Interview with Aurgelmir of Tempers Creature from Germany
1. Greetings! Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album “Lupus Est Homo Homini”?
Aurgelmir: Greetings! Well, since the release of the album “Lupus Est Homo Homini” we’ve already started with the recording of its successor which will be called “Si Vis Vitam, Para Mortem”. Both of us (my drummer Arngrim and I) have a lot to do, so I think this new record will not be finished before summer or autumn 2015.
2. Can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of your latest output “Lupus Est Homo Homini” and also how it does differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Aurgelmir: “Lupus Est Homo Homini” is our most diverse output so far. We’ve recorded the most depressive, but also the most aggressive songs in the history of our band for that album. “Lupus Est Homo Homini” is split into four parts – the first part contains raw Depressive Suicidal Black Metal, full of sorrow, despair and grief. The second part is the aggressive one. The songs you can find there are hateful and misanthropic, as a result of a betrayal my band member Arngrim and I have experienced by so-called “friends” and society. The third part is concerned with patriotism and the love to our fatherland – Swabia in Germany. For me it was necessary to dedicate some songs to my homeland, we shall never forget our roots. The fourth part finally is a mixture between depression and aggression. All parts are linked with some little intros and interludes. So, as you can see, there will be no boredom by listening to our new album.
The main difference between “Lupus Est Homo Homini” and our previous records, “Als Hoffnung starb…” (Demo, never released), “Eternal Sorrow” (EP, released in 2011) and “Thanatos” (full-length, released in 2012) is that “Lupus Est Homo Homini” is our first pure Metal album. On our previous outputs there was a mixture between Black Metal, Neofolk and Ambient. “Lupus Est Homo Homini” contains exclusively Black Metal with some piano-interludes. This is the biggest difference. And, of course, the sound-quality has improved a lot since “Thanatos”.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Aurgelmir: The lyrical topics we explore are misanthropy (“Letztes Strafgericht”,…), sorrow, despair, loneliness (“Schmerz, mein einzig’ Freund”, “Winter im Herzen”,…), Northern and Celtic mythology (“Wuotans wildes Heer”,…) and the love to Swabia (“Suebia (Heimaterde),…). All of these topics are related with our past and our life. For example, I am Ásatrúar, I believe in the gods of old, so, Northern mythology is very important for me. I am trying to relate socio-critical topics with my religious beliefs, as I do in the songs “Der Menschheit Weltenbrand” or “Letztes Strafgericht”. The misanthropic and sorrowful lyrics are a result of personal experiences, for instance the betrayal I talked about. So, all of our lyrical topics have personal backgrounds.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Tempers Creature'?
Aurgelmir: Humanity is the biggest plague the world was ever faced with. Humans have forgotten how to love – there is no love in this world. Only hate. Everybody is begrudging his next; the people are unable to make compromises. Humanity is full of wrath, full of temper. We are all creatures of this temper. So, “Tempers Creature” is a synonym for this pestilence called mankind. In conclusion, the name is standing for total misanthropy.
5. Originally the band was a 1 man project, what was the decision behind expanding into a duo?
Aurgelmir: That is easy to explain. In 2008 I founded Tempers Creature by myself, only using synthesizers, my electric- and my bass-guitar for my first two releases (“Als Hoffnung starb…”, “Eternal Sorrow”). You can say that Tempers Creature was Dark Ambient at this time. But my intention behind Tempers Creature was forming a Black Metal band. For that I needed a drummer since I am not able to play the drums – and drum programming was never an option for me. For the album “Thanatos” I’ve found a guest musician who played the drums for me, but I need stability to create music without any restrictions. So, in early spring 2013 I asked an acquaintance - who is now my best friend - to join the band as my new drummer: Arngrim. That’s why I’ve expanded Tempers Creature into a duo.
6. The new album came out on Sturmglanz, can you tell us a little bit more about this label and also how would you compare working with them to your previous label Depressive Illusions?
Aurgelmir: “Sturmglanz Produktionen” is an underground label specialized in Black Metal, localized in Thuringia, Germany. Some of the bands Sturmglanz is working with are, for example, “Paria”, “Urlog”, “Selbsttötung”, “Faagrim” or “Permafrost”. This label is supporting its bands very well, for example, there are interviews with the bands for the “Sturmglanz Webzine”, the label is promoting its bands wherever it can, and the person behind Sturmglanz is always there for you if you have any questions. It is a very professional and fruitful collaboration with Sturmglanz. But the main difference between Sturmglanz and my former label, Depressive Illusions, is: Sturmglanz is really only dedicated to the underground. Depressive Illusions has thousands of bands and outputs – and by thousands I mean thousands. It is impossible to stick out of this mass of bands. Sturmglanz has only a small amount of 18 bands they are working with. They are able to care for every single project and band, and that is very important for me.
