Click this link to read the interview thats posted on CemetaryGatesPromotions.Com

CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW WITH XAPHAN / KULT OV AZAZEL AS I TALK TO HIM ABOUT  ENTERING THE STUDIO IN AUGUST TO RECORD NEW ALBUM "DESTROYING THE SACRED"

Kult ov Azazel Black Metal from Ft. Lauderdale Florida

www.myspace.com/kultovazazel
http://kultovazazel.com

KULT OV AZAZEL "DESTROYING THE SACRED" T-SHIRTS

Sizes available: M, L & XL

Cost: $15 (United States) / $25 (World) - prices include postage.

Payments accepted by:
Paypal funds to k6u6l6t@kultovazazel.com
or
By mail with well concealed cash or money order payable to

J. Hollowell sent to:

Kult ov Azazel
PO Box 23308
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33307
USA

If sending cash or money order email k6u6l6t@kultovazazel.com or through myspace before sending by mail.

Click this link to read interview with Xaphan posted on CemetaryGatesPromotions.Com

CEMETARY GATES INTERVIEW WITH PERRA KARLSSON

 MARCH 08

 
CG: Perra thank you for taking time to do this interview. :)
 
Perra: Well, thank you Paula for inviting NOMINON, always a pleasure.
 
 
CG:  You guys just finished touring Northern Europe!!! Tell us come of the highlights and best moments of the tour for you.
 
Perra: Yeah, that was a great ride for us. It was more or less our first headlining route here in Europe so it was cool that the turn out was really good. We met lots of new friends including the young support act REMAINS. Excellent Death Metal from Holland. We also end up in a beer drinking contest almost every night, so you never know who is the first one going down? It’s a chaotic way of living on the road, for sure. It’s definitely not for everyone.
 
 
CG:  Ive seen all the pictures you posted on myspace and it looks like you had a kickass time! What bands were touring with you guys?
 
Perra: We mainly had a support act called REMAINS, but we also played with another really cool band called NECROVATION from Sweden. They are both old-school Death Metal and we all get along just fine. I have to add though that we are not really on the road to make friends, so if someone comes up to us and think that we are just a bunch of "nice" guys that is "cool" to hang out with, well, please think again before trying us out. We have ended up in fights and small riots before just because of some dumb ass motherfuckers. First of all, we are not mama’s boys or whatever. We’re a bunch of metalheads that always end up in some kind of trouble. The thing with us is that most of the time we walk away untouched though. We let other people suffer instead. We just drink up and make sure to have a good time, whatever the cost is.
 
 
CG:  The big news is you will be coming to the USA for your first American Tour in July! I know you must be very excited!!
 
Perra: Hell yeah!! It’ll be an adventure for sure. Personally I have been to The States a few times, but it’ll be killer to finally have the opportunity to show America was Swedish Death Metal is all about. You better be ready for NOMINON. Playing at CIM (Central Illinois Metalfest) is going to be amazing, I’ve known the organizer Matt Bishop for a couple of years now and he is a cool metal warrior and a friend for sure.
 
 
CG:  You will be playing with some great bands like Incantation, Goreaphobic, Diabolic. Ive taken the time to get familiar with all the bands in the fest and you guys are fucking awesome! I come home everyday from work and jam out your songs!! 
 
Perra: Thanks for these warm words and support. Much appreciated! We really look forward to share stage with giants like INCANTATION and DIABOLIC. I mean, I remember tape-trading and listening to their old demo tapes way back you know.
I have meet John McEntee a few times through out the years and he is a true Metalhead, just like me and my friends. I can’t wait to hang out with him and the rest of the bunch once again. It’ll be a ride, that’s a fact. I’m afraid that we drink a few more pints of lager than them though. Hahahaha!!!
 
 
CG:  You have a new album out called "Terra Necrosis".. Which is released on what label? This is your 3rd full length album. Where is it distributed and where can our readers get a copy?
 
