MASTER INTERVIEW Aug 2012

There are few Death Metal bands and few Death Metal front men who can say that they were there from the very beginning. Master and Paul Speckmann are an exception, having been around from the very early 80's in one form or another, Paul has battled on through thick and thin and is now considered one of the Godfathers of the genre. I caught up with him to discuss Master, Abomination and various other things...

Hi Paul, most people reading this should already know full well who you are, but for any newbies can you introduce yourself?

Sure I am Paul Speckmann a bassist and singer as well as a songwriter for many underground bands that I created, struggling as always to survive the underground and succeeding at this. Master is my main focus at the moment while my other bands Deathstrike and Abomination are re-entering the picture with a few various shows coming up this year at a few festivals in Europe. You can read the bio at master-speckmetal.net for those who are interested in the history of the band and its influence on the genre so-called Death Metal.

I for one consider you to be one of the three godfathers of Death Metal, along with Kam Lee and Chuck Schuldiner. How do you view your career in the music business over the last 30 years?

My career has been faced with an uphill battle ever since the inception of the band. Over the years shitty record contracts, members coming and going as well, has sometimes had a devastating effect on the band, but we still endure and conquer the competition every year with true and aggressive Metal, period.. Master and I have had our ups and downs but the band continues to play shows and create brutal masterpieces again and again. If it was only about money I would have left the scene years ago. It's about sharing your views and ideals in the music. I realise Satan sells better than the truth, but I prefer the truth over fiction any day.

What's happening with Master at the moment? You recently released a new LP, how has that been selling? 

Pulverised says the CD is selling well but I don't have any figures at the moment. The reviews have been unbelievably phenominal this time around. You create an album and have too see how it goes. I personally write albums for myself and see how the chips fall. This is all you can do really.

Your debut with Master is considered a genre classic, how do you view this album 22 years later? 

The debut is and was a good album, but let's face it this was 1985 and we were really just experimenting at this time. Today we have the music down to a science, and the recordings as well as the playing, is much better than in the beginning of the genre.

Over the years your vocals have become slightly more lower in tone, and sound very different to your older style of the 80's and early 90's. Was this a conscious change you made or just natural progression?

This was just a natural progression, old age mabye. When recording the vocals I just go in and do them. I never conciously think about the tone of the vocals I just go in and sing a few songs per day and hope for the best. Sometimes they are killer and sometimes I'm not satisfied in the end, this is just the way the cookie crumbles brother.

On the second album you recorded at Morrisound in Florida, which is where so many bands at the time were recording. Is this something that Nuclear Blast pushed for or was it a choice that you made personally? 

This was a choice that Nuclear Blast made and I suppose this helped the record sell the 25.000 copies as well having that moron Scott Burns at the helm. The guy was only interested in the 100 dollars an hour that he and the studio were making. All he did was talk shit about Morbid Angel and many other bands and I am sure followed suit after Master left.

Abomination is another one of your bands which is steeped in history. How are things going on that front at the moment? 

We will play some shows in Italy next year after a Cancer Festival in Dresden at Skullcrusher on October 5th for young people struck with the disease.

Are there any UK bands you are particularly into at the moment? 

Sure, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and Onslaught. What a bunch of cool motherfuckers. We just played a cool festival with Onslaught in South Italy again and had a blast. Hopefully in the not too distant future we will have a chance to tour with this band.

In the early 80's you were in a band called Assault , which went on to become Funeral Bitch. What happened to the band? 

It disappeared of course after I left the band to form Abomination with Aaron Nickeas. I felt Abomination was a better direction for me in 1987 and Master disappeared by the wayside for a few years. I laugh when I think about it now. This Funeral Bitch was blast beats and crazy time signatures and at the time the critics were saying it was too fast etc, and Napalm Death and many others went on to make a career of this style.

There is an unreleased Master album from 1985 which only saw the light of day about ten years ago. What were the reasons it wasn't released to the public for such a long time? 

This was the original Combat demos and I left them in the closet until I felt the time was right to release them.

You have one of, if not THE best beards in Metal. How long did it take to grow that beast? 

I regularly tell people 15 years but in reality it no longer grows, my wife trims it and it grows back to the same length. I last shaved in 1996!

Of all the Master albums, and demos, which is your favourite and why? 

