Wallachia Interview
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1. Hello, Lars. Please introduce us in your musical universe, unveiling Wallachia and yourself as a musician along the years that past since you decided to walk this line.
Greetings Sehmetia! Wallachia started out intentionally with the idea of being an one-man project by myself back in the early - mid nineties. Growing up with an one year older cousin that got me into a lot of music, as well as the basics of playing guitar. I was really hooked on music in an early age and went on to discover a lot of stuff, as well as developing mostly all my musicanship on my own too. Everything went more and more in the extreme path, as that's what naturally feels closest to me and my expressions. The whole death metal scene around '89 - '93 as well as the bm movement up here in Scandinavia especially. So Wallachia started taking shape and I had some songs ready, but didn't really get anywhere with it at that time. There wasn't really any scene or whatever up here, so finding any suitable musicians to step in and help me out (drums) was impossible really. But I got in touch with Eystein Garberg (now guitarist in Lumsk) over some music-trading and such, and he was more or less in the same situation as me. So I asked him if he would be interested in doing Wallachia together with me, and just a few months later we had gotten together and recorded our demo during one weekend in November 1995, 16 hours altogether in the studio. The demo was self-released on tapeformat in March 1996 in a ltd. edition of 200 copies that quickly flew away. So another (and more professional) pressing of 500 more copies were done a couple of months later. This lead us to the attention of Impure Creations Records in France, and they wanted to put our demo out on mcd-format. We agreed with their proposal and the "Wallachia" mcd was released in the summer of 1997. The label had by that time changed their name to Velvet Music International, and they offered us a deal for a full-length release as well.
At this time me and Eystein tried to form a full line-up of Wallachia, having a drummer and bass-player in the picture. But soon realizing it wouldn't work out, also with the distance between me Eystein at first point. A few rehearsals and really getting nowhere with the songs I had completed. So it ended up being me and two drummers that played on half of the songs each when we went into the studio to record the album.
"From Behind The Light" was released on Velvet Music Intl. in September 1999 in a ltd. edition of 1000 copies, and it ended up being their last release before they dissolved as a label. I think they had economical problems due to having signed way too many bands at that time, putting more into the releases than what it gained back with low sales or whatever. But VMI was a good and solid label the time it lasted. They had Blut Aus Nord and released their two first albums, Zephyrous from Greece, Necrophagist, Mundanus Imperium, Yyrkoon, etc...so good bands all in all...but unfortunately it all fell down. This also leaving Wallachia on bare ground right after the release of our album. It didn't really get much attention, advertisement and so on.
I already had some new material ready (which now will appear on the 2nd album) and still wanted to do more with Wallachia asap at that time. I was doing my obligatory military service in the year 2000, so when I finished that thing I actually recorded a couple of instrumental pre-prod songs together with a friend that was establishing a studio up here. But this was early in the process with everything and something happened with those files and in the end all the recordings were lost. But it was not of importance really. It after all gave me a rough idea of the entire soundpicture. After this I stepped into the band Eternal Dementia and recorded one song with them for a comp.cd, where I played all the guitars. And in 2005 I signed a contract with Dark Horizon Records, Usa, to re-release "From Behind The Light" on cd with the "Wallachia" recording as bonus. Also doing the same on tape-format through the Ukrainian label Nightbirds Rex, run by Roman Sayenko of the bands Drudkh/Hate Forest. These re-releases sort of marked the return of Wallachia and that a new album was in the works. In 2006 I recorded an instrumental pre-production for the entire 2nd album and from time to time put some songs out on my myspace profile to promote the return of Wallachia.
The 2nd album has been written over a long period of time, between 1998 - 2004, and since then a lot of the material for the 3rd opus have taken shape as well. So now the plan is to release the 2nd album "Ceremony Of Ascension" in the spring/summer 2008 finally.
2. What’s your opinion about the black metal scene in general, now when Slavonic bands are moving strong ahead with paganism and are quite innovative and appealing for the public? Are they rising above the Norwegian mother scene of extreme metal?
