Hessian Firm is one of those underground labels that stand 100% behind what they do, including the fact that their roster contains highly varied and excellent bands whose music tends to diverge from trends and whatever is considered marketable today. We caught up with Nick, the man behind the label, for an in-depth discussion of everything from Hessian Firm's roster, standard mainstream fare, to Grand Belial's Key.
Hails! Tell us how Hessian Firm was conceived and the idea behind it.
When Polemicist and Mefitis dropped their first albums within a few months of each other, it awoke something in me. They were both playing around with Black and Death metal and managed to craft really interesting statements from styles that had pretty much seen it all at that point. That melodic combination of Death and Black metal wasn’t unheard of but was rarely done so fluidly. It’s now referred to as Dark metal was something I was very interested in and I’m lucky enough to have released their sophomore efforts two years later. That discovery implanted the seed for the label side of things. The zine/podcast element came from me writing for another website that had an excellent initial idea that I was tasked with keeping alive but a lack of support and foresight from the owner as well as the dumb politics made it impossible to continue. I had milked that cow as much as I could, it was time for something else. Covid provided the necessary break in my schedule to make this come together and my only regret is not starting sooner.
Can you tell us about each of the bands currently signed to your label?
That’s quite a lot of bands in the last year and a half, I will go through each release as well as a few releases in the future.
Hosts of Lord: I really liked the first one which was an inspired take on the LLN style so I quickly hunted for Afflicting Blackness of Day which intelligently combines the previous effort with some Emperor like melodies to make a really enjoyable listen. People complain that I signed a christian band but let’s be honest Satan larping is dumb if you are over the age of 16 and a good Christian band is better than a bunch of bedroom musicians who praise Satan every time they recover from a cold and record plagiarized riffs that they can’t even play properly.
Ancestral Mourning: this one was a random grab, Scylfing is a smart musician with a very difficult vision to realize, you can hear his attempts to create music that sits between USPM and Black metal and he does a great job of it. He can make epic songs without fluff and gets to the point quickly. This isn’t Black metal with cheesy happy melodies but blue collar ruggedness that seeks to find something greater in life.
Ancient Gate: the first one is a really unique combination of Greek grandeur and French melancholy and it takes its time to conjure a dream world that is beautifully detached from reality. The new EP that should be out soon is even better, Ildrac keeps improving his process, shedding off his influences slowly but surely to connect more closely with his own voice. The interaction between the synths and the riffs is genuinely jaw dropping. It’s crazy how this band keeps getting better at refining their vision while never making a bad song. Go buy the EP once it’s out.
Roudansirppi: This was a complete surprise, when I received this, I couldn’t believe that something so simple and with such obvious inspiration could be this potent. It’s as if early Gorgoroth and Darkthrone took a detour into a hypnotic and oneiric direction with some really creative leadwork and really evocative and varied vocals. They’ve been at it for a while and have managed to carve a defined and idiosyncratic album that can’t be topped in that microgenre.
Despondent Soul: This is a band that really got the most epic parts of Immolation and Incanatation memorized and regurgitated them in a way that doesn’t sound derivative and boring. This is the first distro release and I was happy to work with them. It’s not the most original thing ever but it absolutely destroys all those OSDM bands that came afterwards and just made boring derivative worship albums because they got tired of metalcore.
Into Oblivion: There are very few bands capable of weaving together such long riffs to make Classical inspired Death/Black but without losing any aggression. This isn’t fancy wank with random interludes but well crafted music that isn’t in any rush to come to some hackneyed conclusion. They also do long acoustic segments properly. This is a band that took the notion of fully developing their ideas to make sprawling epics that don’t get fall into monotony.
Goatcraft: While we never released the mainline albums, we got to do two releases with this metal adjacent project that is exclusively a one man, one keyboard project. He explores Electronica really well and focuses his approach for a Beherit like experience that segues perfectly into the Plutonian Shore side of the split who they themselves have some of the most unique vocals in Black metal and an overall distinct sound. The second release is a collection of demos, a new song and a live song that fully encapsulates the evolution of this project. Not quite classical, not quite metal.
Asgardsrei: Despite this being released in 2013, I just had to pick this up. Excellent piece of Black metal and probably the best thing I heard from the Philippines. See interview to understand why.
Mefitis: Dark metal classic, go buy the vinyl once it’s out.
Sinoath: First hidden gem from the 90s that we reissued. Sublime Dark metal that leans towards Gothic music but without any cheese. Huge emotional content and a lot of very creative ways of bringing various influences into its Metal base. The riffs are for the most part very simple but every note is felt and having an actual keyboardist that does more than just hold chords really pushes this ahead of similar bands. Let’s not forget that unlike a lot of supposedly hidden gems nowadays this actually has memorability. They’ve changed into a very different beast in the last few years and what’s about to come next will definitely shock a few people.
