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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Bible Of The Devil (29.12.2006)
HH: With The Diabolic Procession you released your fourth album, but at least I didn't hear the name Bible Of The Devil before. I think other people didn't either. Why is that?
Greg: Well, The Diabolic Procession is our first record with global distribution. Our previous records weren't distributed as well as they could have been.
Nate: Maybe it is your fault you have not heard us. We cannot be blamed if you do not pay attention.
HH: If one doesn't know you and your music, one could guess a Death or Black Metal band behind the name. What is the story behind the name Bible Of The Devil?
Mark: We chose it when we first started the band, in 1999. The name is a euphemism for Rock 'n' Roll. I don't think bands like Rainbow and The Police ever sounded like their names suggested, either.
Nate: My favorite Black Metal band is Body Count.
HH: In your music there are almost no influences from modern Metal, you are focused on the late 70s resp. the early 80s instead. Do you like modern music at all?
Mark: Occasionally a modern band will come along that rules incredibly. They are usually not playing what I would consider "modern" music though.
Greg: Most modern music just isn't that interesting to me. It seems there is always something more to learn when listening to classic bands such as Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Trouble, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Uriah Heep, and other 70s and 80s bands of that sort. I really don't gain a whole lot by listening to modern metal like Trivium, As I Lay Dying, or Lamb Of God. I will say that Mastodon is the exception. Their take on metal is a good listen.
Nate: I don't even like any music at all. I'm involved in this band for the drugs and the women.
HH: A few of your songs contain comparatively epic refrains. Can you imagine yourselves using this style more often in the future?
Greg: Sure, it's gotta be catchy so people can sing to it. We are certainly not an instrumental band.
Nate: I predict that the next record will be even more along those lines. Over the last year we've heard a lot of heavy bands, but not a lot of catchy metal songs. As a band, we have got to work with our strengths, and I think writing catchy metal is what we are the best at. When you hear Bible Of The Devil you may not hear the world's fastest double bass, or the world's most "evil" vocals, or Yngwie Fucking Malmsteen guitar shredding, but you will almost certainly walk away remembering our songs. That's what the truly classic metal bands realize and it is quite true.
HH: Your album with "Ecclesia Novorum Innocentium" has a very fast, almost Speed-Metal-like beginning. The other songs on the other hand are far from being as fast. Why are there no more such fast songs on the album?
Nate: We like to have a bit of variety on our records, instead of being only fast songs or only mid-tempo songs. We wouldn't want anyone to think we're boring. When we make albums it is very hard to predict what kind of songs will happen. We don't plan very far into the future because we might die.
Mark: Fast songs are fun to write. So are songs of other tempos.
HH: Your music is very melodic and rock-oriented. The songs in contrast have very gloomy titles, e.g. "Orphans Of Doom", "Sepulchre" or the final song "Slaves", which supposedly indicate gloomy subjects in your songs. That doesn't really fit to the music, does it?
Mark: If you read the lyrics, I think that the music fits the subject matter perfectly. The Diabolic Procession is meant to be taken in as a cohesive narrative, something we have not done before. If you take the time to peruse the story behind the narrative, I think that you will understand the titles better. We operate under the impression that "melodic" and "rock-oriented" are good things, and believe the purpose of writing music is to make it memorable.
Nate: I'm sure you are aware that Black Sabbath, although the music could be very gloomy and heavy at times, employed some very happy and optimistic lyrics. At the same time, a band may have "gloomy" lyrical subjects, but that doesn't mean that the entire record should be some kind of death dirge. We can do whatever we want and make it fit.
HH: The Oriflamme was a war flag which was used by the french kings from the 12th to the 15th century. In battle the Oriflamme was carried ahead of the king to symbolize the presence of the holy Dionysius. What message is in the song "Legion Of The Oriflamme"?
Mark: In the narrative of the Children's Crusades, the Oriflamme was purported to be the flag carried by Stephen de Cloyes and his followers on their march toward doom, disenchantment, and death. It was the standard emblem of the French King in the 1200s when entering battle in the era the fable is set. Again, it makes sense in the context of the story. Think of it as an homage to any flag that those with righteous purposes rally behind, be it religion, war, or otherwise.
HH: Trademark of your sound are the many melodic twin guitars, which we got to know through the NWoBHM. Which bands of this period of time did influence you as musicians?
Nate: There are the metal bands of that era that did it in spades, but there are also bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash, that are not necessarily metal but utilize twin melodic guitars. We get a lot of inspiration from those bands too.
HH: Imagine The Diabolic Procession is a flower. Which flower would that be and why?
Greg: Maybe the venus fly-trap so that it may attack and consume all the bad heavy metal in the world.
Nate: The kind of flower that drinks all your beer, fucks your sister and wipes its dick on your curtains.
HH: Thanks for your time and good speed in the future. Some final words?
Mark: Thanks, friend. I always hope for good speed. Sometimes people sell us bad crank though!
Nate: And make sure you have all of the records from Thin Lizzy and Trouble.