metal band in Togo for now. Therefore we don’t think we’ll say we had musical peers.

What is often seen in emerging metal scenes is emulating the sound of the bands that inspire. But you guys came up with this whole new, distinct sound. What made you go in this direction and how did you shape your sound?

Instinct brought that distinct sound. It couldn’t be otherwise. Metal patterns and our traditional ones are twins. We took that direction because there was no other one to take. The path was there for us to take because it was who we are. Our culture. The culture we live in and that shaped us. We just did what we thought was right and natural for us to do. It would be out of tune trying to sound like this or that band.

Can you tell me a bit about the traditions, the past, that you put into your music with the tribal aspect? And how did it shape up through the years?

We all have a history. A real history. Not the one written by a couple of constipated guys who distort the truth because they are afraid of what you are and can become. So we cling to our history, our truth. Our values. Honor, justice, peace, and love, as mentioned above. I don’t mean we are perfect but at least it is for example impossible for us to decimate a race for land. This is not in our blood. This is not part of our values and history. Music is meant to teach also. Teach the youngest the best way to choose and why. And this is what we do. A mission we have to accomplish. This is what shaped our music. Our education made our music.

As I understand, there’s also a spiritual side to the band, could you say something about that?

Sorry not to deepen the spiritual aspect of the band but here is what we can say. It’s sad to live half a life when you can live a full and complete life. Like it or not the spiritual is the essence of life. There is no ‘here’ without ‘there’. There is no ‘middle’ without ‘here’ and ‘there’. There is no ‘you’ without ‘I’ but at the same time there is only ‘i’ and nothing else. So mind what you think, say, and do. Do the right thing to the world since you are supposed to be the world. Honor life and differences, honor your soul and laws that sustain the universe. Be as humble as the waves of the powerful ocean washing your feet at the seashore. Teach people and show the way. Spirituality is not about religion but it’s a way of living we as a band have adopted.

You’ve released the album last year‘Za Keli’. what can you tell me about the title, the story, the message on this record that is really quite amazingly good? What has happened since its release?

In our Ewe language, Zã Keli means Darkness and Light, Night and Day. We chose to give that title to the album to make us always remember this duality sustaining this world and the fact that we must accept it, fit with it and do our share. You can feel “Zã Keli ” duality in almost all the lyrics of the album. You can feel it when in some songs we talk about that inner journey of human beings, through bright sunny flowered hills or dark infernal valleys, through laughter and tears, learning, growing, but keeping the inner core of his soul safe, untouched, bright and human. Zã Keli is there again, when you listen to some of our songs, beautiful peaceful words full of hope, and in other songs, war cries calling for a merciless fight against those who spread death on our Mother Earth, those who destroy innocent lives, out of hatred and greed. This album is also like an overview of the story of the band members, what we have gone through, for many years, our musical and technical evolution, our human and spiritual journey. The oldest song of the album was written before 2005 and the most recent one in early 2019. The album came to the world during a memorable release party in a club we used to perform. The following days, the album was available online, and there were amazing reviews from metal magazines in Africa and then writers and blogs here and there from five continents! It was like a new beginning, a new journey. Our fanbase has been growing since then and we are connecting with communities and other bands. Now we are working on the next album.

Can you describe the writing and recording process? Like, how do you approach the whole creative side of it, and who plays what part in it?

Rock is the composer and the writer. He creates the music and we play it with some modifications if necessary.

How was the reception of the album, did it help you connect to the wider African metal scene?

The comments regarding the album were positive. The album confirmed Arka’n as a serious band as well as the style. It’s been proof we took some way and were part of the metal community. It helped connect not only with the wider African metal scene but also with the world metal scene. Many things were planned for this year but the pandemic put everything on hold.

Which bands do you feel we should really listen to from your part of the world, and why?

Metal in Africa isn’t something so rare, and there are many bands I could recommend from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, Angola… Let me just name those who come to my mind now…Dark Suburb, a rock band from Ghana, a band of talented and committed brothers who always fights to raise people’s awareness of life in the slums, the hard reality there, but also all the huge potential of the forgotten souls there. Overthrust and Wrust from Botswana, which are the references of  African death metal scene, Skinflint, heavy metal from Botswana too. Seeds of Datura and Last year tragedy from Kenya,  the awesome Dividing the Elements, Myrath from Tunisia, one of the most worldwide known African metal bands, etc, etc…

How is your reception in Togo itself? Is there any censorship or social scrutiny you have to deal with?

