VALKYRJA - Contaminate the Earth

Valkyrja is a toxic sewer of filth thrown into your eyes. It stings, it burns, it causes pain and suffering. It doesn't go away. It stays in your system. The fairly young Stockholm commando poured tons of deadly black scum on the face of Earth with their second album “Contamination”, released by Metal Blade in January 2010. A crushing wall of high-speed riffs, accompanied by a tearing rhythm section, is only fully completed with Andreas L.'s voice which tortures and haunts everything in sight. Nearly an hour-long inferno of overwhelming hymns such as “Oceans to Dust”, “Solstice in Withdrawal”, and “The Womb of Disease” brings nothing but shock and awe. The year is not over yet, but so far it is one of the strongest and bleakest records of 2010. Andreas L. was asked to comment on recent events and the future of the band.

You played your biggest tour so far in September 2010 with Marduk and Ragnarok. It was 17 dates in Poland, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, your country Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. What were your expectations? Were they fulfilled? Could your sum up the whole thing in few sentences?
Andreas L.: Our expectations were of course to manifest the grandest violence possible. We knew a lot of hard work had to be dealt with, and with the experience in the rear-view mirror, I can say with pride we shunned no sacrifice. Since this was our first tour we were extremely fortunate to share the experience with such well-experienced individuals, both bands and Massive Music crew in mind. A torch has been lit and time to harvest will come again – to our delight, to others’ misfortune.

You had a substitute drummer for that tour? Who was the guy and was he up to the task after all?
Andreas L.: Due to J. Wallgren, our regular drummer’s hectic schedule we had the fortune to collaborate with Ragnar Sverrisson. He's from Iceland and plays with the death metal band Beneath. He showed an energy and intensity beyond this world and it would be my privilege to cross paths with him again in Valkyrja’s future. I see him as my brother in arms, no question about it!

Did you watch Marduk each night? Did they maintain the level of energy and fury during the whole tour as they produced during the opening gig in Poznan?
Andreas L.: Each band made their greatest effort each night. It is why we chose to begin the crusade in the first place. Few times before have I felt such violence linger in the air as they produced inside these arenas.
Your album “Contamination” is one of the brightest releases in 2010. How satisfied are you with it? Do you think it's an ultimate effort of Valkyrja or you can do even better in the future?
Andreas L.: Each and every album from a band should of course stand as a monument of blood, sweat and devotion – a prime example of what you truly are made of – otherwise the artists simply have the wrong mentality or actual will to sacrifice. “Contamination” is, to us, an expansion of all we previously have done, seeking further down the deeps, ascending even higher into the unknown and lighting fires in catacombs before unknown. We are satisfied with the manifestation in each aspect for it is another corner stone of our monument.
Concerning upcoming material – there are never any promises of more. If we feel we cannot evolve enough to present something that for us is overpowered with the same passion, fire and hunger and reach levels we, in the past, were unable to reach, then there will be no more – and that is the only sane way of thinking, in my humble opinion. If a third Valkyrja will surface, we’ll simply have to see what this abomination will contain. I do not dare to even take a wild guess at this point…

Metal Blade advertises you as black metal. Does it make a difference to you to be called black or death metal?
Andreas L.: You could call it jazz or rock if you felt the urge for that. It wouldn’t twist the reality of its content anyway. Genres or labels cannot alter the truth of its wretched presence. Let people be the judges when it comes to categorizations and the like, but know this – we are the executioners.

Stockholm is home to death metal. Bands like Nihilist, Entombed, Carnage or Dismember built the foundation for it. Does Stockholm still have lots of new interesting original bands coming out each year?
Andreas L.: Of course, some gems are to be found among the piles of dung spread across our feet, a statement which I guess goes for each and every country. There is no value in lifting forth specific bands, the ones who carry the fire and frenzy within the audio channel will be known in the future anyway, let it be known!

Is Swedish society rather traditional and religious or maybe like in Germany, the UK or France, the level of laicization is quickly rising too and churches are emptier every day?
Andreas L.: As far as I am concerned, Swedes are quite liberal when it comes to religion. YHVH is in generalization a comfort and a symbol of the “clean moral values that should fabricate the society”. Compared to Italy or similar countries, injected with the Holy blood in a way that differs quite radically from us, we stand quite dormant.

