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Esoteric
Here we have an
interview with ESOTERIC, this english band was formed in July 1992 and has so
far released the "Esoteric Emotions-The Death Of Ignorance" demo in
1993 and their debut album "Epistemological Despondency" on Aesthetic
Death Records. Shortly after the recordings of the album,the band relieved
drummer Darren and guitarist Stuart of their duties. Vocalist Greg answered the
questions...
So what's been with
ESOTERIC since the release of the debut cd?
Since the release of the double-cd,all we've done is a couple of gigs (one with
Blasphemer and Theodicy and one with Cradle of Filth and Demonica),and some
song-writing. We've also been promoting the release of the double-cd.
Why did you form the
band and why did you decide to play this kind of music?
Well,we formed the band in order to create music that we wanted to hear. Music
that is personal and evocative to us. We didn't decide upon playing any
particular style of music,the music just comes out this way. We write the music
as a transposition of the lyrics,to evoke and express the emotions
(sorrow,hatred,etc.),philosophies,and feelings in the lyrics.The lyrics deal
with topics that are a great part of us,and therefore the music is an
expression of the content of part of our minds. We also write the music as a
form of intro-spection,and to release our malignant emotions,in order to help
maintain the equlibrium of our minds. Our music will always be a part of us,and
therefore the styles in each song will vary,with regards to which part of our
lives we are expressing in the music. Our methods and reasons are far more
complex that this,but this should be enough for you to form a basic idea.
(Yes,it was enough. For me at least-HE)
Have the members that
left been replaced? If so,tell me the about the new members.
We have replaced Stuart with a new guitarist called Steve,but we still haven't
found a drummer to replace Darren. Steve is a good lead guitarist,and he can
play many different styles of music,like the rest of us. He's the youngest
member of the band (20 years old), and he's also the tallest (6'10").
The production on the
cd and the demo is rather weird. It's so cold and depressive. Did you decide to
have it that way or did it just come out like that?
We knew exactly how we wanted our recordings to sound. The production on the
demo wasn't as heavy as we'd planned,but it is very professional. The d-cd
represents our "usual" sound,that we use in rehearsals,live,etc.
We've always had a very heavy sound,and it is at a level that you can feel as
well as hear. It is barbarically heavy. We calculate every aspect of our music
to be as we want it to be,so nothing occurs by chance. It is as it is because
we wanted it to be that way.
What do you think of
the English scene? What are the best and worst bands in your opinion?
I don't recognise a collection of bands,'zines,etc to be a "scene",as
I regard each original band to be individual. I do not associate myself with a
"scene" as such. We are ESOTERIC,and we stand alone. Our ways have
nothing to do with other bands, and neither does out music. If we affiliate
with people or "socialise" with them,it is because of their
merits,not because they are a part of a "scene". The English bands
that I've both heard and liked are Cradle of
Filth,Bal-Sagoth,Theodicy,Hybernoid and Blasphemer. This doesn't mean that the
other band's aren't good,but that I do not find them evocative myself. The
worst bands aren't worth mentioning,because there are a hell of a lot of bands
in England who cannot even play their instruments,let alone innovate upon them.
What are your 5
favorite albums of all-time? Why?
My musical tastes are quite vast, and I do not compare bands to each other,as I
feel that the innovative bands have different aims within their music. It often
depends upon what mood or frame of mind I am in, anyway.
Have you seen any good
porno-movies lately? Which ones?
No,I haven't seen any good ones lately,as I haven't seen any for quite a while.
The last one I saw was okay,quite sick actually. One of it's main features was
a man crouching over a woman,then proceeding to shit on her stomach. She then
rubbed his shit all over her breasts,cunt, and most of her body. The other
woman in the video wasn't too impressed when the first woman rubbed some of it
on her,and she ran off screaming. It was quite amusing,but this kind of things
doesn't turn me on (Do you honestly expect us to believe that?-HE). I wouldn't
like to do it, anyway (Yeah,right-HE). I've seen all kinds of extreme videos,
from sado-masochism,to humans having sex with animals,to real torture and
death, and so on.I am not turned-on by these kind of videos in a sexual
sense,but I am interested by them,and I do enjoy watching some of them on rare
occassions. I prefer the real thing to watching someone else on video. It's
much more gratifying and pleasurable. The videos I've seen usually have stupid
titles that aren't worth remembering,like "Sex Slaves", "Animal
Farm", and so on. You can probably imagine some of the more taccy titles.
What do you think of the following:
Slayer? I like some of their music,more so from the album "Reign In
Blood". I think that Slayer are a good band, and some of their music is
really dark and sinister, which I like.
King Size Snickers Bars? I don't really like them much. Guiness Beer? It's okay,but I wouldn't buy it. I
don't drink very often and I prefer spirits when I do.
Sluts? I have no opinions of women who are labelled as
"sluts". It's up to them what they do and none of my business. It
depends on the individual character of a women as to weather I like her or not.
It doesn't make any difference how many men she fucks. On a sexual level,as
long as a woman is open-minded and isn't timid about sex,I do not care about
how many men she has slept with (as long as she hasn't got any sexual
diseases).
Are there any horny
housewives in your neighbourhood?
None that are worth mentioning. I don't know anyone in my neighbourhood,as I
sleep during the day and live in the night. Therefore I rarely see anyone in
the houses nearby. I isolate myself from the people of "society"
anyway,as I am a misanthropist,and I don't like to have to deal with stupid
people. The majority of people are fucking stupid. (Totally agree with you-HE)
Does ESOTERIC have any
groupies?
No,we do not have any groupies. We haven't had any yet anyway.
What have you got for
sale,etc...
Demo-"Esoteric Emotions-The Death Of Ignorance" (82 minutes long) 3
pounds in the UK,$6 in Europe,$7 rest of the world.
Double-CD-"Epsitemological Despondency" (89 minutes long) 10 pound in
the UK,$18 in Europe,$20 rest of the world.
All prices include postage.
The last words...
Thank you for the interview Halldor. Your support is much appreciated. It was
unusual, to say the least.
For information (enclose IRC) or
merchandise,write to:
ESOTERIC,
19 Fairmead Rise,
Kings Norton,
Birmingham,
B38 8BS,
England.