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1. What is
the band’s state at the moment? What kind of sinister affairs you plan to
perform for summer and on?
2. How did
listeners and critics meet your last album?
3. What
does stimulate you to play that kind of music against all difficulties? A
thirst for glory? An itch for countless treasures? Obsession? Government?!
4. How does
your vision of Lovecraftian revelations differ from vision of other bands of
that kind? Do you consider it as original? Can you name bands which Cthulhian
dreams you like too?
5. What is
your greatest achievement in the sphere of Elder Gods cults?
6. What
will you do (or rather where will you run?!) when Elder Gods awake?
Our guests
today are: necromystic Arkham Witch, vernal Atragon, archaic Bretus, sharp’n’heavy
Damnations Hammer, abyssal Fungoid Stream, grotesque Space God Ritual, heathen Taak,
tentacled Tentacle and hulking Yidhra.
And stay
tuned for a second part of Cthulhu Doom Quiz including Aarni, Astral Sleep,
Cthulhu Rise, Evangelist, Grimpen Mire, Innzmouth, Lord Vicar, Tortured Spirit,
Y'ha-nthlei.
ARKHAM WITCH (England
Simon Iff? (vocals, bass)
1. The band has a very busy time at the moment!
We are currently writing songs for album number three which should appear
sometime next year. In the meantime we have recorded a four track ep which we
will shortly be releasing entitled Hammerstorm. After that we play the opening
show for HOA in Germany England , a few
dates in Germany and Belgium with our old friends Hooded Preist and
Iron Void, an appearance at Doom over Vienna , an
appearance at Live Evil with Satan and Midnight and to cap it all the chance to
play in Dubai with Manilla Road England
2. It has
largely been very positive and we have been lucky enough to get some really
good reviews of ”Legions of the Deep” and a couple of mentions in magazines. We
are not everyone’s cup of tea, but that is to be expected!
3. I think
for all of us it is addiction. We don’t really know anything else. We have all
been in heavy metal bands for the past twenty years and our goal has always
been to make heavy metal songs in the style of the bands that we loved and
respected growing up. It’s great that the fashion has come back around and that
the internet has allowed us to reach a larger group of people because we can
remember playing this stuff to bemused
nu metal audiences who were wondering why the big guy with the afro wasn’t
rapping in the middle!
4. I think
our Lovecraftian leanings differ from most bands in that we really do focus on
the ‘pulp’ aspect of Lovecraft, rather than the desired effect of the literary
weird tale. Some bands aim for that, using discordance and eerie atmosphere to
evoke the spirit of the old ones, we try and do it through the more esoteric
means of using his old gods and ancient ones as a kind of shorthand to rock! I
always loved the idea of the overt cheery rock song carrying covert messages of
doom and destruction as we gleefully sing along to our own imagined demise - I
don’t know why! I think one of my favorite lovecraftian songs is Morbid Angel’s
‘Angel of Disease’, which, even in it’s death metal form, has a really good
cheery singalong chorus!
Here’s “Kult
of Kutulu” - inspired by Alan Moore’s ace comic book “Neonomicon”.
5. Probably
invoking Cthulhu with ‘woos’ in the song “Lord of Rl’yeh”!
6. No point
running - we shall serve them faithfully until they chose for us whatever
oblivion they deem fit, which if we look at Lovecraft is usually an incurable
and complete insanity! No change there then!
ATRAGON (Scotland)
Ruaridh Daunton (guitar)
1. We are currently in the process
of writing our debut album, which we should hopefully have recorded and
released by the end of the year. We have the majority of it written and should
be ready to get into the studio very soon.
2. The reception of our debut E.P "Volume
1" has been outstanding. More or less everyone who has reviewed it has
been extremely positive and supportive and even the less than enthusiastic
reviews just push us to up our game and grow as a band.
3. The huge passion and respect
that we have for the genre and the bands that have come before us as well
as the insatiable desire to wreak sonic warfare and auditory destruction upon
the world.
4. We do not have songs based upon Lovecrafian tales although we are hugely
inspired by his works. All of our songs are original tales of despair and woe
conjured up by our singer Jan Gardner. The bands who we are inspired most by
are Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, Cathedral, Reverend Bizarre, Pentagram, The
Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Sleep, Orange Goblin, Hawkwind and Candlemass, however
each band member has many other different inspirations from many different
styles and genres of music.
