domingo, 29 de enero de 2012

The Devil's Blood - Interview



1 Greetings, I know you have playing in European Festivals, how has that live activity been for you? Did you have any problems at “With Full Force”?

I think you mean another festival. I will not discuss this at length, we were treated in a very unprofessional way and some “trouble” ensued. Nothing special. The rest of the season has been going very well! Highlights were: Hellfest in France, Armageddon fest in London and Rock Hard in Germany.

2 What can you tell us about the beginnings of the band? I would like to know more about the age of the members of TDB, you look really young. Where did that fascination for old bands from the 60s and 70s come from?

From the fact that we all listen to a lot of different styles of music as a rule. We are not the kind of people we can listen to only heavy metal or any other thing for very long. We are all in our Thirties. Our beginnings have been discussed a million times over and I am bored with typing that up. You can find that info in a thousand interviews.

3 The Devil’s Blood has been labeled as “Occult Rock”, I know that in the end all these labels are just shit, but who came up with this description for your music? You didn’t want to be linked to any metal subgenre?

We are not a heavy metal band. We are a rock band that plays music directly influenced by the occult. It seemed logical to me to combine those two in the description of our music.

4 The occult and supernatural are very important in your band, how important is it in you personal lives? Are you members of any congregations?

It is very important to me, I will not speak for the others, I lead my life according to Satanic principle and study these at length. I am at this point  merely a neophyte searching for the truth in a darkened world. I am not a member of any Church or Brotherhood although I have ties to several.

5 Do you believe that magic exists or it is just that magic symbols affect the human unconscious and therefore some rites work? Do you think that because of that any magician must be an actor somehow?

It exists. I am, if anything, the living proof of this.

6 Do you know the works of Latin American artist like A. Jorodowsky (and his great film “El Topo”) or Carlos Castaneda?

Yes I do, I used to read a lot of his comic books he did with Mobius and such artists. A great mind and together with Castaneda one of the truly unique creative minds to come from Latin America.

7 Back in the 60s and 70s, Occultism and Satanism were very artistic things, then in the 80s were used as shock value in the media, currently it doesn’t create any shock value and its almost accepted socially, do you believe that in there is room for magic in a world so politically correct?

This is the perfect time for the inception of Chaotic forces unto the world. We should strive in our way for the destruction of the All!

8 Let’s talk a bit about your music and history, “The Time Of No Time Evermore” is a big success… What do you think about the response to the album? How long did it take you to write it and how much time did you spend in the studio?

About 40 days. I think we have exactly the response that this work deserves. We have been seeing sales gradually climbing since its release and I have heard very little negative words on it at least not from anyone you should take seriously.

9 Could you tell us more about the production of the album? I mean, what technologies were used, how much of an influence was the producer, if any? How do you manage to prevent the current technologies from affecting the magic transmitted in your music?

We used a lot of old equipment along with some modern techniques. The thing is to always stay on top of what you are doing, only use the stuff you need to make what you need to make. We were able to use all the technical stuff to our advantage by never letting it use us. We worked very closely with Pieter Kloos, a dedicated producer and close personal friend.

10 I got your album on a very good digi-book edition, I know that it was also released on vinyl; do you collect CD’s and vinyl? I imagine that as a musician and fan of a very special type of music you are interested in your fans buying a “special” type of product or was it an idea from your label?

We just tried to get everyone their money’s worth. Personally I never buy CD or Vinyls unless the package is really interesting and worthy. We worked very closely with our label in the design and manufacturing of all the bits and pieces that make up the art.

11 I wasn’t aware of Van Records, how did you come in touch and get a deal with them? Are you a follower of the bands they release (which are more into the vein of Black Metal and Extreme Industrial)?

A band called URFAUST, whose members joined The Devil’s Blood for a brief period, introduced us with them and we had a very good feeling. We then did the Graveyard Shuffle on 7” and their way of working was very professional and dedicated.

12 Before the album, you released “I’ll Be Your Ghost” on a 12” EP and “Come Reap” on 12” EP and CD, but honestly I don’t know anything about your first release “The Graveyard Shuffle”, was it released as a 7” EP only? Are there any previous demos or rehearsals available?

No.

13 What can you tell us about the beginning of The Devil’s Blood? Had you decided since the beginning to have a female on vocals? How did you come up with the idea of 3 guitar players? I believe the third guitar player in Iron Maiden is more than enough, what do you think about it?

I don’t think about it.

14 Where did you find “Mouth of Satan”? How did you get in touch with her? Her voice is incredible; does she have any professional singing background?

No. She does not.

15 How is it having a girl in the band? The world of rock is all macho oriented; I see Mouth of Satan has beautiful breasts, have you ever on tour smelled her underwear after a show? Has she smelled yours?

She sucked it dry a million times obviously. We usually engage in various lurid acts of anal and oral penetration and Scatological Rites before concerts and insert various species of small rodents into her cunt to make her voice just right when she has to sing...

16 Does having a female around you influence your behavior when drinking too much or fucking some horny fans?

She drink more than all of us.

17 On a more serious note, where did the idea of coming bathed in blood onstage come from? Have you always used real animal blood? Do you believe this is a fundamental part of your performances?

It is our way of “wearing death” on our faces. A way of becoming ghosts and no more persons.

18 Back to album, one of my favorite things are the guitar solos, where does the inspiration for those come from? Which guitarists influence you? Is it hard writing for three guitars?

I have a wide range of guitarist which I appreciate for example:  Dave Murray/Adrian Smith, Glenn Tipton, Michael Schenker, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Marc Ribot, and many others...

For me it is not hard since I hear all the melodies in my head long before they are recorded anyway.

19 Besides having very well written lyrics, the names of your songs are great, where did Christ or Cocaine come from? Did you ever have to choose between Christ and cocaine?

I never talk about the lyrics. I will say that song is about choosing Chaos over order and living your life accordingly.

20 How do you see current status of rock and metal? Do you follow any type of extreme metal? I find several similarities between your album and Angel Witch’s debut album, do you like the reunions of old bands, like Angel Witch for example?

I am a not a big fan of reunions and I hate modern metal. There is so little music coming out these days which is actually worthy of my time that I have to look back in time if I want something good.

21 Is there a possibility of having your album released in Latin America or touring some of our countries perhaps?

We are working on that! At the moment we have no distribution in South America but as soon as that happens we will be coming there!

22 What is next for The Devil’s Blood? When will we see a new recording out?

Wait and see.

23 Let’s end this rite, any last words? Where listening to any music while answering this interview? If so, what band and album? Thank you much…

Thanks for the interview! Hail Satan! All hail the territories of Quimbanda, Santeria and Voodoo! May our rites inspire many to great deeds!

Printed version in BELLS OF ACHERON ISSUE 0