- Please inform us about the formation of Gräuen Pestanz. Gräuen Pestanz didn't start as a two man entity, was it a difficult step to allow a new member? Do you both write the music and lyrics now?
Marchözelös: Both Vinum and I are equal parts of Gräuen Pestanz. I founded
the band in 2004 as a one piece due to the fact that I did not know any other person
here in Miami Florida that would share a serious interest in the occult and in dark
music such as Nastrond, Black Funeral, Mz. 412, Zero Kama and others. There was a
temporary session musician but he could not understand the concepts behind it, and
it became a major set back. When I found Vinum, he had been involved in the power
electronics/death industrial and black metal scenes for quite some time and had been
a serious practitioner of the left hand path, and a seeker of luciferian gnosis.
This had occured about 2 or 3 months after I self released on tape the debut demo
'Ars Upir Sabati' which was in the style of the old afformentioned cults with a
death industrial feel. Our present sound which is more of an occult black ambient,
death industrial mode was influenced by both our mutual interests in other forms of
dark art and also because of our firm belief that the future of black metal will
have to at one point seriously delve more deeply into these other areas in order
to remain vital and not stagnant. This has been also explored by other serious individuals
such as those bands already mentioned. Gräuen Pestanz has no time for dabblers and
self-professed 'satanists' who mock true satanism and have no creativity in their
veins whatsoever. We believe art springs from the unfettered mind directly inspired by
the disruption of social norm as well as accepted moral code. Set, bringer of war
and teacher of vengeful art, Cain the first illuminated and Noctulia Hecate the divine
mistress of shades are our inspiration, not 'sex, drinks and metal'. Our art is created
as a direct influence of our ritualistic practices in Ordo Veneficum Noctis, our coven,
and we are practicing witches.
- What is the idea behind the name Gräuen Pestanz? To me it gives a vision of a widdershins dance in ecstasy in a land plagued by pestilence under a heavy grey sky.
Vinum: The concept is to bring forth that necro feeling, of being trapped inside a room filled with dead bodies, to touch the bodies, to smell them, to be close to them.
To bring the listener back to the time of the black plague and let them see and feel the suffering. Also the atmosphere of a death ritual in a dark room with candles by an open window overlooking a full moon.
Marchözelös: Gräuen Pestanz is a name formulated deep within the subconscious of man. All are familiar with it in someway or another, call it a resurgent atavism or a recurring morbid propensity in man. The name itself means 'Horrific Plague Dance' or 'Horrible Death Dance' depending on whom you speak to. We created this name to reflect the aspect, which we wish to raise in ourselves and the spiritual change we intend to inflict on ourselves, and others through hardship and trials of the mind and body.
- Most of the titles of Gräuen Pestanz are in Latin or another language, but not English, is there any special reason for this? Is it right if I say that this is an extension of the atmosphere the music radiates?
Marchözelös: Gräuen Pestanz are a pan European occult entity. We write lyrics in Hungarian, German, Latin and other European languages, which I believe only adds to the atmosphere. We want to speak these languages through our musick and art because we believe that these are the languages our ancestors spoke when they chanted their incantations and raised their spirits up in the midst of persecution and death. This is definitely an extension of our spiritual path, as most people who speak the English language, at least where we are from which is the United States, have very little to offer in the way of a challenging way of life or spirituality. We are in a void aeon, and soon will feel the new aeon arise which will bring much suffering to man and the inversion of morality, both on a cosmic and personal level. Call it adharma.
- You're way more into Ambient/Industrial now, will Gräuen Pestanz still make Black Metal tracks? What was the reason you decided to go on more in this direction? Don't you think Ambient/Noise is more difficult to get your ideology clear? I mean with Black Metal you've got lyrics, but this is mostly not the case in Ambient/Industrial, do you see this as a limitation?
Marchözelös: For us, especially since I am the founder of the band, Black Metal always gave me and still does to this day a feeling, which has absolutely nothing to do with what most people associate it with. I and Vinum feel the same way (and always have about death industrial). When I listen to Black Funeral's "Journeys into Horizon's Lost" demo, or Nastrond "Toteslaut", I always have had the same feeling and morbid atmosphere as when I listen to Lustmord or Darkness Enshroud. Black Metal to us is a sacred art form, forged in the crucible of Cain, of those who are witches and practice anti-cosmic sorcery focused on the initiation into the black light of Lucifer. Black metal was never about conforming to the standards set by others, and this is what makes it unique. We are expressing something through our occultism that which those who are serious in their fields, such as Karl Eng, or Michael Ford express however our working tool is not a guitar or drum set, but human bones and power electronics.
Vinum: There is a certain feeling that can't be expressed with Black Metal as with Death Industrial and Black Ambient music. Ideologically, I think that these styles can by the right people delve deeper into the subconscious and people will automatically envision the night for we have set to open the gate into the mind, letting the listener journey into our world of our hatred and misanthropy.
