1. Greetings! Since this is an interview with a personality I would like to ask you a few stuff about yourself. The first one is when you became interested in music. Be it passively or actively. What was the first impulse for you to grab an instrument and start playing?

I have been interested in music for as long as I can remember but my first real passion was when I first discovered Iron Maiden which must have been in 1988. I first heard Phantom of the Opera on a TV advertisement and was hooked. For years I liked Maiden and nothing else, I tried other bands but nothing gave me what Maiden did. As with many teenagers into metal the story goes the same....getting into progressively heavier music. My first active role in music was in the early nineties when I was very much into death and then black metal. I tape-traded a lot, then started a fanzine, and then a distro. I loved being involved in the underground and I lived for the postal deliveries in the mornings. I only started playing guitar properly in the late 90s and it was only for my own enjoyment, I never worried about becoming a good guitar player....I just enjoyed working things out for myself and starting to write my own music. Creating music is more of a passion for me than becoming proficient on any instrument.

2. I suppose that you take music as a mean of self-realisation. Are your projects part of this realisation or you prefer to create stuff under certain scheme, topic or motives unique for each band? Which of your projects you consider to be most idiomatic and why?

I make music because it is rewarding for me personally. I don't do it to gain any kind of recognition. I essentially write what comes naturally, and as my first and to this point, my main vehicle is < code >. This is a more natural expression of my writing, something which is based on my core and something which is born of my own style on the guitar for better or for worse. As I have become a more experienced songwriter and player I have been able to move what I do into different styles and this has been reflected in < code > and some of my other projects. < code > songs are a lot more refined and at the same time, complex than they were when I first started writing but I think there is a lineage in feel.

3. You dedicate yourself mainly to the guitar. But you are also playing drums and bass guitar. Which instrument was your first and why you decided to learn to play others? Was it necessary or you wanted to get familiar with the work of your band colleagues? Since you can play all those instruments you could perform in a one-man projects.

My first and real passion is actually for the drums. I get the most enjoyment in playing this instrument than any other. When I listen to music I tend to always focus on the drums first. But of course the guitar is a much more convenient instrument to play and it is an obvious starting point when writing music. I played bass before I played guitar....I picked up the bass so that I could jam with some friends of mine as they were a drummer and a guitarist...so I filled the gap there. I enjoy the bass a lot actually and probably enjoy that more than the guitar too. I feel you can be more dynamic and forceful with the bass and you get more feedback from it when playing due to the string scale and tension. I think having worked with all of the basic instruments it helps me a great deal when writing music as I understand the basic principles behind them all. These days when I have a spare moment or two, I will always have a blast on my electronic drum kit for enjoyment.

As for the one-man project? Well that's how I started with my first musical expression which was called Seasonal Code. It is a lonely business though and I like the dynamics of working with other people a lot more than the sterile one-man band environment. < code > is the product of individuals sharing ideas and inspiration and it I wouldn‘t trade that for anything.

4. Letís jump on your particular projects. At first we will take a look on < CODE > . You cooperate here with Khvost and Viper. You and them are in the band since its beginnings. How did you get together? Was it like that you eventually settled on creating < CODE > or it was much more difficult?

I had been working on my solo project for a few years before I met Kvohst and was frustrated with treading water as such. We got together and decided to create something new based on our mutual respect for the more left field black metal of the early 90s. We created the Neurotransmissions demo through which we signed to Spinefarm Records. It was at that point that we worked on getting a full line up which is when Vicotnik joined the band. I think what < code > really is about only started at this point....being the build up to the first album. It wasn‘t really a difficult genesis...we have had tougher times since but I think this core group of very different individuals, with different tastes and all uniquely talented conspire to make < code > as special as I think it is.


5. You had released two full-length albums so far which has met with pretty high ratings. Especially ìResplendent Grotesqueî which is a major musical leap towards. I guess that it represents your personal musical evolution and that youíre not interested in stagnation. What do you wish to accomplish with < CODE > ?

Never repeating ourselves is crucial to keeping us interested in doing what we do. We always want to progress, to get better and to reach the next musical level. That level need not be complexity or technicality....it is just making better and better music in our eyes. The music may get more simple....it may even get softer.....who knows....we just need to keep improving. We want to make each song better than the last, it really is that simple.

6. If Iím not mistaken < CODE > remains the sole band you play live with. What does the live performance mean for you as a musician and bandís brain? I am sure that youíre not a person performing just for cash. I noticed that you enjoy gigs quite a lot. :)

That's not quite true....I have played bass for UK doom/death band Indesinence and we have some more shows coming up soon. But back to the question...it actually took me many years before I actually played live...I have always been quite a private person and had no desire whatsoever to put myself in that kind of environment. I only conceded because I thought that the music needed to be performed live at least once for the sake of what we created. The first show wasn;t great but it was a lot of fun and I have kept on enjoying playing live ever since. It is difficult for us as a band to play live as we live in different parts of Europe so we can;t jam every week like a regular band. We are lucky if we get one rehearsal before a show so we have some tense times. But now I try and get us playing live as often as I can. The best shows are ones where the audience is really into what we do.....the energy and feel of the show then gets exponentially better....come to the front of the stage...get into it, and we will get into it back. One thing for sure is that if we were doing it for money we would have stopped a long time ago....

7. Since I have already asked quite a lot about < CODE > in a dedicated interview I have to ask you also about your other projects. I have never found out anywhere when and how BLUTVIAL and DECREPIT SPECTRE got created. I guess that those two are younger projects in which you wanted to ìblusterî in a bit different way. So what about these bands in their beginnings?

