1. Impalement was born in 2019, why did you decide to create the band? And as for the name, it has no discussion but it is also true that it is quite common, why did you decide to use the name Impalement? Does it have something to do with the fact of naming the band that way, taking Impaled Nazarene as a reference?
In fact, the idea to form a band called IMPALEMENT dates back to the time around 2010 when I started to compose music for this band, already using this name. However, none of that material was released and I keep it to myself and a few close friends. Around that time I decided on the name because to me IMPALEMENT sounds like extreme Metal up your ass and neither me or my friends have heard from a band with that name. You could be right when referencing IMPALED NAZARENE as an inspiration but it could also be the song “Impalement Without Mercy” from BELPHEGOR…I can’t remember.
2. As a member of the Germans Mor Dagor and also live of the Germans Nargaroth, maybe the fact that these bands have not been very active for a while has been one of the reasons that you started to create your own band? ? Although Impalement is more oriented towards black / death, has the sound of Mor Dagor and Nargaroth in some way influenced the final result of your album or is it something totally separate and independent?
I see IMPALEMENT as definitively independent from my involvement in other bands. Even if I had been on the road much more, I’m pretty sure that I would have released the debut album this year. Since I came up with the idea of IMPALEMENT I waited for the time to be ripe to take the first serious steps to realize it. It took the last years for me to carve out my vision of where to go with IMPALEMENT and to get more experienced as a musician to compose the music exactly the way that I want it to be. Regarding my influences: I think everyone that crafts music and art is influenced by existing things that he likes and I only participate in bands with music and people that I have a personal connection to. Especially considering the fact that Torturer, the man behind MOR DAGOR is also the drummer on “The Impalement”, you can say that he also influenced the music with his style of drumming. However, I would say that there are other bands that had a stronger influence on me and I think that you can hear that when listening to the album.
3. Guitarist Bassist in Mor Dagor and bassist guitarist in Nargaroth, however for “The Impalement” (2020), you have also dealt with the vocals, how was the process of writing and recording the album? What has been the most complicated to what you have had to face in this process? What brand of instruments have you used for recording?
Since “The Impalement” is my first album and I have no comparison to creating an album with other bands, so it’s hard to give a good answer to your question. I can say however that I really enjoy composing music for IMPALEMENT since this is exactly the Metal that I would like to listen to myself. Also it is an amazing experience to see how the music that you started to compose evolves into a real song and finally gets recorded in a professional environment. Sometimes I started working on the music and then tried to find lyrics that match to the song’s nature, on other times I had an idea for a certain lyrical topic and composed the music afterwards to create a fitting background. One of the main challenges might be the fact that I had to deal with the whole process of composing all by myself and I guess sometimes it can be helpful to have external feedback to your composition. However I got some creative and valuable inputs from my buddies Torturer and Jens (from the AMP Studio) during the time in the studio and I think that gave the album the perfect final polish. Regarding the gear: We tested different guitars, amps and effects and went with the combinations that sounded best to us. For example, the rhythm guitar parts were recorded on a guitar with a mahogany body and super thick strings to really fill the bottom with a warm and bassy tone while the leads were played on a different guitar with more aggressive characteristics.
4. I think the inclusion of Torturer on drums to achieve a more direct and warm end result in terms of sound seems to be a success, how did you decide on Torutrer to accompany him as a drummer in the studio?
When going to the studio, I simply hadn’t found a drummer for IMPALEMENT so I contacted my buddy Torturer and he stepped in to nail this incredible blastwerk. For me it’s an honor to have him participating on my first album because since many years he’s one of my absolute favorite drummers and also a close friend of mine, which underlines the personal meaning that “The Impalement” has to me. In my opinion, his style fits perfectly to the music on “The Impalement” since he is able to understand the ideas of the guitar riffs and delivers a drumming that underlines instead of competing with them.
5. The sound of Impalement can be defined as black / death using established bands such as Belphegor as a reference, however, unlike other bands that take this sound as a reference, Impalement has given it its own stamp, achieving an evolution between what these pioneer bands made and evolved this sound enough not to sound like a mere copy. What have been the main influences for you when it comes to defining the sound of “The Impalement” (2020)? and How would you define the sound of the album?
Thanks for your feedback, appreciated! I think the core of IMPALEMENT’s sound is basically the mixture of the music that influences me personally. As I already mentioned on different occasions BELPHEGOR indeed is a major influence since I’m a die-hard fan for many years now and my story as a musician is closely connected to this band. For me it was important to take IMPALEMENT as a chance to bring in all the different styles of Metal and Rock music that I enjoyed now for many years. Since I don’t see IMPALEMENT restricted by categories such as Black Metal or Death Metal, I felt free to include all elements from what I would call Trüe Metal bands…from NWOBM twin guitar leads to blues scales, Death Metal brutality and Black Metal harshness. I think you can find many different influences on the album but the common ground is the serious worship of Metal and all that it means to me: Passion, freedom, authenticity and so on. For me it is more important to stay in line with these traditions of Metal than trying to be original for originality’s sake.
