Interview mit Theoharis von Hail Spirit Noir

Since the band was founded 14 years ago, your style has changed considerably several times – most recently you made synth wave with „Mannequins“. Looking back, was it a good idea to release „Mannequins“ under the same band name? I could imagine that many fans of the early albums were not prepared to go down this path.
Well, like you said we’ve been shedding every skin we ever wore with each release so “Mannequins” might have been a bit of a shock, but I never thought to that extent. We were crystal clear from the off that it would be a one-off album, a celebration of sorts for the band’s first ten years. Most of the tracks were remixed and reimagined versions of older songs, along with a few new tracks. It was an interesting experiment and one that Haris and Sakis really wanted to explore, so we saw no harm in it. The problem lies with the fact that no-one seemed to understand that it would be for that album only, and so they got up in arms. But it’s very much a Hail Spirit Noir album.

How did you find your way back to (post) black metal, how did you approach „Fossil Gardens“ when it came to songwriting?
Quite easily to be honest. We never said we weren’t interested in black metal anymore or that we’ve somehow lost our fire. “Eden…” might have been devoid of the signposts of black metal, namely the vocals, but there are plenty of black metalelements here and there, just not as dominant. This time around we were listening to a lot of our 90s influences and a few new bands like Stormkeep and a bit rubbed off on us, it’s only natural. But once Haris began composing the first tracks, it became obvious that it would be necessary to approach it differently than “Eden…”. As the tracks took shape it was an extreme record, our most extreme to date, I think. It wasn’t a calculated reaction or anything like that. The songs demanded aggression, and hopefully we delivered!

What is the idea behind the „pearl angel“ on the cover?
We just saw the work of George Baramatis and were quite impressed and asked him to create the cover for us. This is what he came up with.

What is the concept behind the image, especially in relation to the album’s title and lyrics?
To our eyes, it pretty much reflects the entirety of the album’s lyrics and concepts. There’s an oyster like a temple with the world within it, ready to be either discovered or destroyed by that still-forming figure. The figure is almost like a sand-clock and is comprised of seashells, just to remind us where we came form. All that with a backdrop that is as void of life as it is full of unknown mysteries.

What is the „Fossil Garden“ – what is the album about?
By that term we mean the whole of the universe, the cosmos, however you want to call it. From the darkest corners to the most explored surfaces, from every detailed and advanced idea to the most obscure notions that could hide within unseen clusters. Haris and I have discussions whenever it’s time to put pen to paper and figure out what we want the album to be about. Just like the music, it reflects our mindset at that moment. During one of these discussions and after mentioning a graveyard of ideas as a concept, Haris came up with the title. It’s every single idea that ever was and ever will be, every concept structure and method. Living or dead, in stasis or evolving. All of the above with the help of our great friend, Time, will cease to exist but as long as even one cell is alive their memory will live on and inform in various ways the present and thus the future. Just like fossils are our source of oil. In that sense, the album has a triumphant feeling too, as it praises both our achievements and all of our misgivings.

The album begins with the sentence, „Waking up once again in a circle with no end – What a great time to be alive!“ – Presumably that’s not referring to our current times, is it? How do you follow global political events – and what comforts you in times like these?
I don’t see why it should reference current times, isn’t impending war exciting? In all seriousness, there has always been a hint of irony to the band. I believe we stand on the brink of change, and that is terribly thrilling and exciting. I find change to be fascinating, particularly when you cannot be sure which way it will go. But things sometimes must get worse before they get better. I’ve tried shutting out the news, but I can’t and don’t want, really, to live in a void. Upcoming elections seem to point at a pretty morbid future. Couple that with the war raging right now, and it’s a beautiful atmosphere, isn’t it?

At the end, it says, „Would you depart this world for a journey towards spacelessness? Our bodies shall melt shall unite with the universe“ – do we humans take ourselves too seriously in the world, or not seriously enough?
We should be doing both! But most people seem to obsess over one of the two extremes. In the vastness of this existence we are decidedly unimportant yet in our own little self-created universe, we all that matters. The former pointlessness should encourage to actually strive to become the best version, or at least the updated one, of ourselves because our journey towards spacelessness is right round the bend, and we should conquer what we desire. It should be encouraging us instead of halting us. Unfortunately, most people seem to either fuss over details or dismiss everything. There needs to be an understanding and a balance.

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Musicwise, I am inspired by the enormous melodicism in the songs – despite their heaviness. Are there bands that you would name as inspiration, bands that you admire precisely for that?
The Emperor records are an obvious point of reference. The first two Limbonic Art albums, particularly „Moon In The Scorpio“, Abigor’s „Nachthymnen“ is equally impressive in that regard. I know Haris loves Septicflesh’s Communion for that reason, and also Horrified’s „In The Garden Of Unearthly Delights“. That last one is a favorite one of mine as well. „Storm of the Light’s Bane“ music has always been an inspiration as well.

„The Road To Awe“ stands out in particular, the song contains everything that makes up the album, condensed into 10 minutes with many a goosebump moment – especially the break in the middle. Do you also see something special in this song, and if so, when in the creation process did this feeling materialize?
This is the album’s centerpiece. It pretty much sums up the album in one go. Thank you for your kind words. It’s nice to know our music strikes a nerve with listeners. This and the title track were really important to the album. I can never tell when we are recording something, simply because we’re too invested in the whole process, and every part of every song is equally important to the whole. To my ears, and I can’t speak for Haris who is our main composer, everything starts coming together once we have the lyrics as well and the vocal melodies. And the Road To Awe once it began approaching its final form, it was really exhilarating.

You don’t play too many concerts – at least not so far and not in Central Europe. Are you planning to change that, can we hope for a tour?
We did get a very nice start doing live shows around the release of „Mayhem In Blue“ and had a lot of things planned for „Eden….“ and then COVID hit. And that was that. I can’t promise anything, but we are trying to piece something together, although it’s turning out to be quite the impossible task.

Let’s bring this to an end with a short brainstorming, what comes to your mind first reading the following terms:
Septicflesh: childhood memories
Joe Biden: my grandfather
Articifial Intelligence: Fingers Crossed.
Perturbator: Gets The Groove On.
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR in 10 years: In a Galaxy far, far away, emitting spheres of music.

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Publiziert am 20. August 2024 von Moritz Grütz