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sobota 18. května 2024

Interview - VRYKOLAKAS - Evil, raw black death metal, fury from the darkest depths! You will be burnt to ashes!


Interview with black death metal band from Singapore - VRYKOLAKAS.

Answered Khairil Vryko (guitars, vocals), thank you!

VRYKOLAKAS - Nocturnal Dominion of Death (2024):
https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2024/05/recenzereview-vrykolakas-nocturnal.html

Ave VRYKOLAKAS! Greetings to the catacombs of Singapore! As I was preparing for this interview, I found all the albums I have from you guys over the weekend. I found out (and a friend confirmed it) that the first record that made it to us was "Spawned from Hellfire and Brimstone" from 2004. You know what's interesting? I haven't found a single weak record in your entire discography. How is that possible? Do you have a recipe for that? You've kept the bar of quality so high for so many years.

Greetings Jakub! Let us start by thanking you for the opportunity to appear in Deadly Storm Zine. Czech Republic holds a special in our blackened hearts as we had a lot of contacts from there as well as Slovakia. We were admiring bands such as MASTER’S HAMMER, ROOT and then INTERVALLE BIZARRE, ALIENATION MENTAL and KRABATHOR. Thank you for the kind remarks about our releases. To be very honest with you, as a show of respect for someone who have been doing the zine for many years and therefore crossing paths with thousands of amazing bands from around the world, if VRYKOLAKAS ever sounded great, it is mainly because of all the great bands that influenced us when we were growing up. Since the beginning for me as the main songwriter of the band, I had always wanted VRYKOLAKAS to sound like the bands I truly admire. So if anyone were to say, „VRYKOLAKAS is a carbon copy of this band or that band!“ then I would be proud to say we have achieved what we wanted all along – to sound exactly like our influences. Back in the 1990s, you will find this phrase being used when a band is compared to a well-known band from another country, for example, ABHORER was once described as Singapore’s answer to SARCOFAGO. So, we were waiting anxiously for anyone to say, „VRYKOLAKAS is Singapore’s answer to GRAVE or INCANTATION or IMMOLATION“ or many more bands we admired. The recipe is to include as many influences into one song and across the songs in our albums. The many riffs, each sounding like our favourite bands, is sandwiched into one song, garnished with a bridge or interlude sounding like yet another of our favourite bands and the resulting dish sounds great because the listener gets reminded of the many great bands that they have been listening to in one song or throughout the album.


The album "Nocturnal Dominion of Death" is out and it's immediately become one of my most played albums. Listening to it, you feel like you're back on a timeline to the '90s. It is excellent! How was it made? And how does VRYKOLAKAS actually create new material?

We are glad that you enjoyed this album, Jakub! The negative part of our songwriting is I believe we are not able to move away from the 1990s! We may be amazed by the newer and current bands with all the new ideas they bring along, but those ideas don’t sit well in our hands. In the creation of our songs and albums, I am always thinking of riffs and putting together ideas for a song. Most of the time, my thoughts would manifest into a set of 3 to 4 riffs which means 30% of a song is done. Then, I would record this set of riffs on my voice memo app in my iPhone and leave them over a days. I actually have many „30%“ songs recorded in my iPhone. I will then try to put them together, maybe 3 sets of them and see whether they flow logically in terms of arrangement, the continuation of the ending and beginning notes and also whether the parts are playable continuously. While I write these songs, I would also imagine the drum patterns and then explain the ideas to Edi, our drummer. For the past 2 albums, we were aiming to produce a heavy and brutal album without relying on blast beats. Eventually, all these ideas are brought into the recording studio. The album recording always starts with my guitars guided by metronomes. And then from there, even before the drum patterns are laid down, we try to have a sense of the songs from the arrangement and duration of each parts and riffs. We always make mistakes and sometimes we use the mistakes and turn them into a bridge or a surprise element in the song. At this point, we were turning all the mistakes we made into opportunities to make that part of the song interesting. At the end of the recording of this album, we felt that we have produced our best album so far and there is always the worry that we will not be able to replicate the quality. But we’ll see...


I always liked the sound of your albums. "Nocturnal Dominion of Death" is no exception. How did you achieve such a dusty and dense sound? Does it look to me like it was recorded in analogue or am I wrong? Interestingly, I find the sound of the recording very similar to the previous record "The Necromantic Revocation". Do you have a lot of say in how the record should sound or do you leave it to the sound masters?

I must say that nowadays my responses to interviews are truthful confessions. So here is another confession: After all the tracks are recorded, vocals and chorus and leads and solos, we leave the mixing job solely to the engineer. We only need to say, „Make it sound „crushing!“ and we will only get to listen to the initial mix one or two months later. I guess you can say we are trusting in nature. But we know the engineers well, they are friends, we know their abilities and creativity, and they know what VRYKOLAKAS wants in our death metal designs. „The Necromantic Revocation“ was recorded at TNT Studios where the engineer will always set the initial sound for us. That means right from the tracking part, we can already sense how the end product would sound like. TNT Studios will start dirty and then the engineer will clean up the sound. At Studio 47 where we recorded „And Vrykolakas Brings Chaos And Destruction“ and our latest album, the engineer is also IMPIETY’s guitarist and a big fan of death metal. At Studio 47, he will track every part as clean as possible and then add the dust and dirt to the sound. Mr Nizam Aziz would even advise us on the picking for the riffs and tempo of the drums. This is where the drum patterns had to be written in as interesting way as possible to either match, compliment or outdo the guitars and bass. And he make us redo until he is satisfied. I don’t think studios nowadays are fully analog. The technology is in capturing the best sound from the microphone positions during recording. At TNT Studios, the engineer captures the raw performance, whereas at Studio 47, the engineer takes the time to position the microphone to capture the cleanest sound of each instrument throughout the song. I noticed this aspect. The microphone positions for TNT Studios looks like we are going to play a live show.


I'm an old-school fan and I'm very big on record covers. "Nocturnal Dominion of Death" is signed by a guy called Armaada Art. I traced it to an artist named Andreas Christanetoff. The motif is so cool to me that I put it on my desktop on my computer. However, I couldn't find much more information about Andreas. How did you get together and how did the cover for the album come about?

We had a different album artwork which we purchased from an artist who manipulates artificial intelligence. That artwork looks very similar to BATHORY’s „Blood Fire Death“ album artwork. When we were sending promo kits to labels, we caught the attention of Satanath Records from Georgia. I believe he noticed immediately that it is AI art and recommended we use a hand drawn artwork and engaged Mr Andreas Christanetoff to do it. We liked the eventual artwork as the concept really matched the album title and especially the first song. When you study the album artwork, there seems to be a chronological effect to the whole album. The artwork shows the force of darkness represented by the demons, encircling and assaulting a place of worship which you have to really look for it in the middle of the artwork. The end of that attack will result in the dominion of darkness, therefore the use of the word „nocturnal“. The first song is titled „Darkness Consumes The Soul“ which represents the artwork very well. At the inner self, darkness consumes the soul, leading to the outward manifestation of a dark dominion.

For a band that has been playing since 1991, you have a pretty stable line-up. That's not very common. Have you never had submarine sickness? You never changed your mind about how your music should sound? You know, some people like blondes, some people like brunettes. Then all you need is a few more pointed words. Someone once wrote that a band is like a family. How are VRYKOLAKAS?

