Interviews

The Scandinavian Black Metal isn't to present anymore, Nordic darkness and cold atmospheres rule the style, old school bands compose and create while hordes of younger acts harbour and hold the banners of Black Metal with always more insurance and talent. Folk and Pagan Metal dwell the darker and more melodic sides of the metal fields, spreading the spiritual & mythological roots of old warriors, erased after the Christianity's rise.
Epic and battle metal acts add qualitative and aggressive releases to the most extreme form of Metal beside Death Metal, Black & Satanic Black Metal. Plenty of Scandinavian bands act & assert themselves inside the UG scene, increased by a never ending support,& even the dynamic of many musicians.
UG musicians, artists ..., who play in different bands, take part in several side-projects, create through variety, develop their abilities with different instruments, all the artistic ways to express and expand the Black Metal style.
AZAGHAL, this Mysanthropic and offensive Black Metal band from Finland, formed in 95, raised progressively inside the UG scene in dedicating their time and beliefs to numerous and varied releases that form their prolific, yet unique path.
Initiators of their Black Terror Metal, AZAGHAL is presented here by the guitarist and vocalist Narqath, who also acts in different projects. Time to learn a bit more about AZAGHAL' latest and third album 'Of Beasts and Vultures', as well as Narqath's attitude through his musical style and actual side-projects.

1: Hi Narqath, are the Finnish areas still shinny in September or is autumn already setting in there ?
I won't plunge us back to the Roots of Azaghal in 1995 (x-Belphegor, Nargoventor), and its first line-up changes, but just notice that the official Azaghal band stands strong since 98, and their first 'Azaghal' Demo. Any thoughts from this period, and which of these Demo would you recommend, if there are still some available nowadays?

Narqath: Today (2.9) is the first day of autumn here in Finland. It has been agonizingly hot for the whole July and August, so I definitively welcome the autumn rains with open arms.
The early days of Azaghal were something special, we had a very strong band feeling during those days. And Black Metal still used to have that obscure and mystic aura covering it, which is sadly almost totally lost nowadays, there are a lot of good memories from those days for sure.
From the demos I can recommend the last one "Christianity in Flames" ("Kristinusko Liekeissä"). The first 2 demos were honestly speaking quite bad. All the demos are sold out.

2: Azaghal got all in all very few line-up changes, can you remind us the previous Azaghal members, and especially the actual line-up ? What made you change instrument from bass in the previous bands to guitars in Azaghal ? Is it a practical choice or a more personal taste ? Why such a delay between the 3 first Demos and the release of the 'Black Terror Metal' casset ep in 2001? This casset also contains a cover-song ?

Narqath: The present line-up is:
Narqath - Guitars, bass, vocals.
JL Nokturnal - Guitars.
Varjoherra - Main vocals.
At the moment we don't have a permanent drummer in our horde, but it's not a problem since both me and our vocalist Varjoherra are also capable of playing drums & we've had no problem in finding suitable session drummers. Our only ex- member is Kalma (aka Vrtx, aka V-Khaoz) who left after the recordings of "Of Beasts and Vultures" because of musical and personal differences.
The "Black Terror Metal" tape was released because we had a bunch of covers songs recorded which we thought were great & we wanted to release them in some format. (the tape EP featured the following covers. "Transilvanian Hunger", "Unholy Black Metal" and "13 Candles" + some different outtakes of old Azaghal tracks).
Hmm.. I don't know where you have received the Azaghal biography that you are using as a reference, but I have always played guitar, not bass. Only on the few newest Azaghal releases I have also handled the bass duties.

 3: Your first album 'Mustamaa'(Mordor) is still one of the most 'worshipped' Azaghal recordings; released on LP and later on CD, 'Mustamaa' gather 8 primitive tracks of fast Black Metal, as despaired and violent as a bad stab, this is well and straight about raw & intense Black Metal.
Are you satisfied with this debut album, and why was it re- and re-released through different Labels?

Narqath: Yeah, it turned out ok. It was not actually re-released on CD, the LP and CD release were originally intended to happen at the same time but the label didn't have enough money to release them at the same time. Both the LP and CD version are released by the same label, ISO666 (they just changed their name shortly after the LP release from Melancholy to Iso666).

