P. Emerson Williams Press - 1996/2004 by P. Emerson Williams

6'"{ t1!qM :t!q "UO!tOWa oq:>nw" aqt tng lIaM S1!tua:>ap U1!qt i!JOW S! owap aqt '~UOIM aw ta~ t,UOp pU1! 'W!l .sguos S1!'lIOM OSI1!tnq uo!towa oq:>nw ss1!dwo:>ua ,{IUO tOU t1!qt sam!p aSO!pU1!I~al1! 'aldw1!xa IOJ ' "1!!dot!l,, pU1! "qsald puo,{ag tsnl" ' dH S6, l!aqt UO S'l:>1!lt OMt a\U .lattaq tSalatU! aqt Ploq Ot UMOp S~U!qt t!pa Ot padlaq s,aq '~U!t!~UOS dod 11!u°!t!P1!lt aqt Jo puoJ alOW S! (t661 U! .H.d qt!M Sa:>IOJpaU!Or OqM) U!1!IJ:>W laqdotS!lqJ S1!tnq 'StUaWa~U1!ll1! aqt qt!M lapU1!aW Ot pUat Ot pasn aq t1!qt Patt!Wp1! S1!qlatad ."saA!I l!aqt aA1!S Ot aunt 1!at!.IM t,Uprn°:>" a'l!I sa!ltU1!S1!aldun lattn Spl1!tS1!q11!:>!t!DtSOW aqt a'l1!w ,{Iq!ssod prnOM 'owap ~uaI-wnqI1! ,sw°'L1 JO naA '"uawwats ~o taWa~al" ssaul11 ue JO .<.te!Q a~ ff.i)){\!lS i)\{ll\! pi)Wnq i)q Ol S! UOZUOJO\{:) '2U!UMoJp Aq \1l\!i)P S! ..L .0. A .i)IA:ls Au\! U! S:j!J UOZUOJO\{:) U\!\{l \{lo2 U!\1l!M AIq\!tJOJWOJ i)JOW SlY sw°\I.L JO I!~A .i)A!ssi)Jdxi)

PU\! J!POIi)W

i)JOW OSI\! lnq

'i)d\!l

pi1P9-JIi)S i)\{l U\!\{l 2U!lUi)!JOS!P PU\! J!lO\!\{J i)JOW Ui)Ai) i)q Oll! lU\!M I .uozuOJO\{:) S\! J\!J os lno lnd i)AJ l\!\{M Aq Pi)J\!J:I Ui)i)q AIi)J\!q S\!\{ P\!i)\{ Aw U! i)A\!\{ I punos i)\fi

.Si)SSi)JXi) PU\! SUO!SSi)sqo Aw n\! SU!\!lUOJ

uozuOJO\{:) .A\!Ji)p pU\! \{lMOJ2 '\1l\!i)P 'i)J!I Jo Si)pk:> spJ\!2i)J n\! II .Ji)l\!M S! SW°\I.L JO n~ A i)I!\{M

i)J!J S! UOZUOJO\{:)

){\!i)ds U\!W i)\1lli)I

lnq

Sd\!\{Ji)dff

...ffAI\{tJ\!i)Unff

Ji)\{lO i)\1l pU\! ffAJtrlJ\!i) ff 2u!i)q \{l!M

.JIi)SW!\{ 2u!i)q

OM:j i)\1l JO i)UO

'puo A PU\! S!!tJoW Ui)i)M:ji)q i)JUi)Ji)JJ!P i)\{l i)){!I lOU S! 'i)Wnss\! I 'spi3roJd lro!snw

OM:j i)\{l Ui)i)M:ji)q i)JUi)Ji)mp i)\{l. .UOZUOJO\{:) PU\! SW°\I.L JO I!~A \{loq PU!\{i)q U\!W i)\{l S! i)H .V Jo sn i)\{l U! 's~i)sn\p\!ss\!w 'i)U!PlOOJg U! Si)A!1 Apui)J.Iro PU\! A\!M.ION U! Si)AIOM Aq ~!\!J S\!M SW\!m!M UOSJi)WH Ji)li)d

.soe1{J .1{Jog

IenJ!J gu!Jua!Jos!p :UOZUOJo1{;:) IeJ!ssep laJqwos

:swo1{.L

alII

I!aA

U! .lalll.lnj

~U!q~ ,~U!~S!Xi3, AIUO i3q~ i31,i3M ~t!q~ i3~t!~Si3M

eI!ttew °'pI!W lifI

.AueWJij9

'U!Ilijg SSOvt 't£t .ltSlijijH 'paUMOla u.lijqt!ij ijte!ld01dde teqt t,US! ijU!Ze~eW e ot ,P09, plOM ijqt AIdde ot 'AeM ijqt Agu ...neU! ne UOSlijd J!I°'PUeIijw f.;p,ijld e WJ 10U Aneijl S,t! uo!U!do Aw U! tnq '~U!tjt ,J!tS!A!t!SOd, JO Pu!){ ijWOS se ~U!'JU!qt JO AeM S!qt tijldlijtU! O:j pUij:j ijId0;}d ijWOSu i.:jeqM OS lIe :je ~U!q:j tu\!Jy!u2!S AIUO ijqt s! JIijS ijqt A20IOWij:js!dij JO:jU!Od ijqt WOld lueJy!u2!SU! neJ PInoM I ~u!qtijWOS An\!;Jl :jOUS! S!'U .q:jleH UO ~U!qt ~IqeA01d SSijI10 CUOWAIUO ~q:j S! ~JU~tS!Xij UMO S,ijUO ijSneJ, 'Ot pij'Pe:j:je AIqeuoS\!;Jl :jSOW~q PInoJ ,P09, plOM .ijqt WoqM O:jJIijSW!q uew ~q PInoM :j! u~q:j

J! Ui3Ai3 ~nq 'JnOS pUt! qSi3IJ JO ~no UO!~t!~nW ~U!){URS t! i31t! i3M 'Si3A .qt!AOqi3f 'lli3r ~t!lfl 10 1i3qd!J n01.1W i3q ~! ~q~!W ',pl01, nt!J Ai3q~ ~t!lfl Xi3Idwo:> f.J,!lO!li3Ju! pi3~:>i3r01d i3WOS U! SUo!~nIOS 'li3i3S ~nq Si3AIi3SWi3q~ U!t!Idxi3 o~ pi3!l~ Ui3Ai3 ~OU i3At!q oqM S~Ut!Ali3S Sno~!Ii31 pi3~t!li3Ui3~i3p JO ~U!Ut!i3W i3q~ U! ,P09, plOM i3q~ i3Sn ~,UOp I i3i3SnoA SV .0~Ji3rpt! U! OP!Pt!J:jUO:> t! S! ,PO9, plOM i3lfl ~ng" .i3AI~t!~i3U 10 i3AI~ISOd i3q Ai3q~ At!w

'i3AIOAi3 PJnoM

~t!lfl SUO!S~IjUO:>

pUt! spi3dst! nt! lfi!M -S!lfl U! pi3pnpU! i3q AIi3~!U!Ji3p Ui3lfl PJn°M i3M pUt! ',P09, ~U!q~ i3IOqM i3q~ nt!:> PJn°:> i3M 'SU!t!lq 1no i3p!S~no PllOM i3WOS S! i3li3q~ ~t!q~ i3~t!~Si3M JI .M°U'l noA '!i3q1 t!~ut!d .Si3AIi3S1no JO 1Jt!d t! 0S{t! S! ~! pUt! ~! JO 1Jt!d t! i31t! i3M ~t!lfl i3wnsst! PJn°:> i3M Ui3lfl 'nt! ~t! i3S1i3A!Un t! S! i3li3q~

JI .uaaM1aq UJ 'j,UJqtaWOs aq tq'j,!W t! t:>eJ UI .uo!teu!Sew! aA!peJaAO-JaAa JnO Aq qPOJ tqSnoJq tNS Jo a:>a!d e aq PJnO:>aSJaA!un aljt -eSJaA a:>!Aaq osIe PJno:>tL, lSU!ljtAue JO arns w,I 'lUJljt noA sa'lew tel1M "laSJaA!Un PaIIe:> SUJqt S!q aSnq S!qt U! WJOM aqt S! uew teqt aJnS OSnoA sa'lew tel1M" .uewes sAes ',Jlas aljt Jo UO9!~o:>aJ aljt tnq UO! -tda:>Jad Jo f.:J,!I!qeS!q pue uew tnoqe punoJ -oJd AIIe:>!Wso:>~UJljtou S! aJaqt paapUI" .Jaqto aljt ueqt anleA aJow J9 S! AqdosoINd ou snqt pue -ue:> aM tSaq aqt t! SUJZ!IeuOgeJ 'soeq:> aqt qt!M ~u!do:> UJ ateJadsap IIe aJe aM ":>!toelp tnqSUJqtAue JaAaU S! 'aSJaA!Un aqt JO soeq:> aqt JO ta:>eJ e SU!aq 'aJ!I asne:>aq 'asuas IeuogeJ e UJ IIe te ~UJqtAue ueaw t,usaop JaAateqM JO uO!~!IaJ

makes Peter pour out his soul in front of all the Beavisesand Buttheads of this world? "It's an illness," he states. "1 don't have the discipline not to do this. Maybe I need someoneI could kvetch to on a daily basis. Every now and then I find an intelligent and spiritual person between yon Beavii that populate this great pink-faced part of the world, so maybe my music is a way for me to find those few worthy humans. I think misanthropy is nothing more than an awareness of what humans are capable of coupled with a disappointment at how seldom that potential is lived up to. My music and art is also part of the WORK. They are commentary and analysis of my magickal diary, of bringing the subconscious to the surface." With O1oronzon, P. Emerson aims to make music that's as ritualistic and disorienting as possible. He claims that he's not really content with the results quite yet (two demos: "Emotional Hunger" and Demo '95), but wants to go further... The concept of "taking it as far as it will go" -what exactly does that mean? "I'll not be satisfied completely until I manage to tear time and space into ribbons and unhinge the minds of humans. That ensures that I'll never stop pushing. I want to find the perfect balance of spirit, flesh, ritual, visual, musical and cathartic elements. I'm trying to alter my reality and perhaps bring a few others with me. I'm sure this sounds very pretensious, but I'm quite serious. Not that I don't enjoy two-minute punk songs. One of the things I love about black metal is the way a depth of emotions and philosophies can be expressed with simple elements. The best BM has that in common with the best punk. Should I get the resourcesand time to realise my ambitions with O1oronzon I'll probably produce a mix of, to quote Lovecraft, that which cannot be described and the thing that should not be. It's all I love that no one can stand even a minute of."

": ,~~

Veil OfThoms (l-r): ChristopherMcClain and PeterEmersonWilliams. called dark, I just don't try to make it dark. Much of the music that is supposed to be dark is in reality as dark as a lit tungsten bulb." "Kampen mot Gud er nyttig"

"Whitney Houston is Depressing" Peter has also told me something about him needing the opportunity to lock himself away in a remote cabin in the woods to complete the work. Is that when he's the most him or what? "1 do need isolation to fully concentrate on the work. Much of it is born of conversations and experiences with friends, but I need time alone to digest what I take in. Isolated, stir crazy and obsessiveis the state I'm in when I come the closest to what I'm trying for. Where and when I'm at my best is always different, so that's hard to define. I waste a lot of materials getting into the transcendent state where I go into a trance and come up with the raw material for my work. This is especially true of writing. It's very similar to Austin Spare's automatic writing and drawing. I'm usually on a more mundane plane while polishing and perfecting it." Peter maintains that his music is not deliberately dark, and definitely not depressing. "To me, the music of Whitney Houston and Enya is depressing, not Christian Death or My Dying Bride. The latter express the feeling of melancholy, which is a form of sad beauty. In the Middle Ages melancholia was thought of as the spark of the creative flame, which I must agree with." So what adjectives people should use when talking about his material if they really want to flatter the man? "Hector from DeSade 'zine said it's not one thing or the other. I like that. It's accurate, yet cryptic. I'm not offended if it's

l I

Peter writes some of his lyrics in Norwegian -isn't that a little opportunistic? "It certainly looks it. By the time I've been signed and really get going it will not matter becausepeople will have gone on to another trend. I've always written songs in Norwegian. At one time my Norwegian was much better than my English, so it made sense to write in Norwegian. In the eleven years since then my English improved, so I write most songs in English now. In the long run it would be more lucrative to keep to English, but I write in the language I get the initial idea in. And as anyone can tell, I've not gone out of my way to look like a black metaller, nor a goth for that matter." Mr Williams is of the opinion that the global takeover of American consumerism is much more of a threat than Christianity. I wholeheartedlyagree. "Kampen mot Gud" is more or lessuseless-"Puck Allah!" would at least show some courage, whereas things like "JesusChrist is a cunt!" and "Fuck God!" are just utterly pointless. "Nei, kampen mot Gud er nyttig" , insist Peter. "Just becauseChristianity is dead doesn't mean that the corpse cannot spread disease.Though saying 'Puck God' is pointless if you can't do it. I do find it amusing that what the BMpeople have against the church is the very evil they say they embrace. It would take more for a

wester:nerbelow the position of a mayor than saying 'Puck Allah' to bring a Fatwa on his ass,so I'm not sure that saying that would require more courage. This would be I true in an Islamic country. One does have to weigh courage against enlightened selfinterest. To truly proclaim war against the church one would need to first obtain the head of the Pope." Glenn Danzig said in an interview (Seconds #31) with BM author Michael Moyhinan -also of Blood Axis and Storm (USA) notoriety -that Islam is the biggest religion in America. Peter says it's bullshit: "The biggest religion is Mammon, followed by the Nazarene's death-cult. Most private schools are Catholic in this country." Making the Satanic Nation a Reality Christianity and modern consumerism work hand in hand to create an environment which is comfortable for the mediocre massesyet stifling for those few with artistic, intellectual and individualistic yearnings. Rather than bum churches or kill priests (which element essentially causes the massesto feel empathy and so enact social programs like welfare and easy Norwegian prison sentences-which institutions let black metallers lead a more pure lifestyle), shouldn't the hordes instead be killing the musicians who create punk, grunge, goth, and pop music or other creators of the despicable popular culture (leaving the churches standing so as to keep the majority's mind in a slave-state)?That way at least the church is guaranteed to preach tolerance and philanthropy, while the common idiots are deprived of the stupid things that make them happy. "The 'radical' views of many BM Satanists fall in lock-step with the rightwing Christians. American Christianity, which is rapidly taking the place of the more moderate European Christianity, espousesjudgement, sanctimoniusness and heavy sentencing of all criminals. If they truly wanted to propagate evil they'd cut their hair, wear a suit and throw themselves into normal mediocrity. They'll get nothing done killing unimportant people, nor burning one tiny building at a time. If they are serious about their apocalyptic rants. they should start by setting fires all across the world simultaneously. Writing songs for a tiny audience does nothing but provide

TG tSOW aqt aAeq We3la

~ R

I?I!ttI?W

°'1'1!W

lifl

.l.eM.IoN ~olSO £610 ~t1 U~!~A~SSOW~I.q~~a ~JpU1l il.l!S p{llOM I 1! a)ffi ~JOW S! !i.lros .ujf.A00J9 i~AOJp ~M Je;) ~l[t U~Aa pue saol[S 'SpJe;) t!paJ;) JO UO!te;)syuO;) ~l[t UO!tU~W Ot tOU '~U!Uo!ts~nb JOJUMOtUMOp J~l[tOW Plo Je~p I.w ~U!IInd SOdffi)l ~Je p~J~qw~W~J ~q Ot s~xew!IJu :s~nU!tuo;) pue 'st.Iod~J aJpU1l 'u~deJ letu~w pue Suo!ts~nb p!dn:js l[~noJl[t l!eJt ~'!!I-~tuea e Jo t.Iets ~l[t I.luo SeM tt!l[t MoNu .Ut1Wrno JOJ~UpISe ~J~l[t u~~q pel[ Ua:I ~l[t Ot J~MSUe s,l.eM.ION) SOdrn)I Jo dnoJ~ u~W!JJ ;)!uetesu lep~ds ~l[t woJj SJOte~!tS~AU!tel[t W!l[ II~t Ot PaIIe;) J~l[tOW S,~Jpu1l J~tel sl.ep Jo ~Idno;) e I!tun ...! Jo aJow ~U!l[tOU ~UPfU!l[t 'w!~l[puOJ.L U! pU~,!aaM l[~nOU~ tUeSe~ld e pel[ pue tU~M I.~l[t 'II~M .o~ Ot aaJj ~J~M sl.~ ~l[t PlOt I.~l[t os 'JoJ ~UPfOOI~J~M I.~l[t tel[M t,U~J~M I.lqeqoJd SMoII~J we~Ja- ~l[t tel[t ~S!leaJ ot ~UOI OOt w~l[t ~'!et t,up!P tI .J~!IJe~ srnol[ L.JO 9 e~J\?tel[t U! ~u!wnq-l[;)rnl[;) e ~U!w~;)UO;) ~U!uo!ts~nb JOJU! W~l[t PaIInd ~l[ os 's~;)eJ J!~l[t uo S~I!WS u~'!unJp p!dn:js pue O~J~tS ~l[t uo ZZ1?!UO!snj l[t!M Je;) ~l[t U! ~Um!S W~l[t punoJ ~l[ se ~UPIOOI I!A~ I.tt~Jd w~l[t punoJ ~A,tsnW J~;)yJO ~;)!Iod ~l[.l .W. d 0£:6 punoJe 1oJtuO;) ;)YJeJt u~u!tnoJu e U! paddOts aJ~MI.~l[t U~l[M u~zooq ~l[t OtU! II~M I.pe~Jle u ~J~M ~dnoJt ~l[t JO SJ~qw~w M~J e pue 'let.Iow ~~ PUV PJ£ ~~ t!S!A Ot S6, ~tel U! (~A!Jp rnol[ 01 -6 e 1.1~teW!xOJdde) W!~l[PUOJ.L Ot dn ~U! -A!JP ~J~M S{e~ JO ~Idno;) e e snld (Jet!~) ~Jpu1l pue (Jet!~) u~~J0f '(swnJp) SJVJ :SMOIIOJse sao~ f.JOtS~l[.l .~A~!I~q I 1u~ts!xa-uou ss~1JO aJow aJe ws!JOJJ~t ;)!Uetes pue d!l[SJOM I!A~a Ot suo!t:J~UUO;) J!~l[t l[~nOl[tle tunl[ \pt!M ue!~~M.IoN ~l[t Jo ~Jel[s J!~l[t tO~ ~Ael[ we~a e!lnf 'w~~s I.ew t! se ~lq!P~J;)UI

OU tnq

.ApVo

-u3»VIs3n1l

--,

'suOSI

e t! a'!ew

'uasueH

S! le\J1~!.IO al{t uo f.t1lenb

Jo ~!S

punos

'PaJJJnw alll

e se S!qt pataJdJatU1

Ot) alU!1 e tsnr U!eldwoJ

Ol.

~ ~

woJJ saJuanJJu!

~U!MeJp

aw paWeM

awaldns

l!al{~

pll!al{

, \'-' °>1>1!W /ifl

.~uawwo:> Anl!n:t:>1! ~,UaAI!l{

I! ~1!1[1sa>ll!w

a:>ua~s!xa Aw

lsPI! l!a1[1 U! ,,:>!snw 1p~!M I!Aa sa>ll!w laWJod" a>1!I UI!~OIS I! pasn Anl!n:pl!

Aa1[1 J! pa~!:>xa alow uaAa aq al{ PlnoM .op .SI!1{~V SI! >lII!~ O~ uawoM IOJ UO W!l{ swn:t ~! ~1!1[1a~olM a:>uo la~ad ' Anl!U!d

',!JOJ tJe

peq aJpuH

rn~H

U! IIV

d!\{M

IL°\{M

".,!:>1!lq aqt U! Jaq~"J alt:j!I1! i}J1! tsaJ al{t pU1! pU1!q al{t a:>uo ,!:>1!q aAOW I.lq1!qoJd nJ .aA1!IS-ag1!M 1! aq Ot anu!tuo:>

Ot tsnr alss1!q aqt qgnoJqt

Ot tU1!M t,Uop I tnq 'ot tU1!M I.lat!U9ap L, l.,{1!MJON Ot ,!:>1!q gU!AOW JO tqgnoqt JaAa .H. d S1!q ,,{1!M Jaqt!H .wn!UUamW

.e.,!.e

aqt I.luo tnq 'UOOW 11nd ue!l{tedJeJ se UMOU)j I.paWJoJ aJaM we3Ja e!Jnf

;)1tsetueJ

I!m.l!w

.vsn ~9v1Z0 VW 'aU!PlOolg ~Z# pI!O~ >llpjlas 89 ~SWI!!mM uoslawH .d ~UOZUOlO\1;:)/SW°'l.l JO I!~A isou°W!l!PO>lI!)l so~UI!d sodV ".POOl{W!p!A ~UJ:jl!lqala:> sladlal{-JIas asnol{-aaJJ°:> AAOOI~ ~ou 'SNoH JO uoav al{~ U! ~UO~S aq o~ all! uawoM .sa!dd!l{ (,a~I!MaS, a>l!I pa:>unouold) a~I!MaU -1!:>:>!M >ll!aM ~,Uall! Ol{M alal{~ ~no s~snlro:>o all!waJ all! ala1[1 ~1!\fI MOU>f o~ a>l!I ~sn! L, ~ou n,I os ':>!snw I "JJo-wn:t

Jo aUl!q a1[1 ~u!aq al{s pUI! 'UI!~OIS ~I!l{~ ua>ll!~ Apl!alII! SI!l{ 'ss al{~ JO JloM-al{S 'I!S{I .~U!~!:>xa alOW aq PlnoM ~I!l{~ 'naH U! nl! sn d!l{M p,Aal{~ P!I!S Ol{M Aa1[1 alaM ~! J! 'MON" luO Aauow l!a1[1 a~SI!M o~ a~l!ladsap pUI! qwnp /i//U;J.l a1[1loJ wnqII! ~Sl!qiv al{~ Jo sa!do:> 00£ al{~ ~U!Al!aI '~l{~!U ~I! a~I!I wnl{ sa~P!lJ rno O~ ~UJua~S!I pUI! SMa!/Ua~U! .Sl!qiv ~U!Pl!al o~ >I:>!ts ~sn! aM ~,uPlnol{S ladd~s

dn t! swns .",!JOJ ~oJd pue zzer Ot pue ,!IOJ WOJJ 'J!snw JO Si)Jua~ pue

spuPIlle

aqt teqt

a I.zea JW .(t661 'J!snw aple~tUeAV) "JOU!W poOla U1 sapeuaJas" tuallaJxa al{t P!P teqt dn-au!J al{t WOJJ u!ewi)J i)JPUH pue uasueH ua~J0f StS!.Iet~

I.q~aa

!.1e)! pue

JO ap1s S1\{t t51Ie:>0A aIewaJ

e!Inf

a,!aq!A Jo adeqs aqt U1 tel{t pauo!tuawun o~ tOU tsnw t! puy .~UOI OOt wnqle ue lOJ t!eM Ot aAeq t,UPlnoqs aM 'le!.IateW al{t JO q~UaJtS aqt ~U!.Iap!suoo ' l.eMAuy 1eal~

aqt teqt alOMS pue teqt JOJ paz~olode I.peaJle alpuH tna ."1 se JaMOJJtq~!N V" JO sa,!!1 al{t JO paJJH otJ!ldn aqt sqlntS1PI."q~1Is tI ..le1tsalaJ pue ppnl pue tq~!.Iq os S! J1snw aqt asneJaq ~u!tet!JJ1 alU11 e PU1J I \PNM t1q e S! I.doJ I.w uo punos

.StN-tleqJ JoJ W!.I~ OOt tqnop ou tnq speaqletaw lOJ tJos oot :s1 t! se "sdweJ uaaMtaq" I.IWJ1J f.ttaJd I.peilJle aJe we3la e!Jnf tel{t alqeqoJd 1.Jl{~N s,t! q~nol{tIV .("..PU!'! awos Jo f.t!.IroaSU!

