Interview with Abazaragoth

 ABAZARAGOTH

by Patrick Schroeder


INTERVIEW WITH NYARLATHOTEP BASSIST FOR ABAZAGORATH,DONE BY PAINFUL PATRICK....................

1.HAILS BROTHER!!!HAVENT TALKED TO YOU IN A LONG TIME.HOWS LIFE BEEN TREATING YOU? PLEASE TELL THE READERS A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF?

Greetings from Hell!!! Yes, it has been a while. I bet I still have the letters you wrote to me asking about ABAZAGORATH back in 1995 & 1996!!! Good to hear from you again! How’s life treating me? I continue to rot day by day!! HAHA! What can I tell you about myself? How about disconnected from reality, disconnected from humanity, disconnected from sanity...

2.PLEASE GIVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF ABAZAGORATH.WHAT MERCHANDISE DO YOU HAVE AVAILIBLE FOR ALL THE INTERESTED METAL HEADS? FOR THE READERS WHO HAVE NOT HEARD YOUR MIGHTY BAND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?

Even a brief discussion of ABAZAGORATH’s history - ten years of Blasphemy, Struggle, Despair and Triumph - would take too much of your readers’ time... Let’s just say that through the years we’ve released a few recordings - 2 MCDs, 2 full length CDs, a 7" record and a couple demo tapes. We’ve been through a couple tough times, and sometimes I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to continue with ABAZAGORATH, but the will never dies and we always came back stronger than ever.... No regrets...

At the moment, we are out of stock on all merchandise. But, copies of our last CD "Sacraments of the Final Atrocity" should still be available from various distros worldwide. You might also be able to find copies of our other releases ("Enshrined Blasphemer" MCD, "The Spirit of Hate for Mankind" 7" EP, "The Ancient Cult" cassette, "Tenebrarum Cadent Exsurgemus" CD and "Channelling the Ethereal Moons" MCD) if you look around long enough. At any rate, we are expecting the re-press of "Sacraments...," which is coming out on Necroharmonic Productions to come out any day now, so we will have copies of that available soon. Later this year, Hell Attacks Records (Colombia) will be re-issuing "Tenebrarum Cadent Exsurgemus" and "Channeling the Ethereal Moons," plus a few bonus demo tunes on one CD, and we have a new 3 song recording that will come out as a split picture disc LP / CD with out brothers BLOODSTORM via Bestial Onslaught Productions.

As far as describing our sound, I think that is hard to pin down into a simple catch phrase. When we started out, we did so under the direct influence and inspiration of the early 90s Norwegian / Swedish Black Metal scenes as well as the original early to mid 80s Black / Thrash movement. While we still refer back to these points of inspiration, we are not content to churn out a mere re-hash of these styles, but are trying to build up on the influences to create something that is not so simple to classify as just stereotypical Black Metal. I think the term Black Death Metal is more suitable but even that seems limiting... Fuck boundaries and categories!

3.IF I CAN REMEMBER RIGHT THE BAND STARTED IN THE EARLY TO MID 90'S.THE U.S BLACK METAL SCENE WAS STILL IN IT'S "CULT" STAGES AND NOT TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY.MY QUESTION TO YOU IS DID THE BAND FIND IT HARD WHEN YOU ALL STARTED OUT? WHO WERE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE U.S BLACK METAL BANDS AT THAT TIME?

ABAZAGORATH formed in 1995, and yes, at that time it was hard for American bands to get any "credit." And that’s even considering that the US had already bred Black / Death luminaries like VON, NECROVORE, SLAYER, POSSESSED, NME, PROFANATICA, DEMONCY and ABSU!!!! But we didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought about us. We were doing what we wanted to do and liked that we stood out from the Cannibal Corpse Death Metal copies that were infesting the scene here in the States. Overall, we have always received a pretty decent level of support from Black Metallers from just about all over the world, so I like to think that we came across as something authentic and not just some pale imitation. Along with the bands I mentioned a few sentences ago, some other worthy old US bands were ENKIL, NEPHILIM, BLOODSTORM, GRAND BELIAL’S KEY. MASOCHIST, BLACK FUNERAL.... There must be at least a few more I can’t recall right now, but honestly, there were actually more that we could not stand!!!! HAHA!!!

4.WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE U.S BLACK METAL SCENE TODAY? DO YOU FEEL IT HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? AND IF YES,HOW ?

For better of for worse, right or wrong, the USBM scene does seem to be garnering more respect than it did 10 years ago. After a while, the whole Nordic thing got old and a lot of those bands became more commercialized and lost that original Evil spark. So, people have been finding that this spirit is still alive in the hearts of Die Hard Black Metallers emerging from other places in the world. All of the more noteworthy BM acts arising over here hold tightly onto this spirit and attitude that defines the Black Metal "Deathstyle." And it can’t hurt that the US has recently seen a bit of a surge as far as quality releases from bands like XASTHUR, LEVIATHAN, KRIEG, BLACK WITCHERY, NACHTMYSTIUM, and KROHM...

