Interview with Funeral Goat(NL)

2009-10-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Interview with Ludas (ex-Sauron) Funeral Goat.

First a small introduction to this individual who was part of a cult, setting Dutch BM in the spotlights. Sharing the stage with bands like Carpathian Forest, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult,and Fluisterwoud. As main underground character of the Dutch BM underground scene he handled the drum duties for Sauron (RIP) and nowadays for Funeral Goat. Besides those two bands he also helps out some other bands/projects, namely Abysmal Darkening (Black/Doom)and Nemesis Industries which actually plays post-apocalyptic based Black/Industrial Metal.

Funeral Goat's debut 'Mass Of Perversion' will be released during this year. From what I can make out of the music its somehow a bit more primitive sounding then Sauron. Also with this we will go deeper into the subject and ask him why this choice of direction.

Hell-o Ludas.

Lets start from the beginning.When was it you decided to play BM in the first place. What were and still are your influences, and did the local scene had a impact on it as well.

Hell. It started about 15 years ago. My main influences were back than were bands like Metallica at first and acts like Mayhem and Dark Throne later.

Also the guy I played with for some years (Tim),he started a band and I joined in. We started with very simple trash like things. Actually lots of metal styles were played. But than Gehenna and Dark Throne were 2 new bands he discovered.

At first I didn’t really know what to think of it. He really liked it, I didn’t. Ironically nowadays Under a Funeral Moon is one of my favourite black metal and Dark Throne albums.

Before the story of Sauron started. Were you active in other bands as well?

I played in Melech. One of the names we used in that time, haha. That’s the band from me and the guy I mention above. My first band which switched names several times. Trash-black but nothing well played, hehe.

But nothing really happened till I got in contact with old friends and new people who started SauroN, somewhere in 1997. At first searching for a definite style which turned out to be aggressive and fast black metal. In 1999 the first demo was recorded and it started being serious. You know the rest.

SauroN was the first band which released serious material.

How started it you playing drums in the first place. And what other passions in music besides BM do you have? May it be from other favourite instruments till bands that inspires you.

Actually I started with an old friend and from there on. Drums interested me the most. And still do. It would be nice to play some guitar but this will never happen.

Since I miss one hand and trained drumming for several years,I’ll probably stick to this instrument.

Funeral Goat exists out of you and Herr AIDS. Both of you also were active in Sauron. Why did Sauron actually decided to split-up in the first place?The band really had a future lying ahead of them.

Especially with the latest album 'The Channeling Void'. Which actually got massive responses from the fans?! For how many years do you play drums already? And what equipment do you use?

It was going well, but we felt we did the best we could. People’s lives change and we didn’t do a lot of gigs. For some members this was enough and so we stopped. We played in the same line-up since the beginning and there was always this vibe if someone quits, we all quit. The Channeling Void indeed might be one of the best Dutch black metal albums ever. Maybe someday this will be recognized. Many reviewers and fans already did.

15-16 years now. I use Pearl mainly. Also Sabian, Zildjan, Wuhan and Paiste cymbals. I prefer Sabian though. And Wuhan china’s. There are now other china’s which sound as good as those. I still use Pearl Eliminator pedals. I tried AXIS, but didn’t buy them at the time.

To me it seems with this band your trying to head for a more primitive approach then in the time with Sauron. Any particular reason for it? Or did it just came natural for you both.

Funeral Goat just happened after Herr Aids and Nachtraaf recording some stuff on the computer. I got in for drums, Nachtraaf went on with Urfaust and now it’s us. It’s a very primitive approach. It just comes this way and yes it’s a natural thing. These are the first things we think when writing a song. And we do not re-arrange a lot. These are pure and simple songs.

How is the relationship with Carnal Records nowadays after Sauron decided to split-up?

It’s good. They were kind of shocked, but respect our decision. They did great work and I hope it keeps going well. We would certainly have done another album if they were interested. But we never talked about it, because SauroN stopped.

There has been a reunion gig of Sauron. How do you look back on that event?

No, we did a final show and that was the longest we ever did. Haha. It was a very satisfying end. There has not been a reunion. I don’t think there will be a show like that.

Are you still in contact with the other members, and which bands have they been active in since the demise of Sauron?

Yes. It’s not weekly anymore, but we know each other well. And every time it’s good to raise a glass.

Back to Funeral Goat. The debut lies not far ahead for release as we now speak. How do you think Sauron fans will respond to it?

I don’t even think they all know about Funeral Goat yet. I think most of them will like it, but on a very different way. It’s nothing like SauroN.

