Interview (en): DivahaR

Suddenly there was this all-female black metal group from Armenia. No album released yet, but with some songs on YouTube with an an amazing quality. Soon there even appeared some video clips and footage of live performances. Luckily they were willing to answer some questions.  

First of all: thanks for this interview. DivahaR is an all-female black metal band. Is this a coincidence or a well-made choice?

- Yet in early 2008, when Urubani and I were thinking of forming a band there was no idea or intention of having only female members. Afterwards, when another female musician joined us, the union of 3 girls gave the idea, that it would be nice to form an all-female black metal band. Thus, it wasn’t initially planned and we got the idea by chance.

How did the band members got in contact with each other? How did the band form?

- In that period metal music had even more underground status and very limited audience and most of the listeners knew each other. Soon in 2009 Skadi joined us, and in 2010 Freya completed the line-up of the band.

What is the background of the musicians of DivahaR? Is this your first band?

- DivahaR unified us and induced to band activity: there were offers to perform in line-up of other bands, but none of them were really close and familiar to us. Being a constant part of DivahaR was a new step and beginning for us, and only due to our efforts and struggles it grew sustainable roots.


Who writes the music? Is that a band effort? And the lyrics? 

- All of the band members are involved in composing process. Each of us writes her music and lyrics in her own way, and afterwards we improve and finalize the song together.

Aren’t you afraid that the focus will be on the all-female aspect instead of the music or message?

- Yes, indeed it arrives in some cases. Thought many people think that this kind of line-up is our trump, in reality it’s the most blocking obstacle we’re facing so far. Sadly it’s true, and it’s even absurd that in the “tameless and disobedient” world of metal music there are still some people who refuse to admit the art just because of the stereotypes they have in their head.

Black metal is satanic by definition, in the perspectives of puritans. Do you consider DivahaR a satanic band?

- Certainly not. DivahaR is free of any religious perceptions. What we’re doing is, first of all, an art which reflects our essence and emotions and every “artificial” or “fictitious” element  leads to a disharmonic and unnatural harvest.

So what is the ‘message’ DivahaR is trying to spread?

- Our songs are about the personal as well as impersonal matters that are close to us. We reject many human-made empty idols and values that are spread all around the world. By the songs of DivahaR, we try to kindle and inflame the fire in human souls, the one that is almost dead. We appeal people to struggle for conscience, justice and light: more exact answer to this question you’ll find in our lyrics.

The sound of the band is pretty melodic. Most of the time it reminds me of bands like Dimmu Borgir. Is that the direction the band will continue to follow?

- Thought we were inspired by many genius bands, anyway, from DivahaR’s creation day we never targeted a “unique” band, which would be our meridian to aspire.
This fact will be more evident in the upcoming album, as we haven’t found a band to which we are musically really close.

You didn’t release an album yet, but you released some video’s. Some of these look quite professional. How is this possible? 

- Yes, that’s right, but the worst thing is that we had started to work on the album far before the videos you’ve mentioned were realized. There were and are some blocking points and technical issues, majorly linked to the non-perfection and lack metal-recoding practice in Armenia, which serves as a big obstacle for us.

 I’ve seen a few of your live performances on YouTube and I think it’s unbelievable that a band that sounds so professional still doesn’t has an album released yet. When can we expect it?

- True… having no album realized yet, we’ve surprisingly big audience nowadays, but the album is unspeakably important for us. To go into details, I can say that the recording of instruments is almost done and small things remain to finalize it, so the album will be realized quite soon.

Asked in other interviews you are stating that the 90’s Norwegian bands are being the biggest influence for DivahaR. Are there any newer or more recent bands that can carry your approval?

- Yes, we still listen to the old and familiar bands, even while composing nowadays, as those were the bands we grew up listening to and they were the biggest influence on our musical taste, but you know, at the same time there are many talented new bands we listen to and appreciate, thought they vary for each member of DivahaR.

Speaking of live performances, did you do a tour already? How many concerts did DivahaR perform? Where they all in Armenia?

- It’s always hard to handle recordings, participate in concerts and compose simultaneously; in addition each of the band members is overloaded in her daily routine, that’s why we’re not focusing on a quantity, but on the quality of concerts. Indeed, we had many concerts both in Armenia and outside of its frontiers, thought I can’t recall the exact number.

Any plans for a future tour? And if so: when and where?

- We are going to play in ‘Carpathian Alliance’ metalfest in 2014. Maybe we’ll perform at some European fests as well. We have several offers for the upcoming months, but we have a target of finalizing the album before thinking of overseas concerts.

Thanks again for this interview and all the best for the future!

- Thank you to and good luck to your site !


DivahaR can be found on Reverbnation, Facebook and YouTube.

Interview (en): Ondskapt

It's been a while since I did an interview with Ondskapt front man Acerbus. So, time to catch up!

- I’ve seen your performance in Arnhem with The One and Somrak last year and I must say: quite impressive. How did you enjoy that tour? Any highlights worth mentioning?

The Ominous Worship of the Divine tour. I enjoyed the tour, the shows we played were in venues of more intimate atmosphere. I think that one of the best shows on that tour was when we played in Berlin. The show started with at first a passive audience and ended with a good climax of channelling energies.

- I heard some people in the audience saying that you used fake blood, and some guy that performed there that night mentioned fake blood as well, but near the stage it smelled like pig blood. So, what was it?

Oh really, although typical in a way that small minoritys within the audience say these things due to mearly having their voice heard. I can assure you that the blood is very real haha. We use ox blood mostly due to its disgustingly thick and almost at times purple color.

- In our previous conversation you mentioned that you would like to do things on stage that no law would let you do. Did you succeed in that? Any extremities happened? And what kind of things would you like to do on stage?

Haha, its kind of funny. "Nabemih" our former drummer and I used to sit and talk about the "perfect" show to play. And the idea got so absurd... At the time, talking about this we had never played live before with Ondskapt so now its quite some time ago. The idea was to first of all to have a projector showing pictures of all kinds of sick shit. To force all the women in the audience to bare a "burka" and then on stage we would have crack-smoking dwarfs and a masturbating she-male dancing on the stage like zombies. Also later in the show we would shoot fireworks into the audience and drop animal cadavers and rotten blood from the ceiling down onto them simultaneously behind LOCKED doors so that no one could get out of the venue.

We will have a better possibility to do this(without the burka, locked doors, cadaver and blood) in a controlled environment, but basically We will in the future try to all the time make our live shows as interesting as possible, to strive for the utter perverted state of mind through the music mostly though. We will always try to enhance the atmosphere of death to the fullest.

- Any idea when a new European club tour will be started? Maybe finally one with Ofermod?

Next year we will most likely tour with Endstille and Koldbrann on a European tour that will take place during the spring. I have no idea about Ofermod and Ondskapt yet, although this is one of my priorities to try to fix such a tour.

