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pátek 15. března 2024

A few questions - interview with black metal band from Finland - IGNIS MORTIS.

A few questions - interview with black metal band from Finland - IGNIS MORTIS.

Answered vocalist Valtias, thank you!

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

Valtias: Hails! Ignis Mortis was founded in 2022 after Evil Might kind of vaporized. Evil Might was harsher and more straightforward black metal, even though the fundamentals of Ignis Mortis were already present: those melancholic and quite melodic and epic elements. We slowed down a bit and began to write darker and more interesting music than before.

Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?

We recorded the EP in our rehearsal place and we quite much understood that every reh. recording these days sound the same. They all have that same shitty digital fuzzing sound in them. We wanted something different, so we asked Lauri Laaksonen (Convocation, Desolate Shrine, Pestilent Hex) to mix and master the EP and also record the drums – as he’s a professional drummer.

I asked him to go towards Entombed’s Clandestine with a touch of Lemmy Kilmister Murder One amp setup and throw in some harsher soundscapes. We quite much enjoy the result as it’s definitely not your everyday black metal mix.

Laaksonen has his own mixing and mastering studio thing going on. Check out The Desolate Dungeon in Facebook if you want to try out something different.

How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?

The CD release is 300 copies. We’re trying to find someone to release the MC and/or LP version. It’s also on every streaming platform.

Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?

I, Valtias wrote the lyrics.

The first song, Noitasapatin irstaat syöjättäret tells a story about fat priests who fuck children in their churches, and are then attacked and cursed by witches. Eventually Christendom will fall and nature wins. The title translates roughly into The Debauched Temptresses of Witches Coven. Syöjätär is also a kind of a Finnish foremother for many of our folklore’s nether creatures. She’s also the mother of snakes.

Second one, Kali Yuga Mysticus is about modern times, the cycles of Zeitgeist, and how we surf the waves of Kali Yuga; the Age of Fire. It’s a vision about a dystopia we’re living in right now; the totalitarianism of liberalism and the liberalism of totalitarianism. The cycles of societal downfalls, now accelerated by false Gods of post-humanity.

The last one, Sanguine Luciferian Vampirism is about spiritual vampirism; how the Luciferian ideal overcomes the modern day. How the underdogs dwell in darkness and suck the blood out of this godless era. It’s about being a vampiric leech of this modern world.

Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?

Logo is done by a good friend of mine, Tuomas T. of Nucleart Design. The cover artwork, the Al-Khemik Omega Ouroboros was visioned by me and drawn by my wife Skadhí. She drew the Penis Demon on the back as well. Also the inner chalice is done by her. The broken gravestone picture was shot by my colleague.

I’ve studied graphic design a bit, so I did the whole CD package by myself. I also drew the frames around our photos.

I’ve done the social network shit as well. I don’t really care about that at all. I only care about the art itself, but you need to ride those waves of Kali Yuga and participate in the global immolation somehow.

Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takes care about you?

The guys from Kvlt Records are my friends, so I just dropped the finished product to them, and then Sami Tenetz said “Ok, I can release this through Hammer of Hate”. As you see, Kvlt has few sublabels, Hammer of Hate being one of them.

Well, Kvlt is an underground label, so they don’t exactly do any marketing. They have pretty wide distribution channels though.

Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?

There’s some bands I truly adore: Burzum, Kawir, Elend, Root, Bolt Thrower, King Diamond, Rotting Christ, Motörhead, Törr, Mercyful Fate, Bathory, The Doors, Summoning, Demigod, early Entombed, Master’s Hammer, Iron Maiden, Drudkh, Ulver, Mgła, Sigh, Absu and such.

I get my inspiration from the darker side of life. At the moment I just follow the Ukrainian war and what’s happening in the front. Also societal downfall is interesting. We’re in the middle of World War III and all people can speak of is political correctness, individual rights and shit like that. The world is fucking burning around us and people are whining about how someone speaks of someone else. Fuck that shit. Western civilization is doomed. People are idiotic and refuse to see through their tight social (media) bubbles.

Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?

I had a list of some 10-15 labels for the EP, but as Kvlt grabbed it first, we never sent it to anyone else. Kvlt was our first choice.

How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?

As Ignis Mortis, none. As Evil might, three, I think. All those gigs were in a club for some 50-100 people. We’re planning to play few gigs later this year.

I guess I don’t prefer to play live at all. I have one of those minds… I can’t remember lyrics – even my own. It’s a bit shitty situation. It all started about 20 years ago or so. A bit too much different kind of substances does wonders to one’s memory.

Of course, I could use some kind of prop for lyrics… Well, I actually have a Christian hymnal and I’ve glued the lyrics on the pages, but at last gig all the blood and makeup ran into my eyes, so I couldn’t even read the cursed book.

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

We don’t have anything else planned than a full-length album, which we’re working on at the moment.

How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?

Through the god-awful Facebook or by mail: deusignismortis@gmail.com.

