Bill Zebub on Bill Zebub

 

What was your first real metal-related activity or production; the Grimoire..., or something antecedent?

I had a radio show on a college station. I pissed off listeners the same way I pissed off readers of the mag. I remember when Dave Mustaine's label sent out cassettes that had recordings of him answering the questions that were provided in the press release. D.J.'s were encouraged to record themselves asking questions, and then dubbing in Dave Mustaine's answers. I did that, but I made my own questions up. I asked Dave, "Are you massively gay?" and he answered, "Yes, without a doubt. And I work very hard at it." His fans were not amused, but they shouldn't have been listening to my show anyway.

I know that you continue to churn out the Grimoire (no longer the black ‘n’ white newspaper print that left smudges on my fingers), but what of your radio show? Do you still actively broadcast the show? What's the story?

I've had different kinds of radio shows over the years on various radio stations. Currently I am on every Saturday night on 91.1 FM from Midnight-3am. If you are outside of New York or New Jersey, you can hear the live stream on www.wfmu.org. I am on as a character called "Professor Dumdum."

I have your Stereotypes...Don’t Just Disappear Into Thin Air and Bad Acid DVDs, as well as your first Black Metal Documentary video, but am not always sure where to get your stuff. Is there a single place to find your videos, perhaps a Bill Zebub Foundation or Institute, or must I hunt them piecemeal?

Sometimes the movies are in big chains, like Coconuts and FYE, but they eventually get banned. you can pretty much go into any Best Buy and tell a clerk what you want, and the clerk will say that it's available on the Best Buy site, but if you order it in the store you get free shipping, or something like that. Netflix has a lot of my movies. The best bet is to Google the hell out of me.

Your interviews for the Grimoire... are generally amusing because of the tone you set from the start, not to mention the frivolously altered band pictures that you include. However, your churlish and puerile questions wear thin quickly, leaving the reader obfuscated by your unenlightening questions. Why do you waste so much of your time wasting others’ time?

It's interesting how you generalize your own reaction to the entire population. I know that others think like you, but I don't care about that segment of readers. People with good reading-comprehension understand that the questions that may appear insipid actually give you the real personality of the artist being interviewed. While YOU may ask, "what are your influences?" and get a weary answer that means nothing even though it seems like you are getting informative replies, my questions give you the soul. To quote the god Dionyses, when he was told that he made no sense, "WHAT MAKES NO SENSE IS TALKING SENSE TO A FOOL"

Alcoholocaust Deniers Readership Question - Oleg, of Brown University in Rhode Island, writes: Bill Zebub, what is your real name?
I can cash checks made out to "Bill Zebub" so that is my real name.

I read some non-entity’s review of your Stereotypes..., where he/she/it unleashed a moral rant, alleging, for instance, that your film was a “thinly-disguised propaganda film of the American far-right underground.” Do you think this mental midget just missed the opening disclaimer read by the guy with all the piercings, or that this person is just one of the typical American slobs that can’t think for themselves, but only react passively to external stimuli, enclosed as they are in their solipsistic religio-moral microcosm?

The fool was just typical of the brainwashing - these days people are trained to have a knee-jerk reaction to certain words, images, ideas, et cetera. That doesn't make you a moral person. A moral person weighs decisions after contemplation. I don't really care about those ignorant reviewers. It's just so funny to see how smart they think they are when in reality they are just showing their massive gayness. Anyway, I discovered, through the Grimoire, that people remember the insulting reviews, and that those nasty reviews actually sell more copies! I've noticed that in my own realm. The movies that get the highest praise sell the least, and the ones that get ratings like 1-out-of-10 sell astoundingly. I even started to make fake accounts on message boards and wrote ani-Billzebub threads. That stuff really works, believe it or not.
 

King Diamond has regularly appeared in your Grimoire..., and sporadically on your videos, e.g., following the credits of Bad Acid. How long have you been infatuated with King Diamond, and have you yet realized your elaborate fantasy involving King Diamond and Peter Steele having their way with your sequined person, set to the theme of the Christian Woman video?

I believe your question betrays your own fantasy about a threesome. My fantasies do not involve males.

What are your thoughts on the last releases by Absu and Beherit respectively? I ask because these are my two favorite bands. Also, feel free to comment on any other aspect of the Absu or Beherit histories.

I have never heard those bands. If I did hear them, it wasn't on purpose. I interviewed the drummer from Absu for my forthcoming BLACK METAL: THE MUSIC OF SATAN documentary. I recorded some live clips of their show, but I have absu-lutely no memory of it. Get it? I said ABSU,,,,,-lutely.

Briefly, or prolix if you prefer, tell me your thoughts on Christianity, and also on religion in general, or Religion at Large?