Since we gave birth to our music from our roots there is no censorship. The listeners know what they are listening to. Even the ones living out of Togo. Like in Ghana for example, since we actually share the same rhythms and culture. Our messages are real and about life and society. Nothing eccentric or unethical. Unless being eccentric means to get up and fight for your future and freedom, for the ones we love. Unless being eccentric means following the footsteps left by those who’ve been here before us.

What is the biggest misconception you face as a band from Togo that plays metal?

We would be called ‘satanists’. That is how it was at the beginning. That western image of metal stuff. Wearing black and jumping here and there on stage, growling, etc… They thought it was western stuff that didn’t fit in here. But it changed quite fast as our fanbase grew and people wanted to understand what these crazy guys were doing on stage and what they were singing about.

What future plans does Arak’n have when the world turns back to normal?

Just one plan: hit the road and say hi to the world with more power and love.

 

 

Kadeem Ward brings psychedelica and black metal to Barbados

There are places where metal is still an oddity and Barbados is one of them if we can believe the stories Kadeem Ward has to share. Over a decade ago, he formed the band Conrad, together with two other musicians from other countries. The first extreme metal band from the island country.

You may know Barbados from its calypso music and, obviously, Rihanna is from the isle in the lesser Antilles. It’s a small place, known for tropical holidays and perhaps for its oddball world championship in Segway polo in 2009. Yet, there are deeper and darker traditions in the Caribbean to explore and doors to open. Kadeem Ward takes us on a flight through his fascinating career, that is still unfolding and filled with creativity. But also a number of setbacks and struggles he had to face on an island unwilling to embrace the darker sounds.

Kadeem is currently working on The Kadeem Ward Project, which has multiple sub-projects mentioned below. Enjoy!

Capturing Caribbean Darkness with Conrad

Let’s start at the beginning, how did you get into music and what inspired you to play rock music and metal?

When I was around the age of 9, I used to watch a lot of WWF shows. I used to like the theme songs that wrestlers used for their ring entrances. Theme songs for wrestlers such as The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H. That was the first time I ever heard heavy metal; but of course, I didn’t know the genre had that name. I had no idea who Motörhead were and that they contributed to that Triple H theme. I never heard the term heavy metal until around the age of 12. One of my cousins introduced me to heavy metal bands such as Sepultura, Slayer & Behemoth. A few years after he did, I was able to watch the documentary – ‘Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey’. Through that documentary, I discovered Norwegian black metal; and bands such as Burzum, Emperor & Mayhem inspired me tremendously. I related to their idea of the rejection of Christianity, because where I’m from, Barbados, is heavily populated by people who blindly accept the faith, and disregard the fact that Christianity was introduced to our black ancestors who were captured as slaves as a means to mentally control & brainwash them. I’m a firm believer of practising whatever forms of spirituality my ancestors were doing prior to their enslavement.

The Norwegians that were a part of the black metal scene, Varg Vikernes, Ihsahn, Euronymous and others, were very aware of similar atrocities which occurred in their native country’s history as well. Christianity has been always used as a method of oppression throughout history. I refused to accept anything Christianity had to offer from an early age. It just manifested into something more as I grew older. Eventually, I began to make music about it when I was 19.

My first recordings were done at the age of 17, but back then I never made music about blasphemous activities.

By the time I turned 21 in 2013, I had completed recording instrumental rough mixes for Conrad’s second EP entitled: ‘Exu.21’. However, I was not able to record anymore because my laptop had an issue and eventually stopped working. It was that same year I decided to switch to psychedelic rock with a solo band called ‘The Kadeem Ward Project’ in an attempt to make enough money to purchase a new one. However, this never worked out, and even to this day, Conrad gets more sales than the Project. Still, it’s not enough money to buy anything, as the customer purchase rates are incredibly slow. So I’ve decided to stick to the psychedelic/progressive rock sounds, as I would like to have a more lucrative band for the Barbadian live settings.

What are the band that totally captured you and really inspire you to this day?