When writing the second < code > album, I had some material which was too straightforward and black for where the album was headed, so i thought it would be an interesting idea to have an outlet for the pure base level black metal that I adore so much. I had been friends with Ewchmylaen for many years and he lives just half an hour from me. He had recently put his band Reign of Erebus down for the final time and knew he lived for the brutal stuff too so we got together and made it happen. Very free....very spontaneous and always very brutal.

I am more distanced from Decrepit Spectre. It is really the band of Heimoth and Cyriex who were in Seth before they disbanded. They create the music and my input is to write and record the bass lines. I have too much going on to write music for Decrepit Spectre and they have a very different style to me so I operate on the fringes a bit more.

8. With BLUTVIAL you have followed a more orthodox path. Straightforward black metal in the vein of 90ties. Personally I was a bit staggered by this one. No offence but being a gifted person like you I would consider it a waste of time. Since this genre doesnít have anything new to offer to its fans.

As I said in an earlier question...I don‘t write music for the purposes of offering something new to any genre. I write music because I enjoy it, I wouldn‘t dare to be so contrived as to create music to fill any perceived gap. That would be wholly false of me. I work with Blutival because I have a passion for it, I have a passion for base level brutal black metal....somewhere that < code > doesn‘t belong. I like listening to Blasphemy and Beherit if not more than any 'forward thinking' metal band.


9. Can we expect something from BLUTVIAL in future? Be it an album or some gigs?

Another album is nearly a certainty. We have some songs written for the next album but it is a slow process, we both have a lot of other things on. ALthough when it comes together it will be quick. We wrote and recorded most of the last album in a few months...when we are in the mood...it is very spontaneous. Playing live? I don't think so. We are a two piece...we would need to get session musicians to join us....the mood would have to be right and we wouldn‘t want to play on a bill where we don‘t belong to people who don't care. We are not out to make a name for ourselves....Blutvial is for those that want it....we arn;t going to knock on doors for friends.

10. On the other hand DECREPIT SPECTRE is following a path of avant-garde and experimentation. Youíre flirting with industrial and other types of music not so alien to BM nowadays. In addition you have several talented musicians with you in the band. MCD ìCoal Black Hearsesî has showed a bit of your potential. Whatís going to be next?

An album is the next step for Decrepit Spectre. I have been working on the bass for some new songs over the last few days actually. As I said...the direction of the band is down to Heimoth and Cyriex.....I help as much as I can and try to make the bass work as appropriate as possible.....that is my remit there.

11. Khvost has disclosed me in the video interview that you might perform live with DS when you manage to have a sufficient amount of material to play, along with a needed background. Is it true? Can we really expect some live shows?

I have no idea....it gets talked about every so often, and if it did happen, I would do it for sure. It would be a blast and a pleasure. I'm just following the road wherever it may lead, I captain enough other musical endeavors.

12. Every of your projects is being released by a different label. I would expect that you would stay with one suitable label and release all your stuff through it. So whatís the difference between Tabu, Spinefarm and Paradigma? Do they differ in an approach or requirements? Which one suits you best?

Different labels with different strengths. As you said, we like to work with the most appropriate label for each piece of work we produce. Tabu have been very good for us since < code > moved from Spinefarm. They provided us with the budget that we needed to make Resplendent Grotesque the product that it was. We needed the quality of the final album (including production, layout, photography and artwork) to do justice to the amount of energy we put into it. It would have been a shame for it to be an other jewelcase album with a couple of pages and a photoshop cover splashed on the front.


13. You also cooperate with a plenty of talented musicians. Most of them perform in bigger or more well-known bands. There is no doubt about their qualities. With which ones you find the cooperation best? And how much you let them influence the compositional process? Do they also take part in composing or they simply follow your lead?

I have enjoyed working with all the people that I have had dealings with over the years. Each have their own great qualities. For example, Vicotnik has such a unique and inspired approach to music… Adrian Erlandsson's work ethic and energy is second to none...Alsvid dedication and talent was a blessing in difficult circumstances....Vooren is a total drum nut and a blast to be on the road with.....I could go on about them all and am lucky to have worked with such great people. In terms of co-operation, it depends on the band...with < code >, the music always starts with me and we build from there.....with Hexvessel I take Kvohst's lead....with Blutvial we work alone and then work out the details of each other's songs when it is time to record etc... I wouldn‘t like to work the same way in every musical outlet....the variations in the process help engender more individuality.

14. You answers were enervating. Thank you a lot for your time and before I ask you to dedicate a few words to our readers I want you to write down a short summary of what we can expect from your projects in the year 2010. Thanks a lot again and good luck with the bands!

First and foremost, early 2010 will be a period of writing for < code >. I already have a few songs which may find their way on to the next album, but I have a long way to go yet. I hope we can record towards the end of the year and have the album out early 2011. Until then, we will probably do a few shows here and there so keep checking our myspace site. Also a vinyl issue of Resplendent Grotesque should happen in the next couple of months so vinyl nuts keep peeled!

I am working very hard on Kvohst's dark folk exploration called Hexvessel which is coming together very nicely indeed. Expect a release of some sort before too long.

There may be a Blutvial album by the end of the year if things work out as I hope and Decrepit Spectre I‘m sure will be more prominent this year too.

Thanks to you for the interview and for your continued support and thanks to your readers who have spent the time to find out a bit more about what we are up to. Always check out www.myspace.com/codeblackmetal Everything can be found from there.

Thee wayside pastor

Aort