Ian Greg (Torch)

 Interview with Ian Greg (Torch)

(picture by Mats Vassfjord)

Hello Ian, hope you are doing fine and very welcome to small blog. Let’s start with your latest news: Torch played release party on the 9th and 10th of October in Sweden (I couldn’t join live stream unfortunately on Friday evening because of my weak internet connection...)  How did you satisfied with the shows? 

- Thank you! We’re very happy with the shows! Because of Covid-19 the maximum audience you can have in Sweden right now is 50 people. We thought it would feel strange, but the audience was wild so it felt like hundreds of people. It was great to play some of the new tracks live. We all had a great time.

I just listened to three tracks from your new album so far, namely “Collateral Damage”, “Cradle to the Grave” and “To the Devil His Due”. I must say all of them are excellent Heavy Metal hymns. Would you be so kind to share with the readers all the important information about “Reignited”? (song and lyric-writing process and recording). Do you have any plans to make a new video-clip by the way?

- Thanks! As you probably now we’ve been working on this album for quite a while. The process we use is that someone comes up with the “skeleton” to the song (riffs, chorus etc.). In the case of 'Reignited' I came up with most of the songs and Steve contributed two great songs. You then bring your idea to the band, and if they like it they start adding their bits. That’s what makes the Torch sound. Then Dan Dark adds a vocal melody, and I write the lyrics. There’s typically not a specific theme to our lyrics, they vary from our love of Heavy Metal ('Feed The Flame') to more serious subjects like what we’re doing to our planet ('To The Devil His Due'). We then recorded “old school”-style (amps and microphones, no plugs and loops). Once the recording was done we sent it over to Jacob Hansen who added his magic. We are planning to record a couple of videos. Stay tuned!

Brilliant cover artwork of “Reignited” was created by Thomas Holm (who made awesome works for Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Denner/Shermann, Nifelheim  just mentioning a few), which absolutely fits to the music of Torch. How did you meet him?

- We were determined that we wanted a real painting for the cover, it’s much more interesting than something digitally created. We started looking at covers we liked and all agreed that “Don’t Break The Oath” by Mercyful Fate was a great cover. We contacted Thomas Holm and he was happy to work with us. We’re very happy with how the album cover turned out! 

I’ve ‘met’ with notable Torch-music first time around in the end of 80s/early 90s, a good friend of mine gave me on a copy-tape of your debut album, what is still one of my favourite Heavy Metal releases from Sweden. How do you describe Swedish Heavy Metal-scene of 80s? 

- It was interesting times. In the beginning of the 80s, no record label wanted a Heavy Metal Band. Then when NWOBHM came along they got interested. They got really interested when Europe started having success, and all of a sudden everyone wanted Heavy Metal bands. Europe really opened a lot of doors. They made a lot of people realize that a hard rock from Sweden could make it, and not only British or American bands.

Which musicians/bands inspired you in the beginning?

- We were all big fans of bands like Judas Priest, Accept, early Iron Maiden, Saxon and Ozzy. But we also liked bands that were more Hard Rock than Metal – Riot was one of our favorite bands. Personally, I’ve always been a big Aerosmith fan as well.   

What show/tour was your most successful back in the day?

- Some of the highlights were to open up for Motörhead and to play the legendary Paradiso in Amsterdam.

When Torch was inactive, did you play in any bands?

- When Torch fell apart, I was totally fed up with the music business. I actually didn’t touch the bass for ten years. But I always felt something was missing. When I started thinking about reuniting Torch, I joined a couple of cover bands just to get the rust out of my system.

I know, it is a bit hard question but name us your 10 favourite albums/bands.

- Jeez! That’s tough! Without any ranking I would say that my favorite albums are:

Judas Priest – Unleashed In The East

Accept – Breaker

Rush – All The Worlds A Stage

UFO – Strangers In The Night

Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance

Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard Of Ozz

Riot – Fire Down Under

Aerosmith – Rocks

Accept – Restless And Live

Thin Lizzy – Live And Dangerous

It feels like I’ve forgotten a lot of great albums…..

What is your opinion about Central/Eastern European Heavy Metal scene?

- I don’t know too much about bands from Central/Eastern, but there seems to be a lot of Heavy Metal fans over there. We’d be more than happy to come and play if we’d get invited. 

Do you have any special hobbies? What are your favourite writers/books?

- I guess my hobbies are pretty basic. Music is a large part of my life, so when I don’t play I love going to concerts and listening to music. I also enjoy travelling and good food and drinks. I read a lot, so it’s hard to pick a favorite writer. I tend to like books with psychos for some strange reason so I really like books like American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and The Silence Of The Lambs by Thomas Harris. 

