At the topic we share some of our interviews with bands of different genres and styles

In my opinion the Russian band named Blackthorn, with their new album "Witch Cult Ternion", is getting top of Russian metal, their music is worth of playing at home, as well as abroad, which these girls have proven more than once doing foreign fests. Vocalist / lyricist Aina tells us about how things are going in the band (applause, ladies and gentlemen!).

 

Mr.doctor. Hello Aina. You are a girl from the North, I was born in Chukotka, grew up and worked there, in 2003 I moved to Lipetsk, and it's quite cold here, do you feel cold in Moscow?

Aina. Hello. I feel terribly cold, because the weather’s cold and damp here. Though temperatures are lower in Yakutia but the climate is dry and the frost is not that hard.

MD. It's a little "lyrical" introduction (really, should I ask what time is it?). Tell me please, who is in charge of writing the lyrics in the band?

А. I do.

MD. Do you write songs in Russian and then translate them into English, or do you have somebody to translate for you, or do you write them directly in English?

А. I write songs directly in English.

MD. Where did you learn that? Did you study somewhere or just did self-education?

А. I studied English at preschool, at school and university, and self-education as well.

MD. It’s popular these days to write songs in native languages. Do you ever think about writing a song in your native language?

А. No, because it’s not our style, we should play pagan metal, folk metal, and this language will hardly work well with our music.

MD. Well, I don’t know. You remember back in the days a non-English singing metal band was bound to stay underground. And now they sing in all languages, all styles. I listened to an Armenian black metal band singing in their native language. I agree, in screaming it's hard to make out what language it is, but still…

А.Not that such a band stayed underground, it was just not so common to sing in languages other than English. Yes, they sing in whatever language they like now, in general.

MD. Tell me, it must be hard to combine work and music (I don't think that music can fully provide for you). I guess you must be too busy for anything else?

А. Yes, it is very hard. There's not much time left for honing my technical skills.

MD. Your technical skills, do you mean your vocals?

А. Yes, my vocals. To say nothing about just playing the piano sometimes (particularly in my case), I get rare opportunities.

MD. Do you study vocals on your own or do you take lessons? How do you get that voice, is it natural or the product of a long hard work?

А. I graduated from university with a degree in classical vocals. I study on my own everyday, I would like to take courses, but I’ve just got no time for it, alas.

MD. It can be said that's your speciality in the band. I have a question. The situation with vocals in your band now is reminding me of Nightwish back in the days when Marko Hietalla had joined the band on vocals, at first backing up on vocals for Tarja Turunen, but with Annet Olson coming, he started doing solos in some of their songs. His voice is good, but we’ve got used to the female vocal in that band. As is the case with Accept, when Peter Baltes performed four songs from their album Predator, pretty good, but we love them for Udo Dirkschneider's voice. So don’t you think there’s too much of growling on your album? Sure, it sounds very harmonious with your voice, but... With every new album there is less of your vocals and more of the growling. Did you do it on purpose or did it just come out that way in the process of song-writing?

А. We did it on purpose, and it's not less of my vocals. There is still more of clean vocals over the album. By the way, my vocal is also scream, so there is no less of “my” vocals, definitely.

MD. Now a question about the lyrics of the album, what inspired it? Does that cult really exist or is it just your fantasy?

А. The cult from the album’s title hardly ever existed in reality. But the idea came from the cult of the moon, existing since ancient times. People associated this cult with the mystic and dark side of female essence. And the Moon was revered in its three phases - waxing, full and waning, which in turn symbolized eternal birth, life and death. The three phases were also related to the popular theme of "young girl, mother, old woman", and that inspired me to write about the three sister witches.

MD. Pretty dark picture. And I guess music was put over the lyrics?

А. In Blackthorn it's always like that – first we make music, and then write the lyrics, though I always have some lyrical sketches and ideas in stock. That’s how it was this time.

