The roster of SEASON OF MIST reads like the wet dream of every fan of exciting extreme metal. Label founder Michael Berberian reports how he managed to do this in part 9 of our label special. A conversation about Mayhem’s most controversial album as a jump start, the controversies surrounding Deströyer 666 and the question of whether or not SEASON OF MIST should be called a black metal label.
Soon you will celebrate the 25th anniversary of SEASON OF MIST. Are you planning something, an event, a release or something like that?
Well, we don’t have a „real birthday“ actually, because I started releasing records as a hobby, but registered as a company only in 1999 – for three years we were an association, so something that is „in between“. So we are either 21, or 24… I feel 21! (laughs)
What was your motivation back then to start your own label – how did it all start?
I started organising shows in South France, with bands like Samael, Enslaved, Marduk in 1994 with a friend. He had a mag called Decibel Storm, and I was number two at the show organisation. After a while I felt I had to do my own thing, I didn’t want to compete with him for shows, so I started a label as a hobby as a student – I loved that scene, I was tape trading, and I thought there was plenty of stuff to release.
As far as I know, SEASON OF MIST’s name originates from „A Midsummer Night’s Dream,“ the play by William Shakespeare. But this does not quite explain the choice of name. What was the idea behind it, why did you name your label that way?
It’s actually from Sandman „Season of Mist“ who also takes it from Shakespeare. I thought everyone had very „metal“ names: Napalm. Nuclear Blast. Hammerheart. I wanted to be more subtle, more tasteful.
Your first release was by a band called Oxiplegatz, a quite unique project of Alf Svensson, former guitarist of At The Gates. How did that come into being, and why was it a good album to start with?
(laughs) Again, when everybody was competing to be the most evil, we started with a space opera black metal. It was a sign, we tried to be „different“.
You very early managed to sign bands from all over the world. How did you convince them that this small, new label would be the best partner for them?
Well, the smaller bands like Kampfar, Oxiplegatz, … And Oceans were just starting, so it was a discovering game! The first real known band, a band with a history we signed, was Nocturnus, and then Mayhem.
So, what was the kick start for the success of SEASN OF MIST?
The Mayhem signing in 2000 was the boost that really made us known to the public. That story and details is well known by now. It was a huge gamble that paid of.
Their fist album at your label was „Grand Declaration Of War“ – perhaps their most controversial but also most visionary album. What went through your mind when you first heard this album – and what was the reaction of the fanbase?
The fanbase hated it. Hellhammer told me: Remember when we released „De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas“, everyone complained Attila was not Dead. This is the same story. Just give it time. By now it’s by far the #1 classic album of the genre. That’s what I loved with Mayhem: It took people ten years to understand each album. At least until „Ordo Ad Chao“! I think until „Ordo Ad Chao“, each Mayhem album stands on its own style, sound, shape … and can’t be compared with anything else.
What was for you personally, but also for the success of SEASON OF MIST, the most important albums or signings?
Cynic – „Traced In Air“ (2008): A very succesful comeback, a great band, and people realised we are not a black metal label by any means.
The Dillinger Escape Plan – „Option Paralysis“ (2010): Same here. That made people realise we are also interested in other genres in the fringe of metal.
Gorguts „Colored Sands“ (2013): It was great to see that album ending up everywhere on the „year end“ of the list.
Rotting Christ: That band was down the drain when we signed them [with „Theogonia“, 2007 – note from the editor] – Now they are bigger than they have ever been.
Septicflesh: With „Communion“ and „The Great Mass“ they closed the chapter on Symphonic Metal. Nothing before or after in that genre came close.
And more recently, the rise of Heilung – the Dead Can Dance of this generation.
Was there a specific highlight for SEASON OF MIST that you always like to remember – like signing a contract with a certain band, you’re extra proud to have in your roster?
Well, I signed my favorite Black Metal band of all time, Mayhem, my favorite Death Metal band, Morbid Angel, although, yes, I know I got the wrong album [„Illud Divinum Insanus“, 2003 – note from the editor] … my favorite prog band, Cynic and What-the-fuck-Core with The Dillinger Escape Plan. I really just miss Fields Of The Nephilim and I’m done, really.
Were there also lows, moments when you might have doubted the future of SEASON OF MIST?