I.llenpe aAeq aldoad awos) SaJeld U! tJnq t,UPJnOM a~pa Ja!Aeaq 'laq~nOJ e aql.ew asoddns I '("..laAateqM JO "ws!todau" JO aw asroJe Ot no1. lOJ tIroyJ!P aJow pet iteqt s,teqt pue 'silOp aq tnq 'qJnW OS S~U!qt asol{t sa,!!J aq I.qM ilt~b MOillJ t,USilOp aq :sqo[Molq pue SJafunqasaa\p se lIaM se "pun" pJOM aqt qt!M d!qsuo!telaJ s,Z!.Iuad a'!!J S,tI l.S! t! se t! I.orua pue J!Snw al{t U1 JJasl.w a~lnpU1 tsnr I t,UI?J 1.\1M iOOt aw lOJ SiIO~ teqt '!U1l{t Ot a,!!J p,l pue 'lIe t! PU!\laq uo!ssed 1I?J!snw aUInua~ s,alaqt teqt aas Ot I.sea f.JaA S,t! tel{t atetS tsnr P ,ll.lIeuoSJad tnq ,I.IP!pUalds

leJ!SSep

JO pU!'! J!polaw 'paseq-IetaW e" :alf.ts J!al{t JO uo!td!.IJsap UMO s,pueq aqt MolleMs I.lleJ!t!.IJUn pue peaqe o~ tOu I.qM OS ...l.eSOtteqM eap! ue JO al»!J se I.laSpi)Jd aAeq I MOU pue owap S6, JaqwaAoN J!aqt WOJJ tJadxa Ot teqM eap! OU JO alU!J peq I os '{ewsl.qv pueq laWJoJ S!\I lO "...sapeuaJas" Jo aJUe!JJ!.Iq J!JJetaw ,!lep aqt l{t!M Op Ot ~U1l{tOU JO am!J seq le!.Iatew wei)Ja e!Inf aJ

S~tou~P!S J!uetes ,

-ledwo;) 'll!!!g

aqt Jo wnt aqt ,{q sJaog-q:>rnq:> J1!I~i}J aq mM waqt Jo MaJ 1! atJnb t1!l{t aAa!laq I pU1! Jatad qtog .q:>Jnq:> aqt l{t!M pat:>auuo:> S! t1!l{t n1! ,{OJtsap Ot gU!tU1!M Jo ,!1!ads OqM SJO!JJ1!M l1!taw )[:>1!lq al{t Jo ,{U1!W aJ1! os '~1!d tSow

aqt JOJ sauol:> aJ1! su1!:>!Jawv

".aJaqMf..laAa woq aJ1! slnos :>!U1!t1!S anJ.L .sa!t!I1!uo!t1!U ,{U1!W pU1! a:>1!JAJaAa Jo aldoad gU!MOW(

..0,;.

,{orua OSI1! I lSat1!i}Jg

';;',,:",~T

al{t Jo awos

S! aJntjn:>

11!U!gJ1!W al{t tnq 'At!U1!wnq Jo tSJOM al{t S! W11aJtSU!1!W a'1.L .i}JaqMasya pu!J t,usaop auo qt8uaJts JaUU! U1! )jU!\{t aJ1!p OqM asoqt gU!A!g dn spua t! tnq 'l1!npanatU!-!tu1! ,{pualnJ!A S! aJntln:> a'1.L .si\.l J!aqt tno UMOJqt aA,oqM asoqt guOUI1! ,{psow 'sa:>1!ld awos U! punoJ aq U1!:>t1!qt WSn1!np!A!pU! Jo ,!1!aJts al{t S! sn

aqt Jo Sap1!gal tsaq al{t Jo aUQ" l.t! tnoq1! i}Jal{t aJ1! JO '~1!aq 'P1!lq

sa'!n aq t1!l{t s~U!l{t

S!q Jo wOttoq aqt woJJ ,{auoq pU1! '!I!W Jo PU1!1 al{t at1!q Jatad saoa ...SWo:>t!S 'sa!d aldd1! 'SPI1!Uoa:>w puy .:>!snw AJtuno:> 'qv ".(paA1!S aJ,no,{ pU1!) p1!ap aqt Jo sa!poq al{t l{t!M n1!M 1! PIJnq pU1! 01!.L al{t at1!ldwatuo:> i!1!M S! op Ot paau aM n1! t1!qt ap!:>Jns SS1!W uo tuaq-naq os S! At!U1!wnH .a:>uaJJo g~U1!q 1!

guos qS1!:> ,{UUljof

~~ ,,-'!

;t;~

1! JO JaAo:> ,swo\[.l

U!gaq uaAa Ot a,!1!t pynOM t, a:>uagmatU!

atJnb

pU1! 'saW!J:> ArJ.ad

t!WWO:> Ot pU1! At'U1!!ts!Jq:> gUIAoJtsap Jo ,!1!ads Ot gU!l{t

,'..

~l~! ~'.;-:;:. 'r~ '.' ..

'L' , "11

JO l'OJA

a,!1!w pynOM t1!\{t tng .:>!snw AJtunO:> JO PIJOM al{t P!J Ot aq pynOM op Ot gU!\{t tsJ!} a'1.L" .Atn1!i}J 1! u°!tI!U :>!U1!t1!S al{t gu!)j1!W

",'Y ,"

f*'!

pU1! aundps!p asuaww! aqt qt!M ,{poq,{U1! aas ot ta,{ aA1!q I. Atn1!aJ Ot sa!s1!tu1!J asaqt gu!Jq ,{n1!nt:>1! ota:>uanIJu! aqt pU1! JaMbd al{t U!1!g Ot Jaqtou1!

...1.;. ~\

JO aJntln:> aqt auo S,tI .a:>1!los

~.'\1:""

.~"d-

.(lq!$Sod Plno;) 1V1t1Su!\{1011~Uop ~AIII 1nq 'Jlq!$Sod .{juow ~q1 1{\, 1~ 011UW I .~UOW lpq1 ~UWu~s .(1PU!1q~lO}'Jq SA\OqSO!PU 1~~w 01 UO!1U~Ut .(N 01 put suO!1tt!dWO;) 1no 1j~q;) 01 ~Uol.l~A~ ~~tmo;)U~ I OS 's1UOl} 1{\, UO WSp!1dJ;)S~uno;)U~ I put S1~Old Ut=O 1noqt 1t;)!1d~;)S .(pq~l :)It ~ldo~cl .A2010Uq;):)1:)q1 10U put sut!;)!5nW ~1 q1!A\$)!11tm} ~ "S:)u!\ptU1Wnlp :)St101 Moq II\OII1j1.Uop .(ldW!S SUtp!Sl1W{\'1~W'wm!15.<w pUt p~ QP~. ll:)UtU1 ~q1 UOS1~oq1lno}.. .."S;)U!q;)tU1 wrup ~m 011qi!no {lUUl) {\'1:)WU1.<poq011 p~ }0 ~P!SSJtl1:)SI1t;), ~ put du:> s.<W{\' 1SOW{\' m SpIiq ~uo '1pA\ 'Jmt;), W:)tp :)WtJq u:)A:).(1{\':)l 1.Ut;)I PUV ":)U!I{;)tU1Wnlp t ~ :)l.no.( put ptrrq ~o t S,1!:)St1~ 15n! no.( SS!Pput It p St1R'J'}~~~ q1!A\ l:)qP~Ol UOZUOlOIt) dwnl 01 ~Id~ lO} i.= l~q1tl s,11 ."1! }0 illv. ~q Ol :)ADQP1.Uop1Ql :)tp put ~op w.I 1tqA\ 1~ 01 ~U1~ ~B ..<1tUOA\ ~q1 .(IUO .goa'y Ho'Jrw UO:);xImIloJDd :)mW:)p put :)1~ Dq1U ~q1 U'!If1 UO!1!qWt 111I1~1Y111J Ol l:)sop q;)nW :)wo:> l1!A\ :)mpl 1X:)U~q1 put ~lp {\'UOW put RlO!1mpnlPq :);)OPU!OllUtA\ I ";)!SI1W .(w 01 ~U!U~1S!1 }0 spuo~S A\:)} t .(IUO q1!A\ ptw u~w :)Ut5 :)A!lP 011UW I .B} OSWOl} JJO.(W B} wl q;)!\{A\ 'J:xJ:)'!pm {\'1:)W~q1 U1~pi! 1SOW~1 U:)A:)U:)1q'a!lJOl ;)!5nw .(W 1UW I 1{\' 1t :>!10tq;)1011'u~ .<w 01 'put '~!S U~I;) ~1 UOl!q t S! 1! 1tq1 S! wnq{\' S!q1}0 WSP!1!D ~q .(W .DUtU111lI1 lO} ':)oO.D\.L1Il'(l lO 'rJ~ lO} DAO Su!1J~ 'Jq Ol ~~ 1OUSW UOZUOlOIt) 111I1W1S :)q1 WOl} A\:)U1jI '1PM.. ...:)U~ 'Jq PtnOA\':)W lO} '1j;)~ :)tp }0 :)WOS 1tq1 U~ Ptn°A\ UO!pnpoldnAO }0 mS!qA\ :)DW ~1 :)St1t;),'OA\1 l'Jqwnu wnq{\' }0 P!U)t .(1fm1;)t wl OP'JI!D;)Uoo wl St B} St 1P 1t 1! ~

1,Uop~

:)ld~

:)S)U ..~

1q8!l d01S. ~1[!1 wl PU' ...~Jq=!{d~pun ~!WO~ sm!flS 'S1!WJI ~!{1 l~AO pui dn Su!oS 'Auo!{do:>i:> i 01U! SU~A~l 1! QW!11i SoSrw

1~1 1nq '1! UO JJU1S pooS ~WO$ S.~1~!{11~1 SOa1r,'

1noqi .(i5 ~ldOJd pm!{

~Al 'Q.( 'su0~1

~!1zzna "1:>inUO:>

.(W JO SU1ns ~!{1 01 SJOPdn..MOlloJ ~!{11~M

~JS 01 ~D1U!

'Jq IL1I .Q1ns ~!{1 U! UOOW lJU:I .<q P~!lm 1.US!1~1 ~I~l .cfV"N .(IUO J\\1 S! wnqre .(W ~A~!1'Jq I 'Sl01nq!l1S!p ~!{1 Jo u~~q ~l

~!{1 JO ~WO$ .y

'1m1 ~!{1 .(i5 01 *du!Jzznd 'Jq 01 SU°!1:>~l

~ i ~ ~

WOlJ .(I~ 1! 1~1 p~ ~l

1!q i .(11{~

'rensn ~!{1 Jo !{:>nw 001 ~ln!1 ~

I .wnqre PliAUOJ1~

ADA i ~q 01 S!l{11~p!SU0J I ..:>iJlM ~!{1 Q!{:>1~

.(1~l~W 1! 1nq 'uns

1U)~p

i S! SoSy

soSrW

1{U!!{1 I.. lP~

U! ~

1~1 punos ~!{1 01U! p~ddn .(I~l"rq SI!!A~

£.IUO

~1~m~1~UO;)

lPJ~!!{:>i

i II!1S 1! S! lQ

SW!i -JI~SlnO.(

'MON

~11qM ':)dn

pU~

;)110~q;) ~q

wnql~

.~A1SSJldx~

UOZUO.1oq':) ~lOW

9o9v pU~

'p.1O'J

~1 ~q1

UOZU01oq~

~W11

sw~111!M 1s~1

~\U

£.dd'Eq

11 U1 I~A~l ~q1

~lOW

~U~110S1P

01 '1.1~a)

pUi

~U1WO;)

a'~rw

;)1pol~w

~q1 ~1

U~A~ '(9661

P~1Il~1

~1In

'..s~£.

no.(

no.( Jo ~=

.(i5 no.( op 1~ .UiW

01 ~U1U~1S!1 osre

P~lU~M UOS1~lU3

.."p~J ~2nu~Ap~ .s£.~

~q1 ~l~

S!ql

'11 ~1uq~I~~..

10J £.ip

~q1 JO l~plO

UO'!SUjUOO pU~ SO'Eq;) 'nolUlm

' A11nq~1SUL.

:)Al 'JDq1

bc lucrativc: What's thc dircct cffcct that you hopc Choronzon hason thc listcncr -thcsublimibal mcssagc,is it 'StudyLcs Crowley, do dru~ and flIck goats',basically? "Pcrsonally, I'vc ncvcr wantcd to flIck anything but a znoinaya grasotka, but, do what thou wilt shall bc thc wholc of thc law. Thc study of Crowley isn't mandat!>ry,though his writi~ ar\ only adangcr to tlX1scfor whom thcris no horc, anyway. And I do suppon thc 'Ncvcr Stop Thc Madncss' campaign. That campaign appcalsto my Skinnacsquc Social Darwinistic philosophy. "Any subliminal mcssagc would bc dircctly from Choronzon himsclf, and thcrcforc not ncccssarily known consciously by cvcn mc. ChorollZon is likc a maggot; hc turns thc abundant usdcss souls into organic spiritual mancr that thc univcrsc can fccd off, and is thcrcforc most rcprcscntativc of this part of thc ncw Aeon: I still can't bclicvc that thc uncrly brilliant Crimson A.wakcning is actually ova tcn minutcs! Can you tdl us thc story bchind this piccc of musidmagick? And... how do you do it? "Sarnoth has complaincd scvcral timcs that my so~ arc roo long. I rcspcct his opinion, sincc I bdicvc his onc of thc most brilliant musicians of thc lancr half of thc ccntury, but I don't havc thc ability to do anything but what comcs naturally. I try to rcfrain from rcpcating any idca too many timcs, but my most basic arrangcmcnts rardy cnd up shortcr thansi.x minutcs. "1 wrotc thc music to this song twdvc ycarsago, at a timc whcn I was ncithcr a vocalist nor a lyricist. I camc up with thc lyrics aftcr a timc whcn both I and my girlfricnd at thc timc wcrc having thcsc visions and drcams of mc slaughtacd in a sccludcd forcst whcrc my spirit was lingcring and gazing pcaccflllly at my mutilatcd rcmains. I rardy drcam anything that docsn't happcn, so maybc that's my fatc. This is onc of thc fcw songs fvc wrincn that wasn't crcatcd in a trancc' statc, though it is thc rcsult of many such incidcnts. ,) Oh ycah, I may havc askcd you this bcforc, but what ritUals do you havc and bdicvc in as far as songwriting is conccmcd? "Thc proccss of crcating rcsults morc from an inward proccss,which fvc also hcard Nick Lowc talk about, and thc pcrformancc of 1hc song is approachcd morc as a ritual. rn comc out of rituals that havc nothing to dQ with music that yidd thc sccdsand imagcs for son~ but it is mtditations that form thc son~ thcmsdvcs. Thc act of taking this raw mattrial is prcny mundanc, though thc pcrformancc, as I said, is quitc ritt1alistic.It sccms as though you want to go boldly beyond both round and structurc with Choronzon. What kind of a puzzlc is it to you' and what do you think is thc cast with music lovcrs in gcncral? "Most pcoplc likc music to havc a sound they can casily tunc out. It is too much for thcm if it dcmandsany amount of ancntion. Hcncc thc popularity of Phil CoUins, Jamcs Taylor and Van Morrison. It is gcnaally thc job of thc produccr to drain music of all that makcs music worthwhilc, which is why I likc to work with thc Foamin Bros., thcir philosot'hy is thc oppositc of that. "Spcaking for mysc1f, I think thc music and thc pcrformancc thcmsdvcs arc vastly morc impor~nt that thc production, and I fcd that thcris a grcat dcal of music that has bccn ruincd by a prcny sound. In fact, fm proud ofthc production of thc Camagc: dcmo, which fvc bccn told you ruddy criticizcd. It's ruggcd and raw! Guts hit thc floor, worms cxit your porcs!" What Camagc: dcmo? Gimmc Th, Day Man Lost or Infcsration of Evil any day. & for your fri,nd Voland's taPC' I didn't say a word about thc production, I mady askcd him if his planning to changc thcnamc to Bathory anytimc soon. By thc way, do you havc any othcr fricnds with onc-'manand-a-drum-'machint pro;Cctsgoing? It's bccn said that somconc who's madc a rcCQrd/t'laycdlivc can ncva again lisrcn to music thc way hc uscd to, bcforc this cxpcricncc. Thc ncutrality is gonc for good. I think this is, most truc with rccord labd pcrsonnd -good music just airl't good music if it's on thc wrong labd. ~ay, what havc

your experiences been like? How have your tastes and listening habits changed? "Shit, anyone who's twenty can't listen to mUSicthe sa.'11e way he did when he was thineen when he discoveredVenom, I don't long for the days when I knew nothing of mUSic.But in my caserd have to go back to when I was eight, before I got my first guitar, when I was listening to my mother's Black Sabbath, Deep puf1'le and ZZ Top albums, '1 don't really give a shit what label SOrtlethingis released on.lf it's good it's good.I Still like everything I always likcd. My tastesdon't change so much as expand.I don't care who you are. You'd be alternatively delighted or disgustedby my collection of mUSic.rm sure somesegmentwould want to kill me fot owning ~e Ellington records. rve also come to realize the genius of Satchmo on the last few years. Alben Ayler, Captain Bccth(an, T1D"obbingGristle, fuck, man, in a perfect world the mere cxistcnceof these people would causea masssuicide of the empty vesselsthat are mainstream anists of our day due to the fact that they deserve no less than the ovens: Is Vcil OfThIrns still active? 'We're very active these days, though we're finding thc goth audienceto be more conservative and less open than the country audience.rve found many more people in the black metal scene who like what we do than we've found in the goth scene. I do find it to be gratifying to scare the meek, mild and angelic fans of goth with our performances,though. My good friend Voland compared our live show with a cross bctWccnM~ky and Abrupnun. 'We did go through long, protracted and tonurous negotiations with T"1ziana for Veil Of Tbo~ but she couldn't ultimately deliver the goods. I didn't approach her for a deal, she offered us one and told us to keep a low profIle while we hammered out an agreement. We worked only locally, becoming one of the biggest goth bands in the Boston area, while shc drowned in previous commitments. We fen by the wayside in favour of the 'MaylI:m' <ahcmJEP and the embarrassingBurzum keyboard album. "Meanwhile, we've recorded our first album and are hoping against hope to f1l1da label and an audiencefor it. It has a couple of songs from the uganct og Stcmmw demo and a number of new son~ The fate of Vcil OfThIrns is unclear at the moment. I thought Choronzon was a conceit of limited possibility, as I thought Vcil OfThIrns had more possibility of succeeding.My instincts may be proven right, though the goth crowd aren't likely to take to a couple of ugly, butch-looking bastardsthese days. Neither of us is the femme pretty boy we were ten years ago.lf we got a cute girl to sing angelic voices we'd have a chance, though. Gf I hear another angelic voice, ru go on a murderous rampage!)" What a great biography accompaniesthe album: "Allinall a rathcr crcativc and original rclcasc- sounds like a total understatement compared to the hyperbolic BS prevalent in thesecircles, although it's the truth. "Samoth and I believe in stating only the objective truth. I find the fact that he chose to go that far to be quite a compliment. The mUSicwill either sen itself or it will not." So your linking

up with Nocturnal Aft,

how did it

actUally happen? '1t was back in '93, Minda from Wounded gave me some addressesof various Satanic artists, including &ning Christ and Emperor. I then got a hold of Emperois demo, Wrath ofthc Tyrant; and, duly impressed,decidedto write Samoth. I sent the first Choronzon demo, Emotional Hungcr and some anwork. offering to crcate an for anything they might need it for, which they have yet to take me up on, and a 1etter detailing my plight with trying to get a metal band together in the States that was worth the effort. I never received a response,and eventual1y stopped waiting for one. "A few years, a second demo and twenty interviews later Samoth wrote me saying that he was intrigued by what had been said about my work, that hc wanted to hear my latest stuff and that he remembered that I had been in previous contact with him. He liked what I sent him and offered me an excellentdeal. The rest is ;a da, ;a da."

