Aegrus - Finland's most impactful black metal band as of late and true champions of the Satanic way are so much more than your traditional or typical "Satanic" black metal outfit. For Aegrus, Satanism and Devil worship are a substantial part of life; one for which they've sold theirs souls… And the music created by what I consider to be the cream of the contemporary Finnish black metal circuit is of the most freeing and transcendental consortium. Self-development and the channeling of outer forces through self being the main catalysts to their scene-dominating scourge. During my latest interview, Darkseer Inculta and Lux Tenebris give us some insight into their relationship with Satan/Lucifer, their creative process, thoughts on the current & past scenes and of course their album, "Invoking The Abysmal Night".

Jeger

Aegrus operates with a full lineup of musicians as opposed to the billions of soloists and duos out there in the black metal world. Consequently, I feel like it's important for the band dynamic to be restored within the genre. Furthermore, I feel like anything that challenges a musician gets tossed out the window these days. What has been the value of the band dynamic for Aegrus?

Darkseer Inculta: "In Manus Satanas" was the first release we did as a whole band together. Until that, we operated as a duo excluding a couple of demos and one EP in the beginning. That worked fine in itself, but since we play all rehearsals and live shows with a complete line-up, there wasn't really a reason to not do the same with recordings, as well. In my opinion, it has brought more dynamic and variation to our sound & style. Serpentifer is also a much more talented and able drummer than me.

Your latest album "Invoking The Abysmal Night" is a bit more experimental compared to 2019's "In Manus Satanas", particularly with tracks like 'Nocturnal Rites Of Faust' that crossover genres. What inspired you to take more risks with this one?

Lux Tenebris: There's more variation in that album than ever before, but everything came naturally or transcendentally if you will. I always reflect inner and outer influences to my music, be it my inner emotion, the twilight breath of Satan or just adaptation of something musically impressive that got me under its spell.

When it comes to 'Nocturnal Rites Of Faust', I listen to other music genres than black metal too, so my musical influences come from everywhere and can show up emanating like this.

Also, clean guitars and solos aren't exactly new territory for us since we have played those parts many times before, but maybe it stands out more discernibly this time.

What was the songwriting/recording process like for the new material?

DsI: There wasn't anything different this time around compared to any of our past releases. Lux Tenebris composed all the music while I wrote most of the lyrics. That has been our way of creating music since the very beginning. Final arrangements are made in our rehearsal chamber as a whole band together when the songs are finished. We have always recorded everything by ourselves. That way we can work at our own pace without any hurry or pressure.

What are your plans as far as live rituals following its release?

LT: Week after the release of "Invoking The Abysmal Night" we had a release event in Finland, in which Ruttokosmos, Vornat and AntimateriA (in which I play too) participated. All bands are from the same region as we are originally, so that was a special event worth checking. Next spring, our first Central European show is to happen in Switzerland in Black Hole Fest V with Gorgoroth and Sargeist among others. It would be great to add some other gigs along that trip, for example in Germany, in Belgium or in France but let's see what happens.

As with most genuine black metal bands, Aegrus' creative well runs deep and beyond the musical aspect of things. It's said that self-development and transcendental knowledge are driving forces behind the band as a whole. Are these disciplines and epiphanies sought out through the practice of Satanism?

LT: Satanism and Devil worship are the foundation of my life, my philosophy and naturally Aegrus is deeply bound with my life. The things mentioned by you are reflecting my goals in life in which self development is the constant driving force and transcendental knowledge is the higher state to aim for.

DsI: Partly yes, partly no. Although Satanism, or rather I'd say Devil worship is a huge part of me, some of it was already rooted in me back in the day before I could even identify what all of this really is and what it means. Over the years I've developed my own interpretations of what that whole concept is for me personally and how it is affecting my life and the way I feel/see things. When it comes to self-development, that should be a part of every living creature in general. To learn, to evolve. Not just being limited to being a part of Satanism.

The lines between what separate Satanism and Luciferianism seem to be converging within the realm of black metal. These days, more and more artists are creating material that's inspired by the illumination of Lucifer as opposed to how the genre was originally formed with Devil worship being the main influence. How important has Lucifer been to the band's creative process?

LT: As a spiritual person I see Satan and Lucifer as the same entity, only looked at from a different point of view. Devil worship goes hand in hand with Luciferian illumination and the force called Satan/Lucifer is the real God: keeper of real knowledge hidden behind the curtains of darkness only available for those who have the will strong enough to discover it. I'm lucky enough that I've found inner peace with HIM and I strongly feel we are now living in symbiosis. I am gaining unspeakable things from HIM and giving no less than my soul for exchange. So naturally, Lucifer plays a big part in our lives, and that being said, in the creativeness of the band.

DsI: As Lux Tenebris already described it quite comprehensively, Satan/Lucifer are basically the same coin with different sides. Each of them represents different aspects of Devil worship to me as the other is more related to primal instincts, feelings etc. while the other being more involved with spiritual ways, knowledge, self-development and so on. Can't really put everything into words, but I think you get the idea.

Has any of Aegrus' music been inspired by ritual?

