Can you tell me a little bit of the history of the band?
The band was created in 1990 from the ashes of speed/thrash/death metal bands GENOCIDE (1988) and ASFYXIA (1989). We have recorded 4 demos, one CD, one 7"ep, some compilations, and we have edited 3 T-shirts up to now.
I know that your CD "Arsenal of Glory" was released a while ago....are you preparing new material ? When is it going to be ready?
Yes, we are going to enter the studio in August, when our guitarist comes back from Australia. It has been more than two years since we have had everything ready: lyrics, music and art. We are only waiting for the recording label´s money to book the dates in studio, here in Virginia.
Why did you decided to include your 1994 demo in "Arsenal of Glory" as bonus tracks?
It was the decision of SEMPITERNAL PRODUCTIONS to include our third demo on this CD. The guy liked very much the demo and he wanted to put it with our fourth demo 'Arsenal of Glory'. The demos and the CD are totally sold out. HORROR RECORDS has almost sold all the 666 copies of the 7"ep too; I think there must be less than 40 copies left.
Is the new record going to be released through Sempiternal Productions or do you have a contract with other label?
No, we have signed a deal with DRAKKAR PRODUCTIONS from France, the next 2 CD/LP will be released through this label. The new record is going to be called 'Incorrigible Bigotry' and will have the following songs: 'Flogging the Cargo', 'Archaic Invincibility', 'The Purging Fires of War', 'The Impious Savant', 'Quelling the Simian Surge', 'Hereditary Taint'.
How do you see the evolution of the band between "Galloping through the battle ruins" and "Arsenal of Glory"?
Well, 'Arsenal of Glory' was released in 1996 as a demo really before 'Galloping Through The Battle Ruins', that was released in 1998. I think that 'Arsenal...' was something that we did with a concept in our heads, that is, all the songs were related. 'Galloping...' was our first CD, and we included songs from our four demos plus some new ones, so, even if it is a clear example and representative of what we are, it failed in tying all the songs together. The next CD/LP will have a better continuity, will be completely unmistakable, we can´t wait.
Are you going to rerelease someday on CD the 1991 demo "The Entity", 1992 demo "Bastard Son of One Thousand Whores" and the EP "Troops of Unfeigned Might" ?
I don´t think so, maybe we will record some song from those old demos for a 7"ep, as we did with one song from th 'Troops of Unfeigned Might' 7"ep; the song 'Jaws of the Furnace' originally appeared in the demo 'Bastard Son...',but I doubt that someone would like to put that demos on that format, because the sound is really underground, recorded on 4 tracks and you know that today those guys want only the best quality.
How has your music changed compared to when you started the band in 1990?
The music has not changed too much since our beginnings. Maybe now the lyrics are batter organized, or maybe we have a better understanding of the composing process.We see progress as something negative in this type of music. I know bands that use the excuse of "progress" to change their style completely and sell out like a whore...You only have to take a looka a bands like SAMAEL, TIAMAT, or THE GATHERING to see that they betray their underground roots to make a living of their music, a totally rotten act in our view. This bands appeared because thay had a big quantity of followers in the underground taht were mistakenly thinking that they were supporting an ultra heavy band dedicated to profanation, when they were only using people to become rock stars. Fuck Them!!! When SAMAEL came to Washington to play in their first US Tour, they did not play a fucking song of their demo, not even of their 7"ep, or first CD!! TIAMAT was called TREBLINKA and that was a really brutal and satanic band. ARGHOSLENT remains faithful to its extreme anti-life metal style, dedicated to social negativity, and pro everything that scum that mankind is...Our furious and bitter sound is a fingerprint, we can not change it.
How do you see the black metal / death metal scene now compared to the one that existed in the beginning of the nineties?
The scene is completely saturated and with bands that don´t have anything new to offer, and nothing to do with DEATH METAL. All the scene died completely in 1994, since then it has been only a false, platic, poser entity full of people with socio-political attitudes. How can a band be calles DEATH METAL singing about social problems like poverty, unemployment. Politicians and nature? How can this be? The problem is that the DEATH METAl feeling was not recognized by a lot of the assholes that flood the scene today. I don´t pretend to do friends through the underground and I never did. A friendship based only in the liking of the same musical style is kind of ridiculous, I think. I don´t know, I have found that the 'heavy' or 'metalheads' are usually drugaddicts and alcoholics; why should I be a friend of them? DEATH METAL is about an attitude, the violence, the intolerance, the anti Judeo-Christianity. When we started this battle more than ten years ago, perhaps I had a less negative attitude, but it didn´t took so long to create this way of thinking. EI South America, specailly, DEATH METAL (not to be mistaken as thrash/heavy/speed) has taken the place of the PUNK/HARDCORE movement, used as an anti-system alternative, through which you can express de frustration with the governement, with the police, with capitalismo and the lack of civil rights. I say it again, the TRUE FUCKING DEATH METAL has nothing to do with this!!!
