From one thing comes another. A while back I interviewed Blackstream, and like things sometimes go, you continue the conversation and other bands come up. Orgiastic Pleasures, in this case. Like Blackstream, this band also appears to have been around for nearly two decades, but for the most part has remained in the shadows of the underground. Despite the fact the most recent work, the second and self-titled full-length album, dates back to 2023, the band still has more than enough to report…
Hi there guys and be welcomed, let’s start right off the bat. If I am well informed, Orgiastic Pleasures was formed somewhere in early 2006 under the name of Flagellator. Apparently you didn’t want to waste any time, as in the first year alone you have released no less than five demos and splits, three of them under the Flagellator moniker and two as Orgiastic Pleasures. Were you so brimming with youthful energy and inspiration in these early years?
RIPPING BLADE: Hails to you Felix and thanks for the space and interested in Orgiastic Pleasures. You’re right. General Sadik and I (my fellow Blackstream band mate Occultus Rex) created the project toward the end of 2005, almost entirely as a joke in our spare time. After trying out a few local guitarists in rehearsal rooms, we recorded some rehearsal sessions straight onto tape, which we later released on CD-R as demos and splits. You know, we were just inexperienced kids, full of enthusiasm but also a bit naive—same thing we already talked about in the interview you did with us for Blackstream.
Our main goal was to play extremely rotten, chaotic, and ultra-fast stuff: no polish, no arrangements—just pure and exclusive black/death filth with some bursts of insane grindcore.
That blazing start of the band made it all the more surprising that after your 2014-released debut album ‘Manifesto Barbarico’, it took you until the end of 2023 to follow it up properly, only having released a cassette EP in 2018. What happened in that decade? A sudden lack of interest or inspiration, thrilling life event or something completely different? What made pick up the band again to release ‘Orgiastic Pleasures’ in December 2023?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: just life getting in the way, basically: struggling to survive with precious little time, energy and money to spare to carry the band forward without any label or external support to speak of (note that all three members are also involved in other bands, all facing the same issues, hence the strife is multiplied); living rather far apart from each other didn’t exactly make things easier either. The last few years in particular have been remarkably rough, with the whole pandemic situation, health scares, deaths in our families… The silver lining is that the band gave us a tool to channel all this negativity into something productive, and the resulting album is easily our most focused effort so far.
Lack of motivation was never a factor, we’re just as passionate as back when we started out – if anything, we’re more pissed off than ever, which is quite a boost when dealing with raw, hateful music such as ours.
As said, you changed the name of the band a few months after having started making music. Weren’t you satisfied with the first name? And, an inevitable question perhaps, but when I first heard of Orgiastic Pleasures my thoughts obviously went back to Cradle Of Filth’s infamous demo tape with the same name. Did you get the band name from them, when they were still predominantly a dark and almost grindy Death Metal band?
RIPPING BLADE: We thought that “Flagellator” was a fairly common and overused name, so while keeping our filthy sound, we decided I think during the summer of 2006 to change it to ORGIASTIC PLEASURES, because it sounded really cool and depraved to us—just like we were. It preserved the totally sleazy aspect of our sound and the insane, tongue-in-cheek spirit of our lyrics.
Of course, we were aware of the (cult!) Cradle Of Filth demo, but the decision to change the moniker had nothing to do with that.
The switching of band names is not the only thing that changed over the years. The older material can best be described as some Thrashy Black Metal, whereas your most recent work is hitting the tipping point in between Black- and Death Metal. Was this shifting of styles a conscious choice or more the result of a natural flow of time and events?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: a bit of both, really; our music is quite spontaneous and instinctive, so we don’t really sit down and think “ok, now let’s write a song that sounds like this or that”, yet at the same time we feel the need to express whatever our inspiration dictates us, without repeating ourselves for fear of straying too far from our roots (although still operating within the framework of black/death metal, so don’t expect gabber beats or flugelhorn solos from us anytime soon).
