Sunday, July 21, 2019

Interview with Crimson Moon done by Patrick posted on 7-21-19


Interview with Scorpios vocalist,music  of Crimson Moon  done by Patrick
 
1.Hails Scorpios how are you doing this week?Please introduce yourself to the readers?
It’s been a busy week getting my home studio (Oneironaut Studios) re-constructed after some renovations and upgrades I am looking forward to finishing and get back into a song writing process. I am the founding member of Crimson Moon, though I have covered all instruments in past recordings, my primary role is bass, vocals keyboards, songwriting, lyrics and some of the additional instruments that are occasionally added.

2. Scorpios you have been a part of the black metal scene since the early 90's were you a big reader of fanzines?If yes what were some of your favorite fanzines that you read?
Yes, I would read whatever I could get my hands on back in those days. It’s hard to recall most of the names of them, I remember Petrified Zine being one of the first few I had obtained.

3.Besides fanzines I know tape trading was big back in the 80's and 90's did you ever do much much tape trading?What were some of your favorite demo's and releases?
Yes, I did tons of tape trading back in the day. Again a little difficult to recall a lot of it, and when I relocated to Germany, I had to part ways with a lot of my collection. I enjoyed quite a few cassette compilations, one that comes to mind was Diabolical Netherworld which got me introduced to a lot of bands before they were really known. 

4.You formed Crimsoon Moon back in 1994 what gave you the idea to start this band?And how did you choose Crimson Moon as the name of the band?
I was getting tired of trying to work with the musicians I knew where I lived, and their lack of motivation. I obtained my first Tascam 4-track and quickly realized it was possible and much easier to do things on my own. So, I recorded the 1994 self-titled demo, barely knowing how to operate the Tascam, and started circulating the demo through mail/tape/trading/flyers etc. The name came about from a sort of reoccurring dream that I had, where the Moon had turned to Blood.
 
5.I believe you started the band as a one man band when did you decide to add more musicians to make a full band?
There wasn’t a full lineup until 2007 when the “Serpent Beneath the Skin” e.p. was recorded and supported by a small North American tour. The other members of this lineup were located in the US, at the time in the same state (Georgia) but shortly after everyone relocated to different areas of the U.S. so the line-up was short lived. I ended up recording all the instruments on the last album, Oneironaut and it was during the last stages of production in 2016 I was able to establish a much more viable line-up that we now perform live and recorded “Mors Omnia Vincit” with . I live in a remote location, outside of a small village, so it took some time to find the right people that are within a reasonable distance to operate as a band.
 

6.Mors Vincit Omnia is the bands newest release how long did it take you to write the music for the new release? How long does it usually take to complete one song?
I wrote the material relatively fast. Most of it within a couple of months and in total, I think about 3 months, but generally when I write, I tend to get about 75% of a song done all in the same session. It’s usually the final touches that can take longer. I ended up with a lot more material than we ended up using for the album, so it gave the luxury to listen to them and decide which material was the best to use in this particular release. Some songs were completed in one session, while others were not completed lyrically until it was time to record the vocals. 

7.Where do you draw inspiration for the lyrics and what are some topics you wrote about on the new release?Whic usually comes first the lyrics or the music?
The new album is about Death, so Death is where I got the inspiration. 90% of the time I come up with the lyrics after the music is written. Sometime I will start with a general concept of what the lyrics will cover, or a song title, but usually it is the other way around.
 
8.Besides the new release Mors Vincit Omnia are the bands previous releases still available for the readers to purchase?Besides physical releases does the bnand have any other merchandise currently available if yes what is available and where can the readers purchase it?
Yes, we have additional merchandise (shirts, amulets, etc) and some of the previous material available on our bandcamp page. We will be re-stocking some of the previous material that is out of stock in the near future, but most of those can also be found on other distros, save for some of the more limited releases that are sold out.