The latest New Elite is my personal favorite at the moment because it is a fresh vision on the old formula I have always used. The production has also improved as the studio gets better every year as well. Many people still love the first two and this is cool as they are classics of course but in my opinion the last several records are the best. So I can only hope that people give them a spin. They are definately missing the quality and writing on the latest masterpieces because many are stuck in the past. People get over it. 

The best demo is the 'Four More Years of Terror' demo which was recorded mixed and mastered in one day. This demo truly captured the intensity and ferociousness of Master, period.

The one thing about Master is consitancy, many of the more successful bands are copying the latest trend, we always stick to our roots and never try to change a winning formula.

Since the early days of Master, how do you feel you have progressed? Do you ever listen back on the old material for any inspiration? 

Never. I only hear the old albums when it is necessary to listen to them for a re-issue. I never really listen to my records after recording because it's the past. I live for the future. Of course I'm forced at shows or clubs to hear old songs sometimes, but I hardly ever listen to the old albums in their entirety anymore. I think I said earlier on, that I only listen to Rock and Heavy Metal as well as a dose of Punk Rock from time to time. I don't want to be influenced by bands that I already influenced in the early days, for one thing and I want always to keep my music fresh, so no Death Metal is ever played in my home, period!

What made your music develop into the Extreme Metal style? 

Life, the ups and downs of my own personal life made me become more aggressive and critical of society in general and this has always been captured on the Master recordings. The things that happen in my personal life as well as the lives of others dictate the music for me. We live in and aggressive corrupt filled society and music is my muse so to speak. There was no Extreme Metal Scene in 1982, only Motorhead, GBH, Discharge and The Exploited. This was the main influence on my many projects right from the start!

What kind of interest from other labels have you had so far? 

Labels always say we sell too little so it's always a struggle to get on a bigger label, when in reality we just need more promotion. The New Elite was released in the USA on August 14th and the US promotional company wrote me that they didn't even know about this. Great work from our current label Pulversed.

What are your current and future plans, musically? 

We have already begun writing the new album as the latest CD was recorded in October of 2011. I have over 100 shows to play from now until March 2013 so things are running normally as always.

There has recently been a nice lot of Master and Abomination merchandise, I take it this was heavily in demand? 

This is how I make my living period, from the merchandise!

What are your favourite type of lyrics to write? 

The lyrics write thmselves. After the music I create, the lyrics come naturally. Society dictates what's happening on the albums. We live in a society ruled by dictators that tell the people when to eat, when to shit, what to wear, and when to sit back and watch with their remote control!

Any last words?

Sure go out and buy the New Elite and support the band instead of just illegally downloding the album like most people are doing in this shit society.

A big thanks to you Paul for doing this interview. For those of you who know Master (which should be  most of you) be sure to buy the new album and support Master. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past 26 years, you can check out Master on the official site, on Facebook, and on Myspace. 

UNDEAD CREEP INTERVIEW Aug 2012

Italian masters of the Old School Death Metal sound Undead Creep have had their 'The Ever Burning Torch' debut album out for a while now and with a new release on the cards soon, I spoke to vocalist Sandro and here is what he had to say...

Hi Sandro, how are you and what have you been up to recently?

Hi Matt! First of all thanks for this cool interview. I’m fine; I’m just passing my summer holidays in absolute calm, just like the Dudeism professes. Going to the beach, listening to music, getting drunk and so on. Good shit in short.

Can you tell us a bit about Undead Creep and how the band came to be in existence?

Undead Creep is mainly a side project founded by this “two freaky brains” that are friends of mine: Giorgio (guitar, backing vocals) and David (drums), who mainly play in Haemophagus, a really nice Grind horror band, I absolutely recommend them to you. Undead Creep was born (literally): “pushed by the urge to bring back the spirit of Old School Death Metal the way it was meant to be”. A tribute to the old way, primarily influenced by the sound characterizing that musical movement born in the early nineties in Sweden (in a few words, Sunlight Studio scene). After the entry of Maso (bass) and me (lead vocals) the band recorded its first S/T Demo in 2009 (on CD self produced and on Tape by Unholy Domain Rec.). A year later, the debut album with the american Dark Descent Rec. “The Ever-Burning Torch” introduced us to the European and global Old Death scene. After the exit of Maso this year, we’re really proud to have our two new members: Claudio (bass) and Fausto (guitar). We roamed around Germany (early this summer) to play some gigs and now we’re waiting for the d.i.y. Kill Town Death Fest (in Copenaghen) where we’ll play with: Master, General Surgery, Interment, Hooded Menace etc and where we hope our new work will be available: an EP 7’’ produced by Blood Harvest rec. entitled “Enchantments from the Haunted Hills”.

