Mika (Impaled Nazarene) - Sinistrari 'Zine # 1 - 1992

Impaled Nazarene: members unknown; date unknown

One of the seminal war metal bands (to my ears) along with Blasphemy and fellow countrymen Beherit (and maybe Sarcofago?), not to mention about as completely over-the-fucking-top as extreme metal gets, Finnish killsquad Impaled Nazarene drew from much the same well as the Norwegians and Swedes with respect to influence.  However, where those two factions went for atmosphere (Norway) and melody (Sweden), early Impaled Nazarene (and early Beherit, for that matter) blasted o'er the path of full-on chaos and destruction, influences from both grindcore and crust punk prevalent especially on albums like (my personal favourite) Ugra-Karma.

Here, then, is an interview from 1992 (23 years ago as of today, which is mind-blowing) conducted with vocalist Mika Luttinen in the first issue of American 'zine Sinistrari.  Something that I've noticed in reading interviews from our era of interest with the likes of Finnish cults like these fellas and Beherit, as well as even the likes of Marduk, is that they're not nearly as deadly serious/surrealistic as those given by the Norwegians.  In fact, the only other scene that comes to mind whose members espoused similar severity was the French Black Legions milieu.  Maybe sometimes the guys from the early Polish scene would spout off about impending holy wars, but the Norwegians (and the French) easily take first place in that respect.

Mika (Impaled Nazarene) - Sinistrari 'Zine # 1 - 1992

I know that I said that 1993's sophomore release Ugra-Karma is my personal favourite Impaled Nazarene record, and I meant it and it is, but the debut Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz is more extreme and of greater historical interest given the format outlined herein: the punk influences from the former are not nearly as prevalent, and it's far and away one of the more violent and chaotic black metal releases both of the era that I'm treating and also ever.  It, and the band's entire oeuvre, for that matter, is tragically underrated by my reckoning.

Impaled Nazarene - Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz - 1992

Æon

Avaëthre & Këëtrëh (Belkètre) - The Black Plague # 1 - 1995

Avaëthre (Vordb) & Këëtrëh, date unknown

Belkètre is, at this point and for those who've been paying close attention, beyond legendary.  A member group of the French Black Legions debuting around '89 or so as Chapel of Ghouls (Morbid Angel title right there), the duo gradually morphed into the snarling, tortured beast that was Belkètre by '91 or '92.  By my reckoning, they were by far the most aggressive and experimental of that circle, all ugly dissonance, furious paces/drumming, and an uncommon knack for structuring songs and even whole works (demos, splits, but no albums) such that the dynamic of the sense of dread that they cultivate ebbs and flows as naturally and convincingly as the waters on the shores of Hell for which these two are no doubt destined.  Also, did I mention that they've produced some of the most enduring and classic black metal releases in history?  Their side of the 1995 split with Vlad Tepes, March to the Black Holocaust, is nothing short of monumental; the same goes for their handful of demos/rehearsals, which none of us are ever supposed to have heard.

This interview was done with both members, mainman Avaëthre (better known as Vordb - guitars, vocals, drums) & Këëtrëh (also known as Aäkon Këëtrëh, purveyor of an eponymous ambient project - guitars, vocals, bass) in the 1995 French 'zine The Black Plague, reportedly produced by Meyhna'ch of the one and only Mütiilation, and it's easily one of my favorite black metal interviews conducted with anyone, ever.  You'll see why.

Avaëthre & Këëtrëh (Belkètre) - The Black Plague # 1 - 1995

Did I mention that March to the Black Holocaust - both fucking sides of it - is essential on the level of the Norwegian records?

Belkètre - March to the Black Holocaust - 1995

(Aäkon) Këëtrëh & Avaëthre (Vordb), date unknown

(Aäkon) Këëtrëh & Avaëthre (Vordb), date unknown

I said I wasn't done.

Æon

I get sidetracked, see...

Yeah.  It's been over a year since I posted anything new, huh?

My fault.  In the meantime, for the record, I have been updating the format for old interviews such that the original text be preserved as much as possible wherever possible while still adhering to my stylistic vision for this project.  But yeah, honestly, I haven't even touched this little blog in close to a year.  Sincere apologies for that, but I'm trying desperately to find the time to do this some more.

So what the hell am I so busy doing?  I've mentioned this before, but I'm married, have a full-time job, have a small side-business (in a loose sense of the term) that I run with my wife, and play in a metal band, whose name I'm not going to mention because I don't want to use Blackened Relics as a promotional vehicle.  That's what I've been doing.  All of those things.

Further, my tastes at any given point tend to run in cycles, and while black metal is ultimately my favorite kind of music ever in the history of music, I like tons of other stuff too, and since I last worked on this blog I've been through glam rock (early '70s English stuff), glam metal (don't tell anyone, but I'm a huge Mötley Crüe fan), EDM (especially minimal techno and microhouse), power metal and '80s European speed metal, classical, gothic rock, and most lately gore/deathgrind.  At last, though, the wheel has come full circle, and the flame of the black candle has been reignited, and I'm about to go on a 'I'm-not-doin'-a-goddamn-thing' vacation for a week, which means I can fart around with this all I damn well please.

Stay tuned...

Æon