- The last few months a few very interesting books were released. Two in particular: Fosforos by Joahannes Nefastos and The Catechism of Lucifer by the same author. Have you heard of them, or even read them? If so: what’s your opinion about the books?

I have not been studying occultism for a long time, and no I have not heard about these books.
- The quite infamous O9A also released some older texts in book form again. What’s your opinion about the O9A and their theories?

In my opinion the ONA seemed much more appealing eight years ago. In my opinion it is a bit like a Freemasonry Order. I do enjoy reading some of their teachings but have never had contact with them or felt the need to. They seemed to be more interesting in my mind when I was younger.
- Do you have any other recommendations in occult/satanic literature?

Since I didn't recommend any so far I will not start now. I have no ambition to insinuate certain books, to try to wield or impress with my very limited knowledge of such things. If a person is truly interested in this type of thing he/she will know their own individuality within its vast halls.

- There are not too many real black metal bands left. We spoke about that before. I could imagine that you would want to keep in contact with some other serious bands. Are you in some way in contact with such bands? Or isn’t there a network at all?

We are always looking for “serious” bands to emerge from the surface unto our mutual ground. The answer however is yes and no concerning our involvement with other bands. I have seen that even though one would like to have a closed circle of bands/members within some kind of “common” grounds amongst other artists it is hard to have restrictions concerning free-will. We are used to being under our own flag so to speak, now more than ever.

- One of the authorities in black metal in my vision is the label Norma Evangelium Diaboli. Any chance you will release future albums there? 

We have no contact with this particular label. I think they are doing a good job and so forth. At the moment we are getting the new Ondskapt material ready pre-production wise and we'll see during that time which label/labels may be interested in releasing the new album.

- A few months ago I read somewhere that Ondskapt will release a new album soon. Is that true? Nowhere on the internet I can find something about. All announcements are gone.

As I said, at the moment things might look a little bit dead but I think that when we are ready with our pre-production of the whole album we also will have something to show for recording in the studio. I must admit however that we might have been slightly too confident concerning announcements made through our FB page. We'll see, I feel none the less optimistic about solutions to this matter.

- Probably you’re busy writing new material constantly. In what direction are the new tracks developing? Indeed in the direction of Draco Sit Mihi Dux as you stated before?

At the moment the material is new and sounds old haha... I think that you will hear a mix of “Draco...” and even some “Slave under.....” influences when listening to the new album. But a lot of it is also very new and atmospheric audial listening. All I know is that you will know directly that it is Ondskapt while listening to it.

- Not too many people actually pay for the music they listen to any more. Does that make it hard to be able to record and release new material?

In a way yes, but in another way no. You see... for about ten years ago the market was still controlled by the bigger labels and now its an open market where labels in general are struggling to maintain their positions as before or at least do extensive damage control due to the “free market place”. Nowadays its easier for basically anyone to create the music and get it out to the public, this is and has been a problem ever since the internet became available to civilians. Labels nowadays have much less money to sign new acts or even old ones.

- Black metal is quite popular on vinyl again. Some bands even only release their albums on vinyl. How do you think about this revival?

I think its great because it makes music more nostalgic that way. I always remember that “old” feeling one can get from the vinyls, its great!

- Talking about new releases: any recent releases that you admired? 

Yeah but you wouldn't know them and its too inappropriate to mention here haha.

- Some other bands released live DVD's or even music videos. Is that something Ondskapt would ever do?

In time I think that we will. I have wanted to do this for a long time, I believe this will be possible even this year, I don't want to say to much until things get confirmed, also concerning the booking details of that particular show.

- Thanks for your time and I hope to see you again soon!

On behalf of Ondskapt. / Acerbus.




Ondskapt records and merchandise are available through Osmose Productions.
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Interview (en): Aosoth

A few weeks ago Aosoth released their fourth album, An Arrow in Heart. More and more reviews are published on different websites and in magazines, so I didn't quite see a reason to add that I think it's brilliant too. A little walk through the album should be very interesting though, so I asked guitar player BST to help me with that. 

- First of all, thanks for this interview. I’d like to have a walk-through with you through the last Aosoth album and in the same time have a slight look at the band’s perspectives. To start with the artwork. Who was responsible for this? It looks like it’s painted.

That magnificent cover is indeed a painting by Benjamin Vierling, an extremely talented artist with whom we already have had the honour of working a couple times for merch design and other artworks.

- Aosoth has an origin within the ONA, correct me if I’m wrong. How much of that theme is still represented in the music and the lyrics?

Originally, indeed, the lyrics to Aosoth’s early works were chants from the ONA. Our singer has had connection with that organisation, and although he follows his own spiritual path, he still uses elements of their perspective in his lyrics, with many other elements that are more personal to him.

- The new album caused a huge response. I’ve never seen an Aosoth album getting so much attention. Reviews are everywhere. How are your feelings about that?

We’re not desperately seeking the approval of others, if we were, we probably wouldn’t playing that
kind of music. However we’re are surprised by the massive amount of feedback we’ve been getting. When coming from people whose opinion are interesting to us, compliments are appreciated. And if gaining notoriety allows AOSOTH to have access to greater means to do things properly, without losing too much money, or having to focus on other things than art, then I guess it’s a good thing for us.

- An Arrow in Heart seems to have a much more heavy sound than the previous releases. Is this a band decision, or a natural development?

It’s a natural evolution in my opinion, we had found an interesting guitar tone on the previous full length, and we worked on it to perfect it, make it a bit more focused. I wanted our overall sound to be as clean as possible, and make the music’s dissonance the main source of dirt. In a way the aim is to be more honest, not hide the music behind low quality recording, but rather render it clearly. 

- But let’s get to the stuff that really matters: the new album. I’ve had quite a few listens and I must say it’s an incredible leap forward. III was very impressive, but ‘Arrow’ is so much stronger in every way. Do you agree with this? And how do you think about the older albums now?

Each album is a marker in time, we were different people then, and the project grew and developed as we did. We are very proud of this new album, and we do feel it is the best so far. There is no regret whatsoever over the mistakes we might have done in the past releases, as it was all very spontaneous, and was never meant to be perfect. They’re just steps we’re taking...

- The album starts with the title song, An Arrow in Heart. Immediately the dissonants are obvious and so are the typical vocals of MKM. Of all the tracks on ‘Arrow’ this one has the most resemblance with III. To my concern though. Am I correct? Is this the reason to make this the first track?

The tracks are on the album in chronological order, actually. It does make sense that this song would remind of the previous album, as it was written a long time ago, not so long after “III” was released. There was quite a gap of time between that one and “One with the prince...”

- The first track has an intermezzo with percussions. Are they real or are they from a drum computer? Talking about that: are the drums in the rest of the album from a drum computer? They sound extremely natural.

Those percussions on the ambient part are North African drums, it’s a drum loop from my database... The remaining drums on the album are programmed, and thank you for the compliment, I have spent quite some time working on them so they could sound as realistic as possible.