MD. Do you need to sit back and think to make a song, or does it just come up by itself, all of a sudden?

А. Ideas for new songs come in different ways: sometimes in the process of long thinking, sometimes it just pops up in my mind all of a sudden.

MD. That would be enough of talking about the lyrics. I recently watched a movie about how Metallica recorded their album St. Anger. It seemed to me that there was no inspiration, nor creativeness involved. It was just a job, well paid, but not favorite. What do you think about that? I mean to say, if you lost your inspiration, would you give it up or just keep squeezing out more albums?

А. It's hard to imagine! Let’s just say if music doesn’t inspire me and I don’t enjoy myself I would stop doing it. One thing for sure, you should not squeeze anything out of yourself.

MD. How do you get along with the pirates sharing your albums?

А. Quite easy, but with a certain degree of disappointment. Illegal copying and selling is a back side of the progress in music industry, and there's nothing you can do about it.

MD. What genre of heavy music do you think is the most popular at the moment? I think it's power metal.

А. Metalcore and all its branches.

MD. Do you have any ideas for the next album? What about lyrics? What direction will you choose to go in musicality? I’m looking forward to your next album. Will you go deeper into symphonic black metal or you keep that symphonic level of your current sound?

А. Of course, I have some ideas for the next album. So far only in sketches, Witch Cult Ternion still holds the status of a new album and all our focus is set on it. Thematically the lyrics are going to be about the same - witchery. I can't say much about music style because, first, the main part of new material is not written by me, secondly, we never set goals like "let’s make a new album softer" or "let’s make a new album more death metal". We just make kind of music that we like.

MD. All kinds of split projects grow in popularity these days. For a single song or an album. What do you think about inviting some guest musicians, or participating in recording with other groups?

А. We never thought about inviting anybody for Blackthorn's album/song, though we get lots of offers. Maybe in time... I personally show up as a guest vocalist for several side projects. I used to record vocals for bands like ANFEL, Skylord, Dirge Inferno. There’s going to be more of such projects, but you’ll find out about them later.

MD. What kind of music do you prefer?

А. 80% of what I’m listening to refers to metal - mostly black metal, death metal, symphonic, doom metal. The rest belongs to classics, neoclassics, some pop and folk music.

MD. Varaska left the band, no matter where she left, or why. Was it difficult to find a proper replacement, especially a representative of the fair sex? Did you search purposely for a female drummer, or is it just a coincidence?

А. It was a difficult task, and a long search. And we searched purposely, because that’s our line-up, and it’s kind of our "visiting card".

MD. Do you make your own scenic images and costumes, or do you turn to professionals?

А. We make all our scenic images and costumes by ourselves, other people can only help us with realization.

MD. You are five girls in the band, are you friends? I mean, do you meet celebrations together, maybe hang out together, or you're just bandmates?

А. Most of the time we do interact as a band, but still we are friends.

MD. The band doesn't have its official site, why? It’s easy and cheap to make now.

А. We're planning to launch our site this year. I don't think that official sites matter that much, especially now when communities in social networks are so popular. We had a site in the very beginning of our history, but it was hacked at once. So most of its history BLACKTHORN is moving on without an official site on internet, and I can’t say that’s been any obstacle to reaching our goals.

MD. How do you select songs for your videos?

А. Usually, we select songs which we personally think to be hit songs. The ones that can be easily remembered.

MD. As I see you write the lyrics mainly. Do you ever want to try to make music, a complete song, from start to end?

А. I can’t set myself to writing a song from start to end, all for lack of perseverance. But lots of different musical passages – I can easily do that.

MD. One more unordinary question. I’m hanging about on a couple of heavy music sites. And I have noticed this trend - everywhere the forum is full of posts about cats, and lots of comments on them right away. I’ve never heard a word about dogs, for example. I don't like dogs, I have a cat, and a little kitten. It turns out that metal fans love cats? Do you have a cat, or maybe you like any other animals?