Being an underground extreme metal musician in Sweden, is it possible to make a living from it? Do you have regular everyday jobs?
Andreas L.: Far from it. If I had any economical profit in mind, I would have fallen to my knees in dismay a long time ago. The small amounts of money of earned economical profit are, in some way or another, invested within the band and stay in that circulation.
There are some crushing bands from Poland such as Azarath, Furia or Mgla. Do you give a fuck about any Polish metal?
Andreas L.: I recognize some Polish bands, sure. I must point out that I see no relevance in any aspect where musicians originate from geographically. Whether it be Norway, Spain, Greece or Bolivia – it has no importance as long as the performers are serious in their vision and practice. This art form doesn’t originate from any specific soil (the musical art form, to be more specific), so let the fleshly vessel shine with its light, no matter the location.

Watain or Behemoth have a lot of production behind their gigs, with all the effects, lights, stage design and pyrotechnics. If you had such means, what would your show look like?
Andreas L.: It is impossible to point out any specific scenery, since I would like to see the most blazing inferno, a horrific terror by no man ever before witnessed. Each aspect in a live performance should be rancid and malevolent for each sense, the visual part not excepted. I do not think it is possible to manifest the grandiose funeral I have in mind for a performance, so I will see what the “realistic” means will be able to provide us to at least let the audience catch a glimpse of the idea(l).

There is a fantastic film called „Valhalla Rising” with Mads Mikkelsen as a main character. Have you seen it, do you have an opinion about it?
Andreas L.: There are few recent movies I’ve truly enjoyed, to be honest. The movie you mentioned is not one I’ve seen, so I cannot make any comments about it.

What albums have you enjoyed so far in 2010?
Andreas L.: MMX has been a rewarding year actually, several releases have delighted. At this moment, I have no real interest in listing any highlights, let each individual revel in the artifacts of the year with their own interest.

TRIPTYKON - On Frosty Ground

Tom G. Warrior was the main man behind the ugly monster of Hellhammer and then now-über-cult Celtic Frost. Since their way was always the painful and hard one, the band was finally laid to rest in 2008. It didn't take Tom much time to go hell and back and bring another horror being to life – Triptykon. Songs that were included on 2010's “Eparistera Daimones” album and “Shatter” EP were originally written for the next Celtic Frost album. Triptykon is an extension of all his previous work, but brought to a new level of dark disturbing riff-worshiping metal. I spoke to Tom about the band.

You are much older than the rest of Triptykon members. Did you have sort of mentor-pupil relationship at the beginning?
Tom: We treat each other equally. Our relations are healthy because there are no ego problems like we had a lot in Celtic Frost. Triptykon is free from that. The way we got to know each other came out pretty natural. Our bass player Vanja was a good friend's friend, so we were aware of each other before. V. Santura was playing guitar with Celtic Frost for the last couple of years of the band's existence. Actually, the only new guy was our drummer Norman. Maybe at the beginning there was a little bit of what you called a „mentor-pupil relationship”, but soon it didn't matter anymore. The age factor is not important since we became a band of close friends.

Norman used to play with Fear My Thoughts, a band originally connected with the hardcore/metalcore scene. Are you interested in checking out younger bands?
Tom: My life is heavy music but that doesn't mean I'm limited to metal. I'm interested in other genres and sub-genres of heavy sounds. There are so many bands around right now that it's really tough to check them all out. It's easy to miss out on something good too. Fear My Thoughts split up two years ago but Norman has another band going called Pigeon Toe. I have seen them playing live. It's got lots of groove. It's something I'm interested in not only because it's Norman's band.

Organizers of the Roadburn Festival asked you to choose bands that you respect and invite them to play live in April 2010 during the festival. Among them were Altar of Plagues, Thorr's Hammer, and Church of Misery. The thing was called „Only Death is Real”. How did it work out?
Tom: Roadburn people who are friends of mine came to me with that opportunity, which was a great honor. Once in a lifetime chance. I was asked to prepare a list of bands that are important to me and made an impact on my life. As you can imagine, the list was very long. Not all the bands could come to play of course. That wouldn't be possible. Shamefully, Jesu and Evoken were canceled because of the volcano eruption in Iceland. The truth is I couldn't see all the gigs on that day because I was also busy with interviews and my own set with Triptykon.