If I’m not mistaken you are from Eskilstuna. Would you be so kind to recommend me some interesting places and local foods/drinks to taste?

- He, He! Yes, I’m from Eskilstuna, but I’ve been living in Stockholm since 1987. Eskilstuna is an industrial town (we call it the Birmingham of Sweden), so don’t expect too many fancy restaurants. That said, there’s a lot of good junk food places and many places where you can find a decent priced beer. A friend of ours runs a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal club called Vainot in Eskilstuna. It’s a small but cool place. That’s where we usually end up when we’re out partying in Eskilstuna.

Tack så mycket/Thank you very much Ian, I’m so honoured, wish you and Torch all the best! Send please your message in the end of the interview.

- Your welcome! It’s been a pleasure. I’ll send your regards to the rest of the band!

Feed The Flame! /Ian Greg 

(picture by Mats Vassfjord)

Important links:

facebook.com/torchrocknroll/

youtube.com/channel/UC3EA9Zzd7E2GgHVHkqrXuUg

Johnson Wang (ex-RISE)

 Interview with Johnson Wang 

(ex-RISE)

Hail brother Johnson, I’m so thankful to ask you here, in my own hell. I hope you are doing fine and let’s start from the beginnings: how and when did you get introduced to underground music? What was your very first metal stuff? (vinyl, cassette) Which band did you see live for the very first time?

- Hails, brother! My first introduction to metal music, or what I perceived the term “metal” stuff was when I was about 10 years old when a classmate of mine showed me MÖTLEY CRṺE’s Dr. Feelgood, and I thought the first riffs for the title track were so heavy! (haha) 

Like most natural progression for metal fans, I found my way to METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER, SEPULTURA, and was drawn to the memorable riffs, the speed, the drumming, and the artwork of their albums. Like a curious nerd, I loved reading the thanks lists and looked at the shirts the bands were wearing and proceeded to check out those bands.  Another classmate of mine brought CANNIBAL CORPSE’s Butchered at Birth CD to school one day and I was blown away by the cover obviously, but when I listened to it, I was shocked that music could sound like that.  Not too long after, I found some used CDs at a local shop and remember picking up NAPALM DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, CARCASS, and ENTOMBED albums simply because the artwork and the names were so repulsive and cool.  Back then there was no YouTube to preview anything, and I blindly purchased them with my allowance money, but luckily all those albums are classics!

I was a little bit late going to live shows as I was a teenager, didn’t have transportation, and didn’t know others in my area who listened to metal, but the first live show I attended was METALLICA in 1994 – and they did not disappoint. 

When did you start to play the keyboards? Who inspired you back in the day? Do you play the other musical instrument beside the keyboards?

- I think most Asian parents, especially Chinese parents have their children play piano, violin, or both.  I assume that the parents want their kids to learn piano to expand their brain and mindset, and not so much as to have their kids actually enjoy the music they’re playing.  Naturally, I was taught classical music and the more I learned, the more I began to enjoy it.  I would say that Mozart and Chopin are my favorites to play and listen to, but I also enjoy Beethoven and Liszt. Those classical geniuses would be the biggest influences in my playing. I do like to “play” the guitar and drums, but I can’t say I am very good at either! (haha)

How did you join RISE? Before RISE did you play in any other horde(s)?

- A few years before joining RISE, I formed a grind band in High School with my friend called HYALOPHAGIA.  I use the term “band” very loosely as it was just the two of us, and we were terrible.  I played the guitars, bass, and we both recorded some vocals.  I manually played “drums” using the drum sounds on an old keyboard I had, and we recorded a four song demo (the entire demo playing time was around 4 minutes) on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder.  The final result was definitely laughable and primitive, but we had a lot of fun and it was a cool outlet for us as teenagers.

Around the time RISE just recorded Slaves of Illusion, original drummer, Rob Alaniz showed me some of the songs and mentioned that the band was looking for a darker sound and possibly incorporating some keyboards into the band.  Since the band didn’t have any keyboards in any of the songs, I came up with some parts in which I felt would possibly fit with the songs.  I believe some of the tracks I played when auditioning for the band were “Weakness Spread by Fear” “The Bitter End” and the title track.  I remember playing a lot of wrong notes, but tried to capture the feel of the songs with some keyboard elements added to them.  They had me come on board and the first show I played with the band I only played about 3 songs from the entire set, as I wasn’t familiar with many of the other songs yet!