i .nd!Ut!w ~wos

pU1! O~P!/\ 11!4101U! s'3u!1u!1!d pU1! 1J1!f.w w°.IJ S~~1!WI ~41jO ~11!10dJO:)U! ..{Iq1!qOld nl~M 111tI18u!'lU!41

w.I

.1nq

.S~A

;)'f"'W 01 ;)8u~lre4:)

01 SpU~11! ~Sn1!:);)q .,410~. IVHJ.

S!41 UO ~U!'ll0M

1! ~q hl~l

~q 01 P;)II:)X;) f..J~... ~l,~M lnq os 11!4110j

pU1? :>!SnW a41 pa:>ua!Jadxa

nL~ S!,jq.:J .~lmry

41!M dn ~W1!:) ~~

~pm!d~l;)~P p 01U! ~u!-",oii sw~

1~.~1114M 'UO!!..!'\!a

AI~~l

~41 01U! h1!~ 1! ~q ..{Iq11qOld IIIN\ S!41

8! ~U!W

~wos 10J s.11!41 s~q.:J

pU11~U!/I\01~

a...1?4WO4M ~041

J°:I

PIOJ

;Jq.l

SS~U'lIP.p JO ~~11~SP~;)~AP11 ~lOW

Sd~'11Snr

11141~M11ld 11~'1!I ~lOW SI~! ~"!I

~! MOU pU11 '~no ~!P o~ ~U!o~ sP", p~

P11J11lSnr S1!"' ~! ~!ll°M PUV

'~;)u~nuU~

11!41:)~snw ~1 S~4:)11!W 4;)1!01dd1! S!4 pU1! s~81!w! S!4 .AII1!m:)". .,j3)3d 1J1! re1u~w!.1~dx~ ~10W S11!'100:) ~q PInoM

1snr ~M .uo BU!'ll0M

re1u~wu~dx~

la/iiOu

,j3)3d

Ire 11!10j ~U!1004S ~1,~.~ 11!4M hIre~110U S,11!41pU1! ~U!41 "OU4;);)1-1~q.A.:J., ~104M S!41 01U! 1~'B 1! °p OSre 1qfi!W ~M pUt! .40

4:)!4M OOp~.. UOI11!W!U1!l~lndwo:>

IP.11M ~4

11!41 sn 10J O~p~.~

Ire 11!re!;)l~WWO:) 10U S,11.~n1!~q

1! °p 1qfi!W ~4 pU1! WI4 41~~ dn P~'loo4

S~I p~sS1!d ~4

1114~

sPM I .U!t?g11pUnoIP. ~U!WO;) ~! ~S O~ ~:)!U Sl~! .{Or p~

.{1.1~J,\:.fo S.J~/.\.!,1i) :~W!~ g!q '~E41 01UI

S11"' I 's.O8 ~4~ U! :yn~s 410~ ;)!SsPI;) ~4~ I~ ~snr 'p~J.I~UOS1~d ~!q

11 ~111 "U!41

I 'SU~~OU!;)nll11H

OS 'l{IDqqVS

(s4~n11I)

S!.Jq.::>

14'3'!W ~!.1Jn~s p~ S~!po[~W ;)!snw ,sw041. .~o I!~A U! SM04S

I f..11M ~4~ UI 'lU!4~ I 'tnq

~1141J! MOU'I ~,Uop I

Jf.'DJ8 01 ~U!U~~S!I dn M~ii

OSIP I

'f..~IM01J

-y~p

,,10j ~q 'I:)1!11pUnOS ~41 PInoM 11!4M ;)!snw 'I:)1!11pUnOS .~!.1~ lU~l~.lJ~P ..{1~1~fdwo;) op no..{ U~41 pU1! .SW4~41 ~41 U! :>~11!11~.10pU~'I

.<.J.Jo7 MOII~J. ,{.j.J°7 P~N p~ 'pt'~/d x~,1i)U~!IV '.\,nDl/lw8...sP~q ;)!SS11I:) ~41 o~U! W,I .s:)!JA( ~~~lM I J.11M ~4~ Uo 'AI~lIU

p~ 4108

Jo pu~!1J 1! 11!41SWIY 1J1!ww-8

~l1! s'Buos p~lm:)1U1S ~q1jO

10re P~:)!10U I ~sn1!~q

'I{1!~A

Pl°.:J ..q.l

.! 1nd 01 A1!M poo%' 1! S,11!lj1 'fU!l!1 I (slj8n1!1) ([1! 1U1!~ I

:>!snw ,,1lj%'!U 11!8u~~!JP.. p~08 .)j:>~p ~11~SS1!:>~q1 "

(.,~!/r\J~410

J~lS!~"'.~4~no4~

~Wos ~"111 Plno:) ~E4~ .wwH

JO I11;)!snw 's~;)u~ngu!

Jno.{ ~J111114."' JO °4M

I 1n8

.J~)~d

.MOU ~l!.1M-o:)

Apsow

lnq

~U!qW~A~

~lO1.~

.dn~U!ll~qlO

SWO4.lJO JO

OM:l

r~,\

~q!

~:)U~S

~ql

.:>!1!lnw

~i\\ °p

.q11~A

sn :.1~t~d Jo

.~U!w~l8old

pU1!

pUt!

.~lOJ~8

S111~ql~8o11O8 l~A~

s8uos

~l!.1M-O:J ~wos

(11! S,1! )jU!q1

SSBq

1O~

wrup

J.eld

:J!1sno:)t!

put!

8u!.l~~-Z

'~JOJ~G %'UOSJ~lj10 j!

PI°.::> ~q1.

.I~J~d

~q 01 :>!SnW Jno

U! ~U~SS1!:>~q1 dod 1snf noA j! .11!q1JOj :>!snw poo%' S,1!..1lj8!u 11?8u~"!Jp ~JinoA.1! '~)j!1 'Poo~

-~I;}

-JOj ~q 01 10U AJ1 ~.1\\ .S!.1q:) .oS

."U1! ~Uop J~.~~U p1!q ~

[

.:JUl .S!.lq.:J

..8UIWWt!1'i

S1?

-old

wrup

p~q:>1!oJdd1! S! %'uos .~sn ~M spunos

~q!

pUB

.~o

~S~l

-IM

~q~

~q!

s~lput!q

.~u!wwe18o1d

~q1

.SIt!:JOA

wrup

put!

.olI~:)

~ A11~Jd ~q P1noM.

'.Fn~s

'u!lo!A ~q!

pJt!oq

.s~d

lIt!

.I~l~d

-:)1! 5,1! 11!4M. ~q!J:)5~P 01. 'i..I1 01 1U1!~ I 5~U!41 JO

t.pUt!q ;}ljt

U! tEljM

S;}op

pUt! s~sruO\j=> pUt! S~SJ~A ljJ!M sBuos pt!~\jt! J~!t!JJS ~ljJ c

oljM

Pl°.:>

SWoqJ.JO

~qJ.

I!;)A p;)U!or

~U;)J;)1J!P ;)Idno.') 1? U! SeM I .)j.')eq

-ry ~\jJ U! w~ljJ .ill11W oJ gu!oB

I U;)qJ. ii.llDill{l U;)q~ .;)~!JOAeJ f.w seM. .;I:il:lpUOEl.ln;lIDWV .S~q

lJms ~dAJ ~d11=>SpunO$I -!l~d~ ~JOW ~lj1 \jJ!M -

;)1!qM e Uo~S08

o~ ~.'\oW

I U;)41

pU1! "Bu!1{:j sPOOM)[:)eq 1?pu!)j .qfunq -SU!d pUnoJt' dn M;)~ pU1! 1?!U!'li'

OM~ ~,..B4 °p ~M 'lf1!~A :.1~.~d saun~ alq!ssa:):)t! ~JOW °p o~

-J~-\ !S;)M U! woq seM I PUV. S!Jq:J 11;)M f.11;)Jd ~no ~)jJO't\

pua~ aM ~!Jo ap!s IB~uaw!Jad -xa ~4~ St! Jt!j SB 'Plno:) a,'1\;

.telfl S\! J\?j S\! s~n8

I .oS

;UJDiIflJ

.pU1!q ~sel S!q WOJj 111?4~41 SSOJ.')e 8u!sJe~q;)J

'lU!41 1,UOp ] ~S,;} fiUI410U JI .S:I!1~41S~1!UI ~~U1!4~ f1!:1!p1!J 1! lnoq1! ~uuq 01 ~Uldol! c JO pUI'l

:I!1dAI1!~od1;

;)Sne~q

se't\

s!J4J

SUJ04J. .~o I!~:\

~~w ..;II1?I11.')eI ;))j1?1

-s!W e ;)q 011110 ~wm

:I!1S1!!Snl!IU~

U1! ~'!!l

JO PU!,!

.l!V~A

'!.lIIJ ss~~

pu~ ~41 pJ1!~\O1 ...;I1~~do4

.~U!'!OOIJO

~UJOS JOJ nUol pU1! ~Id~d lU!Odi\41lUOJJ

UO$ UJ1!pUE WSAI:lE11!:I JO UOS

1S0lU ~'1!(S!P ]\dOJl!1l11!S!lU

~WO:1 AI~1!U!:J;}P Il.(.;)\\

\\~L.. JO

PJno.~\ ~\O4 .uw~a

41!1\\ ~~;))jvw °4.'t\

~~8 1sni P.I ~Jn8y

u~ sw°l!l.~o

I pU1! .dn~U!1 1U~J;)1J!P ..;111!101e 41l't\

I!;).\ ~UJJO.~ I u;)dde4

1~8 01 8ULU1

Inq

':)Isnw

1.Up!P .\II~J

l,swoq.lJO no.\

ClJ'P.

111nq .J~41e1~

JO 101 ~10q..\ e 8U!op

~OU .S~.{

I .elU!1?J\ 01 .\I!W1?~ elJ!IU;) f.w 41!,'t\ ~.,\oW-

pU1! 91 se.'t\ I U;)q't\ A1?MJON ~~I I ..\e\\JON

I!~.\ .~o spunos

1! pU1? 1e4~

O~ Al1 U;)4~ pU1! .J;)4"1;)So~ J;),,\;)1e4,'t\ JO s!J1?d ~IPU1?4 Plno.')

elld~d

16. ,\I~ -01 spueq

JnoJ 1noqe JOJ ;)J~ql ~.,\!I

.I~I~d

{.;)!snw Jno.1\ 41!!\\ ..;;1.\UO;)OL~S~..\ pm? ~;)npoJd noh 1t?41SUO!IOlU;I pm? spunos ;lljl.~0-;lWOS ~q!J;)S~P.\Jq!ssod no..; Plno;) 'swoljl.Jo

U! dn MelJ8 I '1IeI;\\ .laJ~d

1!;}.\ ~oJ~q op no;;. P!P 1t1q~ pUt1wolJ

'UO!1t1WJO.~U! punolg'f:>t1q 41!",.P° liU!1Jt11S'Pl°:) ~1(.l

;)l;)lll\\

Peter '"eah. we've never actually booked anything. Unusual pertormances: E,e~1hing that ]lappens when you try to pertorm as a band: is unusual. Ch ris 1 guess 1 enjoyed our last sho\'r' \\'e had a ~'Uest fiiend of mine ti II in on drums on a couple of songs .just to give us some live percussion as \\ell as the drum machineand he's a maniac. he's this huge beast \\ith a ~ha,ed head and he was pounding a\\'ay, and he kicked over his drum $et at the end (laughs) It was a little more than \'ie expected. but it turned out pretty \\ell Peter' That \\as one of my t"avorites a$ well There are other people that we'll be bringing on stage us and there's no telling exactly HOW \\e'll do it. $0. "unusual" is more the experience of the audience than tor us. Because even if they've seen us every gig w'e've played so tar, they $till won't know exactly what it's going to be like Chris We use different instrumentation almost every gig, Pete Might be playing a cello. he might be playing the 12-string acoustic, he might be playing electric, we might have live percussion. we might have a violin player come in. , ..it's pretty much up in the air because it's more of a special event than a regular, like, "Oh we're gonna play another gig'. type of thing.

..,oh, and we have a tog machine now!

{at this point. a large. low-flyingjet plane flew over us. creating much noise } The Cold Could you (Peter) describe your side-project Choronzon') Peter

It's kind of similar to the sound of this jet plane that's passing

overhead here. Imagine the sound of thousands ofpeople being slaughtered in a merciless way in a large cave. .that's what it pretty much sounds like The Cold Alright..and do in that project') -.Peter.

late

that.

shit.

(laughs)

v.ith

and.

something

The Cold Peter Chris Peter:

You That

know

seems just

we're to

totally

the

gonna goal

come no

matter

with

v..hat

fucked we

do;

up come

fucked-up.

Yes, and it's .-\LWAYS a mystery. .-flit'n S't'x Fiel'd?'}'"1 of things

\J;"ere sold through

Nightbreed in Europe, and in their catalog, What did they say'l Chris Birthda}' Parf}' or something like that'l Peter" l11e ~irgrn Pnll'es. and Chris Big Black Bass Lines That was kind of on target Peter. Well that \J;'as "Into the Abyss" zine that said that Chris L"sua1ly it's totally mystifying, People \J;-il1compare us to bands, and I'm like, .'How did they even come up with that'l We sound NOT~G The Cold

like that band"

So, whatever

How often does \'eiI of Thorns perform. and could you

describe one of your more unusual stage performances'") Peter: It tends to be about 1\I,ice a year, if that... Chris Yeah. ~e only play out when people ask us to. because we're focused on Titing and recording and just dealing ith the international zine thing.

actually songs of the

take a ritual

Has v.eil of Thorns ever been compared to other bands')

Yeah. " " The last couple

It's v.Tite some but some those

tracks

persona.

is there any specific purpose behind what you

more that pieces and as

aven.ue

tor

ritual

are totally noisy and are actually rituals add

opposed

instruments to

a musical

I put that the

.than

ritual

project

a musical

It out under I perform So, or

it's

a band

thing

that name, and then I'll actually type

like thing.

The Cold On the subject of rituals, are there any particular types of rituals that you practice. or any delving into the occult or paranormal') Peter. Definitely alot of del..ing into the occult, but I try to take a scientific approach. \-lost of what people think of as the "paranormal" doesn't interest me I don't care about things like astrology or any kind of di..ination. It's more sort of a way of focusing my mind and thinking around things. .Like in quantum physics, the particle will behave one way when you're looking directly at it, and in another way if you're not, and ritual and meditation can sort of bring you into the observance through other means besides just looking straight at it. ..I don't know if this is makjng any sense. but... Chris Yeah. 1 think it's sort of a dichotomy between the mystical insight. and the scientific insight, and the goal is to try to unify that Peter Yes. except when I perform rituals as Choronzon, because \lrith that. the goal is chaos.absolute chaos 'Chris

Right.

(laughs).

not deterministic nonlinear systems chaos, but

just pure, random. over-the-top kind of chaos, right? Peter Yes. To bring my mind to chaos; to evoke chaos; to cause chaos in my own self while I'm doing it and perhaps in the world at large

~. ~

.\1(Sj~.\IP JJOWJq 11!,"

c (.i1u,U!I~P ;}41 SI p~.

:s.O8 ;}41 JQ ;}$Q41 QI ;}It!dWQ:)

1t!41 ;}(dQ;:>d~41

(;};}J noA op

"Q4

lQ ;';'U!."Ql.' ;}U;}:)S

;}U;};)S i~jJn:)

.suo!U!dQ ;}(q!ssod

u."o

lnoA

;}41 dn ;}'1t!w u1 PIOJ

~q.L

S1! S1U;}W;}(;} \U1!W st! ;}.\t!4

QI.U1 ;}~\ .1nq .Op ;}", 11!4"' U! 1t!41JO ;}WOS ;}.\t!4 °p ;}i\\ ;}.\!SS;}lddoISn[ .;}q O~ 10U .\J~ ;}", .mq .S;},\I;}SlnO InW1!2! ;}4~ uru op ;}", .U1!;}W IJ3.~d 'U!41

I .\I!S1!;} .~1;}ld

1! Op U~

no.\ .~nq 1u!od

.pU1! .pUnOl1! 8UIO;J Sl;}3U!S (1!;}1;}41;} .Ads!",Jo no..\ .SlllJl(!lVg

~,!(.

t! 01 ;}:)IU S,It!41

Inl3 (1!'.)1t! S,a134.l :S!JqJ

11~;) no,\ ..~OU 41Q3 Jo IQ(1! 01 U;}1S!( noA JI

'1und Jo mo ;}W1!:)

t ..

1l0S ~'1!1 I ;}~S1!~11!UOS1;}dUMO.\W jOj 1U;}WOW S!4. 1t! :)11;}'3~ .U;}.\ S,~! ~'1!1 swa;}s 11 ,J1!p .\(~l ;}J1! 11!4. SpU1!q ~jOW ~s o~ ;}'1!( p(no", 1 J3J3d

J! 11?411(;}1 p(noo

.4;)1!Oldd1! snowou~.\

(,SUJjOj sn°!.11!. \ S)~! U~ ;}U;};)S 4Jo'3 1U;}lin:) ;}411noqt!

.1;}1~!q e JO

I;);}Jno.,I; °p 'i\°H

;}U;};)S 4108 ;}l{1 moq1! ;}J1! Suo!1s;}nb 1X~U ;}41 pU1! .1q'3!.lrv .\t!,\\Aut! P;}WU11!IS .\Il1!;}j);};J 11!41 ~(do;}d -j;}pUn

!0[1! p~

.[1!1',)W-~:JRlq :J!~11!S]0

10[1! .q103 ]010[1!

.\[U~:!j',)J

J;}J;}d

1! 1;}8 1IUS;}OP 04,"

01'3U!U!1!1l~1U~ S,\t!.'i\I1! s,11

~l{1 p~

J1!41 ;}(dood

PloJ

~q.L

~UO;}WOS .(q

Il;}"i\an(:)

.1! ;},\01 .\((1!nsn op 01 9NL\m ;}4.l

1! ~.\eq I,UOp

~jl~"\

l1!q", pU1!1S

S;}U!Z 410;J-UOU 41~'\ nU!fe;}p ~j,noA

U;)q", 1;}3

.;}'!1 S1!sn P;}q!.1:)S;}P 11!41;}UO S1!,'i\ ~1~4.l

(1!1~w-411!~p 8U!11°,\;}j"

p(nOM a11!laU;}~;}p p;),\1!ld;}p

..1t! ~sou aj;)41 dn wm

os 'It!1;)W-41t!;}P U~,\;} .lON

no.\ 11!4.'i\ S,11!41 1ng

~jl~"i\ p~-

(s4'3nt!()

JSOW al{1 u~.\a l1!q1 S!Jq.:)

sn a1t!4 01

l.SIS1!qj1!jn~~j e uo 01 U~1S!jnoA OP S,J!SnW 11!4.\\ PI°:) ~q.l

pU;}1 S;JU!q1 q1!m-~.IJ

.ft!;)QI a4.L sn ~,\Ol 01 PU;}1 S;}U!Z 4J08 ~4.l ~1t!q ~,\01.(s4~nt!()

R 10j ~'1~U puu

;j'U!11a:j;"pUn01~ uru 1Sn!. I 'OS 'Japow

4:)nw 001 ;)Isnw ;}4141L\\ U! ;}!1.\1~11,USaOp

s:J!1;}Uaij 1'P.lroalow

:j;"u!-\!l 1S!U~ uu w.I .'110.-'\

p~1

(,U';}~~O~ ;},\no,\

s,'t\;}!-\;}J 8U!pUU1S1no .\I~';}J .\UV

J~.~d s!JqJ

Pl°:)

;)q.L

}~41 mq .\\OU 1q'ij:U

U! ~1Sa1a1U! AII~a1 W.I pUB 10lR p~1 ;}1U.\\ I pUU10fR

I pu~

S!.lq:J

J~4ta~OI S~U!1!1 Jo 1O~ S~U!.1q~4s pUB uolsoH punoJ-e lU!Od (t!;)oJ e .\IIt!aJ s.~4s pUB ies 01 ~.\e4

1u!"Rd I .I~1~d

P.I It!jaua3 U! au~;)s ~41 01 pUB .sn 01 poo3 ,\Ja.\ uaaq s.~4s -4t!a,\ J~!~d ,,:J~snw uo 3U!'t10\\ OP 11nL\\

}OU ua4-,\ aW!11nO.\

11901 op nOt\JO 4:)ea

saW1!U Au~ UO!1UaW 1,UOM a,'(\ ssan3

I .oS.