- After the percussion part the apotheosis is there. It reminds me very much of the atmosphere of De Misteriis Dom Sathanas. Does it have any relation with that? Is older black metal in any way an inspiration at all to you?

As much as I love that album, I don’t think I had it in mind when this riff was written. By older black metal, I would think you’d mean Bathory, Hellhammer... Those bands have a huge impact on the way I write music. The old Mayhem stuff probably influenced me at some point as well.

- Speaking of Mayhem, are you one of these musicians that still see ‘De Misteriis’ as the best black metal album ever made?

I would not say that, if I really had to chose one album that pretty much sums up the essence of that kind of music, I would have to say “Under The Sign Of The Black Mark”, by Bathory. I guess that’s a pretty personal choice.

- But let’s continue to the second track of the album. The Prince With a Thousand Enemies. This track has a few classical influences. Am I wrong?

Probably, but as I said earlier, the way those songs were composed is very spontaneous and instinctive, not calculated that much, but rather felt. We do enjoy some classical music, but there are many other kinds we are inspired by.

- I really like these parts. It’s a shame the lyrics are not included, so I can’t be sure, but the music in this track sounds pretty… Majestic, in some way. Is this song built around the lyrics, or are the lyrics built around the song?

The lyrics are actually included with the DLP, on a insert, written in braille. Mkm’s lyrics are always pretty cryptic, and asking him to explain them isn’t really something that works. I guess those who truly want to know have to decipher them by themselves, and make an interpretation for themselves.

- The Temple of Knowledge then. Is this concerning ONA thematics?

Same response as above...

- In Under the Nail and Fingertips there’s quite a lot of cymbals. Why is that? Is this a turning point for the album? 

That’s an odd remark, it’s really not something we thought about, or even noticed ourselves. I’m not

sure if you could say it’s a turning point, but if one were to divide this album in chapters, this track would definitely be the end of one of them.

- This same song has some guitar parts that are difficult to follow, but listening to it I can’t imagine how you’re going to play this live. Is the bar not too high in this case?

For now we’re not planning on playing it live, those songs are very long and we had to make choices in order to be able to fit as much music as possible in the 40 or 45 minute sets we usually have. However I don’t see that one as such a challenge, it may sound strange but it’s not that complicated to play, not the worst of the album anyways... It’s quite physical because of its length, though.

- Is the music in songs like this built around lyrics, or are the lyrics built around the music?

Aosoth has always functioned as two separate creative forces, MKM writes the lyrics, and I am in charge of the music. Most of the lyrics are written with no direct link to the music, although they sometimes are slightly adjusted on the day of the recording. So none is built around the other, it’s a parallel writing process.

- Broken Dialogue I is in a cynical way about christianity. That reminds me of the last album of Funeral Mist. Was that album in any way an influence to this track?

I suppose you have felt this way because of the sample, and I see what you mean in that case. That album, as well as the previous one, most certainly has had a pretty important impact on how Aosoth sounds. We have a lot of respect for that band.

- Broken Dialogue II is about Satan. Where are the samples from?

They’re taken from a movie from the early seventies called “The Devils”. Very good movie.

- The last track of the album is for me the absolute best part of it. It keeps kicking me in the face and it does it for fourteen minutes, though it succeeds in staying interesting. What was the thought about unleashing such a track on mankind?

I knew we had to finish the album with an epic and very long song, and I instantly knew how it should feel, so I sat in my studio without any precise idea, and just started playing and recording ideas, and it simply came together naturally. In a way, it is divided in three chapters within it. Composing that song felt like a state of auto hypnosis. It was a very interesting experience.

- The official video has a shortened soundtrack. Do you think the music is compromised by that?

As we had a very low budget for the video, we were forced to edit the song, and I do feel sorry about that as I think the full song is a lot better, however Matthieur Spinazolla, and David Fitt did an amazing job, and the result is beyond anything we could have hoped for.

- So, that would be it. Any last words for the readers?

Thank you for the interview. AMSG.

An Arrow in Heart is available through Agonia records. 
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Interview (en): Der Weg einer Freiheit

 Der Weg einer Freiheit is not the biggest name in black metal, but it might just be that this band will draw some more attention in the next few years. With two albums out now, it seems only a matter of time before this band gets noticed by more people. Nikita (bass/guitar) introduces the band.

- Who are the people behind the band? How long have you been involved in listening to and creating black metal?
Our band was officially born in early 2009 with the release of our selftitled debut. Singer Tobias J. and I met several years ago through the local underground and had a band Frostgrim that, however, split up in 2007. At this point of time I started to write tons of new material that later ended up as the songs on the first DWEF album. At the begininng I didn’t think about launching a band with this new stuff because I mainly wrote the songs for myself. But when it came to the recordings the result turned out surprisingly good and I thought it was indeed a good idea to release the music and share it with others. With the re-release of the debut in 2010 we found drummer Christian who sadly had to leave us one year later with the release of “Agonie” in summer 2011. However, we're happy to have found replacement in Tobias S. who is now a full-time member in DWEF and also played the drums on the new album “Unstille”.

- Der Weg einer Freiheit is a pretty melodic band, but also quite fast. Which bands do you see as your biggest influences?
I think I got into Black Metal with German bands like Nocte Obducta, Nagelfar, Orlog, Helrunar but also Scandinavian stuff like Dissection, old Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and bands like these. So these were some major influences on our music and taste in general.

- In Germany there are a lot of different kinds of black metal bands. The orthodox, pure satanic bands like Katharsis for example and national socialist bands like Absurd. Der Weg einer Freiheit doesn’t seem to follow any extreme  concepts. What is the band all about?
Yes, you're right – we don't follow any political or religious themes. Our songs are about the nature of the human being, life and death but also about earth, time and everything that follows us where ever we go and what ever we do. We try to express our feelings, memories and thoughts about life in general through the music and lyrics.

- Most black metal bands have some sort of message to spread. Most of the time it has something to do with religion, satanism or individualism. The name of your band suggests some sort of individualism too. Is that correct?
Yes, our band is also about individualism. Even more precisely it's about our own individual freedom in making music and in general the freedom in our lives. We like and respect the bands that sing about religious, satanic stuff if the music is well done and touching. If it sucks and it's all about the image and stuff like that, then we can't take it so seriously.

- Why are the lyrics in German?
German is our mother tongue and for me it's kind of logical to express myself with words I know best and since the beginning of my life rather than a write in a language I'm not 100% familiar with.

- Now your new album, Unstille, is released. I didn’t have a chance to hear it yet. What are the main differences to the previous two releases?
I guess there aren't so many differences as one may think. I'm generally not out for writing something completely new and unexpected – rather find an own and unique style and not sounding different on every new record. But I would say with the new album we have expanded the musical bandwidth between fast and slow, aggressive and calm as well as loud and silent. It was always important for us to contrast two musical extremes and combine these logically and comprehensibly within one song. "Unstille" is a bit faster and even more blasting than the last releases and also darker and more gloomy regarding the melodies. You may need more time to get into the material as it's not as catchy as the older material.