Honestly, I don’t listen to most of the bands that inspired me in the early days. I’ve moved on. Not saying that I wouldn’t listen to those bands ever again, but I’ve just been making the time for new music. I listen to a lot of ’60s & 70’s music. There’s a sea of psychedelic rock & progressive rock that I like to submerge myself in. One band that I’ve really been digging very recently is the Pekka Pohjola Group from Finland. They have a track & album released in 1980 called ‘Kätkävaaran Lohikäärme’ (The Dragon Of Käkävaara) that is just simply ingenious. However, if I had to choose a particular band it would be Saturnalia Temple from Sweden. I love their 2011 full-length ‘Aion Of Drakon’ is a major influence for me. I first heard it in early 2012, and it resonated heavily. It’s so bluesy, especially for a Doom Metal album. Some sections of it remind me of the legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson. Especially tracks like ‘Fall’. I don’t know if Johnson was an influence for that album, like, if the craft was intentional, but I hail Tommie Eriksson and the gang for their efforts.

As I understand it, you started the first metal band or at least the first extreme metal band, in Barbados. Your first project was called Tohara Harakati, where you started using the moniker ‘Veldt Soldaat’ (which is in Dutch ‘field soldier’, which piques my interest). Here you also started using the moniker ‘Emdeka’. Can you tell me how this came to be?

In 2009, I was looking for a band name. I wanted to have an African name. I used an online translator to attempt to translate Purgatory Process into Swahili. That’s how Tohara Harakati came to be. Unfortunately, it’s not an accurate translation. And yes, Veldt Soldaat translates to ‘field soldier’ in Dutch. I used an Afrikaans translator, and both that and Dutch are quite similar. But I didn’t realize that at the time, haha.

Emdeka just came to be influenced by Samoth of Emperor who took his birth name Thomas and spelled it backwards from each of the last two letters. My birth name is Kadeem, so if I did the same thing it would be ‘Emdeka’. In 2013, I added Exuma to the name, as a tribute to the Bahamian artist who sang about dark Afro-based entities and traditions.

This project then became Conrad, which is the main reason I got interested in your work. It’s driven sound, atmospheric passages and intricate passages are, to me, phenomenal. Can you tell me more about this project and how you shaped it?

I went to the public library in Bridgetown when I was 17 to find a text about Barbadian folklore so that I could choose a new band name. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to borrow that book in particular, so I read through it very quickly and came across two interesting entities. Ballahoo, a spectral hound with chains attached to him, which was known to devour people. The next one being Conrad, a ghost that was said to penetrate women and live in their stomachs, causing irritation. I chose the latter because it felt more intriguing, and I felt a strong spiritual connection with the name.

What was the concept behind Conrad? And what attracted you to the sound of black metal?

The concept behind Conrad is a spiritual one. It is connected with the past activities & rituals of the African people. It just so happens that I took the more sinister path of such a notion.

Also, I always loved how minimalistic black metal was expressed. These guys created a phenomenon through the use of poor quality equipment and recording styles. I also like the variation of speed that can accumulate within various bands.

You’ve said that you wanted to capture Barbados myths with Conrad. You also explored various languages and ideas related to your personal heritage, if I understand it correctly (perhaps afro-centric themes is the correct word?). Can you elaborate on that?

I’m trying to bring forth awareness and glorification of Afro-based entities such as Baron Samedi (found in the Haitian Voodoo tradition, Eshu/Exu (found in both the West African Yoruba & Brazilian Quimbanda traditions; the latter which I have been an active practitioner of from 2011 to 2013) & Shango (found in the West African Yoruba tradition). Our black ancestors suffered a lot and some even died trying to defend their culture. I think it’s fair that more black individuals accept these traditions again because it was our way of living and it was stripped from us!

For this band, you started working with Lord Ifrit from Jamaica, known from Orisha Shakpana. How did you guys get in touch and how did this steer the project to the darker sound on the last releases?

Lord Ifrit contacted me in 2010 via email and hailed me for my contributions to heavy metal. We then exchanged taste in music and eventually talked about collaborating. He wrote the lyrics and performed the vocals for the track ‘Purgatory Process’ which is the second track on Conrad’s first EP entitled ‘-Conrad Within-‘. The darkness of the sound came from me being very heavily influenced by bands such as Watain & Dissection; those two bands glorify the concept of Chaos as a source of liberation from the chains of the cosmic existence and the stagnation of the forces of Order.