When I first began my exploration into the true origins of christianity, I started wondering about the falsity of other religions as well. I didn't have as much interest in other religions because I didn't feel that they really mattered. They didn't cause problems the way christians tend to. Well, things changed over the years and now moslems are causing problems. But the question remained - why do people believe in any deity or religion. As I pondered it I put forth a guess that maybe it's part of our brain wiring. Coincidentally I was studying the foundations of personality and I read some of Carl Jung's ideas. Not long after that I was exposed to MANY scientific explorations into the phenomenon. I will very soon have an article on thegrimoire.com about my findings. Bear in mind that no such information is conclusive, but it's very interesting. I've been totally addicted to buying all the books by Richard Dawkins. You might like to check out "The God Delusion."

Finally, have you managed to get approval for Welfare, and if so, have you been able to move out of your mother’s house, or at least upgrade to an eight-speed bicycle?

Who knows? Maybe I will be on welfare in the future. Or some kind of thing like that, ha ha. I was just thinking to myself that even if I had a million dollars I would never buy a luxury car. I have a strange curse with cars. The very first day that I buy a new car results in some kind of really stupid cosmetic damage, and after that at least one can of soda explodes inside. The last time I went to Canada, the border agents swabbed my ceiling because they thought the dried up soda was blood from a shotgun blast. I know that some people might think that I am a psycho when they see what my car looks like - it always requires a speech when I pick up an actress for the first time. I swear that I am not a lunatic and that I just don't have time to clean the car. If you saw it you might expect my car to be the only vehicle in the world that has cockroaches and mice. I like to think of that as "personality." When a girl overcomes her revulsion, then that means that she is the one for me, ha ha.

Q&A with Maelstrom of Angelcide - New Joisey Black Metal

Here is the first interview of the "new year," with Maelstrom of Angelcide, who my readers (all three of them) may recall from an earlier interview on the band Whorde - toxic waste isn't the only evil spewing from the Garden State!

I listened to Angelcide’s EP The Citadel, but by now you have a full album completed, do you not? 

Yeah, the album is "Twilight Carnage."  It expands on the sound started on "The Citadel" and is more technical and varied than anything Angelcide has done yet (as well as anything most other modern black metal bands have done).

In what relation do Angelcide and Whorde stand together, on which project do you focus more of your energy? 

It has differed from time to time, but most of the time Angelcide was the main focus (with the exception of when I was in Abazagorath, despite my lack of anything to show for it).  I'd like to release at least one more album with Whorde.


The music of The Citadel sounds, to me, like it comes from the, so to speak, New School of American Black Metal (if I may coin a term). I am instantly reminded of bands like Leviathan and, to a lesser degree, Xasthur. This style never quite caught on with me, but then my experience with it is rather limited. Do you agree with my observation?

I don't think there are many decent modern black metal bands from the US, that have surfaced in the last decade.  I see where you're comming from in certain characteristics in terms of style (such as choice of riffs), yes, more similarities to Leviathan than perhaps i noticed.  It can be hard to take American black metal seriously because most Americans don't take it seriously like they do in other countries.
 
There were some dissonant parts with rapid drum programming and anguished screams which reminded me somewhat of Manes’ Maanens Natt. This is not so much of a question, is it?

It's a compliment, I liked that E.P. a lot.  Yeah there were definitely some Beherit-styled riffs introduced on the citadel, and used on Twilight Carnage as well.  I try to take riffs that were from different styles of black metal, and those kinds of riffs that Beherit uses- dissonant note/chord progressions, usually notes that are all next to each other- yeah I try to incorporate them into the sound as well.  Beheirt was always one of my favorite and biggest influences, although Whorde is way more influenced by them than Angelcide is.  I'm glad you mentioned that E.P. because a surprising number of people are not familiar with it, it's so fucking weird but so fucking good.  Beherit rules!!!

What is your involvement with US Black Metal in general? Who are your collaborators and what other US bands do you perform with or contribute to?
 
I played in Angelcide, Whorde, Abazagorath, Grafvolluth, Misanthropy Legion, Malstrom, and contributed lyrics for Ouroboros Borealis.  If you had asked me two years ago  about my invlovement in US black metal, my answer would have been a lot different.  I was set on establishing a name for myself within the scene, and was successful for a bit.  But, the love I had for this scene grew to hate because of a lot of the people.  In south/central Jersey, us black metal guys would just get wasted and raise hell and have a good time.  Members of Grafvolluth, Norsekrieg, Misanthropy Legion... we were distant from any other part of the black metal scene, we created our own special hell.  We didn't have rules,  didn't try to impress each other, just lived by our own terms.  No corpse paint, never.  And so much drinking. So much drinking.  Once I saw the scene on the outside though, it was different.  Everyone had their guard up when I met them, and tried to play a stupid role.  Fuck that, I'm sorry, that's not what black metal was to me.  Now I have completely, completely withdrawn from the US black metal scene.  A tragic end.