Thanx for the interview.

Thank you! Spread the sunless poison: https://linktr.ee/ignismortis

https://www.facebook.com/ignismortis666

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6yOtPKGw3mejnsvjVzAfDv

https://tidal.com/browse/album/339979435

https://kvlt.fi/label/hammer_of_hate

https://kvlt.fi/item/ignis_mortis-haeresis_maleficarum-mcd

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středa 13. března 2024

A few questions - interview with doom metal band from France - WITCHORIOUS.

A few questions - interview with doom metal band from France - WITCHORIOUS.

Answered Antoine (guitars, vocals), thank you!

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

Hi Jakub! We are Witchorious from Paris (France) and we were found in late 2019. The band is composed of Antoine Auclair (guitar / vocals), Lucie Gaget (bass / vocals / theremin), and her brother Paul Gaget (drums / percussions). We play doom metal, mixing traditional heavy doom riffs with more post-metal structures, and blending clean vocals and screams. We released our first two singles in 2020, and we just released our first album on Argonauta Records on February 16th 2024.

Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?

We recorded our album in December 2022 at Studio Sainte-Marthe in Paris under the direction of Francis Caste (also producer for Hangman’s Chair, Necrowretch, My Diligence, etc.) It was a snowy winter in Paris, and we stayed locked up in the studio for around four weeks. It was a very cool experience, Francis had us try a lot of things for the sounds and arrangements. He also took care of the mixing and mastering, contributing so much to producing the occult atmosphere of the album.

How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?

300 vinyl copies, 100 of them being label-edition, were released, and we also produced 200 CD copies on our own. Don’t wait to get yours!

Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?

Antoine writes most of the lyrics, although Lucie also wrote on song (“Eternal Night”). In general, lyrics are written when the first steps of a song are created, starting with riffs that we jam and intend to turn into a song. But it also happens that I write down so lyrics I have in my head, simple reflections, or sudden punchlines… Half of the songs on this album are very personal and deal with depression, mental health, and my questions around what are we doing here on this earth, towards what end… And the other half speak of society, the relationship between humans, how we are able to destroy everything that surrounds us for power, all this narrated with metaphors around the elements of occultism.

Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?

Our logo was created by Vaderetro Studio. We asked them to create something dark and evil to represent our sound. We also asked them to work on a picture of a sick medieval town ruled by the forces of evil to summarise what we wanted to talk about in the album, and they came up with the amazing front artwork. The additional drawings were made by Headbang Design based

on the first works of Vaderetro, and they definitely added an important touch of occultism to our imagery. Antoine and Lucie take care of our social media, in which we try to reflect our universe and current projects. We try to be as present as possible on social media, we are on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and we think it is very important. First of all, we love these media and use them to discover a lot of bands and keep abreast of their new music. Then it is definitely a very strong means to stay connected with your fan base, and more than that, build solid relationships with other bands and fans. When we started, we sometimes struggled finding interesting content to broadcast in these media, so we tried to publish things just when we felt like it, and now that we have more things to share, this is so funny to let people know of our news and interact with us, like asking them what song they would like to hear at our next gig… It is very rewarding when people answer you and show how enthusiastic they are!

Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takes care about you?

We have chosen to partner with Argonauta Records and we do not regret it! We really hoped they would want to work with us when we sent them our album, because a lot of bands that we liked already worked with them. And look at their roster, it is gold! So many great bands, really in the stoner / doom / post-metal niche… Their boss, Gero, is really passionate about what he is doing and has an incredible know-how. From the first discussions with him and from the word-of-mouth, we knew we could rely on him for all our questions on the release. He’s done that so many times, he can really provide the mentorship we were looking for, with brilliant tips. And benefiting from Argonauta’s visibility and their many followers were a key asset when releasing the album.

Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?

Our main inspiration for this project, and in our playing in general, is Black Sabbath. They are really our gods in terms of songwriting and riff-making. On top that, we try to listen to as many bands as we can, and we are inspired by more modern doom bands like Electric Wizard, Monolord, or Lucifer, but also nu metal stuff like Korn and Deftones, metalcore bands like Parkway Drive and Jinjer… We try to incorporate elements from different genres to make our compositions richer. We are fascinated by bands who show an impressive mix of influences and sound both vintage and modern like Mastodon or Amenra.

Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?

Yes we sent our record to around fifteen labels and we got answers from 5 of them, for 2 deal propositions. In the end I feel that we have gotten propositions from labels that were the most relevant for us, and knowing that we really hoped Argonauta would say yes, this was beyond expectations. We are incredibly grateful to Gero for trusting us.

How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?

