With the metal scene on a meteoric rise not seen since the early 80’s, death metal veterans Belphegor have just released Conjuring the Dead. In an era of albums being lost in the fringe, this is one you need to be aware of. This is the band’s first album since lead-singer, Helmuth’s, life-threatening bout with typhoid fever. After his overcoming of the disease he has been taking things slow. However, you won’t find too much slowing down on the new album. With heavy thrashing and melodic riffs galore Belphegor is back in full-swing and we at RockRevolt got to chat a bit with the band. Here’s what they had to say.
Being 20+ year industry veterans, what new elements do you bring with your upcoming release Conjuring the Dead?
We’ve marched under the banner of Death/ Black Metal brutality since the beginning. We always did our own thing. That’s why we’ve survived this long and still release and create intense Musick.
I wanted to have a more Death Metal approach on this Lp, more edgy, raw and of course brutal, all the typical Belphegor trademarks. It was time to return to our roots..
I never worked so hard on another release. I always had in the back of my mind, and feared after my life-threatening illness, it could be the last Belphegor album. So I didn’t want to fukk around, I wanted do things absolutely right. We had to delay it a few times as I was recovering from the difficult surgery which saved my life. It was kinda frustrating to get knocked out for almost ten months. I had always been very active and for this first time my body had shown me limits. With Erik Rutan at the helm of production and contributing great ideas, pushing us to be better than ever before, we are victorious! Conjuring the Dead was a tough raid, can’t wait til it gets released and I have my physical Album in my hands. That’s always a very special moment to me, then I get to see all the hard work, the sweat the sacrifice, that it all was worth it.
With the American metal scene just as prevalent as it was in the 80’s what do you bring to the scene that others cannot?
I don’t care about scenes, not today nor before, would be a waste of time. We did face a lot of censorship in the beginning, though. Everything was more brutal and obscene as we started. Nowadays extreme musick is polished, melodic mainstream crap. The spirit went to the dogs a long time ago thanks to those sell-outs. We still do what we always did…glorify Death musick.
Belphegor is still brutal and consistent, rolling in worldwide like a world war tank. Global Metal Propaganda.
We always do what the fukk we want, there is nobody in this world who decide for us personally, nor the band. We make our own decisions, walk our own paths, we won’t kneel or crawl.
This is Belphegor, not a mainstream band full of marketing marionettes and asskissers who please their company/manager what the fukk ever.
Which current genre-mates would you most like to play with at the moment?
I’ve already had the honor to tour with most bands I adore. Fave bands list would be endless man, i open minded when it came to Metal/ Rock whatever sounds. Guitar Musick is Magick!
Any future plans for a U.S. tour to promote the new album?
Yes, mid-September through mid-October we’re doing our 9th North American raid. For the first time we will headline a full tour in the US. It will be great to return and conquer the states again. Direct support is from our Greek Metal brothers in Rotting Christ, Beheaded from Malta and Svart Crown from France are also a part of the bill.
In Europe we concentrate on festivals for 2014-2015. We are doing approximately 20 open airs and indoor festivals this year. Norway, Sweden, Jakarta, France, Germania are already successfully conquered. There is a lot coming on the map like Japan, China, South Africa. Always great to march into new territories, big challenges. At the end of the year, a festival tour through South America.
Each Belphegor concert is a surprise man, we are known for brutal stage rituals, and still celebrate Diabolical Death Metal.
Helmuth, how has touring/recording been for you since your unfortunate bout with typhoid fever?
I had to slow down. for months I couldn’t play longer than lets say 1-2 hours of guitar. That was tough to deal with. Normally when I go into composing mode, I play over seven or eight hours a day without end. I’m possessed when it comes to these things. For the first time, my body showed me borders and how fast it can be that your life can fully change within a few days, or worse, how easily it can end instantly. I have to take better care of myself.
There were many setbacks during the writing and recording due to my recovery which resulted in a few delays.
We do approximately 60 shows this year instead of 120+. Good thing is that we can prepare better and only take shows what we really want to do. I also don’t do that +2 months touring anymore. My health will just not allow it anymore. I have take much better care of my body.
The first show after I returned to stage, I concentrated only on my guitar work. It was to, let’s say, “hope” to survive a show, but it was three open airs in a row. So it was kind of exhausting for my wounded body. I have to admit that we made a lot of mistakes, but it was the only way to get into it again. And I survived, harr. I always lived by the “no risk – no fun” rule, so yeah, I did it and came back step by step, till I could also handle the lead vokills again.
