The following interview was done with Heathen from US Black/Death heretics, NORTHERN.
Morbid Hails, Heathen! Is Northern a continuation of Cold Northern Vengeance or a separate entity all on its own? What are the main differences?Greetings from the "Live Free or Die" state of New Hampshire. I would say yes to a certain degree. I would also say NortherN is the shadow of CNV. It was spawned from the Eihwaz rune of death and rebirth. The main difference is CNV was mainly about Paganism / Occult where NortherN is more inspired by region / lore of this area.
Can you give us some background about the formation of Northern, including some info about the members and their respected input?
Out of the corpse of CNV I decided to work with some veterans of the old "scene"of New England. So we have Clayatanas on drums who played in the sick band DESOLATE and Tim Donovan on 2nd guitar who played in December Wolves. Have you heard "Completely Dehumanized" by December Wolves? A very over looked and under rated Black / Thrasher album!!! Hail the old scene! And my darling Noctis on Bass who has a history of music study in the "industry"...
Tell us about the themes that you explore with Northern and where you draw inspiration from. Do your surroundings blend into your deeper psyche when these ideas take form?
Well for the "Cabin Fever" 7 inch it all relates to New Hampshire. The cover art is old New Hampshire in the frontier days. You see these Davey Crocket types in their log cabin cutting up trees with an axe, hunting deer to survive, camp fires, alcoholism and the darkness of the cold. The songs are dark and evil and we use a quote from New Hampshire native GG Allin. "Give us darkness and a bottle to hold". A very New Hampshire sentiment because we have set the record for most alcoholics per capita and the highest recorded wind speed at 231 mph atop one of the most deadly mountains in the world. The winds "blow down from the Psychopath mountain from which many a fool has met his hypothermic murder." Do you get this picture of Evil? Authentic evil... Nothing is more grim than reality here hahaha!!! I am inspired by these surroundings in my day to day life as a trucker. I just so happen to relate it into Black Death Sounds for NortherN. There is no other band quite like us. A true cult of personality in the way of the first wave to a degree! In our case negative fahrenheit degrees!
The sound on the new EP, “Cabin Fever,” is heavier, darker, gravitating towards Black/Death, whereas the debut album showed a wider palette of influences. What prompted the new direction?
I want to go darker. The first one has Black/Death in some songs like "Alaskan Ice" about a serial killer from Alaska that would vacation here for the intent of hunting people ... And "Exaltation from the Grave" is that black death vein as well. On this release I tuned down one whole step. I also was more in charge of producing this / recording and insisted on panning guitars the way I wanted. So it is indeed heavier and more in line with my vision. It is my best stuff!
There seems to be a lack of seriousness in regards to how bands represent themselves nowadays. How important is the ethos and attitude of a band?I don't pay much attention but I agree. In the old days the people were more extreme in their dedication to the dark occult arts but of course there are these people that still have this black flame inside. This is all part of the great work... Fuck the pretenders.
It seems like a lot of people nowadays revel in empowering themselves from behind a computer screen by spouting nonsensical opinions on the internet without actually making any form of contribution to the underground. Your thoughts?
The Funderground sucks a long driving African cock. It is a joke full of phonies and scenesters like Fake Dudd from Gaymystium and Neil "And Blow Blake" Lameson from Krieg. It is a total disaster but thankfully Covid 19 is the cure for the "scene" LMAOOOO!
What is your opinion on the current state of USBM? Has the flame died or are there still bands within the scene worthy of support? Also, what do you think about the USBM book that came out recently?
It pretty much sucks rainbow aids. I support Imprecation ( Black Death ) , Sivad and the return of the Kings : GBK! I anxiously wait for the new album ! How can you not love GBK? A true Cult USBM legacy! I will be honest that the USBM book has some cool stuff in it along with lots of hipster Aids awareness. They miss the mark because they should have touched on crucial albums that played a role in USBM. Let us make it clear that Vital Remains "Let Us Pray" is an album that should be touched on. That the early era of that band was more "BLACK"... That Slayer "Show No Mercy" is first wave BM. That the first 2 Deicide albums are very BLACK. We knew it back in the glory days so why don't these fucking pussies recognize? The label that released CNV "Domination and Servitude" album is interviewed in the book . They of course do not mention us because they have turned into a total fucking hipster label !!! Fuck Bindgay Recordings!!! Fuck off pussy!!! Fuck hipster BM !!! I also want to give respect to K.E.P. Productions for booking a truly sick Black Metal Fest in total defiance of Antifa scourge. If you were at that massive event you know that this was done in the spirit of Old! Amazing! Hail Vengeance Fest in New Jersey!!! Hail Kyle!!!
Tell us a little about the debut album, “Desolate Ways To Ultima Thule,” and the context behind the title? What was the reception like and how do you perceive criticism towards your music?
