DARK MANAGARM interview 2008

This is not a usual thing to read about black metal in my putrefied rag, but if some of you owns the previous issues, they probably remembered about some chats with HARKONIN and NO HAND PATH (in PEZ#2). There’s not matter of quotas in PEZ but I simply enjoy the work of FERA (a French confidential but promising black metal band) with their split CD with HATESTORM released by Deathcrush Records (now Inferno Records). FERA split up and some members summoned unholy forces to infant a new band called DARK MANAGARM into a more brutal black metal way. This intie was supposed to be released in PEZ#3 but something happened and I really thought I couldn’t get it. By the grace of the unexpectedly, here are the answers.

1-Hails Leviathan! I think we could go back speaking about the end of your previous band FERA. In your biography is stated that you all played in bands before. Can you give us the brief story about it? Why did the band split up?
Forcas and I indeed played in FERA (respectively voices and guitar), a black metal band that auto-produced two demos and performed many gigs in North of France and other regions. After almost 10 years of existence, we decided to stop that project because of the line-up instability and some differences of point of view with other members. Concerning Braz, DARK MANAGARM’s drummer, he was a part of NÜRN, as a bassist. The recent line-up changes brought us new blood from PEURS ANCESTRALES and MASS GRAVE. Respectively Norvhogst (bass) and Hagel (guitar). Warwolf and Hellbrecht left the band for personal reasons.

2-From the ashes of FERA you created DARK MANAGARM with Forcas, playing some brutal black metal. What are the major differences between both bands, be it musically and ideologically? First, the major difference is about the musical way taken by the bands. FERA evolved in a brutal black metal with melodic parts directly linked to DISSECTION. DARK MANAGARM sounds rawer and thrasher than that, but keeps a large part of brutality. In my point of view, DARK MANAGARM is not ideologically so far away from FERA. Even if the crew is not the same, the texts have always been written by Forcas and I. The only changes directly come from our own ideological evolutions. FERA was launched a decade ago, of course we are not exactly in the same mental conditions right now with DARK MANAGARM.

3-I discovered FERA through a review in Nihilistic Holocaust ‘zine, about your 2nd demo “Christianicide”. Why didn’t you do more promotion about the band? In a same way, I have never read an interview about FERA. Was it a conscious aim to remain so confidential? Do you want to distinguish from other black metal bands acting like fucking posers in politically-correct metal magazines?
Concerning promotion, problems in FERA really begun with the recording of “Christianicide”. From that period to the end of the band, we spent more energy to solve problems between members than to promote the band. That’s why no effort was done to create contacts.
Personally, I don’t care about staying confidential or not, but I never make up my own mind about anything with what is written in papers. The only time I answered an interview, all the things I said were twisted on paper.
The same way I never compare DARK MANAGARM to other bands, so I have no distinction to make with any of them. Nowadays it’s trendy to try to distinguish from everything. Whatever you do, there will always be someone to appreciate, someone to criticize constructively, someone to be indifferent and someone to shit on you. The only thing I care about is to be proud of DARK MANAGARM.

4-I guess DARK MANAGARM is playing black metal in the direct vein of brutal acts like MARDUK, SETHERIAL, ENDSTILLE and the likes? Which bands would you name as the fundaments of DARK MANAGARM?
Of course, I can’t deny that DARK MANAGARM possibly sounds like those bands, and I am proud of it, as it is an entire part of our musical background. I can also quote THORNS as a Black Metal root for me to get inspiration. The way I want DARK MANAGARM to follow is full of hatred, brutal, and blasphemous.

5-Fabien of Deathcrush Records released the split CDR FERA/HATESTORM “Disciples of the beast”. How did this collaboration come about? I guess you’re satisfied by his job as he will release your first album “Triumph Of Death” under the name DARK MANAGARM in 2008. Do you intend to release a demo/promo before this release? People could find surprising you record an album without anything before? Is this something you do care about?
Fabien did it because he thought it was a loss not to produce “Christianicide”, so Forcas and I gave our agreement about the split with HATESTORM. It was a good occasion for his business and for us to offer a last breath to FERA before definitely bury it.
Concerning DARK MANAGARM, Fabien will not work with us. Our first issue is being recorded but I can’t say anything about it because we are not fixed about the release.

6-Promoting a band has become easy especially nowadays with the internet (emails, websites, forums, and the abusive trend of Myspace). Which way is the best according to you? Do you think paper flyers are still useful?
The best way to promote a band, apart from concerts, seems to be internet, but it is also the best media to be criticized and verbally destroyed, most of the time by people hidden behind alias. Internet carries the best and the worst. I think paper flyers will always be used but less than new medias that permit to hear instantaneously what the bands sounds like.