2012. We had the worst staff ever, and in France you can’t fire people for incompetence. The Morbid Angel album was a disaster, Dillinger was doing OK but it would take years to make our investment back. We came close to bankruptcy. We hanged in there, the little money we could scrap in or borrow, we used it write severance checks to the people that we needed to get rid of … which created more debts. But after that, with new, younger staff, some good AR decisions and a bit of luck … we came out of that hole, and we’re now doing better than ever
About the band Deströyer 666 there has been some controversy recently, because the band is repeatedly suspected to be at least close to the NSBM/RAC scene. I’m sure we could do an entire interview about this topic – but in short: What do you think about this?
When they were accused of such bullshit, the band was touring with a Jew, an Iranian drummer and a guy from Chile. So … NSBM? Fuck off. (I don’t say that to you personally of course). No, they are not left wingers, they are not feminists, they are not woke – and you know what, it’s OK. I’m tired of everyone not being a full blown left wing antifa being called a Nazi. This is typically a case of „everyone I don’t agree with is Hitler“.
All this nonsense came from this fucking Metal Sucks article (which they apologized for, cowardly) and because he said drunk that „feminists just needs a hard dick“. Well, I’m sorry, Mötley Crüe said and did ten times worse. It’s not subtle, it might be stupid, but it’s not fucking forbidden.
You know what? Drudkh are Ukrainian nationalist. The wrong word! Nationalist. That’s all they are. They love their country, they even fought for it when Russia came to invade. Is it wrong? No, not in my book. As he [Roman Sayenko, founder of Drudkh – note from the editor] told me: My grandfather fought when Hitler came, we got to fight if the Russians are coming. And most of his profit he makes with the band are going to an orphanage for blind kids. And he’s Ukrainian, so not rich at all. So, keyboard warriors: Did you ever fought for your country? Did you ever give a large part of your income to an orphanage? No? Then he’s a better man than you, and fuck you.
We’re talking about walking the walk here, not men with keyboards. So, no, I’m not a woke label, I fucking despise this new red fascism as much as I despise the real one. When Inquisition got outed (I didn’t know), I dropped them immediately [Jason Weirbach, a.k.a. “Dagon“ was sentenced having childporn on his computer and uploading to the internet – note from the editor]. Deströyer 666 making pub level jokes about dicks and feminists is not a punishable offense. If we learn that someone is one of our bands gets involved in real shit, we drop them. Period. We don’t drop because woke people on the internet told us to.
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Out of the roster on the other extreme are The Casualties, and until their dissolution, The Dillinger Escape Plan were also with you. How did it come about that these two Punk/HC-bands ended up on the „Black Metal label“ SEASON OF MIST?
I never wanted to be! Ever! It just happened that after Mayhem the good bands that wanted to sign with us were Black Metal. But we also had Macabre, Gorguts, and many others. I’m glad people don’t see us as a Black Metal label, but more like a challenging, mature audience label. Like I say, Sundance, not Hollywood! [The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the United States – note from the editor]
By now, you are one of the leading Black Metal labels in the industry, with an office in Marsaille and one in Philadelphia. How many people work at SEASON OF MIST today?
And an office in holland as well, but call me a Black Metal label again, and I will fucking lose my shit! We are not! Sólstafir, Heilung, Árstíðir, Mark Deutrom, Esben And The Witch, Crippled Black Phoenix, Saint Vitus, Weedeater … what do I have to do to get out of this? Pose naked on the internet wearing a pink hat and feathers out of my ass? I’m asking, I really don’t know anymore. And to answer the question: We’re about 40 last time I counted!
Many independent labels have given up their independence in recent years – Century Media for example, or recently even Nuclear Blast. Have you ever thought about getting an investor or a large corporation on board – or maybe even offers?
Of course we had offers. I understand why Century Media did, I understand why Relapse did it, in the case of Nuclear Blast the check must have been huge. Yeah we had offers. But Jesus Christ, I’m 45. I don’t want or need to retire on a swimming pool somewhere with a blonde on each arm. I’d get bored. I’m not finished, the label is stronger than ever. I still got something left to give. Let’s say this, I’ll quit the day journalists stops calling us a Black Metal label, for god fucking sake.
Independent labels like SEASON OF MIST are almost always founded and run by an idealist. Corporations can’t really compensate for that with any money, can they?
