Amduscias : The band is still quite active, though these days we focus very much on rehearsing for our next album "Lightslaying Rituals" which we should record in February 2009. Until then, we have chosen not to play live and to concentrate on the songs. I guess the album shall be out in April 2009 more or less.
2)How long has the current lineup been in place and is this the definitive lineup for Temple Of Baal?
The current line up has been together for more than a year now, the last soul to have joined the Temple being Alastor on guitar. I don't know if it's the definitive line up, but it's for sure a strong and very powerful line up. It's not so easy today to find people who have both musical talents and what it takes mentally and spiritually. Today, most wannabe blacksters don't even know how to play a guitar properly, they just focus on their corpsepaint and how evil and stupid they can be. Not only do they sound musically like weak beginners, they also make Satanism look like a kindergarten of fools, that's fuckin' pathetic. We on the contrary are focused on getting the best result with our instruments and on our spiritual quest. The way I see it, the spirit gives birth to music, and uses this music to enhance its meditation to new regions of the mind. It was important to have a line up with people that would more or less share this vision, all of this being tied to occult links.
3)Alot of people describe your sound a black/death metal. But all I hear is uncompromising back hell. How much of a death metal influence plays a part in the band?
Death Metal is maybe more present in our music today than in the past. Today for example, I want a very massive sound, very powerful, to illustrate the power of the Heretic Fire contained within the Temple. A Fire that burns and destroys what is commonly labeled as Truth. We can't illustrate this with a crunchy Black Metal sound, it should be more massive. Also today we play with seven strings guitars so we have many tunes in B, which is lower than usual Black Metal bands, who tune to E or D. And we also often use techniques like palm muting, which is more a Thrash or Death guitar technique, we have many guitar leads… So yeah, there is indeed a Death Metal vibe in our music, you'll agree with me when you hear the album I think. We've never hidden the fact that we liked bands like Morbid Angel, Carcass, Incantation, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx… But of course the Black Metal part of our music is the foundation of it, and it is still pretty much present.
4)How important is the message in your music?
The message is of high importance… We wouldn't be playing Black Metal if it wasn't the case. The message is to be a Satan, an enemy to what "God" or "the Power" whatever it is, introduces to you as a Truth you have to believe in. It is not only a religious message, this philosophy is valid in every moment of your life. It is of high importance to stay awake and to use your critical sense, whenever someone comes up and tells you to listen how true he is with all his wonderful theories whatever they can be… You might be OK with some of them of course. But you should always try to analyze. Christian, Muslim and Jewish gods tell you to fear Darkness because Darkness forces you to open your eyes even more and to think differently, never forget this… Darkness leads to the awakening…
5)Continuing with the last question, do you feel that black metal is still a lifestyle? Or has it become just another form of extreme metal?
Generally speaking, it is not a lifestyle anymore. It's just something "cool" that has been submerged by trendy people and adolescents who look for their dose of musical-horror movie so to say. But a small part of us still know what it means and bear the torch, the cult is still alive but in different ways, maybe. When I started listening to Black Metal, only a few people actually knew about it. Things were totally different, maybe because it was new, but also because we took things very seriously. We also had to look for Cds and demos on mailorder lists, you just couldn't get Black Metal releases every now and then, so they had a kind of special, "magic" vibe, like something being accessible only to initiated people. Today, every teen can get the whole Black Legions discography with a few clicks on his computer mouse and brag about how evil he is on the internet… Bands publish pictures on the net before releasing a single note of music… All this didn't exist back then, we recorded our demo in a basement, copied the tapes ourselves, sent them with flyers etc, there was no MP3, no peer to peer, nothing like that ! So that's a fact, the feeling is not the same anymore, it cannot be, and it will never be created again. Those who lived those days know what I'm talking about, the others don't, it's as simple as that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that young people cannot perform Black Metal with dedication, nor do I despise the internet, it's pretty useful. The only bad thing is that among other factors, it brought Black Metal to some people who can't understand it, that's all…
6)You guys are a killer live band from what i've ben told. Is it hard for you guys to tour. Will there ever be a chance that fans in the us will get to witness your live onslaught?
We definitely would like to go and play in the US. We never had the chance because we never got the opportunity to work with a good organizer for such events. Though after the release of "Lightslaying Rituals" in 2009, we should go for a European tour for the first time, if all goes well. We definitely hope to do a US tour afterwards, time shall tell…
7)With all the members involved in other band, primarily Antares in Glorior Belli and you involved in Antaeus, how do you balance time between all these other bands? Is it hard to keep ideas separate and fresh?
I am not involved in Antaeus anymore, and it's been a long time, since I left them in 1996. Antares and Alastor play in Glorior Belli that's right, and Arkdaemon plays in Hell Militia. So far, there hasn't been any conflict with our schedules and everything has been working out perfectly. As for ideas, well it's ok, up to now I have composed most of the music for Temple Of Baal and had no other band to mix up with hehe… Alastor did write a few tunes for the next album though, but Temple Of Baal and Glorior Belli don't play exactly the same kind of Black Metal so there's no problem.
8)You began this band in 1998. How long before were you involved in the black metal scene? What got you into the music in the first place?
I had been playing in Antaeus around 95-96 before this. I had been into Metal for a long time. For Black Metal precisely it happened when a friend of mine lent me A Blaze In The Northern Sky, in 94-95 I don't remember exactly and it was exactly what I was looking for… I was at that time heavily into Satanic Death Metal, extreme Thrash, and had been also reading many books, searching for more and more serious occult experiences. There was a strong feeling back then and the cryptic atmosphere created by Darkthrone just totally fit with what I had in mind. When you get to hear the intro of this album, with those choirs and then the raspy, rusty sound of the band with these mad vocals… You just know something special's happening. This very night, I knew I was going to start a serious band one day or the other. It took time since the Temple was born in 98, but I guess things had to clear up in my mind before, I had to go through special experiences to get solid spiritual foundations for this Temple to be bold and strong…
9)In your opinion what is the current state of the black metal scene in France. Where in the world do you consider it the strongest?
I have lost interest with the scene to tell you the truth. I mean, with Black Metal bands. New bands just don't move me, I get bored after two minutes… So yeah I could tell you about the bands I keep on supporting and this hasn't changed through the years. Of course there is Glorior Belli and Hell Militia, who are both working on new albums, I think you know about Antaeus whose future looks kinda gloomy these days but I trust them to get back on track and create a new album… On a more Death Metal style, I highly recommend you Ritualization who are really fast, nervous and evil. Reminds me of some Angelcorpse vibes, really really promising. Where is the strongest scene… I really don't know, it changes from time to time.
10)What is in the future for Temple Of Baal for the rest of 2008 and for next year?
For the rest of the year we'll be working hard on our new tracks in order to be ready to enter the studio in February. Then, we shall record our new album "Lightslaying Rituals". And I hope that 2009 will see us touring all the way across Europe…
11)It has been a pleasure doing this with you. Any final thought or comments?
It's been a pleasure to answer. Check our myspace for updated infos : http://www. myspace. com/templeofbaal Raise the torch of Heresy and set their Truth afire ! AMSG
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