Hey, first of all, how are you ? Did you remained spared from COVID-19 ? How ist the situation in Belgium concerning this virus and how does it affect the band’s situation in general and concerning cancelled and/ or postponed gigs ?
The Plague did not only sneaked into the health of thousands but also and mostly within the music scene and public events, so everyone within the scene is basically affected in one way or another. We did loose a huge amount of opportunities, shows and even rehearsing as a whole is basically impossible as Menthor lives on the other side of the North Sea, as you know, some trips are simply not allowed. We are mostly doing what is possible regarding the situation… On my side, I took this as an opportunity to write the whole of the lyrics of the next Enthroned release and we are working each one on our sides on the musical support. Now, on a personal note, everyone in the band is healthy and none of us has been affected by the virus in that manner. In Belgium, some areas are considered “code red” like the town and province of Antwerp, but the rest of the country is safe in a manner of speaking. We hope the situation will slowly come back to normal as soon as possible, I cannot wait to go back on the road to be honest.
Your latest album „Cold Black Suns“ was released one year ago, how about the reactions from the press and from the fans ? How do you see this album with some temporal distance, how do you sort it in the whole Enthroned-discography ? I like it, I think it is the most atypical Enthroned-release, so did you think you maybe lost some more traditional orientated fans who still prefer the first albums but maybe gained the attention of listeners who have never dealt with Enthroned before ?
You know… the aim of Enthroned has never been to gain more fans or to increase our popularity, we have always done what the band wanted as a whole. “Cold Black Suns” is indeed a different album within our discography, it is without a doubt the darkest and coldest album we have ever done, so evidently some people will OR hate it OR love it. I have to be honest here, I actually thought most people would hate it but I was proven totally wrong, some people do not like it at all but most fans and new fans that were not familiar to what we do became fans… you know, some people are stuck in the old ways and do not leave space for something else than what they are use to, those same people who will always “prefer” the first album or demo of this or that band, listen to AC/DC alike bands (nothing wrong with that) and I mean by that, bands that you know what to expect as every album is exactly in the same vein, so I guess this album won’t suit those people’s likings. Our aim was the same as usual; deliver something that reflect what and who we are during the composition period and everything that wraps it up all together as a whole. As we were in the darkest periods of our life, this album became the perfect soundtrack for that period. One year later, I see “Cold Black Suns” as a good balanced album and an album I am proud of, it is another face of Enthroned that we did not show to the public yet and more is to come.
Can you tell us more about the lyrics / lyrical concept of the album ?
The "Cold Black Suns" concept is based on the different human approaches towards Satanism and knowledge of the hidden, may it be through the ages or from the point of view of different civilisations and cultures. A bit of a trip from ancient Greece to the modern ages, the dark times of the Renaissance and more.
The lyrics have an anthropological overtone that suggests that every different views is a product of the cultural evolution of one specific and designated race or people; and this cultural product is further enriched by its interaction and cross-fertilisation with other peoples and their cultures, in whose vicinity the former originated and evolved, yet all englobed within the one human concepts of what is the Occult and Magick in the proper sense of the word. An evolution and voyage from the microcosm and the macrocosm which goes back and forth in the grand scale of existence and the void.
OPHIUSA is the ancient name given by the Ancient Greeks to what is now Portuguese territory near the mouth of the river Targus. It means “Land of the Serpent”. As legend goes, on the summer solstice, a maiden-serpent entity, La Moura-Serpente, rises compelled by an occult power, granting rewards or plagues.
HOSANNA SATANA is a missal, a traditional Satanic adaptation of a Roman catholic canticle. Understood as heresy or blasphemy by the profane, the texts glorifies the self as a god instead of chanting the glory and submission to the monotheistic deity.
The "Cold Black Suns" concept is based on the different human approaches towards Satanism and knowledge of the hidden, may it be through the ages or from the point of view of different civilisations and cultures. A bit of a trip from ancient Greece to the modern ages, the dark times of the Renaissance and more.