What are some non-metal musical influences of yours?
 
I'm glad you asked this.  I explored a lot of other dark music genres, weather or not it was cool for a black metal fan/musician to enjoy them.  Such genres include the obvious like dark ambient and drone, but also psychedelic trance, classical music, industrial, and other forms of electronic music.  Also, and probably most importantly, hardcore!  I'm talking about 80s and early 90s hardcore, the Boston and NYC scenes respectably (not that faggot metalcore shit, no no no, I hope people know better to think of that shit when they hear the word "hardcore").  There are so many raw, underground hardcore bands that whose sound is identical to black metal in all aspects except vocals.  There was once an interview with Eurynomous long ago where he said Mayhem was "a hardcore band."

What is your label/distribution scenario? Are you signed? Where can I get your stuff?

The label that put out "Twilight Carnage" sucks, just download everything.  Deadknife Records, the link is, www.deadnkiferecords.net and http://www.myspace.com/deadkniferecords all of our releases, including the new album, will be on there eventually.

I recently watched a documentary about snuff films, in which opinions were presented by those who believe and those who do not believe that snuff films exist; a former FBI agent denies that they exist, for example, while the creator of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre avers that they do, and they he’s not only been offered them by mysterious Asians, but has seen one. Do snuff films exist?
 
I know, for a fact, that they exist.  I have seen them, and with the freedom of information that exists today, there is plenty of real death available if you look hard enough.  Censorship is no longer possible in todays world. 

I asked a similar question of Marko K. (Deinonychus, Bethlehem), but, what are your thoughts on the digitization of music that is obviously superseding compact discs and other standard media? In that other interview, I explained that although I finally jumped on the digital bandwagon, after years of resistance, I absolutely continue to order original albums and merchandise from the bands I support. I sometimes buy digital metal albums through Mark Riddick’s excellent Metal Hit Records. All rambling aside, what are your thoughts on this issue?
 
I don't care about financially supporting bands.  Sorry, that's not what music is about to me.  However, their are certain albums that I do want a physical copy because of the great value it has.  I own some vinyls, some tapes, lots of metal CDs.  A lot of black metal isn't worth buying, but a lot of it is, too.  It was important that I owned a physical copy of "De Mystiis Dom Sathanas" and "Hviss Lyset Tar Oss" but albums by random, unimportant black metal bands are fine just on a laptop.  When concerning Angelcide, the lack of photos and actual copies leave more to the imagination... I want to draw out the dark world within you and have that be the reality you come to understand when listening to Angelcide.

Do you agree with my observation that metalheads, per capita, are proportionately smarter than representatives of most other musical genres? Of the people I am obligated to interact with on a daily basis, none that listens to (for example) modern commercial pop/rock, modern commercial pop/country, or (c)rap pseudo-music, demonstrates any higher-than-average intelligence or interest in intellectual pursuits. TV is definitely the common denominator with these people. I shouldn’t have brought this up, because I go on ranting about this for hours, but what do you think anyway? 
 
This is a very hard question to answer but I think I have to disagree.  In fact, a lot of metal heads are the most close minded, insecure and uneducated people I've ever met.  I've met some really intelligent ones, no doubt, as the ones I chose to surround myself were some of the smartest people I've ever met, but I've met so so many that were just so dumb, ignorant, and so desperate for acceptance within the metal community that that is all they strived for.  The black metal genre is a perfect example of this.  Some bands- Burzum, Emperor- showed a great understanding of so many things far beyond the mere mentality of people- and perhaps that allowed them to be successful.  However others have nothing to say but "HAIL SATAN FUCK JESUS'S ASSHOLE" and don't even have a good understanding of the satanism they are preaching!    To understand a band like Burzum or Beherit requires a lot, and that in itself is a testament to one's intelligence.  But I've met so many stupid metal heads that it made me want to just reject that whole community in general. 

Last words? Mine would be: memento mori.
 
"Last words are for fools that haven't said enough"

An Open Letter to EU Commissioner Stavros Dimas, Anent Hill of Tara vs. M3 Motorway

The Magus, Russley 'Proscriptor' Givens of Plano, Texas subscribed my e-mail address to the mailing list of an organization called TaraWatch. I read the notifications that were sent out by this group and learned that their reason-for-being and aim is to dissuade the powers-that-be in Ireland from constructing the M3 Motorway. This is not an anti-industrial group that seeks to rid Ireland of roads and motor-vehicles by a process of attrition, but one that seeks to prevent this particular motorway from being constructed.

The proposed M3 Motorway, when constructed, would transect the area that was once known as Tara, or the Hill of Tara, the timeless seat of the Ard Righ, or High King of Ireland. I suppose that you could compare this to constructing a nuclear fusion reactor atop the grounds of what-was-once Buckingham Palace, in the years following the thermonuclear poly-macro-genocide of life on Earth that will be the final Act in the Play: World War III--currently in pre-production.