How did the demo sell? Were you pleased with the response you got from it?

The demo went well. We sold all the copies (both cd both tape). The response was really pretty cool.

To date, you have released one demo and one full length album, which has been your favourite and why?

For me the demo will always be important. Because it was our first work, and especially it marked my personal entry into this genre. For what concerns “The Ever-Burning Torch” it has characterized the first point of arrival for Undead Creep. A good step of maturation toward our identity. So, in the end, I think I prefer both in the same way.

How do you view the new wave of Old School Death Metal at the moment?

It’s nice. There are so many band that play so good, especially all the stuff produced by the mighty Dark Descent rec. is awesome. But seriously, personally I think that the return to the old school is primary a failure of the new scene. The twisted technicalities perpetrated by a portion of this new Death Metal has definitely made it: self-referential. Something that is not the real genre. Complicated riffs that seem like exercises, speed taken to the extreme consequences etc… to go where? Bitch please. So you know, when you've lost the right road the best you can do is to turn back to your own way.

How did you guys come up with the name for the band?

Is a simple union between two words that recall the sphere of horror movies. Undead and Creep. They don’t have a real meaning together, but if you want to see absolutely something… Undead Creep could be the “creepy walking of the undead”.

You are soon to release a new 7" EP, can you tell me a bit about it?

Yes, this 7” EP as I said before will be called “Enchantments from the Haunted Hills”, it will be released by the Swedish Blood Harvest Records. Hopefully it'll be available at the Kill Town Death Fest this Summer. This 7” includes the title track that you can listen to on Youtube and another track called "To Be Condemned" with an instrumental intro inspired to Fulci’s and Argento’s movies.

What UK bands are you particularly into?

We're especially into the old gods like SABBATH and PRIEST (eternal influences) Napalm Death, Monolith, Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Lords of Putrefaction, Sabbat, Iron Monkey, Acrimony, new acts like Cruciamentum and Indesinence... not to mention dozens of punk, crust and more experimental bands and artists. It was always such a hotbed for music of every kind.

Are there any plans for some new Undead Creep t shirts or merchandise?

Yes, thery are now some for sale, which wew printed a few months ago. When we went to Germany we have sold quite a bit. For anyone who wants them, please contact us by email.

Your debut album has been out for some time now, are you happy with the way it turned out?

Sure, we’re really proud about the result of the full-length. Matt of Dark Descent did a perfect job with the production and distribution

What kind of subjects to Undead Creep deal with lyrically?

They are different. We speak about classical horror b-movie stuff, post-nuclear scenery, esoteric and dark worlds (Lovecraft reigns) but I prefer those speaks about introspective states of mind, obscure ruminations and the correlations between the world of the living and other, black spheres of spiritual existence.

Do you listen to other forms of music besides Death Metal, and if you do, do you feel that this influences your part in Undead Creep at all?

I’m an ardent supporter of stoner rock, in fact it's been a year now since I've started playing in a stoner/sludge band with Giorgio too. It's called Elevators to the Grateful Sky. In Undead Creep there many influences but very often I don’t know their roots. You must ask this question to Giorgio (our first composer), He is a great musician with an infinite musical knowledge, you must listen to his personal projects: Furious Georgie, it's really amazing. So I think that he will be more capable than me to answer to you.

Have you been playing many shows recently?

As I said we played the “Into the Void Fest d.i.y.” fest organized in Bologna by our drummer David. Add to this two gigs in Germany. We can’t wait for the KTDF, it will be awesome.

On the first demo, I personally heard an influence from early Dismember. What bands are an obvious influence for you in the band?

Our mainly influences are: Carnage, Nihilist, Grotesque, Nirvana 2002, Evocation and early Therion and Unleashed but the list goes on and on. Primordial thrash like Bathory, Slaughter Lord, Mercilles and non-swedish bands like the masters of horror: AUTOPSY.

