Interview: WITCHRIST

Had I heard Witchrist’s ultra-gnarly 2010 debut Beheaded Ouroboros a bit sooner, there’s a very good chance it would’ve wound up on my year-end top ten list. The album possesses a filthy, diseased death metal atmosphere, yet it’s also heavy and violent enough to repeatedly bash in your skull. I spoke with guitarist Shawn (aka Abomination) via e-mail…

THKD: Witchrist hails from New Zealand. What can you tell us about the metal scene there and how do your surroundings influence your music, if at all?

Shawn: The underground here is similar to that elsewhere – an abundance of garbage and a few cult bands. New Zealand’s early history has been violent, cunning and ruthless and I believe this has had more influence on our mentality as a band than other metal from our scene.

THKD: Your band’s sound is often referred to as “bestial” metal. Is there such a thing or is the whole concept of bestial black/death metal a falsehood created by the metal media, labels, message boards etc?

S: Our sound is catergorised as many things and yes ‘bestial’ is one of them. I would agree that Witchrist contains bestial and chaotic elements however there is also a sick dirge to our sound which is not common in many ‘extreme’ bands apart from say Antediluvian. I definitely have some bestial bands destroying my ears constantly…right now its the Thorns of Hate demo from Malaysia…..killer and recommended. I don’t agree with these backward thinking anti-bestial scene jumpers. A few years ago they were into this bestial style of music and now they are not…go figure. The fact is they are just insecure about their own music and find it upsetting that someone creating bestial, harsh, deadly music is doing a better job than themselves. Its laughable and the tunnel-vision mentality is a weak trait.

THKD: Regardless of the whole “bestial” label, it can’t be argued that death metal has experienced something of a “return to roots” in the past few years. Why do you think this is and do you consider Witchrist do be a part of it?

S: Different sub genres seem to rise and fall constantly in a repeating cycle, this is how it is with most things in human society. I don’t see Witchrist as part of the ‘return to roots’ category, we have carved our own path that seems to conflict with most listeners who are expecting to hear an old school death metal record.

THKD: With that said, what bands have influenced Witchrist over the years? What bands do you consider to be your peers within the scene?

S: Each cult members influences will vary, however Witchrist has been labeled as sounding like Blasphemy, Beherit, Bolt Thrower, Archgoat, Autopsy and even Celtic Frost …Yes there are traits from all these bands within our music – it just means we have tapped into the same source for inspiration. We are in contact with many maniacs, heathens, cultists and black metal skinheads in different bands throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Obviously the Doom Cult is close so Diocletian, Vassafor and Sinistrous Diabolus are our immediate peers within New Zealand.

THKD: Is Witchrist in any way a reaction to modern death metal’s tendency towards masturbatory technicality and lifeless, digital production schemes?

S: No, we just do what we do. I can imagine Witchrist’s sound is a lot more organic, considering the way we play, the way we record and the equipment we use – Ironbirds, old school Holden valves and will power to create the darkest, filthiest fucking death metal on the planet…….

THKD: How has the band progressed between the demos collected on Curses of Annihilation and your debut album, Beheaded Ouroboros?

S: Our line up was an issue for the Ancient Tombs demo, that was corrected for the Curses.. and Beheaded Ouroboros releases. Once again we have made changes, as Imprecator was a session vocalist, our line up now consists of a permanent vocalist who will unleash his wrath on the upcoming album; The Grand Tormentor. The demos were just that – a demonstration, obviously things change over time and fresh ideas will be incorporated. However, we will never stray from the path of ugly death and doom. Its in our blood.

THKD: Unfortunately my promo copy of Beheaded Ouroborus did not include lyrics. Can you touch on some of the lyrical themes addressed by Witchrist? How have these themes developed progressed since the early demos?

S: For Ancient Tombs the lyrics were in the hands of the vocalist at the time, I can’t remember what he wrote about. Members of the band took over lyric writing from
Curses… onwards. Our focus is, as always, on the left hand path, the correlation between eastern and western cults of death and transcendence through ancient means. The Grand Tormentor is heavily influenced by the eastern myth known as The Ramayana or Ramakien…. the Tormentor being the antagonist. There has not been much progression in our lyric writing, we still incorporate the same concepts and are still influenced by the same spiritual elements.

THKD: What was your mindset going into the process of writing and recording Beheaded Ouroboros? What were you looking to achieve with your debut full length? Do you think you succeeded?

S: It was our first album so as a band we were anticipating the outcome – there was always a plan though. We were looking to crush as many skulls as we could with Beheaded Ouroboros… leaving people devastated and eagerly awaiting the second album which is set to do an even deadlier job. We succeeded on all accounts.