To get to the point, the latest notice that I received from TaraWatch urged me to send an e-mail to Stavros Dimas, the EU Environment Commissioner, who apparently has some sort of sway--I'VE never heard of him, but who can say what goes on in Europe, besides unbridled orgies of debauchery, chain-smoking and inadequate shaving standards for both men and women.

Here is the message that I wrote to Mr. Dimas, which I wrote with no forethought or consideration beforehand, nor do I find especially amusing, sharp or appropriate. Well, I've wasted this much of your time, so you may as well read the message and get closure. Thus:

Dear Commissioner,

"A Hill of Tara in the hand is worth two in the bush" is an example of the hearty wisdom that my Grandfather would often impart to me. He came to the United States of America from Ireland in the beginning of the 20th century, and the ancient hearth-stone wisdom of the Irish countryside accompanied him on this seabound voyage. His descendants may thank Manannan Mac Lir--Patron of the Irish people and Lord of the Sea--who in his wat'ry wisdom granted my Grandfather safe passage across the Atlantic abyss to a New World.

I dreamed a terrible dream yesternight: a vision of a great flood upon all of Europe, just missing Ireland and the Isle of Man. I do believe in prophecy, and I see that this dream was a warning from Manannan Mac Lir himself. I understood implicitly that His Will was for me to forward this message to you, Sir, so that you may know that praeternatural beings are involved in this issue.

Sir, if you do not respond to Our plea to re-route the M3 Motorway and thus do your part to save the site of Tara from annihilation, the spirits of long-dead Irishmen will surely haunt you and yours for the remainder of your Earthly life; you might not reach the Tir na Nog either. The Hill of Tara must not be violated, for it is the seat of the High King of Eire--the Ard Righ--who is one King and many Kings throughout the dimension of Time, and we must not tamper with things that we do not fully understand!

This is no longer a matter of a mere motorway, this is about preventing a cataclysm and the subsequent atavism of all European civilization. The hourglass has been turned: now it's your turn.

Thank you Sir,

-Alcoholocausto

Interview with Mikael of Night Conquers Day (R.I.P.) & Tearstained

Hail Northern darkness and the cold winds that howl throughout the winter night! I first became acquainted with NCD by hearing the album The First Snowfall, which was picked up in a used record store in Philly. Where I heard it is irrelevant, but I remember being struck by the music's authenticity of metal spirit. I recall imagining myself as the figure in the cover painting, listening to the music--quite a feeling. More recently, I picked up the second album Rebellion is the Art of Survival. This album, as did the first, features epic songs that sometimes last up to 15 minutes. I realize that this band is not currently active, but I like the music, so what's your problem? Y'wanna fight about it?

How did you become involved with metal, geographically speaking? Was it in NY that you began to make music; how strong is metal in your area, Rochester--unless I'm mistaken?

Well my first introduction to Metal was actually by my cousin down in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played me Motley Crue and Wasp in 1984 when I was 13 years old. I immediately bought those albums. Then I bought 2 albums that changed everything: Mercyful Fate “Don’t Break The Oath” and Venom “Possessed”. The following year I discovered a radio show here in Rochester that was on Saturdays at Midnight til 4am called Metallic Overdrive, and that show turned me onto REAL metal. Metal Church, Razor, Metallica, Slayer, Bathory, Piledriver, Exodus, Hallow’s Eve, Nasty Savage, Destruction, Sodom, Kreator.... I mean they played the most extreme stuff. All the German Thrash, power speed black metal. And Rochester had a KILLER scene back then with constant concerts at a local place called The Penny Arcade (which is still there, but it’s not the same). I saw Death, Kreator, Slayer “Reign In Blood” tour, Overkill, Voivod, Sacrifice, Nasty Savage. There was a record shop called Lakeshore Record Exchange that had all metal albums. And my cousin in Pittsburgh turned me onto the Pittsburgh scene whenever I visited there. I got demos by Dream Death, Necropolis, Doom Watch, Eviction, etc. In the 90's the death metal and deathgrind scene flourished here in Rochester. Local bands like Disgorged and Matrikhore. There was my band Buried Beneath (‘92-95), Withered Earth, Lethargy. There was a handful of extreme metal bands here. But by 2000 our metal scene just dried up. It is total shit now. I don’t understand what happened. There’s no crowds at shows, so no concerts really come here any more except the occasional King Diamond tour (which I thrive on), and we had Judas Priest last year. Oh and Dimmu Borgir came here last year too, that was a good show. Otherwise that’s IT! The first band I had going was in 1988 called Morbid Ecstasy. I played guitar and wrote all the music/lyrics. We split up, and I played in a band called Raid briefly, and in Genital Asphyxiation (a thrash band that played at parties), and in a killer band called Secluded Violence for a month. Then from 1990-1992 I played in a band called Astaroth. I left Astaroth to join the forming of Buried Beneath. And then Night Conquers Day formed from the ashes of Buried Beneath. I also did some solo-projects: Shadowcaster (1992-1999) and Into The Sunless Meridian (1994-1999). And I still have Tearstained going (since 1995). Night Conquers Day came to rest by 2001.

