Line Up:
Michal Kusák-Vocals
Tomas Halama-Guitar
Frank Serák-Guitar
Pavel Satra-Bass
Peter Hetes-Drums
Well,Friends Of Aristocracy!
We speak again of our newsroom, where in a little while, we will have in all its emotions, the 180 interview of the Aristocracy.This time, we spoke with a Czech band that mixes something that is not new. This mix is Death Metal with Black Metal, however, the way they do it is especially theirs. Therefore, it has a freshness of novelty.Another thing that gives this aroma is that this band is presenting us their debut album. However, the maturity that their sound has is so great that it doesn't feel like a debut.But,believe me, this is a debut album with intensity, evil energy, but made with a lot of determination, keeping in mind where it can go and knowing that it can go much further.Let it be clear, we really like this work, but we want to believe that this is the first of a career that we hope will be a long one.Our interviewees are the Czechs from Altars Ablaze and their debut album is Life Desecration. Let's go to a song for this unprecedented interview with the Brazilian press to take place.Not without first, a thank you to Michal and the entire band for the album and for answering our humble but important questions.
A1:Talking about the composition work in Life Desecration?
Michal Kusák:All of the songs featured on “Life Desecration” were written by Tomas Halama. He is a very talented guitar player and an exceptional songwriter. He had had a clear vision for the band right from the start to create an extreme blend of death and black metal and that took the material on the album in the right direction. Together with the drummer,Peter Hetes, Tomas made sure all the songs were as tight as possible, while I wrote all the lyrics and made the vocal lines blend well with the music to deliver the right effect. In terms of the guitar solos, those have been shared between Tomas and Frank Serak, the other guitar player.
A2:What are the unexpected moments of the album and how are they worked?
Michal Kusák:I guess the unexpected moments result from the fact that all of us in the band are experienced musicians and most of us like complex music. So our starting point,the core ideas behind each song is possibly quite different to the usual black/death model which often tends to be a bit simplistic at least in my view. Also, we don’t necessarily follow the usual song structures or patterns,Tomas has a unique way of thinking around how his songs should flow, which in itself brings new ideas in places where you’d expect repetition, for example. And we’ve been open to changing things in the studio while recording the material or to adding new arrangements and whole parts such as the ending of the title song “Life Desecration” or even writing a whole new song in the studio spontaneously.So I think it’s the combination of our own approach to composition and some spontaneity when we are open to change things on the spot if that’s what required or we have an idea that fits the concept. It’s also an ambition to have our own thing going. But you could also say that “Life Desecration” is more complex or technical compared to many black / death albums, yet more black metal infused compared to most traditional death metal albums, which I believe makes it stand out of the crowd.
A3:What chaotic situations inspired the band for this album?
Michal Kusák:I would not say there were any specific situations that inspired the songs on “Life Desecration”. Tomas and I had had a vision for ALTARS ABLAZE a couple of years back and we simply followed that vision. To be specific, we wanted to come up with an extreme, violent and misanthropic blackened death metal, where the music would be taken to a level as extreme as possible, and there would be no place for any compromise in the lyrics or messages either.Regarding lyrics, I explore things that fascinate me in general,such as what turns a man, who is supposed to be an image of some god of the various beliefs, into an evil monster capable of deeds most vicious? Or is that the true nature of our species? Also, how religions, ideologies and other dogmas have enabled, encouraged, triggered, carried out or celebrated mass death throughout the entire history of the so-called humankind. And we definitely wanted to have lyrics that create a sort of an antidote or a juxtapose to all the esoteric or “spiritual” stuff that many other bands pursue…
A4:Translating into my language your album is called Profanação da vida. Why can life be profane?
Michal Kusák:The title itself is actually a mockery of the Christian notion of “life celebration” – I find it fascinating that the Catholics especially tend to talk about their religion being a message of “love” and how their faith is a “celebration of life”, yet they so much focus on guilt and suffering (just think of the mutilated corpse on the wooden cross that they all so much adore, and the cross as the tool of torture that they all wear around their feeble necks). Or how they insist that what comes of this life is more important that the earthly existence yet it’s the Catholics who are most afraid of death in the first place and last but not least, it’s the violence and the murders that the “church of love” encouraged, promoted or pursued, or at least tolerated, since the death and the rotting of their so-called messiah. Think about all this and then all their talk about celebrating life becomes a complete joke that the herd does not get ,which clearly is a part of the problem. So I think “Life Desecration” is a much more fitting description of the reality. Humans are a genocidal species right from the inception. There is nothing to celebrate. Unless you want to celebrate the true nature of man, or think differently about the so-called divine plan, if you choose to believe in some sort of god behind this all.
A5:Not that Death Metal or Black Metal can't go together in the band's sound, but do you think one is more evident in your sound than the other? If so, which one and why?
Michal Kusák:I don’t know if that’s more evident in our sound compared to other bands, but we certainly like blending both styles together and aim to do it seamlessly. I personally very much enjoy black metal created by musicians whose roots are in death metal because of the skills or death metal created by black metal musicians because of their attitudes or the way of thinking,because that often provides a different perspective on the style. And if that demonstrates itself in the music that we deliver through ALTARS ABLAZE, then I am happy.