7. On the new album you had some tributes to Burzum and Sturmpercht, can you tell us a little bit more about this tributes and the impact both of these projects have had on your musical sound?
Aurgelmir: The two tributes you talk about are “Die Liebe Nerthus” from Burzum and “Wir rufen deine Wölfe” from Sturmpercht. I don’t think that I have to tell you something about Burzum in and of itself because of the projects fame. Burzum was a huge influence on my creative work, especially the two records “Filosofem” and “Hvis lyset tar oss”. The unique atmosphere Varg Vikernes creates with this albums are overwhelming. Both of these outputs are a huge inspiration for me and I like to cover Burzum songs to honor this band.
Sturmpercht whereas is a Neofolk band from Austria and Bavaria. The lyrical topics of this band are alpine myths and Nordic mythology. I really enjoy listening to Sturmpercht, they create a very melancholic and dreamy atmosphere, coupled with a domestic music feel from the past where domestic music was a huge part of our culture. Neofolk is a kind of music I really appreciate; it is like coming home from a long journey - and the song “Wir rufen deine Wölfe” by Sturmpercht is my all-time favorite of this genre, so I decided to cover this song in my own style.
8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of depressive, black and pagan metal?
Aurgelmir: I don’t think that we can speak of a worldwide level when talking about Tempers Creature, my project is relatively unknown. I’ve sold some albums to Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and the United States, but only one or two copies to each of these countries. Most of the people who are listening to Tempers Creature are from Germany, so, I don’t know if we can really say that there is something like a “worldwide level” when talking about my band. Well, apart from this, the feedback I’ve got so far was very positive, the variety and the atmosphere of the record were lauded a lot and that means very much to me.
9. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Aurgelmir: I will stay true to my music and my style of playing Black Metal. The new album “Si Vis Vitam, Para Mortem” will heading into the same direction as “Lupus Est Homo Homini”, it will be a well-balanced mixture between depression and aggression with the typical Tempers Creature sound.
10. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Aurgelmir: The biggest influence on my music where the bands “Lifelover”, “Blutklinge” and, as I told before, “Burzum”. Especially Blutklinge is a very important band for me, it was my first contact with Depressive Suicidal Black Metal – you can say it was the beginning of the madness which was leading to found Tempers Creature. Other bands I really enjoy listening to are “Horn”, “Licht erlischt”, “Angest Herre”, “Lustre”, “Withering Night”, “Happy Days”, “Satanic Warmaster”, “Karg” and a lot more. I really enjoy a lot of DSBM and classical Black Metal projects. For me, Black Metal is the most compelling music we have nowadays.
11. Can you tell us a little bit more about the Pagan culture on the Suebians?
Aurgelmir: The Suebians where a Germanic tribe, localized in the area which is now called Baden-Wurttemberg and Swabia. The most important leader of this tribe was king Ariovist who fought against the Celts and the Romans, he united a lot of tribes into a big Suebian-German kingdom, unfortunately he was defeated by Caesar in 58 B.C.. The Suebians where pagans, they believed in Allfather Wodan, in Donar, Ziu, Freya, in the Æsir and Vanir. After the Christianization of Europe the memory of our gods faded away, today only 20,000 people in Germany acknowledge themselves to the gods of old – I am one of them. And by people acknowledging themselves to Allfather Wodan I don’t mean those stupid pseudo Pagans, rising their horns, screaming: “Drinking for Odin”. I mean people who really live their lives in the old ways, living the old values. But even if those memories and values are fading, the culture was characterized by the Germanic tribes and their believes. You can see it on holidays like Easter which is a Christianized revival of the old Ostara-cult. Even the names of our days are connected with the gods of old: Wednesday – The day of Wodan. Thursday – The day of Thor, in Germany: Donnerstag, the day of Donar. So, even if we are only a few who stay true to the old ways, our culture was, is and will be Germanic and Pagan.
12. What are some of your non musical interests?
Aurgelmir: Well, unfortunately I have not that much time to attend many hobbies. I enjoy reading, especially history-books about our ancestors and German history. Apart from this I like to do drawings and graphics. But, as I said, unfortunately my job takes up a lot of spare time, if I want to have the time to play music I’ll have to lower one’s sights concerning nonmusical interests.
13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Aurgelmir: Thank you very much for this interesting interview. This was my first one in English, so, I hope my language skills are not too rusted. Good luck with the OccultBlackMetalZine and all the best for the future.
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