А. Interesting question about cats. I often think about it and I come to a conclusion that the character of a cat is identical to that of an average metalhead: he is by himself, independent, freedom-loving, rebellious and so on. Besides, a cat is a mystical animal, and mysticism impresses most of the metal fans. I don't have any pets because I'm often on the road, and I don’t have anybody to take care of it while I’m away.

MD. Could you please say a few words for our site?

А. Thank you for your interest in our group! I wish the Metal-Tracker portal prosperity and good luck!

That's where we finish up. Let's say thanks to this amazing musician and charming woman, and let's not distract her from her work with our foolish curiosity.

SILENZIUM is a Russian band from Novosibirsk consisting of three charming ladies who play multiple genres of music, from interpretations of the classical works of Vivaldi, Bach, Mussorgsky, to performing covers of famous metal bands like Rammstein, Death, as well as playing their own folk songs. Frontwoman and founding member Natalya Grigorieva speaks with us about some background details below.

KAIRA



Mr. Doctor: Hello Kaira.

Kaira Drozdova: Hello.

MD. Please tell, how do you spread responsibilities in your band? Who is writing music? Who is writing lyrics? Who puts together concert setlist etc.?

KD. Pavel Drozdov writes music and I (Kaira) write lyrics. We all compile the setlist during the repetitions. And setlist can change from time to time if it’s not based on some concept. Each of us takes part in arrangement

MD. How would new album differ from the last one? Will it differ stylistically in terms of music? Will it be conceptual in terms of lyrics?

KD. In the new album, I continue the development of the semantic line that was started in "Roots Of Veles". But this time the lyrics won’t show my point of view on a particular event or situation. In the new album I want to briefly convey the traditions of my ancestors, to celebrate some traditions and bright events of the times when the Sun was God. For sure, this album will be the conceptual one! I could tell a lot, but I don’t want to disclose all the cards, as now the process of its creation is in full swing, and the new album is now forged note by note, riff by riff, word by word. The style will remain aggressive groove pagan metal, but it will be decorated with some ritual elements!

MD. What caused your switch to English lyrics?

KD. It was caused by popularization of our native metal in Europe and so on.

MD. You have created the voting in the internet about choosing the language for your upcoming album. So as I understand you already have 2 versions of it: English and Russian?

KD. This question is very important for us today! As Woland told “the questions of blood are the hardest questions in the world”. The attraction of the native is greater, and it’s stronger than me! I can’t convey the meaning and energy of this album, if its language will be foreign. Each Russian word is like a whole sentence, it carries a number of images, subtext, and sometimes words can give answers to the questions of being, if you look at them, say ... from a different angle! In general, a whole layer of culture of our distant ancestors lies in Russian words! Words were passing the legacy for many generations from mouth to mouth. And due to this, now we can imagine by word-images the life, culture, weltanschauung, actions and many other things, which occurred thousands of years ago on our land! It is very important to use Russian in this album! We are at the very beginning of comprehending the covenants of the past and we won’t comprehend them all in a single day. I want you to start with us!

MD. Do you want to reissue your English albums in Russian?

KD. Lyrics in English albums were originally conceived in English so to reissue these albums we have to rewrite all the lyrics from scratch and this can completely change the idea of the text! And I see no point in returning to it, we need to go forward with new ideas!

MD. Did you ever have any plans to record a bonus track in Belarusian?

KD. No, we have never even discussed that.

MD. At the moment there is no full-time male vocalist in the band. Why has the previous vocalist left the band? Will the new album include male vocals?

KD. Let’s leave the reasons of his departure undisclosed. The male vocal on the new album will be Pavel Drozdov’s. If we speak about growl and scream, than these parts same as clean vocals will be mine.

MD. Is there any working title for the new album?

KD. The title of the album is still to be chosen!

MD. Who had drawn the artwork of previous albums, and who will draw artwork for the new one?