Perra: Our label in America is called DEATHGASM RECORDS/IBEXMOON RECORDS, so there are actually two labels sharing the latest album over there. DEATHGASM RDS previously released the second NOMINON album as well, entitled "RECREMATION". When we talked to them about recording/releasing a third album they talked about a co-operation/release with IBEXMOON RDS, since they could get our album wider spread since they have better distribution via RED DISTRIBUTION in The States. Said and done, they both took care of the release of the third NOMINON album; "TERRA NECROSIS". So far we are extremely pleased with the outcome over there. They are both pushing each and every limit to get people to hear and see NOMINON, you know. If you Metalheads can’t find it in your local store, ask them to purchase it from RED DISTRIBUTION. If they don’t cooperate with you still, you are welcome to contact us directly and you can definitely get hold of it from us, we have a huge selection of our shit (CD’s, Shirts, Vinyls, Pins…etc) on our website www.nominon.com , check it out and send us a mail at nominon@lycos.com
 
 
 
CG:  Can you give a brief history of Nominon, like what year they began, and I know you didnt join the band til 2001. Can you tell us a little about that.
 
PERRA: To make a long story short. NOMINON started way back in 1993 by the two guys Juha Sulasalmi and Peter Nilsson. The music was Death metal and the vocals were a little bit Black/Death Metal back then. They released a bunch of demos before the debut CD came out in 1999. Since then we have worked our way up and now there are three albums out as well as various EP’s and cassettes. I was really glad when Juha called me that dark, rainy and evil night in September 2001. Because I wasn’t in any band at the time, I wasn’t even playing that much since I thought that there were no REAL Metal bands around anymore. I auditioned for NOMINON, well it was actually ONLY for Juha since he traveled to me in Stockholm to see me play drums. It was really amazing to join NOMINON, too bad that a lot of people have left the building since then. Yet I would like to point out that the NOMINON line-up of today is definitely the strongest one, simply because even the Godfather of Death Metal - Paul Speckmann said so himself.
 
 
CG:  I would like to know about you Perra :)  What bands would you say have influenced you the most?
Perra: I am a sucker for old dirty Death Metal bands like MORBID ANGEL, DEATH, POSSESSED, MASTER, GROTESQUE, AUTOPSY, MASSACRE, CARCASS and all the old masters. Personally I listen to a lot of different kinda shit. I also love classic Hardrock and Heavy Metal like IRON MAIDEN, MOTLEY CRUE, MERCYFUL FATE/KING DIAMOND, EUROPE, WHITESNAKE, WARRIOR, AC/DC, ANNIHILATOR and the list goes on. These guys have all influenced me in one way or another. My favourite drummers are without a doubt Tommy Lee, Mike Mangini and the late Cozy Powell. Just listen to RAINBOW’s "Rising" and you’ll understand what I am talking about. Power and force!    
 
 
CG:  You began playing drums at age 9? How old were you when you joined your first band? And who was it?
 
Perra: My first band were called something like BLACK MADAM and that was probably when I was 10 years old, we were a trio just trying to play some covers with BLACK SABBATH, ACE FREHLEY’s "Rip it out" (can you imagine?) and so on.
 
CG: What are some bands you have played for before joining Nominon? Do you still play for any bands besides Nominon now?
 
Perra: First, some of the bands in the past: SUFFER (released a couple of EP’s and CD’s recorded at Sunlight Studios with this classic Death/Thrash act), ALTAR,  NASUM (played drums on their very first shows way back in 1995), NIFELHEIM (was only rehearsing with them though for a couple of months), T.A.R (Progressive Heavy Metal, at times extremely good), SERPENT (three albums out, Doom rock with ex THERION/ENTOMBED members, also include guitarist and my good friend and brother Uffe Samuelsson from SUFFER). That’s about the past I guess. I also played live once with the really good Death Metal band THE EVERDAWN from the north of Sweden. OK, some other bands I still play with today besides NOMINON are the Black/Deathsters IN AETERNUM (a couple of CD’s out and we tour every now and then, whenever we have the energy and time to do so). I am also more or less the drummer for the avant-garde Metal/Rock act named BERGRAVEN (third album to be recorded in May, to be put out via HydraHead Records worldwide). Then there’s NEX, a Doom band including ex members of FUNERAL MIST/WATAIN and so on. Really sludgy Doom in the vein of early MY DYING BRIDE/PARADISE LOST/CANDLEMASS. You are welcome to check out my personal MySpace site if you are interested to listen to some of my work: www.myspace.com/perrakarlsson
 
 
CG: Is there anything interesting you would want the readers to know about yourself or the other band members?
 
