I want to say thanks to Polaris for finding the time to answer some questions about Ednzeit's 'Years of Hunger' EP. You can see the 'Years of Hunger' review here. Without further ado...
Pedro Ribeiro (PR) - To begin
with why don’t you tell me more about yourselves? Endzeit is a term that’s
related with the end of time, the apocalypse. What’s the relation between your
name and your music?
Polaris (P) - Yes,
Endzeit refers to the end of time. When you look at what’s going on in this
world, politically, environmentally, culturally, I’m not very optimistic when
it comes to humankind’s future. Therefore, the term ‘Endzeit’, which also has a
somewhat religious connotation, and the darkness that black metal transports
fit rather well, I suppose.
PR - What do
you love most about black metal? Why did you choose to venture with a raw black
metal project?
P - I
personally have been into black metal since the mid 90s and I’ve always basked
in the melancholy in combination with the aggression of this particular type of
music. Full-speed blast beats, melodies and powerful guitars, the cold vibe of
the songs and the higher-pitched vocals have always been my personal favourite.
Since this is my most-preferred musical style it’s natural to play it,
too.
PR - ‘Years of Hunger’ EP was written in the moment that the band was conceived in late 2012. How were you capable of composing that fast?
P - Yes, the basic ideas for the songs were written in late 2012 although the concept was not there yet. And then I went to Detroit for a work-related trip in early 2013 and Endzeit was born (see next question). Hmm... how was I capable of composing that fast? Well, I compose all the time and have hours and hours of music on my computer. So it’s only natural that some of it will be released one way or the other.
PR - How did
you proceed with the recruitment of the other members?
P - I asked
them. Hehe, kidding. Well, in the beginning Jarkko, who designed the artwork of
‘Years of Hunger’ and I wanted to keep this as a two-man project: Him on vocals
and me doing the rest. But since he had
to drop out due to personal reasons I had the songs ready, but nobody to record
it with. So I asked Schwarz if he was willing to do the vocals, and he agreed.
Samuli (drums) works here in Lahti in a music store and since I knew that he is
a kick-ass drummer, I asked him, too, and he agreed. Same goes with bass-man
Pyry. At a gig of his and Samuli’s other band Less Than Three I asked him if he wanted to play the bass on
‘Years of Hunger’, because I knew that he digs black metal, and yes, there you
go.
PR - Can you
explain the concept of the EP.
P - The EP
depicts the end of time. It describes the desperation of people who have lost
everything after a devastating event that has left the world deserted. In other
words, it describes life in a post-apocalyptic wasteland in which their last
hope, God, has also abandoned them. So it’s basically the antithesis to the
narrative of a helping, caring God that stands by your side and guides you
through rough times. And after all it is desperation that prevails and which
has brought us the ‘years of hunger’.
PR - What do
you feel when you look at Detroit?
P - Detroit is
a crazy place. I had only very little time there, but seeing the abandoned
places and yet the life in these ‘food deserts’ is an interesting experience –
to say the least. It’s very moving to see the downfall of society’s entire
infrastructure and the failure of capitalism.
PR - What’s
your opinion about modern capitalism?
P - I don’t
really have an opinion. It’s clear that capitalist ways of life are very
destructive ones – to our species, to other species and to our world, our home
in general. But just by writing these words I make use of it, so it would be a
double-standards bitching about it all the time. I for myself try to live as
non-capitalist a life as possible. But after all we are all part of a world
society which is governed by finance. And I don’t see who this could change.
PR - Neither
the lyrics nor the music itself foreshadows some kind of hope in humanity. Are
humans futureless?
P - I think it
is clear that in the longer run the global economy will collapse or will devour
itself. At the latest when climate change has made water a scarcity and/or when
fossil fuel runs out. So, in that sense
we are futureless. But humans are also a very resilient species, so I think as
a species we will survive. At least for some more hundreds of years although we
won’t be there anymore to witness that. But I do hope that our children will be
smarter than us and have a bit better of an understanding of what
sustainability means.
PR - What do
you feel when you compose? Does your feelings divert the sense of your music?
P - I feel a
lot when I compose, of course. I hope that every composer does that. And sure,
these feelings can be found in my music. Although it’s mostly metal, I have
very epic songs, some extremely brutal black/death metal stuff, very melodic,
orchestral or even some folk metal demo tracks. But apart from metal I’ve also
demoed some pop/rock tracks, some rockabilly and some electronic stuff. So, as
you can see, feelings are complex and need an adequate musical response.