- You say that Black Metal will have to delve into other musical styles to remain vital, but there has been a connection between Black Metal and synth music/ambient for years now, for example Fenriz and Satyr had their projects, as well as for example Ixithra (Demoncy) and Blood Moon Ausar (Dagon) in the USA. I do observe an increase in the amount of occult inspired Black Metalbands that also explore Ambient/Noise though, but I hope it won't become some kind of obligation/trend to have an ambient project. Anyway, what do you think is new then?
Marchözelös: There is no trend involved with this. In fact, most people view our art with disdain and since it does not conform to their ideas of what 'Black Metal' should be in terms of sound and visuals, do not bother to understand or inquire as to why we do what we do. It is true, Black Ambient has been explored in the past but how many of these bands exist today? Not many. Very few have enough of a serious mind or understanding of deeper subjects which Black Metal (I mean real Black Metal) deals with, to even listen to any experimental or dark arts other than that which deals with 'head-banging' and getting drunk. We are sick and tired of this filth, and there are many individuals who have been inspired by our work and insight who only now are creating black ambience, Death Industrial and ritual art. Because of the influence others and ourselves have created through our hard work a network of writers, thinkers and artists have contacted us and inspired us even more. There is no obligation towards this, and I think it would be far more of a copy out and an 'easy' way to simply go along with the crowd who desire the same tired formula with little to no inspiration in the output. Think of how many bands are following the trend of false Black Metal, writing 3 or 4 chord riffs and releasing uninspired work out of their bedrooms, and calling it 'Suicidal Black Metal'. Their experience in Ambient or experimental realms are limited to non existent, and any notion of this is merely scratching the surface due to being influenced by one or two Burzum Ambient tracks to fill out space in their albums.
It is absolutely necessary that Black Metal and Black Ambient styles of music only be created by individuals with a sincere occult knowledge and desire to create art instead of hang desperately to a label.
The connection you speak of has always existed , but this is due to the fact that those who are serious and those who strive for deeper gnosis into these areas actually are the same people we care to associate with and learn from whether it be by thoughts, words or action.
- All of your releases unto now are very limited, do you hope that in this way they'll only end up in the hands of people who are interested in more than merely the music? Aren't you afraid that they might end up on e-bay, being sold for way too much money?
Marchözelös: Up until now, we are the only ones who have promoted our art, including Vinum and myself, and as you yourself know, each release is packaged in a very personalized manner, with incense, candles, personalized rituals and sealed in wax. This would simply not be possible on a grander scale, however we are releasing a new split album with Miasma, which will be coming out any day on Black Plague Records in over 1000 copies and will definitely make a greater impact, at least in duplicates available. We still remain ourselves, and people simply have us. We sometimes lose sleep creating tapes, and packages and putting these rituals together, and sacrifice a lot of our personal and sometimes professional lives for this, whether it be with Gräuen Pestanz or creating spiritual works of art such as canvas paintings and corresponding with people by mail.
- Some Dark Ambient/Experimental acts have a high rate of releasing stuff, I sometimes wonder whether the quality of the works doesn't suffer from this. As Gräuen Pestanz has about 4 releases and 2 contributions to compilations coming up, I was wondering whether you also fit in this category? Or do you prefer to work slower and be sure of the quality of your releases?
Marchözelös: We have perhaps 50 unreleased hymns, which we never plan on releasing and have since thrown away and discarded since creating. This is due to the fact that Gräuen Pestanz will only release high quality ritual material, and we have been an entity since before 2004 with very little output due to this. We are, in a way, perfectionists, and unlike other so-called Ambient 'projects' (not all, just a good portion of them) we create 90% of our own samples, as well as record for many hours and sometimes days before releasing even one song we have created. I myself have a background as a trained classical musician and this was even before my experience with the current body of work that we are doing, and I suppose one of my setbacks is the fact that I am never satisfied with the output, at least not completely.
- You're doing a split album with Miasma, entitled 'Into the Fire of Isolation'
and I also read you're going to do a split with Camisole. When you do split releases
is it important for you that the band's concept is along the lines of that of Gräuen
Pestanz? Or is the atmosphere of the music more important?Marchözelös: Gräuen Pestanz will never compromise. If atmosphere is separated from the creation of the concept, then there is no atmosphere or concept involved. In fact, there would be nothing. We cannot allow ourselves to create anything which does not resonate with our ideology or beliefs and convictions. I only have the highest respect for Miasma, and their black wamphyric art. They are absolutely the essence of black metal.
- Please inform us about the Death Posture Ritualis Collectiv. What can we expect from it, what's the goal? Which writers, artists and/or musicians are taking part in this so far?