4: You got then a deal with the Brazilian Label Evil Horde Records, and released your second full-length in early 2000, entitled "Helvetin Yhdeksan Piiria" (The 9 circles of hell), gathering older and new tracks, that you qualified as 'Black Terror Metal'.
The production, the sound are really good, & the layout slays, do you still enjoy this album ? Could you precise better the older tracks and what you improved in this release ?
Why this reference to Dante's Inferno, was his works a part of your personal interests or a main reference for this album ?
Some tracks are written in Finnish while other are in English, any reason to this choice, and which language fits best your way to express Azaghal texts and inner feelings ? Do you write other kind of texts beside musical lyrics? Is the writing a way to exorcise some painful/hateful situations or the blackest part of our feelings ?

Narqath: I think the album is still listenable. Obviously, a lot of things would be done differently nowadays, especially concerning the production, but overall, it turned out quite well concerning the time and the circumstances. Hmm.. I think that "When the Sun Died" is the only demo track on that album, the rest was composed for that release. I was highly inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy at the time of writing the lyrics for "The 9 Circles of Hell" and thus the theme. The funny thing is, that in the end we decided to leave the main track that dealed with Dante (called "Purgatory") from the album. The track was later released on the "Deathkult MMDCLXVI" CD.
The lyrics are mostly written in Finnish because our vocalist prefers to sing in Finnish. I personally prefer writing in English, though, but it's not really my choice. My lyrics are no deep poetry, just straight eruptions of hate and disgust towards the modern world. At the present time I do not write anything else besides lyrics, but I when I have more free time on my hands I will most likely realize my long time dream and write a book.

5: Back to E.H.R., was Azaghal satisfied to sign on Evil Horde ? Were several albums planned ?
Later on, you got some problems with the Label that endlessly delayed the release of your latest 'Of Beasts and Vultures' album, I mean, almost 2 years, do you know the reasons of this slowness ?
Did even Azaghal look for another Label, or could sign on a Label, closer to Finland ?

Narqath: We just signed with EHR for 2 more albums. Yes, the delays are rather annoying, but the contract we have with Evil Horde is excellent and so far no other label has been able to top or even match that contract. There are several reasons for the delay of "Of Beasts and Vultures". Some of which are the labels fault and some are totally our own fault. Yeah, we have received several offers for Azaghal from bigger & more known labels than Evil Horde, but like I said, none of the offers have been as good as Evil Horde's.

6: Evil Horde already proposed you a gig in South America, but was the travel there too expensive ?
Do Azaghal members like or plan Live appearances ? And has Azaghal already played live ?

Narqath: Well, the travel would have been way too expensive. We haven't played live so far, but we are strongly considering the option to play couple of gigs in the future.
I personally ain't that thrilled about playing live, but the other members would like to play live, so I suppose I'll have to succumb to their will sooner or later.

7: Your third album 'Of Beasts and Vultures' is your best material so far, more varied tracks, a balanced musical style, even some innovative songs, I really prefer it as it develops different sides of your style, from the most violent to more progressive & darker parts, even some experimental passages, a good BM album.
About the musical side, is practice and practice the only way to reach such a level ? You finally released it, can you tell us more about this awaited album ?
So, this album also contains re-released tracks, as "Helwettilänien" ("Infernal"), from a previous EP, and also a cover song ?
Do you see this album as a continuation of your previous material, or a more independent evolution of your musical style ?

Narqath: "Of Beasts and Vultures" pretty much continues from where "The 9 Circles of Hell" ended. On that album we added more aggression and speed to our sound and this time we have developed the aggressive sound of that album into more innovative and varying style. I think it's important to have also some slower and more atmospheric moments, it's makes the music much more dynamic and the faster parts gain much more brutality this way. Blasting at top speed for whole 40 minutes is in most cases just plain boring.
I don't know if practise, practise & more practise is the right mantra for us. I mean, I rehearsed for this album about 3 or 4 times with our drummer. We didn't rehearse a single time as a whole band. The vocals, guitar melodies, effects & bass lines were all composed in the studio. I personally find this style of working much easier, although I kind of miss that band feeling that we used to have in the mid 90s when we used to rehearse 5 or 6 times a week.. But times change and nowadays each member of the band has other commitments besides Azaghal that take most of their time. (fex. Varjoherra just became a father couple of months back , JL Nokturnal is busy running his own studio and I am also very busy with my label Dragonthrone).
I think that the development in our sound is just natural evolution. Obviously we are a lot better musicians than we used to be in the past & I also like to think that I have become better as a song writer.
Yeah, the track "Helwettiläinen" is also included on the CD (as an re-recorded version) and there is a Bathory cover "13 Candles". We originally didn't intend to include the cover to the album, it was just something that we recorded in the studio for our own fun. Then Evil Horde heard it & wanted to include to the CD. It's fine with us, since I think the song turned out rather well.

