Good evening, thank you very much for answering those questions, how is everything going in England?
Horrible. It’s wet, cold and windy. We still have a conservative government. People are more divided than ever, we are led by idiots and this country is the laughing stock of many others around the world.
1.You have been active since approximately 2010, how did the creation of the band come about? Why did you choose the name The Infernal Sea and what does it refer to?
It was formed out of the desire to create blackened art, to bring to life the ideas dwelling in the corners of our minds for decades. It was supposed to be the final and best band we would all be a part of the sum of all our musical endeavours previous to this one. The name conjures up some powerful imagery of the raging and destructive forces of nature, this is something that is often embodied in our music.
2. Despite having been active for more than a decade, the band's line-up has remained practically unchanged over time, even though there are musicians involved in other projects. What do you think is the reason for this? solidity in the band's line-up?
It Works well, we get on well as people, as brothers and we work very well together. Why change it if it’s working. Naturally in any relationship you are going to have your high and low points. In 2024 we are more determined and more united than ever before.
3. You have just released “Hellfenlic”, your fourth studio album, how did you approach the process of writing and recording this new album? What brands of instruments did you use in the process?
The songs were mostly written in isolation, the music primarily by our guitarist J.E with one song contributed by C.R. D.L tends to write lyrics following the music being written with some editing support from CR. Recording was completed at The Noise Cabin studios owned and operated by our drummer J.B over the space of about a month. With mixing and mastering taking place at The Arch studios by Tom Dring. We use the following equipment in summary, Guitars – Ibanez, Line 6, Seymour Duncan. Bass – Aria, Orange, Darkglass, Electro-Harmonix. Drums – Pearl, Paiste, Roland.
4. The sound of the new album maintains the pulse of a style like melodic black metal, however elements such as rock or N.W.O.B.H.M., or doom also come together. How would you describe the sound of the new album for who still haven't heard it? What styles and bands have been an influence when composing the album?
That’s correct. Those other styles feature heavily in our personal influences and musical backgrounds so they bleed into our music fittingly. Also as we have grown we are more interested in making the music more personal to us, we are less concerned with how cult it sounds. We don’t really give a shit we just want it to be Good. I think the big influences aside from obvious 2nd wave BM worship would be Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Venom, Journey, Celtic Frost, Candlemass, Video Game and Movie soundtracks, Black Sabbath.
5. Each album by The Infernal Sea focuses on violent events from the past, on this occasion the album is focused on the figure of Matthew Hopkins and the witch hunt carried out by this subject, it is also a close event since the Its origin is where you live, why did you decide to deal with this topic in this new album? What sources have you consulted to be able to construct all the lyrics for the album?
It felt fitting, because historically the events occurred in the same region that we reside, we wanted to focus on a more ‘Localised’ event, it feels more personal. D.L takes on the personna of Matthew Hopkins and his depraved mental state, in doing so, D.L researched the subject at great length, collating a lot of source material from online, museums and textbooks related to the time period. He really immerses himself into the project.
6. When they released their previous album “Negotium Crucis” we were immersed in the Covid-19 era, that album was focused on the Templars and the atrocities committed in the name of the church, in the same way that “The Great Mortality” had pandemic connotations in your lyrics, does it seem that the material to create lyrics related to violent and atrocious events is innate to human beings? Is black metal a style that lends itself to being inspired by these events?
I think so, people have commemorated or made tributes to violent and tragic events all throughout human history. We have ended up in the position of being fascinated with medieval history, and wanting to shine a light on something that is more connected to the history of where we are from, with the activities of Hopkins taking place just a few miles really from where we are all from. Absolutely Black Metal lends itself to the depiction of tragic and terrible events.
7. Previously I described the sound of the new album as melodic metal with influences from other styles such as N.W.O.B.H.M., or doom, from my point of view there are many English black metal bands that integrate a good number of particularities into their sound at the same time That there is a background in their sound that makes them recognisable in terms of their origin, what is your opinion of the black metal scene in your country? What perception do you have about the English black sound and what new bands would you recommend?
