Underground Metal Blog since 2013

2017. december 27., szerda

Cezar Cortezzooouhh

Interview with Cezar Cortezzooouhh
(Resurrecting the Demo[n]s) 


Hail my friend, Cezar of Resurrecting the Demo(n)s, Hellcome to Archangel’s Lantern! When and how did you get introduced to underground music?
- Hi George thanks for the invitation.. I discovered this kind of music thanks to some old friends back in early high school times.

Which were your very first stuff (cassette, vinyl)? Which metal-band did you see live for the first time?

- Maybe it was some Metallica or Manowar but only some recorded tracks on an old tape, but I do remember that someone gave me at that time Black Sabbath – "Master of Reality" and man I tell u I was blown away with that heavy sound.
I saw a bunch of local bands in my home town Tulcea but nothing great. There were some local projects. My first gig that I do remember was more later back in 2001 at a festival called Metalheart in Constanța. I saw a bunch of cool Romanian bands other shitty ones but my big goal that night was to see Negură Bunget [the old formula].

I like so much your excellent group on facebook, called Resurrecting the Demo[n]s, I’m proud to be a member there. When did you start with it?  Would you be so kind as to tell us all the important things about Resurrecting the Demo[n]s?  What is your main goal with this awesome group?  

- Thanks for being a part of Resurrecting the Demo[n]s mate. I made this group at late February 2015. This was mainly a continuation of my old group Worship Demo[n]s that I started some years before. This is about sharing ancient demo tapes photos or links and some new ones. My main goal with this group was to find and discuss with the other contributors about those very obscure bands that were at some point releasing some great demos. Is a good way to find such obscure music for the ones who are true worshippers of the UG scene. Of course there are some shitty demos out there but at least u can find what u want by lurking on this group.

How was the Romanian metal scene, in your opinion, back in the day? What is the current situation with Romanian underground nowadays? Would you be so kind as to recommend a few small underground places and hordes from Romania?

- The Romanian metal scene was never too big and great. Well in the 90’s were some good UG bands of corpse but the majority after releasing 1-2 demos vanish into obscurity. They were not promoted by no one back then. The very few promoters from here just wanted bands that sound little modern and are more easy into get by others. So this was promoted instead of the true UG spirit and for the most bands was a fatal thing regarding the financial issues in our economy back then. I would kindly recommend some good old hordes from here. Ultimatum from Timișoara [very solid Death metal], Necroticism from Resita they made Exces Morbid a self financed album back in '94. With a better production this music was much darker and the vocals were in Romanian. For Black metal I would say about Mercy’s Dirge from Suceava [probably the first band that record like a professional demo tape of this genre "Another Hell" back in '93 and they sounded very bestial in the Blasphemy vein. They are not so well-known even here]. Also I would recommend some old bands from Banat region like Negură Bunget [the emperors of Transylvanian BM] Argus, Vokodlok or Makrothumia [a side project of 2 Negură Bunget guys]. There were some others that were good but they never manage to find a way and release important materials]. I like to mention a new band also by the name of Rotheads. They play very good ancient death. Their demo was killer and their debut CD will be released next month by a Spanish label, so keep on eye on them.

Did you play in a band and write any reviews, make interviews for ’zines ever?

- I was planning to make a band in my high-school times but the lack of interests by others made me to quit rapid, but  were cool times when we meet for practice and finish drinking much beer or vodka haha, fun times. Some years ago used to write some reviews at a local zine but never was my kind of stuff that I liked so I write few bad reviews and quit this after some time. From march 2017 I have a radio show at a local station here Radio rock 89. is an online show once a week but we promote only oldskull extreme metal bands well-known or very UG.


I’m always so fascinated when I see your music posts about underrated/ unknown bands.  Could you please name 5-10 of your favourite underrated bands and their albums?  What are your favourite stuff from well- known bands? Which hordes do you like from Ukraine and Hungary?

- Thanks that u follow my posts with more obscure bands. Here are a few Death metal albums I would recommend for any fan of oldskull sound.

DVC [US] – Descendand Upheaval [1989]
Delirium [Hol] – Zzooouhh [1990]
Funebre [Fin] – Children of the scorn [1991]
Miasma [Aut] – Changes [1992]
DAI [Cze] – The Advent [1993]
Tenebrarum [Mex] – Alta Magia [1994]
Maleficarum [Ita] – Across the Horizon [1995]

For the more classic bands I worship much early materials from Morbid Angel, Immolation, Deicide, Dismember, Burzum, Mystifier, Master’s Hammer, Rotting Christ, Sarcofago, Possessed and of corpse the mighty Slayer. "Hell Awaits" being an absolute favourite and a major influence for many extreme bands that came after.
From Hungary I like much Tormentor for the godly "Anno Domini" release [pure Hungarian blood!!!], some hordes from the '90s like Monastery, Extreme Deformity or early Sear Bliss for releasing good albums. I totally worship that early sound of blasphemy from the demos of Fantom, Detonator or Exhumator they sure deserved more attention by some labels back then.
From Ukraine used to listen more early stuff from Nokturnal Mortum, Castrum, Infected, Innercell, Bleeding and some others but I never was very impressed with this particular scene. I know is a strong NSBM scene in this country but I’m not that interested in things like that.

Unfortunately I’ve never been in Romania but I really hope I can visit it in the near future. Constanța, where are you living, is a pretty old and very nice city. What places are your recommendations to visit in Constanța?

- Well Constanța is an ok city for visiting. Has the largest port from the Black Sea we have the seaside here more for the tourists that come every summer.. It has couple of bars and pubs some ok restaurants for eat and drink. Being is the past centuries under the Ottoman Imperium there is a somehow Turkish feeling here and tradition at least there are some delicious foods but the Turkish customs are not my type anyway.