KD. We have worked with different artists for almost every album. All the artworks after "Roots Of Veles" are made by our bass player Vitali Oleinik! I think we will continue this way!

MD. Do you plan to add a second guitarist to the band, and if not than why?

Pavel Drozdov joins the conversation not for long: There’s no sense in adding second guitarist. One guitar is more than enough.

MD. What bands have influenced you the most in the early period of your creation?

KD. If we are talking about this, at the time of our first album all the informal youth was listening to the same bands, both Western and Russian industry of heavy metal. We were not in any way an exception to this rule! It’s easier to list the styles of the metal: hard / heavy, power, etc., and later our tastes started to become heavier, so we were influenced by hardcore, black metal and so on.

MD. Had changes in your style changed your music preferences? Who are your favorite bands now?

KD. We have never been fans of anyone; we just have respect for some bands for their great contribution to the world heavy artillery! I can listen in my car with pleasure to Lamb of God, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth, Metallica, System Of A Down, Slipknot.

MD. With which bands do you want the most to share the stage?

KD. We’d like to make atmospheric show at first-rate festival alongside the bands like Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir, Korpiklaani.

MD. Kaira, is your voice an inborn gift or a result of long and hard work? How do you keep your voice in shape?

KD. I think it's a gift, but it’s related to the power and to the presentation of sound. But without hard work you won’t achieve good technique. Ligaments are muscles and someone has them developed from birth. But if you train them, they can become much more powerful! It’s good time to quote my mastermind Bruce Lee: « Hard work is the only way to any goal! ». I try to adhere to the eternal rules of the vocalist. Enemies of the vocalist are cold, alcohol, lack of sleep, overexertion of ligaments (this includes a bunch of negative factors, such as loud laughter, long rehearsals, lack of time for warm up singing), junk food and so on. But to know is not enough, it is necessary to obey this. But I'm a human being anyway.

MD. Kaira, I’ve seen that you play concerts barefoot. Many people are savage and can throw some crap on the stage. Have you had any injuries due to that?

KD. Everything is fine. As it turned out, it’s very comfortable to play shows barefoot. Also, it looks very natural, in my opinion.

MD. Your current stage image was formed after the recording of the “Roots Of Veles” album. Will it change after the recording of the new album?  

KD. “Roots Of Veles” made a great impact on us in all senses: from the model of thought to our image (both on the stage and in everyday life). This album helped us to realize that there is something more than metal, we found the idea not only in the musical part of the group. The certain concept of thought appeared, which leads us to unity, which unites us not only as musicians, but as grandchildren of Dažbog, and now we are going together to the common goal.

MD. When should we expect the release of the new album?

KD. I can’t reply this question now, as album is currently in process of creation.

MD. How have you got the contract with your current label? (In the 2015 the band has signed the contract with Sliptrick Records for mass edition of album with distribution in US, Europe and Japan).
KD. Label itself had offered terms which were suitable for us, so we has signed the contract. We are not sure that we will continue this cooperation.

MD. I’ve seen on the photo that Pavel is engaged in auto racing, is it a hobby, or does he do that on a professional basis? And what hobbies do other musicians of the group have?

KD. It’s more like hobby, as Pavel takes part in racing in free time. During summertime we like to gather with our friends, ride the motorcycles and seek historical places of Belarus. Such places are generally dilapidated by time and forgotten by people, unfortunately. I adore ancient things, forgotten history, legends and tales. I also like Tolkien’s world and we try to recreate it in our home. The proper atmosphere is very important for me. In general, I like everything related to hobbits, gnomes, elves and dragons. Anya likes to travel on motorcycle in Europe with her husband. She’s also a volunteer and helps homeless animals to find a home. Vitalik (Dzhyan) is interested in computer graphics, design and photo art. In his spare time he goes to the gym. Dima devotes to a drama most of his free time. He’s also a movie fan and he also visits the gym.

