Interview with Nige Dennan............. Fovitron

Interview with Nige and Dylan

I n t e r v i e w b y A n d r e w S t a n t o n

Hecate Enthroned have statement but basical- we officially became HE been around the Black Met- ly Hecate Enthroned in 1995 & were based in Black Metal will live for as long as people play it and listen to it. al scene for quite a while now. Andrew Stanton talked to guitarist Nige and bass player Dylan about their new album. - Can you tell our readers a bit about evolved Wrexham, North Wales. We have 6 full length albums & 2 EP’s. If your readers want a more your histo- in depth bio the feel ry, please? from the remnants of free to visit us at www. Nige: With a 25-year my previous bands from hecateenthroned.com. history that is difficult the early 90’s (Ame- - What bands did you to sum up into a short thyst & Daemonum), listen to growing up?

Dylan: My music education in metal started off with the early 80s NWOBHM and bands like Motorhead, Black Sabbath and a lot of the hard rock acts from the 70s. It developed through bands like Iron Maiden then Slayer and the early thrash scene; Annihilator, Nuclear Assault, Kreator along with the Death scene; Deicide, Obituary, Carcass, At The Gates and up to the first Black Metal bands, Bathory, Venom. I always leaned to the heavier, more extreme stuff but always keep my love of the early forerunners of rock...Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Vanilla Fudge. Nige: Similar story to Dylan really with the addition of Queen & Rainbow who I would to listen to constantly as a kid, I wouldn’t listen to anything else! Then I discovered Iron Maiden in the 80’ & from there my musical taste broadened massively with the explosion of metal bands... Wasp, Motley Crue, Warlock to start with then onto the heavier side of metal in general.

- Why are British music magazines so critical of British Black Metal?

Dylan: Metal magazines have their favourites; it’s always been the same. They push them and try to detract from others, the reasons behind this can be varied, I suppose it’s scene politics. This isn’t new, it’s happened from the very early days of rock press, Led Zeppelin were disliked and slated by the British press and went on to be the biggest band in the world. British music press tend to enjoy putting down their own while pushing US bands or preferring them, to be honest it’s the mentality of British journalism in general, look at sport.

- Can British Black Metal live forever without the support of magazines?

Dylan: BM will live for as long as people play it and listen to it. If it goes back to being completely underground then it will and with online media now its very easy for bands, labels, management and agencies to self-promote.

- What can fans expect from your new album?

Nige: Writing hasn’t started yet for the new album because of the covid restrictions but we have plenty of ideas in our minds which once we are allowed to travel again, we will get together & start shaping the new material. Expect ambience, euphoria, anger & energy! I have never been a fan of sticking with a particular style when writing music, it works for some people but it quickly becomes repetitive & stale for me. I prefer to give the listener a journey with each track, something that connects on several levels. Dylan: We have another album contracted for our label M-Theory Audio and once the lockdown restrictions are over we will continue with the writing process and reassess our material. You can be confident it will be Heavy, Fast and Epic.

- What are your lyrics about?

Dylan: The overall theme is Satanic, the way in which it is expressed has varied from album to album. It was more acute on the early 3 releases then took a more anti-christian approach for the middle releases then coming back to a more personal Hecate/Satanic vision with Virulent Rapture. The last album Embrace of the Godless Aeon is a series of stories told from the writers perspective, some give warnings of what could be or are lessons to heed (or not) others are a personal introspective from the storyteller.

- What do you think of political Black Metal bands like Divahar or Anaal Nathrakh?

Dylan: I like the music, they are good bands, I don’t see them as political but I haven’t read any of their lyrics so I can’t comment there. The important thing is bands use the themes they believe in, it’s a very personal thing and after all music is a wonderful form of expression and should remain fr ee .

- Do you just shrug off bad reviews and bad comments? Is it just another day at the office?

Nige: Everyone is entitled to their opinion & it does annoy me from time to time when it’s obvious the reviewer is just being narrow minded & doesn’t see or want to understand the bigger picture but in general we just have to shrug this stuff off. We are a very open minded band, we do what we believe is right with no compromise. Dylan: Yes, it’s just one person’s view on that album or track, it doesn’t affect us. If a review is honest, genuine and informed then it’s a good review that supports us, to put it bluntly without you we could not do what we do! Hopefully once the dust settles & shows start to happen again we will see you on the road. I think I am safe in saying everyone (fans, bands, organisers etc) cannot wait to get out there again & start enjoying live music once again. Stay safe everyone \m/ Dylan: Keep safe, look after each other and keep the faith.... we will see you a l l on the other side.

regardless if they hate it or love it.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

Nige: Thanks to Andrew & Inside the Darkness for the interview & massive thanks to everyone