Which are your influences and the ones of the other members of the band?
Most of the time we are listening to extreme bands as PANTHEON, FANG, CORPUS ROTTUS, NEGATIVE APPROACH, R.K.L., GOATPENIS, DWARVES, URBAN WASTE, VOID, ROOT, JERRY'S KIDS, ANTEAUS, UNBORN-SF, BLOOD FEAST, ZEMIAL, ABOMINOG, V.O.N., NO REMORSE, THE EXPLOITED, COUNTESS, REAGAN YOUTH, UTIMATUM, THUNDERBOLT. Particularly, Kommando (bass) listens to NUNSLAUGHTER, CRUCIFIER, MASTEMA (Fra), WALLACHIA, KING DIAMOND, BATHORY, DESTRUCTION, CORONER. Von Demonicus (vocals) listens EDGE OF SANITY, DISSECTION, STARS & STRIPES, SKREWDRIVER, MORBID ANGEL. The Marauder (guitar) listens DARKTHRONE, SATYRICON, MASTER'S HAMMER, VADER, BURZUM. I listen RAZOR, POSSESSED, CARNIVORE, VIO-LENCE, ADL 122, VAGINAL JESUS, SPEAR OF LONGINUS, AUTOPSY, BARATHRUM, CHAOS 88.
Which equipment do you use live and in studio?
I don´t know, we don´t have that much, we always use the things of other people, we have not play a gig since 1998, it is senseless in front of the scum that comes to see us. The studio usually has equipments that everybody usesu..
What happened with the Wood-Nymph label? Which troubles happened with it?
The label was in bankrupcy because their previous bands had a problem with the distribution of their CD's. They were boicoted in Germany and many places in Europe. When it arrive the turn for us to be distribute, the label was already fucked up and it had no exit. They left the scene completely with a lot of hate to the left-winged hippies that boicoted it. The CD 'Galloping...' was only released in 1000 limited copies, the first 200 copies included rat bones in the plastic box. There are labels interested in rereleasing the debut CD, we´ll see what happens.
What do you think about the fact that religions who preach things like "Thou shalt not kill" have ended, ironically, causing a lot of the wars historically? How do you see the fact that man always wants to impose his ideas over the others even through violence?
Well, obviously religions have been used for the interest of kings, politicians, etc... But I think that violence is the only way to impose changes and I am pro discipline through violence, I don´t support hipocritical religions that profess the contrary. Something that we all can coincide is in the weakness of religion. But there are times when I think that today liberals, that support organizations like AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL or GREEN PEACE, are not different from jesuitas or preachers, trying to force their humanitarian and of social equity ideas to the rest of the world. Every person wants to feel like he is doing something good for humanity, but in reality, that person is only dreaming. Idealists are going to suffer, human life means nothing. The effort will be in vain, traitors will not have other option than praying, like every weak man does in the end. Our music tries to capture dos feelings of cowardy, suffering, torture and war. The songs grab you by the balls and they never let you go until you shit in your trousers. This music can only be extreme, there is no other way.
Something more that you want to add?
Our next CD will be released through DRAKKAR PRODUCTIONS in France and DRAKKAR VINLAND (Canadá) in America. We don´t recommend it to nobody. A vinyl edition LP will be available through a german or spanish label, only for coleccionists. Bands interested in trades should only send their material to our address, we have been doing this for eleven years, don´t be afraid. If you are a frustrated hippie, do us a favor and kill yourself now, stop bothering people around you, nobosy wants you, FUCK OFF AND DIE!!! HAIL THE ARGHOSLENT KOMMANDO!! FUCK YOUR PETITIONS AND PHILANTHROPY!!
ARGHOSLENT,
P.O. Box 393
Oakton, VA 22124
USA
E-mail:
arghoslent@hotmail.com
ARGHOSLENT - DISCOGRAPHY
The Entity - Demo (1991)
Bastard Son of One Thousand Whores - Demo (1992)
The Imperial Clans - Demo (1994)
Arsenal of Glory - Demo (1996)
Galloping Through the Battle Ruins - CD (1998)
Troops of Unfeigned Might - 7´´ EP (2000)
Incorrigible Bigotry - CD (2001)
ACTUAL LINEUP
Pogrom - guitars
Kommando - bass
Von Demonicus - vocals
The Marauder - guitars
