Dark Funeral
Wywiad przeprowadził Tomasz Osuch
What can I say in this short introduction to an interview with a band that is so wellknown??! It is said that nowadays Dark Funeral is absolutely one of the most important and also one of the best bands in black metal music. I agree with this opinion. How can we explain that phenomenon? Well, I think the best way is... just listen to their satanic black metal art, and you will have an obvious answer to it. We can also say that thanks to the strong will of band's members (especially of Ahriman), great music and many tours and shows, today they are where they should be. Moreover, I personally think that they have become a kind of cult. They have recently had some problems with the line-up and with an american label, but it seems that things are getting better. Let Lord Ahriman, the guitarist, explain everything.Hail Lord Ahriman! I would like to start our interview with the question which is strictly connected with Christmas. I ask about it, because I don't know how you celebrate it in Sweden?! In Poland this is a tradition and standard in our society. How do you usually spend this time?
"The Swedish tradition is probably not too different from the Polish one I guess. In Sweden people celebrate it with X-mass trees, gifts, good food and drinks. It's not really celebrated in a religious way as the Christians would prefer it. It's more of day when families are getting together to eat and drink and give each others some gifts. Personally I don't celebrate x-mass other then getting wasted. Fuck the rest!"
Despite the fact that Dark funeral didn't record a new album in last year, there were some significant changes in band. First of all, I'd like to know why you left the American label Necropolis Records. I heard that Paul Thind from Necropolis was 
that good for many bands which were in cooperation with his label.
"Paul has obviously put in praxis to rip off as many of his artists as possible. And even though we made very clear to him that he'd better not screw us, or things could turn ugly, he still fucked us big times. He literally failed to honor each and every quote we had agreed to in the contract. And before he could damage the band any further we decided to terminate the deal with immediate action. Be warned!"
Did you find a new label which is more reliable?
"Not yet, but we have received several offers that we currently are going through. Things are looking very good and I'm sure we'll be able to make a good decision this time and start a new collaboration with a trustworthy, honest and respectful label."
Another very important event in Dark Funeral's camp is the absence of Dominion, who decided to leave the band recently. He decided to continue studying. Was it only one cause of his decision? I hope the relationship between Dark Funeral and Dominion are still very good....
"Well, the official statement we sent out regarding the departure of Dominions pretty much sum up the whole story. He came to a point where he felt he needed to move with his life, educate himself further and also explore other musical options. He's still a very good friend of us and we wish him the very best in whatever he decide to do next."
You have some facilities for the man who would like to try playing in Dark Funeral. Have you found Dominion's replacement?
"No. We haven't found a new guitarist yet, but we are currently holding auditions. Things are moving along really well. And out of the people who have been auditioning for us so far, there are a couple of very strong candidates. We will however try out a few more guys before we eventually make a final decision. There are several things that we look at when auditioning guitarists for the available slot. How skilled the guy is, his professionalism, attitude, if he's ready and able to dedicate himself to a 110%, stage/touring experiences among many, many other things. The personal chemistry is of course very important too. If a guy gives us a bad vibe already at the first meeting, for what ever reason, he's dismissed 
right away. We show no mercy. I mean, if the personal chemistry does not match, it doesn't matter how skilled and experienced the guy are. You just don't invite anyone in your family."
By the way, do you have any news about the side-project Dominion Caligula where he plays together with your vocalist?
"Sorry, I don't know what's going on with that project really. Only time will tell if or when they will record a new album or not."
In March 2002 Dark Funeral was announced as one of the bands for Metalmania Fest in Poland. Finally you didn't play there. It is said that you were late for the plane to Poland. Is it true? For me personally it's hard to believe in it. What was the reason of your absence on Metalmania?
"Unfortunately it's the truth, believe me. And we feel really bad about it. We were really looking forward to play that festival and to play Poland again, but it was unfortunately a curse over us that day. We have hardly ever had to cancel a show. This was one of the very first shows we have had to cancel, and it sucks of course. Here's the deal. Matte, who lives outside Stockholm, got stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the airport. It was a major car accident on the way between his home and the airport. The whole road was blocked. And unfortunately you can't really predict such things when you leave your home in the morning. He did eventually arrive at the airport about 10 min before departure. At that time the rest of us was already checked in and ready to go, but the gate was closed and Matte couldn't get in. And it was obviously no reason for the rest of us to leave without him. We can't simply play without a drummer. We tried to talk to the people at the check in desk, told them how important it was that we all could get on the flight, including Matte, but they just said it was too late and that there were nothing they could do about it. After that we went straight away to the ticket office and tried to re-schedule the airline tickets for the next flight, but all flights that day were full."
