here is a new interview i did with one of my longest supporters since
beginning winter torment web-zine. sleepwalker fans of black metal will
defintly not want to miss out on his new release "the others".and his
new web/fanzine "forbidden-magazine is getting alot of great bands on it
so fans of all styles of black,dark metal should defintly check it out
asap.!!
enjoy the interview and keep an eye out more reviews and interviews coming soon!!!
best regarards,
patrick and winter torment web-zine
http://www.wintertorment.com
interview
with sleepwalker vocals,all instruments for A transylvanian
funeral,owner/editor of forbidden magazine,and forbidden records. done
by patrick
1.hails sleepwalker!! how is your weekend going? please tell readers a little about yourself.
Hails
brother...I enjoyed my weekend, thanks. I went on a hike up Mt. Lemmon
here in Tucson and it was really nice. It had been quite a while since I
have spent any time away from civilization...I also went back to the
gym for the first time in about 9 months...something else that I miss
greatly.
2.well i guess we will begin with your musical
band/interest.i was first introduced to you through your black metal
band "A transylvanian funeral". was this the first band/project you have
ever worked on? if no please tell us a bit of your othere. when did you
come up with the idea for for A transylvanian funeral ? how did you
come up with name for the band?for readers who have never heard the band
how would you describe the music?
A Transylvanian Funeral is
relatively young, in terms of a discography or whatever. I released the
self tilted debut in March of 2009 and also was lucky enough to do a
split with both Black Torment from Mexico and Funeral Winterdust from
Brazil. I have been a musician all my life so I have been in several
different music groups...the project before ATF was called Scorpio
Rising and was quite different from what I am doing now. The songs were
dark but had a more mainstream sound...something I have no desire to
pursue again. ATF was born out of my discontent with working with other
individuals and wanting to express my true nature as an artist, without a
care for a 'common goal' amongst musicians. I have always had the
intention to allow the music to change and evolve, so describing the
sound would only be accurate if you were speaking of one release...
3.you
are the sole member of the band.when you started A transylvanian
funeral did you plan to work alone or have you considered looking for
other members to join? what do you feel are the advantges and
disadvantges to being in a one-man band? if you had the opportunity to
work with any musicians{past or present} who would u like to work with?
When
ATF was born, it was a collaboration between Sojourner and I. I would
play the parts and write the songs, Sojourner would give me feedback,
help write some lyrics and sing additional vocals. When the songs
started to form an album and I talked about releasing it, Sojourner
seemed less and less interested the more it grew. Now, we rarely
talk...It is a lot of responsibility to do everything yourself, but it
is also more rewarding. I also don't have to become reliant on someone
only to have them walk away from what was a collaborative effort. I have
recently relocated and have thought about putting together a bad but I
doubt I would care to share songwriting responsibilities with anyone...I
would like to do some live recordings and I want the sound of a real
drummer on my next release...
4.i know you are in the process of
finishing up the writing/recording of your 2nd release "the
outsiders".are you happy with how everything turned out on this release?
how many songs will be on the new cd? will you self-release the
outsiders or have you found a label to work with?
do you have a release date set for the outsiders?
The
album is titled, 'the Outsider'...the is only one 'Outsider'. I am very
happy with the release, everything you will experience on the album is
of my own creation...no guest musicians or anything...I even designed
the packaging save for some illustrations from my friend Nate of the
Living Dead. The album will have 12 songs and be just over 66 minutes. I
am releasing the album myself on my own Forbidden Records. There is
some talks with a few South American labels for doing different version
releases but that is all it is right now...talk.
5.how many hours
a day/week would you say you devote to writing/working on new music?
which usually comes first the lyrics or the music? what are the lyrics
about? do u have any certain topics/subjects you write about?
I
spend all my fucking time working with music. It isn't always my own. I
will write music for several months, writing and recording and then I
will spend several months promoting the music and releasing it. I would
like to have the luxury of spending all my time writing but to get the
music out to the fans, I have to spend an equal amount of time doing the
business end of things as well...If I am not promoting my own music, I
am promoting someone else's with Forbidden Magazine. There isn't really
any set order as to what comes first, lyrics or music. I guess that the
two sort of find on another in their own way. The best work is the stuff
that I don't really have to try on...when it comes naturally. 'Worship a
Dead Fucking Goat' is a great example of strong lyrics that came to me
in one flash of sporadic bliss. The lyrics to 'Worship...' are pretty
visual, all about ritual suicide and initiation into the inner circle of
a clandestine cult. 'the Outsider', as a whole, is based loosely on the
story by Lovecraft, which was not my intention...the title track was
the last song written for the album, and as it manifested, I found the
unifying theme in all the songs...it is a story of reincarnation and the
despair of eternal life...