The lyrics have an anthropological overtone that suggests that every different views is a product of the cultural evolution of one specific and designated race or people; and this cultural product is further enriched by its interaction and cross-fertilisation with other peoples and their cultures, in whose vicinity the former originated and evolved, yet all englobed within the one human concepts of what is the Occult and Magick in the proper sense of the word. An evolution and voyage from the microcosm and the macrocosm which goes back and forth in the grand scale of existence and the void.
OPHIUSA is the ancient name given by the Ancient Greeks to what is now Portuguese territory near the mouth of the river Targus. It means “Land of the Serpent”. As legend goes, on the summer solstice, a maiden-serpent entity, La Moura-Serpente, rises compelled by an occult power, granting rewards or plagues.
HOSANNA SATANA is a missal, a traditional Satanic adaptation of a Roman catholic canticle. Understood as heresy or blasphemy by the profane, the texts glorifies the self as a god instead of chanting the glory and submission to the monotheistic deity.
ONEIROS is a personification of dreams. To understand the lyrics, one has to refer to Homer who claimed that dreams dwell on the dark shores of the Western Oceanus. Deceitful dreams would come through an Ivory Gate, which in Roman Catholicism this description is given to the gates of the Heavens, kingdom of Yahveh, while the true ones are issued from a gate made of black horns. Sometimes those dreams procures a sadistic approach of being aroused that the ancient greeks called Charoumenos Oneiros.
VAPULA OMEGA is a bit different as the lyrics are about the modern times, a time when most of the human race did shift their system of belief into a blind folded trusting system that one may call denial. The same beings elected unconsciously a new god within the industry. They worship the chimneys and they pay roll like they did with the icons of old. This is where Vapula, the demon lord of the industry, labour and self inflicted slavery leads their unconscious devotion with pride.
SILENT REDEMPTION is song about someone who ventures within Aokigahara, the Suicide Forest in Japan to commit his “deeds” and tells the listener about his thoughts, last observations & wills.
AGHORIA is an Aghori [ An ascetic Shiva sadhus group feeding on human remains and practitioners of other necromantic and post-mortem rituals] mantra who glorifies humility within magical & ritualistic practices. The main message is that none is all knowing and all glorious beneath the gods and one is glad to be nothing as it leave places for great learnings and spiritual evolution.
BEYOND HUMANE GREED deals with the period of the Renaissance, when a pious man realises on his death-bed, that everything he believed in, that his own Church, was just plain hypocrisy and treachery as the priests gave him the last sacraments in exchange for a handful of favours .
SMOKING MIRROR is one of the names of Tezcatlipoca, the vengeful god of light and dark ruling over seduction, individuality and Divinations worshipped by the Aztecs. These lyrics are seen through the eyes of an adept of the Jaguar-King during his communion with the god, what he sees and what he feels…
SON OF MAN is an anthropological approach of the story, legend and myth of Lucifer’s Fall across a global view of several cultures but in one piece. The similarities between different civilisations or religious groups regarding how knowledge came to man by the Light Bearer is quite staggering.
Looking at the whole Enthroned-discography, what are your personal favourites ? Are there any releases you don’t like today or would change a lot afterwards ? I know, none of the current line up was involved in this album, but „Prophecies of pagan fire“ wasn’t honoured much at the time it was released, but I have the impression that it got the well-deserved attention decades later as one of the greatest (debut)-albums of the 90ies black metal movement. Maybe goes the same for Enthroned as band, what do you think ?