New Horizons for The Kadeem Ward Project

I’m not entirely clear on how and why Conrad got quiet or even ended. Orisha Shakpana seems to have gone quiet at the same time according to what I can find. Since then you’ve worked on several projects in new directions it seems. So how did this project end and where did your interests shift towards?

Conrad never ended! The band is currently going through a very long hiatus. What happened with Conrad was a series of unfortunate & detrimental events. First of all, in 2013, during the recording of Conrad’s 2nd EP ‘Exu.21’, my laptop had issues and stopped working. It was my main work station at the time. I couldn’t continue with Conrad’s new material as a result. The DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that I used was pirated and for some reason, entered a trial mode, and prevented me from recording. I also lacked space on my internal hard drive. So I knew I needed a new laptop.

So sometime in 2013, I worked very briefly at a hotel on the south coast of Barbados to acquire some funds for a new laptop; however, I was fired in less than a week. I managed to accumulate enough money for an external hard drive, and I figured that maybe I can try to form a new project that would be lucrative enough for financial assistance. I created a project called ‘De Adversaries’ which was based on dark psychedelic rock with metal influences, but this was really just an experiment for the development of my playing skills on the guitar. It was supposed to feature individuals from ‘the darkest corners of the world’, but it never worked out.

On November 30th 2013, I created The Kadeem Ward Project, and launched a brand new demo that featured about 9 mins of improvisation through an instrumental jam session. That demo was called ‘Austere’. Shortly after my laptop finally expired and I was forced to use my mother’s laptop in order to do more recordings with the Project. It just became so much easier to record with ‘The Project’ because it was entirely based around guitar improvisation, which I became very good at. With Conrad, everything was composed very carefully and strategically. This became too time-consuming for my situation, because my mother never liked the idea of me recording music on her laptop.

Another thing that took place in early 2013 was my manifestation of schizophrenia. I was doing lots of cocaine and marijuana at the same time and started hearing voices while having a rather painful and unusual increased heart rate. This went on for the duration of a year plus a few months. In 2014, I got in some trouble with my mother after someone I once considered a friend tried to push me out of a moving vehicle and I ended up in the island’s psychiatric hospital, a place called Black Rock.

I spent a duration of about 2 months there before going back home and then attending their walk-in rehab.

I can’t say what happened to Orisha Shakpana, because I was out of contact with Lord Ifrit for a while; but I believe that band is also on a very long hiatus.

One project I came across, that I found particularly interesting was Emdeka Exuma & De Adversaries. It made me think of Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies. Can you tell me more about that project? Is that the last mention of your moniker Emdeka?

For now, it is the last mention, you can say. I became very influenced by Selim Lemouchi’s work since I first heard The Devil’s Blood in mid-2011. Conrad’s 2nd and unfinished EP ‘Exu.21’ is heavily inspired by The Devil’s Blood. When Selim started his new project, I was so inspired that I changed the name of ‘De Adversaries’ to ‘Emdeka Exuma & De Adversaries’. As I mentioned before, ‘De Adversaries’ was an effort to have people from different parts of the globe muster ideas for dark psychedelic music.

You seem to have grown more fond of psychedelic music, but as I understand it from your personal story, there is little room our tolerance for that music on Barbados. You’ve had quite some personal and legal issues as I understand. Is that something you want to tell more about? Do you feel there is more acceptance regarding the music you make today?

I’d say psychedelic rock & progressive rock are a bit more lucrative within the Barbadian setting. It’s something you can get away with if executed correctly and accurately. Most Barbadians don’t like rock music in general. As Christians, they’ve acquired the herd notion that all rock music is Satanic. So they don’t ever step out of their comfort zones when it comes to rock, blues and especially heavy metal. However, the few that do appreciate the genre would probably find psychedelic rock to be interesting. If you play music in the vein of Jimi Hendrix, they’d gravitate towards it. But honestly, I didn’t choose the genre to have people think I’m the next Jimi Hendrix, it just came naturally as something I loved and wished to express. Honestly, I don’t mingle too much with the local rock fans, because in my opinion, they’ve stagnated themselves by listening to mainstream alternative rock bands that have really watered down the spirit of rock n roll. Rock n roll is a lifestyle of rebellion against oppressive forces, which is a notion that mainstream bands don’t cater to. I get quite annoyed while talking about it, but whining about your girlfriend and singing about being the least favourite student in high school (or whatever the fuck those bands sing about) is absolute weakness and has nothing to do with the true spirit of rock n roll.

