domingo, 18 de junio de 2023

BURIAL HORDES - INTERVIEW



1. Burial Hordes has been active since approximately 2001, how did the creation of the band come about? Why did you choose the name Burial Hordes and what does it refer to?

It is well know how strong is the influence of Christianity in the Greek society in all the levels for centuries now. A society of fools who are poisoned till their core till nowadays and they are deeply submerged in a mythical  belief. People who proudly accept the slave mark, kneeling in front of  fake entities and objects giving power to human leeches. That was the conditions that forged our personality and hate from the early years of our existence, so Burial Hordes was created as a weapon against them and the name of the band was chosen to incarnate these characteristics. 


2. #Ruins# is your fifth studio album, an album that comes almost five years after your previous #˜±½±Ä¿Â ±¹É½¹¿Â (The Termination Thesis)#, apart from the restrictions derived from Covid-19, what other aspects have motivated this long period of time between the two releases? how have you faced the process of writing and recording this new album? what brands of instruments have you used in the process?

The creative pattern has not changed for all the Burial Hordes releases. In every release, the whole process begins with which concept we want to materialize, and once the main theme is 'locked', it serves as the foundation in which everything is built upon. So, the first step is the concept, then D. D. and T. K. compose the music. After that I write the lyrics, and the last stage before the recording is to fix every detail of the songs. The matter of the cover (with exception of  the"˜¬½±Ä¿Â ‘¹Î½¹¿Â "album), is the last thing that we usually do before we complete the whole process. 

Ruins is a pure "pandemic" album, so the process of creation was slower than usual. We started to work on the compositions in December of 2019, and we completed the writing of the album in March of 2021. After the completion of the album, there was an issue that occurred with our drummer F. V. which prevented him from recording, so some time was needed to find a replacement and to eventually solve that matter. On top of this, there was a long period that we had to wait for the completion of the cover and also the well known huge delays of the vinyl factory plants, and with all these you get the whole picture.

The equipment that we used for "Ruins" album was, 7string schecter guitars, 5string  Traben bass, Marshall JVM 410H, Peavey 6505. 


3. In your origins your sound was more linked to a more classic-sounding black, however with the passage of time and also in this new #Ruins# the presence of death metal takes on a greater role. How do you face this natural evolution in your sound? How would you describe the sound of the album for those who haven't heard it yet? What bands and styles influence you today when it comes to defining the sound?

Burial Hordes spawned as a classic violent black metal act, and it was forged in that way, to be a direct hit to the entire religious system and their flock, designed with the force of a war machine to bring chaos and destruction. We expanded our philosophy to deeper and darker fields, and naturally the same happened with our sound. 

Every  Burial Hordes release is a reflection of ourselves in that particular time, a mirror to our thoughts, so as we evolving as persons, the same happening with the band and the transformation of our thoughts with our growing experience to create art is becoming for us more easier but more complex from time to time. 

With the embodiment of death metal ingredients (low tuning, changing my vocal style from screams to low), plus the addition of harmonics/disharmonics, we have succeeded to enrich our black metal basis and violent identity with claustrophobic atmospheres. That evolution was totally necessary according to our vision. 

Musically, Burial Hordes is in total harmony with the destructive nature of the Cosmos, and that's the only way for our ideas to be presented accurately.



4. Eugene Ryabchenko from Fleshgod Apocalypse has participated as a session drummer on the album, why did you decide to have Eugene to record drums on the album, what do you think he has brought from Eugee's experience to the final sound of the album?

Right before we started the recording session of Ruins, an issue occurred with F. V. and he had to cancel, so immediately we started to search for a seasoned drummer. We chose Eugene not only because of his high skills and professionalism but also for his  dynamic style. The nature and the sound of our songs needed those dynamics.  Eugene didn't have any role in the creative process. We sent him the programmed drums and he rerecorded them live, reading the midi. He did a professional job in all aspects and we are totally and absolutely satisfied with the result.



5. Rationalism, existentialism or symbolic logic, are aspects present in your lyrics, far from stereotypes related to Satanism or anti-Christianity. Why did you decide to deal with these issues in the band's lyrics? Are these issues and the way in which Which one do you express in a way of facing your reality as a person? Do the lyrics adapt to the music or vice versa?

We are persons with a huge concerns and we started to research the phenomenon of life from our early years. We are aware about our limitations of our species, which makes impossible to reach absolute knowledge, but the fact that fundamental questions will never be answered, don't bent our voracious curiosity. 

A curiosity which is surely will leave us with a bitter taste in our mouth, during our last time, because of the uncountable unanswered questions, that will be piled up inside us. 

Although, even from our earlier years in our life, the researching become our principal function and a daily routine with studies, deep retrospections and long conversations  with purpose to build for ourselves, a clearer view of life. 

Every Burial Hordes release is obviously a reflection of ourselves, created from thoughts that were born from our experiences, searches, and upgrading, so as we evolve as people, the same happens to the band. If you examine our whole discography from our first demo till our new 4th album, you will discover that our evolution is occurring very natural. We don't have dramatic shifts in our sound or lyrics or between our releases, and each of them one after another are connected. Everything is considered as pieces of the great picture of Burial Hordes, which is the #Destruction of hope.