So far, we have played 16 shows. We have been lucky enough to play clubs, one festival, and small pubs. I’d say that our favorite place to play is small concert houses, because it is still small enough to feel very close to the audience, but big enough to have all the professional equipment and crew, which is really luxury haha. I think that one of our best shows was at Les Cuizines in

Chelles (our hometown) back in November 2023, because we had just done a series of gigs in different towns and it was very cool to play again at home before our families and friends with our newly gained experience. In my opinion, our best gig was actually our last gig at Supersonic in Paris, because it was very challenging: I was sick and worried that I might not be able to sing, and it was important for us because it was the release party of our album, so we hoped people would come… But eventually the two other bands performing (Margarita and Brusque) killed it, the room was crowded as F, and we did a very good performance. We had so much fun, it was really like a birthday party, everybody was there, and we gave the best of ourselves, it was the best night.

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

For 2024, the target is really to play as many shows as possible. We want to meet people and present our album live. Then I would say that we are going to try to play bigger and bigger venues. We’ll start working on songs for a second album very soon. We would really love to become a permanently active band in the niche, but above all we want to do acts that we will be proud of: good albums and killer shows. So we will gain as much experience as we can, try to show ourselves everywhere, and hopefully this will lead us to cool adventures!

How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?

Sure, you can contact us anytime on Messenger (https://www.facebook.com/Witchorious), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/_witchorious_/), or TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@witchorious), or even send us an email directly (witchorious@gmail.com). You can also visit our Bandcamp (https://witchorious.bandcamp.com/album/witchorious-2) to contact us. And of course, if we are coming to your town, please come to our show and say hi at the merch, we are always so happy to meet people and have a chat :)

Thanx for the interview.

Thank you so much Jakub!

https://witchorious.bandcamp.com/album/witchorious-2

https://www.facebook.com/Witchorious/

https://www.instagram.com/_witchorious_/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2WuWAUNLoSUj2SSsVnr6NZ

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnPfJzOuwvw1oCgQlzXN1Aw

https://www.argonautarecords.com/

https://twitter.com/argonautarex

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úterý 12. března 2024

Interview - GRAVEHAMMER - Raw, dark, savage black death metal blasphemy that is not of our world! Death cult!

Interview with death black doom metal band from Germany - GRAVEHAMMER.

Answered J.S., Arillus, T.W. , M.B.,The Field Alchemist, thank you!

Recenze/review - GRAVEHAMMER - Bones to Harvest (2023):

https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2023/12/recenzereview-gravehammer-bones-to.html

Ave GRAVEHAMMER! Hello to the underground. I hope all is well with you. It should be, you have a great debut album. I have to admit, it literally drove me up the wall. It's dark, it's energetic, it cuts with a knife edge. It's very telling that you've done a great job, and a great deal of talent as well. How do you feel about the new record in relation to your previous EP? Where did you want to go and how do you think the recordings are different?

J.S.: Hails Deadly Storm Zine and thank you for your kind words. It was our aim to capture the energy of playing Death Metal as a band. “Bones to harvest” could be considered a next step in the band’s development. Writing an album and not just a demo or an EP was a new experience for us. It is more challenging since you have a higher amount of work as more material has to be written and rehearsed. Our goal was to come up with a conclusive songwriting. The record has received some positive feedback so far which we are very happy and grateful about.

„Bones to Harvest“ includes all attributes of good death/black and doom metal. For me personally, it represents the record, which I really like to listen to. How did you produce it? How look the writing process of new material in the case of GRAVEHAMMER?

Arillus: Wow, that is a pleasing comment! Our music is never a construction in one's head but something that evolves live during rehearsal. I guess this is one of our essential properties. No overthinking but doing what feels right, just then. Next, there is no gap between the first creation and taping the fragments of a song. Thus, we are able to keep the original feel of a song and stick to it when we take off for the studio later. Besides that, just put us into our rehearsal room. After a few beers and an average working day “Bones to harvest” is what you get.

Who's signed for the sound and mix? I have to confirm that they literally kill. It keeps making me turn up the volume on the hi-fi tower. You've got a sound that's harsh, raw and dark and animalistic at the same time. How did you achieve it? What studio did you record in and how did it all work?

Arillus: With the former records, recording, mixing/mastering and all the technical stuff was in my responsibility. Especially the last E.P. taught us to get a really raw and energetic sound since we recorded the instruments live in our rehearsal room. Now, with the new record we decided to separate the recording process and also the responsibility of the production. We recorded in my other band’s (Nosturaack) rehearsal room which is far from perfect but kind of optimized to make some heavy noise ;) So, there was no one else to pressure us but ourselves. We took the time we needed and enjoyed a familiar atmosphere to do the work. Then, we gave the material to Alex from Holodeckstudio. He really has the right touch for this kind of music, shares our vision of sound and made it real.

An important part and a kind of extra bonus for fans today is the physical CD. You released the new album at CD in El Rotting Misery Records, and it has a „morbid“ cover art. Who is the author? How did you choose the motif and how does it relate to the music at the record?

T.W.: The physical release is an important milestone. Since we are not very much into streaming and digital platforms, it’s way more than a bonus for us. We are happy that we found labels that support us. Rotting Misery indeed released the CD as a nice digipak. The tape version was done by Kellerassel Records and Fucking Kill! Records did the vinyl versions.