Scandinavian black metal was really something special between 1992 - 1995, but since then it all became so watered out in every direction. It met the same fate as death metal did a couple of years earlier. More or less the entire underground scene, tapetrading, zines and so on slowly faded away... But I think it was for the better actually, cos since then both dm and bm underground have rebuilt a more solid scene and it's all more stable now than it ever was.
Slavonic bands have a strong identity and spirit and I found some of them very good. They manage to captivate the spirit and feeling from their native lands into the music very well, singing in their own language and so on. I think they continued in the same spirit a lot of the great Scandinavian bands crafted in the early nineties, and pushed it further in their own unique ways. Drudkh is a great example of a really great band with a distinct and very special sound all together. This floating soundscapes, the soundtrack of nature itself somehow. And you have Graveland, Skyforger, Nokturnal Mortum and more.
But I think that there's evolved good bands anywhere, for instance France have had a lot of great stuff coming up the past few years, same with Germany, England and the Usa. So I think there's no strong focus on any special scene or countries anymore, at least not as much as it used to be with the whole Norwegian thing. But a lot of it was more based upon myths and the entire thing going on in the media around those events apart from the music itself.
3. How well do you know the Romanian metal scene and what do you think of it?
My first acknowledge of the Romanian scene was the demotape of Wiccan Rede "From Transilvanian Forest" that I traded with Negru back in the day. Great band from that point on and to what would become Negura Bunget. It's a band with a strong identity, sound and atmosphere, and there's a certain aura of mystique around them, the ancient native language and so on.
"Maiastru Sfetnic" has become one of my favourite albums of any bands in general, and is perhaps the greatest one to come from Romania in my opinion. "N'Crugu Bradului" and "Om" are also interesting ones where they push their soundscape even further with percussion and a bit untraditonal structure, which is good. So Negura Bunget is for me a very special band and influence.
Apart from this I like bands such as Argus Megere, Kandaon, Bucovina and a few others I have come to discover. Romania has a long and strong history full of mythical stories, conflicts and struggles, so it's a lot of warrior-spirit there to captivate within bm music. I think that these bands definitely connects their soundscape with their surroundings and historical past. The Romanian scene has grown a lot now the past few years, and in general there seem to be more going on there, concerts and stuff. So that's just great!
4. If you ever come to Romania, what is the first place you’d visit? Have you thought about an itinerary?
Oh, I definitely have a strong desire to visit Romania for many reasons, and first of all because of the link to the name of my band and the whole inspirational part of that. Haven't really made any plans around it, but as it seems now it can possibly happen during the last half of 2008 or some time during 2009. That's at least what I have in mind. Guess I will arrive in Bucharest and spend some time there, then up to Brasov, Sibiu and the Fagaras mountain areas. And definitely Timisoara and would also like to see Cluj Napoca before ending up in Bucharest in the end again. That's sort of what I roughly have in mind, but there are smaller places on the route. The ruins of Poenari, the Snagov monastery, Hunedoara, etc... Have to make this happen!
5. What equipment [instruments] do you use and what was your first guitar? These days everyone wants to have the top things, the most evolved ones. How do you think the talent is influenced by the instruments that you start with, for example, electric guitar vs. classic one.
I started out with sort of a "beginners package" with a pretty small Vantage guitar and a little 20 watt amplifier with only clean sound on it. I was 12 years old when I got my first guitar. There is both a yes and a no part to your question, cos at first I think it's more important to focus on the actual playing and not on the equipment itself. And there are many examples of good albums produced with little and cheap equipment, yet being monumental recorings. Take Bathory for instance and how Quorthon made those huge epic albums as "Blood Fire Death" and "Hammerheart" on a 16-channel mixer with not the best equipment around apart from a decent guitar or something. Having good equipment can automatically give you better sound right away, but I think it all comes down to the performance in the end. The main thing is to feel comfortable playing and that the equipment rather eases off some of the physical strain rather than provide you further pains/complications that way.
That's the most important part, I think. But as far as having the top brands and all of that, it shouldn' be the motivation to play music. I created some of my songs on an acoustic guitar as that was the only thing I had available at a certain moment...and the keyboard parts I did on "From Behind The Light" I learned on my friend's piano over a couple of evenings prior to going into the studio. So it's like whatever you have around and try to do the best with it.
