1. It took you 9 years to release your first full-length album. There is a two years long gap between “Death and the Black Work” and “Apocalypse Sun” and now it took you just one year to release a new album. How did you manage to come out with the new album so soon? Have you felt a sudden and strong rush of inspiration or are some of the songs of older date?
Naas: It is true that it took us nine years to release a full length album. Understand that for the first few years of our existence Nightbringer was periphery to other metal bands we were involved with at that time. Death and The Black Work had major delays, and we were having much difficulty funding the album as we paid most of it out of pocket. The studio we used was burglarized about half way through the recording and everything was lost, so we essentially had to start over (although two of the rough tracks appeared on the Serpentinam split released via Forever Plagued Records). During this time we were all still composing and compiling a lot of material, so by the time DatBW was finally released I already had most of Apocalypse Sun composed and ready to record, though this would not occur for another two years. These are the factors involved in the long duration between the bands incarnation and the actual first LP release and the short duration between the last two albums.
2. “Hierophany of the Open Grave” sounds closer to “Death and the Black Work” but it still offers something new. Do you think that you have found your natural sounding for NIGHTBRINGER or do you think that there is always something to improve/change?
Ophis: I think we have taken the next logical step in our progression, though there is always room for improvement. This album seems to me more varied in approach in some ways than our past efforts, and this is something I would like to see continued.
3. Benjamin Vierling is responsible for the cover art of the new album. Like his previous work for Weapon, the cover of “Hierophany…” is rich in details and references. Has Mr. Vierling worked according to your exact instructions or you gave him a free hand? How do you interpret the artwork yourself? Some of the aspects are rather self¨-explanatory. But for example what is the “role” of an old man holding a sickle and a chalice? There also two Erinyes/Harpies. Both are portrayed in different manner so I guess they should portray two contrasting aspects…
Ophis:The album art was conceived through talks with the artist Benjamin Vierling. We gave him some initial ideas and alchemical images as reference which he then developed into a rough sketch. I was in close contact with him in developing this further until it took final form. The art depicts the spiritual mortification symbolized by the alchemical nigredo, in which one dies to one’s profane sense of self, withdrawing from sensorial exteriority to be reborn within. Symbolically, this begins with Saturn, the mortification, and proceeds to Jupiter, the expansion of inner possibilities in the subtle realm. The subtle realm itself can be symbolized by the astral serpent and by Mercury, which contains the symbols of both Sun and Moon and is a mediator between the higher and lower. As the two intertwining snakes of Mercury’s caduceus show, this realm contains two seemingly opposed forces, as you have noticed. These are mercury (in its lesser sense) and sulphur, the ida and pingala of yundalini yoga, Lilith and Cain. The initial mortification is therefore a “separation” from the body of the two subtle principles which become the tools of further work. This is shown by the two vapors exhaled from the corpse and by the winged harpies. The harpies represent the impure elements of the two forces that must be purified. The two forces themselves are indicated by the statues to the left and right. The scene is overlooked by Lucifer who sounds the trumpet of resurrection, and in the center is the alchemist who undertakes Saturn’s role, using the scythe as instrument of mortification and holding a cup with three serpents representing the three phases of the Work. Behind the alchemist/Saturn’s head is the hidden sun, symbolically black, which is Death Itself, the gate to Beriah, the formless causal realm.
4. Overly triggered sound of drums was one of the most criticized things on “Apocalypse Sun”. On “Hierophany…” they are not so dominant. Have you learned from other people’s critique?
Naas: I think more so we have learned from our own critique. We feel that a more natural drum sound is simply more conducive to our style.
5. According to the credits you were recording from December till February. I guess that you were recording on several takes, am I right? Have you ever met in the studio as the whole band? Production might not be as “clean” as it is on previous album but it offers plenty of minor details. How would you compare the recording of your previous albums with the recording of “Hierophany…” ?
Ophis: Everything was recorded separately, so we were rarely all present at once. The guitars and bass were not recorded at the studio at all. This is in contrast to the way in which Death and the Black Work was recorded, for instance, which was done entirely in the studio. We have started recording what we can ourselves to save costs and to allow us as much time as possible for the recording process.
6. There is one interesting thing about NIGHTBRINGER, that members do not have clearly specified roles. Members take turns in composing and play various instruments but the sounding of NIGHTBRINGER is still homogenous. How do you manage that? Do you consider this to be the one of the main things which make NIGHTBRINGER unique?
Ophis: I think we all have a common vision for the overall sound, and this is how we are able to keep things consistent. We all feed off each other creatively even though most of the music is composed individually. This keeps things fresh and adds an amount of variety that would probably not be present if only one person composed all of the music.
