1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
First of all, thank you Occult Black Metal Zine for the opportunity to talk to you and your audience as you are certainly one of the most respected zines in the underground.
Right now we are getting ready to enter the studio to record our EP called "Mokk", dedicated to Mestre Rok and Sadistik Exekution. We are also involved with the release of our second tape, which will contain songs presented in the Live Ritual - "The Sermon of the Impure: Prophecy and Disgrace", presented on Friday of Victorious Death, April 15, 2022. This show had great repercussion and is available on youtube on the Programa Apocalipse and Satans Command channels.
Next, we will prepare an event for the end of the year that will be called The Stillborn Offering- Rites of Celebration and Purge and in parallel we will work on the full album "The Harnony of Prey- Under the banner of the Evil Demiurge", which already has the composed songs. Both the ep and this full will be released by the biggest label in South America, Hammer of Damnation.
So the summary is that we have a lot of work ahead.
2.Your music is very heavily rooted in the greek style, what was the decision behind going into this musical direction and also do you have an interest in the black metal style that is from your home country which also has a very long history in its own way?
Well, throughout my trajectory within extreme metal I could tell you that the style that most influenced or captivated me was Greek Black Metal. Also, at 43 I can assure you that my favorite band is Rotting Christ. The result is that this passion served as a reference for our first steps. The reflection of this is that we dedicated our demo the "Fallen Angel of Arcturo" to Master Sakis Tolis and the song Kleronomia Kai Skotos speaks of his legacy. Also, we dedicated two songs in the demo to Necromantia, another Greek entity from the unholy trinity of Greek black metal.
However, we went further and used other references in our sound, Brazilian extreme metal from the 80s and early 90s is part of our life. We also use Scandinavian and North American black metal (I'm a big fan of Profanatica, Acheron, Havojeh, Absu, Xasthur, Incantation, Black Funeral). But I prefer to say that our main reference is to the period from the 80s to the first half of the 90s, which doesn't mean that we don't use dissonances that are more present in more recent French black metal. But the focus is certainly this period that is part of my life and that at 43 I see that it is the period that influenced me the most in my training in extreme metal.
Much more than a geographical identity, we have a chronological identity.
3.A lot of your lyrics cover satanic and occult themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts and also how has this interest evolved over the years?
It may seem like a lie but since my childhood I have nurtured this "morbid fascination" for the occult. At the age of 10 I remember studying religions and mythologies from all over the world and little by little without knowledge of Satanism or occultism I drew demons, demon angels, witches, shadows among other drawings capable of making my very Catholic family shiver. The result could not be other than my first batch of lps (Motorhead, Iron Maiden among others...) burned by my family members.
After learning about Venom in the early 90's (keep in mind that we lived in the south of southern Brazil in a conservative city of 20,000 people and hardly anything extreme metal arrived) my impetus for the knowledge of these philosophies linked to the occult only increased. After some time I got to know the writings of LaVey, some time after Michael Ford, I kept a passion for mythology from various parts of the world and more recently I have studied a little bit of everything linked to Chaos, Luciferianism, Philosophical Pessimism, Existentialism, Nihilism among many other themes that propose to question what is posed by religions, their dogmas, their precepts, their lies.
I'm not initiated into anything, I know a little about everything and I'm more than anything curious. My dedication is to the darkness without necessarily eating black wafers that others offer us.
On the contrary, we are offering the bitter gall for others to drink.
4.You also mentioned some interest in the writings of Michael W. Ford, Aliester Crowley and the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, do you feel that these authors have made the darker side of the occult more easier to obtain since the more mainstream occult authors never quite go into the Luciferian side of the occult?
Looking at it from a realistic perspective, a large part of the texts linked to the occult are not easy to read and understand. I believe that even in philosophy it is similar. However, some authors managed to chew as much as possible so that people who do not have a previous background can open the book and understand what it is about. I think that, in my case, the identification with Emil Cioran and Michael W Ford, each one in their area, manages to make these themes more direct. Likewise Karlsson in his "Qabbalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic". It allows those unfamiliar with the subject to have a good foundation to follow the severe left-hand paths. Honestly, my opinion is that Crowley and Blake, to name two who work with the occult differently, are not for people without some background because reading can seem a bit gibberish and even tiring.
