Melita – Music web-zine

Hail. Can you please begin by the usual boring info, a short history of the band?
Saint Vincent (vocals, guitars, drum programming): Hey D. Usual boring info, yeah… Blacklodge is an industrial black metal band born in 1998. We released in October 2003 the first album, ‘Login:SataN’, on Blazing Productions, after a couple of demos.
Blacklodge is Saint Vincent (vocals, guitars, beats), Silence (guitars) and Jessy (bass), and Aluminium Reflector (hell catalyst).

Blacklodge consists of three members, do they compose all the input in the creation of the songs? Or is it more like your one-man band with session members? All the songs on ‘Login: SataN’ have you as the author of the music in question.
I write all the lyrics. All the songs are written by myself, except a couple of ones written by Silence (guitarist). But all the people in Blacklodge put their own ideas in to personalize the songs and build our typical feeling and trip. Blacklodge started as a one man band, but is now a full operating band with people totally involved in it, even above the music. In the ‘Login:SataN’ album, two songs have been written by Silence, ‘An Error In Darkness’ and ‘The Empress’.

You cite drugs as a big influence on what you do. What are the psychological manifestations of drug use for you, and how do these influence the music? Would the music be any different if there were no drugs involved?
Well, Blacklodge is too close to drugs to evolve without it. My mind has been built with strong experiences and drugs are a part of it. I wouldn’t be able to describe our music without drugs, really I have no clue about that, since I started to take drugs far before the beginning of the band. Their effects are a key to extreme pleasure, and also extreme pain. A way to live my own death pulses, to face the void, to dive in the void… but also to have revelations, strike of awareness and finally knowledge. In the ‘Login:SataN’ album, the drugs are the catalyst of pure self-destruction.

What drug do you prefer?
My favourite drug? Well, it has changed with time, and it’ll surely change again… depends on the mood… surely not alcohol. Coke for living fast, LSD for mystical travel through dimensions.

Should black metal evolve over the course of time, and do you consider your music an evolved form of black metal or merely a different approach?
Everything evolves, that’s the rule. The roots of Blacklodge are in the black metal feelings, but I don’t care really about our position in the black metal scene. We are true people worshipping our chemical divinities, with our personal experience of blackness… it is our way to walk the black metal path. Blacklodge is not making music the way of usual BM bands, but our minds are truly involved in BM, seen as an extreme way of life, facing/ experiencing darkness. Hail black metal, kill black metal.

What about the ‘new’ Mayhem and Dodheimsgard?
In the latest Mayhem (‘Grand Declaration Of War’) there are plenty of interesting and very good things, but I didn’t really like it globally. But I love the way they wanted to fuck up their own style and their own reputation. That’s a great evidence of free souls and daring artists. About Dodheimsgard’s latest effort, ‘666 International’, I’m just totally fan man. This album is totally incredible. Really.

Is technology inherently evil?
I don’t think so.

Do you think that man controls technology, or does technology control man? Can it get out of hand as in much futuristic science fiction?
The debate opposing the technological world, in return for primitive and so-called peaceful social groups is a false one. Technology is there, and we have to explore and definitely accept it. I think technology controls the man already, and that’s pretty obvious for me. We are all slaves of our credit cards, addicted to vaccination, watching TV/ computer, listening to music stocked on digital equipment… can you do something here without technology??? And how many humans are working, having no life and being slaves all their life? In order to find better equipment, better way to stock information… Well, we are slaves of technology. Not that robots are going to make a big rebellion or so, but all the human logic and rationality are circled and follow the rule of technology. Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

How can fusion of electronic music and black metal be achieved as convincingly as you (and Aborym) do it? Is musical perfection (as in harmony, tempo, tightness, etc) achieved by technological means or does everything have to be composed thoroughly before?
I guess that’s a very interesting question concerning the industrial black metal music. I don’t know how other bands such as Aborym are working. On our first efforts, Blacklodge began by writing our songs exclusively with the guitar first. But on the ‘Login:SataN’ album, some songs had been written first using electronic elements, and that will be applied more and more in the future. Technology is spreading and taking control of the artist, like a plague… The most important thing is the same as for every musician, if you want to stay coherent you should first download your emotions from your soul to your eyes, and then just translate it…

Why do you blatantly promote the Redway fetish website?
It was a cool thing to do, as all the Blacklodge members were addicted to this website. But above that point, this website was a great typical example of the intrusion of technology in human intimity. The internet could be seen as a magical extension of the human psyche using the power of electronics. All the worst perversions can be found online, and the incredible request for extreme porn is really fascinating. Now you can easily watch grannies sucking dogs, trannies being gangbanged and teens being raped by ugly old men. And why? Because it lies in the deep fantasy of some of us. Surf on the internet, and explore the subconscious of humanity. Face hell.

Your songs were re-mastered before being released. Was Mick Kenney’s mixing and mastering an essential addition to how Blacklodge now sound like?
Our songs were remastered because I made the recording and the mixing of the album on my own, and I wanted someone else to work on the sound to add something new and different. Mick was really the best guy for the job in my mind, as I was fond of Anaal Nathrakh. He made a great work adding a colder, yet more brutal sound to the songs. The change between the first version of the tracks and after the Mick’s mastering is important enough to say that Mick made a strong addition to the Blacklodge sound.

How does this differ in live gigs?
It is very difficult to have correct sound. We are working a lot now to have the same on stage. It is nowadays our main work.

