Sorry for another delay on the Skylife review (which WILL finally be up tomorrow), but to hold you over, here’s a great interview with Michael of the band Culted.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me here at TPM. I am admittedly not an expert on almost anything in the metal world, though I enjoy some bands in virtually all sub genres. And while this is true, I take a great interest in reading up on and researching metal, because your scenes seem to have some of the most intriguing stories. Let’s start out with your story. Who is Culted?

Culted is Daniel Jansson (voice, words, ambience) who resides in Gothenburg, Sweden, Matthew Friesen and Michael Klassen (guitars, bass, noise, percussion) live in Winnipeg Canada and Kevin Stevenson (drums) lives in rural Manitoba just outside Winnipeg. I (Michael) asked Daniel to contribute some sounds for an Of Human Bondage release a few years back. He agreed and we continued discussing music and personal interests over the next few months. Daniel suggested we record some slow doomy metal and see what came out of the sessions. We exchanged words via email and sounds via wave files and built on each others ideas as they went back and forth. We’ve never met, nor spoken to one another. Communication has been entirely digital. Although, this may very well change for the next release, Daniel is planning on recording the vocals in our studio. We’re looking forward to this next stage of Culted.

And where did you get your name? What exactly does it mean?

Many names were suggested and dismissed as quickly. Culted was the first name that seemed to encompass our intent and sound. Culted may or may not be defined as a social group or individual that operates within the larger culture and practices different norms, behaviours, beliefs, heritage. These groups or individuals may have irrational belief systems, which they have been conditioned to regard as not only possible, but as the truth, the only truth. These beliefs often dismiss critical thinking and the results blind our curiosity. That being said, most of the populace is culted to some degree even if we are aware of our oppressors. To participate in society suggests that one has been culted by its rules and expectations. Many levels of subjugation and submission can be found in our every day rituals.

I have been re-reading the book, Lords of Chaos, about the rise of Black Metal in Europe, notably Scandanavia. It seems like the Norwegian Black Metal scene was/is the most notorious and extreme. What are your impressions of the Black Metal scene that emerged in the Black Circle days as a member of the metal community?

The Scandinavian Black Metal scene had a huge impact on me and I believe Daniel as well. Burzum, Darkthrone, Ulver, Mayhem and Emperor recorded some timeless albums during the early nineties, their influence continues to come across in our sound and countless other bands.

Culted is more of a Doom Metal band from my estimation? Would you agree? And, as a metal novice, could you enlighten me a bit about what Doom Metal is? I think I recall reading that Doom’s roots are with bands like Black Sabbath.

Doom would be a fair somewhat accurate description of our sound, although many purist would disagree. Doom metal seems to have its roots in Black Sabbath, slow tempos and loud amps, and we too owe much of our sound to the records of Black Sabbath, slow tempos and loud amps.

So, who are your musical influences and what do you like to listen to?

Musical influences would be early nineties Black and Death metal, Swans, Godflesh, Eyehategod, The Melvins, Neurosis etc. Outside of metal I listen to Swans, Killing Joke, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Gnaw Their Tongues, Sunno))), Radiohead, and various soundtracks and Industrial/Noise artists.

While TPM is not a religious website by any means, I am a Christian and I often wonder about the beliefs of those I work with. Would you be willing to share with my readers a little bit about your beliefs?

Well, depending whose definition we’re using I might be classified as an atheist or even a Satanist by certain fundamentalists, but the reality is I am an individual who believes in nothing absolutely and remains excited by all that is unknown. I am a student of esoteric disciplines, critical thinking, logic, reasoning and the will to power. Religiosity seems like a primitive explanation of creation and morality, one that self-respecting individuals will dismiss after reasonable consideration.

Thanks, I always find it interesting to find out about the beliefs behind music and other art. How do you think your beliefs impact the music you write?

It’s possible that we are the conduit of these alien sounds we hear. Our muse, or Daemon as Socrates described it, began with a communication and was deciphered and interpreted as sound, and the result is our cd Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep.

As I noted before, I am no metal expert. Can you give me any tips for my forray into your new album?

Loud, slow, down tuned, psychedelic, blackened metal. Some might even say experimental.

Good stuff. I’ll make you to let you know once my review of the album is up. I believe it’s due out in late July. Besides it’s release date, what else should the readers know about it?

Sunno))) say it best, maximum volume yields maximum results.

Well, I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time. One last question… are you a beer drinker? I am somewhat of a beer snob so deciding on a favorite is tough. I guess I’d have to choose Newcastle, as I always find a way back to it smooth taste. Do you have a favorite beer?

We all enjoy alcohol, Newcastle is tasty, I prefer lager, but a stout or an ale like Kilkenny are all good. Personally, I’m a chronic wine drinker who self-medicates by habitually using Cannabis.

