INTERVIEW with DEATH INVOKER

You readers surely know by now how much I do worshipr the South American scene and specially those bands that have that brutal and raw oldschool spirit. Perú, having one of the strongest scenes is a relentless source of great bands. There is from where the bestial sound of DEATH INVOKER hail. I talked with founding member Morbid Devastator to let us know about the escensce of the band, recent activities and much more...Behold the occult abomination...

What were your motivation to start DEATH INVOKER. Please tell us about your current line-up

Morbid hails and necromantic thanks for this evil summoning!!!! Since the early days I felt possessed by raw and bestial Metal, so of course I wanted to play like this someday. So, the apocalyptic goal was reached once Death Invoker started.

Current line-up is Morbid Devastator on guitar/bass/vocals and Bestial Lust in drums. Death Invoker continues as an impure duo!!!

After a demo reh, your first studio recording was two songs in the Sepulchral Noise compilation, both songs are brutal! What can you tell me about that recording, was it your first time in the studio?

It was the first time in studio ever. We never entered to that kind of chamber before! We did not know a fuck about it and just we were there desecrating any equipment.

It was after our first ritual apparition on 2006 that we were summoned to record for this split at the side of other Peruvian Metal hordes.

In 2010 you released your debut demo, which helped to spread Death Invoker´s name far and wide. How good was your demo received in the underground? Looking back, what do you think of the demo?

Demo 2010 was bestially received! The first version was released independently. Few time later, we got the polish version by Time before Time Rec (RIP), which included some different bonus than the independent version. And then, the Malaysian version was released in pro tape, with different cover/pics and 2 extra bonuses from reh.sessions.

I worship this demo and everything related to this. We recorded, still with no idea of the studio productions. We started recording on a raw/basic studio near my home, then a friend of mine supported on the recording of some solos (we got a trip to his country house), then I recorded the vocals literally in the kitchen of my friend, finishing this with my cousin on the mixing.

We got several delays, we did not recorded well (recording in different softwares made the work fucking hard!), drums get almost 1 microphone only, and just everything started on 2007, getting the final product on 2010. A fucking voyage to hell!

Everything was made almost DIY. But many circumstances made this Demo 2010, and all this process, very valuable for my morbid visions.

Tell me about your influences. Listening to your material, no modern influences are noticed. I could cite influences from bands like Sarcófago, Hadez, Vulcano, Sadistic Intent, early Sepultura and old Morbid Angel, am I right?

Surely all the inspiration belongs to ancestral Metal. Of course, no modern sound here! Fuck off!

Old Sepultura is my main inspiration since elder days, although I would not say Death Invoker sounds exactly to this, but I also have added many of other inspiration as german Thrash/Speed Metal; or other raw acts as Massacra, Sadus, Running Wild, Possessed, etc. And even 90s Death Metal in matter of structure or tempos.

You recorded the cover of “Guerreros de la muerte” for the “Tribute to Hadez…Attack!!!” compilation”. What does Hadez and their status in the Peruvian and international scene mean to you? Could you please name some essential records from the Peruvian scene?

Hadez, at the side of Mortem, are among the highest cult of Peruvian Metal. No doubt about this. They have raised the banner of Peruvian Metal since 80s and are still alive.

If we speak about essentials, of course: “Demon Tales” and “Devil Speaks in Tongues” from Mortem, also “Aquelarre” from Hadez are absolutely a must!  (I agree 666% - Chris)

Other stuff would be demos from Ritual, Disinter; Hadez and Mortem demos itself. Some of them were re-released in tape or CD recently.

Anal Vomit on the new era, with releases as: “From Peruvian Hell” and “Demoniac Flagellations” must be got too.

Why did you decided to release the “Necromantic Desecration” Live album? Was that show special for the band?

I got contact with the Brazilian label since time before and he proposed a release for Death Invoker. Then we prepared that date on a necromantic and hidden chamber, especially for the release.

I got a previous live recording that was supposed to be released, but at the end it was better to show a very new show/recording for this.

