Interview :~ Funerary Bell front man unveiled about band history, believes and many more

• Hello, how are you doing today?

Hi. I'm fine. Drinking morning coffee and answering your questions.

• Funerary Bell was formed in 2007, So, you guys are formed in late 2000's, So Can you give me
a brief history of how the band got together? Had you been in any bands or musical apparition
before Funerary Bell?

I played the drums in Charnel Winds and Utgard but wanted to do something on my own so I formed
Funerary Bell. I am also one of the founding members of Verge but I left in 2006 to focus on the other
bands.

• What bands inspired the direction that Funerary Bell took and motivated you? Writers?
Visual artists? Movies? Books?

Mainly the old first wave black metal bands were the main inspiration. I am also a big fan of Edgar
Allan Poe and Charles Baudelaire. We took a lot of inspiration from old Italian horror films, mostly from
the late Lucio Fulci's flicks.

• There are two basic ways of looking at music. In the first, there is a mechanism for the
arrangement of certain tones, musical style.in the second, a narration occurs where a story is told or a poetic function completed. In your view of compositions, which is more important? Where were you when you first thought the project had the longterm potential for you?

Wholeness of the song is the most important matter here. Without the right composition, good lyrics won't save the song and good composition doesn't work for me if the lyrics are bad. I think that I was in my mom's womb when this project was born so it will last as long as I breathe. This is not just music, this is all I've got.

• What for you is the significance of the name, “Funerary Bell”?

The ancient Bell that tolls in the tower when the funeral is set in the old gothic graveyard.

• If you could tour with other bands in metal, who would you pick if you were looking for
bands similar to Funerary Bell?

Black Oath and Oltretomba from Italy and Ithaqua from Greece.

• Since late 2000's each and every year Funerary Bell's released albums, demos, EPs, Split,
compilation etc and shaped the style of music. How do you maintain this consistency yet keep
developing with each album? How do you write your riffs, songs? What is the most difficult part about composing songs as you do?

In the beginning, I was the main composer but nowadays all of us write the music. I just basically take the guitar in my lap and play. The most difficult part is to get in the right mood to get Funerary Bell sounding song composed.

You can stream the full album here :

Do you have a preference for type of equipment? In your mind, how important is equipment to
the production of music?

We use old tube amplifiers and analog effects for the guitars and bass. If you don't have good songs the equipment can't save the result of the final product.

Well, now I’m going to the main point about the new album. On the 23rd of February via Saturnal Records Funerary Bell “Undead Revelations” released and already so, which sounds extremely promising. When were these tracks written, and how does Funerary Bell go about the writing process?

The tracks were written between 2010 and 2014. We all write alone in our homes and bring the songs
to rehearsals, then the band works with the arrangments to make the songs whole.

• What's going on as far as lyrical themes on “Undead Revelations ”?

The album is my personal diary of the things that happened to me from 2010 to 2014. It starts from the birth after I survived the near-death experience and ends to death only for the protagonist to be born again to this cyclic life – living Hell.

• I’ve noticed Funerary Bell musical style reminds exceptional black metal with the low-pitched screams/chants laced with old-school black metal influence along with avant-garde esque. would you agree with this though aforementioned black metal stalwarts, its purveyors willingly eschewed publicity and allowed 2018’s ceaseless deluge of quality releases to subsume their monumental collaboration?

Well, I agree. For what I have heard the year 2018 was full of high-quality releases and Undead
Revelations should have had a vinyl treatment because people don't buy CDs anymore which is a shame.

• I’ve categorized Funerary Bell's significant black metal genre.so, How did you get into this
style of music and explain about this very rare known music genre?

In 1997 I had my first band (a punk rock one) I heard other bands playing black metal in our rehearsal place and instantly fell in love with the genre. Back then Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was just released and everybody played keyboard led black metal. It was some years later when I found Bathory and all the old first wave acts when listening to the CDs in the local music store.

• How would you describe the sound of the new album "Undead Revelations" to someone who
hadn’t heard it, and what distinguishes your music from any other act in the same genre?

The mixture between death metal and old school black metal. I don't believe that there is any other
band that belongs to our ”genre”.

