1. Man, welcome in the second interview for Mortem zine. I think you’ve progressed with GORATH a lot; you played a lot of shows after the release of “Misotheism” and now GORATH came with pretty new stuff. So could you please make a short summary about the period of time after “Misotheism” to “MXCII”? Any interesting experiences, important information etc…

"MXCII" indeed is a step forward compared to "Misotheism". Though we never do many shows, more like than an average of about 10-15 shows per year. We like to focus on interesting occasions in stead of doing an overkill of shows. The time between last two albums was pretty hectic. The line up changed drastically. In fact, I'm the only lasting member of the "Misotheism" line up, which isn't that important to know. GORATH are a pact of four souls gathered to spread darkness. That's all you actually need to know. Our previous label ended its existence and our quest led to several labels. Some high profile and some less known. In the end we inked a deal for two records with the German Twilight Vertrieb, who are known for their very good distribution. The future will say whether we made a wise decision.

2. “MXCII” has been already released in February so I’m sure you’ve received some reactions from people around you… Personally I’m really satisfied with the album, and maybe surprised little bit, because GORATH made a big step forward. But I think not all readers already heard the album, so would be great if you’ll say something what they should expect and where’re the biggest differences a new elements?

"MXCII" is our fourth album and all previous releases got excellent reviews. "Misotheism" was outstanding and received numerous reviews scoring 9 out of 10 points. On beforehand we knew "MXCII" wouldn't do as good. "Misotheism" is straight forward, fast and had lyrics which would probably appeal to every black metal adept. "MXCII" is way less easy listening. The album may sound more simplistic than its predecessor, because of the slower parts, but in fact "MXCII" is more complex than all previous albums we released. You need to get into this record and you need to take your time to be overwhelmed by MXCII's dark and entrancing atmosphere. Also the lyrics aren't as "trendy" as on "Misotheism". All by all patience is the key here. Journalists who take their time and really listen to "MXCII" will most definitely be charmed.

3. Jurgen from Theudho made the lyrics for “Misotheism”, am I right? So who was the creator of “MXCII” lyrics? And what is the main theme? Did you change your ideas in some kind of views? If there’s something special about the text you wanna say, let’s do it!

Jurgen did a terrific job on "Misotheism". But he didn't feel connected with the new concept, which is pretty logical. "MXCII" deals about heresy in my own region, which is not the same region Jurgen lives in. Therefore I wrote all lyrics in our local dialect. Our legacy isn't as rich as the Scandinavian or German heritage, but it's surly interesting to see how old traditions got Christianized or just banned from daily life. Everyone knows about Stonehenge, in my own village there are some stone circles as well. It's an old druidic tradition, meant to be a gateway between life and death. That's what Tombeveld ("Field of Tombs") is about. "MXCII" stands for the year my village Diepenbeek got mentioned for the first time. Doed over't Galgeveld ("Death over the Gallows Field") deals about the old law of hanging. In Diepenbeek two gallows were set, close to the borders of the village to scare off foreigners. One of them was placed on the Alverberg, close to a creek which name can be translated as "the creek of gallows". Back then lots of people showed up to witness an execution. When it took too long, bread was served to please the crowd. The remains of the hung stayed there to rot and to frighten other evil-doers. Things like this happened in whole Europe – It's part of our legacy.


4. Let’s talk about the lyrics once more. I’ve noticed that you changed the language, what was the reason? Is it less complicated to write the lyrics in your mother tongue?

For years I've wanted to do something in our local dialect. In my part of the country each village got their own local language. Of course it's all very recognizable and partly alike. Though there isn't much written information about how you should write everything. Some years ago the cultural involved people of Diepenbeek wrote a dictionary. Together with a friend we translated our lyrics with the help of the dictionary. It really took us hours to do the translation for one song. But it felt very naturally. During the recordings parts were sung in one take, even though they were never practised before. All by all it was a hard job. In Belgium we need to speak Dutch, French, German and English. English feels very comfortable to sing, but our dialect is more natural. Besides our Dutch dialect there's also some Latin and Greek involved in the lyrics. All translations are included in the booklet as well, but in mirror writing. It took me lots of time to write the lyrics, then the readers have to do some efforts as well.