Which foods, drinks, and tobaccos do you recommend to us from your area?

- As I speak before we have some Turkish style foods like shaorma or kebab if u like fast food. We have good fish of course, those sea foods specialities and as for drinks we have wine I would recommend dry white wine when u eat fish and light meat. Here we do lots of bbq also and especially pork and chicken. U can find many drinks like usual but the beer remains my fave hehe.

Do you have any special hobbies besides music? What are your favourite  books, movies? 

- Besides music I like watching movies I’m a fan of old horrors some comedies also. Like much discover some obscure things about life and the things are going on in this world that are forbidden to mass media and thanks to the internet u can find much of those. I enjoy history also, I like to know more and more things of the old times and not what that we are told in school cause is a big difference I also like gather with friends, make bbq go travelling. I like mountains a lot but unfortunately I not manage to go very often.

Archangel’s Lantern is eternally dedicated to Jon Andreas Nödtveidt. What are your favourite bands/stuff of His heritage?

- Yes Jon had that genius evil spirit from the early 90’s I enjoyed his music on the first 2 Dissection albums and also that album from 94 "The Priest of Satan" with his project The Black. I even like his old band when he was a teenager and played some kind of thrash Rabbit’s Carrot, haha what a funny and innocent name for this kind of stuff.

Mersi/thanks so much, my friend Cezar, it was a pleasure. Unleash please some thought from Resurrecting the Demo(n)s.

- Thanks my friend for thinking doing this interview and sorry for answering not so quick. It was a big pleasure unleashing some unholy thoughts with the readers of your wonderful zine.
NEVER STOP THE MADNESS WITH THE TRUE UG SPIRIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


Important link: facebook.com/rock89radio/














2017. december 4., hétfő

Shelmerdine (Dark Awake)

Interview with Shelmerdine (Dark Awake)


Hail Shelmerdine, welcome to my small, own inferno, Archangel’s Lantern! First of all, tell the readers the history about the beginnings of Dark Awake. Where did you get inspirations and ideas back in time to create your dark ambient band from? How would you define the style of Dark Awake?

- Dark Awake is a martial/neoclassical/neofolk/dark ambient/ritual/post industrial band from Greece and was founded by me (SHELMERDINE VI°)  around 2002 Anno Domini.
Dark Awake is a path for me to express my philosophy, my views and my magical experiences. The music is inspired by occult subjects and has a strong philosophical and alchemical context.
All Instrumentation, Orchestration, Human Bones (Kangling), Apocalyptic Sounds, Production is done by me and the Narrations, Choirs and Vocals by Sekte.
The Music and Image exploring the fields of SYMPHONIC NEOCLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL APOCALYPTIC FOLK MARTIAL DARK AMBIENT RITUAL OLD NOISE POST INDUSTRIAL!
Thematically and musically it's about the topics, like runes, paganism,esoteric occult  and other subjects with neoclassical instruments, ambient soundscapes, human bones instruments,  etc.

When did you start to play the musical instruments? Which musical instruments can you play? Do you have a musical education?

- In the middle of 90's I was start playing and learn alone guitar. I haven't any musical education.
I'm interested now only for the orchestration with neoclassical instruments, ambient soundscapes, human bones instruments, etc. 

After listening to the albums of Dark Awake, I must admit, I enjoyed all of your tracks, as they are well-composed pieces of dark art with a specific occult and an obscure atmosphere. How the process of creating a new composition is look like? Which are your favourite composers?

- I turn the deep thought into music by achieving a situation where the mind is immobile to be able to perceive the subtle vibrations of inspiration.
Some music examples from my music influences are Dead Can Dance, The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud, Throbbing Gristle, Zero Kama and many others..

Dark Awake has a very rich discography since 2008. Would you be so kind to speak about the releases? Which persons were invited as special guests for your materials? Your band worked and works with a lot of different labels. Enlighten us about the circumstances of these collaborations, please.

- We have released (on physical audio formats like vinyls, CD-s, tapes) 6 full length albums, 2 mini albums, 1 vinyl 7'' EP, 1 split album (with HYPERBOREI) and we have participated in some compilations with other bands.
We  take into account when choosing a label the reciprocal curiosity and esteem, the chance to improve, same goals.
In our last album “Atropos Of Eudaimonia”  we had 2 guests, one was Giordano Bruno (Prince of Agony) from the Italian cult black metal band EVOL who has taken the artwork pictures for the CD and the other was Richard Weeks (from Carnivorous Forest) who has added male vocals on the  “Kneel To The Cross” (song cover by Sol Invictus).


Now let’s talk about the lyrical conception of Dark Awake. What should we know about your lyrical themes? Who writes the lyrics in the band? How many different languages and titles you used yet in your materials?

- The tracks that we used lyrics is not too many. In general our thematology is taken by subjects as Ahrimanic Persian Sorcery, Anachronism, Art, Baroque, Goetia, Dandysm, Elitism, Enochian, Erotism, Fantasy, History, Literature, Occultism, Orientalism, Mars, Nietzsche, Luciferian, Renaissance, Romanticism, Runes, Saturn, Secret Societies, Sethanic Witchcraft, Sigils, Symbolism, Sumerian Civilization, Zoroastrian, Zos Kia, Victorian, W.O.T.A.N., 1700-s, 1800-s, 1900-s, 1920-s..
I have write some Lyrics but usually we take parts from philosophical and occult  grimoires.

What kind of literature do you prefer? What are your favourite authors/books? 

- I'm reading a lot  just to mention some books  by Austin Osman Spare, Guido von List, Karl Maria Wiligut, Stephen Flowers, Evola, Dion Fortune,  Crowley and many others..

Name us the historical era(s), where you would live with pleasure, if you could choose from.