7. The album also offers several acoustic moments. Have you though about exploring this element in more depth on some future recording? Some melodies of NIGHTBRINGER are rather “untypical” for black metal. Does any of the band members have some kind of formal musical education?
Ophis: It might be interesting to do something like a short acoustic instrumental ala Dissection, but whether or not we use acoustic guitar in the future will depend on the nature of forthcoming albums. If the melodies we compose are rather “untypical”, this is both by nature and design. We have developed a unique sound I think which arose rather spontaneously, and we are very discriminating when composing to maintain this. Personally, I have always been influenced by music outside of the metal genre, classical music for instance, and so I think this led in a certain direction. In answer to your last question, none of us has a formal musical education, although I studied some basic music theory at university and have dabbled at piano for some years. We are all of us appreciative of classical music in general though, and I would say that that and other outside influences have helped to mould our sound.
8. “Emanation” and full-length of Temple of Not were released in an amount of only 150 copies. Haven’t you thought about releasing them in some bigger quantity? By the way how does the future of Temple of Not looks like?
Naas: I would be open to the idea. There is a much more limited audience for ambient and both these releases were done on smaller underground labels that typically release albums in limited numbers. The new Temple of Not will actually be re-released via Fall of Nature Records, as well as a new album sometime next year.
9. NIGHTBRINGER’s lyrics have always dealt with Death. “Hierophany…” presents death from a position of a neophyte (simply said). I find the lyrics to be even more allegoric than before but they are also much more easier to grasp. How did the composition of lyrics went?
Naas: Allegory is the natural tongue of the esoteric thus suitable to the message we relay. The concepts that we espouse are of a metaphysical nature and to convey such things that are often beyond the conventional means of conception and mere imagination, symbolism and allegory is essential. I put a lot of effort into striking directly at the quintessence of the concepts presented within the work, although there can be shallowness or greater depth in the interpretations of the listener depending on the individual and their natural reception and understanding of such wisdom.
10. ar-Ra ad al-Iblis of Acrimonious helped you out with lyrics. Was this long-distance cooperation easy and smooth? Haven’t you thought about giving him more space than on just “Lucifer Trismegistus”? His vocal contribution is great…
Naas: It was indeed smooth. We are like minded and walk the same crooked path and I consider him a good friend. Yes, we had intended to have him contribute more vocally but time constraints stood in the way. We hope to have more involvement with him both lyrically and vocally in the future.
11. What kind of feelings do you experience when you cogitate about death? About the process of dying, your own death and death of your relatives, life after death or suicide? By the way I noticed that for the word “death” you are using a feminine gender which is rather unusual…
Naas: The references to death within the lyrics have little to do with the physical death the body undergoes and nothing at all to do with any such sentimentality surrounding such “loss.” It has everything to do with death within the context of initiation and transcendence, which more than symbolically speaks of death in a profound sense as a gate of transition that leads outside and beyond individual conditioned existence. The lyrics for Psychogogoi, for example, strike at an initial “desire” or intimacy with Death as a gate of immanence to be known and embraced that would lead away from the law of severity which governs conditioned existence. The ascent proceeds to realms which are progressively un-ruled and unrestricted by the laws of multiplicity and “form,” representing the passage from becoming to Being in the traditional initiatic conception. Associating death with the feminine refers more to certain techniques of the left hand path, which uses woman or the transformed force of sexuality, than to Death itself, which as transcendence of life is under the aegis of the masculine.
12. Your first full-lengths were released by excellent labels Ajna and Avantgarde, but the new one is released by Season of Mist. Did they offer you a better deal? I personally hope that such huge label could arrange a European tour for you.
Naas: Excellent labels indeed and we are nothing but grateful to both, especially Ajna. We have a huge amount of respect for Tyler, what he does and what he represents. In regards to Season of Mist, they offered distribution and promotion. A European tour would be most welcomed.
13. You have performed at a remarkable festival Gathering of Shadows in Colorado mountains. Even though I own an official DVD set it speaks quite a little about the festival’s atmosphere. What would you say about this event as a performer and visitor?
Ophis: This was indeed something unique, and the atmosphere surrounding it was unmatched. As a performer, it was quite inspiring to play in such an environment, amidst the glow of torches and the cold light of the stars.
14. We will not drag this interview out. Thank you for the interview and the new album. As it is common the last words are yours so if you feel something has been left unspoken, go on…
Naas: “He who is illuminated with the Brightest Light will cast the Darkest Shadow.”
- Andrew Chumbley
