“We seek to commune with the utterly Satanic forces of Chaos…” – Nihilifier, Erebus Enthroned.
Erebus Enthroned have wisdom far beyond their years. Although their first formation stems back as far as 2006, this Australian outfit did not achieve a creative – or spiritual – consensus until two years ago.
Releasing their debut LP, Night’s Black Angel, last year, they wore their modus operandi on their sleeve – in all its black, and utterly satanic, glory. Reflecting the notion of ‘Him’ as the true being of destruction, they have used their art to express these beliefs.
With material already in the works for their sophomore full length and a 7” on the way this year, CVLT Nation interviews frontman Nihilifier.
CVLT: Can you give me a bit of background about how this current line-up was formed, both spiritually and creatively?
NIHILIFER: “The current line up came into being at the start of the year 2010 following the dismissal of two former members. It seems weird and fated to us how this came about as each person was connected to the next and last in some way prior unrelated to the current incarnation. But as each individual holds the flame of idolatry and yearning for liberation in their hearts, as well as the endless embers of creativity, it was perfectly natural for all four of our paths to unite at a crossroad to commence the real journey, downward.
“On a spiritual level, every member is willing and open to channelling and receiving energy. On stage this is most prevalent and would only hinder the work should one person completely block this influx of power, as we have experienced in the past with some members.”
CVLT: Would you say the band are all bound under the same ideological banner now?
NIHILIFER: “Each member of Erebus Enthroned is indeed wilfully tethered to the same spiritual current or “ideological banner” as you put it. That being said, this current can be reflected as a black diamond having many faces and many paths leading toward it. In the soul of the individual lays a gate to hell so different to another’s, yet in essence the same. Confidently I can say that every member holds this sacred flame in themselves, unlike a couple of past members who only blocked the flow of energy during live rituals.
“Erebus Enthroned is a Satanic Black Metal band because we seek to commune with the utterly Satanic forces of Chaos. This is done in predominantly a live context as live is where the praxis is actualised. This is the ritual. On the recordings the seeds are sewn and live are germinated by the flood of aphotic power we seek to open ourselves as floodgates to. The very nature of our music is ripe for use as a practical ritual. It is violent and aggressive, disharmonic and chthonic (though sometimes harmonic and lofty), full of dynamic and layering. We have experimented with the implementation of dark ambience with noise influence as we have felt this form of music also acts conductively with the energy sought to invoke. Of course music is not the be all and end all of this practice by any means, but it is surely effective.”
CVLT: I understand before each live performance, you in particular undertake a ritual. Describe what actually takes place and the symbolism behind it?
NIHILIFER: “The idea of doing a personal ritual before the show is to enter into a state of mind far removed from the mundane, to detach one’s self from their ego and to allow a rather deadly influence to takeover. We paint our faces as a partial reflection of this transformation and to celebrate the demonic and qliphothic powers, ritually bathing/blessing ourselves in dead blood. This is to primarily draw into ourselves the particular force we were welcoming that night. Sometimes this is not done, but sometimes we focus the intent during the performance toward a particular power. How I feel after this preparatory ritual is rather personal and would rather not discuss it.”
CVLT: You recently finished your first Australian national tour, garnering a following, along with the recent announcements of supporting Absu and much-awaited Devil’s Arcana festival. What does 2012 hold?
NIHILIFER: “2011 saw the abortion of this ill creation Night’s Black Angel from the plane of becoming into the plane of being. Ensued by an Australian tour and an album launch in our city of Sydney. All of these shows held immense power for different reasons. For me, the most memorable being the performance in Melbourne. There was a strong sinister influence in the air that night, heightened by a number of planetary correspondences that focused the very core of our music eleven fold! It was also humbling to see a small number of our allies from our “home” state travel down to see us and to watch the other bands perform their eminent dark art.
“2012 will more than likely see the scarcity of the band in the live arena as we delve back into the creative mode to compose for our next album and a little something else to be unveiled next year.”
CVLT: You just mentioned the release of the band’s debut LP, Night’s Black Angel. Tell us more about this release.
NIHILIFER: “The album was produced by both ourselves with our long time friend and ally Ernie O at Dark Matter Studio. The choice for us was natural, as we have worked with him on other recordings, both with Erebus Enthroned and another musical ventures. We agree with each other on many levels both musical and esoteric. And to put it plain and simple he knows our sound and understands how we want it reflected with the performance of the music. Of course, we set out with a different approach from the former recordings. In a production sense we approached it tactically and a lot more thought out. This recording was meant to capture the raw intensity of a live performance with more of a polished and tight sound. We have achieved this to the fullness of our vision for this album.
“The foundation and first sewn seeds of the album was recorded in May at Studio 301 in Sydney. Then, later completed during the months of June and July at Dark Matter Studio in Melbourne. The album was predominantly recorded live in order to harness the untamed nature of our live shows and the influx of energy we seek to direct and in turn, allow ourselves to be directed by. This was done on a take basis and in the end, was not entirely difficult to achieve. Once the ball started rolling it gathered its own momentum.”
CVLT: This album was written over a 2-3 year period. Was this due to the band wanting to work off spontaneity and not wanting to force creativity?
NIHILIFER: “Indeed, we never want to force creativity. A lot of the songs were crafted over long periods of time and perfected via rehearsing and implementing them into a live set. But in my opinion some of the best parts of the album arose out of complete spontaneity. The atmosphere was greatly varied, as was the song writing approach. We did write as a group but often would compose independent of each other and bring the pieces of the puzzle together.
“So, we were never really consistent in approach but I suppose that’s why the songs on the album vary a great deal between each other. There have been a few ‘weird’ (or wyrd?) instances, one in which part of a composition arose within in a lucid dream of a faceless enchantress singing in a multilayered voice a particular musical motif. Others I’d prefer not to divulge.”
CVLT: Where was the inspiration for the album’s lyrical content drawn from?
NIHILIFER: “The lyrical content is drawn from our own personal visions and conceptions of the manifest forces of chaos and how they act as opposing vehicles to the order of the profane world of gross illusion. This is not necessarily our own, but a notion that is presented time and time again in every world culture’s religion and myths. The theme of death is ever present as it is with these forces does one take a dark initiatory path into the underworld, to die and be born again, emancipated from the limited creation of god. Fiat Nox – Fiat N.O.X!”
CVLT: The band is currently working on its second full length. So far, does it follow the same path as the debut?
NIHILIFER: “Not much information can be given regarding this. It continues and expands the path set upon by Night’s Black Angel but does not follow it. Our current schedule and planning foresees this to emerge in 2013.
CVLT: Last heard, Erebus is also working on a split 7” with a Russian band. Can we know who the band is and any updates on its progression?
NIHILIFER: “This information will be revealed in due time but it is not far from this point!”
Night’s Black Angel is out now through Seance Records.
New Comments