Polish death/black metal band named Thy Disease who played on this fest is grateful to Dark Funeral, because they drunk your beers! And moreover they thank you for it in their new album. Would you like to tell them anything?
"Well, for their sake I hope the beer did taste good!? Wish we could have been there to play and party with them and the other bands/fans! Oh well, next time..."
Lord Ahriman, you joined to Wolfen Society. What was the idea for playing together with members of Acheron and Incantation? Could you describe this band to people who haven't heard yet?
"Wolfen Society is a new musical project created to invoke misanthropy in Man! Musically it can be described as occult misanthropic Metal for the legions of hatred! Out debut MCD "Conquer Divine" brings back the roots of underground Metal, while adding some modern ideas. Besides myself the band feature; Vincent Crowley (Acheron), Kyle Severn (Incantation), Aaron Werner (Acheron) & Ricktor Ravensbruck (The Electric Hellfire Club). 
Wolfen Society is destined to be another Cult band! Never politically correct! I've never really been interested to participate in any side projects. I'm usually way too busy with Dark Funeral, but when Vincent asked me if I were interested to join the Wolfen brood it wasn't really too hard to make up a decision. I've always been a great fan of Acheron and since the two of us got along very well I decided to join. To be able to play together with other great and talented musicians (besides the Dark Funeral guys), musicians that I find a great respect for within the scene are of course a great honor. And besides, it is also a great way for me to develop as a musician."
Ok, let's get back to Dark Funeral. "Diabolis Interium" is the last album so far. In many opinion your third full length album is the best of Dark Funeral. I think the reaction to "Diabolis Interium" has been very positive all over the world...or maybe you heard some negative opinion? How would you sum up this album now? What do you think about "Diabolis Interium" today?
"Unfortunately there will always be those who criticize your work no matter what you do. But on the other hand we're not here to please everyone's musical taste, so who really gives a shit. The album has however received an overwhelmingly good response, way over our expectations. I'm really satisfied with the way the "Diabolis Interium" album turned out. We worked very hard and put our entire soul into the creating process of that album. The most surprisingly for us was perhaps that we were nominated in Sweden for being one of the best Swedish metal bands. And the album entered the Swedish metal chart as #5 and #16 on the Swedish list, which include up all musical categories."
It was released almost two years ago. I think It's high time you recorded a new album. Have you started working on it? If yes - please, tell me something about it, about songwriting process...
"I agree. It's indeed about time for us to start working on a new album. We've just had too much other shit to deal with lately so I haven't really had a chance to concentrate on other then that. I'm however on the very first doorstep to start working out some new ideas for our next studio album. It shouldn't take too long before. I'm at it with full force."
"Diabolis Interium" for me personally is more melodic than the previous one and has a great production. It's still totally fast and hellish black metal, but in my opinion, for example: "Vobiscum Satanas" is faster. Can you agree with me? Tell me if new upcoming album will be some kind of continuation of "Diabolis Interium"...whether or not?
"Seriously. "Diabolis Interium" is much faster then the "Vobiscum Satanas" album, trust me! If you can't hear that with your own ears, just check the beat with a metronome and you'll find out. With the "Diabolis Interium" album we wanted to achieve a better balance between shear aggression, extremity, atmosphere and melodies than on its precursor. So yes, the album has more melodic parts, but at the same time it's also 
our most extreme creation thus far. Since I haven't really start working on any new material it's hard to say exactly in what direction we will be heading on the next album. We will try to improve ourselves as much as possible, without loosing our roots. Basically we will try to bring the whole thing to a new, yet, undiscovered realm of darkness."
I suppose you will record new album in famous Abyss Studio again. Is this studio the best solution for recordings Dark Funeral's music?
"If all goes as I wish; we will continue to work with Peter at his Abyss Studio. I haven't talked to Peter about our next studio album yet, but when the time is right I'll definitely call him up to see if and how he would like to set up the next recording session with us. Since we have been recording all of our albums at the Abyss, except for our debut MCD, and since the co operation between Peter and us, the band, work out incredibly good, I see no reason to look for another studio. Abyss and Peter rule!"
In the past, you recorded self-titled mini album (which is legendary now), and the debut "The Secrets Of the Black Arts" in Unisound Studio with Dan Swano as a producer. Shortly after that, you decided to re-record "The Secret Of The Black Arts" in the same Abyss Studio . Are you happy with the results? Was Abyss better than Unisound then?
"At the time we recorded our debut MCD with Dan Swanö, he was very dedicated to his work. And the co operation between him and us worked out really well. But when we later came back to record "The Secrets Of The Black Arts" the chemistry between him and us simply didn't match. And because of that, the result from that recording session turned out horrible. So we came to the conclusion that the one and only thing we could do about it was to re-record the whole album in another studio, which later turned out to become Abyss. At the Abyss studio we managed to get a killer production well suited that album."