What are your favourite RISE-tracks and why?

- For the RISE albums that I did not play on, I have a few that I enjoy a lot. From the demo, I like the title track, “Life Into Ever Black” as it has a total old-school death metal feel and a really catchy main riff and hook.  I love István’s vocals as well! Shadow of Ruins had a lot of amazing lead trade-offs from Albert Gonzalez and Rik Hansen, and I really like “The Vicious Icon” and the title track – both tracks showing the diversity of the band as “Vicious” is a faster no-nonsense track, and the title track with that catchy main riff, mid-paced start, and of course amazing lead work.  As far as Slaves of Illusion is concerned, I thought this album was a great transition into the “newer” sound the band was looking for, fusing the old-school death metal sound with some great musicianship.  My favorites from Slaves are the title track (total amazing BOLT THROWER feel), “Weakness Spread by Fear” and “The Bitter End”.

Divine Aeternum has a special place in my heart not because it was my first performance with a professional band, but because of the entire experience of recording in Hungary. Meeting all the amazing people during that time, and the overall “sound” of the album was unique and can’t be replicated.  To this day, “Resurrection” “Deceiver” and “Hadak Ura” are my absolute favorite RISE tracks of all time.  “Resurrection” just starts with that buildup and the melodies in that track are so catchy.  What can be said about “Deceiver” as listening to it still gives me goosebumps.  What a simple, yet effective beginning that Rik wrote for the beginning keyboard part, and the stop-start section was so fun to play live.  Of course “Hadak Ura” had those epic moments, especially the breakdown towards the end with Rik’s solo, the keyboard solo, and then the monumental solo from István.  I never get tired of Jaime’s parts throughout the album as well, especially on “Release”.

I would say that “Anthem of Darkness” “Martyrdom - Forever Dead” and “Opus Requiem” are my favorites from Pentagramnation.  I think “Anthem” is a great opening track, and of course James Murphy’s (ex-DEATH, ex-OBITUARY, etc.) solo on it was icing on the cake.  I enjoyed “Forever Dead” quite a bit live because it was one of the faster punchy, to-the-point songs on that album. I loved to headbang to that one! Last, but not least, “Opus Requiem” is one of my favorites because this song has it all, blast beats, sweet riffs, Angela Gossow’s (ex-ARCH ENEMY) vocal trade-offs, another instance of James Murphy’s guitar wizardry, and Istvan’s memorable solo that leads into the final solo at the end by the great Dave Suzuki (CHURCHBURN, ex-VITAL REMAINS) - just so epic and moving!

Which was, in your opinion the most successful show/tour with RISE?

- I have to say that during the time I was in RISE, the two most successful shows that come to mind are the festival shows we were a part of: 1) November to Dismember (2000) and 2) Milwaukee Metalfest XV (2001). 

For November to Dismember, the band had such a great response as we blasted through our songs in the 20 minutes or so that we had.  A lot of the crowd was probably more familiar with the band as the venue was not too far from the general Los Angeles area.  Milwaukee on the other hand, was far from our home base, and was another amazing experience as I know we made new fans that day – I remember we received a lot of positive feedback from people all over the U.S. who were able to catch our set there.

My absolute personal favorite shows I enjoyed playing were: 1) DISSECTION (2005) in Tijuana, Mexico and 2) headlining show in István’s hometown of Győr in Hungary.  

The DISSECTION show was full of crazed metalheads in Mexico, but I know a lot of people from Los Angeles, San Diego, and even further came down to see the show.  I just remember the show being in a tiny club, with lots of cheap beer flowing everywhere. DISSECTION played a flawless set ranging from the first two albums, and the Maha Kali EP just came out and of course I picked that up at the show. 

That headlining show in Győr was absolutely insane. A lot of István’s friends were there and were extremely excited to watch us.  Hordes were headbanging maniacally, even to the Divine songs – which we were still recording the album during that same time, so no one knew the songs but they got a taste of it!

It was truly an amazing experience, and to top it all off, Attila Csihar (MAYHEM) came on stage to sing “Weakness Spread by Fear” – it was haunting and hilarious at the same time as he was just singing whatever he wanted and we just went with it.  I also really enjoyed watching TESTIMONY open for us, and love all their stuff – Inhale the Sadness still gets lots of play from me!

You composed and performed “Gates of Bloodshed” intro in excellent Sinister album called “The Carnage Ending” (2012). What should we know about that hellish alliance? Did you compose other intros to another band as well?

- As some may or may not know, Bart from SINISTER wore a RISE shirt on the CD sleeve of their Hate album.  This was actually the first time I heard of RISE, when I bought the SINISTER album and saw that picture.