MD. Could you please tell also some words for our website?

KD. I will reply with a quote from our song “Ynglinga saga”:
The gods will live while their rivers flow in our veins!
And Ynglinga saga will not end
While the children of the ancient clans live
And while the sun illuminates our mind.
Kaira Spiel

In our turn, we’ll wish the group not to slow down, and we’ll also wish them to record a lot of albums and to play performances on many scenes.
Let's say «thank you» to the talented musician and the beautiful woman. And we are looking forward for the release of the new album.

Moderix

That would be pretty stupid to talk through internet or phone with people from your city, so after long coordination of schedules (everyone has work and other stuff as you understand) our meeting finally happens. Unfortunately not all musicians were present, Notgrov and Vergonth haven’t come, but presenting musicians were enough to tell about past, present and future plans of the band.

So, ACT I. 
Scene of action: Lipetsk, rehearsal base
Characters: yours truly, Cor – guitar, Darkness Fall - bass, Vlad – drums. 
Here I’m asking band members questions in their breaks between rehearsing new and old songs before the show in Voronezh.

Mr.Doctor. How many songs are ready for next album?

Darkness Fall. Six, we now are planning 2 or 3 songs more.

MD. So the album’s length would be 35-40 minutes, same as two previous albums?

DF. Yes. For example, I don’t like very long 60+ minutes albums.

MD. Is everyone writing music?

Cor. Yes, everyone. Only Vlad doesn’t does that, but he attentively listens to our ideas and knows very good what he should play.

MD. Does it happens that someone from musicians brings his sketches but general meeting of the band refuses them?

С. Not so frequently, but happens. Mostly it happens in cases when we can’t combine all instrumental parties in this song.

MD. And who’s writing lyrics?

С. Vergonth 

DF. Yes, Vergonth does it all
(I don’t have an ear for music but on this moment I hear that played song doesn’t have any black metal elements and that this song is classical death metal with guitar party like Trey Azagthoth and with death-metal-styled blast beats by Vlad. So I ask musicians about that).

С. Yes, I like death metal  very much and I had death metal project before. In Moderix all black metal parties are played by Notgrov, and I’m trying to add more groove and heaviness in guitar’s sound.

DF. Even more, it’s not even our song, it’s cover of Khold's song. 
(And it’s completely true, this cover was recorded by band on ЕР "Х". But I haven’t recognized it, as I said, I have no ear for music). 

MD. Cor, is it hard for you to play black metal after death metal?

С. I can’t say that it is easy and simple. Sometimes I have to force myself to play exactly black metal sounding guitar.

MD. Vlad, have you played black metal before?

Vlad. No, earlier I was playing in the band which played hardcore.

MD. And how you have joined Moderix? 

V. I’ve heard the band and also I’ve heard that their drummer is rather bad. It was interesting for me to play such music, I’ve offered my services, I was invited for tryout, and so I’m here.

MD. And how you, fathers, joined the band?

DF. I know musicians of Moderix for long time, the band was on hold for a few monthes after the release of album “Amoralbloom” and only Notgrov and Vergonth left in band’s roster. But then nevertheless band members decided to gather for recording of new songs.

С. I have known only Vergonth before, we even wanted to make together sympho black project, but it didn’t happen. So I’ve joined the band. 

MD. You wanted to make sympho black project, then why on new album you decided to play black death, and not sympho black ? 

DF. It’s not easy, it requires buying of expensive instrument and taking of musician to the band.

MD. Is it hard to find a musician?

С. Yes, pretty hard. There’s a lot of good musicians in Lipetsk, but the band is ensemble first of all, so even if you’re super virtuoso it’s not enough. Complete mutual understanding is required. You know well how many good bands have split up due to disagreements between members of the band.

DF. Even more nearly everyone is already occupied with other projects and people just don’t have enough time for everything. For example, I would gladly do some gothic-rock project, but don’t have any free time for that.