LT: Not by ritual since ritual has all an all different character than composing songs, but definitely inspired by constant outer powers filtered through my body.

I was once told in one of my interviews that Satanism cannot be commercialized. There was sound reasoning behind this, but it seems like that's exactly what some mainstream bands are doing - cashing in on Satanic principles and concepts. Take away the Satanic elements of some of these bands and they would have little else to sell. How do you feel about the use of Satanic imagery, concepts and philosophies as a means to sell records?

DsI: This is one of those topics that I don't really care about. I guess if money and fame comes through your own creations, and music you have poured into your heart & soul, blood & sweat, then it comes. But for us, fame and fat wallets have never been the goal. As cliche as it sounds, first and foremost, we do this for ourselves. We have sold our souls to Satan…

LT: Satanism was already commercialized by LaVey during the 60's, so it has been done long time ago. If someone does this kind of successful music with his whole heart, I guess then it's fine, but of course there are lots of these trolls and posers who are making "Satanic" music only because they get money from it and it's cool to be evil in the eyes of the majority. I generally tend to ignore those kinds of people since they are too shallow and lack the perspective that I seek from the others who I'm voluntarily dealing with. Honest and genuine persons are the ones who earn my time and respect, no matter the subject. Life is too short to care about everyone or everything.

Aegrus formed years after the "Dark War" that took place in the 90's between Finnish and Norwegian hordes. From your perspective, is that competitive flair still alive between the two scenes?

DsI: No. Such thing doesn't exist anymore, or at least I'm unaware if it does. Not that I really even care about that nonsense.

LT: It was around 30 years ago, so that era has been buried in the past. I think it was mainly VV who sent death threat letters to Mika Luttinen from Impaled Nazarene. Actually Mika with his brother Kimmo got tens of the same kinds of letters from France too. Namely, it was Vlad Tepes guys along with Mutiilation who sent letters to them and also to Osmose they did send dead rats among others, haha. But that's part of the juvenile past of Black Metal and today Finnish and Norwegian Black Metal scenes are really vital on their own.

What's the most valuable thing you've learned about yourself through self-development and how have you applied it to Aegrus?

DsI: That's quite hard to answer because I believe many things happen naturally and unconsciously without thinking about it too much. These are much easier to notice in real life situations rather than how I make music, but at least our lyrics have become more thoughtful and deep throughout the years.

LT: I can't say only one thing, it's too hard. The process is going on all the time. At this moment I feel I am the best version of me. I feel inner peace, I am stronger than ever and I feel I've gained deeper understanding of the essence of this absolute. Time will tell how it translates into Aegrus.

Do you have a message for the horde?

DsI: Check our new album when it comes out and possible gigs/other related news of Aegrus. Hail Satan!

LT: Open your mind and soul for the obscure. That way you can reach to the next level and beyond.

They are the leaders when it comes to symphonic albums nowadays. Can't think of any other band that would have such well-matched classical element with metal element. This perfect combination has been recorded live this year in Mexico and I'm sure all fans are as anxious as me to see it. I've had the opportunity to see how it all works live and putting all orchestrations in the same line as the rest of instruments from the band is a fantastic idea. It was an amazing experience and the band gave a fantastic stage performance with Spiros maintaining the contact with the audience at all times and Psychon filling in for Sotiris. Impressive drumming from Krimh and obviously fantastic guitar lines provided by Christos. Also, the setlist was varied, I've heard tracks from "Communion", from "The Great Mass" from "Titan" and obviously most of them were from "Codex Omega". I've been very lucky to spend some time talking to Christos, the main composer in the band, before the show, enjoying sunny weather and sitting outside Proxima club in Warsaw.

Maciek

So, first of all, thank you very much for your time, Christos. How are you feeling after your first show played in Poland on this tour?

Great. Amazing show. It was a bit hot, but was great show, great crowd, great energy, amazing.

How would you summarize your European tour so far?

It's going well, it's a long tour, 7-week-long tour. Now we're on our last 3 weeks. It's tough, but sometimes you have to do some things in order to promote the album. It's going great, good conditions, and when you have good conditions it helps you a lot in tours that are that long.

And after this show how many shows you've got left?

I think we have 18 shows after that. Out of 45. It's nearly at the end.

OK. Now it's an interesting line-up: Septicflesh, Diabolical, Krisiun and Science of Disorder. How did you come up with this?

It was an idea coming from the agency. We don't have much say in who we would like on this tour, we can say if we have some ideas. Krisiun are great guys, we already played a tour with them in the US. Diabolical, I didn't know them before, but great guys, too. It's a good package.

Yes, and different types of music as well.

Yes, it's good to have a variety in the package.

And what setlist have you prepared for this tour?

You know, we aim more for Codex Omega, it's still Codex Omega promotion cycle.

How are you dealing with the orchestrations when on this tour?

Well, we have orchestra playing through the laptop. There's no other way. It's quite obvious, as you can't have the whole orchestra going with you. And I don't think keyboards would be able to reproduce the sound of an orchestra.

Do you have any special line-up, any extra people to help you on tour?

Yes, we're 8-people band, including a crew. The band is still 4 members on stage.