Aad from SINISTER wrote to the band asking for some RISE stuff as it was hard to find in Netherlands, and we kept in touch.  Before the band went in to record The Carnage Ending, he asked me if I wanted to compose and perform an intro for the album and of course I agreed, as I have been a huge SINISTER fan, my favorite being Cross the Styx!  I’d also like to thank Rik Hansen for assisting me with recording the intro.

I have not composed any other intros for other bands, but a few have inquired about my interest.  If there are bands interested in an intro, let me know.

Perhaps you know that Archangel’s Lantern is dedicated, among others to the memory of Jon Andreas Nödtveidt (R.I.C.) Would you be so kind to share your memories about Him? What are your favourite ones from His heritage?

- As I mentioned earlier, the show we opened for DISSECTION in Mexico was absolutely phenomenal.  The performance of DISSECTION was top-notch, with immense energy.  It’s none of my business, nor did I care about Jon’s personal life or his beliefs, but I was able to chat with him for a few minutes and he was extremely gracious about everything.  DISSECTION is definitely one of my favorite bands, and I still remember when I received Storm of the Light’s Bane from the Nuclear Blast mail order catalog and I was so excited to put it in my CD player right away.  

Do you play the keyboards nowadays? What are your eternal preferred keyboardists?

- I have not played much these days as most of my time is spent running around after my kids, but I do expose them to music all the time.  My favorite classical composers I mentioned already, but a pianist I really enjoy (especially the older stuff) is the great Tori Amos!

What are your current favourite bands and albums nowadays?

- I don’t want to sound outdated or boring, but I pretty much listen to the same bands and albums that I have been listening to since the 90’s.  I do like some of the newer bands, but to me, they’re just rehashing old riffs from the classic death metal bands, so I’ll just stick to the original.  I would say these albums get eternal listens and are my “go-to” albums whenever I want to hear some great music (in no particular order):

·        DISSECTION – Storm of the Light’s Bane/The Somberlain

·        AT THE GATES – Slaughter of the Soul

·        CARCASS – Necroticism/Heartwork

·        DEATH – Human

·        SUFFOCATION – Pierced From Within

·        MORBID ANGEL - Covenant

·        IMMOLATION –Here In After

Do you have any special hobbies? Which books/movies you’ve read/watched last time?

- I lead a pretty simple life these days, listening to music, buying more music, playing video games, spending time with the kids.  The books I read are all music related, and lately I’ve been reading Dave Mustaine’s Rust in Peace book; it’s my favorite MEGADETH album, so naturally I want to know all the crazy stories surrounding the band during that era. As far as movies, the answer is same as music; my favorites are still the classics that I enjoyed years ago such as Goodfellas, Se7en, Casino, Full Metal Jacket, etc.

I have been watching quite a bit of live shows from bands, as this has been especially true during these strange times of COVID-19.  A few of my favorite live DVDs that I re-watch often are DISSECTION – Rebirth of Dissection, EMPEROR - Live Inferno, DEATH – Live in L.A., OPETH – Lamentations, and a few more.

Thank you very much brother, wish you all the best! Send your message to the readers please…

- Just want to send eternal thanks to everyone who enjoyed RISE’s music and performances; hopefully István will record some stuff sooner than later, as I know he has tons of amazing music written!  Hails to the Hungarian horde, as I hope to be back there again one day!  Many thanks to you Georgius, for this interview!

facebook.com/RiseDeathMetal/

·  

 

Sebastian Ramstedt (Necrophobic)

 Interview with Sebastian Ramstedt (Necrophobic)

Hail Sebastian, you are very welcome to our small Inferno, Archangel’s Lantern! Our congratulations to you for the awesome new video called “Mirror Black” and we can’t wait to listen to whole newest album “Dawn of the Damned” soon. Would you be so kind to share some important info about this video and new album? (songwriting process of Necrophobic, recording/mixing with Fredrik Folkare and awesome cover art by Necrolord)

Sebastian: The video for "Mirror Black" was shot on two locations as we wanted a bright and a dark side. The lyrics are about going through the portal into the underworld. It is about the opening of the mirror. Magnus Götlund who has directed both "Blinded by Light", "Enlightened by Darkness" and "Revelation 666" shot this video. I wrote most of the songs and lyrics on this album myself. It is a very personal album, almost a Phoenix rising like story line. All of this came from year of depression and my own experiences of intense work with dark magic. Fredrik Folkare produced the album. He has done all our albums since Hrimthursum and is as important for Necrophobic as the other members. Necrolord did our cover once again. It is the last part in a trilogy starting with "Darkside" then "Mark of the Necrogram" and finally inside of the cathedral with this new album.  

