Alghol – From the Swamps…

 

Continuing with this hard task of digging up old interviews that were not posted, we head to Portland, Maine. After an amazing EP ("Forgotten Paths"), we reach 2022 and the artist's new release: "From the Caverns..." (2022). Let us walk into the swamp, and drown…

Welcome. Allow me to tell you that “Forgotten Paths” is a superb Black Metal release, one of the best I have had the opportunity to listen to in a long time. What is the concept behind it?

Thank you! Much appreciated! As for the concept, “Forgotten Paths” was primarily inspired by early 90’s Black Metal and the kind of mystery that surrounded the scene back then. There’s a zine I was reading around the time I recorded the EP called “Forgotten Path Magazine,” and their mission statement talks about resurrecting old traditions and spirit of the underground. I thought that was a really cool idea, so that kind of became the theme/concept for the song “Forgotten Paths”. I wanted to make something that emulated the sound and feel of those classic Second Wave albums but still put my own spin on it. The rest of the songs on the EP, which were recorded after the title track, just deal with more general horror themes. 

I was reading a bunch of Lovecraft around that time as well so there’s certainly some of that in there. But this EP was my first foray into making that style of Black Metal, so really, I was just kind of learning and developing the concept/themes of this project on the fly.

Given the release date, how was it dealing with a pandemic and an album? Did you manage to carry out promotion? 

I don’t think the pandemic really had too much of an effect on the album or the release. I didn’t do a ton of promo for it because I honestly didn’t expect many people to listen to it. I think I mainly just posted it in various Black Metal Facebook groups and on Instagram. I was definitely surprised at the response it got. In fact, I’m still very surprised haha.

Before I get too far away from the theme: tell us know how ALGHOL came about. What is the central idea behind the project, what concepts it is based on... everything, in a way? 

Alghol started more or less as a 90’s worship project to see if I could do it or not haha. But it’s definitely moved beyond that at this point, and especially with the upcoming full length, it’s starting to take shape. I’m a big fan of King Diamond and how his albums tell stories, as well as Ghoul and how they’ve essentially created this whole world that their albums take place in, so that’s something I’d like to do with Alghol going forward. The "Forgotten Paths" EP and the split with Panzerwar essentially set the stage for the first chapter which will be told through the full length. 

Alghol is you, alone. A single mind that structures this whole mechanism. How is it to work alone, and why did you decide it would be like this? 

I love working alone. I really enjoy having complete and total control over all aspects of the music. That being said, I do think there’s something really cool about working with others in a collaborative setting, and getting different takes on various ideas, but for Alghol, I think it works best as a solo project. As for the decision to work alone, it more so came from necessity. When I started Alghol, I didn’t know anybody else in my area who was interested in this kind of music, much less anybody interested in Black Metal who actually played instruments haha.

What is your perspective of the American Black Metal scene, today? The "ghost" of Norway (or any other European nation) of the 90's no longer weighs on contemporary artists, I suppose (fortunately).

I think the American Black Metal scene is absolutely killer right now! The Canadians have been fucking slaying it as well! It’s hard to keep up with at times. So many good bands/projects/labels floating around. There’s a lot of unique stuff too. I think Lamp of Murmuur has done a great job at developing a really unique sound, as well as bands like Till and Paezor. Fucking Stake Driver too. Those guys rip! I could keep going, but the list would be quite long haha. 

For years it was seen as less relevant, but always had projects, artists, who demarcated themselves from the rest. Nowadays, we have several very strong and dynamic groups/projects, making this one of the strongest scenes in the world. That is too good to do more and better, isn't it?

Oh definitely! I think it drives the scene and kind of ups the stakes for bands getting involved. Progression is absolutely a good thing in my opinion. 

But how do you describe the genre itself? Black Metal, unlike many other Heavy Metal sub-genres, lives from more than just Music (I do not know if you agree). Without wanting to, in any way, sound Trve Kvlt (albeit sounding), the spiritual, mystical side of Black Metal occupies a space of relief in the Art that you do with ALGHOL? 

I remember reading an interview with Ihsahn somewhere and he said something along the lines of “Black Metal is a feeling,” and to me that’s probably the best way it can be described. All the satanism/occult/spooky kind of stuff is cool, but at the end of the day it’s all secondary. Black Metal for me is 100% about the music and the feeling it conveys and I think that is really where the kind of spiritual/mystical aspects you mentioned come from.

Your sound lives from a dichotomy Aggressiveness / Melancholy, balanced like few, and "Through the Crypt" is an excellent example. What works as an influence to create the Music/Art you create? 

I think that comes from having a wide range of interests/influences, many which aren’t necessarily related to black metal. I listen to all sorts of stuff from cheesy Eurodance to Jimmy Buffett to Candlemass, and while you won’t necessarily hear any of that in my music, I think it all kind of plays a part in how I approach writing a song and the way my musical ideas form.

How does Alghol's creative process work? Creating alone is a difficult task, due to the solitary reality, or does total freedom allow you to go beyond ideas and conceptions that, as a group, would not be possible? The funny thing is, that there are many projects – in the USA and Canada – that live from a singular individual’s creative mind. What explanation can we present for this?

Every song is different. Sometimes it starts with a guitar riff, or an idea for a drum track, or some kind of lyrical theme I want to explore and what kind of feeling I think a track should have to compliment that. My writing and recording process is super intertwined as well. I never sit down to record with a fully written song. Ill usually build one section and then write the rest of the song around it, recording as I go, making endless tweaks until it’s a full-fledged tune. I really like the total freedom of working alone and I think it works well for my process. 

While I can’t necessarily speak for all the other people with solo projects out there, I imagine the emergence of more of these types of projects come from some kind of blend of necessity or not having others interested or able to play in a black metal band, a desire for complete and total control over the music, and also the fact that music production tech is constantly evolving, making it easier than ever to make music by yourself.