- In ancient Greece.

Which occult teachings, articles are the closest to you?

- Runes, NAOS, Chaos Magick, Goetia, Astral Projections, Psychic Vampirism, Necronomicon but I use my own methods.


You are from Hellas. What mysterious places would you recommend us from your beautiful ancient land? Greece is not only famous as a country with rich cultural and historical heritage. 

- All the ancient ritual places from Hellas.

ευχαριστώ πολύ!/Thanks a lot, Shelmerdine! In the end, please send some thoughts from Dark Awake to the readers of Archangel’s Lantern.

- I would like to thank you about this interesting interview.
DEFEAT MAN AND BE A GOD!

Important links: 

















Jonas Lindblood

Interview with Jonas Lindblood (Puteraeon)


Hail Jonas! First of all I’d like to congratulate you  for your awesome 7” EP, called ”The Empires of Death” (released by Growles from the Underground), brilliant Death metal stuff. Share with the readers please more information  about  ”The Empires of Death”.

- Hi Georgius! Sorry for the extreme delay in doing this interview. A lot of different things fucked up, computer kept on crashing, new job and so on... I’m sorry for this. Anyway, on with the questions.  Thanks for the kind words on "Empires...”. It’s as you said a 7” EP. It contains 3 new songs from us. Recorded by Daniel Vandija in our studio Hatecraft. Mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound. I think the EP sounds really fresh even though it reeks of old school, and in short, I think it is the best release we have ever done. The songs have that thrive feeling I think we have while playing live, and that to me was an important task.

I’ve watched all your  new videos (”At the Altars” ”Providence" and ”Epitaph”) through official Puteraeon YouTube-channel, I must say, amazing  pieces of old-school Svensk Dödsmetall. Tell the readers with your own words all the interesting things, track by track.

- We did 1 video for every song on the EP. In a Bathory homage, the videos go under the influence of „Blood, Fire, Death”. Maybe not that obvious at first, but when you know it... Blood is the main thing in the song "At the Altars”. Fire is very present in the video "Providence” and loads of stuff like graves etc (Death) is present in "Epitaph”. Rune Foss who made all the videos did one hell of a good job I think.


If I’m not mistaken, the cover-art of "The Empires of Death” is your work. Would you be so kind to talk about your awesome drawing?   I like a lot your painting/drawing-style and it was a pleasure to publish Part I of your art. Let’s go to do the second part later then :)  

- Yes you are very right. First up we had completely different pic as the cover. An old picture of Lucifer eating Judas that I had redrawn into Cthulhu. But it didn’t look cool enough so I started thinking about doing something else. I really enjoyed an older pic I did with Lovecraft depicted that we used as the backside for a shirt. So I redraw it again slightly different with more detail this time and that ended up as being the cover art. I think it turned out really iconic.


What is the situation with the other bands,  where you are playing, like Deletion (I saw on Ecyclopaedia Metallum as it’s on hold status) and Commander?  

- Deletion is on hold for a couple of years. I’m not sure if we will do anything more with this band or not. Right now I don’t have the time for it but we shall see what happens in the future. Commander on the other hand hasn’t been active since I think 2003-2004 or something. We did 3 demos as I recall and for some reason that i don’t really remember it all just stopped. No hard feelings or so, I guess Commander was always considered the side-project band to many of the members and while some of the other guys other bands were prioritized. I still enjoy Commanders 80’s Saxon/Judas Priest type of music. And Commander felt really promising at some point, but, maybe we didn’t give it the time it needed to grow ... I don’t know.

Which bands did you enjoy as guest musician last time? ( I just saw you did some vocals to Feral in 2015, on 9th track, called Mass Resurrection)

- I’m not really sure, but I think that was the latest stuff I did. I have done some stuff for Ulverheim, Megascavenger, Just Before Dawn and Likblek before as well. It’s always fun to do.

Would you be so kind to share your experiences from Puteraeon latest live-performances?

- Right now we haven’t played live for a couple of months. We’ve been busy rehearsing new stuff for a 2018 release, so that have been taking a lot of time these last 5 months. So we are now rehearsed and will start recording our next release a 5 song mini called "The Dunwich Damnation” any day now. Drums are all set up and ready to go. I guess we will do like we did with "The Empires of Death” and first up just release it online. That could happen sometime late February/ early March 2018. Look out! 


You played on guitars  in a Danish band, Thorium’s debut album, called ”Ocean of Blasphemy” (2000). How did you enjoy them? Tell us more about this Hellish collaboration.

- Well I had been in contact with Michael for a couple of years since my old band Taetre was signed to his label. He had an idea of forming an old school Death metal band, and in that time there were mainly melodic death metal at that point. Either Dissection or At The Gates clones (or like Taetre somewhere in between heheh). I remembered that playing real old school would be really cool so I joined them for a short time. I played with Thorium live opening for Artillery but that was mainly it. I didn’t want to travel so I told Michael that I could still write a couple of songs if he wanted to. So on the first album i wrote 3 songs and on the 2nd I wrote 2. On their third I kind of remember being asked but I guess I didn’t have time for it. Thorium will release a new album, my guess next year. For this album I wrote 3 songs as well. So you will hear my music in Thorium once again.


In our first Puteraeon-interview you mentioned, as you met Jon Nödtveidt (R.I.C.) many times in the ’90-s. Did your band(s) share the stages with Dissection ever? What is/are your favourite Dissection album(s) and track(s)?

- Yeah that’s true. No we never shared stage, but since Dissection lived in Gothenburg during that time, we met often on concerts and in town. Everybody who was die-hard into Death metal at that time knew each other, and everyone would be recognized (like outsiders in society if you will). I like all Dissection albums. One of my favorite songs is "The Somberlain” which really is a killer track. The "Reinkaos" was at first hard to get into, but now I think it is their absolute masterpiece. Songs like "God of Forbidden Light” and "Maha Kali” are just ingeniously written.

