Metal Hails!!
Here is a new interview with the man behind the web-zines "Occult Black metal web-zine" among many others.So if you are a metal fan {of any genre} check the web-zine links at the end of the interview.
Regards
Patrick
fieendformetal@live.com
Interview with Loki editor of Occult Black Metal web-zine done by Patrick
1.Metal Hails Loki how is your week going? When did you first discover metal music? I know you have 2-3 different web-zines going at the moment would you say you have an open mind towards music in general?
Actually right now I am doing 9 different blogs but am looking to hire a second writer for the 9th blog which is more focuses on the less extreme gernes, I would say I do have an open mind towards metal in general along with some classic rock, industrial,punk, classical and folk music on ocassion,
2.Who were some of the first bands you listened to? Who are some of your current favorites?
I discovered metal in the 80's in elementary school during the time MTV was playing Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and Motely Crue videos all day, and while those where mainstream metal bands they did slowly lead to heavier stuff when i started paying more attention to music, for awhile there I was also into Kiss and Alice Cooper very heavily because the make up had some darkness to it, but as far as heavier genres go I got exposed to Metallica's "Ride The Lightning" and I thought it was the heaviest thing I had heard at the the time and it led to me listening to stuff like Medadeth, Slayer and Anthrax before getting more into heavier stuff like Suicidal Tendencies, Exodus, Testament basically the whole thrash genre along with some more underground stuff such as Onslaught, Piledriver, Anvil Bitch, Kreator, and also where I lived at in Seattle around the mid 80's there was an underground metal show on Sundays called 'Brain Pain' that also exposed me to a lot of extreme bands that where around in those days.
Then around 90 I started getting more into stuff like Death, Sepultura, Pestillence and Obituary which led to even more death metal bands over the nest couple of years and I also got into grind like Napalm Death, Terrorizer, and Pungent Stench around the same time, and around 92 I started listening to bands on the JL America label and while everybody throught that label sucked at the time my first exposure to second wave black metal came through the stuff they where releasing like Impaled Nazarence, Samael, Beherit and master' Hammer, those albums had a very powerful impact on me at the same and I enjoyed the evil atmosphere and rawness of those bands and then after awhile I got into the bands that where on the Century Black label before going into even more underground stuff which I still keep discovering after more than 20 years?
As far as current favorites some of my newer favorite bands have been My Darkest Shade, Feral, newer Countess, Temple Of Baphomet, Attic, Blasphemous Noise Torment, Alien Deviant Circus, Dawn of A Dark Age, Sepulchral Curse, Hell Poemer, Vadikan, Wirchclan, the list is endless but my favorite genres are black metal and other type of metal that deals with the occult and I have also been listening to some of the newer bands that go for the classic NWOBHM sound.
3.When did you first become interested in doing your own web-zines? Besides Occult Black Metal web-zine I believe you have some others that cover various styles of underground music.Can you please tell the readers about them?
I did my first zine in 2001 in Colorado with a couple of former members of Satan's Host called Magick Metal Zine which actually was a paper zine but it was misunderstood at the time by a lot of people because we where not afraid to mention how crappy all the nu metal, groove and metalcore bands really where, but we did cover a lot of black, death metal and grindcore bands in the articles and also did write about the few decent bands there where in Colorado at the time, but things changed the other writers started focusing more on Satan's Host and I went to college and got married shortly after that and did no writing again until 2008.
Around 2008 I knew my marriage was in decline so I started reviewing and interviewing bands on Myspace with a web zine I created called 72 Djinn Of The Goetia' which was more black metal and a second one called '50 Names Of Marduck which focused more on doom, death metal and grindcore, and when i realized Myspace was limited I went to blogger and created "OccultBlack<etalZine" and 2009 I also brought back '50 Names Of Marduk but divided them into 7 other blogs which cover folk metal, symphonic black metal, doom metal, sludge, crust, grind and death metal, for a few years I focused on the more underground genres exclusively then around 3 years ago I had all of those promos that where getting sent to me that I ignored for years but then decided to check them out and it led to the creation of "UndergroundMusickZine' which covers the more stoner style of doom, occult rock, post metal, thrash, power and heavy metal among many different things, it would take a long time to cover them all but there are links provided at the end of the interview and there is also an introduction on all of them, right now I am stuck with many different albums that i barely have time to listen to but will continue, metal has been my life for 30 years and it will always be that way?