"Necromancy, Damnation, Revenge" 7” released in 2018 was a solid proof of the band's evolution. The sound is heavier, still raw, but more intense. What do you think about this EP and what were your thoughts about the sound and the style of the band then?

Maybe for now it is the considered the “best” release of Death Invoker and there were proper time to get a wide diffusion, more currently with the tape edition by Nihilistic Holocaust.

In fact, I can say this 7EP release was the most “worked”, cos we started from the beginning to the end, working with a guy who knows his work in recording, mixing and mastering. He is a close friend, who was in Cobra band, called Nito. Then I think we got a good final result.

In matter of style it is just the same: raw and evil Metal direct to unleash necromantic spirits of death!!!

The EP was reissued last year through the French label Nihilistic Holocaust records on tape including an unreleased track. Why “Divination Through Death Spirits” wasn’t included on the 7”?

At first, the 7EP would be released in Poland (not to mention some necromantic curses, cos even before, the 7EP would be going to be released in France, and then in Germany and then in Poland; to be finally released in Brazil).

For this European release the possible length was about 20 min, then we recorded an extra song that was “Divination...”. But once, the European release was cancelled and we got the chance in Brazil, matter of vinyl factory asked for less time in length, about 15 min. So, decided to take out the newer song, which was the longest.

In 2019 you released two splits Eps, one with Empheris from Poland and another one with Throneum also from Poland. Both splits were released by two Polish labels (Old Temple records and Unpure Records). What would you highlight of these releases and that "strange Polish connection"?

Contact with Tomasz from Throneum started back on 2010, when he released Demo 2010 in the polish version, under Time before Time Rec. Then time later, I got contact with Unpure Rec, who offered a deal with Death Invoker and then the chance to make a split with Throneum appeared from the abyss!

Both were the first releases in which we composed and recorded as a duo only, so of course, these releases has a special necromantic touch!

Last year you participated in two Split cds, the first one released by the Brazilian label Arauto Da morte Records in conspiracy with Sociedade dos Mortos. How did the possibility of taking part in this release come about?

I am in contact with Mikael from Arauto da Morte since many years ago. And then, he told me that he would start a label and gave the proposal for Death Invoker in a split. We recorded 2 exclusive songs for this release: “Death Devotion” and “Death to the Traitor”.

I already knew Gleison from Sociedade dos Mortos, cos he gave a proposal for the live CD from 2016 and the 7EP from 2018. We already worked with him and he also took part on this project of the 4 way CD, even with his own band: Insolitum.

The second split was released with Necroscope zine #35. Unfortunately I couldn´t hear it, so can you tell me about the track Deathrashing Rage and the alternative version of Witches Hammer?

This split has some little long history. It was Nonoy from Paganfire who contacted me back on 2013 maybe. He told me about the intention of a split release by Dominik from Bestial Invasion Rec.

Then, together we started to move among our contacts to find some bands to fit on this release. But the stuff delayed. Even some bands declined his motivation. Finally this split was released on 2020 in cooperation with Adam from Necroscope zine.

We recorded “Deathrashing Rage” as an exclusive track. As the title says, it is totally in the deathrashing raw and evil mosh ways; and recorded also an alternative version of “Witches Hammer”. It is different than the featured in the 7EP. It is based on reh.room and live versions, where we were trying to give the song a special approach, so you can expect a total blaster noise! (I must say that I finally got to hear the songs and both tracks rules!! - Chris) 

It may be hard for your fans to get access to all those songs, it would be great to have all these songs together in one compilation. Do you have plans to do it in a near future?

No plan for this now. Much stuff is still available. But from here in a time, to make a compilation turns in a chance.

One may say that your vintage approach is not only tied to your image and sound, but also to your song titles. Satanic Force, Metal Vengeance or Witches Hammer are good examples. What are your lyrics about? Where do you draw your inspiration?   