THKD: When/where was Behead Ouroborus recorded? What can you tell us about the sessions? What was running through your mind as the album started to take shape?

S: The album as recorded at Black Door Studio and took roughly two days to lay the drums and guitars..A lot of nicotine, coffee and listening was done…. Our recording ritual is always a great process and listening to the destruction unfold is an unholy experience…

THKD: Talk a little about the cover art for Beheaded Ourorborus. How does the artwork tie in with the concepts being expressed lyrically/musically?

S: It is the end of the cycle of life and death, the escape from Samsara. It was drawn by Bad News Brown and of course seeps of unholy death…Each song in the booklet has corresponding lyrics and artwork portraying the song. The meaning behind these portraits I leave to the individual listener. Artwork was must always be strong and infect peoples mental state, as you know many times before a record is heard artwork is viewed… its that first impression that must really hypnotize (for lack of better word) the listener before the oncoming oppression of doom.

THKD: Is Witchrist a Satanic band? If so, what does Satan mean to you on a personal level, and how is that concept manifested in the music of Witchrist?

S: The Satanic Path is of course a part of Witchrist and should always be a part of Black and Death metal, however the term is not used in our lyrics or seen in our artwork in that particular form. We prefer the Asiatic counterparts as one may be able to derive from our releases. On a personal level Satan is power, physical-mental-spiritual. Controlling and developing these three elements is the key in my opinion.

THKD: Witchrist recently signed a deal with with Osmose. How did this come about? Why did you leave Invictus Productions?

S: Atrociter had contact with Herve and it unfolded from there….. The deal that Osmose proposed was what we were looking for.

THKD: What does the rest of 2011 have in store for Witchrist? Are you already working on new material? Will you be doing any touring?

S: Currently 2 split’s are about to unleashed – a split with Morbosidad through Hells Headbangers and a split with Antideluvian through Bird of Ill Omen/Nuclear Winter Records. They are a teaser to what will be unleashed later in the year and will feature four songs in total that will appear on The Grand Tormentor, which will really be a vicious, barbaric album.. twice as heavy as Beheaded Ouroboros so beware…… Merchandise is another aspect we will work on this year through Goat Gear; patches, shirts and perhaps a live DVD will be available soon. Touring is definitely a possibility, we have our targets set on USA, Asia and Europe… death and doom awaits…..

THKD: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?

S: Hails for the interview and beware…

Interview: ANTEDILUVIAN

Everyone whining about the current state of death metal (and there are many) needs to shut their mouths and give Antediluvian a thorough listen.  Over the course of several demos, an EP and a split w/ Nuclearhammer, this Canadian duo has concocted a sickening take on DM that is primitive and punishing w/o being self-consciously “retro” or blatantly re-hashing the sounds of 1990s Sweden and Florida.  This death metal that reaches back into the primordial ooze of pre-history itself to harness an energy that is desolate, otherworldly, and above all, heavy.  I contacted guitarist/vocalist HT to learn more about Antediluvian’s realm of chaos.

THKD: For those who may be unfamiliar, can you tell us a little about how Antediluvian got started?

HT: Antediluvian was started in Guelph, Ontario in 2005 by HT and MS.

THKD: Invictus Productions recently released Watcher’s Reign, a compilation of your first two demos + tracks from you split w/ Nuclearhammer. Whose idea was this release and how did it come about?

HT: If I remember correctly, Darragh and Wes of Invictus/Warfare Noise were interested in reissuing the early demo material. I think Darragh initially suggested a cassette version which is still in the works, but we all decided to do the CD first as the material was available (separately) on cassette for some time.

THKD: It seems like most metal bands don’t even bother with demos anymore before releasing an album. What prompted Antediluvian to stick with this more traditional approach?

HT: We wanted to spend some time developing our ideas for our sound and our ability to execute them accurately, before doing an album.

THKD: How has Antediluvian progressed from the first demo up to this point? How would you describe the band’s evolution thus far?

HT: With each release we have improved. The basic idea is the same but our ability to execute that idea is exponentially better on each release.

THKD: Your most recent release is the Revelations in Excrement EP. What can you tell us about this release?

HT: This is an exploration on the nature of evil. Death appears to be the ultimate end from our perspective, but really our flesh is reintegrated into matter. We are exploring the seemingly contradictory idea of forces reaching from or back into non-existence in an attempt to disrupt or affect this cyclical pattern. Musically we incorporate abstract patterns of sound in a disorienting fashion, channeled from the unconscious. By purposefully disregarding rational thought/discretion we reflect from beyond the urges of substance and flesh. The MLP discusses in certain terms this contradictory possibility of existence beyond physical matter, and how this is naturally perceived as evil.