Perra: If you buy us a beer or anything with alcohol in it, we might loosen up.
 
 
CG:  So what can we expect from Nominon this fall and winter? What do you guys have planned for then?
 
Perra: The thing is that NOMINON actually celebrate its 15th year of existence during 2008, so we plan to get something special out there for you all. One good thing is for example that it looks as this year will turn out to be the most gigging years of all in the history of the band, which is good. After the two week tour of USA in July we will most certainly join BENEDICTION on the road here in Europe during September for a month. We have had other offers too when it comes to touring, so we are just working out to get the best of ’em you know. We have also been working to get a DVD out there somehow, we even have labels that are willing to put it out, yet we don’t really have that much of professionally filmed material so we don’t know for now what will come out of that?! A guess is that we are going into the studio sometime early next year to record the 4th album.
 
 
CG:  What is your favorite beer of choice?
 
Perra: I LOVE CARLSBERG HOF. Danish beer of Death. I’m afraid though that any cheap beer will make us all happy in the end.
 
 
CG: What do you do for fun in your spare time? What are some of your hobbies or interests?
 
Perra: I work and then I practice drums. Right now I am trying to figure out the drum tracks for the forthcoming recording of the third BERGRAVEN album, that’s like a full-time job itself. Phew!! I don’t really have that many hobbies to be honest, besides music and playing. I like to grab a beer and hang out with friends, so that is mostly what I do when I got some time to shred.
 
CG: I want to let the readers know they can check you out on myspace www.myspace.com/nominon or http://nominon.com .
 
Perra: That’s right, you can all read the latest news and check our merchandise, or listen to some NOMINON stuff. We are a true underground band for sure, so don’t expect any LINKIN PARK or LIMP BIZKIT crap.
 
CG:  Thanks Perra its been great getting to know more about Nominon and I cant wait for July!!
 
Perra: Thank you Paula for your support. It was a pleasure answering this interview. Now I have to listen to MORBID ANGEL’s "Blessed Are The Sick". Killer stuff indeed. "Day Of Suffering"….Wtf!?? I had forgotten how good that shit actually are. Damn!! Look forward to meet all you crazy fuckers in The States in July. Until then, do your homework (listen to AUTOPSY and/or IMPETIGO) and prepare for an event of damnation.
 
 
CG: Last rites???
 
Perra: Baalsori, Ergosil, Borob, Mynymarup, Akahim, Xirmys, Adisak, Tedeam, Arogor, Haraoth, Lotifar and all the rest of our friends of the world beyond are all just like NOMINON; Servants of Death. We have all been called for a certain task and that is to become one with the earth. We are the spirits of Belzebud and our master is Lucifer, the angel of light. Hail the dark lords. 666.

AWESOME INTERVIEW!! THANKS PERRA! YOURE SO COOL!!
 
 

MonTagnA Guitarist for VII Arcano

CG:  Hello Montagna. I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview!!
MM: hey thank you for helping us spread our word and for the support!

CG:  How long have you been playing guitar? Do you play any other instruments besides guitar and bass?
MM: I've been playing both guitar and bass since 1991. Actually I started playing acoustic guitar by myself, then bass with Sepolcrum/VII Arcano, then electric guitar, then again both. Must say I love playing most stringed or percussive instrument: I'm in love with drums but never have the time to play them, besides @ my bands' rehearsals.
 
