Vargsriket is using their imagination

interview with Vargsriket

VARGSRIKET exist since June 1st 2001. Since then we have played 7 Gigs only of which 2 were Underground gigs, the rest have been support gigs of Dark Funeral, Siebenbürgen, Hollenthon, Graveworm, Gorerotted and else.
March 2002 we decided to record our CD ’Satanic Execution Commando Vargsriket - DCLXVI CSBM’ that should meet our standards in any possible way. Up till now our work has earned the best reviews we could imagine, also we have reached a very high popularity concerning live performance so we permanently get invitations to festivals and gigs.
VARGSRIKET do not support politics or religion in ANY way. We are dealing with a World War ONE Image as we consider it the only one suitable for our music.

interview with -|-DRAUG-|- and -|-GRYM-|- on 9-9-2002

Please give us a short introduction of yourself?
-|-DRAUG-|-
The roots of VARGSRIKET date back to 95 when -|-GRYM-|- and myself started the band. We were into some kind of raw and primitive Black Metal not unlike the first outputs IMPALED NAZARENE. This is what we conserved over the years. A short time after we had started the band our drummer quit the scene and we dedicated ourselves onto other musical activities as we could not find anybody who really fit our needs.
In spring 01 we got the chance to play together with -|-TRU-|- and so we did. The result of our work last year is what can be heard on “Satanic Execution Commando Vargsriket‰.

Why do BM musicians use nicknames? Part of the image?
-|-DRAUG-|-
I do not see any need for anybody to know my name. Who cares about names? The people ought to focus on the music and not names. Concerning image, well, we are all used to seeing people use pseudonymes instead of civil names, but I think seen from this point of view it can be taken as a part which just belongs to the music, but the term image goes far beyond some more or less worthless names or titulations.

-|-GRYM-|-:
Black Metal is a music dealing with athmosphere, and everything is, or should be connected to each other. Our real names would never fit into that, and as -|-DRAUG-|- said – nobody should be interested in them. Most musician, also in Pop Music, use nicknames – also because they are easier to remember.

Why did you choose to play BM? Ever tried to play other styles?
-|-DRAUG-|-
All of us have been playing and especially studying music since more than 15 years and of course we got in touch with several kinds of music. BM is a way for us to express certain feelings, energy and aggression. You are able to do so playing BM like in no other genre. Perhaps some good old thrash metal did, but this is our personal way to face the people to a mirror presenting our message wrapped into a heavy skeleton of music which fits the content of our lyrics really well.

-|-GRYM-|-:
I wanted to play Black metal before I started my musical career in other bands. That&Mac226;s also the same story about the very first beginnings of our band. My personal feelings are strongly connected to this kind of music, and now, as things are going much easier, I could realize those feelings more than ever. Black Metal is the best way to express hate and aggression, at least the way we play it. We could play almost any other style if we wanted, but we chose Black Metal as it is in our hearts.

You play Christ Shredding Black Metal and don't support religion? But why do you call it Christ Shredding than?
-|-DRAUG-|-:
Christianity is the kind of religion that has corrupted our culture in the center of Europe for about 1800 years. So we are really well familiar with the what and the how behind this community. We do not support their kind of world politics and views. There is no difference if you compare christianity to the other world religions, but as I said we are the most familiar with christianity so we used this term as metaphor for all.

-|-GRYM-|-:
Right. Christianity is our closest link to falseness and moral/social corruption in many ways, especially if people have money. With that expression we want to show our attitude towards religious fever fantasies. Christian Religion is and has always been the most contradictive religion we've come across. Just examine the monotheistic view – people do not pray to GOD but to Mother Mary and Jesus Christ. So christian belief is just a matter of education.

How much make up do you use per month? What is your fav brand and why?
-|-DRAUG-|-:
We're not running around like some gothic motherfuckers, so we do not have a big consumption of make up. We present ourselves at selected gigs we play at with war paint, but we played some shows more in some kind of old Slayer like outfit. You know what I mean - Kerry King anno 1984 or old Possessed etc. harharhar

-|-GRYM-|-:
We use some special theater makeup that is produced in Vienna exclusively. Most resistant agains litres of sweat on stage, hehehe

-|-DRAUG-|-:
I will have to differentiate between my absolute fav. band or my faves as far as VARGSRIKET is concerned. My alltime fav. band is IRON MAIDEN. My Faves as far as bands which might have had an influence on our work with VARGSRIKET is concerned are old Marduk – their “Opus Nocturne‰ album is one of the best BM albums ever done. You can find a well balanced mixture of aggression, melody, coldness and hymnic elements on this album. This makes it really special. Then we all adore Impaled Nazarene because of their straight aggression. Darkthrones “Transsilvanian Hunger‰ and “Panzerfaust‰ have the most hateful and nihilistic feeling which I really like, but there is an uncountable number of other releases I really like. Sadly there are not too many good new releases in this genre.

