Pete solem in domo Erebi
A Conversation With Naas Alcameth of Nightbringer

Nightbringer’s Ego Dominus Tuus is a record that challenges and provokes the mind both during the experience and for many moments after the aural journey is complete. The American band have long been outside of their peers circles in terms of sound and design and vocalist Naas Alcameth takes some time to talk about the record, the band and what Ego Dominus Tuus means to him. 

CVLT Nation: The new record has more than a hint of the symphonic style of Emperor – the Nightbringer sound is much more European, much more “old school” or orthodox than most American black metal – how conscious are you of the American scene and did you set out to create music that was slightly more removed from the usual USBM sound?

Naas Alcameth: I don’t think we ever had an American sound to begin with. We never really found much inspiration in USBM to be honest – outside a few exceptions, it was always been European black metal from the onset and our sound naturally arose from what inspired us, so there really was no need of a conscientious avoidance of the USBM sound. Emperor was a huge source of inspiration for all of us when we were teenagers and we all still hold their early works with much reverence. Other bands such as Thorns, old Mayhem and early Arcturus were also very inspiring to us at that time and we still return to these works often.

Ego Dominus Tuus is huge and expansive and can feel like quite a test of endurance – how do you go about creating such challenging music in a time where most music listeners will download/stream and have that awful sense of entitlement that the 21st Century has brought upon us?

Naas Alcameth: A lot of time and consideration are given to the compositions. There are many parts involved, and it is not untypical to find two or three or more separate music lines between the instruments at any given time. We are also heavily influenced by classical music and tend to gravitate towards movements that capture this feel. The end result is a body of work that is much layered with lots to listen for. This creates a vastness and gives it that dense sound I believe. This combined with the track lengths and extended running time might prove overwhelming for some or possibly not hold the attention of many. We really are not very concerned about that however. We have a vision and it is lofty and simply not for everyone. Sure, anyone can pirate our music for free and many may like it, while many others may not, but very few will truly access it fully. We do this for ourselves and for those few. Those are the ones who matter to us.

The record is clearly influenced by subjects close to your heart – can you talk about the concepts contained within the album and how they reflect your personal beliefs and in turn Nightbringer’s vision? The esoteric nature of the record is difficult to achieve if you don’t have a connection to that kind of belief system – how do you align that with your own life (if this is not too personal a question)?

Naas Alcameth: I will sum this up as briefly as possible and in a way which is proper, without saying too much about what is ultimately sacred and personal. The concept behind the album is that of an initiatic path. This is synonymous with the hermetic path, the Magnum Opus, yet with fascination and adoration specific to the infernal and night-sided worship. The three predominant stages of the Great Work are expressed as a trinity cabalistically, the sum of which comprises a certain sacred name that is central to our worship and a personal path of becoming. There is great emphasis placed upon the inner movement (which is paradoxically the greatest stillness) from a profane and stagnant state of self, the common state which most live out their lives, a state that is soporific, towards a state of “wakefulness”, of self-realization, and ultimately what has been dubbed one’s “other-becoming”. 

This movement denotes tribulation, sacrifice and ultimately death, as for something to be reborn it first must die. We are speaking of the path to Hell, through the underworld and to the moment where one would encounter everything which they are not, their “otherness of being”. This daimon of self is central to the lyrics and the concept is directly linked to the album title itself. Some familiarity with certain esoteric systems is of course helpful in regards to comprehending what I am speaking of here and everything we express we do so by the language which is proper to the work, that of cipher and allegory. In regards to how this all is aligned to our lives, this can be difficult to express in a way that may satisfy the reader. It is important to note that what we relay is born of philosophy, intuition, experience (via practice, meditation and dreams) and our highest aspirations, aspirations that we in no way can claim true knowledge of as to know is to be, and we are still walking the path within the underworld and suffering in the longest night, the dark night of the soul. Thus our words should be understood as promise and decree, as epiphany and self-revelation arisen from what we have indeed glimpsed, given flesh through prose and poem, and ultimately as our faith, worship and devotion towards that which yet remains so far above us, below us and hidden within us. Word must couple with deed, in order for faith to be actualized.

And to follow that, how does the cover art tie the pieces together?

Naas Alcameth: The album cover directly reflects the trinity I spoke of above, with the symbols appropriate and specific to it. The album art was created by David Hererrias, who did an absolutely amazing job interpreting our vision. 

Each member of Nightbringer seems to bring something to the table in terms of writing the record – is that easy/difficult to manage and how do you deal with members being so far away at times?

Naas Alcameth: This is correct. Surprisingly it has not been so difficult to manage. Ophis, VJS and I handle all of the music composition (minus percussions of course) and the three of us have worked together for many years and have much commonality. Menthor was able to jump right into the fold and understood our sound perfectly and ar Ra’d al-Iblis has furthered to strengthen the music with what he brings lyrically and vocally for the last four years. There of course are some logistical challenges but nothing we can’t sort out in the end.

For yourself, you have various other musical projects at hand – how do you divide your time in order to pay the fullest attention to each of is it more a case of one thing occupying your mind at a time?

Naas Alcameth: My other musical endeavours are typically done when Nightbringer has down time, so it is not all that difficult to give total focus.

It took the band quite some time to release the debut, but you now seem fairly set in terms of consistency? Why do you think that is and do you feel as though Nightbringer still has something to say and bring to the modern black metal world?

Naas Alcameth: It is true that it took us six years to get the first EP released which mostly came down to lack of funds to record and simply not knowing what the hell we were doing exactly. We were also far from organized back in the early days and my death metal band was fairly active. We are certainly still inspired and will continue to make music with Nightbringer. It is hard to imagine a time when this would be otherwise but who knows what the future holds?

Do Nightbringer have any plans for touring/new music in the coming months?

Naas Alcameth: We will return to Europe in 2015. We are composing new tracks but there are no immediate plans for a release at this time.

Pete solem in domo Erebi.