Enthroned
Wywiad przeprowadził Tomasz Osuch
Belgian black metal horde - Enthroned are currently working on their next unholy opus which is entitled "XES Haereticum". Prepare yourself for their next attack as the new beast will be unleashed next year. I talked to Nornagest and asked him about a few things... He told me me lots of news and explained some events from their past and revealed some of the plans for the near future... just read it now on Masterful!
Hail Nornagest! First of all I would like to ask you about new Enthroned album called "XES Haereticum". Is this new album ready yet?
"We are actually working on "XES Haereticum", we will record it in April 2004. You can expect some Satanic hymns like you can get used by now from Enthroned, but this album will be more mid-tempo and with the same agressivity as "Carnage In Worlds Beyond", it's another step..."
Nerath Daemon announced that he is going to leave Enthroned after the recordings of the new album. Why did he decide to leave the band? Do you have anyone who could replace him?
"Nerath Daemon and Alsvid will leave the band after the recording of "XES Haereticum" both due to their job and also Alsvid because he live too far away from us and we cannot handle this any longer. We need someone who can practice with us as soon as possible and not once in every three month! We haven't found any replacement yet and we will take our time to find the right replacement to these two demons."
Is he still a member of Emptiness?
"Yes, Nerath Daemon still plays in Emptiness because it doesn't ask and need as much time as Enthroned does. Emptiness will release their first album "Guilty to exist" pretty soon, check it out, it's a killer release!"
It is a very important year for you because of the 10th anniversary of Enthroned. For this occasion you prepared something that entitled "X Goatic Reigns". This CD contains unreleased and rare songs. Can you reveal all the details about this album? When will Napalm Records release it?
"Well, we decided to put this release on the side, we will do something later, for this year we prefer to hunt the fields for new members and record the album, which is much more important for us than a 10 years album. Sometimes you cannot do what you wanna do due to certain circumstences, which is the case here, due to the line-up changes and so on..."
Some time ago I found information that Painkiller Records would release vinyls and picture discs of the first four Enthroned albums and 7'EP "Fall Of Christ". Picture discs and ep will be together in a box. It's a great and a nice surprise for all Enthroned maniacs! When will this box be released?
"We have absolutely no ideas. Our ex-label is hard to get in touched with, and Painkiller needs some details from ‘em for at least 2 years now, concerning this release. So until Painkiller got these details we have no ideas of what gonna happend with this stuff!!"
"Carnage In Worlds Beyond" was the first Enthroned album released through Napalm Records. This album has had very good response, and it seems that thanks to this album more people appreciated your music and become more interested in Enthroned music. Are you fully satisfied with this album and with Napalm's work for Enthroned?
"Yes, Napalm has done a great job for us until now. They work pretty good and we are satisfied of how thing ended up too with "Carnage In Worlds Beyond". We hope we will be as much or even more satisfied for "XES Haereticum"."
In the past Enthroned signed to Evil Omen but shortly after that you left this label because they didn't promote you. Then you signed with Blackend/Plastic Head. You were in this label for a few years, they released a few Enthroned albums. Why did you leave them, were there any problems between Blackend and Enthroned?
"Our cooperation didn't worked, they were not a label for Enthroned and not a band for them. Well it depends for which reason, if you sees it from the money side of things we were definitely a band for them, thanx Enthroned for their huge pockets now! Napalm offered us what we were looking for and that's where the whole difference is!"
Enthroned is a black metal horde, but I would like to say that "Carnage In Worlds Beyond" isn't a typical BM album. This is still black metal but with more interesting parts, for example: some melodies, solos. And thanx to this, lots of maniax appreciated this album. What can we expect from "XES Haereticum" then? How can you recommend the new album?
"I‘m not doing any promotion here, hehe, but the new hymns are more dark and got a blood freezing feeling to it. We continued where "Carnage In Worlds Beyond" started. "XES Haereticum" will be different from " Carnage..." of course but with the same aggressivity. The best will be to check it out by yourself, the perfect soundtrack for the upcomming Satanic crusades!!!"
Which of the Enthroned albums is the best and which is the less satisfying for you and why? Imagine that you are a reviewer...
"Well, to me our best album until now is "Carnage In Worlds Beyond" due to the fact that it's full of feelings like our two 1st releases. The production is as we wanted, this album got a lot of dark emotions but not as much as the next one. And the less good would be "Armoured Bestial Hell" simply because I cannot stand this album in his whole form but this is for personal reasons! But even, I think this album isn't Enthroned and that there's almost no feelings into it in my opinion."
It is said that Enthroned is a cult black metal band - especially your first releases ... how often do you hear opinions like that, can it be a sort of motivation?
"It's a great honour and pleasure to hear such statement about your band and about what you are doing and so on... But to me it's not really a motivation, even if nobody would know us or so, I would continue to do exactly the same stuff. But yes, it's pleasent to hear such things and especially when some bands are mentioning Enthroned as a major influence!"
The bands which are writing about Satanism and playing in the name of Satan do not always have an ‘easy life'. Do you remember any situations, attacks from media or from the other people which were caused because of you being a satanistic horde? How often do things like that happen nowadays?
"Oh yes, it's boring! Last thing like that was in August. We were supposed to play at the Summer Breeze Open Air but we didn't because the local church heard about us playing there and made some problems so the organiser didn't put us on the bill at the end! Well, what can you do? We do not care, it's just boring haha...we are getting use to it!"
What do you think about black metal fans which are believing in Christian God?
"Nothing, absolutely nothing. These people do not exist for me, just a few more lambs, nothing else..."
Ok, let's back to the music. Recently you joined a black metal band Plague - you are the vocalist there. How did it happen? Is the first demo - "Visions Of The Twilight" finished yet and ready to unleash?