Topics covered are about terror, darkness, ancient rituals, death, mysteries, primitive evil, apocalyptic visions and similar stuff! Inspiration comes from dark history, bestial hallucinations and occult reflections.

In addition, because of profession, I am close to some knowledge that can be useful to put in lyrics, as matter of black magic, demonic possession, evil spirits, bloody ceremonies, deads summoning, dark prophecies, etc

It is something that belongs to human beings and cultures in almost every place of the world. From Egypt to Greece, to Mesopotamia, to Mayas, to Inkas and andean cultures, etc.

Who designed your logo? So great and old-school looking. What´s your all time fave band logo?

Logo was made by Unholy Perversor, our first and past guitar. Rarg! Absolute hard question, there are many great logos, here and there, but according to my main taste, I would choose the old logo of Sepultura in Bestial Devastation! (Great choice, a very primitive and original logo - Chris)

The Peruvian scene has been very prolific for many years now, with good emerging young bands. I interviewed Morbid Slaughter a while back, they were very good. Their vocalist Envenom is now on Nekromantik, I listened to their 2017 promo and they sound great. Which current Peruvian acts can you recommend?

I know these guys and many more. Currently I would recommend bands as: Morbosatan, Sexorcist, Tunjum, Grave Desecration, Bestial Posssession, Megatherion, Deshumanized. Evil Spectrum, Profaner, Cabalistic Conjuration; among others.

Can you share your thoughts regarding the current South American scene? Do you have good relationship with other South American bands?  

Yes! Historically we can say Brazil is the most legendary cos back in golden 80s they expulsed many great bands that turned in absolute legends later. Surely there´s no need to mention!? Sepultura, Sarcófago, Vulcano, Taurus, Sextrash, Mutilator, Holocausto, Expulser, Necrofago, Genocidio, Anthares… and the fucking 666 more you should already know!

Although in the recent years I should admit Chile is almost taking the first place. Everything I discover from Chile absolute destroys! Praise the Flame, Cremation Pyre, Communion, Demonic Rage, Hellbutcher, Atomicide, Diabolical Messiah, Melektaus, Deathly Scythe, Hell Avenger, Bloody Vengeance… and 666 more! There is almost no bad band.

Yes, there are many contacts in every South American place. Mostly because of trades and mutual cooperation.  

How many gigs have you played so far? Which bands have you had the chance to share the stage with? How would you describe your shows?

Death Invoker did not played a lot, mainly one time per year and this was totally intentional. They were something like 12 times. Since the beginning I wanted to keep the black magic on the live ritual, so I never wanted to play every weekend.

Only this rule was broken on 2012 when we played twice and this was only because we were summoned to support Mystifier first time in Lima. We also played with them again on 2016, which I consider something like the best show for us, at the side of 2014 in a local gig.

This gig on 2016, was the last time in which Death Invoker played live. Once we return, it can be as a duo only, or perhaps with a live session member in guitar.

Always we have tried to get an intense ritual, summoning necromantic spirits, demential mosh, dark energy and death sentences! Always in black, bullet belts, chains; sinister proclaims to the audience and demonic possession with terror face and eyes of horror!!

Besides the band you also handle other projects, you are editor of Legion of Torture zine and owner of Evil Spirit distro. Can you tell us about them?

Evil Spirit distro started after I promoted Death Invoker and sent many tapes abroad, almost in 2008. I made several trades with people in the entire underworld and then it was possible to make some list of DIY dubbed tapes.

Legion of Torture started back on 2009, in similar conditions than the distro. As I got contacts of labels, bands, zines, etc; just I thought it was the time to make another morbid offering for underground Metal, so the zine started.

I released 4 issues until now, and I started to prepare issue 5 on 2020. For info of both, distro and zine, you must go here: 

www.esdistro-lotzine.weebly.com

I have found little official information about Death Invoker on the net. I mean, no Facebook or Instagram pages, just your official web-page, so I guess you are not very friends or sympathizers of social networks...

