1. NECROMANIAC has been around for a decade, yet “Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable” is your first full-length. What led to the long gestation period, and how do you feel the wait benefited your album?
Ave maniac! This is Sadistik Fornicator (Guitarmageddon) answering your questions. First, many thanks for your interest in the band and for giving us a platform to promote our sinister art. To be more precise, NECROMANIAC has been active for exactly 14 years now, so almost a decade and a half. To answer your question as to why we took so long to release our debut album, we have several reasons for this. As a completely new and unknown band, we didn’t have the necessary experience required or a dedicated following back when we started, so we needed time to earn our stripes, so to speak, before releasing an album. Therefore, this is why we spent so long honing our craft. We were still active throughout those years, though, and released two demos and an EP, networked internationally with many underground bands, labels, distros, supporters, and promoters, and also played a handful of selected shows with high-profile acts such as Archgoat, Qrixkuor, Adorior, Possession, Eurynomos, Deathly Scythe, Ultra Silvam, Black Witchery, Sijjin, Beastiality, or Sadistic Intent, to name a few. It was only after going through all those experiences and gaining enough international supporters that we managed to generate demand for an album. My point is, we could have released a full-length way back when, but if we had done that, then no one would remember it now, as it wouldn’t have been that impressive and it would have fallen on deaf ears. Great achievements take time and shouldn’t be rushed, or as the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. While our morbid vision and main sources of inspiration have remained the same from day one, there have been noticeable improvements with each new release we put out, which, in the long term, have helped us become better musicians and songwriters in the process. This slow development helped us mature our sound and songwriting skills to the required standards needed to write and record a magnum opus that’s bound to leave a strong blackened mark on listeners and make its decaying presence felt within the international underground Metal milieu. I’m 100% confident we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this if we had tried to speed up the songwriting process. So it takes as long as it takes; the only thing that matters to us is the final result. Evil has no boundaries or time constraints, and a corpse always takes its time to rot, so you can’t rush its decomposition!
2. Your music exists in a time bubble where Metal seemingly ended in 1987. What is it about that era that continues to inspire you, and how do you keep that spirit alive while still bringing something fresh to the table?
I strongly disagree with that sentiment; our influences aren’t just bands from that specific time frame, and we are most definitely not a retro band. We are also heavily influenced by many releases that came out in the ’90s and by a few from the 2000s. What inspires us the most about the 1st and 2nd generations of Black and Death Metal bands from all corners of the globe in the mid ’80s and early ’90s, is the fact that they all sounded completely different from one another, and this is something that we want to perpetuate in this modern day, where boring generic clone bands seem to be not only widely accepted but also encouraged. We see no real artistic value in this, hence why we refuse to follow the same path as those types of bands. What we have created is nothing but an artistic expression of that very same old basic sonic vision, but only one that’s unequivocally ours, so regardless of whether people likes our music or not, there’s no denying that no other band sounds like us, and that in itself is already quite a rare achievement in this day and age. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I believe we have invented anything new. What we do is undoubtedly inspired by the work of others who preceded us, and I’d be lying if I said you cannot hear some of those influences in our art. However, without our personal touch and the ability to merge different influences and manifest them into a sound of our own, we’d be nothing but a pale shadow of our inspirations, and that is something which we have always had zero interest in. While most bands are content to be mere followers and aren’t adventurous enough to operate outside of sonic parameters dictated by scene trends and confining subgenres, we belong to the small minority who have the balls and attitude to hold a huge middle finger up against the face of anything that’s in fashion, do things their way, and be in total control of their artistic path without compromising their vision. All meanwwhile also respecting the genre’s history and traditions.
3. The album’s production has expanded significantly compared to your earlier work, sounding much larger while maintaining a raw edge, and it doesn’t try to imitate the ’80s or ’90s. What was the recording process like, and how did you achieve that balance?
