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Diabolical Conquest (Mike Reeves): The most impressive thing about your debut is the structural composition - can you tell us (and lesser bands) how best to approach this black art of getting the best out of your material? Oath To Vanquish: Music is nurtured by grand emotions spawned from the depths of your soul. Music is a transcendental journey into a world beyond the realms of our bleak mortality, not governed by relations infringing on creativity. It is when you bridge this gap that calculations and structures seize to exist and are progressively replaced by pathways, outbreaks, and scenes of real significance that reveal themselves to you through you. You can therefore only get the best out of your material by being true to yourself!
DC: The band has its roots in a previous black metal incarnation called The Cimmerian Path. In what areas do you think you've improved most since then? OTV: In the Cimmerian Path days we lacked maturity. We were driven by a desire almost elevating, but short on focus. Oath to Vanquish is a much more coherent unit with a clear vision and a great level of understanding between members. As far as production is concerned one only has to listen to both albums, OTV's debut “Applied Schizophrenic Science” and TCP's only release “Into the Depths of Ruthless Excellence”, to appreciate the extent of change. We now have a much higher understanding of the elements involved in production. Moreover we are now more accomplished musicians, individually and collectively, with broader horizons. One must acknowledge, however, the good level of musicianship inherent in our earlier work, although the production almost fails to bring it into evidence.
DC: You are one of the few bands out there who've lived through multiple wars - how do you think this helps (or hinders) your musical expression? OTV: Having lived through several wars and endured the associated hardship, I feel that we have a more realistic association with the subject matter of our compositions, and in a sense we find ourselves recalling rather than imagining or inventing situations and emotions, which renders the musical experience in terms of composition and interpretation more personal.
DC: Censorship of extreme metal in Lebanon is a topic that follows you everywhere. How did the interview for the BBC Radio 4 documentary "Guerrillas of Pop" happen and has it given you a noticeable boost in reputation? OTV: I was contacted by the BBC in England who were doing a feature on censorship of music in general. They firstly contacted me by email. Through a long chat over the telephone they were later able to ascertain that we (the band) were suitable candidates for their documentary, and a date for the interview was fixed. I don't find it strange that they decided to investigate Lebanon and the region as we do have a reputation of being censored in a rather unintelligent and uninformed manner. A BBC representative from their local office later paid a visit to my working place and to my home in an aim to appreciate the contrast between my working and music career, and this took place on the same day of the interview. I later received a call towards the evening from the presenter in England, and I must point out that I had to answer questions on and off the main topic due to the nature of our music and the lyrical content. I am sure the documentary helped raise of our band's profile and in a way increased the likelihood of Oath to Vanquish becoming the subject of other features and documentaries of a similar nature.
DC: Beirut has millennia of civilised history and was a very forward-thinking city from the mid-1800s. What has gone wrong in your opinion? Can it all simply be blamed on blundered attempts to manage the religious diversity in Lebanon? OTV: I would have thought that after two decades of war the Lebanese would have identified and felt the need to breed a sense of nationalism that transcends religion and discourages segregation, thereby creating a nation built on solid ground rather than on treaties between feudal warlords and leaders of ethnic and religious groups involved in a never ending power struggle as has been the case for more than a century. I've been a Lebanese citizen for 33 years now, and I have yet to experience this forward thinking. Forward thinking is forbidden. It is murdered along with its proponents. It seems to me that the Lebanese are determined to solidify their country's position as an eternal battle ground for regional and global conflicts rather than making an effort to settle their differences and find that common ground that would restore Beirut to is former status through knowledge. To answer your question in a more direct fashion there has never been an attempt to manage religious diversity in a country where civil marriage is still banned and where religious hierarchies have absolute control on demographics, especially when the successful existence of a multi-ethnic community threatens the very interests of our neighbouring countries both North and South.
DC: Please compare the fundamental differences between gigging in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world. OTV: Lebanon's metal scene is minute when compared to its western counterparts, and as a band based in this country we find ourselves playing for the same audience and in the same clubs, which when done at short intervals takes the thrill out of the experience. To get anywhere near a professional organisation of an event involving extreme metal we would have to be involved to such an extent that we're almost doing it ourselves. Furthermore the constant and meticulous surveillance of events by our preying forces of order has lately for me placed a big question mark on local live performances, which due to all the above reasons have become too long in their preparation and tedious for me to enjoy on a personal level. In Lebanon the word underground has assumed new dimensions. Extreme metal crowds are limited to a few hundreds. The way I see it promoters, bookers, venues and the whole industry aided by a corrupt police force all have a common interest in keeping the metal scene subdued, especially when it has a real growth potential. Now why would they do that? The classical answer is Satanism, occultism, decadence and similar issues that are exploited effectively to scare the local population. The real answer however is drugs. Our events simply have no room for large sales of expensive high market drugs. For an odd reason people are more worried about what goes on is these small metal events than their sons and daughters perishing on the streets of Lebanon in deadly car accidents, a normal consequence to over packed electronic music fests. The reaction local crowds have to our music, however, devastatingly stretches the word extreme to new meanings, the sole and most rewarding factor worth every bit of all that trouble. This is especially evident when we can no longer keep track of bodies flying in a perpetual moshpit that endures throughout the gig and sometimes longer through the night. The scene here is certainly more elaborate than in the neighbouring countries, and extreme metal devotees are very knowledgeable and up to date with the latest releases, and their passion for their music is astounding. I certainly recommend gigging here to foreign bands, at least once.
