1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Torden: Hails! Château Noir was conceived by a mystical alliance of two BM activists in the withering summer of 2011 a.y.p.s., most material was created in an intuitive way drawing inspiration from the old French and Polish radical scenes... The duo's cursed debut album is finally out after years of delays via Darker Than Black in the year of the Plague! "...and the windows of our dark castle have been lightened once again!..."
2. In August you had released your first full length, musically how does it differ from your previous split and demo?
Torden: Yeah, finally we did it. The album was recorded back in 2013, and for some reason we never got to release it. Lack of time, motivation, or lack of interest from worthy labels.
And what a year to release the album, pandemics, haha, the modern day plague. By the way we came up with the album title back in the day, so in a sense you can say it was prophetic.
Answering your question, it doesn't differ much because it was recorded around the same time as the demo and split material, however we used more serious equipment for the recording. Everything from porta studio to microphone to drum machine. And then it was mastered by Sadist from Misanthropic Art / SS-18 / Baal Zebuth last year to give that crisp and raw sound.
3. I have noticed that there is a 4 year gap in between releases; can you tell us a little bit more about it?
Torden: Like previously mentioned, basically life circumstances and lack of motivation delayed the release by approximately 6-7 years... so these gaps are not really intentional, it's just the way things are. And in the end, I think the album was released just on time, our little soundtrack to the dying modern world.
4. Your lyrics cover darkness and mysticism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
Torden: It’s not “interest” really, it’s my life. When I write the lyrics I express feelings which are gathered deep inside of me, so it’s not some made up crap. However, there’s not much darkness or mysticism to be found in the lyrics to this particular album. If you actually read the lyrics you will see they’re quite philosophical and abstract, everyone is free to interpret them in their own way. But indeed, the lyrics for the second album are going to be more obscure and mystical, or even occult.
5.I know that the band’s name means 'Black Castle' in French. How does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
Torden: I think it fits our music well, but I’m not the one to judge. The name came before any of the music was created.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
Torden: Yeah, the front cover is an old Dutch painting from 17th century. I found it long time ago and I think it fits the music and the atmosphere of the album perfectly.
7.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?
Uruk-Hai: Yeah, Château Noir is a duo, in which all the functions necessary for the existence of the band are rationally divided between the two members: Torden writes lyrics, records vocals, does the design, keeps in touch with the labels etc. I compose the music, do the recording process, mixing of our poison, sometimes give some hints about lyrics, intro/outro etc.
Sometimes, of course, we may change roles, as it took place on the Granskog / Château Noir split, where I wrote instrumental parts for Granskog and Torden did the same for Château Noir.
Few years ago we tried to expand the line-up, but it gave no result, because it is time consuming for the new members to learn the material, rehearse etc. In addition to that, in the sewer where I live there are constant issues with rehearsal places, especially when it comes to full line-up.
That is why the current state of affairs is more than acceptable.
Torden: I can also add that I would only consider session live musicians for the possible expanding, we do not really need any “fresh blood”.
8.On the new album you also done an Absurd cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?
Uruk-Hai: The decision to cover this track of Absurd was quite logical, as both of us are old fans of the band and it has influences us a lot. It was difficult to choose the track to cover though, as all of their music is great, but this particular song was very consonant with our mood and our feelings in the time period when we were recording the album.
9.Does National Socialism play any role in your music?
Uruk-Hai: We’re not going to follow the trend and say: “Yeah, we’re NSBM”, and two years later change our mind and say we’re against politics and hate all people equally. This is just stupid.
Torden: It’s 2020, Black Metal scene has seen everything: Satanism, Misanthropy, National Socialism, pedophilia, eco-feminism, you name it. We just make our music and don’t think about the trends or names. Genres were made up by people who had nothing better to do. It is enough to listen to music and read the lyrics – and then everyone will be able to make their own conclusions. But no, there is no influence of Alfred Rosenberg’s or Adolf Hitler’s ideas on our lyrics or music as far as I remember.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
Torden: The reaction was surprisingly good, from both old comrades as well as regular listeners who have never heard of us before. Which is flattering, especially if you consider the quantity of releases which flood the scene nowadays. Sometimes it seems that there are more bands that fans altogether…
11.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Uruk-Hai: My active projects at the moment:
1. Weinberg – Black Metal project, mostly instrumental, where I have the possibility to experiment with sound, stylistics etc. Currently I have released 3 demos, which are available at weinberg.bandcamp.com, few demos are about to be finished, I hope in the near future they will become available.
2. Interstellar Chumak - stoner/sludge, initially it was oriented at near-folk sound, but now it is more of a misanthropic sludge with some addition of hardcore. There’s not too many recordings right now – just a few rehearsals, video from the only live appearance, and the 2 track EP is in the process of mixing, which I again hope will be available in the nearest future.
3. Bestial Vomit - black/death in the vein of old gods Blasphemy, Archgoat, Black Witchery.
Line-up: Torden – vocals, noise sounds, me – vocals, instruments.
EP is also being mixed at the moment and I hope in the beginning of next year Satanic Skinheads will be able to listen to our material.
4. Frostriket – atmospheric BM, where I only play the guitar (at least somewhere I can have a rest, haha).
There are also a couple of other projects, but they are either on hold or just in the beginning phase.
Torden: As for me, Granskog is my main project, but it is currently on hold. I also take part in Bestial Vomit and do occasional vocals in Medieval Sacrifice.
12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Uruk-Hai: In the future Château Noir will sign a deal with nuclear blast and will play live shows at some big festivals! Hahaha!
Well, honestly, Château Noir was, is and will be an obscure underground formation,which has already taken its place, a part of our small but still strong Bukowinian scene, and all this fuss to prove something to someone – this is not my cup of tea. As someone from Pestilentia once said – “I’m too old for this shit”.
Torden: Nothing more to add, just look out for our second album to be released sometime next year.
13.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?
Uruk-Hai: I wouldn’t like to drop names for the thousandth time, naming the bands and projects that roam from one interview to another, but once I was greatly influenced by the early French scene, first of all bands of Concilium: Seigneur Voland, Kristallnacht, Blessed in Sin, most of the LLN circle, especially Vlad Tepes, Black Murder, Belketre; also musically I’m influenced a lot by Finnish scene: Sargeist, Horna, Hammer, Goatmoon etc. Hellenic scene also has had some influence, both early - Rotting Christ, Varathron, Necromantia as well as more new radical scene - Wolfnacht, Der Sturmer, The Shadow Order. Especially I want to highlight Pantheon (Arizona), Grand Belial's Key (Heil!), Master's Hammer, Cultes des Ghoules, Spear of Longinus. From what I’m actively listening at the moment: Meshuggah, Blasphemy, Proclamation, Demoncy, Bongripper, BBH, a lot of different drone-, dark-ambient'а Ironsword, Manilla Road, lots of old hardcore and RAC.
14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Der Sieg wird unser sein!
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