Thanks for giving me the chance to dive into different musical realms. Thank you for all your time and sharing with my readers. Any departing words for those checking out this interview?

Cheers

thepaintedman rates this:

While soaking up my vacation in NC this past week, I decided to reread Moynihan and Soderlind’s fantastic exploration of Black Metal from Norway and beyond entitled Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. In stark contrast to the peacefulness and serenity of my vacation, the book highlights the horrible deeds and ideas that permeated the rise of Black Metal, primary of the Norwegian brand. From Dead shooting himself with a shotgun and Euronymous using pieces of his skull on a necklace to Faust’s grizzly murder of a homosexual stranger, the pale faced Scandanavian menaces make thug life look like a day on Sesame Street.

The in-depth study reads as several different books: a history of the scene, a true crime book, and a sociological ethnography (to name a few). Rather than explain the book bit by bit, I want to highlight some of the most intriguing parts of the book, notably a few of the many earmarks I made in the book during this second go round.

One extremely interesting piece of information referred to by many of the members of the scene, theologians, and other experts interviewed in the book is that suppressing nature of the Norwegian church. Often seen as a moralistic church with little substance, the church seems to do very little to bring itself back into reality. During an interview with Jacob Jervell, a retired professor and minister in the Norwegian state church, the interviewee is asked, “What is the position of the church with regard to Satan?”

The Church dutifully trots Satan out once in awhile, but only because it has to confirm that the Church believe in him too, since he’s mentioned in the Bible. But when he’s trotted out, he’s just a harmless ghost, a ridiculous character.

This lends itself very much to the prominence of Satanism in the Black Circle and the surrounding scene. When a church neglects to show Satan as a powerful demon that can only be defeated by the power of God, it is only natural for people to want to become devil’s advocates that want to show that Satan deserves the respect the rest of the church denies him. As a Christian myself, I was always taught (and real life reinforced it, quite a bit) that Satan’s power is real and that we cannot fight it on our own. To downplay spiritual warfare is very dangerous for a church, and I think helped to create a fertile ground for the roots of “Unholy Black Metal”.

Several interesting things surround Varg Vikernes and his alter-ego Count Grishnackh. Varg is now a prominent figure in racist communities, writing his racial diatribes about defending nationalism and pureness of race from his jail cell. That, in itself, is very interesting… but his revisionism and misrepresentation is what I find most… well… humorous. One of the most nefarious is his use of Tolkien in advocating belief in Norse paganism and mythology. While Tolkien was obviously familiar with much pagan religion, including the Norse tradition, and it showed in his work, it is impossible for anyone reader Vikernes’s interview not to chuckle if they have the slightest knowledge of Tolkien, a devout Christian man. Oddly enough, Vikernes even takes the name of his alter-ego from Toliken’s writings, as Grishnackh is a leader of a race of Orcs.

When reading about Vikernes, and others like Eithun (who killed a stranger, primarily for making homosexual advances on him) and Mobus (the now notorious racist figure whom first met the law when he killed a 15 years old peer in Germany), you can’t help but think how sick these kids were. What is most disturbing is that the trend can be right in our backyard. Thomas Thorn, of the Wisconsin based band, The Electric Hellfire Club, was asked whether or not he would “advocate Norway-style church burnings in America”:

I wouldn’t condemn them, I’ll say that. I’m not going to jail because somebody says I told them to go out and burn a church. Somebody called me up and said, “You’re not going to believe this but two little kids were taken into custody in Jacksonville, Florida for spray-painting a church and they cited a band called the Electric Hellfire Club and a song called “Book of Lies” that says “There’s a church across the street / Let’s spray paint the walls.” I’ll say that brought a smile to my face and I certainly had pleasant dreams that night.

Well, I guess, at least he’s not advocating killing anyone, right? But then again, a big fan of his band named Caleb Fairley, locked up a store owned by his parents while working just before closing time one night and proceeded to murder a woman and her young daughter… and then violate their corpses. Pardon my French, but that’s FUCKED UP, right? Presumably, he did this in order to gain a more “personal relationship with Satan.” Oh, and I guess I didn’t mention that this happened in King of Prussia, PA, right down the road from the home I lived in for 3 years not too long ago.

The connections between this scene and white supremacy groups is intriguing and frightening. The bloody history of the Norwegian scene is completely insane. The story of Mobus and the rest of his band, Absurd, torturing and killing Sandro Beyer is chilling. Most of all, the lack of remorse on all counts is completely disturbing… yet I am so drawn to reading about these things.

Moynihan and Soderlind are fantastic and this book gets better with each read. I promise you, you will become engulfed in parts of this book if you give it a chance. However, if you are like me, you may want to say a little prayer each time you open the book, just for a bit of added comfort.

Footnote: Looks like there is a movie in production based on the book.