This is Occvlta, a grimy trio of blackened, punk metallers from Berlin—old school desecrators of a 70s doom, 80s punk, and 90s black metal mixture.
A German music magazine disliked them so much, “They wrote that we just drank hectoliters of beer, and that we sounded like Saint Vitus and Hellhammer, without any talent for song writing! Haha!” said Hord Moon (vocalist), “We found it so fucking cool that we had to print that review on our t-shirts!”
Occvlta could care less if you gave them a rough review. They know their influences, and they’re sticking with ‘em. “Fenriz [Darkthrone] wrote that our 7″ is dangerously close to Hellhammer, but bands like Dream Death and Obituary were also used to describe our demo, to only great reviews,” said Hord.
In an exclusive interview with ZT, Hord talks Darkthrone, their upcoming live dates in the UK, and what it’s like playing the music you love with your own family, brothers to be exact.
The trio, consisting of Hord Moon (vocals), Vrgh Moon (guitars), and Torm Moon (drums), began in 2004. Brothers Vrgh and Torm were both playing in a thrash band cleverly named Succubitch, when they decided, along with brother Hord, that they would start a black metal band. “We wanted to play groovy and doomy songs like Darkthrone’s ‘Panzerfaust,’” recalls Hord. Thusly, the band’s first song, “Black Wind Desecration Horde,” was born.
ZT: What sort of impression does Occvlta usually make on its listeners?
Hord: “People are usually happy that there are still bands [out there] that have the balls to play this kind of raw and primitive style. They call us old school, and black metal punk, and compare us to our favorite bands, Darkthrone and early Celtic Frost/Hellhammer.”
ZT: What is it like working, writing and touring together? How do you all mesh as a band?
Hord: “We are brothers and best friends, no rivalry at all. We already had that as kids. We rarely rehearse, but we talk and write a lot about ideas. I hum melodies into my mobile and Torm turns them into riffs. Today, it’s 90% Torm who writes the riffs and arranges the songs. Vrgh, our youngest brother, left us after recording the demo. He left a big gap that we had to fill up, which sucks, ultimately! At live shows he is replaced by our friends, Rott and Aas who played in Succubitch as well.
“We don’t tour a lot. Our first ever tour was in the States, and an awesome experience. [Brooklyn-based band] Natur, who we went on tour with, are our soulbrothers, and made the trip the best time of our lives.”
ZT: What sort of reaction are you expecting from your UK audiences?
“We have already reached a lot more than we ever expected! We should lay the band to rest, cause it can only gonna go down from here, but before we have to record an album on vinyl!
“In the US, I expected only a few people to come out to our shows, because we saw fucking Pilgrim in New York before we kicked off, and their audience was lame, but then I was positively surprised. I expect the same from the UK—Lame bunch of pale, ugly redheads! Exactly the people I need to get in the right mood to deliver!
“Let’s see what England has to provide for us! We know what to expect in London, but we are especially looking forward to playing the other cities.”
You can see Occvlta live, along with Chapel of Disease, as they “Let the rotten times roll,” on their string of UK dates beginning on January 29, 2013 in Bristol @ The Exchange.