Hi Tommie, be welcome to Gia Thanatos. It's a real pleasure to have your on our pages. How's everything going on in Stockholm? What will you be delighting your ears with while you answer my questions? Sweet Silence. When I say it's a pleasure, I really mean it, as I'm one of those 200 guys who bought the 'Ur' tape back in 2007, when Saturnalia Temple was just a new and unknown band, and I've followed your releases with great enthusiasm since then. How do you remember those first steps with the band? At that point Doom was already starting to get some more attention again but, did you have a clear idea of Saturnalia Temple becoming a band releasing albums and building it's own career or was it just a new project to express some new ideas you had at that moment Glad to hear you managed to get hold of one of those, pretty rare these days. I have never really felt caught up in genres. They are basically only relevant to people with too much time on their hands, or to labels and journalists who feel a need to make their job easier. I wanted to go back to my roots of raw heavy music with no boundaries and also have a strong spiritual and magical backbone to it all. I am amazed that UR still seem to appeal strongly to people considering it was our first recording and done consciously very raw and intuitively – but it is the blueprint of the band, and the fact it still seems to be relevant, is of course rewarding. I wanted to make records and play live, but had no hurry to do so. Thus we did not embark on any promotion or efforts to “become big”, and never really have worked to “make it bigger”. Everything that has happened with this band has come about naturally and from outside forces lifting us up. There has been extremely little work on our part to get gigs, labels, interviews or attention in general. This reflects an attitude that focuses on the band as an immanent presence within the participants, with no “need” for any confirmation from the outside – even though if any confirmation comes, it is of course appreciated. But the fact that we have moved slowly and steadily for almost ten years has proven the bands integrity and staying power, especially when it comes to live up to our spiritual and creative goals. It would conflict with my personality to go out there in a form of “Rat-Race” in a sort of sordid competition, and although most people assume that’s what all bands do, it is possible to go about things differently. One of the things I truly enjoy about Saturnalia Temple is how with every release you achieve to make your sound a little bit more personal. If we take a listen to 'Ur', we can't say it was a really original recording, and I'm not obsessed with originality either, but it's always great to see how a band refines its sound and models it bit by bit. Your opinion on this? How important is it for you to keep progressing as a band? A very interesting question. One needs to view what levels to pay attention to here. One must view Metal and Rock as a tradition, since that’s what it is nowadays. I remember when I first heard Heavy Metal in the early eighties, or Death and Black Metal in the late eighties, then it felt as it something “original” in terms of energy was taking place, which inspired me of course. Defining originality to me has a lot to do with vibration, charisma and how it makes you feel something that you have not felt before. Not too much about which notes or chords has been chosen by the composer. In the grand scheme of musical composition we must all recognize that whatever is being done, has been done before, in terms of melodical structure, tonality and chord progressions. One can of course always do combinations that can feel refreshing, but much of that has been done too. So we are left with the heart and the core of music, which is where I always have been most active. I see only two types of music really, music that makes me feel something, and music that just disappears out in the air. Carlos Santana said something very simple, but that pin points the whole thing “If you don’t feel anything, how do you expect anyone else to feel anything?”. These days, it is very rare to find music that actually conveys something real, a strong feeling and vibration. Too much is just over produced and made only with theoretical aspects in mind. This is why people are becoming nostalgic and an old Blues song, or an old metal demo still has more impact than any new record. I am not nostalgic myself, and I am not saying that nothing good is made these days. I am merely saying that today, original is to have music that conveys heart, feeling and vibration. And I know many bands today that accomplishes this, and thus to me are extremely relevant. In fact, 'To The Other' sounds way heavier and dense than its predecessor to my ears, and it surprised me because of that. I maybe expected a more psychedelic approach, but in the end it turns out as a quite aggressive/oppressive album all in all, and the sound is pretty raw. Was it due to the whole idea behind the record, which demanded a darker approach, or maybe you simply wanted to play something heavier this time? I prefer not to theorize the creative process. I do not either allow my ego to control the process of creation, or later allow it to revel in what has been created. I try to be an outside observer of the process, and only when creation has been done, I will judge what will be a song, and may of course ponder on how and why things became what they did. But usually I prefer just to keep riding the energy and power that has been released, and allow others to make up their own conclusions, since as soon as music is released to the world, you lose control over it, and how it is perceived. And I don’t mind that at all. I'm surprised to see the term Stoner is often related to your music. I hardly see how you could be labeled in such way as, while still being able to enjoy that style, I see it as something pretty far from your heaviness and obscurity and closer to Punk Rock, despite being able to find some groove on your songs. What do you think about this? How would you define your own music or where do you see it in terms of place and time? As you may have gathered by now, I am not too eager to label, define or explain the music of Saturnalia Temple. Anyone can label us any way they want, and it is inevitable this happens. As for me, I feel very strongly about the band of course, and I feel relevant doing this and I am fulfilling exactly what my will has set out to accomplish with Saturnalia Temple. Finding Tim Call playing the drums on this album was nothing but another positive thing to add to it. I already liked a lot his work on his own bands and, in relation to the previous question, I think he did a great contribution to your sound, making it even heavier. What's your impression on his job on 'To The Other' and what did he bring in in comparison to your previous drummers? Tim is an amazing person and musician! We were so lucky to meet him. He basically saved our asses when the US tour with Esoteric was booked in 2013, and Jens, our drummer suddenly passed away from a ruptured aorta. Tim was already the driver for Esoteric’s bus, and he graciously offered his sticks to Saturnalia Temple. Without him stepping in for us there, I doubt we would have done any more live gigs ever. We went up on stage