Ask the staff or bands at Century Media, Spinefarm or Nuclear Blast: being run by a major is a very different story. I just learned that one of those moved part of their accounting to India. Good luck when you have a questions about your royalties. It’s a slow, corporate fucking machine, and if you have a problem on a Friday after 16:00 … good luck.
Do you think independent labels will follow, or is the time of independent labels running out?
There is room for smaller, more flexible labels who are more daring and trendmakers. We try to be the maximum size an independant can get without having the flaws of a major, basically. I don’t know what we try to be really, we just do our best and try to be innovative.
How do you see the future of the physical recording industry in general, which changes in the business model are essential in the long run?
Well from the Napster day „it’s OK to bootleg and download“, to the collapse of physical, to the raise of vinyl and digital … I know one thing, and that’s that it’s constantly changing. I think those who are still there are those who are fast to adapt.
You have a healthy mix of newcomers and big names in the roster. What makes more work – and what is more profitable – but also rewarding for you as a label?
Profits are in newcomers becoming big, of course, but I like both challenges. You need both. However I stopped playing the game of big checks for worn out bands with ten albums. I let other labels cut each other throats on it.
You also enter the sublabel UNDERGROUND ACTIVIST, where you release underground bands that don’t fit directly to SEASON OF MIST. What criteria do you use to decide, and what is the difference for the bands?
And at some point Paul from Cynic told me he was not comfortable being on the same ad as bands called Nun Skull Fuck Ritual or something similar. Which I understand. But I still wanted to pay the devil it’s due, because I came from tape trading … it’s my roots you know? So I started UNDERGROUND ACTIVIST, where I have Revenge, Drudkh, and other jewels that I love to death, but with a spirit that doesn’t fit the arty mantra of SEASON OF MIST.
Unknown acts are of course always a risk and rarely quickly profitable. What does a band have to bring along today to still be interesting for you?
Be unique. Check Mora Prokaza that’s coming out soon. It’s a good example of new, but totally not looking like anything done before. Or Heilung, for that matter. Or Sólstafir …
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You yourself have also done mastering jobs in between. Would producer have been a job that would have interested you?
Nope, wasn’t me! It was my dad. He’s also named Michael Berberian, He’s Michael H. Berberian, I’m Michael S. Berberian. I know, confusing. What can I say? The guy has been doing sound since the 1960’s, toured with the Yardbirds, did sound with the Rolling Stones, built PA, was at Woodstock, worked with brands like Marshall since their creation, built his own speakers, his own microphones … He’s retired, bored, and always been an „external advisor“ for me at SEASON OF MIST. So yeah, back then, when a band fucked up a mastering, we sometimes gave it another shot, but we never imposed it – we let them decide which version to use of course. It happened many times on some of our biggest albums, actually. But not for a while now, he’s just helping me a bit with making some masters fitting the criteria for Itunes, HD streaming, mastered for vinyl, but not changing the sound anymore. Just formatting now really, but back then, yes we would sometimes fix master together for hours – and again, let the band decide. But yeah, because of him I’m a hi-fi-freak. I sometimes work closely with some of our producers, but just as an advisor when their ears are shot from working weeks on the same thing. I did that recently with Jaime Gomez for Vltimas, with Sakis of Rotting Christ. It’s a pleasure for me.
Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview. What comes in your mind first reading the following terms:
The last album you listened to completely: Oh god. Dua Lipa. My son loves it, and I love her too for very different reasons (laughs)
Tapes: Who the fuck thought this was a good idea?
Vinyl: A true collector item, but I personally don’t like the sound.
CD: Still better sound quality than streaming.
Streaming: Convenient and mobile. Sound quality is not there yet, except Tidal. But you need a real good connection.
SEASON OF MIST in ten years: I don’t know, either the last man standing as an independent, or in the pool with two blondes from the question earlier. But I believe the former is way more likely and more desirable!
Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers?
We don’t sell music, we sell a lifestyle – somebody told me this one day. I fully agree with it, and I kinda like this lifestyle. I am very proud of the metal scene. Huge Festivals with no incident, no rapes (see the stats in the other scenes, just go, compare!), no overdose, no huge secutiry issues, and a scene that is quite open (Hip Hop bands are playing Hellfest and metalheads are freaking out to watch it, enjoying it). So it’s OK to be a metalhead. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! We’re the good guys, and if someone is telling you, you’re a metalhead so you must be this or that, tell them to fuck off.
28. April 2020 Moritz Grütz
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