1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the
musical project?
Where to begin, The Last Eon started like, 7 years ago, when one day I decided to
create the music I got tired of searching for. I always had something for the
industrial and electronic edge, perhaps due to that I fell in love with bands such as
Mysticum and Thorns specially. Nonetheless, I’ve always been frustrated by the lack
of bands in the subgenre, and at some point, I just had to put myself down and write
the music that I was subconsciously craving for.
2. In November you have your first full length coming out, can you tell us a little bit
more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?
I believe that making a band that sounds like another one, especially in black metal,
is to me considered, let’s say… self insulting. This is by no means a rule, or a better
standpoint than any other, has a merit to play “classic” black metal and do so well,
but is not for me. Due to this I put a load of effort into figuring out how my inner
universe sounded like, in a sense, who am I, musically?
in that effort, adding Gabber/Hardcore kicks and elements had to happen, I wanted
to unite the extreme violence I love from black metal with the bestial intensity of
hardcore. Then, I believe that my tendencies to go beyond all limits and conformities
did the rest.
3. Some of the lyrics cover Luciferian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about
your interest in the left hand path?
Well, the “right” hand path rapes kids and looks the other way, the right hand path
make s people suicidal and then turns them into SSRI zombies for profit, the right
hand path enslaves and destroys, the right hand path indoctrinated you and
everyone reading this words for years in a scheme they called “education” designed
to create obedient individuals. The Left hand path for me is the only path that if
liveth would grant any sort of damn meaning in life, and I am not even talking about
any spiritual dimension. To me, from the very get go, even if I was raised as a
christian, I could not look away from the manipulative nature of the right hand path.
If the people that represent God behave this way, God then is the enemy, period.
along the way though, when I was about 13 years of age, I had a spontaneous
spiritual experience, a revelation, an apparition.
about it I talked for the first time in the song from the last Eon “Thus Light Spoke”
make of it what you wilt, I became involved by white light and a being of infinite
beauty spoke to me, he introduced himself as Luzbel, (that is the angelical name of
Lucifer) .
You are the first person beyond my family whom I tell this to, btw, it has haunted me
at the same time that has inspired me, but all in all, when I was a christian ( as a
child) all the prayers were answered with silence and indifference. the beatings, the
blood, the pain and chaos, never explained. When I left the christian cult, Lucifer
appeared to me to explain the meaning of my existence. What am I going to do,
think, believe? Like anyone else, I believe my direct experience and on it, the Left
hand path was the only option.
At about 16 I left everything related to the “occult” way too obscure and convoluted
to convey any meaning. I grew tired of the egocentric feeling that gave “Look, I am
wearing scary looking symbols and I chant things in latin that I although I have no
Idea of am I saying. This was to me the same as christianity, but with upside down
crosses.
My skepticism ended some years ago, when psychedelics presented to me
spirituality in the most straightforward, undeniably real experiences ever, beyond
language or symbiology, “The all is one”.
4. Another main theme on the album is psychedelics, what are some of the
experiences you have had with psychedelics that you bring into your songwriting?
When I learned about psychedelics, I had my first direct experiences of non-duality,
of ego dissolution and a whole universe unfolded before my eyes of infinite
meaning. I confronted my fears, my demons and internal hell, I thought, this is the
most black metal thing that could ever exist. the psychedelic experience, the path
towards enlightenment, there is no more pure act of rebellion in this society that we
live in than the act of thinking by yourself, of being yourself, and psychedelics
showed what did the mystics meant when they said that “you are god” or in this
case, “you are Lucifer”
Now, in my writing, I wanted to go beyond what you will find in occultism, not even
the imaginary, I wanted to portray what I experience as luciferianism, as psychedelic
mysticism, and I wanted to break from the concept of “Dark and evil” that our ego
loves so much to involve themselves into. The truth will require to merge opposites,
and reside in a place that is beyond the concepts of good and evil, good or wrong,
up or down. This will in fact destroy you, as it destroyed me. the part that loathed
myself, the side that wanted to commit suicide, that part of you, the ego is wat gets
obliterated when the psychedelic path is walked. I wanted to convey those
emotions, I want to generate curiosity around the subject of psychedelics in the
black metal culture.
5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Last Eon'?