5.You also mentioned some interest in Gnosticism, do you feel people in the Left hand Path should explore this path to learn more about their origins?
Yes, of course. I can consider Gnosticism as: another approach to lies told thousands of years ago. I can also draw on the inspiration of Gnosticism in cultures and philosophy prior to Christianity and which thus also has a historical perspective. Reading the Nag Hammadi Library or medieval heresies gives you an idea of what was thought at the time and how we were taken by one version of heaven, its false miracles and its many lies. The other is the perspective that knowledge is never enough. And perhaps the most important in my view is that the concept of Demiurge is much closer to reality than we imagine. Emil Cioran in his The Evil Demiurge defended this idea of an almost intrinsic evil of the human being, inherent to his existence and thus any act of kindness would be forced. Someone reading this may say that it is not so, or have another opinion. However, after so many years of daily living with human beings, I am certain that Cioran is right. The man is much more for the absence of positive qualities than for a supposed "superman". We are amoebas that reproduce sexually and our evolution is a fiction. The human being usually feeds on the misfortune of others, we are vultures flying over the corpses of the frustration of our friends, family and people we live with.
Only extinction cures our race. And just as suggested in the Gnostic writings our spirit will be free in the end. Free from this prison of flesh.
6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Torches of nero'?
I am a fan of Roman history and how they became the greatest empire in the world. I had the opportunity to see Hadrian's Wall up close and that was just part of the magnitude and glory of Pagan Rome. However, the men of the time moved away from their gods and their traditions and so, within a broader social and economic historical context, they ended up accepting the cross as their greatest symbol and the rest of the story we already know.
I do not believe in polytheism or monotheism, but I think that the changes that took place and the absorption of new cultures helped to corrode the empire at the time, as well as the logistical impossibility of maintaining borders, among many other reasons.
So Torches of Nero is a way of expressing our feelings towards the Galileans and everything that was derived from their perspective on the world. Nero lit the streets of Rome with his human torches and with the ashes of these pigs he covered the moon as in an eclipse making the night even darker.
We dedicate our name to this feeling. From a personal repulsion to its dogmas and precepts as well as well as other types of manifestations of human stupidity that link your destiny to a cross, a star or a crescent moon.
7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the live album cover?
The art is based on the Sermon on the Mount in which the liar Galileo placed a part of his "teachings". So given that the name of the Live Ritual is "The Sermon of the Impure - prophecy and disgrace" we made an art accordingly. See that despite the similarity with the great icon Grand Belial's Key, the difference is in the details. Our Father of Chaos (the Kaotic Krist) is painted with blood and not the traditional corpse paint as used on the covers of this great band. Our symbols are all there: our trident with the cross of leviathan, the Black Sun of Daath... and the Father of Chaos offering his bitter words to the metis, those who turn from the light and will plant tares instead of wheat.
The initial art is by our great partner and designer Michel @viva_la_verve Martins, done as it should be, putting black energy in his hands and in the brush that painted the paper. The final art is by my brother Blackpest, guitar in the other band I have Feto and mind behind the Void project (dungeonsynth, here the link: https://voiddungeonsynth.bandcamp.com )
This dungeonsynth project is a great choice for fans of Mortiis from the first stage, a great suggestion!
8.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Due to Covid 19 we still haven't had the opportunity to play live. And since we didn't have the opportunity, we did this Live Ritual. So I believe that this Live serves as a base- something ritualistic and at the same time aggressive.
I think it's important to play live but it's not our current focus.
9.Do you have any touring or show plans for 2022?
For the end of 2022 we are planning a show, which will surely be published in your zine because we have those we consider the best by our side. But I cannot reveal more details except that such aberration and quantity of blasphemies have been seen very rarely together. Wait for more news to follow.
10.On both of the releases you have put out so far you have had a couple of quests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also theri contributions to the recordings?
