Sleepless
April1996
SLEEPLESS
'zine interviews ANCIENT RITES
by Steven Willems © 1996
The
Belgian warriors are back ! I'm very proud to be able to present once again an
interview with a phantastic band from my very own country ! These men have
recently released a great new album 'Blasfemia Eternal', as a follow-up to
their excellent debut 'The Diabolic Serenades'.
The new album has an excellent sound and phantastic songs which should be heard
by everyone. It's not the typical ultra-fast shrieky black metal, it's much
better ! I had these madmen already in issue 2, which seems to me like ages
ago, so I got in contact again with Gunther to hear all the latest news and
bomb him with questions. For all those who haven't checked them out, this is a
black metal band way above the average concerning music, life and attitude in
general. Gunther is also one of the greatest and friendliest people I know. Support
them with all your might, they deserve it !
Gunther, when you compare your new album 'Blasfemia
Eternal' to your debut 'The Diabolic Serenades', what's the biggest difference
between them do you think besides the far more better production ?
We record our albums in a very professional studio
where usually classical orchestras record their symphonies or soundtracks are
being made. We felt this would only increase the originality of our sound. We
have been assisted by our sound engineer who is a classical musician himself. He
understood perfectly the essence of our music and added classical parts to our
infernal mayhem whenever asked. We used two different musical styles to express
the same dark visions / thoughts / dreams. Black metal and medieval music fit
perfectly together because they are both bombastic and can have a very dark
approach. Interesting experiments are tracks such as 'Last Rites (Echoes Of
Melancholy)' or 'Fallen Angel' which we first recorded with our usual
equipment, afterwards we replaced the modern instruments by medieval ones. I
know some new bands / fans prefer a 'bad' sound and that's fine by me, but we
always followed our own path regardless any trend. We are still satisfied with
our debut 'The Diabolic Serenades' considering the time and the budget we had
available, and we even believe in our very old releases for they have been
important steps in our band's career, nevertheless our second album 'Blasfemia
Eternal' is our most professional effort this far. We have progressed as
musicians and there was a bigger budget available which has a very positive
influence on matters like sound / production. Time could be spend on details.
In our earlier interview, you said that some people
played flute on the new album, but I can't really hear it (I only had a
promo-tape at the time we did this interview, I know it's indicated on the CD
booklet, so I'm really not blind !). Do you think these instruments are really
necessary since you are not going to use them on stage anyway ?
On 'Saeftinge', a medieval flute (performed by a
classical musician) can be heard. Medieval instruments fit perfectly to the
concept of Ancient Rites and increased the melancholic atmosphere connected to
the history of Saeftinge, a forever lost medieval place. Live, we hold the
attitude as the first generation of black metal bands : pure mayhem ! In the
studio, we prefer to use different means to achieve atmospheres we require. Studio
and live situations are different matters as far as we are concerned. And who
knows we might use classical musicians on stage in the future once ? There are
no limits !
I have the impression that you are very proud of
Belgium, considering the songs 'Obscurity Reigns' from your debut about the
Satanic Bokkerijders horde, and now the songs 'Vae Victis', a tribute to the
tribes of ancient Belgium and 'Saeftinge'. What's your main reason for being
proud of Belgium ? Since you're fascinated by ancient times, I wondered if you
would have preferred to have lived a few ages ago ? Do you actually believe in
reincarnation ?
Too often people deny their ancestors blood which is
running through their veins. Afraid of being labeled a fascist if showing any
pride. A strong passion for times forever buried by time and dust and politics
are two different things. I do respect other countries but find interesting
topics hidden in our own history a big source of inspiration. Flanders' history
is unknown to most people and underestimated. Unfortunately too many new black
metal bands imitate the Norwegian sound and write about Nordic landscapes even
though many of them live on the other side of the world. I know most Norwegian
musicians personally and they tell me how much they disrespect those who follow
them like blind sheep. Every country has it's own background and culture to be
proud of. For instance why pretending to be Norwegian while living in Mexico
and having strong Aztec ancestors ? Indeed often I wish I had lived in other
centuries. However everyone's a child of his own time and I think our bodies
are not conditioned to live in another epoque. So, even if someone would find a
way to travel in time still major difficulties have to be overcome. It does not
prevent me from dreaming tough ... . Ancient as well as medieval history have a
strong impact on me, therefore do not ask me to choose one particular period to
have lived in. Reincarnation could have been an explanation for my strong
hunger for lost empires and civilizations but my views are rather atheist on
that matter. Maybe it simply is a part of my genes knowing that one of my
ancestors belonged to the Satanic Bokkerijders Horde, two centuries ago.
I already received several flyers to watch out for
After Dark Records, your earlier label, and the warning not to send them any
money because they would be rip-offs. Is this true, and if yes, what went
actually wrong because I had the impression that you seemed very pleased with
their work ?