As for legal issues, I actually appeared in court for the first time in 2013. January that same year, someone wanted to purchase a tobacco pipe I was selling for $40 Barbadian ($20 USD). They were a graphics designer that did posters for local dancehall shows. He said he didn’t have the money so I trusted that he would’ve returned with the money eventually. I realized that every time I met with him, he didn’t have the money, followed by some excuse. At one point he told me about a situation where he abandoned a girl after offering her ice cream, and he thought that was funny. Eventually, I started hearing stories about how he ripped off several of his clients who wanted to do shows for him, as he was a ‘promoter’. They never saw any money from him. So, after weeks of waiting, I sent him a warning with a picture of my Quimbanda altar and he panicked. He came into my workplace (at the time I was working at a supermarket located a few minutes away from my home in a place called Six Roads) and threatened me twice. When it was time for me to leave around 10:00 PM, he was in the parking lot waiting for me and spoke violently. After he attacked me, I stabbed him. My mother told me to turn myself in, so I did. I was in a jail cell for a few days before I was granted bail. Because of that incident, I lost my job at the supermarket, as they said they weren’t allowing violence on their compound. When I went to court, the judge dropped the charges against me and told me to be careful next time.

Also, I’ve been to the psychiatric hospital 4 times between 2014 – 2018. The 3rd time, in 2016, my mother made me homeless the day after I was discharged from that institution for my 2nd detainment. I refused her request to get a haircut and she called the police to escort me off of her residence. I was homeless for about 6 days. I was then approached by a neighbor who said that my mother wanted me back home. When I did return home, my mother called home from work and asked me what I was doing there, and called the police again. I verbally abused my grandmother because of that. Anyway that same night, I returned home and my mother called the police and I was detained for 9 months. That was the most inhumane experience I’ve ever been through, and I’ve been disgusted by my mother because of it.

Currently, I see project names like The Kadeem Ward Project, Kadeem Ward & His Mechanical Devices, Kadeem Ward & The Pillars of the Pilgrim’s Temple, and Supa Fly Don X Goon City, which is a hip-hop project, but you seem to have a fascination still for the magical element in music. Can you maybe give some insights into what all these projects mean and which role they fulfill in your total artistic expression?

Well, first of all, The Kadeem Ward Project is a medium for my creative energies & passions and I try to have as little restrictions as possible with that band. It’s a vessel that nurtures a field of possibilities, hopes & dreams. It’s one of the most naked experiences I’ve ever had, as in, the band caused me to reveal aspects of myself that I have never expressed on a musical & personal plane. I’ve been listening to my 2nd album: ‘Confection: A Syncretism Of Guises & How All Mad Men Go To Heaven’, and I came to discover how sonically advanced it is for a very minimalistic production. The compositions are very unique and original and I came to indulge in the fact that I was composing something quite progressive and ethereal. That album, along with my 3rd album ‘Dilemma Of Dispersal & Aging (Or A Continuum TO Departure)’ was released the same year. I personally believe that ‘Dilemma’ has a voluptuous role in my life. If I were to accumulate enough money to form a band, that is the album I want to perform live globally, because it has so much potential as a 2 hour plus progressive/jazz album. That album can build an economy, man. I want to use that album to give Barbados a new façade and a new aura & atmosphere. I want to do something like what Fela Kuti was doing in Nigeria during the 70’s & 80’s with ‘The Shrine’ where people can visit Barbados from all corners of the globe with the anticipation to hear my ‘exotic’ compositions. Who knows? That may inspire some locals to create more original and exuberant music. For the last 10 years or so in Barbados, guitarist & singers have just been doing the same bloody covers of mainstream pop/alternative artist and have been making a living off of it. My presence in the Barbadian music industry is to ensure that I denounce that notion of such stagnation, lack of originality & laziness for something more unique, potent & pure.

Kadeem Ward & His Mechanical Devices and Kadeem Ward & The Pillars Of The Pilgrim’s Temple are both subsidiaries of The Kadeem Ward Project. The Mechanical Devices is a live project, associated heavily with the use of a loop station. It’s for one-shot recordings. The Pillars is an acoustic-based project that gravitates primarily around world music.