As far as I know, you and Ronnie Ripper Olson of Turbocharged are good friends. Is there any interesting or funny story about you from past/nowadays?

- We haven’t hung out in real life more than now these last few years at gigs we’ve done together. As for Turbocharged, the guys are really easy to like people and I think we have the same sense of humor so that works out really good. I really enjoy their company and I hope they say the same thing. Would love to do some more gigs with them in the future.


Tack så mycket/Thanks so much, Jonas, it was a pleasure to talk with you again.  Share some thoughts from the Empires of Death in the end.

Thank you so much for this interview! It’s been a pleasure answering. Well, check out “The Empires of Death”! It’s available on 7” vinyl through Growls from the Underground and other distros. Also available on digital, Spotify and so on. And if you like it, we got some more candy coming early 2018. Cheers!


Important links:





2017. november 26., vasárnap

Vincent Crowley

Interview with Vincent Crowley 
(Acheron, Infidel Reich, Dominari, 
One With Darkness)
Questions compiled by Cornelius of Encomium 'zine and 
Georgius of Archangel's Lantern 


Hail to thee Vincent! The latest release of ACHERON was "Kult des Hasses" in 2014. I suppose you already have songs written for your new masterpiece. Please share with us as many news as possible regarding the new tracks, lyrical approach as well as musical direction. When can we expect the new ACHERON album to be released and will Listenable Records take care of it again? 

- Actually, there will be no more new original ACHERON albums put out. 2018 will be the last year the band is active and booking shows. After that we will be on to other things. If someone offers us a good show we would consider getting together to do it, but it would have to be a special one. I do hope to re-record some old ACHERON songs with the present line-up in the future and maybe do a live CD. Other than that I have plans to start some other musical projects.

Lately you had some line-up changes. Could you please name us the actual members of ACHERON? 

- For the last 4 years we have had the same line-up of myself on vocals and bass, Art Taylor on guitar, Shaun Cothron on guitar and Brandon Howe on drums. This is by far the best and most solid line-up ACHERON has ever had.


I've noticed that you are a big fan of master King Diamond. Would you be so kind to tell us, when did you start to listen to MERCYFUL FATE/KING DIAMOND? Did you ever share the stage with him? What are your favorite tracks/albums from his discography?

- I discover MERCYFUL FATE when I was in High School. They became a favorite of mine right away. King is the ultimate front man. I have never had the pleasure of playing with any of his bands. (I wish!) I like ALL of his work. But early MERCYFUL FATE holds a special place in my black heart.

Unfortunately this year, on the 7th of July, Gino Marino former member of cult Death Metal bands INCUBUS & NOCTURNUS has passed away. Please share your thoughts about him and the old times. How was it to play with him back in 1987?

- Gino was a very talented guitarist. A crazy guy who loved to shred. He had his ups and downs in life. It is a shame he had to leave the world so early.


Let's talk a bit about INFIDEL REICH. How and when did you become a part of this awesome group? Please enlighten us in details the lyrical conception and the song-writing process of the material to be unleashed shortly.

- Bob Bagchus and I have been friends for many years. We used to trade tapes back in the late 80's when he was in ASPHYX. We have talked about doing a project together for years. When all this politically correct bullshit started taking over the scene our views were very much the same. We said this is the time to do something that means something to us. So INFIDEL REICH manifested. We got Stijn and McNasty in the band and everything fell into place. They write the music and I write the lyrics. We are already working on material for the 1st full length album. We just released a self-titled mini-album this year.


There was a great material released by WOLFEN SOCIETY back in 2001. Do you plan any continuation of that project along with Lord Ahriman?

- No, WOLFEN SOCIETY is laid to rest. I'd love to do something with Ahriman again. He is a true Metal brother and a good friend. I miss that Swedish Bastard! (Ha, Ha) Anytime he wants to do something...I'm in!

Do you have any plans to play with ACHERON in the countries of Europe? It would be simply amazing to see you playing live in Slovakia or Hungary.

- We would love to come to Europe in 2018 for the final shows. But thus far we have had no success getting on any festivals.


What's the current Top 10 of your favorite albums, books & movies?

- I can't give you 10 of each, but I give you some favorites of mine. MERCYFUL FATE "Melissa", BLACK SABBATH "Self Titled", CELTIC FROST "To Mega Therion", MOTÖRHEAD "Iron Fist", VENOM "Black Metal". 
THE SATANIC BIBLE, SATAN SPEAKS, MIGHT IS RIGHT, MANSON IN HIS OWN WORDS, THE ANTICHRIST. 
THE OMEN TRILOGY, EVIL DEAD, DEVIL'S REJECTS, THE STRANGERS, THE COLLECTOR, BRAINDEAD, HALLOWEEN, DAWN OF THE DEAD.

What are your favorite Satanic quotes?

- "There is a beast in man that should be exercised, not exorcised."
Anton Szandor LaVey

"The Atheist complains about the wind. The Christian prays for it to change. The Satanist adjusts his sails."
Anton Szandor LaVey

"If you're going to be a sinner, be the best sinner on the block." 
Anton Szandor LaVey

"Don't waste your time with people who will ultimately destroy you, but concentrate instead on those who will appreciate your responsibility to them, and, likewise, feel responsible to you." 
Anton Szandor LaVey


Would you be so kind to recommend us some foods and drinks from your local cuisine? 

- None in this area! (Ha, Ha) Food is shit here. That is why I love going to other countries.

Which places are worth to see and visit in Columbus?