8: You also noticed several times Azaghal leiv-motiv : ANTI-GOD, ANTI-LIFE.
Is it only about misanthropy , and what are your main influences to create primitive & brutal Black Metal as Azaghal, do? What your attitude toward suicide ? Do you worship, recommend, or escape suicide ?

Narqath: My main inspirations to write Black Metal come from my personal experiences and views. I am very misanthropic person, the stupidity of "normal" people never ceases to amaze and amuse me. In the past I used to be much more angry and annoyed by the ways of the normal people and christians etc... But now I just don't care anymore. Let them bathe in their filth and own stupidity if they want to. Not my problem.
Suicide, I believe, is a topic almost everyone can relate to, I think we all experience dark times when we think about suicide, more or less seriously. I personally believe in the metaphor "Strength through strife". What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. I think that our lives are short enough as it is so I see no reason in shortening mine more by my own hand.

9: I'd like you to present also the compilation 'DeathKult MMDCLXVI', that gathers tracks from the period 97-99 and is a dense and compact release, in a simple and precise BW layout, I'd say it's almost a full Azaghal release as the titles genuinely chain up to the other, and almost show your evolution. What is the most important Azaghal release for you ?

Narqath: We did this compilation because there was still a lot of demand for our sold out demos, but instead of simply re-releasing the demos on a CD we though that it would be better to take some tracks from the demos & add some unreleased songs from various recording sessions to make the release more interesting. Anyway, this CD was limited to 900 copies and only meant for the die hard Azaghal "fans". It was also sort of our 5 years anniversary album with which we were able to summarize our career so far & then move on to "Of Beasts and Vultures". Of course it was a great feeling to hold the vinyl version of "Mustamaa" in one's hands for the first time. My personal favorite Azaghal material can be found on the split CD w/ Mustan Kuun Lapset however. But for sure, our best material is still to come.

10: With all the coming releases, this period is for sure a busy period, furthermore if I ask you to present us your mailorder / Label Dragonthrone Productions. Do some of your projects have some priorities or do you provide the same attention to your different activities ? Why did you started this distro and is it a natural response to your personal involvement in several musical projects ? What kind of format do you actually release ?

Narqath: All my projects are equally important. I work on them periodically & when I am working on some project I do it 100% and when it's finished I will again turn my attention to the next project. Dragonthrone Productions is my mailorder / label which I started in 1997, it's sort of my "day job" & takes most of my time nowadays as I get my living from it. So far I have released tapes, demo CD's and 1 professional CD.
I originally started the label to spread the first Azaghal demos but it has grown quite a lot since those days & at the moment it's growing more rapidly than ever before.

11: Tell us a bit more about Dragonthrone first CD release VULTYR, is it the 'logical' first release, why this choice ?
What your personal taste, do you prefer to own CD's or vinyl ? Will you also plan some vinyl releases on Dragon Throne Productions ?

Narqath: I think it's a great album obviously. Vultyr's debut album "Monument of Misanthropy" (released on Oaken Shield, france) has received very good reviews & also sold very well, so it's also quite an safe choice for a first CD release on Dragonthrone. Of course vinyls are special, since I grew up with vinyls, but CD's are much more practical. Yes, I will most likely also do some vinyl releases in the future but that depends solely on my financial situation.

12: Azaghal released, re-released, recorded splits and numerous 'small' releases, a path that can seem chaotic. What's the motor of this diversity of expressions; the passion for the music, one instrument, to work the sounds, to work in common with different musicians, to express feelings, is the motivation one reason ?
How comes this choice to belong or develop different bands, is one music style not large enough to express all you wish, or do you need different music's to express different sides of your style ? In the diversity of the creations you offer, I'm tempted to ask you about your favourite ? Or do you think they are complementary ?

