1. Greetings to Germany! Recently when my colleague did an interview with Vindsval of Blut Aus Nord, he (Vindsval) told us he just can’t stop listening to your album „E x | I s t“. Is this a surprise for you/are you happy about it? Are you in contact with some other bands that are released under Debemur Morti?

Greetings to Czech Republic.

Vindsval did? If he is saying that, it is a great quality mark for my music and I am happy about that since this comment comes from a man who definitely has experience in this genre. I am also into his sound and possess several albums from Blut Aus Nord. The actual release “777 sect(s)”, however, is a great achievement from what I have heard so far. I will get it soon.

No, I am not in contact with the other bands that are released under DMP. As a matter of fact, I am in no contact with any band. This pretty represents the solitude of INFESTUS, doesn’t it? I am not really that kind of scene guy.

2. When I heard “Chroniken Des Ablebens” in 2008 I was quite nicely surprised by how it sounds. No artificial or kitsch sounding, everything was honest and straight. If I’m not mistaken you’ve worked as duo on that album, haven’t you? How would you compare with current one, when you did everything by yourself?

Yes, we both worked on “Chroniken Des Ablebens”. Dagon concentrated on the vocals and a part of the lyrics, whereas I was responsible for the whole songwriting, recording of the instruments and mixing. So for „E x | I s t“, only one thing changed: I am now also responsible for the vocals. Within the creation process of „E x | I s t“, Dagon slowly detached from INFESTUS while I fell into it even more by working out a concept that came deep, or eventually too deep from within my soul. We neither had the opportunity to rehearse anymore due to a simple lack of musicians. So in 2010 we decided that I will go on alone. However, when comparing these two albums the sound of “E x | I s t” is not as raw as on its predecessor, but just as honest and straight. I wanted to give this album a cleaner sound-shape. I succeeded with that.

3. Anyway I haven’t heard your very first efforts – demo “Of Ancient Splendour” and your debut “Worshiping Times of Old”. How would you describe them now? And again, how would you describe the difference between INFESTUS now and then?

The first efforts of INFESTUS show a different band in my eyes. We tried to find our style as a band. I already participated in the song writing, but wanted to limit my participation on this. With the lack of creativity of Harbarth, I increasingly took over the songwriting, yet keeping the real great riffs for myself with the aim of using it for a solo-project. I never used them though. On the split with Lost Life I nearly wrote everything myself. With the departure of Harbarth in 2006, I decided to break the boundaries and give INFESTUS all that I have to offer. With Dagon and me representing this band, the entity INFESTUS changed into what it was always meant to be: A personification of the life-denying, antisocial and dark ideology of its fleshly parts. “Chroniken des Ablebens” was the first real Infestus album in my eyes, telling of over-lengthening the long yearned for moment of dying to the length of a CD, outlining the emotions that come with it and representing a very misanthropic, life-denying attitude. Finally, with „E x | I s t“, I created an album which is the most mind-devastating art I have ever created so far, having emerged from experiences nobody wants to go through voluntarily.

So nowadays it feels like INFESTUS is the most complete representation ever. The difference is apparent: All these years were necessary to come to this one point in the band’s history which is the apex of its evolution deriving from solitude itself.

4. Even though you worked solo I have a feeling that you changed your attitude a bit, especially when it comes to drumming. Drums are quite different on „E x | I s t“ –more aggressive and bestial I would say. Did you start to compose „E x | I s t“ with an intention of creating a different album than before?

I have the feeling, the drums of the new album are more diversified and aggressive, but also more often down-tempo when compared to the last album.

Yes, I knew the way I wanted to go with „E x | I s t“. I wanted to bring new ideas into the songwriting, slightly detaching from the classical way of black metal and giving it a more personal character with an even more atmospheric and especially dualistic approach. This was important because the new concept that I already had in mind in the process of creating this piece of art demanded it. “Chroniken Des Ablebens” is a really haunting album that gives you nearly no breaks in its aggressive, life-denying, yet quite atmospheric character. But “Ex|Ist” has a more dualistic background, responding to the pulsating nature of repeatedly arising diversified schizophrenic, identity-deranged phenomena. Besides, I wanted the album to actually “breathe”, or better said to be the breath of the insanity-ridden individual itself; to increase and decrease with its emotional situation.