The artwork was created by The Field Alchemist (https://www.instagram.com/thefieldalchemist/). She is my wife, so we can ask her.

The Field Alchemist: Thanks for allowing me to pitch in! I very much prefer traditional over digital art - a rusty nib and ink on cold-pressed paper feels more alive, raw and expressive to me than any digital drawing ever could, all imperfections included. I hand-drew the cover design inspired by the lyrics and leitmotif of the album - an all-engulfing tyrant killed by a dozen weapons throwing up not blood but rusty chains and countless corpses including a dagger symbolizing ritualistic murder. I was going for something crude, guttural and rotten as I feel it matches Gravehammer's vibe. Some additional illustrations within the CD design were done by me as well and I enjoyed the contribution.

MB: The layout did indeed capture the essence of the lyrics perfectly. The common theme of all the lyrics on the album is the way humans treat each other. The main focus lies on the brutality and humiliation that always has and always will be found when conflict, greed and craving for power strike. I took a lot of inspiration from Roman antiquity this time, which is full of blood, violence, gore - everything that’s needed for good death metal lyrics.

I have been wandering the underground for over thirty years and I still go to Germany for music with certainty. I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I like your bands a lot and I monitor your scene carefully. Maybe I envy you a little, because we only have a few death/black doom metal bands that are worth it. How do you explain that underground metal is doing so well in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, labels?

J.S.: Germany has had a strong scene right from the beginning in the early eighties. I guess, we are also lucky because of its position right in the center of Europe. Hence many tours are routed through the country when going from west to east or vice versa. From a business perspective, the German market is still very important when it comes to sales of releases. So labels pay attention that their releases are available in Germany.

However, these days it is difficult for many venues and promoters to survive. Rising costs for touring and production on one side, less money among the fans for tickets on the other side. I hope that most of the Metal devotees will cope with this situation and survive these difficult times. “Take nothing for granted” as the saying goes.

You play doom death/black metal influenced by, among other things, the old school. Today, the band can't avoid comparisons, but I would like to know how the idea to start GRAVEHAMMER was born, who was and is your metal idol? Where do you want to move your band? Are you attracted to large foreign festivals, for example, are you willing to go on tour with a more famous band?

T.W.: I think the initial idea was to play old school Death Metal in the vein of bands like Nihilist, Grave, old Tiamat and Winter, without having had an elaborated concept or long term strategy for the band. We were (and still are) very much into that archaic sound and noticed that there were no bands in our area playing that kind of music. However, it turned out that we did not really know how to achieve that. We had some technical limitations and were biased by our individual backgrounds. Our first demo is probably closer to Hellhammer than to nineties Death Metal. Still, we noticed that there is the potential for a certain primitive energy, which I associate with the first waves of extreme metal.

Hence, we gave up the idea of being a pure Death Metal band and put more focus on finding our own identity. Although we still primarily identify as a Death Metal band, there is a lot of Doom Metal, Black Metal and War Metal in our current sound. By not limiting our music to a specific genre, we are maybe even closer to the essence of the early days of Extreme Metal - a time when it was more important to play energetic music than to find the right marketing tags. Look at - again - Hellhammer or early Sodom, Morbid, Master’s Hammer, Bathory, Sarcófago and the like. Although they sound very different, all of them have an incredible, primitive energy plus a dark, morbid aura. Yet, there is a certain lightheartedness in the chaos they embraced. Today, I can‘t name one specific band that influences us the most, but for sure we are inspired by those core aspects of the first waves of extreme metal.

For the second part of the question, we don’t really have a long term goal. I guess we will try to find a good balance of playing live and working on new material. There are for sure some stages we‘d like to enter, but yet I feel that smaller, shady venues fit our style of music better. I don’t think that our music is made for big stages and that‘s totally fine. Playing in front of 10 maniacs in a putrid garage can be a blast. Of course it would be also cool to share the stage with a bigger band we all like, but it’s not our biggest dream and definitely we would not pay to get a support slot. Yes, this happens, and it has nothing to do with Metal.

When I started my website seven years ago, I had a vision that I would try to support bands that are not so much popular, or they are lost in underground. To let the world knows about them. I think I'm doing quite well, at least according to the responses. How do you approach the promotion of your music? Do you rely upon the label or do you send the CDs for various reviews by yourself? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. What about you? Are you also fans who often support your colleagues? Do you go to concerts?

J.S.: Most of us attend shows on a regular basis. When we like the band we also hit the merch table since we like physical releases. And of course, shirts, too (who doesn’t?).

The promotion work of Gravehammer consists of several components. Our labels do promotion for their releases. Furthermore, we also do promotion on our own by using social media and getting word of mouth promotion going. Attending concerts and speaking to other fans is an important part of this, too.