Now the past years I have changed around and bought some new guitars. I still have my old BC Rich Ironbird that I used on my demo and album. A friend of mine have borrowed it to play live with his band, other than that it mostly hangs on my wall these days. I mainly use my Parker Fly Deluxe model that I came across last summer for a very reasonable price, so I just had to get it. Since I tried one of those guitars a couple of years back, I absolutely fell in love with it. A very slick, light and comfortable guitar playing fast stuff on and it sounds awesome with active pick-ups giving it a very warm tone and sustain.
Honestly it has inspired me to play around more and it's very allround really.
And I have two Ibanez models now. One S520EX model which is a very compact and solid one, good shape and everything. And one MTM1, which is a deeper tuned and more simple guitar as far as technical aspects. It's simply designed to carry out a heavy wall of sound. That one will be used on certain songs on the 3rd Wallachia opus, the more heavy and lenghty epic songs there. Apart from this I have a Marshall rig with some effects and such, but I usually have a very simple set up for my playing.
6. How do you compose your music? Starting with the guitar?
Yes, that's how it usually goes. I just sit around and play random stuff and ideas that pop up from time to time, nothing specific. Some times I can just pull a certain chord on my guitar, whatever, and from that one I sort of can hear or shape something. A theme sort of becomes out of itself. There's no particular patterns of how I create music, the songs just create themselves over periods of time. Some songs, even the most simple ones have been created over years, and then again I have created an entire song over one evening for instance. Some times I can hear a theme in my head and then later on try to transfer it over unto my guitar. And I can keep a theme for a long, long time before I have something in connection with it. I rather focus on few themes in each song and trying to keep a certain atmosphere, wholeness to it.
The structure is quite simplistic and floating, sort of keeping the same pace through entire songs. I usually have a picture of the song in my head, how I want it to be all together. Music, lyrics, atmosphere... And I use a lot of time with my songs, keeping them in my musical winecellar while I'm making new harvests.
7. What about computer made metal music? How much compromise would you make?
I made my pre-production songs over a computer, just recording my guitar-tracks along programmed drums, bass & keys. This all happened at a friend's homerecording-studio over a few hours some time back now. Just to have a rough idea of how it all would come together in the end.
Now these pre-production recordings became the foundation for the actual recording process of my 2nd album, cos I hired a drummer to record real drums on top of these songs. So it's been very helpful for me that way, also for my own practice and playing. For some time I thought I would have to make the compromise and keep the programmed drums at least, but luckily I got the help from Stefan Traunmüller (from the band Golden Dawn and engineer/producer of my album) to find this drummer guy, Thomas Kocher down in Austria. So now we are making a really good and organic sounding record with live performances all the way. As I wanted!
Technology can be helpful and it can also be a curse. Some bands today spend more time in the studio on editing their recorded tracks than the actual recording, moving it around to every micro-second of perfection, taking away the vitality and feeling. This especially goes for drums. Nowadays you have drumprograms for the computer that are sounding as close and realistic to real drums as possible, and you have drummers editing and triggering their drums to machine-like perfection. So it's almost just the same. And also this whole thing about recording one riff at a time and then looping it over and over again with some computer-assistance. It just takes away the feeling from the music when there's no vibe or energy to it. So for me it's better the more real and live recorded it is. Computers are helpful in the actual recording process, mixing, mastering, but I will always avoid using them as instrumental tools.
8. Does it help you financially having this band?
Rather on the contrary. I think I have lost more money on Wallachia than getting anything back, and that's all good for me. From the deals I've had with my labels I have chosen to take a certain amount of cd's pr. pressing instead of waiting around for some money. And I've used them to trade with other bands/distro's, used them as promotion or given them to friends. It's most important for me that it gets out there than I get some money back.
The album I'm recording now I have hired a drummer myself and doing everything from my own pocket, including the studio-session, going to Austria, etc... So we'll see where it all leads, but it's pretty hard to make it actually. And that's also why it has been delayed a couple of times.
9. Is there a country who’s present you like more than it’s past? What’s your opinion about people attraction to the past?