- You’ve been touring with bands like Wolves in the Throne Room and The Black Dahlia Murder.  Any wishes for future tours?
We'll take what we get, hehe. Sometimes it's not up to us to decide about the bands we play with but of course we'd like to go on tour with bands we are in tune with personally and musically.

- As far as I know you have only been touring in Germany. Will you play live in other countries soon? The Netherlands perhaps?
Right, until now we've only played Germany and Austria. We'd love to visit other parts of Europe or maybe even another continent, we'll see! Maybe we'll come to the Netherlands in Spring next year, we're currently planing for a more extensive European tour.

- The German black metal scene is quite vivid. Do you recommend certain bands?
Yes there are some really promising acts like Lantlôs, Membaris, Imperium Dekadenz, Agrypnie, Heretoir and of course some older stuff which is still great like Nagelfar, Orlog, Drautran for example. These bands are all worth a listen!

- Any future plans or dreams? What would you like to achieve with Der Weg einer Freiheit?
In the first place the band is about making music so we want to record stuff and play live as much as we can. Apart from that let's see what the future brings us!


- Thanks a lot for this interview!

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Interview (en): Seeds of Iblis

Not many black metal artists risk their life for their music. The members of Seeds of Iblis do. In their home country, Iraq, people are brought to death for being gay or 'emo'. It's not that hard to imagine what will happen if local authorities find out who are the people behind songs like "Inverted Hilal" and "Sex with Muhammad's Corpse". One of them is Anahita. Bass player and vocalist in Seeds of Iblis.

- For the people reading this that don’t know Seeds of Iblis: what is the band all about?
Seeds Of Iblis is a new wave of anti-Islamic black metal that rises from the Middle East, as a rejection and refusal against the religion of Islam, because Islam these days are trying to rule the world and spread lies and lies to brainwash the people and make them sacrifice their selves just to spread these lies.

- It must have been very hard to get in contact with other people in Iraq that are interested in creating such music. How did you accomplish this?
At first everything happened by chance, our interests have been gathered after melting two bands "Janaza" and "Tadnees", and so the influences and have been gathered too (Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Burzum, Marduk, Mayhem, Ildjarn).

- European black metal is mostly anti christian and satanic and that’s pretty save here. You are putting your life at risk for your message. How afraid are you?

If the authorities found us they will cut our heads immediately, but the hate inside of us gives us more energy to do this and to spread our message to the whole world, we dont care if someday they kill us because we know that its very possible.

- Don’t you ever think about leaving Iraq?
Leaving Iraq is one of our goals now, but I guess its not save at the moment, because many people are searching for our names and some of our papers are not finished because we are afraid to be shown in public, so we are just waiting the things to calm down here so we'll get the chance to go out soon.

- The lyrics of Seeds of Iblis are anti islamic. Traditional black metal is satanic. Do you see your band as a satanic band?
No at all! We are not satanic and we somehow don't believe in the essence of the satanic roots, we are against all kinds of religions and we are against killing people and slaying them because of the personal beliefs, the Islamic relegion teaches the follower to hate all the other religions and to kill them and to take their lands if they dont want to believe in Islam, and that what we fight exactly.

- Touring is obviously not an option now. If it was, would you do it? If so: what would you expect of it?
Sure we are interested in making tours and some underground concerts, we did some in the last year, but it was very dangerous , but we are now waiting the chance to get the stage again.

- What kind of music are you listening to yourselves? Any particular bands?
Metal music in general (Thrash, Heavy, Old School, Death, Black, Pagan, Folk, Sludge, Doom) and many other non-metal styles that have a real motivation and creativity.

- I read on the internet that you have some problems finding a new label for the next EP. Did you find one already?
Actually not 100%, because most of the labels just change their minds after contacting us, because I guess they are not brave enough to accept the challenge to support us fighting a cruel religion such as Islam, and many of them are just a money-pussy magnetic that only search for money..

- Your EP was released in only 300 copies. Was that the choice of the band or was it decided by the label?
It was the choice of the label, for us we wished to have more copies so it will be available for many metal-fans that are interested in this kind of music and for all the people that try to explore new extreme music and even new ideologies.

- Anything you would like to add?
I would like to thank all the people that bought our EP, and for all the people that are interested in our style, we will try to provide more songs and make even better songs in the future, I hope you will always support us like this because we are glad by the reactions of the black metal fans.

- Thanks a lot for his interview and please take care of yourselves!


Seeds of Iblis have released only one EP so far and that's, due to the fact that it was limited to 300 copies, hard to find. A new EP should be released soon.

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Interview (nl): Malign

Vorige maand brachten ze hun EP’s Fireborn en Divine Facing opnieuw uit. Kort daarna speelden ze voor het eerst in meer dan tien jaar weer live. En nu dan het eerste interview in tien jaar. Maligns oprichter, voornaamste schrijver en frontman Mörk spreekt.

- Ik denk niet date er veel mensen dit interview zullen lezen die Malign niet kennen, maar misschien is het wel een goed idee om het ter introductie toch te vragen: waar staat Malign voor? Wat zijn de belangrijkste visies en standpunten van de band?

Malign is een schip, een kanaal voor onze langdurige en onweerstaanbare aantrekking tot het pure duister en alles wat daarbij hoort. Kort gezegd zijn we een black metalband die gezworen heeft bij religieus, theïstisch satanisme.

- Malign is begonnen in 1994. Kun je iets vertellen over de oprichting van de band?

De beslissing om een band op te richten kwam absoluut voort uit de hierboven genoemde relatie tot de duistere zijde. In 1994, toen we halverwege onze tienerjaren waren, werd dit misschien niet echt op zo’n geraffineerde manier gebracht, zowel muzikaal als tekstueel. Maar nogmaals: we zijn nooit een band geweest die het nodig vond om te pochen met z’n muzikale vaardigheden of het hersenloos opdreunen van heilige teksten om op die manier maar over te kunnen komen als belezen en kundig. Wij hebben ons altijd gericht op het behouden en het kanaliseren van die spontane, aanvallende agressie die altijd in onze muziek besloten is geweest in combinatie met een nobele, respectvolle en oprechte bewondering voor, en het propageren van de krachten die we vertegenwoordigen en aanbidden in onze teksten.

- Vorige maand heeft Malign voor het eerst in meer dan tien jaar weer opgetreden. Hoe heb je dat ervaren?