Narqath: Hmm.. I didn't quite understand the first part of your question. With Azaghal we record new stuff when it's composed & we also like to release it as soon as possible, I don't care that much if our discography is chaotic or not, the most important thing for me is to get the stuff recorded & out, so I can get it out of my system and move onwards to the next project. One could say I am almost possessed, I always have a new idea for an album or completely new musical project waiting in my head. I like working with different music styles, but of course black metal has always been and always will be the most important one and the foundation for all the other styles I play.
My personal favorites in my own discography are AZAGHAL / MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET SPLIT CD, WYRD - Heathen CD and WYRD - Huldrafolk CD.

13: You also release these days a 3 ways split with Misanthropy (usa) & Vultyr (fin), what do you expect from such a release ?
Can you present it for us ?
As you'll play drums on it, I ask which of all the instruments you perform is your favourite to play, and which one fits better your way to create music ?
When you talk about CDr format, many UG bands present their Demos on CDr, mainly because of the cost, the only way for them to promote their first material. Do you support this approach, can this format is as worthy as a professional Demo on cassette format ? Is it just a question of cost, & doesn't this way also encourages UG bands to record in haste instead of achieving a more professional release ?

Narqath: Well, first of all, if you print professional covers and labels to a CDR release, it isn't really that much cheaper than printing professional CD's, so I don't think the cost is the reason. CD's are just so much more practical than tapes & I think it's fine that bands release their demos in CDR format... But they should then keep the selling price low too & not raise it higher than the price of normal demo tape.
The 3-way split CDR with Misanthropy and Vultyr features 3 new tracks from Azaghal and they are among the most raw and primitive stuff Azaghal has ever done. The 3-way split (titled "Black Metal War") will be released on the 15 th of September and will be limited to 500 copies. Yes, it's the first Azaghal release where I play the drums. I always compose all Azaghal stuff on guitar & guitar is also my main instruments and I have played it for about 15 years now (but I still can't play it hah!).

14: Is the music of one band the only essential element, or is attitude an important aspect when it comes to Pagan & Black Metal bands ? What are the other bands you appreciate and support, in Finland or in the UG scene.
What are the bigger bands you still like, and even gave you some inspiration at the time of the very first Azaghal releases ?
Which other musical style(s) are enjoyable for you ?

Narqath: I think attitude is AT LEAST as important as music, especially in black metal. Some bands that I think deserve support are Vultyr(fin), Nocturnal Winds(fin), Satanic Warmaster(fin), Tunrida(fin), Kingdom of Agony(fin), Grand Beast Sodomy(fin), Kadotus(fin), Lord Paymon(bra), Deathspell Omega(fra), Old Sinner(fra), Varjosielu(fin), Gosforth(ita), Hrossharsgrani(aut), Akerbeltz(spa), Amestigon(aut), Hellbournd(aut), Azaxul(ger), Svest(fra) ... Just to name a few.
Some of the bigger black metal bands that I enjoy are: Abigor, Darkthrone, Dodheimsgard, Cadaver Inc., December Wolves, Carpathian Forest and Satyricon (actually "Volcano" is their first album that I have really liked since "Dark Medieval Times").
The bands that inspired us when we started Azaghal include: Darkthrone, Bathory, Mercyful Fate, Mayhem, Emperor, Burzum and Gorgoroth to name some.. Now sadly, all of these bands have turned to shit except Darkthrone and Mercyful Fate.
Besides Black Metal I listen a lot to neofolk and avantgarde stuff like Sopor Aeternus, Devil Doll, Death in June, Current93 and Nature and Organisation. And of course to some classic heavy metal stuff like Iron Maiden and King Diamond. Oh yeah, and Danzig of course.

15: In addition to the different ep and albums you already count on your path, Azaghal also released several splits with different bands, and plan one more next month.
Did you choose the bands participating in these splits ? I ask as I noticed that if it's about the split Mustan Kuun Lapset (fin), or Beheaded Lamb (spa), both are more atmospheric that your primitive and fast musical style. Tell us a bit more about your upcoming split with Turinda (fin), how did you come to do it ?

Narqath: No, we were not able to choose the bands for the splits but I think that especially Beheaded Lamb suited Azaghal well. Tunrida is the only band that we personally choose to do a split with. They are quite an old black metal band & they have never received the recognition they deserve. They have released couple of demos and a CD on Solistitium in 98. This split EP will feature 2 new tracks from Azaghal: "Day of Wrath" and "Nihil".

