1. Greetings to Italy and I apologise for not sending the questions earlier. Anyway, how do you do so shortly before the release of your new album?

First of all thanks for taking contact with us. Our mood is at its maximum, looking forward for this release through Moribund Cult.

2. Let’s start with an obligatory question, so I hope it won’t be too annoying. Even though you exist since 1995, ABHOR are not a very well known band in Czech republic. Could you please shortly introduce the band to our readers?

ABHOR was born in 1995 in order to combine the passion for music and the study of Esoteric Arts. For this reason ABHOR represents a form of global art that embraces musical art, visual art and literal art. The first demo (In Nostrum Maleficium) has seen the light back in 1998. Successively we’ve released 5 full-lenghts with different labels during the last 16 years. Many musicians took part in ABHOR, including members of Evol. Nowadays ABHOR is one of the oldest and best known Italian Black Metal band still active, together as names as Mortuary Drape, OperaIX and Handful of Hate. Musically, ABHOR plays Horrorific Esoteric Black Metal.

3. All your albums remind me of an ancient ritual which is always a bit different in its execution. I guess that I am not the only one who is interested in the opinion of their creator. I would like to ask you if you can characterize all your full-length album chronologically.

Nequaquam Vacuum is the collection of demos and was published in 2000: pure primitive underground art. In the same year we published our first real full length INRI. This CD is in my opinion one of the highest peaks of our careers, in terms of composing: great atmosphere, great magic ... 2004 was the year for " Vocat Spiritum Morti ", containing 2 new songs, 2 remixed songs of "INRI" and 2 Goblin’s covers. In 2005 the Italian label The Oath pressed "Vehementia" an album that perfectly blends melody and violence, the use of keyboards in this case was minimal and spotted to just some parts to give music a magical dimension. In 2007 we released "In Nostrum Maleficium", an album of old-style black metal, without keyboards, but still with the typical Abhor sound. Unfortunately our albums have never enjoyed a good distribution so far and they’ve often been underestimated. Today "ALLANP" is released by Moribund rec. and I can tell you that since we started we saw the difference in the professionalism and the way this label works.

4. There are some things worth noticing. The first full-length was released in 2000, five years after the creation of the band. Why? Was this era an uneasy one? Did the line-up need to coordinate? Or was there simply some other reason? With an exception of “Vocat Spiritum Morti” (The only one I don’t own) and “Vehementia” you always took quite a long time between the albums. Is it because you are perfectionists or there was some other reason?

The band was formed in 1995 and the first full length CD was released in 2000. Between 1995 and 2000 we recorded two rehearsal tapes never distributed and two self-produced demo tapes ... At that time things were different then nowadays, where most of the bands disappears after the first cd. We have worked hard, changed line up, improved compositions, and then proposed the outcome to the labels with the 2 demos. The time that passes from one release to another is not influential. It takes time to find inspiration, and the right atmosphere an Abhor full-length requires.

5. I would like to stop at „I.gne N.atura R.enovatur I.ntegra“. If I am not mistaken this abbreviation was given its meaning by scientists and alchemists. Besides it is a denial of its original meaning, does it mean that you are interested in such topics? It seems that especially alchemy is close to you because Sulphur often appears in your topics. I guess it points towards Satan. So is it possible to sum up your lyrics in three words -Alchemy, occult and devil-worship?

Alchemy is transformation, the vile lead turned into noble gold ... is a metaphor that I deeply like, because I consider positively the renewal, not only on an artistic level. In this philosophical perspective, Alchemy is part of our world, and sulfur, an element that is symbolically associated with the Hell, accompanies the scent of the notes of our songs. In a broader perspective I wouldn’t talk about Devil worship, but Worship of Evil, because the negative element is manifested in many forms ...

6. Before I started preparing this interview I listened to all of your albums in a row and I have a feeling that the debut and the recent album are much more personal than “Vehementia” and “In Nostrum Maleficium” which were more aggressive. “I.N.R.I.” and “Ab Luna…” are more atmospheric and have richer keyboard layers. Can we say that the new album is something like a return to a original sounding of the band?

I agree with your analysis! As "ALLAMP" took shape I felt more and more similarities with "INRI". The fact that Errans Infernorum (same keyboard player of "INRI") is present in the realization of this work is very significant and I'm glad you noticed it...