„Procreation (of the Wicked)” and „Dethroned Emperor” are monumental songs that are totally significant to the history of metal and probably inspired a thousand bands. Are there any stories or anecdotes regarding their creation?
Tom: The very first song I did for Celtic Frost was „Procreation”. The funny thing is I never write songs during the jam. I was always doing them at home. Creating the riff myself, recording it on the cassette first and later bringing it to rehearsal where we all worked on it. This time it was different and the song was an outcome of a jam, which was very unusual.
When we started Celtic Frost in 1984 we didn't have any material written and ready yet. I was so eager to do something that I decided to bring some older Hellhammer stuff and worked on it just to keep playing and creating. „Dethroned Emperor” was a newly developed and re-written version of the song called „Power of Satan” off the Hellhammer demo „Triumph of Death”. When you listen closely to it you can hear that riff, which I borrowed and built the new song on.

As a massive Black Sabbath fan, how did you like the Heaven & Hell album „The Devil You Know”? Have you ever met the big man, Ronnie James Dio?
Tom: Unfortunately we never met but I really hoped it would happen in the future. It's a huge loss. From what I heard he was a very wonderful human being, which in music and especially the heavy metal music business is really unusual.
To be frank, I was little disappointed with „The Devil You Know”. I was counting for more complex song-writing and lyrics. I was blown away by the song „The Devil Cried”, which they wrote and played earlier but it didn't go on that album. I need to say that Dio-era Black Sabbath and records like „Heaven and Hell” and „Mob Rules” made an absolutely great impact on my life when they came out. I prefer them over „The Devil You Know”. Tony Iommi never wrote a bad album anyway. His worst work is still hundred times better that anything I have done myself.

Where do you live in Switzerland and what is your neighborhood like?
Tom: I was born in Zürich but then my parents divorced when I still was a kid and we moved with my mother to Nürensdorf, a small city 15 kilometers from Zürich. Right now I live just outside of Zürich, in the neighborhood I would never expect myself to live. It's clean, quiet and rather full of older people. I have here all the peace and anonymity I need. That’s where I write all my music and where I wrote my books.

You often say Hellhammer and Celtic Frost used to be ridiculed a lot in the past and that there were only a couple of people that gave you support. Now people start giving you appreciation awards and saying how much your bands were always important to them. Do you think it's sincere?
Tom: Good question. You need to know that there are lots of people that still really hate me and it's not only for musical reasons. There are some envious and jealous individuals. My music was always provoking extreme reactions. That award you're talking about was a nice thing but it seems so much surreal. I don't create music for any awards, just for myself. Thinking from that point of view, I honestly don't care about awards etc.

The formation of Hellhammer in 1982 was a manifest of your hate and anger. Is it still the driving force behind the creative process almost 30 years later?
Tom: It's a different form of anger today. Hellhammer was an escape from a difficult youth I had. Now, as an adult, I don't need to escape anymore. What pushes me now is the frustration and hatred against human kind and its deeds.

Many bands admit being deeply influenced by your music. Do you hear Hellhammer or Celtic Frost in other's music?
Tom: I don't see myself as so influential and important. It's difficult to hear such things in other's music. Once, though, in a record shop in Zürich around 1998 some music was played through the speakers. In the first reaction, I was sure it's Celtic Frost, only seconds later finding out it's not but the sound was so similar. I was astonished, so I asked about it. It was Darkthrone's „Panzerfaust”. I immediately got into their stuff. Later, when I met the guys, I spoke about it to one of them, Nocturno Culto, and he confirmed they had a heavy Celtic Frost influence.

There is a video coming out to a Triptykon song called „Shatter”. Behemoth has been doing some really top-produced pictures lately. Did you like them?
Tom: The video we shot for „Shatter” will be quite different than anything else since the song is a mixture of rather delicate melody and harsh heavy metal sound. Like the one we did for „A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh” a few years back, it's going to be done with much attention.
I admire Behemoth. Their videos are fantastic. Nergal actually is a friend of mine and we share the same passion for music. We both put a great deal of effort into how we present our work visually and musically.