C. I remember, when I was in college, I’ve played in the five bands in the same time. When lessons finished, I took the guitar and went to garages where in this time the best rehearsal bases were. In one band I played hardcore, in other one – power metal and so on.

MD. Please tell, what caused such big pause between previous album and the next one?

DF. The cause is trivial and it’s money. The label is ready to publish our album, but recording costs 30 thousands roubles and printing of 500 CDs costs 15 thousands more. For Lipetsk it’s not much expensive but isn’t also cheap at all as well.

Now rehearsal time of musicians is over so we have to leave this place.

ACT II. 
Scene of action: Lipetsk, pub Drova (“Wood”)
Characters: yours truly, Darkness Fall, Cor. 

MD. Where your scene names came from?

С. To be honest, I don’t even remember. It comes from old time and so goes on.

DF. Also long ago in 2010 I was young and had split-up with my girlfriend. So I was upset and was listening to the song of band Nitemare Machine. There is such words, I liked them and took them as my stage name.

MD. Who’s in charge of booking and how does it happens?

DF. Me and Notgrov. Sometimes we arrange it ourselves and sometimes we are offered.

MD. Does it bring you any financial profit?

С. I beg you, our music is not commercial, we are not paid for road or food expenses at all. It’s good if our show covers all our costs and frequently we pay for those costs ourselves.

MD. Let’s imagine that before the show you’re making soundcheck and you listen that sound is crap. How are you gonna act?

С. We ask sound engineers, of course, but if we see that they can’t do anything so let it be as is. Sometimes we have to ask sound engineers during the show, but if the venue is small and acoustics in it is pretty bad, it’s understood that you can’t do much with it.

MD. I always wondered if it takes long to clear corpsepaint after the show?

С. Long, much longer than to apply it.

DF. Water won’t help. I clear it with wet napkin.

MD. As I understood, music doesn’t give you profit. And how you earn for your life then?

С. I’m military man.

DF. I work in the office of the firm that repairs truck crane. Notgrov works in  auto salon that sells trucks. Vergonth is land-surveyor. Vlad works in tattoo salon.
 
MD. Which bands do you like the most now?

DF. Now I listen a lot to the band The 69 Eyes. 

С. I always loved middle-paced, groovy death.

Now our conversation ends, as it’s too late and everyone has to go to work tomorrow.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, not so long ago we have published an interview with band Moderix. Shorlty after that we were notified by the band that one of its founders (guitarist Notgrov) have left it. Okay, he has gone and that’s sad of course, but not fatal. And some time later the guitarist himself has notified us about resurrection of his old studio project Akromusto. This has become interesting for me. And as Vladimir Pozner has told: “what’s interesting for me, should be interesting for you as well”. So I’ve come in contact with Notgrov (moreover that I had no chance to talk with him previously) and he told me about the affairs of Akromusto in particular and something about black metal in general.

Mr.doctor. The first question – maybe you’re bored with it already, but it’s still important – why have you left Moderix?

Notgrov. Reply to your question: the main reason of leaving Moderix is lack of free time on that period. Later, when I’ve got some time, I’ve decided not to return to the band. I’ve decided to “revive” my old project Akromusto. Revival has happened quite successfully. There’s three of us now: Shes Foe (ex-Moderix) - drums, Notgrov (ex-Moderix) - vox, guitars, music, texts, Darkness Fall (also Moderix) - bass, music. We’ve done two rehearsals and have created new songs. I’ve completely left what I was doing in Moderix. Because in Akromusto I have more freedom and I do what I like right now.

MD. Would you continue to play expertimental black metal?

N. No, we’ve decided to move completely to Depressive Black Metal. I liked this musical style for ages, but had no chance to completely realize it, and now the time has come. By the way, I’ve visited Moderix’s rehearsal. They are doing well without me. Now all my “creative” time I spend for  Akromusto.