5. Our greatest achievement so far has definitely been opening for Saint Vitus, that was nothing short of amazing. We have all been such huge fans of them for so long that it was just unreal and I still have trouble believing that it actually happened!
6. We love gigging so we'd love to play a show & provide a soundtrack for the end of the world.
BRETUS (Italy
Ghenes (guitars, bass)
1. We are
working (with extreme calm) on a new full length but, for now, I don't want to
speak about details. News will be out very soon. I can say only that it will be
something amazing and also something new for us.
2. We had
got many good reviews of “In Onirica” on fanzine and musical magazines. We are
very glad about it, especially because we are from a very forgotten land (I
don't speak about Italy
3. Nothing
like that sure eh ehe he! we take care of the earth problems, but we are not a
band of politicians eh he eh... all of us play with other bands and so everyone
can express himself in many sides. Then with Bretus we satisfy our wishes of
raw and dark vibrations. that's all!
4. We love
Lovecraft's universe totally and for many years I personally was obsessed and
very "under spell" about it. Then growing my passion was normalized,
but reading his tales for me is a crescent pleasure now more than before. But
in these years too many people speaking about Lovecraft or Cthulhu or The
ancient Ones, and the last thing we want is all to expire in the ridiculous
one. Bretus were born also without Lovecraft but his inspiration is deeply
rooted in our music. To be considered original was never our wish. The first
band that reminded me Lovecraft's feeling were sure High Tide. But probably
less knows about this great dark/progressive band. In our times we love Sleep
deeply and their new development High on fire.
5. To
discover them and theirs degenerated sons! What kind of achievement is better
than this?
6. We will
wait for their arrival on the top of the mountain and to the right moment we
will drink together an amazing fresh beer.
DAMNATIONS HAMMER (United Kingdom
Tim Preston (guitars, vocals)
1. We’re
actually writing for our second album at the moment – we have four songs
complete with another two part completed. The idea is to have seven full songs
and two atmospheric soundscapes one of which will be The Hex iii. Once we have
everything recorded we plan to play a few live shows, but I guess that will be
early 2014 as we still need to find a full time lead guitarist to play live.
Andy the bassist plays the leads on the album.
2. “Disciples
of the Hex” has met with some really great reviews, actually it has been quite
humbling to read some of the positive comments people have said about the
music. When we released the album I wasn’t sure if people would ‘get’ what we
were trying to achieve – for me personally I put Damnations Hammer together as
a tribute to avant-garde metal from the 1980’s such as Celtic Frost – I wanted
to capture the same felling I had when I first discovered Celtic Frost. So, for
us to receive positive reviews it’s really quite exciting. Obviously not
everyone has been complimentary towards the music as we’ve had two really bad
reviews – however I don’t mind at all as it would appear you either love or
hate Damnations Hammer, no one has sat on the fence and said ‘well it’s just ok’
– you either get it or you don’t!
3. The whole
concept of the band is to capture the same atmosphere I had when I was a kid
growing up in the 1980’s and discovering new bands such as Voivod and Celtic
Frost. I love writing this style of music, it seems very natural for me to do
so and we are in a position to record at home so I guess Damnations Hammer is
going to be around for quite a while – slowly and steadily releasing albums.
The Hex is upon us!
4. I guess
we are somewhat original in the current musical climate – we’re not death metal
or doom metal as such – I describe the
sound as Doom laden metal, I try to keep a certain amount of melody in the
sound, I guess it helps the songs have a groove. Check out the video we did for
Disciples of the Hex…
5. Releasing
the album has been as great achievement for us – especially having the guys at
I Hate Records behind us, their enthusiasm has been great! Disciples of the Hex
was our first time to record ourselves so as you can imagine we made quite a
few mistakes on the way. The second album should be a little easier to complete
as we won’t make the same errors again – I hope it will be a worthy sacrifice
to the Mythos and that mighty Cthulhu will spare us!
6. Well I
guess if mighty Cthulhu has awoken and left the city of R’lyeh
FUNGOID STREAM (Argentina
Simon O. (vocals) and Joseph C. (all
instruments)
1. Simon O.: We've just finished the recording our
third album, called "Prehuman Shapes" (you are the first one to know
that, it is not yet announced). The album is now on the release schedule of
Furias Records, but date is not certain by now. Even the booklet art layout is
already designed.
