I’ll be thirty-four this year; just short of halfway to forty. But I’ve never felt like I was getting older as a metalhead until recently. It occurred to me a few weeks ago when I was attempting to listen to a new album by a band that shall remain nameless and is being released by a well respected label; for the first time, I felt like the crotchety old fart who didn’t understand what the hell the young whippersnappers were doing. I simply could not wrap my head around what the appeal of this album was supposed to be or what the intent was. I shut it off after one track on my first attempt, after three tracks on my second attempt. And that’s when it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks.
2012 has been more stressful than a motherfucker; probably one of the most all-around stressful years of my life. Buying a house + assorted family and work-related issues that I wouldn’t even dream of getting into here managed to turn the year into a goddamn pressure-cooker. I’m pretty sure the only things that kept me alive were my wife’s unwavering love (and limitless patience) and an avalanche of incredible music. In 2011 I was feeling pretty jaded and dissatisfied with the state of heavy metal, this year I found myself feeling better about things than I have in years. That isn’t to say there weren’t great albums released in 2011, there were, but in 2012 I felt like there was so much greatness that I couldn’t possibly keep up with it all.
To listen to the three full length albums Weapon have released since 2009 is to witness a band searching for their sound. This is not meant as a knock on the Canadian quartet, in fact quite to the contrary; bands are supposed to evolve and grow from album to album. This fact is often lost in the context of death and black metal, where more often than not a lazy “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude prevails. Weapon spit blood and fire in the face of that attitude; they’re ambitious, dedicated craftsmen with world domination on their minds. Embers and Revelations, the latest in that aforementioned trio of albums, is the band’s most complete and commanding work to date, a work that sees Weapon finding that sweet spot between death metal’s pulverizing violence and black metal’s Luciferian spitefulness; harnessing it to create something totally their own. Continue reading “Weapon – Embers and Revelations (Relapse, 2012)”
Canada has always had an extremely fertile metal scene. However, few if any of the legions of bands hailing from the Great White North are capable of unleashing the level of musical devastation that Weapon effortlessly conjures forth on their sophomore album, From The Devil’s Tomb (Ajna/Agonia, 2010). Sure, their Drakonian Paradigm debut was a blistering mix of black metal, thrash and death, but From the Devil’s Tomb ups the ante in all respects; heavier, gnarlier and more complex than it’s predecessor, it is the sound of a band hitting their stride and finding their sound. I contacted Weapon guitarist/vocalist Vetis Monarch via e-mail to discuss the new album, the nature of Satan, and other arcane subjects.
THKD: Tell us about the circumstances surrounding the creation of From the Devil’s Tomb. How has the band evolved since Drakonian Paradigm?
Vetis Monarch: With the elimination of my heroin addiction, and the accumulation of a stable line-up, things finally started to happen for Weapon. Forget the glamorous clichés of the druggie lifestyle – it does NOT work if you want to be in a functioning band.
We are very proud of ‘Drakonian Paradigm’ the album, but have qualms surrounding its release. The production lacks power; the distribution wasn’t far-reaching enough; and of course, at least one of the people involved in the band at that time was perhaps never meant to be in Weapon. All of those things affect our opinions regarding that album.
Most of ‘From The Devil’s Tomb’ was created in 2009. The Disciple (percussion) and I had very clear ideas regarding what we wanted this album to sound like; the mistakes made on previous releases would not be repeated and we made sure that every aspect of this album was indeed up to our standards; Kha Tumos (bass) and Apostle VIII (lead guitar) were the missing pieces of that puzzle.
THKD: Where was From the Devil’s Tomb recorded? How would you describe the experience of laying these songs to tape?
VM: It was recorded / mixed / mastered at Sound Extractor Studio in Edmonton, Canada. We basically spent most of our waking ours there from March to April 2010. The producer (Stew Kirkwood) is a good friend of ours and works well with our combined eccentricities, so to speak. He isn’t a ‘metal guy’ by any means but has a vast musical palette to be able to accommodate just about every genre of music. Plus, we already had experience working with him during the mastering process of ‘Drakonian Paradigm’ so he was well aware of what we were / weren’t looking for in terms of production. We all knew that this was going to be a very special album.