You took a part in Dave Grohl's project called Probot in 2003 by co-writing the song “Big Sky”. Did you work in the studio together?
Tom: We corresponded directly but actually never met in the studio. He approached me about the whole thing. Saying he was a big Celtic Frost fan. The song was done by mail. I recorded my vocal lines in Switzerland and sent the stuff over to him to US. Later on there was an occasion to do the song live during one of Foo Fighters gigs in Europe but at the end it didn't work out.

Triptykon is playing almost a month-long tour in the US in October 2010. I'm rather concerned about Europe, to be honest. So, Tom, do you have any plans? There are some hungry fans waiting for your band in Poland!
Tom: I'm not so much excited about the US either (laughing). Yes, definitely we want to do a large European tour. Most probably in spring 2011. I would really love to return to Poland since the gig with Celtic Frost in 2007 in Katowice was one of our best experiences. I'm very much counting on coming to your country again!

MOURNFUL CONGREGATION - Attending Your Own Funeral

While most bands take part in speed racing, these Aussie funeral doom merchants took the advice given by Saint Vitus and Thergothon to insanely slow the fuck down and captured the essence of heaviness. Their 2009 long-player, “The June Frost”, together with Evoken's “A Caress of the Void” and Esoteric's “The Maniacal Vale”, is the top effort in the doom business from the last five years. Drummer Adrian Bickle answers the questions.

You started the band in 1993. What took you so long to actually start playing some live gigs a little more often in 2009 and 2010?
Adrian: We’ve basically always operated as a two or three piece band in terms of the studio but we knew we’d require a five member line-up if we were going to transform Mournful Congregation into a live machine and authenticate the sounds. There was an attitude amongst us that we were only going to do this if there were significant incentives to play live. It just didn’t seem worth the time and effort training up two new members and developing a live set to only play some shows in Australia. However, by about 2008 it was obvious that there was a lot of interest in us playing abroad and some solid opportunities so we recruited Ben Newsome on bass and original Mournful Congregation member Ben Petch joined us on guitar and we just took it from there.

As you say „Doom is for those whose hearts beat slower”. While most metal bands pursue speed and blastbeat records, you are one big fuck off to all that. To all the trends, all the fashion, all the competition. Is doom metal a different state of mind? I love to look at it through the lyrics of the Saint Vitus song „Born too late”, which could be sort of an anthem or a doom manifesto. What do you think of that?
Adrian: There are so many people out there who measure heaviness simply through the speed of a blast beat or how fast the riff can be played whereas our focus has always been more on the heaviness conveyed in an emotional or atmospheric capacity. You’re correct, as a collective we are completely indifferent to whatever is fashionable and in vogue so I guess, to some extent, our indifference is in itself a negation of whatever trends surround us.
As far as doom metal being a different state of mind... I think that comes down to the individual, to whatever their impression of doom is and how that manifests within them. And yes, if there was to be a doom anthem then Saint Vitus, Candlemass... these are good places to look.

You came to Europe with Mourning Beloveth and Longing For Dawn in 2009. Bands from Ireland, Canada, and you from Australia. What an extraordinary tour! What could you say about the whole thing?
Adrian: We made some lifelong friends out of that tour – the guys from Mourning Beloveth and Longing For Dawn were just such awesome people to tour with so we really couldn’t have asked for anything more. We stayed in some crazy places, met plenty of crazy people… so there wasn’t a dull moment. I think when you travel through a different country every day you end up in an almost constant state of surprise and awe at the architecture, the environment, and everything that varies from what you’ve come to know as ‘normal’ in your homeland. Nothing was disappointing though, it was a brilliant experience.

You went to Japan in July 2010. Played three shows in Nagoya, Tokyo and Osaka with Corrupted. Most bands that go there say it's crazy, fans are out of their minds, etc. Can you confirm that?
Adrian: There’s definitely a lot of fanatics in Japan – they are passionate about the music they enjoy but also the most respectful people I’ve ever encountered. And Corrupted.. damn, that was one of the heaviest things I’ve witnessed!