On the one hand, today the new band has a lot of opportunities to make themselves more known, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of groups and the fans are getting lost in this big metal sea. A lot of people just download mp3s from the internet and instead of to visit the concert they prefer to spit poisonous saliva on Facebook. How do modern technologies affect you as GRAVEHAMMER? What do you think about downloading music, google metalists, streaming music, etc.?

MB: Well, the developments of the last decade or so are both a blessing and a curse. As it has become quite easy to record music on your own and release it, there is a huge flood of new demos each month or even week - yet, there are also many good releases among the many rubbish ones. But, even though we (this includes Gravehammer as well as Skardus, a band J.S. and I play in together) put our music on bandcamp, youtube and the like, we still see many people buying our stuff - both online and at our concerts. That said, I think that the attention span of people who listen to music via streaming exclusively has drastically shortened because that way music can be consumed everywhere and all the time. Thus, for many people, music has become a mere background noise which needs to be changed and skipped through as fast as possible. This, of course, leads to the problem that complete albums or demos do not get appreciated the way they should. But, on the other hand, I do feel that the people who rather live and support the underground do still buy the bands’ albums and merchandise to support them (and also support the bands on said pages like facebook etc.) and by that keep the flame burning, so to speak.

I like to ask the musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it, whether it is more the philosophy and lifestyle thing for them or "just" relaxation? What does it mean for you? How do you perceive and experience it?

J.S.: Lifestyle is a strong word. On the other hand, Metal in general consumes much of my spare time. This includes rehearsing with my two bands (Skardus is the other one), attending concerts and listening to records.

Since this answer is not toooooo exciting, I may rephrase your question a bit to “What do you favour in Death Metal?” I personally like bands which capture a sinister atmosphere and not just playing “buddy Death Metal”. Records that evoke a similar feeling for me when visiting old churches and vaults or looking at medieval woodcuts. Teitanblood, Possession, Necros Christos, Beherit, Goat Molestör… you get the idea.

Finally, a classic but important question. What is GRAVEHAMMER planning in the upcoming months? Where can we see you at the stage and what about a tour of Europe?

T.W.: Yes, we do have some gigs in the pipeline, most of them in Germany. In March, we will hit the road with our friends Hallucinate and play in Mülheim (22.3.) and Göttingen (23.3.). Check them out, they released their debut last year, an incredible atmospheric yet old school Death Metal album. In April, we will play in Lübeck (27.4.) inside a freakin’ ship.

Most interesting for you and your readers and certainly one highlight for us will be the “United in Brutality” festival. On Saturday (21.9.) we’ll hit their stage in Jablonec Nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. All further announcements can be found on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Gravehammer

At the moment, we prefer weekenders with 2-3 dates since they are easier to organize. But who knows.

Thank you so much for the interview. I wish a lot of success to the new album and let the number of your fans expand as much as possible. I will look forward to seeing you somewhere live again. I wish you a lot of success both musically and personally. I'm going to push „Bones to Harvest“ into my head again!

J.S.: Thank you for featuring Gravehammer in your zine and also for your kind words! We hope to see many of you guys when we play at “United in Brutality” in September.

Recenze/review - GRAVEHAMMER - Bones to Harvest (2023):

https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2023/12/recenzereview-gravehammer-bones-to.html

https://gravehammer.bandcamp.com/album/bones-to-harvest

https://www.facebook.com/Gravehammer/

https://rottingmisery.bigcartel.com/

https://kellerasselrecords.bandcamp.com/

http://fucking-kill-records.blogspot.com/

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Rozhovor - GRAVEHAMMER - Syrové, temné, divoké black death metalové rouhání, které není z našeho světa! Kult smrti!

Rozhovor s death black doom metalovou skupinou z Německa - GRAVEHAMMER.

Odpovídali J.S., Arillus, T.W. , M.B.,The Field Alchemist, děkujeme!

Recenze/review - GRAVEHAMMER - Bones to Harvest (2023):

https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2023/12/recenzereview-gravehammer-bones-to.html

Ave GRAVEHAMMER! Zdravím do undergroundu. Doufám, že je u vás vše v pořádku. Mělo by, máte na kontě skvělé debutové album. Musím se přiznat, že mě doslova přikovalo na zeď. Je temné, energické, řeže ostrou hranou nože. Je hodně slyšet, že jste odvedli skvělou práci a taky velká porce talentu. Jak vnímáš novou desku v souvislosti s vaší předchozím EP? Kam jak jste se chtěli posunout a v čem jsou podle tebe nahrávky odlišné?

J.S.: Zdravíme Deadly Storm Zine a děkujeme za milá slova. Naším cílem bylo zachytit energii, kterou jako kapela čerpáme při hraní death metalu. "Bones to harvest" by se dalo považovat za další krok ve vývoji kapely. Napsat album, a ne jen demo nebo EP, pro nás byla nová zkušenost. Je to náročnější, protože máte větší množství práce, protože je třeba napsat a nazkoušet více materiálu. Naším cílem bylo přijít s přesvědčivou skladbou. Deska zatím získala několik pozitivních ohlasů, za což jsme velmi rádi a vděční.