We had 2 eras of VRYKOLAKAS members. The first era of the band has a totally different approach to the way we do things. We put in more effort in the outward imagery in the first era and the desire to be dark, serious, satanic, but the music at that time didn’t represent our philosophy. When the second line-up took over, with me as the only original member left, we overhauled our philosophy in music. At the onset, we wanted to be an example or a benchmark in terms of our music. We were the only band who preferred to squeeze as many riffs as we could in one song. The scene couldn’t figure us out. What kind of death metal were we expressing at that time? We had a more casual mindset among us. While our music is serious and brutal in nature, our personalities are very comical and fun-loving, especially me and the other guitarist at that time. People who interacted with us will never guess that we play death metal. In the band, we have never demanded loyalty but somehow we are loyal. We have never demanded or expressed brotherhood or family ties, but we always look out for each other. Musically, we have trust in each other’s ability, limits and how much we can or should demand from each other. In a way, you can sense our relationship as a band in our songs.


The good thing about today is that we have the internet. I mean, as in what, but at least I can remotely watch your concerts. It's not the same, the sound on youtube is always so weird, but from all available information - you guys mainly perform only in Singapore? I'll be honest, I want to see you live so badly, but there's no place. You're not going on tour? I would imagine you, IMPIETY (by the way, I recently saw them here and they were great) and maybe you can take AUTOPSY too. It would be a dream come true. No, seriously - what about VRYKOLAKAS and concerts? What would you say about a trip to Europe with a stop here in the Czech Republic?

Many do not know this but back in 2001-2002, we were invited to do a mini tour in Slovakia with the band TYPHOID. That would have been amazing, but we were never prepared for shows outside Singapore. We admire IMPIETY and WORMROT for diligently touring the world. We were close to IMPIETY during their „Kaos Kommand 696“ era and we were kind of horrified to hear the intensity of touring. We are satisfied enough playing shows here in Singapore and now have started venturing into neighbouring Malaysia. We would probably settle for shows in Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan) before considering Europe. We know it takes a lot of commitment to start and complete any tour and at the same time we want to meet the metal community which have been supporting our music since the beginning. As for AUTOPSY, we probably have to beg them to take us along with them.

Just yesterday I was talking to a friend in a pub about how crazy everything has changed in the last few years. Everyone has the internet in their pocket, young people are more influenced by pictures and videos than music and lyrics. Nobody reads much, we agreed that a lot of things are more superficial. Maybe it's different in Singapore, but here in the Czech Republic I encounter it every day. It's no different in music. How do you perceive the changes in society as a musician? We have a lot of new technology, recording studios are better equipped, ideas can be sent over the internet.

We believe that during the turn of the millenium, internet reduced the effort required to achieve the same goal. With the internet comes the technology to do things quicker. And once we learn to do things quicker, we get lazier and more impatient. Things that you mentioned such as reading, listening to physical formats, these things take a longer time. You have to take out a magazine, flip the pages in order to find information which may not be customized to your liking. Whereas with Google, you could type exactly the questions with the keywords and get information within seconds. Similarly, it takes a long time to choose a CD or tape or vinyl, place these formats in their players, and you still need to press buttons to get to your favourite song instead of collating all your favourites in playlists on Spotify platform. And these conveniences have a dire impact on musicians and musicianship. Instead of experimenting with sounds and eventually mixing, musicians purchase customized products even to the point of purchasing digital softwares to produce sounds exactly the way you want it without having to turn knobs and try out different guitar amplifiers or drum skins. This convenience makes musicians choose the short cut. Instead of working on a 4 songs demo or EP, or a 8 songs album, bands nowadays prefer to release singles and even then on Spotify. The common apprehension with today’s musicians are the question: „Can we still sell tapes / CDs / vinyls?“ Which then brings us all to another important question – is metal music a passionate hobby or a career? Here in Singapore things have become very ridiculous when because of the internet, we are able to access the bands who do not need as much support but somehow we are always ready to spend our money on them, instead of putting a bit more effort and discover the bands or the scene in our proximity (local) and support them at a cheaper cost.


It's a different world when it comes to labels, labels. VRYKOLAKAS are a band that for me is synonymous with underground death metal. We have bandcamp, youtube, labels can spread your music faster and it reaches more people. But you know, vinyl is vinyl, cassette is cassette and CD has its charm too. Have you had to change your approach to releasing your music in any way? Or are you still going old school and new releases leave you cold?

The priority for us is still releases in physical formats. For us as a Singaporean band, opportunities for vinyl releases are rare and few (except for IMPIETY and WORMROT and lately INFERNAL EXECRATOR), so when the offer comes, we accept them without second thoughts. Between tapes and CDs, we would prefer tapes as we started at a time where tapes are the staple physical format before CDs emerge. But we do acknowledge the influence of social platforms such as those you mentioned. In today’s context, social platforms work like a digital flyer where the content goes beyond the usual limited information in texts in printed flyers of the old days. We need to get the information to as many people as possible to spread our music. Therefore, social platforms work best when you want to attract the neutral audience. Whether through the old or new school approach, for me as a listener, the music is still important. I would return to the band’s Bandcamp or YouTube platform if I happen to like their music although they do not have physical releases.


You started the band in 1991. You were actually at the beginning of something new. I really like the Singapore school of death. I like that it's so dirty, raw. What was the '90s like in Singapore? Please reminisce for us. What bands did you like to see, for example? Who were your role models? Feel free to add a funny story, I'm sure you have plenty.

I have to say that I was one of the most fortunate metalhead alive right now. I get to experience the beginning of the Singapore metal scene in 1989, right through the 1990s when the metal scene grew and blossomed. I was also unfortunate enough to persevere long enough to reach this phase of metal dystopia where I am seeing the decline in the number of metal bands and even metalheads. You see very few young metalheads and new faces. When you go to metal gigs, you see the same people you know since the 1990s and we needed to rely on them reforming their old bands to sustain the population. Going back to the 1990s, I was ABHORER’s guitarist regular penpal. I would receive his letter every week. He was a sincere supporter of the Singapore underground scene, recommending bands which just recorded or released demos. He would attend some of the recording sessions, and you are talking about ABHORER, attending demo recording sessions and sending me the addresses of new bands and latest news of the scene, for me to contact. Although we lived quite near to each other, writing letters is the metal thing to do at that time. We exchanged flyers and photos and these are the things that really stayed inside your memory for a long time.

When we moved away from writing letters, we started meeting up during the weekends just to exchange demos and fanzines that we receive from the international metal scene. There were already a few record stores selling metal releases. We would frequent these stores and browse through every single item before deciding to buy something. Gigs only started here in Singapore from 1992 and you get to see all genres of bands. We would attend the gigs nevertheless just to wait for that one or two metal bands. Sometimes, things get so desperate that we had to settle for bands that slipped in METALLICA’s songs in their set. Full metal gigs started from 1999 which happened to be the year VRYKOLAKAS played our first ever gig.

I was quite close to the members of the following bands: MUMBRA, LIBATION, DOXOMEDON, ETHOS, AS SAHAR, MORBIFIC, LEVIATHAN, CEMETERY, DEBAUCHERY, EIBON, MESSESCHMITT, PROFANCER, MARTYRDOM, BELIAL, XAMIEN, RUDRA, NECREOUS, BILE PUSCESS, WARTORN NATION, DEMISOR, IMPIETY, ABATTORY and a few others along the way. DOXOMEDON, DEMISOR and AS SAHAR played a lot of shows here and in Malaysia. I have always wanted to watch ABHORER but unfortunately that was never meant to be.