Hmm, not really. I guess every nation has some scars from the past regardless and have evolved in a positive ways. Though some countries still dwell too much in timeless conflicts, such as in the middle east. There is like a two millenium old hatred that never has ceased and just seem to grow larger and involve more nations too. I have some longings for the past in the way that I think humanity has evolved to become way too much dependant on materialistic things. There's too much distractions everywhere and people are really running away from themselves and becoming more shallow. You meet your next door neighbour on the internet instead of outside the house somehow, things like that. The past for me links to freedom, peace of mind and more harmony with nature. I really despise a lot of the modern world, all the dirty traffic, cars, all the digital gadgets and the latest fashion of this and that. It just evolves in a way that we become more lazy and dumb actually. It's important to both learn from history and look ahead at the same time, not just dwell around the things of the past you can't change. I think there were stronger values, morality and purity in the past. More honour and respect for one another and our surroundings.
10. I guess you are also attracted to the past, thinking about the band’s name. It might look strange for a Nordic band to choose this name, Wallachia, making a connection with Romania, justice and Christianity in a way. This, when most black metal bands yearn to be associated with Norway. What determined you to choose this name and how does it influence you further?
The name Wallachia was chosen for my band some time after I came across this Danish book that dealt with the subjects of vampirism, werewolves, superstitions, myths and folklore mainly, but it also covered the stories about the actual sources to these myths, the morbid lives of Elizabeth Bathory, Vlad Tepes, Gilles De Rais... As a kid growing up I was very much into vampire movies, especially the old Hammer classics with Christopher Lee as Dracula, and this was around the time when Coppola's version of Dracula was being made, so I was really into the whole subject. But when dwelling further into this book I got, the whole story about Vlad Tepes, the conflicts and wars against the sultans and Ottoman Turks, how barbaric and cruel it all was. Of course very fascinating and a perfect source for creating some grand epic and barbaric music to. I really liked the name Wallachia, as to me it sounded mysterious and would go well along with the music I was creating. I got further into the history and have read a couple of more detailed books and articles on the matter, and there's something about Vlad Tepes as fearless warrior, a man of discipline and order that appeals to me. He's both seen as a hero and saviour, but also a betrayer and tyrant...it's a complicated story which connects with his ancestors even down to his brother that in the end betrayed him.
So for me Wallachia was a perfect name as it also expresses some of my own personal values and sense of justice.
11. All your history is filled with complications, natural and normal somehow, and also a long absence since your first album. What is the reason for your disappearance and how did it change you?
Struggles with getting a line-up together was alone the reason that I wanted to keep Wallachia as a one-man band and do my best to perform all the material myself. It has only been the drums that have held me back a little.
Everything went pretty smooth with the demo, but it was a bit more complications around "From Behind The Light" and the release of that album.
Our label vanished right after the release, leaving me back on scratch with everything again. My 2nd album was already in the works at that time and I just continued to puzzle with that one up through the years, as well as structuring some songs for the 3rd one as well. I knew that I would be back with a release someday when I was ready for it, and I just took my time to enjoy things and reflect upon myself a bit more. I put a lot more thought and effort into the songs this time, a lot more personal views, negative things that I've endured in life, and in the end it became like a manifest, the end of an era.
So I just kept on creating stuff without any pressure, just enjoying the process of seeing the songs naturally come to life. So for me the 2nd album already is pretty old by now, hehe. But it will sound fresh even to me when it all is completely recorded and put out. It's gonna be great to get these songs out of my head and be able to clear my mind for new impressions and focus on the next opus. I have just been enjoying my life and having my work at the cinema apart from being consumed with music. So in 2005 Wallachia was back with the re-release of "From Behind The Light", in 2006 the pre-production for the 2nd album was made and in 2007 the actual recordings started and now it's just about to be completed finally.
12. You are now a few months away from releasing “Ceremony of Ascension”. How is the recording going, the lyrics and voice, instruments and collaborators?