The Last Eon, the end of time-space, the death of GOD, the christian apocalypse,
and the only thing that is absolutely certain about existence, there will be a last
moment, we exist then, in The Last Eon. Although I now understand that time is a
cognitive illusion, I thought that it fit the band, the vibe and the concept.
6. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new
album cover?
Of course, It only took a year to develop it… let me guide you through it
From the center outwards, you'll find first the eye:
The eye represents Human awareness, as we see outwards in this seemingly
material universe, and the vastness of space. The eye is at the center of a galaxy,
representing our innate egocentrism, at the same time that represents how
awareness has manifested in this universe through us.
then, outwards, you'll find Jormungand, the Ouroboros
This is to me one of the most incredible symbols humanity has conceived. The snake
that beats its own tail, Ouroboros, Jormungand', representing self-reference and
self-creation across cultures and epochs, you'll find this symbol in the ancient egypt,
the Nørdic Mythology and the aztec/mayan religion, the same symbol. It does
represent in a way that “The all is one”, non duality. As you see, the psychedelic
molecules in the serpent’s body indicates that psychedelics are the portal between
the material universe (inside the portal) and the infinite acausal universe our
consciousness comes from, of fractal shape( represented by the fractal around it:
then, there is a symbiology I like from the matrix, the red and blue pill, represented
as planets:
they represent the ultimate choice between liberation or contentment with what is.
In other words, comprehending what’s beyond the material world will come to you
and everyone as a matter of choice when the time comes.
And why not, a trivia fact, the head of the ouroboros is the skull of my deceased
friend, a siberian Husky that passed away as I was finishing the cover artwork:
.
I wanted to make a tribute to him in this album. The artwork is the product of the
collaboration between an artist Ebenezer42 and I.
7. Currently there are only 2 members in the band, is this band going to be strictly a
studio project?
Well, actually, as for the time I write this, the project is just me, Jarle Byberg was
the studio drummer, but won’t play live. It's just me at the moment.
No, to me music is not making a n album, music has to be experienced live. I am, as
we speak, putting together the live lineup, so stay put because this project will
indeed hit the stages.
8. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black
metal and industrial?
I just released the second song, so what can I know?, what is true is that some close
friends of mine have told me things about it from “Dude this is the future of metal!”
to, “Sorry but I don't like any type of industrial music, it is too modern for me”, which
to me both indicate a good thing, it creates a guttural reaction in people, either you
love it, or you hate it, but nobody that listens to it becomes indifferent. As an artist, I
take pride in having created something people have never heard before. creating
“more of the same”, the type of music you forget as soon as the song ends, would
signify my death as an artist.
9. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days
that the band members are a part of?
Well, I am now working on some The 3rd Attempt material, the process is long
because life has this fucking mania of loving to get in the fucking way. but for sure,
you will hear news fairly soon about the next movement from the 3rd attempt. Also,
I am finishing the composition of the 3rd album of my first band, Necrocave. We
never released anything and it dates from the times where I was in Spain, the
albums were created for ourselves, and I believe they are in youtube, but never did
anything with it. So there is some action as well with this project which only like 10
people on earth might know about, now you do too.
10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I don't know, neither I will ever plan it, my music creates itself through me, I don
master plan it. I will keep pushing to break boundaries, to mix hardcore electronic to
create the most entrancing monumental and intense music I can conceive of, what
shape does that take, Is a mystery.
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?
My personal hall of fame, and influence for The Last Eon are Thorns, Mysticum,
Mayhem, Dødhemsgaard, but also, in the electronic side must be mentioned
Angerfist, Mad Dog, Scarphase, and DeleteDJ (R.I.P man). To me, Gabber/Hardcore
and Extreme metal have many things in common, in fact, when you think about it,
hardcore is to electronic music what extreme metal is to rock music. Both are brutal,
distorted, right on your face, violent and both are loved by the kind of people that
dont fucking want to be a part of the rotten society we live within. Both are the
sound of rebellion.
12. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for your time invested in this interview and the dedication to the scene, is
very difficult to find people who gives an actual fuck. Lastly, to everyone reading
this, if you don't know about them, I invite you to research about psychedelics such
as psilocybin (mushrooms) Dimethyltryptamine, Lsd, etc… and what can they do for
you, specially if you are infested with SSRI’s (antidepressants and mood stabilizers),
when taken properly, they can be the before and after of oone’s existence. If you know
about them, spread the word
https://youtu.be/G6u0F6V7nDs