Gnosis of the Witch are without doubt one of my favorite bands right now. As mysterious as their name, and EP titles, suggest, they play an incredibly beautiful strain of raw atmospheric black metal. The two members are equally mysterious in identity, but we did manage to track down one of them, Niðafjöll, for an interview, which was conducted by the intrepid Trevor Proctor. Read on my filthy friends, read on.
LoF - Thank you very much for agreeing
to an interview, there’s a lot going on in the world of Gnosis of the Witch and
your time is very much appreciated. Gnosis of the Witch is a name many may only
have heard of recently – could you tell us a little about the band, its
formation, background and the music you play?
GotW - Greetings, thank you for your
interest in our music. Yes it is true our name has not been around for very
long and we are relatively unknown, but we aim to change that.
Gnosis of The Witch came to be around
May of 2013 and since its formation, we have completely devoted ourselves to
its well-being. This is much more than a band to us, a holy spiritual praxis if
you will. Every simple detail, from the lyrics, the artwork, the to overall
concept of the band is based on our devotion to the nightside of Nordic spirituality.
The music to be simply put is a mix of ambient atmosphere and vicious black
metal.
LoF - It must be an extremely exciting
time for the band with your debut recording Rún Af inn Auðr coming out on
cassette via Darker then Dark along with the high profile 12” MLP release of
Dauðr Burðr Þrysvar via Iron Bonehead Productions – how happy are you with the
releases in terms of how they sound and also the associated publicity? Also, is
Rún Af inn Auðr due for release via the Mordgrimm label?
GotW - We are very proud of the
exposure we have recieved in the past year. Darker Than Black created an
excellent cassette we are very happy with, and in a matter of a few days, Iron
Bonehead released the new 12" version of "Dauðr Burðr Þrysvar"
and Wohrt Records has released the cassette version as well. We are very happy
with the publicity and attention we have been given. While we write this music
for our own personal gain, we would be lying if we said it did not make us feel
proud that others enjoy what we spend so much time to create.
Yes, Mordgrimm was due to release the
debut EP "Rún Af Inn Auðr" last October but has run into many
pressing delays. When the release is finished and available, they will make an
announcement.
LoF - It’s quite a meteoric rise to
prominence for the band with many underground rumblings and compliments already
about Gnosis of the Witch – have you been surprised in any way by this?
GotW - When we formed the band, we did
not expect such a dramatic rise into the open eye of the underground. We still
are quite "underground" but it is indeed a good feeling when people
say they know your music and enjoy what you create. We intend on forging onward
and creating a path of burning fire so all will see our wake of smoldering ash
and be forced to pay attention.
LoF - Opener “Ek Bjóða Inn” is quite
an entrancing, mesmerising track – it grips you from its beginning and captures
the attention to its conclusion, what’s the meaning behind it and was it
intended to be so hypnotic for the listener?
GotW - “Ek Bjóða Inn”, or "I
summon thee" is an incantation. It is a spell to open the portal between
our subconsious and the darkness beyond. "Dauðr Burðr Þrysvar" means
"Death Born Thrice" and is an ode to the kin of Loke. Each song
represents his spawn, "Ormar Eitr" belongs to Jörmungandr,
"Svartr Úlfar Blóð" belongs to Fenrisúlfr, and "Dauðiþurs
Seiðr" belongs to Hel. This opening spell is to awaken the fire within and
prepare the mind for the ritual to come.
LoF - What led to the decision for
track titles and vocals being in the Old Norse language?
GotW - Considering the band's concept,
imagery and spiritual devotion it seemed "ordinary" to write the
music and title the songs in English. We want our music to feel ancient and
withered from an age many moons have passed. To spend the time learning the Old
Norse language and get an adequate grasp on the way this language was written,
pronounced and ultimately spoken was a necessary task in order to achieve our
goal of giving our music an old atmosphere.
LoF - The music is fantastic and an
incredible achievement for the band – could you tell us a little about the
writing and recording processes and how happy the band is with them?
GotW - Thank you! Considering we have
had previous black metal bands, writing this style of music is no foreign
concept to us. But, to create the style of black metal we do is no simple task.
We have a very specific idea of how our music is to sound and we are very
strict on ourselves and refuse to allow anything that does not grab you by the
throat. If the energy and power we seek is not felt within the music written,
we will not use it. So far, we are very happy and very satisfied with the
releases we have offered.