The sense I get from listening to NCD is of the fierce will to live of a creature whose natural habitat is destroyed by the encroachment of modern (empty) human society--a modern-day society that builds a wall between the natural, phenomenal world and the individual, figuratively speaking. What are your thoughts on this plastic-like substance that is supplanting everything that links us, as humans, to the super-physical realm on Earth?

This is a very interesting question. I think you perfectly captured the idea of the debut CD actually, “The First Snowfall”. Mankind is not in harmony with nature on a grand scale. Animals have cohabitated, we have not. We “evolved”. We are almost alien to the planet. Modern day society is very plastic. It has been referred to as “game-life” by psychedelic philosophers and shaman. I agree with that. There are levels of understanding and consciousness that I believe all people do not share. The concept that many people are really just sheep, living out their drole lives without questioning anything and always being “safe”. I do not fall into this category whatsoever. I am an individual. The whole philosophical concept of NCD was to not follow a path, but to make your own path and leave a trail. This moved onto the philosophy of rebellion, a means of surviving in this world because of what is has become. Technology has split this world in half. Are you familiar with String Theory? If not, do a search on the Internet and watch the NOVA specials. Educate yourself. Knowledge is lifeblood. Religion has NO answers.

What role has Christianity played in this decay of the human spirit; religion collectively?

I believe christianity single handedly has destroyed 2000 years of history. They have destroyed more relics and historical data than any other group of malicious humans to have lived on earth thus far. Christianity worships the decay of the spirit. The middle ages saw it flourish on the decay of the spirit, so much so that they began Crusades and killed those who would not accept their god and die for him. Misled humans under a god they adore and worship are very dangerous. Muslims have done no better. They are, today, like the christians were 500 years ago. They started late with Muhammad. Both sides cry about who killed who. The Inquisitions decayed the human spirit. Anyone different had to hide or stay secretive. Even today it is merely a crutch for those who are weak in spirit. It is a religion of weakness, of lies and hypocrisy, of sickness and forgiveness. I do not accept that at all. Religion has caused all the worlds great wars. Killing in the name of god has killed more people than any other reason for killing.

Are you familiar with the VA metal scene; have you heard of bands such as: Hatred; Morbius; Witchhunt; Dwarf Grinder; Grand Belial's Key?

Definitely! First off, I must state that Grand Belial’s Key are THE best US black metal band bar none. There are some KILLER USBM bands, but GBK is the top. I remember tapetrading with them back in 1992 and getting the GBK demo from them. I’ve been a fan since then, and at that time I was playing in Buried Beneath (the pre-Night Conquers Day band that also had Tim playing bass). All 3 of their CD’s are complete masterpieces. Morbius, I have their debut CD from the 90's. Witchhunt I got the demo through tapetrading. There’s also Arghoslent, they’re killer death metal with a unique touch. I believe the 80's thrash outfit At War was from Virginia as well, and they were total cult! Virginia is also home to the infamous “Sniper”.

I forget whether you used your KD-like falsetto wails on the first album, but you do on RitAoS.

They are all over the debit CD. Especially in “The First Snowfall”.

I think that you use them sparingly, which makes them effective. A favorite musician of mine, named Sir Procriptor McGovern, who hails from the Glenorchy District, is also notorious for this kind of battle cry in Absu songs. What do you think about Absu, the Texan Tyrants?

I have known Proscriptor since 1994 when we got in touch and traded tapes. We realized that we had very similar tastes in music. I was into Necrovore since I bought the demo from the band back in 1988. I used to write with Jon DePlachett. I even photocopied the Necrovore stationary for him and for Equitant (we wrote and tapetraded as well). I was first turned on to Absu when I heard the debut CD “Barathrum:V.I.T.R.I.O.L.” and that album is a MASTERPIECE of american black metal. And I also love Proscriptor’s wails. They’re killer. We both just have the same inspirations. I, too, love Schmier and Destruction’s cult stuff. Had Proscriptor and I lived closer, perhaps we would have ended up in a band together. I think he is a PHENOMENAL drummer, and IF I ever had a band I would want him drumming. He is the American Hellhammer (Mayhem’s drummer). And Cazz Grant is the other great American drummer (ex-GBK, now Crucifier).

What about Proscriptor's solo works?