5. At the beginning I felt the release is quieter and more professional. But after some time, I found the right sense (I hope at least); it’s more aggressive, violent and mature. Because of this I started to think this release is not for one or five listening, the real deepness will come to the surface after many and many listening. Did you compose the songs with some special idea how the songs should be? For example to compare the sounding with the concept etc…

You hit it right on! "MXCII" is way more complex and less easy listening as "Misotheism", though the album doesn't sound too progressive or too avantgarde. The record needs to grow on you and needs to catch every dark glimpse burning inside. When you want to fill your belly with fast food music, try another food chain! I never restrict myself when it comes to songwriting when it fits Gorath. I've also written Neurosis styled music, Godspeed You! Black Emperor post-rock and Megadeth alike thrash metal. Of course that's not something that's suitable for GORATH. But I guess a good ambience based song is perfect for GORATH. Sometimes I just want to do something else. I think all GORATH albums have got a typical mark, yet they do sound refreshing each time. Perhaps the next record will sound just the same as "MXCII"? At this moment the few songs already written, sound even more uncomfortable (in a positive way). But who knows what the future will bring.

6. In the past you’ve worked alone, but now GORATH is a full group. Where are the biggest differences from your view? Is better to work together or alone?

I've always been sort of dictator when it comes to GORATH. But this time all members are involved in the total process. This time they want to be a part and not just session members doing their stuff on stage. New views brighten up the horizon. New ideas give new fresh impulses for me as well. This way we all inspire each other. I'm still responsible for the biggest share of the creative package, but we think as a band. This works better then doing everything solo. There's always a possibility to take a step back and get rid of the annoying bastards, but that's not an issue now.

7. What was the biggest inspiration for you during writing of the music etc.? Do you remember any special moment where and when you composed the songs? May we understand the album like a personal piece of work or like a manifest or how? People often using some personal themes or something to make the album more compact.

GORATH is pure. We do not follow trends or steal a hip attitude. In fact we don't want to be hip, necro, satanic or true at all. What you see is what you get. When we sing about our local past, we do it because we like it. When we sing about the fraud named Christianity, we do it because it intrigues us. That's why our lyrics sometimes have a scientific or historical undertone. We give objective facts and do not fantasize about how we should present darkness and serve the Lord. No gimmicks here. That's what inspires us: passion, integrity and honesty. If some can't deal with it, too bad for them. We will not wear paint, nor will we bow for the conservative rules of black metal. GORATH is who we are and all songs come straight from the heart.


8. You’re preparing a tour, right? The groups you play with will be Sear Bliss and Heiden. All of you played at Blacklights festival last year. Where the cooperation or idea to make this tour was born?

We didn't met SEAR BLISS on Blacklights last year. They didn't play on the same day as we did. In fact I'm not that deep into SEAR BLISS. Back then their groundbreaking album "Phantoms" played quite some spins here. But that's about it. HEIDEN however, we did speak. At least their drummer Michal, who is the main organiser of Blacklights. We had a little chat about doing some dates together and some months later we got in touch again to set up a few dates. In the end only 2 shows were booked, which isn't really a tour, but well worth mentioning. Heiden had to cancel their participation because of their guitarist getting severely injured at his arm and fingers. Too bad, because it would be a hell of a party! Our French friends of Bliss of Flesh took over the empty spot on the bill. Also our highly underrated Spanish colleagues of Foscor will join on one date.

9. Do you have any memories to this small festival (unfortunately first and last volume)?

We had a good time. It was our first time in the Czech Republic and the reactions were very good. Personally I was very pleased to witness DARKSPACE on stage. Though I guess we better played a song of MASTERˇS HAMMER to please the crowd even more! This year we'll be heading to Lithuania to play on the Devilstone Festival with DEICIDE. We've never been to the Baltic States, so we're pretty excited about that one as well.

10. Thanks a lot for the interview and of course all the best to the future, we’re all looking forward to hear from you in upcoming years.

F. Dupont