LoF - The use of occasional background
keyboards contrasts and complements the heaviness and aggression very well,
what led to their inclusion and will they be featured in future recordings?
GotW - We always want to put heavy
emphasis on atmosphere. Atmosphere and ambiance are very important and key
factors in our sound. The reason there are only occasional sounds instead of
being a prominent instrument is that we are, and never will be, a
"symphonic" band. The mood of a particular passage or section may need
to be highlighted and will be to further heightened the energy of that moment
in the song.
LoF - Are there any plans, in the near
or distant future, for Gnosis of the Witch to tour? Also, having just two
members will it be possible for you to play live, or will you be enlisting
other musicians to assist with live performances?
GotW - Considering we are a duo, and
we live in seperate countries the thought of playing live is very hard, but was
never once thought to be impossible. One day, we will bring our rituals to the
stage with the help of our close brothers. Gnosis of The Witch will not simply
dwell within the shadows, we choose to burn in the flames!
LoF - The cover of the MLP is very
eye-catching, whose artwork is it and what’s the relevance behind it to the
music of Gnosis?
GotW - The cover was done by an
exceptional graphic artist based out of the Netherlands by the name of
Brianvdp. Our original artist who did the first EP was unfortunately strained
for time so Iron Bonehead recommended Brianvdp to us and what resulted was an
excellent cover.
The concept of the cover was to
basically summarize the record. The swirling void gives birth to the holy
trinity of Fenrisúlfr/Jörmungandr/Hel in the center. The cover has a very
entrancing or even psychedelic feel we have been told before and this is
exceptional to us as we want our music to be entrancing and meditative.
LoF - What are the band’s plans for
the rest of 2014 and when can we expect a full length release?
GotW - With the release of "Dauðr
Burðr Þrysvar", we will be spending the rest of 2014 writing for our first
full length album. When it will be finished and released, we do not know. We
will let the runes reveal it to us.
LoF - Underground metal is
experiencing its most creative period since the early 1990’s, growing at a very
fast rate – do you think this is a benefit or a disadvantage for the genre?
GotW - An absolute advantage. You will
never find the excellent quality of music in the mainstream eye that you will
find dwelling within the underground. The more serious and devoted metal bands,
the better.
LoF - If you were given the choice of
releasing your music in the present or back in the early 1990’s which period
would you choose and why?
GotW - The present. Nothing will ever
surpass the awe-inspiring collection of music we were given from the early days
of black metal. Our music is an ode to the past, and we choose to release it
now as a reminder of where black metal came from.
LoF - Musically what bands have
influenced Gnosis of the Witch the most and which band would you most to share
a stage with? (past or present)
GotW - While we do not wish to give
the impression that Gnosis of The Witch is merely another black metal band
created from musical inspiration, there are a few black metal bands who have
provided musical inspiration that I am proud to credit as influences, such as
Enslaved, Bathory, Helheim and Burzum. The flames of the past have and never
will burn out.
You’re signed to an excellent and very
influential label in Iron Bonehead; how did you come to be signed with them and
will future releases come via the same label? (you can leave the future release
bit out if it’s dodgy in any way)
Our contact with Iron Bonehead came to
be after our wolf-brothers FŌR released their debut EP on IBP. We spoke with them about the release of
"Dauðr..." and they agreed and we have been welcomed within the label
as a permanent home. All future releases will be with Iron Bonehead.
LoF - Iron Bonehead has a very
impressive roster, how familiar are you with your label mates and do you keep
up with the rest of the label’s releases?
GotW - Oh yes, there is an incredible
roster on Iron Bonehead! A few bands I particularly enjoy are of course our
wolf-brothers FŌR, Cult of Fire, Bölzer, She'ol, Heresiarch and Swarþ to name a
few. The amount of incredible bands that IBP has released is immense, but these
are a few I personally found above the others.
LoF - Thank you very, very much for
taking the time to answer the questions, it’s greatly appreciated and myself
and The Lair of Filth wish you nothing but success in the future.
GotW - We thank you for the interest
and appreciate the opportunity!
Blóta Heilagr Dauði!
//Niðafjöll on behalf of Gnosis of The
Witch
You can check out our reviews of both Gnosis of the Witch releases to date, here and here. You can also buy them here.
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