New SVOLDER Interview June 2019

As the PC scene police and cry babies everywhere have been increasingly loud about, Anti Christian and Satanic lyrics and aesthetics are perfectly fine in Black Metal, but attacking Islam or Judaism in a similar fashion is TOTALLY reprehensible. One band to piss in the face of this idea is Canada's SVOLDER. The band's 2014 debut LP, "Desecration of the Five Holy Pillars" was one hell of a first album, packed with killer riffs and excellent songwriting. That album was also a massive fist in the face of Allah, and a "fuck you" to anyone trying to tame Black Metal's inherently hateful nature. Since then the band was part of a 4 way split in  2017 with A.M.S.G., HOSTIUM, & ARROGANCE that was also a beast of an album. However, other than the 2 tracks on that split the band has been pretty quiet for a while, so what better time to hear from guitarist/frontman/songwriter, The Prophet Muhammad, than right now. Sadly, we're about a week late from publishing this on the final day of Ramadan.
Gaping Throats now proudly presents our interview with The Prophet Muhammad of  SVOLDER...

Gaping Throats: What's up with SVOLDER these days? The first album was killer and you followed up with your portion of the 4 way split with HOSTIUM, A.M.S.G. and ARROGANCE. New full length perhaps?

The Prophet Muhammad: Yeah. We just finished recording it actually. It's in the mixing stage now. Theres about fifteen hundred miles between me and the other band members, so organizing ourselves and finding the time to do this has been a struggle. 

GT: Do you guys have a title for the new album yet?

TPM:  SHAHADA is what we have been calling it for 4 to 5 years now. Almost every song that was written around the time of that name's first usage has been purged from the repertoire. There was probably enough material for an entire album, but not a very good one. I think the name will stick, even though it primarily describes the A Side, which we've been referring to for a while now as "side Camel".

GT: In the past, you've worked with Totenkopf Propaganda, Iron Bonehead, and Darker Than Black. Do you guys have a label behind this one, or do you guys plan to self release it?

TPM: We have a label lined up - I can't remember if I'm allowed to announce it right now.

GT: Do you have an intended release date at this point, or a general idea of when fans can expect it to become available?

TPM: There's no deadlines and no set release date, but judging by where things are currently, a 2019 release is possible - probable even.

GT: The first album was released on cassette, CD, digital, and vinyl, and then the 4 way split was vinyl only, I believe. Do you hope or plan to have the new album available on all those formats as well? Do you have a preferred format, as an artist or as a fan? 

TPM: It'll eventually be available on all formats. Vinyl and CD are first priority and are what we have agreed to with the label. I'll find somewhere to post the digital files, even if it is a series of bandcamp burner accounts - it really is ridiculous that I have to do that.

My preferred format is a WAV or FLAC file, which is lossless audio and doesn't hiss, pop or require flipping. I know it is soulless compared to analog, but I'm not interested in listening to the device I'm listening to music on or performing a precise and elaborate ritual to make the music play. CDs would be my preference, but they scratch up too easily and I never put them back in the right case. High agency Aryan right here, I know...

GT: Is the lineup still the same, you guys still a 3 piece?

TPM: We're still a three-piece band, but we have a new drummer on the upcoming release. Our first drummer was an absolute machine behind the kit, but ideologically not on the same page. It would not have been right for him to continue with us, given the direction this band was / is heading. As far as I know, there is no bad blood.

GT: Any live shows or touring plans in mind once the new album is released? Are you a fan of playing live?

TPM: The "Please Bomb These Bars" tour of 2020. No - until there are reliable venues for us to play, such a thing isn't even on the table. We would, however, consider playing a festival like Asgardsrei or Hot Shower if the logistics and scheduling worked out. Nothing is planned at the moment.

GT: In the past, there hasn't been a lot of SVOLDER merch available. I believe Behold Barbarity did a small run of shirts at one time, and maybe there were some patches? Any plans to make shirts, patches, etc more available to fans who would like to rep the band?

TPM: Behold Barbarity did some shirts a few years ago on a very limited run... With things picking up again, it is about time to get more printed of that design as well as a new one, once we have decided on the album art for album #2. Thanks for the reminder.