6. The album has a couple of collaborations with the voices of Sarah Jezebel Deva on the song “I Am All” and Helmuth Lehner's guitar solo on the song “Satan's Fire In My Eyes”, how did the possibility of these arise? collaborations' and what do you think they have contributed to the final result of the album?
As I already mentioned, Helmuth and BELPHEGOR are closely connected to my life since my very first steps as a musician. For many years I worked as a guitar tech for BELPHEGOR and had the chance to learn a lot about being dedicated to Metal and got more experienced as a musician too. Helmuth’s persona and his songwriting had a deep impact on me and to this day I have highest respect for what he created with BELPHEGOR. Without him, there probably wouldn’t be IMPALEMENT, at least not in the way it is today. So for me it was a personal matter to approach him with the idea of participating on the album. The result turned out amazing and to this day I still can’t believe having one of my biggest influences participating on my first album. That’s the magick of Trüe Metal I guess…
When composing “I Am All” I knew that the song will deal with Pan, the Phallus god which for me is the archetype of Metal…the original Rocker! I wanted to include a part of the poem “Hymn of Pan” by Percy Bysshe Shelley and when I was looking for an appropriate way to deliver these noble lines, I instantly had to think of Sarah. I contacted her and asked if she wants to participate and deliver the spoken words to this song. And what should I say…hearing her sophisticated voice delivering these lines from classical british poetry is just amazing and it was definitively the best choice for this part. I’m honored to have her on this album!
7. I see that you have been recruiting different musicians to be able to take Impalement's proposal to the direct, however the emergence of Covid-19 has had to postpone the fear of the concerts, although I see that you already have some announced for next 2021. ¿ It has been a hard setback to have to suspend the performances ?, Blaspherion (bass), Frostbitten (drums) and Raptus (vocals and guitar) complete the band's line-up right now, do they function as full members or They are only part of the set to be able to offer concerts? Why did you choose these musicians?
Of course, as for most bands, this Covid shit is a huge pain in the ass! We definitively want to bring IMPALEMENT to the stages as soon as possible, but as you already mentioned…it is very hard at the moment to get shows since most events are cancelled and all the festivals postponed their line-ups to 2021. However we have some promising shows scheduled and in general I stay optimistic because I think when music is destined to be heard…it will be heard! Until then we rehearse and worship Metal our way. That’s also the main reason I chose to have these musicians in the band, because we have a common understanding of what Metal means to us and are very dedicated to what we are doing…even when there are no concerts. I’m not interested in labeling my comrades with terms like “full-member” etc. For me it doesn’t matter who was in the studio or played live on stage…everyone that supports IMPALEMENT is part of this story.
8. Bands like Pure or Schammasch have given a boost with their latest releases to the Swiss black scene, what can you tell us about the Swiss black scene? And being you Swiss, how did your incorporation into two projects like Mor Dagor and Nargartoh, both German, come about?
I’m probably really not the best person to answer questions about the Swiss Black Metal scene since I live kinda isolated on the countryside and I’m not well connected to the “scene” nor interested in the stuff that got hyped in the last years. Besides that I am not generally interested in the nationalities of bands…for me it’s more important if a band rocks and if they have a message of meaning that I can relate to. Unfortunately, most of the “Metal” that got hyped everywhere in the last years was in my opinion boring garbage with focus on silly costumes and weird mumbo-jumbo themes…nothing for my taste! However, every band should do as they please and there might be also good bands nowadays…I probably didn’t find many of them yet and so I basically end up worshipping the “good old stuff”!
9. Regarding the texts of the album, what theme does it cover in them and why did you decide on this theme? Have you been surprised by the good reception that the album has had among the fans?
All lyrics I write have a personal relation to me. Sometimes it deals with a topic of my personal interest, sometimes it is a blunt expression of a certain emotion. I try to avoid lyrics that are too cryptic because I refuse to be part of the trend of using pseudo-intellectual and pretentious bullshit…IMPALEMENT is supposed to be a Metal band and not a fancy vehicle for some failed philosophy students!
Regarding the reception the album received so far, I must admit that this really was not what I expected. Since today everyone can easily record at home with zero risks and lowest budget, you have too many bands flooding the market with low quality “Metal” that it became nearly impossible to find the needle in the haystack. Most labels are focusing of course on bands that serve this trend of hip pseudo-Metal that I already mentioned to make easy cash with the current consumer-sheep. That’s why I knew already that it won’t be easy to start a band to worship the virtues of the old school of Metal but in the end I am fine with that, since Rock and Metal music was always built on struggles and I’m not in it for the money or the easy-to-get fame.
The responses from the people and reviewers however turned out great and this pushes me to follow this path…it seems that there will always be a core of die-hard maniacs, just like myself that will continue to worship Trüe Metal!
10. The album cover was made by Carlos "Black Shadows" Aguilar, why did you decide to work with him? And what does the cover represent and how does it relate to the musical part of the album?
Carlos and I are friends for many years now and besides that, he did all the tattoos that I have. As already mentioned I want to keep IMPALEMENT as personal as possible and what’s better to have an artist being responsible for the artwork that is not only your friend but also delivers exactly the style that you prefer?! After so many years of working together, he knew what stuff I like and what not and we could easily communicate about all the details. “The Impalement” is a declaration of war against the modern pseudo-Metal and the worship of Trüe Metal…so the resulting artwork underlines what IMAPELEMENT stands for: Metal, tits and terror!