We were lucky to work with three of the best and most passionate engineers and producers in the current underground metal milieu. They were crazy and patient enough to take the time to follow our sorcerous vision and experiment while spending countless hours working their asses off to get the album to sound exactly like we wanted it. Our brother Am, who also plays in the local bands Grave Miasma and Eihort, engineered and recorded all the vocals, synths, samples, and additional instruments (including French horn, trumpet, and trombone) at Morbisound Studios here in London. He also engineered, recorded, mixed, and mastered the last promotional demo tape we released before we commenced the album recording sessions, which secured the record deal with Invictus Productions in Europe and The Ajna Offensive in North America. Therefore, his involvement was massively important to us. Shauny Cadogan engineered and recorded all the guitars, bass, and drum tracks, plus the choir on “Caput Draconis” at Sound Training – Studio One in Dublin, Ireland. He also mixed the album, doing an immensely incredible job, as mixing this beast was no easy task, considering all the different instruments and layers that we recorded. Last, but not least, Greg Chandler mastered it at Priory Recording Studio in Birmingham, UK. He also did an amazingly outstanding job while managing to keep all the dynamics created by the different layers and instruments used intact without losing any of the punch. Another interesting fact I must mention is that all the basic guitar, bass and drum tracks were recorded live. Then we did all our overdubs individually to fix any mistakes made during the recording. Absolutely no click tracks, guide tracks or drum triggers were used during the sessions, which is why the album sounds like a band playing together, unlike the many sterile and soulless modern studio productions that are so common in Metal these days.
4. Despite the relative simplicity of this style of Metal, you have a penchant for complexity in both the number of riffs you put into each song, as well as how layered each song is. Could you tell us about your approach to songwriting?
To paraphrase Yngwie, more is more! But jokes aside, you can blame Mercyful Fate and Negative Plane for that, as both bands were a huge influence on my penchant for this type of songwriting approach. Listening to their music always feels like they use almost as many riffs and tempo changes on one of their songs as some bands would put on a whole vinyl side of their albums! “Hell Awaits” by Slayer is also an album with many riffs and tempo changes, which I must mention as a powerful source of inspiration. Another important factor is usually the number of killer ideas that keep popping up in my head once I’m in the zone while working on a new song, and I guess this is what makes us sound original, after all. Our songs are a labyrinthine display of riffs and arrangements where we merge different styles and manage to make them flow naturally and organically, regardless of all the unexpected twists and turns, drumbeat changes and unusual bridges. This complex songwriting style is what ultimately makes our music stand out from the many generic, derivative, and easily palatable bands out there; that’s for sure. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy listening to many bands that have primitive or minimalistic song structures and somehow still manage to sound original. However, I would find our music boring to play if our songs weren’t complex, didn’t feel like a journey and consisted of only four riffs played over and over again. If I don’t feel challenged while playing, I get the impression that I’m not pushing myself and giving 100%, and I’m not the kind of person who would do this half-heartedly. We also tried the ‘less is more’ approach on some of our songs to step out of our comfort zone and add a bit of variety, which helped our longer releases flow better and made their listening experience more rewarding. Some bands put out albums that are an absolute ordeal to listen to, and I certainly didn’t want that to happen to ours. You need ups and downs, as well as different textures and dynamics, to convey any particular atmosphere, experience, or emotion effectively in your music and stand out; otherwise, the overall vibe can become one-dimensional and dull pretty quickly. Thus, we like to create tension in our decompositions by slowly building up momentum, much like the best horror soundtracks of old times used to do.
5. While occult themes are common within Metal, your lyrics show a lot of research, with references to individuals such as St. Cyprian of Antioch and Erichtho. What is your relationship with such works, and how do they affect your music and worldview?