• Do you guys have any official videos coming out soon?

Nothing has been planned, we are working on our next release.

• How do you explain the album title, what it means and the album art and how it coincides
with the lyrics, themes?

As I stated before, I live cyclic life and therefore am undead in a metaphorical way. And the revelations are the diary.

• Who came up with the album cover? I personally cherish Funerary Bell's each and every
album artwork because those are truly indelible, remarkable, appreciable and meaningful too.

I have been responsible for every Funerary Bell album covers, excl. The split with Blood Red Fog.

• Let's talk about your early memories. What's the first gig you ever went to? Have you been to any killer live shows lately?

Honestly speaking I can't remember the first gig ever but about 20 years ago there were lots of black metal nights with local bands playing and I was always present. Nowadays I don't go to gigs at all because I rather listen to music alone at home.

• In before you guys performed a lot of gigs so, Which show was the most memorable to you so far? Do you get a good crowd response? Did you get offers to play in other countries or anything like that?

Our best live shows were the first one ever in 2013 and the show we released as a live album just a
while ago called The Last Temptation – Light Of Violet Penance.

• Do you study other bands music to come up with ideas?

No, I don't.

• Vocals style is raspy, raw and tortured .appreciate your vocal style.how do you prepare your
vocals before the studio or especially for live performances? Did any band, in particular, inspire
you in the shrieking department?

I don't prepare at all, I just sing. I can drop few names who inspired me: Vincent Crowley from
Acheron and Sanctis Ghoram from Paul Chain Violet Theatre / Death SS.

• Is there a difference in the band’s sound as compared to the Full length, EPs and demos
you’ve released in the past?

All of them sound different but it is just a natural progression.

• Saturnal Records has been a great supporter of extreme metal, especially black metal. So it’s
nice to see that you’re signed to them now. How did this happen?

An interesting fact: I was one of the founders of Saturnian Productions that later, after my departure,
turned to Saturnal Records when the guys started work more professionally. So it was natural to us to
release our work through Saturnal as we knew all the guys personally.

• You guys are from Finland, how much have you discovered about the extreme metal scene
and how much of it were you aware of before the band started?

Finland is full of black and death metal bands and has always been so I discovered the scene already
when I was a kid.

• There is some satanic, Occult imagery with your lyrics, logo, theme. Is this just an image or something you believe in?

Everything is personal for me. I don't keep just an image, I have lived through my art and experienced
everything that has been sung in our records.

• What do you do as individual band members to relax, when not working on music? Do you
have jobs or business?

I am unemployed at the moment but one of our guys is a student, one work in a record store and one is a professional tattoo/piercing artist. I relax by listening to music, reading books and watching movies, don't know what others do in their spare time.

• What albums are you listening to lately or just the bands and albums, in general, you're
really digging right now and tell me about your anticipated album of the past year?

Right now I am listening to Finnish punk/psychobilly band Flesh Roxon, really good stuff. I didn't
follow the releases of past year or years. I don't follow the scene anymore. Mortuary Drape demo
collection DLP was a really great rerelease.

• Last one question, what are your future band goals & tell us something about an upcoming
tour. lastly, lots of teenagers aim to be full-time musicians. Many of them might be without any proper guidance, any words of wisdom for them?

Our next goal is to record the new album. There is no tour coming, maybe some little gigs here and
there. For the teenagers I could tell that try to find your own sound, there are too many black metal
bands around that sound the same or copy each other.

• That's all I've got right now.best of luck for the upcoming release. "Undead Revelations" this
album is one of my top listed release of the previous year. thanks a lot for enduring this torture haha. Any final thoughts, comments for the readers? If I forgot anything, please insert it in here.

Thanks for the interview. Stay true to yourself.

Interview was done by Souvik Basu. Published on 21/01/2019

Read More

Interview :~ Barshasketh Chats about Satanic Imagery, New Incantation, History and any more.

1. Barshasketh was formed in 2009, so, this band is formed in late 2000's but still keep early
black metal in their forte, So Can you give me a brief history of how the band got together?
Had you been in any bands or musical apparition before Barshasketh?

