Interview with Seraphackh of Anael |
An unholy synthesis of Xantotol/Taranis/Holy Death-esque despondency, the transcendental otherworldliness of first two album Rotting Christ/early Tiamat, the Mesopotamian exoticism of Absu and Melechesh, as well as a substantial dose of Blood Ritual/Ceremony Of Opposites Vorph/Xy magic, Anael have put forth a frighteningly accomplished claim to black metal immortality, showing that they have the talent and vision to match their heroes as well as they can replicate them. Witness the rise of black metal's newest hope….. |
Diabolical Conquest (Nin Chan): HAILS, Anael! Hope things are going hellishly well in Germany! Let's start by talking about the shocking progression made between Necromantic Rituals and On Wings Of Mercury…it's almost like there has been no transition, no bridge in between the GREAT, but derivative Worship Him-esque black filth of Necromantic Rituals, and the infinitely more awesome, breathtaking new album. I am absolutely assured that On Wings Of Mercury is the finest black metal record I've heard all year, it has a really timeless and transcendental FEELING that permeates all the best dark metal, and I am certain it will be a classic in years to come. How do you explain the huge progression made between the two LPs? Anael (Seraphackh): Hails Nin, just came back from work, yeah everything is fine here, a little bit to quiet for our usual taste in ending the year, but fine anyways. We had the wings of mercury, so no need for a bridge, hehe! Thanks for your kind words about the album, very good to hear you like it!! We wanted to create something more rich in details and surprises than our debut, so we allowed a lot more different ideas within the songs. And we were sure we wouldn't want to repeat the atmosphere of “Necromantic Rituals”, so we just did something different. And personally I think it was about time to show that we are far more than just a tribute band ... So to sum it up a little, there's no need to explain the progression, we like to keep things interesting for ourselves, so progression is somehow natural.
DC: By the same token, did you read a lot of the critical opinion regarding your last album? Did you react positively to critical comments that Necromantic Rituals was very much aligned with Worship Him stylistically? Did those comments suggest to you that On Wings Of Mercury should be something completely different? What I mean to ask is, is On Wings Of Mercury a reaction to accusations that Necromantic Rituals was a Samael worship record, or did you always intend for On Wings Of Mercury to sound the way it does? Does this album represent Anael better than Necromantic Rituals for you? Anael: No, there wasn't that much critical opinion about “Necromantic Rituals”, many people praised it as something like “Worship Him Part II”, but I don't think we matched “Worship Him”, in many ways. Nor was that our intention, we just wanted to recreate the dense atmosphere of this classic. No, “On Wings ...” isn't a reaction on the critics, it has more to do with experimenting with the sum of our ideas to find out what is the essence of us as a band. And of course with making an album which always finds a new way to surprise the listener. Both albums represent a part of us, like different chapters in the same book.
DC: Throughout the record, I spot a number of very interesting influences, all of which, to me, really constitute what BLACK FUCKING METAL is all about! I spot hints of Tiamat, especially The Astral Sleep (and somehow the name “On Wings Of Mercury” really bears a parallel to “On Golden Wings” on that Tiamat record, haha), Rotting Christ (Thy Mighty Contract), the Polish masters like Xantotol and Taranis, and surprisingly, a very strong Mesopotamian/exotic Egyptian feel in the riffs that really bring to mind Absu and the latest Melechesh album! Do you think that's accurate for me to say? What do you think really influenced and sculpted this record? Anael: It's difficult to tell which influences were responsible for the album as it is now, for example Tiamat, Rotting Christ and Absu were influences for “Necromantic Rituals” as well. And you forgot to mention some major influences as Bathory, Master's Hammer, Asphyx (On the wings of inferno, anyone?!), Mercyful Fate, Manowar, Candlemass, Morbid Angel and on ... and on, not to mention all the bands that had an indirect influence because we're listening to them.