Have you found a new permanent guitarist to join the ranks as a member of such an iconic black-metal band?
Sometimes the press labels us as black metal band and I never understood that. The death metal elements have always been clearly prominent. I see Belphegor as Diabolical Death Troop, I have since the very beginning.
When we begin a new album the masterplan is to develop, get even more intense, keep the fire burning. We’ve rolled in with this formation since mid 2006. It’s great, we can always bring some fresh blood in the troop who are full of energy and develop the band’s live rituals while the core members stay.
It isn’t easy to get dedicated musicians. I mean, we demeánd a lot musick-wise and on a personal level. We recruit only real metalheads. I don’t want to work and travel with people that dont listen to the musick we glorify. That would feel wrong.
Do you find, among your fans, that it’s better to stick with what you know musically or experiment and try to change things up?
We always experiment a lot but typical trademarks remain. I´ll tell you a little about the new songs:
“The Eyes” is an intermezzo. It calms everything down after the first five brutal sound collages. I played the classic acoustic guitar and over that, you hear a lead guitar screaming. After “The Eyes”, we start with this technical Death monster entitled “Legions of Destruction” . For “Rex Tremendae Majestatis” we added a lot classical tones in the guitar department. The title is taken from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s last composition, “Requiem”. He wrote it in his deathbed. He knew he would die soon. It shows how good artists can get when they feel threatened, or know their time is up! The song has influences by this composition when it comes to the intensity of the atmosphere. I have to be careful with such statements, I don’t want to be, as often as it happens, misinterpreted. I’m not a composer like Mozart; he was a genius. But this track is exactly what I felt, which my aim was, as I started creating “Rex Tremendae Majestatis” and when I listen to “Requiem”.
The outro/epilogue of “Pactum in Aeternum”, all played with nature instruments, most self-made. A lot of parts there are played with real bones ( humans and animals), menacing and dark! They were created by Kramatch, an archaic cave band from Austria.
“In Death” is about my return on stage and front my band again, my experience with dancing with the dead. It’s a fast forward Thrash Metal track, with very old school –straight in your face- Death Metal.
On “Flesh, Bones, and Blood” we also touched a new territory. The track comes with an industrial feeling and Slam Death Metal guitars, with an ritual atmosphere in the chorus.
While high speed massacres like “Black Winged Torment” and “Gasmask Terror” are typical Belphegor. tracks. “Black Winged Torment” is with our beloved “Lucifer Incestus” our fastest song we ever wrote. It will be devastating in a live situation.
WOW! With a strong social media presence how has that changed things for the band when it comes to things like illegal downloads or on the positive end, opening new avenues for old fans and new to discover your music and connect with the band on a more personal level?
I don’t spend too much time on social media but I recognize its importance to musick these days. If it helps people discover Belphegor and turns them into maniakks who will come to our shows and support us, then it’s great.
BELPHEGOR – Conjuring The Dead (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
[embedplusvideo height=”300″ width=”600″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/XRTChG” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/x09sTIjual8?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=x09sTIjual8&width=600&height=300&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep9883″ /]
With your 20th year anniversary on the brink, do you have any major new and exciting plans for it?
The new LP’s digipack contains a bonus DVD, with a running time over 70 minutes, for die-hard Belphegor soldiers it’s a must have. It’s a sort of 20 year anniversary thing and a thank you to our supporters.
You get to see studio, recording making of’s, Metal traveling through Austria and Czech Republic, a guide through our rehearsal cave bunker. Mr.Swinefever, our watchpig outside of our rehearsal room, and six live tracks. Of course the new video clip with Makani Terror, a known fetish/tattoo model from Germany, is included as well.
Maybe a re-release of an old album to take it back to your roots?
First off, we never denied our roots, never split up nor sold out…still marching on and on, destroying everything in our way. Sure, some things on the older albums could be improved, we’ve developed a lot as musicians, but I don’t believe in re-recording them.
We will release the first three Belphegor full lengths in 1 box end 2014 or early 2015! There’s a lot of demand since those albums are rarely available in shops.
For now we promote Conjuring the Dead and this strong offering gets all of our attention.
I also want to say thank you to the people who listen to our records, buy merch at the shows, and all who attend Belphegor live rituals. Invade your local record stores and pick up Conjuring the Dead! Support our legacy, support Belphegor!!