Barshasketh started as a solo project, back when Krigeist was still living in New Zealand. After
relocating to the UK, he expanded the lineup to a full band. Since then, he's moved away again and
we're now split across three different countries (UK, Finland, and Serbia). We've all been involved
in various projects before and alongside Barshasketh, although there are too many to name here. In
recent times, Barshasketh has taken up most of our time and energy, however.

2. What bands inspired the direction that Barshasketh took and motivated you? Writers?
Visual artists? Movies? Books?

Some of our early influences are fairly typical, the old masters such as Mayhem, Emperor or
Gorgoroth has all shaped our approach to a certain extent. Beyond that, mid-period Deathspell
Omega (SRMC in particular) as well as other releases from around the same time such as
Ondskapt's Dodens Evangelium have had a significant impact. Additionally, more recent releases
from the likes of Thy Darkened Shade, Ascension or Nightbringer continue to inspire us.
It's harder to pin down non-musical influences but to name just a few, Andrei Tarkovsky, Albrecht
Dürer, Jacob Pins, Ingmar Bergman, Michael Haneke, Alan Moore, Francis Bacon, Alasdair
Crowley and Rainer Maria Rilke have all played a part in shaping my outlook and perspective.

3. There are two basic ways of looking at music. In the first, there is a mechanism for the arrangement of certain tones, musical style.in the second, a narration occurs where a story is told or a poetic function completed. In your view of compositions, which is more important? Where were you when you first thought the project had the longterm potential for you?

I think the distinction you draw between them is erroneous. In actuality, it's simply a case of
analyzing music on a different scale, so to speak. This is analogous to the study of matter in Physics,
which is built upon on a more 'macroscopic' level in the discipline of biology, for instance.
As far as my own compositional process is concerned, I tend to consider the narrative first as a
guiding principle, but when it comes down to working out specific arrangements, I'll then deploy my
knowledge of music theory if and when required. I know some musicians who are self-taught tend
to look down on this practice as it's widely considered to be a less 'natural' approach, but I
personally, think this is misguided since music theory simply offers a toolkit and language through
which we can better communicate and manipulate our ideas, which stem from the same kernel of
pure inspiration regardless. I'm a bit of an outlier with regards to this due to my classical
background, which influences my general workflow when composing.

4. What for you is the significance of the name, “Barshasketh”?

Our band name derives from the Hebrew Be’er Shachat, which roughly translates as ‘Pit of
Corruption’; a multifaceted esoteric idea in the Qliphoth concerning the self-existing in a cyclical
the process that goes through phases of destruction, purification, and rebirth.
The Qliphoth being the mirror image of the holy Sefirot and is composed of various ''shells'' that
represent the evil and impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism.

5. If you could tour with other bands in metal, who would you pick if you were looking for
bands similar to Barshasketh?

Although there are far more popular and prominent bands, the two bands that immediately come to
mind as some of the finest contemporary practitioners of Black Metal are Thy Darkened Shade and
Nightbringer. Both display total dedication to their art and set a standard that all bands should strive
for in terms of proficiency and artistic integrity.

6. Since starting year each and every year Barshasketh's released albums, demos, EPs, Split, compilation etc and shaped the style of music. How do you maintain this consistency yet keep developing with each album? How do you write your riffs, songs? What is the most difficult part about composing songs as you do?

The evolution and progression of our songwriting is largely a natural process- we simply feel compelled to compose regularly and we've managed to refine our craft over time without it being a conscious effort on our part.
As for how the songs are constructed, what could be called the skeleton or basic structure of the
songs always stems from either myself or Krigeist. This is then further refined over time through a
process of demoing, where several drafts are produced as we work out the finer points of the
compositions. During this phase of the process, all members pitch in and make a major contribution
to the final result. The most difficult aspect of composing the songs is probably the sheer impracticability of our situation- since we are all scattered over different parts of Europe, we seldom get an opportunity to 'jam' the songs together and quickly try out new ideas. That said, this has not hindered us too severely and we still manage to get the job done in the end.