Marchözelös: Death Posture is a collective of spiritual minds working together to create chaos in form and art. We are completely against the stigmatisation of dogmas and 'rules' as well as undeveloped human carrion which really have no business creating anything in the first place (i.e. boring, typical pseudo Black Metal bands which sing songs about trees and nature, multiculturalism and have no understanding whatsoever on the matters that we concern ourselves with). So far we have aligned ourselves with Black Seas of Infinity for a future tape release with unique velvet pouch and bone cross packaging, Tunnels of Set for a multimedia painting/tape release, Satania from Demonic Christ (who is a poet, as well as a Black Ambient artist that will release a parchment ritual with us and hopefully tape), Michael Ford of Valefor and Black Funeral may contribute with ritual insights or limited booklets on occult matters, Corpus Principium with a 6 song demo tape featuring the talent of, A'ano'Nin , a very sincere individual involved in witchcraft and painting as well, Abhorath from Imynvokad will also release a to be announced Black Ambient tape through us as well as sigil work (he is a very talented artist). Vinum is a painter of abstract tastes who will be providing canvas work alongside myself in the surreal form. We have a lot of work to do, and our goal is the mastery of the self, stimulation of the creative self in its purest form. We are a collective of people sick and tired of the lifeless and uninspired 'Black' Metal scene, and modern 'culture' who in spite of the internet will create through analogue and ancient formats tapes and printed matter, as well as new and exciting occult works.
- Gräuen Pestanz is about death (amongst other subjects), what exactly does this mean for you? Do you feel contempt against life itself or do you rather view death as a teacher, for example like the shamans did, death as an initiation and renewal, when their body got ripped apart and put together in a new form by the spirits of the otherworld they brought wisdom with them when they returned to all day live.
Marchözelös: We hang on a thin balance between life and death, both however compliment each other in ways which are essential for the existence of the other. I agree with you here, in the aspect that death is a teacher and an initiator. Wisdom is something only the individual can answer, as we have moments of Gnosis during our ritual workings, however there are times when these things fade from our memory, and renew themselves again only when reawakened to these experiences.
Vinum: Death is a doorway to the next level of the Self, we are here for only
a moment before passing to the next world. The body is just a vehicle, where the soul
is travelling in the next cycle within the supernal realm.- You're using the sounds of bones in your music, do you mind whether it are human or animal bones? One could reason that it doesn't matter, as most probably the sounds would be the same, but then again if you add more symbolism to it, it might make a difference: death in general or specifically human death.
Marchözelös: We use human bones mainly, a human tibia and fibula as well as rib bones and a human skull drum with a goat skin created by myself. Some bones we utilize are animal bones, however the vast majority you hear on all recordings originate from a human body. The significance is that our shells hold an essence of the Self, created through Desire, and that which has been manipulated by the subconscious mind can act upon the clay of man in such a way as to build an astral bridge to the unknown. The skull is a fetish we have created in our rites with Ordo Veneficum Noctis.
- Gräuen Pestanz is going to be part of the "The Science of Magick, the Magick of Science" compilation which will be out on Sutekh Productions. This should be a double disc; one dedicated to ritual/magic music and the other to music revolving around science. On which CD will Gräuen Pestanz appear? What's your view on the relation between science and religion/belief? Lots of people seem to think they're opposites, but in a broad way their means are the same: exploring the unknown…
Marchözelös: I have not been informed by Sutekh Productions of the release date at this time, or the cd in which we will appear, but I am sure this will be revealed some time soon (perhaps this fall?). Science and Magick are two sides of the same coin. That which is not explained now, will certainly, contrary to the opinions of big headed pragmatists who do not know their left hand from their right (no pun intended here), be expounded upon in the future. Unfortunately, I do not believe that mankind will be fortunate enough to see the day of when these things are revealed. We are a very small speck in a grand universe that is impossible to conceive, even by "knowledgable" humans. Only the Self remains, nothing is true but this.
- Are you part of any other order next to the Ordo Veneficum Noctis? What do you think of bigger orders? As always one could have a twofold view: at the one hand they might attract a lot of like-minded individuals who can be interesting to communicate with, while on the other hand they might develop to be consisting of members who just like to talk and feel themselves special just because they're a part of this order (this is hypothetical, I don't have any specific order in mind).
Marchözelös: I am involved in deeper workings besides Ordo Veneficum Noctis, which is of the Black Order of the Dragon. Michael Ford is a dear friend of mine, and a great inspiration who's wisdom will always be cherished with me. "Orders" in and of themselves I take VERY lightly if you are referring to an ecclesiastical sense in terms of dogmas and restrictions. I will settle for no less than absolute freedom of opinion and belief when it comes to a concept of different covens and so forth. It needs to resonate with that which is inside my spirit (Satan), and does not conform to any one dogma.