The rap project came about as a side-interest and a means to support me financially. I used the alias Goon City for that. My cousin that lives here in Padmore Village, St. Philip goes by the name of Supa Fly Don. He’s an amazing freestyler. It’s stunning what he can do off the top of his head. I leave the rapping up to him, I just produce beats.

Religion, spirituality, magic, it all seems to play a big part in what you do musically. These things are, of course, always connected if we look at rock’n’roll history. How do you view this today and which bands are currently your biggest inspirations?

Unfortunately, I haven’t been practicing magick since 2014, because my mother discarded my altar. I haven’t had a steady job to be able to realign myself with magickal practices either. My schizophrenia didn’t help either, I lost touch with reality for many years. The only form of magick I’ve been practicing all these years was through my composition in The Kadeem Ward Project. It’s a medium to express a spiritual connection with entities through vibrations and sounds. I believe in sonic & voces magick (sound and spoken word), so I try to incorporate them into my music as much as possible.

It’s mandatory for me to have spirituality as a theme for my music because it helps me transcend the barriers of this mundane existence in order to find something greater. A lot of artists that I have been around just stagnated themselves with the idea of partying and accumulating material possessions to satisfy themselves. I look past this notion of brain dead entertainment. I want to manifest the energies of my ancestors into the present day in order to grow and to become a wiser, smarter, more progressive person. I do that with magick. I see this world as a grand illusion of false hopes & desires, so I try my best to animate life of sustainability and substance to detach from the false notions of this world.

The bands that inspire me in this sense would be Saturnalia Temple (as I’ve mentioned before), Watain, Dissection & The Devil’s Blood.

What does music mean to you now? To me, it seems like you treat it like a wide-open playing field. Do you see yourself returning to the recording of extreme metal with Conrad or a new project in the future?

Music to me now means mind-expansion. That’s what I’ve been craving more of these days. Developing my psyche and intellectual properties. Music, and good music at that, is a release. It’s hope. It’s the future. Interesting how you should refer to me treating music as an open field; and I do treat it that way. I try not to have a limit to what I listen to and create. I listen to everything expect gospel, country, & dancehall (well I listen to some dancehall tracks but it’s minimal. It’s not a genre I’m too fond of anyway).

Conrad will return someday, most definitely. As for when I can’t say. I plan to launch a new Doom band too called Mycelium Ghost, but that may have to wait a while.

What future plans do you currently have?

Accumulating money for the future of my musical journey.

If the Kadeem Ward Project was a dish, a type of food, what would it be and why?

A plate of psilocybin mushrooms, because it’s the key to the inner gate, the forbidden doorway.

Mental health is a concern for everyone. If you struggle, reach out to professionals, talk to people. 

Mystras – Castles Conquered and Reclaimed

Into the ancient world with Mystras

I thought, at first, that this album was a reference to the Forgotten Realms. I was wrong, but Mystras does like referring to forgotten times and history in its music. The name is derived from a fortified town in Laconia, Greece, which inspired the project. The first offering from this project is ‘Castles Conquered and Reclaimed’.

The project was founded by Ayloss, who has also been active in Divine Element, Spectral Lore, Ontrothon, Sage of the Ancient Glass and more. In this project, he brings together epic black metal and folk/ars nova music. Multiple guest musicians have joined in this project, to create something worthwhile for you to listen to (members of Lüüp, Art of Simplicity, and Spider of Pnyx join Ayloss on this record). The concept is in fact a bit more tricky to explain. Mystras focuses on the downtrodden, the rejected, in a sense. That helps turn the album into a rebellious battle cry, a medieval black metal statement if you will.

Ancient rebellions arise anew

The sound of Mystras is very particular. Imagine lo-fi black metal, but even more thin and caustic sounding, then in turn laced with folk elements. At least, that’s what follows after the opening title track. Particularly English folklore appears to interest Ayloss, who refers to Wat Tyler and The Cutty Wren in the first three songs. Both are very nice tunes though. The instrumental ‘The Cutty Wren’ has all the charm of an English folk song. Gentle and swooning, but full of nostalgia. On ‘The Murder of Wat Tyler’ a little of the violent sound returns in a primitive sounding metal tune of 13 minutes. The lyrics are pretty dense and long, so you need that time to get your story across in harsh vocals. It’s fearsome, but also rich in texture, which is why this is such a great track again.