3!q \I[1?;)j 1~3 ~~!I t.Uop I SaUO a4~ jO aWOS P~ \pOqoU

.~~!I I lU41 SaUO ~4~Jo .\~w

I lU41 spuuq ~WoS s,aja41

~~L\~j

p~.1.UOp

Pl°:J

~q.l

'01 UO!1UauU sAud

I lU4~ ~wos

p~XIW U 11 ~;\!;j" P.I ~U~,\

:'{U~1 I s'3uII~J

~~!I

.J~J,}d

PaX!W .!\a,\\

s!l4J

..,\.IjldH .)41 U! Stt!H..- 'Mffi~\\ wo1J t!Jnt!l wo1J 1Joddns JO 1O~ pt!~ .):\.),\\ S!Jq:) (Au~\ put! sddt!l Jno JOJ UO!lnq!.11S!pdPl" 3U!t1~~ UI .\:!I";)~P lSnr S.11-OS sa\ldSJno 1! .)St!al~j 01 ~U~\t!~ dn pu~ d," J( S. a:) ~st!alaj .)M St! ja!st!a dq II~" 1t!41 -1nq UO!tnq!.11Slplauaq t~fj Ot d.\O( Plno." I adOJn3 SSOl;)t!pUB .\JtUnO;) a41 SSOj;)t!.\eldJ!t! awos U~Uo~ d.\.),\\ plOJJe UB;)~." St! dW(~ 1t!S~U!41 AUBW St! 1no puas ~", pUB lno S%'U!~1s1~8 1t!41 jOtnq!.11S!p ;)UO ;),\t!~

S!.!qJ ~ua:)s

(,I.,

UO~Soe ~41 jO ~U!4~ a~ OG 1U4;\\ :

01 8ulujm}

.J,}I~d

1.UOp~." dSnt!:>;;)q;)!It!jddS JO PU!~ s,11 poo~ .\uajd uaaq s..\eldJ!V. J~!~d

L~U~:JS UOl -sog

;}41 jO :'jU!41 noA op 11!ll \\ .L;},'1\ ;}j~,'1\ ;}j~4,'1\ i1!:'jO

Pl°:J

"u~~q \~ldJ!1? p~ uo!~nq!J~S!p jnoA s~4 ~oH

5op "fU1!1

OSI1! I mq

(s4ijn1!V

~.\.

'\~10

PIOJ

,}q.l

~q.l J! uo gU!'1JO,"'

(v)

;)J,;)"'

Jnq

-ll!j

0$ ",OU'1

I SI! ll!j

SI! JO-,

WW:1 J~.~d

.JaJad uUOZUO.1°4J .10 SW04.LJO

J s4'3n1![) po8 'tU1!4.L s!.1q:J 0%,1!SJ1!~" ~,\g ~'1!1 JO 51! .P;}p1!J S1!4 5"u~1 .~~dUJ1!.\ u~W~'tU~1

.11!41 41L'1\ ;};)~1! I 'l{1!~A

[!~.\ \q p~JfO,\~ s3u!

-l~~j IIU.l~,\O puu spunoS ;}41.\q ,{B,~ .{UB U! P;}.1~l£B JO~8BW1!p

.J~Jad

-.1~dns .10 '\(IBUO!10W~ U;};}q .I~...~ SBq ~uoAuuJ!

AIIB.ImBU

~OUJf noA Oa

PIOJ ~q.l

'4- ~ ~ ,I,

Chris Sheltered lite is cool Pf'tf'r Sheltered lite Bats in Red \relvet. and Fight Amnesia IThe Cold lake" } Well, .~~YTHING that lake does is just amazing j Chris Oh. and what's that Line ~e hate" the fucking racist l bullshit Pf'ter Oh Ohm Clock They suck Peter (laughs)

-Chris .,.

-4i'\: .The

Cold

",. ,,

alright

\\.hat are your future plans for \"eil of

Thorns..' Peter Well. We're recording our next single right now. and weve got a bunch of new material We'll probably pullout the live show again sometime in the fall. ...

Chris. ..Tousethefogmachineifnothingelse(laughs}.We're toying with the idea of putting out a C .D on our own. .We're going to wait and see if we get any really good distribution offers before that And we're trying to keep pushing the music and explore the possibilities of mixing up the more extreme. strange noise with the more pop-influence kind of straight ahead , song writing. Peter. Yeah, and we'll be working on the videos.. those will probably take a while I mean, we'll probably be going frame by frame with alot ofit (laughs) I'm actually hoping that we end up

f , I

\\ ~

~ith enough stuff on video to put out a home video Yes. so people can just sit in the privacy of their o~-n darkened and Experience".. take whatever Multimedia drugs they please and have "The veil rooms of Thorns (laughs)

.Chris

I I

; (,,)l

iE~rSO~~i!t~-a6

Peter Yeah.. and I'm thinking of just including more things and maybe other people in Foamin' Bone Productions to maybe help people put out tapes and things.. Oh. that's right; I'm working on a side project that Pete's

..Chris

of classical. I especially like 2Oth century music like Stravinski, and

threatening to put out when I get it finished. .It's called Permagrin, and

alot of third stream and atonal stuff..probably more goth than anything these days. Chris I have a bit more of a pop taste; I tend to be into stuff like

it's more ofa psychedelic influenced project as you MIGHT be able to tell by the name Peter And I'm very proud of Permagrin we ended up designing for it

Smashing PumpkillS and the usual.. I like Bikini Kill alot, but... Well, we even did a cover of "Rebel Girl" by Biki"i Kilf.that was fun. Pete did his best Peter .Uurphy impersonation to totally change the meaning of the lyrics (laughs) I don't listen to as much goth

too Chris Oh yeah, the logo; the logo's wonderful. Pete did a great job ~ith that; Pete and me and a bottle ofKoniak. I think it was Peter. Yeah, Kavosiae I spelling" } ..we were sitting there with a bottle

that's corning out now, because you have to wade through it so much to find the really good stuff. so I just let Pete pass me a tape whenever he finds something good. (laughs)

of Kovasiae We finished that in an evening and. ha'ving that and a Cuban cigar and the result was the Permagrin logo (laughs) Chris Yeah. ~'e should probably mention alcohol as another influence

The Cold into'.'

I to Peter. } ,-\re there any particular bands that you are

~.e usually drink quite a bit (laughs) The Cold

Peter I like !.0\'e Like BIO(jd alot and. some of the folky stufflike ()rdo f;qll/tllm Solis h,to the ,4h.J.'.\"S are rea1ly good and L-J.'cia.1

What items do you have out now and how might people be

able to obtain them.") Peter

Well, an~1hing ~e do can be obtained from me at Foamin' Bone,

love Lyc/a

so vou could give the address tor that

The Cold

sin.1];\e-"lust Beyond Flesh " and we've got an old demo that I recorded right after I kicked out the first incarnation of Veil of Thorns. called

Do you have any favorite publicationS/Lines"

We've got the \eil of Thorns

miss

"legement Og Stemen" which people can send me a blank tape ~ith return postage and I can tape it for them and there's the Choronzon

Phantazmagoria. it seems like as soon as I became involved in it. they shut do",11, and I haven't be able to get in touch ~ith Gabriel Da'vid, so. I don't know what's going on there, but.

demo It's actually the second demo but the first one's no longer available and I'm working on the Choronzon CD Chris They can get the single at Tower Records. in fact, ~e keep

Peter

\\I"ell. Ghastly

is always

in there;

I desperately

I ~

'\.,.1' ~

,~ ,

{

-I-.,...

;'~--\-

~',. ...~ ,

;.;)b.:::-/

---~, , ,

, ~~~

~ -

'~} ."t-..

...,

...1-

9v 1 ZO VW '~U!PlOOla Z # .P"M ){l!)fI~S 8~

IP ;tt;~

, I

.'C-OO,'

<~~~I

-J

':...,,~ suo~l"'npoJd S~UOa l~um°.:I '->~~~~~~joJ!:{1,Y1.f'1J; 1.1V1UO;J 3~ ,. ' , '=" ~

, ~~

~~ .~

*' CIt~

~'tJ...

,.g~/

"'0;

,-..