2. Simon O.: In the best possible way. We received very good comments about "Oceanus" and it was even nominated for 2010 best extreme doom metal album by a well-known metal site.
3. Joseph C.:None of above. Our stimulation comes from the compelling of creation, of composing music, obscure music, trying to give the adequate atmosphere to the Lovecraftian cosmogony.
2. Simon O.: In the best possible way. We received very good comments about "Oceanus" and it was even nominated for 2010 best extreme doom metal album by a well-known metal site.
3. Joseph C.:None of above. Our stimulation comes from the compelling of creation, of composing music, obscure music, trying to give the adequate atmosphere to the Lovecraftian cosmogony.
4. Simon O.: Under my point of view, most bands seem to welcome the Great Old Ones, hailing Cthulhu and his progeny. Our vision about Lovecraftian revelation is: what HPL wrote was a warning, not a welcome or a prophecy.
Joseph C.: In spite of lyrics, track names or album titles, I'd like to say Cthulhian MUSIC dreams, not only Cthulhian dreams. Dreams are nothing, music is everything. I completly enjoy adding lyrics to our music, but our main goal should be that just for hearing our music, the listeners' mind would evoke the Lovecraftian universe, with no titles, no track names, no lyrics. And speaking about Lovecraftian bands, I could name like Thergothon and Tyranny. Speaking about funeral doom, I'll add Skepticism, Colosseum, The Howling Void, Abstract Spirit, 1000 Funerals, Consumatum Est, Ea, Mistress of the Dead, Until Death Overtakes
5. Joseph C.: the fact of knowing that there are much more things underlying the daily life than we can imagine, some of them simple, some of them complex, some of them monstrous, some of them glorious.
Simon O.: the ability of correlating the
contents of our minds and the facts we are witnessing every day in our world.
6. Joseph C: The Elder Gods are already awaken. Quoting Lovecraft: "The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the Great Old Ones; free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and revelling in joy. Then the liberated Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all the earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom."
The real question is: what side is yours? Would
you fight for or against the Great Old Ones? We follow the HPL legacy: we are
going to fight them, for throwing them away once more to the Outside, even if
the battle seems already lost.
SPACE GOD RITUAL (USA
Lee Waldron (guitars, vocals)
1. Chtulhu
fthangh! Ia Ia Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
Well right
now we are sort of hanging out. We aren't the most consistent group, we
converge, release something, then work on other projects until it's time for
another SGR album. As for the summer, we are working on a music video,
hopefully that will see the light some time this summer. As a studio band, we
would like to record more albums. Maybe we'll record another album this summer,
who knows
2. Well our
last releases were both demos. We did “Beyond the Beyond” in 2010, and then “Pay
the Price” in 2011. They have their fans for sure, but in my mind they are
still just demo's, and they sound like it! Our debut, “R'lyeh Beckons” is the
good stuff. It’s loud, heavy and full of killer riffs. So far, it's has
received a great reception with listeners, though as of now it has yet to be
reviewed.
3. Nothing
quite as epic as all that. We just love heavy metal, H.p Lovecraft and other
weird shit, and thus! Space God Ritual. We would like to be known in the scene,
yes, and we would like to be selling mountains of records. But that not really
our drive, its more about fun. We don't have any stress while recording, we
come up with a bunch of riffs, pull some lyrics from a book or film and
suddenly, we have an album. It's a rewarding process.
4. Lovecraft
has been a huge influence in pretty much everything we enjoy: in film, music,
art, popular culture, you name it. So with this in mind, no, it's defiantly not
original. There is a ridiculous amount of Lovecraft influence in metal, from
bands ranging from Arkam Witch, The Wounded Kings, The Gates of Slumber to,
hell, even Nile . But for us, the point is not
originality, it's about adding to the mythos that Lovecraft created. About
continuing the legacy of his work through music, expanding it and adding to it.
I like to think that we've succeed in that.
So one of
the more surprising events in the history of SGR was this fan video we found. Philip
here was one of our first fans actually, and he put this cover of our song
Burning Girl together. Check out his other stuff too, he's a talented
individual. And he has good taste.