6.is A transylvanian funeral your only band/project you currently work with? if no please tell us about your others.
Right
now, ATF is the only musical project I do...I have thought about using
the name Scorpio Rising again, but just for a noise project...nothing
like what it was before.
7.everyone has their own ideas/opinions
on what black metal stands for. so i was interested in your opinion.
what does "black metal"mean to you?
Black Metal is something very
personal. It has to have a different meaning for everyone. Knowing that
you are an individual and that you are allowed to think and feel as
such is a big part of it to me. Having the guts to do what you want,
when you want...Do what thou wilt. For some, black metal is all show,
make up and glam and lightshows and fashion, and that doesn't do it for
me. It is something that is meant to frighten, to cause worry and fear.
Black metal is one of the few things that change its form depending on
who is looking at it. I think that if you get two people to really agree
on what BM is, and put some simple definition on it, then those two
people are probably fucking full of shit.
8.i was also curious in
your opinion of the u.s black metal scene. it seems to have gained alot
of respect and more quality bands over the years.would you agree?
The
quality of bands may have increased, sure. The number of bands has also
increased and all the bands are able to get more exposure these days,
which, in turn, only makes the bands that much better. There are more
people going to shows, writing zines, picking up instruments and
listening to Bathory than ever before...it is a natural progression made
possible by technology.
9.who are some of your all-time favorite
u.s black metal bands? are their any new bands you think the readers
should watch out for?
I like Grand Belial's Key, Thronspawn,
Funereus (new album kills)...haven't stopped listening to the new
Prosanctus Inferi since I got a hold of it. Those guys will fuck up a
festival full of other bullshit bands.
10.you also recently started up the new fan/web-zine "forbidden magazine.when did you get the idea to start up the web/fanzine?
I
was tired of fucking with Beyond the Dark Horizon...I worked 70+ hours a
week and still made time to write my music and write for the zine...I
still don't think the last interviews and reviews I did got
published...it is a shame, we had a killer inty with Marduk...I also
wanted to do my own thing, support more underground bands. I am not a
person who likes to work for other people...I usually think that I can
do better than the next asshole, so I just do...Trying is half the
battle and the other half is taking responsibility for your fuck
ups...that is all I do and that is all that is necessary.
11.are
you happy with how things have progressed so far with the zine? you are
currently working on issue no.2 correct? who are some bands/labels you
will be featuring in the second issue of forbidden fanzine?
It is
really Issue One....Issue Zero was the first...it is a download only
zine, with a compilation. Hells Headbangers Records is the only
label/distro with any print copies...and there are only 10...the
download version is free and it is encouraged to be shared, printed,
whatever by fans and distros...I am very pleased with how everything has
been going...we have covered a lot of ground in only 4 months...I can't
believe we have done two issue in 4 months...I got a great team of
people working with me, so that really helps...
I just got the cover
story back today...A Forest of Stars. We try to do a lot of different
genres within the extreme realm of music. Interviews will include AFOS,
Watain, Deiphago, Denoucement Pyre, Dodenkrotch, Funereus, Withershin,
Eyehategod and more...plus a pro CD with all these killer bands...
12.in
your opinion what makes a good zine? do you have any advice to someone
who might be reading this interested in starting up a web/fanzine?
I
can't really give anyone advice for doing their own zine...that is why I
do mine...Just do what you want, be honest, don't rip people off, be
honest and don't do it unless you really want to help bands/labels and
extreme music in general...be fucking honest...the extreme metal world
is a very small place...too small to run and hide after you rip someone
off...fuck all you scum fucks....
13.if any bands or labels are
label in sending in promo material how can they contact you? what styles
of metal do you cover/support?
We will cover whatever music we
like...I am not opposed to checking out your myspace for 3 minutes to
catch a glimpse of your music...some people don't do all that but the
music needs to really grab me to go beyond that first listen...the trick
is, though, I can't say 'yes' if you don't fucking ask! So ask me to
check out your music @ info@forbidden-magazine.com …
I stay fucking busy, too, so be persistent and be patient!
14.well
sleepwalker we have reached the end of the interview.thank you for
taking the time to fill out this interview.do you have any final
comments for the readers?
Thanks to everyone reading this, to Winter
Torment for the continued support, ultimate Death Hails to the fans,
fucking worldwide maniacs everywhere! The labels who support the killer
bands and the zines who keep the flame burning...'the Outsider'
07-21-10...
to check out sleepwalker's projects/zines follow these "links"
A transylvanian funeral
http://www.myspace.com/atransylvanianfuneral
forbidden magazine
http://www.myspace.com/forbiddenmagazine
www.forbidden-magazine.com
forbidden records.
http://www.myspace.com/forbiddenrecords
www.forbidden-records.com
Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll#ixzz0tPbzFRsK
