In the line of Khold and Thorns, namely a black metal loyal to the glorious elders, but which doesn't hesitate to break some rules which are too strict, here is code, and its first album out on Spinefarm. Metalheads who are enough open-minded will whorship them whereas the integrists will surely thrash them ! No half measure with this kind of group ! Kvohst, the singer, answered my questions in April 2005
And he has a ready tongue.code features some members of norwegian & english black-metal bands. Can you tell us more about your respective backgrounds for a decent introduction to our readers ?
code was formed by Aort and Kvohst who are both from England. Aort was making demos under a different name and I started to collaborate with him on a project while I was making the Void album, \"Posthuman\". That project turned into code. We knew we needed someone great to take care of the drum duties on the album and we thought of AiwarikiaR from the legendary Ulver. We knew he had been out of the action for some time and we were keen to see him make a come-back. We were introduced to him via a mutual friend and things just worked out very well. Then I knew Vicotnik from Dodheimsgard and Ved Buens Ende and had been in touch with him for some time. He was very interested in performing the bass on the album. It was a very natural and logical process that two norwegians joined our band and it was over a shared passion and lust for music that we joined forces. Vyttra is our guitarist and he is an old comrade of Aort. He also hails from England, making the band three quarters english ! We are very proud of our mixed heritage and I think that this only helps to breed creativity and fulfilment.
You seem inspired by both old-school black-metal & the avant-garde. Please could you explain us this interesting concept that code tries to develop ?
We try to make inspiring music based upon our interests and discoveries in music. There is no limit, as we are not making this music for anyone else but ourselves. I think that what has been created in \"Nouveau Gloaming\" is an atmosphere and arena for people to find their own form and meaning through the music. I would hope that the listener could hear many different elements and influences but that ultimately there is something new and undefineable about the record. We are completely obsessed by early 90's black-metal and I think that it shines through in the music. Everyone who was into it back then can remember what it was like to discover a new form of music that was so pure and rich, with so much integrity and conviction. It was an exciting era and we hope to imbue that whilst also bringing something new to the table. Every one of us has a very broad and diverse listening taste and we try to explore our music to the full, without putting any constraints on it.
Tell us about this first album \"Nouveau Gloaming\". Where did you record it ? Why did it take such a long time from the initial recording sessions to the final release date ?
We recorded our album in Savonlinna in Finland. It took three weeks for the initial recording sessions but things did not go well at all. We didn't agree with the engineer about the sound of the recording and also our drummer was quite unwell for the first week or so. So we took the unfinished sessions away and had to look for another studio to finish the album. This took some time and delayed things quite a lot. It was educational and in some ways a learning experience to see how things can go wrong with an album. We knew that for a debut there would always be a few snags. Eventually almost a year later we finished the album at Skrek Og Skru in Hells Fire Oslo, Norway, with Henning Bortne. We got the freedom to explore the sound that we wanted and were very very happy with the result. It wasn't intentional to spend so long between recording and mixing but sometimes these things happen. We knew that we couldn't sacrifice the music just to release it quickly. It is an album worth waiting for I think.
For those who had the chance to listen to your previous release, the 2002\'s \"Neurotrasmitions\" promo-cd, what are the differences between your 2 releases ? In which way did you try to evolve with \"Nouveau Gloaming\" ?
Well the demo was not an official release. And it never will be. I don't think that we are a band where fans could ever say we like the demo best, because it isn't a cult or treasured recording. It was purely a demonstration of our songs made specifically to get signed to a record label. We had to use a drum machine/programmed drums which were, however well you record them, a synthetic representation. We also had another vocalist who contributed to the demo, but was very unfamiliar with the songs so
the vocals were a bit untight. I think that the album has a very unique sound. The guitars are just perfect and create such an awesome atmosphere. Vicotnik (known as Viper here) wrote the most amazing bass lines and really brought the music out of itself. I don't think I have heard such great bass lines since \"Kronet Til Konge\" (ndlr : Dodheimsgard) or \"Written In Waters\" (ndlr : Ved Buens Ende). The drums just sound excellent now. AiwarikiaR has done a great job and really breathed life into the tracks, that were quite rigid before because of the drum programming. I think in every way we have created what we could only imagine when we made the demo. It's astonishing how close we have come to perfecting our dream and ideal form of music. Is there a leader in code ? Or is it just a real band with several members taking part to the composing process ?
code is a real band. We all contibute as much as possible. At the beginning it was just myself (Kvohst) and Aort who wrote the music and then Viper contributed with the bass lines and AiwarikiaR with some arrangements. Vyttra has contributed some lead riffs on the album and we had an author called Andrew Nicol write some lyrics for us. I think that the main core of the band will still be myself and Aort, but Vyttra is writing more music now and hopefully on future recordings everyone will become even more involved. It is definitely a working unit where everyone is interested in the final outcome. All five of us were there through the entire mixing process, which is quite rare for bands these days !
Vocals are really diversified on this album. From a typical harsh black-metal voice to a more tragic & clean one. What would you answer to those narrow-minded people who will scoff at this proof of sensitivity ?
I would say that you can conquer a thousand men in battle, but the man who conquers himself is the true warrior ! I am attempting to display my true feelings and emotions through the music and I would stand up for my vocals as if they were part of me. It is not shameful to be sensitive or to show your feelings. There are many powerful human emotions other than hate and I think you only prove your strength by being able to be open about your feelings. There is plenty of dark, depraved and hateful feelings running through this record and I would be surprised if anyone dismissed the music as being too sensitive'. We are far closer to the ideal of black-metal than most of the bands around at the moment. But I think that the music has to represent many things other than hate, war death and destruction otherwise it is quite shallow and boring. If people want boring black-metal then they should go and buy Anaal Nathrakh or Marduk and leave us alone.
