Berzerker Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Answer by Bughuul:

Berzerker was founded in late 2016 when I felt the urge to make music again after my previous band became inactive in 2014(Tears Of Wrath aka. T.O.W.). Things got pretty complicating in the last days of T.O.W. because of personal and job-related issues of individual members. It was very hard for me to accept that it wasn’t possible to keep the band operational under this circumstances and so I took a break of making music for two years after we decided to put the band on hold.

With my new project I wanted to stay as independent as possible and the idea of a solo project came to life. This time it had to be BlackMetal but I can’t and don’t want to deny my roots into Death- and ThrashMetal so these styles are also fundamental for Berzerker.

The problem of the solo project concept was that I wasn’t able to do the vocal part on my own. What can i say – no Voice J So after gathering first ideas and developing some song structures Imbrifer became aware of the project and joined performing vocals and writing lyrics. So you may describe Berzerker as a two man project from that moment on.

2.In December you had released an album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

Answer by Bughuul:

In my opinion “Pereat Mundus” is a straight forward OldSchool BlackMetal album. The whole album is inspired by the norwegian scene of the early/middle 1990ies. But only in its musical style. Regarding the production and mixing process I wanted to do something else. To be honest I never understood why so many BlackMetal-bands and fans think that this kind of music has to sound like it was recorded on a kids tape recorder drowned in the toilet. I think strong music needs a strong production to unleash its full power. So the goal was to get the punchiest and most transparent sound possible without killing the rawness which is essential for that type of music. I know that some “true” BlackMetal fans will say that’s blasphemous but I really miss a good sound and production on many of my favorite albums from that era. Of course some of them couldn’t afford a better production at that time. But nowadays many bands are doing this crappy LowFi-Sound whilst they would be able to do better. So my goal was to bring this two world’s together: The technical possibilities of modern production systems with Oldschool-BM songwriting.

 

3.The band has been around since 2016 but waited until 2021 to release an album, can you tell us a little bit more about the earlier years?

Answer by Bughuul:

First of all, like most artists in those underground genres, I have to do a day job to keep my bills payed. So I can only work on the project beside my job.

What also slows down the whole process is that everything except vocals and lyrics is done by myself. From creative songwriting over recording all instruments to the whole production process which includes arranging, mixing and mastering. And you have to take breaks from time to time to get some distance from the already achieved song material for not losing your focus on what is good and what needs to be discarded.

As you can see this is very time-consuming but with my experience gathered through the production of “Pereat Mundus” i hope to shorten the intervals between releases.

 

4.One of your songs also covered the writings of H.P Lovecraft, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in his works?

Answer by Imbrifer:

I have always been a big horrorfan, no matter if in books, movies, comics or games. So of course I discovered H.P. Lovecraft when I was younger.

Stories like „The music of Eric Zann“, „The rats in the wall“ or „The Dunwich Horror“ were and still are fascinating me. It's this intangible terror, always lurking in the shadows, waiting for you. Like when you were a kid and had to get something from the dark cellar, always having the feeling, something's behind your back. That's what defines Lovecraft for me.

I wanted to write a song based on Lovecrafts work, especially based on the Cthulhu-Myth, for a long time. When I heard the music for „Immanentization...“ with its chanting middle part, the sound effects in the intro-section and its epic length, I knew this was my chance.

 

5.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

Answer by Imbrifer:

I think there are some recurring motifs in the lyrics.

Like the downfall of humanity, which destroyed or is destroying itself. Or religious leaders, who are exploiting the faith of people for their own benefits. Maybe you could call it some kind of social critique.

Also there are influences from what's going on right now. „Isolation“ for example was inspired by the issue of mental health problems during the pandemic.

And of course there is some good old horror.

That's what all my lyrics have in common.

They are oversubscribed and mixed up with my fascination for horror-stories, psycho-thrillers, apocalyptic movies and all that stuff.

Sometimes there are things to find between the lines and sometimes there's nothing.

 

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Berzerker'?

Answer by Bughuul:

I was already using Bers. Erker in T.O.W. not least because my second name is Erker in reality. So it was a logical step to call my solo project like that.

Besides a “Berserker” is a nordic warrior who is fighting in a frenzy without feeling pain and showing mercy. I thought this would be a good match to the music I had in my mind. Let’s see maybe Imbrifer has some lyric ideas about a Berserker in a future song. The “S” in “Berserker” was replaced by a “Z” because of stylistic considerations and to avoid confusion with the german band “Berserker”.

 

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

Answer by Bughuul:

The front cover is a picture I have taken on an art exhibition a few years ago. I really like that kind of aesthetics and I think it’s perfect for the first album. The back cover picture was taken in the tunnels of fortress Josefov – CZ - where Brutal Assault Festival takes place every year.

 

8.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?

Answer by Bughuul:

Yes expanding is definitely the plan. My next goal is to achieve a complete lineup to become able to play live shows in the near future. I’m not speaking about hired musicians. The plan is to transform this solo project into a real band where every member is welcome to participate in the songwriting process.

 

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Answer by Bughuul:

Of course the support of a label would be great. Currently we are still looking for a proper partner, which is able and willing to bring Berzerker forward.

 

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

Answer by Bughuul:

Berzerker is still a newcomer and “Pereat Mundus” is out only since a few weeks but the album has already received reactions from all over the world. All of them were very positive.

 

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Answer by Bughuul:

As mentioned before next step is to establish a full band lineup. So let’s see what influences the new members will bring in. My own songwriting is never planned. It’s just happening. So it’s hard to say if the next album will be more symphonic, harder and faster or more melodic or whatever. I can only predict Berzerker will stay BlackMetal.

 

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Answer by Bughuul:

Like many others of my generation Metallica was the very beginning of my musical socialization. Over the years I was mainly focused on Thrash and later also Death-Metal(especially Melodic Death). But I was always into BlackMetal too which became more and more over the years.

Slayer, Evenfall, Third Moon, Death, Desaster and Kovenant were early influences and of course all the BM-Classics like Mayhem, Satyricon, Darkthrone, Bathory…

Anaal Nathrakh and Igorrr are two of my newer discoveries which I’m really into at the moment.

 

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 

Answer by Bughuul:

Thanks for your interest in Berzerker and your review of our first album. Let’s keep in touch I’m confident “Pereat Mundus” wasn’t the last chapter of Berzerker. All the best for your future and your blog!

 BANDCAMP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DuEFnR5Rg