The drums was recorded in October 2007 by Thomas Kocher in Soundtempel studios in Salzburg, Austria. So we're now trying to set up dates for the remaining recordings and me going down there in the late winter/spring this year. We tried to make it happen earlier, but it's been way too hectic with our schedules this far unfortunately. I will perform all the guitars, bass and vocals myself, and Stefan (Golden Dawn) will help me out with the synth, mellotron & choir parts a bit. I just sent him the actual files from the pre-prod sessions and maybe we'll be able to use some of those parts and extend the soundwise. We'll see. Also I might have some guest-appearances on lead-guitar and vocals, but it's too early to say, and it will be a surprise...even to me.
I've been working a bit with some lyrical adjustments here and there, just in order to make it flow more along the music. It's strange picking up songs you completed a long time ago and how your perception of things are now compared to the moment they were created, just how they evoke a certain moment in your life.
13. This album is mostly about christians and ways in life. Please speak about the concepts of songs and their connection with the album title. Does it want to reflect, among other things, the flaws of being a Christian? J *smile*
"Ceremony Of Ascension" means to rise above any doctrine that limits your being, to withstand the prejudice and judgement of others that put themselves supreme in rule. This has a lot to do with Christianity and certain experiences I've had in my life. There's a lot of talk about "forgiveness" in their faith, but I have felt nothing but condemnation really. When I was in my early teenage years there used to come these Jehovah Witness' people at our door all the time with these magazines, and if we refused they would just put them in the mailbox... Well, I happened to read them actually and I was surprised to see how much their ideology is consumed with death, torture and apocalyptic visions. Armageddon seems to be the highlight in their belief, the final achievement, eternal life aside the saviour....yeah right!
The thing that provokes me is that these people won't ever leave you alone, that they say you're not worthy unless you accept their salvation and that they are the only ones that will enter the kingdom of heaven. They are so convinced and consumed by their own words, having to restrict their lives according to the doctrines of their believes. I've heard stories about people that have abandoned and left this "deathcult" and being followed and harassed by the (even family) members. I think I have a good sense of ethics and respect now, more than ever, and I can accept that people have other perceptions of things contrary to mine. I have removed myself from the things that have caused me pain or frustrations in life, and I want to have that peace and be undisturbed that way. But when someone crosses your border and say that you are not worthy, when they don't even know who you are, then...it fires me up!
This is what lies in the bottom of my album, a deep wrath against the condemnation from the church and the false importance it has in our world today. Something that has it's foundation two milleniums back in time when theories still were quite naive and hypotethical, when miracles for some strange reasons happened quite often.
Also the theme of "martyrdom" is reflected in a couple of the songs, and those are very much rooted in our world as of today. Not only the Christian church, but perhaps more than anything within Islam. How much religion is connected with death and torment, how many innocents have lost their lives for the case of a God of light, for the sake of goodness. It's all a paradox.
I think by writing these songs, getting all my frustrations and anger manifested this way, really made me feel good in the end.
Then again a song like "Void Expansion" for instance deals with the shallowness of humanity, how materialstic and empty we've become, filling our lives with outside stimulances to rush through the everyday life, devoured by the ego of being better than the one next to you, whatever... The x-generation.
"Rival Of A Cursed Destiny" is the most personal song, filled with hatred and bitterness towards life, the way I grew up being mostly left to myself in my childhood/teenage years... I've had a lot of negative emotions shaping me in the end to become my own enemy, to conquer myself only and to withdraw from the ones that held me down. Very much reflecting to the title of the album. Hatred will only devour you in the end if you don't find a release, a way to manifest it. And with this song, both the music and lyrics I feel as if I've put all those emotions captivated and to rest now. To take something negative and transform the energies to something equal the other way around.
"The Wreckage Of Innocence" is pretty much in the vein of "The Last Of My Kind" from the first album. A short little melancholic tune about feeling lost and alone in this world, beyond redemption and forgiveness. The words speak for themselves. All in all "Ceremony of Ascension" is an album that represents a lot of my own spirit, the heavy thoughts, questionmarks to a lot of things concerning faith and our journey through life here on earth. "Genesis Enigma" is a song that sums up this sense of not knowing if there's any deeper purpose with our earthly existence, and a continuation of our spiritual lives. "All we know is that we know nothing"... There are a thousand paths to choose from and that just makes it all more confusing, yet there are those to claim to know the absolute truth and that their way is correct according to the word of God and so on. Puh! And then the other fuckers will say the same and there you go...