7. Do you have a preference for type of equipment? In your mind, how important is
equipment to the production of music?

I can't speak too much about the drums or bass, but we do have a general philosophy when it comes
to our approach to recording guitars. This being an emphasis on tracking more layers, but with less
gain, which has the effect of making things sound 'bigger'. For this reason, the pickups that we use
are not especially high output. We generally favor Les Paul style, single cut guitars with a
mahogany body for reasons of playing comfort as well as tone. While I wouldn't say that the choice of equipment is totally irrelevant, it's important to remember that the foundation of everything lies within the quality of the songwriting, without this there is nothing. A compelling song, performed well, will shine through a bad sound, but the reverse is not true.

8. Well, now I’m going to the main point about the new album. In January 2019, new opus will
release. When were these tracks written, and how does Barshasketh go about the writing
process?

If I recall correctly, the bulk of the songs were composed prior to the release of Ophidian Henosis,
with just a couple being written not long after that. Although it would take much longer for the
songs to reach their final form, maybe just a couple of months before we were set to start recording
at Necrommorbus studio in mid to late 2017.

9. I’ve categorized Barshasketh's significant black metal genre.so, How did you get into this
style of music and explain about this very rare known music genre?

I'm not sure what route the other guys took, but speaking for myself, I started with 80s thrash and
then sort of followed the historical development of extreme metal from that point, beginning with
early death metal and finally black metal. I've been hooked ever since. One major point of interest
for me is the combination of atmosphere and aggression, as well as the relative flexibility of the
genre when it comes to arrangements.

10. How would you describe the sound of the new album to someone who hadn’t heard it, and
what distinguishes your music from any other act in the same genre?

If I had to use just a few words to describe the new album, I think I would use these: aggressive,
dark, melodic, multifaceted. Although in many ways, we can be considered to be a fairly traditional
black metal band, what sets us apart is our extensive layering of different guitar parts and
setting up a counterpoint between these. While the bulk of the album has two or three guitar distinct
guitar parts happening at any given time, this number rises to 4 or 5 here and there, which can be
quite complex to handle in the mix, but produce an interesting effect and greater perceived depth in
the overall sound.

11. Do you guys have any playthrough videos coming out soon regarding new incantation?

That's not really something we're interested in doing, it just doesn't feel right for us.

12. How do you explain the album title, what it means and the album art and how it coincides with the lyrics, themes?

The album is self-titled and focusses on the aforementioned concept of Be'er Shachat, we've
structured the album to describe each phase of this process both musically and lyrically. The central
idea is also reflected on the front cover, where we see two facets of the self both engaged in a
struggle, but also intertwined and part of a larger whole.

13. Who came up with the album cover? I personally cherish Barshasketh's each and every
album artwork because those are truly indelible, remarkable, appreciable and meaningful
too.

The album cover, as well as the vast majority of illustrations in the whole layout, were produced by
Artem Grygoriev (AKA Black Typography), the layout itself and the art direction was provided by
Fenomeno Design, who is a Chilean graphic designer and a long time collaborator of ours. We
couldn't be more satisfied with the result, thanks to the excellent work of both of the
aforementioned artists.

14. In before you guys performed a lot of gigs so, Which show was the most memorable to you
so far? Do you get a good crowd response? Did you get offers to play in other countries or
anything like that?

We're lucky enough to get offered shows abroad fairly regularly, which is actually pretty rare for
bands that play such an underground type of music. I think the best show we played was in Hobart,
Australia in 2017. The sound on stage, crowd reaction and atmosphere was just perfect that night.
Our set at Inner Awakening festival in Budapest was also very intense as was our set supporting
Mayhem at Nosturi in Helsinki, Finland.

You can stream the latest opus right below :

15. Do you study other bands music to come up with ideas?

Not really to come up with ideas, I do sometimes learn parts of other bands' songs since I'm
interested in seeing how they are constructed, but when it comes to writing my own material, I try
my best to put all of that out of my mind and try to think about what it is I want to express, rather
than specific techniques I've picked up from other people and so on.

16. Vocals style is raspy, aggressive, raw and tortured .appreciate your vocal style.how do you
prepare your vocals before the studio or especially for live performances? Did any band, in
particular, inspire you in the shrieking department?

