Thorngoth Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Thorngoth was formed in May 2003. We are from Germany, southward of Munich. We’ve released till this day one Demo-CD and three full time albums.
Our recent album is called “Leere” and was released in June 2010 by Folter Records.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

I think it can best be described as a modern kind of traditional black metal. We also have some death metal and dark metal influences in our music. Varied structures are characteristic for the music of THORNGOTH.

3.What is the meaning behind the band's name?

The name THORNGOTH is based on J.R.R. Tolkiens’s “Eldar” language.
It’s a neologism created by our vocalist Akhorahil and means “the horned enemy”. Most of English speaking people are thinking first of “thorn” and “goth” if they are reading the name, but “THORNGOTH” has nothing to do with this.

4.How would you describe the lyrical content of the music

Especially on the lyrics of “Leere” we wrote about the physical and emotional void in all its forms. We mainly write philosophical influenced themes about sorrow and death.

5.There seems to be a concept going on with the new album, would you consider the new release as being a concept album?

It could be considered as a concept album, but actually I don’t think so.
All songs are about the same topic, as above mentioned the physical and emotional void. But the lyrics aren’t interconnected. It depends on your position of what a concept album is.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Our best show up to now was the gig on “Under the black sun” festival near Berlin. It was our first Open-Air show and a great experience.
I think, THORNGOTH appearance on stage transmits a cold and dark atmosphere that entwines the audience.

7.Do you have any plans to tour the U.S?

Unfortunately we aren’t able to tour the U.S., because of lack of time and we cannot afford it.
Maybe in the distant future an U.S. tour could be possible. It depends on the further development of the band.

8.The new album came out on Folter Records, how would you describe the support that the label has given you so far?

Folter Records provides the worldwide distribution. They are also giving us possibilities to do some shows in Europe, mainly Germany.

9.Do you have any side projects besides this band, if so who are they and what kind of music do they play?

All members of THORNGOTH beside vocalist Akhorahil are live musicians of the German Black Metal solo-project “Lost Life”, which is driven by Nephesus HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/lostlife666" http://www.myspace.com/lostlife666 . In late 2009 I started a side-project named “Perdition’s Light”, in which I want to create a mixture of ambient, black metal and industrial HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/perditionslightofficial" http://www.myspace.com/perditionslightofficial .
Akhorahil used to play synthesizer in the well known German Black Metal band Lunar Aurora.

10.Out off all the albums that the band has recorded so far, which one are you the most satisfied with?

Our recent album “Leere” is the album we are most satisfied with, because it has the best sound I’ve produced so far. Concerning the music we again took a slightly new direction, in which we’ve focused the best properties of our music.

11.How would you describe the musical progress over the years and what direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

It’s very hard to see our music in future. Maybe we will be more influenced by progressive styles/ bands like Enslaved or Nachtmystium.
Currently we don’t work on new song material.

12.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and what are you listening to nowadays?

I think our influences are unconsciously. We’ve never tried to copy another band. But it’s impossible to avoid influences from other bands.
When I was creating the music of “Leere”, I’ve listened to Shining, Blot Mine, Bethlehem, only to name just a few.
Nowadays I mainly listen to Enslaved, Nachtmystium, Solstafir and some other bands that play this style of music.

13.What role does Occultism or Satanism play in the music and how would you describe your views on this subject?

It only played an insignificant role on our demo-CD “Sigillum”, but no one changes this description on metal archives. Therefore everyone who writes about us just copy & paste that obsolete description of our lyrical themes.
In times of “Sigillum” Akhorahil was influenced by some magical text, of Aleister Crowley, for instance. After the recording of “Sigillum” we soon anticipated from those themes.

14.What are some of your interests outside of music?
Sports, hanging out in my local pub, for instance.

15.Any final words or thoughts?
Listen to “Leere” and feel the emptiness!

Facebook

Homepage

Myspace

ReverbNation

SoundCloud

YouTube