(Not long ago the Greek black metal band Funeral Storm released their newest album, and on its heels today we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of the band’s Wampyrion Markhor Necrowolf.)
We go further into the catacombs of Hellenic Black Metal, and this time Funeral Storm is our guide. This band started by Wampyrion Markhor Necrowolf in 2001 under the name Raven Throne, then he changed the moniker to Funeral Storm in 2002, but took a pause in 2007 that lasted until 2012.
That was the real start of the band as the records finally began to appear: split albums, compilations, and finally the first full-length Arcane Mysteries (2019), which gained its portion of praise and helped to win Funeral Storm its share of recognition.
Now, five years later, the band is back with Chthonic Invocations. I’m not sure that you’ll find the answers to all the questions this album may raise, but at least we tried.
Hi there! Who’s online today? What’s going on in Funeral Storm’s camp?
Hi there! This is Wampyrion! All good over here!
Finally started promoting our new album while working on many new ideas!
Wampyrion, your new album Chthonic Invocations is almost here, and look: The Magus and Varathron released their albums in late 2023, and now Kawir and Rotting Christ return with their new full-lengths as well. What drives Hellenic Black Metal? What’s going on? Are the last days upon us?
Hellenic Black Metal is driven by the mystic landscapes! For us at least it’s really easy to be inspired by a walk near the ancient ruins, sea and forests. I hope the last days are truly upon us as it would mean the survival of mother Earth or the awakening of Cthulhu!
The band was formed in around 2002, but not much happened back in those days, and your first album Arcane Mysteries saw the light of day only in 2019. How did you spend those first years, before the splits started to arrive one after another?
I was just a kid trying to find his path. I composed around 13 songs at that time but they were all completely different! At some point I released a compilation on tape called Primal Shadow World as many people actually kept asking about these songs.
There are four split-albums in Funeral Storm’s discography. How important is it for you to feel yourself a part of the scene?
Not at all if I want to be completely honest. We do what we do because we are friends above everything else and enjoy working together! Same goes for all the splits we did so far. A strong bond of friendship is behind every single split.
Though as you can understand splits are really easy as each band will have to do one song or up to three and it will be one more important addition to the band’s discography, I personally turned down a lot more split offers as I don’t have anything in common with them.
Does this spirit of camaraderie spread further participation in split albums? Do you see the Hellenic black metal underground as a circle of like-minded artists or like that?
Hellenic Black Metal scene is pretty divided unfortunately. We are wolfpacks and as such we act.
Of course, there are a lot of bands we align with in different aspects. For example, with our brothers Synteleia. We follow the path of Yog Sothothery. With Empire of The Moon we are like brothers and talk pretty much every day as we actually are family now.
The official press release states that Chthonic Invocations is more focused on a Death theme, as almost all the band’s members had tough times during the Covid pandemic. Can you tell more about it?
Someone really close to Arcania LVI and I passed away. This incident made me dead inside. For about two weeks I was a wreck and so was Arcania LVI. Necroabyssious was heavily infected with Covid too but when he managed to get back on his feet he recorded the vocals. You actually listen to his anger and frustration in the recordings of the new album!
How many references to Lovecraftian myths do you have in Chthonic Invocations? How is his mythos important for Funeral Storm?
Let’s say that to us H.P. Lovecraft was a prophet.
I personally am heavily into the occult aspect of Yog Sothothery and I am proud to say I co-run a Cult and I almost finished the main core book of this Cult so, as you understand for us it’s part of the essence of Funeral Storm.
Do you mean “the Cult of Cthulhu”? What is it?
From the ashes of what the Cult of Cthulhu was arose The Temple of The Old Ones and The Temple of The Ancient Ones.
They are two different paths I would say, with the second one being clearly theistic which I run under the same roof.
Okay, and what kind of book do you finish?
The book I’ve almost finished is the core principles of the Cult.
A bible of some sort.
Where did you record the album this time? How much did the process differ from the way you recorded Arcane Mysteries?
We didn’t change our recipe at all! Arcania LVI and I recorded the instruments and programmed the drums together in our personal studios, then Jim Delis and I co-mixed the album at 222 Studios since I trust him for more than 20 years now (same studio where I recorded the first song for Funeral Storm ever), and he mastered the album. The only difference I guess is my involvement in the mixing process!
Why did you decide to take part in mixing?
I actually am a mixing engineer so it was only natural for me to work together with Jim, as he is the reason I realized I wanted to become one when I was around 14 years old!
What are the most technically difficult songs in Chthonic Invocations for you? Did you meet any challenges during the recording of these songs?
To be honest I do not consider myself a guitarist.
So every song I compose is a bit of a challenge for me when it’s a bit more advanced to what I am used to! I would say for this album the most challenging thing was to be 100 precise for the bass though, as there’s a lot of groove.
The new material’s sound is deeply rooted in the aesthetics of the ’90s. What inspired you to work this way, and how did you achieve that sound in the studio?
I’ve been listening to this kind of music since I was 13 (a lot earlier if you count all of my friends who did before me while I was present since I was 4 years old), so it’s safe to say it’s imprinted in my mind and ears. For me it just comes naturally to create this type of sound. It’s the same sound that got me to become a producer myself and research the equipment they used in Storm Studios and acquire it.
Regarding the sound… it’s recognizable, almost nostalgic. Was it something you searched to express through these songs – the connection with the scene of the ’90s?
Not really! For a lot of people this sound was the sound of ’90 to ’95, but I’ve been listening to all of these glorious albums literally every single day. For me this is what Black Metal is. I just compose music and all the influences are just there.
What are your further plans for the rest of 2024?
We already have 4-5 songs ready to be recorded for the third album but currently we are working on a song for a split release together with Morcrof from Brasil!
Thanks for the interview Wampyrion! Do you have a few more words for our readers?
Keep up the great work at N.C.S!
Thank you for this interview!
To all of you out there reading this keep supporting the true underground!
Ad Majorem Nyarlathotep Gloriam!
https://funeralstormgreece.bandcamp.com/album/chthonic-invocations
https://www.facebook.com/funeralstorm666
https://funeralstormgreece.bandcamp.com/album/arcane-mysteries