Well, I'm not the vocalist in the band, but Krigeist told me that this time, Simon Wizen from
Valkyria played an important role in the studio by suggesting different vocal styles for specific parts
and so on- it really made a big difference to the final result by the sounds of it.

17. Is there a difference in the band’s sound as compared to the Full length, EPs and demos
you’ve released in the past?

I would say that the new album presents Barshasketh at it's most aggressive, complex and darkest.
Beyond that, I would say that the new album is a continuation of the style we've been developing
since the very first release, although our approach certainly involves a lot more technical elements
at this stage as we've grown more proficient on our respective instruments.

18. "World Terror Committee" has been a great supporter of extreme metal, especially black metal. So it’s nice to see that you’re signed to them now. How did this happen?

Indeed, W.T.C is a fantastic label and we're honored to have collaborated with them since our
previous album (Ophidian Henosis) in 2015. I think it would take something drastic to make us part with them since they've been extremely accommodating and easy to work with.
Unfortunately, the story of how we got signed with them is rather banal, we simply sent our material
to them via email and they were interested in what they heard. It's that simple, haha.

19. There is some satanic imagery with your lyrics, logo, theme. Is this just an image or
something you believe in?

It's not just an image, we're deadly serious about this stuff.

20. What albums are you listening to lately or just the bands and albums, in general, you're
really digging right now and tell me about your anticipated album of this year?

Personally, two albums that have been on heavy rotation for me are: Adaestuo ''Krew Za Krew'' and
Bestia Arcana ''Holokoston''. Besides that, I've actually mostly been listening to classical music by
Messiaen, Ligeti, Arvo Pärt and Alfred Schnittke. I have to admit I'm not up to date on albums that
are scheduled for release in 2019 so I can't comment on that.

21. Last one question, what are your future band goals & tell us something about an
upcoming tour. Lastly, lots of teenagers aim to be full-time musicians. Many of them might be without any proper guidance, any words of wisdom for them?

We've got a European tour planned for late April/early June. Interested promoters can contact us at
barshasketh@live.com . We're also working on some festival appearance later in the year and a
Mexican tour in July. We're willing to play anywhere where there is interest, so promoters can
contact us at the email address listed above. Considering that we're not full-time musicians, I'm hesitant to offer any guidance on this. However, one thing I would recommend is to do whatever you do with absolute integrity. I have a suspicion that people can tell if an artist is not genuine.

22. That's all I've got right now.best of luck for the upcoming release. this would be one of my
anticipated release of 2019. thanks a lot for enduring this torture haha. Any final thoughts,
comments for the readers? If I forgot anything, please insert it in here.

Hail Satan.

The interview was done by Souvik Basu. Published on 15.01.2019

Read More

Best Releases of 2018

On this year a lot of unstoppable juggernaut of stellar metal albums invaded our ears once again and it’s time to name the greatest achievements of 2018. Indeed this year is remarkable for metal music albums because plenty of excellent, engrossing, spectacular, rich albums released. I’ll say on this year especially black metal albums slays though this year is excellent too for other genre albums. Basically, I’ve focused on critical acclaim, creative progression, originality, songwriting prowess, technical achievements, and many more dynamics. so, it’s kinda hard to sort out. well, here is my top listed albums, Demo, Ep, Split of 2018 from a vast checked out list. Though it's lengthy I’m pretty damn sure you’ll enjoy it. cheers.

Top Listed Albums :

