Quebec scene report (trendhunt: the hunters and the hunted) by Myrkhaal of Froze

          Veles   1. For everyone familiar with true   black _meta_l, VELES needs no   introduction, but, for those who   still haven't heard your music yet,   please tell me what are the main   ideas that VELES stands for.   We're Black _meta_l band and we've some   ideas which normal people don't   like.VELES supports racism,   antisemitism and all kinds of warfare   and genocide.   2. As a band that's been around for a   long time, when you didn't have to   prove your trueness as there were   only few active black _meta_l acts, how   do you see the nowadays scene? Is it   true that even the whole anti-trend   thing become trend too?   VELES exist since 1992 (two first   years as Belthil) is it a long time?   I don't think so.   Today I'm not interested in trend and   anti-trend slogans. We are Black   _meta_l horde and the rest can fuck   off.   We will never look at all new   inovations in music. We know what we   want to do and how to do it. the only   positive trend is that a lot of young   children take the racial ideology.   3. Your 2nd album has been released   for quite a time now. Did you have   any more problems with shits   returning the CD as it happened with   your first full length? How were the   critics, anyway?   This album has very underground production and promotion. we don't care   about sales, promotion and shit like this. We play for ourselves and a few   our friends. If someone like our stuff that's OK but if someone boycott it,   he can eat my shit!   4. Your both albums have some accoustic parts that unlike most of the so   called atmospheric/occult/sorrrow _meta_l bands are NOT SWEET at all, but   really dark shivers giving, like the whole music infact. From where do you   get your inspiration for writing most evil music and lyrics?   Hm, inspirations come from music, films, alcohol and the whole life. Of   course one of the bigger inspirations is hate to Mr. Jesus Christ and a few   other persons. Dead or alive.   5. Darken is featured on the both albums. Is this colaboration between the   Polish bands taking place in the same way as in Norway, where guys from   different bands get on together, even bring their girlfriends sometimes,   and decide to make some kind of love/star music (like Covenant for example)   in order to impress their mums, or is it more than that? In what way are   the Polish Hordes united between them?   My friendship with Darken started in 1990 or 1881, I don't remember. He's   big supporter of VELES and all serious hordes from Poland. He help us to   record our demo tape and he also made some intros/keyboards on our both   albums. Hail Darken our wolfish brother.   Please, don't talk about Norway, their scene is dead since 1993.   6. Do you play in other band projects? Give me more details about these   projects.   No, fuck all projects. VELES is my only band and always will be.   7. Do you by any chance have contact   or support any foreign bands, beside   your national brothers at arms?   All mail for VELES is under D.C.C.   address and this is our official   contact. I was in contact with tons   of people through last years but now   I don't waste my time for letters   etc.   I support some good bands from:   France, Germany, USA and Poland of   course.   8. What can you tell me about PAGAN   RECORDS in Poland? Is this a part of   the true Polish black _meta_l   underground or not?   Pagan Rec. is now regular record   label which cares about big sell,   tons of cah etc. They try to have   underground independent roots... you   can buy their stuff in every music   shop with _meta_l stuff.   You have to answer by yourself, are   they underground or not. That's not   my cup of tea.   9. What can you tell me about your live appearances? How do your gigs look   like? Do you have gigs often? By the way, as far as I know at the end of   september there have been taken place a cuple of concerts with Dark Funeral   and Behemoth in Warzawa and Katowice... Did you attend these gigs? What can   you tell me about the mentioned bands?   I boycott all BM gigs in Poland. Fuck BEHEMOTH and their clown show. VELES   isn't a live band.   Dark funeral without Blackmoon is the same as Mayhem without Euronymous and   Dead.   I don't like concerts. That's my opinion.   10. Your 2 albums deal with NO COLOURS REC. expired . Will you continue   with NO COLOURS or will your next album be released on another label?   We don't think about new album and we don't care if N.C. will produce our   albums. They're good underground label with some elite bands and that's   all.   I'm not sure but next VELES stuff will be recorded after year 2000.   11. What more can you tell me about the next materials of VELES?   The future will tell us. I think it will be more in the vein of: Abruptum,   old Beherit, Necro Schizma and Bestial Summoning. Just Unholy Primitive   Black _meta_l Carnage!   