PR - Do you
want to talk about the construction process of ‘Years of Hunger’?
P - It went all
pretty DIY-ish. Firstly, we recorded the drums at a local music store which
happens to have recording facilities as well. Our buddy Jesse Soiletsalo, who
is the main man behind Less Than Three, was responsible for recording
Samuli’s blasts. Then I took those tracks and recorded the guitars via D/I-Box
at home while Pyry then also recorded the bass with Jesse later on. Schwarz
screamed his lungs out at a Tmi Mix-ari in Savonlinna where he was recording
vocals with his other band anyways. Then the whole stuff was sent off to my old
friend Ulf Scheel to who mixed and mastered ‘Years of Hunger’ in his recording
studio Pivo Productions. Check him out, he does a fantastic job (www.pivo-production.de)!
PR - Today I
watched a video made by some religious ignorant dudes about metal as a way to
spread evil (I’m not saying what’s the name of the video because it’s
irrelevant to the matter, but you may be aware of what I’m talking about).
What’s your opinion about religion and these people trying to denigrate metal?
P - Religion… I
think its poison for the mind and causes more problems than it solves. Of
course, many say that moral codes are built on religion and behavioural
patterns such as altruism (which the Christians call “Love thy neighbour”)
cannot work without it. I disagree strongly, because also in the animal kingdom
many ‘moral acts’ and even ‘immoral acts’, if you can call them that, can be
found there. This is a huge topic, but as long as people behave in a good way,
I don’t care about religion. The problem is that if religions were to be
abandoned they would most likely be replaced with something else: radical
environmentalism, capitalism… The best thing about religions is that they have
given us beautiful buildings all over the world.
PR - In what
contexts you use religion in ‘Years of Hunger’? How does religion joins the
concept of the EP?
P - I think
this question is answered in question 5.
PR - Do you
like “Dark Funeral”? Why a cover of ‘The dawn no more rises’ to finish the EP?
P - I
personally dig Dark Funeral a lot, but only up to ‘Diabolis Interium’. The ones
after that are not very cool anymore. The newest song ‘Nail them to the cross’
is just crap. That being said, I think ‘The Secrets of the Black Arts’ is one
of the best black metal albums ever written. that’s the essence of black metal
for me. And I got to know it through ‘The dawn no more rises’ in 1996. Having a
cover version and the overall sound of ‘Years of Hunger’ is kind of like an
homage to that album although we are maybe slightly more melodic and simply not
as awesome as ‘The Secrets…’.
PR - What are
your rehearsals like? Much beer and laughter?
P - This and
the next question go together, because time is a crucial issue. In other words,
I as well as the others have so much stuff going on that we have never managed
to have a single rehearsal. Yes, you heard right. We were going to actively
start rehearsing in October, but I’m in the final stages of my doctoral
dissertation and work at a university in the UK, Schwarz is running his own
business with very little time on his hands, Samuli and Pyry play in several
other bands and need to earn money, too. Moreover, some of us also have kids
which kind of need their metal-daddies too every now and then. So, in other
words, Vendetta and Endzeit as well as my other musical projects I can only
consider a hobby and therefore rehearsals have to wait. I simply can’t devote
more time than I can. Vendetta is also doable from airplanes, so that’s
well-manageable, but I have not heard of a band rehearsal via internet…
PR - Polaris
you are a dedicated metalhead in all aspects be it with your online magazine
“vendettametalmagazine” or be it with your bands. How do you do it? How do you
reconcilie everything?
P - See above.
PR - Thanks
for your time to answer these questions. Any last words?
P - Thanks a
lot for this interview! And of course thanks a lot for the support! Let’s see
if we manage to unleash our first long player next year! Until then, check our
record at endzeitblackmetal.bandcamp.com! Cheers!
One melee with the words, ideas and its paradoxes... albuns that are news, the reviews at "HeavyHardMetalmania.net", always with its watermark, Pedro Ribeiro, with love for beer... sorry, music from an early age, he studied piano and singing from 7 to 14 years, then, devoted himself to the study of the guitar for 5 years. "The wisdom is found in the extremes, all extreme Metal here!"