A6:Some literature or film inspire the band?
Michal Kusák:We are not a band that is inspired by movies or anything stemming from the entertainment industry. And there is enough darkness in our minds in the first place no need to look for absorbing that from any external sources. Books are a different story, though to the extent that what we read helps us structure our thoughts in a more effective way. I do a lot of research when I write my lyrics, but at the end of the day I only use what resonates with the sick part of my mind or what provides the right foundation for what I want to say.
A7:Why the band have this name?
Michal Kusák:This is another mockery aimed at religious zealots.There are movements or organizations that preach setting “pagan altars ablaze” except that we are not after pagan altars, but rather after any altars in fact. This is because of what we think about “beliefs”, religions or dogmas in general. And of the people who choose to follow them, with all the consequences I mentioned earlier. All altars should be set ablaze, all shrines destroyed.
A8:What subtleties did the band want to bring to this album?
Michal Kusák:It’s the various nuances in the guitar riffs, the drum patterns or the overall arrangements of the songs. I believe the music is a bit more complex than the usual black/death metal and that there is some good variety among the songs featured on “Life Desecration”. And I would say that if you listen to the album repeatedly, some of those nuances and subtleties will become apparent. But I also need to say that some of those things were not planned – we just remained flexible and if we had additional ideas during the recording process, we just threw them in. We like to keep things interesting for ourselves either when we hear the music or perform the songs live. And no one in the band really likes music that is just straight-forward.
A9:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Michal Kusák:It’s actually a visual depiction of one of the messages included in the album that the various religions preaching “love” have been responsible for some of the worst crimes in the history. And how their persistence, power and prosperity are built on countless mass graves and earth soaked with blood. Because the message that they actually deliver is not a message of love, but that of a bloodshed. And the deeds, not the words, should be the basis of judgement. It’s how we are wired, not what we like to think about ourselves and by the way, this opinion I have is not limited to the catholic church or religions in general. There is something fundamentally corrupt with our species. The catholic church is just a good, yet very glaring, example of how that essence we all have demonstrates itself.
A10:How band arrive to Lavadome Producions?
Michal Kusák:Jan from Lavadome Production is a good friend of ours and he has helped with a few releases some of us have done with other bands. He knows what kinds of music we like to create, and we know how he thinks about music. In other words, we have some common history and found a lot of common places, so we think it all works out nicely for everyone involved. He believes in us, we believe in him. There is a shared vision.
A11:How is Altars Ablaze different from your previous bands?
Michal Kusák:The presence of black metal (it’s extreme manifestations) is probably the biggest difference musically. Also, Peter Hetes is a different kind of drummer compared to guys that we worked with in the past, which has led to a different approach stylistically. But it’s fair to say that while we all know one another from the past, playing all together in a completely different band for the first time has created a new dynamic. Furthermore, what we create is likely to work for both death and black metal audiences, because there is more of the raw emotions and aggression.
A12:Some bands sacrifice themselves in search of their art, you don't. Why do you think this is a differential for the band?
Michal Kusák:In my humble opinion, the most interesting bands are those that have their own thing going, meaning that you can recognize them and hear that there is something unique about their music. And that is our aspiration too. We have got our own identity and our proud enough not to have to copy or emulate anyone else. Yes, we play music that has been here before – but we are doing it our own way, the way that we feel and believe is the right one. And if other people recognize that, then great. But we’ll never speculate what it is that people want to hear and try to compose the music accordingly. And I hope that “Life Desecration” is a clear statement in that direction.
A13:This album is conceptual?
Michal Kusák:No, “Life Desecration” is not a conceptual album. There are a few themes, threads and ideas connecting the songs on the album, but each song is a unique entity that stands on its own merit. We just made the album a bit more compact, because that’s how we like things to be done.
A14:How and why did the idea of unbalancing the listeners for this work come about?
Michal Kusák:This was not something intentional. We never write any music with listeners in mind. The only objective is that we ourselves are happy with the music in the first place. We had set a bar for ourselves and as long as the music gets over that bar, it’s good. We have clear ideas on what our music should sound like, no need to consider anyone else’s opinions. And if the outcome unsettles people or throws them off balance because the music does not follow the usual formulas or is more extreme musically or lyrically,then it’s absolutely fine. That may be a welcome consequence, but not the intention or the plan. We make no plans as to what the music should do to the listeners, but we do know what the music should mean to us. It needs to annihilate.
A15:What does the band mean by definitive soundscape?
Michal Kusák:It’s the music in its entirety, the layers of dense guitars, the twists in the riffs, the harmonies that we use to build some unsettling atmosphere among the all barraging of the drums. Just listen to the final part of the opening track, “For the Lifeless Love of a Crucified Corpse”, to see what I mean. Or the guitar solos that take songs like “Glorification of Rats” to the next level.
A16:Not that I don't like that, but because you guys say that the songs on your album are elaborate, is that another way of saying they're complex songs?
Michal Kusák:Probably yes. It’s not the complexity in vein of other genres such as tech death or prog metal, but compared to the usual blend of black/death, I suppose the songs on “Life Desecration” are a bit more complex. And I think that may become quite obvious when you listen to the album, despite the overall relentlessness of it.
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