Lord Ahriman, you are the only member from the original line-up. Every year you have problems with musicians. Which line-up was the most solid and the best for you?
"The current line-up is definitely the strongest and most professional line-up we've had so far. It's indeed pity Dominion decided to leave the band. We have had five killer years together, but I completely understand and respect his decision to leave. I'm very positive though that we eventually will find a well worthy replacement."
Your second album "Vobiscum Satanas" was the first one with Emperor Magus Caligula as a vocalist. Previously, he was a Hypocrisy singer. Could you tell me what did he do when he left Hypocrisy and few years later joined in Dark Funeral?
"He was doing a couple of Black and Death metal projects in between Hypocrisy and Dark Funeral, but unfortunately they never got any wider attention."
Nowadays, lots of black metal bands stop using black metal image, make-up, corpsepaint. Can you imagine Dark Funeral's show without make-up, pig heads and firebreathing? Is it still an important part of Dark Funeral's satanic black metal mission? It's seems that visual side of Dark Funeral is for you the same important like your music... Am I Right?
"To me it all goes hand in hand. The music, lyrics and how we visually present the band live and on album. Everything must be combined and make a match with each others. The corpse paint, pig heads, fire-breathing etc has been part of the band since the very beginning. And as long as we feel comfortable with it, we will continue to use it. It's DARK FUNERAL. Hopefully one day we'll get more financial backup from our label so we can make the stage show even more extreme, which is the only direction we will be heading."
What is the usual reactions of metal fans when you start Black Mass on live?
"The reactions are pretty much divided I guess. Some people just don't get it; some are totally shocked while others totally love it and join in on the ritual."
You played at different festivals and tours many times. Which of the gigs and tours do you look back upon positively? And which would you like to forget?
"It's always a real pleasure to tour with Cannibal Corpse. They are really down to earth guys, very skilled and professional musicians. Since 1998 we have done four or five tour together and it's been 
killer tours each and every time. There's been a tour or two that I'd wish we'd never did, but I see no reason to dig any deeper into which tours and with whom it was. It´s part of the past."
I heard some gossip that in the past you used to take drugs very often after the concerts. Is it true? What with this preference currently?
"Ha. That's nothing but gossip of course. People shouldn't listen and/or believe everything they hear. Usually these stupid rumors and "kindergarten" gossip totally lack of truth anyway, so why even fucking bother. Don't people really have other and more important things to care about then to listen too and/or spread this sort of nonsense? For christ sake, get a life and stop caring about what other people are doing on their private time. Damn! Seriously. I don't use drugs at all. We used to drink a lot in the past, but nowadays we drink very rarely and only on special occasions. But when we party, we go all the way and do it the metal way of course! I guess you could say that we have grown up (damn, never thought those words would come out of my mouth) and take the band and music more seriously now then ever."
Ok, let's get back to Metalmania Festival for a moment.... lots of maniacs were dissapointed that you didn't play on Metalmania 2002. If it's possible, can you promise them that Dark Funeral will play in my country on next European tour?
"Trust me. We all understand that we left a lot of people disappointed when we never showed up as scheduled on the Metalmania Fest, but perhaps now when I have explained what happened I hope they will understand that it was never our intention to cancel. I can however assure all of you that we will be playing Poland sometimes this year. Stay tuned...can't fucking wait!"
You started black metal war machine against Christianity almost 10 years ago. Are you planning some exclusive release for this special occasion in this year?
"Yeah, we celebrate 10 years as a band this year. Time goes fast doesn't it? And of course we are planning to release something very special to all of our dedicated fans, but exactly what it will be is unfortunately not decided yet. We got some killer ideas that we would like to do, but we have to talk to our label first. I just don't want to promise anything here and now that I can't be sure of if it will happen or not. Therefore I won't reveal any of our plans....but be sure that we will make an announcement as soon as any decision have been made and approved by us and our label."
Dark Funeral is one of the best and the most important black metal bands nowadays. Did you expect a few years ago that you would succeed with your music worldwide? How would you describe the crucial moment in Dark Funeral’s career?
"Thanx. I do have a very strong will and I am very purposeful with what I am doing, but still, I could of course never imagine that we one day would reach the status we have today."
That's all Ahriman. Thanks for your answers. The last words of the interview are yours of course. Take care!
"Thanx for your support. It is highly appreciated. I'd like to send out a special HAIL to all of our Polish fans. See you on tour soon!!! Hail Metal. Hail Satan!
Tomasz Osuch