9.How do you feel Crimson Moon's music has evolved over the years? And who would you say the bands biggest influences?
The music has evolved in many ways, compared to old material that was very raw and a lot more minimalistic in structure. Production quality I feel each release has improved, our last album being the strongest to date. I would definitely say musicianship has improved for me personally and the current lineup compared to the older releases. As far influences, in the early years, it was a lot of the early 90’s black metal. At that time I pretty much listened to music 24/7. Nowadays, especially when I am trying to write music for Crimson Moon, I tend to listen to less music, and that pertains especially to any black metal that is relatively new. I listen to a fairly wide variety of music and try to find ideas that inspire original approaches to things, though I honestly find most of my inspiration now through spending time in nature, which I do a lot of.  

10. Does Crimson Moon play live very often or do you prefer working in the studio?What have been some of the bands most memorable shows over the years?Who are some bands you have shared the stage with?
We play mostly festivals over the last 3 years since we started becoming active for live performances again. We are not interested in playing as many shows as possible, as we prefer quality over quantity in that aspect. I personally prefer the studio aspect over the live performances. We get a lot of offers we turn down for live shows, especially these tour offers where you are expected to basically pay to play. As we have not agreed to any exclusive booking agent, it can make finding a lot of shows more difficult, so all we have done was usually the case where the promoter contacts us and can agree to our terms. I think I prefer it this way, some of these booking agencies really made going to festivals and shows less desirable as they tend to shove the same bands over and over at every festival that is happening. There also is a lot of aspects to getting shows I have little patience to deal with, so we have our conditions, which are fair and if they (promoters) are not willing to provide, then we simply say no. We are not interested to play shows for charity to support someone else’s agenda. We have played a lot of very good festivals over the last 3 years, so it’s hard to even remember all the bands we shared the stage with. 2017 we played for our first time in Finland at the Steel Chaos festival which was great, immaculate organization on all aspects and a very good lineup of bands. Some other festivals we played over the last couple years would be Sequane Fest (France) Under The Black Sun, Speyer War Mass,  Rock for Roots (Germany) etc. 

11.Are their any shows or tours planned in support of the new release if yes where will the band be playing?
We will be playing the Barther Open Air festival (Germany) next month which will be just a few weeks before the new album is out, and we have confirmed for De Mortem Et Diabolum festival in Berlin this December. That is all that is publicly confirmed at this point, and with a Summer release date of the new album, a lot of the festivals this year are already filled as far as the rosters/bands, unfortunately. I have only come across a few reviews of the new album at this point, but if they continue to be as good as what we have received so far, I think we will be securing more spots in the near future for live shows.  
 
12.I know the band draw influences from Occult and other dark arts when did you become interested in studying these subjects?
Since an early age, I was probably about 15 or so when I started getting heavily into it and reading all I could obtain, but even before that I had an interest in it, a lot of it just from the music I grew up listening to. 

13..Who are some occultists you like t like to study? 
Nowadays, there aren’t any really that I study or follow. I found it to become a much more personal path for me and I have learned more from that than I do from someone else’s theory or explanation/opinion towards it. The occult is much like black metal since the age of internet: over saturated with useless material that is just a re-hashed copy. I can learn more sitting at a river in solitude that I can with my nose in a book. 
 
14.What does black metal  mean to you?
… Satan.
All joking aside, to me Black metal is music that is based on dark aspects and has no room for a lot of the ridiculous new “rules” and political correctness I see being brought up left and right on social media. It’s basically a lifestyle I identify with for over half of my life. It has nothing to do with scenes, trends or politics. 

15.Thank you Scorpios  for taking the time to fill  this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
 
For those who have not caught it yet, we have a premiere available online to hear of a track titled “Godspeed, Angel of Death” from the new album, and a second premiere track will be available to hear streaming online on the 29th of July. Preorders are now available for digipak/vinyl/special edition vinyl and shirts via Debemur Morti Productions and our bandcamp page, which you will find all relevant, links for below.
 
Debemur Morti Prod North American shop:
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