Reading about such themes is undoubtedly a strong source of inspiration, and including them in our lyrics adds an extra level of genuine mysticism to the music, while also nurturing our fascination with witchcraft, ancient history, and mythology. Mankind has always been drawn to the darker side of life ever since the first ancient civilizations arose at the dawn of bygone times; that’s a widely known fact, and the more we learn about our past, our roots, our nature, our consciousness, our different rituals of veneration and divination of the dead, and our interactions and clashes with different cultures across the world, the more we realize how spirituality in all of its variants has always played a massive role in the development and the rise and fall of our societies throughout the centuries. Anyone who doesn’t consider something of that magnitude worthy of deeper exploration is choosing to live life with a thick veil blinding their eyes. All the lyrics on our album were written by our vocalist C. Howler, and his knowledge of mythology and the occult is vast and far greater than that of most people you’re likely to meet at your average Black or Death Metal gig – including yours truly. He is not only well-read and versed in those subjects, but he has also done his fair share of research and practice throughout the years. He is also a published author and works in one of the oldest and most legendary occult and esoteric sciences bookshops in Europe. Therefore, this aspect of his personality extends not only to his private and artistic life but also to his professional one. This is why our lyrics show such a high level of study and research.
6. Most Death/Thrash/Black Metal bands tend to have one of the musicians do the vocals, but you decided to bring a standalone vocalist. Why is that, and how does C. Howler contribute to the music?
C. Howler was the missing piece of the puzzle; it is as simple as that. His ghastly and aggressive vocals, sinister and poetic lyrics, and thoroughly studied necromantic concepts are an integral part of our morbid coven; therefore, our album would have been very different without his involvement, as none of us possesses the same degree of knowledge and understanding of the occult that he has. He also contributes to some of the music arrangements when he deems it necessary to fit his lyrics accordingly or make the song flow better. Still, he usually lets us handle the musical aspect and focuses primarily on researching fitting concepts, writing all the lyrics for the band and working on the vocal arrangements. We all have different strengths, so we work together as a team to summon everyone’s traits and sensibilities into our music. This is how the artistic expression manifested by the creative spiritual current, otherwise collectively known as NECROMANIAC, channels its evil and deadly Morbid Metal upon the unsuspecting public.
7. The One has been part of NECROMANIAC since its inception. How has his vast experience and musical expertise shaped the band’s sound and creative direction? (Macabre Omen is one of the greatest Greek black metal bands ever.)
The One is most definitely the voice of reason and experience in the band, so we always listen very carefully to what he has to say, as he has already made all the usual mistakes musicians make in previous bands and projects he has collaborated with. He has indeed helped shape the band’s sound by complementing my riffs with his unique ideas and playing style. The bass has always been an important instrument in NECROMANIAC and an integral part of our sound, unlike many other bands where it’s barely audible in the mix and only follows the guitar riffs without adding any extra layers or making a big impact. The One is also a strong character with unrelenting drive and determination, much like me. This means sometimes we can clash and argue from time to time, as we’re both Mediterranean and very fiery and passionate about everything that we do, but we always find common ground and patch things up quickly. Ultimately, we share a genuine, integrity-driven artistic vision, and our musical chemistry, camaraderie, and brotherhood have thus far transcended every single barrier that stood in front of us for the past 14 years and counting. As for the creative direction of the band, that’s more of a collective effort. I write all the music, and C. Howler writes all the lyrics, but The One and V. Pestilencia contribute to the arrangements by adding their ideas during the songwriting process, thus bringing their creative input to the songs too. Without those ideas and their playing styles, the band would sound very different; I have zero doubts about that. So, credit where it’s due, you won’t find any narcissistic ego bullshit here. We all work extremely hard and take huge pride in what we accomplish as a team.
8. Looking ahead, do you see NECROMANIAC continuing in this musical direction, or do you envision further evolution in your sound?
That depends. If by evolution you mean making our music sound cleaner and writing in a style that’s more palatable to the masses, then absolutely not! We have no intention whatsoever of ever wimping out like many of the bands who influenced us ended up doing at one point or another in their careers. However, we aim to develop our songwriting skills, become better musicians, and improve our craft with each new release. Although without deviating from our left hand path, of course.
9. What are some current or obscure bands that have influenced you recently, and how do you feel about the current state of Metal?
