Xasthur's reclusive and asocial Malefic gave us a few moments of time to ask some esoterica and rewarded his listeners with the following interview, in which he gives some analysis of the interconnectivity of thoughts inside and outside of the black metal "scene."
when you first started xasthur, what factor of the project made
you most uncomfortable?
had you been in any bands or musical apparati before xasthur?
Yes, a couple death metal bands, back in 94-95 here in So.Cal..didn't
really work out. There was always some differences, they wanted to be
unoriginal, and at the time I thought it would have been quite possible to
mix death metal with darkness and doom. I can't really get along with anyone
in a band-like environment.
at the time, what bands inspired and/or motivated you? writers?
visual artists? movies?
Mütiilation and the black legions, Burzum, Graveland (Thousand
Swords), Manes, Shining, Forgotten Woods, Funeral Winds and too many to
mention. Hmmm, I don't watch movies much...my favorite movie is Carrie (the
old one from the 70s) as far as Visual Artists are concerned, whoever made
the Aphex Twin video, what a perfect vision of the remains of an
apocalypse, I always have that video in my head...but like I said ,I don't
watch TV really...
where were you when you first thought the project had longterm
potential for you?
In my house, as usual...looking out my window and there was nothing
there, When I was finishing a song and it actually disturbed me. That was like
looking into a mirror and not liking what I saw....when it refected a
nightmare, I thought it had some potential...but for what?"
does anyone else work with you? why or why not?
The only other person that really helped in the past was a good friend of
mine, Mike/Draconis, but that was in '99, before I just did this band on my
own. Maybe it's where I live that I can't rely on ANYONE to help out...I
don't need anyones input, people here want to be famous like Cradle of Filth
and write safe-normal riffs to impress their friends, get girls etc...that is
all I have EVER seen...I don't need that kind of input.
there is an obvious burzum-influence (this is something of which
to be proud, but hopefully you're not going to be annoyed by it) in
xasthur's music; what did burzum do that no other bands have done?
No, I'm not annoyed by that...actually, thanks. Burzum is darkness, or has
that word lost its meaning? All I know is that Burzum can take you anywhere
but where you are...and it's usually somewhere cold. I don't want to be
where I am, or anywhere for that matter.
a soldier once remarked, "we had to destroy the town to save it."
f.w. nietzsche once offhandedly said that if christianity had not
existed, it would have been necessary to invent it. do you think all
things on planet earth are bound up in their opposites?
Yes, that F.W. Nietzsche quote makes sense to me...just cause something
doesn't exist doesn't mean it needs to be invented...we would still have a
broom, if the streetcleaner or vaccum wasn't invented, the broom cost only
4-5 dollars and the others several dollars more, plus they're noisy and don't
save that much time...according to that quote, I'm not disagreeing with it, the
quote to me is just based on human nature and what people will predictably
do....or...maybe I have no clue?
most black metal bands seem to aim for linear expansion, namely,
riffs that stretch out of 2-3 notes across 3-5 frets within the same
chord form. this produces a very clear pattern that requires a
counterpoint. burzum and others, including xasthur, seem to structure
counterpoint within a recursive phrase, more like a fugue. is this
true in your view?
I try to not have such few notes per song/riff. My instincts tell me when
or when not to have such few notes, when to be this simple or not to
be,there's a time to be repetative. For example, something with a hardcore
upbeat (like you mentioned somewhere else in this interview) shouldn't be repeated
8-12-16 times ect...Across 3-5 frets? I'd say you'd better add a bunch of
other ideas to accompany that kind of simplicity or its gonna get
boring...but like I said else where, there are no rules. Slightly
rehearsed, last minute improv can not only fool thyself, but the listener as
well...or at least I'd like to think. Don't wanna come across as someone
trying to be an expert, 'cause these are just instincts talking here...there's
not much theory behind what it is that I do, 'cause I basically had to learn
anything I know on my own...on my own, that's what life really comes down
to, and death as well.
how much of the black metal community do you feel is social time
for wayward youth? how much of it is artistic?
Too much social time! To play this music and make it as dark as you can,
one has to give up alot...like friends,sleep,money etc...Alot of people
will be too busy being a part of "life" to take it further than
bass,guitar,drums,vocals,pentagram and then they're done! When this kind of
work is done, I'll be social with others who are into what I'm into..who the
hell am I?
negativity seems to me like a mental forest fire; with everything
reduced to ashes, any new ideas seem fresh and hopeful. what have
your experiences on this topic been?
Well, negativity is all around, weather you want it or not...how can one
rebuild when only ashes remain? Whenever I look at my scars...I remember
where I've been and where my state of mind always takes me.
many view varg as duplicitous in his representation of his own
beliefs, but in the first interview i have with him, he refers to
himself as a theosophist, and on his first album, he has a lyric
making reference to his socially unacceptable political views. do you
fear the same thing with your own music and later, views? is there
any way around being called "inconsistent" as one grows?
is there any way to summarize what you've learned about music
since starting xasthur, or to find a few central points of change,
and if so, can you list them here?
I have learned alot,I have learned things that I already knew and felt. I
have learned that playing music is like solving puzzles that have no
direction and are certianly not flat like puzzles usually are. I learned that
many riffs of songs have infinite possibilities for harmonies/dis-harmonies
with all instruments, having 4 or 5 different sounds in different octaves
(yet all slightly similar) coming together finding a way to let out all the
thousands of ideas in my head...painting a mix of sounds with the most bleak
of colours, what to do, or what to add that will reflect the exact mood....I
learned that being unpredictable with the changes in the song can work for
me, instead of against me i.e, one of my friends used to tell me that 2
certian parts wouldn't/didn't go together, I say bullshit, I'll find a
way, and the best way i possibly can...there are no rules, no rules...its the
one thing that can keep it interesting to me...I don't know if this is the
kind of answer you were looking for...
what do you think - if any - is the relationship between radical,
terroristic environmentalism and black metal?