- I can't think of any. Not a big fan of Columbus. I just live here. (Ha Ha)

How the underground scene of Ohio looks like these days? Do you play a lot over there?

- Not a big scene in our area. But we did just play a show here last Saturday and it was a great show with lots of support. Our first show in our own town since 4 years.


At the end, please send your greetings to the European fans of ACHERON. Last occult words are yours.

- Hails to all who have supported my work. Without you nothing would happen! Get ready for some new projects of mine including INFIDEL REICH, DOMINARI, ONE WITH DARKNESS and my upcoming VINCENT CROWLEY solo project. Hope to see you at some of the live ACHERON shows in 2018! Ave Satanas!



Important links: 

















2017. október 27., péntek

Pontus Norman of CON

Interview with Pontus Norman (CON)


Hail brother Pontus, you are very welcome to Archangel’s Lantern. Firstly tell the readers when and how did you connect with the underground movement? What were your very first tapes/vinyls/CDs? Which live show of a metal band you visited first time?

What made me come in contact with the underground world was by my brother. At age of nine I got the Promo-CD of "Storm of the Light´s Bane" by Dissection. I really don’t remember my first live show really, haha! I think it was In Flames or some other band. 

What was your very first band? When did you start to play the drums and guitars? Which musicians and bands influenced you back in time and in our days?

- My first real band was named Excessum.
I started to play drums when i was 14. I bought a used drum set from a friend that was really good. My influences back then was Dissection, Morbid Angel, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and many more.


Tell us more about your past bands, like Blut, Excessum, Holocaustia, Human Death and The Bloodlust. Unfortunately I could listen to Excessum only, other bands I couldn’t find. Where can we find some music from these hordes?

- Excessum is the only one of those bands that are available online. 
Rest of them are on tape that I have.The time I was with Holocaustia never got recorded, but it was the best Black metal band I have ever played with. Its a shame that we never recorded something when I was a member.

When I’ve talked with Carl Gustav Karlsson of Protector (who played live with you), I’ve mentioned to him that as for me CON is a Dark Essence… Now let’s talk about the beginnings of Con. Share with us all the important information about this brilliant horde.

- Carl Gustav Karlson was asked to be playing drums if we were going to play live. I started CON by myself. I have written all the music and on the first demo I programmed the drums and the vocals were done by Carl Nordblom. On "In Signo Draconis", Jimmie Oloausson played the drums and Master of her Temple did the vocals.


When do you plan to release “In Signo Draconis”? I must say the teasers I’ve listened to so far are just amazing.

- It's so hard for me to take credit for my own work, and I’m amazed that so many though its not release yet are longing for it. Internal conflict has stand it the way, but I’m going to release it. When is still not decided yet. It´s a production that I’m really proud of, maybe the best production I have ever done.

After its release do you have some plan to play live in Sweden and perhaps in Europe?

- Right now I don’t think that there will be any live-shows. 
But of course if wish that it will be, but I’m a really busy right now with things around me, life in general and if there is gonna be a live show it should be spectacular or else it´s no idea. The estetic and the performance is hard to recreate with all the emotions that is contained in the songs. 


Would you be so kind to recommend us some small, unknown by us, Swedish hordes? How do you see and estimate the Swedish scene of the past and nowadays?

- The Swedish scene has many serious and good bands, but unfortunate there is no money, no support and that leads to that every band mostly has to manage everything  themselves for a gig. That’s an enormous project. More and more clubs and venues are closing down, so the live culture in Sweden are slowly dying out. Sadly. If you’re not a more famous band with a lot of money in your pocket.

Archangel’s Lantern is eternally dedicated to the memory of Jon Andreas Nödtveidt. Did you meet him ever and shared the stage with Dissection? What are your favorite tracks and albums from his heritage? (And not only from Dissection.)

-  I have met him two times at their final gigs.
He used to spend time at our house where I grew up together with my brother and everyone in the local metal scene there. He has always been a kind and thoughtful person from what I have heard and the impression I got when I´ve met him with extremely skills on whatever he plays. He was a person with the heart in the right place.


Alongside CON you are playing in another band, in another style. Please share some important thoughts about it.

- Right now I’m producing a EP together with a very talented singer, it's a mix of pop/electro/indie. That’s the music that feels right to play for me right now. Of course Black metal is something I will always will be devoted to. I mean CON is my lifework.

What kind of literature do you like to read? Name us some books and movies.

- No comment on that one.

What is your daily job? Which museums, concert-places are your recommendations from Göteborg? What kind of food and drinks would you recommend us to try?

- My daily job right now is Musicproduction on a high school here in Gothenburg.
If you like burgers, go to ”Butchers market” Best burgers in town! I recommend the drink Margarita on ”Lilla London” on Avenyn here in Gothenburg. Taste´s incredible good!

Tack så mycket brother Pontus! Wish you all the best in all your musical activities and in personal life as well. Send your message to the readers of Archangel’s Lantern from Leviathan’s Grave.

- Thank you so much for this interview!
I want to thank you all out there for the devotion to CON!
It means more than you ever could imagine.

BTW, Heineken is the greatest beer!


Contact: pontusnorman@icloud.com





2017. október 26., csütörtök

Nocturnal Overlord

Interview with Nocturnal Overlord
(Nibiru, Heartworm, Necrochamber, 
Crimson Moon, Temple of the Dreaming Serpent, session bass player/backing vocals of Melechesh)
Questions compiled by Cornelius of Encomium 'zine and 
Georgius of Archangel's Lantern 


Ave brother, Nocturnal Overlord! You are very welcome in my anti-cosmic metal blog Archangel's Lantern. First of all, tell the readers, when and how did you join the underground movement? What were your very first hard rock/metal materials? Which metal-show you visited first time? What kind of experience do you achieved back then?