Our ideology is based upon the foundations of reality, and is fueled from the hate for our human nature, cursing the thrownness to this meaningful world but is absolutely stripped from the delusional theistic /religious hopes and reserved values. We are digging deep in the darkest fields of our existence and we are looking straight to the eye our grotesque fate. 

We are not here to bring fake joy, to please and also to give illusive hopes to anyone. We are here  to unveil and to confront unpleasant truths of our species and that is the main difference which separates Burial Hordes from most of the bands. Nothing can show us what it is to die but art is an effective channel to submerged deeply to the darkest territories of human thinking, where reality and paradox collide. 


6. Although you come from Greece, a country with a huge tradition within black metal in the nineties, your sound does not refer directly to these classic bands, rather it seems that there is a break between that classic Greek sound and what came from the In the 2000s, what is your opinion of the entire classical scene in your country and how do you think that classic sound coexists today with more current exponents, such as Acherontas, Dosferd, Zemial, etc...?


My respect and admiration for the classic Greek Black Metal albums is unspeakable. I grew up with those albums and they still have the same Magick, and the same intense effect upon me, although Burial Hordes doesn't have any connection with the Greek Black Metal sound. The band was formed with a central purpose and philosophy to be a poison and a wound on the religious body/society, while musically we wanted to explore different paths totally in the contrary of the established Greek Black Metal traditional sound which had dominated the scene in those days. At the end of the 90's and after, the glorious days of the first half of this decade, the Greek Black Metal scene was in a decay. Trapped by the ghosts of Rotting Christ/Varathron, the scene was overcrowded by multiple clones of them, with the result of an uninspiring period with bands lacking will and ability to present something different. In a way, for the Greek scene, this fact didn't change radically and prevails to the current day. For Burial Hordes, this style of sound doesn't work. Just that! Burial Hordes spawned and was doomed to explore colder, darker, and more violent paths.



7. Khaos Diktator Design has taken care of the design of the album cover. It must be said that few bands achieve such a successful balance between design and what is transmitted with the music. In this case, how does the subsequent collaboration between Khaos Diktator Design and you to make the design? Do you think he has captured the essence of your music with this cover?

Death, Ruins, decay, suffering, agony, the end. The anathema in the form of the Serpent; the anathema of Being. It's an intense, dynamic, and totally dramatic scene, and its magnificence is impossible to be framed into words. You look at it and you recognize the inevitability of our impending demise, the tragedy, the finitude, and that everything ends. You sense the void deep within your core, and it forces the emergence of your effortless hidden, horrific truths of existence to the surface. 

Ruins as a symbol of decay. The ruins are a visualized representation of the passage of time and the inevitability of collapse, reminding us of our own transience. Everything ends; the end of a person, the end of civilization, and the end of the universe. "Ruins" as a symbol of the ephemeral. Everything toward the void.  It's a masterpiece from an incredible, talented artist, and this scene totally reflects our vision. 




8. The new album has been released by Transcending Obscurity Records, at what point did you decide to leave Folter Records and start this new journey? Will there be a vinyl edition of the album that is somehow delayed?


After the horrible cooperation that we had with the German label for "˜¬½±Ä¿Â ‘¹Î½¹¿Â" album, Trancending Obscurity Records offered us a deal and our decision to sign with Trancending Obscurity Records proved that was the right. They are work hard for their bands, they trust us, they treat us with respect, they are honest, and those attributes are very rare to find them. Kunal, the owner of the label is a passionate man and have created something very good, based on his love for art and definitely we are proud that we are part of his family. 

The vinyl version of Ruins will be released later due to the huge delays on the vinyl factory plant's. 


9. You are a band that does not offer concerts, why do you make this decision? Are you open to this situation changing in the future? In a hypothetical mini tour, who would you like to share the bill with?

We don't intend to play live again at all. Burial Hordes has participated in only 3 shows in the entirety of its existence, and the last one was over 15 years ago. 

This decision was taken for the reason that our dark art is not suitable for live parties. We consider our research very deep and serious, so that it's impossible to be effective in a place where people go to drink beers and to pass a good time. The right conditions for our art to be effective is by individualistic listening, and through esoteric searchings to be a conductor to cross paths directly to our horrific secrets. 


10. How were your beginnings in music: first concerts you attended, first albums you bought? What event in your life pushed you to want to be a musician?

-First concert : Samael / Rotting Christ /Nergal (1994)

-First Albums : Slayer - Show no Mercy, Sepultura - Morbid Visions. 

- Nothing in particular 


11. What album represents for you the essence of black metal? What last albums have you bought?

Bathory - The Return... 

- Profane Order - One Nightmare unto Another


12. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Burial Hordes fans this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.

Thank you. 

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Kommandant - The Architects Of Extermination - (Red vinyl limited to 100) 13,99 €


Gatefold LP on 350 gsm carton
- Red vinyl limited to 100 
- A2 poster
- Left flap glued
- Black Flood Inside
- Gloss Lamination
- Comes in PVC over bag and with polylined inner bag





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