Unfortunately, there aren’t many current Metal bands that inspire me, but from the top of my head, I’d like to mention Spirit Possession, Necromante, Reversed, The Third Eye Rapists/Succubus Seducers/Turnskin, Callous Master, Funereal Presence, and Negative Plane. I know some of them are not new at all, but these are some of the newer bands that have been on heavy rotation in my stereo. As for the current state of Metal, I don’t have many positive things to say, so it’s probably wiser if I don’t address that, as I don’t want to come across as a moaning old cunt in every single interview that I answer. Going back to the first part of your question, if you’re curious about what my main musical inspirations are, here are some of the most pivotal bands and releases that were highly influential to the development of my playing and compositional style: Sodom (“In the Sign of Evil”, “Obsessed By Cruelty”, “Expurse of Sodomy” & “Persecution Mania”), Necrovore (“Divus de Mortuus”), Slayer (“Show No Mercy”, “Haunting the Chapel”, “Live Undead”, “Hell Awaits” & “Reign In Blood”), Master’s Hammer (1st 2 albums), Possessed (“Seven Churches” & “Beyond the Gates”), Rotting Christ (“Satanas Tedeum”, “Passage to Arcturo”, “Ade’s Winds”, “Thy Mighty Contract”, “Dawn of the Iconoclast” & “Αποκαθήλωσις”), Bathory (1st 4 albums), Mefisto “Megalomania” & “The Puzzle”,King Diamond (1st 4 albums), Sarcófago (“I.N.R.I.” & “Rotting”), Mercyful Fate (s/t EP, “Melissa” & “Don’t Break the Oath”), Mayhem (“Deathcrush”, “Live in Leipzig” & “De Mysteriis Dom. Sathanas”), Tormentor (“Anno Domini” & “The 7th Day of Doom”), Root (1st 3 albums), Sacrificio (“Guerra Eterna”), Face of Evil (s/t), Mortuary Drape (almost everything), Beherit (“Drawing Down the Moon”), Samael (1st 2 albums), Varathron (1st 2 albums, EP and demos), Absu (1st 3 albums), Infernäl Mäjesty (“None Shall Defy”), Hellhammer (“Satanic Rites” & “Apocalyptic Raids”), Celtic Frost (“Morbid Tales”, “Emperor’s Return” & “To Mega Therion”), Thou Art Lord (1st 2 albums, EP & demo), Necrophiliac (“Infernal Exorcism”), Blasphemy (everything), Morbid (“December Moon”), Treblinka (everything), Death SS (early EPs & “In Death of Steve Sylvester”), Pentagram – Chile (EP & demos), Black Hole (“Land of Mystery”), Necromantia (early works), Perdition Hearse (“Mala Fide”), Sepultura (“Bestial Devastation” & “Morbid Visions”), Vomitor (everything), Vulcano (“Bloody Vengeance”), Venenum (everything), Burzum (s/t & “Aske”), Iron Maiden (almost everything), Profanatica (everything), Napalm Death (“Mentally Murdered”), Von (“Satanic Blood”), Marduk (1st 3 albums and demo), Impaled Nazarene (1st album & “Taog eht fo Htao Eht” demo), Cradle of Filth (“The Principle of Evl Made Flesh”), Holy Death (“Abraxas” & “Evil” demos), Hadez (“Aquelarre”), Nocturnal Graves (“Satan’s Cross”), Cultes Des Ghoules (everything), Mortem (everything), Shub Niggurath (“The Kinglike Celebration (Final Aeon on Earth)”), Carcass (“Symphonies of Sickness”), Vulpecula (everything), Mystifier (1st 3 albums), Nifelheim (everything), Törr (“Armageddon” & “Witchhammer”), Venom (1st 4 albums + early EPs), Poison (“Into the Abyss”), Morbid Angel (“Abominations of Desolation”, “Altars of Madness”, “Blessed Are the Sick”, “Covenant” & “Thy Kingdom Come” demo), Vader (“Morbid Reich” & “Necrolust” demos), Grotesque (“Incantation”), Liers In Wait (“Spiritually Uncontrolled Art”), Masacre (“Ola de Violencia”), Repulsion (“Horrified”), Massacra (1st 3 albums and demos), Unholy (1st album and demos), Sadistic Intent (almost everything), etc… You get the picture: epic, raw, untamed, dark and aggressive