There were hundreds of funny stories but at this point the essence of the comedy cannot be reproduced as the local and cultural context would not be easily understood. But as I mentioned earlier, we belong to that small group of metalheads who were always joking around when we are not playing our music. And then we plug in our instruments, we turn dark and deadly.

  

I ask this question to every band and I'm really interested in your opinion. What does death metal mean to you? How would you define it? On VRYKOLAKAS records you can hear a lot that you put everything into your music, that it is played with heart. As a fan I feel that way. So death/black metal means to you...?

To put it in simple terms, death metal is my alter ego. And if I want to be more precise, VRYKOLAKAS is my alter ego, manifesting from the members‘ input through their instruments. VRYKOLAKAS also means „vampire“ or „werewolf“ according to Greek mythology which means that most of the time we are normal folks living among normal folks and then when the timing is right, we turn into monsters through the expression of our music. Visually we are humans, artistically we are demons. As an artform, death metal is probably the only one I can relate to. I may not be able to explain in layman’s terms, but I can understand why death metal is expressed the way it is, the outrageous visuals and intense and extreme vibes that comes from it.


Finally, a classic but important question. What are VRYKOLAKAS planning in the near future? Can we look forward to some new album from your kitchen? Alternatively, and I firmly believe in this, will we finally see you somewhere on a club tour in Europe?

We are definitely planning to meet our listeners and would like to experience the metal scene in Europe and America. But the plan has to be financially reasonable for both the band and the organizers. I think we have reached a stage in human existence where everything is meaninglessly costly. We have already calculated that a tour, no matter how small, will be taxing (literally and figuratively). So the next best thing to reach out to our listeners and the general international metal community is try our best to write and release good albums through labels which have international reach. This is why VRYKOLAKAS always try to attract international labels – so that our music is accessible to international listeners at a reasonable cost.


Thank you very much for the interview. I really appreciate it. I'm an old fan of VRYKOLAKAS and you actually made one of my dreams come true. I wish you a lot of sold out shows, let your fans rip your hands off with merchandise and I will be looking forward to more of your music. I hope to see you live as well. May your personal lives prosper as well. VRYKOLAKAS RULES!

Thank you Jakub for the affirmation! We produce albums for listeners like you! We do not believe in fans. We believe that our music builds friendships or brotherhoods – the bond of death! Mutually, we also wish the best for DEADLY STORM ZINE. Together, we ride the DEADLY STORM, bringing chaos and destruction, and rise together in the nocturnal dominion of death! Those who are new, check out death metal, start with VRYKOLAKAS! Those of the old school, write letters to us:

Khairil 714 Tampines Str.71 #11-202 Singapore 520714

VRYKOLAKAS - Nocturnal Dominion of Death (2024):

Recenze/review - VRYKOLAKAS - And Vrykolakas Brings Chaos and Destruction (2021):





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Rozhovor - VRYKOLAKAS - Ďábelský, syrový black death metal, zuřivost z těch nejtemnějších hlubin! Budete spáleni na popel!


Rozhovor s black death metalovou skupinou ze Singapuru - VRYKOLAKAS.

Odpovídal Khairil Vryko (kytara, zpěv), děkujeme!

VRYKOLAKAS - Nocturnal Dominion of Death (2024):

Ave VRYKOLAKAS! Zdravím do singapurských katakomb! Když jsem se připravoval na tenhle rozhovor, tak jsem si o víkendu našel všechna alba, která od vás mám. Zjistil jsem (a kamarád mi to potvrdil), že první deskou, která se k nám dostala, tak byla nahrávka „Spawned from Hellfire and Brimstone“ z roku 2004. Víš co je zajímavý? Já jsem v celé vaší diskografii nenašel jedinou slabou desku. Jak je to možný? Máte na to nějaký recept? Tolik let si držet tak vysoko laťku kvality.

Zdravím Jakuba! Dovolte nám, abychom vám poděkovali za příležitost objevit se v Deadly Storm Zine. Česká republika má v našich potemnělých srdcích zvláštní místo, protože jsme odtud měli spoustu kontaktů, stejně jako ze Slovenska. Obdivovali jsme kapely jako MASTER'S HAMMER, ROOT a pak INTERVALLE BIZARRE, ALIENATION MENTAL a KRABATHOR. Děkujeme za milé poznámky o našich vydáních. Abych k vám byl velmi upřímný, jako projev úcty k někomu, kdo dělá zin už mnoho let, a tudíž zkřížil cesty tisícům úžasných kapel z celého světa, pokud VRYKOLAKAS někdy zněli skvěle, bylo to hlavně díky všem těm skvělým kapelám, které nás ovlivnily, když jsme vyrůstali. Od začátku jsem pro sebe jako hlavního autora písní v kapele vždycky chtěl, aby VRYKOLAKAS zněli jako kapely, které opravdu obdivuji. Takže kdyby někdo řekl: "VRYKOLAKAS je kopie té či oné kapely!", pak bych s hrdostí řekl, že jsme dosáhli toho, co jsme celou dobu chtěli - znít přesně jako naše vlivy. Ještě v devadesátých letech jste se s touto větou mohli setkat, když byla kapela přirovnávána k nějaké známé kapele z jiné země, například ABHORER byli kdysi označeni za singapurskou odpověď na SARCOFAGO. Takže jsme netrpělivě čekali, až někdo řekne: "VRYKOLAKAS je singapurská odpověď na GRAVE nebo INCANTATION nebo IMMOLATION" nebo na mnoho dalších kapel, které jsme obdivovali. Receptem je zahrnout co nejvíce vlivů do jedné písně a napříč skladbami na našich albech. Mnoho riffů, z nichž každý zní jako naše oblíbené kapely, je vloženo do jedné písně, ozdobeno bridge nebo intermezzem znějícím jako další z našich oblíbených kapel a výsledný pokrm zní skvěle, protože posluchači připomene mnoho skvělých kapel, které poslouchal v jedné písni nebo v celém albu.


Album „Nocturnal Dominion of Death“ je venku a ihned se zařadilo mezi má nejpřehrávanější alba. Člověk má při poslechu pocit, že se vrátil na časové ose do devadesátých let. Je vynikající! Jakým způsobem vznikalo? A jak vlastně tvoří VRYKOLAKAS nový materiál?

Jsme rádi, že se vám album líbilo, Jakube! Negativem našeho písničkářství je podle mě to, že se nedokážeme posunout dál od devadesátých let! Možná žasneme nad novějšími a současnými kapelami se všemi těmi novými nápady, které s sebou přinášejí, ale ty nápady nám nesedí. Při tvorbě našich písní a alb neustále vymýšlím riffy a dávám dohromady nápady na písně. Většinou se mé myšlenky promítnou do sady tří až čtyř riffů, což znamená, že 30 % písně je hotové. Tuto sadu riffů jsem pak nahrával do aplikace voice memo v iPhonu a nechával je tam několik dní. Ve skutečnosti mám v iPhonu nahraných mnoho "30%" písní. Pak se je pokusím dát dohromady, třeba 3 sady, a zjistím, zda logicky plynou z hlediska aranžmá, návaznosti koncových a počátečních tónů a také zda se jednotlivé části dají hrát souvisle. Při psaní těchto skladeb si také představovuji bicí vzory a pak tyto nápady vysvětlím Edimu, našemu bubeníkovi. Na posledních dvou albech jsme se snažili vytvořit těžké a brutální album, aniž bychom se spoléhali na blast beaty. Všechny tyto nápady jsme nakonec přenesli do nahrávacího studia. Nahrávání alba vždy začíná mými kytarami, které vedu metronomy. A odtud se pak, ještě předtím, než jsou položeny bicí patterny, snažíme mít představu o skladbách z aranžmá a trvání jednotlivých částí a riffů. Vždycky děláme chyby a někdy je využijeme a uděláme z nich můstek nebo překvapivý prvek v písni. V tomto bodě jsme všechny chyby, které jsme udělali, proměňovali v příležitost, jak danou část písně udělat zajímavou. Na konci nahrávání tohoto alba jsme měli pocit, že jsme vytvořili naše dosud nejlepší album, a vždy existuje obava, že se nám nepodaří zopakovat jeho kvalitu. Ale uvidíme...