- Greetings and thank you for your interest and time! 
My father and uncle used to have vinyl records, 8 track tapes, and cassette tapes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, and others. I grew up in the 80's and listened to a lot of 80's pop and rock as well. But I was about 5-10 years too young for the 80's heavy metal movement. My first hard rock/metal cassettes I owned were probably Iron Maiden, Guns N Roses, and Bon Jovi. First concert I ever saw was Metallica in 1992 in San Diego, California. The show they recorded for the Binge and Purge live release. It was a great experience and they played for maybe 3 hours. Very inspirational for me. 
Both my grandmothers used to own organs when I was a child. The old electric church organ type. So I started making music at a very young age. I used to be fascinated with pressing different combination of buttons, making my own sounds, and taught myself how to play. My father used to have an old nylon string classical guitar too. And I used to love to pick it up and pretend I knew what I was doing. Then when I was 12, my Jr. High School had a drum/percussion class that I took. There was two drum sets and some other percussion instruments and I really learned a lot about rhythms and timings. I enjoyed the raw energy and sounds from the drums a lot and always wanted to play them. But living in apartments all my life, it was really impossible to have my own drums and practice them. At the same time period, my neighbor got an electric guitar and I remember picking it up and somehow just started playing it. It just came naturally to me. So when I was 13, I bought my first guitar thanks to the help of my family. I used to come straight home from school every day and do nothing but play my guitar. It was all I did. I was always a kind of loner. I didn't care about school, girls, sports, or any of that stuff. I just wanted to play and make music. 


Which was your very first band back in the time? You are a multi-talented musician. Tell us, which musical instruments you can handle with ease and are able to play and what bands/musicians influenced you in the past as well as in our days?

- The first band I played in was in 1993 when I was 15 years old. We called ourselves Infested and played a darker kind of death metal. We used to rehearse almost every day. Then girls and drugs and typical teenager things came into the picture, and in 1994 Infested broke up and me and a couple of the other band members went on to form a new band, which eventually became Crimson Moon.  
These days I play guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and various percussion instruments. I also went to school for producing and recording music, and have been making recordings since 1994. I have a small recording studio and sometimes records other bands and do live sound for bands as well. And I also started my own record label/music distro in 1997. 
When I first heard Metallica's Master of Puppets, my life changed forever. The heaviness, speed, and intensity was new to me and I really liked it. Especially how they mixed acoustic guitars and melodies and solos with such crazy and aggressive music. That was probably the moment I decided I wanted to play the guitar. Then I get into other bands like Megadeth, Sepultura, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Kreator, etc. Eventually I heard Death's Spiritual Healing in 1990, and it was just so fast, heavy, and dark, and the vocals were like nothing else I'd ever heard before. I was hooked. Then I found Morbid Angel, Carcass, Napalm Death, Deicide, Immolation, Entombed, Carnage, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Nocturnus, and the rest was history. Around 1993-94 death metal started to kind of change and it all started to sound kind of the same to me. So I started to get more into black metal. I was always more attracted to the darker music. I heard the demos from Emperor, Gehenna, Gorgoroth, Zemial, Manes, Behemoth, Ancient, Carpathian Forest and bands like that. And when Osmose had their albums licensed in the US through JL America, I was introduced to bands like Immortal, Marduk, Beherit, Necromantia, Impaled Nazarene, Thone of Ahaz, and all those early 90s classics. I also enjoy a lot of atmospheric and ambient music as well as some classical, dark wave, and other genres. These days, I would say some of my top favorite bands include, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Rush, Dead Can Dance, and Devil Doll. 


List us all the instruments you own. I've noticed the B.C. Rich bass and some custom Moser guitars as well. Pick out your beloved ones and talk a little bit about them too. How and when did you become an endorser of the Moser Custom Shop guitars?

- I own various guitars and basses, a drum set, a really amazing keyboard, as well as various other gadgets, amps, pedals, rack effects, mixers, recording equipment, etc. I'm a big fan of 80's and early 90's pointy metal guitars/basses, equipment, and sounds. I love that old 80's analog sound. So I have my own little collection. I prefer to have good tone and sound right from the equipment being used and not through computers and simulators. So I try to record and make music the old way. The only way if you ask me!
I was endorsed by Moser Custom Shop guitars in the past yes. Neal Moser is a master luthier and has been making and working on guitars since the 70's. He even worked on Jimmy Hendrix's guitars and did some work with BC Rich during the late 70's to mid 80's. During those old 80's metal rock star days. One of the luthiers that was working for him was a fan of my bands and music. And after some talking, I become an endorsed at MCS, which was a great honor for me. I met Neal and his wife Earlleen a few different times including at NAMM, and they have always been extremely nice, great, and real professional individuals. He now runs his new company in Arizona called Neal Moser Guitars and solely does custom American hand made guitars. 

When did you meet Ashmedi Melechesh for the first time? How did it happen and where? How do you felt yourself at the recent European tour with Azarath/Melechesh/Immolation? It was a great experience for us to see you playing live with Melechesh in Humenné/Slovakia. Would you be so kind to share any memories from that particular show?

- I've been in contact with Ashmedi from Melechesh for over 10 years now. I can't remember exactly how or when we started talking, but I've been a fan since "As Jerusalem Burns" album came out. I was always interested in Sumerian mythology, so it was natural that we came in contact and became acquaintances. Melechesh played a show here in San Diego once some years back and we had a chance to speak in person. And have been in contact on and off ever since. It was an honor playing the recent 2017 European tour with them as a live session bass player. Both as a musician and as a friend of the band. Good tour and all the other bands and crew were good people. The show in Humenne was better than expected and went quite well in my opinion. Good atmosphere, energy, and interaction from the crowd and the bands. It was great to meet so many fans and people too. Memorable indeed!

