Black Lotus

interview by - Wouter Roemers

Victoria, British Columbia-based atmospheric black metal combo Black Lotus recently released their second impressive album through Canadian label Bleak Art Records. Like their Scandinavian predecessors "Harvest Of Seasons" combines atmosphere with epic melodies and strong orthodox black metal. Masterful Magazine recently had the chance to sit down with vocalist Jasper v.d. Veen, who some readers might recognize from his work with Dutch black metallers Fluisterwoud.

First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak with me today. What is presently going on with the band? What new things are happening for Black Lotus right now?

You're welcome, Wouter. Thanks for the review and interview in Masterful. We are currently writing new songs now we've established the new line-up. Besides that we're also putting a new set together for upcoming live shows. And we're thinking of possibly doing an EP in 2009.

Since this is your first interview for Masterful Magazine, could you provide us with a brief history of the band up till now?

As a full band, Black Lotus has been in existence since 2005. In December we recorded our first album, "Light Subsides" for Chinese label Dying Empylver Productions. A year later we recorded three songs for a promo, which landed us an album deal with Canadian Bleak Art Records in 2007. In the spring and summer of 2008 we recorded our second album, "Harvest of Seasons", which was released in October.

In your band bio it states: "At the core of Black Lotus' inspiration lie the beautiful landscapes and wilderness of their surroundings on Vancouver Island. The heart of the Pacific Northwest, formed by a perfect harmony of mountain, forest and ocean." In what way or form do these fantastic vistas contribute to Black Lotus' music?

Even travelling around our home town of Victoria, there's the great views of the Olympic Mountains of Washington, the Gulf Islands and the expansive forested hills that lead into the long stretch of Vancouver Island. It can't be ignored and I'm sure it's in most people's subconscious. You are never far away from a good hike through the forest and up mountains. Some of the oldest and biggest cedar and spruce trees on the West coast of North America are to be found here. The ocean and the tides that come and go play an important part in the daily lives of people on the island. It's inevitable that it will inspire your music and lyrics. 'Of Pathless Woods' actually makes a direct reference to this area.

Tell us a bit about the concept of this record. "Harvest Of Seasons" deals - as it title implies - with the four seasons.

After I wrote the lyrics for 'Awaken the Season of Old', which deals with the coming of spring and the celebrations surrounding the return of the deities of sun and bounty, I decided to write one song for each season. The lyrics are filled with visual and symbolic descriptions of each season's distinctions and events. They're observations. 'Wreath of the Triumphant Sun' is about Summer, 'Statues in Auburn' about Autumn, and 'Terra Hiberna' describes Winter. The other new songs don't necessarily deal with the different seasons, but they do have the same atmosphere of change, continuous cycles, and strength in the perpetuity of nature.

Many bands seem to take it a little too easy when it comes to the lyrics. Would you say that the lyrics are almost as important as the music?

The music comes first to me as a metal fan and listener. I tend not to pay too much attention to bands' lyrics unless their music really appeals to me. If a band has very poor or ridiculous lyrics and great music, however, it definitely detracts from the quality or sincerity of a band. You're right about many bands taking it too easy on writing lyrics, or scrutinizing what they actually put out there. I want the lyrics that I write to be as good and inspired as they can be and I spend a lot of time on formulating them. You put your heart into writing the music, so why not the lyrics too?

What is your opinion of gore and the typical lyrical subject matter of most extreme metal bands?

I would say that each genre of extreme metal has lyrical traditions and it's great that bands honour them. But many themes got really old fast. I say if you're going to write about extreme metal staples like death and gore or anti-religious subjects, why not do try to be more creative than the other ten thousand bands? For instance, Grand Belial's Key. Bands have been mocking Jesus and his following for decades, but the cynical humour they put in makes it stand out from the rest.

What are the main musical and lyrical differences and improvements on "Harvest Of Seasons"? What has changed compared to the last album "Light Subsides"?

As proud as we are of "Light Subsides", it came together as a bit of a rush job. Some songs were not as developed as they could be and we hadn't been together as a band for very long. By the time "Harvest of Seasons" was recorded we had formed a superior line-up and we're much better in tune as a band and as composers. We also have gotten quite a bit heavier over the years, and the songs are more varied. There are more purely atmospheric parts on the new album, something we will be expanding on even more. And as a singer I have gotten a lot better and more confident. The clean vocals on "Light Subsides" came to be as a sort of a spur of the moment, I actually hadn't practiced actual singing before. Needless to say, when we recorded "Harvest of Seasons" I was very prepared.