"" /

---I

\LAY

,- --

i~tG ~ 'I \ . t~

~~~

9. ...~

: .~ .~

..~,.

.-.

:1:

~ " b' / ,..!:1'

~~ ~ Q' \ ~ O~

""'\

,!;' /c ..>-'~ ,-

~~ ...>J

(

~ ...>.. ~f/

-~'c;-

,:)(' --

~...

.~~.~ ."t1. .:c< ="

~:\\il ,

,.d.~~ \.<.;:,~/ ~..,'~ ~, ,

~!~ .~ .~~ '\')loo ;Q"~~

0, D .-"0'

'"'

\ --.\ Gt,.

f8 1-

~~ :.~ ~4...9 ,

.~-. ~~-Od.

~-.;..-

~X"'" '.: \

.-~~

\. \.

---

r:.,.:.

~~a:

-~:Odo.

~ ~

.0..-

. &~ cl

ed.

,?V-*

-.\"\..},

.~o~

.,T/b-<--~

'5~~U

.-,

.~'

..~

f"" ~~

~$ ..\ ~ ~-~ -,

\~ ,f' r' :.

.~~. , -.0

4Ioi;.~:::o::e~/

~ iO

~M.O~.-;:

..-~ ,

". r ;' \" ~

Q- \".JI

..\ -,.\'J

.?L

.;.? 4

0.1 :

~ .~

.J~

~-;,0~

,. -~.'tIOwt l~~~~-

-~~

ON3

3Hl

{ J~pJO:>~J ~dt!~ hw hq P~4slU:> u~~q pt!lj SJ~)j:>t!J:>Aw ~t!4~J~AO:>S!P0:1~t!q Aw q~noJlj~ p~)j001 I ~J~qM 'do~ ~q~ :It! ~uOIt! ~w ~U!At!~1'ht!MJ~1S ~q~ 01U! UMOp p~1p.~ddt!s!p J~~~d pUt! s!JqJ u~4~ pUt! 'SJ~wo:>~1t!1OM~~q~ 1SJ!,j .11~M~1P.J PUOJt! J~4~0 4:>t!~P!q Ire ~M (~1t!1~J~M 1nq wt!IP~H ~pU~11t! ~At!lj o~ ~soddns ~J~M A~4~ 1t!l{~8U!MOU)j sn ~nolj~!M ~~nU!W U~~J~1 J~MO~~lj1 JO d01 ~4~ ~t! 8u!u!s ~q o~ p~u~ddt!lj ~t!lj1) spu;)y J~410 OM~ ~U!~~W J~Y\1. .~U!Ih)fs UO~SOH~41 JO M~!A Sno~~J08 t! U! )j00~ pUt!

J~MO~~lj~ JO do~ ~4~ o~ ht!MJ~~s reJ!ds JO!J~1U!~4~ p~pu~:>st! ~M ..B° ~J~pUt!M AI1U~J1?ddt!Pt!4 spu~y wt!I~H ~411t!4~ puy 01 J~M01 ~41 o~ dn )j:>t!q ~~:>OJd hlremu~A~ pUt! 'u~~s ~A,~M 1t!4~SM04SJO )jre1 pUt! '~4SnoJq I ~t!lj~S4dt!JSo~04d AJ~~~W~:>~t! )j001 O~~1!ljM t! ~ u~4~ ~M I "-!1..

l:.Jatawa:>wnqnv "tW lrIJ!tnt?C)q WO.lj Ma!AJatU! swoq1.JO l!aA aqt sapnpuo:> tt!ljl ssan'J I "Pl°:) ~q1.

~:«

SUO!I ;)41 01 SU1?~1s!J4J J;)1~d

~ ,S~U~WWO:> ~U!SOIJ

AU't?'as 'suans~nb JoJ ~.\eljI

~qS!.1LV Pl°:J

If\lAlf\I:I!St!q s,lelj1

.yms

~~U c

S.~J~41

pUt!

1no

8u!wo:>

SUO!1t1I!dlUOJ

~~J

~Jt

~J~41

3..l

S.\t1~ft1 .

-"~,~.\Ut! .-

~J~4}

U! SS~Jpp\? ~41 puy 01 ~Iq\? ~qlll~ ,.su!t!4J ~41 Jo ~sJnJ" ~U!Z\1~1!W .-~41 SSOJ,t1 ~WO:> °4~ Apoq,\Ut! 1nq ~OU 14°U ~w UO SS~JpP\? $14 ~\t14 1.UOp I

{ v8u!ll~d$

-14~!"..

uo 8uos

}04$n:l~a

l1o~SAq

t1 ~.\~4 OJ 8u!°i'

JO sn WO~ l1!411~8 Ut!:1 nOAos ~od u~1IV Jt8P3 ~ln1Jol

lnOlnd

UOIJt1lldwo:l

;)Jj:;1"'pUt!c~pJO~~

"~P114s

U~J9

UO S! ,!~'U~I!Srt11141

~41JO S;)ldo:1;).\t'41'I~S~-,(\

put1 PU1/18u3 U! £;1~lq148!-,

14fiu8

a JUO!1t1I!dwo:t

pUt! tiIWOJ!ft1J U!~pJO~~

4i1nO141~lqt'I!t!...11

;l1l\UIS ;)4J

;)\t14 OSft1~.'(\pUt! ;lJ;l4J 1! puy U't':InQ.(:U°;;}tilos ~ddoJp 1Snr~\~" 1t'4J ~:IU1/4:1.yo ~4~ uo 1nq .J~.',ol ~1111 d~~~ 1,U1?:I0).'(\ .~A .I~.~d ~:1!U Jo pu!~ S! 4:1!4'(\ .~J~411! .10 1nO i'U!II~S

Will Choronzon release another record on... Samoth: I don't think so, I mean, I really like the guy.. He’s a really cool guy and he has some cool ideas, but I mean it's impossible to sell this... I mean nobody buys it - it's too weird so people don't understand it. Samoth in an interview with SOR

CHORONZON PSYCHOSIS EX MACHINA Foamin’ Sodomy Records

Review by Mick Mercer It’s still in here you know. I can sense it. The environmental official claimed the place had been fully cleansed, sluiced at speeds usually associated with sandblasting: even laughing “that’ll do for the bastard!” But it’s still here. Waiting. Be warned, it comes in a pink, red and white (mostly) sleeve, and you could be tricked into thinking left-field Industrial. You might take it lightly. And be sucked through a vortex of howling misery. So shall it be, for P Emerson Williams, who is involved with a book, ‘Necromance’, out through Westgate Press, has been preparing for this album by playing gigs in unsuspecting art galleries. He’s been building up to it for years, and the dread fear we should all share is that he will take this miscarriage of inverted melody further still. I lost track of tracks, which I think is intentional, although I’d tried hard to observe the map. The opening noise cloud contains voices, of that there is no doubt, and then the arousal/carousal which is abruptly switched on displays a dazed choral industrial tableau. Then it’s off, roaring and screeching like flea-infested beggars on speed. (Think: Ancient Mariner Inventing Anarcho-Punk.) The tracks often suggest these are ditches of burning maniacs, but in ‘The Enchanting Dead’ there’s guitars shunting into each other; one slug-like, one acrobatic, all juiced up by rasping, bubonic vocals, and these lyrics are almost convivial compared to the main body of work: “Who you are is what you by, You try so hard to charm the Enchanting Dead, You’ll never know the price you’ve paid.” Then we descend into Hell. You may think it’s just Industrial Rock with knobs on, but

some of those knobs are bobby-trapped. It becomes a sandstorm inside which a battalion of skeletons create spectacular effects. (Think: Mummy Returns at a napalm Death convention.) You’ll encounter vast juddering creations, some secreting doomy riffs, and always the vociferous vocals are a sediment, a constant wild whispering in the harsh strata. The demonic spew is fine, the punky stomp unexpected, but mostly it’s just worrying, as you find yourself encircled by disembodied voices. There’s gruelling, hard Ambient grindcore, leaving a shattered cadaverous wreckage. And that’s you. And that’s okay too. I was relieved when it ended, making Leech Woman sound like The Proclaimers as it does, but I couldn’t help noticing that this palpitating Hellish breath creates a wind tunnel of musical mucus which is none other than orchestrated chaos. So I’m keeping it under lock and key, just to be on the safe side. Regrettably, it seems to have heard my plans… http://www.westgatenecromantic.com

choronzon "Psychosis Ex Machina" label: Foamin' Sodomy Records format: CD website: http://www.choronzon333.zzn.com Choronzon's "Psychosis Ex Machina" commences with heavy and soundscape spanning epic dark industrial ambient ... and surprises the hell out of you by this morphing with ultimate smoothness into a black metal assault - without giving up any of the previous elements ... not a one. It's all of that intro PLUS the black metal bitch slapping when the song fully kicks in. And thus is Choronzon. Blending elements of industrial and an enveloping sense of melody (think Pink Floyd and Devin Townsend) into their unique brand of black metal - plus using, surprisingly, standard black metal sound walls run through the aforementioned filter - to create a breathtakingly original chunk of music. The band's eclecticism, moving from industrial metal to black metal and back again while incorporating a diverse array of elements, and its uncanny ability to be stylistically consistent while exploring all over the fucking place, make Choronzon a band that must be heard and must be acknowledged as a refreshing and heady dose of originality in not only the black metal scene but the metal realm as a whole. This is a band not to be ignored. review written by: Upchuck Undergrind http://fishcomcollective.net

Choronzon - Psychosis Ex Machina Review On Inhumanitarian.net Foamin' Sodomy Records, 2004

Website: http://www.angelfire.com/indie/choronzon333/ Length: 70:41 Rating: 1. Dies-Ease (Wrath) 2. The Enchanting Dead 3. Crypt-Analysis 4. Surge of Blood 5. Crossing I - The 30th Aethyr 6. Asymmetrical Red Chamber 7. Crossing II - The 29th Aethyr 8. Justified 9. Crossing III - The 28th Aethyr 10. Ornamental Crypto-Anarchy Taking the most esoteric electronic elements possible and combining in a petri dish populated with droning metal and ethereal, raspy vocals creates a musical experience that's bewildering, terrifying, and insanely methodical at the same time. Definitely not something any fan of avant-garde or progressive black metal should miss although few will probably ever appreciate this work, Choronzon makes Aborym look cheesier than Hammerfall doing a ballad with Elton John. While Choronzon has always been blurring the lines between drug-induced terror (terrorcore might be the best description here) and atmospheric black metal, this album pushes the line more toward the former. Psychosis Ex Machina takes several lunging steps outside black metal and integrates noise and the rhythms of black metal. This album brings in a few new twists to the Choronzon repertoire of ``ways to freak you out of your fucking mind.'' Here, there are several layers to the electronic segments that outstrip the capabilities of every electronic section attempted by a black metal band. Interesting enough, the guitar parts on here do not resemble extreme metal much because of the dissonance is carried out more with the synths than the guitars. The metal aspects are more along older thrash metal than 90s death metal. Most of the time, guitar is an atmospheric addition to the driving beats of the drum machine and weirded-out synth leads. Also, there are now vocal samples in the interludes between the tracks (which are really dark ambient / industrial sections). Otherwise, there's nothing new added to the electronic repertoire that's worth noting. But while most groups approach hybridization techniques as juxtaposition, Choronzon is about integration. Dynamic switching between metal as the foundation and different

electronic genres keeps this album fresh and unpredictable, even if there were fewer layers in the compositions. The light / dark transition I've mentioned before is obscured and not so obvious on this album, which is somewhat of a letdown. However, there are tracks that do transition in moods drastically. This album differs from Era Vulgaris in that it's a significantly darker and more chatic album - the more organic sounds of Era Vulgaris don't make the cut much here. In less words, it's a lot scarier and faster (ie. Asymmetrical Red Chamber) ...higher-energy with dark ambient tracks interspersed. Secondly, Psychosis Ex Machina has lost a lot of the warm, spiritual themes of both Magog Agog and Era Vulgaris. But what's replaced them are some offerings of Williams' movement into dark ambient. Psychosis Ex Machina is a step further in the direction of noise and black metal while fundamentally resting in the realm of general extreme metal, not just black or death or thrash, etc. If earlier Choronzon was barely listenable to most music listeners, Psychosis Ex Machina is overbearing and oftentimes suffocating in the multitude of layers. Overall, you cannot assign a single label to this sort of sound and be reasonably accurate. So even my descriptions here should be considered insufficient in describing the wealth of ideas and themes on this album. Even after dozens of listens I'm finding more things about this record and it still has the awe and entrancing feelings of when I first heard these tracks. These are the signs of a true classic to me, and as such I have no reservations giving this work my highest recommendations.

CHORONZON - Psychosis Ex Machina The 2nd full-length, and greatly overdue release from Choronzon is upon us and even though the overly DIY/under produced sound of this album tries to take away from all the acidic layers presented by this now 2 piece union of extreme musical styles, Choronzon seems to be on the same evolutionary path set forth by the ever impressive "Magog Agog". "Psychosis Ex Machina" possesses an underlying digital wash that can be found on a low quality MP3... this sound is even more noticeable when experimental waves of noise creep in to infect the synth and guitar lines with a rotting vibe of disease and hopelessness. All sound imperfections

aside, Choronzon has adopted more of a wandering industrial feel to this new material. There are many occasions where a synth line carries the harmony and holds the electronically dense sound manipulations at bay so that P. Emerson Williams' bi-polar vocal style can corrode in and out of vocal effects and less caustic screams to give Choronzon a very off sided and interesting attack. This is part of the creativity of this band... you never know where the music is going to take you, or what level of sound manipulation/experimentation will pervert this into down right unpleasant moments of abrasion. I can honestly appreciate this level of exploration, but for it to come off more effective or even listenable, one really needs to concentrate on obtaining more of a dense, 3 dimensional production to give your music room to expand and grow. As it stands, "Psychosis Ex Machina" is so concentrated and forced into a small space, it makes all the similar sounds fighting for comprehension within these songs, step on each other as if to cancel each other out. This added with the fact that a fair share of the songs on here are a mess structurally, or just roam along in no particular direction, it makes "Psycosis..." a tough nut to crack. I do really like the open minded journey of ideas on "Psychosis...", but I feel that "Magog Agog" possessed more of a musical/memorable sense that acted as the sugar to make the poison go down that much easier. "Psychosis..." has a very cold and alien feel to it and this aura seems to repel my attention span rather than draw me into the core of the mindfuck Mr. Williams has so expertly cultivated on this release. I do like what I hear, but this is one of those albums that may keep me perplexed and uncertain of how I feel about it for a long time, before there is that moment of clarity thrown on like a light switch where I finally and completely "get it". Right now, I don't get it, but I think this album will appeal to those of you lurking in the outer limits of musical experimentation and destruction. Leave your close minds at the door. - Marty FOAMIN' SODOMY RECORDS

CHORONZON PSYCHOSIS EX MACHINA FOAMIN' SODOMY RECORDS 2004 http://www.deadtide.com REVIEWED BY JUSTIN.S I am having a hard time listening to this. Imagine Depeche mode beats warped into a death metal fury and fucked by the industrial black metal magnitude of older Mortiis on heroin. Okay, that is broad to say the least, but let us just say that Choronzon is a weird beast of extremity that I cannot wrap myself around. Psychosis Ex Machina hits you from so many angles that I cannot, and do not want to listen to it anymore. I mean fuck, track two sounds like The Cramps and NIN had an alien love child; yeah, yeah, I know that a few of you reading this would take it in the ass to see that really happen, and you, my friends are exactly who this is geared towards. So dial up Foamin' Sodomy, drop a tab, smoke a doobie, turn on your blacklight in your mom's basement, slit your wrist, and wig that fuck out to

Choronzon - Era Vulgaris Review On Inhumanitarian.net Foamin' Sodomy Records, 2002

Website: http://www.angelfire.com/indie/choronzon333/ Length: 60:47 Rating: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Era Vulgaris Ritual (Michelle Remembers) Invocation Fortapt (Og Glad) Study in Decay Puppet Word is Born In the Halls Torn

After a few years of inactivity (besides some activity on Audiogalaxy.com when it was still a viable network and community), a new Choronzon release has been unleashed upon the world. The changes in style from the debut album, Magog Agog, to Era Vulgaris are supposedly a reflection of his time spent living on the streets. While this may be just some artfag babble, he does have artwork corresponding to this period that does change significantly in themes as well, so perhaps there is some merit to the background story. Emerson picks approximately the same instuments from the first album. Namely, guitar, drum machine, and ethereal synth effects all backed with the most inhuman vocals ever uttered this side of Hades. The primary difference between this album and previous albums is the more overt metal influence and some loss of the bouncy rock and roll influence - this has been replaced with noisy drum & bass. The newest electronic

additions to the Choronzon library are fundamental drum and bass sections (previous work was hybridized) along with a click sample added to the usual rapidfire pounding drum sections (those aren't triggers, it's all drum machine anyways). This adds a little synthpop-like touch. Where Magog Agog was retrofitted mid-high pace black metal and speed metal riffs with psychedelic and industrial / noise influences bathing tracks occasionally, Era Vulgaris induces more metal influences and expands the repertoire of electronic influences and even some jazz. The influences aren't as random and ''artsy'' like what occured with Ulver's on Themes From William Blake's the Marriage of Heaven and Hell Era Vulgaris' themes are surprisingly complex. Combined with a subtle driving bass with percussions at the forefront, multiple guitar parts wander around, free to create noise. There exist themes to all the songs (ranging from spacey stupors to a ''Western movie''style swager), but it's difficult to make out a unifying melody or theme at times. Of course, there are occasions where a prominent theme is presented and is repeated and incarnated. Similar to how Magog Agog transitioned from periods of light and darkness, Era Vulgaris oscillates between periods of mayhem and psychosis to enlightened harmony and rapture. This aspect of Choronzon is still here and remains the spiritual cornerstone of what makes Choronzon so spiritual at times. There are a few camps of music fanatics that would likely enjoy this sort of material. On the metal side, fervent fans of Aborym and Mysticum may be into this. On the electronic side, there's influences from a fairly diverse set of rhythms and influences ranging from Skinny Puppy to Lustmord to perhaps something like Aphex Twin's Windowlicker. Truth is, the electronic aspects of Choronzon are all over the map and are oftentimes overpowered by the fundamentally metal aspects of these compositions. For those fervent over the previous record, you will almost certainly not be let down by this album, although this album is a bit more schizophrenic and meandering than Magog Agog. Overall, Choronzon makes bands like Aborym, Mysticum, Tartaros, and ...And Oceans seem ridiculously simple and straightforward in aesthetics, style, and musical foundations. Choronzon sits between those bands and Sigh and Ulver at a basic stylistic level. Absolutely, downright one of the most unique-sounding and creative bands involved in the metal scene today, Choronzon sees no peers nor subordinals; it stands in a realm of chaos that defies nearly all rules of categorization.

Make no mistake, this album is not anywhere near your typical electronic-influenced metal album.

choronzon "era vulgaris" label: Foamin' Sodomy Records format: CD website: http://www.choronzon333.zzn.com While there are moments of almost pure black metal insanity - you know, that wall of blazing guitar, demonic keyboard and hissing vocals that crushes all in its path - there are plenty of otherish moments too. First, I say almost pure black metal. I say that because while it has every element every die-hard black metal fan will vomit on themselves in joy over, there's a distinct difference buried down under all the brutality. Which brings us to the "otherish" moments. For one thing, sort of like Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad) and his solo project is thick and heavy but also ambient and epic in sound, like music that spans the skies, Choronzon also boasts a musicality that goes beyond mere black metal keyboards, an expansive and near stratospheric beauty that both encompasses and emanates from the music. Add to that the grooves (when not in full black metal mode) that push the band along and give them an industrial-influenced sound, something like the percussion does for latter day Prong. But there are places where Choronzon also roams into full-out industrial territory, like they've been studying up on their Ministry, Skrew and Nihil. And there are places of just plain, unique industrial-tinged metal. All told, Choronzon boasts an eclectic musicality almost never fucking seen in the scene. Know what I mean? review written by: Upchuck Undergrind http://fishcomcollective.net

Review in: Voices From The Darkside, Germany CHORONZON Psychosis Ex Machina (Foaminâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Sodomy Records) 70:41min If nice melodies, undistorted vocals and understandable song structures are a must for you, I recommend to stop reading here. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like musicians obviously being influenced by

stimulants, whether legal or illegal, that create art that leave the impression you should try these stimulants as well to completely comprehend the album, then see above. Since you are still reading there must be a certain something that keeps you interested in this American band. Already their first full-length-album “Magog Agog” (released on Samoth’s Nocturnal Art Productions which already should make you aware of the class this band incorporates) set them completely apart not only from the Black Metal-scene, which they are however nonetheless mostly associated with, but from ordinary music as well. NEUROSIS meets DARKTHRONE meets a noisy Industrial-act is still an insufficient description, but might give you a small hint what to expect. And where the debut already was an unbelievable mixture of harsh Black Metal, insane drumcomputer-parts and loops and partially simply pure noise, the new album takes everything even a step further, but both ways: on the one hand some songs have become as sweet and recognizeable as possible for a band like CHORONZON, melodies like rusty barbs attaching to your eardrums and on the other hand endless passages of sheer noise that drive you insane, especially when, which I recommend, you listen to this at maximum volume. I am not sure if I have made myself clear, but this is certainly neither your nostalgic Black Metal-trip nor has this anything in common with ordinary musicianship in general. If you like to approach this, and two general characteristics should be common to you: patience and open-mindedness, I suggest to give it a start with the fourth song ‘Surge Of Blood’ and then dig deeper into the spheres of P. Emerson Williams, I am able to promise you at least one thing: whether you like or hate it, this album will definitely leave you speechless. At least as speechless as me. webmaster@choronzon333.zzn.com Nhashi

www.todaslasnovedades.net • Desde Estados Unidos, Choronzon ejecuta un sonido pasado de tuerca hasta que roza lo rallante. Su mezcla de sonidos ambient, hardcore, industrial y death hacen que, en ocasiones, algunos temas se conviertan en composiciones ruidosamente inaudibles y más aun teniendo en cuenta la extensa duración de los mismos. El proyecto ha sido concebido íntegramente por P. Emerson Williams, quien, a excepción de alguna mínima colaboración, se ha encargado de la música y letras. El contenido de Magog agog es tenebroso y no apto para mentes endebles.

CHORONZON "Magog Agog" (Nocturnal Art) 4 Now and then records that forces me to think in new ways comes my way. When the old terms no longer are useful you have to invent new ones to describe what you hear. It is because Choronzon are totally inventive and perform music that defies gravity. It is more a combination of different styles that brings out this need for a new term. That "Magog Agog" even deserves a new term will tell you that the music is on the right side of good. Had it not been like that only one word had been needed to describe the music: shit. What does this mix that justifies a new term consist of? Choronzon have on "Magog Agog" succeeded in making the music sound like a mix of Godflesh and black metal. To call the music industrial black metal is not enough and it is not new.

Norwegian Helheim mixed black metal with industrial on their mcd "Fenris". What is innovative with Choronzon is that they mix two so different opposites that Godflesh and black metal are. That Choronzon incorporates influences from other styles of music is made clear in the song "Crimson Awakening". At times this song reminds me strongly of something by Iron Maiden. Despite its strange mix of influences on "Magog Agog" it's a record that is strong enough to compete with all the straight on metal that is released. Underneath all the strangeness lie songs that doesn't differ that much from normal songs. This makes "Magog Agog" not a painful experience. Anders Ekdahl CHORONZON From

demo Fight

Amnesia

This is Peter Williams's (Veil Of Thorns) Black Metal side project, in which he invites us to enter a completely different area of his creative work. CHORONZON are a quite open-minded act since they include a lot of noisy, HC and experimental/progressive influences and succeed in combining traditional Black Metal elements with a somewhat Big Black/Ministry sound. Yet, some excellent melodies still glimmer through the brutal arrangements and blend in one with slow-mo Doom parts, forming a rather haunting atmosphere. An excellent release for all friends of extreme music, which guarantees you many sleepless nights! Review in Pit Magazine Issue # 28 Choronzon-Magog Agog-Nocturnal Art Productions Releases like Magog Agog are far and few between here at Pit. Predictability is fairly common on most metal albums. Te strange, psychotic flair of this one definitely doesn't fit that bill. The first half sounds similar to mechanized aggro-metal, but heavy electronics eliminate a substantial link. The opening track utilizes layering or multi-track technique of instruments and sounds producing a disorienting effect. It almost sounds like a chaotic "test" track,to immediately weed out the nimble minded "brutal" listeners from the adventurous ones. Perdurabo(MagogAgog) follows with aggressive metal tendencies, but warps, explodes and reconstitutes itself from the meshing disarray of sound and structure. Eventually, the material calms down to reveal a black metal musician basking in the electronic light. Be warned! this record is an acquired taste! For the dark eccentric weirdo in the metal crowd only. -Kurt Hubert NORDIC VISION # 12 Interview with P. Emerson Williams in Isten 100 By Mikko Mattila This American band is definitely delivering something different than the metal market usually limits itself to. This is something intense and hard, industrialized raw metal with chaotic and

controlled sounds. Very hard and at the same time rich with noise. The industrial edge of this band is the most visual side of their music, several noisy factors do play an essential part of he music and do not allow it to become polished or predictable. The album varies from the rather noisy and non-melodic to the more easily listenable, with raw riffs and a drive to the music. Like on "Crimson Awakening", which as become our highlight on this unusual and raw album.

http://www.nocturnalart.com/CHORONZON

Blackened Electro Metal from America Choronzon (USA) is a one-man project under the command of Mr. P. Emerson Williams. The music of Choronzon is a find blend of Black, Thrash and Industrial, but you also find strong Gothic elements and some out of the ordinary psychedelic/ Ambient elements. If you've had anything to do with the Goth scene or read any occult oriented magazines in the early nineties you would almost certainly have come across the art of Peter Emerson Williams, or read interviews with his band, Veil of Thorns. What was less known at the time was the evil Demon he was giving birth to: Choronzon. P. Emerson Williams had spent the late eighties trying to get a Black Metal band going that was sincere about its occult involvement. Finding nothing but baseball-capped thrashers who were content with aping Exodus, Metallica and Anthrax he decided to withdraw from the world for a while to concentrate on art, Veil of Thorns and perfecting his vision of Metal. Choronzon was first brought out from the underworld with "Emotional Hunger", a heavily Deathtinged three song affair that had its good points but barely hinted in -92 at what was to follow. It was with the second self-titled demo Williams' vision was brought light years closer to realization, and the public interest was immediately felt to the point at which it was difficult to get review copies sent out as the tapes were sold almost as soon as they were duplicated. What most characterized the second demo was a ritualistic experimentalism that was not quite the amorphous devilry of Abruptum and some eighties style riffs that weren't quite retro. This demo was without a doubt a far purer Black Metal release than the preceding demo and the subsequent album. "Magog Agog" is taken from James Joyceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s "Finneganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wake". It is to be found in a passage of epithets hurled at, written down and collected by a much derided derelict in the town. It fits perfectly with the way P. Emerson Williams was treated by many in the Goth scene, and the words have a very meaningful occult meaning which fits Choronzon to a T. Choronzon "Magog Agog" CD (ECLIPSE 009)/ Nocturnal Art Productions: "The music of Choronzon is a fine blend of Black, Thrash and Industrial Metal, but you also find strong gothic elements and some out of the ordinary psychedelic/ambient elements." What could be more fitting description? This outstandingly weird and unordinary release by P. Emerson Williams of Veil Of Thorns surely covers all the mentioned genres and almost everything else, and furthermore combines them incredibly well so that the wide spectrum doesn't disturb. It's hard to say anything collective about "Magog Agog", it's not just anything. Every single field is handled with skill and true artistic sense, and recording technology is being used very colorfully. If you're into really chaotic and original stuff, get "Magog Agog" in your hands as soon as possible! It's simply brilliant! (5) Review by Ville Sorvali Towards Chaos... Band Contact Label contact: Nocturnal Art Productions P.O. Box 4 3671 Notodden Norway Fax: +47 35012108 Phone: +47 35020862 Email: eclipse@online.no Choronzon Interview in Isten 100 by Mikko Mattila: MACHINES CAN DO A GREAT MANY THINGS Instability, turmoil, chaos and confusion are the order of the coming years",he says. "Celebrate it, revel in it and take good advantage of this happy fact. The last time we talked to P. Emerson Williams (Dark Lord, 1996), he said he wanted Choronzon to be more chaotic and disorienting than the Choronzon tape, while also more melodic and expressive. Now, listening to the Magog Agog album I can only congratulate the man. What do you say yourself ~ aims achieved? Or is it still a case of you having barely tapped into the sound that exists in your head?

