INTERVIEW DESASTER / HIKING WITH INFERNAL

After I had already conducted an interview with Desaster last year in the run-up to the release of "Churches without saints" (see here), one day I had the idea to ask whether there would be interest in presenting some of the most important places and locations in the band's history together. On the one hand, Koblenz is only an hour's drive away from me, on the other hand, I like the region there very much, especially the often wildly romantic area along the Rhine and Moselle with its countless castles and ruins, many of which have bravely defied decay for centuries and let us feel at least a little "touch of medieval darkness". I can only warmly recommend this region for hiking, motorcycling and also cycling! To be more precise, I had in mind a joint visit to these places. When Infernal got in touch and was enthusiastic about the idea, the whole thing slowly took shape. After we had agreed on a car park in the middle of nowhere near Ochtendung as a meeting point, and I bought some Desaster articles - which certainly looked strange when any packages change hands there for cash, an overzealous narcotics officer would certainly have sensed his chance here - we could already start. In short, I got into Infernal's car and we drove a few minutes to go from there to Wernerseck Castle.

INTERVIEW DESASTER / WANDERN MIT INFERNAL

Nachdem ich bereits letztes Jahr ein Interview mit Desaster im Vorfeld zur Veröffentlichung von "Churches without saints" geführt hatte (siehe hier), kam mir eines Tages die Idee, anzufragen, ob Interesse bestände, gemeinsam einen Teil der wichtigsten Orte und Plätze der Bandgeschichte vorzustellen. Zum einen ist Koblenz nur eine Autostunde von mir entfernt, zum anderen mag ich die Region dort sehr, gerade auch die oftmals wildromantische Gegend an Rhein und Mosel mit ihren zahllosen Burgen und Ruinen, die dort zahlreich seit Jahrhunderten mutig dem Verfall trotzen und uns zumindest einen kleinen "Touch of medieval darkness" spüren lassen. Zum Wandern, Motorradfahren und auch Fahrradfahren kann ich diese Region nur wärmstens empfehlen! Genauer gesagt schwebte mir ein gemeinsamer Besuch dieser Plätze vor. Als Infernal sich dann meldete und von dieser Idee begeistert war, nahm das Ganze langsam konkrete Formen an. Nachdem wir als Treffpunkt einen Mitfahrerparkplatz im Nirgendwo bei Ochtendung ausgemacht hatten, und ich noch den einen oder anderen Desaster-Artikel erwarb - was sicherlich sonderbar aussah, wenn dort irgendwelche Päckchen gegen Bares den Besitzer wechseln, ein übereifriger Drogenfahnder hätte hier bestimmt seine Chance gewittert - konnte es auch schon losgehen. Kurzum stieg ich in Infernals Auto um und wir fuhren einige Minuten, um von dort aus zur Burg Wernerseck zu gehen.

INTERVIEW ENTHRONED

Enthroned are one of the big continuities in the world wide black metal scene. Since 1993 this belgian horde delivers great pieces of more or less agressive and traditional black metal. Their newest output "Cold black suns", also the debut for their new label Season of Mist, shows dome deviations from this path, which means that Enthroned added some new elements to their sound and yet, or perhaps exactly for this reason, it's still 100% black metal. Reason enough to talk with Nornagest, longest running band member, part of Enthroned almost since the beginning.

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. 

INTERVIEW INQUISITOR

22 years after the release of the cult debut "Walpurgis-Sabbath of lust", INQUISITOR from Harderwijk ,The Netherlands are back with their brandnew release "Stigmate me, I'm in misery" ! Join us on our trip into the darkest past...

Hey, first of all, how are you ? How are the reactions towards the new album?

We are doing alright at the moment on this rotten doomed planet. And so far almost all of the reviews/reactions to the new album are exceptionally good. We have no reasons to complain.

What was the reason for the split in 1997 ? And what was there a special reason for the reunion ? In the meantime some members of INQUISTOR founded CENTURIAN, so can you tell us who exactly started with INQUSITOR, who was in CENTURIAN (they were called NOX for a while I think) and who is now in the band?

Splitting up is almost never a great thing to happen but in the end it is often inevitable, and in our case, the reasons don't matter anymore 'cause we're back together. In 1996, INQUISITOR slowly fell apart, however, Wim continued INQUISITOR with Rob Oorthuis on guitar but the sound changed and due to this, a new band emerged out of this which became CENTURIAN. Wim van der Valk was the only former member of INQUISITOR in CENTURIAN. CENTURIAN existed from 1997 until 2002 and reformed without Wim van der Valk in 2011 till 2015. After CENTURIAN ceased to exist in 2002, NOX was formed which was more or less a band/project with ex-member(s) of CENTURIAN.
The current line-up of INQUISITOR is the original line-up which also appears on the early Demo's and has the following members: Alex Wesdijk – Vocals, Erik Sprooten – Guitars, Alex Bakker – Bass, Wim van der Valk – Drums. This line-up started INQUISITOR.