Nocturnal Overlord in Humenné/Slovakia, during Melechesh show, 23.IX.2017)

How about your nice city San Diego? What places would you recommend us to visit there: museums, botanic gardens, parks, historical locations?

- San Diego is a big city close to the Mexican border and about 2-3 hours away from Los Angeles. Many people visit and move here for the weather. Right now in the middle of October the weather is 105 degrees Fahrenheit's (40.5 C). It's basically summer all year long with sometimes light rain in the winter. There's many beaches here as well as the famous San Diego Zoo. And also the first Spanish mission built on the west coast USA. There's also some mountains and desert lands within a few hours drive if you want to get away from the city. If you only had a weekend to spend here, I would recommend going to the historical Old Town, Balboa Park (where's there's lots of museums and gardens), and of course to the Pacific Ocean beaches and trying out some great Mexican food. If you have a little more time, I would also recommend taking a short day trip to Tijuana, Mexico as it's so close and a different experience. 

(Cornelius of Castrum/Encomium and Nocturnal Overlord, Humenné/Slovakia, 23.IX.2017)

I've seen among your posts some of your self-made meals. Are there any recipes of your own that you would recommend us? Something that we should definitely try out as you seem to be a good cook? 

- I like to cook, yes. Mostly to relieve some stress and because nothing beats a home cooked meal. One of my favorite things in life is good food. As far as specific recipes go... I don't really have any. I'm more of an experiment and trial and error kind of guy, than a mad scientist/perfectionist following formulas and rules. I just use what ingredients and ideas I have and just go from there. Mostly depends on how much time I have and my mood. 

Archangel's Lantern is dedicated to the eternal glory and memory of Jon Nödtveidt (R.I.C.). Did you ever meet Jon? What do you like and prefer to listen to from his heritage (Dissection or maybe some other bands with his participation)?

- I never had the opportunity to meet Jon. I saw Dissection live twice though. Once in 1996 near Los Angeles, and one other time in Tijuana, Mexico on the Rebirth of Dissection tour. Both shows were quite memorable and inspirational as I've been a fan since "The Somberlain" and "The Priest of Satan" came out. I respect his ideas and decisions. And he made some excellent music. 

Nocturnal Overlord and me in Humenné/Slovakia, 23.IX.2017

What kind of literature and movies do you read/watch with pleasure?

- Preferably I like books and documentaries about different cultures and places, as well as ancient history and mythology, science, occultism, nature, etc. I've never been so much into fiction. Though I do enjoy the occasional horror or science fiction film to just let my mind free. As far as movies go, the 80's flicks are my favorites. These days everyone just copies each other. Not just in film, but in everything it seems like. Individualism and creativity has disappeared, and corporations and marketing have taken over. Which I hate. So I do my best not to keep up with it. 

Which historical period(s) do you prefer? If there would be a single chance for you to teleport, which time plane would you select and why?

- There's a lot of interesting time periods and eras through out the ages. But I've always felt more connected to the ancient Mesoamerican, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian civilizations. I've had many dreams and visions about them. Including dreams of ancient temples and pyramids and times with other worldly beings and advanced technology. Dreams of old wars and portals to different dimensions and times. If I could go anywhere in time, I would choose to go maybe 10-20 years in the future. I have a good idea of what the past was like. It's the future that's been on my mind and wondering how the choices and decisions I make effect it. 


It seems to me, you are pretty involved in the fields of astronomy/astrology and other topics beyond the space and time. Do you believe in the existence of other civilizations, species, i.e. aliens dwelling beyond our milk pathway?

- I think there's more to this world and universe than we will ever know or could ever understand. Even this planet and our existence is pure luck and coincidence and a chaotic balance of nature. To think we are the most intelligent beings and only advanced species would be foolish. I'd like to think there's more to life and this world than just being human and being part of society. 

Let's talk now about your old school Death Metal band, Heartworm. Share with us all the important information regarding this horde.

- Heartworm is a throwback to the early 90's metal days. Traditional metal, thrash metal, and death metal is always in my heart and what I grew up with. And I just miss the old guitar driven music, riffs, harmonies, solos, and feeling of that time period. For a while I had some old Jr. High School friends that I grew up with and even ex-Infested members join Heartworm. But with age comes responsibilities and it came to a stop. I've been working on finishing the songs I wrote and at least try and record a demo. Even if I have to record all the instruments myself. It's some of the best riffs and songs I've ever written. And it would be a shame to let it all go to waste. I'd really like to get a full line up and band going. But it's not so simple or easy to get people together these days. So we'll see. 

You are a shaman and a sorcerer in the ritualistic occult band, called Temple Of The Dreaming Serpent. Which themes influenced or motivated you to create this ritualistic musical entity?

- TOTDS was inspired by natural and unnatural forces and the chaos and balance of nature and space-time. I wanted to get back into the alien synth experimental type stuff I was doing when I first started doing Nibiru. The people who have heard Temple of the Dreaming Serpent say it makes them feel uneasy or like "something is wrong". Mostly just different sounds, moods, effects, sound waves and noises. Not something to play at a party, a bar, or live. I have two albums that are basically finished. I just need a new logo that represents my vision and sound-scapes. I've also been considering adding some various acoustic and ancient instruments to give it an even more eerie and desolate feeling and add a bit more balance to the chaos. 


I've listened to the fresh Necrochamber promo a few days ago and I must admit it is damn excellent, raw Black Metal material with awesome occult lyrics. Please enlighten the readers more details about Necrochamber and its activity.