MD. Why haven’t you created new band? Because former Akromusto differs heavily from what I have heard on new demo. You’ve left experimental or even avant-garde black metal to enter the abyss of depression. Maybe fans of old sounding won’t understand this.

N. I also thought of it, so I wanted to continue doing art under other name – as Notgrov. This is my second solo project, but later I thought that there was a lot of different songs during long history of Akromusto. So I’ve decided to revive exactly Akromusto. By the way, fans have normally reacted to this change. That was not a problem because notes of depressive black metal can be traced in this band’s songs, if you listen attentively to the old material. In fact,  I’ve changed nothing, I’ve just approved the style in which we move on. Time will tell. There is a possibility that the next album will be done in a slightly different style. I do not like monotony. That is why I’ve created this project back in 2004. I could not afford myself to make such material in Moderix. Moreover, for me personally Akromusto is more than just a group.

MD. And why you could not fully realize your love for depressive black metal as part of Moderix? What prevented you from that? After all, Moderix  were not alien to the change of sounding.

N. Moderix was different band for me. Yes, we have changed sounding and tried something new, but anyway we’ve stayed Black Metal band. And Vergonth couldn’t sing screaming for Depressive Black Metal. And for sure the most important is that I wanted make something my own, where I am both vocalist and guitarist. That’s two different worlds, two different planets - Akromusto and Moderix.

MD. Akromusto is your project, would you be the only leader and dictator of it, or would you consider opinions of all musicians of the band?

N. Yes, the project is initially mine, but now, when we became live act, opinions of all members are counted for sure. We gathered to make private music. Yes, lyrics and music that I write are strictly my personal, but we sort out new things together, as it was before. I am not a dictator, I just simply create ideas and we approve them or not. It's simple.

MD. And if the idea would come from your colleague in the group, would you consider it?

N. Yes, for sure. There are already such ideas and we consider them together. That’s what the team means. I feel comfortable to work with this line-up.

MD. By the way, about line-up. Why have you chosen musicians from your former band? That’s because you know them as personalities, you know their abilities and you don’t want to deal with unknown people. Or that’s just because there’s no good black metal musicians in Lipetsk?

N. Line-up was chosen on the basis of experience in Black Metal, and the fact that I know them well both as personalities and as musicians has also played role. I think that they’ve gained great experience during playing in Moderix. And regarding Lipetsk: there are really no other musicians playing Black Metal. There are not so much of us. But there are now two bands that play this genre of metal. We plan to play together and to support each other. Darkness Fall has already played in Akromusto since 2012. We have recorded "Broken album" with him. And we’ve played together with Shes Foe in Moderix. So we have roots in the common cause.

MD.  Do you plan to expand line-up? To add second guitarist for example?

N. We are now authentic in terms of music. It’s minimalism which consists of 3 musical instruments. I like it because there is something of its own. It is alive. The atmosphere that reigns in our group is more than just music.

MD. Where the name of the band comes from - Akromusto? What does it means?

N. When I invited Akromusto name, I used Finnish language. I’ve bought Finnish dictionary and started searching for words. I remember that I’ve found two words and joined them together. Generally, the translation should mean “more dark”. But if you start translating it, the exact translation would lead you nowhere. It was in 2004.

MD. About what are you going to sing? Meaning which would be your lyric themes?

N. Our lyrics are about psychology, the inner world of man, personal experiences. We have moved away from demonism in the texts. I am writing more about the amorphous and abstract nature of the soul. Here are the names of ready compositions: Father!, Split, Nothing or Nothing. The new album will be done in this style, but darkness and grief will be present, as before. In fact, Akromusto headed for a new concept in style and lyrics. The group is really different. Now everything is different. Accordingly, we will record the new album differently: alive and directly. We will record the room and play everything in one take. I will also invite guests. There will be surprises.

MD. Now you plan to perform live shows. Do you plan to play songs from previous albums?