Your label Weird Truth is Japanese. What made you to cooperate with them?
Adrian: We’ve had a cooperation going on with Makoto & Weird Truth for about ten years now. I believe originally they contacted us about re-releasing the first couple of demos on CD and that eventually became what is now “The Dawning of Mournful Hymns” double CD. Over the years Makoto has proven to be a completely reliable and dedicated guy so we were very happy to carry on the working relationship with Weird Truth.
Your lyrics are quite poetic and metaphoric. Could you mention the most important and main themes and thoughts of them?
Adrian: Damon has written the vast majority of the lyrics for the band throughout our history and the themes include depression, transcendental meditation, the occult, suicide, loss, nature and that which encompasses the pursuit of universal knowledge and mystery.

I really love “The June Frost” layout. Who is Pat Di Palo and what does the triple cross with serpent stand for?
Adrian: The triple cross is in fact the Tree of Life (Kabbalah) and the snake draped around it is the Kundalini Serpent. The concepts behind this symbology are quite detailed but we’d certainly encourage those inclined to explore the more esoteric aspects of life. As individuals we consider there to be more to the universe and to the purpose of our being than zoning out watching television and drinking beer whilst checking Facebook on a phone. Unfortunately, in our dumbed-down and consumption obsessed societies most people have lost the inclination to explore the real mysteries or expand their thinking to embrace greater truths.
Pat Di Palo is a great friend and an extremely gifted photographer and graphic designer. His skills can also be seen on recent related releases such as the new Cauldron Black Ram and StarGazer albums.

Where did you take “The June Frost” promo photos?
Adrian: The photos were taken on a property in the hills outside of Adelaide. The road from this region carries on to the Riverland which is the area from which the band first originated.

Adelaide is a pretty huge city. Do you actually live in the city? What's the vibe like?
Adrian: Yes, we all live in Adelaide although I wouldn’t exactly class it as a huge city. There’s about a million people here but it’s only about the fifth largest city in Australia. It’s quite a nice place and I’d say the people here are generally rather friendly. The vibe is pretty relaxed, definitely more relaxed than the larger Australian cities like Melbourne and Sydney.

You seem to be really aware of all the aspects of the band. The whole sound and song structure, the lyrics, album art. It's all perfected and so carefully worked out that it's not much of a surprise that it takes you five years to complete the record. You like to take your time, don't you?
Adrian: Yes, we tend to be fairly meticulous with all the details and we’d definitely prefer to take our time with the whole process and be very satisfied with a release than rush things and end up regretting one part or another. Having said that, the five years or so between “The Monad of Creation” and “The June Frost” was also partly due to our busy schedules with music and the other things going on in our lives. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into Mournful Congregation in the last few years and we are just about to enter the studio once more – so there will only be about two years between “The June Frost” and what will follow it in 2011.

Tell me about the new material.
Adrian: We’ll be in the studio by December 2010 and should have the next album out by mid 2011. I’m confident this will be the most bleak and epic release thus far.

Do you have a working title for the next album? Will you re-record any of the older songs for it?
Adrian: We have some ideas for the next album title but nothing is certain yet. There will be no re-recordings on it, all of the material is fresh.
Let's say metal in general is underground music. But taking a closer look, Mournful Congregation is an underground of that underground. Nine out of ten of Sepultura or Dimmu Borgir fans wouldn't possibly make it through your album. How narrow is what you are doing?
Adrian: One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that there are plenty of metal fans who simply don’t get where we’re coming from but there are also plenty of people who generally have zero interest in metal that really enjoy what we do – on some levels we’re not particularly genre specific. What we do may be narrow in some ways, especially in the context of the metal scene. We don’t write music for people to mosh to, it’s not aggressive in any conventional sense, and we’re not trying to be more evil than the clowns in the next village. This isn’t music designed for simple digestion – it will never be mainstream, it will never be compromised and if that means nine out of ten Sepultura fans never understand us… well, we’re absolutely fine with that.

How does Australia affect your music? I can imagine some vast landscapes, loads of space, an impression of loneliness, alienation, melancholy. Are you inspired by the nature, Australian soil much?
Adrian: I find it difficult to imagine growing up in a place as vast and epic as Australia and not being influenced by it or drawing any form of inspiration from all that surrounds us. This environment would inspire each of us in our own way and in the end that inspiration can find a musical voice. As you mentioned though, there is a sense of isolation that prevails when you live on an island at the end of the Earth and this isolation can lead to states of melancholy and detachment. It’s natural, we’re used to it.