These days there seems to be a lot of fashionable scene kids defiling real Death Metal with this abomination they call Deathcore, which is something I hate. What are your views on this sub-genre?

I respect them, they do what they love. Ok, sure you know… but when they describe that stuff with the word Death, I just go crazy. Kids, come on. Death Metal is ANOTHER THING. Call your genre pink sky metal, or super cool metal. But DON'T use the word Death. As I said in another interview literally: Death Metal is born to be dead. This is the real essence of this genre, to lie in a rotten catacomb infected by the evil. Not jumping kids, with unlikely haircuts. Come on!

What is the Death Metal scene like in Italy these days? Do you gain a lot of support in your own country?

I don’t really know at this time. We have bands like Horrid, Eroded, Voids of Vomit and Blasphemophagher, but as my drummer David says: it seems like Death Metal (the way I mean it) will forever dwell in the dark corners of the Italian underground.

If you could tour with two bands of your choice, who would you choose?

This is really difficult to choose. If I had to keep my feet on the ground I would say: Hooded Menace, Bombs of Hades, Horrendous, Kaamos, etc. But the dream would be Autopsy, Asphyx, Repulsion, Entombed etc.

What plans do you musically at present and for the future?

I don’t have plans for the future. The only things in program are: playing the KTDF and recording the full length with Elevators to the Grateful Sky on September. Maybe next year we will do a European Tour with Creep or a gig in a big Festival, who knows… the only sure thing is that we should write new stuff soon.

Any last words?

What should I say? Matt, thanks for this cool interview and for the video reviews. We really appreciate your work! For the people out there, come on and listen to our new 7”, we hope you'll like that, and keep on supporting the old shit. Remember, the gates are open for you to see, the horror of the Undead Creep.

Thanks to you Sandro for doing this interview with me. Be sure to check out Undead Creep on Facebook, Myspace and Reverbnation.

ENTRAPMENT INTERVIEW Aug 2012

With New Old School Death Metal exploding on the underground circuit like never before, I thought I would catch up with the Michel who is the man behind Entrapment from The Netherlands, and see what's going on at the moment. This is the result...

Hi Michel, can you tell us who you are and what you do?

Hey Matt, first of all thanks for the support!

Besides Entrapment I’m running my own merchandise company, printing band shirts etc.

How is life in Entrapment at the moment?

Life is pretty ok at the moment. There’s a lot coming up and I’m busy with the full length which should be released by Soulseller Records within a couple of months from now.

You have only been around for a couple of years so far but already you have three solid releases. Are you happy with the way the demos turned out?

Yeah very pleased with all the support! Entrapment started off with some ideas I recorded on my pc. And now after 2 demo’s and a 7” things are starting to look pretty serious ha ha.

You are a one-man band, which seems to be something which is becoming more popular with Death Metal acts. Do you prefer working alone?

I still see Entrapment as a kind of personal project. My friends who help me out on stage are pretty busy with other bands as well so it works out just fine like this.

Your most recent release 'Crawling Morbidity' has been released as a 7" on Destest records. Can you tell us how this came about?

Detest records released the Infernal Blasphemies demo in 2010 and since the beginning we had plans to record and release a 7”. So last year I wrote and recorded the songs at a friends studio and Detest released the gem.

Which bands are you particularly into and which bands influence you when writing new material for Entrapment?

I have to admit I’m into all kinds of music but I get my influences basically out of old death metal bands like Autopsy, Nihilist, Asphyx but also old punk and hardcore bands too many to mention.

Lyrically, what are your favourite subjects to write about?

Serpent and the rainbow kinda claustrophic lyrics about being buried alive and that kind of nonsense haha.

What UK bands do you appreciate?

That’s a hell of a question since I’m also into punk, hardrock, indymusic but to mention some:

Carcass, Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Anathema, Benediction, Cancer, Desecrator,

Paradise Lost, Cathedral,The Ruts, Discharge, Crass, the Clash, Slaughter and the Dogs, Varukers, Amebix, Buzzcocks, Budgie, Blitzkrieg, Tygers of Pantang, Rudimentary Peni, Flux of Pink Indians and so on and so on.

How easy is the recording process in Entrapment?