Mě se na vašich albech vždycky hrozně líbil zvuk. „Nocturnal Dominion of Death“ není výjimkou. Jak jste docílili tak prašivého a hutného zvuku? Na mě to působí, jakoby se nahrávalo ještě analogově nebo se pletu? Zajímavé je, že mi zvuk nahrávky přijde hodně podobný jako u předchozí desky „The Necromantic Revocation“. Mluvíte hodně do toho, jak by měla deska znít nebo to necháváte na zvukových mistrech?

Musím říct, že v dnešní době jsou mé odpovědi v rozhovorech pravdivými zpověďmi. Takže tady je další přiznání: Po nahrání všech skladeb, vokálů, refrénů, leadů a sól, přenecháváme práci na mixu výhradně inženýrovi. Stačí, když řekneme: "Ať to zní "drtivě!", a počáteční mix si poslechneme až o měsíc nebo dva později. Dá se říct, že jsme důvěřivé povahy. Ale inženýry dobře známe, jsou to naši přátelé, známe jejich schopnosti a kreativitu a oni vědí, co VRYKOLAKAS v našich deathmetalových projektech chtějí. "The Necromantic Revocation" se nahrávalo ve studiu TNT, kde nám inženýr vždy nastaví výchozí zvuk. To znamená, že už od trackingové části můžeme tušit, jak bude výsledný produkt znít. V TNT Studios se začne nahrávat špinavě a pak inženýr zvuk vyčistí. Ve Studiu 47, kde jsme nahrávali "And Vrykolakas Brings Chaos And Destruction" a naše poslední album, je inženýr zároveň kytaristou IMPIETY a velkým fanouškem death metalu. Ve Studiu 47 nahraje každý part co nejčistěji a pak do zvuku přidá prach a špínu. Pan Nizam Aziz nám dokonce radil s výběrem riffů a tempem bicích. Tady bylo třeba napsat co nejzajímavější bicí patterny, aby buď ladily s kytarami a basou, nebo je doplňovaly či předčily. A nutil nás předělávat, dokud nebyl spokojený. Nemyslím si, že by studia v dnešní době byla plně analogová. Technologie spočívá v zachycení co nejlepšího zvuku z pozic mikrofonů při nahrávání. V TNT Studios technik zachytí syrový výkon, zatímco ve Studiu 47 si dá práci s umístěním mikrofonu tak, aby zachytil co nejčistší zvuk každého nástroje v průběhu celé skladby. Tohoto aspektu jsem si všiml. Pozice mikrofonů pro TNT Studios vypadá, jako bychom se chystali hrát živé vystoupení.


Jsem fanoušek ze staré školy a hodně si potrpím na obaly desek. Pod „Nocturnal Dominion of Death“ je podepsán člověk pod přezdívkou Armaada Art. Dohledal jsem si, že by mělo jít o umělce se jménem Andreas Christanetoff. Ten motiv je pro mě tak skvělý, že jsem si jej dal na plochu na počítači. Moc dalších informací jsem ale o Andreasovii nenašel. Jak jste se dali dohromady a jak cover pro album vznikal?

Měli jsme jiný obal alba, který jsme zakoupili od umělce, který manipuluje s umělou inteligencí. Ten obal vypadá velmi podobně jako obal alba "Blood Fire Death" od BATHORY. Když jsme posílali promo sady labelům, zaujali jsme vydavatelství Satanath Records z Georgie. Myslím, že si okamžitě všiml, že jde o umělou inteligenci, a doporučil nám, abychom použili ručně kreslený artwork, a angažoval k tomu pana Andrease Christanetoffa. Výsledný artwork se nám líbil, protože koncept opravdu odpovídal názvu alba a hlavně první písni. Když studujete obal alba, zdá se, že celé album působí chronologicky. Na obalu je zobrazena síla temnoty představovaná démony, kteří obklopují a napadají místo uctívání, které musíte opravdu hledat uprostřed obalu. Konec tohoto útoku vyústí v nadvládu temnoty, proto je zde použito slovo "noční". První píseň se jmenuje "Darkness Consumes The Soul", což velmi dobře reprezentuje artwork. Ve svém nitru temnota pohlcuje duši, což vede k vnějšímu projevu temné nadvlády.

Na to, že jako kapela hrajete již od roku 1991, máte poměrně stabilní sestavu. To nebývá příliš časté. To jste neměli nikdy ponorkovou nemoc? Nikdy se třeba nezměnil váš názor, jak by měla vaše hudba znít? Znáš to, někdo má radši blondýny, jiný černovlásky. Pak stačí pár ostřejších slov. Někdo někde kdysi napsal, že kapela je jako rodina. Jak jsou na tom VRYKOLAKAS?

Měli jsme druhá éra členů VRYKOLAKAS. První éra kapely má úplně jiný přístup ke způsobu, jakým děláme věci. V první éře jsme věnovali více úsilí vnějšímu ztvárnění a touze být temní, vážní, satanističtí, ale hudba v té době nereprezentovala naši filozofii. Když nastoupila druhá sestava, v níž jsem zůstal jediným původním členem, přepracovali jsme naši hudební filozofii. Na začátku jsme chtěli být příkladem nebo měřítkem, co se týče naší hudby. Byli jsme jediná kapela, která preferovala vtěsnat do jedné písně co nejvíc riffů. Scéna nás nemohla pochopit. Jaký druh death metalu jsme tehdy vyjadřovali? Měli jsme mezi sebou spíš ležérní smýšlení. I když je naše hudba vážná a brutální, naše osobnosti jsou velmi komické a zábavné, zejména já a druhý kytarista v té době. Lidé, kteří s námi přišli do styku, by nikdy nehádali, že hrajeme death metal. V kapele jsme nikdy nevyžadovali loajalitu, ale tak nějak loajální jsme. Nikdy jsme nevyžadovali ani nevyjadřovali bratrství nebo rodinné vazby, ale vždycky jsme na sebe dávali pozor. Po hudební stránce máme důvěru ve schopnosti toho druhého, v jeho limity a v to, kolik toho od sebe můžeme nebo máme vyžadovat. Svým způsobem je z našich písní cítit náš vztah jako kapely.


Dnešní doba je dobrá v tom, že máme internet. Tedy jak v čem, ale aspoň se můžu vzdáleně podívat na vaše koncerty. Sice to není ono, zvuk na youtube je pokaždé takový divný, ale podle všech dostupných informací - vy vystupujte hlavně jen v Singapuru? Napíšu to na rovinu, chtěl bych vás hrozně moc vidět naživo, ale není kde. Nechystáte se na turné? Dovedl bych si představit vás, IMPIETY (mimochodem, nedávno jsem je viděl u nás a byli skvělí) a třeba můžete vzít ještě AUTOPSY. Splnil by se mi sen. Ne, teď vážně – co VRYKOLAKAS a koncerty? Co bys řekl na výlet do Evropy se zastávkou u nás v Čechách?