DC: I've noticed that in the lyrics, there seems to have been a shift from the obscure, Biblical imagery of Necromantic Rituals to the Egyptian mythology of the new album. What significance does this folklore have for you? Does it have some sort of personal resonance/importance for you, or is it just a thematic fixation for this one album? Will Egyptian mythology make another appearance on the next Anael album? Anael: Not only to Egyptian mythology, but to Babylonian, Minoan, Phoenician, Celtic, African myths and a lot of occult topics. The two songs which have elements of Egyptian myths refer to Thelemic themes, and these thoughts (like A. Crowley's books, Kenneth Grant's writings etc.) rely heavily on the Egyptian pantheon so it was an obvious choice. I don't know if there will be Egyptian themes on future Anael albums. I don't plan it but if it's the best way to illustrate certain thoughts I will use that of course. I use some myths from all mythologies, to illustrate the things I'm singing about.
DC: I personally think the lyrics PERFECTLY complement the music on the album. The record has a really ancient, ritualistic, magical feel that really suggests a mystical age ruled by vindictive deities, chaotic forces and supernatural spirits. The music, when digested with the lyrics, really take me to another place and time, and that, to me, indicates that the album is so much more than just a collection of great songs, it's a journey and an adventure. How did you visualize the album when you were creating it? Did you intend it to be this grand conceptual, absorbing journey through the depths of Egyptian folklore? Anael: The only basic plan was to make an “Air” album, an album with great variability, vast spaces, encompassing all manifestations of the forces of wind, storm, breath ... And you can find hints on that topic within every song on the album. It turned out to be kind of a journey only when we had it finished and put the songs in order, so I wrote the lyrics for “Swords” to have an introduction for the journey. I can only say thank you again, it's very good to hear the album not only took us on a journey alone!!!
DC: I can't stress this enough, the new album is really a great example of “black metal” as I see it. Entrancing, mesmerizing, wholly engaging, dark, ritualistic, mystical, EVIL with a highly developed concept, atmosphere and structure. This is something that has pervaded everything from Bathory to Mercyful Fate to the Greek, Czech and early Polish (Imperator, Holy Death) masters. What do the words “black metal” mean to you? Do the words have a philosophical importance for you? Could you imagine Anael playing any other style of music? Anael: Well, for me Black Metal is kind of an approach to the music, it's hard to describe, perhaps you could say to approach music (and some other things in life as well), from the other side, not in the popular way but with full awareness and acceptance of the evil side of existence. For music in general this means a rather raw and more “dangerous” way of making music. I don't think we play Black Metal in the traditional sense as for example Venom, Bathory or Mayhem did, but it's part of where we come from. I don't like to get philosophical about things like that, it's something that has to be felt from the heart in my opinion. If we will ever play another style of music than metal, be assured it wouldn't be called Anael anymore!
DC: I have to say, that split CD with Lust was the weirdest, yet best split I have heard in years! The two bands couldn't have been further from each other in style and approach, what with Lust presenting an outrageously chaotic and dissonant counterpart to your well thought-out, deliberate, atmospheric black death metal. How did that split come about? Are you a fan of Lust's music (I personally adore the new album, though I've never liked the earlier material…the new album is utterly original excellence!)? Anael: I wouldn't say I'm really a fan, I have some earlier stuff and I think they got better and better since then. Luca of Iron Tyrant Productions proposed to make that split, and as he helped us really a LOT, we simply had to go for it. And I liked some of the Lust material I had heard, so we did it!
Anael: I don't think we will become an underground sensation, in the sense of commercial success, for various reasons. We are not easy to sell with the new album, it needs a bit more time than the average attention span of many people, to get into it and I'm sure it won't become that kind of cult item many people within the underground are worshipping nowadays. But of course every attention the album will get is welcome! The layout and the cover art were meant to be different from the standards, different from expectations how an Anael cover could look and it had to fit within the overall conception of the album. We don't care about set standards anymore, we rather set new ones for ourselves, you know. I think Pepe from Azrael Design achieved this very well with the design for this album!