Pretty easy I have to say, as soon I got the songs stuck in my head I record the drums. When the drums are done I record the guitars and the bass. Then I write the lyrics and do the vocals. At home I try to find nice melodies and solo’s as well as our live 2nd guitar player Jerome.

How did you come up with the band name and logo?

I stole the name from Asphyx’s side project Soulburn. The first song is called Hellish Entrapment. When I started to draw the logo it turned out a bit the same as the Dismember logo..well I like that band a lot.

Out of your three demos, which has been your favourite and why?

The first demo and the 7” are my favorites. The recordings went very smooth and that’s always a good sign.

Being a one man band, are you able to play live with a live line up or is this something that doesn't interest you?

Yeah we do live shows. I’ve got some friends helping me out. We rehearse once a while. The new death metal wave didn’t reach the Netherlands yet so we don’t play that often.

What kind of interest from labels have you had so far?

Quite a few, and on most of them Entrapment will release a split 7”, demo, or discography.

There are lots of bands playing traditional Death Metal in the vein of the old days now, are you proud to be a part of that?

Yes it’s great. We had the honour to play at the Kill Town Death Fest last year…it was really cool to see all the people going mad on bands like Funebrarum, Winterwolf, Vanhelgd or Sonne Adam.

How do you see Entrapment progressing over the next couple of years?

I have to admit that I'm not really ambitious at the moment. Death Metal have been my favorite genre for more than 20 years now. And I’m glad there’s an uprising of new bands playing the old style. It’s great that Entrapment is taking part in this before it’s over again, ha ha.

Can we expect a new release any time soon?

The full length on Soulseller Records will be the next release.

What plans do you have for Entrapment in the future?

There will be a Digipack with basically both demo’s, raw mixes and live track released by Godeater Records. Slap Bet Records will release the Putrefying Stench of Death demo on 7” vinyl. There will be a split 7” with Torturerame from Belgium. Also a split 7” with Massive Assault from the Netherlands. And there are plans for a split 12” with Pyre from Russia. And a limited Live tape released by myself.

Any last words?

Thanks a lot for the interview, I'm enjoying your Youtube channel!

Stay true - whatever that means!

Thanks to you Michel for the interview. Since doing this interview, Entrapment has released a special digi-pak CD featuring both demos and can be obtained here. Also be sure to check out Entrapment on Myspace and Facebook.

CODE INTERVIEW Aug 2012

Black Metallers Code have been around for a while now and have earned themselves a prominent place in the genres vast array of bands. I spoke to guitarist Aort about Code and his other musical projects...

Hi Aort, how are you and what have you been up to recently?

Hello Matt, I am just fine thanks. Keeping very busy as always, perhaps a little too busy. Over the years the number of projects I work on at any one time has varied a lot but I am happy with where I am now and am on the edge of what I can manage to do in the time I have, yet not let the quality slip. It's a balance sometimes, but right now, it is just about right.

First of all, how are things going with Code?

Things with Code are really great, actually the best they have ever been. We have never had a settled line up until now, and in addition, having members spread across Europe never made life easy. Now we are all based within 30 minutes of each other, we are playing great and really looking forward to taking the new incarnation of Code forward.

Code previously went by the name of Seasonal Code but changed the name in about 2002, what prompted the name change?

In actuality, Code really doesn't have anything to do with Seasonal Code. There is a lineage in terms of band name obviously, but everything else about the two are completely different. Seasonal Code was essentially a solo project, whereas Code was a much more serious attempt at creating music. We wanted to actually get somewhere with Code, whereas Seasonal Code was nothing more than a solitary dip in the water.

The style of Black Metal you play in Code is very individual, and for one thing features some well executed clean vocals. How easy is it for you to write original sounding material in a genre which can often feel rather stagnant at times?

In all honesty, the music of Code is not premeditated in any way. All the music in Code has been written very naturally without a thought as to how it may fit in the wider scheme of things. Vocal wise, that has always been created by listening to what the music needs and in that respect, it is quite an inward looking process. If what we do comes out as seeming original then that is by accident rather than any great design. The best music is always made for selfish reasons I think.

To date, you have released one demo and two full length albums with Code, which has been your favourite and why?