Hate!! Downfall of urban culture (or lack there of)..if I'm understanding
the question properly.
do you have a preference for type of equipment? in your mind, how
important is equipment to the production of music?
I'll tell you that it makes a difference. When getting a good guitar
sound, that's when just anything WON'T do. On some old recordings,I used a
dist.pedal and all it picked up was alot of noise I didn't even know I was
hearing, plus it was very weak ad thin...then I switched to an effects
processer rack mod. and that really helped take away all the noise and added
some fullness...a way of mixing is important too. A 4track with mixing
capabilities included, the effects processer and a cd-r burner for bouncing
tracks...these are all the essentials and main ingredients.These things made
a difference and made recording easier for me.
when you first conceive of a song, or a riff, is your starting
point a boundary or a direction?
Neither. I don't want a limit, and boundary makes me think of that...if
there was a direction then it wouldn't come from within,plus predictability
in music makes it boring to play after a while.
what are your thoughts on hegel's theory of dialectics, namely
that each thing ("thesis") has an antithesis, and eventually a
compromise between the two leads to the next thesis?
As in hypothesis, an educated guess? A part of being psychic? A
mathematical algebra-like theory of prediction? If 2+ _ = 8 then what's
blank? If someone/something does 2, but is hiding the truth, that being
blank, then why does their face have 8 written all over it...I don't know,I'm
so tired right now I don't even know...
many people are saying "black metal is dead" right now, and,
while i understand their saying so, it seems to me like they mean
"most of black metal is dead" when they declare its demise. what do
you think is the difference between "living" and "dead" in this
context?
what were your earliest metal influences?
In the 1982-84 era, is when I first discovered metal, I was a bit young
at the time...I liked Motley Crue,Iron Maiden,Quiet Riot,AC/DC ect...I
rarley listen to those bands anymore..sometimes. Later on in the later 80's
I got into Mercyful Fate,Dark Angel,Megadeth,Slayer..
then death metal,black metal then...??
how much of metal do you think is derived from hardcore?
Hmmm, some of the drum beats are similar to hardcore. However, I think metal
bands did alot more with hardcore beats than the hardcore bands did
themselves..
the gentleman from axis of advance probably thinks i'm a fag
because so much of this interview does not address metal itself, but
abstract and possibly unrelated thoughts. do you think there is a
link between the sound that is produced and the thoughts that
occurred to prompt the attitudes, values and ideas expressed?
Well, talking about real life is probably more grim than death
itself....and metal too. Axis of Advance??
That link you talk about, yes I think there is...that is, if you're talking
about a persons mental state of mind, if you can hear a persons mental state
of mind...I could probably hear where the guys in Axis of Advance are coming from
when I hear their songs and I would hope that one would be able to hear
where I'm coming from with mine, also these are from two different
planes....
do you believe it is necessary, as keats did, to desire the end
for its cessation of the activity of life, before one can see what is
of value remaining?
Darkling I listen, and for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful death . . .
Now more than ever seems it reach to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain
if we could see the world through philosophical photonegative
states of mind, what do you think would be the seat of evil? would
those who believe still conceive of "god" as an entity outside of
this world?
do you have any mystical belief?
Energy...hateful. Energy taken from souls. Believing in yourself,cause you
can't have faith in anything or anyone else
many in black metal advocate a "fuck everything, do nothing" type
political attitude that is more bitterness than ideology. others
overcorrect by becoming very-unliberal people with the liberal
attitude that one "must" change the human situation. where do you
stand?
How about change the human situation for good by mass genocide since
there's no answer to everyone's/anyone's problems and everyone hates being
alive, whether they can admit it or not. I'm sick of humans having so many
rights...they just piss and shit on all that is given to them. To me, this
is bitterness AND ideology.
what drugs do you think anus.com should explore as possible
nutritional supplements for its writing staff?
"Explore the world of medication"
please drop in here any additional comments, final words on this
interview, or jokes about sodomy that you feel would fit.
Hmmm, that's a real good question. There were two times when I 'first
started Xasthur', the first time was a failure...constant
losers,liars,trendies for bandmates; I was very upset. I felt that nobody
believed in how serious I was in bringing forth a horrifing aura of
blackness. The second time was just the same, but on the other hand
better. I had totally given up on people, I admit I was uncomfortable
when I decided to get a drum machine and do it all on my own, I didn't
know if it was possible,and still alot of poser fuckers didn't believe
in me, they thought their party heavy metal parking lot bands were more
meaningful..well,the good news is that I'm planning on, and will have
the last laugh!!! Another factor was the vocals, I had never done that
before, but I knew that I would have to force myself to...it was never
in my plans, but as a one person band, it had to be; other than
that, everythng fell into place and I learned how to overcome certian
difficulties such as drum programming, vocals, humans etc...
Yes, I agree "most of black metal is dead" because if it was all dead,I
would have one of the last significant reasons not to live. There are
still some bands out there that can save at least the feeling or that
bring back some nostalgia of the way it once was. I don't think war
metal does...war metal is just some kind of retro protest towards the
norweigians?? This negativity of black metal is the only thing that
brings me any pleasure or excitement anymore...ironic,or a
contradiction?? It was "living" in the early 90's when it was more of a
threat to society, I suppose.
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