Despite the Belgian Black Metal scene having set my heart racing more than once in recent years, those bands were mostly roughly in the same category. Bands such as Forbidden Temple, Moenen Of Xezbeth, Perverted Ceremony, Walghinge, Crypts Of Wallachia, Effroi, Gouffre, Phlegethon’s Majesty, Orkblut and Regnum Tenebrarum are without a doubt the absolute top of the Belgian scene. They are also increasingly competing for that position on the international level. However, on a completely different musical terrain, there is also Bloedmaan who put a much fiercer and more melodic sound on the table. I dubbed the short but powerful debut album ‘Castle Inside The Eclipse’ in the review as the best that ever came out of the stables of the Immortal Frost Productions label. Logically, I put some questions to the sole musician behind this band…
Hi Ronarg, thanks a lot for freeing up some of your time to answer these questions. Now that the first buzz around the release of ‘Castle Inside The Eclipse’ has subsided a bit, how do you look back at the creative process and the release of your debut?
The creative process went pretty fast actually. I started writing right after the Ars veneficium album was completed and was just playing around with a couple of chords we normally don’t use. And then after 2 weeks of writing I had enough material for about 35 minutes, and eventually trimmed it down to 28-ish minutes. The drums were played by Frederik Geuvens from Verwilderd who put a bit of his own spin on them while staying true to the big outlines. The artwork is heavily inspired by Castle Vania.
Personally liked the fierce and piercing sound, wild and stormy melodies and overall atmosphere of your debut album. It sounds both familiar and fresh at the same time. It clearly pays homage to the classic Melodic Black Metal of the second half of the 90’s, but it doesn’t sound dated at all. How would you describe your own music?
I really enjoy listening to second wave black metal. So, I think it’s only natural that the music I make sounds pretty close to that. I personally like a really low-fi black metal sound. Not for being edgy or dark or anything, it just awakens something inside that’s harder to achieve with a cleaner production. Thats why we stayed pretty close. The album does sound more polished then 90’s metal in some ways I guess. This is because we work with what we have available. The whole thing (with exception of drums) was recorded in the bedroom. So, there’s a bit of a parallel with 90’s black metal there to.
Although I haven’t really drew any comparisons in my review I can hear the piercing nature of a band like Drowning The Light, the melodicism of the Swedish Black Metal school and the epic of Viking-era Bathory. What would you mention as your main musical influences for Bloedmaan?
The sound of Bloedmaan is more Finnish in nature. I’ve not been a fan of Drowning the Light, not because I don’t like them, just because I never really listened to them. Recently I showed someone I know some demos for the new album and he drew the comparison with Bloedmaan as well, so maybe something out there is telling me it’s time for me to get into Drowning the Light? I just need to find the time.
On a non-musical level, you are clearly influenced by classic Victorian horror themes. Old moldy castles, vampires, blood… What is it that attracts you to these prototypical topics of old?
Well, no matter how you put them or portray them, they stay fun in a way. Yes, they are old, and maybe overdone. But something stays fascinating about old horror cliches. Something mysterious. Something modern media fails to grab in my opinion. A naivety maybe? Or an over reliant on bad CGI that takes you out of the experience. I was watching Crimson Peak recently and the story really sucked me in until the moment they showed the ghosts. I spat my beer out laughing and all the buildup was gone. Couldn’t take it seriously anymore after that. I can’t say, maybe its nostalgia for a time I myself never experienced or were movies just objectively better in the past? Or are good movies just something that doesn’t happen so often. These themes are in a way timeless, they work. Thats why you see so many people referring back to them constantly.
You have been part of (at least) two other Black Metal bands for the last couple of years, but Bloedmaan is your first solo endeavor. What was the reason for you to start something just on your own? I can imagine that crafting everything solely by yourself challenges you as a musician, what, for you, is the main difference?
Well you know, Ars veneficium has been going for +-11 years and Antzaat 9 years. In that time, we didn’t really release much as we all have busy schedules and sometimes there is also creative differences. Which is normal of course, if you hang out together for 10 years. So, it really felt time to start something on my own so I could write music at my own tempo and not have to wait all the time. I also wanted, if we ever play live, to do vocals myself without the guitar. After a couple of albums, it indeed becomes trickier to find something that engages you enough to keep it interesting while also not repeating yourself too much. And every time I think I’m done, the music just comes back to me. It’s very odd.
For the drums however, you have chosen to ask Frederik Geuvens to step in. Although he has a (rather new) band called Verwilderd, he’s not a very well-known musician (yet). But he is delivering some outstanding work on ‘Castle Inside The Eclipse’. Why did you choose to invite him and where do you know him from?
Well I knew him from his work with the band Innervate, which was a melodic death metal band occupied by some high school friends of mine. I needed a drumkit for my projects to try and learn how to play for myself. One of the Innervate guys told me Frederik was selling an electric drumkit. Which turned out to be false. I explained him the situation and he promptly proposed to play the drums himself. Which took a LOAD of work off my shoulders. I knew he had experience with Verwilderd and Innervate so I knew I could trust him with the album.
