Photo by Peter Beste
I’m on a mailing list that deals a lot with Iranian National Socialist Black Metal blogs in Persian, and with whether you should rather kill yourself or murder other people. I’m not sure how I got on it, but now that I am, I’m sort of trying to get with it. What really threw me was when the other day this kid wrote a passionate, 400 word email about how people should be more aware of the suffering of animals, and how it’s good that TV is showing more misery—instead of happy antelopes you see live chickens stuffed into bags. I guess being a Satanist vegan makes sense, in a really backwards, anti-cosmic kind of way. Oh, and by the way, have you heard the new Orcusuts 7″? “Wrathrash” fucking RULES. They’re from Bergen, Norway, and they’re really grim and thrashing. Tormentor, who’s also in Gaalhskagg, is old school so I figured he was the guy to ask if it’s true to be veggie.
Vice: Is it possible to be both a Satanist and a vegetarian?
Tormentor: Yeah, I don’t see any problems in that?
Oh, ok. Does Black Metal put food on your table?
We can’t really live off it, no… to me that doesn’t make a difference. It’s never been the motivation to be doing what we’re doing. In that way Black Metal is more of a therapeutic activity, rather than a provider. Would there be money coming from it, sure, that’d be rad. But the only reason I’m doing this is because I think Orcustus are capable of making great Black Metal.
What were you doing all that time in Colombia?
I’ve only been once, and that was in 2001 with Gorgoroth. It’s a fucking great country with good people. We only did a few shows, and that turned out good! Frost, from Satyricon, played drums, which made the concerts even harsher. Back then it was a hundred times better to play there than in Europe.
What do you eat in the studio?
Well, we don’t really have that much studio experience. To me, one of the goals is to get the rawness and the attitude we represent to stick on tape. My motto is not to ”fiddle” too much, but to try and find the pure expression that I think suits us. The times we’ve spent in the studio have been hard work. And we eat like horses. You’re really fucking focusing on food here!
It’s the food issue, I forgot to say.
Awright, that makes sense…
MIA-MARIANNE & PER-FILIP
The album Transdimensional Holocaust will be out later this year on Southern Lord.