riff-based Metal! Outside of Metal, selected works by incendiary and visionary dispar artists such as Dead Can Dance (s/t & “Within the Realm of a Dying Sun”), Fields of the Nephilim (1st 3 albums), Der Blutharsch (all early works), Tangerine Dream (“Stratosfear”, “Rubycon” & “Phaedra”), Laibach (“Nova Akropola”, “Krst Pod Triglavom – Baptism” & “Macbeth”), Christian Death (Rozz Williams era), Bauhaus (“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” EP & “In the Flat Field”), Joy Division (almost everything), Current 93 (“Nature Unveiled” & “Dogs Blood Rising”), Lustmord (s/t, “Paradise Disowned” & “Heresy”), Sisters of Mercy (almost everything), Klaus Schulze (“Timewind”), Zero Kama (“The Secret Eye of L.A.Y.L.A.H.”), Death In June (“The Guilty Have No Pride”), Jacula (“In Cauda Semper Stat Venenum”), Coven (“Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls”), or Black Widow (“Sacrifice”) were also highly inspiring, even if this might raise a few eyebrows, but zero fucks given. The cinematic and atmospheric quality of their music, along with their overly dramatic, theatrical, and bombastic performances, was hugely inspirational for incorporating different textures into my compositions; therefore, they also deserve mention. Apart from that, I am also heavily influenced by film soundtracks like “Conan the Barbarian” by Basil Poledouris, “Hellraiser” by Christopher Young, “Nekromantik” & “Der Todesking by Hermann Kopp / Daktari Lorenz / John Boy Walton, “Lucifer Rising” by Bobby Beausoleil (although I am a fan of the unused version by Jimmy Page too), “The Omen” by Jerry Goldsmith, “Twin Peaks” by Angelo Badalamenti, “Nosferatu The Vampyre” by Popol Vuh, “Suspiria” & “Profondo Rosso” by Goblin, “Dracula (1958, aka Horror of Dracula)” by James Bernard & John Hollingsworth, “The Beyond” by Fabio Frizzi, “The Thing” by Ennio Morricone, or “The Shining” by Wendy Carlos, to name but a few. If you combine specific key elements from all these different influences and merge them in an ancient Black/Death Metal context, then you get NECROMANIAC.
10. Any final words?
We will be desecrating the Netherlands this September at the Nox Occultum Fest in Tilburg, where you can catch us on stage with Tormentor, Ultra Silvam, Necrowretch, and Concrete Winds, among others. This will be our 2nd gig with our new live vocalist Atterigner, whom some of you might be familiar with thanks to his work in Nadsvest and Gorgoroth, and also for his incredible art as Khaos Diktator Design. Just to avoid any confusion, C. Howler is still our studio vocalist and lyricist, but he’s stepping out from all future live desecrations and Atterigner is taking over. We will also continue to write new material for our 2nd full-length album, but don’t expect it to be ready for recording anytime soon, as we always take our time when crafting new songs until we feel that they’re ready to be committed to tape. All serious and dedicated promoters reading this interview are encouraged to contact us; we’d love to come and defile your country too. To all the Morbid Metal Disciples out there, if you want to stay up to date regarding all band-related news, future releases, live desecrations, etc., you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Bandcamp. Lastly, thank you and Hessian Firm for your support and your interest in NECROMANIAC. May the arcane mysticism contained within the very essence of our black art mark your damned souls with the unmistakable stench of Death and darkness until the very end of times! No mercy, no forgiveness, no salvation, no return… MORBID METAL TO THE DEATH
Sinister conjurations,
SF
