In conversation with Atmosfear magazine (UKR), English Translation
For the reading pleasure of English-speaking co-conspirators.
-Hello Alasdair! A year passed since the releasing of the really cool debut “Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary”. What did you expect from this release? And did your expectations come true?
Hello! Thank you for your kind words; what a year it has been! While it was hard to know what to expect in terms of reception, we expected it to be divisive (it was), and we hoped very much that a conversation would be provoked among listeners with respect to the lyrical content of the album. We have indeed been lucky enough for that side of things to, to some degree, come true also.
-Ok, let’s immediately talk about the lyric themes of the album, because it’s really interesting. What meaning did you put in the word “Laudanum Quandary”. Is it a reference to the Opium wars, what Great Britain started?
You’re precisely right there; I’ve mentioned a few times that the “Laudanum Quandary” in question is a reference to the Opium wars, but really only as a sort of… example, a singular event of note that symbolizes a pervasive attitude in British society then, and to some extent today. The Laudanum Quandary is this – what worth has our “Greatness” if we crushed others under our heel to achieve it, and then, not even take care of our own? It is the cognitive dissonance of patriotism and self-righteousness, of sweeping atrocities under the carpet so that we can enjoy the luxuries of the “developed” world.
-Have you noticed, that imperialism just changed the method? Earlier the troopers with riffles conquered the territory and forced the people to learn the English/French/Spanish language. Now they force other countries to copy the American/European culture in the all spheres of life. I think, that it’s the modern imperialism. Do you think so?
I daresay you are correct to some degree. I think the expectation of cultures other than our own to meet the standards that we set for civilization are as deeply entrenched as imperialism has been for hundreds of years here. It is no accident that countries, nations and peoples who struggle to survive in the modern world are ex-colonial in some way – they do so because of scarce resources that we plundered, corrupt power structures that we implemented, and discriminations that we gladly propagated.
-How do you think, what will be the end of the Globalization Era? How it will get to the end? Because it’s unreal to have one culture and one language for the all humanity – it’s against the rules of history!
Personally, I think that humanity is most likely to take its business to other planets in the not-too-distant future. I don’t think we will ever have the opportunity to homogenize all culture, and like you say, who would want that? The next 30 or so years will be the test of how society on this planet works – whether nations bond together in pursuit of sustainability, or squabble and grab for what is left… it feels unlikely that our time on this earth will reach a point where all cultures become one. But then, who knows?
-Your style of writing lyrics reminds me about stream of consciousness, what is used in the literature. Do you really get the inspiration from this technique of writing? And do you like the authors, who used this thing: James Joyce or William Faulkner?
This is actually a fascinating question, because indeed, a lot of my lyrics are born from the stream of consciousness. Many of my favourite images or phrases come to me while I walk; I mutter odd things to myself, turning words over aloud until they fit together right, then I write them down, and let them grow into stanza and song as I feel they ought to. Occasionally there is the more technical tweaking for the sake of satisfaction or improved effectiveness, but the core ideas come from my idle musings. I have read a small amount of James Joyce, and one listener described it as explicitly Joycian, “Pleasantly discombobulating and disconcerting, but disjointed”, if I remember right. Honestly, for this album, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
-Okay, let’s talk about influences in music. You know, many guys compare you with black metal act from Leeds – A FOREST OF STARS. For me, they are more melancholic and less progressive than you – but I like them. Did they have an inspire on you?
Of course! A Forest of Stars are one of my absolute favourite UK bands, real pioneers in a fascinating sound that I came back to again and again. I must also say, a more earnest and admirable group of people you would be hard-pressed to find. It is a great privilege to have made such strong friendships with The Gentleman’s Club.
-Personally I remembered the first NE OBLIVISCARIS album (what was released through Code666, by the way), when I heard your music. Do you like them? And how can you rate their last album called “Urn”?
This has been another reference point a few people have made – I really didn’t listen to any NeO while writing Speak Not…, but they are an excellent band and Dan Presland stands out as benchmark form modern extreme metal drumming. I haven’t gotten around to Urn yet – it’s on the list!