- I started Necrochamber in 1998. It went through a few different name changes since then, but the main idea behind the band was always to create raw, aggressive, hellish, and in your face black metal. I recorded 4 songs for a demo in '98 and at one point had almost a full line up. But once again, things and people fell apart and I put the project on hold. In 2005 I brought the project back to life and came up with the name Necrochamber. This time I wanted to add some horror type of elements to the atmosphere, music, lyrics, and image. And in 2008 I started to write some new songs for a debut album. Right now in 2017 we are a three piece band including Tyson "Wotan" Jupin (from Vile and Condemned) on drums. The first album called "Ceremonies for the Dead" is already recorded, it just needs to be mixed and mastered. We're searching for a good record label to help us release it. We've played a few select shows around here in San Diego and looking to start playing in other areas and open up for bigger touring bands in the future. We have a second album  already written as well and will start working on recording that one shortly. 

You are the owner of Mythos Occultus. It deals with Musick, Occult Merchandising & Distribution. I assume it mostly supports with merchandise the bands your are involved in, such as Crimson Moon, Heartworm, Necrochamber, Nibiru, Temple of the Dreaming Serpent, am I right? Reveal us all the forthcoming news in respect of Mythos Occultus?

- I've had a small record label and distro since 1997. Mainly to support my own releases, as I got tired of constantly having to buy my own music from the record labels when I ran out. Around 2006 I was ready to put out some other bands releases, but life got in the way and the label and distro pretty much ended. In 2014 I decided to bring the label and distro back under a new name, Mythos Occultus. The plan was to release some albums as in the past, but I also wanted to turn it into a merchandising company instead of just a distro. Making t-shirts and other merchandise for other bands, not just mine. A sort of US merchandising company for overseas bands. It's still an idea I have and not sure if I'll ever be ready to do it full time. So in the meantime, I'm just concentrating on releasing music and merchandise for solely my own projects and bands. It's a lot of time and money to invest. And I've been doing it for 20 years now. I don't make anything from it. I do it just for the art. 


You are handling all the instruments in Nibiru. It was formed quite a long time ago, to be precise in early 1996, and its style was defined as astral occult metal. How it all began? I mean what led you to start an atmospheric, dark, ambient project back then? There was only an 8-song demo out in 2004. So the question arises, when can we finally expect its continuation or the debut album to be released?

- Nibiru began as an alien synth type project. I started recording some pieces on my grandmother's old church organ which had a portable cassette recorder hooked up to it. Eventually I started adding acoustic guitars. And eventually electric guitars and bass, and drums came into the picture. Which became what I now call Astral Occult Metal. It's a very dark and atmospheric project with absolutely no vocals or blast beats. The songs can be very epic, spacey, depressing, moody, dream-like, and ethereal at times. Almost like an unfolding story. The idea and influence behind it is the ancient Sumerian theory of there being another planet in our solar system called Nibiru. And it's influence on our tiny planet and human civilization. Usually when I write the songs, they just come to me. Like they're already written and I just have to learn them and try to recreate the feeling and mood of the vision. There's two full length albums that are almost completed. And a third album I've been writing songs for. Hopefully they will be released one of these days! 

Crimson Moon is a melodic and occult Death/Black Metal band. Like Nibiru, it's a pretty old one. Talk us a bit about the beginnings. What is the current situation with this horde?

- Crimson Moon was formed from the ashes of our previous death metal band, Infested. It was the mid 90's and we were tired of the typical death metal stuff coming out at the time. And wanted to do something darker and different than what the US was known for. Of course we were influenced and inspired by all the early black metal stuff from Norway, Sweden, and Greece. We always had issues with the band line up since the beginning, but we released our first album in 1997 through Abyss Productions. There was a also a bootleg recording of a rehearsal demo we recorded going around (Under the Serpentine Spell), and eventually decided to release this recording through Total Holocaust Records in 2005. The plan was always to record this album properly, but it never happened. Then in 2006 my own label, Kthulu Productions released the third CM release called The Choice of Spirit. It was our first real recording in my opinion. Though it consisted mainly of old songs re-recorded along with some newer material. I have more than 10 songs written and recorded since 1997 for the next untitled releases. Only time will tell what happens with them or if they will ever be released. Right now we're concentrating more on properly re-releasing the first 3 albums on vinyl. And we may or may not have a new band line up under way for the future. We shall see. 


During 2009 you've been the guitarist for the German Black Metal band Endstille. How did you join them? Share some memories & experiences from those times, please.

- Endstille and Crimson Moon did a tour together in Mexico in 2008. It was the first time I met them and we got along quite well and I enjoyed their music a lot. They have a similar riffing style as I do, and after playing some shows together they asked me if I wanted to play some European Summer festivals with them including Wacken, Baden in Blut, Meh Suff, Kaltenbach, Suffering Life, and a few others. I ended up staying with them in Germany for 6 months and played as a live session guitarist on their 2009 European tour along with God Dethroned and Hollenthon. It was my first time in Europe and overall it was a great and pleasant experience.  Playing at the Wacken Festival was probably the most memorable as there was so many people there. I suppose it's every metal musicians dream to play there on the main stage. So I was grateful for the experience, fun times, and for making some good friends. 


Do you have any special hobbies besides the music? Name us your top 10 favorite albums.

- I like to travel, see new places, cook, read, nature, and just try and enjoy the simple things really. That's what matters the most to me. 
Top 10 albums? Well that's a difficult one! I don't know if I could pick just 10 albums, but maybe I could pick some of my favorite bands and influential albums by them. In alphabetical order:
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Carcass - Necroticism
Death - Human
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
King Diamond - Conspiracy
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Mercyful Fate - Melissa
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Rush - Hemispheres
Sepultura - Arise

Thank you very much brother for the interesting conversation. Last mythological occult thoughts are yours!

- Cheers and respect to you, your comrades, and the readers! Thank you all for your time and interest. Hails!