12. Most people say that the fight against christianity should be done by   ignorance. It seems to me that those who say that are just trend youngs who   are too afraid to take real action against the christians and so hide   themselves behind stupid concepts in order to look more interesting or   something. Do you agree?   VELES supports all acts against x-tianity. The dark war has begun! We need   Black _meta_l terror in Europe. The fight goes on!   13. How is the real Antichristian movement in Poland, anyway?   I know a lot of inteligent people in our country which have some   uninteligent sub-humans and they can use them to acts against our smaller   and bigger enemies. I think the movement is rather strong, but we need much   more stupid young blood. Just KAMIKAZE.   14. Do you think that evilness is the main root of   mankind and the hand or the force that turns the wheel   of evolution?   Is it a question for music fanzine? I don't want to   answer it, sorry. I've very specific opinions and my   english is too weak to write about it.   15. How do you feel towards black _meta_l bands that are   inspired from Necronomicon, foreign religion, like the   Babylonian's or the Sumerian's, actor Christopher Lee's   Dracula and other such vampire/gore movies?   That's not my problem. Each Black _meta_l band shouls   pread satanic message and that's my opinion and I'm sure   I'm right. Besides, i like Dracula movie a lot.   16. How many jews/negros/gypsies are in Poland today? How do the number of   nazis look like?   We have some thousand of jews and much more people which have similar ideas   as jews. I saw only 20-30 negros in Poland during my whole life. Till now   thry're no problem. gypsoes are stupid so we shouls kill them all. It's   hard to say how many men are nazis in Poland. There are also nationalists   and scum like catholical-nationalist.   17. Can you tell me what is your idea of a perfect society?   Hard question but it should be White society without all colured scum.   Proud of our culture and tradition. That's only ny visions. I know it's   impossible to do it in 100%.   18. What do you think the next millenium holds for the world? Will the   White Superior Race finally rule this earth?   I hope so. I wait for the day of total Holocaust.   19. Thanx for the interview. Hail White Race Victory! If you care for some   last words...   Thanx Cezar. Good luck with your 'zine. Contact D.C.C for good underground   _title_s. SATAN!   TO POLISH BLACK _meta_L SITE

     Interview for Under the Blade fanzine,      conducted by Nefarious Nick.      Answers by Myrkhaal.      1- Give us a brief summary of Frozen Shadows. Where any of the members      involved in other groups before? For how long has each of you played his      instrument?      Frozen Shadows was formed by Namtar and myself at the end of anno 1994 as a      vehicule of _expression_ for our hateful souls... This entity is now formed      by the union of Namtar(bass/5 years), Alvater(guitars/6 years),      Forrkas(drums/14 years) and Myrkhaal(vocals/forever; keyboards/3 years). I      created my first outfit called Necromancy in 1991, but it was an      embarassment to black _meta_l, so I pulled the plug after just a few months.      I then formed Tenebrae at the start of 1993. Alvater and Namtar used to      play in their old band Profanation around 1992, I think, but it fell apart      and Namtar joined me in Tenebrae in early 1994. We both left it sickened by      the other members' desire to soften the group and turn it into one of those      romantic/vampyric pieces of garbage. We went on to form a much more radical      beast, and thus was born Frozen Shadows...      2- What kind of feedbacks did you get for your demo? Tell a bit about your      music to our readers, and how they can get a hold of it...      The response to Empires de Glace has been very good! We sold about 500      copies of it and we are satisfied with it's distribution, especially in      France. We made about a quarter of our sales there, which isn't that      surprising when you take into account the fact that we are clearly proud to      show our french heritage on the demo. All of the fanzines we sent it to had      great things to say about us in general except that norwegian rag called      Nordic Vision. Not only did he thrashed us like I've never seen it before,      but he also made personnal attacks against us and said we were idiots even      though none of us have ever spoken to him! It is obvious to us that there      must be a motive behind all this... Believe me, if we ever get our hands on      that pathetic whelp we will find the most excruciating ways to make him      talk!       Empires de Glace is 5 songs/30 minutes of pure satanic black _meta_l played      at extremely high speed with haunting keyboards. Hatred and sometimes utter      depression is what drives us, so fans of beautiful and emotionnal music      should stay the hell away!! For the dark souls out there, these serenades      of the damned can be purchased from us for 6US $.      