I have only the debut LP. I really like it. It’s atmospheric in a Celtic sense and I like the variation of instruments and folk feeling throughout it. Plus I have it on vinyl and I love the occasional crackle on the quiet parts.

Do you eat at McDonald's?

I have on occasion, but I’m not really a fan of their food. If I am grabbing burgers at McD’s it’s because it’s a low-cash day. I’m more of a Wendy’s person, their burgers are actually burgers at least. McD’s is like some sort of alien lifeform.

Have you had any experience with psychoactive chemicals such as LSD, psilocybin or mescaline? If so, what is the place of these powerful chemicals in the world, past/present/future?

I tried mushrooms once and I simply had a horrible stomach ache for 4 hours. But I have done a lot of acid (LSD). I also ingested morning glory seeds. Between 18 and 22 I did LSD just about every weekend. For the first year it was a bit more careless, but then I began to really have some great psychedelic experience under controlled circumstances. I could write volumes on what I gained from these experiences. LSD opens you up to another view. You learn about yourself and you separate from game-life and experience a state of non-ego. It was not recreational for me, it was about the experience. I listened to a lot of music or did optical stimulation. I delved into surrealist art. As I said I have a lot of experience, and I could write volumes on the subject. If you have done LSD I think you will understand what I mean. I have watched objects melt, controlled lamps with my breathing and seen with my eyes closed. These chemicals do have some meaning, but perhaps more so the natural ones with which I have not yet experienced. I refer to mushrooms, peyote and dpt. I know some Native Americans who have shared their peyote experiences with me. There is a lot of this information on the internet nowadays as well. I highly recommend a book by Terrance McKenna called “The Psychedelic Experience”.

Where have you gone to play shows, with NCD or otherwise? USA and Canada, or has Mexico also witnessed a NCD performance?

We only played 4 shows, and they were here in Rochester. We opened for Ancient when they toured for The Cainian Chronicles here in Rochester. In fact they all stayed at the house I lived in back then for a few days, and my girlfriend back then nearly had a nervous breakdown with all the boots walking around the place (she was a bit claustrophobic with all the people in the house). It was cool watching them rehearse new songs that would end up on the next album. The basement was a rehearsal room and recording studio. Our last show was supposed to be opening for MAYHEM when they came here. But our bassist quit the morning of the show, and we had to cancel. But at least Mayhem hung with me and I introduced the band to an insane crowd. Then on their bus we listened to classic thrash. Good memories. I doubt they even remember me.

I actually regret that I have not heard any material of your current project Tearstained. In fact, I had no idea it existed until you mentioned it! I'm sure I have heard the name before, but nothing more than that--I will correct this soon. What sort of response have you gotten to your work on Tearstained? (PHEW--cliche fucking question! But I couldn't help it.)

Mostly good. I think it appeals to a unique group of people. Obviously if you like Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, I think you’ll like the first 3 Tearstained albums as I use a lot of falsetto. Of course I vary my vocals a lot. The latest album is much more aggressive. Tearstained is simply unfiltered. It’s all me, all my ideas, all my music and song writing and lyrics. I guess I might be an egocentric control freak. Or perhaps I live in a shitty city where finding likeminded musicians/people/ideologists is impossible so therefore having a band is kind of pointless. Besides, there’s no people to even play to. It’s just cult black metal with lots of influences from the bands that are deeply ingrained in me from when I was a teenager, all the classic thrash and speed stuff. And some of the second wave of black metal influenced me as well, plus some technical thrash like Pestilence or Infernal Majesty.

What do you think about bands that infuse their heavy music with traditional folk styles? For example: Cruachan; Absurd; Falkenbach; Graveland; Storm, etc.?

PHENOMENAL! I love these types of bands, especially when they fuse it with something from their native land. Falkenbach is absolutely amazing! All of their CD’s are masterpieces. Cruachan is GREAT with their Celtic mix. Graveland is also extraordinary. Storm’s one CD is GREAT Viking metal. I like the folkish metal of Finntroll and Moonsorrow. Skyforger is all about about the Semigalls, and they play ripping folk inspired black metal. Bergthron has a lot of Germanic sound. Nokturnal Mortum is also bvery much into their native land of the Ukraine. And you learn something from bands that do their art with passion. Vikings, Slavs, Semigalls, Celts, etc.

Next, take those bands and separate the so-called NSBM bands; what's up with them?

I have no problem with them. Graveland, Nokturnal Mortum, Astrofaes, they are all killer bands. I don’t particularly like Absurd, but it’s just their music that I don’t care for. NSBM is a growing genre of black metal, and it’s very raw. Sometimes too raw for my tastes. I mean, there is a good bad sound and there is a bad bad sound. Sometimes a raw production can yield a unique cult sound, while other times it just sounds like shit. And a lot of NSBM bands just sound like shit. But some have been able to get into decent studios and put out masterpieces. Nokturnal Mortum is a member of the pagan front, which consists of a lot of bands in the Ukraine and central/eastern Europe. My personal ancestry is of central and northern European. French, Norse, Slovak and Swedish.