What kind of characterization have you got prepared for tonight's show? I remember you saying in one of the interviews that your costumes are quite heavy and it's getting hot inside...

Yes, I don't know how the ventilation works tonight, but yes, it looks OK. But I'll let you know after the show. (he didn't, by the way - M.)

Do you prepare anything else, apart from your costumes? Is there anything like pyrotechnics or anything like that?

No, unfortunately we can't have any pyrotechnics. But we'll have some geysers (foggers), actually we had four of them, one broke and we'll have to use only two tonight.

Now I'd like to ask about something that is probably big for every band. You have just reached the stage of your career when you suddenly take on a big project. And you have just realized that project in Mexico, your symphonic concert.

Well, it was for sure our biggest achievement, it was a very hectic project, a lot of people involved, you have to be really organized, really focused in order to overpass any difficulties that can appear. But it was a great show, for sure it was our best live experience, until the next one.

Have you ever thought of taking live orchestra to your live shows?

Till now we had only this one in Mexico City. But you never know what will happen next. We might do more shows. You never know.

And after finishing the recording stage, how long does it take before it's released?

It depends. I think after the mix, recordings can take roughly around 6 months.

So, you're planning to release it this year?

We aim for release in 2020, but I don't know when exactly.

How long did you have that kind of idea of recording such show? Septicflesh were using orchestrations for quite a while now.

Since Communion we use real orchestra, and we always had this dream to perform with a symphonic orchestra. We did it and, as I said, we hope that more of that will come.

Are you the person who has the final say when it comes to all arrangements or how it looks like on live shows?

No, we are 3 people that are composers, main composers, at this show it's only me and my brother because Sotiris couldn't come with us. But it's a teamwork.

So, the fact that you are most educated in that field does not make you the main decision maker?

No, my brother is also educated in fine arts, I am educated in classical music.

Do you use that knowledge in your composing, especially at the start?

Of course, if you need to orchestrate you need to know how to orchestrate. You need studies.

How is it when you work in the studio, recording the album? Do you also work on how other musicians express the lines?

I give them specific details and guide on how to interpret the melody line. It's something normal for classical music, you always have the composer giving the guidelines to musicians in order for them to follow the score and reproduce it, in terms of dynamics, color, texture, everything.

Is the band involved in the final mix, the final mastering and what is the final sound reached on the album?

Of course, Jens Bogren did the last album and he's going to do again the new album. He is an amazing producer, but he has to follow some of our ideas, on how we want to sound, how Septicflesh should sound. 

I've recently seen you showing off your ROLI Seaboard. Is it an instrument used to compose or record your keyboard parts?

This especially is very useful when you compose. Of course, can be used for recording, too. It has many possibilities and many ways to express my music using this ROLI keyboard, it has unique glissado effect, you can make a line become alive, in a way. It's very useful.

You've mentioned who will be producing your next album and from what I've checked you have been mentioning new material being written since 2018. At what stage are the new songs now?

Well, we have some ideas, but because we have some tours that stopped our composition progress, it's too early to mention anything. But we have been in the studio, we're going to do it again in the summer, we'll give all of our best, our best efforts to create something that will satisfy our band.

You mentioned many times taking inspiration from Greek history. What will be the subject of your next album?

You know, so many bands take many Greek elements, because the Greek history is very rich. It is something that we should do, too, it is in our veins. Sotiris is in charge of lyrics, he mostly covers themes and subjects varying from Egyptian mythology through Greek mythology, Greek history, Lovecraft and many other ideas. I don't know what will be next, he's the person you should ask. I think it will be in the same pattern in a way, we're more into this kind of lyrics, instead of attacking Christianity. Attacking Christianity is kind of a trend right now, and basically always was. For me it doesn't say anything.

When creating songs, do you usually compose them in the same order that they end up on the album? 

You always have to change, in order to please your ear. Because the final judge will be your ear. It involves a lot of changes to achieve that, it's a long process, sometimes you have to change even 90% of the song that you had in the beginning. But it's how it is, it's the beauty of the composition, in a way.

You also mentioned at some point your dream to create your own opera. How is this project progressing so far?

Well, I have done some work, I might do a concert work in 2021, but I don't have time. Maybe in future I can do something, like an opera or something similar. I try whenever I have free time to compose for my concert works, but it's not easy. It is a totally different world, and it even needs more effort.

Do you do anything else outside Septicflesh at the moment? Any update from Chaostar camp?

Chaostar released an album a year ago, at the moment they are "on the ice", because there's no time. At the moment my main focus is on Septicflesh.

What are the nearest plans for Septicflesh?

The Codex Omega tour cycle is nearly at the end. We might tour in Russia soon, I don't know for sure, but we'll also do some festivals, like Wacken, some others, but not a lot because we have to compose. We will use the summertime to mainly compose new material.

OK, good to know, will keep fingers crossed to hear some of that soon. Any last shout out to the fans?

I would like to thank all of our fans in Poland that have supported the band throughout all of these years and we'll always do our best to not disappoint them.

Thank you very much again and see you on the show.

Thank you, see you there. 

P.S. Huge thanks to Kelly Liza Cronje for support and question ideas.