Met gemengde gevoelens eigenlijk. De 20 minuten die we ongeveer op het podium gestaan hebben, waren zeker ongelofelijk spiritueel. Op een wat wereldsere en persoonlijkere manier gezien was het feit dat het concert plaatsvond in mijn woonplaats (Stockholm) zowel positief als negatief. Het was om meerdere redenen makkelijker geweest om dit in een ander land te doen, maar het voelde goed om een aantal heel oude supporters en bondgenoten te zien alsook een flink aantal nieuwe. We hadden geen idee wat te verwachten eigenlijk en hoewel het achteraf meer voor- dan nadelen had, heeft het me wel weer laten beseffen dat de beslissing om het “rocksterrenwereldje” min of meer achter me te laten, terecht was.

- Watain en Malign zijn een logische combinatie, maar de combinatie met The Devil’s Blood lijkt een beetje vreemd. Hoe beviel dat?

Muzikaal gezien denk ik dat je wel een punt hebt, maar die drie bands gaan over zoveel meer dan alleen muziek. Ik denk dat ik rustig namens alle bandleden kan zeggen dat deze drie acts elkaars werk respecteren en bewonderen. Hoewel de band tussen Malign en Watain sterker, duidelijker en ouder is, steun ik zeker ook S.L. en The Devil’s Blood. Anders zouden we er nooit aan meegedaan hebben.  

In spirituele zin zou ik The Devil’s Blood eerder een black metalband noemen dan de meeste black metalbands. In zekere zin hebben zijn ze een van die weinige bands uit de geschiedenis van welk genre dan ook, die een dergelijke magisch geladen aura heeft.  

Zelfs in strikt muzikale zin denk ik dat het geweldig werkte met Malign als opening, The Devil’s Blood die hun ding als tweede deden en Watain die de ceremonie die avond afsloot. Ik zou The Devil’s Bloods minder “gewelddadige” set niet als rustmoment zien of zoiets, maar ik denk dat ze er in ideologische zin goed bij pasten en hun behoorlijk andere stijl maakte alles veel effectiever/gebalanceerder dan wanneer Watain vijf andere extreme klotebandjes had moeten gebruiken om voor ze te openen. Ik weet dat iedereen die hierbij betrokken is geweest er tevreden over was en dat is, hoe dan ook, alles wat telt.

- Tot nu toe heeft Malign slechts twee EP’s en een demo uitgebracht. Is er een bepaalde reden waarom jullie niet meer opgenomen hebben?

Niet een special reden, maar vele. De meeste daarvan zijn toch te ingewikkeld, persoonlijk of oninteressant om hier te delen. De simpele antwoorden op de vraag waarom we onproductief zijn geweest (zacht uitgedrukt) zijn misantropie, armoede en andere prioriteiten, noodzakelijheden en problemen.

-Het is lang geleden dat Malign nieuw materiaal uitgebracht heeft. Nu zijn Divine Facing en Fireborn opnieuw uitgebracht bij NOEVDIA. Kunnen we ergens in de nabije toekomst nieuw materiaal verwachten?

Ja, die twee uitverkochte EP’s zijn nu opnieuw uitgebracht op LP. Deze uitgave is niet gelimiteerd, aangezien we geen reden zien om de zakken te vullen van de varkens die rijk proberen te worden met de hysterische tweedehands markt op het internet. Er is een versie op digi-CD uitgebracht in 2005 en die blijkt ook uitverkocht te zijn. Ik weet momenteel niet of die ook weer beschikbaar wordt.

Als er iets is dat ik de afgelopen jaren geleerd heb is het wel om niet te speculeren of beloftes te doen over toekomstige activiteiten van Malign. We werken nog steeds, en hebben dat in min of meer onophoudelijk gedaan, aan het debuutalbum. Het had in de jaren ’90  al uit moeten zijn, maar nogmaals: ik geloof dat onze muziek en onze boodschap tijdloos zijn in deze context. Er zijn plannen voor meer releases in de toekomst, maar of die werkelijkheid worden is een heel andere vraag.

- Kunnen we meer optredens verwachten van Malign? Een volledige toer misschien?

Nee! We hebben dat optreden in Stockholm gedaan om onze steun en dankbaarheid te tonen aan Watain bij hun 13-jarig jublileum, wegens alles wat ze hebben gedaan voor Malign en de ideeën die we delen. We hebben de komende tijd GEEN zin om te toeren in een of andere oude klotebus en te spelen voor krakers en mongolen met patches op hun vestjes.  

De omstandigheden waaronder we het optreden met Watain deden waren heel special en ik denk dat de volgende keer dat zo’n lucratieve (niet in financiële zin kan ik je verzekeren) en waardige mogelijkheid zich voordoet we wel zullen zien wat het lot ons toestaat te doen.

We hebben al een aantal aanbiedingen van anderen die gehoord hadden dat we “weer actief”

zijn afgeslagen. Gevleid als we op de een of andere manier zijn door alle interesse, vinden we dat het belangrijker is om onze aandacht te richten op het uitbrengen van het album dan op metalfans een leuk avondje uit bezorgen.

- Alle leden van Malign zijn en waren betrokken bij andere bands. Wat is de reden dat je besloten hebt Malign nieuw leven in te blazen?

Malign is nooit dood geweest. Zeker, we hadden actiever kunnen zijn en onze verplichtingen in andere bands hebben hun invloed hier wel op gehad, maar dat was niet het belangrijkste. De enige muzikale andere activiteit die tijd en meer inspanning kostte was mijn optreden als live-gitarist bij Watain in de periode van 2001-2006 en toen ik daarmee stopte veranderde het tempo van Malign ook niet. Zanger Nord zat sinds 1998 ook bij Ofermod, maar daar is hij pas geleden mee gestopt.  

Zoals ik al zei is tijd niet de belangrijkste factor waar het gaat om Malign en in mijn hart en ziel is het een allesoverheersende aanwezigheid, bijna als een wezen, onafhankelijk bestaand, soms hunkerend naar toewijding en offers. We doen vrijwel nooit dingen letterlijk bewust en we hebben geen businessplan. Malign gaat voornamelijk over het gevoel van binnen en de geestelijke toestand van de leden.  

Eind 2011 gebeurde het dat de sterren goed stonden en het tijd was om opnieuw te verschijnen. Het bovengenoemde concert kan misschien gezien worden als de vonk die de motor weer laat lopen, maar het zou zomaar nog eens tien jaar kunnen duren voor we weer een stap maken. We zijn het erover eens dat het tijd is dat we het debuutalbum afmaken en opnemen dat aangekondigd was in 1997 of zoiets.

Op het moment weet ik niet eens echt zeker wie er al dan niet in de band zit, maar zolang ik het meeste materiaal schrijf en Nord de tekstuele propaganda, is de rest eigenlijk van veel minder belang. Voor het optreden met Watain gebruikten we een sessiedrummer en –gitarist. Zij zouden in de toekomst een rol kunnen gaan spelen en een aantal andere getalenteerde en gemotiveerde medestanders hebben ook de wens ons te kunnen helpen al uitgesproken. De wereldse wies en wats zijn irrelevant in relatie tot onze boodschap. We oefenen niet samen en we onderhouden tegenwoordig zelfs geen contact, maar we zijn zeker niet dood als je het mij vraagt.