Polemicist: Dark metal classic, go buy the vinyl once it’s out.
Kaeck: Jan Kruitwagen the riff master finally finds where his soul resides and it’s a hideous place. The rare atmospheric record I would release on this label.
For the rest, wait and see. Lots of exciting stuff will be coming out.
Hessian Firm is also a webzine/podcast if I'm not mistaken? How do you manage all that under one moniker?
Hessian Firm is a multi-faceted beast. It takes time and sometimes that creates confusion as to what we actually do but once people see how everything is related it quickly makes sense. This is a project born out of insane passion for Metal and music in general. This is the culmination of many years of work and it had to come out in some form or another. While there was once frustration in regards to what metal was becoming now we try to find the best metal and see what we can do to push it forwards. Whether that’s a signing, an interview or review, we will praise it. Am I expecting us to save metal? No not at all but we are here to cultivate our little niche instead of complaining and insulting people online.
You’ve also interviewed some pretty great bands. Mind telling us which bands you’ve interviewed so far and some of your most proud moments in regards to journalism?
All the bands we interviewed can be found on the website and the Hessian Firm YouTube channel. We just reach out to anyone we find interesting and now people are reaching out to us. The most important part is getting to understand the mindsets that were necessary for them to achieve their objectives while avoiding superfluous questions that most interviewers ask “Hey dude, how bad did Covid mess up your schedule, Bro what did this tour feel like”. Just the thought of having to hear such questions should make anyone with respect for artistry shudder. There have been too many highlights for me to name any particular one but I always love it when the interviewee is able to convey the non tangible conditions and passion that allowed them to craft beautiful works.
What are some of your albums of all time and how would you summarize your music taste?
Breeding the Spawn is my favourite metal album of all time, don’t let the production fool you. This is Death metal of the highest form. I’ve generally found the tried and true classics to be the best in Metal but with a few exceptions. Morbid Angel is rightfully more revered than some demo tier Death/Thrash band with 3 regular listeners but inversely I would rather listen to Thorns than Satanic Warmaster. Outside of Metal, King Crimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Depeche Mode, Cream to name a few. Good music is good music regardless of genre, I would rather listen to a well composed yet simple pop song than Incantaclone 666.
In your opinion, what are some of the pros and cons of the underground nowadays?
Everything is a lot more accessible which allows great classics to emerge from the depths at one point or another. No one was pushing Demilich in the 90s and now they are rightfully recognized as being part of the best. On the other hand, everything being so accessible does seem to encourage bands to use cheap gimmicks in other to stand out from the wide ocean of music available. In a perfect world no one would feel the need to release uninspired music. Ultimately there are more pros than cons, with the way things are getting more and more segmented now, as long as you find the right people, you can get whatever experience you want from the underground. Also a message to all those simps sharing pictures of girls that are barely clothed with band merchandise: Sharing the picture won’t make her like you, all it’s doing is attracting other desperate guys to message you.
You also release tapes. What is it about this format that you like? Would you expect it to survive for another decade?
Nick: Tapes are a complicated thing and honestly I love the aesthetic of them despite them not being the most practical format. I think with how music is easily prevalent on the internet, physical formats come down to having an authentic bond with the music. We will see what the future holds for us and our future with cassettes.
You are French, but I believe you went to school in England? Did your studies abroad broaden your perspective on metal or journalism in any way? Don't the Brits hate the French and vice versa?
Nick: I grew up in England and spent a few years in Scotland, travel definitely opens the mind but not as much as people think. You can’t fully experience a foreign culture by being a tourist and no two streets in any town are the same. Reducing people to culture is a useful but somewhat limiting tool because certain cultural norms that are thought to be true stem from a lack of proper translation or laziness. The French and English pretend to hate each other but it’s more a case of fascination and mutual respect that spills over to slight competitiveness. Metal in France and England are very different beasts, France has a lot of small bands and is very active on the local scale but England has the bigger bands. It’s a weird trade-off, does having access to expensive concerts neuter the need to see your friends? Personally I always felt my place was in the small to medium venues where a true connection between the performer and the crowd can happen. Metal journalism in both places is very similar at this point, both cover whatever will get them views.
What do you think of musicians who throw hissy fits online whenever they get an unfavorable review? Do people need to grow up and learn to accept criticism better?
Nick: Not everyone will like your music. It’s up to you as to how you deal with that criticism. Crying about it in public is a terrible way to deal with it though. Go find the old zine reviews where shade is thrown at classic bands.