I think I confused myself a lot by getting into some of these subjects, and I tried to see it from many perspectives really. And in the end it only evolved me to stay further away and I think I've expressed all my thoughts concerning these matters on this album. It forced me to think a lot more and to value what is important in my life. Amen!
14. I know you struggle a lot with the lyrics too. So you find them important for your music? What about when choosing and deciding if you like another band?
[ “The wounds won't stop bleeding
Time heals nothing”
I like these 2 lyrics. I chose them because they are the opposite of what people always say, the opposite of the therapy that everyone seems to know and practice. You strongly believe in them?
“Selfinflicted Stigmata” is very acid and strong, also, but I’ll let you speak more about them]
In my opinion the lyrics are just as important as the music. It might be the soundscape that you listen to in the end that matters, but I put as much (or even more) effort in writing lyrics as I do with composing music.
This also due to that I'm not that experienced with writing, so I have to concentrate a lot more on it. And I never force myself to write anything, cos it has to come natural for me. When I get the feeling I can sit straight and write and it all flows good, but it's always been a struggle expressing the thoughts and visions I have with words on paper. I usually get an idea of a song in my head, the title and everything, and then I know the framework and the atmosphere I want to conjure. So I just take my time and play around with words. It all has to make sense and harmonize with the music.
And it's usually the same about the bands I like and listen to myself. That there's this wholeness to their sounds and images. I like music that goes beyond just being some entertainment value.
I like bands that affects me emotionally, be it in a brutal/angry way that keeps me in good spirit, focused and motivated. Hate Eternal being a perfect example of that. Or even in a sad/beautiful/melancholic way that makes me ponder and think. This is what I try to conjure with Wallachia at least.
The two sentences you mention were taken from "The Wreckage Of Innocence" and they resemble this state of melancholy that I often find myself in.
It's all about being realistic towards life and not finding any false comfort in some hypothetical believes, putting on a fake smile and be happy all the time. Daring to acknowledge these emotions will also make you feel better in the end and not have a complete breakdown at some time. These feelings are just present and appear from time to time. It's all natural.
"Selfinflicted Stigmata" is inspired by actual events of Greek Orthodox Christians celebrating easter, the death and cruxifixion of Christ, by whipping themselves with ropes attached with glue and broken glass, bleeding all across their backs. Even real life crucifying one and another to show "gratitude and respect to the Lord", ehm. I think that this represents the far side of Christianity, or to say rather the core of it actually. The symbol of Christianity is the very cross that Christ died upon and it's such a cultivation of death and misery that they even inflict it upon themselves to feel worthy.
I just don't connect this with any goodness at all, and from my point of view it's a total misconception of what their faith should represent.
It's all so damn weary, being reminded all this misery, repention and forgiveness...for what? I wonder...
15. When you are making music, you try to fit it to one particular genre or you just want to express your ideas as exactly as possible? Do you succeed in transforming into reality the intangible? Your music always had a melodic, melancholic side and is not just aggressive black metal.
Well, I just let the songs become themselves naturally and I do my best to make them feel connected, floating and staying within a certain atmosphere all the way through. I incorporate most of my ideas into Wallachia and I think I have found a natural balance between the more brutal parts touching into death metal with the pale and melancholic sides of black metal. Some parts reminds me of the sonata's of Beethoven for instance, this full minorchord sadness a la "The Last Of My Kind", and some parts are perhaps close to folktones, whatever. I work with ideas and themes all the time and I have a lot of parts in my head that haven't fit in any song, and I just keep them in memory and maybe pick them up later on. So I can create a song over a long period of time... All of a sudden you just make it all fit perfectly together. Patience is the key in my case. And in this long period of silence with Wallachia I''ve created more or less two albums of material.
16. If you were to name the most important influences you had along the time, what would they be and what you’ve taken from them?
Oh, when I started with my musical project it was very much the mid-era Bathory that inspired me, "Under The Sign...", "Blood Fire Death" and "Hammerheart". These grand, epic, brutal and savage masterpieces. Also the fact that it was more or less a one-man vision and project gave me a lot of motivation to do something on my own too. Especially "Blood Fire Death" has inspired me a whole lot. I remember the first time I saw the wonderful fold-out vinyl cover with the great photo of Quorthon & co on the inside fold. How much it affected me already then with just the artwork. The music was something like I've never heard either, so it had a great impact on me on all levels.