Mnozí to nevědí, ale v letech 2001-2002 jsme byli pozváni na miniturné na Slovensko s kapelou TYPHOID. To by bylo úžasné, ale nikdy jsme nebyli připraveni na koncerty mimo Singapur. Obdivujeme IMPIETY a WORMROT, že pilně koncertují po celém světě. K IMPIETY jsme měli blízko během jejich éry "Kaos Kommand 696" a trochu nás vyděsilo, jak intenzivní turné to bylo. Stačí nám, že hrajeme koncerty tady v Singapuru, a teď jsme se začali pouštět do sousední Malajsie. Pravděpodobně bychom se spokojili s koncerty v Asii (Japonsko, Korea, Tchaj-wan), než začneme uvažovat o Evropě. Víme, že začít a dokončit jakékoli turné vyžaduje velké nasazení, a zároveň se chceme setkat s metalovou komunitou, která naši hudbu podporuje od samého začátku. Co se týče AUTOPSY, pravděpodobně je budeme muset poprosit, aby nás vzali s sebou.

Zrovna včera jsem se bavil s kamarádem v hospodě, jak se za poslední roky šíleně všechno změnilo. Každý má internet v kapse, mladí jsou již víc ovlivněni obrázky a videem, než hudbou a texty. Nikdo moc nečte, shodli jsme se na tom, že je spousta věcí víc povrchní. Možná je to v Singapuru jinak, ale u nás v Čechách se s tím setkávám každý den. V hudbě to není jiné. Jak vnímáš změny ve společnosti ty, jako muzikant? Máme spoustu nových technologií, nahrávací studia jsou lépe vybavená, nápady se dají posílat po internetu.

Věříme, že na přelomu tisíciletí internet snížil úsilí potřebné k dosažení stejného cíle. S internetem přichází technologie, která umožňuje dělat věci rychleji. A jakmile se naučíme dělat věci rychleji, jsme línější a netrpělivější. Věci, které jsi zmínil, jako je čtení, poslech fyzických formátů, tyto věci vyžadují delší čas. Musíte vytáhnout časopis, listovat stránkami, abyste našli informace, které nemusí být přizpůsobené vašim představám. Zatímco u Googlu můžete zadat přesně dané otázky s klíčovými slovy a získat informace během několika sekund. Podobně dlouho trvá, než si vyberete CD nebo kazetu či vinyl, vložíte tyto formáty do jejich přehrávačů a ještě musíte mačkat tlačítka, abyste se dostali ke své oblíbené skladbě, místo abyste si všechny své oblíbené skladby shromáždili v playlistech na platformě Spotify. A tyto vymoženosti mají neblahý dopad na hudebníky a muzikantství. Místo experimentování se zvuky a případného mixování si hudebníci pořizují produkty na míru, a to dokonce až do té míry, že si kupují digitální softwary, které vytvářejí zvuky přesně podle vašich představ, aniž by museli otáčet knoflíky a zkoušet různé kytarové zesilovače nebo bicí skiny. Toto pohodlí nutí hudebníky volit zkratku. Namísto práce na čtyřpísňovém demu nebo EP či osmipísňovém albu dnes kapely raději vydávají singly, a to ještě na Spotify. Častou obavou u dnešních hudebníků jsou otázky: "Můžeme ještě prodávat kazety / CD / vinyly?". Což nás pak všechny přivádí k další důležité otázce - je metalová hudba vášnivý koníček, nebo kariéra? Tady v Singapuru se věci staly velmi směšnými, když díky internetu máme přístup ke kapelám, které nepotřebují takovou podporu, ale nějak jsme vždy ochotni za ně utratit své peníze, místo abychom vynaložili trochu více úsilí a objevili kapely nebo scénu v naší blízkosti (místní) a podpořili je levněji.


Jiný je svět, i co se týká labelů, vydavatelství. VRYKOLAKAS jsou kapelou, která je pro mě synonymem undergroundového death metalu. Máme bandcamp, youtube, labely mohou vaši hudbu šířit rychleji a dostane se k více lidem. Ale znáš to, vinyl je vinyl, kazeta kazeta a CD má také svoje kouzlo. Museli jste změnit nějak přístup k vydávání vaší hudby? Nebo jedete pořád postaru a novinky vás nechávají chladnými?

Prioritou pro nás stále zůstává vydání ve fyzických formátech. Pro nás jako singapurskou kapelu jsou příležitosti k vydání vinylu vzácné a je jich málo (kromě IMPIETY a WORMROT a v poslední době INFERNAL EXECRATOR), takže když přijde nabídka, bez rozmýšlení ji přijmeme. Mezi kazetami a CD bychom dali přednost kazetám, protože jsme začínali v době, kdy kazety byly základním fyzickým formátem před vznikem CD. Ale uznáváme vliv sociálních platforem, jako jsou ty, které jste zmínil. V dnešním kontextu fungují sociální platformy jako digitální leták, kde obsah přesahuje obvyklé omezené informace v textech v tištěných letácích ze starých dob. Potřebujeme, aby se informace dostaly k co největšímu počtu lidí a šířily naši hudbu. Proto sociální platformy fungují nejlépe, když chcete zaujmout neutrální publikum. Ať už prostřednictvím přístupu staré, nebo nové školy, pro mě jako posluchače je stále důležitá hudba. Pokud se mi náhodou líbí hudba kapely, vrátím se na její Bandcamp nebo platformu YouTube, i když nemá fyzické vydání.


Kapelu jste založili v roce 1991. Stáli jste vlastně u začátku něčeho nového. Singapurskou smrtící školu mám moc rád. Líbí se mi, že je taková špinavá, syrová. Jaká byla vlastně devadesátá léta v Singapuru? Zavzpomínej pro nás prosím. Na které kapely jsi třeba rád chodil? Kdo byl tvým vzorem? Klidně můžeš přidat i nějakou veselou historku, určitě jich máš spoustu.

Musím říct, že jsem byl jedním z nejšťastnějších metalistů na světě. Měl jsem možnost zažít začátky singapurské metalové scény v roce 1989 až do devadesátých let, kdy se metalová scéna rozrůstala a vzkvétala. Měl jsem také tu smůlu, že jsem vytrval dost dlouho na to, abych se dostal do této fáze metalové dystopie, kdy jsem svědkem úbytku metalových kapel a dokonce i metalistů. Je vidět jen velmi málo mladých metalistů a nových tváří. Když jdete na metalové koncerty, vidíte ty samé lidi, které znáte od devadesátých let, a my jsme se museli spoléhat na to, že reformují své staré kapely, abychom udrželi populaci. Když se vrátím do devadesátých let, byl jsem pravidelným pisálkem kytaristy ABHORER. Každý týden jsem dostával jeho dopis. Byl upřímným podporovatelem singapurské undergroundové scény a doporučoval mi kapely, které právě nahrály nebo vydaly demosnímky. Zúčastňoval se některých nahrávacích sessions, a vy mluvíte o ABHORER, účastnil se nahrávání demosnímků a posílal mi adresy nových kapel a nejnovější zprávy ze scény, abych ho kontaktoval. I když jsme bydleli docela blízko sebe, psaní dopisů je v té době metalová záležitost. Vyměňovali jsme si letáky a fotky a to jsou věci, které opravdu zůstaly v paměti na dlouhou dobu.