5. Despite the aggression you also managed to create a strong atmosphere. This aspect was evident on the previous album too. Can we talk then about some kind of aim or only about a natural method how do you compose your music? Do you draw inspiration from somewhere else or your only inspiration is your mind?

Uniting aggression with atmosphere and hopelessness is a main character of my music. It is not my aim to create music this way but the logical conclusion that results from the interaction of my personality with the art of creating music. When I write a piece, I am either in a condition that makes it literally necessary to do so or I put myself into this special mood I need for the song. Fabricating this kind of dark art, which gives me the opportunity to channel inner disruptive forces, is essential for a certain balance in my life. Especially for the new album I drew from very devastating experiences that drove me to the cusp of becoming insane back then. While composing, I always stayed with one song until it is finished. With this behaviour I also generated an extremely deep emotional connection between me and the song, which really outlasts its time of creation. Nowadays, when I listen to it, it literally tears my soul apart. This is how music has to be!

Source of inspiration is my mind and my experiences with life itself with all its darkness that hunts us down; sometimes slow but relentless in its progression, sometimes unpredictable and life-destroying.


6. The biggest strength of „E x | I s t“ is that it is quite unique. You succeeded in creating truly distinctive album. Do you think that you will be able to create something unique and also do you have some idea where you might take the sounding of INFESTUS next time?

Thanks. Yes, I think the next album will be just as unique as this one is. It will use the actual album as foundation and strive for new inspiration both in musical as in conceptual issues, at least staying as dark and breath-taking as „E x | I s t“. But there is still some time to bypass until there will be a new INFESTUS album.

7. Well there are two things which makes INFESTUS quite similar to other bands in my eyes. It is mainly an atmosphere of masterpieces like “Manifesting the Raging Beast” by Glorior Belli, “Salvation” by Funeral Mist or Deathspell Omega’s “Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspices” and also the trademark sound of Tore “Necromorbus” Stjerna. Do you agree with this comparison and feel a certain bond with these bands’ music or ideology? Or am I just completely wrong?

I know the albums you speak of. I don’t have the feeling that the atmosphere of my album is similar to the one of these albums. But I am certainly the wrong person to ask this, because I see my music with totally different eyes than anyone else. Due to my deep personal involvement I am not able to compare it. However, from the three albums you listed the Deathspell Omega as well as the Glorior Belli album I like pretty much.

8. I still couldn’t grasp and fully understand the idea/concept of the new album. Could you help me out and tell me what is „E x | I s t“ about? What is its main theme and especially what does the great cover art represent?

The concept is a construct of a corrosive reality that tells of profound mental grievance, which, in the act of evolving its disastrous powers, drives the individual into the claws of insanity by dissecting its soul. „E x | I s t“ is an elementary struggle for survival, outlining the inner experiences while suffering from a psychiatric disease. One becomes witness of it escalating and taking over control, resulting in bit by bit destruction of the personality until nothing is left than an empty, vegetating shell. Following the concept of the album, the vertical line of the title “E x | I s t” represents the passage between the “ex” and the “ist”, together forming the word “exist”. This line separates the “Ex” (Ger. prefix, which declares that something is no more) standing for the past time experiences, from the “Ist” (Ger. synonym for the present time) that symbolizes the present time. The past which contains the rebounding schizophrenic, identity-deranged disorder episodes, is fading into the present representing the escalation of the disease. Finally resulting in a nonresponsive, catatonic state, it is the word “exist” that characterizes the empty, yet existing shell and its irreversibly destructed personality.