„Bones to Harvest“ v sobě obsahuje všechny atributy dobrého death/black a doom metalu. Pro mě osobně se jedná o desku, ke které se hrozně rád vracím. Jakým způsobem vznikala? Jak skládají nový materiál GRAVEHAMMER?

Arillus: Páni, to je potěšující komentář! Naše hudba není nikdy konstrukcí v hlavě, ale něčím, co se vyvíjí naživo během zkoušení. Myslím, že to je jedna z našich základních vlastností. Žádné přehnané přemýšlení, ale děláme to, co cítíme, že je správné, právě v tu chvíli. Dále mezi první tvorbou a natáčením fragmentů písně není žádná mezera. Jsme tak schopni zachovat původní pocit z písně a držet se ho, když později odlétáme do studia. Kromě toho nás stačí posadit do naší zkušebny. Po pár pivech a průměrném pracovním dni vznikne "Bones to harvest".

Kdo je podepsán pod zvukem a mixem? Musím potvrdit, že doslova zabíjí. Pořád mě to nutí na hi-fi věži přidávat volume. Máte zvuk, který je krutý, surový a zároveň temný a živočišný. Jak jste jej docílili? V jakém studiu jste nahrávali a jak vše probíhalo?

Arillus: U předchozích desek jsem měl na starosti nahrávání, mixáž/mastering a všechny technické věci. Hlavně na posledním E.P. jsme se naučili dosáhnout opravdu syrového a energického zvuku, protože jsme nástroje nahrávali živě v naší zkušebně. Nyní jsme se s novou deskou rozhodli oddělit nahrávací proces a také zodpovědnost za produkci. Nahrávali jsme ve zkušebně mé druhé kapely (Nosturaack), která má sice k dokonalosti daleko, ale je tak nějak optimalizovaná k tomu, aby dělala pořádný randál ;). Takže na nás netlačil nikdo jiný než my sami. Dali jsme si na práci čas, který jsme potřebovali, a užívali si důvěrně známou atmosféru. Pak jsme materiál předali Alexovi z Holodeckstudia. Ten má pro tenhle druh hudby opravdu ten správný cit, sdílí naši vizi zvuku a zrealizoval ji.

Nedílnou součástí a jakýmsi bonusem navíc je pro fanoušky dnes CD. Vy jste jej vydali u Rotting Misery Records a je opatřeno „morbidním“ obalem. Kdo je jeho autorem? Jak jste motiv vybírali a jak souvisí s hudbou na novince?

T.W.: Fyzické vydání je důležitým milníkem. Vzhledem k tomu, že se příliš nevěnujeme streamování a digitálním platformám, je to pro nás víc než jen bonus. Jsme rádi, že jsme našli labely, které nás podporují. Rotting Misery skutečně vydali CD jako pěkný digipak. O kazetovou verzi se postarali Kellerassel Records a Fucking Kill! Records se postarali o vinylovou verzi.

Obal vytvořil The Field Alchemist (https://www.instagram.com/thefieldalchemist/). Je to moje žena, takže se jí můžeme zeptat.

The Field Alchemist: Děkuji, že jste mi dovolili se zapojit! Dávám přednost tradičnímu umění před digitálním - rezavá tuha a inkoust na za studena lisovaném papíře mi připadají živější, syrovější a expresivnější než jakákoli digitální kresba, včetně všech nedokonalostí. Návrh obalu jsem nakreslila ručně, inspirována textem a leitmotivem alba - všepohlcující tyran zabitý tuctem zbraní, který nevrhá krev, ale rezavé řetězy a nespočet mrtvol včetně dýky symbolizující rituální vraždu. Chtěla jsem něco surového, hrdelního a prohnilého, protože mám pocit, že to odpovídá atmosféře Gravehammeru. Některé další ilustrace v rámci designu CD jsem vytvořil ataké já a jejich přínos mě potěšil.

MB: Grafická úprava skutečně dokonale vystihla podstatu textů. Společným tématem všech textů na albu je způsob, jakým se k sobě lidé chovají. Hlavní důraz spočívá v brutalitě a ponížení, které se vždy vyskytovaly a vždy budou vyskytovat, když zasáhne konflikt, chamtivost a touha po moci. Tentokrát jsem se hodně inspiroval římským starověkem, který je plný krve, násilí, gore - všeho, co je potřeba pro dobré deathmetalové texty.

Toulám se podsvětím již přes třicet let a do Německa si chodím pro muziku vlastně na jistotu. Myslím, že máme podobnou náturu i vkus, co se týká metalu. Mám vaše kapely hodně rád a pečlivě sleduji vaši scénu. Možná vám i trošku závidím, my máme u nás jen pár death/black doom metalových smeček, které stojí za to. Čím si to vysvětluješ, že zrovna u vás se undergroundovému metalu tolik daří? Jak vnímáš vaši scénu, fanoušky, labely?

