Baxaxaxa - Classic Entities
Still posting what I have in archives, I give you Baxaxaxa, the German Black Metal entity. Not many bands are as tru to their roots as these lads from Niederwerm. Started in 1992, released their first Full-length in 2021... a superb pearl of Old School Black Metal.
Baxaxaxa...
It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to
speak to you, even in writing! In a way, it makes perfect sense, since you are,
in my opinion, one of the few bands in the 90s that keep that flame of Black
Metal alive. And for that, my thanks. Moreover, taking advantage of the idea
set out above, what is your opinion, in general, about the Black Metal that is
currently being made? I am not looking for “A is Black Metal, and B is not
Black Metal”, no! I ask, out of curiosity, if you identify with the genre these
days.
To be honest: We do not find us in the modern (Black) Metal scene. Of course, we appreciate that we are a part of it and we are fine with that. Nevertheless, our souls and our hearts belong to the past. This does not mean that we do not like new Black Metal. We like a lot of 2nd wave Black Metal Bands and also even newer stuff. However, the music that influences you is the music you hear when you are young. Therefore, our main influences are the early bands of the mid and late 80s. And so is scene we identify with.
The almost imperative question in 2021: how have you experienced the present reality? Can we assume that given there is a new album to come out – "Catacomb Cult" comes out on August 6 – the pandemic was not an obstacle? How the whole process of creation, recording, did work out?
The pandemic was no problem for us as far as the album is concerned. We only experienced some cancelled and postponed gigs. The process of creating the album was very natural. It was more like the songs came to us than we wrote them. We were inspired and so we managed to finish the album fast.
What is the concept behind this new work? I admit I have not had a chance to hear it yet (it may be that Ricardo from VM-Underground reads this and sends it my way).
"Catacomb Cult" is not a concept album in its classical meaning. There is no story that connects the songs. But there is a concept as far as the mood is concerned. "Catacomb Cult" was meant to be true and old school. If the listener thinks this album could be 25-30 years old, we reached our goal. Therefore, the concept was to fit to the old classics. If you take a close look to our artworks and if you listen to the songs, you will find many hidden tributes to classic bands, songs and the old Black Metal scene.
How did the German people, in your opinion, behave in the face of this pandemic? Are the measures sufficient, do people accept them and act consciously, how did you mess with this situation?
Well, to be honest: We do not care about it. We live in this world and we have to arrange with the things how they are. Germans do not behave different to other people and/or governments. It is more or less the same everywhere.
Since your beginnings, your musical line has remained unchanged. Personally, I see you as one of the last bastions of that original Black Metal, in a way. It is more than a tribute to the Past, but a way of living Black Metal, right?
Yes, you are right but it is both. It is a tribute to our past and our youth and it is a way of life.
In terms of concept, the natural essence of the band, on what basis your Art resides? Baxaxaxa lives within a sphere of Occultism and Esoterism. How does that expand to your everyday lives?
I do not want to talk too much about that, because it is very personal to each one of us. But we can assure that our philosophical backgrounds affect all things we do in our everyday lives.
I read, not long ago, that your sound comes from a merger of Bathory with Sodom and Hellhammer, and the addition of Samael. Is there a better way to pay homage to the best? I would venture to say no. What is your perspective of these artists – the ones who are still among us – today? I have "In the Sign of Evil" as one of Thrash's cornerstones, and even 1st Wave Black Metal, so Sodom are up there with the greatest, for me.
Bathory is gone and made very different records. We all like the old stuff. Some of us also like the “Viking Metal Era”. But whether you like them or not or you just like a special phase of Bathory. They were (or he was) groundbreaking. Hellhammer is gone, too. But the music will stay forever. Samael and Sodom are still around. I think Samael is not a bad band but the first and the second album were monuments. Nothing of the stuff they did later had an impact on us. Sodom is similar. One of us still likes them very much. But they never became again what they were in the early days.
As I said, your sound is very personal in
nature, even if we can hear Hellhammer, here and there. Did it ever cross your
mind that you could be seen as "tribute band", and not valued by your
art?
Sorry, I do not see how someone can see us as tribute band. Warhammer were a Hellhammer tribute band, Blazon Stone is a Running Wild tribute band, Gruesome are a Death tribute band, County Medical Examiners were a Carcass tribute band. They all quoted the originals, In music and style. I really cannot see where we quote Hellhammer except for one or two similar riffs and except for the dark atmosphere. Well, since I got no problem with tribute bands it is ok if someone thinks we are one, too. It is just not the way we see ourselves.
Then, after 10 years of inactivity, comes Ungod, who ends up following a more consistent line in terms of releases and activity. What is the reason for both decisions (allow me to mention that Ungod is immensely good)?
Thank you. Ungod was always around except for a more or less short period. So there was no real comeback as far as Ungod is concerned. For Baxaxaxa it is different but. Everything is connected. ZK of Sacrocurse who is the organizer of the „Destroying Texas Fest“ in Houston Texas asked Ungod to play the first ever live show in 2016. The show was great an some of us visited the DTF in 2017 for fun. After that ZK got the idea to bring Baxaxaxa on stage in 2018 for the first time, too. We thought about that and asked the old members. The former Baxaxaxa guitarist told us that he got no interest in Black Metal and in playing live anymore. The former vocalist first agreed but then also told us that he got no interest. So all old members that are no part of Baxaxaxa anymore are fine with the reunion and were asked to be part of it. Since Baxaxaxa always was an Ungod project the missing instruments were take over by Ungod members. We always were in contact with Traumatic. He also released an Ungod album and when we „lost“ our vocalist we just asked him. He agreed and so we got a stable live line up and played the DTF. After that there was more interest in Baxaxaxa and we played two more shows.
"The Old Evil" was one of my favorite works of 2019, and frankly, I did not expect you to release new music. It reeks of Darkness and Rot, and once again: your sound is rooted in the Past, yet it still has identity. Nevertheless, returning to the EP: this was a return to the Past, right? The is a continuation of your sound, which is amazing.
I cannot tell if the “The old Evil” was a return to the past. We just wrote songs after we rehearsed for the shows I mentioned above. We realized that we still got ideas and that we still got the spiritual link to the past we need to write Baxaxaxa stuff. In addition, it just came out the way you can hear it. For sure, we wanted to create something “old”. But that’s natural to us. We are no 20 years old lads that try to sound like music which was released before they were born. We sound like we did about 29 years ago. We may have returned to the past but we returned to OUR past.
This EP came out after a hiatus of several years. I suppose this was never due to a separation, right? Therefore, what made you, once again, wait so long to release new music?
We did not really “wait”. There was simply no need for us to release music with Baxaxaxa between 1992 und 2019. In 2018, we felt that the time was right.
Another characteristic that I consider very interesting in your work is the aesthetic side. Since the first release, it has remained very similar, with the same characteristics, the same particularities. Is this a requirement on your part when designing your Art?
Yes, music, lyrics and artwork must be one. In addition, the demon belongs to Baxaxaxa. At least until now.
Can we wait for future live performances? Ungod was supposed to play at “Extreme Metal Attack”, in Portugal, but the pandemic “boycotted” the event. Baxaxaxa is one of those bands I would love to be able to experience live.
We play live when we get good offers. Nevertheless, the pandemic made it impossible for us to play live during the last nearly 2 years.
I have stretched this interview too far and my apologies for that. I thank you, once again, for the opportunity and your availability. There are bands and bands, and then there are bands that we truly respect and admire, and that offer us these opportunities. May the future allow me to “bother" you again.
Thank you for your interest and the interview! HELLFIRE!
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