When I listen to your music, it reminds me some bands like Khold, Thorns or Morgul but with some little touches of Tiamat or Voivod (era \"Nothing Face\"). Do you think being closed to these bands?
It is great if our music reminds us of different bands or other music. I think that all the best music reminds you of things in your life, memories or fragments of other things. So far we have never reminded anyone of the same band twice ! I think that there are many elements that could remind people of other things because we are trying to create honest and real true music. There is no one band that we are influenced by, but I am proud to be associated with the likes of Thorns, Tiamat or Voivod. I don't think that our music has anything to do with these bands, but it's a privilege to be in the same category as them for sure. I laugh because there are so many completely different bands that we are supposed' to sound like, but they have nothing whatsoever to do with our music. It shows that people are struggling to categorise us but they know it reminds them of something good. Perhaps it just reminds them of good music? I think that most people in time will come to see us and our music as something completely unique.
Some riffs sound really doomy like on \"A Cloud Formed Teardrop Asylum\". What do you think about doom-metal ? Do you like depressive music ?
There are some great doom-metal bands like Reverend Bizarre, Sleep, Candlemass, Witchcraft (totally awesome), Thee Plague of Gentlemen and early Cathederal. We have to have that element in our music but I don't think that it's due to doom-metal as a real influence. I just think that it manifests in our music naturally. Those kind of riffs have been going on in metal for so long now I don't think you can pin them down to just one genre. I was brought up on depressive music and live on it. I can't trust music that is completely happy and positive. Life is too complicated for that. I think that the most positive feelings come out of negative and depr
essing music. It helps us to release our feelings and let go a bit. It reminds us that we are not alone. Let\'s talk about your lyrics. What do they deal with ? Who does write them ?
The lyrics deal with a lot of different things. On songs like \"The Cotton Optic\", which I co-wrote with Fenriz, you are very much in the no-mans-land of the human psyche. A lot of the lyrics are about human frailty, our weaknesses and guilty regrets. I read a lot of Quincy Troupe, Allen Ginsberg, Derek Walcott, Billy Childish, Charles Bukowski and then lots of children's authors like Edward Lear, Frank L Baum and Lewis Carroll. I'm pretty obsessed with the Beat poets and authors like Kerouac and Burroughs. I listen to a lot of rap and hip-hop but more far-out stuff like MF Doom, Buck 65, Saul Williams, Sage Francis and Ramellzee. So I'm a word man. I like to play with words and the sound of words the meanings and images. A lot of my words are images it's like I'm setting the scene or telling a story frame by frame. It was great to work with Fenriz cause he's been a massive influence for me. He's been very encouraging towards my lyrics and that collaboration on \"Cotton Optic\" worked so well. He wrote the chorus and I think it's just out of this world and really on the edge. Those lyrics are like pulling teeth they are very raw and disturbing. A lot of the lyrics were written by a great poet and author called Andrew Nicol. He's a very special, strange and creative person. I've known him for years and always loved his odd view and weird imagery in his lyrics. He really puts me in another world and creates such a great atmosphere with his writing. He's one of the greatest writers in the world and I'm really stoked to have been able to work with him. I think a lot of the different feeling and atmosphere that the album generates is due to Andrew's lyrics. It's great to have someone outside the metal world writing lyrics cause you get a whole different perspective on the dark side of life. It's like when you watch a horror film sometimes the best ones aren't the ones that are obvious or that show a lot of violence or gore. It's subtlety and an acute sense of the surreal and sinister things in the world that can make you feel afraid. I hope people get that when they hear the album. Because I find it disturbing. It's like we conjured something. Like as if we tuned in to another frequency. I don't think I've heard anything like it in music this side of Swans or Dead Can Dance.
Bass guitar is exceptionally present & audible on this record. What do you think about all these metal bands who choose to mask this instrument by drowning it in the mix ?
I think that it's all about what suits the music. I think that the bass on our album is very appropriate and brings out the melodies and depth to the songs. It's not like we have an agenda to promote the bass as an instrument in metal ! It just worked well to have the album mixed that way. I don't really care what other metal bands do with their bass. They can stick it up their ass.
Being composed by Norwegian & English musicians, is it a problem for touring ? Do you have plans for playing live?
We don't tour. It's just not possible if we want to go on creating meaningful music. It's not our scene both personally and musically. Live performances are not out of the question and I think in time we will probably do a couple of shows. We will be rehearsing soon for a new recording so I think we'll decide then when it might be possible. It would probably be a couple of one-off shows. The world is a small place now and we are no longer constrained by distance. Plane tickets are cheap!
Today\'s black-metal seems divided in 2 categories. Defenders of old-school true black-metal who play it raw, repulsive & brutal (1349, Orcustus, Horna...). The second being composed by pseudo-goth black-metallers like all these Dimmu Borgir & Cof clones. Curiously only a few bands try to experiment like for instance Solefald, Arcturus, Enslaved & now code. What do you think about these 2 kinds of antagonist black-metal ?
I don't believe in categories and distinctions between different styles and stuff like that. I just think that people should be true to their music, whether it's commercial or underground. We don't see ourselves as experimental or defenders of the old-school. We're just doing our thing and trying to show people how it should be done. People love their labels and distinctions. It makes them feel safe to carry on being prejudiced and blinkered. Real music isn't about that.
Thanx for your time, I really appreciate. Last words are yours...
Thanks a lot for the interview and cheers to your readers. Check out our album. Hail and Kvult.
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Interview done by DJ In Extremis
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