-How many things did you get from French avantgarde scene: DEATHSPELL OMEGA, BLUT AUS NORD, PENSEES NOCTURNES, AMESOEURS and others?
Pensées Nocturnes are friends of the band, and we have a great appreciation for their music – Vaerohn is doing things with the genre that have not been done before, and that push towards the wonderfully absurd and melodramatic is a great influence. Deathspell and Blut Aus Nord are influences also, their use of dissonance is seminal and again, has had some influence. Can’t quite say the same of Amesoers, but only because I haven’t spent that much time listening to them!
-Wow, you like the DEVIL DOLL, if we see your official Facebook-page! Frankly speaking, not ever metalhead knows this international project, what was the first, who made the avantgarde-black-metal opera! When and how did you find out about them?
Ah, the seminal Devil Doll! It always gives me a great deal of pleasure to talk on the subject, and I’m sure I’ve bored the ears off of friends and acquaintances at parties trying to share the magic of Mr Doctor and his thousand voices. I was introduced to Eliogabalus by a friend in around 2013 by a friend, but what really provoked me to dig deeper into the music was the delivery of some of the material by Bjørnar Nilsen of Vulture Industries in their performance at Kilkim Zaibu. Once I saw that, I knew I had some research to do. I still contend that Dies Irae is one of the finest pieces of music ever written.
-And some questions about the band’s history: how it happened that Finnishman Petri Simonen join the Scottish band?
Not really as bizarre a story as you might imagine; Petri is one of my closest friends, and we’ve known one another ever since we both moved to Glasgow in 2012. His first mistake was accepting the offer to jam with me on some material I’d written, and before he could say “Wait, hold on…” he was a permanent member. I’m not sure he ever was formally asked if that’s what he wanted, but what can be done?
-What was the purpose of releasing the single “Mariners at Perdition’s Lighthouse”? It was released in 2015, but album came out only in 2017.
The single was part of a 3-song demo we recorded with Scott MacLean (Falloch) as a test to see if these odd pieces would sound effective as a cohesive whole. It features not just that song, but older versions of The Wretched Mills and Fever Sheds, which have not yet seen the light of day. We re-recorded all of them for the album, and it doesn’t hurt to have some music for people to listen to and talk about ahead of a gestating album!
-On the Facebook-page you described yourselves as «Avant-Garde Metal/Black Theatrical». It’s clear that you are Avant-Garde, Black and Metal. But where is Theatrical?
Stemming from the influence of Mr Doctor and A Forest of Stars, the theatrical element comes from the use of Sprechgesang as a vocal technique. Rather than stick with standard Black Metal vocals, which lack a certain… nuance, I wanted something with a greater range of expression. Not to mention, that in a way, these pieces are almost soliloquy in nature. That said, such labels are meaningless – those ones in particular are poking fun at ourselves for our pomposity as much as anything else!
-Why did you choose Code666? Because this label have the big experience of releasing avantgarde-black?
Code666 have an excellent history of producing high quality odd music, and they came highly recommended from our friends in Fen. We are very grateful for their work in getting the album out there, and look forward to what the future holds with them.
-On the British Isles there are many interesting black metal bands. I offer you 8 bands from UK and Ireland – you should describe them.
-ANAAL NAHTRAKH
I had never seen people climbing on the ceiling at a gig until I saw Anaal Nathrakh. A live band that must be physically, violently experienced to be believed. Some splendid albums in Eschaton and Passion, and I have a special place in my heart for Vanitas too.
-WINTERFYLLETH
I haven’t listened to Winterfylleth much in recent years, although I do have the lovely opportunity to see one or two of the guys themselves now and again. While their interest in heritage doesn’t really do anything for me now, The Mercian Sphere was an album I rotated many times in university, and I’m interested to see what they do with their upcoming acoustic album.
-CODE
Some lovely guys making excellent odd music. I’ve had the pleasure of playing with them once and seeing them a few times – Augur Nox is a cracking album.
-ALTAR OF PLAGUES
A huge influence on me, one of the few truly innovative black metal bands of recent years. The influence of Ben Frost on Teethed Glory and Injury is one of the most exciting musical inventions I’ve heard, and still sends chills down my spine. Brilliant stuff.