That you yourself are not an incompetent artist we already saw from your work for the covers of bands like Azaghal and Ondfødt (all affiliated with Immortal Frost Productions), but for ‘Castle Inside The Eclipse’ you have outdone yourself. What do you draw inspiration from with your painting work, and is this something you do on the side or is it a proportionally essential part of your general artistry?
Oh, thank you very much, that is very kind. Well, one of my favorite artist is Zdzislaw Beksinski after him there is the work of john martin, Albert Bierstadt, Francis Danby, etc. These are some of my biggest inspirations when it comes to painters. Another element is the sublime, and nature. The album art of castle inside the eclipse is heavily influenced by the artwork of castlevania, more specifically, symphony of the night. It was a lot harder to get into the painting process this time tough. There were many iterations of it and I kept modifying it until, after about 2 months of struggling and frustrations, I scrapped everything and started over. In less than 2 days, I finished the artwork that is now on the cover. I guess the period of struggling is noticeable by many people as they seem to appreciate it more. It has some raw emotions in it that only became clear after the fact.
In my review for ‘Castle Inside The Eclipse’ I called it one of the best records ever to come off the Immortal Frost Productions roster and although I haven’t really read a lot of other articles on it, it seems to have been received remarkably well. How did you experience those reactions? I imagine, considering this is your first solo album, that you were very honored by it?
Yes, the album seems to have surpassed expectations. The vinyl is sold out right now, which I never expected would happen without playing live. So, I am very thankful for Immortal Frost Productions, Surtur and Inge, to stick with me and seeing the potential as they also knew it was going to be extra hard without a live band. It really was a risk for everyone involved. I thought it was going to be a long and hard process to sell it because I don’t have any real experience with ‘marketing and sales’. But now, it is mostly gone. This is great as it really motivates me to make a follow up album. All the positive feedback is nice, but not really important in the end. What is important is that it gives me the motivation and recourses to keep making black metal and music. Which is the ultimate goal. Looking back at all of it I’m just glad I did everything I did, and am thankful to everyone who helped make this possible.
Zooming out a little from the main subject and putting things in a larger perspective, as a whole the Belgian Black Metal scene seems to be healthier and more thriving than ever before. From the bands that dwell in the more crude and primitive regions to your own Bloedmaan, it feels like a flourishing scene. For you as an insider, how do you see this and do you feel part of it as well?
There is a little bit of a scene yes. There is a bit of uncertainty at the time of writing surrounding the biggest black metal festival in Belgium; Throne Fest. You got “Unholy Congregation” in Oudenaarde, “A thousant lost civilisations” that organizes events in and around Brussels. There is the remnants of the people behind ‘ondergronds’ in Antwerp that books gigs in Kafkva, and music city from time to time. Samhain festival that used to be held in the Mod in Hasselt, moved to Maastricht and is now also coming to Trix Antwerp. Immortal Frost Productions hold their showcase festival at Club Hell in Diest called ‘Hagelant Fest’. In Namur you have occasional shows in the Belvedere and in Charleroi you have the underground club M.C. Apache that does gigs on a regular basis. On top of that there is also many other bookers and clubs who do things on their own. So, yes there is quite a lot of things going on in our little country haha. When you go to a show, no matter where, completely unprepared, you can always find familiar people there. It’s a nice feeling and It’s nice to be spoiled like this with plenty of good shows.
There are also many young people in their 20’s trying to figure out how they can exist as a black metal band in this world. I wish them luck, not sure how I would do any of this in current days if I were to start all over again. Social media pressure on young people is not to be underestimated.
New projects are being started left and right despite the chronical lack of drummers. Which makes me hope full for the future. Hopefully many more interesting music is coming our way. Or maybe something entirely new? Who knows.
It is a bit selfish to say but I hope it goes on like this for a while. Black metal is certainly more popular now than it used to be. I hope it doesn’t become too big for its own good that it attracts bad actors who seek only to profit from all the passion. But all good things must come to an end eventually. Change will happen people lose interest after a while, it is inevitable, and best to accept it instead of desperately trying to hold on to water in a river.
Now that you have released your debut the obvious question arises: what is coming next? Are you preparing a follow-up already or are you planning to bring Bloedmaan to a live setting as well? So, what’s cooking?
I certainly am trying, but as mentioned before there is a chronic lack of drummers out there. And those who are capable of playing the material are usually already committed to 10 other projects. We are going to have to resort to live session drummers unfortunately. This will severely limit our live capabilities. But such is life. If anyone one wants to step up as drummer, they are more than welcome to try.
The follow up album is already finished and Frederik is about to start with the new songs. I am in the process of conceptualizing the artwork. For those who expect ‘castle inside the eclipse’ levels of freshness, temper your expectations. That said, it still is a very powerful album and a worthy successor. Some of the new riffs have been stuck in my head for more than a year. Catchiness guaranteed.
Well, Ronarg, thanks for taking the effort of answering these questions. You have surprised us with an outstanding debut, so I think I am speaking for a lot of people that we will be closely following your steps with Bloedmaan. The last words are yours…
No problem at all and thank you very much! Much more stuff is to come, and it will definitely be worth your time. Thanks to everyone for your support. It helps.
