Necrosadist have recently whipped up a storm in the black metal underground with their ferocious black metal. On the brink of unleashing its full fury on mankind with an EP and a full length completed, I caught up with vocalist, guitarist and bassist Dictator to quench the thirst for more.
For those unfamiliar with Necrosadist, give us a background. What are your origins and who makes up the ranks?
Not really much to tell, I formed Necrosadist in 2005 in Nicosia, Cyprus. We released a rehearsal tape and a demo the same year but after a while line-up issues emerged as the other two members eventually lost complete interest in the band. This resulted in me being the only remaining member. Since it was difficult to find anyone suitable who shared my ideas and vision, Necrosadist effectively went into dormancy while I continued to write and compose material and help the concept evolve for a couple of years before I moved to London in 2008. In the meantime our demo was reissued as an mCD through Necroterror Records and I began recordings for a split 7” with our Catalonian allies Foscor. When I arrived in London, I got into contact with Menthor through a mutual friend and once we met and rehearsed, we quickly realised that we were onto something. Currently, Necrosadist is Raw Necro Violence, comprised of the duad that is Dictator (myself) and Menthor.
You have a new album and EP on the brink of being released, care to share details about them?
The EP is entitled “The Alpha Nihil” and will be released on 7” vinyl through US label Daemon Worship Productions. It features two exclusive tracks that were written while I was still living in Cyprus, but were recorded later on in 2009. It’s also the first Necrosadist material to feature Menthor on drums. Conceptually, the material on this release is a tribute to the Alpha Nihil, the sigil which we use as our banner representing the beginning, the end, the chaotic void inbetween and ultimately, the single source of all inspiration within the perverse world of Necrosadist. The cover itself depicts a skeletonised ‘phoenix’ rising, which in itself is both a metaphor for the development made since our inception – giving way for the ‘rise’ of the new era of Necrosadist, as well as a lyrical reference to the A-side track “Day of Dissolution”. Growing and stripping away the flesh to reveal the true essence in order to rise up from the ashes as an icon of filth and decay. So in this sense, this release can be considered as a small epilogue to the full-length. Musically speaking, the EP is a much more developed and rich in terms of songcraft than any of our previous material. Unfortunately, this EP was heavily delayed due to factors that were beyond both the band and the label’s control, but we are both relieved and excited that it is finally being released.
Our debut full-length album is entitled “Abstract Satan” and will be released on CD format as a joint venture between Temple of Flesh and Blood Harvest Records in Europe and by Daemon Worship Productions in the US and North America. The vinyl version will follow later on Blood Harvest Records. “Abstract Satan” is our most complete and expansive work to date in all aspects, which is the result of the natural progression of a conceptual beast that has evolved completely beyond my control. In the past, I found it difficult to determine a path to take Necrosadist on but with “Abstract Satan”, I just let it take complete control and see where it took me instead. No restrictions. The title itself is also a result of that, it came to me while I was in a somewhat self-induced meditative state and searching for the Devil within myself – because indeed, He is within us all. I suppose this is the general ‘theme’ of the album – opening the third eye, searching for the darkness within one’s self in order to get a better grasp of the perfection of perdition, the constant drive towards decline in order to evolve, divine illumination through self-negation… Everything to do Necrosadist is a metaphor or a representation of something higher that I can’t always easily explain. The cover artwork depicting the ‘Scolopendra Satanae’ embracing the Obsidian Sphere is itself another metaphor (the sphere itself has so many allegorical meanings; planets and other celestial entities are spheres, scientists believe the universe is spherical…), encapsulating a wide range of themes present on the album in a succinct, efficient and visually stunning form. The same goes for our band photos. Everything plays an important part in working towards the conceptual whole. Musically speaking, “Abstract Satan” is a varied and dynamic album that builds and expands upon everything that Necrosadist has been doing since day one. There are elements to the sound that were present on our demo back in 2005 which may have been later discarded (not necessarily deliberately) on subsequent releases; so there is an acknowledgement to the past in that sense. But there are other completely new elements that have never been heard before in the context of Necrosadist, thus providing another dimension and level of depth to a sound that has already been bolstered and augmented by more ‘matured’ songcraft and the recruitment of Menthor – in my opinion easily one of the best drummers in extreme Metal – to the line-up. Basically, without wanting to review my own fucking album, I think there’s something almost everyone can find relevant on “Abstract Satan”.
You describe your music as “Raw Necro Violence”. Where did this term originate from?
I don’t even recall. Essentially, Raw Necro Violence is less of a musical description than it is a statement of musical intent. Music as violence vomited forth from the soul with intense raw passion and conviction. All done with a completely Necro feeling. This is a fucking confession!
Antaeus/Aosoth frontman Mkm wrote some lyrics for this album, how did this arrangement come about?
No arrangement, MkM and I have been in contact for years now, I merely asked him if he wanted to contribute towards the album by writing some lyrics and he did. I sent him the lyrics I had written, the song I had him in mind for and once he found the appropriate inspirational moment, he penned the lyrics and sent them to me. A similar story goes for KHZ who also provided lyrics for another track. This is the first time that Necrosadist has had external lyricists and their contribution adds another perspective to strengthen the whole.
Care to explain Necrosadist’s lyrical themes? There are many bands who write about Satanism, but who are nothing more than a pantomime. What are your views on this? And what are the necessities for a band to bear the black metal tag?
I find it difficult to discuss lyrical themes because not only are they something quite personal to me, but honestly sometimes I don’t know exactly what it is I’m writing about myself. Without wanting to sound too pretentious, it often feels like I’m being dictated to by something else and the words spill out onto a page only for me to later on find myself reading back what I’d written to try and interpret it for myself. On the other hand, there are times where I know exactly what I want to say but perhaps the words just don’t exist, hence the heavy use of metaphors and allegorical meanings. There’s really nothing to explain within the context of Necrosadist, I think the title of our album pretty much sums it up nicely.
To answer the second part of your question, Black Metal is a genre of music plagued with insincerity, maybe more so than other musical styles. Perhaps this is a result of the emphasis on the ‘scene’ rather than on the true essence behind the music in the first place. What I find more confusing and mildly infuriating are bands or individuals that deny the Satanic aspect of Black Metal altogether and lean towards futile ideas of hippy nature-worship, self-indulgent “woe, is me” cry-babyisms, dubious right-wing politics or in some more ludicrous cases, even Christianity. In such events, these bands or individuals are completely forgetting the Black component of Black Metal and are as such, missing the point completely. Either way, I don’t have the time nor the will to worry about these humans; getting myself closer to the essence is the ultimate goal.
The nature or idea of something like Satan extends far, far beyond the average metalhead Cro-Magnon’s barely superficial understanding of bipedal goats, inverted crucifixes, hooded sweatshirts and what have you; therefore it can be interpreted in any infinite number of ways – which is exactly why Black Metal is so diverse. There is no Black Metal dogma, this is both its weakness and its strength. Whichever way you interpret it though, the Devil is the very essence and the alpha and omega of Black Metal. Full fucking stop. Otherwise, you have missed the point completely.
Are there plans for any live performances soon?
No.
Thanks for your time, last words are yours!
You are nothing but flesh. Άγιος Ίσχυρος Μπάφομετ, Άγιος Αθάνατος.