5.ALOT OF METAL-HEADS USE TERMS LIKE "TRUE","POSER","FAKE" ETC...WHEN DESCRIBING METAL OF ANY GENRE SO I WOULD LIKE YOUR OPINION ON WHAT IS A "TRUE" METAL-HEAD AND "POSER"..

Being "True" is being true to the person you are. It has nothing to do with what music you listen to or how you dress as long as you do it for yourself, not to appease others or fit in with a clique. That being said, the guy with the poofy hair, the spandex pants and the Bon Jovi shirt is as "True" as the guy in the black leather, corpsepaint and MUTIILATION shirt as long as he is living the life that most suits him.... The glam guy becomes "Fake" once he dons a MAYHEM shirt, with no conception of what that signifies, to fit in with the Black Metal gang just because it looks like the "cool" thing to do socially. Then he becomes a "Poser," passing himself off as someone he is not... Then there are also the "Trendies" who jump from fad to fad, style to style once the fashions change.... I’m sure that some would take exception to my definition of "True" or "Poser," but that’s just how I see it.... This doesn’t mean I think that korn or limp bizkit are anything related to Metal. I wouldn’t call them posers, just shitty meaningless garbage meant for mass consumption by a mindless herd....

6.YOU ALSO MENTIONED IN A RECENT EMAIL YOU PLAY IN THE BAND FUNEBRAM.HOW LONG HAS THE BAND BEEN TOGETHER? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS INFLUENCES? DO ANY OTHER MEMBERS OF ABAZAGORATH HAVE SIDE BANDS? IF YES PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THEM?

You missed a few letters in the middle there.... It’s FUNEBRARUM. We’ve been doing it on and off since about 1999. Problems with drummers and busy periods with our primary bands, ABAZAGORATH for Daryl / Morgul (vocals) and myself and EVOKEN (Killer DOOM!) For guitarist Nick, have been the factors behind our lapses in activity that have at times lasted years!! HAHA!! Anyway, we have a killer drummer named Shawn Eldritch now in place and we are working on material for a new album. FUNEBRARUM is old school, Dark and Brutal Death Metal strictly designed for those who miss the "glory years" of the late 80s and early 90s. We strive to create Harsh and Heavy shit in the vein of old GRAVE, AUTOPSY, ABHORRENCE (Fin), CREMATORY (Swe), MACABRE END, DEMILICH, DEMIGOD, ROTTREVORE, CARNAGE (Swe), NIHILIST, etc... Many who have heard our releases - the 1999 demo, the 2000 Promo, the "Beneath The Columns of Abandoned Gods" CD (Necroharmonic Productions - 2002) and the "Dormant Hallucination" 7" EP (Midnight Records - 2003) - seem to feel we have come up with something that stands out in the scene today and that we do justice to our influences....

As far as other side projects, we have all had our other little things going on here and there every so often. Vocalist Nihilist has had a prolific musical career, having screamed for bands like THY INFERNAL, LORD GORE and WRAITHEN before he joined us. As he splits his time between the East and West Coast, mostly living in Seattle, he has worked with IN MEMORIUM while he has worked with us when he can. Check out his great performance on I.M.’s "From Misery Comes Darkness" CD which came out a few months ago on Moribund! Lead guitarist Ciemnosc plays in a couple other bands, ABYSMAL GATES, which is his main focus, and BEYOND THE FLESH. I guess ABAZAGORATH would be considered one of his side projects!!!!

7.AS IF TWO BANDS WERE NOT ENOUGH YOU ALSO HELP RUN MORBID WRATH REC./DISTRO.WHEN DID YOU ALL GET THE IDEA TO FORM A DISTRO? DO ALL MEMBERS HELP OR JUST A FEW OF YOU?

And what a fucking great idea that was!!! HAHA!!! There are already far too many distros and labels around for a scene this size!!!! Morbid Wrath is something that came about as a vehicle through which we were going to release "Sacraments of the Final Atrocity" when the original plans for putting it out fell apart while we were literally in the studio recording it, less than 2 months away from a European tour! At that point, I financed the remainder of the studio session as well as the manufacturing of the first pressing of the CD. Guitarist Morgul had been interested in getting more into the label / distro side of things for years, so here was our chance! He came up with the Morbid Wrath moniker and that’s what we slapped on the back of the CD tray cards!!! So that’s the ugly story of Morbid Wrath’s birth!! In the course of getting copies of "Sacraments..." out and about, I did a lot of trades with various labels and distros, so we now have a pretty nice little assortment of Metallic CDs, tapes, etc. available for sale at good prices with a strong commitment to fast service and customer satisfaction! I head up the mail order side of things, but Morgul in his own way has taken things in his own direction.