I am half-Irish and half-German, so I get drunk and my Irish side wants to listen to Cruachan, but my German side tells me that Cruachan is gay and to quit drinking because I have to go to work in 3 hours! What do I do?

I say you listen to some classic German thrash to satisfy the German in you. Wait, don’t the Germans like to get drunk too? Maybe you should just get twice as drunk.

Where do the most beautiful women in the world come from? For some reason, I have always been fascinated by Eastern European women. I have a theory: when I was a little kid, I was in the former Yugoslavia briefly, and went to the nude beaches there. Perhaps I saw so many Eastern European women's naked bodies that my brain was programmed to prioritize them ahead of other women.

That is very possible. Since I have never really been anywhere, to me it is the USA with the most beautiful and the greatest variety of women. But I have seen plenty of beautiful European women. I like a little variety. Perhaps I should start asking countries of origin when I fuck someone new. Hehe. I love a beautiful sultry central European woman with huge tits.

Lastly, and most importantly, what kind of amp's do you use? Just kidding...please don't answer this question!

I cannot expose the secrets of my sound. Heheh. Actually my original amp head was sold off by a crackhead whom I mistakenly trusted with it. Of course I didn’t know he was a crackhead til I finally showed up at his house to get my amp only to hear a bullshit excuse about it being stolen (he had lost like 20 pounds with sullen eyes and looking like death warmed over). Fucking asshole.

...Night conquered Day, and Day never returned...

Interview with Maelstrom of Whorde (New Jersey Black Metal)

You, Scum [my original contact had been Scum, but my questions received their answers from Maelstrom - Alky], vociferate and also perform batteries upon the drums of war, in partnership with Maelstrom the six-stringer, sans bass guitar, and claim to be influenced by such legendary bands as Beherit, VON, Hellhammer, Archgoat, Bathory, Black Crucifixion and Mayhem. These are musical entities that I have always been drawn to by their genuine disregard for conventional musical 'tastes.' Beherit in particular stands upon a grand pedestal, from my point of view. Tell me, what are your thoughts on the work of Holocausto and company, including his electronic/ambient works, including Suuri Shamaani. To me, he is a genius--as always, genius is rarely recognized until long after the death of the genius.

MAELSTROM- Holocausto was without a doubt one of the most creative songwriters of the 90's black metal scene. I feel that he achieved everything that black metal was sought out to be on their album "Drawing Down the Moon." It just gave you that dark fucking vibe that such immense evil lurks behind this world of light that so many cluelessly buy into. The riffs had so much violence and agression and yet were also dark as fuck. To be honest, I had never heard any of their ambiant releases but I hear electric doom synthesis isn't too bad.

This is a follow-up question: where did Mayhem go wrong? When did they die? I don't believe Mayhem survived beyond De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas; Wolf's Lair Abyss was somewhat interesting to me, but I never listen to it anymore, and it certainly does not have the spirit of Black Metal that Mayhem burned with.

MAELSTROM- The thing about Wolf's Lair Abyss was that some of those riffs were written by the dark prince himself. I personally thought that WLA was a great MCD but I really think it was Blasphemer's influnece that ruined it for a lot of people. Like him or not, Euronymous was the essence of Mayhem and that that essence died with him. I wouldn't have a problem with the WLA members playing together, but the name of the band shouldn't have been Mayhem because their last 2 full lengths didn't accurately represent what Mayhem's legacy truely was.

Tell me about the metal scene in general in your part of New Jersey. I know that Philly has a pretty strong metal presence, as well as NYC, so I'd imagine that somewhere between the two NJ has something going on. I recall years ago, maybe around the summer of 2000, when I was in Philly, there was a show somewhere in NJ, not far from Philly, featuring Bloodstorm with my favorite drummer Proscriptor McGovern filling in on drums, among other underground bands. This was a big deal. I was only 19 at the time, and when I went to all the trouble of going there, I was denied entry because it was a 21-and-over-only show. I couldn't fucking believe it. Did you see this show, or otherwise can you tell me anything about what went on that night?

MAELSTROM- Although some of the first and biggest black metal bands in the states are Jersey natives, there isn't too much going on here in the live scene. The last cool show I heard about was No Colours's INQUISION and Texas Elites BAHIMORON, but I must admit a lot of people made it out to that one. New Jersey is home to one of America's first and most influential black metal bands ABAZAGORATH. I'm also currently a guitarist in this band as well. Also from New Jersey is one of the biggest USBM bands of today KRIEG, who's leader also participated in USBM heavyweights JUDAS ISCARIOT and DEMONIC CHRIST. Since Jeresy is pretty overrun with a mass amount of tight pants wearing dick eating "NJHC" scenesters, you're better off catching a bus to NYC or a drive to Philly.

