1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Kuu is a Black Metal project that originally started out in 2009 as Flesh. I had a vision to create some of the most evil, blasphemous and aggressive Black Metal there is. It wasn’t until 2014 I settled on the name Kuu and began recording the full length; Deus Est Mortuus.
2.So far you have released one album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Raw, evil and full of blasphemy, anger and hatred. Not a single melody to be had here, it is all straight forward brutality. The ambient tracks present on the album convey a minimal yet occult, ritualistic atmosphere. So much more in the style of the Finnish scene as opposed to Norwegian or Swedish bands. There is a lot more Death/Doom influences as well.
3.the lyrics cover some Satanic and Occult topics, can you tell us a little bit more abotu your interest in these topics?
I used to be more of a theistic Satanist that literally believed and worshiped the devil in a physical and mental sense, relying on ‘him’ for guidance. I am still very much so a Satanist, but I do not take it as seriously any longer. I am open minded to the idea that Satan exists and rules over all of mankind. But for the most part, I do not follow any sort of deities. I am my own God who makes his own rules. I truly hope that when we die, it is pure blackness and no thought, no longer aware of our surroundings with no concept of the meaning of time. Life is already what you would call dissatisfying, I would hate to think there is another dissatisfying life after this. Unless that ‘life’ consists of demonic winged sluts that serve your every need for all the evil deeds you committed on earth, haha.
4.Originally the musical project was known as 'Flesh', what was the decision behind the name change?
Flesh was a spur of the moment type name decision I made when I recorded the initial (and now long lost) 4 track demo back in 2009. Two of the songs remain and were included on the Kuu - Deus Est Mortuus release, The Void Speaks My Name and Summum Malum (the last two tracks). The other two remaining tracks have since gone missing. There is also another two track demo under Flesh that was limited to just 10 from scratch hard copies handed out to a select few people back in 2012 or so. I am still in possession of these two tracks, but do not intend to ever release them ever. It wasn’t until 2014 I decided to rename the project to Kuu after much thought. I wanted to keep the name as simple and straight forward as possible, still. I am also half Finnish and speak the language quite well, and also since Finnish Black Metal is so influential to me, I wanted to pay homage to Finland by having my band name in Finnish.
5.I know that the projects name means 'Moon Goddess' in Finnish, do you also have an interest in Finnish Paganism or Mythology?
I am interested in the sense that I read about it with fascination, but I do not believe or practice it. I am strictly a Satanist. I think in many ways Satanism and Paganism go hand in hand. The true Satanic way is to not seek any advise or help from any imaginary gods/goddesses for guidance, but to use your own mind and judgment. I have in the past encountered many events and occurrences which may be perceived as seeing and experiencing demons, though. So I am very open minded at the idea of there existing other realms in this universe that we can’t explain. But for the most part, I see myself as my own God who chooses his own path in life without the guidance of anything really spiritual. We are all our own Gods that shape and control our own destiny.
6.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
I am and have been open to the idea of collaborating with other musicians. I am very strict though in the sense that I prefer to only collaborate with musicians who are worthy enough and see eye to eye with my ideas. I have often jumped at the idea of hiring/finding session musicians to help put up a few live shows, but usually in the end other people try to change or dictate my visions for themselves or they just outright flake or chicken out. My requirement for a live performance would be every musician has to be theatrical in some way, which means; no shorts, sandals, and nerd glasses unless its just a rehearsal. The LA scene has enough bands that dress as if they just got off their office day job. If I put on a live show, everyone must look the part, but alot of people do not agree with this mindset and think by just playing the music well its rewarding to the audience. Yeah, corpsepaint has become a bit cliche since 1996, but it is still much better than seeing a bunch of guys in flannel shirts and neckbeards on stage. I also want blood, impaled heads, inverted crosses, burned Quran’s and Bibles everywhere, maybe even a Swastika to piss people off. I want to be controversial on stage, but most people are sadly too politically correct to go along with it. It is extremely hard to find people who see eye to eye with the traditional Black Metal mindset in this very liberal Los Angeles SJW/humanist cesspool. I have often thought of performing live on stage just by myself, with backtracking.
7.Recently Merdumgiriz re-issued your 2014 album, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?
I am very happy with the releases. To have all of the material released on physical CD and tape is really great. Up until just recently, the material was self released only digitally. It wasn’t gaining nearly enough exposure as I had hoped for seeing as most underground metal fans prefer owning and collecting a hard physical copy, whether its in tape or CD as opposed to just MP3‘s. Then I found out that the MP3‘s were being sold on Spotify for just pennies, that didn’t bother much though. I am confident that I will have great success being on this underground label and I am very satisfied with the overall outcome.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
Most of the Black Metal elite appreciates it and enjoy it a lot. Upon announcing the release to personal friends, I have already gotten several people interested and praising it. Some of the songs on the album were recorded as far back as 2009 though, so it doesn’t represent my current musicianship or production skills. I know I can do alot better and will do alot better in the next release, but overall Deus Est Mortuus gets tons of praise.
9.When can we expect another album and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
I am currently working on the next album as I speak. With each new release, you can expect even more changes with the direction of the sound continually becoming more experimental and darker. I may abandon the down tuned straight forward Death Metal style as heard on Deus Est Mortuus, playing more eerie, dissonant guitar riffs in a higher key and faster tempo in weirder scales. I already recorded a track that sounds very reminiscent of say; Endless Dismal Moan. However, my style and direction is always subject to change depending on my current mood. I am still very much interested in producing a sort of Death/Doom style of Black Metal, but with a lot of changes and new experiments. In all honesty, I have always preferred more slower and heavier/brutal metal bands. We will just have to wait and see what the next Kuu album has in store for it’s listeners.
10.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’ve always favored the Finnish style of Black Metal and would say that style is my primary influence. Stuff like Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, Archgoat, etc. I prefer bands that use minimal emphasis on keyboards (nothing too heavily symphonic), but I want them to be present either way and convey atmosphere. One of my favorite projects of all time is the Swedish Abruptum, no band has ever come close to conveying such an occult and Satanic atmosphere. These days, I grow more and more open minded to other genres, but in the end, I always end up coming back to Black/Death/Thrash Metal. There are so many new and old bands to discover in the underground to keep it all fresh.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Apart from music I am really heavily into anything on computers. Programming in C#, 3D modeling, game development. I also enjoy reading and writing, I much prefer to read something than to watch the mindless crap you see on American TV. I’m always willing to gain more knowledge and learn new things.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
The release of Deus Est Mortuus is a huge middle finger to all the recent trends of these “post-Black Metal shoe-gazing” hipster garbage bands coming out recently. I hope I can inspire other talented young musicians to keep the spirit of true and elite Black/Death alive and well, and this whole hipster trend plaguing the Black Metal scene can just end and die off already once and for all. All the peace loving, tree hugging, SJW, politically correct vegan hipsters in metal should fuck off and leave the genre to the real men. Have to give a shoutout to Mark Danson from the Hipster Black Metal Youtube comedy channel for compiling my music and introducing it to Merdumgiriz. Thanks to all my loyal fans and supporters. Lastly, always live by the Flesh, and hail Satan!
| Bandcamp |
No comments:
Post a Comment