-WODENSTHRONE
Another band I very much enjoy – I think Wodensthrone really were the kings of that early 2000s atmospheric UKBM sound, and Curse and Loss are albums I will always revisit. A band gone far too soon!
-PRIMORDIAL
Anyone who knows me knows I have a great soft spot for the music of Primordial. The Gathering Wilderness is a peerless album for that churning, miserable atmosphere that permeates their music, and To the Nameless Dead needs no explanation. They were actually a huge influence in my riff writing for a very long time!
-MEADS OF ASPHODEL
The Meads are smashing! More bands should come at this sort of music with the same attitude the Meads did. I got into them through their 2010 split with Old Corpse Road, and what a ride that was.
-SAOR
There was a time when I was younger that I quite enjoyed the Àrsaidh album, but honestly I just don’t enjoy Saor’s music any more. Their aesthetic and message doesn’t appeal to me, but I dare say that my own music is of no interest to them, so each to their own.
-Why did NORDEROBRING break up so fast?
Honestly? Because we were terrible! We all wanted to do different things with the band, and I was very much getting tired of the aesthetic we seemed to be leaning into, although I probably have only myself to blame for that. It was a great few years that I immensely enjoyed and don’t regret a second of, but I’m glad that we moved on to better things.
-How did you join the power metal band VIKING GALAXY?
They were looking for a drummer, and I was available at the time! My first love in metal was pure cheese from the late 90s and early 2000s – Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Dragonforce, Rhapsody etc – and occasionally you just want to play some nonsense for fun. Again, it was a laugh, and I’m looking forward to hearing more recordings from them.
-And we are going to speak about Scotland. This question always have an interest to me: how the Scotland managed to save the national identity through the centuries under England’s dominion? Everybody in the world knows about Robert Burns, kilt and bagpipes.
Well, you’d not be thanked by any Scotsman for saying that we live under the “Dominion” of England. I think part of it is purely geographical – really you have to travel quite far to get anywhere of note in England when you start anywhere of note in Scotland. Furthermore, we’re just a mad lot and I don’t think much of England wants anything to do with our culture, although Northern English folk really have a significant amount in common with us, as far as I’m concerned. Really it’s less of a national divide and more of a class one.
-Do you speak Scottish Gaelic? And do all schools in Scotland teach the Scottish?
Tha, beagan. Most schools in Scotland don’t teach Gaelic – as far as I’m aware, only island schools, some highland schools, and a small scattering of others still teach it. The vast majority of the population have no Gaelic.
-As you’re from Glasgow, this question is simple: Rangers or Celtic?
I’m actually from Galloway (southwest Scotland) and have never had any interest in football, not that that question really ever has anything to do with football here…
-I imagine the Glasgow as industrial city with the bunch of factories. Is it the true picture of the Glasgow? And how are things with culture in this city: theatres, museums, metal gigs?
Since the 80s, Glasgow has become massively post-industrial, thanks to policies set in motion by Thatcherite conservatism. Really, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything resembling a factory, although ships are still made in the docks on the Clyde. That said, culture is vibrant here – the music scene (outside of metal as well, there’s a fantastic Jazz scene in Glasgow) is booming, we have access to a number of contemporary and traditional art galleries… really, there’s always some compelling art happening in this city.
-From Scottish bands I know only MAN MUST DIE, SAOR, FALLOCH and ALESTORM. What else bands can you recommend?
Civil Elegies would be a vital recommendation, probably my favourite Scottish band, playing cathartic and relentless noise rock/metal. Their album Combat is unmissable. Dark Habits and Gendo Ikari are doing excellent things for Grind/powerviolence, Blanca Grande are being mad and brilliant, and I recently had the pleasure of drawing an album cover (Dunsinane is the album, I believe it was just released) for my friends in Midnight Force, so fans of sword-swinging 80s heavy metal should get involved with that.
-Thanks for the good conversation! Your wishes to our readers.
Many thanks to all who have made it this far, and my most profound respect to you all. Until next time!


















