Interview to TAARTAROS (USA)

1. I am very happy to have the opportunity to ask you a few questions! Let us set the scene first. Where do you find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.

Hello, it is a pleasure to be a part of Guts and Blood magazine. At the moment I'm in my home with my family. It is eveining here at the moment. And I am listening to Necrolust from Peru, while I answer your questions

2. Asterion, you are living in Frederick, Is Maryland a great place to be an extreme metal band?

I think so. Lots of music comes through Washington, DC and Baltimore. Even frederick the town, i'm from has a pretty good metal scene. But the area I live in really has more of a doom metal scene. But to answer the question, there is lots of heavy metal music in Maryland and almost any style of heavy metal can thrive here.

3. I assume you´ve been active for some years now as a musician (being also an active member of Weed Coughin). How has your guitar/drumming performance evolved over the years, and what has kept you inspired to continue creating music? Well, I became a musician very early in life. And through most of my adulthood was not active in music. I was always primarily a guitar player, but always loved drums as well. Weed Coughin needed a drummer, and i've since been best friends with these guys and had a great time playing drums for the last six years. Black metal and death metal music has always been very inspiring to me, and it's finally time, I make some of my own. This is something I wish I had been doing all along.

4. Your music has been described as black with elements of death, and doom. How do you balance these different influences to create a cohesive sound?

That is a great question. Black death doom, is actually something I have thought about using, as a subject or even a song title in my music. I got into heavy metal very early in life and quickly moved towards the more extreme fringes of metal music. Black Metal, Death metal, and doom metal are the three extremes in heavy metal music and I think have always had a lot in common and a lot of overlap. I think I find all 3 of these genres to be part of the same mindset. Black, Death, Doom Is my mindset.

5. As the sole member behind Taartaros, how do you manage the creative process of writing and composing music, lyrics, and playing multiple instruments? So I have always been a multi instrumentalist. I began writing whole metal songs, guitars, bass drums around the end of high school. Which was a long time ago. Recently, i've started recording some riffs on guitar, i've also had whole ideas in my head for an overall feel or sound. And i've just sort of started, letting it come out. And each one of these songs has just sort of unfolded. I quickly learned to trust the process. As for lyrics, i have picked a subject first and then wrote lyrics. I have also written lyrics recently. Just based on the feeling I get from the music i'm writing. For instance. " the unremitting march of antiquity" has a really cool middle section with pounding drums and a steady pace. It made me think of the building of the pyramids and the steady work of thousands of laborers. Which led me to write a song about the incessance of the people of ancient Sumeria (Sumer).

6. As you call it, Taartaros expresses outwardly power, anger, and satanist ideals, what emotions or connections do you aim to evoke through your songs? Well, i've always loved bands that were outwardly satanic. And that was a primary goal for this project. For instance bands like Archgoat, Deicide, Bewitched, and many others. I've always found strength and power and attitude in the music of these bands, and that is exactly what i've wished to express to others through this project. I have always felt a need to reject the obscurity of conformity, especially with christianity. If there was a single feeling or enotion I intend to promote through this music, It is the feeling of power and strength I gain through the acceptance of Satan and the denial of christianity.

7. Can you give us a glimpse into the creative process behind your music? How do you typically approach songwriting and arranging?

Since i'm doing all this music on my own, I actually record as I write this music. I record piano and guitar once in a while as I come up with interesting things. But when I start a song, I often think back or refer to some of these past recordings in combination with what i'm thinking of or feeling at the time. Sometimes I start with a completely new idea in my head and I start figuring it out on the guitar. I pretty well know the overall sound i'm going for with this project. So as I write and record riffs, drum lines and synth parts i allow the music to unfold and go wherever it goes. But to better answer the question, I literally start piecing together. My music from riffs I already have come up with and riffs, I imagine in my head. And oftentimes I build pieces of music based around feelings, more than riffs themselves. And this process kind of works for me.I end up coming up with really neat things. Usually, almost right away the overall sound and feeling of a song leads me to a subject for the lyrics