3- Frozen Shadows unquestionnably needs to be put in the black _meta_l      category, but in your words, what makes you different from the countless      black _meta_l groups we get nowadays?      In all honesty, I don't believe there are many bands out there that can      play as fast as we do while maintaining an atmospheric edge and      incorporating keyboards into it. If you look at the fastest black _meta_l      outfits like Immortal, Marduk or Mayhem you can see that although they are      making very good music there is not much place for keyboards. The keyboards      oriented bands , on the other hand, tend to be a bit slower. We feel we      have a good balance between the atmospheres a keyboard can give and the      sheer aggressiveness of the fastest groups. I also think we use keyboards      in a moderate fashion not in the overbearing way some bands do. All of our      riffs can stand on their own, so we don't hide a poor riff behind a wall of      keyboards like some tend to do. We are also definitely of the old school of      thought on black _meta_l, something that gets rarer everyday...      4- Influences... What are some of the bands that influenced your _style_?      We don't like comparing ourselves to other groups, but I guess that is      inevitable since the others will do it anyways! I don't think we sound like      many other groups, but to throw a few names I'd say Mayhem and Marduk for      our overall attitude and orientation towards extreme speed, OLD Emperor for      the symphonic side in which we sometimes indulge and of course Bathory for      it's overall influence on us over the years.      5- Who does the lyrics of Frozen Shadows? Tell us a bit about them...      I write all the lyrics for Frozen Shadows. I consider them as satanic poems      first and foremost, gloomy _expression_s of my tortured mind. Inspiration can      vary from personnal experiences to my outmost desires, from rationnal and      extreme thoughts to figments of my dreams... As with all poetry, the source      always varies and is difficult to pinpoint with accuracy. The only      consistent part of my poems is the darkness that always permeates through      them.      6- Have you ever played live and if so, what are some of the bands you have      played with?      Frozen Shadows has yet to play live... First of all, we have to find a      keyboard p_layer_ if we are to play live, as I obviously don't want to be      stranded behind a keyboard while I scream. Even if we had one right now, we      still wouldn't play as we have no one to play with! We have a policy that      we will play only with bands we want to be associated with and that means      (for the moment at least) NO ONE from our local scene! Since there hasn't      been a single black _meta_l band from the outside here yet, we have yet to      hit the stage!      7- Have you written new songs since your demo? Will they differ in _style_      from your previous material?      We are actually putting the finishing touches on our new material. It won't      differ that much from our earlier _style_ but I think it will come across      even faster... It is primordial for us that we stay true to the _style_ we      play without evolving (wimping out) too much like so many bands do. The      only noticeable difference from the demo is that our music is just a little      bit more technical and symphonic. But it still is a true satanic onslaught      like black _meta_l was always meant to be and it will hit VERY hard!      8- Tell our readers about your plans for the year 1998. Can we expect a new      recording?      If all goes well, we hope to have a CD out by the end of the year. We are      currently shopping around for a label and we seem to have gathered interest      among a few of them. We should put out a promotion recording for those      labels near the end of this spring. We will see how things go with it, but      for now an album is certainly the main goal for Frozen Shadows in 1998. We      have not any plans yet to play live as I've said earlier and that is very      far in our priorities!!!      9- Your bio states crearly that Frozen Shadows is not part of the cool and      friendly vampire scene. Would you care to elaborate on that? What are some      of the groups you feel are part of that trend?      Let me put it this way: the vampyric trend is the worst thing ever to      happen in the black _meta_l spheres. That music was always about darkness and      damnation and was never intended on becoming a travesty of gothic      imagery!!! I always enjoyed the old vampire classics where those creatures      were depicted as cold and calculating beings shrouded in evil and lusting      for blood but that new twist on vampires I cannot stomach... That cancer      started with the Anne Rice trilogy and made it's way into black _meta_l with      the help of the accursed Cradle of Filth.      Cradle of Filth is the band that turned black _meta_l into a trend by making      it accessible to a wider public and by using a tamer, less menacing image.      