Peregrinus of the Abyss
Thank you very much for your time and willingness to answer these questions. Before we dwell deeper into your musical endeavors, allow me to go back to your early beginnings as a Music fan. How did this relation between you and Music did, began?
Hi! Thanks for reaching out. I think I have always been attracted to and interested in music. It was always around me, from an early age I was playing records from my father's Vinyl collection or listening to him play acoustic guitar.
Can you remember the time, and place, when the desire to be more than a musical fan started evolving into the act of picking up a guitar?
100% the eagerness of wanting to play came from watching my father. Then as I got a little older and coming up through early school years I got introduced to heavy metal and hard rock the want for the electric guitar manifested itself. Seeing KISS on national television in the early 80’s are still etched into my mind. That was a huge accelerator on the fire burning inside..
What was your first attempt at a musical project? Did you jump right into the Black Metal spectrum, or did you pave the terrain for these more mature and structured projects?
My first attempts at any sort of “band” would
probably be a friend and me in the late 80’s. He on bass and me on guitar,
plugging into tiny Peavy bandit amps attempting to play along to "Orion"
by Metallica, "Or seek and destroy". From there I guess it just been
snowballing down hill
Ever since. And I went straight for metal back then. Black metal i discovered some years later.
Black Metal is a very specific genre of music. How was your approach to it? And I am going beyond the classic question of “what albums / artists” got you into the genre. I want to know more about your connection with the genre.
Well I think for how we discovered it, it was seeking out something harder and rawer than what we were already listening to. A where can we go from here type hunt. Which by the early 90’s was the classic Thrash stuff, mixed with aggressive Punk and US Hardcore. For me, having a yearning to dive even deeper underground, to be a separate individual entity. That is probably what brought me to Black Metal.
Continuing in line with the previous question, how do you look at Black Metal today? Is it fair to compare today’s scene with the 90s, for example? Always felt that fans overacted with all these comparisons. What are your thoughts on that?
Not sure what to say here. I was never a “scene guy”. My involvement from back in the 90’s until I started releasing my own music now was as a listener, a private one at that. I never got involved back then. I cannot really say I am that involved now either, if you look beyond the fact that I make music now and release it into the "current scene".
To have me compare is probably not fair either as I think its comparing apples and oranges. I have friends and acquaintances that were very active in the Norwegian scene back in the 90’s and still are.. I think most would agree the shock factor and grit, in large, is gone. This leaves you with some sort of derivative today. And how you chose to use and approach that derivative is a personal choice.
Although I try to deviate from the so called “cliché questions”, I do want to know what are your “go-to” records in Black Metal, Past and Present of course. Give us an insight on why you feel a connection with those records / bands / etc.
Well, most of the Norwegian second wave bands and their early output is what is closest to my heart and I never grow tired of them. In particular Emperor up until "In the Nightside…", Darkthrone's first 4, Burzum (which was my first encounter with Black Metal) Mayhem's "De Mysteriis…", Gorgoroth's first 4, Satyricon's first 3; then moving beyond that, Ulver's "Nattens Madrigal" and "Bergtatt" are albums that are highly inspirational to me. Moving into the 2000’s I think Kaosritual’s album is probably one of the most important records to me.
I find fathomless depths of inspiration in these records. What it is that makes them resonate so much is hard to pinpoint. I’m sure there is a factor of proximity and the impact of being around it all when it was new. The fact that my involvement has been so private and limited, I think has let the seed of inspiration grow in peace by itself. Locked away in my own dark corners. Moreover, I can now reap the fruits of having cultivated these seeds for so long.
To what degree do those records, and artists, influence the work you do?
In large this is probably answered above but they inspire and they challenge me to try and make something that can be as potent and individualistic as the originals
Outside of Black Metal, how far does your spectrum go? And what is the weight of those sounds in the music you create (in case there are any)?
I’m pretty open to all sorts of music, if I feel it
has substance and a personal investment in it. If it has that then I can get
into it. The majority of non-underground music these days seems written by algorithms
for people with no brain and an attention span of 17 seconds though…
KVAD, Darkest Bethlehem, Praefuro, and Xirgan. Are there any other projects you are involved in, at the moment, that we need to know of? Is all this artistic activity an escape from something? How do you manage all these sonic realities, and how to you get into the right mood when it is time to write?
No, that is pretty much all of it, as far as me having any writing part in it. And of these I think there might be some scaling down. We will see. It’s mostly a desire to create different types of Black Metal and then Rather than having one seriously schizophrenic band with an enormous output it makes more sense , at least to me, to have each project occupying a certain sound.
The process is natural and not forced at all. I normally would be focusing on one project at a time and the writing for that project I just let evolve naturally. Subconsciously my mind knows what I am writing for and I never end up having the songs sort of bridge over into one of the other spheres of sound. The mood is dictated by lust. Do I feel a list for picking up a guitar and play. If I do, 10/10 times that means there is a song at the end of it. Having players involved in the projects I do that can execute on a much higher level than I can helps tremendously also.
Palisade has been an instrumental part in putting together Darkest Bethlehem and the Kvad Record. In addition, Roanoke will be back now as we are embarking on the Xirgan album. He is a force as well!
Taking that in consideration: do you have any new project/idea/plan, in mind? Or is any of the projects you are engaged in, planning something new?
Partially answered above. For now there’s no real plan for anything new. I have written the full KVAD 2nd album already and I am constantly playing and exploring sounds for KVAD. Music, as in riffs are ready for the Xirgan full length, which is the next project we start work on. After that probably KVAD album 2 gets drums recorded and then we will probably tackle Darkest Bethlehem full length, for which the music is also already written. 2022 is not a great year to be a drummer.
This leads to several creative processes, sometimes with different people. How do you get, again, in the right mood for it?
As far as how all these projects work, it’s really easy. I talk To Palisade pretty much on a daily basis. (A this point Praefuro is the only project where I do everything and he’s not involved.) So we are always updated on what Is going on with the projects. He’s such a capable drummer that, If needed be, he can knock out a half an album in a day. We normally take it song by song though. Then revise it and move on if we are content. For me it is more a case of not ever leaving the creative mood. I try to stay connected to that every day. Spending some time with my guitars, or out in nature, taking in the stillness and forces that reside there.
What is your opinion on the Black Metal, Global and Local? The North American scene has been growing hugely; do you ever fear that this fast growth can cause it to “collapse”?
I do not dwell on that at all. If it collapses, so be it, that’s not important. Black Metal will prevail still, in some form. There is always a movement In any scene, like a wave, black, ever moving. So maybe a global collapse would serve a purpose of weeding out.
What is you view on Black Metal, in general? When you think about the genre present state, how do you analyze it?
My views on it are, more than anything, about individuality and the catalytic purge it can provide. On a personal level it helps me keep myself in balance. Moreover, provides an outlet for a lot of hate and disdain I have for present world and man.
I believe I have taken too much of your time, so let us finish it off. Again, thank you very much for the opportunity, and thank you for the music. May we speak again in the future. Cheers.
Thanks, Man.
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