N. I don’t know now. Possibly, but that’s not sure. I want to present new music and new sounding of the band. Old songs were different. So it’s going to be new songs for beginning, and then possibly there would be old ones. New Akromusto, new songs.

MD. Is here any options on which label you plan to record new album?

N. Yes, for sure. We will record album at rehearsal base with the help of microphones that will shoot the sound. We will release the album on tapes and CDs. We will also make T-shirts. The labels that will publish our record are Depressive Illusions records and Cvlminis. I’d like to have negotiations with More Hate Prod. There is another option for recording an album. My friend has opened his own studio and offered to record an album there. I'll consider this option. All these labels have reissued our albums on CDs and cassettes relatively recently. One thing I can say for sure is that the new album will be completely different from our other releases: recording, songs, sound quality. Everything will be different in a positive way, of course.

MD. Would you keep your stage image or do you plan to change it?

N. Most likely I would change it or, more precisely, would use none of it. Let’s see. Maybe I would keep it, but in some lite version. Because such style easily could use no stage image. But we will use it in this way or another. We haven’t come to final conclusion. I think we’ll decide that for our first live shows.

MD. Let’s go to most generic themes. There was a lot of conversations about “true” and “non-true”. Some people think that if some band has left underground and started to record albums with normal sounding and to earn money, it means that this band is sold out. How do you think, should black metal have raw sound and be recorded in garage, or it’s better to record music on normal studio with good sound? And maybe earn some money, at least for the beer?

N. No, I do not think so, since these are stereotypes of the old epoch. At that time it was relevant, but now, when there is all the technology to record your albums in good sound, this question should be closed. Some black metal bands specially record their albums with raw sound, but this is a kind of feature of this or that band. Let’s take for example the legendary Mayhem. From the album to the album, they always have a different sound. And the most important thing is that black metal musicians are among the best in extreme music. Now bands that have entered the darkness (light) earn enough to live only with music, but unfortunately, this is not about our country. I'm not going to make a commercial band. This is all for us personally, and whoever likes it can support it. From the beginning, Akromusto is an anti-commercial project.

MD. What do you think about current state of modern black metal scene? New albums of famous bands, new young bands etc.

N. Modern Black Metal scene consists of many different bands, but as it always was with all styles, there’s lot of nonsence. New Marduk and Immortal albums are pretty good. Unfortunately, I don’t keep in mind young bands. Summing up that at any time there is good and bad. So it was and always will be.

MD. Tell five bands which, in your opinion, are the biggest contributors to the development of black metal. And with which of them would you’d like the most to share the stage?

N. I would tell with pleasure. The bands that have influenced me and have finally stated this style of music are: Mayhem, Immortal, Marduk, Watain, Behemoth. I’d share stage with them with great pleasure. I’ve visited live shows of Behemoth and Marduk. For me personally these bands are very influent in musical sense. Of course, many will add such bands as Satyricon, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Darkthrone.

MD. And how about old good Varg (Burzum) who is widely considered to be founder of current sounding of black metal?

N. No, that’s not for me. I have nothing against him, but I don’t consider him to be genius musician also. Burzum as a band has become famous only due to Maymem, or, more precise, due to history which had already become cult. 

MD. What does music mean for you? Which place in your life does it take?

N. I’ve started being consumed by burden, and due to that I was fading away, as a person, as a musician, as a person. Yes, now as well it’s not easy for me to find spare time for all that, but I’m doing it because without music I will be nothing. I need to relieve stress and to spend creative energy. This is the dependency that never goes away. But the most important thing in my life is my son, for whose sake I live.

MD. I think it would be enough for now. Please tell a few words for inhabitants of our site.

N. Music should be within you. Don’t follow trends and currents of time. Do whatever you want. Live and enjoy. Don’t just kill your time. Have a good luck. Sincerely, Akromusto.

And we, in our turn, wish the band to perform at concerts, release albums, and not stand still, but develop and develop further.