Thank you for your availability and allow me, first of all, to congratulate you on the EP released this year! A portent of Black Metal! Going back a bit: how did this collaboration between musicians take place, which ended with the creation of Funeral Harvest? Can you tell me a little about how this whole process developed, that reached its peak with the edition of the Demo - "Bunker Ritual Rehearsal" - in 2016?
In 2016, I met Belphegor (ex-drummer and vocalist), here in Trondheim, where we started right away to work and put our idea together. In 2017, (K) joined the band as bassist player, completing the initial line up of the band. The Bunker Ritual Rehearsal, was for us a personal gift to the Darkness, catching the evil vibrations that surrounds the Bunker.
"Honor Death as the great mystery of Human Life". This is how you described the first song on your EP. How does the Death / Life dichotomy, in all its extension, have importance / influence in your Art, and outside of it, of course?
With Funeral Harvest, the influence of death comes by the folkloristic Memento Mori, Danse Macabre and the beauty of Vanity. Everything that lives shall die, death it's permanent and irreversible. The narration of the past (what we were), present (what we are) and the near future (what we will be). "The belief in a life after death - "afterlife", in some case, can be, for someone a hope, for others the biggest fear". When coming to the theme of life and death, I looked at the human existence, to see how much life is marked by the question that is death. We are all different, but we are the same in being all "thrown" towards death. It is in the face of this vertigo, however, that the human being becomes restless about his destiny and asks himself questions.
You speak of Satanism and its presence, so to speak, in your music - "Sacred Dagger". How is this present in your work, in your music? Do you feel that there is an urgent need for Black Metal to focus on themes that are the foundations of the genre, as many state?
I believe that Satanism is the base of Black Metal. It depends how people approach this type of thematic, what is behind the music it can be a weapon, a double-bladed knife, where people can reach self-destruction if they go too far. Depends always how people/artists use their own “believes”. In Funeral Harvest, Satanism is pure devotion to our inner soul, as you mentioned, Sacred Dagger is a ritual of self-sacrifice, where you leave your old and weak soul, and reborn in the beauty of the dragon's strength.
Black Metal is - or was in the past - more than Music. A genre steeped in spirituality, non-conformity and an immense desire to break with the stipulated norms, be they religious or social. Do you still feel that this is a good description of the current Black Metal or, instead, the genre has lost all that facet, being today no more than a subgenre of Heavy Metal?
Of course, Black Metal is more than music. I can truly confirm that to you, from my personal experience. Nowadays BM (for some artists) is just music expression. But for those like me, Black Metal is a lifestyle, we give all our energy and passions. We made a choice that we can´t go back on.
Your EP was released in November this year. I had the opportunity to hear it before its edition and, as mentioned above, I see it as one of the releases of the year. Lives in the 90s, although he is not lost in the past, he manages to absorb contemporaneity that allows him to stand out today. In what sources does your sound drink, so to speak?
Our
goal has always been to bring back to life, the good old Black Metal, which as
you know has changed heavily since the 90s, but still being able to evolve in whichever
way we want.
In the band, we have lots of different influences, maybe that’s the reason, I don't know. We play what we are feeling.
How did the process of creating this EP go and how does each one of you "give" to the creative process? Has this pandemic allowed you to work and create, whether in music or in general? Is there anything in sight for the near future?
I write lyrics and guitar parts for Fh’s, K writes his basslines into that, and Ond brings his professionalism on the drums. The final songs are a product of everyone in the band. During the pandemic, me and 2 other members of FH started a side project. A blackened funeral doom band called NATHR, which will have its debut Ep released in February 2021, under Signal Rex. Funeral Harvest is now working for our first full album, which will also be released under Signal Rex.
Let me finish by asking: how did the union with Signal
Rex take place? Nowadays, in my opinion, this is a sign of quality, and it is
undeniable that your work has more than a place in this catalog, and we hope
that the union brings us much more music and, perhaps, concerts in
"my" land.
I am proud to work with Signal Rex. They showed us professionality and the right attitude towards our music, so we feel we can work in good harmony with the label.
It was, once again, a real pleasure. Hopefully the future will bring us much more. Greetings.
Hail
Vanitas! Hail Death!
Funeral Harvest Official Bandcamp
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