A Forest of Stars - Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes

Abigor - Höllenzwang - Chronicles of Perdition

Acherontas - Faustian Ethos

Adaestuo - Krew Za Krew

Aeonian Sorrow - Into The Eternity A Moment We Are

Amorphis - Queen Of Time

Anicon - Entropy Mantra

Archgoat - The Luciferian Crown

Ars Magna Umbrae - Lunar Ascension

Ascension - Under Ether

Augury - Illusive Golden Age

Aura Noir - Aura Noire

Autokrator - Hammer Of The Heretics

Automb - Esoterica

Behemoth - I Loved You at Your Darkest

Beyond Creation - Algorythm

Carpe Noctem - Vitrun

Chaos Invocation - Reaping Season - Bloodshed Beyond

Clandestine Blaze - Tranquility Of Death

Convocation-Scars Across

Convulsing - Grievous

Craft - White Noise And Black Metal

Crescent - The Order Of Amenti

Cultes des Ghoules - Sinister, or Treading the Darker Paths

Death Karma - The History Of Death & Burial Rituals, Part II

Decaying - To Cross The Line

Decline of the I - Escape

Devouring Star - The Arteries Of Heresy

Djevelkult - Når avgrunnen åpnes

Extremity - Coffin Birth

Eye of Solitude - Slaves Of Solitude

Funeral Mist - Hekatomb

Funerary Bell - Undead Revelations

Gaerea - Unsettling Whispers

Galvanizer - Sanguine Vigil by necroscum

Ghastly - Death Velour

Glorior Belli - The Apostates

Grave Upheaval - Untitled

Hate Eternal - Upon Desolate Sands

Hoth - Astral Necromancy

Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods

Imperial Triumphant - Vile Luxury

Inferi - Revenant

Infestus - Thrypsis

Inquinamentum - 8342

Ion - A Path Unknown

Irreversible Mechanism - Immersion

Kriegsmaschine - Apocalypticists

Krisiun - Scourge Of The Enthroned

Kult - The Eternal Darkness I Adore

Lychgate - The Contagion In Nine Steps

Mallephyr - Womb Of Worms

Malthusian - Across Deaths

Marduk - Viktoria

Mare - Ebony Tower

Master's Hammer - Fascinator

Memoriam - The Silent Vigil

Mortuous - Through Wilderness

Mournful Congregation - The Incubus Of Karma

Necrophobic - Mark of The Necrogram

Necros Christos - Domedon Doxomedon

Nocturnal Graves-Titan

Obliteration - Cenotaph Obscure

Of Feather And Bone - Bestial Hymns Of Perversion

One Tail, One Head - Worlds Open, Worlds Collide

Ophe - Litteras Ad Tristia Maestrum Solitude

Oubliette - The Passage

Outre - Hollow Earth

Ov Shadows - The Darkness Between Stars

Panegyrist - Hierurgy

Panopticon - The Scars Of Man On The Once Nameless Wilderness I And II

Portal - ION

Primordial - Exile Amongst The Ruins

Ride for Revenge - Sinking the Song

Ripped to Shreds - 埋葬

Ritual Necromancy - Disinterred Horror

Rivers Of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name

Rur - Rur IV

Sadistik Forest - Morbid Majesties

Sargeist - Unbound

Shibalba - Stars Al-Med Hum

Shylmagoghnar - Transience

Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality

Slidhr - The Futile Fires of Man

Sojourner - The Shadowed Road

Sulphur Aeon - The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos

Summoning - With Doom We Come

Svartidauði - Revelations of the Red Sword

Taphos - Come Ethereal Somberness

Temple Nightside - Recondemnation

The Order of Apollyon - Moriah

Tribulation - Down Below

Uada - Cult of a Dying Sun

Unleashed - The Hunt for White Christ

Urfaust - The Constellatory Practice

Voidhanger - Dark Days of the Soul

Watain - Trident Wolf Eclipse

Whoredom Rife - Nid- Hymner Av Hat

Wilt - Ruin

Winterfylleth - The Hallowing Of Heirdom

Top-Listed EP, Split and Demo:

Above Aurora - Path to Ruin

Cult Of Fire - Kali Fire Puja

Cultum Interitum - Temple Of Triumphant Death

Darvaza - Darkness in Turmoil

Deströyer 666 - Call of the Wild

Dire Omen - Formless Fire Embodied

Foothill Roots - Nature Resonates

From the Void - Hänen Valonsa

Gevurah - Sulphur Soul

Imber Luminis - Variations

Inferno/Devathorn - Zos Vel Thagirion

Mephorash - The Third Woe

Mortuus Umbra - Omnipraesent

Nechochwen - The Ancient Pulse

Ritual Death - Ritual Death

Unanimated - Annihilation

Published by Souvik Basu. Dated - 30/12/2018

Read More