Should everyone have ‘equal rights’?
Er, well, you mean in society? In a society nobody has ‘equal rights’ and will never have them. It’s pure fiction to believe in that kind of shit. The ‘equal rights’ ideas were maybe invented by some idealistic people, believing in their own fantasy. But now these kind of speeches are mostly used by politicians to create the illusion of comfort, regarding other types of government, and to justify democracies, so their leadership. It’s also a strong weapon in international relationships… just take a look at China. It’s growing and has the potential to crush western societies. But Western societies have a strong weapon: in case China is gaining too much power, they can stop any trade and asphyxiate this country, in the name of this so called respect for human rights… Don’t be fooled.
But Blacklodge does not really care actually about that notion of rights, as it belongs to nation’s code and justice organisations. The individualistic views of Blacklodge consider just the rights as a social landscape were the inner soul has to evolve to experience itself and achieve its goal.

How do you look at humanism, and the European Union?
About humanism: what do you mean exactly??? If you mean humanism as:
A: the doctrine emphasizing a person’s capacity for self-realization through reason; rejects religion and the supernatural- well, in that case that’s bullshit, I mean reason alone is as stupid for me as superstitious obsession. My self realisation is driven by a mix of both reason and spiritual intuition.
B: the doctrine that people’s duty is to promote human welfare- in that case, it sounds more like something politicians have to support because it develops human solidarity, giving them more time to fuck them from behind.
European Union? Well, Blacklodge is not interested in the history of the empires… a new one is rising. Anyway, we are more concerned about our self-realisation, independent from the state and society we live in. European Union is cool when I can pay my beers in festivals without having to get annoyed with currency. That’s all.

What is your opinion about the commercialized and streamlined ‘black metal’ sound which is a relatively modern product, as executed by the likes of Dimmu Borgir and Covenant? Is it black metal after all?
Well, I’m not interested in those bands… I just listened to them a couple of times. We are speaking about their latest realisations here. That’s obviously not black metal, just good musicians making easy listening songs with a touch of black design. Not my cup of tea, just the kind of music nice to hear in a lift. The artists didn’t involve their deep souls enough. However I like early Covenant.

How can a man leave his legacy after dying? Socrates said it was either by having offspring (passing on of the genes) or by leaving a work of art, would you agree?
Very interesting question, which had been a big source of discussion between me and Silence for years. Socrates’ quote sounds pretty right, but still I want to add something. What is a legacy???
Most of the time I see attempts of legacy around me (art or offspring) as a way to try to cheat the reality of Death. To fight Death. To heal the apparent vanity of life and the tragic end of our ego: legacies are an attempt to have a longer intimacy with this reality. I was obsessed first by this need to deny the reality of my end. Blacklodge’s demo lyrics are just translating that obsession:

‘Bitterness, mediocrity taste, I thought I’d die with the sun
My depressive winds are blowing on me as I know Death will not forget me’

(from ‘InnerCells’, a song called ‘Depressive Winds’). This song deals with the sexual and morbid attraction for underage children. That is to say a morbid art- to kill other’s offspring, to forget my own death. This destructive pulsing shows that my obsession led to a attempt to create a legacy through the destruction of others’ ones. It was totally confirming the idea of Socrates. Now it’s different. Because I have experimented already with Death, and have a knowledge of morbid alchemy, my art has transformed. I do not want to do art as a legacy, but to learn to accept and celebrate Death. Then I won’t need anymore a legacy, because I’ll be on the way to success- my Death.
But what do you mean by legacy ? In my opinion, if you want to leave a legacy, you should find what is your art, whatever it may be, and then improve it through achievements. It is a legacy of your life, of your existence on earth, as art is kind of like the material translation of your emotional experiences. Then you could have offspring, but offspring is a legacy of blood and the genes… it depends on whether you can educate the offspring. Legacy by leaving offspring sounds to me like a defeat. I see most of the time around me people having offspring and making their education because they failed to achieve their own piece of art. Wanting to have offspring so it would finish what they once failed… I don’t give a shit for now to have offspring, I work fully on my art. And I don’t perform it to leave a legacy… I’m more motivated to the creation of an entity, who touched the divinities of my pantheon and beliefs. I don’t care if it dies with me. I’m not interested in leaving a legacy to men. I’m always looking at the future, even beyond my death. Legacies are for the ones who fear death. I don’t.

How was the recent live experience with Reign Of Erebus and Aborym? Are you planning any more live shows soon?
There was also Arkhon Infaustus. Well it was just fucking great man, really. I wasn’t expecting such reactions. I mean, our music is always kind of surprising for diehard metalheads, with the presence of electronic elements. So you never really know what the reaction of the public will be. And we were playing first, usually at the time where all the people are drinking their beers and arriving. But the place was already full, and the people were attentive to our gig, with a lot of support. That was really exciting. Then we had all the night to get fucked up and high, with great bands playing and an incredible place of inferno and lust. Man I was so high on a couple of E’s… that was totally insane. That was just a great moment. Excess all areas! Chaos, SataN!

Any suggestions on how interested listeners can obtain your back-catalogue?
Well, many people got in touch with me to have earlier demos… but I’ll have to re-release them I think. Just go to the Blacklodge website and keep yourself updated for an eventual re-release of the material. Maybe a label will release all the early demo on a CD…watch out.

Right, thanks for your time, please if you think there is anything more I should have asked and didn’t give us the information yourself!
Well, be aware there will be a split EP with Blacklodge and Diapsiquir out in a couple of weeks or months. And a couple of gigs too… just check our website http://www.loginsatan.org. Thanks for your interesting interview D.