Když jsme se od psaní dopisů odklonili, začali jsme se scházet o víkendech jen proto, abychom si vyměňovali dema a fanziny, které jsme dostávali z mezinárodní metalové scény. V té době už existovalo několik obchodů s deskami, kde se prodávaly metalové nahrávky. Tyto obchody jsme navštěvovali a prohlíželi si každou položku, než jsme se rozhodli něco koupit. Koncerty se tady v Singapuru začaly pořádat až od roku 1992 a člověk na nich mohl vidět všechny žánry kapel. Přesto jsme na koncerty chodili, jen abychom si počkali na tu jednu nebo dvě metalové kapely. Někdy to bylo tak zoufalé, že jsme se museli spokojit s kapelami, které do svého setu zařadily písně METALLICY. Plnohodnotné metalové koncerty začaly od roku 1999, což byl shodou okolností rok, kdy VRYKOLAKAS odehráli svůj vůbec první koncert.

Se členy následujících kapel jsem si byl docela blízký: MUMBRA, LIBATION, DOXOMEDON, ETHOS, AS SAHAR, MORBIFIC, LEVIATHAN, CEMETERY, DEBAUCHERY, EIBON, MESSESCHMITT, PROFANCER, MARTYRDOM, BELIAL, XAMIEN, RUDRA, NECREOUS, BILE PUSCESS, WARTORN NATION, DEMISOR, IMPIETY, ABATTORY a pár dalších. DOXOMEDON, DEMISOR a AS SAHAR odehráli spoustu koncertů u nás i v Malajsii. Vždycky jsem chtěl vidět ABHORER, ale bohužel mi to nikdy nebylo souzeno.

Byly tam stovky vtipných příběhů, ale v tuto chvíli nelze reprodukovat podstatu komedie, protože místní a kulturní kontext by nebyl snadno pochopitelný. Ale jak už jsem zmínil, patříme k té malé skupině metalistů, kteří si dělali legraci vždycky, když jsme nehráli naši muziku. A když pak zapojíme své nástroje, staneme se temnými a smrtícími.


Tuhle otázku dávám každé kapele a tvůj názor mě zajímavá opravdu hodně. Co pro tebe vlastně znamená death metal? Jak bys jej definoval? Na deskách VRYKOLAKAS je hodně slyšet, že do své hudby dáváte všechno, že je zahraná srdcem. Jako fanoušek to tak vnímám. Death/black metal tedy pro tebe znamená…?

Zjednodušeně řečeno, death metal je moje alter ego. A pokud chci být přesnější, VRYKOLAKAS je mé alter ego, které se projevuje na základě vkladu členů do hry prostřednictvím jejich nástrojů. VRYKOLAKAS také znamená "upír" nebo "vlkodlak" podle řecké mytologie, což znamená, že většinu času jsme normální lidé žijící mezi normálními lidmi a pak, když je správný čas, se skrze projev naší hudby měníme v monstra. Vizuálně jsme lidé, umělecky jsme démoni. Jako umělecká forma je death metal asi jediná, se kterou se mohu ztotožnit. Možná to nedokážu vysvětlit laicky, ale dokážu pochopit, proč se death metal vyjadřuje právě takovým způsobem, jakým se vyjadřuje, nehoráznou vizuální stránkou a intenzivními a extrémními vibracemi, které z něj vycházejí.



Na závěr jeden klasický, ale důležitý dotaz. Co chystají VRYKOLAKAS v nejbližší době? Můžeme se těšit na nějakou novou desku z vaší kuchyně? Případně, a pevně v to věřím, uvidíme vás konečně někde na klubovém turné v Evropě?

Určitě plánujeme setkání s našimi posluchači a rádi bychom poznali metalovou scénu v Evropě a Americe. Plán ale musí být finančně rozumný jak pro kapelu, tak pro organizátory. Myslím, že jsme dospěli do fáze lidské existence, kdy je všechno nesmyslně nákladné. Už jsme si spočítali, že turné, ať už bude jakkoli malé, bude finančně náročné (doslova i obrazně). Takže další nejlepší věc, jak oslovit naše posluchače a vůbec mezinárodní metalovou komunitu, je snažit se co nejlépe psát a vydávat dobrá alba u vydavatelství, která mají mezinárodní dosah. Proto se VRYKOLAKAS vždy snaží přilákat mezinárodní vydavatelství - aby byla naše hudba dostupná mezinárodním posluchačům za rozumnou cenu.


Děkuji moc za rozhovor. Moc si ho vážím. Jsem starý fanoušek VRYKOLAKAS a vlastně si mi splnil jeden z mých snů. Přeji vám spoustu vyprodaných koncertů, ať vám fanoušci utrhají ruce s merchandise a budu se těšit další vaši hudbu. Snad vás uvidím i naživo. Ať se vám daří i v osobních životech. VRYKOLAKAS RULES!

Děkuji Jakube za rozhovor! Produkujeme alba pro posluchače, jako jsi ty! Na fanoušky nevěříme. Věříme, že naše hudba buduje přátelství nebo bratrství - pouto smrti! Vzájemně si také přejeme to nejlepší pro DEADLY STORM ZINE. Společně se vezeme na DEADLY STORM, přinášíme chaos a zkázu a společně stoupáme v noční nadvládě smrti! Ti, kteří jsou noví, ať se podívají na death metal, začnou u VRYKOLAKAS! Ti ze staré školy, napište nám dopisy:

Khairil 714 Tampines Str.71 #11-202 Singapore 520714

VRYKOLAKAS - Nocturnal Dominion of Death (2024):

Recenze/review - VRYKOLAKAS - And Vrykolakas Brings Chaos and Destruction (2021):





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sobota 11. května 2024

A few questions - interview with grindcore brutal death metal band from France - CRYPTIC PROCESS.


A few questions - interview with grindcore brutal death metal band from France - CRYPTIC PROCESS.

Answered vocalist Damien Roger, thank you!

Recenze/review - CRYPTIC PROCESS - Human Snack (2023):

Can you introduce your band to our readers? When was it founded and what style of music do you play, etc.?

Hey there! Cryptic Process is the story of two buddies who have always loved making music together and seized the opportunity to reunite. So, it's Ugo on guitar and drum programming and Damien on vocals. This project was born during the Covid pandemic in 2020; we're old friends and just wanted to get back to playing Brutal Death together. As for our background, we're former members and founders of Goryptic (and Heresy). Both of us had a stint in Grindcore for several years: Ugo played guitar in Trepan’Dead, and Dam was a vocalist in Unsu. Our style is Brutal Death with touches of Grindcore and even some Slam elements here and there.

Where and under what conditions did you record the new album? Who was responsible for the sound, production, and mastering?

We recorded the album in August 2023 in our rehearsal space. We locked ourselves in for about ten days and did everything from A to Z. Since Ugo is a sound engineer, he had everything prepared and knew exactly what he was doing! He also handled the mixing and mastering. We were very meticulous and didn't let anything pass until we had a completely satisfying result. It was enriching as an experience, not only in terms of our own instruments but also in discussions and choices regarding the sound/mix/testing, etc.


How many copies were published, and what format was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)? Who wrote the lyrics and how were they created, and what are the lyrics about?