Did this shift in musical direction of the band also mean you are now inspired by other things, both in terms of music and general non-musical aspects, compared to when you started the Orgiastic Pleasures? And, as a whole, where do you draw inspiration from for Orgiastic Pleasures, what bands have modelled the band’s sound?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: again, it’s quite a natural progression: as years go by, you naturally gain more experience, musically or otherwise. It’s a constant, gradual and not entirely conscious process, not quite what I’d call a “shift”, although I understand it may appear that way from the outside, especially with so much damn time between releases.
Our main inspiration has always been raw, savage and primitive black/death metal – Beherit, Archgoat, Blasphemy, Profanatica and all the usual suspects are all acts without which Orgiastic Pleasures wouldn’t have come into existence.
Your self-titled sophomore album appeared as an independent digital release in the waning days of 2023 and was followed by a release on cassette tape by Dynamite Productions from Germany. What’s the story here? Was this album always intended to be released through Dynamite Productions or did the cooperation came about after you had made the album available digitally?
RIPPING BLADE: This release was originally supposed to be a 4–5 track EP. After talks with a label that showed interest in a potential release, they asked us to record more tracks for a full-length album, which they said they would press. Once the recording sessions were done, the guy from the label disappeared—so we got ripped off. But whatever. In the meantime, we released the album on Bandcamp, and the later collaboration with Dynamite Prods. came about naturally. We’re happy with it because they once again delivered an excellent product.
‘Orgiastic Pleasures’, as a whole, sounds much more mature in terms of sound and production. Both raw and punchy with a good emphasis on the vocals and the buzz-sawing guitars. It sometimes reminds me of how the rather dry production of those great mid-90’s Black/Death Metal records sounded, think of the early Angelcorpse albums for instance. Can you share something about how the recording sessions went and how you got to this dry, raw and still rather clean sound?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: due to the covid lockdowns, the writing and recording of our new material got further and further delayed for nearly two years. We really missed the feeling of just being in a room together, bashing out good old loud shit on the spur of the moment, so right away we were set on making a record that sounded just like that: raw, alive and in your face. The basic tracks were recorded live, then we added either the bass or second rhythm guitar, and finally vocals plus the occasional solo or synth bit – that was it, no click track, no editing to speak of, nothing fancy at all. Emilio (resident engineer) and Dracma Studio played a big part in that; the sessions were easily the smoothest we experienced as a band so far – so hails to our partners in aural desecration!
If you’d had to describe ‘Orgiastic Pleasures’ and dedicate words to the musical progressions made after ‘Manifesto Barbarico’, what would you say? And how do you look back at the things you have achieved with the band, both as a musician and a person?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN/RIPPING BLADE/SULPHEROUS PRAYER OF ABOMINATION: We think the three of us can agree that both albums accurately represent what Orgiastic Pleasures are all about in their respective specific points in time.
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: I must admit I’m still very satisfied with how ‘Manifesto Barbarico’ turned out, especially considering what a gauntlet it was to record it all; as for ‘Orgiastic Pleasures’, it’s pretty much the culmination of everything we stand for as a band and all the influences we’ve accrued over the years, and indeed the choice of making it a self-titled release is most definitely not coincidental. Thus I’d say that, aside from the frustration of having managed to record and release so little material over the years, it’s been a wild and worthwhile ride, one that I hope will keep rolling along for many more years still.
The band is currently a trio with two members being there more or less from the beginning and the other being part of the band for some twelve years now, that means you guys are almost married. How does that influence your music making? I can imagine that knowing each other for that long had some advantages, does it also have downsides? How would you describe the chemistry in the band?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: we have developed a great musical chemistry, which proved invaluable while writing and recording this album (especially when we found out we needed enough material to fill a full length album instead of a 7″). We also get along pretty well as people, which is rather unusual for an unsocial caveman such as yours truly. Downsides? Maybe hearing the same shitty jokes we’ve been making for decades, I guess? But we can live with that.
