Interview mit Morten Shax von Endezzma

With three albums and two EPs, Morten Shax has succeeded in anchoring his band ENDEZZMA in the Norwegian black metal underground. In the interview, he explains what the unwieldy album title „The Archer, Fjord And The Thunder“ is all about, how he passes the time in Lockdown and why ENDEZZMA never laugh in the studio.

The first thing to notice about your new album is the painting on the cover. A lot of bands are doing it lately in this style, be it Behemoth or Rotting Christ, just to name two examples. How do you explain this development in Black Metal?
Im not familiar with the development of cover artworks in the scene generally, but if you point out that all those bands you mentioned have professionally classic styled paintings on the cover i guess that is a sign of some bands taking their art and music very seriously. It’s a complicated and very expensive and intricate process both mentally and literally to make art like that.

Why did you decide to do this painting – did it exist before or was it done for the album?
The painting is made  exclusively for the album yes, of course. It’s painted by the talented Serbian painter Stefan Todorović We wanted a strong painting that really tell the listeners and the audience a story just by looking at the painting. The philosophical platform and the lyrics is very important and we wanted a cover and artwork that really expressed what the album was all about in the best way. We got a lot of feedback and comments on the cover and we are really satisfied with the outcome.

The next striking thing is the somewhat unwieldy, but above all not self-explanatory title „The Archer, Fjord And The Thunder“. What is the story behind this title?
The title represent the key elements to the mythical and philosophical universe of the album. The Archer is the main character of the story that holds the control and all the answers to the saga, The Fjord represent the passage or the road and the Thunder is the power or the wild energy that the universe is build upon. Its a complex story but behind the complexity you find basic elements that everyone can relate to. You have to solve the lyrical puzzle and figure out what this characters and elements represent in the story.

So it’s a story that runs through all the songs?
Yes, that i correct. All the songs are linked through the same philosophical universe. The mythical darkness open the gates to some intense places and forces. The energy is a key word in the story. You may find basic elements of well known ENDEZZMA thematics but maybe in a new wrapping. This album is the first ENDEZZMA album to present this new universe. You will have to dig further into th context of the lyrics to read between the line and fully understand the message and the storyline. But once you figure out what every element and character represent it should give you some clues and answers. But again poetry or for instance classical poems ain´t supposed to give away all answers right away, you should read it through your own mind and eyes. Maybe people absorb the philosophy different.

Let’s get to the music: How would you describe your new album in one sentence?
Powerful, intense and intricate!

I think it’s even more straigth forward than its predecessor – would you agree with that?
I’m totally disagreeing. I noticed reading through your reviews of the ENDEZZMA catalogue that you guys think we are sounding more conventional, but the truth is that The Archer album is by far the most diverse, intricate and multi-layered album we ever have written and composed. But of course its up the listeners and audience to make out of it exactly what they want. Again, art is personal and should be interpreted accordingly, through the eyes of the beholder. We are constantly developing and challenging ourself in the way we need and in the way our devotion and passion talks to us.

Do you have a favourite song, or a certain part of a song that makes you smile every time?
I am very proud and satisfied with the whole album this time as one unit. As a favourite i maybe holds Garden Ov Heathen and Wild Glorior Death. But every song speaks to me in a different way so i also appreciate them in a different way. I don’t smile when i listen to good music, i cry!

The album was made with the same line-up as the previous one, before which there was a very central change in the line-up. Did that have an effect on the songwriting and thus the album itself?
The work was pretty much divided into the same roles as for the recording and making of „The Arcane Abyss“ album. The more and more the same group of people getting to know each other through experiences, concerts, tours, challenges and episodes the better the work process is getting. Its easier for every individual to know how to contribute and we also know better what everyone is good at and not. So getting consistency over time is a key factor to success, of course.

In our last interview you said that you were planning to do things differently, that you were going to go into the studio for a month and do everything in one go. Did you really do it that way?
No, we did not. But the story still is the same: me telling you that next time we might do it differently. Its not easy to have the resources and at least to have the exclusivity of having enough time to do that. Is not that we use less time in how we work now, we probably use 10 times longer time, but divided differently.  Malphas have his own professional studio and we recorded most of the album there, and we are lucky to have such facilities to free disposal. The mixing was done by Tore Stjerna in Sweden. But ask me in the next interview after we release the next one, it might be we rented a house in a Spanish mountainside for a month of recording, and i will tell you all the secret ghost stories!

How did the recordings go in general this time – was there material for a funny anecdote?
We never laugh, we only cry! It was a very much controlled, structured and focused working process so not that much unexpected happened. Not crazy stories as the one when we made the debut „Erotic Nekrosis“ and we deleted half the album when it was done and we had to record four songs again. But we made some changes to the better … or we like to believe it was to the better, maybe it wasn’t.

In the promo handout it says „Tours and festivals will be announced“ – in the current world situation that’s probably not going to happen. How hard is this hitting you as a band, concretely economically, but also with regard to the promotion of the album?
Unfortunately i guess the year of 2021 will look much the same as 2020. Of course its not ideal not to be able to tour and festivals in support of your new album. It´s a creative downfall and of course it means a lot economically when you putted a lot of resources and energy into a album.
But we will be back with a vengeance for sure! As soon the gates open and the world open up the stage carpets we are ready to storm the world! There will be tour announcements and festivals coming. If the world keeps closing in we will make another album in 2021 and we tour with double albums!

Thank you very much for the interview. Let’s wrap it up with our traditional brainstorming:
German Black Metal: I think the borders have been washed out the last decade and the scene are more international. The sound of bands are more diverse no matter where they come from. You have just as many interesting and new bands coming from Germany as any other nation, we played with so many interesting and good sounding German acts! Same time you have just as many crapy ones as well, like any other nation, naturally!
A hobby you found in Lockdown: My work, my hobby, my lifestyle: I don’t know its all entwined into being pretty much the same! But I’m writing on my debut book, so with another year of lockdown and inactivity when it comes to travelling and concerts I will be working on it, hopefully seeing it completed!
KISS: Often the band that many musicians and music fans refer to as one of their first love affairs bandwise. I can‘t say the same, it was never my favourite band. But they have always been there up through my musical history, so I’m well familiar. I guess, it is the band that influenced much of the make up in the metal music, even the black metal.
Your last concert (as a visitor): I must have been the Rotting Christ and Moonspell gig in Oslo right before lockdown last year.
ENDEZZMA in ten years: A good question, I guess we just released our 7th album and naming it „The Seventh Gate Of Hell“, the same name as our private jet!

Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers?
Thank you ! Check out the new album and learn it back and forth until we see you all on the road sooner or later! We are preparing like never before for making a intense epic spectacle when the time will come! We are ENDEZZMA, we are stellar the darkness!

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Publiziert am 28. Februar 2021 von Moritz Grütz