- Malign wordt vaak genoemd al seen van de grondleggers van de “orthodoxe black metal”. Wat vind je daarvan?

Dat zeggen ze. Ik heb geloof ik niet eens een idee van wie al die nieuwe “orthodoxe” black metalbands zijn en het kan me ook niet echt schelen. Bijzonder weinig van die nieuwe bands hebben indruk op me gemaakt of hebben ook maar een fractie van de geest van de voorvaders van dit genre.

Ik ben bang dat veel van ze simpelweg de teksten, de esthetiek en het gedrag herkauwen van hun voorlopers zonder enig dieper inzicht, reden of gedachte achter hun beslissingen, maar het zou niet de eerste keer zijn dat dergelijke dingen gebeuren binnen deze of een andere subcultuur.   

Ik zeg niet date er sowieso wat mis is met beïnvloed zijn (door ons of wie dan ook), maar ik hoop dat het pad dat gemaakt is door Malign en bepaalde andere bands om ons heen, gebruikt zal worden door diegenen die ons echt volgen en dat hun daden oprecht zullen zijn. Maar nogmaals: waarom zou je je druk maken om wat ik vind? Ik ben maar een mens, maar de krachten achter Malign zijn koud, vergevingloos en genadeloos. Denk daaraan voordat je met gestolen symbolen, geluiden en verschijningen van ons speelt.

Voor de rest kan het me weinig schelen wat er in de black metal gebeurt.Ik richt me liever op Malign en ik verzeker je dat wat we doen zuiver, eerlijk en effectief is. Het feit sommigen ons als cult zien is niet iets dat me bezighoudt of mijn ego streelt. Bevestiging door anderen is iets dat heel ver af staat van waar het in mijn band en zijn spiritualiteit om gaat. Het tegenovergestelde zelfs. Het slachten van het ego en de uitroeiing van andere mensen heeft de hoogste prioriteit.

- In een korte boodschap op de Facebook-pagina van de band staat dat “Malign lange tijd heeft geweigerd deel te nemen aan deze walgelijke scene”. Wat vind je precies zo walgelijk aan die scene?   

Het zou makkelijker zijn om uit te leggen wat ik niet veracht aan de black metalscene, de metalscene in zijn algemeenheid, of, in alle eerlijkheid: de mensheid.

Het korte antwoord is het feit dat de black metalscene bevolkt wordt door mensen en, belangrijk om op te merken, vaak mensen van de slechtste soort. Narcisten, bedriegers, zwakkelingen die erkenning zoeken van hun “metalbroeders” en genieten van lachen en drinken terwijl ze opscheppen over hun zojuist gevonden obscure vinylalbum, gescoord op eBay. Mensen die gebonden worden door kleinzielig materialisme en zondige gedachteloze lust. Zeker, we kunnen geclassificeerd worden als metalband, maar dat betekent niet dat we deel willen nemen aan die waarlijk walgelijke beweging. Ons concept en onze religie staat volledig los van dat waar zij voor staan.

We hebben ons vanaf het begin al van de scene gedistantieerd gevoeld. Zelfs al hadden we een  groot web van contacten in de tijd van het brieven schrijven enzovoort. In de loop van de tijd werden we steeds serieuzer over onze ideeën en over de reis op het linker pad. Ik denk dat de ontdekking dat bijna alle mensen om ons heen niets meer dan een stelletje opscheppers en ruggenstekers waren ervoor gezorgd heeft dat we ons terug getrokken hebben uit dat circus om onze overtuigingen te cultiveren en onze interesse in afzondering te ontwikkelen.

De enige reden dat we uiteindelijk onze zegen hebben gegeven aan een pagina op het internet (de Facebook-pagina waar je het over had) was dat het geen zin meer had om volledig stil te blijven. Ik moet de eerste kloppende biografie over ons op het internet nog vinden. Vandaar dat de enige logische stap die we konden nemen een platform ontwikkelen was waarop we correcte en relevante informatie over de band kunnen plaatsen. Dat gezegd hebbende; de pagina is een kwestie van monoloog, geen dialoog.

We horen nog steeds bij de grijze massa die de black metalscene heet, vooral in de digitale wereld. Het internet met al z’n terugporretjes, opgestoken duimpjes en onophoudelijke stroom van compleet irrelevante informatie vind ik ziekmakend en het staat ver beneden waar wij als als band voor staan. De interesse in Malign is nooit verdwenen, maar is de laatste tijd behoorlijk toegenomen, dus we voelden ons gedwongen een teken van leven te geven, recht uit de bron.

Maar goed, aangezien brieven schrijven, folders en papieren fanzines nogal uit de tijd zijn, zijn we dus hier beland. Misschien waren die papieren media in essentie niet echt minder weerzinwekkend, maar er is gewoon iets met het internet dat niet helemaal goed voelt naar mijn mening.  

Ik geloof dat we zo snel mogelijk zullen proberen om een fatsoenlijke website op te zetten in plaats van dat Facebook-profiel, maar tot die tijd, zoals op de pagina al te lezen is, is het DE ENIGE betrouwbare informatiebron waar het om Malign gaat. Dat wil niet zeggen dat de pagina direct geüpdate wordt zodra er iemand in z’n neus gepeuterd heeft, zoals het geval is bij bepaalde andere bandprofielen.

We hebben de stille benadering al een decennium geprobeerd en dat resulteerde alleen maar in de verspreiding van incorrect informatie en speculaties over de band, dus nu proberen we het tegenovergestelde een tijdje. Ik moet wel zeggen dat het voelt als een flinke stap terug. Zo’n tien jaar geleden ben ik gestopt met het geven van interviews, dit is een van de eerste sinds toen, en de reden daarvoor was dat vooral dat er niets belangrijks te zeggen was over Malign dat niet al op onze platen te vinden is.

Terwijl ik dit antwoord geef, realiseer ik me dat dit eigenlijk nog steeds klopt en dat ik absoluut geen plezier beleef aan interviews, aangezien de mensen achter de band onbelangrijk zijn en de muziek voor zich spreekt.

- Welk soort mensen hoop je dat er naar de muziek van Malign luisteren?

Dat is niet iets waar we ons bewust mee bezig houden of ons druk om maken. Ik zei tien jaar geleden al dat we de muziek van onze religie maken en dat het voornamelijk een uitlaatklep is voor onze toewijding als een manifestatie onze overtuigingen en ten tweede om hopelijk de mensen die ons geloof delen te voorzien van inspiratie en vechtlust. Dat meen ik nog steeds! Ik maak en schrijf voornamelijk muziek uit een roeping, een dwingend bevel van een wil buiten mij waar ik me aan moet houden.