DC: I think when people think of “German black metal”, they tend to think of stuff like Nargaroth, Moonblood, Katharsis, Necro Frost and other rather boring bands. At the same time, Germany is also the breeding ground for amazing stuff like yourselves, Morrigan, Secrets Of The Moon, Desaster and other such exceptional music (along with Nocturnal, Witchburner, Front Beast and all those EXCELLENT thrash bands of course!). What is your perception of the German underground of 2005? Are you hopeful about the state of German music? Anael: There are a lot of very good bands in the German underground, unfortunately they tend to take care mostly of the German underground, not trying to get known across the globe. That kind of explains why many promising underground bands are quite unknown outside of Germany. But I think bands like Desaster, SOTM, Morrigan, Zarathustra, Trimonium and others raise the banner for German underground worldwide. Besides the more well known acts there are quite a bunch of hopefuls for the coming years as Necros Christos, Hellish Crossfire, Odem Arcarum, Repent and a lot of other bands which are great in my opinion.
DC: Before we conclude this interview, I just wanted to ask why Samael was the focal point of Necromantic Rituals, and why Samael is still such a guiding influence in the background of On Wings Of Mercury. What does the music of Samael represent to you, and why have they proven to be such a guiding musical force for Anael? Anael: They aren't!!! When we started with Anael we wanted to capture a similar atmosphere, a thick, black, occult atmosphere that an album like “Worship Him” had. Besides that and the fact that Samael have been one of the couple of bands which brought me into Black Metal, their influence on Anael is much overrated and overstated. Of course I'm a fan of their music, but I'm a fan of Master's Hammer, Bathory, Kreator, Rotting Christ, Manowar, Candlemass, Venom, AC/DC, Pentagram, New Model Army etc. too, and nobody thinks they are main influences in our music ...
DC: With On Wings Of Mercury, you have truly proven that you have the talent to match all your influences and create work that asserts an effect that is distinctively ANAEL, instead of being shrouded in another band's shadow. How do you think you would like Anael to be remembered when the band is finished? What do you think Anael contributes to the metal underground that was not previously there? Anael: Well, I don't think about how people might remember us to be honest. I'm not so suure if they will do, anyways. And there are a bunch of chapters still to be written by us, so ask me again when we are done, hehe! We contribute a bit with our music and we organize concerts in our area, Chris writes for some zines, so I think we do our fair share to keep metal alive! I don't know if we contribute something that wasn't there before, we just do what we have to do, in a way.
DC: That's it from me for this interview. Hopefully in the very new future we have another masterpiece that we can speak about, and Anael will continue to assert themselves as one of the underground's finest young talents. Thank you for the brilliant album, a journey that I will undertake many times in coming years. This is the conclusion of the interview, so let us know what we can expect from Anael in the near future, as well as how to contact you! HAILS! Anael: We will try to bring the new album on the stages, so we try to organize as much gigs as are possible to play for us, everywhere!!! Plus we are working on a few ideas for new songs already. It will take a good measure of time though before we're going to record anything again. As for the contact, you can contact us always through our website http://www.anael.de/ , it was done by the same artist as the album layout and is well worth a visit! Keep the dark flame burning!!! Seraphackh
April 6th, 2006 |
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© 2005 Diabolical Conquest |
Those of you who read my extremely verbose dissection of Anael's extraordinary On Wings Of Mercury, very much the finest black metal record of 2005 and surely among the finest musical statements of recent years, will likely have noted my extreme surprise/elation at the progress made since debut platter Necromantic Rituals. While Necromantic Rituals was, for lack of better words, a spirited attempt at recreating Samael's incendiary Worship Him with little in the way of invention or innovation, On Wings Of Mercury is a flabbergasting revelation for all worshippers at the altar of occult, esoteric black death metal, a musty and ethereal howl summoned forth from ancient coffins. 
DC: I think your new album, along with Stiny Plamenú's Zelezo Krvací, is the most drastic departure from Barbarian Wrath's original artistic scope yet. Your new album definitely has a lot of crossover appeal as far as I'm concerned, and I think that given the right exposure, it could very well find an audience on par with the bigger Candlelight, Moribund etc. bands. I think the songs are definitely strong enough, the production is full enough, even the packaging is professional enough to appeal to fans of all denominations. Somehow, the album references a whole host of ancient inspirations and influences, but yet it sounds very futuristic, very timeless. How would you react if the album started gaining commercial acceptance and Anael became an underground sensation? What did you seek to achieve with the layout and cover art, which are all impressive by all standards? 