"I think Magog Agog is a decent start, but it merely scratches the surface. I consider this to be a very straight forward and restrained album. I was frankly a bit afraid that it was a little too much of the usual; I've been finding some of the reactions to be puzzling, to say the least, especially from some of the distributors. I believe my album is the only N.A.P. release that isn't carried by Full Moon in the states. It'll be interesting to see what the follow-up does to the status of my contract." Puzzling reactions, yes, I've heard people say about Magog Agog that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s some good stuff on it, but that it reverts into a cacophony, going up and over the limits, the guitars becoming undecipherable,... and I'm like, 'Stop right there, I've heard enough'. These people just don't get it at all as far as I'm concerned. I'm actually afraid of album number two,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; cause the mere whisper of overproduction would mean that some of the magick, for e, would be gone... "Well, I knew from the start that Choronzon was not going to be taking over for Metallica, or Dark Throne, for that matter. My biggest criticism of the album is that it is a bit on the clean side, and, to my ears, not chaotic at all. I want my music to frighten even the most jaded in the Metal audience, which I'm far away from so far. I want to rive sane men mad with only a few seconds of listening to music. I want to induce hallucinations and mortal dread, and the next release will come much closer to fulfilling that ambition than the rather sedate and demure performance on Magog Agog. Only the worthy are going to get what I'm doing, and the rest don't deserve to hear any of it." It's rather easy for people to lump Choronzon together with Benighted Leams et al and diss you because it's a one-man band and you're using a drum machine. And I can't really even blame them 'case, well, one-man bands are almost always crap and also 'cause this side of Samael nobody in metal (hm?) ought to use drum machines... Your thoughts on the matter? "Besides Samael and Mysticum, metal musicians simply don't know how to use drum machines. The fault lies with the musicians and not the technology. People are rightly sceptical about one-man projects and I encourage skepticism on al fronts, so I encourage everyone to check out compilations and to pay attention to metal radio shows before blindly spending their money. I want to get all the money possible, but have done nothing that could possibly be lucrative." What's the direct effect that you hope Choronzon has on the listener - the subliminal message, is it 'Study Les Crowley, do drugs and fuck goats,' basically? "Personally I've never wanted to fuck anything but a znoinaya grasotka, but do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. The study of Crowley isn't mandatory, though his writings are only a danger to those for whom there is no hope, anyway. And Ido support the "Never Stop the Madness"" campaign. That campaign appeals to my Skinneresque Social Darwinist philosophy. "Any subliminal message would be directly from Choronzon himself, and therefore not necessarily known consciously by even me. Choronzon is like a maggot: he turns the abundant useless souls into organic spiritual matter that the universe can feed off, and is therefore most representative of this part of the new Aeon." I still can't believe that the utterly brilliant Crimson Awakening is actually over ten minutes! Can you tell u the story behind this piece of music/magick? And... How do you do it? "Samoth complained several times that my sons are too long. I respect his opinion, since he's one of the most brilliant musicians of the latter half of the century, but I don't have the ability to do anything but what comes naturally. I try to refrain from repeating any idea too many times, but my most basic arrangements rarely end up shorter than six minutes. "I wrote the music twelve years ago, when I was neither a vocalist nor a lyricist. I came up with the lyrics at a time when both I and my girlfriend at the time were having these visions and dreams of me slaughtered in a secluded forest where my spirit was lingering and gazing peacefully at my mutilated remains. I rarely dream anything that doesn't happen, so maybe thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my fate. This is one of the few songs I've written that wasn't created in a trance state, though it is the result of many such incidents." Oh, yeah, I may have asked you this before, but what rituals do you have and believe as far as songwriting is concerned? "The process of creating results from an inward process, which I've heard Nick Lowe talk about, and the performance of the song is approached more as a ritual. I'll come out of rituals that have nothing

to do with music that yield the seeds and mages for songs, but it is meditations that form the songs themselves. The act of taking this raw material is pretty mundane, though the performance, as I said, is quite ritualistic." It seems as though you want to go boldly beyond sound and structure with Choronzon. What kind of a puzzle is it to you-and what do you think is the case with music lovers in general? "Most people like music to have a sound they can easily tune out. It is to much for them if it demands any amount of attention. Hence the popularity of Phil Collins, James Taylor and Van Morrison. It is generally the job of the producer to drain the music of all that makes the music worthwhile, which is why I like the Foamin' Bros., their philosophy is the opposite of that. "Speaking for myself, I think I think the music and the performance themselves are vastly more important than the production, and I feel that there's a great deal of music that's been ruined by a pretty sound. In fact, I'm proud of the production of the Carnage demo, which I'm told you rudely criticized. It's rugged and raw! Guts hit the floor, worms exit your pores!" What Carnage demo? Gimme The Day Man Lost or Infestation Of Evil any day. As for your friend Voland's tape, I didn't say a word about the production, I merely asked him if he's planning to change the name to Bathory anytime soon. By the way, do you have any other friends with oneman projects going? It's been said that someone who's made a record/played live can never again listen to music the way he used to, before this experience. The neutrality is gone for good. I think this is most true with record label personnel - good music just ain't good music if it's on the wrong label. Anyway, what have your experiences been like? How have your tastes and listening habits changed? "Shit, anyone who's twenty can't listen to music the same was he did when he was thirteen and discovered Venom. I don't long for the days when I knew nothing about music. But in my case I'd have to go back when I was eight, before I got my first guitar, when I was listening to my mother's Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and albums. "I don't really give a shit what label something is released on. If it's good, it's good. I still like everything I always liked. My tastes don't change so much as expand. I don't care who you are. You'd be alternately delighted or disgusted by y collection of music. I'm sure some segment would want to kill me for owning Duke Ellington records. I've also come to realize the genius of Satchmo in the last few years. Albert Ayler, Captain Beefheart, Throbbng Gristle, fuck, man, in a perfect world the mere existence of the people cause a mass suicide of the empty vessels that are the mainstream artists of our day due to the fact that they deserve no less than the ovens." Is Veil Of Thorns, still active? "We're very active these days, though we're finding the Goth audience to be more conservative and less open than the country audience. I've found many more people in the Black Metal scene who like what we do than we've found in the Goth scene. I find it gratifying to scare the meek, mild and angelic fns of Goth with our performances, though. My good friend Voland compared our live show with a cross between Mussorgsky and Abruptum. We did go through long, protracted negotiations with Tiziana for Veil of Thorns, but she couldn't ultimately deliver the goods. I didn't approach her for a deal, she offered us ne and told us to keep a low profile while we hammered out an agreement. We worked only locally, becoming one of the biggest Goth bands in the Boston area, while she drowned in previous commitments. We fell by the wayside in favor of the new 'Mayhem" (ahem) EP and the embarrassing Burzum keyboard album. "Meanwhile, we recorded our first album and are hoping against hope to find a label and an audience for it. It has a couple of songs from the Legemet Og Stemmen demo and a number of new songs. The fate of Veil of Thorns is unclear at the moment. I thought that Choronzon was a conceit of limited possibility, as I thought that Veil of Thorns had more possibility of succeeding. My instincts may be proven right, though the Goth crowd isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t likely to take to a couple ugly, butch-looking bastards

these days. If we got a cute girl to sing angelic voices we'd have a chance, though. (If I hear another angelic voice, I'll go on a murderous rampage). What a great biography that accompanies the album: "All in all a rather creative and original release" sounds like a total understatement compared with the hyperbolic BS prevalent in these circles, although it's the truth. "Samoth and I both believe in stating only the objective truth. I find the fact that he chose to go that far to be quite a compliment. The music will either sell itself or it will not." So your linking up with Nocturnal Art, How did it actually happen? It was back in '93, Minda from Wounded gave me addresses for various Satanic artists, including Rotting Christ and Emperor I then got a hold of Emperor's demo, Wrath Of The Tyrant, and, duly impressed, decided to write Samoth. I sent the first Choronzon demo, Emotional Hunger and some artwork, offering to create art for anything they might need it for, which they have yet to take me up on, and a letter detailing my plight with trying to get a metal band together in the states that was worth the effort. I never received a response, and eventually stopped waiting for one. "A Few years, a second demo and twenty interviews later Samoth wrote me saying that he was intrigued by what had been said about my work, that he wanted to hear my latest stuff and that he remembered that I had been in previous contact with him. He liked what I sent him and offered me an excellent deal. The rest is ja da, ja da." Magog Agoy:On Nocturnal Art Productions label. P. Emerson Williams, already known in the underground scene for his various projects, released an album, which was hard to anticipate. Earlier, I've heard his gothic project Veil Of Thorns, which goes in the best traditions of Bauhaus; here, P. E. Williams does everything alone again, but the style is absolutely different and can be described as a mix of gothic, black, industrial, ambient music. It has a strong impact of horror music and films, somehow I can relate it to my favorite horror group Morthem Vlade Art. Choronzon isn't so diverse as this band, but its music is much more powerful and angry, mainly because of the great use of industrial background and elements of black metal. "Magog Agoy" also has this, not common to black metal, psychedelic touch. The info sheet explains that Choronzon, besides occult and ritual practice, was also influenced by LSD visions. So, now you know that you can expect the unexpectable. Rating: 4.25/5. [http://www.cs.auc.dk/~giedrius/edge/issue13/r13goth.htm] Choronzon : Magog Agog -cd-

A record, dedicated for individuals, and not for the masses, victims of neverending trends. Mr. P. Emerson Williams is know from his Veil of Thorns project, full of dark ambient. I remind he is of Norwegian blood, nowadays living in States. So finally he finished his metal compositions presented on Magog Agog. Drum machine helps to complete the lineup, and Williams adds loads of bizarre ideas to the pack. Biography correctly points out black, thrash and industrial metal with some hints of electro ambient. Everybody will be confused by sick defined riffs and noisy background. Moreover - voice he delivers has lot to do with 80's thrash and techno thrash scene. Every now and then he sings in a more Goth way - then thrashy riffs (a la Sodom) are traded to dark flowing soundscapes. Even trying very hard it is next to impossible to get a clue at first couple of listens. After a while you get used to unexpected turns, but a word strange still does not leave your mind. Especially mentioning Perdurabo (Magog Agog) tune. A chaos demon has landed on Choronzon recording - that is why it is so sick. Alas never try to stick a label to this cd, otherwise it leaves you dissatisfied. Better get into it with free mind, as it can not be an

everyday listen. Reviews taken from Ledo Takas#6 zine. Used by permission. ledotakas@hotmail.com CHORONZON demo

From

Fight

Amnesia

PETER EMERSON WILLIAMS is the mastermind behind the electronic Goth band VEIL OF THORNS and the Black Metal project CHORONZON. He is furthermore active as an artist, whose drawnings are inspired by Magic and Nature. His works bear, as you will find out yourselves, a quite dark and obscure character. We were interested in Peter's creative work both as an artist and as a musician, and here's what we've found out... You come originally from Norway. How did you land in the USA and how do you feel today about this change? Actually, I was born in the States but grew up in Norway. I came here with my family when I was sixteen because my mother wanted to go back to where she came from. We'd been gone for about a decade without so much as a visit, so it was quite a shock coming back, especially for me, having been so young when we moved to Norway. I feel it's always good to add to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience, so I generally feel I benefited from the move. I do see myself settling in Norway to live out my life, however. It took leaving to show me how much I love Norway. You seem to be quite annoyed about the American way of life. Which do you think is the main reason that culture is slowly dying and its place is taken by the obsession of consuming and just living a "comfortable" life? A comfortable life is not that easy to achieve in the States. Here is no culture, only corporate product. Those doing worthwhile work have no hope of making a living. The average American is washed of any semblance of individuality and initiative in school and through popular culture. Is there a connection between your lyrics, your music and your drawings? Do you consider your whole work as a concept or is there some part which you consider more important than the other? I consider them to be parts of a whole, none of which would be the same if I weren't doing all.

Your two musical projects, namely Veil Of Thorns and Choronzon, are quite different to each other. The first is a more Goth oriented band, the second, your solo Black Metal project. Which are the parallels between those two acts? Did you miss something with VoT, which forced you to form Choronzon? Choronzon is more of a ritual persona than a band, allowing me total indulgence with no regard to convention. I know that, as a listener, I like a particular release to flow naturally from beginning to end, and I don't think this would be possible to pull off with all these various sounds and moods on a single release. I'm not trying to be an industrial Zappa or Gothic Mr. Bungle. Some of the Choronzon songs are written as Qabbalistic exercises performed as rituals, timesignature and harmonies invoking elements and elemental spirits. Choronzon is gnosis and Veil of Thorns is myth. Both are equally important and complimentary. Which are the main feelings you want to transport through your music and lyrics? Peace, sorrow, fear, mourning, anger, tension, orgasm, grandeur, debasement, transcendence, elation, immediacy, joy, disorientation, claustrophobia; love under Will. This is why we cannot be defined by the compilation tracks and singles...

Where can people get your music and are there any plans for album releases and any distribution updates? You can get the music of both projects direct from us at Foamin' Bone Productions, as well as Tshirts bearing the design from the cover of the single and stickers. The "Lust Beyond Flesh" 7" is available from Nightbreed in the UK, Torture Records in California and Northern Darkness Records in Italy. We have a full-length recorded, needing only somebody to put it out. We'll be doing a limited edition vinyl pressing of this anyway, because we like vinyl. A lot of people misunderstand the meaning of magick as something that is directed against human existence. What is for you the most precious character of magick and how does it influence you as a thinking being? Damn, do you want to devote the rest of your 'zine to this question? Certainly, what is essential is this: attain the knowledge and conversation of your Guardian Angel. Achieve this, cross the Abyss and all else will be apparent. All we do is Magick, for good or for ill, whether we like it or not. Good and evil come together like the supreme ecstasy of Hadit and Nuit. So, you do believe in the reconciliation of the opposites, conscious / unconscious, good / evil, man / woman, crystal / amorphous, etc.? As I mentioned earlier, the joining of Hadit and Nuit, the annihilation of duality into zero. The way I approach the creative process is to go into a trance, let my unconscious pour out its divine insight, then to refine it by myself or with Chris. When you hear Veil of Thorns or Choronzon you hear this concept both implicitly and explicitly. Ritual grew largely out of this need within human beings. You said at an interview with "Ghastly" that the Ocean and the water in general is very important and inspirative for your work. For many Ancient Cultures water used to have a mystical character. It is also the symbol of the unknown regions of the psyche. Furthermore, it is a symbol of the Feminine. So, what does water represent for you in your works?

What you just said includes so much of what draws me to water that all I can add is the beauty of drowning. Let's talk a little about the development of the Norse Black Metal scene. As an artist, how do you consider the fact that a part of the Arts' history, namely churches, are burnt down by Black Metal fans? I would certainly prefer that they got rich, bought these churches to live in and to banish Christ the Vampire from these places through sexual pagan rites. More witches, real and accused, were killed by the Inquisition than Jews were exterminated by the Nazis. We're still dealing with this legacy, so many irrational actions will manifest until we face this issue head on. The ethnicity of various European cultures was killed by the Zombification process of the Church and embalmed and mummified by the modern consumer culture of America. These are people striking out in pain and anger. I understand their motivation, but I choose other tactics. Yeah, but fanatics just cannot deal with open-mindedness and with tolerating each other's thoughts and feelings. Everything that is controlled and directed by someone is endangered to lose its personal identity... If we weren't brought up to conform we couldn't be vulnerable to the pressures of those we surround ourselves with. The fact that we need laws shows the extent to which we're inferior to the other creatures. Fanatics can deal with their own thoughts and feelings even less than they can deal with the thoughts and feelings of others. It comes down to not being able to handle the responsibility of being an adult. It shows a real lack of strength of character to need to adhere to a dogma or moral code. If you need an outside reference to navigate your moral landscape you never bothered to learn the lay of the land to begin with! A good place to clarify individuality as opposed to selfishness is to look into what Ayn Rand said about the difference between egoism and egotism. Do you think that hate can be a creative force to people? We believe that hate is a weakness to which a person might be driven because of "stern" belief. Ah, but you might hate those whose fanaticism drives them to actions which you find repugnant. Hate is such a human emotion. My being, contained as it is by this primate vessel it is, isn't totally immune from such foibles as hatred. To quote the Vampire: "By our fruits shall you know us". The results of the actions of hate determine the value judgements we place upon them. I hate the Christ and the stifling mediocrity of the Average. Don't you think that each person has to discover his/her own world, without being led by any ideologies but only by the hunger to learn and to advance? I have nothing to add but an emphatic YES! Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. "The fall of fear eliminates the life that was" is a text line of yours. Do you consider this fall as an esoteric process or could it also appear as a revolutionary force? This was part of a litany within the poem "Tear the Cities Down", which maps the progress of the Adept. This particular line IS the revolutionary force. It appears only in that brief moment before action, thus far in modern history, only to descend back into the authoritarian and oppressively dogmatic. There are many steps beyond this point, destructive and ultimately creative. This impulse has yet to lead to a better life on a greater scale because fear has yet to fall. So far fear has only tripped. Individuals can tap into this truth very easily, though.

Your arts seem to be inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, as there are some references to Cadath and to the mad Arab. Are you fascinated by these works because of their revealing the unknown and is there for you a kind of philosophy about life in them? Aesthetically, I find the fantasies of Lovecraft appealing. I also find the rites detailed in the Necronomicon put out by Avon books to be entertaining, but I've not included these elements into my Magick except to throw in an element of Chaos. I never referred to the mad Arab in a song, but I referred to Kadath only to say that I've ventured beyond that fabled destination. You said once that you are fascinated by physics and quantum mechanics. What does Chaos mean for you? Chaos represents the Tao. To approach it with a rigid pre-conception has you perishing with the Dogs of Reason. Even to calculate the course of the nearest celestial bodies to a modest degree of accuracy takes the calculations of more elements than possible to conceive of. Of so much greater complexity then, must be the behaviour of sub-atomic particles, or the elements of a ritual. To make anything work one must learn to let go. This is true of learning proficiency of even the most mundane task. Order from Chaos is celebration of Chaos. Attempt at order seems only to lead to greater chaos, showing that nothing exists but Chaos.

Gothic is often set equal with the adoration of vampires, etc.? Don't you think that Gothic is something deeper than that? Indeed! I've never had even the smallest interest in vampires. This is a decadent life style driven by aesthetics. It involves Magick and a dark romanticism. Vampire stories are cartoon versions of this. Gothic fiction and Romanticism often describe a journey, during which one discovers the dark and hidden parts of his mind. Tell us about the dark side which you've discovered through your work... To gaze into the unknown one must let go of the fears we're burdened with from our upbringing. To live without fear of the Devil and what resides within one's own heart is reward enough for the WORK. To follow the path with no concern as to what works or achieves results will give one this much. Often I look back on something I've done and discover something I hadn't realised consciously spelled out more eloquently than I could have done through deliberate effort. This vast insight and wisdom doesn't always prevent my explosive outbursts of frustration at the uselessness of our fellow vermin all the time, but it keeps down the escalation of outrage at my fellow humans and the acts that would follow. Do you consider a museum or a gallery as a final stage of the process of Art or do you think that Art keeps developing even after the work leaves the hands of its creator? Everybody brings something different to a work of art, so the process never ends. I get something different out of my work when I look at it or listen to it, than I get when I create it. One of these is often more fulfilling than the other, hence the large pile of stuff that will never see the light of day. Then again, I've discovered many times that I like something I rejected at the time I made it after checking it out later on. No state is permanent, even for fixed objects. This adds to the beauty of existence. Did you have the chance to exhibit your works to the public? Any books and projects in which you were involved as an illustrator? The only book so far is the Concupiscence book, the release of which I await with increasing impatience. I would welcome the chance to work with poets and other writers, both as an

illustrator and as the cover artist. I don't consider anything I've done to be illustration, since all I've done so far has been to do whatever comes into my head and then let the editors use the drawings as they saw fit. One thing coming up is my work for the Irish Pagan Metal band Primordial. Keep an eye on this excellent band both for their beautiful music and my visual input. I do intend to pursue doing CD covers, T-shirts and other things for bands and record companies I like in the future. I've had a few exhibitions of my paintings and I intend to pursue this more aggressively in the future. Besides all that, all I've done was sets for a few theatre productions and designing a room for the reptile house of a local zoo. This was cool because I got to hang out with Iggy the iguana and listen to "The Reptile House" EP all summer while I was painting a rainforest. You've just spoke about your excitement by the "Concupiscence Book", kinda book of alternative erotica. We never saw this book; it probably deals with S/M, Fetish, etc., so, what about all these tendencies which are slowly invading the Goth scene? We believe that this is a quite superficial translation of the SPIRITUAL sexuality of Gothic Arts and Literature. Let them play. I see this as part of exploring one's hidden desires. How shallow this is will vary from individual to individual, depending on the depth of each