5. Without
a doubt out newest selection of hymns, R'lyeh Beckons. It's heavier, better
produced, and, its our debut album. Check it out.
6. When the
Elder Gods come, there is no where to run, and no where to hide. Might as well
get drunk and go down swig'n
TAAK (Estonia
Mart Kalvet (vocals)
1. We did a
couple of shows recently in Tartu, one of them as part of the literature
festival Prima Vista, which was unusual, but since I do write horror-tinged
science fiction stories and Taak’s latest album was released together with one
of the stories in book format, that clicked just fine with us.
We’ve no
shows planned for the near future (well, besides a “river festival” in August
in Purtse; I promise we’ll not try not to raise any batrachian, deep dwellers
of the streams there…) and will mostly concentrate on writing new material as
well as re-learning ancient Dawn of Gehenna songs, because our first demo „The
Old“ from 1994 (I think…) is going to be re-mastered and re-released as a split
with Discrucior’s „Mundus Subterraneus“ (a truly chthonic, if not overtly
Lovecraftian masterpiece of the early 1990s Estonian underground doom metal
scene) and we’re going to have to support the release with a couple of shows in
autumn. Kaido “Tsunami” Tiits is going to rejoin us for the occasion. I hope
it’ll be fun.
2. Mostly
the reviews of “Rist Viletsuse Teel” have been positive; we haven’t received
much feedback from abroad, though. People still come to the gigs, so we’re
reasonably assured our newer material captures their fancy.
3. You
know, I’ve been pondering this myself. By now it might mostly be force of
habit. I attended the international showcase festival Tallinn Music Week, and
several people there pointed out that being in a band these days is like
participating in a lottery where the main prize is an opportunity to spend the
next 10 or 20 years in a tour bus. Such a winning ticket might have been
feasible for me 10 or 20 years ago, but I’m too old for it now. So we’re not
setting our sights much higher than occasional shows in Estonia (and, hopefully
some day, a couple of shows a year in Finland for crowds of more than 20
people) and releasing a new album every three or four years.
Also
obsession — or even addiction — might explain why we still bother. The process
of writing and developing songs that we like is an eternally fascinating and
exhilarating process.
4. I don’t
think we’re that original in our approach to the Bard’s legacy — which does not
feature overwhelmingly in our output, to be sure. I’ve been as much or more
inspired by the writings of Philip K. Dick, Robert Anton Wilson, Aleister
Crowley and Charles Stross, to name a few influential authors. The most
original aspect is probably the use of the Estonian language, which, I hope,
sounds a bit more exotic than most of the Lovecraftian lyrics in English.
Other
bands? Well, Black Sabbath, to be sure (“Behind the Wall of Sleep”). Celtic
Frost, Deicide, Entombed, Gwar, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Mekong Delta, Morbid
Angel, Nile , Rage, Samael, Thergothon,
Therion, Vader, John Fucking Zorn… The magnificent Electric Wizard, of course…
I think the most recent discovery for me were the Polish Cthulhu Rises, whose
2012 demo “Ku Chwale Mrocznych Eonów I” was a breath of fresh air… or a breath
of cold air, at least.
Speaking of
our own videos, we don’t really have any. But you can listen to the song
“Linnadesööja” (“Eater of Cities”), which is inspired by a couple of
Lovecraftian stories, mostly by T. E. D. Klein’s “Black Man with a Horn”.
5. As a
band, I think the last album’s tracks like “Linnadesööja” and “Ämblikkude hõng”
(The Smell of Spiders) channel the bleak and horrid sensibilities that made
HPL’s works immortal. Personally, it must be the two Lovecraftian stories I
have written (“Ultima Cthule” and “Sügelisnõia kingitus” (The Gift of the
Scabies-Witch)) that connect the Mythos with the prehistoric Baltic Sea and the
more recent history of Estonia Gulf of Finland for the laying of the
Nord Skream natural gas pipeline. The second one combines the bleak, stagnant
atmosphere of the Brezhnev-era Estonia
6. There’s
nowhere to run, you fool! (Wink-wink.) I might take in some of what has been
prophesied — men becoming “free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws
and morals thrown aside”. But I’ll be happy to have Cthulhu eat my house last…
or first, to spare me the horrors. Iä!