GT: With regards to the band in general, but also specifically with a new record and possible merch coming do you think you guys will be setting up an online site for the band with a merch store and such or would you prefer to move stuff via distros and such as you've largely done in the past?

TPM: The labels and distros do a much better job than I ever could, without devoting myself to it properly, anyway.  We could conceivably set up a website in the future, but I'm not sure what purpose it would serve. I've always liked the idea of offering the songs for free online, so I suppose it could be used for that, now that Bandcamp has given us the axe. I'll see if the other guys care to endeavour into the world of sales, which I personally have zero interest in.

GT: So far the band's output has been solely dedicated to pissing on Islam. I assume this will continue to be the band's primary focus lyrically and thematically. What made you decide to take that route? Antichristian BM has become too passe or do you feel Islam is a bigger threat at the moment?

TPM: A wise man one said that "...a man should not engage in public political activity before his thirtieth year. He should not do so, because up to this time, as a rule, he is engaged in molding a general platform, on the basis of which he proceeds to examine the various political problems and finally establishes his own position on them."

Truly, I did not have a good understanding of the political battle that exists beneath the facade "blue vs red" pseudo-democracy when I wrote "Desecration of the Five Holy Pillars". It was an honest and guttural response to watching my culture being washed away and replaced under the red banner of "strength of diversity". It is not natural to live in this environment.

None of these foreigners have the intelligence, the coordination, or the resources to invade Western lands like this. They are pawns of the diaspora - an effective method of creating disharmony, destroying social cohesion and removing our ability to effectively control our own nations. The aristocracies of Europe are completely destroyed and the last small hurdle for the Zionists is to exploit the framework of democracy. Does anybody believe that all Western borders just magically opened, simultaneously, for these ragged savages? For the lightbulb-headed Somalis to come in and abuse the social systems? To loiter in the parks and public squares, selling drugs to children and sexually assaulting our European women? Of course not.

For this reason, it is impossible for Svolder to continue on a purely Anti-Islam path. It is more of a two-headed dog now and two heads is enough; regarding your question on Anti-Christianity. Historically, "Anti-Christ" has always been a Jewish thing, so I assume that behind the scary Satanic stagenames of half of these E-minor-all-album black metal bands, we will find bergs, baums, and steins. No surprise that half of them have the holy number 6 inscribed all over their logos and album art. I won't be doing the tribe's dirty work for them by engaging as an anti-Christ.

GT: Another interesting thing to me about SVOLDER vs some other bands that are anti Islamic, your lyrics are exceptionally well done and show a great deal of knowledge on Islam, its tenets, its history, the ideology, etc, where as some bands just come with variations of "fuck islam". Were you already pretty well read or studied on the subject prior to starting the band or was it something once you committed to the concept of the band you had to do more to "know your enemy", so to speak?

TPM: They don't teach you about the Qur'an, the Hadith, or the history behind the Shia Sunni split on Game of Thrones. I'm only well-read in Islam if compared to your average westerner who knows nothing about anything. Even when they do read a book it is storytime hour with some gay author (who always has a pozzed narrative in the sub-text) that allows them to continue their escape into fairytale land. To fully know and understand this tribe and religion, you would have to be raised in it and live by its laws. I'm honestly quite sick of reading about it, though it is interesting sometimes.

To answer your question though, I had music written for a while but no lyrics to go with it. As I read into Islam, for interest's sake, the two melded together in an organic way. I ditched a lot of the older music and wrote new material with that "middle eastern" sound, which many attribute to GBK, and they are not totally wrong in saying that.

GT: I'm sure you guys have dealt with some backlash from PC folks and hardline leftists, so what's your take on their seemingly growing presence in the Extreme Metal scene?

TPM: Are they present in the extreme metal scene? Or do they exist on the fringes yet receive all of the attention? Every time one of these anti-fascists weaklings makes a record it sounds contrived. It sounds like objectively untalented diarrhea shit. Of course, it gets all the praise for "fighting the good fight against fascists" with absolutely no criticism from these (((journalists))) for how utterly derivative and shitty it is.

When I was more naive, I thought that maybe this spineless metal scene would actually have the balls to tell these infiltrators with their age old tactics to get the fuck out of here. But no - It has been apology this and forgive me that, by "career musicians" who want to tour the world until they die and stand for nothing while they do it.