It depends of the point of view really, I cannot have an objective view on how popular we were, are and will be… and as I stated before this is the least of my concerns when it comes to Enthroned. I was present at the times of “Prophecies of Pagan Fire”, I did not compose anything ont he album and did not record the album simply because I wasn’t ready at the time. Back then, I remember that we were quite surprised by the reception of Enthroned’s music and we got several record deals the same week we released our demo tape. Of course, back then the big thing were Norwegian bands and any other bands were skipped under the radar, but that factor is to be thrown into the trend at the time. Each album has it’s place in my heart, like the different chapters of the same book, each has its thing. There are just two albums that I favour least due to their productions and some things that could have been done better ( “Apocalypse Manifesto” and “Armoured Bestial Hell”) and if those albums would be recorded today, they would sound probably more intense and different. The thing is that Enthroned did start to gain its own identity and found its own path from the album “Carnage in Worlds Beyond” this was what I call the Chrysalis period, where we were drawing the plan for what would come later with the “Tetra Karcist” album. It is at that time that fans wanted to check our back catalog and “Prophecies…” really gained interest again.
Enthroned followed me for most of my life, I was 17 years old when I got into the band and here I am 25 years later still devoting myself to this entity. I call it an entity as it evolved, still does, just like a living being would, we started as young men with an interest and involvement as novices within Satanism and the Occult, young clumsy musicians who wanted to express themselves through the tool that is Black Metal, now we are mature men confirmed musicians for more than two decades and some of us are deeply rooted and / or experienced practitioners of the occult and the dark arts, so is Enthroned in its whole. You can’t really compare “Towards…” with “Cold black suns” , both albums have a different approach, except for myself, a different line-up but both are regulated by the same DNA and backbone, our concept evolved, it is like those series you guys are watching these days, you can’t take season 2, and compare it to season 11, the conductive line is the same but the rest of the story, production and approach are night and day. Artwork wise, back in the days we gave our ideas and lyrics to an artist and later me and Neraath became artists and designers ourselves so we took this matter in our own hands, so yet again: evolution and growth.
How does your work as an artist influence your work with Enthroned in general and in particular concerning the layout and artwork ? Do you view artworks from a professional perspective or is there only one view (the view of the ordinary spectator) in the sense that it’s a great artwork or not ?
Well, I do artworks for a living as well as for myself, when it come to Enthroned (or other bands I work for for this matter) I immerse myself within the lyrics and the music and give my vision, representation of what I… “see”. Neraath, being also an artist, is more immersing himself within the artistic aspect, so most of his artworks are less explicative or representative than mine for example. His artworks are more subjected to what the person sees in it while giving a hint of ambiance and influence to those thoughts. This is mostly why I design merchandise and he takes care of the front covers for our albums. Then we work together on the layout. But nevertheless, it is fascinating when people are coming with theories and explains us what they see within our artworks, sometimes bringing very interesting theories.
I saw Enthroned together with Ancient Rites, Bewitched, Sacramentum at Live Music Hall, Cologne back in 1996. I liked all bands very much and still remember that it was a very hot summer day / night. The funny thing is that I now realize that I interview now you as the third person who has been part of this concert as a musician (besides people who played there as part of Ancient Rites and Sacramentum). I think Dark Funeral were on the billing as well, but did not play. Do you have some memories concerning this concert and tour ?
This is quite interesting as that very concert remains in my memory like it was yesterday, I bought the vinyl of Bathory’s “Blood on Ice” on that very day. Dark Funeral was indeed intended to join us on that tour but cancelled due to some line-up changes. I remember that Sabathan, our former vocalist, lost his voice and asked me to sing the concert, so we deliberated the whole day about me doing the lead vocals on that very show, both him and Cernunnos insisted but ultimately I refused as I wasn’t familiar with all the lyrics and I told the sound guy to push the volume of the main vocals as high as possible and told our then vocalist to not push himself too hard, to take it easy and in the end he still did his job. It was our first full-europeans tour and the only time we ever toured as a three piece as our former guitarist, Tsebaoth got fired from the band the week before the tour. It was indeed a killer tour, bands, people and experience.
How does your work as an artist influence your work with Enthroned in general and in particular concerning the layout and artwork ? Do you view artworks from a professional perspective or is there only one view (the view of the ordinary spectator) in the sense that it’s a great artwork or not ?