-|-GRYM-|-:
Speaking for myself, Impaled Nazarene are the only band I've ever really concentrated in this genre. I've been listening to Marduk's “Opus Nocturne‰ as well, and some old Emperor stuff.

You consider WWI images the right one. Why not WWII?
-|-GRYM-|-:
We tried to connect a visual concept to our music. This is neither medieval nor modern warfare, so we chose something in between. As we wanted to avoid the connection to NSBM we chose the WWI image that would historically fit our style. In a way this attempt didn't really work out, as in our country the NS paranoia is still so high, even the slightest parallel to that time, even if it's just B/W photographs is connected to this time.

Do you have militairy service in Austria? Have you served the army? What did you think of it?
-|-GRYM-|-:
Of course we have military service here, but none of us has done it or is going to do it. It is a sheer waste of time and would hold our band activities down completely. And as long as we can have long hair we're not going to sacrifice it to a bunch of pot smoking dorks that are too drunk to puke, to guns that don't shoot straight anymore from cleaning them all the wile, to playing hide-and-seek in the woods wasting money on firework ammo and other bullshit we'll have forgotten a few weeks after. Nobody will train something effectly that completely pisses him off, and that's what 95 percent of the people think about the army. The only effective army can be a professional army or a freshly trained one. We fight a war different to what people usually associate with it. We are no war freaks, we just use metaphors for extreme thoughts. Nowadays people will only react to extremes and that is what we want to get across.

What is your favorite war movie and why?
-|-GRYM-|-:
I personally prefer Gladiator. It's not a war movie in particular, but it shows well all the sides a war, even if it's just a personal one. It has a very intense, almost irritating soundtrack and a very impressive scenery. The main character has all characteristics of a warrior but also of a human, which makes the whole movie more natural. Good war movies are also Stalingrad, Enemy At The Gate and The Bridge Of Arnheim. I do not appreciate heroism like Rambo, cheap propaganda Vietnam Movies and other bullshit.

Are there any other topics you are interested in? Something that has nothing to do with music?
-|-DRAUG-|-
We are all interested in what we do. I mean we all are people with a civil life and interests. There is a wide range of interests but the most of them are scientifical in one way or another. If you want to point to occultism with your question, I can say that we have dealt with it a lot in order to gain knowledge. When you want to talk about something you have to get into it and achieve some knowledge about it, else you should better keep your mouth shut.

-|-GRYM-|-:
I personally am into artwork, computers and science, also some latin and english literature.

Does the music on ’Satanic Execution...’ differ from the music when you started?
-|-DRAUG-|-
When we started back in 95 everything was more primitive and amateurish. We have gained a lot of skills and abilities playing with in other bands in the meantime. But our roots were remarkable also back then. Anyway we will not release any of the old rehearsal tapes.

How do you create the songs? Any structure like writing lyrics first and then music?
-|-GRYM-|-:
It's always different. Whenever I've time for myself and can concentrate on thoughts, especially when I'm pissed off I develop both things in mind at the same time. Not exactly, but the basic concept. Then I for myself or all of us are getting things together. Mostly I write one whole text with music in my mind. I think it works the same way with -|-DRAUG-|-'s songs.

-|-DRAUG-|-:
Yes, normally for me the music has to exist before I write lyrics. Usually music gets out of my mind when I am in the right mood. I do not want to design it, I want to feel and express it! This is, what makes it a lot more intense, powerful AND honest!

Do you write the lyrics with help of literature, movies etc? Or just your imagination?
-|-GRYM-|-:
We use our imagination only. I try to put everything together in verses, so sometimes I'm forced to bend words a bit. But these are better going with the music, so I take the obstacle.

Are you used with the EURO? Do you think it is an improvement?
-|-DRAUG-|-:
We HAVE to be used to it. Seen from an economical point of view some advantages result out of it also for people going abroad privately. The advantage I can get from it is, when I go abroad that I can easily compare prices with what we've got here. But what has to be said is that sometimes it seems like the Euro has been set up to get the economy around here a possibility to heighten the prices. This is what certainly cannot be seen as an improvement for the consumer.