8.ARE YOU ALL STRICTLY RELEASING ABAZAGORATH CD'S OR WOULD YOU ALSO LIKE TO RELEASE OTHER BANDS AS WELL? IF ANY BAND/LABEL ARE READING THIS WHAT STYLES OF METAL DO YOU ALL DISTRIBUTE?

As I feel I do not have enough free time and disposable income to adequately run a record label properly, with the best interests of other artists in mind, I am not interested in signing other bands. Even releasing the ABAZAGORATH CD was something I didn’t "want" to do - I did so because it was the best solution at the time. On the other hand, Morgul is more inclined to do more on the releasing front. He works very closely with Roy Fox of Necroharmonic Productions, doing a lot of his graphics work. He has even acted as co-producer on a few Necroharmonic releases such as the GOREMENT "Darkness of the Dead" discography CD, and as a result, the Morbid Wrath logo finds itself there as well.... Expect more of these co-releases like the upcoming ETERNAL DARKNESS (Swe) CD, amongst others in the near future...

In the distro, we have all sorts of Black, Death, Thrash, Doom and Grind stuff in stock.... I’m sure just about any extreme Metalhead would find at least a few things that are up their alley if they check it out! Interested parties can check out the Morbid Wrath page on our website, and in the future we plan on building a site specifically for the distro.

9.DOES THE BAND WEAR CORPSE-PAINT WHEN PLAYING LIVE? WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON CORPSE-PAINT? IT SEEMED LIKE IN THE EARLY DAYS IT MEANT SOMETHING BUT THERE FOR AWHILE EVERYONE WAS DOING IT SO IT LOST IT'S TRUE MEANING.

When we started ABAZAGORATH, corpsepaint was a big part of the equation. All the obscure visual elements were very appealing to us, and it definitely puts you into a particularly "inhuman" frame of mind when you adorn yourself with the physical accouterments of Black Metal. For me, I eventually came to the conclusion that I did not need a mask to put forth the negative energy that burns inside of me. It has always been there, painted visage or not, and I am comfortable presenting myself as I am as I spread this Darkness... We may no longer be corpse painted, but the militant and hateful Spirit will always be there...

10.WHILE ON THE SUBJECT OF CONCERTS WHO ARE SOME BANDS YOU ALL HAVE PLAYED WITH? WHAT IS A DREAM SHOW/TOUR FOR YOU PERSONALLY? WHAT CAN ONE EXPECT WHEN COMING TO SEE ABAZAGORATH PLAY?

We have played numerous killer local show in the NY / NJ area with bands like MARDUK, DEICIDE, ENSLAVED, IMPALED NAZARENE, ANTAEUS, BLACK WITCHERY, DESTROYER 666, SADISTIC INTENT, NUN SLAUGHTER, ENTHRONED, CADAVER INC., MACABRE, PROFANATICA, GOREAPHOBIA, INCANTATION, BLOODSTORM, SUMMON and many more through the years.

Being able to perform a "dream show" would most likely necessitate time travel.... How about a gig with MORBID ANGEL in 1989, or one with DISSECTION sporting a pre-incarceration Jon Nodtveidt? Playing with SLAYER in 1985 or 1986.... If this were possible, we would play with all the bands I looked up to and admired when they were at their maximum potency!!!! As for the "modern era," shows with WATAIN, KATHARSIS (Ger) or DEATHSPELL OMEGA (...if they ever would play live!) Would be my faves to be possible to play....

As we do not rely on any big stage show or gimmicks, just go in there expecting us to blow you the fuck away with the violent energy of our onstage performance.... A storm of hatred touching down....

11.IN 2004 ABAZAGORATH {ALONG WITH KRIEG AND THE U.S LEGENDS DEMONCY} TOURED EUROPE.WHO ARE SOME OF THE EUROPEAN BANDS YOU GOT TO MEET/PLAY WITH? HOW WOULD YOU SAY THE EUROPEAN FANS ARE DIFFERENT FROM YOUR FANS HERE IN THE U.S ? ANY PLANS TO RETURN? BESIDES EUROPE ARE THERE ANY OTHER COUNTRIES YOU WANT TO PLAY?

Last April’s "USBM Attack 2004 - The Satanic Metal Vengeance Tour" was definitely a career highlight for ABAZAGORATH. While it was something I had always fantasized about, for many years I never thought we would ever be able to tour. But with the help of people like Cecile Hansen (Dominion Entertainment) and Steve Kuhr (Metal Kommand), this dream became reality for us. Two weeks of Pure Fucking Hell on earth that I will absolutely never forget! Two amazing bands to do the tour with, and we got to perform with bands like ANTAEUS, HELL MILITIA, FLUISTERWOUD, ZWARTKETTERIJ, PERDITOR, VERLOREN, THUS DEFILED, AGUYNGUERRAN, BLACKGOD, THE ONE and LUGUBRE, amongst others... We definitely met some cool, crazy and interesting characters along the way, and had some wild times after nights of Metal and booze!!! HAHA!!!