The meaning of Ultima Thule is a distant or unknown region that is synonymous with the North. So the album might lead you to that conclusion. I like the songs on the album but not a huge fan of how it was produced. The guitars could have been thicker but it is still a killer album that can put you in a trance if you open your mind to it... From a underground perspective it did well in my eyes. From Blake Judd perspective he would not have been satisfied by the amount of Heroin he gained from it. I don't care about criticism or popularity. If I cared about these hipster allures I would have quit long ago. I do the art because it is the call of the wild for me... We are the Davey Crocket of Black Metal.
What role does symbolism play in your music? Has it become a lost art, considering that most people barely understand the meaning behind certain symbols? Furthermore, what can you tell us about some of the band's aesthetics?
We play with symbols and it all means something to me. Nothing is done for the hell of it... So let me clarify that the Ouroboros with Wolf Angle on the cover of "Desolate Ways to Ultima Thule" is the same that Boyd Rice came up with. I give total credit to Boyd Rice as perhaps my biggest inspiration . So I guess we use this in the same way that countless bands use the Anton LaVey Baphomet. I also want to make it clear that we will only use that logo for that album. I love Boyd Rice and the wisdom that he applied to that symbol. Hail NON FOREVER!!! We used a black sun as an enigmatic symbol synonymous with multiple meanings. Some people say the Black Sun is symbolic of the Black Hole from which all creation came and will be eaten by... Some link it with a Sun Wheel... Some link it with Nazism. Let your mind wander... Where is this distant unknown symbol from? Why?
Which bands would you cite as your biggest influences? (Particularly those that influenced your writing.)
I will tell you some of my favorite albums:
NON - GOD AND BEAST
VITAL REMAINS - LET US PRAY
MERCYFUL FATE - DON'T BREAK THE OATH
GORGOROTH- PENTEGRAM
BURZUM - DET SOM ENGANG VAR
CRAFT - TOTAL SOUL RAPE
GBK - JUDEOBEAST ASSASSIN
DEICIDE- LEGION
MORBID ANGEL - COVENANT
SAMAEL - CEREMONY OF OPPOSITES
MARDUK- THOSE OF THE UNLIGHT
BATHORY- HAMMERHEART
SISTERS OF MERCY- FIRST LAST AND ALWAYS
FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM- THE NEPHILIM
HANK WILLIAMS 3 - STRAIGHT TO HELL
DEAD CAN DANCE - WITHIN THE REALM OF A DYING SUN
AUTOPSY- MENTAL FUNERAL
SLAYER- HELL AWAITS
THE DARK SHADOWS SOUNDTRACK
EMPEROR / ENSLAVED SPLIT
THE CURE - PORNOGRAPHY
What are your thoughts about the whole Burzum phenomenon regarding the ban of his music on social media? What could possibly be so dangerous about his music? I actually find gangster rap way more pernicious.
More signs of Communist Scum behavior. Burzum is transcending art and does not follow the rules of the status quo so of course the children of Jehovah must ban it... The antinomian power of Black Metal shall prevail over the mundanes. Bring forth the Acausal.
Your thoughts on the following:
Moral Codes
Moral Codes is really up to the individual. From a sort of ethic that is imposed by Society? It really depends... People delude themselves into thinking that things like Civic Nationalism are bad for the individual but if the Nationalism is based on a constitution that ensures the freedom of an individual how can it be so bad? I am looking at this from a societal perspective. You could look at it so many ways. It all depends
Charles Manson
Charles Manson was a psychopath that manipulated and exploited the weakness and ignorance of the youth but alas there is a wisdom there... Seek and you shall find.
Censorship
Censorship just makes people want it more. Censor me , Censor Burzum, Censor the truth... It just makes people yearn for it more. Forbidden fruit is the most alluring.
Life After Death
Life After Death is something I have looked into and highly suggest the book DMT : The Spirit Molecule. Do you know that when dying your brain releases this chemical that makes you trip balls? Death seems interesting the more you look into it... Fascinating subject.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley lived in my state for a short time. He conducted rituals deep in our countryside... He blasphemed Jesus and crucified a frog right in New Hampshire. 93 North is all I have to say.
What do you consider as 10 essential albums in the whole plateau of unholy Black and Death Metal?
I listed some albums earlier but here are 10 more in this vein:
Incantation "Onward to Golgotha"
Necrophobic "The Nocturnal Silence"
Deicide self titled
Morbid Angel "Altars of Madness"
Angel Corpse "Hammer of Gods"
Monstrosity "Imperial Doom"
Impaled Nazarene "Tol Compt Norz Norz Norz"
Arghoslent "Hornets of the Pogrom"
Dismember "Like An Ever Flowing Stream"
Dissection "Storm of the Light's Bane"
What can you tell us about your involvement with Martyrvore, Cold Northern Vengeance, and Ancestral Shadows? How was your experience working with those bands and how do you reflect upon each period?
