1. Salutes Apollyon! There is only a little time left before the release of the new album. What are your current feelings? Musicians are usually maximally satisfied with their effort in this period.

It’s already out now obviously, because I’m a slow fuck, but I’m satisfied. I shouldn’t really care what anyone says, but the reception has been extremely good among people I trust. I was sort of expecting more hassle about the songs not being fast enough and shit like that and of course,some “true” black metallers here and there have to mention the lack of Aggressor’s drumming as a minus. Well, I say fuck off, cause it wouldn’t have made the album any faster. My three songs (he used to play drums on my songs only) turned out just the way they were supposed even if I had to do the drumming myself. Aura noir focuses on killer riffs firstly and soothing drums/vocals. We have never used blast beats so people who are looking for speed are already in the wrong field with a polish tractor.

2. “Hades Rise” has recently leaked on the internet. What do you think about it, as the man involved, that many people are actually using your work without paying for it? I guess that it is impossible to buy everything you want to hear, but on the other side it´s good to buy albums which you like, to at least support the band. This is my point of view about this problematic.

I agree, but it’s impossible to control now anyway. People don’t value music the same way after internet came along. But for the few who does we will include a bonus track+lyrics on the vinyl version which will be released through Neseblod records in Norway in a couple of months.

3. But it is obvious that “Hades Rise” had to leak from somewhere within the staff involved. Unfortunately this kind of thing is quite usual today. This would piss me off nicely.

I’m not sure what happened. I was informed that the album was available on itunes a couple of weeks before the actual release, but I don’t really care about that shit. If people want to listen to mp3s on their shitty computer speakers while they are having evil and true chatting going on, that’s fucking sad, but that’s how the new generation likes it I guess.

4. I have also found out on your myspace that you made possible to buy the tracks of the new album in mp3 format. Listening to mp3 without elaborated booklet and CD isn´t entertaining for me, but I guess that´s what the modern time wants. I´m more interested in how this thing works. Who gains the profit from it and so on.

Well I have no clue…this is very far away from my world.


5. When I first heard about your new album I thought: “If they manage to come with superior sound, it´s probably going to kick my ass.” And you did it. What caused this major technical leap between the albums?

Thanks! We did everything ourselves this time, in my basement, no annoying technicians or time pressure, so we didn’t have to make any compromises. We actually used mainly the same studio equipment as we did on our previous album”The Merciless”. But we went to a different studio to mix the album cause I haven’t really the experience or equipment yet to do everything myself.

Fortunately this studio had everything we needed including the technician, so everything came out close to exactly how we wanted it. One must also consider the mastering. Mastering guys are often too eager to show off and can seriously fuck up a good mix. And when u don’t have a huge budget u just have to settle for something that you’re maybe far from 100% satisfied with.

On “The Merciless” we sent the finished mastering back and we wanted to do the same thing when we got the second version, but then we had used our budget and shit so we just had to release it like it is today. It’s not bad but it’s not what we asked for either. Basically the ideal is to do everything yourself because only u know how u want it to sound.

6. Maybe because of good production “Hades rise” radiates more energy than I expected. Musical content itself is at least as good as it was on “Merciless”, maybe it is even more compact. You have my praise for it! Please disclose some usual stuff about the recording… Place and time of recording, how long it took you to compose everything etc…

Yeah, it’s kind of a mix of old and newer material. We had already recorded versions of “Pestilent Streams”, “Hades Rise” and “Sulphur Void” (that will be on the vinyl version of “Hades Rise”) before “The Merciless” was released. Also “Death Mask” was basically finished back then (except for the vocals). Schizoid paranoid Aggressor made in the recreation home while he was still learning to play guitar again. My last two songs, “South American Death” and “Unleash the Demon” are both from summer 2006 and the same probably goes for the rest of Aggressor’s songs except for “Shadows of Death” which is the only all 2008 song.

We have altered stuff here and there along the way and spent much time listening to it. I think that’s one of the most important aspects of a studio visit.. listening to the songs for a long time before u go back to the studio again.

When you’re unexperienced you’re just satisfied with getting your songs recorded you know, and if u let the excitement take over u are almost ready to release the recording right there …but after a while u start to discover things that annoys u like fuck but then it’s too late cause the album’s already out. I can definitely recommend a long break when all backing instruments are recorded..and I don’t mean one week

7. As a mild negative aspect of the album I found the usage of vocals. Sometimes they sound quite cheap and alcoholic. But I guess that it is intended?

I always make several different vocal takes..one drunk one hung over one sober one stoned, one outside, one in Belgium….
Anyway we pick out the ones that turn out best.
This time we fell in love with a take Aggresor had done where he sounded like an 80 year old with COPC and we don’t regret it. When I did my first vocal takes early 2008 I had fucking lost it. The only thing I was 100% content with before were my vocals and they were fucking gone! So I just gave up (almost crying!!! haha) and figured it had to be because I had stopped smoking after 19 years… so I started smoking again. Obviously it was just as much because I hadn’t really sung for 3 years but anyway I waited a couple of months and it felt better..not 100% but way better. Next time it will kill again. But seriously I prefer Aggressor’s or my 90% vocals to 98% of the nineties inspired black/death metal vocalists anyday.

8. “Hades Rise” comes as a first release on Peaceville rec. Is the label preparing some tour, to celebrate the CD? By the way, have you thought to appear on next year edition of Inferno festival? Part of the redaction prepares to visit the festival and seeing Aura noir would be really cool.

It’s actually our second release on Tyrant syndicate which is a sublabel of Peaceville who are owned by Snapper music…
We will not go on a tour anytime soon but we have started to book some festivals for 2009. We are definitely not doing Inferno. The first one is Karmøygeddon www.karmoygeddon.com in late April.
Personally I think Inferno is too much of an exhausting event. Extremely expensive and they let far too many people in. And the line up is seldom better than for instance Hole in The sky which strikes me as a bit more idealistic.


9. Blasphemer is going to leave Mayhem soon. Does it mean that he will now dedicate fully to his composing in Aura noir? Or is he working on something new?

Yes, it’s been difficult to have him come over to us because of Mayhem and the fact that he lives in Portugal. It’s difficult enough that me and Aggressor live 4 hours by car away from each other.
But he is always welcome in Aura Noir because of his utter ugliness and sweet guitar playing and he is really eager to contribute to the next album. That is something we look forward to. He hasn’t really made much music for us before. I think he set a new record on “The Merciless” with 3 riffs.. haha…but it’s not because we don’t allow him. And he is of course playing guitar live next year. Aggressor sadly doesn’t feel like playing live but we hope to sneak him up on stage sooner or later.

10. In the end I would like to ask you an unrelated question… Apollyon, what is the current situation in Immortal? After reunion, Abbath proclaimed that they are going to re-record “Battles in the North” (quite useless, but who cares) and then to record new album. It looks that aside from live playing, Immortal are doing nothing.

Most of the material for the new album is finished ,but we still have to wait till early 2009 to enter studio and the album will definitely be out the same year. We were hoping to release it before summer but u know.. Nuclear Blast and big business.. They have a schedule to make sure releases from “big” bands don’t crash with each other..and there’s an unwritten rule in music business that u don’t release albums during summer…so I guess it looks more like autumn next year.
Re-recording of battles in the north? haha

11. Thank you for the time you have spent with my questions and I hope that we may someday meet in person. Last words are yours.

Thanks for the interview and Hades rise!!

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Informace o článku: Přidáno: 11.01.2009 Přečteno: 44x Napsal: Aedd.Gynvael

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