CG:  Give us a brief history about VII Arcano and your decision to change the name and the style of music from doom to thrash metal that you started in 1989. What lead to these changes?
MM: Oh well, history is long but changes were motivated just from the will to improve and play something different. Those years I was in love with the Scandinavian death metal scene that was just rising to be one of the most influent for the 90's death metal decade (Dismember, Entombed, etc..), and I've been trying to put those influences in our songs. We mostly got to play death metal like the bands we were all listneing to. We started to slow down to doomy tunes after a while, but it wasn't planned: it just happened.
The name change was because of the similarity with Sepultura: I love their first albums, but we wanted to have a name that was ours, nos "similar to that band". VII Arcano fitted the music we were playing those days. The final change was made when I got back to guitar, and started working with Rob on the new material. We've been working a lot with melodies (his influence) and with heavy and hyperfast riffing (my influence) and we actually changed the whole band to get the new VII Arcano sound. Me and our singer Mirko are the only 2 members who "survived" that VVI Arcano era.

CG:  You have two full length cds "Nothingod (2005)" and "Inner Deathscapes (2001)" plus a 2007 promo "Merciless Distortion. Are you writing new material now?
MM: Of course, we're always writing new material. Everyone of us is constantly writing music for the band, but moslty I meet with our drummer to jam on my riffs and write down whole songs. After that we play them with the rest of the band and arrange or rewrite everything together. I have tons of stuff that the other guys never even had the time to listen to. Speaking about Lyrics, Mirko is an endless source of hatred and speech, so we mostly will have complete lyrics until the next decade.

 
CG:  Is there an upcoming album? If so can you tell us a little about it and when do you expect to release it?
MM: We're trying to figure out what would be the best thing to do with all this new material. We could cover a very long full length album with the new songs, so we are looking for a serious label who could produce or at leaste promote and distribute the new stuff. We most likely will call the next album Vintage Lvxuria, because our songs are deeply influenced by the old school thrash and death metal bands. You can have an idea of that on the Merciless Distortion songs.

CG:   What are you going to do with your 7' unreleased "Postmortem Extasies"?
MM: That's a good question! We love the songs we recorded for that 7" (there also was an extra song, a cover from an italian metal band called Bulldozer), and we would love to record them back with the new lineup to put them in an album,but we so love that dirty recordings, that we probably will keep those old ones and print the 7" by ourselves.


CG:  So how is the "Chant For Catastrophe" video coming along? I know you were doing some filming last Sunday. When can we expect to see it???? Im so excited I cant wait!!!! :D Can you tell us what the video is about? Is there going to be a story to it?
MM: We're as much excited as you are! I haven't seen much from it, but the few parts I saw seem very good. It's taking some time, but we're not in a hurry: we are planning to send it around on the web and to TV shows to get some promotion out of it. After all, I think ths song is good and deserves some good audience. The video was to be linked to a mini movie made by a friends of ours, called In The Blue, but the whole thing got fucked up, so we kinda rearranged the scenes and had to cut some story parts. In case the movie will be done, we should have the song on it and perhaps some scenes with us.


CG:  What can we expect from VII Arcano in 2008? Do you expect to do any touring?
MM: We'd love to come to the US, but it's so expensive for a practically unknown band there, and at the moment we just have old stuff and our promo out, so it's going to be a very hard thing. I'm always searching for contacts who can help us touring, and to be honest, our target is the US: our music perfectly fits the extreme metal tastes of your country.


CG:   Montagna you're also a bass player for a female fronted band called 3rd Room. Ive listened to this band as well and Khay Lenitas has such a beautiful voice. Much different from the VII Arcano vocalist Mirko Scarpa as you describe as a great resource of rage, throat, and endlessly flow of speech. What inspired you to join 3rd Room with such a different style of music? Which band were you in first?
MM: Actually in BOTH! HAHAHA!! Speaking about singers, I probably wouldn't ask for better ones: they both fit perfectly the different bands' style.
VII Arcano is my first "real" band, the one for which I write constantly music and in which I find myself more comfortable. I kinda take a guitar and anything I play is most likely to be something very near to a VII Arcano song.
3rd Room is a new baby with not even 2 years of life, but guitar player Rob is the first guitar player who was playing with me in Sepolcrum/VII Arcano when I was playing bass, so the whole thing sounds to me like a new and back to the roots stuff.,


CG:   I would like to know a little about YOU Montagna! :D  What are some of your hobbies aside from playing guitar and bass? What do you like to do in your spare time?
MM: Spare Time?!.. I wish I could have some.. I waste much time for both bands I can hardly do anything else that's not linked to them. I work for a company (an american one, btw) that sucks a lot of time from me, but since it pays my guitars, I'm gonna keep it.. hhaha!!