Necrophobic gave to their fans Worldwide an excellent Live Stream Event from the Harry B James Club in Stockholm 21th of March this year. (with my closest friends we enjoyed a lot) How did you remember that unusual live set?

Sebastian: We had high hopes for this. Unfortunately the hard drive connected to the cameras crashed just minutes before the show. It was a great experience anyway. Unfortunately it is hard to organize things like this as people in the crew gets sick and it is hard to find new people. I am glad most people liked it anyway. Four of the songs are on the extra disc of the media book edition of our new album. The sound was captured in high quality and we decided to put that out as a bonus feature for the fans. 

“Slow Asphyxiation” demo has its 30th Anniversary this year and “Unholy Prophecies” will have same next year. Are you going to do something special, as re-mastering, special edition box, new T-shirts?

Sebastian: No, I don’t think we have time for that. We talked about doing a t-shirt but Joakim hates the cover. I think it is cult. 

How and when did you join extreme metal music-scene and decide to play the guitar? Where did you buy metal albums from? What bands/guitarists inspired you to be a musician?

Sebastian: I have been listening to Metal since 1983. I always liked the fast songs. I loved Accept and fast as a shark. From that I found bands like Kreator, Metallica, Destruction and so on. Then came Death Metal. I was in it for the first years but lost interest in the early 90’s. Soon after that I drifted more and more into Black Metal which I find much more interesting since it does not only build on brutality. I like the different atmosphere and use of eerie melodies that most Death Metal lacks. When I was young there were a lot of record stores in Stockholm. The best one was called Heavy Sound and they had all the obscure stuff. I could be in that store for hours deciding what to get. 

Tell us more about your first hordes Exhumed/ Morpheus and your Death/Black metal project called Phantasmagoria.  

Sebastian: Exhumed/Morpheus was the first bands I had with Johan Bergebäck. Also in the bands were Janne Björkenfjäll (Rudberg) David Brink and Markus Rüden. It was great times. We played live with At The Gates, Immolation, Massacre, Death and many more in the early 90’s. Phantasmagoria was just a demo I made in the mid 90’s that I never released. It was an experiment to see what I could come up with in a very short time. I think it took me 4 days or so.  

You are with Johan Bergebäck practically always going to play together to different hordes. When and how did you meet him back in the day? Share with the readers your past activity in Black Trip/V.O.J.D and Nifelheim please.

Sebastian: I met him at school. We have been friends since we were 16 and 17 years old. We play very well together. Black Trip/V.O.J.D was a fun project. It lasted for about 5 years. It was based on Heavy Metal and Hard Rock. I learned a lot from playing a different style of music. I think that shows on the albums past and present those years. Nifelheim is probably my favorite Black Metal band of all time. It was an honor to be a part of that for those 12 years. 

With Jon Andreas Nödtveidt (R.I.C.) you shared guitar parts on the “Insulter of Jesus Christ” (Damnation cover).  Are there any memories about that hellish cooperation? What are your favourite bands/tracks from Jon’s heritage? 

Sebastian: I remember that he did not like to improvise. He wanted to write every note exactly before recording it. He was very serious about his guitar playing. It is very hard to choose any favourite track. The first two Dissection albums are my favourites. He was a fantastic songwriter and musician. 

If we are not mistaken, you played first time with Necrophobic on the album “Darkside” as a guest musician in 2 tracks “Spawned be Evil” and “Darkside”. How did you join them back in time? 

Sebastian: I was friends with the guys since the beginning.  When David left the band they started to search for a new guitar player. I was very close with Tobias and I had no own band at the moment. I tried out for Necrophobic in the summer of 1996. But for some reason they wanted to do the album “Darkside” as a three piece. I played two solos and I think David also did two. It was a transition thing.  

You are not only known as a guitarist but you created to different hordes just naming a few as Bajen Death Cult, Blackshine, Mykorrhyza, Unleashed, Tyranex, Firespawn  (and to Necrophobic as well)  artworks, covert arts, logos, designs, layouts. When did you start to deal with that and what is your latest work?

Sebastian: I have always been an illustrator. The last thing I did was the Firespawn logo. I just refined an idea they had so I did not come up with the whole thing. Nowadays I don’t have time anymore to do stuff like that but I sure think it is fun. But the music takes all my time. 

What are your favourite albums from current Swedish scene and your opinion about my old friend Tobias Fongelius’ Voodus?