Now, about your demo "Sermon's Disease." I have not heard one millisecond of your music, due to my isolation, but that hasn't stopped me from inquiring about the burgeoning USBM scene now has it? Since anyone else reading this interview has probably not heard it either, it will benefit all of us for you to explain it. As obvious from your influences, you claim that your songs are about "the ugliness of life...filth, death, hate, pain and disease is our belief. Those who welcome these emotions and lifestyles into their hearts know how powerful they can be." With no bass track I can already imagine the aurally dismal nature of the music, but go a little further and explain your motivation with this demo.

MAELSTROM- The demo is raw as fuck!!! It is a brutal, nasty assult on the senses made in a druken disguist of this plastic existance! Sermon's Disease was meant to be pure hatred and filth, a fuck off to everyone! It is our ultimate tribute to darkness and death!

Do you see two sides to the "coin of life," or just emptiness and darkness and filth. Do you consider yourselves Nihilists? Explain, please. If so, where does my perception of beauty in the naked body of a beautiful 21 year-old girl fit in? Is there an aspect of such a thing as this that is beneath the surface, that is ugly indeed?

MAELSTROM- There is no darkness without light, yet there is so much more darkness. And I see the beauty in it, in the darkness itself. There is a dark pleasure to be found in that naked beauty you described... the lust for flesh that consumes most of the world and defies the path of a rightgous man of god.

I am a drummer for 12 years now. I began with a few lessons for basic rudiments, but quickly ended that in favor of sheer practice. My favorite drummer is of course the mighty Emperor Proscriptor McGovern of the Glenorchy District. I am always interested in drummers that also perform vocals, whether backing or leading, the latter being the case with the mighty Proscriptor. Tell me about your methods here.

MAELSTROM- SCUM programmed the drums on Sermon's Disease using a drum machine, but I now handle the drums using a different drum machine. The drums are basic as much as the guitars are. If we were to ever play live it would be with a session drummer.

I see that I am dwelling on this, but Proscriptor once mentioned his theory that Black Metal revolves in five-year cycles between the States and Europe, and that currently the US is the forefront in the battle for Black Metal survival. What do you think about this interesting idea?

MAELSTROM- I think that Black Metal's best scene was originally Norway, then France, and now the Unitied States. I agree that at this point in time the US is playing the freshest and best black metal possible!

To this day I can not formulate with words what it is about pure Black Metal in the Beherit, old-school Darkthrone style that strikes me to the depths of my soul. What do you think gives pure Black Metal such power?

MAELSTROM- Black Metal is music from the soul! For the first time in metal it wasn't about getting singed and making money, but staying true to yourself and your beliefs! The murder and suicide and church arson that constantly surrounds this music is proof that it is more than music, and that the bands are so passionate about it that they take it to the extremes. That is why black metal continues to thrive after over a decade while death metal has gone bland and feelingless! And while Nu metal has died an embarassing death (a death the metalcore scene will soon have to face) in that decade, black metal continues to evolve and become stronger than ever!

What do you think of US bands such as Grand Belial's Key, Morbius, Absu and Blood Storm? These are my favorites. I never got into Judas Iscariot, Krieg, Leviathan, Xasthur, etc. much, but that's mainly from not hearing much of their material. Oh, and what about Demonic Christ? What do you think about this southern woman who defies so many conventions, yet appears stunningly in a photo' with a confederate flag bra? I am not wild about Demonic Christ's music, but I respect them for what they do, particularly Dana Duffey.

MAELSTROM- Dana Duffey has done more for USBM than most, and I think that in the end, that will be her legacy. She was just another example of black metal defying all the rules, and not having limitations in it's own. Judas Iscariot is one of my favorite bands and deserve's its seat on the USBM throne. Xasthur, Leviatithan, all those twighlight guys... they're keeping what black metal is all about- Originallyity, Creativity, personoal emotion, fucking darkness and evil! You could not play the shit these guys play without a heart of black!!!

Do you agree with me that a so-called Black Metal band with more than three members (MAYBE four) is a bunch of poofters?

MAELSTROM- Not at all, although you don't see 5 parallel ideas too often...

I'll end here. Please give me some final thoughts upon religion, no specific religion, but religion as a general phenomenon. Is it a plague upon the human soul and mind, a blight upon the potential of the human spirit, chaining the wolf Fenrir that rears within our hearts?

MAELSTROM- Religion enslaves our spiritual selves! The proof of religion being a mere tool of mind control is everywhere- in science, in history, in war! I bow down to no entity or religious figure! I have found a god in myself, I chose the path of master over slave!!! Awaken yourselves! Awaken the god within you!!!