Interview mit Watain / Live am 09.11.2018 im Backstage, München

Auf ihrer Trident’s Curse European Tour werden Watain am 9. November im Münchener Backstage Halt machen. Mit ihrem aktuellen Album Trident wolf eclipse im Gepäck nehmen sie das Publikum mit auf ihren Weg in ihren eigenen Abgrund, in dem gesetzlose und gewalttätige Magie auf strenge Black Metal-Tradition trifft. Ihre Shows sind bekannt für ihren blutgetränkten Stil. Unsere Redaktion war neugierig und hat Erik ein paar Fragen gestellt, über das neue Album, Musik im allgemeinen und vieles andere, lest selbst:

In November you will be on tour in Europe with your new album Trident wolf eclipse. What can we expect from this tour? Are you planning anything special for the stage presentation – besides a lot of torches, of course? Will there be any rotten cadavers on this tour again? What are you looking forward to on this tour?
What you can expect? Pure fucking relentless bloodsoaked Black Metal hellfire the way it was meant to be, and certainly not the way most people of today are used to. I would say a Watain concert is best defined by the meeting of something extremely savage and violent, with something sacred and ceremonially profound. The explosion that happens when those two things collide, that is what you will experience, and even be a part of if you have the guts. After a long and diabolical summer of touring festivals, I mostly look forward to getting back on the European stages in a club situation and being able to face the crowd in a more intimate and tense environment, where there is nowhere to run…

It’s been five years since your last album – can you tell us more about these past five years? What happened that the recordings took so long?
We never do anything with this band unless we feel that we have a very good reason. The Wild Hunt was a huge album and we knew it would take some time until we felt inclined to write more music. So we stayed on the road with the Wild Hunt for a bit longer than usual and also took some time to do things that we had planned to do outside of the band for the past 15 years, but never had time for – such as making art, weapons or motorcycles. Then when the hunger grew again to create new music we did it and it went quite fast until we had the whole record done.

Of course we want to know a bit more about Trident wolf eclipse – is there a motif, a certain kind of spirit in the album? What is the most important thing for you, regarding the album and the songs?
I’ve often said that to me Trident wolf eclipse resembles witnessing a predatory attack in many ways. It is extremely violent and forceful, while it also has an aspect that is quite sublime and otherworldly. It evokes both fear and awe, and it should make you think. Who do you relate to, the predator or the prey?

Carl McCoy of Gothic Rock legend Fields of the Nephilim was singing on „Waters of Ain“ from the album Lawless Darkness. Who had the idea and how did the collaboration work?
Carl McCoy had been one of my main inspirations since I discovered rock and alternative music at quite a young age. Having him collaborating on that album, and that special song in particular, was truly beyond what I would have ever imagined to be possible. But since then I’ve come to learn that when your motivation is not that of a greedy thief but rather that of a devoted pilgrim then you will come to experience many great things.

Do you like Gothic Rock in general?
Yes, my musical roots extend quite deep into classic goth stuff, absolutely. Alien Sex Fiend, Mighty Sphincter, Christian Death, Rosetta Stone etc. One of my first bigger concerts ever was The Mission in the early 1990s.

You’ve been in the music business for a long time now and have seen a lot of cities and countries. How are the fans in the different countries, which ones are the craziest, which ones are the „coolest“?
I’ve always found that people who have experienced harsh times and that have tasted the bitter taste of misplaced authority often provide a more fitting mood at our concerts than, say, an audience from a liberal western european country. A bit more violent, a bit more passionate, a bit more real. So yeah, places like Latin America or Eastern Europe are usually where I personally think we have the best crowds. But in the bigger picture I would say it comes down to individuals and not citizens of a country or ethnical groups.

Speaking of Watain’s long career – is there anything you’ll always remember regarding the band? A special concert? Something really good or really bad?
I think our entire history as a band is filled with such events, so it is quite hard to name one. But I naturally come to think of the many great and wonderous things that came to pass in the company of people who are no longer alive.

Which person, artist or incident inspired you when you first started making music? And what keeps the musical flame burning today?
When I started writing Black/Death Metal I would say my biggest musical inspirations were Mayhem, Dissection, Metallica and Bathory. Also important to mention are Nifelheim, Thorns, Ofermod (their first 7″) and Funeral Mist. They still inspire me to this day. The same goes for Håkan and Pelle which was one of the reasons things happened very fast in the beginning of the band, we were all heading in the same direction and had the same bands we looked up to.

What is currently on your playlist? Any recommendations – Black Metal or other stuff?
Current playlist; new Dead Can Dance, Anna von Hausswolff – Dead Magic, Obnoxious Youth – Disturbing the Graves, Dreadful Fate – Vengeance, Östra Aros – Upsala …

Some fun questions: Which record would you want to listen to when you leave the bathroom in the morning, while the beautiful girl from last night is still in your bed?
Korpses Katatonik – Subklinikal Leukotomy Aphrenia Spasmophilik Lyssophobo Asphyxia Sinister Lethal Anorex is always an early morning classic.

The Fairy-Godmother pops up in front of you and grants you a wish. What do you wish for?
Nothing.

No alcohol is no solution either. What booze combination will definitely dissolve all your troubles and issues?
All of them? Whiskey and cyanide maybe. Not for me though but served to all our enemies.

And the last one: It’s not your first visit to Munich – what do you like about this town?
The first time we played Munich was 2004 and we did two nights in a row at a place called Titanic City together with Dissection. I have very fond memories of those nights, very violent and disturbing but also very powerful and delightful. Since then we have played there many times and Backstage has truly become one of our favourite venues in Europe. Many venues in Germany are wimps that do not allow even half of what we demand to use on our stage but at Backstage we have never been met with censorship, which is something that should be known and appreciated by every real metalhead.

Thank you for the interview and support! We invite everyone who is hungry for a ceremonial experience of Satanic force and Metallic power to attend the forthcoming November tour. Stay defiant and Fuck the World!

Watain bei Facebook https://www.facebook.com/watainofficial

Homepage http://www.templeofwatain.com/

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