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 INCANTATION

"In death metal there are no rules, it's just about expressing your inner most dark feelings. We have our own vision and at times the masses didn’t always get it. But I think over the last few years more and more death metal fans understand what we are trying to express with our music. It’s like the scene caught up with us."  

Incantation, who have been around since the distant year of 1989, have been a constant gourmet treat for fans of dark, dirty death metal since their debut album "Onward to Golgotha" in 1992. Fortunately, according to the motto "what goes around comes around", the band's qualities seem to be getting around more and more, so that the latest album "Sect of Vile Divinities" can already be considered the biggest commercial success in the band's history.The author of this blog is a die-hard follower of the band, and so the opportunity had finally come to talk to band founder and scene veteran John Mc Entee, who plays guitar and is responsible for the vocals, about various things. The frontman turned out to be a very thoughtful and reflective guy.

Hey, how are you at the moment? I hope you and your families, relatives and friends are healthy! How is it corona-wise with you in Pennsylvania at the moment?

All is good here. I now live in Greensboro, North Carolina for the last few years and it’s totally amazing down here. For me, the lockdown has been ok. I’m kinda a loner so I don’t really like to be around other people unless it’s friends or horror or metal people. For the band, it has been great, we didn’t know what to expect releasing the “Sect of Vile Divinities” album a-mist the pandemic, but it ended up being a major success for us, which was super cool.

I know it’s been a difficult time for almost everyone over this pandemic and I have sadly even lost a few friends due to it. It's just my personality to want to make the best out of any situation. I’m also very fortunate to have an amazing home life and that really makes everything seem great.