From ‘Contre Dolour’, which feels more ancient than the previous instrumental. we go into ‘Storm the Walls of Mystras’. Another epic black metal track, with massive waves of riffs hitting you in the face. But just listen to how that guitar roars and spins around and through it. There’s a sound of hope, action, and strife. The theme is in fact rebellion against emperors, fighting against the Byzantines who are doomed to fall. It’s a complex matter in a history book and I feel that Ayloss is crafting an own version here in some ways, which works.

Zealots of Thessaloniki

Another thing I love is basically how the melodies just soar over the rumbling black metal madness son both ‘The Zealots of Thessaloniki’ and ‘Wrath and Glory’. There are the uncouth fury and savagery, but also majestic riffing to create beauty in the darkness. And you would indeed think this would not work together, as it apparently clashes big time, but Mystras makes it work. The first song is about self-rule implemented by the Zealots, who ruled the city. It’s told through a song that is at times gruff with its woven patterns, much like a reed chair I would say, the way all the hard parts chafe and clash. It’s a strange comparison, but it helps illuminate how much space the song offers. It’s not a thick production, but purposefully thin. That’s pretty cool for the result it brings.

Majestic, strong and surprising, a record to write home about. Mystras unleashes an album, right for this time. An album filled with the antidote against the racist and nationalist currents of our time, by looking back at how people make the difference. True medieval black metal with a ray of hope.

Origin: Greece
Label: I, Voidhanger Records

Pamirt: Contemplation and Remembrance

Pamirt is a project by Kristiāna Kārkliņa, singer in Latvian black metal band eschatos. Amidst the current turmoil, debut album ‘Mausoleum’  was released. A stunning piece of work, driven by the eclectic vocals, but now also supported by a full band. The music is dark, intriguing, and full of emotions. Yet it also tells stories

I’ve had the pleasure to listen to this record and it is well worth your time if you enjoy the work of artists like Lingua Ignota, Diamanda Galas and maybe even some Dead Can Dance. You can read that review right here. But above anything, listen to this album. You won’t regret it.

I was pleased to ask the artist herself about the concept behind the album, the creation and the difficulty in releasing such a personal piece of work.

Live pictures: Neils Saksons

What does Pamirt mean and how did this project get started?

Pamirt means to die slightly or to die for a short moment. It seems interesting to me as a concept because I’ve never encountered anything similar in any other languages I’ve studied.

I believe that first ideas for the title track Mausoleum go as back as far as February 2017. At first, those were just some ideas that didn’t really fit eschatos. There were quite some so in spring 2018 I started to see that this music could potentially be released as my solo project. And it was so until fall 2018 when I returned from writing session in Berlin and we started to work on demos with Edgars and Edvards. In spring 2019 we started to play live as a trio, about 5 months before we even started recording.

What was the process like to carve out this new entity next to your existing band eschatos? I mean, musically Pamirt is quite a bold undertaking and not something that stars on a whim.

The creative process of eschatos is something entirely different. There’s 6 of us and it is a collective process wherein Pamirt for the first time I was making the artistic decisions and for the first time I wrote music that started with voice and piano. Thank god I almost never had to argue with my colleagues about other instruments. We’ve been playing together for years so it was expected that we’d all be riding the same wave.

Who were you looking to as inspiration to make this record? I mean, I’ve made some references in my review but I’m curious where you come from.

In terms of artistic inspiration, I believe that we accumulate everything that we take in and create an entirely different entity, something that cannot really be traced back to one particular source – going to see opera as our family tradition, attending church with my grandmother, listening to black metal, studying art history definitely. I think that for me, part of the process was also just getting rid of this very heavy sadness that sort of left my physical body when I put it into piano and voice.

I could probably do top 10 albums of all time though.

In regards to Lisa Gerrard, Galas and Lingua Ignota I believe those are all culture-changing artists and I love all three of them!

Galas was an artist I discovered when studying art history some 11 years ago and somehow I always saw her as part of the performance art scene with her active voice for Aids victims.

It would seem that this music, project or expression, all fit, is highly personal. What is it like to put something like this out there?