- It's cool to see that you're going to play on the GoS, I had already wondered
before whether this gathering wouldn't be a good opportunity to also let Dark Ambient
projects perform. Being the only non-Black Metal band, isn't there a chance though
that a number of the crowd might not be interested in your performance? What do you
think of the other bands that are going to perform?Vinum: Those who are seriously into the occult will appreciate our dark nature for we come to perform for them.
- What are the required settings for a Gräuen Pestanz gigs? From what I heard your gigs are always very ritual-like. What's the main reason for playing life? I mean, when performing rituals before a crowd I guess there could be way more distractions than when you do it on your own. You also ask the crowd to participate in the rituals (at least for the GoS), but don't you think that when doing a gig, most people won't really know what you're talking about?
Marchözelös: Most people did not understand fully the concepts of the Death Posture Ritual, however, there was a seed planted that night we performed. There were some who felt the spirit of Hecate and a female form in the shadows move during our performance, and heard voice phenomena during the event. We opened some minds to the possibility of growth within an individual path of the Left Hand, and this is our goal. It destroys, confuses and sows discord to those who are uninitiated which, believe me, certainly did. What was attained was a powerful reaching into the subconscious mind and tearing away the frail form of the ego during this, which was dangerous in and of itself. Many people opened their minds to the concepts of Black Ambient/Ritual Industrial musick and had a deeper appreciation for what the concepts of Black Metal began with, and we abide by, that of the Luciferian spirit and a strength of Will, which is beautiful in the darkness.
Vinum: no comment.
-Will Gräuen Pestanz ever play the Black Metal tracks in a live situation?
Vinum: In the past this was alive with us, we are developing around our rituals in such a way that we would not be able to do this live due to the level of concentration needed in our trances and meditations which require most of our attention, rather than on playing a guitar or drums which would take more of our energy from the atmosphere inside of us. We are trying to capture a dark current that is simply not possible for us to manifest in a live setting as within the Dark Ambient region it is more possible and stronger.
- You're also having an occult Darkwave/Industrial project under the name Corpus Principium, please tell us a bit more about it's influences, other members, upcoming releases. How does the concept of this project differ from Gräuen Pestanz? Does Vinum have any other projects?
Marchözelös: Corpus Principium is myself, Vinum and A'ano'Nin respectively. We play a very left hand path inspired Darkwave and Gothic (in the true sense of the word) art. Our influences occult wise are the same as Gräuen Pestanz, that being the works of Austin Osman Spare, Michael Ford, Sheridan Le Fanu, Mary Shelley, Byron, Baudelaire, Archaelus Baron, et al. and other writers and thinkers. Musically we are influenced by bands such as Malign, Darkness Enshroud, Kill Sister Kill, Xorcist, Radio Werewolf, Akrabu and other dark, poetic artists that cross our path and conception as dealing with the darkness in an intelligent manner and focusing on the spirit of the Self as opposed to Ego, that of union instead of opposition in the spirit of Samael and Lilith as one within Cain. The concept is very similar in attributes and feeling to that of our main band, however we felt a need for a sincere darkness of mind and spirit, that which if you observe is lacking in the Gothic/Industrial subculture as well as Black Metal. Darkness is found in many different shades and expressions, and this is a strong focus point for us as well.
Vinum is an artist, and focuses heavily on abstract concepts dealing with the subconscious mind, futurism and the occult, as far as other projects besides both the aforementioned at the time only the Death Posture Collectiv.
- Have you heard any of the other releases in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonium series? Any comments?
Marchözelös: I have heard the release by Haz-Mat which deals with another goetic spirit entitled "Amduscias, as a Unicorn", and I was very pleased with the way the sounds and atmospheres were utilized to create such an authentic and interpretive invocation of the Spirit, from what is obviously an initiate's point of influence and view. I am looking forward to hearing the interpretation of "Furfur, raising thunderstorms" by Simulacra which should prove also evocative in the essence and form of the Sigil of sounds.
- These are the questions, hope you found them satisfactory. If there's anything
that you feel that still has to be said:Marchözelös: Gräuen Pestanz is the spirit of night, that which moves and breathes within the corpse of the wamphyr as it rests in its habliments of the grave. Happy are they who come to the feast of the Varcolaci, to prey on the sleeping human in the form of that which is the true Self.
On a final note, we have a new member, A'ano'Nin, who is as a Succubus to those who would hear her call, and embraces the concepts which are spiritually within our natures to strive for. She will be featured on future releases which will be named later.
Also, for information about Death Posture as a collective or to participate in this movement of artists, writers, poets, and thinkers, contact me at deathpostureritualis@yahoo.com or veneficum@gmail.com. Thank you for the interview, and I do apologize for the delay.
Links of interest:
Gräuen Pestanz
Gräuen Pestanz myspace
Black Plague Records