All of you play in other bands as well. Are they your side bands or is rather Mournful Congregation something you only do from time to time?
Adrian: No, I think I can safely say that Mournful Congregation is as important to us as any other bands we’re involved with. It’s definitely not looked upon as a side project. We’ve put much time into it and it’s becoming increasingly demanding.

What particular records made Mournful Congregation what it is? Who is responsible for the doom metal genre?
Adrian: In the beginning the members were inspired by records such as “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” by Candlemass, “Forest of Equilibrium” by Cathedral, “Stream From the Heavens” by Thergothon etc. We were influenced by these types of albums but wanted to take it all to a more extreme, darker place. As for the origins of doom metal – to me it goes back to Black Sabbath, although that’s just my opinion.

Damon played with Portal – one bloody disturbing metal commando from Brisbane. It's one of those bands that is almost unlistenable. Are those guys total necro death-obsessed freaks?
Adrian: Aha, Damon assisted the Portal demons a few years ago now. Your description of them is fairly accurate although they’re more extreme than that.

Is your drumming style influenced by any other drummer? Did you ever hear anyone drumming as slow before yourself?
Adrian: If we’re talking about my drumming in Mournful Congregation then I’d have to say no, I didn’t base any of my playing on anyone else. I just tried to develop a trademark but minimalistic approach that would complement the feel of the music. I actually find it more difficult to play this extreme doom than most other styles because you have to try and make it powerful but insanely slow and tight at the same time. Generally speaking, the drummers that influenced me most were guys like Sean Reinert of Cynic, Terry Bozzio of UK, Virgil Donati – to name a few.
There were definitely guys playing ultra slow before me – Thergothon is just one example.

You have done a cover song of Thergothon for the "Rising Of Yog-Sothoth" tribute album. Are you considering doing any other covers in the future?
Adrian: It’s not something we ever really discuss. In all these years that is the only cover we’ve ever done so unless there was a really good reason it’s difficult to imagine doing another one.

What was the set-list of your last gig?
Adrian: That was in Tokyo: “Descent of the Flames” – “Suicide Choir” – “The Epitome of Gods & Men Alike” – “A Slow March to the Burial” – “Mother-Water, The Great Sea Wept” – “Suffer the Storms”.

One of your other bands, Chalice, is no more, but there is Tzun Tzu. You seem to like Japanese history and culture. Did it start with Kurosawa movies?
Adrian: Chalice disbanded quite a while ago but several of the members still play together in Black Orchid, including Justin from Mournful Congregation. I don’t actually play in Tzun Tzu, I just did some session drums on a couple of tracks in the studio and live when they performed with Dismember. Tzun Tzu is really the brainchild of Don Taylor who’s a death metal legend here in Australia and so even though I do possess a deep respect and interest in Japanese culture that band is in fact a reflection of the interest of Don in the Asian cultures.

What albums have impressed you so far in 2010?
Adrian: Burzum “Belus”, Watain “Lawless Darkness” and StarGazer “A Great Work Of Ages”. There’s probably a bunch of others, I just can’t think of them right now!

The Australian scene isn't too well-known in Europe. Well, there is AC/DC, but I mean more underground. Could you name some significant bands in the history of Aussie metal?
Adrian: When I was growing up there were bands like Sadistik Exekution that were taking things to a pretty extreme level. Nowadays there is a lot of talent and diversity within the metal scene here – sadly, our isolated location means that only a handful of the talent here gets seen abroad. If I was going to recommend some quality bands I’d probably say Psycroptic, StarGazer, Neath, Virgin Black, Nazxul, Tzun Tzu, Black Orchid, Portal, Altars, Austere, Cauldron Black Ram. That’d be a solid start.

I cannot resist asking this one. Chopper – legendary man. A few books, a great movie and loads of myths. How much of a public person is he in Australia and do Aussies actually give a toss about him?
Adrian: Haha, yeah, Chop Chop is a real cult legend in Australia. Some people love him, some loathe him – but everyone knows who Chopper is! He has quite a solid place in Australian folklore because he managed to take humour and intelligence and cleverly reflect on a life as a career criminal.