TENTACLE (USA
Ron Rochondo (vocals)
Ron Rochondo (vocals)
1. For the
time being, we wait….dreaming. It was quite a good deal of work putting
together our last album and it may be some time before we move on to a new one.
Reading
2. Very
well it seems. One listener even commented on how “Ingot Eye” vaguely resembled
a bizarre musical whistling or piping over a wide range. We greatly appreciated
that.
3. Anxiety.
Pain. Discontent. Despair. An attempt at relieving these feelings, or at least
recognizing and coping with them, through music.
4. Hm.
Can’t say as we know many other bands doing this exact sort of thing, not that
we are incredibly original though, just have our own sort of vibe I guess. We
try not to make things too obvious, or specific in our songs. More of a vague
sense of foreboding and darkness is what we strive for. Hopefully it works.
5. Attempting
to recognize mankind’s insignificance and its inability to comprehend the
answers to its greatest questions even when given them.
6. There is
nothing that can be done. There is nowhere to run.
YIDHRA (USA
Dave K (guitars, back vocals) Ted V (vocals)
1. Ted: We
just finished our 9 song debut LP "HEXED" which we will be releasing
imminently. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by the mighty Bill
Metoyer at Skull Seven Studios. Bill is the legendary producer who helmed
releases from such heavy hitters as Slayer, Corrosion of Conformity, Trouble,
D.R.I., Sacred Reich, Hirax, Dark Angel, Morbid Angel, Six Feet Under,
Warbringer and many more.
Dave: In
fact he JUST finished mixing Trouble's forthcoming release "The Distortion
Field." This is what Bill had to say about working with Yidhra: "I am
a big fan of Doom Metal. Not since the Chicago
Ted: As for
performing this summer, we are still working out details but we plan on going
to Seattle Europe in 2014.
2. Dave:
Well, thankfully, people really seemed to like “Yidhra”. For a demo, it
received a VERY positive response.
3. Ted:
Truthfully, we just play the kind of music that comes naturally to us.
Dave: We
aren't trying to be something that we're not.
Ted: We
have always been into the heavier/darker sides of music. Whether it be Punk,
Metal, Soundtracks, Blues, what have you, so that's what we write.
Dave: We
also draw inspiration from the darker movies, books, cartoons and comics too.
4. Dave: We
aren't limiting ourselves to the "Lovecraftian" mythos. Sure, it
plays a part, but we draw from all aspects of life and death.
Ted: I
don't mean to sound pompous or anything, but I don't really pay attention to
what anybody else is doing when it comes to writing lyrics. That isn't to say
that I am not influenced in some way by what I've heard. It just means that I
don't draw directly from anyone or anything. So, in that way, it is inherently
"original" and personal.
Ted: I
don't know of any bands that are EXCLUSIVELY "Cthulhian." There a lot
of GREAT bands out there that explore mythos related topics but I think it
would be a disrespectful to single any of them out over the others.
Dave: Yeah!
Ted: We
have 3 "Lovecraftian" songs on "HEXED," "Witch
Queen," "Ancient Ones" and "Dagon." Right now you can
hear "Witch Queen".
5. Ted:
Huh? That is a curious question. I would have to say surviving life on this
planet this long is an achievement in and of itself.
6. Dave:
Why run?
Ted: Yeah,
the lyrics to "Dagon" contain my answer to this question. Thanks for
your interest in YIDHRA and keep your eyes peeled for "HEXED!"
http://www.facebook.com/YidhraWitchQueen
http://www.reverbnation.com/yidhra
http://doomanoidrecords.bandcamp.com/album/planet-doom-volume-one
Watch out for the 2nd part of this - within the next days on the blog... Thanx a lot to Aleksey Evdokimov for this great work !!!
link to Part 2 : http://templeofperdition.blogspot.fr/2013/07/cthulhu-doom-quiz-part-2-grimpen-mire.html
link to Part 2 : http://templeofperdition.blogspot.fr/2013/07/cthulhu-doom-quiz-part-2-grimpen-mire.html
Don't forget Dearly Beheaded's awesome "No Rest (Nyarlathotep)"!
ReplyDelete"Power beyond time,
Hyborean and blind,
The Eldrich reality,
Horror of the ultimate...."
https://youtu.be/PQBcG6n3uMY?si=CVrO9dp55VAPH8kf&t=2323