These flyers are not made by us but unfortunately
reveal the truth. We trusted After Dark Records since we knew the people behind
the label for many years and considered them as close friends. Obviously we
were wrong and all codes have been shattered. After ripping off countless
people (other labels, distributors, fans, bands, us and eventually each other)
they had to leave the scene. We confronted After Dark Records with their deeds
and they admitted that they were wrong but didn't seem to be very upset about
it. We broke contact immediately and realized we would never get our money
since also others already took one of the people of After Dark to court. Far
too many people are waiting for their money. Prison would be the ideal home for
frauds like them. Those flyers have been made by victims of After Dark who were
tired of their lies and practice.
The distribution of your albums is for sure much
better organized now, because you can find 'Blasfemia Eternal' in almost every
decent recordstore. I never saw 'The Diabolic Serenades' in any store, so I
guess you must be very happy with the way things are working out ?
Mascot truly deliver great work and I do appreciate
their modesty. Unlike After Dark and many other labels, they don't talk much
but act instead. They collaborate with major distributors, offer tour support,
advertise in major magazines, but still understand the importance of the
underground scene and give us total artistic freedom. We are their only black
metal act, but this is not a disadvantage, we do not 'drown' in similar
releases on Mascot, they have less bands on the whole to take care off. In the
past, the owner of Mascot used to work for Roadrunner (Holland) in times when
this label was very strong. He also worked as tour manager of Venom. They
relate to our music / sound for it contains strong elements of early basic and
black metal.
(Het Verdronken Land Van) Saeftinge is a song with a
Flemish title and also some parts in Flemish. Did you actually do this as a
reaction to all these Norwegian bands who start to sing in their mother tongue
all of the sudden ? Is it a matter of re-discovering your roots ?
We never do anything as a reaction to other people's
deeds. We simply follow our own path regardless anyone or anything. My
(Germanic) Flemish language is as strong and true as any other and specially
when referring to my ancestor's history we feel it is the ideal way of
expressing ourselves. English is a universal language but often a bit poor to
express deeper emotions. Of course when using less known languages like mine
the majority of people will not understand the essence, therefore I included
extra background information in the CD booklet. Using Flemish is not a matter
of rediscovering my roots since I always was very much aware of them. On the
new album, there are parts sung in Latin, French, Greek, German, Italian and
Dutch.
How far goes your knowledge of these languages, do you
speak them fluent ? Do you have a 'favorite' language and in case yes, why ? What
do you think is so fascinating about languages, the culture that goes hand in
hand with it ?
I speak Flemish (Dutch), English, German, French and a
bit Greek. When reading Portuguese, Italian or Spanish, I'm able to understand
a big part of it. I find it comfortable to be able to express myself in
different languages since I often travel to places which aren't touristic at
all. Also it makes it difficult for others to talk bad about me in their
language while I'm present, often I surprised people who believed they were
smart this way. A language beholds a lot of the culture and since I'm always
eager to learn, I like to study different ones. Since we wish to offer variety
with Ancient Rites, the use of different tongues increases this effect because
of other sounds and intonations. We tour a lot and blasphemies (and other
expressions) exist in all countries which are taught to us by local people. The
use of these on stage and on our album can be seen as a sign of appreciation
towards those people all over the world who supported us. I do not have one
particular fave language, I wish I could speak them all ! Arab language is not
that interesting to me tough, since it does not touch my soul or sound nice to
my ears.
Why don't you tell us something more about your gothic
project, Danse Macabre, that you do together with Sotiris (Septic Flesh) and
Morbid (Rotting Christ, Necromantia) ? What kind of music is it, is there
anything you can compare with it ? Did you choose the bandname after the Celtic
Frost song 'Danse Macabre' ?
Dance Macabre's music differs totally from our main
metal acts. The three of us relate to gothic dark wave but want our main bands
to remain metal. It is a way to express the same dark emotions with a different
language (music style). We have recorded two songs in Athens last year. One of
those tracks will be included on a compilation CD released through Greek metal
hammer. Several labels already showed interest but we will sign to Mascot for a
full length album. The lyrics are inspired by Edgar Allen Poe and Lovecraft. The
music is very dark and dreamy. Some people compare my voice to the one of Nick
Cave on one track, others hear Andrew Eldritch (The Sisters Of Mercy) on the
other. I simply tried to use my voice in different ways as I do with Ancient
Rites but in another style. The bandname was suggested to us by Magus Wampyr
Daoloth, so I cannot answer where he took the inspiration from. In November,
the recordings for the CD will be completed.
I believe you have a tattoo of a bird on your right
shoulder. What does this tattoo mean to you and do you have others ? Are you
also interested in piercing ? Have you already met people who had the Ancient
Rites logo tattooed on their body ?