I have never had any issues with ANTIFA or PC idiots because I have never apologized or tried to prove that I am not a racist. This is the weakness which many people have and which the left knows how to exploit. All the words that they call me, I am. Now what? I understand that in Europe, they are more coordinated and more willing to engage in violence, but these people are not strong. 3 Nazis could take out 30 ANTIFA any day.

GT: Aside from SJWs, have you guys had any backlash, threats, etc from actual Muslims? As we have seen in recent years, Muslims often dont take criticism particularly well, and often murder or at least threaten to murder people who criticize them. Especially so when they feel Allah is being mocked. Have you dealt with that at all?

TPM: Nothing. The worst was when one referred to us as "Satanic", which I personally felt was very insulting. Since leaving Toronto, I no longer have much interaction with these dark-coloured folk unless I need to take a taxi cab somewhere, so the worst I might get is an e-threat. The other members in Svolder would be more likely to see acid flung in their faces or come home after work and find their house pets sodomized to death.

GT: SVOLDER and some other bands that espouse anti Islam or other views offensive to PC folks are often lumped in with NSBM, despite not actually promoting National Socialism. Do you think these bands that express so called "intolerance" should be grouped together in this fashion or do you think they should remain more distinct?

TPM: Speaking poorly of Islam is hardly a deviation from the status quo. I don't think that being anti-Islam connects you in any way with National Socialism. It's mostly to the contrary, actually. There were Muslims who fought alongside Hitler, even.

After this interview / album there is not a chance of us not having the NSBM tag associated with our name and I embrace it, despite finding it redundant. Black Metal has this ideology at its core. NSBM should just be called Black Metal. Whatever Cascadian hipster poofsterisms came afterwards should get their own titles, like "Pink Black Metal" or "Only-Sounds-Like Black Metal".

GT: Aside from the growing contingent in Metal, there has been much more push from the left in society and politics in general recently. What's your take on the political and social landscape in Canada?

TPM: 150 years and we are already referring to ourselves as a post-nation. It sure looks to be over. How on Earth could a country rack up so much debt in such a short period of time.. Hmm...

At this point, the chaos of this nonsensical equality babble, which Canada is at the forefront of, is manifesting itself in hilarious ways. If you want to remain sane, all you can do is laugh at this circus of non-offending paedophiles, transexual book clubs for children, disgusting fat intersectional feminists with purple hair, the massive rise of diagnosed mental disorders and their respective medications (international drug dealer industry), the hormone replacement therapy for transexual children, men competing as women in sports, or whatever other diabolical cancers our country promotes as holy in this new age religion. As a sidenote - If I were an edgy Satanist black metal retard, I would be singing the praises of these abominations instead of drawing women getting fisted by goats. You guys are really dropping the ball.

I don't have much to say on our national politics as I don't vote and don't follow the petty turf wars of orange vs blue vs red. The modern incarnation of the conservative party would have been seen as far left extremists in the political landscapes of yore. Fuck them. If you vote for them, you are part of the problem.

GT: What's your take on BM in general these days, both in Canada, as well as world wide?

TPM: I hardly follow it. The other members could give you a better response. I read in your other interview that Arghoslent may have some new material, so there is finally something to be excited about.

GT: Do you have any other current projects/bands that people should be aware of? I know you had INTOLERANCE, is that still active?

TPM: Intolerance has no plans at the moment. It may resurface one day. There is one other project occupying much of my time.

GT: Thanks for taking the time to do this, any last words, statements, etc? The space is yours...

TPM: Sure thing.. There's a reason that Henry Ford paid to have 500,000 copies of "The Protocols of The Learned Elders of Zion" printed and distributed in the United States. It is not a forgery. It is only 45 pages long. Read it or listen to the audio book.


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All Rights Reserved, Gaping Throats 2019

GRAND BELIAL'S KEY & ARGHOSLENT Interview

In the first work for Gaping Throats, we sit down for an in depth interview with Gelal, founding guitarist, and songwriter for legendary U.S. Black Metal hooligans, GRAND BELIAL'S KEY. He also happens to be a founding member, guitarist and songwriter in controversial U.S. Death Metal marauders, ARGHOSLENT, where he plays under the moniker Pogrom. For the uninitiated, GRAND BELIAL'S KEY is one of the most important and controversial U.S. Black Metal bands of all time. The band's sound is wholly iconic, and unlike a large portion of other USBM bands founded in the early 90's, and BM bands in general, GBK developed a sound and aesthetic all its own, rather than aping the sound and look of Norwegian bands like DARKTHRONE, BURZUM, IMMORTAL, etc.