-|-GRYM-|-:
Nothing to add. I hate it – instead of notes we're carrying tons of coins. Whoever shithead had the idea – must have been a smoker&Mac183;.

Do you travel to foreign countries? Do you like traveling for work or holiday?
-|-DRAUG-|-
Some concerts outside Austria are planned so we are getting around a little. At the moment we cannot afford to travel for personal pleasure as we invest anything we can afford into our musical work. But we like getting around because not at last it enlarges ones personality.

What is your satanic daily job? What do your colleges think of you playing BM?
-|-DRAUG-|-:
I am studying business informatics, -|-GRYM-|- is a graphics designer (what can be seen at all our masterful artwork) and as well as a guitar student. -|-TRU-|- studies technical mathematics. The schools do not care about what we do in our privacy and certainly our music does not belong into any college or something. What I do in my sparetime is not of any concern for my imployer, teacher or whoever that I do not want to know it.

-|-GRYM-|-:
Well, many of the people I work with know what I'm doing. But as people know me, they're more interested in what we're doing than they are afraid of it. Noone comes in touch with metal music, especially extreme Metal, so this is so far beyond most peoples understanding and knowledge, they don't get the least of it. At least nobody has condemned me for my satanic lifestyle it until now – if you explain what you're doing in words they can understand, they DO understand and accept it. So there's not much concerning Satan in our jobs, it just has a good side effect – I can do any satanic artwork I want to do, hehehe

What is the general attitude towards metal people in Austria?
-|-DRAUG-|-
The normal citzen does not care about it as the the common citizen does not care about the existence of BM or whatever, to them it is Hard Rock. Sometimes the media mention names of bands making them the scapegoats if again some fuckhead freaks out and kills some people. This also does not improve the opinion about metal music in the public in general. That's the way it is.

-|-GRYM-|-:
Generally we are seen as antiosocial, leftist drug addicts with lice on their heads. It just depends on the way you dress. But It looks like people get used to us and learn to accept that metal people are different, but not worse than others.
But it looks like everything is breaking down again, looking at gig locations: as some drunk idiots keep fucking around with people, ruin stuff and equipment, all locations in Vienna except for two have banned metal from their stages. It doesn't bring an money and they always have to be afraid of vandalism. So don't ask anymore. This image will stay in the people's heads forever, so underground gigs are an endangered species already in Vienna.

The CD is very professional done. Is this important for you to get in the picture? -|-GRYM-|-: We're all doing this for quite a time, so we decided to release a GOOD recording or nothing at all. This is a matter of musical honour. We also avoided cuts as much as possible, as cutting takes the flow out of a song. So we used all of our ability and knowledge to put something together that we, from a perfectionist point of view, would consider well done. We're very critical about music, so we had to stick to a high standard anyway.

What about the bands who say it is real BM to have a bad sound, bad artwork etc?
-|-GRYM-|-:
We didn't want to bring up a bad sound, because we personally prefer a good sound, and just for fitting into an image we wouldn't produce a LIE. The “true‰ bands like Darkthrone or Mayhem had a bad sound because they had no other possibility. It sure creates some sort of athmosphere, but not with our style of playing. I try to bring my guitar riffs as clearly as possible, and with a bad sound this would have been completely wasted, just as the bass and Drums are all played very lively and everything is composed carefully, so why waste our work to an image?

Who do you consider as the founding fathers of BM?
-|-DRAUG-|-
Despite the fact that Venom released a record called ’Black Metal’ they are not BM to me. Doubtlessly Bathory were the first who played some sound that can be seen as the base for what BM stands for today. Nevertheless I think that it is up to every band to do their own thing and I postulate that this is what we did in our music.

Say the most evil sentence you can imagine?
-|-GRYM-|-:
Haha, man, I don't know what you think, but we're no freakin' evil clown posse. Hate, war, not even Satan has to be connected to an ’evil’ image. So whatever we would say would sound ridiculous now anyway, harhar

Last rites?
-|-GRYM-|-:
Well, thanks for the introduction to the scene in Netherland. Visit our website, download our MP3s and make your own picture – we have all existing material linked, this should be sufficient to answer some remaining questions. If somebody's interested - we still have some CDs in stock, but a few only, so we're looking for a label that might do an official re-release. We'll try to get to The Netherlands as soon as possible, when we play at the Frontline in Belgium, we'll also try to come to the Batcave. If anybody has other ideas, please come up with them!
Eternal Hate
Band:
Interviewer: twansibon
Sep 9, 2002

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