- Een essentieel element van black metal is duivelsaanbidding. Het lijkt erop dat alle serieuze black metalbands daar hun eigen definitie van hebben. Hoe zou je Malign’s visie op satanisme omschrijven?

Dat is een vreemde manier om het te stellen. Maar goed, dit is het type vraag dat ik niet wil, niet mag en niet hoef te beantwoorden. Als er iets is aan ons dat niet uitgelegd wordt in de muziek en teksten, dat ik zou moeten uitleggen, dan zou je het toch niet begrijpen. Waar Malign over gaat zou bijzonder duidelijk moeten blijken uit de teksten en de sfeer. Aanbidding op een bijna primair niveau, ongecompliceerde toewijding en eenvoud en helderheid, die daardoor ook zeer krachtig en onvervuild is.

- Tegenwoordig begint het subgenre orthodoxe black metal vrij groot te worden. Bands als Watain en Deathspell Omega worden nog elke dag populairder. Zie je dat als iets positiefs? Of zou het resultaat ook kunnen zijn dat het genre verwatert zoals gebeurde bij de black metal in de jaren ’90 of bij death metal in zijn algemeenheid?

Nog een vreemde vraag, maar ik denk dat ik weet wat je bedoelt. Ik heb daarentegen geen enkele twijfel wat betreft de kracht van de bands die je noemt. Ze zijn altijd verder gegaan met het bewandelen van hun eigen pad en het is zeer waarschijnlijk dat ze daarmee doorgaan, onafhankelijk van hoeveel albums ze verkopen. Dat het genre verwatert door kopieën zonder gedachte erachter is misschien een risico, maar niet echt iets wat je deze twee bands kwalijk zou kunnen nemen.

Ik ben er niet om te zorg te dragen voor een of ander genre binnen de heavy metal en ik denk niet dat er ook maar een band op Norma Evangelium Diaboli is die dat wel doet, maar ik denk dat je dat beter aan ze zelf kunt vragen.

- Bedankt voor dit interview!

Maligns Dinive Facing en Fireborn zijn samen op één LP te bestellen bij NOEVDIA en andere webshops. 

De hier gebruikte foto's komen van Extremmetal.se.

Interview (en): Malign

Last month they re-released their EP's Fireborn and Divine Facing. Shortly later they performed live for the first time in more than ten years, and now for the first time in a decade or so a new interview. Malign's founder, main composer and frontman Mörk speaks.

- I don’t think many people who don’t know Malign will read this interview, but as an introduction it might be a good thing to ask: what does Malign stand for? What are the main views and opinions of the band?

Malign is a vessel and a channel for our long withstanding attraction to the utter darkness and all which that entails. In short, we are a Black Metal band oathsworn to religious, theistic Satanism.

- Malign started back in 1994. Can you tell something about how the band took form?

The decision to start a band certainly derived from the abovementioned relation to the dark side. In 1994, when we were in our mid teens, this was perhaps not manifested in a very sophisticated way, neither musically nor lyrically. Then again, we will never be a band showing off our musical skills or mindlessly ranting holy words just for the sake of seeming wellread and sophisticated, but focus on maintaning and channeling that spontanious, oppressive aggression always captured in our music in combination with a noble, respectful  and sincere  admiration and propagation of the forces we represent and worship within our lyrics.

- Last month Malign did their first live performance in more than ten years. How did you experience it?

Mixed emotions really. The 20 minutes or so that we spent on stage were certainly tremendous  spiritually. On a more mundane and personal plane, the fact that this took place in my old  hometown (Stockholm) was  both good and bad. It would in many ways have been easier to do this in another country, but it felt good to see some very old supporters and allies there, as well as the many new ones. We had no idea what to expect really and eventhough I suppose the experience/outcome witheld more pros than cons, it was in the end an experience that confirmed my decision to leave the "rock star business" more or less behind.

- Watain and Malign are a logical combination, but the combination with The Devil’s blood seems a bit weird. How did it turn out?

Musically, I suppose you have a point but these three bands are about much more than mere music. I think I can safely say on behalf of the others that these three acts all respect and admire eachothers work. Even if the bonds between Malign and Watain may be stronger, more apparent and older, I do extend my support to S.L and The Devil's Blood. We'd never had participated otherwise.

In spiritual regards, I personally view TDB to be more of a Black Metal band than most Black Metal bands in certain ways and they are one of very few acts in the history of any genre that have that magicly charged aura about them.

Even in strict musical terms, I think it turned out great with Malign opening, TDB doing their thing second and Watain finishing the ceremonial proceedings that evening. I wouldn't call TDB's less "violent" set a resting pause or anything but I think they fit well in ideologiaclly, and their sonically different style made things way more effective/balanced than if Watain would have had to use 5 shitty "Extreme" Metal bands as openers. I know everyone involved felt content with this line-up and that is all that matters anyway.

- Till now Malign only released two EP’s and a demo. Is there a particular reason why you didn’t record more?

Not one reason in particular but many. Most of them too complicated, private or uninteresting to share here anyway. The simple answers as to why we have been improductive (to put it mildly) are; misanthropy, poverty and other priorities/necessities/problems.

- It’s been a long time since Malign released new material. Now Divine Facing and Fireborn are rereleased through NOEVDIA. Can we expect a new release somewhere in the near future?

Yes, those two sold-out EP's are now re-released on one LP. This release is not limited as we have no desire to fill the pockets of pigs getting rich through the hysterical second hand market on the internet. There was a Digi-CD version with this material released in 2005 which also seems sold out. I do not know if that will be available again at the moment.

If there is one thing I have learned through all these years, it is not to promise or speculate in anything regarding forthcoming activities of Malign. We are still, and have more or less continuously been, working on the debut album. It should have been out in the 90'ies but then again, I believe our music and message is timeless in this context. There are plans for more releases in the near future, but if they come true or not is another question alltogether.

- Can we expect more Malign live performances in the future? A full tour maybe?

No! We did the gig in Stockholm to express our support and gratitude towards Watain on their 13:th anniversary, for everything they have done for Malign and the ideas we share. We do NOT feel like touring in some shitty old van to play for squatpunks and patchvestmongoloids anytime soon.

The circumstances under wich we did the gig with Watain were very special and, I suppose, the next time such a lucrative (no, not financially I assure you) and worthy form of opportunity to perform live occurs we'll see what fate allows us doing.

We have declined a few offers that were given us as a result of people hearing we were "active again" already. Flattered as we may be by all the interest somehow, we feel we should focus on getting the album out rather than giving metalheads a good night out.

- All members of Malign are and have been involved in other bands. What is the reason that you decided to bring Malign back to life?

Malign was never dead. Certainly, we could have been more active, and our obligations in other bands may have affected this a tad bit, but not to any greater extent. The only musical "side-activity" that ever took any time and greater effort was my participation as live-musician for Watain during 2001-2006, and my departure from them didn't really change Maligns pace anyway. Vocalist Nord has also been in Ofermod since 1998 but recently quit.