Meanwhile, ARGHOSLENT is a Death Metal band from the U.S that is also completely one of a kind. The group's riffcentric approach and exceptional songwriting has garnered the band a dedicated contingent of fans within the Extreme Metal Underground, while the band's choice of lyrics and topics have long been a major source of controversy. What follows is the complete and unabridged interview.

GAPING THROATS: What's the status of GBK currently, with regards to line up, potential live shows and new recordings?

GELAL: Line up remains the same as of 2009 or whenever we played that festival in Leito , Finland .  Demonic (bass), Ulfhedinn (drums), Unhold (vocals), and myself on guitar.  Live shows will resume once something new is released.  California, Texas, Illinois, and New England are on the horizon at the moment.  We turned down this big festival in Finland (I think it’s called STEELFEST OPEN AIR) because we rather not play with an openly homosexual band.  It is unacceptable in every way, shape, or form.  It is completely lamentable for such a thing to occur.  

GAPING THROATS: I had heard a rumor online that you guys had most of a new album recorded other than the vocals? If that is the case do you have label lined up or would you guess self release it?

GELAL: Did you read that in “The Enquirer” or “The Sun” or perhaps in Oprah Winfrey’s Sunday morning blog?  If anything is done it will be on W.T.C. ( Germany ) so in a way it is almost self-released.

GAPING THROATS: If that is the case and you guys are working on new material, lyrically and thematically, do you think it will be a continuation of your assault on Christianity and Judaism, or given the state of the world, is there any possibility of including the 3rd weed of the same root, Islam?

GELAL: Islam is not a new venom to the world.  Pagan Europe was annihilated by Christianity, not by Islam.  The Muslim threat is territorial not ideological at this point.  It matters not to me what other peoples’ belief system may be, especially if they’re not related to our genus.  Against Islam I have to side with Christianity, unfortunately.

GAPING THROATS: As far as live shows go, do you guys anticipate problems with booking or actual performances given the increasing amount of interference from groups like Antifa?

GELAL: No.  Like Flavor Flav used to say ‘Don’t believe the hype’.

GAPING THROATS: You guys have been a fairly controversial band even in the Black Metal world for over 2 decades so you guys have been subject to boycotts and attacks for years, given that what's your take on attacks from certain sites and groups on bands, these days, where it seems that anything these groups don't like is a reason to try to get them publicly destroyed, shows cancelled, etc. It seems that that more and more bands are facing problems like these, even bands with no political agenda simply because they once played a show with a band that might be NSBM or they  put out a split that was carried by a label that also carries NS bands?

GELAL: It’s good for all these fence sitter and apologetic bands to get a taste of their own medicine.  Let everything get banned and make the underground real again by letting is disappear into the gutters like it used to be.  It is mind-boggling to me that there’s such a thing as the Swedish Grammy’s for black metal.  Can this shit get more retarded?  The liberal fags are taking over without any opposition much like the Sharia Law is invading the West with no Gentile response.

GAPING THROATS: How do you see all this playing out in society in general but also within Black Metal and Extreme Metal? Do you think bands will walk on egg shells for fear of offending someone or do you think we may begin to see more and more backlash against this kind of thing? Perhaps even driving many people who historically have been slightly more liberal back towards the right?

GELAL: Fuck all bands and labels, and the whole scene in general has sucked ass since the early 90’s, with %75 of the culpability from labels that released shit bands only to trade cd’s cheaply.  What backlash could any of this have when there are no wolves to counterattack anything?  This is the era of the twitter black metal vaginas.

GAPING THROATS: Obviously as these things have become increasingly common in the Metal scene, it's just a continuation of what's going on in society at large. Are you politically active? What's your take on some of this culture war stuff going on? What's your opinion on Trump? And how different do you think things would be at the moment had Clinton won the election?