As for the cover art, you have to know that the drawing already existed before it was used for this album. In my search for a fitting artist, I tried to find someone whose art matches to mine. I didn’t want a design studio to do the job. I wanted a picture with strong personal commitment which was as sick as my concept; a piece of art, originated from such sable depths as mine did. And when I first saw the drawings of Eric, I knew I found the one I was looking for. I did not ask him about the intention behind his drawings, since I already understood well enough by only looking at it. The front cover drawing fits perfectly to the concept of this album. You can interpret it as a visualization of the consequences of the individual’s disastrous degeneration. This life-scarred face with these empty eyes and the head exploding from the last existential fights against what was always part of him…I saw this picture and knew it HAS to be this one.

9. For me „E x | I s t“ is at very high technical level. How long do you play your instruments and which one you love the most? Do you consider yourself to be a good musician?

I play drums for 10 years now and guitar for approximately 7 years. I don’t practice much, so I don’t regard myself as a good musician, but as a guy with a certain gift. I couldn’t tell which instrument I love most, because they are so different from each other. I’d say I love both equally, the precise and destructive energy of the drums as well as the high emotional feeling of the strings.

10. What about your future plans? Have you thought about hiring a few members, making INFESTUS a band with full line up and start playing live again?

Yes, I actually thought about recruiting some live members and playing some selected shows. But to be honest, I think that this kind of music should be consumed all alone in order to understand and gain access to the whole spectrum of it, giving the music the opportunity to enter your mind and let it do whatever it wants to you. What do you see when you visit a concert? Most of the people are drunk and don’t really listen to the music (or simply can’t due to a bad mix). The situation of a live gig is quite unsatisfying most of the time. There are exceptions though. This way of looking at things is the reason why INFESTUS quitted playing life in 2006. I would have had musicians at hand but decided to withdraw from this. So we will see what happens in the future. But of course a follow-up album is planned. And this one will at least dig as deep into you as “Ex|Ist” does, and even more if this is possible at all. Right now though, I am pretty busy with other things in my life. .


11. By the way what’s you opinion on one man bands? You are one of the few who does it right. Usually they’re just a shitty bedroom projects…

Haha, I totally agree with your opinion. Most one-man bands simply lack of inspiration and talent/abilities. I usually do not expect much from them. But there are few exceptions. The other thing that I dislike most about them is that they often use a drum computer. In my eyes, the sound really suffers from this choice. If they can’t play all instruments, then for fuck’s sake, found a band! This will definitely increase the quality in most of the cases. However, there are bands that play a certain style where the drum computer is the right choice, where it literally underlines the inhuman feel of their music for instance.

12. Nowadays plenty of people complain that black metal is dead and that it will never retain its former glory… well I disagree especially when we have a bands like Rebirth of Nefast, Otargos, Ascension, Teitanblood to name a few and INFESTUS of course. What do you think about the contemporary black metal? Do you observe new bands or you simply don’t care?

I think, those people shall continue to close their eyes and stay trapped in their stagnating music taste. I don’t even pity them. In the last 8-10 years there have been great new releases. But yes, they will not retain its former “glory” because they managed to dispatch from this “curse” and establish their own glorious realm, bringing new ideas, concepts and feeling into the music. I for myself love to check out new bands either the ones from the experimental side of music or the ones coming from the more traditional roots. But what I don’t like about nowadays black metal scene are bands that still try to imitate black metal from the 90ies and exalt Satan with every second word. This has really become boring.

13. Unfortunately „E x | I s t“ was leaked just a few days ago… It’s obvious that one day the album would appear on the internet but to leak it two month before the official release? That was a pretty cuntish thing to do… Do you think that it will harm the band and label significantly?

I don’t know. Of course, especially for the label it is a problem. Many people will have preferred to download it instead of waiting another 2 months. That is also the reason why Void of DMP decided to offer the album already in March. I hope that paid off at least a little. Nowadays, it is already hard enough for non-major labels to survive when looking at the download possibilities in the internet.

14. That’s all from us for now. Thank you for a masterpiece that „E x | I s t“ certainly is and for your time as well. If you feel that something haven’t been mentioned or you just want to send some message to our readers feel free to do it now. Take care.

Thanks for the interview.

Plunge your soul into this album’s manifesting morass of devastation and get lost within the infinite depths of your rotting mind.

Life transmuted into shallow non-existence; E x | I s t … desist