7-Where will you record your next release? Will it be in the same place you released “Christianicide” with the help of Loïc Cellier? Are you looking for a crystal clear production or something a bit dirty?
As I said before, we are recording our first release. We work in Norvhogst’s home studio and actually finalize the recording process, so he will soon take over with mixing. We don’t want to release something that won’t be listenable but are looking for a raw ambiance.

8-The lyrics in FERA were sung in French, will you sing in French as well in DARK MANAGARM? Is this a comfortable way of writing and will you use English eventually? Do you think that bands using their native tongue get their own identity, like ENSLAVED or SATYRICON did in the past? Forcas choose to keep on writing in French and sometimes in English. Personally, I try to use the most adapted language to what it deals with, between English and French. When I work on complex concepts, my native tongue comes naturally but it’s more to be comfortable than to get my own identity.

9-In the past, FERA performed many gigs in North France. Did you play anywhere else? In some flyers I see that you share the stage with Black Metal bands but also with Death Metal bands like SCARVENGER. Some Black Metal bands only want to play with Black metal hordes and only on big stages (I mean excluding bars for example). Can you understand this behaviour?
I don’t care about playing in a bar or a big place , I don’t care about playing with Black or death metal bands. The size of the place where you play is not directly linked with the intensity of the exchange. FERA played in a little cellar under a bar in Rouen, and that was an explosive show with a fuckin’ brutal ambiance I will remember for long. I appreciate Death Metal as much as many metal styles, and I appreciate a gig with a large contrast between several different atmospheres. Especially as I sometimes feel closer to death or thrash metalheads, that will keep on headbanging to the bitter end.

10-In my area, when there is a gig with some rather underground bands, I can witness an average affluence of around 50/60 people. Even with a cheap entrance, people are no more curious and only move their fat bottom to see “big” bands. Is this something similar in North France? How can you explain this sort of disinterest?
It’s also a current phenomenon in North France, the underground is supported by a few people but only big bands see hundreds metalheads in the pit. This sort of disinterest can probably be explained by the facility to get a judgement on a band only by internet. DARK MANAGARM performed a few gigs in the north with underground bands, and entrances are numbered between 20 and 80 but even if there is a dozen souls we give all we can.

11-More and more video-gigs are spread on the internet with a more or less good quality. Some people can claim they know a band by viewing a shitty video. Are we going now to sit in front of computer to watch gigs captured by mobile phones? It seems that this phenomenon grows? Do Metalheads become lazy bastards?
A video concert will never be the same as a live performance. True metalheads keep on moving to concerts, headbanging or not, drinking beer or not, sharing an experience with bands. Concerning the others I don’t care.

12-The North scene owns a good bunch of promising bands like AMETHYSTE, DISGUST, LORD, NIRNAETH, VAKARM, etc… Those bands have released good stuff recently but didn’t get much attention. What are the reactions towards FERA (about the split CDR) and now about DARK MANAGARM, and more widely about the Northern scene?
We have a good feedback about FERA’s work, but many people told us they prefer DARK MANAGARM and its new composition. Only the future can confirm or not the tendency.

13-Black Metal, like many other genres, sees an evolution, first being more and more brutal like BEHEMOTH (more death metal, today) then heading to some experimentation like BLACKLODGE (Black/Indus) or BLUT AUS NORD (ambient). Are you interested in Black Metal evolution or on the contrary, it must remain pure? What’s your view on this?
I have a divided opinion about the question. BLUT AUS NORD explored recently a very appreciable way that stay connected with Black Metal. I can understand bands moving away from a root but I just do not appreciate some of the ways taken. Musical evolution does not disturb me if there’s a good link with origins.

14-I would like to know your feelings about the recent called Orthodox black metal scene, kind of circle whose bands like OFERMOD, WATAIN, MALIGN, etc… belong to. What do you think about those bands and about this brand of Orthodox black metal?
I really appreciate WATAIN but have never heard about OFERMOD or MALIGN. I don’t care about the labels, it’s easy and trendy to hide bands behind labels and to judge if this or that is appreciable or not. To answer your question, under this label, there are bands I appreciate and others I do not. Particularly, FUNERAL MIST is one of my favourite.

15-What has impressed you lately, albums, demos, zines, gigs or whatever? Is there something you would recommend? Give me also your actual top 5 albums.
The new KRODA album is a very good work. HEGEMON’s last disc sounds really good too. I can’t give a top 5 albums, it would be too long to choose. I can cite a few recently discovered albums : ABIGOR’s last one, SVARTSOT’s ravnenes saga, DIES ATER, INFERNAL WAR.
16-Let’s close this chapter. Leviathan, thanks for your evil intents. I let you conclude this interview. Hails!
Many gigs are programmed for DARK MANAGARM, and now that the line up is fixed we’ll profit to find more gigs to promote our release and to work on the next one.
Hails!
http://www.myspace.com/darkmanagarm