Azaghal

Tuesday, 17 January 2012 15:21

Around us since 1995, Azaghal will release the ninth album, 'Nemesis', on January 31, via Moribund Records. We've got in touch with Narqath and in the next lines we can find a band which walks by its own rules and enjoying what they're honestly doing for the sake of black metal.


I felt that "Nemesis" alternates between straight black metal songs and melodic stuff. Can we say that's a way to please the different wings of the black metal audience?

It is mostly to please ourselves, and since I personally enjoy different types of black metal and other music, it comes only naturally to mix them up a bit, but always keeping the base and the essence in true black metal.

Clean vocals may be a way to break the black metal standards and Azaghal did it in "Nemesis". Do you feel that's important to innovate and break standards even after all these years?

We've had some clean vocals in our music since '99, so it's not a very new thing for us. We always work accordingly to the songs, on their terms. If we feel that some clean vocals / acoustic guitars / synths / whatever are needed in the songs, we use them, but if it becomes a purpose in itself, you know, just to have clean vocals for the sake of having clean vocals, then according to me you are on the wrong path.

Varjoherra left in 2010 after 13 years with Azaghal, right? How hard is to replace a vocalist after so many years?

To be honest, it was very easy, since we had Niflungr already in the band as a bass player and he had already done vocals on a few gigs earlier when Varjoherra wasn't able to participate. So it was a very natural change and things worked out well. We are still good friends with Varjoherra and he sings background vocals on "Nemesis" on most of the songs.

What can you say about the promotion for "Nemesis"? What are the main goals for 2012?

At the moment we are experiencing some line-up problems, which has forced us to cancel quite a few shows, but should be pretty much in order again and hopefully we are able to play all the possible gigs and tours this spring and summer.

Azaghal's discography is also rich in split CDs. Do you think it's a way to fraterzine and help each other by releasing stuff together?

The splits have been done to show mutual respect and support to the other band(s), I also think split 7"s and CD's are a good way to get acquinted with new bands in general, altough at this age of youtube / myspace etc. that aspect is becoming a bit pointless. The next split we are doing is with Anal Blasphemy from Finland by the way.

The most recent split, "Bringers of Black Death", is a three-way release and one of the bands is Decayed, a portuguese one. What do you know about the portuguese metal scene?

Not that much to be honest, used to have some contacts there back in the tape trading days but I have lost touch pretty much since then. I dunno, Celtic Dance, Arkenstone?

Do you see yourselves, with Sargeist and Satanic Warmaster, the flag of the finnish extreme scene?

Well, don't really care about waving any flags, and can't really comment on our own status in the scene, but for sure Sargeist is one of the best finnish black metal bands around at the moment together with Anal Blasphemy, Behexen and Baptism.

And a final question off the record... When can we see a new Rutonkantaja album?

Not in the plans for the near future atleast.


Interview by Diogo Ferreira









Post: Diogo Ferreira







Metal Genres: Black Metal |

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