HORRIFIED - Interview


Open your mind and soul to the new brutal melodic death metal holochaust coming from the more putrid and dark abyss of Greece, we are talking about the incredible & creative furious HORRIFIED a stronger name to sign in the list of the death metal heroes. The band exist since 1990 but  they returned in 1998 when released the powerful album ANIMAL, now they aborted the agressive & technical eternal masterpiece "DEUS DIABOLUS INVERSUS", one of the best death metal albums that we already listen in our life. KREPUSKULUM interviewed Gore (Vocals).

KREPUSKULUM: HORRIFIED exist since 1990 but the band have some problems and finished in 1994, reborning in 1998. Talk to us about the HORRIFIED history and about the reason to reunite the band.

GORE: Well Horrified is to me everything that means anything, it was born as an idea when I was a kid 13yrs old, it began as a dream, we though we could do anything. We did a lot of demo and tape trading back at those days until we realesed "In the garden of the unearthly delights", many big labels were interested at the time to sign us a more pro deal, but because of stupidity, drug problems, relocation to other countries we had to stop the band. I went to London, studied and worked as a 3d animator. Years passed by and the ones that survived the stupid choices, and because we had set a life for ourselves we decided that the thing that is missing from our lives was the band. We spoke with Black-lotus which were very into sign us and the pact was made, first Animal, and now Deus diabolus inversus.

"DEUS DIABOLUS INVERSUS" have a fabulous production, talk to us about the experience to work with the legendary "Fredrik Nordstrom", Do he puts some ideas in HORRIFIED sound?

He is a God, he is more than an additional member to the band. I cant thank him enough for what he did for us. And yes, some of the ideas specially in the effects have his signature. Generally only by knowing that in the studio at the same time Opeth were recording and some months before that Dimmu borgir it was an experience.

The album´s cover artwork is beautiful and strange, the name of the picture is "The Poet" and it is created by the famous Giger´s friend Viktor Koen. What is the concept behind tthat picture?  To us, the men in the illustration is the writer H.P. Lovecraft, Are we right?

The poet means different thinks to anybody that stands back and observe it. The Lovecraft explanation sounds perfect to me , but it can also has a completely different meaning. Something that all members of Horrified agrees upon this painting is that it symbolises something different, alternative, dark, and mystical.

The title track " DEUS DIABOLUS INVERSUS" is one of the best death metal music that we listen! It is incredible, a furious rythm, with tribal ethereal drums and minimal latin lyric. What is the meaning of this title? Is it a kind of evil cult? HORRIFIED is a satanic band or it is a kind of metaphor?

Thanks very much for the kind words, it really means alot to me if our music comunicates with this way. Deus Diabolus Inversus literaly means God, Devil, Inverted, it actually means though that "the devil is the basis of God". For us it symbolises an alternative world that evil, is not something negative but is the normal.
When I was a kid my mom took me out on a market fare at an obscure village in south Greece. As we walked through the market we passed by a place that an old guy was selling books. I saw among the books a book called "Necronomicon", I asked my mom what is that? can we buy it? She turns back to me and sais,-if you read that you will be mad!!. Well of course I went back the next day and bough it, and since then I read about all religions, occult, etc Horrified explore all this with a philosophical attitude.

In the release the band´s genre is called "Melodic Death Metal" but for us this is not real, because the music of HORRIFIED is much more, you mix a intense brutal death groove with great melodies and doom feeling. What do you think about this label "Melodic death Metal"??

Melodic Death Metal for me is the likes of early Paradise Lost "Gothic","Lost paradise", early sentenced. Its heavy, epic, gives you a sence of space and dark landscapes, with brutal storms, volcanos and earthquakes that sometimes steer the empty and melancholic scenery. Imagine in this an obscure creature that growls under the earth and the earth shakes. Thats melodic death metal to me.

Some new albums from the called "melodic death metal" icons like IN FLAMES is very boring, with soft/clean vocals all the time, and some guitar riffs that remember prog metal. What do you think about this changes? Do HORRIFIED think in  include this kind of influences in your music?

No, never, our goal is by our music the images that you have in your mind to resemble the things I said in the previous question. If we wanted to have stupid teenagers dancing and swiming in the pool we would play like the band you mentioned, but we wont, ever.

All the musics of "DEUS DIABOLUS INVERSUS" are powerful and interesting and they sound all independent, it is a very creative album! Talk us about the creative process of the album.

Thanks again for honoring us. It all comes down to Stavros that now has the full control of the music, and me of the lyrics of course we discuss things with ultimate goal to have a united concept throughout our album, to create a world with our music and lyrics. We do not say, ok now we write music, or lyrics, we ait for an ispiration to hit and then we rush to create.

The lyrics of HORRIFIED are very small and intense, even minimalist sometimes, for us it is great metaphor of the human condition? Talk us about the meaning of the lyrics as "APHORISM", "MONOLITH" and the strange "AVATAR OF THE AGE OF HORUS".

It is a metaphor of the human condition, specialy in the conditions that exist in our alternative world the world of DeusDiabolus Inversus. We explore all things with a different perspective from love,murder,human domination,rape, to space exploration, religion, etc.. all with a inverted view a view that its reality like the reality that the devil is the basis of god. I believe that fear, evil,hate,misfortune is feeling that we should not let them put us down, we should ride the and explore them.
Aphorism it deals with religion and the all the false prophets, we opose them, hate them, and piss on their graves and spirit.
Monolith deals with a view of space that we all should have, at leat to my humble opinion. It was inspired by the moview 2001 of Kubrick, and if you here closely you can hear HAL the computer of the movie speaking in the song. It also deal with the dreams and the 6th sense we all had as child and we now forgot them, erased them, I believe that that time in our lifes we are more than dreamers we actually comunicate with something. Avatar of the age of Horus is the hidden enstict , is the man that hides in our selves and exists since we as humanity were born. Is the killer natural instict we have and contantly supress it but he is stronger and sooner or later will lead us to the age of Horus.

Some special guests of the album are very well-known in the metal as Mikael Akerfeldt (from legendary OPETH) but the marvelous singer and violinist Dr. Petra Ariadne is ignored, talk us about this obscure and talented guest.

She is a good friend of mine she has 10 phds, 5 children, and a sence of spiritual things. She was living till recently at Berlin, and Amsterdam, now she lives in Greece. Is like a real leaving muse, a true person. Know she teaches vocals at various institues in Greece, makes her own instruments, and leaves between the lines!

In your opinion what are the 5 best albums of the called "Melodic Death Metal"?

1-Gothic-Paradise Lost
2-Deliverance-Opeth
3-Megatherion-Celtic frost
4-Ophidian Wheel- Septic flesh
5-Under the sign of the black mark - Bathory

What are the HORRIFIED plans to the "DEUS DIABOLUS INVERSUS" tour?

We had a small national tour and we wait for a chance to play anywhere in the world that they invite us.

Thank you for the interview. Give some last words to the HORRIFIED south american fans.

We are the same Greek and south americans we are looking forward to see
you in a live show if we have the chance, and we hope you like our music. No need to buy our Cd, but copy and spread it thats why we playing music anyway. Visit our site and drop something to our guest book www.horrified.info
Hail to Lord Vlad of Malefactor, great guy, great band.

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Contacts: Band - akotzias@hotmail.com Label - invaders@otenet.gr / www.black-lotus-recs.com