GELAL: Well, the metal scene is completely non-important to any of us.  I am more interested in what the weather will be like in Zimbabwe this week than what happens in the black glam rock metal funderground.

GAPING THROATS: Are there any current or newer bands or artists that you're particularly fond of or Impressed by these days, Metal or otherwise?

GELAL: BRONSON (ITA), TERRORSPHÄRA (GER), YOU MUST MURDER (RUS), BUJAK (POL).

GAPING THROATS: The most recent release from the GBK was the reissue of the 2 demos, "Goat Of A Thousand Young" and "Triumph Of The Hordes", were you guys happy with the way that release turned out? I'd read somewhere that that largely came about as a result of you seeing the demos still being in demand by fans and not wanting bootleggers to put out a shitty version of them and make money off your name, was that indeed the case?

GELAL: We are very satisfied with the way this release came to be.  And, yes it is true that we tried to put an end to bootlegging skunks releasing unauthorized items.  There are at least 2 different fake versions of this shit out there.

GAPING THROATS: With the demo reissue, have you even considered doing perhaps a compilation of GBK's non album material that is all long out of print? I know some fans prefer the earlier 7" versions of some of the songs that ended up on "Kosherat" as they are partial to Cazz's vocals. Along the same lines, do you have any unused material that remains unreleased that could potentially see release one day, from the very early days, the Cazz era, or the era with Richard on vocals?

GELAL: Sure, it has been considered.  Actually, a re-mastered “A WITNESS TO THE REGICIDE” is being released again on vinyl by W.T.C but this time with the entire recording.  The original 7”ep only had 2 songs out of 4 because it wouldn't fit.  I don’t think there are any unreleased songs other than covers we’ve done in the past like MOTLEY CRUE’S “Live Wire”, SKREWDRIVER “Unbeliever”, and an old HELLHAMMER and BATHORY cover.

GAPING THROATS: Had Richard not died, do you think the band would have remained active and he would still be fronting the band or do you think you guys would have taken a break again regardless?

GELAL: That is hard to say.  We don’t really take breaks.  It appears so because we release albums many years apart from each other and are not constantly touring or involved on a day-to-day basis.  This is not a career for us.  We have real lives outside of this bullshit.

GAPING THROATS: As far as the band's storied history and classic releases, do you have a specific release or certain era of the band that you look on as your favorite or the one that represents GBK the best in your eyes?

GELAL: I don’t have a particularly favorite period of time or favorite release.  I’m satisfied with the whole gamut of recordings and shows we’ve been involved with.  Our next release continues in the same GBK tradition.  In this dead art called black metal there is no progression for us.

GAPING THROATS: Do you maintain any contact with the former members and/or have any of them tried to distance themselves from the band's name and some the controversy that is attached to it?

GELAL: We’re in contact with most of the members of both bands; however, there are a handful of people that have definitely distanced themselves from the association.    

GAPING THROATS: What's the status of ARGHOSLENT? Any chance of live shows or a new album in the near future? If it is active, what's the current line up?

GELAL: ARGHOSLENT is active and has at least 7-10 songs in the works at the moment.  There are at least 3 or 4 that are complete as well as all of the song titles and lyrics.  The idea is to get everyone together at some point in 2019 to record another full length.  There is also a good possibility the band plays some festivals in the future.  The line up is the same as the one involved in "SEND FORTH THE BEST YE BREED”.

GAPING THROATS: Given the social climate in the U.S. , Do you think you'd have more difficulty and trouble organizing ARGHOSLENT live dates or GBK?

GELAL: We’ve only really had issues in Europe because they don’t have real freedom of speech like we have in the states.  Everyone is really paranoid in places like Holland or Sweden .

GAPING THROATS: I know you've long been a into Football/soccer? Is that still passion of yours? Is Football Hooliganism still as common and as wild in Europe as it was or has it been tamed down in recent years?

GELAL: Yes, that's my real passion since I was young.  Most of my experiences with football ultras have been while living in Argentina .  Traditional soccer violence like in South America or in Europe doesn’t exist in the USA ; however, there seems to be an interest in recent years in the MLS, which is good.