J.S: Německo mělo silnou scénu od samého počátku na začátku osmdesátých let. Myslím, že máme štěstí i díky své poloze přímo ve středu Evropy. Proto je mnoho turné vedeno přes tuto zemi, když se jede ze západu na východ nebo naopak. Z obchodního hlediska je německý trh stále velmi důležitý, co se týče prodeje desek. Vydavatelství proto dbají na to, aby jejich vydání byla v Německu dostupná.

V dnešní době je však pro mnoho míst a promotérů obtížné přežít. Na jedné straně rostoucí náklady na turné a produkci, na druhé straně méně peněz mezi fanoušky na vstupenky. Doufám, že většina vyznavačů metalu se s touto situací vyrovná a přežije tyto těžké časy. "Nic neberte jako samozřejmost", jak se říká.

Hrajete doom death/black metal ovlivněný starou školou. Dnes se vlastně kapela nemůže vyhnout srovnání, mě by ale zajímalo, jak vlastně vznikl nápad založit GRAVEHAMMER, kdo byl a je vaším vzorem a kam vaši kapelu chcete posunout? Lákají vás třeba velké zahraniční festivaly, jste ochotni vyrazit na turné s nějakou slavnější smečkou?

T.W.: Myslím, že původní myšlenka byla hrát old school death metal v duchu kapel jako Nihilist, Grave, starý Tiamat a Winter, aniž bychom měli propracovaný koncept nebo dlouhodobou strategii kapely. Byli jsme (a stále jsme) velmi zaujatí tímto archaickým zvukem a všimli jsme si, že v našem okolí nejsou žádné kapely, které by tento druh hudby hrály. Ukázalo se však, že jsme vlastně nevěděli, jak toho dosáhnout. Měli jsme určitá technická omezení a byli jsme zaujatí svým individuálním zázemím. Naše první demo má pravděpodobně blíž k Hellhammer než k death metalu devadesátých let. Přesto jsme si všimli, že je v něm potenciál určité primitivní energie, kterou si spojuji s prvními vlnami extrémního metalu.

Proto jsme se vzdali myšlenky být čistě deathmetalovou kapelou a více jsme se zaměřili na hledání vlastní identity. I když se stále primárně označujeme za deathmetalovou kapelu, v našem současném zvuku je hodně doom metalu, black metalu a war metalu. Tím, že naši hudbu neomezujeme na konkrétní žánr, jsme se možná ještě více přiblížili podstatě počátků extrémního metalu - době, kdy bylo důležitější hrát energickou hudbu než hledat ty správné marketingové značky. Podívejte se - opět - na Hellhammer nebo rané Sodom, Morbid, Master's Hammer, Bathory, Sarcófago a podobně. I když znějí velmi odlišně, všichni mají neuvěřitelnou, primitivní energii plus temnou, morbidní auru. Přesto je v chaosu, který pojali, určitá lehkost. Dnes nedokážu jmenovat jednu konkrétní kapelu, která nás nejvíce ovlivnila, ale určitě nás inspirují ty základní aspekty prvních vln extrémního metalu.

Pokud jde o druhou část otázky, nemáme žádný dlouhodobý cíl. Myslím, že se budeme snažit najít dobrou rovnováhu mezi živým hraním a prací na novém materiálu. Určitě existují pódia, na která bychom se rádi dostali, ale přesto mám pocit, že menší, stinná místa našemu stylu hudby sedí lépe. Nemyslím si, že naše hudba je stvořená pro velká pódia, a to je naprosto v pořádku. Hrát před deseti maniaky v hnijící garáži může být pecka. Samozřejmě by bylo taky super sdílet pódium s nějakou větší kapelou, kterou máme všichni rádi, ale není to náš největší sen a rozhodně bychom neplatili za to, abychom dostali slot jako support. Ano, to se stává a nemá to nic společného s metalem.

Když jsem před sedmi lety zakládal svoje stránky, měl jsem vizi, že se budu snažit podporovat kapely, které podle mě nejsou tolik na očích. Dát o nich vědět světu. Myslím, že se mi to celkem daří, alespoň podle ohlasů. Jak přistupujete k propagaci vy? Necháváte to na labelu nebo sami posíláte CD různě na recenze? Já si třeba alba, která mě opravdu baví, kupuji. Jak jste na tom vy? Jste také fanoušci, co rádi a často podporují své kolegy? Chodíte na koncerty? Paříte?

J.S: Většina z nás navštěvuje koncerty pravidelně. Když se nám kapela líbí, zajdeme i na merch, protože máme rádi fyzické vydání. A samozřejmě i trička (kdo ne?).

Propagační práce Gravehammeru se skládá z několika složek. Naše vydavatelství se starají o propagaci svých desek. Kromě toho děláme propagaci i sami, a to pomocí sociálních médií a rozjížděním propagace ústně. Důležitou součástí je také účast na koncertech a oslovování dalších fanoušků.

