AN NCS INTERVIEW: DAVID MCGRAW (CATTLE DECAPITATION)

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Apr 072020
 

 

(In this new installment of a series devoted to metal drummers, Karina Noctum talked with David McGraw of Cattle Decapitation, and we join Karina in thanking David him for his time and attention.)

Cattle Decapitation is definitely one band that leads the way when it comes to extreme metal. Their blend of Death, Heavy, Grind, and Black Metal with a complex arrangement of progressive riffs and top-notch technique is something I have always admired. So I had to include David McGraw in my series as he is definitely one of the best drummers in the genre.

Due to the pandemic he is currently home and available for drumming coaching while he should be on tour. He took some time to answer my questions, something I’m pretty grateful for. What’s left for us in Europe is to hope their superb tour together with Disentomb, Internal Bleeding, and Gloom will be re-scheduled, but things look certainly gloomy grim here when it comes to shows in the foreseeable future. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW (PART 2): DARK FORTRESS (MOREAN)

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Mar 312020
 

 

(Yesterday we presented Part One of an extensive interview Karina Noctum conducted with Morean of Dark Fortress, and today we present the conclusion, again with our thanks to Morean for devoting so much time to the discussion.)

This is the second part of the in-depth interview with Morean from Dark Fortress. While the first part was about composition and creation of music, among other topics, this part is solely devoted to the lyrical themes of Spectres from the Old World, the band’s latest album,  which was released back in February of this year. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW (PART 1): DARK FORTRESS (MOREAN)

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Mar 302020
 

 

(Today we present the first part of an extensive two-part interview that our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum conducted with Morean of Dark Fortress (and Alkaloid and Noneuclid), and we are grateful to him for devoting so much time and thought in furnishing the answers.)

The latest Dark Fortress album, Spectres from the Old World, released back in February, has gotten good reviews. This is not surprising and it is a natural consequence of the amount of experience the musicians that form part of this band have. Both Ylem and Venereal Dawn are on my playlist of favorite BM albums, and I must say the latest album made it as well, of course. It is not just more of the same though, it has a distinct touch, it stands on its own, and it fulfilled my expectations.

I took the opportunity to interview Morean, who I admire a lot both as a composer and as an excellent, multifaceted metal musician. His musical expertise makes all his bands and contributions truly interesting. In fact one of his orchestrations of the three parts of the Requiem performed by Triptykon and the Dutch Metropole Orkest at Roadburn Festival is coming out soon through Prowling Death Records / Century Media Records. There are many interesting projects and bands surrounding Morean but the focus of the first part of this in-depth interview is going to be Spectres from the Old World, its composition, its music, and other particulars surrounding its release. In the second part of this interview we will deal solely with the lyrical themes, which are complex and very interesting. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SEPTIMIU HĂRȘAN (PESTILENCE)

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Mar 172020
 

 

(Karina Noctum continues with her series of interviews of metal drummers, and with this one has turned in one of the most interesting, articulate, and in-depth interviews we’ve published in a long time — and we thank Romanian drummer Septimiu Hărşan for devoting so much time and thought to it.)

This is an Interview conducted with Septimiu Hărşan, who is the drummer of the Dutch Death Metal legends Pestilence and is currently working on the release of two albums, one with the Dutch masters of raw brutality Disavowed, which is one of the albums to look forward to the most within that sub-genre this year.

This in-depth interview offers insights into Septimiu’s drumming career, gear, and musical preferences, as well as some good news when it comes to Pestilence and his other bands CodeRed and Necrovile. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ENEPSIGOS

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Mar 162020
 

 

(On March 27th Osmose Productions will release Wrath of Wraths, the new album by the formidable black metal band Enepsigos, and in this new interview our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum spoke with V.I.T.H.R (aka Doedsadmiral), who created this new album together with drummer Thorns and new guitarist/bassist Rituul.)

Enepsigos has unique qualities and is innovative in the context of the Norwegian scene. This interview was conducted with one of its founders V.I.T.H.R (Doedsvangr, Nordjevel, Svartelder); the band also includes Thorns (Blut Aus Nord, Darvaza, Fides Inversa) and Rituul as well.

Their latest album Wrath of Wraths is excellent and has a fresh approach to song structure. It has a riff-structure oddness that is something you would have come to expect more from bands coming from Australia or the US rather than from Norway.  It is entertaining to the ear and complex. Nevertheless it has a typical Norwegian-ness to it surfacing here and there, something that adds a lot of groove and feeling combined with a French-like darkness and atmosphere. The dark ambience has been enriched by an eerie atmosphere a la Mercyful Fate, which is awesome. It’s a mix of really good qualities that will for sure put this album in the best-of-the-year lists in the Black Metal genre. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NAMTAR

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Mar 032020
 


photo credit – Nadja Geskus Photography

 

(Our Norway-based correspondent Karina Noctum forges ahead with her series of interviews of drummers, and here presents a discussion with Namtar, former drummer with the Dutch symphonic black metal band Carach Angren.)