I am proud of both albums to be honest and they are very different in feel. It is hard to compare and decide what is my favourite as they give me very different things. I think Resplendent Grotesque was perhaps a more measured and personal album. There was a lot of self doubt with Nouveau Gloaming as it was a start from a blank piece of paper…and I think the tension in there is quite palpable which works in its favour. Resplendent Grotesque was a real exercise in paying attention to every detail and there is a lot of depth in there in terms of layering. Production wise I had a much better idea of how I wanted Resplendent Grotesque to sound too and for the most part, it turned out how I wanted it to.

Can you tell us about your other projects Indesinence, Decrepit Spectre and Blutvial?

Indesinence is a Doom/Death band from London who I joined a few years back. We have been playing a few gigs here and there over the years since I joined and we are now finishing recording for a new album which will be the first studio recording I will have been involved in. It is a great band to be a part of and playing bass is something I love to do whenever I can.

Decrepit Spectre as far as I know is dead now. It was the baby of Heimoth who is now restarting his old band Seth so the concentration has moved away from Decrepit Spectre. Whether anything happens again with that project, I don't know.

With Blutvial, we are in the process of reissuing Curses Thorns Blood on UK label Mordgrimm which I am very pleased about. The album was really killer and it needs to get heard by more people. Anything we can do to spread the hatred on that album, we will do!

My other main project is Binah which is a pure old school early 90s Death Metal entity. We are soon to release our debut album Hallucinating in Resurrecture on CD and vinyl. I may put it out on cassette down the line to complete the set. It has been an absolute blast working on this album and summoning the spirits of the early 90s, and I think there is a lot more mileage to be made.

You and I have known each other for over 20 years now. When we were kids did you think that by this stage of your life you would have achieved this amount musically? 

When we first knew each other, my goals were to trade as many tapes as possible and to release fanzines. I never thought of myself as a musical artist, especially as I didn't really start playing guitar until the mid/late 90s. When I did start writing, getting signed and releasing an album was my one goal. I am massively proud of Nouveau Gloaming for that reason. Everything else is a bonus, and I love being able to make music and get it released and for people to be interested enough to listen to it. Thinking back to the early 90s though, I remember my older brother telling me that I would grow out of metal by the time I was twenty…..I am glad that never happened.

Last year saw the release of the second Blutvial album 'Curses Thorns Blood'. Are you pleased with the way it turned out? 

In a word….YES! I am really chuffed with how that album came out, the production is absolutely killer and the whole thing is a complete ordeal to listen to. It is brutal and aggressive, yet there is a lot of variation in the album and a lot of depth. The one regret so far is that it has not been heard by enough people…I think it is a really strong album and hopefully the re-release will help get word about that this album exists.

What UK bands are you particularly into? 

The band I always name drop whenever I am asked this is Ghast. They are one of the very best bands in black metal no matter what country is considered. Just the most amazing creation of absolute darkness and grimnity. Everyone needs to check this band out! 

Of course, I was really pleased to see Witchclan come back to life, and am very eagerly awaiting the Deadman's Blood EP (the advance track I heard a while back was very special!)

Are there any plans for some Code and/or Blutvial t shirts or merchandise?

There have been a few Code t-shirt designs over the years, all of which are pretty much sold out now. I have just got some new shirts printed for our next few shows…whatever doesn't sell at those will be put up on www.haintic.com. There has never been a Blutvial shirt to date….if there is enough interest in the future, I will make that happen for sure.

You always have been quite the collector when it comes to music. Can you tell us a bit about some of your favourite albums that you own?

I guess my favourite albums I own are the ones which are more obscure. We all love the classics, but it is the off the beaten tracks ones which I hold on to the most. Stuff that falls into that bracket are the likes of the Lord of Putrefaction / Mortal Remains split, Lubricant and Phlegethon EPs, stuff like that. Not the most valuable but those are the little gems that I consider my own little secrets. The Timeghoul demo is another like that. I do collect a lot of other music on vinyl now and one of my treasures is the Alex Sanders 'A Witch is Born' LP from 1970 which is a Wiccan witch initiation ceremony recording. It seems pretty kitsch these days but it was quite a big deal back then and was banned almost straight away so there are very few of them in existence. I have a lot of old prog and folk albums too which are quite sought after.

In your opinion, what would Black Metal look like in 2012 had the incidents in Norway between 1992 and 1993 never happened?