THKD: When will Antediluvian unleash a full length? What can listeners expect from your debut album?

HT: We plan to record our full length in the summer of 2011. Thematically it will mock the right/rational morality we ascribe to existence in attempt to make sense of the absurd contradictions of nature. We will continue to expose the Bible and related cornerstones of western thought as the starting point of the false ideals of the current system.

THKD: What sorts of lyrical themes are you dealing with in Antediluvian? Many of the songs seem to deal w/ chaos and prehistory…

HT: Our songs do deal with chaos and prehistory, as well as the exploration of the unconsciousness as described above in my previous answers. Prehistory really implies times before oral or written records and perhaps before human consciousness existed. I find it very interesting to imagine if before human consciousness, the social veil/front/filter we use to veil the self-devouring nature of existence was absent. Living creatures ate each other and procreated without some kind of strange moral front keeping certain instincts in check. However the paradox is that humans now overrun the planet entirely, and perhaps this moral filter is exactly what allowed us to truly conquer matter to an extent that we’ve become the absolute alpha predator and also our own worst enemy.

Thematically we are dealing with how in our current culture the right/rational/ordered side of things attempts to soften or hide the actual terror and constant sacrifice of the cycle of sustenance. Comparing early mythology with pre-historic (pre written word) existence gives an interesting perspective on how humans have always been trying to come to terms with the unknown and the mysteries of the ouroboric cycle of life feeding on life. There has always been a rebellious intuition that guides this questioner to examine life for what it is, and to question the veil of order over chaos and that is what is driving our explorations.

THKD: Antediluvian works as a duo. What does each member bring to the table?

HT: We each play our own instruments and recently MS has been handling some songwriting duties as well. Up until this point I have written all the music but a lot of the material on the album we are preparing has been written by MS. We have always worked together on arrangements.

THKD: With that said, what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of having only two band members? Would you ever consider expanding the lineup?

HT: The advantages with two members are that you have less chance for scheduling conflicts and can be more spontaneous with rehearsals and playing live. The disadvantage with two members is that bass lines and additional guitar layers composed for recordings cannot be performed live. We nonetheless have a very low end, heavy live sound with two members, but the recordings have some subtle harmonies that that are not present.

Having said that, we are currently rehearsing with a bassist who will also be doing backing vocals live. This will take our already devastating live performances to a new height of abhorrence. We will likely incorporate a second guitarist in the future as well.

THKD: How would you describe your songwriting approach? Do you compose as a duo or separately?

HT: We usually compose separately and arrange together. A lot of times we change/improve/add onto sections of a song spontaneously as we begin to rehearse it. I write on the guitar and MS writes on the piano which is opening us up to patterns of notes that seem quite strange, atypical, and interesting when played on guitar.

THKD: Is the raw, chaotic nature of your recordings a reaction against the overproduced abomination that is most modern death/black metal?

HT: It’s less about being close minded to whatever the specific trend of the moment is and more about being open to that beyond consciousness and matter. Time/budget for specific recordings is really the only thing that has ever restricted us and perhaps some of the rawness you mention is due to such restrictions though it’s also a part of the destructive (un)nature of what we channel.

THKD: Antediluvian does not use social media such as myspace/facebook/etc to promote itself. Why do you prefer not to self promote in this way?

HT: Myspace/facebook to me seem to be a really contemporary fad, fads come and go, and I think that being really with the times is a good way to get out of date really quickly. Some kind of online resource can be very useful for people interested in the band but I don’t think these specific sites are necessary. Just a standard website with the relevant info seems appropriate to me.

THKD: The Canadian metal scene seems to be extremely strong at the moment. What characteristics make Canadian metal stand out?

HT: Part of what makes it stand out are bands that don’t sound alike; creativity seems to flow untainted and unbridled. The idea of bands from the same country, but living thousands of miles apart is really not hurting this factor. It cuts out the usual inbreeding that creates clone after clone in some of the more tight packed areas of the world.

THKD: What are your plans for Antediluvian for the rest of 2011? Will there be any more new material aside from the EP?

HT: We are recording the debut in the summer for Invictus Productions and Profound Lore Records. We have two split releases that will probably be released before the album is complete, One is a 12 inch split with Adversarial (3 songs each on NWN! productions) and the other is a 7 inch split with Witchrist (1 song each on Nuclear Winter Records). All that material is recorded already. Also our third demo “Under Wing of Asael” will be out on 12 inch late spring on Parasitic Records. We also plan to play at least one live set this year.