I agree this is an interesting point about UK Black Metal bands, for a small country and scene it is pretty diverse with a lot of influences and musical integrations on show. You should check out the following bands if they aren’t known to you already; Hecate Enthroned, Fen, Winterfylleth, Aklash, Necronautical, Blood Countess, Ninkharsag, Abduction, Devastator, The Suns Journey Through The Night, Andracca, Imperial Demonic, Wode, Burial, Wolfbastard, all of the Wulfhere Productions projects, all of the Blackwood Productions projects, the label Apocalyptic Witchcraft.
8. Part of the recording of the new album has been on your own in the figure of James Burke, however for the mixing and mastering you have worked with Tom Dring at The Arch Recording Studio, at what point did you make the decision to work with Tom and what do you think has contributed to the final result of the album?
We were looking for someone capable and we enjoyed his previous work. He is a talented producer and he managed to capture the essence of what we were looking for, an aggressive, thick sound that represented the very best of us as well as a strong resemblance to our live sound.
9. For the design of the cover you have worked with Khaos Diktator Design, in which Matthew Hopkins is supposed to appear from behind, but in front of him there is a world of fantastic images that can be described as a coven, were you clear from a How did you initially want this cover to look or was it a Khaos Diktator Design thing?
We gave a strong brief to KD, he was able to capture what we were looking for and we worked closely together over many months to achieve the final result, as well as an additional piece that has been used in some inlays and on the picture disc.
10. You have made the leap to Candlelight Records for the release of the new album, at what point did you decide to change record labels? What do you think being on a label like Candlelight Records can bring you as a band in terms of impact? In what way? Which format do you feel most comfortable when it comes to offering your music to your fans?
We approached them and they were happy to sign us. It feels great being a part of this label amongst some excellent company and some of our favourite bands namely Emperor. The label has a significant worldwide reach and reputation so I think it offers a lot, so far it has been a great experience. I think digital is by far the most convenient format, however we know our fans love vinyl – these are not difficult for us to sell.
11. You have edited a video for your song “Black Witchery”, whose idea was it to make this video and how was the entire process carried out?
This was a group decision, we picked out 3 songs that we thought would fit well with videos, you have ‘Bastard Of The East, ‘Lord Abhorrent’ and now ‘Black Witchery’. The video was filmed in one day in a secret and very evil location.
12. Have you already started the live presentation of your new album? What concert plans do you have prepared? Who would you like to go on a small mini-tour with? Is it very difficult to maintain the tone of your voice after several concerts in a row in a proposal? like yours where the texts are fundamental?
Some of the new songs we have been playing for some time so they are well rehearsed. We are playing 2 album release shows in February in London and Manchester where we dig deeper into the new record, with the Manchester show seeing us play the whole album in full – something we’ve never done before. We would like to tour with like minded individuals who are not dickheads Our vocalist D.L is an unstoppable machine, he never gets tired.
13. How were your beginnings in music: first concerts you attended, first albums you bought? What happened in your lives that pushed you to want to be musicians?
We all arrived at music in different ways. For me, I was always interested in music and played the cornet from 5 years old, taking up the guitar aged 10 and later the drums and bass guitar. The first albums I owned were given to me by my Dad\ and my Uncle namely Oasis, Blur, Nirvana, and later Venom, Scorpions, Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani. The first proper concert I attended aside from local bands was Graspop in Belgium – it was a big deal at the time – good\ memories. I’m not sure why I gravitated towards music – there was no push from my family and I was the only one interested in music as is still the case! Once I started I just know I was fascinated – I loved playing instruments
14. What album represents for you the essence of black metal? What latest albums have you bought?
Emperor, In The Nightside Eclipse is probably my favourite black metal album. Some bands I’ve been enjoying recently include Afsky, Summoning, ColdWorld, Old Sorcery, Ulver, Grima – I actually just ordered a vinyl from them.
15. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for The Infernal Sea fans this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
Keep on rocking and being true to yourself. Fuck the rest.
C.R.
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Unpure – Prophecies Ablaze 21,99 €
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