My girlfriend agrees with you, but I see no problem in person. expressing oneself sexually however one likes, nor of bringing that expression into the scene as long as nobody feels obligated to engage in anything one is uncomfortable with to fit in. I think fetish and S/M can add to the beauty and profundity of the Gothic experience if one approaches it the right way, just as it can be powerful in ritual practice. Would you like to tell us a few words about the problems you've faced as a young artist so far? The biggest problem has been the necessity to endeavour to get my work out to people, something I've mostly ignored in favour of spending all my time creating. This gets easier as I find people I like and respect who can help me with this and who encourage me to go on. This and making my peace with Choronzon.

I (1) 1.- I no longer dwell on my memory of life. That was another reality, a fever dream. 2.- I no longer obsess over the Christ. I’m growing new life from his putrid remains. 3.- Often my eyes would like to tell of the desires that purify. Of the defiled angels always at his side, how they danced drunkenly, grinning, bloody and sad. 4.- The cold, hard steel against my throat as the messiah smiled and promised love. (2) 1.- Thought shall inaugurate the fall of fear, the fall eliminate the life that was. The life that was can never have been, lie turns back on lie. Behold. 2.- Fear shall die with its slaves. Death shall fear visions telling of lies. 3.- Visions shall lie, telling of the fear of death. Laughter will erase this carnage of thought. 4.- Fear ridden spectres flitting by. Still their fetters bind your soul. 5.- Strongholds of corrosion let burst the floodgates of dead gods desires. 6.- We have seen, and we will tear the cities down, falsehood by falsehood. (3) 1.- In distrust lie the possibilities that were stillborn in haloed fields. 2.- We have planted the seed, and we will tear the cities down, falsehood by falsehood. II VOID (1) 1.- Blind in water, seeking our embers. Glass hands grip his hair, aquatic flames consume his speech. 2.- Red purified in rubber aqueducts. It carries the fame, enflames our task. It remains undone. 3.- We stand watching the grinning corpse gleaming in white space. He screams beyond us, “I’m not here”. (2) 1.- “Illusions of darkness and vast halls of pain. I’ve cast off delusions, my body remains. 2.- The pulse of your poison which deeps life intact can bind me no longer to that which is sane. 3.- Our hopeless confusion enshrouded in sweet works, the lies of existence that help us to live. The Mindless delusions of social convention atrophies life force along with our souls.” (3) 1.- Ever falling from the vision. Embracing the warm, dry mouth. He cries no more, but dances. 2.- Here no more. Bound no more. Void the dust. III PERDURABO (1) 1.- Don’t look too close, in the end you’ll believe. Eventually you’ll see. You’ll think it is not there… 2.- Long gone friends far away. You smile at the thought of their comfort while you are here. 3.- You know fully that you’re alive. Wind caress, a fog of snow. (2) 1.- Do you give a damn for their welfare now? Is the reason you’re doing this on your mind?

2.- Moving on in darkness, doubling over from joy. Did the priest not tell you? Death, then salvation. 3.- Strike the final blow and forever remain. The final death-throes sow the living grain. 4.- The seeds are flung at the remains, reasons found. (3) 1.- Where is the rest of your creation? Reality? The inner monologues partially claims its falsehood. 2.- Feel the touch of the nocturnal breeze. To the snowy drifts on all sides, drowning you. 3.- Pull the lever and watch it all come down. Pull the trigger and claim our crown. 4.- With your back to the nameless crown, hide your sorrow. Get use to the cold hand on your shoulder. Beyond this initium, sleep shall never come. IV A PLEA Come running, run towards me. I’ll pull you from the snowy sea. Sanctify your drowning. Seas of sound wash your soul. Now the vision needs no control. The following interview was answered by Mr. Emerson, frontman of the American Experimental/Black Metal project CHORONZON. The interview was conducted after the release of his album “Magog Agog”: Psicoterror: When did you decide to initiate CHORONZON as a project? Choronzon: I’ve played metal since the early eighties, and even in those days I was in search of even darker forms of the art-form. At the time I lived in Norway where I discovered Venom, Iron Maiden, Accept, Manowar among other great bands that existed at the time. What I found in the States when I arrived with my family in 1984 was an altogether much more sickening and disheartening scene. I mean, in this country at that time people thought Motley Crue was metal! (PUKE!). Then later, when I was trying to put together a Black Metal band in the mid to late eighties, I found only musicians who wanted to imitate the Bay Area trend band of the moment. Now, while I could appreciate the debut albums by Testament and Exodus, I had in mind something altogether more original and insisted on expressing my deepest misanthropic feelings and tell of things I’d experienced in my occult practice. By the time the nineties rolled around I was living in Boston and isolating myself from the world, content to work on my own, perfecting my vision and delving further into occult studies and ritual practice. The beginning of my reemergence into the world was through some people I’d met in the occult underground who had a magazine called Fool’s Feast who convinced me to create dome art for them. This started a period when I came in Contact with many occultists who were themselves musicians, artists and writers with whom I started to share my creations. This was the time I found a line-up for Veil of Thorns. At first V.O.T was a combination of psychedelic rock, prog. Rock, goth, doom and death metal. In fact, the song “Choronzon” was the first song I wrote for Veil of Thorns, and it is quite a good example of the style V.O.T played at the time. As V.O.T’s style evolved away from this sound I found I needed a way of bringing my vision to a darker place, hence Choronzon.

P.T: Your music presents many elements, like black/thrash & industrial, etc. Under what premise was developed the musical concept of Choronzon, and what do you expect from it? (the band). Choronzon: The sound developed quite naturally. I avoided deliberately planning what it would be, choosing to write most of the material in a trance-state. The concept is to simply incorporate it into my ritual practice. What I expect from it is self-expression and nothing more. P.T: About your lyrics, and the conceptual basis of Choronzon: obviously exists some occult elements in them. Tell us your sources of inspiration and the message expressed by Choronzon. Choronzon: Obviously the poetry of Aleister Crowley is one reference point. There isn’t a single line in the lyrics of Choronzon, or any other musical endeavour I might undertake, that doesn’t have occult meaning. The message makes up a tale of Choronzons Existance, who is vulnerable to his powers and my own interactions and thoughts on this most fascinating daimon. No message really, for I like to laugh at those who fall into his clutches. P.T: Tell us something about your Foamin Bone prod., and your current productions. Choronzon: Foamin’ Bone Prod. Has produced everything created by Choronzon, Veil of Thorns, Byzantine Slave Drug as well as the production of both of the Carnage albums. I started Foamin’ Bone as an umbrella under I could gather all my endeavours under one direction. It includes my art, recording studio; Foamin’ Bone Studios and perhaps live events in the future.

P.T: Actually, exists some sectors of the european black metal scene who don’t consider so seriously the american B/M scene, saying that it

is merely a product of the consumer-society (I’m not referring to all of the bands, but perhaps a big part of them). What do you think about this topic in general? Choronzon: What tries to be a Black Metal scene in the States is indeed quite pathetic. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it is part of the consumer cult culture, seeing as it is impossible to make any money playing this music here. I think the biggest problem with most of the black metal here is that they live normal lives and have no understanding of what it all means. P.T: How did you get in touch with Nocturnal Arts prod. , and how did you get a contract with them? Especially by the fact that they at that time only released European bands. How do you feel actually working with them? Choronzon: Back in ’92 Minda from Wounded mag. gave me Samoth’s address, saying that I’d appreciate what his band was doing, based on the tapes I’d sent him. I sent him a couple of tapes with both Choronzon and Veil of Thorns and wrote a little bit about my philosophy. When I heard the “Wrath of the Tyrant” demo I knew that this was music for the ages. In subsequent years I didn’t hear much from him, but when the second Choronzon demo was getting noticed the things that were written got his interest in light of what he already knew about what I was up to, so he asked to hear some of the newer material and where I was at, philosophically. I sent him the second demo along with some unreleased tracks based on which I decided to sign me. I can’t imagine a better situation for Choronzon to be unleashed on the unsuspecting masses. P.T: Tell us about your relationships with the Gothic scene, and how do they see the concept of Choronzon? Choronzon: My relationship with the Gothic scene is rather strained at the moment. Goth used to be about darkness, misanthropy and pushing the boundaries, musically, but has become increasingly pretty, angelic and representative of the new age (pronounced like sewage) mind-rot. I can’t abide by weakness, sympathy to the nazarene or a wish to be accepted by society. Some individuals see Choronzon as being closer to what they wish to see expressed in the Goth scene than that’s actually going on there, though most can’t handle real darkness. P.T: Why did you want to create Choronzon as a one man-based side project? Choronzon: I couldn’t find any other worthy souls. Although, I did recently hook up with an old friend of mine, Jake Stevens, who played on a couple of songs on the album, and he’ll have a bigger role in the next. P.T: What do you think of the bands who are signing with capitalistic/trendy labels like Nuclear Blast? Choronzon: I’m on two minds on this subject. On one hand, every satanic band signed to Nuclear Blast means that a christian band goes without a contract, but on the other hand being in any way associated with christians means an in for Jesus, the psychic vampire. Going with trendies means also that you’ll be dropped once something else becomes the

trend of the moment, which is why I wouldn’t personally make that choice. I do, however, have no problems with capitalism. It is essentially Darwinistic, and therefore, anti-christian. P.T: Future plans…? Choronzon: To dissolve time and space. P.T: What do you know about the Peruvian metal scene? Choronzon: Only the death/black band Mortem, though I’d like more info from anyone who’d like to provide it. P.T: Last words for our readers? Choronzon: Ave Satanas! Ave Samoth! Ave Choronzon! Your day is at hand! Hail hate, darkness and misanthropy!! Join me in the celebration of the end!! And, as always, my message to the church: Apos Pantos Kakodaimonos.

CHORONZON - "MAGOG AGOG" (METAL BLADE) http://www.metal-e-zine.com/trax/c_ma.htm At first I thought I was dealing with a one man black metal band from the Netherlands that has released a split demo "Aiwass" with Ostracised. But it appears that this Choronzon is not from Holland, though there are some striking similarities between both Choronzons. The Choronzon of the "Magog Agog" album is a solo project of P. Emerson Williams (on some tracks he is assisted by Jake Stevens on guitar). It's a Nocturnal Art release we have here, so quality and originality are almost guaranteed. And indeed, this is definitely not an average release. Choronzon spits forth some really weird stuff. I would describe it as a mixture of Korova, Fleurety, Mysticum and some Tartaros (! - mr Williams wouldn't by any chance be the same person as mr Grimlock, now, would he?) and to be frankly honest it took me more than one listening session before I was able to fathom the tracks that are featured. But now I am used to them, I find them really enjoyable an innovative. The songs are quite diverse and apart from black metal they contain some thrash and heavy metal influences. Blasting and mega-intense black metal fragments are alternated by weird slow parts. Lots of strange hypnotising melodies in both the fast and the slow parts and the eerie vocals are interesting as well. According to the info the songs are largely inspired by the use of narcotics and when I listen to the music this makes sense - most songs contain rather psychedelic parts. Like I mentioned, quite weird stuff, this release. Nine agonising tracks are featured on "Magog Agog" (including an intro and a small instrumental track) and the album takes up more than an hour of your (well spent) time. My personal favourite is the track "Crimson Awakening", in which the vocals are varied in a thrilling way and the drum computer patterns make the track even more interesting. The production of the album might have been a little better, but it's not like it's worthless or anything - it all sounds a little clinical to me, but I suppose the use of the drum computer is an imporant contributor to that. Apart from composing songs for Choronzon, mister Emerson Williams also likes to paint and some of his paintings are depicted in the CD-inlay - they are almost as weird and fascinating as

his music. Maybe it's a little pretentious, but I'd say there are similarities in the way the Choronzon compositions are put together and the process of creating a painting. It must have taken an enormous amount of time to arrange the tracks. The lyrics are drenched with references to the occult, in particular to the works of Aleister Crowley. Good examples are themes like Perdurabo (meaning 'I shall endure' - Crowley used it as a pseudonym within the Order of the Golden Dawn), the era of the child and 333: The Book of Lies. The lyrics to the track 'Demon' are actually taken from a poem entitled 'White Puppy', written by Aleister Crowley. The general concept to the band is Choronzon; some kind of aeon representing the essence of shapeless choas. All in all "Magog Agog" is a very good release, but I'd definitely recommend listening to this album before buying it - this type of music is not everybody's cup of tea!

Written November 1998

Choronzon-Magog-Agog I got two copies of this CD, one straight from Samoth’s label, NOCTURNAL ART PRODUCTION and one from the devilish artist P.E. Williams himself which show how strongly this is being promoted. I had already heard Choronzon before so P.E. Williams said, " I realize, the review of the demo in Endemoniada wasn’t the most positive but I think you might agree this is a bit more developed.” I have to agree 100%. Choronzon has become even more experimental. Absolutely, the most eerie blend of psychedelic black/ gothic metal with wild hints of industrial and traces of thrash metal. This is BIZARRE METAL! From its Intro: Dust to Choronzon you can tell there is a deep intrigue with Aleister Crowley and H.P. Lovecraft. Not only is this a one-man project by Mr. Williams but he also does his own unusual and equally bizarre form of art (seen within past issues of Endemoniada fanzines). It had my cat looking for forms and things that were not visible to me. His biography states, “The concept of Choronzon is based on a long relationship with demon-chaos magick. The inspiration comes from occult study, ritual practice and psychotic and LSD-vision’. Absolute chaos magick, worthy of those with similar views and tastes. If you are unordinary then this is for your dark soul. My favorite songs here is Crimson Awakening where the goth/black experimental sounds are more prevalent! 666+ Foamin’ Bone Productions/ Nocturnal Arts Productions Lucifera- Endemoniada ‘Zine

Title: The Git'ard Evil Muthafucka Black Magician Test Author: Kat – www.choronzon.com Version 1.2 (11/03/01) Inspired by and partly pilfered from The Thelemite Test. Scoring: Unless otherwise specified, give yourself one point for each correct answer; if you don't know the correct answer (and it's not always "yes"), then you got it wrong. Scoring details are at the end of the test. Thanks to Steve Wilson for additional material.

A: Personal Information • • • • • • • • • • • •

Is your wardrobe dominated by clothing in fetching combinations of black, red, and purple? Do you wear a pentagram? (inverted, obviously) An inverted cross? A chaosphere? (bonus point if you've actually managed to come up with a method of inverting a chaosphere) A Z-Star of any description? Do you own a bone-handled walking stick? Does your name EITHER have any numbers in it, or involve the names of at least 2 demons or equitable entities? Do you own a coffin? Have you had permanent artificial fangs put in? (bonus point if they're metallic) Do you have any sigils on your leather jacket? Do you have less than 5 tattoos or piercings? (detract one point for each one below five) Do you own a Cuddly Cthulhu? (Sold over the net by The Outsider.)

B: Hobbies, Sex & Social Life • • • • • • • • •

How many different illegal substances do you take? (1 point for each) Do you shoot up? Is your accustomed sexual possition spreadeagled over the altar with a black candle up your arse? Do you frequent any S&M clubs? Have you performed at any S&M shows, clubs, or similar? Do you bait Christians, Moslems, or Wiccans? How many Magical Orders do you belong to? (1 point each, includes those which consist solely of you and your imaginary friends, but not ones you just made up for the purpose of this test) Are you the Head of any of these Orders? How many of these Orders have expelled you? (Bonus point if you were also the Head of the Order. Double bonus points if everyone else in the order was imaginary.)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Add two bonus points if you refuse to have any part in magickal orders. Does your family think you're going to Hell? Does your family think you're dead? Subtract one point for every relative you are on speaking terms with. (limit 10) How many dark-side or chaos-oriented e-mail lists are you on? (1 point each) When travelling, do you plan your route so you can crash at other magicians' homes? Do you live in the bad part of town? Are the local street gangs scared of you? Have you ever been arrested for carrying your magickal sword around? Have you contributed to a sinister path or chatote 'zine or newsletter? Have you edited one of the aforementioned 'zines or newsletters? (Bonus point if you had to do the whole thing yourself.) Would you bid at auction for Austin Osman Spare's laundry lists? Would you win the auction? Can you speak Sumerian? Can you say 'Phnglui Mgwlnafh Chthulhu Rlyeh Wgahnagl Fhtagn' in several amusing accents?

C: Magickal Practice • • • • • • • • • • •

How many servitors do you have active at this moment? (one point for each, and no making extra ones on the spur of the moment just to do well in the test) Do you think that banishing is for wimps? Do you have a nice big wand (or, for chicks, a nice deep chalice)? Can you speak fluent Ouranian Barbariq? Is your aura so dark that no-one can actually see you any more? Do you think that the Demon Choronzon is just misunderstood? Can you pronounce The Lord's Prayer backwards? Have you ever performed LaVey's Werewolf Rite? Have you seriously considered the magickal and social usefulness of human sacrifice? Have you ever been accused of being a member of the Black Brotherhood? Are you?

D: Prints of Darkness • • • • • • •

How many books on chaos magick do you own? (1 point each & a bonus for any of them are first edition pamphlets by someone like Phil Hine) Do you own any hard copy texts put out by the Order of the Nine Angles? How many hard copy dictionaries of demons do you own? Do you keep them on the shelf with the telephone directories? Do you own a copy of The Satanic Bible? (no points, unless you stole it from a public library) How many books by Terry Pratchett do you own? (1 point each) How many versions of the Necronomicon do you own? (1 point each)

• •

Have you ever written a Fakeronomicon? Do you actually have a copy of the REAL Necronomicon?

E: Arts and Entertainment • • • • • • • • • • •

Have you seen 'Hellraiser'? Have you ever tried using the Cenobytes as god forms? How many Kenneth Anger films have you seen? (One point each, limit eight since that's all there are!) Did you understand any of them? Do you own a copy of "Magog Agog" by Choronzon? Do you own a copy of "Black Aria" by Glenn Danzig? What is the total number of Skinny Puppy, Coil, Current 93, PTV, and Sol Invictus albums currently in your possession? (one point each) Have you ever worn out a copy of Orff's Carmina Burana? (bonus point if it was a CD) How many H.R. Giger prints do you own? (1 point each) Did you ever send letters to Fields of the Nephilim pointing out errors in the research? Do you watch 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and pick holes in it for the inaccuracies in the occult phenomena it portrays? ("That is NOT how you pronounce Dagon!")

F: General Knowledge • • • • • • •

How do you spell a two letter preposition meaning "belonging to"? How do you spell the definite article? Do you know what the "J." in Peter J. Carroll stands for? Can you name at least 3 Lovecraftian entities? Do you know what the fuck the Ice Magic wars were all about? Who coined the phrase "Nothing is true, Everything is permitted"? Name as many of Peter Carroll's personalities and alter-egos as you can. (1 point for each)

Scoring 0 points or less - More tea vicar? 1 to 12 points - You're probably either a Goth or one of the saner varieties of Satanist. 13 to 32 points - Please kneel upon entering the Pact showers. 33 to 66 points - You are the reincarnation of Pete Carroll. What do you mean he's not dead yet?!? 67 to 82 points - You are quality black magician, a credit to the title. Send us some Ketamine and we'll give you another 200 points. 82 to 91 points - You're pretty git'ard, and you're definitely a black magician, but you draw the line at the motherfuckin' bit. 93 points - IMPOSTOR!!!! You're just a Thelemite who's fiddled his score to get a significant

number! 94 to 332 points - Yes, okay, you're a git'ard motherfucking evil big black magician. Have a gold star. I can't be bothered to come up with any more of these scoring translations. 333 points or more - You are thee avatar ov thee aeon ov KAOS! All must bow down and worship at your black leather boots.

Review on dvsrecords.com CHORONZON Magog Agog Nocturnal Art Productions P. Emerson Williams, already known in the underground scene for his various projects, released an album, which was hard to anticipate. Earlier, I've heard his gothic project Veil Of Thorns, which goes in the best traditions of Bauhaus; here, P. E. Williams does everything alone again, but the style is absolutely different and can be described as a mix of gothic, black, industrial, ambient music. It has a strong impact of horror music and films; somehow I can relate it to my favorite horror group Morthem Vlade Art. Choronzon isn't as diverse as this band, but its music is much more powerful and angry, mainly because of the great use of industrial background and elements of black metal. "Magog Agog" also has this, not common to black metal, psychedelic touch. The info sheet explains that Choronzon, besides occult and ritual practice, was also influenced by LSD visions. So, now you know that you can expect the unexpectable. (AO) [Nocturnal Art Productions, PO Box 4, 3671 Notodden, Norway]

wouldn't by any chance be the same person as mr Grimlock, now, would he?) and to be frankly honest it took me more than one listening session before I was able to fathom the tracks that are featured. But now I am used to them, I find them really enjoyable an innovative. The songs are quite diverse and apart from black metal they contain some thrash and heavy metal influences. Blasting and mega-intense black metal fragments are alternated by weird slow parts. Lots of strange hypnotizing melodies in both the fast and the slow parts and the eerie vocals are interesting as well. According to the info the songs are largely inspired by the use of narcotics and when I listen to the music this makes sense - most songs contain rather psychedelic parts. Like I mentioned, quite weird stuff, this release. Nine agonizing tracks are featured on "Magog Agog" (including an intro and a small instrumental track) and the album takes up more than an hour of your (well spent) time. My personal favourite is the track "Crimson Awakening", in which the vocals are varied in a thrilling way and the drum computer patterns make the track even more interesting. The production of the album might have been a little better, but it's not like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worthless or anything - it all sounds a little clinical to me, but I suppose the use of the drum computer is an important contributor to that. Apart from composing songs for Choronzon, mister Emerson Williams also likes to paint and some of his paintings are depicted in the CD-inlay - they are almost as weird and fascinating as his music. Maybe it's a little pretentious, but I'd say there are similarities in the way the Choronzon compositions are put together and the process of creating a painting. It must have taken an enormous amount of time to arrange the tracks. The lyrics are drenched with references to the occult, in particular to the works of Aleister Crowley. Good examples are themes like Perdurabo (meaning 'I shall endure' - Crowley used it as a pseudonym within the Order of the Golden Dawn), the era of the child and 333: The Book of Lies. The lyrics to the track 'Demon' are actually taken from a poem entitled 'White Puppy', written by Aleister Crowley. The general concept to the band is Choronzon; some kind of aeon representing the essence of shapeless choas. All in all "Magog Agog" is a very good release, but I'd definitely recommend listening to this album before buying it - this type of music is not everybody's cup of tea! R

Written November 1998

CHORONZON: Psychosis Ex Machina FOAMIN' BONE, 2004

Karakter: 2.5 Anmeldt av:Vidar Dato: 2004-07-06 Psykotisk og avantgardisk blackmetal er hva amerikanske Choronzon spiller. Noen vil kanskje gjenkjenne dette bandet fra debutskiva ”Magog Agog” som ble gitt ut på norske Nocturnal Art. Personlig har jeg ikke hørt den skiva, og etter å ha slitt meg gjennom denne så vet jeg ikke om jeg har særlig lyst til det heller. Dette er abstrakt, psykedelisk, kaotisk og sær musikk. En utstrakt bruk av synthesizer synes å være basisen for musikken, da mye av det som er å finne her høres ut som en sinnelidendes verste mareritt. Det er kaotisk og rett og slett jævlig stressende å høre på. Tenk Devil Doll blandet med Axis Of Perdition, og du har kanskje en viss følelse av hvordan dette låter. Vokalen som høres et sted i bakgrunnen skifter mellom å være snerrende, hviskende og growlende og er riktig så ekkel til tider. Et lite pluss der. Her og der hører man melodiøse gitarer som virkelig skiller seg ut med fengende soloer og riff, et lite pluss der også. En siste ting som virkelig er verdt å nevne er selve lyden. Har du et surroundanlegg med skikkelig feit lyd, kan du få deg noen skikkelige aha-opplevelser med denne skiva. Det buldrer og durer og skifter fra side til side stort sett hele tiden, og kan være en virkelig rå opplevelse. Men alt i alt så hindrer ikke dette skiva i å være en aldri så liten skuffelse. Spilletid – 70.48

CHORONZON "Magog Agog" (Nocturnal Art) 4 Now and then records that forces me to think in new ways comes my way. When the old terms no longer are useful you have to invent new ones to describe what you hear. It is cause Choronzon are totally inventive and perform music that defies gravity. It is more a combination of different styles that brings out this need for a new term. That "Magog Agog" even deserves a new term will tell you that the music is on the right side of good. Had it not been like that only one word had been needed to describe the music: shit. What does this mix that justifies a new term consist of? Choronzon have on "Magog Agog" succeed in making the music sound like a mix of Godflesh and black metal. To call the music industrial black metal is not enough and it is not new. Norwegian Helheim mixed black metal with industrial on their mcd "Fenris". What is innovative with Choronzon is that they mix two so different opposites that Godflesh and black metal are. That Choronzon incorporates influences from