Na jednou stranu má dnes začínající kapela spoustu možností, jak o sobě dát vědět, ale zase na druhou stranu, skupin je obrovské množství a fanoušci se v nich ztrácejí. Hodně lidí jen stahuje mp3 z internetu a místo koncertu raději plive jedovaté sliny na facebooku. Jak vás, jako GRAVEHAMMER ovlivňují moderní technologie? Co si myslíš o stahování muziky, google metalistech, streamování muziky apod.?

MB: Vývoj v posledních deseti letech je požehnáním i prokletím. Jelikož se stalo poměrně snadné nahrát si hudbu na vlastní pěst a vydat ji, každý měsíc nebo dokonce týden se objevuje obrovská záplava nových demosnímků - přesto se mezi spoustou braků objevuje i mnoho dobrých. Ale i když my (to se týká jak Gravehammeru, tak Skardusu, kapely, ve které hrajeme společně s J. S.) dáváme svou hudbu na bandcamp, youtube a podobně, pořád vidíme, že si spousta lidí kupuje naše věci - jak na internetu, tak na našich koncertech. Přesto si myslím, že se doba pozornosti lidí, kteří poslouchají hudbu výhradně prostřednictvím streamingu, drasticky zkrátila, protože tímto způsobem lze hudbu konzumovat všude a pořád. Pro mnoho lidí se tak hudba stala pouhým šumem na pozadí, který je třeba co nejrychleji vyměnit a přeskočit. To samozřejmě vede k problému, že kompletní alba nebo dema nejsou doceněna tak, jak by měla. Ale na druhou stranu mám pocit, že lidé, kteří spíše žijí a podporují underground, si stále kupují alba a merchandise kapel, aby je podpořili (a také podporují kapely na zmíněných stránkách, jako je facebook atd.), a tím takříkajíc udržují plamen.

S oblibou se ptám muzikantů na to, co pro ně znamená death/black doom metal. Jak by jej definovali, jestli je pro ně spíše filozofií a životním stylem nebo „jen“ relaxem. Co znamená pro tebe? Jak jej vnímáš a prožíváš?

J.S: Životní styl je silné slovo. Na druhou stranu metal obecně zabírá většinu mého volného času. Patří sem zkoušení s mými dvěma kapelami (tou druhou je Skardus), návštěvy koncertů a poslech desek.

Protože tato odpověď není příliš vzrušující, možná bych tvou otázku trochu přeformuloval na "Co máš na death metalu nejraději?". Osobně mám rád kapely, které zachycují zlověstnou atmosféru a nehrají jen "kamarádský death metal". Desky, které ve mně vyvolávají podobný pocit jako při návštěvě starých kostelů a sklepení nebo při pohledu na středověké dřevořezby. Teitanblood, Possession, Necros Christos, Beherit, Goat Molestör... chápete.

Na závěr klasická, ale důležitá otázka. Co chystají GRAVEHAMMER v nejbližších měsících? Kde vás můžeme vidět na koncertě a co nějaké turné po Evropě?

T.W.: Ano, máme rozjednané nějaké koncerty, většinou v Německu. V březnu vyrazíme na cestu s našimi přáteli Hallucinate a zahrajeme v Mülheimu (22.3.) a Göttingenu (23.3.). Mrkněte na ně, loni vydali svůj debut, neuvěřitelně atmosférické a přitom oldschoolové deathmetalové album. V dubnu zahrajeme v Lübecku (27.4.) uvnitř podivné lodi.

Nejzajímavější pro vás a vaše čtenáře a určitě jedním z vrcholů pro nás bude festival "United in Brutality". V sobotu (21.9.) vyrazíme na jejich pódium v Jablonci nad Nisou v České republice. Všechna další oznámení najdete na naší facebookové stránce: https://www.facebook.com/Gravehammer.

V současné době dáváme přednost víkendovkám o 2-3 termínech, protože jsou jednodušší na organizaci. Ale kdo ví.

Děkuji moc za rozhovor. Přeji nejen nové desce spoustu úspěchů a ať se co nejvíc rozšíří řady vašich fanoušků. Budu se těšit někde naživo a ať se vám daří jak po hudební stránce, tak i v osobní rovině. Jdu si „Bones to Harvest“ zase narvat do hlavy!

J.S.: Děkujeme za uvedení Gravehammer ve vašem zinu a také za milá slova! Doufáme, že se s mnohými z vás uvidíme, až budeme v září hrát na "United in Brutality".

Recenze/review - GRAVEHAMMER - Bones to Harvest (2023):

https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2023/12/recenzereview-gravehammer-bones-to.html

https://gravehammer.bandcamp.com/album/bones-to-harvest

https://www.facebook.com/Gravehammer/

https://rottingmisery.bigcartel.com/

https://kellerasselrecords.bandcamp.com/

http://fucking-kill-records.blogspot.com/

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