16: This upcoming split will be released on the Norwegian Label Aftermath Music, that supports Azaghal since their beginning, and offered a deal for a 7" EP. "Harmagedon" in 99. Are you satisfied with Aftermath way of working and promoting the band ? Do you appreciate other Aftermath releases ? Which of the two 7" EP you released on Aftermath would you recommend to listen to first ? Is the version of "Helwettilainen" more aggressive than the version re-released on your latest full-length 'Of Beasts and Vultures' ?

Narqath: Yeah, Aftermath has always been a good label to work with and I hope we'll be able to co-operate more in the coming years.
I think that it's easier to listen to the "Helwettiläinen" EP first, since I suppose it's quite hard to find the "Harmagedon" EP as it has been sold out for quite some time now. The version of "Helwettiläinen" track that is featured on the EP is a bit faster & rawer than the version on the CD, but at the same time the EP version is also a bit more melodic. I like some of the other Aftermath releases like Opus Forgotten, the first The Embraced CD and both Nocturnal Winds CDs... Some other of their releases I do not like quite as much.

17: You also play in the folklore metal band HIN ONDE, that also released a 7' and 1 CD through Aftermath Music, do you plan other HIN ONDE releases later this year ?
HIN ONDE is about a darker and more folk metal, what was the main interest of developing such a different style from Azaghal releases ? Can you present us better this side project ?
You released a first album, "Songs of Battle", that got a good response overall, you've got already enough material to fill a whole CD, what do you plan in the near future, is it too early to speak about a future release ?

Narqath: The main point of starting Hin Onde is exactly that, doing something totally different to Azaghal . The band was started around the same time as Azaghal, '95 or so.
The present line up is: Narqath - Guitars, Vocals. Wircki - Synths, guitars. J Loikas - Bass. J Hytönen - Main Vocals and Vrtx - Drums.
Our second album "Shades of Solstice" will be released by Solistitum in October.

18: To go further with your other side-projects, you also play in Valar, that develop atmospheric soundtracks, and more Viking folk music. Some of the Demo almost sound like some Tolkien inspirited music, with mixed vocals and nostalgic atmospheres. What happens with Valar lately, are you still involved in this band, and do you still have time beside all these projects to enjoy simple life and Nordic nature ?

Narqath: Valar released it's one and only full-lenght CD "Magic and Wyrmfire" in 2001 on Oaken Shield Records, the project is now dead and buried. Yeah, I still do find sometime to also enjoy "normal" life. But not that much, most of my time goes to the label and my various projects but it's the way I want it to be.

19: Beside these different projects, you're still an active musician, and create Pagan & more atmospheric music; Some very ambient and modern parts, without any vocals, relating to epic tales and old battles of our Pagan ancestors.
This band is called WYRD and you already count one album 'Heathen', composed of one single track of 60 minutes long.
The release is intense and creative, I moreover think that's it's for sure your best side project beside Azaghal, would you agree ?
Wyrd just released their second album, entitled 'Huldrafolk', can you tell us more about the title and the contents of this also highly awaited release, that wasn't easily available until.

Narqath: Yes, Wyrd is a very important and personal project for me, since it's my solo project and I have full control over all the music, lyrics and artwork and everything concerning Wyrd.
The second album was released in June 2002 by Millenium Metal and it's limited to 900 copies, just like the debut album. This time there are more traditional tracks and the lyrics aren't so strictly centered around heathen themes anymore, they are on the other hand more personal and on the other hand more fantasy inspired. "Huldrafolk" is the name of a race of forest spirits. I can safely say that if you enjoyed "Heathen" you won't be dissapointed with "Huldrafolk" either.

20: When it comes to Wyrd, and its rather sensitive, yet fragile atmospheres; Are the silence and the sensibility some important aspects to create, both texts and music ? Do you also draw your inspiration to Finnish mythology ? or other writings ?

Narqath: Wyrd is highly inspired by finnish mythology and nature and almost all Wyrd material is composed during the darkest hours of night in total solitude with mostly acoustic guitar, so the inspirators for fex. Azaghal and Wyrd are very different to each other.

21: To close this dialogue, I simply ask you to name some of the albums, more or less recent you personally recommend.
I thank you for this interview, be sure of my support through your different projects and releases, and I let you add the important infos and contacts.

Narqath: Some recent albums that I can recommend to include all Vultyr material, all Deathspell Omega material, the latest Mütiilation, the latest Judas Iscariot, all Akerbeltz releases, the new Satyricon album, both demos of Kadotus and the latest Melechesh album.
Thanks for the long & interesting interview.