Sebastian: I love Voodus. And Tobias is a really nice guy. I have known him for ages. I think they probably are the best act around together with Kvaen and Jacob Björnfot, an amazing guitar player from the North of Sweden. The debut album The Funeral Pyre is beyond amazing.

Tack så mycket/Thank you very much Sebastian, our best wishes to you and Necrophobic. Send your thoughts please to complete this interview.

Thank you very much! Hope you enjoy the new album! Hails!!!

Important links :

facebook.com/necrophobic.official/

youtube.com/user/Necrostar

(Questions compiled Andrey (Belarus), Paco (Spain) and Georgius) 

E.I.-M. (Sacrilegious Rite, Lunar Chalice, Gloriam)

 Interview with E.I.-M. 

(Sacrilegious Rite, Lunar Chalice, Gloriam)

Hail brother E.I.-M. you are very welcome to Archangel’s Lantern again! I’m so thankful for the amazing CD-s you sent me this year (Sacrilegious Rite: “De Poetica Tenebris” and Lunar Chalice: “Night Poetry”. How was the reception of these two excellent materials among the fans and underground ‘zines?  

- Thank you very much for the interview again and for your words regarding the two mentioned releases. The reactions were pretty good so far. The potential which had been brought into them, had been noticed, which is important for everyone involved. And for sure we are working on new material for all bands which I’m involved in. 

As far as I know, Sacrilegious Rite had some changes in the line-up. Would you be so kind to present the current members of your band?

- Besides me there is A., my right hand on the second guitar, on drums we’re working now with John Berry who’s also involved in Slaughter Messiah and Nocturnal and on Bass, but only on studio records, there is N., who also performs with me in Lunar Chalice. We have several candidates who play live bass. On tour it’s Alessio Medici from Italy and when it’s about to be local or in our surroundings, there is Aaron Feller, a young but promising talented musician. 

Tell us more about DE POETICA TENEBRIS. (song writing and recording process, lyrics, cover art). 

Does your religious point of view and lyrics of Sacrilegious Rite have a common connection?  

- Totally! Sacrilegious Rite is my tool of expression.... it expresses my view on the world , my inner and spiritual journeys through the realms beyond and my personal look into the abyss. 

The whole music has been composed by me but everyone involved put his own mark on the record. The lyrics for „Et Diabolus Incarnatus est“ were written by me but the lyrics for „Arise from Thy Sleep“ were written by a Bavarian friend of mine. The last song is H.P. Lovecraft related and he is a lot into the matter. It has been very good collaboration here.  

What is the actual situation with Sacrilegious Rite? Do you work with new tracks? How was your tour in 2019? Share some thoughts about it please. Are Sacrilegious Rite playing some covers at rehearsals and live?

- The actual situation is pretty busy at the moment which is good. We’re about to enter the studio soon but our progress gets always ruined by this Covid situation. It’s hard for an international line up to cross borders and to meet each other. But we made a big progress within the last months and we’re ready so far to record two releases. But for sure we have to warm up again as soon as we are able. 

The tour in 2019 was good. Sadly the session drummer we hired was not so much up to the task. The music was not what he’s been used to. But he tried his best. Who’d been on the road with Infernal Execrator was a killer experience. 

Sacrilegious Rite planned to release a compilation tape which will include old demo material as well as the songs of the splits with Ungod and Bestial Holocaust. What is the latest news of this?

- That’s been a while so far as we talked about that. It seems that we’re going to release a compilation which another songs and some which are going to be released in the future. On which format it will be released we don’t know yet. Guess pretty sure on CD maybe on vinyl which I would appreciate I think I can tell you more about that on a year.   

Let’s talk a bit about Lunar Chalice new stuff, namely “Medieval Cults of Heresy”. Tell us all the important information of this awesome EP. What should we know about your lyrics?

- That release went pretty good ha seen spread far.  Not sure it gets the attention it deserves but the underground changed a lot. We all know that. People seem to be less and less interested in physical records. But I may be wrong. It’s very hard nowadays to spread you intellectual and musical creation. But let’s see what will come from it.

The lyrics deal only with medieval heresy as the title already proclaims. It serves the main lyrical concept of Lunar Chalice. 

(dedicated Lunar Chalice: "Night Poetry" by E.I.-M.  -G)

In our private conversations you told me you started an international Black/Death project, namely Gloriam with members of Crimson Moon, Precaria, Ritualization and Sivad. Enlighten the readers about all the news and future plans with this horde.