Technology is a source, but cannot be the main source, neither the only. The main are the traditional ones as paper zines, recorded tapes, CDs, LPs, etc. Both can co-exist, but the modern must exist in order to support tradition, not to destroy this. Then we priorize the classical ways, without denying technology, using it properly.

What´s the strangest place and the most shocking place you have been?

The most bizarre gig was once we played in Huacho province, at the north of Lima. Bangers there were absolute post-apocalyptic, burning wooden crosses inside the chamber, throwing human bones to the stage and that. It was fucking crazy and sick!

Are you working on your debut full-length? Have you had any label interest? What are the plans for the band for 2021?  

No full length for now. There have been many proposals for an album, from Peruvian labels to labels on Chile, Germany, Brazil, Poland, and others; just I feel it is not proper time for that. I prefer short/fast/underground releases currently.

For 2021, fucking virus situation still make things hard. To make many morbid compositions as possible is the main goal. Currently we have many pacted releases in some places, so let’s wait these can be done.

Thanks you for your time, last words are yours...

Thanks to you Chris for this bestial interrogatory! For necromantic information go here: www.deathinvokeer.weebly.com

INTERVIEW with VÖLUR

Avant-gard doom metal, death metal, folk/doom…VÖLUR is all of that and much more. Their fourth full-length Death Cult is a superb album and one of the highlights of 2020. I got in touch with Lucas Gadke for the following interview to find out more about this unique band.

The Lineup of Völur consist of Lucas Gadke (bass, piano, organ, harmonium, sythesizer), Laura C. Bates (violin, viola, synthesizer, vocals) and Justin Rupper (drums percussion, synthesizer, vocals. Greetings Lucas, please tell me about the begining of Völur. How did the band members met?

Laura and I met a long while ago in music school studying jazz. A few years later we graduated we ended up in the back up band for a folk singer-songwriter. On our long drives across Ontario we shared our mutual love of heavy and weird music and Völur was born. Initially we were a noise two-piece, but the vision grew to be a trio with James Payment of DoMakeSayThink. After 5 years together, we split ways with James and brought on Justin Ruppel who was able to add a bit more of a jazz flair into our sound.

How did you end up choosing VÖLUR for your band's name? Please tell me about its meaning

Völur is one of the renderings of the plural form of the word völva which means seeress or priestess in Old Icelandic. It’s known to us most famously from the poem, the Völuspa from the Poetic Edda and is the story of Odin visiting the gates of Hel to learn about the history and fate of the world. He seeresses also have a poetic relation to weaving and fate. And to me music and doom are tied up in fate and weaving lines of melody and harmony

Did you have any concept in your mind about how the band had to be even before you wrote any music?

I wanted to make music about myths and mythology that focused not on any sort of specific imagined past or an idea of heroism, but on the feelings that one gets when they read ancient literature. Things like the Icelandic sagas or even the Shahnameh of Iran have a kind of uncanny feeling to them that is both unfamiliar and intensely human. I wanted to draw upon those emotions and translate them into music.

In 2014 you recorded your first Demo “Disir”. Looking back, what do you think of the demo and the potential that the band had?

I was happy to get that released and have us be picked up by prophecy. Ultimately. I think maybe I was too interested in minimalist music at the time, but I’m proud of it and I’m proud of the potential that band has in bringing together dissonance and harmony.

What can you tell about the recording of your first LP? Was it easy to find the sound you were looking for and the right formula to record? Have you followed the same formula since then or have you changed in later recordings?

Time is always the enemy in recording, especially for smaller bands. Always I’d like to have more time to explore sounds, especially since I have to play in a room with the band live off the floor and I can’t do the piecemeal/one track at a time kind of recording, it just doesn’t work for me. The only formula is work with tones, get a good bed track down and then overdub until the vision seems correct. Laura like to actually bring in spreadsheets and attack with a careful and thorough consideration (even with cells that are dedicated to experimentation). I’ve spent a lot of time in the studio and all I can say once again is that time and budgets are the enemy.