Quorthon managed to keep a certain mystical aura and anonymousity around the band till the very end, and even the two "Nordland" albums he left at the end were great. It was indeed very sad when he passed away.
Burzum was also a great influence for many of the same reasons, most of all for the uniqueness in sound. The monotonous soundscape, the clean and simple structure in the songs, and also it was indeed a surprise that such music would be from a one-man band here in Norway. It really caught me by surprise. Other than this I grew up discovering bands like Rotting Christ, Samael, Moonspell, Master's Hammer, Emperor, Enslaved, Ancient, Dissection, Marduk, Tiamat, My Dying Bride, Ancient Rites, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Napalm Death, Carcass and those things. A lot of really, really great stuff in the early - mid nineties. Some of the later influences would be Windir, Angelcorpse, Negura Bunget, Drudkh, Blut Aus Nord, Vast, Inquisition, Akercocke, Graveland and so on.
Anything I listen to will in one or another way affect me and my music, sure.
As I said, the epic structure of Bathory, the roughness and simplicity of Burzum, the sad and wonderful harmonies in Windir, the pure wrath of bands like Deicide, Hate Eternal, etc...it can all be tracked down in my music if you listen closely enough, I guess.
17. This album that we’re awaiting is not so much into Walachian historical subjects, but your third album “Kazliku Bei” is approaching this subject? This third album is also, almost finished, isn’t it? A long absence turns out to be productive. Can you tell us just a little bit about this album too?
That's correct. It just happened that the songs on "Ceremony Of Ascension" were very much linked together as far as the concept behind the songs. "Kaziklu Bey" is basically my old idea of a full-length album. I've had a clear image of it inside my head for a long, long time. The general structure and the songs... So I was pretty much co-writing two albums simultaneosly.
"Kaziklu Bey" will be a grand, savage and epic work featuring 10 songs, which of 6 lengthy ones and 4 instrumentals in between. That's how it looks now. The songs are more or less completed, the basic ideas and structures at least.
It starts with the instrumental "Sighisoara" which fades over to the most savage Wallachia song ever "Ten Thousand Spears"...and in the end fades out with the instrumental "Snagov". In between here there is the longest song I've created, and also the shortest and most intense. So it will be a fresh and varied album in pure Wallachia tradition. It's not a conceptual album really, but all the songs are linked to the history of your country and the very reasons that I was inspired to name my band Wallachia. Each song has an individual meaning and story to tell. I won't reveal anymore about it at this early stage, but it's something I really look forward getting into.
18. Do you plan to have live performances? Is it difficult to find session members? Or maybe you’re planning a special, exclusive appearance in Walachia’s land?
At the moment there isn't any focus on possible live performances. I rather wanna concentrate on doing my albums first now and see where it leads with that. Maybe around the 3rd album I can make something happen with it.
Then I would certainly love to perform in my "homeland", oh indeed;)
I actually already have had some contacts and offers concerning this, so...
19. I must thank you for your time, it was a pleasure doing this interview. What would you say in the end to your Romanian readers and listeners?
Thanks a lot to you, Sehmetia, for the interesting conversation and the great interview. It's been an honor answering your questions, making me dive into myself looking at things from another perspective. All my greetings go to you and your husband, Vasile! Thanks to you both. Also I wanna salute my Romanian listeners, thanks a lot for your support!!! It above all means something that people from your country appreciate my music. "Kaziklu Bey" will be a tribute to you all and your wonderful land. Hope to see you one day!
Ciao,
Lars
"Ceremony Of Ascension":
1. Selfinflicted Stigmata
2. Refusalvation
3. Kamikaze Christians
4. Rival Of A Cursed Destiny
5. Purity In Blood And Spirit
6. Genesis Enigma
7. Void Expansion
8. The Wreckage Of Innocence
(Aprox.) playing time: 36 minutes.
===This interview also appears on MetalAct[dot]com