The recording process itself was quite standard – percussion, then guitars, followed by bass and then vocals – yet it all fell into place with little to no difficulty. This was also Apostle VIII’s first time in a professional studio but he came in very well-prepared and laid down his rhythm and lead tracks like a total pro. All in all it was a fantastic experience.
THKD: From the Devil’s Tomb brings a stronger death metal influence to Weapon’s sound and the album as a whole is much heavier. Was this stylistic shift intentional?
VM: As much as we don’t try and control our sound too much, we were definitely aware that the DM foundation of the band was emerging more and more as we were working on the album. It wasn’t intentional but we also didn’t shy away from this ‘change’; this stylistic shift, as you put it, was actually very organic and seamless. Besides, for people in our age group, real Black and Death Metal are but two sides of the same coin.
THKD: For From the Devil’s Tomb, you once again enlisted Benjamin A. Vierling to create the cover art. What does his artwork bring to Weapon? What does the cover represent?
VM: The union of great music, great art and great literature is very important to us. Of course, said greatness is subjective, but as far as we are concerned, Benjamin Vierling is one of the few artists of this era who is capable of illustrating in colors and shapes what Weapon conjures via music and words. I’ve said this before and I will say it again – Mr. Vierling is a modern-day master.
‘From The Devil’s Tomb’ image actually incorporates several iconic motifs from the major arcana of the Tarot, including: The Devil, The Tower, The Last Judgment, The Hanged Man, and to a lesser degree, Death, and The World.
Benjamin decided to elaborate on the ‘as above so below’ maxim to greater effect, incorporating archaic icons for the ascent and the descent into one image – which to my knowledge has never been done effectively. We don’t wish to over-explain the particulars, because the composition should really speak for itself, but the inverted figure of the hanged man with eviscerated bowels obviously mirrors traditional crucifixion motifs. He also forms the inverted Algiz rune; like Odin, the self-sacrifice that he offers is not for mankind, but for his own gnosis. Weapon doesn’t directly reference the Norse mythos, but Mr. Vierling has woven several traditions into this image. Furthermore, an inverted crucifixion is always suitable iconography for spiritual self-immolation!
The ascending, multi-limbed, wrathful-deity figure evokes Shiva the Destroyer, and well as Goddess of Death Kali, and even Baphomet; an eclectic synthesis here! To the left the sky is raining blood, to the right, a storm of lightning. The heraldic angels have black wings and empty eyes. Both the ascending Daemon, and the descending Son, are grounded by the flaming wheel of destiny- the rotating cosmos; note that this also forms the pupil of the eye of the nimbus. The nimbus is simultaneously the third eye of gnosis, the Ajna chakra, and the gaping vulva of creation & oblivion. Naturally, it is crimson.
The guardians of the subterranean kingdom – the Devil’s tomb – are a vulture and wolf-headed sentinel, and in the towers, a fly and a worm. In the background is a coiling abstraction of serpents; the spears held by the sentinels penetrate into the inner strata of the nimbus-eye-wheel.
All that being said, one could stare at this piece for hours on end and find hidden messages many times over.
THKD: Weapon has gone through some lineup changes since Drakonian Paradigm. How did this affect/change the band? Is the current lineup stable?
VM: The line-up of the band for the past 2.5 years has been the most stable one in the band’s 8-year history. Of course, this can be attributed to the fact that the current members share the same vision of success, we get along well and most importantly, we share the same musical and spiritual interests.
The removal of the 2 members from the ‘Drakonian Paradigm’ lineup was inevitable; the guitarist lived in another city 3 hours away, and the bassist wasn’t up to par musically with the rest of us – a lot of talk but no follow-through; so, we have absolutely no regrets with those decisions. This change has made us stronger, more focused and far more determined to succeed than ever before.
THKD: Describe Weapon’s approach to songwriting/composition. Do you compose material alone or together with the other members?
VM: Most of the time I compose material alone and then the whole band works together on arranging the songs up to their completion. Apostle VIII and myself have been writing together in recent times, but I still find it most comfortable to compose by myself.