The US definitely has its own highly dedicated underground Black Metal fans, but I guess Europe has more of them.... We had some pretty full venues on most nights of the tour, and I don’t think a tour of this nature would do as well over here... I think the fact that all these different European nations are all relatively close to each other and the way the EEC creates greater ease of travel between them really contributes to people getting around a lot more. We would meet French or Dutch guys who went to the show in Belgium, German guys who were at the Belgian and Dutch shows, and so on.... And I have to say again that the Europeans seemed a lot more extreme with their dedication to the Metal lifestyle. Since we have returned, most of the US shows (except for our little New England mini-tour!) Have paled in comparison to what we experienced on European shores!

Another European tour is something we would look forward to, as well as the possibility of going to South America or doing a few more out of state shows....

12.WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON RELIGION {SATANISM,CHRISTIANITY,PAGANISM ETC..}

If Nihilism and Pessimism had their own Church, I would join.... I find very little to agree with as far as what is represented by the judeo-christian ideology and especially with how it is practiced.... Hypocrisy and corruption seem to be the standards upon which most religious groups are run.. I do have faith in the fact that I have no faith in man or god. If I could pray for anything, it would be either of 2 things: Give me all that I want, and if I can’t get that give this world obliteration!!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE WORLD WOULD BE LIKE WITH NO RELIGION OF ANY KIND?

A world without religion is really impossible for me to imagine.... Religion has been a tool of mass manipulation and a means to explain the reasons or put a purpose behind existence itself. To me religion is an inevitable consequence of living in this world. Most humans feel the need to look up to a "higher power" or to cling to some pitiful hope that there is something else after death.... A world without religion would be a world that is void of life itself.... With the way things stand today - a cultural war between Islam and the West becoming more intense - it could certainly come to pass some day... That might be something worth working towards, after all...

13.TONY {CO-EDITOR OF BLEED THE FREAKS} AND MYSELF ENJOY READING/STUDYING PHILOSOPHY AND VARIOUS OTHER SUBJECTS.DO YOU HAVE ANY SUBJECTS YOU ENJOY READING/STUDYING? AND FINALLY DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN PHILOSOPHY YOU TRY TO LIVE BY?

Frankly, these days I have not been reading as much as I once did... I should do more to find the time to do so! I have always been interested in stuff like history, particularly the ancient / medieval eras, and military history in general, as well as mythology, the occult / witchcraft / Satanism, true crime stuff, especially regarding serial killers and mass murderers.... I enjoy horror / supernatural / fantasy fiction stuff like H.P. Lovecraft or Robert E. Howard.... For some reason philosophy doesn’t interest me all that much. Once again, it’s a search for some kind of absolute truth that just isn’t there if you ask me... Anyway, I think philosophy is kind of dry if you ask me.

My own philosophy.... My outlook on life is rather bleak and pessimistic for the most part. I see little that gives me hope or faith in my own future, so I would gladly damn just about everything and everyone else around me! The few I hold dear to me are indeed held as closely as my "strange" and a bit dysfunctional personality will allow and thus receive as much care and concern as I can muster. But this is a very small circle, and the rest do not matter to me at all... I don’t think this qualifies as a philosophy, but this is how I exist nonetheless...

14. IN YOUR OPINION WHAT IS THE BEST AND WORST THING ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND TODAY? AND WHAT DOES THE TERM "METAL UNDERGROUND" MEAN TO YOU?

The best thing about the underground is that it still exists.... It’s cool to see that it can survive and is still relevant because there are still individuals who make it so. The worst things in the scene are the childish backstabbing, shit talking and the obsession of "one up-ing" and "out undergrounding" that seems to be a lot more common these days. This "Metal Underground" has been "Home" for me for many years now....

15.WELL OLD FRIEND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO FILL OUT THIS INTERVIEW..DO YOU HAVE ANY FINAL WORDS OF WISDOM TO LEAVE US WITH?

Thanks to you, Patrick for giving me the chance to "bleed out to the freaks!" I hope the bloodlust has been sated.... Not much left to say, really. Just keep an ear out to hear what else comes from ABAZAGORATH.... There is at least one more chapter to write before the story comes to an end.... Take comfort knowing that the final chapter will be no happy ending....

AS DARKNESS FALLS, WE ARISE.... In eternal Arrogance and Wrath, Nyarlathotep
(Answered July 17, 2005)

www.abazagorath.net