CG:  Is there anything interesting you would want our readers to know about you or any other members of the band?
MM: A funny thing: in the years we always had problems with drummers. Both personally and both musically speaking. I told you I love playing drums, but I also love being on the front row of the stage making noise, so in the end we looked for a good drummer with my same name! Actually his family name is Montagna, like me, but we don't have any kind of parental stuff between us. So most of the new VII Arcano music is a whole Montagna brothers' stuff.. hahaha!!


CG:  What are some bands that have influenced you the most?
MM: The bands I fell in love with, since I was a kid are The Misfits (I'm talking about the Danzig years), Kiss, Dismember, Metallica, Slayer, At The Gates... You can hear all that in the way I play and write music.


CG:  Is there anything I havent asked that you would want our readers to know?
MM: Nothing special, just... we still BUY records... hehe..


CG:  I want to thank you for doing the interview again and let our readers know they can check both your bands out on myspace. www.myspace.com/viiarcano and www.myspace.com/enterinmyroom . Hope to meet you when you tour to America!!
MM: Well, thank You! Of course we will meet when we come to America. I'm getting lots of contacts there and there are so much people I have to meet, I can't wait to get there!


CG:  Last rites?
MM: ...drive slow, and don't drink too much... oh well.. screw that! ROCK'N'ROLL!!!!!! See you around.


CG:  Big hugs and take care!! :)
MM: I will! You do that too ;)

CG: Hey Michael, I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview with me!

MM:  Absolutely.. it's my Pleasure Paula..


CG: So can you give a brief history of how Soulidium began?

MM:  Soulidium was a vision that I have had inside for a long time.. I started my career as a songwriter and was always told of my knack for writing strong radio material. Being a singer was always a dream of mine, but I was in a bad relationship and in a strange place in my life personally. One day after writing some killer material I told myself that I could do this if I wanted to.. but it would require that I cleanse the shit out of my life so that I could focus.. so, within a 2 week span, I left a bad relationship, dumped everything negative that threatened to get in my way and dedicated my life to proving that I could put together a band that people would be proud of. I wanted to leave behind something that would tell the world that I was here. A massive worldwide graffiti if you will.. haha..


CG: I read the band bio on your website, www.soulidium.com  , and I must say you guys have been through alot and you hung in there and it finally paid off for you. Just so our readers know, tell us about starting your label "KnightVision" and recording your first album "Children of Chaos"

MM:  Thats for sure. I've got to say that being in Soulidium has changed me. We live a life that sometimes makes me wonder if I'm in a movie. We have been thru so much in so short a period of time, but I understand the logic behind it. It is that very element that has fueled the lyrics and music and it is the same element that will define us as a band. I think that difficulties are placed in our lives to make us stronger and help us to adapt. You've got to be able to laugh shit off or it can drive you insane.


CG: The album was released in June 2007 correct? Where is your album distributed and how can our readers get a copy?

MM:  The album has major distribution through ADA and our distribution label is Adrenaline Music Group who has been a great ally for us. The cd can be bought in stores everywhere with the exception of Walmart. If they don't have a copy in stock, a request to the manager will always get it ordered for you. If you want to order it my mail, a link can be found on our website to take you to the store (www.Soulidium.com).

CG: Now lets talk about the Saw IV soundtrack!!! How did your band get selected for that?

MM:  A friend of ours at our distribution label pitched us to them and they loved the track. The Saw IV movie is titled "It's a Trap" and the song we put out is called "Trapped". It was a happy coincidence really. The song and the band have been embraced by those involved and we are honored as a horror influenced band to be on this terrific soundtrack. We are definitely looking forward to what is to come.

CG: I tell you I just loved the video to the soundtrack call "Trapped" with clips from the movie in it. The video starts out with YOU wearing that headtrap we are all so familiar with and fear from the movie SAW. How did it feel wearing it and sitting there with Jigsaw saying your name? Must have been wild lol..

