Horncrowned
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Hailing from Bogotá, Colombia the unholy quartet Horncrowned recently released their formidable third album "Casus Belli Antichristianus" through German label Ketzer Records. This new album is a veritable tour-de-force of war-like black metal that few but the masters of the genre can match. Masterful Magazine arranged an interview with frontman Demongoat (vocals, guitar) to talk about their new album, the deal with Ketzer Records and how living in Colombia has formed the band and its members. Lucifer's Flamethrower Horde is here...
War-crushing hails Christ-beheading maniacs! Thanks for doing this interview with us. Your new album is out for a while now, and I must say, it is absolutely crushing! I guess you are knee-deep into promoting this new record in the metal press. Is Ketzer Records setting you up with a lot of promotion work, interviews and such?
Yes, Ketzer Records makes an excellent promotion of our work. Our third album "Casus Belli Antichristianus" has received many good reviews and we have answered some interviews lately.
Horncrowned originally started out in 1995 as the more death metal oriented Inoculation... Was that your first band ever or did you already gain experiences in other acts previously? Tell us a bit about the time prior to the foundation of Inoculation.
Inoculation just was a band where 2 Horncrowned founding members played before. With that band we played live sometimes, we recorded some demos and ended. Later Horncrowned was spawned with a new ideology and musical concept.
At what point did you decide to go for a pure black metal direction and change the band's name and image accordingly?
Inoculation was focused on black/death metal, influenced by Swedish metal from the 90's. Horncrowned was born in 2001 with a brutal black metal sound. It was not really a name change… It was a new beginning.
"Casus Belli Antichristianus" is your second album for German label Ketzer Records. Was the fan - and press reactions living up to the expectations you had when you were writing this record?
Yes, Horncrowned gives to talk with each of their albums, from the first album "The Rise of Satan's Artillery to the third "Casus Belli Antichristianus" album. Usually black metal or brutal metal specialized zines give us rave reviews. Sometimes we find controversial comments by the band ideology. We are against fads, mp3 metalheads, rip offs and new trends in metal nowadays. For me all this is the same shit that is Christianity.
How is the deal with Ketzer Records working out for you guys? Are you happy the way they are pushing and promoting the record and the band in the international metal press?
Of course, Ketzer Records helped us to expand our black metal dominion around the world. For South American bands it's too complicated to get a good place within the global metal scene. There are few who make it and get recognition in the different continents.
In my review I compared you to the likes of Marduk ("Panzer Division Marduk"), Dark Funeral ("Attera Totus Sanctus") and Enthroned ("The Apocalypse Manifesto" and "Carnage In Worlds Beyond"). I guess there are worse comparisons, would you agree?
All of the above are bands and albums that I admire, I collect and that I like too. I'm honoured to know that my music sounds like them.
With titles such as 'Lucifer's Flamethrower Horde (Thy Demonical Squad)', 'Diabolical Indoctrination (Extermination Agility)' and 'Defeated Christ (Hellish Forces Deployment)' this new album deals with themes of war, blasphemy and the extermination of the weak and religious. Would you like to see Christianity driven away from Colombia?
Colombia is a Catholic country. Here the church handles many levels of society. I think that we know really the lie that is the Christian church. Also here you can see various kinds of Christian churches in every corner. The only thing they do is steal the sheep who come to them. Would be great to see the country free from its religious heritage, for the country to achieve a greater development.
The production of this new record is fantastic. Without a doubt due to the high end mastering job by Andy Classen at Stage One Studio in Germany. With whom and which studio did you work to record and produce this record? Will you be using Andy Classen again on future releases?
The new album was recorded and mixed in the Colombian Capital city, Bogotá D.C.. Andy Classen only mastered it, I think they got a good sound. Of course, I like to work with him in the future. I wish to record and mix in his studio someday.
A special mention must be made of your drummer, Bombardier. His work behind the kit feels very inspired by the likes Matte Modin (ex-Dark Funeral) and Fredrik Andersson (ex-Marduk).
