1. Hails! It has been 3 years since the release of “Fuck the Universe”. I remember that during the first listen I was fascinated with its significant and almost morbid sounding. How are you satisfied with this album now? Do you look upon it differently since its release? And which Craft’s album you like the most?

Personally I like “Fuck the Universe” and “Total Soul Rape” about equally, “Terror Propaganda” is my least favorite album, but I don’t think it’s bad, I just don’t like some parts of it, particularly the sound of the drums. When you work on an album you get extremely tired of it, because you get to hear the same songs hundreds of times in a very short time. Besides obviously making you tired of hearing them, you might also focus too much on small things and miss the big picture. Usually I write a song very quickly, but then the recording process takes a very long time, so we mostly stick with the original songs even though we might be tempted to make a lot of changes in the studio. But when I get some distance to an album, half a year or a year after its out, I have the necessary distance to the songs and can start to really hear the core of them again and then I usually begin to like them again.

2. I know that you are working on the new album…What it will be like? What the fans can expect and were there any changes in your visions of making music?

It will be very dark, moreso than the others. I suspect I’m somewhat biased, so you should wait and hear for yourselves. But we’re going for a really evil black metal sound; it won’t be as “polished” as the other albums.

3. Are you planning some tour after the release of the new album?

No, we have no such plans at the moment. I’m really not cut out for traveling around and entertaining people, but we do have a good line-up now with the additions of Dirge Rep on drums and Alex on bass, besides the usual lot, John and I on guitars and Nox on vocals.

4. All recordings were made during 2-3 years…is the recording process so long? Or you just don´t like to hustle? Under which label are Craft currently signed?

Since we record with our own equipment and I’m personally attempting to build my own studio sooner or later we have a lot of time to record. But the actual recording process of the album hasn’t taken several years. We started recording the album late last year and before that I was writing it, but yeah, we don’t like to hustle, I like to take my time and I don’t like to stress out an album. I’m sure the majority of bands are a lot quicker than we are to make an album but we write, record and mix as we go along and we try out new ideas all the time so it takes a lot of time. We’re signed on Carnal Records.


5. Craft were always about evil, hate and malice… I have always felt this during the listening to your music and I have to confess that you belong to the list of my most favorite bands. I guess that you look upon your creations not that it is just music.

You’re right. Craft is really a window into my head. I’m so intertwined with Craft that it’s not possible for me to view it as only music.

6. Recently a great drummer Dirge rep joined your band. Is the cooperation with him good? Or has he also brought something new to Craft? Have you had some another personal changes In the band since the last album?

He will definitely bring in some great new influences in the drumming, but people who are into the drumming of the old albums shouldn’t be too afraid that there will be a complete overhaul of the drumming, because I still write a major part of the drums, as I always have. And as for personal changes, yes, I have changed a lot as a person since the last album, and I think we all have. I do evolve, and I have become a lot stronger in so many areas since “Fuck the Universe” but the upcoming album “Void” will not be dramatically different and we haven’t gone soft or anything.

7. I´m curious which black metal album you consider as the best and write the reason why.

Burzum “Burzum”. This album is definitely a timeless masterpiece. “Burzum” sounds so incredibly esoteric, it’s very obscure and there is a whole other dimension to it besides just the music and the lyrics, to me this is the absolute best black metal album of all time. What interests me most about this album is the complexity of the song writing. The musicianship is nothing to speak of so the song writing has to carry the album, and it still is the best album of all time in my opinion. There are a few others which I consider to be very close seconds but there’s no doubt that this is my absolute favorite.

8. Is the image important for Craft? Do you consider warpainting as something highly important, or even sacred, or it is just about keeping the traditions? Many bands are nowadays dissociating from it with the words that only music matters. Is your stance constant?

Well, image is important of course, but not the appearance of us as individuals. Craft is no longer using corpse paint, but we hardly ever pose on pictures anyway because we’re not that interested in the “rock star” thing. We did some corpse painted pictures but the photo sessions are few and far between and we don’t do live performances so I no longer see the point of it. We focus on the visuals of the album and the band as a whole, and the lyrical side. We have a clear idea of what’s Craft and what’s not, so in that respect we’re concerned about keeping that image, but we don’t care about painting ourselves and taking photos.


9. How do you feel about all religious shit in the world? All those churches and sects hiding behind their deities with one reason – to gain profit from the stupidity of their followers… Which religion you consider as the most dangerous? Do the members of Craft believe in something “Higher”?

I can’t answer for the others, but I try my best to leave an open mind to things. Not openminded as in gullible. I believe (and am certain) all things are connected: science, black arts, the spiritual, the materialistic, and everything. I have come to the conclusion that it’s not needed to label yourself as for or against religion in general. But certain religions are of course extremely simpleminded, like Christianity and Islam. I don’t believe much of interest can be found in these religions. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say there are any dangerous religions. I believe in great powers that I might label Satan or Loki or Lucifer, but if we were to discuss them I don’t think we’d have the same idea what they actually are.

10. Let´s return to music… what is the phenomenon called black metal about? Recently many bands are flooding the scene with new albums but most of them just sucks badly… Do you think that this genre has still something to offer to his followers?

Yes, there are too many bands, but I blame that solely on the black metal record labels. They have done their best to cash in on the black metal phenomenon and they have flooded the scene with tons of horrible, soulless albums. There’s been an inflation in black metal. It’s getting harder and harder to find a good unsigned band, so the labels lowers their standards because they want a piece of the cake. So in the absence of anything good to sign, they sign mediocre stuff. But to add to the complexity of the problem, who’s to decide what’s good and what’s mediocre? I definitely think the genre still has things to offer. To me that seems self-evident. People buy the records and people go to the gigs. If the genre had nothing at all to offer it would die out.

11. Thank you for the time you spent with these questions. I really appreciate it. If you have something to say, go on…

Our album is coming, we’re just slow!