Empalamento Interview

 

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

When we met, we quickly discovered that we shared a common taste in black metal and similar philosophical views underlying the genre. Although we come from a generation somewhat removed from the golden age of the ’90s, we felt the responsibility to “carry the torch” and advance this cause with the support of scene veterans. It was only a matter of weeks before we began our first jam sessions, encouraged by the outcome, the challenge of starting a project was born. Thus, Empalamento came into being during the peak of the winter of 2023.

2.So far you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

Our initial goal was to create a completely raw demo based on our influences from the Raw Black Metal scene. We aimed to incorporate elements from Polish projects of Temple of the Full Moon, France’s LLN, Saarland Black Metal especially Grausamkeit and beyond. We wanted to make something detailed while keeping it as simple as possible. We honestly didn’t do something you see quite often, with artists trying to sound like other artists using a riffing formula already created. Although we channeled various influences into the project, we always made sure not to sound obvious or predictable despite the simplicity

3.A lot of your lyrics cover Fantasy and occult themes; can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

Both members in this band live in another type of world in our minds, different worlds, but similar in certain points, each with their own fantasy, a dark side perhaps we share in this project.

We tried to express ourselves in a personal level with metaphors which leads to a fantasy realm, a bitterness and vengeful side of our minds, it is a portrait of the current frustrations and pride, the need of revenge on our mind just like a vampire bloodlust, and the urge to honor our ancestors hardships, which made who we are, by the true way of redemption: destroying our enemies and everything who stand in our way.

To honor those ideals, we made this EP an Ode to Vlad Tepes, Voivod of Wallachia, the Impaler of traitors and the defender of his land, a true inspiration who fought empires at the same time, even with a small territory in comparison, he mastered the art of the horror and did not let his empire fall. We expressed an irreligious version of Vlad, for he sinned and had no mercy for his opponents nor for innocent people from the other empire... A Devil version of him, possessed by revenge due to his traumatic life, someone who treated Christianity as a tool to his empire, but had no values of it, a beast who was aware of the true essence of the Abrahamic religions: population control and self-ego mutilation.

The lesson that you can learn with this EP is that a wounded vampire can be the fiercest one, because the loss of blood increases the bloodlust.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Empalamento'?

"Empalamento" in Portuguese means "Impalement", a method used by Vlad Tepes to exterminate his enemies, and we thought that the idea of raising the stake to slowly destroy everyone who stands in our way, was a good portrait of this band.

It is real what we feel inside about this metaphor in which we treat the "stake" as ourselves, to penetrate beyond any hardship in life. Empalamento is a true expression of our Bloodlust.

5. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?

It's about NekroTeppeş current job, which he is a ceramist who works with 17th century methods, in a way to keep his village traditions, and the photo itself is about the ceramic firing method called "Soenga".

Soenga or Black Clay firing began in the Paleolithic period (a period of prehistory that began around 3 million years ago, when human ancestors began to produce the first chipped stone artefacts, standing out from all other animals, and which lasted until around 10000 BC) and arrived in Gondar, Amarante in the mid-17th century. It is believed that the art originated in Portugal with the potters of São Martinho de Mouros, who "exported" it to the parish of Gondar.

 This firing consists of placing the ceramic pieces in a large hole (on average 3 meters in diameter and 1 meter high) to be heated (bonfire) to adapt to high temperatures. In the final stage, they are covered with wood and earth, usually at a temperature of between 800° and 1000° degrees, absorbing the smoke itself (carbon dioxide), giving the pieces black, grey and white tones and a more metallic sound.

NekroTeppeş added some stakes him and his friends made a photoshoot, and one of his friends catches a goatlike figure in the fire, like a spirit. The CD Image is raw, no edition added, no Photoshop, true event catches in a camera.

 

6. 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?

Empalamento is and always will be a duo project. We believe that if we add more members, there would be a risk of diluting the project's sonic essence. In fact, the fewer members, the better—and the two of us are more than enough: fewer personalities to manage, fewer chances of interpersonal issues. Thankfully, we get along very well and respect each other’s creative contributions.

What may happen, however, is we have session contributions, as was the case on the EP with Koraxid, who helped us record drums and provided vocals on the track “Ordem da Estaca.”