DC: "Pear of Anguish" refers to a torture device but the song titles get progressively more abstract; what, for example, is "Co OTV: “Toxic Bowel Manoeuvre” essentially reflects the infecting stench and indoctrinating vermin unleashed by religious figures of power and the unfortunate mental stronghold of these devious scheming self proclaimed deities on an unending sea of naked and exposed subjects with burnt out eyes and nullified minds seeking deliverance through the infliction of death on themselves and on enemies that change with the season, as if martyrdom were an industry where objectives have long surpassed the struggle for survival to be replaced by visions of demonic architects deeply rooted in this world… and not from the next! “Coat Hanger Massacre” relates the changes that a citizen forcefully inflicts on a small specimen of society, thereby becoming a dictator even though only for one day and one night. In their new maimed reality these loyal subjects work harmoniously and towards a common goal, quite a contrast to the real state of affairs.
DC: 'Applied Schizophrenic Science' was originally released in 2006 but was re-licensed for wider distribution in 2007. Does this mean that the only place you won't be able to get the album is your home country? Tell us a bit about what have you got planned for your next release? What sort of approach and direction might we be expecting from your new material? OTV: Alas we can only sell in our home country by hand, and we had to smuggle those records in. We could if we wanted have the CD in a few shops by working our way around censorship, but the risks outweigh the benefits. Our next release will follow in the footsteps of our first in terms of musicianship and diversity albeit with a more coherent identity, but I can already tell you that it will be a richer and a more powerful experience, certainly one hell of a challenge for the mixing engineer. It will definitely be the kind of album that grows on you and reveals more after each listen.
DC: You each have wide tastes in music but which bands do you most respect at this current point in time? OTV: As far as music that is relevant to this interview is concerned here is a list of bands whom I respect the most at this point in time: Atheist - Behemoth – Cynic – Death – Emperor - Gorguts - Hate Eternal – Morbid Angel – My Dying Bride - Nile – Necrophagist – Suffocation…
DC: How tough is it for Cyril to be the “non-brother” in the band? Tell us how did he get to be in the band, and how does he go so looooowwww?! (serious question) OTV: Let Elias equal grits of cubic boron nitride, Cyril equal vitrified bonding agent and Carlos equal optimised manufacturing process, and the result is a mighty grinding wheel that is self-truing, self-dressing and capable of machining the hardest alloys with superior surface finish. Cyril got to be in the band by virtue of his bass playing abilities and talent as a composer which revealed themselves to me during our collaboration in a previous project. To be honest when Cyril first came on board none of us knew that he could deliver vocal performances of such a nature. In the initial phases we were more focused on the musical aspect, and it was not until his first attempt at recording that he shocked us all including himself!!! I am not an expert on low pitched vocal mechanics, but I feel that the product largely depends on the ability to control the part of the body/cavity responsible for sound amplification e.g. abdomen, chest, head. The amount of muscle pressure applied can also be identified as an influential factor.
DC: This question is for Elias - what made you switch from bass to guitar? What sort of challenges did you encounter when changing instruments? Do you still pick-up the bass these days? Have you kept-up those skills? OTV: I sometimes do pick up the bass during rehearsals as Cyril is also an really good guitarist, and we therefore sometimes change roles for fun. When first shifting to guitar, I had to adapt to using a plectrum for picking and to get used to faster picking movements, as I refused to use one during my bass playing days where much of my playing was focused on fast finger movements, semi-slapping attacks and tapping. Handling the instrument was not a problem as I am initially a pianist, and that alone requires a high level of coordination. The decision to pick up the guitar, that had always been a source of intrigue, was not totally my own. It simply happened that the first band I formed here in Lebanon had a bassist and were in need of a guitarist at the time to complete the line-up. I started with a 6-string of course, and I remember friends, and even recent acquaintances that I had made who were all so anxious to get the band on the road started lending me their guitars, and I therefore did not have to buy one until a couple of years later, and believe me the choice was wide. I remember they brought me a black Gibson Les Paul to start with, and I was not too happy with its rounded shape for the music we were playing (doom metal) at the time. My choice fell on an natural finish mahogany Ibanez with scalloped frets and a Floyd rose tremolo. I think I still have a photo using it live lying around somewhere.
DC: The video for "Executive Onslaught" makes Michael Moore's attacks on the US Government seem like a wet sock compared to an assault rifle! Can you tell us a bit about its creation? What was the reason for you removing it from YouTube? OTV: The political climate in the country over the past two years plunged Lebanon into an increasingly delicate state on the brink of a war outbreak as divisions which we thought had been overcome in the past were on the rise and assumed an unprecedented level. This video through its blatant criticism of Lebanese politics and its prime movers on an international scale, and through direct accusations of the main proponents of war over the past two decades, paused a threat to our personal safety. In view of the devastating effect that such a possibility could have had on our families we decided to remove it from YouTube.
DC (Mike Reeves): Thank you for answering these questions and sticking your neck out for your progressive beliefs. Check www.oath-to-vanquish.com for the new promo clip video for the track "Executive Onslaught" and much more! Oath To Vanquish: I hereby extend a sincere message of thankfulness to you from the cold Lebanese mountains!
March 17th, 2008 |
    
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at Hanger Massacre" about? And “Toxic Bowel Manoeuvre” has also intrigued me – could you elaborate on that song too? 