- We recently finished all recordings for the first EP called “Gateways to the Black Absolute”. We’re just waiting for the artwork to get finished. It will be released on a 7”. 

The original and founding line up was different but it destroyed itself, luckily and granted new members to the final. In that formation we recorded the latest EP and are already working on another release. 

The line up so far is:

The Hermit on guitars, Scorpious Androctonus on bass, Principivm Angvis on vocals, Blastum on drums and me on guitars. Sadly Blastum leaves here because of other duties and a lack of time. But we knew that from the start we’re grateful that he realised that EP with us. He got replaced by Asaf Meiden who played in Mortuus Umbra and also plays today in Deathsiege.  

If I’m not mistaken you are involved in a German black metal band, Corona Mortis, as a vocalist. Do you have any plans to record a new material in the near future?

 

- I would not consider myself a member of Corona Mortis. The guys of Dethroned are good and longtime friends and we did it for "the pleasure". I think actually they are going on with new material. But as I said, I am not really a part of that. Nevertheless it was nice to work with them. 

You are the owner of Morbid King of Devastation Records. When did you start your label and why stopped your activity with it?

- Yeah, tales of the past. I am not really a business man, maybe one reason why I stopped it. I also lack of social competence... so, dealing with other people's bullshit is not of my strength. In fact I get quiet and fast pissed when people annoy me their "important opinions and problems". I don't give a shit and I push "complicated individuals" far from me... with age you get more and more picky and you can't take everyone around you. I started it 2016 and ended it a year or 1,5 later. I worked with Infernal Execrator, Slaughter Messiah and Thornspawn. Interesting experience, no doubt, but I really don't suite for that kind of work. I am a musician, I compose and perform, I don't distribute or do business.

Which kind of books have you read lately?

- Actually I started H.P. Lovecraft stories again. Actually it's "Reanimator" again. I never get tired of Lovecraft. I also read an interesting book about ossuary aesthetics. It's called "Eternal Rest", written by Anna-Katharina Höpflinger and Yves Müller. 

What countries have you visited recently and which interesting places have you seen in 2019?

- In times before Covid I visited a lot of countries, mainly in Eastern Europe. The tour alone brought me there but I also like to travel a lot in private with my wife. We visited Italy in January, Milano and Genova,  for sightseeing and visiting friends. 

Danke Sehr/Thank you very much, brother! Send some thoughts please at the end of the interview.

- I thank you a lot for the interview my longtime, brother. I hope we'll meet one day and have a blonde or two. I really enjoyed the questions, proving the speed it has been answered HaHa. Wish you all the best and I am happy to be a part of ARCHANGEL's LANTERN, once again! Danke sehr!

Important links: 

facebook.com/SacrilgiousRite/

facebook.com/Lunar-Chalice-103072924374033/

facebook.com/GloriamBlackMetal/

Jonas Lindblood

 Interview with Jonas Lindblood (Puteraeon)

Hail Jonas hope you are doing fine and very welcome to Archangel’s Lantern again. Puteraeon released 2 excellent singles last time, namely “The Sleeping Dread” in August and “The Curse” in September. Both tracks are brilliant Swedish old-school Death metal pieces in my opinion as the videos as well. Tell the readers more about these releases and clip-making process. Who created the artwork anyways? 

- Thank you very much! It’s an honour to be back! I’ve done the artwork for the singles, I just wanted something different as artwork for the singles than for the album. Not that I don’t like Juanjo’s cover-art for the album, cause it’s all I wanted and more. It’s just that I wanted the singles to differ. Wrong or right, I don’t know. Both songs are part of the concept album, surrounding  ”The Call of Cthulhu”. I think both songs represent the album good and have  ”lives” of their own. The videos for both songs are done by our guitarist Rune Foss who’s been doing our videos since the first album. 

Puteraeon will unleash its fourth full length on the 13th of November this year. How went the recording process? Did you work in your own studio Hatecraft again? How do you satisfied with the result? (as the singles will be on ‘The Cthulhian Pulse: Call from the Dead City’ what I listened to so far, I must say, Swedish master Dan Swanö made an awesome job again with mixing and mastering)

- This time we took our time really doing our uttermost getting everything the way we wanted it. We learned not to be too optimistic with the timeframe which led to an easygoing recording. We are very happy with the outcome. This album is by far our best effort. As you say, Dan Swanö’s job is priceless. He’s really a master at producing this kind of music. We are very happy with his work and I think it really fits our music very good. It gives the songs that extra dimension. 

The awesome artwork of ‘The Cthulhian Pulse: Call from the Dead City’ has been painted by Spanish artist, Juanjo Castellano. How did you meet him? 