GAPING THROATS: When writing, do you intentionally set out to write for one band at a time, like placing yourself in a certain mindset to write for AGHOSLENT vs GBK or do you just work on music generally and then divide riffs, melodies, etc upas they fit? Is it more challenge crafting ARGHOSLENT material or GBK? I was curious as both have such unique sounds how you are able to keep you playing so distinct for each, as often when an individual is in multiple bands, sometimes they can be somewhat interchangeable but that isn't the case at all with you're work?

GELAL: After thinking about your question I will have to say that I usually just write music and depending on how the riff or song develops it gets assigned to either band accordingly.  People say there’s a particular style to my writing, or Demonic’s, or Holocausto’s, and it may be true, however I don’t sit down and say “ok, I have to write GBK riffs now”.  For the most part, ARGHOSLENT riffs are more likely to be in major scales whereas the GBK riffs tend to be in minor ones, if that makes sense.  There are definitely riffs that could have been used for either band if played differently.  ARGHOSLENT is more triumphant and glorious whereas GBK is more dissonant and incongruous.  You have to keep in mind that ARGHOSLENT has the input of Holocausto who brings his prominent and distinct sound to the formula.  GBK, on the other hand is very moldable to Demonic’s riffs and ideas.  He’s a guitarist before he’s a bassist and a great songwriter as well.  ARGHOSLENT is harder to play in a live setting but this doesn’t mean it isn’t a challenge to play some GBK songs with only one guitarist.

GAPING THROATS: When working on new ARGHOSLENT material, do you create the music first, and then write lyrics to fit, or do you have lyrics already written that you then craft music to? Speaking of ARGHOSLENT's lyrics, it has always struck me as how well written they are. How do you go about deciding on themes and topics? I think the lyrics often make it harder for people to write off ARGHOSLENT even if they find the subject matter distasteful because of the depth to the lyrics and the fact that its at a much more intelligent and nuanced level than a lot bands that you guys can be lumped in with. Have you studied a lot of world history, and specific conquests and such?

GELAL: The way we work is perhaps not how other bands operate.  Song titles and lyrics are written separately from the music itself.  It is only after everything is finished do we assign lyrics to a particular song.  After we decide which song is which we'll adapt the lyrics to the finished song and go from there.  Sometimes it is very obvious what songs should go with what titles due to the feel of these songs.  Once in a while we write a song that is too good for putting death metal vocals over so it ends up being and instrumental.  ARGHOSLENT has always been interested in history, philosophy, and religion.  They are the stimulants for the lyrical themes which can be any type of historical revisionism, militarism, enslavement, colonization, eugenics, misogyny, genocide, tyranny, culture, discovery, paganism, and homophobia. I think it is only natural for anyone to be interested in these sciences.  ARGHOSLENT sings about our history.

GAPING THROATS: With both bands it seems that you guys have always been more into playing short runs of a few shows or even one off dates here and there. Do you or would you ever consider doing a full on tour, say going out for weeks at a time, playing every night? Or do you prefer doing it in smaller amounts? Is this because everyone involved has more regular obligations, ie careers, spouses, children, etc?

GELAL: Do you really think either band could do a whole tour without people having pre-menstrual cramps about it?  Keep dreaming. 

GAPING THROATS: As mentioned your bands have often been somewhat controversial and some people would say "offensive", is there ever a line or subject matter that shouldn't be crossed in music or art in general? Is there anything that's too extreme?

GELAL: The underground exists to anchor these acts that are too extreme for mainstream or that crossed that line you’re referring to.  It is contradictory to say we’re too offensive for the extreme underground.  It doesn’t make any sense to say something is too brutal in the scene regardless of you approving of it or not.  The problem people have with our bands is that they know we really think this way.  When people think of Cannibal Corpse they know that the band doesn’t really rape women with knives and shit like that.  That’s the difference.

GAPING THROATS: Ok man, I just want to thank you for your time and for doing this interview. Anything you would like to add?

GELAL:  www.weltenfeind.com

***NOTE*** Since this interview was done, GBK & ARGHOSLENT's Weltenfeind page has been updated and the ARGHOSLENT portion now notes that the band is indeed working on a new album and titles of some of the new, finished songs include: "Hyenas of the Aurunci", "The Curse of San Domingo", "The Eugenic Fumigant", and "Terra Nullis".

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