The lyrical part is entirely up to me, although I do bounce thematic ideas back and forth with the crew. We are all involved – at some level or another – in every aspect of the band.
THKD: You are originally from Bangladesh. How does your heritage influence what you do with Weapon? Does the traditional music of that region inform your approach to playing metal in any way?
VM: If by heritage you mean Bengali culture, it has little to no influence at all on what I am doing with Weapon. Nationalism, patriotism, solidarity etc mean nothing to me. Evil has no boundaries and borders are fucking useless.
Eastern art forms inspire me profoundly. I have no classical training in music, but the pulse and scales of eastern music are ingrained in me; The Disciple is also very embracing of eastern percussion. However, these are subtle, subconscious influences; Weapon is a metal band above all. We have no intentions of becoming a gimmick band with a penchant for exploiting ‘exotic’ instrumentation just to stand out from the crowd.
THKD: In addition to anti-Christian lyrical themes, Weapon is unafraid to express anti-Islamic sentiments. Is this a direct result of your background/up-bringing? Do you think other bands are afraid to tackle Islam?
VM: If a band has no first-hand experience of dealing with something, they shouldn’t write songs about the subject in question. Most European / North American people playing this kind of music only know Islam through the mainstream media; it’s unlikely that they have ever even conversed in-depth with a (practicing) Muslim, much less have a direct problem with one on a personal level. I spent a large part of my life around those people and speak from personal experiences.
I can’t comment on other bands’ fear of Islam, but perhaps they feel threatened by Muslim fundamentalism? After all, say what you will about those dirty Muslims, I don’t think that anyone in their right mind can deny that those militant fundamentalists do walk the talk.
THKD: I’ve been asking this of many bands with a satanic message of late. What does Satan mean to you? How does Satanism influence Weapon’s music?
VM: Satanism influences everything in my life and in Weapon. What does it mean to me? Satan is knowledge and power, manipulating the cosmos, lawless existence and unbound freedom. Satanism is embracing all that is rejected by the ‘civilized world’, and improving the Self; attaining total enlightenment. Satan is the physical / spiritual manifestation of the being and becoming.
THKD: Can you talk a little about the themes derived from Eastern religions/philosophies crop up in Weapon’s music? How do they intertwine with the satanic side of Weapon?
VM: What / who we are referring to as Satan, is in fact prevalent in several Eastern religions / philosophies. We study the dark/destructive aspects of those traditions – Shiva & Kali, Aghora, Iblis cults, Mesopotamian daemonology and several other disciplines. The dark current runs in countless veins under different semblances.
THKD: There are several references to the trishul, which is a Hindu religious symbol. What is its significance in the context of Weapon?
VM: The trishul / trident (which means ‘three spear) was wielded by Shiva, Poseidon and Neptune; all 3 deities used this archaic weapon as a means of destruction of cataclysmic proportions. As the weapon of Shiva, it destroys the three worlds – the physical world, the world of the forefathers, and the world of the mind. Weapon gives praise to this in that the Trishul was the choice of Shiva (Lucifer) for awakening the caustic eye.
THKD: Your current country of Canada has a stellar metal tradition from Voivod to Blasphemy. How do your surroundings influence your approach music?
VM: Canada’s overall metal map is nothing short of spectacular; but as far as Weapon is concerned we are inspired by the likes Blasphemy, Disciples of Power, Gorguts etc. We aren’t very inspired by our current surroundings, except maybe for the fact that we want nothing to do with that war metal scene that tends to be associated with Western Canada. Newer bands like A.M.S.G., Mitochondrion, Augury, Gyibaaw etc are very interesting to my ears.
THKD: Will you be playing live in support of From the Devil’s Tomb? How would you describe the Weapon live experience to someone who hasn’t seen you?
VM: We already have played live in support of ‘From The Devil’s Tomb’ and shall continue to do so. Our live performances can be described as a complete and utter assault on all the senses – a well-oiled machine that is primal, raw and blunt! There are no subtleties, no pretences of politeness. Weapon live is the synthesis of all the elements of the Left Hand Path.
THKD: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?
VM: Buy our albums, don’t download them; come see us perform live and get soul-raped in the process.
THKD 