We released 500 copies in a 6-panel digipack to allow for more panoramic visuals. Dam: As for the lyrics, they're quite varied, covering various subjects. There are lyrics about the current absurdity of our world, life entangled in these networks, compulsive overconsumption, my personal experiences, but also totally spacey lyrics about entities visiting us (beings from another hostile dimension, for example). We're not into the ultra-gore stuff like most bands in our style, but there are elements here and there. However, I try to create real stories and not just say "kill kill, blood, guts." In fact, about half of the lyrics are in French. Some texts flow easily and quickly, while others are more difficult to come up with because I don't want to reuse the same words. I aim to deepen and vary the elements; it's just a matter of honesty with myself. Vocals are first and foremost an instrument with multiple sounds to explore, which should bind the composition together and make it even more massive and violent. Vocal variations are as important as variations in other instruments.

Who created the band logo, and who handled the graphics and website? And what about social media? Do you consider these things important?

Dam: The original logo was created by me, but we weren't 100% satisfied, so we enlisted an artist named Brilliansyah who did a great job! As for the visuals, I developed everything myself. The concept stemmed from a title we really like, "Human Snack" (which closes the album). From there, I imagined a story where essentially the human species was "planted" on this planet by beings from who knows where (everyone can imagine what they prefer: other dimensions/demons, etc.) to be later harvested and eaten, like common snacks. Added to this is a fury multiplied by these beings upon realizing how much our species had destroyed its habitat. We love this dirty, dusty, hopeless, no-return-possible aspect. We could have easily gone for the classic gore style, but that's not really our thing. We prefer bizarre and gloomy universes. These creatures have extraordinary dimensions; they are gigantic reapers. As for the realization, I did it myself. I'm a graphic designer by profession, but I'm fascinated by what can be achieved today with AI, in particular. Using AI in a band that already has a "robotic" drummer is very coherent from our point of view. So, I had to learn to use it because it's not a magical tool that produces a wonderful result with just three prompts, contrary to what some may think. It's a tool to be approached like Photoshop was when it was first released. So, I experimented with a lot of things for several weeks until I got a solid foundation. Then I used this material to build the entire universe of this album cover. We wanted a 6-panel digipack to have two fairly explicit panoramic visuals. As for social media and the website, I created them myself. It takes time and effort to acquire knowledge, but we like to manage things ourselves, and it's worth the effort. Social media is indeed very important. Let's not kid ourselves; the dissemination of everything goes through there and not through "physical" stores anymore (and I've experienced both, so I can make a good comparison, lol).


Which label did you choose for the release of your album, and why this label? Are you satisfied with how your label represents you and takes care of you?

We don't have labels per se, but two promo/distribution partners, Crypt Of Dr. Gore and Drowning In Chaos Records. They helped us finance the pressing of the album and, more importantly, they help us with its distribution. It's a deal that suits us quite well, done in good faith, and the guys are motivated!

Which bands do you idolize, and where do you draw your inspiration from?

Well, the term "idolize" is a bit strong, lol! But of course, there are bands that we love and that have strongly inspired us. In terms of influences, we like a lot of bands like Goratory, Necrophagist, Cryptopsy, Dying Fetus, Aborted, or even Infant Annihilator. And some more old-school stuff like Pantera, Carcass, etc. We also listen to totally different styles that can bring openness to our own compositions.


Did you send your recording to labels - which labels? What was the response?

No, not at all, we're not actively seeking to be signed by a label! We've always been self-produced with our previous bands, and that suits us just fine (that's our "A to Z control" side). But we're not closed off to it! If a label offers us an honest deal that suits us, why not! In the meantime, our partnerships suit us just fine.

How many concerts have you given? What type of concerts do you prefer, whether it's clubs or festivals, and which of your performances do you consider the best?

We've had 2 concerts so far, one on April 26 in St-Omer for a festival warm-up, and the other on May 4 in Paris for a festival featuring Inhumate (a big French grindcore band). It was totally new for us to come and offer a concept (not new) but experimental for us: 2 musicians only with the drummer coming out of the sound system! And honestly, it was excellent! In Paris, people really got into it, even though many were initially intrigued and wondered what was going on, haha. And in the end, it was war! People were really moving! The feedback was good, and we're thrilled to finally be able to perform HUMAN SNACK live! Everyone had a smile, and that's fantastic!

Every venue is different and has its own energy; we like the proximity to the audience, so bars are cool, but big stages with lots of people and awesome sound... that's great too! A concert also depends a lot on the receptiveness of the audience; if people are really into it and moving, it's great and it will give good memories to everyone, both the band and the audience!


What are your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?

All we want is to play together, compose, and have a good time! We're primarily friends who love what we do. We don't have a "career plan" or anything; we just want to keep composing songs, playing, and doing concerts!

How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide contact information? Thank you for the interview.

The album is available on our Bandcamp here: https://crypticprocess.bandcamp.com/ merch or even by email at crypticprocess@gmail.com! You can visit our website: www.crypticprocess.fr where all our social media links are provided, as well as links to listen (Spotify/Deezer/etc.). We post all news and info on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/crypticprocessofficial

Thanks again for the interview and support! If we come by your area, don't hesitate to come see us!

Thank you for interview.

Recenze/review - CRYPTIC PROCESS - Human Snack (2023):

čtvrtek 9. května 2024

Interview - HERESIARCH - A furious, hateful black death metal inferno!


Interview with death metal band from New Zealand - HERESIARCH.

Answered N.H. and C.S, thank you!

Recenze/review - HERESIARCH - Edifice (2024):

Ave HERESIARCH! I am listening to your new album „ Edifice“ and I have the perceptive feeling that I am at an evil black mass. You play black death metal and this is your second full length album. Can you tell us how the new recording was made and in what direction did you want to move from the great previous albums? Did you want to be even faster, darker, more evil?

We set out to write something that surpassed our previous releases. Edifice is written as the predecessor to our first album, Death Ordinance. In that album, malformed and disfigured people fight mercilessly for the scraps in the fallout and ruins of civilisation.

Given how harsh and violent that album was, Edifice needed to be crueller, more hopeless and more oppressive to lead to that conclusion. It’s the last remnants of human dignity being beaten out and trampled to get to that state.

With Edifice, we wanted to amplify everything. Darker, more violent, more dismal, more pronounced doom, with more chaotic and fast sections. Our writing expands simultaneously in opposite directions - the most primitive material we've released is coupled with the most complex and nuanced.


You know what hit me into the face? Sound of this new record, It's organic, rainy, the album has a black spark. Nowadays, between overwhelmed and compressed formats it is literally refreshing. This is what I think is true hell! Please tell me where and how did you recorded? How did you get that sound?

The album was tracked by Raj Singarajah and Cam Sinclair at Dynamic Rage and mixed by Cam using a mixture of analogue and digital equipment. Working with them was crucial to the sound of the album, as they have the knowledge, skills and equipment to facilitate our goals.

Our approach to tracking is to get the tones and sound dialled in at the source so that we can capture the raw material as honestly as possible. For example the rhythm guitars were recorded in one session with an emphasis on using single takes of tracks. It was essential for us to capture the atmosphere, violence and aggression of our music whilst maintaining clarity. There’s no point spending lengths of time writing music only for it to sound like a load of bloated and muffled shit recorded in another room. At the same time, we actively avoided an over-produced, sterile sound.

The raw tracks themselves sounded excellent, and this upfront method made the mixing process much smoother and yielded better results than compromising, dramatically changing the character of the recording or half-assing it. The mastering was completed by Luke Finlay from Primal Mastering, so from that perspective all the sound aspects were handled in New Zealand. This configuration works well for us.

I'm the kind of old school fan who approaches music by buying a CD and a T-shirt when he likes the album. I have to say that the motif on the cover of this year's album is really good. That's how I imagine real hell. Can you tell us how you chose the motif, who's signed and how it relates to music?