2020 started with several losses of both musicians and bands in the metal scene. So to join the row of sad news it was announced that Namtar from Carach Angren was going to leave his band, and so I took the opportunity to talk to him.

Carach Angren had a pretty well-conceived and interesting concept, both musically and image-wise, that will continue for sure, but no two drummers are the same. So it remains to see who is going to take his place and how it will turn out. A new album called Franckensteina Strataemontanus to be released on May 29 has been announced, but the news is taken with mixed feelings of course. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ANTICHRISTIAN (TSJUDER, BEATEN TO DEATH, GOTHMINISTER)

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Feb 262020
 

 

(Karina Noctum conducted this extensive interview with the prolific and multi-faceted drummer AntiChristian, touching upon many subjects, including the activities of three of the very different main bands he now plays in.)

AntiChristian is a Norwegian drummer known for playing in Tsjuder and Gothminister. He also plays in a less-known band called Beaten to Death that is getting increasingly more recognition both in Norway and elsewhere. This interview includes some in-depth questions about BtD since it is a pretty interesting and unique band that picked up my attention since the beginning. In addition to drum-talking, there is also some cool news when it comes to Tsjuder and Gothminister, which will most likely be topics for in-depth interviews in the future. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HANNES GROSSMANN

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Feb 172020
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum‘s recent interview with Hannes Grossmann, the German drummer, composer, and producer who made his name drumming with such bands as Necrophagist, Blotted Science, Obscura, Alkaloid, and Hate Eternal. His most recent solo album Apophenia was released last year, and he is now recording a new solo album.)

 

As a drummer you have played various styles of metal throughout the last years. You’re also a successful composer and producer/sound engineer. Which task and what style do you find the most challenging?

To me it is very important to have an even work balance between writing, producing and drumming. I wouldn’t be satisfied if I just played drums for various bands. My first professional band was Necrophagist and it was extremely difficult to play their music. But it wasn’t the technicality I was interested in in the first place, it was the fact that the music was something unique, something new.

Of course technical stuff like Blotted Science and Necrophagist was the hardest to play on the drums, mainly because it’s fast and complicated. There isn’t any room left for improvisation, unlike in Obscura or Alkaloid. In those bands, being a main songwriter, I have much more freedom to express myself on the drum kit. But then writing and producing is really tough. Especially the last Alkaloid album Liquid Anatomy was difficult. Overall it is probably the hardest record I’ve done, but also the most rewarding. So it really depends. I can say that with every difficult task I have grown as a musician. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DJEVEL

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Jan 312020
 

 

(This is Karina Noctum‘s interview of T. Ciekals, the principal creative force behind Djevel and NettleCarrier. The focus of the discussion is Djevel, whose most recent album was released last October by Aftermath Records, but the conversation includes news about both bands, as well as a third one, Ritual Death.)

On the occasion of Djevel’s release concert for their latest album called Ormer Til Armer, Maane Til Hode in Oslo, I got to talk to its mastermind T. Ciekals about the particulars behind his musical creations. I think pretty few bands now evoke the Black Metal ambience of the old days in a convincing and natural way like Djevel do. This is one of the reasons I had to include Ormer Til Armer, Maane Til Hode in my year-end list. In this interview there is also some good news not only of Djevel, but of NettleCarrier as well, which is another one of T. Ciekals‘ creations that I consider to be excellent and absolutely recommend to all of you who thirst for dark music. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KVAEN

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Jan 032020
 

 

(Our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum brings us the following Q&A she had with Jakob Björnfot, the man behind the Swedish black metal band Kvaen, whose debut album is set for release on February 28th by Black Lion Records.)

The Funeral Pyre, the debut album from Swedish melodic pagan black metal unit Kvaen, is slated to drop on February 28, 2020, through Black Lion Records. No Clean Singing hosted (here) the premiere stream of the album’s title track. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes of relentless exhilaration, the track features a guest guitar solo by Sebastian Ramstedt (Necrophobic, Nominon) and drums by Freddy Ortscheid (Black Lily, Omnicide).

Adds Jakob Björnfot, the sole mastermind behind Kvaen: “’The Funeral Pyre’ was one of the first songs that I composed for this album. I lived in a big house on a huge mountain in the VERY north of Sweden. I had nature around me everyday. It was very inspiring, to say the least. One day, I was messing around on my computer, trying out ideas. I remember that I had the fireplace burning and it was snowing outside. I wanted to write a song where I could feel the connection of spirits in Tornevalley and I have to say: I succeeded. The atmosphere, Sebastian’s solo, and the lyrics became something truly unique.”

I put more questions to Jakob: Continue reading »

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