1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
After the release of our latest album ‘Oalevluuk’ we did a few shows. The album and the shows were very well received. After that we wrote some new material of which an EP will be released soon. Actually we would like to do more shows but due to circumstances that has not happened yet. In the meantime we continue writing new material for the next album which will be called ‘Kwelhekse’ and we are preparing for our next show in March.
2.Recently you have released a compilation celebrating 30 years, can you tell us a little bit more about this release?
Live recordings were made of some of the performances we did for the release of ‘Oalevluuk’. Then someone brought to my attention that we are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year. That was of course a great opportunity to do something with the live recordings. That is how the idea came about to release an anniversary album. Then the process started to mix and master the live recordings, to select and master live recordings from the past and to select and re-master some demo and promo tracks. We kept all that in our own hands. We wanted to include a lot of photos from the past in the book, but we also had to make a small selection. It is a big task to capture 30 years in an album. We worked on it with conviction and it brought back a lot of memories. During the process you learn a lot about your personal past, the friendships (not only between the band members but also with people you get to know over the years through the band). And also your individual strengths and weaknesses. The band has been part of my life for 30 years. I have learned so many things through the band that I can also apply in my private life. The label Hammerheart indicated that they only want to release full-length albums and no EPs or live albums. Fortunately, we were able to work together with Wolfkult Religion.
3.Musically how do you feel the band has evolved over the last 3 decades?
When we started out in 1994, none of us had music lessons or anything like that. We didn’t even know how to tune our own instruments. However, we were so eager to develop our dark art that we started writing good songs very quickly. With the arrival of our former drummer Grä Gmorg, a rapid musical development immediately followed because he is a classically trained instrumentalist. At that time, we found it important to create atmospheres through our music and to present our technical development. The first two albums are both in the same vein, with the second album ‘Sunnevot’ having more emphasis on musical technical progress. After that, there were some line-up changes and we lost the keyboard player for example and got a guitarist instead. By that time musical technical development was less relevant to us and our taste developed more and more in an ‘in your fucking face’ direction. The third album ‘Piene’ therefore sounds completely different from the previous albums. I think the last album is more or less a combination of the first album ‘Askengris’ and the third album ‘Piene’. The newly written material was developed together with Njirrebrod. This material that is yet to be released will probably go back even more to our roots. We want to create more atmospheres and at the same time be rawer than ever. Njirrebrod has an unerring sense of which direction we want to go with this.
4.Your earlier material had more of a symphonic style while the new material is more aggressive sounding, what was the decision behind going into more of a rawer direction?
As stated in the answer to the previous question it was more of a natural development. Through line-up changes and changes of taste the music evolved in a different direction. However, we want to merge the old symphonic sound a bit more with the new, rawer sound.
5.A lot of your lyrics cover occult themes, can you tell us a little bit more about how this interest has evolved over the years?
On the first two albums we mainly expressed our interest in myths and legends. The third album was mainly about aggression and violence. The last album is clearly the most occult-oriented album. Occultism has always been the common thread that connected all our music, but this was most strongly expressed on the last album. In order to complete the lyrics of this album, we read a lot and deliberately misinterpreted texts from books in order to gain different insights. We also integrated our own dreams and fantasies into this and created our own rituals. That is why the lyrics of the last album are quite personal. We will therefore not go into some things any further and leave it to the listener's interpretation.
6.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored over the years with your music?
Mostly about old myths and legends from our own culture to which we give our own interpretation by using our imagination. Witches' Sabbaths, religious murders, blood sacrifices, 'witte wieven', rituals, battles are all part of our history and are in our blood.
7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The cover design of the album ‘Oalevluuk’ represents a transformation to a new identity. We had a lot going against us in the period from about 2008 until the release of that album. Because of everything that has worked against us in the last period, you only become stronger as a band. The person on the cover artwork undergoes the same transformation process. He has literally initiated a ritual of transformation. For us as a band, this is sometimes literal and physical, but sometimes also figurative and symbolic. From light to dark, from weak to strong. This process of transformation often goes in different phases: sometimes symbolic, sometimes physical. By gaining knowledge in different ways, by simply reading books or a period of fasting or staying in nature for a while. Sometimes letting your anger flare up or by consciously experiencing pain. Everything to come out better on the other side.
For the cover design of the anniversary album, we did not want to use a clichéd live photo. Firstly because it is not just a live album (after all, there are also studio recordings on it) and secondly because it is meant as an anniversary album and not just a live album. The subject of the artwork is an extension of the cover artwork theme of ‘Oalevluuk’. The entity on the cover of ‘A Chrestomathy of Blasphemous Supremacy’ undergoes, just like on the cover of ‘Oalevluuk’, a transformation depicted in an abstract form. This represents the transformation that we as a band and as individuals have undergone in the last 30 years
8.From 2005 to 2023 there was no music being released, can you tell us a little bit more about the long break and the decision behind returning to writing newer music?