Lyrically, there are big differences too. The majority of the lyrics on "Light Subsides" were previously written by Fluisterwoud vocalist Gwydion Sagelinge, I only contributed three lyrics about different subjects. The songs on the "Great Mortality" promo EP were also about different stuff, from an account of the Black Death to lucid dreaming to the Havamal. "Harvest of Seasons" for the first time has a thread connecting all the new lyrics.

Despite hailing from Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) Black Lotus' sound is firmly rooted in atmospheric Scandinavian black metal. I couldn't help but notice the profound influences of acts as Borknagar, Kvist, Obtained Enslavement and Vintersorg. Tell us about that.

We've all been listening to black and pagan metal for many years, and the classic Scandinavian bands are simply what we love the most and draw our inspiration from. Albums like "The Olden Domain" and "Bergtatt" to me are still as thrilling and inspirational as when I first heard them. Maybe their influence also has to do with their atmosphere and subject matter being very applicable to our own surroundings.

Lindsey A. Kerr seems to be the principal songwriter in Black Lotus. In what ways do the other members contribute to a song before it eventually can be called a Black Lotus song?

Actually, that was more the case around "Light Subsides" because most of those songs were already written by Lindsay before the band was really formed. After those recordings and some line-up changes the writing process became more of a collaboration. Some songs on "Harvest of Seasons" were composed entirely by individual members, and others came together as a group effort. Sometimes it's just shaping the structure or fine tuning a riff that makes it officially a song I guess, but despite some songs being completely written by single members, they all fit perfectly within Black Lotus' sound.

The album is graced with an incredible pristine production that is very easy to listen to. I take it you are satisfied with the studios you've worked with to produce and mix this record?

Absolutely. The production quality of the album turned out beyond our expectations. There's plenty of practical studio knowledge and experience between all of us but we knew there were some essentials like the drums and vocals that we had to have done by someone else with the right studio space and setup. We've always wanted Pascal Altena to do the mix and master as Lindsay and I have known him for a long time and he's excellent at what he does. As you can hear on a wide range of stuff he's worked on, from Fluisterwoud to The Monolith Deathcult.

Jasper, you were originally part of Dutch traditional black metal band Fluisterwoud, how did you end up in Canada as part of a more atmospheric outfit as Black Lotus?

I met Lindsay in the Netherlands years ago, and that's where the musical roots of Black Lotus were laid. So I've actually been there from the start. Eventually I followed her back to Canada, as I was ready for a change of environment and curious about the country and its "epic" reputation. I have been here for almost six years now. Even though I still have my Dutch citizenship and will always be a Dutchman at heart, I do see Canada as my permanent home.

This is your first album for the Bleak Arts Records label. Are you happy the way Bleak Arts Records handled the record, regarding promotion, distribution and marketing?

Once the record was released we saw how much effort the label was putting into promoting the album, and we have been very pleased with that. There have been some great distribution deals set up since then.

With the increasing number of good pagan/folk metal bands in the genre right now, do you ever feel like you're in competition with anyone?

What would be the point? Perhaps if there was a big pagan/folk scene going on in our region but it is still mainly a European phenomenon, though there are some bands on the rise here that might signal more of an interest in that style. Even still, we are more interested in writing sincere music according to our own visions, than how many people end up listening to us or prefer the other guy. It would be great to see more serious pagan/black bands coming up in this region. Brutal death metal, melodic Swedish influenced stuff and extreme war/black metal bands have the upper hand in this area. Western Canada has just as much rugged beauty and vastness as Scandinavia to potentially inspire a whole scene.

The pagan/folk metal genre is currently booming and experiencing unprecedented heights of popularity in both Europe as the US. Are you able to reap some benefits from this popularity?

Not yet. We have been getting great reactions from Canada and the US Northwest, but the bigger part of the response has been coming from Europe. Who knows what will come our way. "Harvest of Seasons" just came out and we're only now starting to make a name for ourselves, as "Light Subsides" was not distributed very well.

Thanks for the interview, and good luck with all your future endeavours. Feel free to add anything you want...

Thank you Wouter for the great interview. One day we want to make it over to Europe for a tour. For the time being, please visit us at www.blacklotusmusic.net -Nature's bliss untamed by foreign species' greed. There is no need for laws where mankind does not dwell.-

Info: www.bleakartrecords.com
Booking: www.blacklotusmusic.net

Black Lotus

interview by - Wouter Roemers

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