Obviously you're mistaken, no-one in Ancient Rites is
tattooed. Since I went to art school, I am very difficult in matters of designs
and such. I'm not easily satisfied and I'm afraid if I would choose one, I
would get tired of my tattoo after a couple of years when discovering details
that could have been done better. I'm a perfectionist. Our road crew is
tattooed and pierced (ears, nipples, nose and tongue). I have both ears pierced
and used to have my nose pierced twice. The bassplayer of Blasphemy has our
logo tattooed on his leg, I know an Italian / French girl who has our logo
tattooed on the upper part of her arm with the devil's eyes reflecting when she
enters a dark room. One guy in Belgium has our band name near his wrist, a
German guy has our goat design on his shoulder, and I also know another Belgian
guy who has got the same design on his arm. It is flattering to see certain
people appreciate our work that much. If I had to choose tattoos myself, I
would get our logo on my shoulder and the Flemish lion within a shield on my
arm as a symbol of medieval Flanders. But since the medieval Belgian masters
Rubens and Brueghel died centuries ago, I probably will never get one (??? -
S.W.). Most tattoo artists I do not find talented enough to create a lifetime
piece of art on my flesh. I am not against tattoos, but because of my
profession, I am difficult on that matter when it comes to my body.
I
read in Viking Force that you went to art school in the past. Which school was
that and where ? Which firms or production houses did you work for ? Which art
techniques do you prefer ? Which designers / painters do you admire and why ? I
know you have drawn the cover for your 'Dark Ritual' demo, so have you never
thought about drawing another cover for an album ? By the way, did you draw
that goat-skull in your logo ?
I took
my degree as publicity designer and painter. I went to a specialized school in
Diest but also went to a private school in Zwartberg which is situated in
another provence. I worked for factories like Pecetox, several smaller stores,
some of them specialized in metal and punk designs and for bourgeois clubs like
Rotary and Lion's. I also made a few comic books (three albums in realistic
style and two cartoon like). I prefer to work in black and white, using Rotring
pen. I also made some oilpaintings but prefer to use aquarel methods when
working with pensils. In the world of comics, I see Jacques Martin, Hermann,
Pleyers, Hugo Pratt and Serpieri as my biggest sources of inspiration. Medieval
Belgian masters like Rubens, Brueghel, Teniers truly touch my soul. Surrealists
like Dali and Magritte I appreciate as well. The Belgian painter Huens reigns
nowadays for he's able to create this medieval atmosphere in his work which is
a very rare quality in these modern times. We used one of his paintings on the
backside of the 'Blasfemia Eternal' CD booklet. As I mentioned earlier, I am
very demanding when it comes to art and find my own work not good enough to be
used as a front cover. Most metal album covers which were painted, I find
totally disgusting and kitsch. For example, the 'Fighting The World' album
cover of Manowar is pure crap as far as I'm concerned, laughable even. I am
very oldfashioned and prefer medieval masters for they truly saw their world
through medieval eyes being children of this epoque. Their works behold a
certain fear, prejudice, innocence and obscurity typical for middleages.
Concerning our logo : I worked on it but was heavily inspired by the front
cover of the 'Lord Of Darkness' comic made by Comes.
So
far, I only found one photograph of a live-show of yours where someone is
spitting fire on stage. Who of the band is it that is able to do this ? Have
you never had any accidents with it ? Is it actually very difficult to learn
and how do you actually start with something like that ?
When we
did it years ago only few were into it. Nowadays almost every band is performing
this kind of show on stage so we dropped the idea, it lost it's strength.
Specialists who perform in a circus and such are the ideal source to guide
someone because there is a degree of danger involved when not using the right
technique. On the particular picture you are referring to, it is Peter Helmkamp
of Order From Chaos who breaths fire on stage. He was our special guest when he
tra-velled through Europe a few years ago.
Which
writers do you admire ? Are you also interested in phantasy-stuff with dwarfs,
elf's, imaginary worlds and all that, something like Tolkien for example ? Are
there novels that we definitely should read, that you can advise to us ?
I admire
Baudelaire, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Nietzche and
Umberto Echo, his novel 'The Name of The Rose' is a brilliant masterpiece !
Literature dealing with history and occultism is very inspiring. Tolkien's
world of trolls and elf's is great, but does not impress me as much as it does
to most people in this scene. It's pleasant literature but not a source of
inspiration. The same goes for the famous Necronomicon, a fine piece of
literature but not a real guide into the world of occultism as many believe.
Fiction remains fiction and it is the truth I seek.
You
were best man at the wedding of Mikka of Impaled Nazarene, can you tell us
something more about that feast ? Do you actually know Mikka already for a long
time ? Do you have a lot of contact with each other since he's also living in
Belgium right now ? What do you think personally about marriage, do you think
it still has a chance to succeed in times like these ? Do you or would you like
to have a 'black female soul' as a wife or a girlfriend, someone who supports
and understands you ?