"We are actually recording the demo and I will do the second guitar as well as the vocals. Some comrads of my area made me listen to some songs they had and I liked it a lot but they had no vocalist and then they proposed me to do the vocal lines and I 
accepted. It's a different kind of black metal of what I'm doing with Enthroned or The Beast, so no problem for me as long as I have the time to do it."
Apart from Enthroned and Plague you play also in one more band, I mean The Beast. If I remember very well, mcd "Fixed By Devil" was your recent material so far. Are you preparing any new songs for the next The Beast attack? Few words about this band please...
"The Beast was formed in 1996 and is my thing, ahah. I wanted to do something where I create everything my vision of sin, decadence and so on... The Beast is the perfect reflection of that and another part of myself. It's very important to me, as The Beast is 9000 % me and no one else, except two great beings helping me for some drum duties and bass lines live. Musically you can describe it as the filthiest, rawest form of black metal which I can compare to Archgoat and Beherit."
Do you remember the times when you played in Heresia, do you miss that time? When we are talking about the past I would also like to ask you how did it happen that you joined Enthroned?
"No, I do not miss Heresia at all!!! The guys involved in that band were complete wankers and I left the band because they wanted to play death core shit; it was the trend back then. Heresia was playing old black/thrash and at that time almost no one was playing that stuff anymore so they wanted to play trendy shit and I quit! Some years after I joined Enthroned because I hooked up with Cernunnos and Sabathan to shows etc..."
Cernunnos, co-founder of Enthroned commited a suicide a few years ago. Did you think about finishing Enthroned activity after that event?
"No not at all, it would have been the biggest insult to his memory! Enthroned is a four headed serpent, one head falls another one grows!!!"
How did that affect you personally?
"Cernunnos was more than a brother to me, so yes! But I was happy on the other hand that he found his own place where he belongs!"
A few years ago you spoke in a very negative way about bands like Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. What is your relation to these bands today, what is your opinion about their music? Still don't you like their music?
"Let put the things how they really were/are: We were not putting down the bands but some members of these, we had some problems with some single members of these two bands in the past, which hallowed us to have a proper opinion about them, now concerning Dimmu Borgir. These persons are not a part of Dimmu Borgir anymore so why should we have a problem with them now? We never spit on these bands because they were selling 100.000 albums or because they were famous, otherwise we would have spit upon Bathory or Marduk etc... But due to the falseness and hypocrite attitude of these persons! I find stupid these kids who are saying that Dimmu Borgir aren't real because they sell etc... before insulting someone take your infos and know that person by yourself! I still don't like Cradle Of Filth, and honestly still cannot understand why they are still labelled as a black metal band and I'm still not a Dimmu Borgir fan but, I rekon that their last album is really good even if it's not my kind of BM."
In the past Enthroned played with many great bands, such like Dark Funeral, Ancient Rites, Emperor, Enslaved, Usurper, Bewitched, Marduk, Rotting Christ. Which of the Enthroned's tours was the most succesful for the band?
"The tour with Dark Funeral in 1998 and some single shows here and there. That special tour because it was the one who got the best promotion so the most succesful tour, but mainly single shows were/are better."
I have never seen Enthroned show but I'm wondering what your concerts are like... I heard that Enthroned gigs are a little bit similar to Dark Funeral rituals. Is that true?
"Well, an Enthroned show is just us on stage playing for Satan and his worth children. Actually we just go on stage and play!! We use paint, spikes etc... So Dark Funeral does! But we aren't like ‘em on stage, we have our own way to play like they have their's. In the past we had blood and crosses on stage and Dark Funeral had some as well, perhaps the comparison is comming from there, but it was a complete coincidence that we were using the same stuff. Enthroned is Enthroned, raw, in the face, like it or hate it we do not give a fuck!"
Your are on the scene for a 10 years, played lots of shows and this question should be a natural. Are you planning to release a live album in the nearest future?
"When we will have the right opportunity and when it'll be the right time. There's a lot of bootleg of Enthroned now, but most of them are shit, we found one which is called "Genesis Of A European Carnage" and it's probably our worst show ever!! We played that show with a huge hang over from the previous night and were like zombies and the show started at 2.00pm!! But well, when the time will be right we will do a live ritual album!"
As I mentioned, unfortunately I have never seen Enthroned on the concert. There was a chance to see your show last year in Poland, but the second day of Smash Fest 2002 was cancelled. There were lots of your fans then and for sure they would like to know when they could see Enthroned in Poland? Lots of polish fans are still waiting for your show...
"We are waiting to get a serious offer from Poland as well!!!! Every offer we had was just crap or just a joke so we are waiting to get a proper deal like that one we had at the smash fest."
Tell me Nornagest, how strong the belgian black metal underground scene is nowadays? Do you have some new, killer BM bands? Well, it seems that in your country, brutal music/death metal music is more popular, you have great bands like Prejudice, Aborted, Ill Fares The Land, Leng Tch'e...
"The Belgian scene is getting well, we have great bands now in black/death metal like Emptiness, Nartvind, Iconoclasm, Eole Noir, Plague, The Beast, Nathracht, Verloren... Great bands, great spirit. Death metal is a bit more popular because it's the trend nothing else, like everywhere!"
Ibex Management/Promotion is the Enthroned management. Is it true that this is your own organization? Do Ibex support only Enthroned or maybe are there any other bands which you support?
"Ibex is my own company, yes. I am manager for Enthroned and The Beast. I also help some bands and label with some promotions sometimes and do artworks/designs as my job. Any bands interested into an artwork just contact me: Ibex@skynet.be ."
Thank you for the interview Nornagest! Would you like to say anything to the most devoted black metal maniacs in Poland?
"Prepare to meet thy doom!! Enthroned's "XES Haereticum" is comming....spread the Virus S.9 XES AMSG."