It is a cool and friendly approach in our opinion, and there is nothing      evil or dark about it in any ways!!! Those groups only have an image as      opposed to the way of life true black _meta_l is. I would really like to find      out how many of those creatures of the night actually know what blood      tastes like... Frozen Shadows refuse to be associated with that movement,      and that is why we stated it clearly in our bio!      Asides from Cradle of Filth, bands we know of include the trendies in      Ancient and Dimmu Borgir as well as countless others like Abyssos,      Forbidden Site, Bloodquest, ThÊ×tre des Vampires and so on. It seems      nowadays that black _meta_l is more of a breeding ground for horny      pseudo-vampires than for satanic terrorists like it used to be. A shame,      really...      10- What are your views on the current state of the BM scene? Are there any      new groups you find interresting?      Black _meta_l is, I must admit, in a very bad shape these days, and there are      very few new groups that can manage to bring something exciting or      interesting to it. Limbonic Art is a new band that seems to be doing      things right , as is Odium. There is also a group called Keep of Kalessin      that, from what I've heard, seems to have a very good potential. It is very      hard to find decent bands that are unsigned, among those I have heard      Belenos from France is probably the best.      11- Are any members of Frozen Shadows involved in side-projects?      For the time being, all of our energies are solely focussed on Frozen      Shadows. There is no point in having a plethora of side projects when your      main band has yet to put out it's first album! We do have, however, a few      ideas that could lead in new projects once Frozen Shadows reaches the level      we want to see it rise to.      12- I'm not that familiar with the canadian black _meta_l scene. What does it      look like?      There are two very different parts in the canadian scene: the scene from      QuÊbec and that form the rest of Canada. As some of you might know, QuÊbec      is the french part of Canada that wants to separate from it, and that shows      in the music. The canadian groups tend to follow the
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Mayhem   1. Hail Maniac! You have just returned from your American tour. What image   have the American _meta_llers left on you? Why North America and Mexico?   After all, Milwaukee seemed to be a death _meta_l only festival. Don't you   think it's a part of the trend the fact that at too many festivals there   are more and more Black _meta_l bands to play, Dynamo in Holland for example?   Isn't Black _meta_l supposed to stay underground?   Actually I feel that the Scene is slowly changing in the   U.S. and that more extreme bands will have a broader   following. At least we had mostly great response to our   gigs and especially in Mexico where the fans are totally   crazy. If you are supposed to make an impression and   possible changes in society you have to have a certain   following. I feel we are still very much an underground   band and in my opinion that depends on the music you   play. I mean we will always stay fast and aggressive and   with no fucking keyboards. The more people who listen to   us the more people will get the message.   2. The trumpet sounds from the mcd's intro are like a   war-call. Does this have anything to do with The Grand   Declaration of War you're going to utter in the next   album? What war is that anyway? Can you tell me what do   the words you speak in the intro mean?   You could say it leads up to our next full-length album,   yes... The declaration is a declaration of war against   christendom and their pity slave-morals that has been   infecting our Mother Europa now for 2000 years. If it   continues we will eventually die or some other country   will take over our once so great continent. It is time   to awake from sleep and once more to wage war. The words   I am saying are Militant Men in Peaceful Times Attack   Themselves .   3. You are going to enter the studio for your new album. What shall people   expect after the blasting Wolf's Lair Abyss''? (It seems that bands   nowadays suffer from 80s Venom/Destruction influence - it's not about a   simple influence, but some do try to copy those old bands - or play a   keyboard-_base_d music, still Mayhem rages faster on...) Any plans for gigs   after the album is out?   Our new album will be even faster and more brutal than W.L.A. It will also   feature more strange parts and you will feel the closeness of WAR all   through the album. The lyrics are much longer and a fist in the face of the   weaker slave-morality bounded people of Europa. Hopefully we shall go on   tour when the album is released, but that is yet to be planned.   4. The live video of Bischofswerda has just been released after a long   delay. How was the return to Germany?   