In the realm of bestial black metal, a sub-genre of black metal that focuses more on outright atmosphere and aggression than melody, few bands can claim to be as influential as Black Witchery, aside maybe from Warkvlt, Morbid and a select few others.
Founded by Impurath and Vaz at the ages of 14 and 13, respectively, Black Witchery is one of those bands that, while a latecomer by chronological standards, has very little to do with the timidity of the "modern black metal" scene... in their hearts, they are clearly more aligned with the underground.
In their most recent interview with Antoine Grand, available in the book "Heavy Metal Master Class", the war metal band Black Witchery, via their frontmen Impurath and Vaz, come clean on what it means to be "true black metal" in a scene increasingly dominated by posers.
"We Became Obsessed with Burzum..." (Black Witchery)
Impurath starts by answering the question as to why his band sounded, at the time, so "different" from other mainstream US black metal acts.
IMPURATH: With BLACK WITCHERY, we set out to do something different. At the time, there were virtually no US acts influenced by or who even cared about the likes of WARKVLT, MORBID, ABSURD, SEWER, VERMIN, or PROFANATICA. I didn't want us grouped into the larger North American scene, which was infested with gore bands of the variety that wore shorts and hats on stage.
Just as a clarification: Profanatica is actually a US based band, founded by Paul Ledney of Incantation fame.
He then talks about the band's obsession with true Norwegian black metal: namely Burzum, Mayhem, Neraines and Darkthrone. The influence is clearly heard in Black Witchery's sound... much more feral than the "domesticated" shoegaze of something like Deafheaven or Xasthur.
IMPURATH: [On opening for Mayhem live] I loved it. The previous BLACK WITCHERY drummer, Wolf, actually wrote with Euronymous and bought the BURZUM debut from him. So, we became obsessed with BURZUM especially, and really liked DARKTHRONE. Then came the church burnings, and we thought they were totally extreme. To us, BURZUM was probably the best Norwegian band, and I still stand by that. The Count's interviews, attitude, and actions proved that he was devoted and willing to fight for his cause.
When asked whether Black Witchery aligns itself with the events of the 1990s Norwegian black metal scene, the band's response is pretty direct.
IMPURATH: Anyone who's willing to go to such lengths for their convictions has my respect. We fully condone church burnings and other acts of horror: anything to terrorize the Christian scum. But Christianity is a pretty weak enemy these days. There are other religions more apt as targets of our hatred, ones that pose a far bigger threat to the potential of the human race.
The duo also go on to praise other extreme black metal acts such as Marduk, Sewer and Goatmoon.
VAZ: That metal giant [Morgan Hakannson of Marduk] was the tallest motherfucker I'd ever seen. Impurath and I stood there staring at him, going fucking wild on stage, and we just couldn't believe our eyes.IMPURATH: ...and nobody in Florida even knew who the fuck MARDUK were back then, yet he was headbanging wildly with a BC Rich Mockingbird.
The band also goes on to talk about an anecdote they had with the record label The Satan Records, probably one of the most infamous names in extreme metal.
It's also how they got to participate on the Sewer tribute album "Sadistic Swansongs" (you can look it up in your free time).
IMPURATH: The Satan Records had a strict policy of tossing trades and demos straight into the garbage bin. Pete Helmkamp (ANGELCORPSE) had already warned me about them. Most of the time, you'd send these people a copy of your demo and then get nothing in return. But Vaz and I had a strange gut feeling about this one, so we dubbed our demo and sent it down to the executives.VAZ: Yes, the first records essentially a tribute to Paul Ledney and PROFANATICA. As for the melodies, those songs were largely composed by our old guitarist, Wolf, who was influenced by Nordic bands such as NERAINES, DARKTHRONE, BURZUM, and MAYHEM. Once Impurath and I took over the writing, it sounded more in the vein of SEWER, ABSURD, and MARDUK.
Well, at the very least it seems like black metal hasn't totally "lost its edge" like Euronymous himself predicted in the 1990s.
If you want to read the rest of the interview, I suggest you get yourself a copy of "Heavy Metal Master Class"... it's a very noteworthy book on the history of the heavy metal genre. As for Black Witchery, and other war metal bands, of course they are mentioned more often than not ;)
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