Q: The way we see it, black metal is your root. As a band who stray a little from the conventional recipe of the genre, have you found it to be difficult to be accepted in the scene? Bands like Dimmu Borgir, for example, are considered to no longer be black metal anymore by the trve fans.

Ardek: Well, there’s a lot of mutual respect with the purely black metal bands we’ve toured with, but we’ve always made clear that we’re not like the Mayhems or the Watains and whatnot. I’ve always been a fan of those bands, but they come from a different era. We just don’t aim to be like them. We just try to make great music. As is the case with everything, you’ll always have people who don’t like it.

We also try to lose the term “symphonic black metal”. We understand why people make the comparison, but there’s more to it. It’s like, come on people, we’re trying to do something different. Just listen to it. that’s why we prefer to go with horror metal.

Seregor: We respect the whole black metal scene for being trve, but we are true to our thing. They don’t respect that, it’s their problem. If you analyze our music, it’s influenced by many different genres. There’s black metal, death metal, industrial, rock etc… The look is there, I admit. That will never go away. But it’s what we do that matters to us.

Q: is that why you’re also incorporating more industrial elements into your music?

Ardek: Correct. Although I try not to overdo it. I got a little tired of only working with orchestral sounds. So I experimented a little with industrial effects. And what is the story of Frankenstein if not focused on experimentation?

Seregor: They do work very well with the theme of our album. For example, the development of the Frankenstein lore took place around the time of the industrial revolution. It was a perfect fit.

Q: Is that also why you opted for Robert Carranza for the album’s finalization?

Ardek: A few years ago I was on a plane listening to Marilyn Manson‘s ‘The Pale Emperor‘, which I’d not really heard before. Never really was into his music. But the first song ‘Killing Strangers‘ has this really deep bassy booming. And I wondered how the hell they recorded that. I did some research beyond the production credits, looking for the engineers who created the sound and that’s how I found Carranza. He was an award-winning engineer who’d never done much metal, but I reached out and he was very enthusiastic. I was worried at first, seeing as he’d never done any form of extreme metal, but I had a good feeling about him after all. I’m very happy I stuck with him. He did a great job.

Q: Is it weird for you to watch people listen to the music you’ve created in a session such as this one? Is it nerve-wrecking?

Ardek: I personally love it. We put so much work and effort into a record, and when it’s out, that’s it. You upload it, and fall into a kind of vacuum. But to be able to do this with you is a gift. We like to hear what you think of it, We like hearing your remarks and answering your questions.

Seregor: Yeah, I love seeing your reactions. Some of you looked really serious and I wonder “shit, what the fuck’s he thinking?” *laughs* Some of you look like they really enjoyed it. At least no one booed afterwards. Maybe that’ll come later when you write your reviews. *laughs*

This audio session was a lot of fun. We tried to get some more detailed info out of Ardek and Seregor but several questions they couldn’t answer. For instance, they decided to remain silent about which song would be released as their first single. The Season of Mist representative stated the label already had their preferences, and would be taking into account our reactions during the session. The band also kept quiet about their new stage antics and props that would be used (seriously, check out their live performances!). Carach Angren are also working on ideas for new music videos but couldn’t actually tell us what they had in store as of yet. Tours, gigs, artwork,etc. All those were also still in the works.

Picture credits go to Sonja Schuringa of Chantik Photography.