Fall of Rauros, Obsidian Tongue, Eave, Feral and you, among others, have helped make Maine a consistent and structured scene. But it is not usual, right? And things take their time. Do you consider that with the emergence of these bands, the scene will tend to grow?

Yeah absolutely! I know those other bands have been around far longer than I have and are heavily engrained in not only the scene in Maine, but in all of New England. Those guys are really the ones who deserve the credit for the scene here. I’m just a newcomer haha. I do think the scene will continue to grow though. There are a few other local bands I know of that are getting started and positively contributing to the growth of the scene. Skvm is a one-man project also based here that’s definitely worth checking out.

Let us talk about the Split with Panzerwar – this yes, edited in the middle of a pandemic. How did you get in touch, and how did you decide to move forward with this project?

We just got in touch on Instagram haha. Guataz sent me a message and we started chatting about the idea of doing a split. I already had a track done (“From the Caverns...”) that I was originally going to put towards a full length, but I decided to use it on the split instead. I think he had a track or 2 done as well. The whole thing came together really naturally, from finishing the remaining tunes, to figuring out the artwork and album title. It was just overall a really great collaborative experience and we are both super pleased with how it came together. We’ve already started talking about doing a follow up split at some point in the not too distant future, so stay tuned for that!

The track, "Raven's Call", edited by Knekelput (growing name in the current panorama), for its "End of an Era I”, arises here in what way? A result from the Split with Panzerwar, perhaps?

“The Raven’s Call” was a track I made specifically for the Knekelput compilation. At that point, Knekelput had already released “Forgotten Paths” as well as the split with Panzerwar, so when they asked me if I wanted to contribute a track for that compilation, it was a no-brainer. I’ve had, and continue to have, a really great relationship with that label so I definitely wanted to contribute something cool.

In what sense, or senses, do you fit into Gautaz's work/personality? Splits' idea is to fit the other songwriter, creating an even sounding release, or crafting a 2-headed monster? 

In my opinion, a really well-done split is one where both sides of the release complement each other. Maybe not necessarily creating an even sounding release, but also not crafting a 2-headed monster. Somewhere in the middle. I think Guataz and I did a pretty good job of finding that balance on “From the Caverns... Echos of the Undead Call”. We both have pretty similar personalities and tastes as far as music goes, and I think that certainly played a big part in being able to create a well-rounded split. Plus, he’s just a super good dude and we get along well, so it made for an overall fun and easy-going experience. 

The Facebook group, and YouTube channel, “Order of the Black Arts”, has been of quite great importance. I do believe that for some, this dissemination and promotion of Black Metal is seen as... Inadequate. I believe you are of the opposite opinion.

Oh yeah, definitely! I’m not some crusty bastard who ONLY listens to hand dubbed demo tapes in his basement haha. I think YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc. are great ways to promote music. Being “trve” is overrated anyways. Without these outlets for promotion, nobody would have heard my music to begin with, and I sure as fuck wouldn’t be doing any interviews haha. I’ve met some great people, and found some great music through this whole online scene, and I think its fucking awesome. 

That being said, I obviously prefer to have physical copies of the releases I really like, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using social media to promote Black Metal, or streaming the music on Spotify or Youtube. Order ov the Black Arts specifically is a great outlet for finding new music, and I’m personally grateful to have been featured on there a couple times now. Definitely an account to keep an eye on. 

One of the things that the group is accused of, is not separating the Artist from the Person, ignoring the Idea/Ideology, to the detriment of Art. How do you see the growing (in visibility, at least) emergence of musicians and bands with dubious ideological bases? 

This is kind of a tricky issue. I think separating the art from the artist can be a good thing, but only in situations where it’s actually possible. Burzum is a good example. It’s no secret that Varg has some pretty terrible world views and is generally a pretty shitty person, but with those classic Burzum albums, his worldviews aren’t really ingrained in the music. He was writing songs about crying Orcs and shit. So, in that case, since the music isn’t really tainted with all his horrible white supremacist bullshit, I think it’s possible separate the art from the artist. However, in the case of straight up NSBM bands, not only is the artist an inbred, Nazi pile of dog shit, but the music is also racist, unlistenable trash. There’s no use trying to separate the art from the artist in that situation. There’s also the whole, “But the riffs, man!!!” argument, but honestly, from a musical standpoint, NSBM fucking sucks. The riffs suck. It’s all losers who couldn’t make it on their music alone, so they latch on to this built in audience who will buy literally anything you put a fucking swastika on. It’s a cheap fucking gimmick for shitty bands. 

That being said, I’m not trying to knock all the collectors out there who buy this shit. I don’t care what you listen to, and if you want to spend $500 on discogs for a hand dubbed tape called “88 dicks in a bag” or whatever, be my guest. Nothing against you, unless you too are a supporter of that kind of thinking. Enjoy the “riffs”. This little rant is leveled at the people actually pushing and practicing that kind of horrid, semi-literate, racist ideology. In general, I think if you’re PRIMARY purpose for making Black Metal is to push ANY kind of ideology, then you are in it for the wrong reasons. It’s boring. It’s not what Black Metal is about. Not for me anyways.

What about the pandemic? How are we going to get out of this "cinematic reality"? as better Human Beings? Hopefully. Well, much prayed once again. My apologies for the large number of questions, but many remained unascertained. A next opportunity will come. Greetings and continuation of an excellent work.

Haha that’s a good question. Hopefully we do all come out on the other side as better human beings. I guess we’ll see haha. But thank you for the opportunity! It’s been a pleasure. Until next time!

Alghol

Alghol Official Bandcamp