MM:  Actually while it looks like clips from the movie, the truth is that we shot all that footage, recreating scenes from some of the Saw movies. We got a brilliant filmmaker named Marcus Koch who is very respected in the horror community and he and Joe Davison who produced the video just did a fabulous job. The thing that was really cool about it is that we shot it in a building from the 1870's located in Tampa, FL. When we got there I was told that the building was haunted, but really did not believe it. shorty just after arriving there however, the craziest things started to occur.. the day we went to just scope it out, an old elevator that had been non functional all of the sudden became functional and followed us from floor to floor. It was the creepiest thing!! haha.. my girl got her hair pulled hard by nothing,.. shadows and weird things were sighted.. it was cool and really added to the overall effect of the video.

..>..>..> ..> ..>..>..>..>


CG: The Saw movies are really some of my favorite horror movies. Do you have any pics from the upcoming film or your video you can share with us??

MM:  I do actually.. (give me an email address and I will send some) some can also be found on the world largest horror magazine who did an exclusive on the video. which can be found at www.fangoria.com

CG: When will the movie be in theaters? I cant wait to see it Im excited..

MM:  October 26th!!!!!! and I can't wait!!!! it is one of my all time favorites and I am so honored to be included. I cant wait to watch the movie!

CG: Michael you are a singer/songwriter/producer/label. Have you considered acting? I really think you do a great job in your videos especially "The Light". Awesome job and video!

MM:  Haha.. thanks. I love art in all of its forms really which is why we incorporate so many different forms of it into our presentation. We have fallen in love with film because of the videos that we have done and we have some bold plans to film a horror movie this coming year with some horror veterans of the film industry and the band. Be prepared for a very scary movie and a great script. There is LOTS more to come from Soulidium.

..>..>..> ..> ..>..>..>..>
CG: I know you guys want to tour. Any tours in progress? Please include Georgia (where I live) so I can see a show!! ;)

MM:  We are getting ready to plan a very aggressive national tour and will be making that announcement in November. We are in the process of working with our label & publicist Stephanie Christie to organize what will be a very interesting year for Soulidium. No doubt, bold plans are coming and I think that our fans will be very pleased with what we have in store for them.

CG: What are your upcoming plans for Soulidium for 2008? What can we expect??

MM:  You can expect to see things come from a band that you would never expect to see. You can expect to leave shows with your jaw open and a cell phone strapped to your head as you tell friends about what you just witnessed. You can expect to be shocked to hell and I wont ruin the surprise by telling you.. But I promise that the word "Soulidium" is going to be heard quite a few times this year..

CG: Do you have any Soulidium merch available? Or Saw IV/Soulidium t-shirts? How can I get one?

MM:  Absolutely. You can go to our website at www.Soulidium.com or to our MySpace.com/Soulidium sites and you will find some cool merch there. A new line is coming out with some killer designs and we have already had alot of orders for the new cd/shirt promo the label is running.

CG: Any advice you would want to give bands struggling like you guys did in the beginning?

MM:  Get out now while you can!!!!! haha.. just kidding.. advice? well. My adive would be to pursue your music with all of your heart. Dont focus on fame or fortune. Focus instead on giving your fans more than they expect and treat them like family. If you choose to make pleasing your fans your objective, all the rest of that good stuff like fortune and fame will come by itself. success is simply a bi-product of excellence. Focus on being everything you can be and more and dont pay attention to the haters of the world. If it feels right in your artistic soul... do it.

CG: Michael I want to thank you again for this interview!!! :) It has been such a pleasure meeting you and having you as a friend on myspace!!! www.myspace.com/soulidium for our readers to add you!

MM:  Same here! Thank you so much for having me..

CG: Last rites?

MM:  I want to thank EVERYONE for the overwhelming support you have given to Soulidium over the past year. Because of your support we have endured a hard road and are finally emerging on the other side.. You are our strength and our inspiration. Cant wait to blow your minds with whats yet to come!!! Horns WAY Up!!!!!! -M

Horns up!! You ROCK!!

Paula
Cemetary Gates Promotions