*to be published in Hails & Horns MagazineKim Kelly 2008
“They will drown in the blood from their own....” – W.
Black metal is in a state of constant flux nowadays. You can scarcely turn around without tripping over yet another bunch of longhaired upstarts that Pitchfork is touting as the “next big thing” in BM. The evolutions and trends have come, gone, and mutated into even newer sounds; psychedelia, punk rock, folk, rock’n’roll, ambient, classical, noise and hardcore have all crept into the once-hallowed halls of grimness and left their indelible marks on the genre. What would Euronymous think of “black metalcore”? Would Quorthon be down with Nachtmystium’s acid-trip aesthetics? What (if anything coherent) could Varg possibly think of all this?
For those of us still stubbornly clinging to the traditions laid down by those immortal names above, there is some hope. There are a number of black metal bands out there who have managed to more or less ignore the past decade (and the musical/technical progressions that have come with it) and continue to create pure, raw, unadulterated BM with no frills, no experimentation, and for the love of Lucifer, no ProTools!
So what can you expect to find on such an album? Chainsaw guitars, sepulchral rasps, grating shrieks, pummeling blastbeats, and more visceral hatred than you can shake a stick at. Keyboards? None. Emperor got away with it, but half the band was wanted for murder and arson at one point – I think we can let them slide. Orchestral arrangements? No fucking way. Dimmu Borgir uses them, but drop that name in front of any true black metal warrior and see how fast it takes ‘em to split your poser skull. Breakdowns? Get the fuck outta here.
As might be expected, those bands take themselves and their mission very, very seriously. Just how seriously, you might ask? Read the following conversation I had with elite black metal horde Celestian Bloodshed’s W. and see for yourself.
-Can you give some band history for those who haven't yet heard of Celestial
Bloodshsed - when and where was the band formed, who are the members, and why
was this band brought into being?
W:The shadows called out and Celestial Bloodshed was spawned at the dawn of
the new millennium with the aim to perform the dark arts of Black Metal. After
the recording of the demo in 01' we went through different problems such as
dealing with undedicated people, imprisonment, finding a steady vocalist/
rehearsal place, etc. The usual shit.
In year four, we found a worthy throat to handle the vocals and around the
same time a founding member decided to escape into the world of humanity as we
continued to go deeper into darkness. That darkness that manifested itself in the
form of a 7" EP in year six, and now in the form of a full-length album on
Debemur-Morti Productions.
The cursed are: S.v.F: Serpent's tongue, W: Strings, T: Hellhammers and K:
strings.
-You hail from Norway, black metal's storied homeland. What is it about the
place that conjures up so many black metal, and extreme metal in general,
bands? Is it the society, the natural world, or some unknown factor?
W: I have no idea. Bad taste maybe, because 98% of the bands from Norway are
shit nowadays.
-How did you first come upon the perfect musical formula for this band - the
one that made you say, "Yes, THIS is Celestial Bloodshed"?
W: It was a feeling, the surroundings got darker and we just knew...
-How did your recent partnership with Moribund come about?
W: Debemur Morti Productions who released our album here in Europe set it up.
-Tell me about Cursed, Scarred, and Forever Possessed, your new album.
W: Cursed, Scarred and Forever Possessed contains 7 hymns that deals with
Darkness, Death, Hate, Blasphemy, depression, madness, pain and worship. This
is presented in the form of mostly cold and aggressive songs, but with some
slower parts to bring forth the madness and frustration that surrounds us at
times.
-What is your writing/recording process like? Who handled production duties
on the record?
W: Ideas are born through experiences and thoughts and brought forth before
the band and then we work from that in different ways, not very interesting to
read about anyway. Same goes for the recording process. H.Dalen from Brygga
studios helped us with the recording and Tore Stjerna mastered it.
-Production on Cursed... is definitely very raw and "orthodox"-sounding, by
black metal standards at least. Why do you choose to record your music in such
a manner when there are a variety of modern techniques available that some say
render low-fi recording more or less obsolete? I personally prefer the more DIY
approach, as do many fans of this style, but I'm curious as to your reasoning
behind using it.
W: We wanted a sound that suited the songs and feelings behind them, to
create a atmosphere of....darkness.
-What sort of topics do you discuss in your lyrics? What is the underlying
shared philosophy of the band, be it Satanic, pagan, atheistic, or something
else?
W: The lyrics deals with subjects as: Death, Hate, Blasphemy, depression,
madness, pain and worship. We have chosen the left hand path and struggle
onwards.
Vi är en manifestasjon mot det kristna samhället och männskligheten i sin
helhet!!
-With a name like 'Celestial Bloodshed,' one would not be hesitant to assume
that the band is anti-Christian. What turned you against Christianity and
organized religion? If you could send one message to the "believers" of the
world, what would it be?
W: Where to start…their lies and false morals? They make weak sheep out of
proud lions? Slaves out of kings? They are blind people who refuse to seek
further than to their "god", refuse to look into the abyss. They hide behind
their "god", book and holiness! And I can see traces of them everywhere and it
disgusts me!
The message? "No matter how your paradise is shaped, there will always be a
certain snake" (not my words but the best I could think of right now that
didn't involve Fuck, Kill, Die, Perish, Flames, Hate or off.)
-Without whom would Celestial Bloodshed not exist i.e. which bands,
artists, and elements have influenced you in terms of this project
W: Us and the call to do this.
-Who would you consider to be your musical peers? Do you follow the modern
black metal scene at all? If so, what are your thoughts on its progression and
adaptation of other musical styles over the past few years?
W: I don't spend my time thinking about such things. The only scene I
follow closely is within our own Nidrosian circle, as there are too many bands
and releases nowadays and very few good ones.
-What's next for the band after the release of Cursed...?
W: We will release a 7"ep called The Serpent's Kiss through Apocalyptic
Empire Records and Terratur Possessions in near future and we are now working
on a mini lp that will be out when the time is right. Also we hope to do more
live rituals in the future.
Malum Ex Archicathedra Nigra Nidrosiensis
1 comment:
Hello. And Bye.
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