Ok, Martyrvore I did vocals for a split release with Witch Tomb and I also did the lyrics and performed on a song called "Nuclear Orgasm"... I was in this band when I was still on good terms with Gemini. To make a long story short I had a falling out with this loser. He actually started worshipping Blake Judd lolol! He might have even sucked him off! Lolol ... This loser turned to heroin and took it a step further and started dealing it and the singer of Martyrvore actually died of an overdose from the shit Gemini aka Ratt Shittings dealt out to him. It is a long and rather dismal story but this guy Gemini is now in prison for various charges involving heroin, credit card fraud, identity theft, etc. It is a shame as he was a great musician but definitely a sociopath type of guy. I also started CNV with him in 2002. Just for the record Necrochrist in Martyrvore hates him as well. I send a Hail to Nechrochrist and the natural disaster of Martyrvore!!! May the typhoon Gods rejoice!!!
CNV started in 2002 as a middle finger to the entire scene of this area which has by and large been defined by terrible Boston / Massachusetts hardcore bands with some exceptions. Anyways I had been trying for years to put together a Black / Death metal band but all I could find were these kids into stuff like Converge that would do "Punk" music and say stuff like "We have Black Metal parts" or "We want to play death metal" but in reality they were these straight edge geeks that thought Earth Crisis was the best thing ever. So after wasting my time trying to do something with these guys I met Gemini who was into the real shit. Honestly I was trying to do a project called Demonic Attack but Gemini was really into what we both called "Northern Black Metal" so I thought I am into that stuff. We would hang out in Necrochrist of Martyrvore's evil basement that we called the Dungeon. It was the winter time, there was tons of snowstorms and we would just crank black metal and get boozed up and run out to the ocean in these fucking raging storms. It was totally inspiring and intense and we were leaning towards these extremes of Satanism and Evil shit! Watching snuff films, Nazi footage and delving further into the abyss. The first time I walked into the room of Gemini he had a swastika flag on the wall and that was it. I thought man this guy is fucking evil... Great! That was how it was back then. The more extreme the better! I am not going to go to far into it but we were really into the old black metal mind set of actually hailing Evil. It was extreme and many crazy things happened. We kind of opened the gates to Chaos and Destruction... I will sum it up with this lyric from the song we did "Demonic Entrapment"
"Winter of death and despair. Casting a spell from the Blackened lair. Isolated and misanthropic. Behold the rise of an Evil Prophet. Chaos, War, Evil and Hate. Cursed and Tormented Shall be my Fate. Fucked with dark forces and summoned the dead. Demonic entrapment inside your head."
That is all I am going to say about that... We were very controversial. People will say we were just being edge lords but if you were there it was a genuinely dark environment that we were compelled by. There was a dark mystery there... A Nexion was opened. I will not say anything more about the CNV history as it could go on forever. I will say that I think that the early stuff and "Domination and Servitude" are some of the best USBM that certain hipsters from decibel refuse to recognize.
Ancestral Shadows I played drums on one album but I must say big thumbs down as the main guy behind the project has done his best to fit in with the hip to be scenesters in this area. The singer has also professed to being a fucking feminist!!! Lololol... I refused to work with this band after such revelations. Plus the music has really turned gay and so full of emotional melody hahaha! Big thumbs down!
Only the early AS with Death Spirit was real !
If you could assemble the perfect line-up to perform at a festival – who would you choose and what would the ideal conditions be?
It would be Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate, Slayer time warped back to 1985 in some obscure Cave with plenty of Blood, Fire, Death. Haha!
Who did the artworks for “Desolate Ways To Ultima Thule” and “Cabin Fever”? Do you find the visual representation of your work as crucial as the music? Obviously, nobody's going to buy a black metal album with an unicorn artwork.
Jeff Smith did the cover art for the first album. My idea and he made it happen so credit to him there. It is an Evil Shamanic guy in a trance with the fire and ice... Cabin Fever is just a picture of old frontier life in New Hampshire. It has a dark reality about it. The rugged coldness of this region prevails. Grimness and true Isolation. The aesthetics are very regional. It is totally tied to this area. I absorb it and out comes NortherN.
Outside of music, what are some of your favorite passtime activities? Also, if killing Christians were legal, would you have partaken?
I work so much I don't have much time anymore. I would say travelling / exploring with my dear Noctis ... It depends of the Christian. Jim Jones and Bob Larson are great entertainment but that smiley douchebag Osteen would definitely be splattered all over the Church.
Thanks for your time. Feel free to inform our readers about your future plans for Northern, including anything else worthy of note. See you in the bottomless pit.
Cabin Fever 7 inch is being pressed.
Next album "Disenchantment" is almost done.
Just to continue being Hated and writing and working on this art form. The pangs of coldness galvanize the steel of NortherN !!!
Hails for the interview! In total fucking darkness...