8. How did you develop your own unique vocal style, and how does it contribute to the overall atmosphere and narrative of the album? So if i'm being honest, vocals is something I am least experienced with. I began practicing and researching techniques on doing these kinds of vocals. It just so happens that the sort of sounds i'm able to make are pretty much what i'm going for. I would love to be able to do some very deep, low vocals like that of Cannibal Corpse, or Archgoat, but unfortunately, those kind of vocals are out of my range. But for the first time, I'm finally putting forth the feelings and intent I want to express, and I believe that can be felt in my vocals.

9. Much of your music seems to exhibit a strong connection with doom metal style. What doom metal bands influenced you? This is also a good question and i'm going to answer it the best that I can. I think I just like the heavy crushing sound that comes with heavy doom metal. As far as doom bands go Black sabbath is one of my biggest influences. The slow heavy riffs of bands like Acid Bath and Crowbar are also big influences to me. But for the music i'm making with Taartaros, what has inspired me the most is the doom aspects of other bands like Archgoat and Belphegor, or the slow songs by bands like Dark Funeral and Monstrosity. Marduk's first album as well as Blasphemy and Beherit also have a lot of doom aspects that heavily influenced this musical project.

10. Your debut album, “Testament Satan” delivers a powerful, massive, and intense sound. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the album and how it felt to release your music to the world?

Well, it sounds like I might have answered some of this question in the last question, but this is something I think i've wanted to do since I was a teenager. This whole death metal and black metal thing is something I should have been a part of twenty years ago. This kind of music has always been very cool to me and i've always wanted to do some of my own. With that said, it feels great to have released this music to the world. I feel like i'm making up for lost time. I wholeheartedly believe in the sound and message of my music, but I am first and foremost a fan of this kind of music.

11. Are there any plans for collaboration with other artists or musicians in the future, and if so, what excites you about the potential of those collaborations? I certainly hope to appear on other people's albums as a vocalist or guitar player or synth player. I would love to be a bigger part of black metal and death metal music. I also hope to have other like minded musicians appear on my albums. But we are at the beginning of this journey. The potential for what may come in the future is exactly what excites me.

12. Live performances are an integral part of the black metal experience. Does Taartaros have any plans for live shows or touring in the future? How do you envision translating your atmospheric music into a live setting? So as you mentioned earlier, I am the drummer of a band called Weed Coughin. We are a gigging band but I unfortunately, am not able to really tour or do anything extensive with this band. I am a tattoo artist and own my own studio. I also have a wife and two kids. I'm very lucky to be involved in music at all. But as a multi instrumentalist i am able to write and record my music from my own home. However, I do hope to someday put together some concerts to perform this music live. The sound is big and the message is big. I would love to see an impressive gathering of musicians to perform.All these instruments live almost as some sort of ritual. The whole thing would absolutely be a ritualistic experience for me, to sing my message aloud in front of others. And I believe this will come to fruition in time.

13. With the easy access to internet you can spread your music across the globe just sitting in front of your computer. How much effort to you put into promoting the band world-wide? Well, to be honest, i'm at the very beginning of this Process. Taartaros has only released this demo so far. I do have a single coming out soon Followed by an Ep. This work will be available on band camp and other streaming platforms. Other than that i will appear on this compilation cd at the courtesy of "Guts and Blood Records" thanks to you!. Both of my new musical projects will also appear on compilation cd's courtesy of Legacy Magazine from Germany. I have also made all of my music Available on youtube.

14. Finally, is there anything else you would like to share with your fans and the readers of this interview?

Yes, I would very much like to thank you Edu for noticing me and seeing the potential in my music. And a big thank you to anyone out there who has listened to me so far or is willing to take a listen to me, for my music is a culmination of everything I have felt and learned, and my love for extreme heavy metal over the period of my lifetime. It is an energy that many of us share. If you are like me, then you know! Thank you

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