We had material ready for an album right after ‘Piene’ but that material was more in line with that album while we actually wanted to take things to a higher level in terms of the atmosphere and intensity of the music. At the same time, the technical developments with regard to recording music did not stand still and we started sending ready-made songs to each other via the internet. This did mean that a recording facility had to be set up. Because this was still primitive compared to current techniques, writing and recording the new songs took a very long time. In the meantime, band members had moved all over the Netherlands so that a rehearsal space in Zwolle was the most centrally located and rehearsals only took place a few times a year. Just when we were ready to study the new material, some members decided to quit. Mainly for personal reasons. After that, it turned out to be difficult to find suitable musicians for a while. When we finally found suitable band members, we also had to look for a new rehearsal space several times. In addition, band members have been injured so that they were unable to play for a while, recordings have been lost and more of that. In the meantime, the recording facility has grown and we have finished the recordings and the mix of ‘Oalevluuk’ and also of ‘A Chrestomathy of Blasphemous Supremacy’ here. Salacious Gods now consists of Lafawijn, Swerc, Njirrebrod, Fjildslach and Iezelzweard. The material on ‘Oalevluuk’ is therefore not new material. It was written in the period from about 2007 to 2010. In the meantime, we have written new material. We hope to release a few songs in 2025 and thus show our new direction.
9.Out of all the shows and tours the band has played over the years which one stands out the most?
That is definitely the show we did in Belgrade. That show was part of the ‘Goat Guts over Europe tour’ that we did with Loits, Behexen and Horna in 2003. It was uncertain whether that show could go ahead because of the war. The war was formally over but there were still skirmishes going on. We were the first extreme metal bands to play there since the outbreak of the war. We were received incredibly hospitably and the audience was insane! When we entered the city and saw the bombed and shelled buildings, we found ourselves in a very special atmosphere. The next day we had actually planned a show in Sarajevo but it could not go ahead because it was still too unsafe there. A few weeks later there was news that snipers were active in Belgrade again.
I also have to think of a show in ‘Zwolle’, a city close to home. It was election time and some Christian parties did not want music with so much anti-Christian violence to be performed in their municipality and wanted to ban our performance. Therefore, they had submitted a written request to the Dutch parliament to ban it and in addition they had organized a prayer meeting. This seemed completely comical to us. We were also surprised by the media attention that arose. Various national and regional TV and radio stations had sent reporters to interview us and representatives of the ‘opposing party’ the politicians and Christian leaders. In front of the club people stood with banners on which was painted, for example, ‘Jesus saves’. These people have completely lost all sense of reality. But the show went perfectly fine.
10.Do you have any touring or show plans for 2025?
In March we have a show planned in Germany with Darkened Nocturnal Slaughtercult and we will bring Kjeld as support. At the same time we are focusing on the release of an EP, writing new material and we hope to do some more shows.
11.The compilation was released on 'WolfKult Religion', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
The album ‘Oalevluuk’ was released by ‘Hammerheart Records’. We wanted to release the anniversary album with them as well, but they only release full-length albums. ‘WolfKult Religion’ had already indicated that they would like to work with us after the release of ‘Oalevluuk’. So it was a logical step to start working with them. It is a new label and has a smaller outreach than ‘Hammerheart Records’, but they are doing very well and the collaboration is going extremely well. He used to order albums from a label that was owned by our former bassist’s brother. So he knows us from way back.
12.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of black metal?
Incredibly good!! I have the feeling that this is the first album that really turned out the way we envisioned it and that was also seriously picked up by the scene. The world has changed enormously since the release of the previous album ‘Piene’. And also the taste and viewpoints of people in the scene. The material of ‘Oalevluuk’ was written in the period around 2007 – 2010. In that sense the material is also somewhat outdated and no longer representative of what we do now. There have also been some line-up changes since then. Therefore we want to release new material as soon as possible to show the new direction we are going.
13.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?
Lugubre, Orewoet and Infidel Reich are currently on hold and Standvast no longer exists. Kjeld, Iku-Turso, Mortifero and Terdor are doing well!
14.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We want to combine the rawness of the later albums with the atmospheres of the first albums. The new written material sounds very promising!
15.What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are currently listening to nowadays?
Personally I still listen to a lot of the classics within the genre and a lot of somber dark ambient and dungeon synth. However, we also keep a close eye on the underground and new exciting bands and projects are always emerging from the underground. Not only do we closely follow the Finnish black metal scene, but also our local Dutch Black metal scene is thriving with great bands, like Kjeld, Cirith Gorgor and Sammath to name just a few.
16.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for this interview.
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