Old Growth Interview

 

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

With Old Growth i wanted to create music honoring Nature, wilderness and all non-human lifeforms we share the earth with. For me black metal is the most spiritual music genre out there and I think it has some sort of raw energy and a primal wildness to it, so it was clear to me, that a band, which tries to connect with ancient landscapes, feral creatures and natural surroundings should be a black metal band. Nevertheless it was important for me to include acoustic guitars and melancholic melodies to create a special atmosphere that sounds more organic, than the distorted guitars and blast beats. The outcome was the album „Mossweaver“.

2. Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

It is an atmospheric black metal record with harsh blast beats parts, frantic guitar riffs as well as quite some atmospheric clean parts. At times it has a folk or neo folk sort of vibe, while all in all it is a black metal record. The most important thing for me was to take the listener on a journey away from modern civilization and towards ancient landscapes and primal wilderness.

3. You refer to your music as being 'woodland black metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

I live in a place which is surrounded by woodland area and so i spend a lot of time walking through forests, tracking animals and learning more about the creatures living there. It is a process of rewilding myself, which means, that I try to reconnect with the land and the natural phenomenon's that can be found there. I am working towards a perspective that sees the natural world as my home. I don't want to be a visitor, when i go to the woods. Learning more about edible wild plants, bushcraft, animal behaviour and the way of life of our ancestors thousands of years ago can be a key to a whole new world.

Black metal is unbeaten in creating grim, mystical and melancholic, yet powerful atmospheres. That fits perfectly to what i experience in Nature and to what i wanted to communicate with these songs, so it was only logical for me to call this music woodland black metal.

4. A lot of your lyrics cover Shamanism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

Edward Abbey once wrote: „The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need — if only we had the eyes to see.“ I think, that this is absolutely true. Humans lived for almost 200.000 years as hunters and gatherers on this planet. It was a life in harmony with the natural world, a life as animals among animals. The two destroyers of this world - agriculture and civilization - exist since around 10.000 years. Since their beginning they domesticed men, dominated Nature and led to the artificial world we see today.

I think it is of utter importance to rewild ourselves, to reconnect with the land we live on and to learn how to sustain ourselves with what nature has to offer. Modern man is a slave of its culture, a slave of progress and all in all a slave of wage labour and the supermarket. If we want to break free from these chains and want to live our lives self-determined and proud, we have to be able to provide for ourselves without artificial support systems or states, that domesticate and subdue us. 

Shamanism and ancient rituals can help to focus on a world that is not dominated by humans. There is still wildness out there – and also within ourselves. Shamanism in general and the philosophies of Animism in particular can help to understand who we really are and what our place on this earth should really be. 

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

This band is all about Nature, primitivism and the sort of change in perspective that needs to happen, if we want to perceive ourselves more as animals and less as humans, more as a part of the natural world and less as a domesticated creature existing in a completely artificial world.

This lyric fragment of the song 'Oakenheart' can illustrate what I mean with this: „I cloak my body in leaves of fern and make my mouth the nest of the night snake. I replace my lonesome heart with acorns. The seedling will sprout within my chest. I place two cones of pitch pines in my orbits. I will envisage a new world. I witness my last breath vanish into the cold air of the first autumn night. A flock of birds ascends into the clouded firmament. A white stag heads for the forgotten glade. The black wolves prepare for the sacred hunt. A druid is born: Mossweaver. Oakenheart.“

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

Old growth forests are the essence of ancient primal wilderness. These forests existed for thousands of years and are still home for trees, that are centuries old. Such a primeval place helps to overcome the myth of human supremacy. Experiencing these landscapes makes one realize, that we are just tiny, worthless creatures and i think it should be natural, that we respect these landscapes and show reverence. 

The band name also revers to the fact, that our species is an old one. We already lived for thousands of years on this planet, but only in the last few thousand years we developed a world order which is nothing but a monument to greed and hubris. We can find wisdom and integrity again, if we look at how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago.

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

Did you ever create a fire with your own hands - using only 'tools' you can find in Nature? If you'll ever try it, you will hopefully find yourself (after many hours of training) in the situation shown on the cover. To start a fire is an ancient skill to protect yourself against the cold, against the seasons and against predators. We once knew how to live within Nature – we seem to have forgotten a lot. Yet, there is still time to rediscover what has been lost.

8. With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

I prefer to work alone.

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

The response is really good. People from literally everywhere told me (and keep telling me), that the record is great and that they find something very special within these songs.

10. Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

I started to write songs for a second album quite some time ago and i already recorded most of it. I will continue working on new songs, so you can expect more material from Old Growth in the future.

11. 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?

I listen to black metal for many years now and it still amazes me how powerful and inspiring this music is. I draw inspiration from several other genres as well, but recently I am listening mostly to Scandinavian old school black metal and US black metal. Ulver, Agalloch and Wolves in the throne room are definitely among my all-time favourites.

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

We should show some reverence.

https://youtu.be/57GbbxV1VbM

https://oldgrowthblackmetal.bandcamp.com/releases

Old Growlth/Mossweaver/Supreme Chaos Records/2020 Full Length Review

 

  Old  Growth  are  a  solo  project from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric  and  ritualistic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Mossweaver"  which  will  be  released  on  December  18th  by  Supreme  Chaos  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  atmospheric  sounding  synths  a  few  seconds  alter  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  When  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  cascadian  influenced  style  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  some  nature  orientated  soundscapes  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  as  well  as  the  clean  playing  also  making  a  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  instrumental  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  nature,  wilderness,  shamanism,  primitivism  and  ancient  rites.

  In  my  opinion  Old  Growth  are  a  very  great sounding  atmospheric  and  ritualistic  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of t his  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Oakenheart"  and  "Altar  Of  Wisdom".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/57GbbxV1VbM

https://oldgrowthblackmetal.bandcamp.com/releases