Arka Saha conducted this interview with SHAXUL of MANZER just before putrid ascendancy's year-ending ritual - pictavian necromancy featuring Pictavian Black Metallers MANZER, Kalikshetra Death Hordes NECRODEITY along with Occult Death Metallers - BANISH, Brutish Death Act- OBLITERATING VORTEX, Harsh Black Metallers - GRIM OF CATASTROPHIA, Spiritual Black Metallers - THE INFERNAL DIATRIBES! Check it out if you are interested to know about MANZER as well as about their KVLTKATA invasion!
1. Greetings from the unholy cult of
Putrid Ascendancy! Manzer unleashes its ruthless assault on the Kolkata
underground on the 14th of December for the first time. What do you
have in store for your followers here and for those faithful to the extreme
underground here?
Infernal
hails from the forgotten valleys of Pictavia! Our set will be made of classic
MANZER headbanging songs along with brand new songs for those craving for more!
As we are allowed to play our full set in Kolkata, you can even expect a song
from our forthcoming second full length album and some covers too.
2.I personally felt certain influences in your
music which are characteristic of bands like Motorhead, Bathory, Exhumer, Venom
etc. What assemblage of influences birthed the unholy alliance that Manzer has
come to be?
You
are right, we are inspired by these bands. We wanted to go back to the roots of
Black Metal, and Metal in general, especially the glorious 80's era. I could
mention those bands as our influences : VENOM, SABBAT, MOTÖRHEAD, IRON MAIDEN,
NWOBHM, BATHORY, JAN DO FIAO, ABIGAIL, KILLERS, ATOMIZER, CARNIVORE, NME,
BULLDOZER, IMPALED NAZARENE…
3. Armee de la mort Records/LO have
been going from strength to strength, releasing bands from obscure corners
of the world. Followers of the cult would like to know more about the label and
why it has taken an interest in nurturing extreme metal from Asian Countries?
The
label was born in 2001. I was fed up with all the trends in the so-called
western world. People were not even aware of what was going on in other
countries or continents. So the concept for LEGION OF DEATH Records is to
support bands from underrated scenes, like the Asian continent for example. I
always thought that bands out there have more dedication and sincerity in what
they do, it's often very difficult to keep your band alive in bad social and
economical conditions. While most people in Europe are blasé and bored, there
are crazy die-hard maniaks in Asia, or South America etc... Of course there are
trends too, they're everywhere, but there are also honest bands offering some
killer Metal, full of integrity and respect to the roots and all classic bands.
4. What are your opinions on modern Black
Metal?
This
is complete crap. This got so far from the original style that it became
ridiculous. Inside the whole Metal genre, this is the most infected style,
polluted and corrupted by awful trends. Look at all those sub-genres :
Religious, NS, Post, Symphonic, Cascadian, etc... We vomit on this circus. But
I'm not saying Black Metal is dead, don't get me wrong! The valuable ones are
but a few, and they deserve support for surviving among a cesspool of trends.
5. We would like to know about the extreme
metal scene in France. How does it compare to its European neighbors when it
comes to underground extreme metal?
France
is plagued by trends. The difference is that it seems we have the gayest ones
in this cunt-ry. I won't mention any names but they are very well-known
everywhere. But fortunately there are a bunch of maniaks/bands helping each
other out.I support some French bands with my parallel label ARMEE DE LA MORT
Records : HEXECUTOR, PERVERSIFIER, ACARUS SARCOPT, KLOOTZAK, VALUATIR,
CHARNIER, ANGMAR, BREIZH OCCULT, QUINTESSENCE, ANKRISMAH, CARNYX, ANNTHENNATH,
HYPOKRAS... And let me also mention KILLERS (gods), PERFECTÖ, GOATVERMIN,
NUCLEAR ABOMINATION, THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND, TORTURE THRONE, THE LAST TOMB,
SILVER MACHINE, DESILLUSION, SANCTUAIRE...You're talking about Europe, I
recommend the Spanish and Italian scene, they have incredible newer bands
emerging. The audience is small at underground gigs in Europe because huge
festivals are killing them little by little, unfortunately.
6. I am personally a huge follower of early
Deathspell Omega. We would love for Shaxul to reminisce in short with our
followers about his time, back in the day, with Death Spell Omega. What do you
think of their music?