I know
both Mikka and his wife before they met each other. Mikka specially liked our
'Dark Ritual' demo and ordered it many years ago when he still lived in
Finland. They asked me to be best man at their wedding which I accepted. The
wedding took place in Antwerp. Only two other people were invited to celebrate,
so a very intimate occasion it was. We do keep contact and meet or phone
regularly and when our bands play, we put each other on the guest list. I know
he sometimes hates the good relationship I always had with the Norwegian Black
Metal Circle, but I expect friends to respect my choices. We differ a lot,
Mikka and me, but we get along very well. He's mostly interested in cyber,
science fiction and sex, while I am attracted to a forever buried ancient /
medieval past and dark romanticism. Different worlds indeed. Marriage might
work for certain people but a minority nowadays. There are a few women I am
close with, who seem to understand my soul and are able to deal with my
insanity. Through this question, I realize they are true soul sisters who only
sympathize with the darkness without taking part in it. Our connection is more
build on medieval codes of courtesy, respect and warmth. Pure female souls lost
in time. Intelligent, calm but with a strong passion underneath often hidden
behind virginity. In Portugal, Greece, Italy and France I have a few contacts
like these, truly inspiring. Most Belgian women have no soul and are guided by
materialism and selfishness, at least those of my generation and younger. There
are of course exceptions but they are very hard to find here in the North.
Ancient codes have disappeared in these regions, unfortunately.
You
once said in an interview that the members of Ancient Rites are not exactly
very social human beings. I am a bit surprised by this, since you're one of the
friendliest people I know in the black metal scene. You seem to like to talk
with the audience after a concert, to have a beer with them and you write very
long letters back so, ...
We are
not touched by social matters and prefer to live in our own world. Strongly
allergic for all social conscious political inspired fake intellectuals. Our
somewhat nihilistic attitude concerning world problems does not make us beloved
by certain people. However we do not keep distance of individuals who relate to
our work or show respect for what we are and stand for. We give everyone the
benefit of the doubt when approaching us. Rock star attitudes are a display of
little children believing in their rock 'n roll dream and that's far below us.
Also I do not try to impress people with a certain 'evil' pose. I carry very
dark instincts inside but feel no need to perform a game. My anger and hate are
only saved for those who try to harm me. Many bands play an act to impress
young fans, back stage different characters / attitudes are displayed. It's so
fucking tiring and immature !
Many
black metal bands claim that the church and God and everything that has to do
with it is responsible for more deaths than all wars together. I understand what
they are trying to say, and I'm also not really a christian, but don't you
agree that the things they say is just total rubbish ? On your new album, you
wrote an interesting song about this subject, 'Blood Of Christ'. I know that
many innocent people must have been murdered in the past, for example many
innocent women must have been burned as a witch during the inquisition, but
don't you agree that accusing religion for the death of people is far too easy
?
Sure, to
state religion is the only reason of war is nonsense (although most wars today
have a strong religious background). But it is the hypocrisy involved with the
religions of light that deserve our wrath. Fundamentalist Christians, Jews and
Moslems truly believe they are fighting for the highest cause when blowing up,
slaughtering and torturing those who do not follow their pathetic books of
lies. The fact that they are convinced that they represent all that is good and
strife for peace makes me laugh, strange definition of peace they have. Human nature
of course is the reason of all wars but do not underestimate the power of
religion. Personally I do not even care if all these sheep slaughter each other
in their god's name but it becomes a danger when they try to force their dogmas
down everyone's throat, including mine. They do not practice what their bible
or koran preaches. Therefore I have more respect for civilizations throughout
history that openly claimed that their aim was to destroy all their enemies, at
least things were clear (if we agree or not is not the issue here). It is the
hypocrisy of 'white' religion that annoys me.
What
are your plans for the near future ?
We have
just returned from touring Portugal and played a couple of shows in Belgium.
Next month a Dutch tour will start and afterwards a concert in the capitol of
Greece will take place. In June we will do a European headline tour with
Bewitched (ex-Katatonia), Alastis and Enthroned as support, we also have a few
co-headline dates with Dark Funeral. This summer, Mortiis, Magus Wampyr Daoloth
and I will collaborate on a project of which a record will be released. After
the summer, dates with Ancient Rites shows are planned in the U.K., Absu wish
to tour with us throughout Europe during harvest. Busy times ahead of us, the
way I want it to be. I'm looking forward to these days and nights of chaos and
madness. Tour life is addictive ... .
If we
have forgotten anything you can say it here, my very best wishes for the future
and thanks for your patience and everything. Till' we meet again !
Everything's
been said and done Steven. Thank you very much for this interesting
conversation. Our paths will cross again in Belgium or Germany for sure. Evil
cult reigns supreme !