Yes, you noticed very well! It's a practice that we believe is healthy to strengthen ties between the few in the underground who are really worth it. In our first demo Fallen Angel of Arcturo we had the participation of Blackpest already mentioned above in a sound that has the vocal of Temple of Evil (Cyprus) participating. Two great friends and supporters!!! My brother Blackpest also made the cover of this demo and our logo was designed by Michel (already mentioned above). In the single The Birth of a Lie we had the participation of a second guitar played by our first bassist, The Uninvited Guest, brother of our bassist Overkill. The Uninvited Guest played at the end of the Live too and helped a lot for this live to get off the ground. Also, the introduction of the live Ritum Noctis was made by the member of one of the biggest Doom Metal bands in Brazil, In The Shadows, who currently makes the Apocalypse Program on DarkRadio. So I usually say that we have few on our side but those few are the best.
11.Recently you have signed to 'Hammer Of Damnation', how did you get in contact with this label?
First of all, I'm a big consumer of material from Hammer of Damnation and Black Metal Store. It is currently the biggest label in Brazil and its hosts are the most putrid. So in a way, I have contact prior to our demo and that meant that when I showed the demo to them, the proposal came at the same time. I am a huge admirer of Luis' work, he works very seriously and his legacy with Evil is eternal and will be perpetuated through Werewolf Bloodorder. He really makes the black metal world go round in Brazil, bringing things from all over the world and offering fans of the style something new, with new and different proposals than what is normally seen in Brazil. Anyway, we will work hard to keep our partnership alive for many years to come.
12.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
Fantastic! I never imagined that people who are our inspirations like Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ), The Magus (Necromantia), Rok (Sadistik Exekution), Warlord (Evil and Werewolf Bloodorder), Leandro Kastyphas (Kastyphas), Armando (Mystifier) our closest friends and people across the country and abroad could speak out in favor of something that is first and foremost cult and underground.
I just have to thank all the zines (Akkedalma Zine, Turvo Zine, Gloria Excelsi Satani Zine among many other national ones), magazines (Lucifer Rising and Black Metal Terror Magazine) people, friends and supporters who took the time to listen to our demo and look at this Live.
13.What can we expect musically once your new ep and full length are released?
The same spirit. The same aggressiveness, the same amount of blasphemy, a direct musical attack on what rules the world, a detachment from any ideology that makes us puppets and above all our free spirit. Influences remain the same, perhaps with some additions of so-called colder music, the same chaos, the same ability to shock those who don't know us yet.
The ep will have 5 songs plus the demo and the full will probably have 13 songs, the booklet is already being thought and the base of all the songs is already composed.
We are just starting to sow the tares so that in the future we can cover the wheat seeds with our shadows. Only what is bad and worse will be harvested from our sowing.
14.What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are currently listening to nowadays?
I keep my eyes on the past and we generally hear something very similar. I try to listen to what I didn't have the opportunity to do at the time, so my ears are always hearing echoes of a forgotten past. At the moment we keep an eye on USBM but it's impossible to enumerate the amount of styles within the extreme metal that we listened to during the week.
At the same time that we listen to Rotting Christ, we also listen to Satanic Warmaster; after a Mystifier classic can come a Mayhem or a Darkthrone perfectly. We don't have rules in everyday life and even in the composition process it usually comes from a lyrical idea - as if it were a prophetic act. A word that comes from the unconscious, a verbalized phrase generates a song. It has been so until now and it will be so from now on. It is much more honest than chaining ourselves to a certain pre-established idea. For example. the music of The Birth of a Lie has something of Xasthur, Gaalhammer while The Sermon of the Impure has something of Deathspell Omega in it. It is almost impossible to filter or deny this energy when it comes. It's up to us to make it look more within the desired chronological period without killing the initial idea.
15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for your time, your attention, your reviews about what we've released so far and for the work dedicated to the underground world. A zine that has been alive since 2009, with more than 2 million views, is impressive and only shows the seriousness of those who do it.
This was our first international interview and it just shows how much you value the work even minors like ours because you can see beyond, see something serious even in a band in the south of southern Brazil.
So thank you very much Occult Black Metal Zine for your attention and time dedicated to us.
May the Black Sun of Daath illuminate your steps in search of knowledge and may the Morning Star be your greatest guide.
Torches of Nero - Fallen Angel of Arcturo (Demo : 2021)
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