- Yes! It’s outstanding art. I never met him in real life, but we are friends on Facebook and I have been checking out his art for years. He’s done a lot of really cool stuff and he was really honored to do the artwork. I gave him the instructions of what I wanted on the cover and he did that only 100 times better. 

You told me a sorrowful trivia of a Puteraeon-song, “Into the watery grave”…(Rest In Peace your former guitarist, friend, Hans Sörensen (1975-2019). Would you be so kind to share your thoughts about it and some memories about him? (we are so sorry for your loss)

- Hasse was in the band in the early stage before the first album. He had moved away from the city and it was hard to rehearse frequent that’s one of several reasons he left the band. He was one of Daniels (bass) childhood friends and leaving the band did not change anything of that. He was one of those guys who none ever had anything bad to say about, and he never talked bad about anyone. He was a great guy to say the least. The whole band was at the funeral. It was both devastating and weird. The world lost a good guy. Anyway, I knew Hasse was in the hospital while starting to write   ”Into the Watery Grave”. I remember I was working on the middle part of the song when I got word about his passing. That was a hard blow. That is when this song got connected with Hasse. While recording the song I struggled getting it perfect and I said out aloud  ”Come on Hasse let’s do this” and I nailed it. The album is dedicated to the memory of Hasse.

Our latest conversation has happened almost 3 years ago and since then you released a killer EP “The Dunwich Damnation” in April, 2018. Enlighten us about the reception of that Puteraeon-material.

- The reception was good but I think we understood that if we wanted more coverage we had to get a bigger label. So in a way, both ”The Empires of Death” and ”The Dunwich Damnation” have been getting lots of less promotion than our albums have, but at the same time the reception has been all good I would say. 

You’ve made a signing session in blood with Danish Mighty Music - which is a parental label of Emanzipation Productions (where will be released ‘The Cthulhian Pulse: Call from the Dead City’) in the end of August, 2019. How did you remember that event?  

- Well it was not that big of a deal really. We decided that instead of just doing the usual thing we wanted to do something special of it. We signed for Mighty but Michael wanted to resurrect his old label and asked us if we could release it on Emanzipation instead, we said sure. 

You have been invited as a guest vocalist to Rogga Johansson’s Megascavenger: “Boneyard Symphonies album in 2019. In which track(s) did you vocalize?

- I think this was recorded sometime around 2017 and I don’t remember what the name of the track was. It’s always fun to do these things though. I’ve actually had some other offers lately but I had to say no due to lack of time. But I hope I get to do some more of this guest stuff. Always fun. 

Jonas, you are not just a talented musician/songwriter but in my opinion an awesome artist as well. Share with us some information about your artwork you made to Gods Forsaken band’s LP “In a Pitch Black Grave” (2017) and your cover art to Swedish Death metal horde, To Descend EP “People of the Abyss (2018)

- Anders Biazzi wanted me to do some artwork for each song, just my imagination of the song-title. So I just sat down and started drawing stuff that came to mind really. With To Descend it was a bit different. I had already done the logo and Rogga contacted me on a picture I had posted and asked if he could use it. So that one was done before but of course there was no problem and To Descend got that artwork. I still do some drawings but a little less last couple of months. Other things have taken up my time. 

In 2021 will be the tenth anniversary of your first album “The Esoteric Order”. Will there be anything special plan for the celebration that? (Paco, Spain)

- Not really. We are still doing a couple of songs live from that album and I think that ”The Esoteric Order” is our best album apart from our new one. 

There have been several movements in some mythical bands from the Swedish death metal scene through the years. How do you see the scene currently there in your country right now? (Paco)

- I think there are a lot of good bands with potential becoming even better. Not sure in what way styles will turn or anything but let’s wait and see. 

Will the Spanish Death metal fans be lucky enough to be able to receive your visit with Puteraeon next year? (Paco)

- Well we would love that. But right now there are only 5 dates all in all booked and that is for Sweden, Denmark and Germany only. Also this corona shit, We shall see if those happen.

Thank you very much Jonas, we wish you all the best with Puteraeon. Your message to the readers from Chtulhian Pulse…

- Thank you guys so much for once again shedding your lanterns light on our band. Check out the album! Released on Emanzipation on Friday the 13th of November! The singles ”The sleeping dread” and ”The curse” are available right now. 

Important links: 

 facebook.com/PUTERAEON/

 youtube.com/channel/UCE1UNInAgIkj-Bd5vvGBz8w

(Interview questions compiled by Georgius and Paco)