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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit The Amenta (18.11.2004)
HH: Greetings. Let's start with some standard questions: how did The Amenta come together?
Chlordane: We formed in 2000 after our previous bands had split up. We were really fucking frustrated with the lack of innovative, original and exciting music in the metal scene. Even now there are way too many bands that churn out the same tired shit, sounding either like an In Flames or Darkthrone rip off. It's completely fucking ridiculous. We wanted to create music that could push the boundaries of extreme music. I think we definitely have the talent and the drive to push metal into the future and Occasus is the first step.
HH: How were the reactions on Occasus?
Chlordane: The reaction to has been unbelievable. Everyone has been really positive. They have obviously understood what we are trying to do and most people are embracing that. I knew when we were recording that was pretty special but it is always amazing when other people agree. People are really surprised by our sound. They can't classify us and I think that is awesome. We aren't just a death metal or black metal band. We are extreme music, with no limitations or restrictions. It's great that people are able to accept new styles of music.
HH: Occasus has been out for some weeks now. Is there anything you would like to change with hindsight?
Chlordane: Not at all. I am really proud of what we achieved with. I think the song writing is amazing, the production is excellent and we were able to incorporate a lot of new ideas. We were able to try all sorts of different techniques like musique concrete and industrial sound design. We worked fucking hard during the writing and recording process of and we had enough time to make sure that it was perfect. We spent a lot of time trying to capture the best performances from everybody. I think that is perfect, there is nothing I would change and it is the best realisation of those songs that it was possible to do.
HH: What meaning do the songtitles bear? I can't really imagine what "geilt" means, for example...
Chlordane: The song titles all come from different languages. All the songs refer to the decay of human intelligence in some way. 'Geilt', for example, is a Gaelic word meaning insanity. Other languages we use are Egyptian, Greek, Spanish, English, Aztec and Latin. The meanings of all the titles should be obvious to any one who wishes to find them out. They can be found in a million reference books and on the internet. I don't believe, however, that I should supply all the answers so I am not going to go into what the individual song titles mean and how the lyrics relate to the concept. Our aim is to get people to think for themselves. It think that anyone who is interested in the meanings should use their own minds to work out what they believe is the truth.
HH: The members of The Amenta are from both the black metal and the death metal camp. How does this affect your Songwriting? Has it been difficult to create songs everyone is happy with?
Chlordane: I don't think that really effects our songwriting at all. The song writing process for The Amenta is completely different to any of the writing processes we have used with other bands. We don't tend to make riffs individually and try to structure a song around that. Our technique is to sit down together and improvise ideas until we find something we like. We might start with a beat and then a keyboard line or guitar riff and then gradually build the idea up. That way we don't rely on Death or Black metal cliches but rather can find something new and innovative. The great thing about this technique is that every one is happy with the songs because we are all involved.
HH: Why are the names of the individual bandmembers kept secret?
Chlordane: They aren't really kept secret they are just kept separate. I fucking hate it when bands try to create cold and human music and then ruin it with some fucking ego-trip liner notes detailing exactly who played what. There needs to be a distance between the music and the personalities who created it. We have always tried to present The Amenta as a whole not a collection of individuals. However our line up is not secret, it is myself on keys, samples and effects, Cesium 137 on vocals, Ethion on guitar, Endrin on bass and Diazinon on drums. We release the necessity for names in interviews but otherwise they are redundant.
HH: Which bands had the biggest influence on your music?
Chlordane: We aren't directly influenced by any band. We try to avoid any obvious influence in our music because I think that is a cheap way of writing. We are inspired by various bands and artists though. Basically any musician or filmmaker, painter etc is inspiring if they are doing something new. They are so many appalling pieces of shit out there who claim to be musicians but all they do is rehash old ideas with out bringing anything new to the table. I don't see the fucking point in music like that. It's just filler until the real music comes out. People who have original ideas are few and far between but those few we have are a great inspiration to The Amenta. We have always aimed to steer clear of that fucking "post-modern" bullshit, we prefer to re-invent music.
HH: Was the band formed with the goal to create something innovative or did it just turn out that way?
Chlordane: We definitely planned to create innovative music. I think that should be every fucking bands aim. Imagine a metal scene where every release was innovative and exciting! It would be fucking awesome. There wouldn't be this glut of copy cat Swedish death metal or pointless '80s thrash revival shit. Music would actually mean something. Fuck, I might actually buy more albums if they were all decent. It's so hard to find the good stuff any more. We are an innovative band by design. Hopefully we are part of a new wave of extreme music that will push the boundaries and bring metal back from the slump it has fallen into in recent times.
HH: What are your major goals? What do you want to achieve with The Amenta?
Chlordane: Basically we want to keep progressing; we want to keep pushing boundaries and forcing metal into new places. We plan to get over to Europe and the U.S. for tours and further promote our music. We have just shot a film clip for the track "Erebus" from the album and we plan to push further into the multimedia field in our next projects. We want to keep making music that challenges people, which forces them to re-evaluate what they believe extreme music can do.
HH: To be honest, i'm not too familiar with the australian scene. What can you tell us about the metal scene down there? Are there any bands you can recommend?
Chlordane: There are some great bands down here but unfortunately the scene is small and too spread out. It is almost impossible to find venues and opportunities for tours and gigs. However it is getting much better. There have been new venues opening up and we have been getting a lot more international bands down here which is an excellent promotional opportunity for Australian bands that get the support. I think we have bands in Australia that are world class and I am sure you will hear some names in the future.
HH: Last question: How important is "image" for you? Does it affect your music in any way?
Chlordane: Image doesn't effect our music at all. The image is there to work for the music not the other way around. I think that image, and all the things related to it like artwork and presentation, are fucking important. Bands should be presenting an experience. There is nothing worse than a band that has awesome evil, cold music only to spoil it with a fucking picture of the bands standing around in the clothes they go out to get milk in. The best metal, especially the extreme side of things, is the music that sounds like human couldn't have made it. But then you flip through their booklet and get a photo of six Star Trek nerds wearing their most evil Metallica t-shirt and grimacing. What the fuck is that shit? It is fucking disappointing. And the same goes for cover art. When did it become cool again to have some shitty Photoshop job with a fucking cartoon dragon or some fucking steroid-ridden, sword waving, walking hard on? That is not fucking evil! It isn't confronting but it certainly is fucking cheap. People should start thinking about how their music is presented. People do judge books by their covers.
HH: Thank you for your time. Any last words?
Chlordane: Thank you. Anyone interested in The Amenta should check out our website at www.theamenta.com where you can download a full Mp3 of the track "Erebus" from our debut album. Watch for the film clip of "Erebus" which should be out very soon. Buy, I guarantee that it will be one of the most innovative, extreme and original albums that you will buy this year.
Erinc