Well, I do artworks for a living as well as for myself, when it come to Enthroned (or other bands I work for for this matter) I immerse myself within the lyrics and the music and give my vision, representation of what I… “see”. Neraath, being also an artist, is more immersing himself within the artistic aspect, so most of his artworks are less explicative or representative than mine for example. His artworks are more subjected to what the person sees in it while giving a hint of ambiance and influence to those thoughts. This is mostly why I design merchandise and he takes care of the front covers for our albums. Then we work together on the layout. But nevertheless, it is fascinating when people are coming with theories and explains us what they see within our artworks, sometimes bringing very interesting theories.
I saw Enthroned together with Ancient Rites, Bewitched, Sacramentum at Live Music Hall, Cologne back in 1996. I liked all bands very much and still remember that it was a very hot summer day / night. The funny thing is that I now realize that I interview now you as the third person who has been part of this concert as a musician (besides people who played there as part of Ancient Rites and Sacramentum). I think Dark Funeral were on the billing as well, but did not play. Do you have some memories concerning this concert and tour ?
This is quite interesting as that very concert remains in my memory like it was yesterday, I bought the vinyl of Bathory’s “Blood on Ice” on that very day. Dark Funeral was indeed intended to join us on that tour but cancelled due to some line-up changes. I remember that Sabathan, our former vocalist, lost his voice and asked me to sing the concert, so we deliberated the whole day about me doing the lead vocals on that very show, both him and Cernunnos insisted but ultimately I refused as I wasn’t familiar with all the lyrics and I told the sound guy to push the volume of the main vocals as high as possible and told our then vocalist to not push himself too hard, to take it easy and in the end he still did his job. It was our first full-europeans tour and the only time we ever toured as a three piece as our former guitarist, Tsebaoth got fired from the band the week before the tour. It was indeed a killer tour, bands, people and experience.
Concerning the many line-up changes of Enthroned, what let you maybe feel optimistic that the current line-up will remain for a long time-period ? Is Enthroned some kind of democracy or do you reserve some kind of veto-right as the longest running band member ? Did you made all decisions concerning new band members in consent ? And do you maybe have as the longest running member in the band a role as the person with some kind of natural authority, does the other band members expect that you decide important issues ?
Optimistic?? If there is something I have learnt through the years, is that you can never rely on keeping the same line-up for a while. Playing in this band is challenging to say the least. We invest a lot of energy and of ourselves within Enthroned and sometimes do not collect the fruits of our efforts, this band is probably cursed, I don’t know. But one thing I know for sure, is that Enthroned is a part of me and it will always remains this way. I like to think that this band doesn’t fall under any dictatorship rule but one has to earn his place within our ranks, as much as a musician as a person. I see myself as the longest running member as the keeper of what this band stands for in its concept and very reason to exist. Enthroned is not a music group but a coven in my eyes and I will never tolerate any disrespect towards another member, clownish attitude or disrespect of the “why” this band was created and still exists today.
You are the cousin of Cronos. What about Venom, do you like their newer releases as well ? Are you in contact, does he follow the path of Enthroned, after he was part as a guest on „Towards..“ ?
Conrad did follow Enthroned and as far as I know he still does, kind of… He participated to our second album “Towards the Skullthrone of Satan” even wrote a part of the lyrics for “Hertogenwald”. We use to see each other now and then since I was a kid but not anymore. But there are some family issues that occurred and his lack of respect for his own blood put me off to make even the slight effort in his direction, I actually do not think that anyone in the family actually talks to him anymore for that matter but anyway, this is a private matter. And to be honest, the last Venom album I really enjoyed was “Resurrection”, what came after that is not my cup of tea. I honestly prefer to listen to the new album of Venom Inc.
Thanks for doing this interview, the last words are yours…
Thank you for the interview, I hope we can be back on the road as soon as this “crisis” is done and dealt with. And never forget… to believe in God, you need faith, to believe in the Devil, you just have to open your eyes! Khep’r!