The cover art is done by Khaos Diktator Design who has produced some real standout art over the last few years. He's also passionate about this style of music which meant he understood the vision and intent very clearly.

It’s a statement of control, subjugation, and futility before the looming edifice. The cover signifies the lengths people will take to survive and appease those with power, a statement to both human cruelty and weakness before an uncaring monument built to their oppression.

Ultimately, it represents how people can be manipulated to commit acts that go against our morals and principles. This ties in with the lyrics and narrative of the album well, as does the inner art.


When I look at your line-up, you're a band that is made up of experienced musicians. How do you create new music? What about the process of creation new material? Do you have any problems - after all, experience is sometimes an obstacle. You know - ego etc.

The vision and objective are more important than the individual contributions, so we don't let ego be an obstacle. Nothing is ever off the table in terms of improving, saving for later or scrapping completely, the main priority is that it serves a purpose within the greater vision.

A lot of the riffs and initial musical ideas emanate in a completely natural fashion. In a way, it is as if they plucked from the unconscious. After the base material is formed, there is a calculated phase where the material is fine-tuned and structured. We do not have problems, but this process can take a long time.

We strike a balanced approach between thinking and feeling when creating new music. We’re not forcing riffs, noodling around, or jamming. Often, we will have an idea to build on or manifest something as before mentioned, we then tweak it and improve it. It's important that the music sounds like a complete body of work, with an attention to detail that doesn't affect the atmosphere or rawness of the music. We intentionally create music that is at times challenging for the listener and remains unpredictable.

As we continue to evolve, there is always a strong influence and recognition of our previous works. We are self-influenced more now than ever and will continue to explore this more in our next release.


For me, the Australian and New Zealand school of death metal has always been associated with a certain darkness. Even when I was young I used to be fascinated by references to Satanism, the kind of filth, the rottenness that could be felt in the work of your bands. How did you get into that style?

We were naturally drawn to the more violent styles of Metal and completely skipped a lot of the more watered down “extreme” bands while still retaining some influence from wider genre classics. This meant we always had less focus on hooks and conventional pop structures, this is most evident on Edifice.

While we definitely have some similarities in sound to other bands from our region, our initial influences came from Canadian, US and Finnish bands.


I wonder what it's like in New Zealand as far as music is concerned? How did you get into music and who were your role models? What about your scene, clubs, fans?

We grew up around Wellington, often running into each other at all ages shows and the occasional R18 ones. We were considerably younger than most others around at that time and were starting to make our own music independent of what others in that scene were doing. We knew each other for years before starting to work together and it has been very straightforward in terms of communication and collaboration between us.

With regards to the current scene, clubs etc we are not particularly connected or interested. Exaltation are another NZ band to look out for. Backyard Burial was one of the cornerstone bands of Wellington, and Blaps (RIP) was an exceptional frontman in particular. It's exceedingly rare to see someone with that same presence perform.

You are also very dark in your lyrics. Of course it belongs to death metal and I like it, but I'd be interested in the origin and origin of the lyrics. How did the lyrics for the new album come about? What are they about?

The narrative and story were plotted out in advance but writing the actual lyrics always comes last. As mentioned before, it ties in as a precursor to Death Ordinance and is set in the near future.

There are several coinciding storylines within a greater piece. One who perceives themselves as the warrior of overcoming, stoicism, and conquest effortlessly killed by that which they wish they were. Insights and visions of the oppressed, oppressor and a more removed 3rd person narrative of the world. The stories are collected and presented in a fragmented and unhinged retelling, similar to how we draw upon stories from the past.

Regaring literature, Nietzsche “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, Huxley “Brave New World”, and Junger “On the Marble Cliffs” had some influence on the lyrics, along with the writings of Tacitus, our own imagination and real world events throughout history.

The present day atrocities commited are a poignant reminder that our observations of humanity are correct.

“Barbed ouroboros of eternal misery
The recurring eternal of warfare
The somatic form trampled, a mere vessel for survival”

There have been many times in the history of metal that bands have been banned because they were shocking or had different views from the mainstream society. Have you ever had problems? In this day and age of the internet, it's awfully easy to immediately condemn someone, to start a rumour, to destroy them.

The internet is the perfect tool to give otherwise unremarkable people a sense of accomplishment through minimal effort.

There's a level of controversy one can expect with art of a confrontational nature, it can manifest in many forms. There are of course many who make a hobby of creating controversy and feigned moral outrage through presenting over a decade old information as current, which is often disingenuous and counter-productive.

You can’t please and placate everyone and this is not a priority for us. If people are looking for us to promote obsolete doctrine or validate their irrelevant worldview (Nazism, Communism, religious or racial superiority) they’re looking in the wrong direction.


Have you had to change your approach to music in any way thanks to new technologies? Thanks to the internet the world is completely different, bands have to approach everything in a completely different way. How do you perceive these changes?

Technology has no impact on the way we approach our music. Obviously we utilise modern technology to an extent, but this is only a means to produce something that is ultimately primitive and organic. An over reliance on modern technology to produce any art is pathetic, but it is even worse in the case of Death Metal/Black Metal.

We will never credit a drummer for programmed drums or completely replace and quantise the human element. We’re not dependent on technology to fix our lack of ability or asking people to fund our endeavours with subscriptions and exclusive “content." There’s too much “content” demeaning the value of art today, emphasised by bands churning out vapid releases with terrible AI “art.”

What about HERESIARCH and gigs? I noticed you don't get out so often. Do you like the tour over the Europe? I could imagine you alongside such POSSESSED, DEICIDE, as they come to us quite often.

We haven’t played since 2019, touring isn’t a priority now and that will remain the case. The benefit to this is we can purely focus on composition without rushing or compromising, we're not churning out releases as a means to travel.

It would be good to get to Europe at some point as we’ve never played there. It’s most likely we will play a single show in New Zealand this year at this stage.


What does death metal, black metal mean to you? How would you define it and how do you perceive these styles as an experienced musician? I do not want you to describe the technique of playing, I would rather be interested in your gaze, feelings, transmitted energy etc. Try to be a philosopher for a while.

As a band that draws influence from both, we're not particularly caught up in the absolutes of genres. It is also difficult to qualify and quantify, given how vast the genres are and the varying levels of interest we have in them as individuals.

Too much focus on tradition can dilute the music, your attention turning from creating fulfilling art to pleasing others. If you go too far out of the bounds you can head into pointless experimentation and pretentiousness.

This music has the potential to present creation, destruction, or both simultaneously, depending on the intent of the artist. When intent is only directed to the aesthetics or promoting a message, it often musically falls short and when there is no intent there at all, there is no real purpose for it to exist. A lot of mediocre music exists due to this and the obsession with relevance and “content” as seen with bands pumping out insipid garbage or retreading the same ground. Finding the right balance is up to the bands and their vision and people have the choice to engage with it or not.

It goes beyond playing an instrument in a specific way to achieve a specific sound as you've alluded to. Something as individual and experiential can be hard to put into tangible terms, you feel it or you don't.

Thank you very much for the interview. I really appreciate you taking the time for our web-zine. I wish your whole band a lot of hell inspiration, sold out media and enthusiastic fans. Good luck in your personal life. I hope to see you live ...

Cheers Jakub, the album seems well received so far and we are working on our next release currently. It shouldn’t be 7 years between albums next time.


Recenze/review - HERESIARCH - Death Ordinance (2017):




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