4.Do you have any advice for anyone thinking of starting their own web or fanzine? What are some things you feel that makes a good web-zine?
I would advice other people to start out by reviewing some albums in there own collection, hit up bands on Facebook for interviews and you can also find email addresses on Metal Archives and album covers which i would also advice to people starting out, I did the whole thing with emails and social networks and it led to many different bands, labels, and promotion people hitting me up,
As for a good web zine, i feel the writer should be passionate about the music they are writing, and not give up while there are a lot of bands that are all supportive about being in web zines you also have the other type that put no effort in the questions and also come across as real pricks, but every writer should learn from their mistakes and if you come across criticism look at it from their point of view and show them you can be a better writer with a kick ass review or Interview?
5.Does any of your friends or contacts help with reviews or Interviews or do you prefer to work alone?
In the days of MagickMetalZine, I had a couple of other writers help me out and I have also helped out some people with heir promotions out here on interviews, I do for the most part like working alone, i treat my web zines the same way a lot of musicians treat their solo projects, I try to put my vision in as much as possible, but I am at the point where i would be open to bringing in a couple of other writers so I can actually breath and not have to review albums all day like I have, any interested writers should contact me and if I like the way they write i can have them do some reviews and interviews?
6.If their are any bands or labels reading this interview where can they send you their promo's to review?
You can send the digital promo's to my email occultblackmetalzine@yahoo.com and for physical copies also e-mail me at the same address and I will provide an address in a private message
7.How many hours a day do you think you work on the web-zines?
Anywhere from 3 to 4 hours a day and sometimes 16 hours a day depending on how much stuff I get sent.
8.What have been some of your favorite bands or people to interview? Are their any bands or labels{past or present} that you would like to interview someday?
I have interviewed quite a lot of my favorite bands over the years some of the ones I really enjoyed where Bal Sagoth, Opera IX, Crimson Moon, Nibirui, Temple Of Baphomet, Gorephobia, Summoning, Acheron and many others, I have not done any label interview but would be open to some such as Moribund, Full Moon Productions and any other label that is passionate about satanic or occult metal, as for bands I would be interested in reviewing Therion, Meleschech, Ofermod, King Diamond, Necromantia, and Blood Ritual, but I am fortunate to have interviewed quite alot of bands I have been into very heavily for a long time.
9.Loki in your opinion what is the best and worst thing about the underground scene today? And what does Underground metal mean to you?
There are a lot of bands in the underground that remain true to the way black and death metal should sound and the ones that take Satanism, paganism, and Occultism are the ones I support the most and I think the underground is very healthy these days with the variety of many different genres you can chose from.
As for what I hate about the underground these days is all of these psuedo groove metal bands that have been popping up lately and you also have all of these crappy deathcore and pornogrind bands that have no talent, retarded lyrics and those awful and pathetic pig squeals, you also have a lot of black metal people these days that do not understand the true nature of the music and put no effort into the songwriting and drink all day instead of focusing on what black metal should be, And another thing that is annoying about metal these days is all of the hipsters and the annoying clicks that seem to pop up at every show and I also hate all of these filthy unwashed politically correct liberals that label everybody who does that agree with their point of view a Nazi even when that person does not care about politics.
10.When not working on the web-zines what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I enjoy watching classic horror, science fiction and fantasy films, I also enjoy watching documentaries that are very historical and I also have a huge interest in studying Satnaism, Occultism, Magick, Left hand Path, Paganism and medieval philsophies and my interest in the Dark Arts is alos just as important to me as music and some of the occult authors and philosophers I enjoy studying are Michael W.Ford, E.A Koetting,, Aliester Crowley, Stephen E. Flowers, Thomas Karlspn, Kenneth Grant, Julius Evola, Freya Aswyyn, Carlos Castendenda, Zecharia Stitchin, Anton Long, Peter Carroll among countless and I also have an interest in lost continents such as Atlantis, Lemuria, Thule and also secrt societies such as Freemasons, Illuminati, and the O.T.O.
11.Thank you Loki for taking the time to fill this interview out.Do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thanks for taking the time to ask me these questions and keep up with your work in the Metal underground
up our clairaudience and play the tunes of Sitra Ahra. 