In addition to music and your label, what else interests you? Do you enjoy history, sports, wine, etc.?
I play Rugby at the moment and read a lot of stuff on science in general. I will spare the details as it’s tedious for someone not interested in this stuff and unless I bring it into Hessian Firm, it’s of no interest.
What’s the last album you bought?
Slayer - South of Heaven. I was looking through a shop while waiting for a friend and I found it for a low price. I like to have as many classics as I can at home though navigating through all the different reissues is tiring and the prices vary too much for me to go out of my way constantly to buy CDs. I buy from labels online and whenever I see an album I like for a good price without any ridiculous fluff, I don’t try to artificially expand my collection for style points.
What’s your favourite albums of the year so far?
Ad Nauseam and Laetitia in Holocaust have been the newer bands I’ve listened to the most this year outside of the HF roster. Both polar opposites, LiH is classically inspired progressive Black metal with three guitarists and a bassist who goes all over the place. It’s a very interesting listen, Ad Nauseam on the other hand is probably the best band in the Gorguts hyper dissonance niche. They don’t dwell too much on atmosphere and actually have purpose instead of dissonance for the sake of dissonance. Ascète have a lot of potential despite the messy arrangements. Serpent Column and Psionic Madness have also piqued my interest with the former trying to overcome dissonance into musical “noise” and the latter using it to contrast their melodic moments. Overall it’s been a year for dissonance which isn’t my favourite way of composing metal but the aforementioned bands were good enough for me to listen to more than once.
What do you think about cancel culture and how it perpetuates political correctness? Has the need for validation reached unprecedented levels of stupidity?
As far as Metal is concerned, the main issue is how mainstream norms have dictated as to what constitutes acceptable metal. Metal and the mainstream have always been at odds with at the best of times a strenuous relation, now because metal has entered the mainstream consciousness it is becoming what it set out to initially revolt against. If we were really to hold bands accountable for certain actions or words, there wouldn’t be much classic metal left as those bands spat on what society considered good behaviour. It comes down to a popularity game, your past “misdeeds” can be forgiven or overlooked if you have the influence to pressure the metal press and if your fanbase is rabid enough to defend you no matter what(see Behemoth vs Metalsucks). This can be damaging for smaller bands with important releases like Infester as they don’t get the attention they deserve. The only way to really progress is to understand that Burzum whether you like it or not is better than any band in that style and is one of the few pinnacles of metal. Also both RABM and NSBM are hilariously bad genres. I’m betting on the divide between mainstream metal and the underground getting wider so it ultimately means that people won’t fight for social credit as much. Music is independent from the musician and the experience of hearing an album is that only thing that truly matters, the rest is superfluous.
Your thoughts on the following:
Kerrang!: They’ve been trendsters for a very long time now. They claim to be devoted to metal too but don’t seem to understand what it is. I didn’t even know they were still around, I quickly took a look out of curiosity but it’s nothing that interests me.
Seth Putnam: The best comedian in metal. Never strayed from it even when close to death and had the right amount of “anti-musicality” without going overboard to make it work in his songs. Everyone else should stop copying there is only room for one comedian in metal and that spot is taken.
Dream Theater; First record has moments and is above average power metal. There are four of five parts on Images and Words I like but the rest is just Metallica styled chugging with weird time signatures and random riff transitions. They even stole the Blackened riff for one of their songs. Technique is good but not worth much if you can’t write a song.
Grand Belial’s Key: Cazz is a fantastic vocalist with a varied and very distinct palette that he uses very well. The band are great at chaining anthemic Mercyful Fate inspired riffs together but the songs are often too long and tend to drag on once the better riffs have been used up. One of those bands I would enjoy a lot more if their songs were shorter. Lyrically there is a very close familiarity with the bible that is surprising for an album that mocks it so much and there are some really good tongue in cheek puns for anyone familiar with Judeo-Christian theology though anyone who takes the lyrics seriously has completely missed the point.
Emanuel Macron: The new Covid variant is called Omicron and Macron is referred to as Micron by his detractors which has spawned some of the most insane conspiracy theories in this country. I don’t trust practitioners of partisan politics in general and his case is nuanced and complex with a lot of chapters and it’s impossible to look at what he has done without the necessary hindsight that only time gives us. We will see what consequences his actions have had on the world but for the time being I am not going to pass judgement yet.
Thanks for your time! What’s next for Hessian Firm and for yourself?
A lot of Hessian Firm releases are stuck in production as the factories are completely jammed so the schedule is heavily distorted for now so getting these great releases out as they come is the most important. Stay tuned, there is a lot of worthwhile music that will see the day. As for me, I’m slowly but surely finishing my EP that should be released on the label.
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