Apart for that the sound was absolutely horrible on stage, it was totally   great to be back on Stage after such a long time. The audience was good as   they always are in East-Germany, a lot of true MAYHEM fans.   5. Mayhem (and most of the old bands -Emperor for example) don't wear   war-paint anymore. Is this and all the other war-accessories (swords,   knives, axes...) become a trend too?   In fact I do still wear both war-paint and knives on the stage. I think   that is an important part of the appearance of the band. Sometimes it s   eems like it is all used up, but as long that wearing those things makes me   feel more one with our music I shall not stop wearing it.   6. In an interview for Nightshade you pointed out the new Marduk album as   being a true Black _meta_l one. I think those Vlad tepes stories are really   boring and I am very disappointed in Marduk - the whole period after Opus   Nocturne , that is-. What has Vlad the Impaler got to do with the Black   _meta_l concept after all, and especially with some Swedish guys. How would   you react if I, a Romanian, had started a band and sang about Odin,   Norway's forests, Vikings and stuff like that... Would that still be Black   _meta_l?!   Well, I know a lot of non-Norwegian bands that sing about old Norse   mythology and Viking stuff, bands like Blood Axis that is one of my all   time favourites. And as long as they do it as good as they do I do not   really care for where the band comes from. It is, in the last instance, the   quality that matters. In my eyes probably the best Marduk album is Heaven   Shall Burn... but then again who I am to judge . Everyone has different   opinions on various things. If someone is truly into the concept one is   writing about and knows it well, then that's OK? It is the genuine feeling   in the music that matters and for me that feeling has never gone from   Marduk .   7. More bands (like Gorgoroth, Dimmu Borgir, Hades, Thy Serpent,Covenant)   are signed up to Nuclear Blast, one of the most commercial label, that had   nothing to do with the Black _meta_l movement all these years. Do you think   these bands no longer care about true _meta_l and just want to earn more   moey?   I really don't wanna slag down other bands. The only thing I can say about   it, is that Mayhem would never sign with a label like Nuclear Blast. That   would be against everything we ever felt Black _meta_l was all about. It   could never happen. I mean, the fucking head-honcho of NB is a christian.   How can someone like that sign a true Black _meta_l band?   8. Do you agree with   those that say there   are more important   things than putting an   end to christianity now   (burning churches,   terrorist acts and   things...), which it will   never happen, anyway,   and that one doesn't   have to be satanic   anymore in order to play   Black _meta_l. Can you   tell me what are the main   conceptual differences   between Dead/Euronymous   period of time and the   new Mayhem?   Well, for me there has   [Image] always been a difference [Image]   in believing in the   darker side of reality   and satanism. In my eyes,   to believe in Satan, one   is also obliged to   believe that God exists,   and I do not. Therefore I   will not consider myself   a satanist, although I   agree with a lot of it.   One of the main   differences of Mayhem   before and now is that   the music have become   much more brutal and   aggressive and that the   lyrics are also becoming   more war-like. Might is   Right, you know...   9. What can you tell me abouy Voluspa, your band-project?   Voluspa is a totally other concept than Mayhem. At least, musically. It is   very much inspired by bands like Turbund Sturmwerk and Blood Axis and NON.   Also the lyrics are maybe a bit more political. It is a wake up call to the   citizens of Europa. So far, I have only released some cassettes in very   limited editions. But I have recorded a whole album that I am currently   working on releasing. However there will first be a 7'' released in U.S.   10. Would you like to tell me which is your favourite album ever and of   course what new bands that worth it does the Norse Scene offer us? Any   interesting demos/albums this year?   My favourite album! This is almost an impossible question. However I must   say that Turbumd Sturmwerk has released one of the strongest albums ever,   with their debut.   As for _meta_l, there is so much to choose from, but Celtic frost released   great albums, and also I love Panzerfaust by Darkthrone. However, I could   not write a list of hundreds of albums, as I said, a very difficult   question.   As for any new Norwegian bands, I really haven't heard any real good ones   for a while.   However, I guess that the new Dodheimsgard album will be a real killer. I   have heard some of their new songs and they kill.   11. That would be all! Thanx for the interview. As usual, if there is   something you want to add...   That which is falling   Should also be pushed   That which is crawling   Should also be crushed