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DARKTHRONE an interview with Nocturno Culto To begin with, on what grounds did you start off using the pen name Nocturno Culto? Why I came to use that alias is still vague to me, but I do truly live my life in the night-time. Generally, the A Blaze in the Northern Sky, Under a Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger trilogy is regarded as the unsurpassed stage of your musical existence. In retrospective, how do you contemplate this era in contrast with your present state of affairs and what is the analysis you draw from each cited album in particular? Furthermore, why the word "Transilvanian" as an alternative for the rightly "Transylvanian"? Yeah, well, I know how it is. The first albums of almost every band are regarded as the best (a little bit of a cliché in my opinion). The "first" era of the band was great for us, but the "second" era is no less great either. Musically, changes have appeared (naturally), but not that much. I know the "trilogy" is strong, or so I've heard a million times, but still today, we deliver to ourselves not to please an opinion. When it comes to "whys" on the written stuff, ask Fenriz (I refuse to answer for him). Hate Them can be grasped as a many-sided standpoint; I still bear in mind our talk about this title, when I put in the picture that it hold a bit of a Punk loom to it, but you set it right by alleging its pious and communal leaning. Yet, tell me why did you make a decision to use it as a substitute for the previously chosen Leper Unction title? Hate Them was, in the end, much more proper in connection with the lyrics on the album. Hate Them is maybe, as you said, also a little Punk alike title, but hey, Darkthrone has a lot of the roots in Hardcore and Punk. - that is shown clearly on the "trilogy". Lrz contributed with his electronic alchemy for the first and final fractions of the record; why did you choose to slot in such elements for a Darkthrone work and will this be something to look upon in upcoming efforts? The work LRZ did suit us fine and he's such a clever dude, using some of the sounds from our "in-between" situations on the Hate Them main tapes... and yes, on our next "effort", LRZ will do something very different from last time, but, after that... who knows? This piece was also mastered at Strype Audio by Tom Kvålsvoll, which is undeniably an acquired preference by the bulk of Norwegian musicians; what was the cause behind the mentioned move for this particular testimony and how was the try-out like (will you do an identical thing next time around)? That change happened for one single reason: I wanted it that way. Moonfog was not happy with the idea, but I have the final word and none can complain. The result got much better than I expected it to be. I was not present actually, but in my shoes was the engineer on Hate Them (Lars Klokkerhaug); we discussed the plan and I trusted him, plus he is one hell of a guy to work with. Zephyrous went away in the middle of the previous decade; what was the motive for his "exodus" and are you both familiar with his whereabouts? I have contact with Zephyrous several times each year, so I never lost contact with him. The reason for his exodus is a vast and strong tale and I am the only person besides him to know the full truth. My part in the mess was in the end vital... (laughs). Well, too much to be talked about now anyway. On Total Death, you invited a number of affiliates from other local groups to write-down the lyrics for your mostly and oddly disregarded sixth release; what was the theory behind this plan? To sum it up, what is the lyric you are most satisfied with and how did you like the end result? The theory was shallow, I guess, but we knew that once we asked it, they would deliver the stuff with skill and purpose. The lyrics I wrote I can't comment. In my own opinion, I'm not a lyric-writer by any means... but I get better slowly, so we'll see. Trey Azagtoth declared on one occasion that the factual significance of Satanism was nothing more than a mean to teardown the old limiting beliefs, as it was just in essence a principle based on obliteration; what does this viewpoint or belief stand for you, both as a person and as a musician? Additionally, point out a few commendable bands within the Norwegian Black Metal spectrum. Yeah, I can agree with Trey there. But every form of belief is treacherous and believe me, it will be the downfall of the human race as we know it. To name commendable bands from Norway? No problem. Cadaver (the upcoming album totally rules), Jernbyrde, Dødheimsgard (now DHG) and Gorgoroth. Nine years ago, the band spread a press statement connected with the Transilvanian Hunger release that declared the following: "We wish to state that Transilvanian Hunger is beyond criticism and any man who attempts to do so should be thoroughly patronised for his obviously Jewish behaviour." In the end, was this a conscious effort to be ditched by Peaceville? There were problems between us and Peaceville, for sure, but everything has come to mutual understanding of every aspect of our entire period on that label. The press-statement will not be commented ever again - we all laid that shit behind us almost ten years ago. We've burned in hell for others' weak-minded conclusions. - On a totally dissimilar matter, what can you tell me about your period with Satyricon, as Kveldulv, concerning the recording of Nemesis Divina and the tour that subsequently ensued? What are your prospects on the show with the band in October and how did it come about? The period as a member of Satyricon was meant to last several years, but early on, I understood that I could not live in my hometown Oslo for very long. After some years in very remote places, I told Satyr that the solitude and darkness were raising their voices and eventually tricked me into leaving the city one more time. So everybody understood that I was to record the album with them and being on tour with them and the video, of course. The October thing was a question from Satyr. Moonfog was to celebrate itself at this arrangement and I said yes to gut out some Darkthrone songs. It might happen one more time, the last ever. - An ending is but a beginning; even so, tell me about your upcoming arrangements and feel free to adjoin something else. Not much to say, but strange things happen these days. Later on, I will inform everybody on that in late 2004. The album we work on now, Sardonic Wrath, is to be recorded in mid April and to be released by Moonfog before summer (I hope). Good rousing and interesting interview, actually. Hail! www.darkthrone.no © 2003 The Lodge |
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