Difficult question in all honesty. We were both around at the time and I guess other than the odd tape traded demo or album, black metal wasn;t something that I was overly conscious of until the infamous edition of Kerrang came out. I didn't spend much time distinguishing the Blasphemy or Impaled Nazarene etc stuff I heard from the rest of the Death Metal that was infecting my soul back then. What happened in Norway obviously brought so much more attention to the music that was happening at the time then otherwise would have happened. But it is impossible to deny the greatness of some of the Norwegian Black Metal that came out around that time. The events also turned the attention more to Black metal from across the globe too so a lot of people benefitted. Norway as a whole have done a good job of exploiting what happened back then and have spun it many ways to make a lot of money. It is very hard to say how things would look without the incidents as it is obvious that the effect on Extreme Metal was massive.

In the early days when we were kids, you did a short-lived zine called Final Obituary, and you were very active in the tape trading scene. Do you have fond memories from back then?

Very fond memories indeed. As you know, writing and producing a sine was a real labour of love, and the rewards for me were to have an excuse to write to the bands that I worshipped, and to get hold of new music. I followed Final Obituary with a run of newsletters under the name Hringnum which were a lot more successful than Final Obituary was. It was hard work but very rewarding. Tape trading was a huge pleasure for me too, I spent hours after school recording tapes and updating my trade list…I counted down the hours each day until I could get home and get on with answering mail and checking out all the new music I was getting.

The style of Black Metal you play in Blutvial is far more aggressive than that in Code. What is your favourite style to play and why? 

Purely in terms of which style I find more rewarding to play, I would have to say that the more technical aspects of Code are a lot of fun to play, mainly because they are an extension of my natural playing style taken to logical extremes. Blutvial is more of a physical and endurance test of sorts which is great for developing the power and the feeling of the music, but it does end up being quite an ordeal tremolo picking for so long. I actually really enjoyed playing death metal with the Binah project which is something I have not spent a lot of time doing before, that was a blast to do.

Have you ever thought about trying your hand at vocals at any point?

I do a little backing vocals for Code when we play live and I also have recorded seem demo bits and pieces over the years. But when all is said and done, I know my limitations, I'm not a vocalist and I'm not a wordsmith. Music is my game.

For you, what has been the defining moment in your career so far and why?

I think getting the first album out was the biggest moment for me as it was something that I had been working towards for so long. To get that affirmation of what I was doing was a real buzz and I will never forget that. Everything past that is a bonus and I always enjoy recording and releasing new music. With regards to playing live, there is always something that doesn't quite work right or come together…..I'm still waiting for that perfect gig.

It has been almost three years since the last Code album 'Resplendent Grotesque'. Can we expect something new from you soon?

Well musically, the new Code album has been written for at least two years. It has been an arduous and painful journey trying to complete a solid and dependable line up and thank the heavens that we finally have. Recording is scheduled to start in the summer and will most likely take a good few months. Hopefully it will all be complete in the autumn and a release in early 2013 sounds sensible. I'm sure we will put out some teasers along the way though.

What do your band names mean and how did you come up with them?

I think if I remember rightly, Code was decided upon mainly for it's ambiguity and snappiness as a word. It can mean anything to anyone and we also knew that it was a word that would not fall out of suitability if our style changed. If we called ourselves Deathfuckingblackmetalkrieg, we would have painted ourselves into a corner. On the flip side to that, Blutvial is only ever going to be a barbaric Black Metal entity so we needed a name that reflected that with no room for ambiguity. With a name like Blutvial, you know it is going to be nasty black metal. Every other name (excluding Seasonal Code) were the work of others.

What plans do you musicially at present and for the future?

Code: Live shows, recording in the summer, new album out early next year.

Binah: CD out on Dark Descent and vinyl out on En Saco Un Ojo in June/July

Indesinence: New album out on Profound Lore I'm guessing in the autumn

Blutvial: Curses Thorns Blood re-released by Mordgrimm in July.

Anything else is a bonus….

Any last words?

Hails to you Matt….I remember Crucifixion sine the first time around so it is killer to see some life being breathed into it again. Thanks for the support and….CHHHHEEEEEERRRRSSSS!

Thanks to Aort for answering these questions in so much depth. Be sure to check out his excellent projects by clicking these links - Code - Blutvial - Binah - Haintic.