It's true. Many of his influences are the world's fastest drummers such as George Kollias, Emil Dragutinovic, Frost, Matte Modin, etc ... He practices very hard and is passionate about the topic and technical equipment.
In the past you have shared stages with Dark Funeral and Marduk, in Bogotá and Cali, respectively. How was it sharing the stage with these genre monuments?
For me, it were great experiences in which we talk with them, exchange ideas, receive advice and comments. We show them our music and many of them now are Horncrowned fans and good friends.
Judging from the pictures on your MySpace site, I'd say Horncrowned should be pretty intense live. You guys go all-out on the visual side of things: corpse paint, spikes, bullet belts, etc. Reminded me a lot of acts like Enthroned, Marduk, Dark Funeral and the likes. How important is the visual aspect of a band, in your opinion?
The musical idea of any band must be comprehensive. You must have a right balance between music and visual concept that reflect the band's ideology. This will make a band stand out on this metal scene full of new bands.
I couldn't find any shows lined up on your MySpace site. Will promotion for "Casus Belli Antichristianus" remain largely within the borders of Colombia - or will Ketzer Records help you get on any European festivals to reach as many people as possible within a short time-frame?
We like to play in gigs with good level and here in Colombia there is much delay on the issue. We aren't a band that plays every weekend in bars or small sites for 10 people. We rehearsed a lot and we're ready to play in festivals of medium or large level. We prefer to play one or two times per year, but on good terms with great sound and highly organized. We would like to make a European tour, but this requires considerable coordination and support of various organizations. We are open to listen proposals, they can contact me horncrowned@hotmail.com or through Ketzer Records.
The Republic of Colombia is a mainly Roman Catholic country and mostly known to the outside world for its drug trade, insurgent paramilitary groups, the violation of human rights and violent armed conflicts. How has religion and the violence in everyday life shaped Horncrowned and its members?
In this country we wake up, turn on the TV, put the news and see all that sort of news. It is normal in this country and here the press is very sensationalist. The truth is, I don't care, besides we are living in Bogota, the Colombian capital city and here these issues are little. That especially happens in rural areas of the country. Bogotá is a city equal to any world capital.
There are only a few Colombian bands known internationally, such as Goretrade, Internal Suffering , Masacre and Utuk-Xul. Are there much opportunities for young bands to make a name for themselves? How would you describe the scene in a city as Bogotá and Colombia as a country, is it well organized?
In Colombia exist too many bands of all metal genres, but only few are good and highlights. Bands need to be more professional and committed to metal. Now exist the "mp3 metalheads", who never buy an original cd and don't understand the magnitude of what really is the metal culture. Very few bands in Colombia have had success in the international metal scene. Horncrowned has worked very hard in these 10 years to accomplish.
Over the last couple of years more and more international extreme metal acts are playing Colombia and its capital city. Is the infrastructure and scene finally ready to host and accomodate these kind of events - do you see them growing in the coming years?
Today in our country we can see any metal band; from the biggest and famous to the more underground. All international bands want to come and play here because the South American public is very devoted in the shows and buy tickets (even though very few followers buy the band's releases in original version). It's good for motivating local bands to be more professional. Now we need see the Colombian bands touring in other countries.
Alright, that's about it from my end. If there's anything I've forgot to mention or anything you need to share with our readers... Here's space! Good luck and hopefully we'll hear more about Horncrowned in the future.
Thanks for the interview. Look out for Horncrowned news. We are preparing a live CD to celebrate 10 years of the band. Also, you can contact us at horncrowned@hotmail.com or www.myspace.com/horncrownedofficial for shows, trades, merchandise, etc.. Listen and support the true metal and crush those who believe this is a fad. 666, a big Satanic hail to Masterful-Magazine, the fans and all true black metal militants in Europe.
Info/booking: www.ketzer-records.de/