Are there any other recordings of Funeral Goat before ''Mass of Perversion'' and was it ever released. If so, where was it recorded?

Only rehearsels, no releases. The debut album is the first release. And we are very satisfied with it.

DWP did a great job with the artwork and it’s available now. We put some rehearsal tracks on myspace and audiostreet before this album. But now Mass Ov Perversion’s released we only post 2 tracks of this album on myspace.

Who is responsible for the music and for the lyrics. And what does the bands main source exist out bringing forth such an album. How important are the lyrics for the band, and about what sort of subjects do they handle?

Herr Aids writes all riffs and lyrics and we are arrange them together. The lyrics are short and satanic and inspired by old school death and black metal bands and ancient religious writings.

Who was it creating the artwork for ''Mass Of Perversion'', And do we know the artist from other works as well?

The goat is drawn by Manuel Tinnemans who also drawn for acts like Pentacle, Bunkur, SauroN, Urfaust, Scythian, Fluisterwoud, Flesh made Sin and more. Actually it’s a 1994 drawing, haha. We knew he had this and this was the first drawing we thought about when we talked about cover artwork for Funeral Goat. It’s perfect!

I have seen a live video on Youtube from the band.Too me it seemed like a very successful evening.
Where did the gig took place, and was it the first show ever in this line-up?

It was at the Little Devil, Tilburg. It was one of the first few shows and it was ok. It was a try-out. I don’t even know which band played that night. There were about 50 persons. We did better gigs after this.

Performing with only 2 members live on stage. How does it work out for you both and will there be more members involved in Funeral Goat in the near future?

No, I don’t think so. We play with 2 members on stage and it’s perfect. We produce more noise than most 4 or 5 person bands and our songs are played perfect this way. Herr AIDS is tuned a little lower, so you do not miss any basslines.

Can you tell us a bit about your other bands Abysmal Darkening and Nemesis Industries? When did they come alive. Who are active behind both bands, and what has been released so far?

Abysmal is doom. The progress of the project is very doom too. But we have some great songs now. Nemesis is a project from Dimensional Psychosis (ex) members. We did recorded vokills for an album, which still has to be finished and released. It’s awesome industrial black metal. We plan to record something with Abysmal Darkening later this year. But this could just as easy become next year.

Is there any chance to see one of those bands also performing live on stage someday?

We do play with Funeral Goat. Abysmal in the near future. Nemesis is a studio, industrial project. No live shows I think. The album’s not even finished after 3 years, hehe.We are looking for gigs with Funeral Goat, but the amount of good black metal shows is low now, unfortunately. We have a gig with Mayhem (15-11, Little Devil, Tilburg), which is great of course. But this is the only confirmed gig we got left. Hopefully some more will follow soon. We’d also like to do more shows in Belgium and Germany.

Besides you is Herr AIDS also active in other bands/projects not mentioned?

Planet AIDS, Zelfhaat, Libris Ne Sanctus, XanaxaxaX and Abysmal Darkening are all active and non-active projects Herr AIDS worked on. I might forget something, hehe. He also works on another doom project.

What is the release date for the up-coming album and through which label will it come out?

Funeral Goat, Mass Ov Perversion is out now. Daemon Worship Productions from Russia released it. www.daemonworship.org .Check 2 songs on www.myspace.com/funeralgoat There’s also order information online there.

Where can people go and maintain a copy of the album?

Order info is on our site. You can also order at our label of course.I actually don’t know all distributors who sell our album. Also these shops have it:

http://www.shophellsheadbangers.com/item.asp?cID=0&PID=13154 and http://www.theomegaorder.com/s.nl/it.A/id.26765/.f

How does it go in its work when setting up a setlist for a up-coming gig? Are there songs who are written, but never will be heard on stage?

We now play our album with some changes depending on the lyrics. Some songs are harder to sing, so we arrange on that factor. But we just play the whole album now. Except ‘Conjuration’. This song is very slow and since we have a fast vibe on stage, this song’s always performed shit.

When and where can we see Funeral Goat perform live on stage in the near future?

Only confirmed gig now is with Mayhem on 15-11-2009, Little Devil, Tilburg. Dynamo is not confirmed yet.

Thanks alot for your time doing this interview with me, And good luck with the release of the album! :-)

Cheers to you.

Final words are for you Ludas ...

All hail the goat ov perversion!

http://www.myspace.com/funeralgoat

http://www.myspace.com/abysmaldarkening

http://www.myspace.com/nemesisindustries

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Interview with Funeral Goat(NL)