Very strange and also intimidating at times, for sure. But also it is not really one coherent story of my life, more like a hybrid of different events and emotions. Except maybe for ‘This dinner’ that is a vivid memory of my time working at an art gallery where my job was to convince people to buy and collect art created by amazingly talented, sensitive artists to point where I had to ask myself this question – why am I trying to convince someone that their art is good and meaningful if the person being convinced did not always see it that way.

Still, to me this seems like the sort of music you either have to do with full conviction, it has to be right. You can’t do what you do with Pamirt in a mediocre way, you can’t wing it.

That is true, it is very emotional to perform these songs. And it is a trans in a way when we do.

What was the process like to create ‘Mausoleum’, and can you explain the title?

The title track was the first song I worked on for the album. At first, it was just vocal layers and lyrics with no instruments at all. Then the song sat on a shelf for a about a year when I came up with this very simple instrumentation for piano. I used to take piano classes, but I never considered getting back to playing before that because it was the voice I was interested in. And I think as an artist I still mostly am. The title of the record came from this first song and it also seems to capture the general feeling of the record – a secluded place for contemplating and remembering.

What vocal training have you had? Because your voice is indeed at the heart of this record.

I used to sing in a choir a long time ago. Then around 2003 I began to explore extreme vocals and started to perform with my first band. But otherwise I just really like to experiment with my voice and what it can do.

What sort of response have you received this far? It seems the Latvian scene is ready for music like this, right?

The response has been overwhelming. People reaching out from different countries with kind words. The underground community in Latvia, especially in Riga is tightly-knit so I believe people already knew about the project before the release. Of course, there will always be rock’n’roll traditionalists, but that is understandable and I do not really believe anything should be for everyone.

. What future plans are currently brooding for Pamirt? Are you planning to tour with this entity? Are there other release plans in physical formats?

We were planning a small release tour around Baltics but that is currently on hold. We will probably do a small show in Riga though when the lockdown ends and release limited edition cassettes. We’d also like to get our record on vinyl till the end of the year especially because it was mastered by James Plotkin. For that, we are still looking for partners.

And a second record perhaps?

Definitely, composing is already in progress.

Is there enough left in the well that ‘Mausoleum’ was drawn from?

It’s always a different well.

If Pamirt was food, like a dish, what would it be and why?

I know it’s not a dish, but probably red wine. Dry and heavy. For an acquired taste. I’m currently into Italian wines for no particular reason. Previously it was Portuguese.

Underground Sounds: Divide and Dissolve – Abomination

Label: Independent
Band: Divide and Dissolve
Origin: Australia

It’s convenient sometimes to think that the whole world is alright. We’re wrong though. Divide and Dissolve are highlighting some issues that are still part of our landscape and life. White supremacy is, according to Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill, still a part of the world around us and the wounds of the past have not fully healed. That is what ‘Abomination’ is about.

Takiaya is part Cherokee and Sylvie part Maaori. Their music is designed to decolonize and decentralize and pay homage to the ancestors. With drums, guitar, saxophone, and live effects, they make music that shakes the walls and breaks down common perceptions of the world around us. I’m hooked. From a comfortable background, it’s too easy for me to say that all is well when there’s still so much hurt in the world. Luckily, those voices are heard.

The music is absolutely punishing with erratic patterns and a deep, droning vibe to it on opening track ‘Abomination’. The drums are so you feel them inside your bones before we get into the eerie intro of ‘Assimilation’. Almost painful, almost grotesque, is it still a beautiful howling effect that you here? Before you can really process it, the lumbering bass and drums hit you again. It stomps and curdles onward, through the next track, all the way to ‘Reversal’, which is a spoken word section about the immigrant mind. The light music support only emphasizes the words, makes them stronger and more potent. It’s touching in its alienating form, but also is the only word of explanation the record offers us.

At times the music almost feels ritualistic or even slightly jazzy, like the tune ‘Resistance’. There’s a mystique, a feeling of movie-like suspense to the tune. Repetitive riffs come by, enriched with even further effects and sounds that take you into this trippy realm. The sound is strangely subdued, almost inaudible at times and less structured on ‘Re-Appropriation’ and ‘Reparations’. They feel like strange sound experiments, full of droning bass lines.

‘Indigenous Sovereignty’ is the short, but foreboding closer of the album. Perhaps a sign, a light, showing what is to come in the following years. Guiding the path for change.