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LIMBONIC
ART - Dynasty Of The Abhorred
By Chris Bruni
Limbonic Art may be familiar to a lot of U! readers,
or at least they should be. Word got around with their debut album,
Moon In The Scorpio, where the band, consisting of the duo of Daemon
(vocals/guitars/lyricist) and Morfeus (keyboards/programming), were
performing their style of Norwegian black metal in a way that most
bands weren't doing at the time. They took the symphonic edge of
black metal, which was constantly being stereotyped within the scene
at the time, and took it to its fullest extent, creating a vast
array of explosive, monumental sounds -- sounds of ethereal violence
and operatic tones of the damned, sometimes hinting towards the
theatrical, but most of all maintaining an atmospheric resonance
that could open the gates of hell. The duo stood their ground well
and, with just their debut album, easily made a name for themselves.
And it was no surprise, mainly because Limbonic Art really couldn't
be categorized with their contemporaries.
They would then follow Moon In The Scorpio with the Wagnerian black
metal assault of In Abhorrence Dementia, an album which just took
the band further, and now, still on Samoth's Nocturnal Art Productions,
the band have released their most violent and aggressively atmospheric
piece of art, Ad Noctum - Dynasty Of Death. Morfeus was the one
up for the interrogation and I asked about the evolution of the
band and how they got to this point. "Limbonic Art started out with
Daemon back in '93 with a full line-up. They decided to split due
to the differences in what the members wanted to achieve musically,
and at the time Daemon and I had started to rehearse a bit on our
own and found that we suited each other well, and we decided to
keep the band name and to keep the band running in its first intent.
This led to the recording of the first demo, which led to another
demo, and this in turn led us to get in touch with N.A.P. After
that we recorded the debut album, Moon In The Scorpio, and from
this stage hopefully you will know us."
How did you first get in contact with Samoth?
"Actually N.A.P. got in touch with us after a review in Nordic Vision
magazine. We signed with them after our second demo and have been
working with them since. Samoth and N.A.P. are doing a great job
for us in all ways and they are doing everything possible for us
to have the best options, and we have full artistic freedom in what
we do. They pay us what they should, when they should (sometimes
before they are supposed to, when we need stuff...) and our relations
to them are just perfect."
How did the vision for Ad Noctum... originate? This seems to be
the most violent album that Limbonic Art have produced. The atmosphere
is actually more obscure but at the same time grand (as usual) and
eloquent.
"There was a certain feeling that we had to do something different
with this album that we were about to do. Personally I'm not a guy
that likes to know what I'm about to hear when I put on a record
of a band, so we figured that we had to do some changes to keep
it interesting for ourselves, but also for our listeners. Some people
might not like this and some will, but I think that change is something
that we need to do. Imagine eating the same food for five years
every day...
"I think we managed to get forth some aggression that was not entirely
present on the other albums, and that was something that we were
working to get properly done on this one, to get it to really kick
some ass. We worked a lot more with the guitars than we had done
before and the keyboards are maybe some more difficult layered in
the mix, but yet as needed for the whole picture."
The standout element within the band is the symphonic/classically
influenced structures. Where does this influence stem from, the
influence which gives Limbonic Art great character?
"I don't really like to mention where I, or we for that matter,
get inspiration. But for me I guess it is from daily life. I hear
something on a commercial, or in a shop... whatever, I don't sit
down and suck in inspiration. Inspiration comes to me when it feels
like it; you have no control over such things and that's why it
is so hard to describe it too... Symphonic elements are not the
main important thing, but to me it is multitude and complexity.
To me there needs to be something more than just guitars and drums,
not in the music I listen to but in the music I create. Sometimes
one sound can be everything and sometimes a hundred sounds might
not be enough..."
The drum machine has also given the band character, so to speak.
How comfortable are you working with a drum machine, as the programming
is unreal (especially since I am not a fan of programmed drums,
especially in black metal)? Do you see the band using live drums
in the future?
"Well, I'm perfectly comfortable with it. We have done it since
the start so I think it has become some of what we are. I think
that people's thoughts around drum machines within metal music is
based upon that it is not a thing that they're used to and new things
are things that need to get used to. I program the drums with my
keyboard and try to play as 'live' as possible and then straighten
it up with a computer later on. The future will tell in time..."
So how do Daemon and yourself collaborate to create the music for
Limbonic Art? What are the differences and similarities between
you?
"We create the music in collaboration when we rehearse. Sometimes
I come up with a melody and arrangements on the synths and present
it to Daemon in the rehearsals and we structure it there, or we
jam up riffs on the guitars together... there are so many ways in
encountering this. I guess the main difference between us is that
Daemon is more old school than what I am. He is a few years older
than me so naturally he has got more of the older metal in his blood.
I am maybe a more futuristic guy, looking for strange sounds and
atmospheres, but I think that we work together in a good way. He
is open to my views and I'm open to his, and that is the way that
we make this band work."
The vocals this time seem to have a more soaring effect, and even
though the operatic vocals are taken down a notch with the new album,
the overall vocal performance of Daemon again presents itself as
an instrument in itself, helping to carry the songs. Comment on
the vocal performance this time around...
"I think that I will leave out the vocals; this is Daemon's department
solely, and I find myself as amazed as you are with how he does
the vocals. We record all the songs when they are finished, musically,
and he takes a tape with him and there he conjures up the lyrics
and finds the melody lines for how it is to be sung. I don't mess
around with how it is done. I just feel lucky having him do it because
he does it so well."
Since Daemon is the one who comes up with the lyrics and concepts
(it would have been interesting to investigate his obsessions with
the themes of death), what of the Egyptian imagery that you have
brought forth with Ad Noctum...?
"I have always been fascinated with the ancient Egyptian mythology
and I saw this as an opportunity to incorporate this into the imagery
of the band. The Egyptians had so much death in their religion and
I found this suiting to the atmospheres in the music and the lyrics,
which have such an extent of the element of death in them."
Finally, what does the future hold for Limbonic Art? I understand
you are ready to headline the Ad Noctum tour in Europe.
"The future for Limbonic Art is as yet a bit uncertain, musically
I mean. We still have some gigs to do in relation to the Ad Noctum
album [they should be well into the tour by the time this story
is out]. There is a headlining tour coming up in just a couple of
weeks in Europe and some plans for single standing gigs around,
but none of those are certain yet. It's too early to say anything
about what is to come musically, but we'll strive on to make better
music."
I always wondered what a Limbonic Art show would entail, due to
the nature of their music, but the answer to that from Morfeus was
simply, "Come see us."
Well, then hopefully we will see the band on these shores sometime.
Right?
www.deemon.com/limbonic
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