other styles of music is made clear in the song "Crimson Awakening". At times this song reminds me strongly of something by Iron Maiden. Despite its strange mix of influences on "Magog Agog" it's a record that is strong enough to compete with all the straight on metal that is released. Underneath all the strangeness lies songs that doesn't differ that much from normal songs. This makes "Magog Agog" not a painful experience. Anders Ekdahl

CHORONZON "Magog Agog" (Nocturnal Art Productions) CHORONZON is a band with a crew of one man, and from Brooklyn! That's really original, since black metal usually dwells in the northern and rest of Europe. The music is very detailed, has a lot of arrangements, and that's what I can call quality underground music. The tracks are really great, and have a good notion of music body. Indeed, this album flows into your mind very easily! A must for the dark souls around the planet who desperately seek something new, innovative and good. Salvador P. Gouveia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Panzer Magazine

Choronzon : Magog Agog -cdA record, dedicated for individuals, and not for the masses, victims of neverending trends. Mr. P. Emerson Williams is know from his Veil of Thorns project, full of dark ambient. I remind he is of Norwegian blood, nowadays living in States. So finally he finished his metal compositions presested on Magog Agog. Drum machine helps to complete the line-up, and Williams adds loads of bizarre ideas to the pack. Biography correctly points out black, thrash and industrial metal with some hints of electro ambient. Everybody will be confused by sick defined riffs and noisy background. Moreover - voice he delivers has lot to do with 80's thrash and technothrash scene. Every now and then he sings in a more goth way - then thrashy riffs (a la Sodom) are traded to dark flowing soundscapes. Even trying very hard it is next to impossible to get a clue at first couple of listens. After a while you get used to unexpected turns, but a word strange still does not leave your mind. Especially mentioning Perdurabo (Magog Agog) tune. A chaos demon has landed on Choronzon recording - that is why it is so sick. Alas never try to stick a label to this

cd, otherwise it leaves you dissatisfied. Better get into it with free mind, as it can not be an everyday listen. Reviews taken from Ledo Takas#6 zine. Used by permission. ledotakas@hotmail.com

CHORONZON

"Psychosis ex machina"

(foamin sodomy records - )

On était proprement sans nouvelles de ce projet qui avait il y a déjà fort longtemps réalisé un opus qui pouvait sans conteste être classé parmi ceux qui étaient susceptibles de régénérer le black metal. On le retrouve, pantois, sur un obscur label portant le nom fort peu présentable susvisé (et que je me refuse à récrire ici...). Avec une pochette tout ce qu'il y a de plus immonde, et une promo visiblement destinée à rendre l'objet le plus underground possible. Puis, il y a l'écoute... Et alors, quel vertige. La laideur absolue ! Choronzon s'ingénie à mixer le son de guitare de "Nattens madrigal" (Ulver) avec les beats électro-hardcore les plus vils... Le mélange a de quoi surprendre, même s'il accouple finalement deux styles qui étaient voués à se rencontrer, ayant pour immense point commun d'être totalement hermétiques pour 99% de la population... Sans compter que la "voix" ici utilisée est totalement déshumanisée, portée sur l'autisme et le dégoût. Il flotte sur ce disque un parfum de nihilisme qui fait peur, car rarement on aura osé aller aussi loin dans la totale négation de la mélodie et de la beauté. Il n'est même plus ici question de redonner au black metal son côté malsain initial, ni même de renouer avec l'agression gratuite. Non, ici on méprise ostensiblement tout ce qui a pu être fait avant, ailleurs et par autrui. Ce disque est un crachat à la face de toute notion de partage et de regroupement. Il est replié sur lui-même, sans aucune volonté de séduire ou de plaire. Il est la marque d'un profond désintérêt pour le monde. Il est là, bloc de granit inaltérable, offert aux lazzis et jets de pierre des bien pensants

et, en règle générale, de tous ceux qui ont encore une foi quelconque. On le ressortira dans 10, 20, 30 ans, à titre d'exemple pour l'édification des suicidaires : "vous trouvez le monde moche ? Dites vous qu'il pourrait être bien pire !". Ce sera sa seule utilité. Savoir pourquoi on éprouve cependant le besoin irrépressible de le réécouter fait naître des questions auxquelles il ne faut surtout pas répondre ! Alexis Kieffer

Decibels Storm - juillet 2004

Choronzon - Magog Agog "Magog Agog" fällt auf sehr angenehme Art aus dem Rahmen. Undefinierbare Klänge höchst unterschiedlicher Gestaltung und Qualität: Lärmend wie "Perdurabo (Magog Agog)", schwärmerisch-metallisch in "Demon", oder mit packend melodischen Gitarrenleads im achten Song "333". Alles, Texte, Layout und nicht zuletzt die Musik wirken teilweise sehr krank und wirr. Lediglich der erwähnte Titel "333" und "Choronzon" sind auch weniger noise-resistenten Ohren zuzumuten. Beherrschender Einfluß ist zwar Metal - und im Hinblick auf die Verzerrung der Gitarren, den teils recht flotten (sythetischen) Drums und der Stimme ist es sicherlich nicht verkehrt, in Richtung Black Metal zu präzisieren - doch ohne die Erwähnung der vielen elektronisch erzeugten Klänge, wäre die Beschreibung unvollständig. Vor allem das "Dust" betitelte synthetische Intro fällt durch seine intensiv-morbide Stimmung auf. Im Gegensatz zu vielen Bands, deren Intros kaum von Bedeutung sind, würde ich "Dust" als kompletten und durchaus beachtenswerten Song bezeichnen. Dieses Album, das scheinbar von einem gewissen P. Emerson Williams quasi im Alleingang produziert wurde und auf Samoths Label Nocturnal Art Production erscheint, ist beileibe kein leicht konsumierbares Werk und füllt die riesig klaffende Lücke zwischen Dimmu Borgir und Abruptum. Damit steht es aber - zumindest meiner Kenntnis nach - noch ziemlich einsam da. Ich hoffe, nicht mehr allzu lange. (D) • Titel: 9 • Spielzeit: 62.13 • Fazit: Wirr -voenger.de

Choronzon - Magog Agog (1998)

Choronzon to przedziwny twór. Już grafomańska okładka może budzić mieszane uczucia, ale prawdziwy kosmos zaczyna się dopiero po odpaleniu płyty w odtwarzaczu. Ten debiutancki album pewnego nawiedzonego amerykańca, który utrzymuje, że płyta jest wynikiem jego chorych praktyk narkotyczno-okultystycznych, zowiącego się P.Emerson Williams na pierwszy rzut oka nie trzyma się kupy i podejrzewam, że dla przeważającej liczby potencjalnych odbiorców, na każde kolejne rzuty też. Jedno trzeba przyznać - jest to jedna z bardziej chaotycznych produkcji jaką w życiu słyszałem. Określenie gatunkowe muzyki Choronzon nie ma większego sensu - co kawałek to inna mieszanina. Płytę rozpoczyna standardowe ambientoidalne intro po którym powoli, wpierw deathrockowo, a później industrialnie i black metalowo zarazem, uderza najlepszy, moim zdaniem, utwór na płycie "Love, Strength; Lies". Automatyczna perkusja, psychiczny, prawie blackowy wokal, który momentami staje się "normalnym" śpiewem, dziwny pogłos, dziwnie brzmiąca gitara, dziwna dynamika, objawiająca się zmianami tempa z niezłym przyspieszeniem, to wszystko brzmi dosyć osobliwie - mnie się bardzo podoba. Następny track: "Perdurabo (Magog Agog)" to już kakofoniczny industrial z ciekawym efektem perkusyjnym. Momentami nawet noisowe zagrywki, a do tego jeszcze wokalny, blackowy jazgot. Nawet niezła schiza, ale oczywiście tylko dla maniaków. Całość kończy się ambientowo przechodząc w równie ambientoidalny "Under The Leaves", po którym uderza piąty ponad dziesięciominutowy utwór pt: "Crimson Awakening". Po troche przyszumionym wstępie rozwija się do świetnej blackowej kompozycji, która w refrenie staje się balladą. Troche jak w czeskim filmie: nie wiadomo o co chodzi. Ale ta chaotyczna psychoza po paru przesłuchaniach zaczyna nabierać sensu i co więcej podobać się, kusząc swoim chorym urokiem. Płytę uzupełniają jeszcze cztery utwory: deathowo-industrialny "Demon", doomowo-rozpaczliwy "Void", cięzkie, pokręcone "333" z luźniejszymi melodyjnymi elementami miejscami (na którejśtam stronie z tworami pana Williamsa były takie majtasy z ciekawym wzorem z tą liczbą) i kończący płytę "Choronzon" - kakofonieczna sieczka przekształcająca się w balladę. Muzyka Choronzon jest chora i dzięki temu dla większości będzie nie do strawienia, ale podejrzewam, że co poniektórzy, bardziej odporni na owarte i zeschizowane brzmienia, na długo pozostaną pod jej wrażeniem...

Cited from http://ssalad.hihome.com: Choronzon은 Peter Emerson Williams라는 미국인의 원맨 프로젝트 밴드로써 이 앨범이 이 밴드의 데뷔작이다. 앨범을 발매해준 Nocturnal Art Productions은 Limbonic Art, Sirius, Tidfall등의 밴드로도 국내에 잘 알려진 노르웨이의 레이블인데 사실 Choronzon이라는 밴드의 존재는 레이블

초기의 발매작임에도 불구하고 그리 잘 알려져 있지 않았던 것 같다. Nocturnal Art의 유일한 미국출신 밴드라는 것이 다소 의아하긴 하나 Peter라는 인물이 노르웨이의 피가 섞인 미국인이라고 하더라. 모르긴 몰라도 계약에 있어 적지않은 비중을 차지했을 것이다. Choronzon의 음악은 상당한 비중의 샘플링을 이용한 아방가르드 블랙메탈 정도의 음악으로 얘기해 볼 수 있을 것 같다. 완벽한 완성도를 지닌 앨범이라고 딱 부러지게 장담할 순 없지만 녹터널 아트의 릴리즈답게 상당히 독특하고 평범치않은 음악이란 것을 인정하지 않울 수 없다. Korova, Fleurety등의 실험성짙은 아방가르드 블랙메탈 밴드와 Aborym, Diabolicum등의 인더스트리얼 블랙메탈 밴드의 음악들에서 Choronzon과의 공통점을 찾아 볼 수 있었는데, Choronzon의 음악은 80년대의 쓰래쉬에서 응용한 듯한 기타리프도 상당히 두드러진다. 신경써서 잘 만들어진 음악임에는 분명하지만 사운드가 더 잘 뽑혔더라면 훨씬 좋았을텐데라는 아쉬움은 있다. 그러나 Nocturnal Art의 주인인 Samoth에게는 이들의 음악에서 별다른 비젼이 보이지 않았는지 이 후 두 장의 앨범을 더 녹음했음에도 불구하고 앨범발매를 거절당했다고 한다. 그런 이유로 현재 이 밴드의 존재여부는 확인되지 않고 있다. 그렇게 사장되어 버리기에는 상당히 아까운 구석이 있는 밴드였는데... Translation Of Sorts below:

Band: CHORONZON Tie frame: Magog Agog Format: CD Cord: }eclipse{-009 Label: Nocturnal Art Productions Year: 1998 Nation: USA Style: Avantgarde Black Metal Album attachment: 9/10 It wrote: Anarchist Comment: The Choronzon with won very project band of an American who is a Peter Emerson Williams this album is debut work of the band. The Nocturnal Art Productions which sale does as a favor the album existence of the band which is a place fact Choronzon which is a label of Norway which Limbonic becomes known to a domestic well even in the band of Art, the Sirius and the Tidfall back it is label initial sale work being disabled and it appears not to be being becoming known so well. The Nocturnal being a United States native band which the Art is only the some My goodness! the person which is a long one Peter as an American where the blood of Norway is mixed under more d. The wool lu it is long, if it does not know, there is to contract and it is fewly specific gravity hold. The music of the Choronzon the avant-garde which uses the sampling of the specific gravity which is considerable pul appears to be being the possibility of trying to speak with music of lac metal degree. As the album which keeps the completion degree which is perfect breaks tightly and it will assure pure it is not but the reel of stipendiary tunnel art li cu to answer being unique considerably, common being the music

which is not the human nature summer solstice anh there is not a possibility of crying. The Korova, test characteristic of the Fleurety back thick avant-garde pul the lac metal band and the Aborym, the dust which is a Diabolicum back li el pul the possibility of trying to search for the common point of the Choronzon and from music of the lac metal band it is, but the music of the Choronzon applied 80 years ssu lay swi from tus one other leaf considerably is prominent, c. The nerve it is bitter and it makes well and is position music to clearness but future of the company tu more well ppop hyess more the ramyon far will be good, theyn is burnt is an inconvenience. The but in the Samoth which is a master of Nocturnal Art from music of this field extra ordinary rain cyen after the this not be visible it recorded two funeral albums more even being disabled, it was refused an album sale, it does. Currently existence yes or no of the band it is not confirmed as like that reason. To be like that it became the president and it throws away to it was a band which is the considerably precious corner but... 2003/09/20

"Lust Beyond Flesh/ Utopia" (Foamin' Bone Productions) When I first put on this 7" single it was not without some trepidation. I was expecting some awful, talentless, metal band... I was shocked at what I heard. It was (to quote to Love Boat) 'exciting and new' - A kicking electro back-beat and a ravine-deep bass-line belched from the pits of Hell. It's a muddle of styles, taking inspiration from the early Bat cave as much as modern electronics - all mixed around to something different. The production in this single isn't the best, but if it weren't for the fact the lyrics got a little lost, it suits the song just fine. Makes you release just how much a band like London After Midnight rely on production. Utopia opens with a funky 70s bass line and guitar riff - kind off Kiss inspired (?) which is completely unlike the rest of the song - very different. It's really difficult to describe the music of Veil of Thorns - but lovers of raw, earthy gothic rock should love it. Pure filth (which is a good thing!). S-Mail: Foamin' Bone Productions, 58 Selkirk Rd, #2 Brookline, Ma 02146 USA. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Haydn http://www.aethersanctum.net/

VEIL OF THORNS CAFÉ FLESH Foamin’ Bones The man who now makes intensely artistic records, with the emphasis on intense, under the unwieldy name of Choronzon made these Veil Of Thorns recordings back in the mid to late Nineties and in his accompanying letter to me states, “I finally have the Veil Of Thorns experience encapsulated. It’s with more melancholy that I hear it now. We could have done so much more.” True enough. This is a record which comes through the ether of Industrial and firm Ambient intricacies. It keeps its beats simple, its guitar intent on stamping out quite a fierce identity, and the songs are pretty precise. In fact they usually take what could be an attractive song, then distend it, pulling at the overall edges, and placing some gritty ingredients at the centre, but offset those with sweet melodies or plaintive vocals.

From his demos (above, and right) to the Café Flesh CD, VEIL OF THORNS receive posthumous recognition so I thought I‘d wrap up all works I’ve reviewed by P. Emerson Williams in this four page section.

You could almost label ‘Thelema’ as a demonic variant of the psychedelic period Pink Floyd, with great guitar flashing through the subtle layers, and ‘Lust Beyond Flesh’ has a mean bass and a splattering riff, so they are out to connect, not drive away or confuse the listener. It’s a rumbling form of Goth, that’s what it is, especially the vocals with their melancholic grace. It sounds surprisingly modern, all these years on. ‘Demons Play is so shuffling and coy you could view it as sweet, with intriguing guitar shadowplay, which become braver, with the twitchy beats of ‘Nothing Is Real’, the sound of Marc Almond in torment. ‘Bring The End’ isn’t far off ‘Nothing Is Real’ in its cool beauty, despite some ogre rambling, but then we stumble through the boggy morass that is ‘Stillness’, ‘Silence’ and ‘She’, three songs beginning with S and all rather shite now. ’Fortaert’ brings the drama back in, with doomy voice and wrangling guitar, becoming a mini-epic of cacophony, like gas suffocating you inside cathedral. ‘Mine’ stumbles around and is unremarkable, ‘Legemet Og Stemmen’ is nicely weird with wobbling, glazed vocals, and ‘Thelema II’ is a crackling dirge. ‘Nothing Is Real’ still stands head and shoulders above the rest, which is why I popped it on a Hex Files compilation, so you may remember that, but there’s plenty of other material which could interest you. It would help if he had a more amenable website of course, but mark these words. By actually being ahead of their time, this compilation sees them not too far off today’s beaten and abused track, but with very much their own character rather than any stolen ideas. http://foaminbone.bizhosting.com

the minds of humans” but then Pop Idol came along and noone gives a fuck anymore. That’s what living in Florida does for you. Softens you up. Makes you relaxed. Creates an album that is – gasp wildly – inoffensive!!! And don’t forget, that the man is also a talented artist so when you investigate the website there’s plenty to impress. http://foaminbone.bizhosting.com/ CHORONZON MAGOG AGOG Nocturnal Art Productions Beyond laughing at Mortis I admit to having little experience with anything emanating from Black Metal’s cauldron. Clearly, P. Emerson Williams’ work here is suitably dark and dense to fit in with that scene and I remain sceptical, wearing surgical gloves to even unwrap the CD. (That bit was a lie.) He told me it wouldn’t be my thing, and he was right. BEYOND FLESH BIRTHED Foamin’ Bone P Emerson Williams is someone you may know from Veil Of Thorns, who fitted into the experimental Goth paddock a while back, or if your head demands darker spew clotting your hair, then maybe Choronzon is his forte, as you can discover elsewhere. (i.e. tomorrow, right here.) Somewhere in between this album has happened, and it’s quite odd. The man himself says that Goths aren’t so open-minded these days, and when so many get by with a happy reliance on clubrelated pretties maybe he has a point. He has drifted closer to both Country (where stories take prominence) or Black Metal where some individuals do test the limits of sound, but just as many sad bastards wank in a futile fashion over satanic fantasies. And then there is Beyond Flesh. Call me old fashioned but this is dance, and this is cute. Admittedly the first twenty seconds made me think of nothing less than Noggin The Nog which will make no sense to anyone under the age of 35, or outside the UK, but that’s your problem. Just think - and here’s a weird coincidence - of a small cartoon character, supposedly beset by dragons, and based on Norse myth. Then forget that, and think of a latterday sister sound to traditional Roky Erikson, or Alien Sex Fiend covering ‘Firestarter’. That is in the wilder moments, but when it cools down and the generators stop humming, you have a trip hop Bauhaus at plays with some vocal Rozzisms undeniably peaking through the dope-stained curtains. At times it’s a pureed Stereo MCs, at others it’s aborigines from outer space, all done in a muffled, welcoming dance stance. Sometimes it gets irate, and goes for Squarepusherstyle bleepisms, but these are no copies, just his beautifully hypnotic templates of what is, to a large extent, the common currency worldwide, which makes it all but instantly accessible, if not necessarily that demanding. P. Emerson Williams once said, “I’ll not be satisfied completely until I manage to tear time and space into ribbons and unhinge

Initially I was quite interested, after the usual pointless intro track, because ‘Love. Strength; Lies’ has linear drums and dipping, frisky guitar all set on a forward motion, so it reminded me of UK Decay, minus vocals. Then the singing starts, in the form of screeching friction, and this is more Thrash Metal, from before Death Metal grew up to be strong, before Black Metal started to explore extremes. It seems like a weird mixture between old and new, and at the end there’s a guitar (out)break which appears strangely directionless. It gives a picture of something that isn’t natural in this environment, even though it seems to work. ‘Under The Leaves’ is another piece of fluff, which always bemuses me. (Why do bands stick these tiny trifles on?) Then, with something approaching a title track, they go quite bonkers. The guitar gallops briskly alongside the heartbeat drums and vocals slip in happily capable of great speed. It’s all

preparing for this album by playing gigs in unsuspecting art galleries. He’s been building up to it for years, and the dread fear we should all share is that he will take this miscarriage of inverted melody further still. I lost track of tracks, which I think is intentional, although I’d tried hard to observe the map. The opening noise cloud contains voices, of that there is no doubt, and then the arousal/ carousal which is abruptly switched on displays a dazed choral industrial tableau. Then it’s off, roaring and screeching like flea-infested beggars on speed. (Think: Ancient Mariner Inventing Anarcho-Punk.) The tracks often suggest these are ditches of burning maniacs, but in ‘The Enchanting Dead’ there’s guitars shunting into each other; one slug-like, one acrobatic, all juiced up by rasping, bubonic vocals, and these lyrics are almost convivial compared to the main body of work: “Who you are is what you by, You try so hard to charm the Enchanting Dead, You’ll never know the price you’ve paid.” fairly meaningless to me, as most breakneck metal is, but it’s jolly, almost, like a barbequed Creaming Jesus. ‘Crimson Awakening’ is just weird. The guitar is brimming with vitality in what is holistic rawk, and it’s a shame about the pauses, which blows the tension, and at ten minutes long the first and second halves could have been turned into better songs on their own. ‘Demon’ has some good bounce to it, revealing more flair with its slower speed, after the hammering intro and rasping vocals struck me as somewhat identikit. Similarly, ‘333’, liposuction of the Beast, ends colourfully but is standard splatter and riff manoeuvring. Finally, the immense ending, ‘Choronzon’, which lasts twelve minutes and although more ravaged than ravishing, contains great elegance and intriguing ideas between bouts of grizzled frenzy, which sums this album up for me. It’s moodier than anticipated, where I expected it to become all-enveloping. I assumed I was to be locked into an alien world, feeling trapped in an observational role. Not so. BM fans will doubtless be taken by its lean cuisine. I can’t say I was thrilled or horrified much either way, but panning for gold in a sewer isn’t my idea of fun. http://foaminbone.bizhosting.com/ CHORONZON PSYCHOSIS EX MACHINA Foamin’ Sodomy Records It’s still in here you know. I can sense it. The environmental official claimed the place had been fully cleansed, sluiced at speeds usually associated with sandblasting: even laughing “that’ll do for the bastard!” But it’s still here. Waiting. Be warned, it comes in a pink, red and white (mostly) sleeve, and you could be tricked into thinking left-field Industrial. You might take it lightly. And be sucked through a vortex of howling misery. So shall it be, for P Emerson Williams, who is involved with a book, ‘Necromance’, out through Westgate Press, has been

Then we descend into Hell. You may think it’s just Industrial Rock with knobs on, but some of those knobs are bobbytrapped. It becomes a sandstorm inside which a battalion of skeletons create spectacular effects. (Think: Mummy Returns at a napalm Death convention.) You’ll encounter vast juddering creations, some secreting doomy riffs, and always the vociferous vocals are a sediment, a constant wild whispering in the harsh strata. The demonic spew is fine, the punky stomp unexpected, but mostly it’s just worrying, as you find yourself encircled by disembodied voices. There’s gruelling, hard Ambient grindcore, leaving a shattered cadaverous wreckage. And that’s you. And that’s okay too. I was relieved when it ended, making Leech Woman sound like The Proclaimers as it does, but I couldn’t help noticing that this palpitating Hellish breath creates a wind tunnel of musical mucus which is none other than orchestrated chaos. So I’m keeping it under lock and key, just to be on the safe side. Regrettably, it seems to have heard my plans…

CHORONZON - Magog Agog [U.S.A] Magog Agog è il full lenght d'esordio della one-man-band americana "Choronzon" che propone un metal dal suono industriale e dalle influenze provenienti da generi tanto estremi quanto diversi. Influenze che nel '98, anno in cui è stato pubblicato questo lavoro (immaginiamo quindi quando sono iniziati i lavori di composizione) potevano essere considerate brutte e "commerciali". Elettronica e black metal, dark ambient e tempi doomeggianti, atmosfere in continuo cambiamento che passano da melodie violente e energiche a veri rallentamenti dal sound decadente e ossessionante accompagnato a tratti da malate voci. A primo ascolto vengono in mente i Mysticum, creatori di un album fondamentale nella scena black metal di sempre, In the Streams of Inferno. I suoni danno un senso di disorientamento, non sembrano provenire da questo pianeta, l'elettronica domina nelle parti strumentali, la voce è molto profonda e ricca di pathos, anche nei cantati puliti Williams riesce ad emozionarci con orecchiabili e belle melodie. I brani sono di mediamente di lunga durata, nove tracce che complessivamente superano sessanta minuti. Difficile dire quale tra questi brani è il migliora; sicuramente, "Love, Strenght;lies", che arriva subito dopo il grezzo intro "Dust" riesce a farsi apprezzare per merito di un vario cantato e un sound assolutamente unico e innovativo che caratterizzerà tutto il lavoro di Williams. Anche la track numero 5, Crimson Awakening, si lascia ascoltare facilmente dal punto di vista del riffing, bello e "orecchiabile". Si crea però un contrasto quasi surreale tra suoni che tendono ad ossessionare la mente dell'ascoltatore che potrebbe risentirne a livello fisico e le composizioni che sono in sè quasi melodiche. Complimenti a Williams anche per l'Artwork che potrebbe sembrare un disegno di un bambino di 4 anni ma che invece, a mio parere, riassume in una meravigliosa immagine tutte le emozioni che possono essere provate ascoltando un album degno di essere acquistato come questo Magog Agog. Aggiunto: September 22nd 2004 Recensore: Winds Voto: Link Correlati: Sito Ufficiale Hits: 25 Lingua: italian http://www.metal-empire.it/ [ Torna Indice Recensioni | Posta Commento ]

Choronzon is not a well-known name even in Black Metal circles, but that's hardly surprising. The one-man band, created by P. Emerson Williams in 1985, was originally intended as a project to be heard by occult initiates. There is somewhat of an air of mystery surrounding Choronzon, deepened by the disappearance of what was supposed to be the first album 'A Paean To Lilith'. In the absence of that release, 'Magog Agog' became the debut. The album starts with a dreamy electronic introduction, which doesn't sound anything too special, but eases the listener in to the album. "Love, Strength; Lies" is fairly standard electro-Black Metal, with a simple synth beat behind a reedy guitar and a harsh, hissed vocal for the main part. There is also a second vocal track with more of a Gothic feel to it. The guitars have a 'Filosofem'-era Burzum feel about them, but the riffs are more complex. The overall effect is something like the Sisters Of Mercy with bollocks. "Perdurabo (Magog Agog)" changes the atmosphere and tempo completely, dominated by jackhammer, static drenched drums punctuated by blast beats and subsonic booms. Over this, Williams sings like Tom G. Warrior with his mouth full. It segues seamlessly into "Under The Leaves". Eerie electronic drones and scrapes intermesh the track, along with an unsteady heart beat and some laboured breathing, and it fades to nothingness. "Crimson Awakening" is a far more traditional Metal song; more Thrash than anything, with snappy double kick drums and a lively beat. A Demonic voice composed of white noise breaks the rhythm, followed by another Thrash passage,

then back to the screaming Demon again. The whole dynamic of the song, the vocal melody, the traditional Metal solos and the unexpected electronic elements hint at Morbid Angel at their strangest, or perhaps Emperor with a drum machine. A criticism of the entire album is that it is highly repetitive, but as this is intended to be an album of ritual music, it is not really an issue. It is quite possible to imagine occult rites and ceremonies being performed to strains of this album. If you're sick of atmospheric Black Metal that tries to create its atmosphere with female vocalists, fake forest noises and clichĂŠd keyboard effects, this could be an answer. This is not strictly Black Metal, and Williams is by no means a conventional musician, so the multi-layered ambience he creates can't be done justice by the written word. Much of the Metal is fairly standard Black Metal with a strong traditional Metal influence, and the sheer mechanical uniformity and repetition of the drum machine is mesmerising. Williams' many voices, from the hoarse whisper to the throaty croon, offer a lot of variation, from mere vocal instrument to dark messenger. While the album offers plenty of Black Metal moments, it is perhaps too drawn out for fans of Immortal or Marduk to sit through easily. However, anyone who appreciates Mortiis or later Burzum but would have liked a little more Metal with the electro-grimness may well appreciate 'Magog Agog's twists and turns. Vim Fuego blastwave.org.uk