11. How were your beginnings in music: first albums you buy, first concerts you attend? What happened in your life meant that you wanted to dedicate yourself to music?First albums…I can’t remember…probably children music, haha! I guess the first stuff I bought that goes slightly in the direction of Metal was probably some Nu-Metal garbage that was available at the local store at that time…what a waste! I grew up very isolated on the countryside and didn’t had any contact to real Metalheads or the scene until my early 20s. So the first stuff I could have my hands on was the music available in my family’s household…”guitar music” from 60s -70s, AOR and stuff like that caught my attention there. But I soon started to get gravitated to themes that were more dark and obscure…you know, stuff that no one in the happy plastic world out there dares to talk about! Around that time a library opened in town and there I could not only rent a handful of CDs from bands like IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, SLAYER but also some books that dealt with darker topics. I rented the same bunch of CDs as often as possible and spent a lot of time listening to the music and getting lost in their stories and fantasies. Since I didn’t had any budget for a long time, I could afford my first guitar when I was a teenager and since there was no money for guitar lessons, I taught myself to play guitar with these CDs.
Those days were definitively not of a lighthearted nature, but thinking back, I am grateful that I could experience first-hand how much Metal with its music, the lyrics and the visuals can give to you, especially when you search for the “more” in life!
12. Which album defines the essence of black metal for you? What is the last album you bought? And which one can't stop listening?
Tough question…I often thought “Wow…this must be the essence of Black Metal…these guys are serious!”…but then for example you see that those supposed elitists, printed in black/white on the back of this obscure album really feel the need to post their cat pictures or other worthless bullshit all over social media and you end up thinking “Fuck that shit!”. Besides that I wouldn’t say that I’m an expert for Black Metal since I listen to all kinds of Metal that in my opinion is Trüe…you know…the real Motherfuckers with a message of meaning and a genuine dedication to Metal!
The last album I bought...I have to look it up since I buy a lot of music...Old stuff, new stuff, used, mint… in the end the music that I like and think is worth supporting stays in the shelf, the rest has to leave. Last buy was the Listenable re-issue of “The Ten Commandments” from MALEVOLENT CREATION’…good Metal but man is the vinyl color one ugly son of a bitch!
In general I prefer to listen intensively to an album which means listen to it multiple times, reading along the lyrics etc. Sometimes you learn a new fact about a certain band and you can make up a new interpretation of their lyrics…that’s why there are many albums that I listen to over and over again. But if you want to do me a favor, give me a beer and put on some BELPHEGOR…never lets me down!
13. For the album edition you have opted for desktop publishing, was there no label interested in publishing the album or would you prefer to do it this way to have greater control over your music? Edited on CD, digital and vinyl, would the cassette, but what format do you prefer when listening to music?
As I already mentioned, I think that most labels at the moment are not primarily interested in supporting old school Metal because you can make more cash with pseudo Metal on twenty differently colored vinyl editions including the exclusive jute bag. Most labels didn’t even bother to write an answer so that can tell you how many of them seem to believe that a band like IMPALEMENT can turn out successful nowadays. The good thing however is that we don’t have to make a living out of the music and IMPALEMENT is free to go wherever we want. Don’t get me wrong, I am not chronically against labels, because I know that there are also great people that stayed in touch with the underground and are as dedicated to Metal as I am. I just refuse to rely on other people supporting IMPALEMENT and that’s why I keep going my own path…with or without label…and it seems to work well so far! You should never sit down to negotiate if you cannot afford to leave the table at any time and that is the principle that guides me.
“The Impalement” is currently available on CD and vinyl and we already had to repress the music because people really seem to like it…all thanks to our supporters all over the world!!!
At the moment I don’t plan a release on cassette…maybe at a later point in time. I personally prefer vinyl because in my opinion it’s great to have the big format of the artwork in hand…and the process of taking out the vinyl, cleaning it and putting it on the turntable feels like a ritual to worship this awesome music and pay respect to the bands!
14. In this short period of time that Impelement has been active, it has undergone a lot of changes, what is the immediate future for the band? Are you already working on new songs?
I am not sure what kind of changes you are referring to. As already mentioned, Torturer supported me in the studio because back in time I didn’t had found a drummer for IMPALEMENT. However since the lineup for the live shows is now complete there weren’t any changes. Currently we are rehearsing in our bunker and I hope that this Covid-19 bullshit will end soon, so that we can shred the stages as soon as possible. Besides that I am indeed already working on the next album and so far, most of the music is already composed. Now it will take its time to let the new music sink in, give it the right polish and let lyrics and visuals crystallize before re-entering the studio!
16. Thank you very much for taking the time to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for the followers of Impalement this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
Thanks for this interview and your contribution to the world of Metal! I want to thank our many supporters from all over the world that do not only support IMPALEMENT but Trüe Metal in general! Keep supporting Metal, don’t forget to Rock and stay fucking Trüe!
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