Völur has been a very active band. Since, if I’m not mistaken, you have eight releases, counting demo, singles, ep and full-lengths. That speaks of the effort you put into the band and also about a great creative capacity. I'm curious to know what your writing process is like...

Well, we had a big gap and over the course of the years we’ve hit many road bumps in releasing things but yes we’ve put out a good amount of material. Mostly the writing is done by one of the members of the band and the song or piece is brought in incomplete. We tend to jam a lot. When the world isn’t suffering from a global pandemic we would rehearse once a week with a focus on writing new stuff or tweaking current pieces. Play again and again, jam on it and refine the small movements and details. Before I talked about wanting to overdub and overdub but it’s very important to us to make the song playable live as is

Volur released two records in this 2020, the first one was “Veiled City” released earlier this year. Conceptually it's based on Tolkien's Silmarillion and musically it has a different vibe compared to the Death Cult. How would you describe the EP and what are your feelings towards it?

I was happy to release it! It’s part of an ongoing series we’re working on called “die Sprachen Der Vögel,” (The Languages of Birds) they will all be short EPs with a focus on collaboration with other artists across the spectrum of genres. We have two others that we’re just finishing up. They’re intended to be Lo-Fi and released on cassette. We released Veiled City early without physical because we thought people would dig having something new to listen to at the beginning of lockdown. I’m happy with how it turned out, we got our good friend Michael Eckert to play pedal steel guitar on it and kind of fused together Corrupted, Earth and weird black metal. I also got to do a riff in 15/4 which always feels good.

The second release was your third full-length through Prophecy Productions. How happy are you with how “Death Cult” has turned out, in terms of how it sounds but also in terms of how it looks. Could you possibly share with us few details of the recording process, studio time etc.?

We got our friend Alia O’Brien of our sister band Blood Ceremony to produce it with and she contributes some of the vocals on it as well. We went back to Lincoln County Social club in Toronto with our good friend John Dinsmore. He’s not a “metal guy” so it can be easy to work with him as he has no pre-conceived notions about the genre of music. It’s very freeing to work with him.

I’m very proud of the record, I think it’s the most focused and best sounding thing we’ve done to date and really draws together all of our various influences.

Tell me about the cover art of “Death Cult”, How is it related to the music and how should one integrate the two?

Our lovely artist Marie Cherniy produced the image for us with basic total creative freedom. We just sent her the demos and she made this wonderful image of the moon rising over an idol in the forest. I love that it’s an earthy look and it speaks to the organic nature of the sound. I believe as best you can, the cover should reflect the sound inside.

Is always the artwork created specifically to accompany the music? What do you take into account when choosing a cover design for the album?

I always choose an artist to work with first.

How would you describe the evolution of the band, would you say that Death Cult is your most mature and solid work so far?

I would say that.

Many bands use or have used the violin as a "complementary" instrument, but in Völur it has a key importance and a leading role in their music. I would like to know about Laura's influences and about her personal vision of the violin in Völur´s music.

Laura’s musical life is a long and complicated one. From jazz to post-rock to metal to folk. She is very happy to have an upfront and supporting role in the band. We want to show that the electric violin is flexible. That if you have a violin it doesn’t have to sound like pirate metal. For years the violin was the main instrument of the avant-garde - think of Berg’s beautiful violin concerto. I think we want to bring back some of that, but also it’s role as a support or rhythm instrument. Laura’s specific instrument is actually a 6-string and has two lower strings - a C and an F making it actually somewhere between a viola and a cello in range so she can do a lot with it.

Is there an overall theme to the songs on Death cult? Could you tell me about the lyrical content of each song on the album?

Death Cult is like 4 variations on a theme inspired by Tactius’s Germania. The Roman ethnographer writing in the first century aimed to describe the habits and lives of all the tribes living across the Rhine. Unfortunately he never went there himself, so the stories and descriptions often vere into fanciful hearsay. One passage describes a ritual practiced in a forest grove by a lake where an idol of the Earth Goddess Nerthus is ritually bathed by four slaves who are then drowned. This passage has always haunted me and led to a myriad of interpretations and themes. What is the meaning of ritual? The meaning of mother Earth? Do these things have any effect. Somewhere in there is the idea of a never ending ritual of absolution to our mother, the earth, that has absolutely no effect.