Except for maybe guitarist Sulphurous Prayer Of Abomination, you all have quite a hefty musical resume, including past and present activities in bands like Blackstream, Merciless Onslaught, In Corpore Mortis and many more. How does this wide scope of a musical background reflect in the music of Orgiastic Pleasures? And is it also the other way around, taking some Orgiastic Pleasures vibes into the other bands?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: speaking for myself, the reason for partaking in different bands/projects is precisely to experiment with different genres and collaborate with different people, so there’s really not that much overlap. Of course, having been into music for nearly 25 years, my songwriting has grown to incorporate certain recurring “fingerprints” that attentive listeners might recognize, more so since I’m admittedly not much of a technically skilled or versatile player.
RIPPING BLADE: I’ve always wanted to express myself through different genres and subgenres that I’ve been a fan of and a devoted listener to since I was a kid. The same goes for Blackstream, my main project since the beginning despite the decade-long hiatus, as well as for various speed metal bands I’ve sung (and am still singing) in—there’s a brand-new project on the way in that vein, so stay tuned! It’s on stage with these bands that I’ve unleashed all my energy and social rage, which I haven’t been able to express in any other way.
What’s the story behind the Flagellator/Orgiastic Pleasures split tape from 2010 on Frozen Darkness Productions? It is said that some (ex-)members of the band(s) consider it an unauthorized release or even a bootleg, but I also read that the current members of Orgiastic Pleasures do not share that vision…
RIPPING BLADE: I wouldn’t really consider it a split, since it’s the same band. However, it was listed that way on Metal-Archives—but whatever. The release is official and includes the second Orgiastic Pleasures demo, ‘Distruzione Totale’, and the first demo under the name Flagellator, ‘Nuclear Madness’.
I might have missed most of it, but I can’t really recall any concert flyers mentioning Orgiastic Pleasures. How do you view the phenomenon of playing live in general and is that something that fits the concept of Orgiastic Pleasures as well?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: you haven’t missed anything, as Orgiastic Pleasures never played a single gig since forming. We have been toying with the idea of a live assault every now and then, but the logistics behind it all are rather daunting: we’d need at least one extra member, a proper setlist would require enough time to meet up and rehearse properly, plus all the related travel expenses and the almost guaranteed losses we’d incur as a result since we’d have to organize and finance pretty much everything by ourselves. Let’s just say many, many factors would have to properly align for it to happen.
I have already touched upon it in previous questions, but Orgiastic Pleasures hasn’t always been a very active band, so the obvious question at the end of most interviews is quite in place here: what is currently going on for the band? Is there anything new coming up?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: considering our track record we believe it’s pretty much futile to try and plot too much in advance, since in the end nothing will go according to plan anyway… Right now we’re working hard to have a cd version of ‘Orgiastic Pleasures’ out, and of course it would be nice to have something pressed on wax as well, but time will tell. We’re certainly not done making noise together, it’s just a matter of when and how.
And what about all those other bands? Anything worth mentioning that’s in the pipeline for any of those?
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: the long delayed second IN CORPORE MORTIS album, ‘Umbrae Ignis’, is being finalized for release, and you can expect our return to the stage as well. PHENRIS are always toiling in the shadows, forging epic soundscapes to be revealed when the time is right; we’re not saying no to occasional live appearances, but nothing is planned for sure at this point. RUST are also intermittently working on a second full length, ILLUM ADORA are as busy as ever, and things are slowly but surely moving forward for ARCANA IMPERII as well. No rest for the wicked!
RIPPING BLADE: As you well know, I’m very active primarily with Blackstream. The recent split tape with Coven Of Impurity is almost sold out, and I’m happy with the result. Soon, the split LP with the great WITCHCRAFT (FIN) will be released. And, as I mentioned before, a new project of mine, totally old-school speed/black metal, will be coming out soon—you’ll have news about it shortly.
Alright guys, thanks a lot for taking the time to answer these questions and being part of this zine. The last words are yours…
RIPPING BLADE: Thanks again for the space you’ve given us. Drink the vomit ov Christ!
NECROTYRANT JOTUN: many thanks for contacting us and daring to let us speak freely in your zine; support is always appreciated. All hails to all the maniacs out there (bands, labels, zines, promoters and fans) keeping the true underground spirit alive against all odds with deeds rather than cheap talk. As for the rest: fear us, for the storm is only growing fiercer. Traditori al rogo!!!