7. I hear some violin parts on your new album and they sound really fitting. But to be honest I cannot recognize whether they are sampled or played by a real person. If not who recorded the instrument with you?

It's always work of Errans Infernorum, the violins are really played... It’s an old violin badly recorded... We are talking, in these days, about his return in the line up. Unfortunately ihe has many commitments in his life, including study at the conservatory, and he finds it hard to convey his genius in the music of Abhor.

8. How long did it take you to create the new album? Did you need whole 4 years?

We needed actually more! Some basics ideas and some riffs of “Ab luna lucenti, Ab noctua protecti” were already evolving when we started the recording-session for “Vehementia”. Being busy in a normal everyday-life (job, family etc) and living in different states doesn’t allow us to rehearsal weekly as many bands do. Despite the distance it’s quite comfortable working this way. It takes time from a rehearsal to the next one, and when we meet and start playing we have plenty of new ideas to start working with. And remember that we live far each other...but are really close spiritually.

9. What do you expect from the new album? Or to put it better what can be expected from your music in general? Do you compose music just for yourselves while not caring about the opinion of others or do you prefer to spread your feelings and ideas to an audience?

We sit down and put ideas together..Saevum and Kvasir have always found a good feeling in songwriting. I guess we don’t care about the listeners, everything comes out very naturally while we play. That’s why we never know if we’re gonna use keys or not on the next album. We’ll see...what is certain is that we care about having a strong personality in music writing, find and enjoy the sinister atmosphere during the composition.

10. Since “In Nostrum Maleficium” your logo has tones of violet. What made you to abandon the classic black and white?

Violet is the colour of the spirit! It is the point of union between earth and skies, it’s the colour of nuclear transmutation, the colour of metamorphosis, and conversion. Pure energy dwells in the violet!

11. Yellow ornaments can be found on the mysterious artwork of the new album. Does the colour and ornaments themselves offers any deeper symbolic?

It was an idea of Odin, boss of Moribund and creator of the artwork... We gladly accepted this idea. The yellow ocher, gold and purple colors are very close to the ecclesiastical / funerary symbolism.

12. That was enough about the new album. I’ll ask you something different. About live performances. Do you even play live these days? I’m asking because all I have seen is just a single video from your live performance in 2003. The footage is really infernal, true underground style.

We performed many gigs in the past, always with a strong theatrical impact. Unfortunately we don’t play live anymore. Basically because of our current living situation which doesn’t allow it. Anyway we leave a chance for the future...it can end with some live shows sometime in the future...who knows.


13. Do you keep an eye on Italian scene? Do you care about scenes in general?

We do. As music maniacs as we are, we’re always looking for something exciting to listen to. There’s not much at the moment which is worthy of a listen. Most of the bands are without essence, trying to play fast and claiming it to be black metal...that’s not enough, hehe...

14. It’s not rare but also not very common but is there an Italian band which you consider to be kindred? Or are there some bands which you would recommend to me?

Not kindred as musical style, but surely we share the same passion for walking the sinister path with Mortuary Drape, Opera IX, Tenebrae in Perpetuum,Abysmal Grief, Altar of Perversion, Mephisto...

15. It’s quite interesting that in the countries which are under a strong influence “of cross” there are always interesting and strongly anti-christian bands. In this case it is Poland but also Italy. Do you think that there is bigger disgust and aversion against the Christian faith in such countries which then makes better conditions for black metal?

There’s no heaven without hell...so it makes enough sense.

16. It is a bit different in Czech. By the way do you know any Czech bands?

Sure, just difficult to remember them all...

Agmen – cool music
Enochian - “satanic ceremony” demo
Master’s Hammer - a classic!
Inferno, many good albums
Maniac Butcher, Darkstorm...

17. It’s too bad that I have to close this interview… Thank you for your time you dedicated to this interview and I wish you many successes and not only with the new album. It is common in Mortemzine that the last words belong to the respondent. Whatever you want to say you can say it now.

Thank you for the interview, very accurate, non-trivial, not superficial. I think you understood the spirit of Abhor and you have interpreted correctly our art. I leave you with another question: is there really a life, before death?