together at Stella Natura Festival in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, without having ever rehearsed once together, we just met like 1 hour before the gig. This is typical of ST, we often embrace extreme situations and thrive on the challenge and edge of jumping right into the fire. The gig was great, and Tim delivered over our, already high expectations. But since we are based around my Sitra Ahra Studio here in Sweden, it became hard to keep working with Tim due to logistics, and when my old brother Kennet Granholm came and reveled himself to be a competent drummer, we decided to celebrate Tim with a final show at Maryland Death Fest (again without any rehearsal at all) and install Kennet as a full member of the band. The artwork Manuel Tinnemans did for the album managed to completely hypnotize me, just as the music. That vortex of energies swallowing everything is amazing, but it's even more surprising to find a gigantic (kind of crusaders) cross around it, and I even think I see some smaller crosses (in different positions) on the upper right side of the cover and inside your logo. Can you please let us know a bit more about the idea behind all this? I always have a core idea for the artwork. Then I allow the artist to make his own impression and create the final result. I appreciate being surprised and so far, all artists working with ST has exceeded my expectations. I never explain lyrics or concepts, so that will be left for you to make up your own conclusions about. I can just say, that it has nothing to do with Crusaders Crosses, or conventional Christian Cross symbolism. I saw you recently played a show together with Cult of Fire, and despite the difference in the sound of both bands, I think that sounds definitely as a perfect match in terms of atmosphere and the topics you deal with. Given the occult essence of your creations, do you feel close to what's usually labeled as Doom Metal or maybe you share more points of view with styles such as Black and Death Metal? I have already stated my view on genres above. But that evening in London with Cult of Fire and Skán was truly amazing. A highlight for sure. The term “ritual” has become very common in the last years to describe records and live shows. Would you describe your concerts like that or would you keep that word for more private situations/experiences? What would be the essence of a ritual under your point of view? Another very relevant question. A ritual from an esoteric point of view is an act of journeying or directing energies and ideas from the profane domain into the Other side, the sacred, the diabolical or the unknown, depending on definitions used. A ritual can also be an act of will, or acts of reverence towards different energies and entities. But from an esoteric point of view, a merely regulated set of actions does not constitute a ritual. The word has a real meaning, and it is probably misused quite a lot in the metal scene by people who would like to portray an aura of mystique around themselves. I don’t care about that at all. If some people get a kick around playing theatre, that is up to them. But they should be careful, what you play may become real… To me a live performance is a ritual. I make it so. But I do not need to play it out with any outer adornments, such as robes etc. We enjoy having incense, candles and certain objects and artefacts around us at some gigs, but we can play just as fine with nothing at all, except the instruments. What's a Saturnalia Temple live show like? Is the live setting very important to you or is it more about what the music creates in the minds of the assistants? How important is the feedback you get from the audience and the bound between both in relation to the musical result? Would you say you don't give any importance to that or does it have some impact? To me every live situation is unique, and still they are all alike. There is a sort of timelessness when you reach those states of mind and it is like all the live shows are all in the same dimension, outside the mundane world. The aim is to bring the participants there too. I often hear people confirming something along those lines, that they have actually experienced something outside the mundane during our shows, so I guess there is some success! It is of course rewarding to hear that it works. I also don’t judge how people take in a show, some may headbang or jump around, many may stand still with eyes closed, others may sit down or even lie down – to each his own. I mean, to truly, even reach through to one other person in your life is a great thing. So I have a sort of humble attitude to the entire procedure. After at least twenty five years playing and recording music, writing songs, doing concerts ¡K What keeps you doing all this or, if you prefer, what makes it impossible for you to live without music? And how well does music complement your interest in the occult? Music is what partly led me into an esoteric world view, and then the esoteric work empowered and progressed the music and now they are co-existing in a very fruitful and rewarding manner. Since my feet are firmly in the esoteric soil, I tend to place less importance on the business side of things, and more focus what I experience in any given moment, and since I am not expecting the music to provide my bread&beer, I have a very non-compromising attitude to all things here. I will probably always write text and music and create sounds of different kinds. I get an outlet for other soundscapes in my project Lapis Niger, and I am working on a new album there, without any deadline of course. I also drum in The Tower where I can embrace other vibes that I cherish. There are also other new projects being worked on, but I’ll keep those secret for now. So, what will be next on Saturnalia Temple's path? Will there be some minor releases before starting to work on a new album? Did you appreciate the result of your participation on 'On The Powers of the Sphynx' enough as to try another split album experience, or do you prefer focusing on your own releases? We have just concluded two successful headline European tours based on To The Other, and many great festivals. We still have Black Harvest in Sweden in October and North of the Wall in Glasgow next year booked, but that is all at the moment since we have chosen to enter a more internal and creative phase now. We are back handling our own bookings, and focus is to work on the next album. Thanks a lot for your time Tommie, and please keep delighting us with your music for a lot more time. Last words are yours ... Thank you for your patience, and for a well written interview! Remember that we don’t sell any merch via mail order, since we don’t have the time. We sell at gigs, if we have any. But for some gigs, we may not be able to bring any. We are sorry if this is a disappointment to anyone. I believe right now, The Ajna Offensive has some ST shirts left so I suggest going there to buy or to Listenable who probably have some to offer as well. See you out there!
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About ...Gia Thanatos is a webzine dedicated to music for the apocalyptic times. No matter the scene or genre it comes from, and mainly chosen according to its author's taste. Archives
September 2016
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