There
is nothing interesting to say on this subject, really. I would like people to
concentrate on MANZER instead of this abomination of a band but there's nothing
I can do as it seems, I will always get questions about that subject in every
interview. There are so many better bands around man, open your eyes and ears!
I'm still proud of what I did but it was just another studio Black Metal band,
with guys who finally jumped on a trend. And I mean, "follower of early
DEATHSPELL OMEGA"? There's nothing to follow as I've left the band on bad
terms in 2002, that's 12 years ago. All re-releases have been done without my
agreement. Nowadays, GAYSPELL OMEGA performs Christian Post-HardCore music for
hipsters, so it is obviously not of my interest.
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7. How did Manzer take cognizance of the
underground metal movement in Kolkata? What does Manzer have to say about the
music emanating from the region?
Damn,
my memory fails so I don't remember well who is the first guy I got in touch
with haha (Desecrator, Valafar, Ayush?!) but let's say I've been interested in Death
Metal hordes like NECRODEITY and PURGATION as soon as I've heard about them,
and we began exchanging mails. Friendly and dedicated people, all hails! I know
there is also Thrash Metal with ARMAMENT. We hope to discover more bands! It's
great to see people like Desecrator from NECRODEITY organizing gigs for great
bands, it's very healthy for the underground and it's the way things should
work. A scene with good bands, supporting each other and sharing the stage
together, spreading the plague. But I've heard some jealous people in Kolkata
spread rumours and bullshit about devoted people who work hard to bring
international bands and support the local scene, this is a complete shame and a
very childish behaviour.
8. Tell us if you guys have heard enough of
Indian bands, if you did, what bands appeal the most to you?
The first band that comes to my mind is DYING EMBRACE obviously, as my
second release on LEGION OF DEATH Records in 2002 was their 7"EP. And I
re-released their discography on CD/LP in 2013. As for the best Indian bands, I
would mention BEVAR SEA, PURGATION, NECRODEITY, DHWESHA, DJINN AND MISKATONIC,
KRYPTOS, ALBATROSS, MILLENNIUM, SOLAR DEITY... We
would like to wish all the beAst to the scene in Kolkata, keep the flame
burning!
8. What are the lyrical themes embellishing
Manzer’s music? What messages do you want to convey to the masses by your
music?
I
don't know if "embellishing" is the best word for this hehe...
Basically we shit on all forms of religions/politics. So our main themes are
Satan, alcohol, sex, Pictavia, blasphemy. We hope maniaks understand they must
think by themselves and not follow any dogmas are fashions. Sometimes the
lyrics are very direct, sometimes symbolic. We also tell stories and legends
from our region. Some songs are sung in Parlanjhe, our dying local language so
it's a way to tell it's important to support local and ancestral cultures. This
is also why we love to travel and tour the world by the way, we enjoy
discovering cultures very much!
9. How would you respond to the parasites
feeding on extreme metal music by drawing from it and corrupting it with other
influences?
I
have no time to lose with such pathetic people insulting the eternal Metal cult.
It won't change a thing unfortunately so the best is to ignore them. I don't
believe in any kind of "purity" either, as we all know that evolution
in Metal has been very strong all over the years, but for sure it makes me puke
when some people try to create some avant-garde or modern bullshit by mixing
shitty musical influences with Metal.
10. Traditionally, we ask all featured bands
to enlist five of their all time favorite albums.
The
infamous question about fave albums haha, really difficult... Well, it's not
really a definitive answer but let's go :
IRON
MAIDEN "Powerslave"
SABBAT
"Envenom"
VENOM
"Black Metal"
SADISTIK
EXEKUTION "The Magus"
KILLERS
"Fils de la Haine"
11. It has been a pleasure featuring Manzer on
our web-zine. Looking forward to your set at Pictavian Necromancy and an
alcohol infused after party! Leave us with a few last words. Hail!
The
pleasure is ours! 666 thanxxx for the support and we'll meet you all Kolkata
maniaks soon!!! Great to know there will be an after party hehe, prepare
several barrels of the best Indian ale for us please! All hails from Pictavia
to Bengal! Cheers!!!
A çhés fàetes,
Shaxul (29/11/2014)
MANZER Pictavian Black Metal : www.manzer.fr
LEGION OF DEATH / ARMEE DE LA
MORT Records : www.legionofdeathrecords.com
Snail Mail : LOD Records / BP 21 /
86210 Bonneuil-Matours / France.
Event Link - https://www.facebook.com/events/1468619880074290/
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