Who writes the lyrics? What are your sources of inspiration and the main topics that interest the band members? Lucas said that he was a big fan of Tolkien and was one of the first inspiring themes.

Tolkien has always been an inspiration but for this album the lyrics came from Tacitus and also my thoughts on the environment, politics and capitalism and the broader green movement. The sacrifice of the four slaves, in my mind can be seen as a wasted gesture to Mother Earth while the fires of industry rage on. In “Inviolate Grove” I sing of a god of ash with eyes of gold and blood of rime.” To me this is the death face of capital and industry and environmental destruction. The practitioners of the Nerthus ritual wish to appease Mother Earth, but it has no effect and therefore we are stuck in a never ending cult of death.

Your music has sometimes been labeled as folk metal, sometimes doom metal, doom death metal, I guess it will depend mostly on the perception of the listener, but how would you describe your music?

Honestly I’m not too interested in genre classifications. We’re definitely a metal band and we have some folk and some avant-garde. But I’d rather be thought of as a musical entity that has a voice. We have a weird experimental EP and folk EP in the bag. People can call it what they want and I don’t mind, but I’m not going to try and BE something for the sake of a genre, especially a micro-genre.

I really dig the video clip of the song “Inviolate Grove”, where besides the band performing we can also see some intriguing footage. Can you comment about the concept of the video?

I wasn´t involved in the creation of the concept so I don´t really have much to say about it.

Recently you gave thanks for the Support of the Canada council for the arts, can you tell about that collaboration?

Well, the collaboration is fully monetary. CAC is a branch of the government of Canada that endows artists with funds to complete their projects. We recorded demos, submitted a proposal and were very thankful to be approved and receive some funding. It allowed us to take time with mixing and to get a really good job done on the mastering. WE’ve been very fortunate.

How do you feel playing live? Correct me if I´m wrong but you have played in a wide range of shows embracing different music styles such as folk, metal and classical. You even played several acoustic shows, so I guess it must be a very enjoyable and enriching experience.

I love playing live! Everything for me comes down to the live performance. I’m proud of our records, but I think our live performance is where we shine. If people have never heard of us and don’t know what to expect, even better.

What has been the best tour or show you have ever done?

We played a festival in Sturgis, South Dakota (the recent site of a massive “Bikers for Trump” rally, actually!) called Stygian Rites. Sitting a big, gawdy American biker bar on the giant Dakota plane and playing to a bunch of midwestern punks was so much fun. And not to brag, but we really took some heads off. Nobody knew who we were, really and we played on of our best shows. It felt great.

With which bands did you like to share the stage the most and with which bands would you like to play?

1476 are our boys and we’ll never forget the magical tour we had (even though it was tragically cut short by me breaking a rib). As for who I’d like to tour with, I don’t know… Iron Maiden?

What are your upcoming shows/tour plans?? How is the situation in your area regarding covid-19 restrictions?

We have no plans. Ontario is having a really bad time with thousands of cases and a poorly implemented lockdown in the face of pressure from greedy and uncaring corporations and workplaces who care more about their profits than people’s health and well being as well as a government that only serves the interests of business. We don’t even really feel safe jamming right now so we haven’t done it in a while.

So no shows, no jams, kind of a bummer really.

What´s the strangest place and the most shocking place you have been?

Playing the Balver Höhle in Germany at Prophect Fest 2016 was pretty wild - because it was a giant cave!

What does de future hold for Völur?

What does the future hold for anyone anymore? Hopefully cases will go down, we’ll get vaccinated and we can start playing again. WE’ll release a folk EP by the summer Im sure though.

Thanks you for your time. All the best for you and Völur

volur.bandcamp.com

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