Like I said, time is not the most relevant factor when it comes to Malign and in my mind and heart it is an everbreathing presence, almost like a being, excisting on its own, craving devotion and sacrifices at times. We seldomly do things consciously in the right sense of the word and have no businessplan. Malign is very much about the gut feeling and state of mind of its members.

In late 2011, it just so happened that the stars aligned and it was time to reappear. The abovementioned concert could perhaps be seen as an instigator and catalyst to get us going again, but it honestly might aswell take another decade before we make another move. We have agreed that it is about time to complete and record this debut album that I believe was announced in 1997 or so.

At the moment, I am not even really certain who is in the band or not, but as long as I write/channel the bulk of the material and Nord channels the lyrical propaganda the rest is actually of less importance. For the gig with Watain, we used a session drummer and guitarist. They might be included in future projects and some other very talented and motivated allies have expressed a wish to assist us aswell. The mundande, human "who's" and "what's" are irrelevant in relation to our message. We may not rehearse or even socialize privately these days but neither are we on ice or dead if you ask me.

- Malign is often mentioned as one of the originators of “orthodox black metal”. What are your thoughts about that?

So they say. I don't even think I have a conception of who all these new "Orthodox" Black Metal bands are these days, nor do I  really care. Very few of these new bands I've encountered have impressed me or even captured a fraction of the spirit of the "forefathers" of this genre.

I fear many of them are just regurgitating the lyrics, aesthetics and conducts of behaviour of their forerunners without any deeper insight, cause or thought behind their decisions, but that wouldn't be the first time such things happen within this or other subcultures.

I'm not saying there is necessarily something wrong with being influenced (By us or whatever) but I just hope that pathway which Malign and certain bands around us may have opened will be truly entered by those after us, and that their deeds are sincere. Then again, why care what I think? I am a mere human but the forces behind Malign are cold, unforgiving and unsparing. Remember that before toying around with symbolism, sounds and appearances stolen from us.

With that said, I care little for what goes on in Black Metal. I prefer focusing on Malign and assuring that what we do is genuine, honest and effective. The fact that some think we are (more or less) cult is nothing that occupies my mind or nourishes my ego. Confirmation from other humans is something very far from what our band and its spirituality is about. On the contrary. The slaying of the ego and indeed the eradication of other humans is of high priority.

- In a short message on the bands Facebook-page it is stated that “Malign have refused to parttake in this disgusting scene for long”. What exactly do you find disgusting about the “scene”?

It would be easier to answer what I do not despise about the Black Metal scene, the Metal scene in general or, quite frankly; mankind.

The short answer is: the fact that the Black Metal scene is inhabitated by humans, and noteworthy, often humans of the worst kind. Narcissists, impostors, weaklings who thrive from getting confirmation from their "metalbrothers" and enjoy having a laugh and a drink, whilst they bask in the glory of their latest obscure vinyl, scored on ebay. Humans bound by petty materialism and sinful thoughtless lust. Certainly, may be classified as a Metal band but that does not mean we have to parttake in that truly loathsome movement. Our concept and religion is completely detached from what they stand for.

We felt very distanciated from the scene early on. Even if we had a vast web of contacts in the old letterwritingdays and so forth. With time, we got more and more serious in our ideas and about that journey on the left hand path. I suppose noticing how nearly everyone around us turned out to be nothing but bigmouths, backstabbers, stoolpigeons etc made us withdraw from their circus to cultivate our beliefs and to develop our interests in seclusion.

The only reason we finally gave our blessing to a page on the internet (The facebook infopage you refer to) was that it no longer made sense to stay completely silent. I have yet to see a biography on us on the internet  that has the facts right. Hence, the only logical step was to establish a platform where we can spread correct and relevant information regarding the band. With that said, this page is a matter of conducting a monolog, not a dialogue.

We are still congregated from the grey mass that  is the Black Metal scene, especially in its digital manifestation. The internet with all its backpatting, thumbsup and everflowing ocean of completely irrelevant information makes me sick and is far below what we, as a band, are about. The interest in Malign has never faded but rather increased lately so we felt compelled to give a sign of life , straight from the source.

However, since letterwriting, flyers and fanzines made out of paper is quite an outdated medium, here we are. Perhaps those old mediums weren't really less repulsive in essence but there is just something about the internet that doesn't feel right or good in my opinion.

I believe we will try to  set up a proper webpage a.s.a.p instead of that facebookprofile, but until then, as the page reads: It is THE ONLY relevant and reliable source of information regarding Malign. That doesn't mean however that it will be updated everytime someone in the band has picked their nose, as the case is with certain other bandprofiles.

We already tried the silent approach for a decade wich only rendered in the spreading of incorrect facts and speculations about the band, so we will try the opposite for a while. But I must admit it feels like a setback somehow. I stopped answering interviews about ten years ago, this is one of the first since, and the reason for that was mainly because I didn't think there was anything of importance to say about Malign that is not or will not be included on our releases.

While answering this, I realize that this fact is actually still true and that I really do not enjoy answering interviews, since the humans behind the band are unimportant and the music speaks for itself.

- What kind of people do you hope will listen to Malign’s music?

That is nothing we consciously think of or really care about. I said ten years ago that we perform the music of our religion primarily as an outlet for our devotion as a manifestation of our beliefs and secondly hopefully to inspire and incite battlelust and comfort for those who might share our beliefs. That is still valid! I primarily write and perform music because it is a calling, a compelling command from an outer will, to wich I must abide.

- An essential element of black metal is devil worship. It seems all serious black metal bands have their own definition of that. How would you describe Malign’s view on Satanism?

That's an odd way of putting it. Anyway, this is the type of question that I do not want to, am allowed to, or should need to answer. If there is anything about us that is not included in our music and lyrics that I would have to explain, then you wouldn't understand anyway. What Malign is about should be very obvious in the lyrics and atmosphere. Worship on an almost primal level, uncomplicated devotion and in its simplicity and clarity, therefore also very potent and undefiled.

- Nowadays the subgenre of orthodox black metal is getting quite big. Bands like Watain and Deathspell Omega are getting more popular every day. Do you see that as a good thing? Or might the result of that be that the genre gets weakened just like black metal in the late ‘90’s and death metal in general?

Another odd question but I think I understand what you are getting at. I do however have no doubt regarding the strength of the two bands you mentioned. They have kept wandering farther down the path and are most likely to continue doing so, regardless of how many albums they may or may not sell. That the genre may be watered down by clones without spirit is perhaps a risk, but hardly something you could blame these two bands for.

I am not here to care for or save some genre within Heavy Metal and I don't think any of the bands on Norma Evangelium Diaboli are, but I guess you are better of asking them personally.

  

- Thanks a lot for this interview!

Malign's Dinive Facing + Fireborn re-release is available through NOEVDIA and various other webshops. 

All photos taken from  Extremmetal.se.