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

So far, we’ve had only four shows, each a completely different experience. But we’ve always tried to recreate our first one, which was very special a dual debut both live and for the Tape edition release of the EP (first release), and in what we believe was the best possible context in Portugal. That context was the Eternal Winter Fest, very much in the style of Invicta Requiem Mass, which couldn’t take place in 2024. In other words, it was an excellent debut: the show went well and came as a surprise to the Portuguese community, who knew almost nothing about us because we had kept utmost secrecy until that date. At that event, we sold practically our entire tape stock (pre-orders of close friends and distros); in other words, the tapes went sold out within the first few days.

 

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for 2025?

We don't have anything in sight for now and we don't intend to play many concerts for now. It will all depend on the type of organization and the conditions. We are not big advocates of playing shows with a mix of different Extreme Metal genres, but we are aware that we are subject to this in the early days of the band.

 

9. Can you tell us a little bit more about the 'Sulphur Waters Black Metal Allegiance'?

Black Metal is a genre with a tradition of forming various local inner circles, a way for artists to connect and form a stronger cause. Inspired by the famous circles from the ’90s—like the Norwegian Inner Circle, the Austrian Black Metal Syndicate, Les Légions Noires, the French Concilium, etc.—Koraxid from Grievance and Lord Drahkul created the Sulphur Waters Black Metal Allegiance, a circle meant to honor the past and build an ambitious future through quality projects and strong connections with our people. The name comes from one of the most important symbols of Caldas da Rainha: the hot springs, which are sulphurous. The history of these waters is closely linked to the founding of Caldas da Rainha. In 1484, during a trip, Queen Leonor observed people bathing in the hot waters and, upon learning of their healing properties, decided to build a thermal hospital there. Thus, the Rainha D. Leonor Thermal Hospital was born, considered the oldest operating thermal hospital in the world.

 

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

We were surprised when we released the tape, that was more of a private release, very limited copies, a dude in US surprisingly knew about the release and ordered a tape.

It's been good reviews so far, it's always important to pay attention to the critics, it can touch in a very crucial point of our next works. That was our first experience and one of its purposes is to learn with it...

Everything about this release made us want to continue with this project, more ambitious, yet to maintain the essence of the old spirited and true black metal.

 

11. When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We expect to return to the studio as soon as possible to conceptualize a potential album this year. We won’t promise a release date yet; we’ll create the album at our own pace—calm and stress-free—to optimize our creativity and produce a more mature version of the EP with new ideas. Our goal is to release new material by the end of next year or in 2027.

12.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?

“The musical inspiration didn’t come alone, as each of us wandered through various places with strong primordial energy in coexistence with music nearby forests, castles, mountains and rivers… These locations lie at the heart of our fantasy, bringing forth ancestral and medieval themes.

We both used many bands as influences for this EP. We can mention some of them: Satanic Warmaster, Sargeist, Old Dimmu Borgir, Akhenaton - Divine Symphonies, Mortiis, Graveland, Vlad Tepes, Dodheimsgard, Horna, Kristallnacht, Diabolical Fullmoon, Mephistus, Mütiilation, Nargaroth, Drowning the Light, Order of Nosferatu, Odium, Burzum, Enslaved, Nokturnal Mortum, Hecate Enthroned, Falkenbach—and especially Anthropolatri and Bathory.

NekroTeppeş: “I still listen to those bands sometimes, but now I’d like to mention others like Vargrav, Branikald, Nidernes, Evilfeast, Forteresse, Bekhira, Obtained Enslavement, Cripta Oculta, Osculum Infame, Cryogenic, Warmoon Lord, and many more…”

Lord Drahkul: “I’ve been listening to Ishtar (a small, forgotten Swedish project), Vlad Tepes, Immortal, Godkiller, Thy Serpent, Moonblood, Seigneur Voland, Grausamkeit, Paysage d’Hiver, etc.”

 

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

Everything in this project was made by what we were feeling in the moment and with our individual personal ideals of what life is about.

we'd like to thank to everyone who was involved directly or indirectly during the making process of “Ordem da Estaca” and those maniacs who supported us since the birth of Empalamento.

Long live Sulphur Waters Black Metal Allegiance.

Satanás Governa o Mundo!

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