Interview with Tobias Fongelius(Jormundgand)

1. Hail Tobbe! Because this is the first intie with you, please give us a short bio regarding your band!
Hail! Well, we are JORMUNDGAND from Sweden. We have been lurking in the underground since 2004. The first demo "Satanic Attack" was recorded between 2008/2009, and at that time Hellbutcher from the mighty NIFELHEIM helped us a lot! He was with us in the studio and he even put some vocals to the song "Satanic Attack". He painted the cover for the demo and t-shirts, took all our promo pictures with his camera and more. In 2010 we recorded our single "The Eleven Path". I (Tobbe F) started my own record label "Burning Eye Productions" and the plan was to release the single on a 7" vinyl through Burning... But the dream hasn´t been transformed to reality yet because of different reasons.... In 2012 we decided to record our first full length-album. It is now finally finished and ready to be unleashed upon the surface of the world, to spread the poison of the mighty black dragon of the abysmal ocean of chaos!

2.How you got introduced into metal, and did you played in any bands before Jormundgand?
It came quite natural to me, I guess. I was around 6 or 7 years old and I heard Guns'n'Roses on the radio! It was "Paradise City" and I felt like totally blown away by the music! Then on the very same radio show they played "Poison" with Alice Cooper, and then I was trapped forever! Very soon after that I started to listen to more hard music like Metallica and Iron Maiden. When I was at the age of 14 I started my first band. We named it "Confused" and we played some kind of Swedish straight edge hardcore! Haha, the music really sucked! hahaha! We played live one time and splited-up shortly after that! When I was around 16 years old, I came in contact with Black Metal for the first time... And I can still remember the feeling of coming home, that I have finally found my musical way in life!

3.You are working on your first LP. Can you tell us all about it?(stuff such as recording process and so on). Did you signed with a label to promote it, or it is self-released?
Yeah, this will be our first fullength album! The thing is that it´s only two "new" songs on that recording! Those are "Malice Striker" and " Beyond the Bound". The rest of the songs were written between 2010 and 2012. I felt that we had too much un-recorded material to move on forward with the other new songs that will be on our next release. We have taped all our earlier material on a tape recorder. And everything has been recorded live in the studio. But this time we did a lot more time in the studio. We recorded all  the instruments in separated steps, beginning with the drums, then bass, then guitar...... It was more time-consuming than I could ever imagine! And money-eating! That's why it took us more than one year to record the album! All my money has been pumped in this record, so I can´t release it by my own label, through "Burning Eye Productions". Not just because of the money, but because of all the time it took away from the music and creation of music. To make Black metal you need a very strong connection with your inner self. If you don't find that state of mind, then you will loose all the true spirit of your creation, especially now when we play live as well.

4.Are there any guests on the album? ( Hellbutcher or other ones?)
I had plans to invite Hellbutcher to the studio again, and to ask Oscar from RAM to put some heavy metal song to one of the tracks, but, it never felt like the right thing to do! So, no guests on this album!

5.You shared the stage with Necrocurse on 5th of April in Gonthenburg. How was Your concert?
Ah! It was fucking great! We feel more hunger now than ever before! We did a gig in Trollhättan 4 weeks after the Gothenburg gig, and it was fucking awsome as well! Hail Satan!

6.What is the situation regarding your new shows? have you decided to tour Europe, or it will be just in Sweden (or Scandinavia)?
We will play as much as we can. I feel that we have a great potential to be a killer band on stage!

7.How are the things going with Burning Eye Productions?
Well, I am a little bit unsure about the future of Burning Eye Productions, at least with the Jormundgand thing. But I will have the label active in one or another way. Maybe releasing other bands' material and organizing concerts and tours. Time will tell!

8.What is JORMUNDGAND's current line-up and if the members of the band take part in other projects?
It's me Tobias Fongelius on bestial vomit and guitar! And Ingo on drums. Erik K on guitar. He is active in a few other bands as well, like Vornth, Autokrat and Xul. Tobbe P has been involved in everything we have done so far, all the recordings and our two first live shows, but not anymore. He wants to give his main band "RAM" all his focus, I believe. So it's a fucking shit situation right now to be honest. But I understand and respect his decision. All hails to the mighty masters of "Heavy Metal Tyranny" - RAM!

9.Your top 10 all-time favourite albums are...?
Shit! Haha, what a question! Ok.... Starting from 1.

1. Storm of the Light´s Bane
2. The Somberlain
3. Reinkaos
4. Servants of Darkness
5. Lawless Darkness
6. Blood Fire Death
7. Altars of Madness
8. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
9. Morbid Visions
10. Again Shall Be

Well, I will probably change my mind tomorrow, but what the fuck: all this albums are fucking killer!

10.Do you know any bands from Hungary, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova?
It's funny that you're asking me that, because when I was down to "Halmstad" in Sweden last month to bang my head to Nifelheim, Vulcano and The Stone, it was something unexpected that happened on the stage! As you maybe know, Tamás from the Hungarian band Tormentor is now a member in Nifelheim. And in the middle of the show, Hellbutcher went of from the stage and Attila Csihar came up instead and they started to play the intro to the "Anno Domini" record, and then they played "Tormentor" with Attila on vox! That was fucking legendary! But besides Tormentor, Domhring, Castrum and Chamos my knowledge about your bands is very thin I'm afraid.

11.What bands can you recommend us from Sweden (and also from the rest of the world)?
Well, Vornth(swedish speed metal), Xul (swedish black metal), Necrocurse (Swedish Death Metal), Mordant (Swedish Black Metal), Trial (Swedish Heavy Metal), In Solitude ( Swedish Heavy Metal). And of course, RAM (Swedish Heavy Metal).

12.Now regarding your local cuisine: what foods, drinks, cigars, tobaccoes can you recommend?
Hmm, Sweden is very famous for our great KebabPizza! So if you come to Sweden, just order Kebab! We have something called "Systembolaget" in Sweden. And that's the only store where you can buy your alcohol. It's forbidden to sell alcohol in foodshops etc. Quite shitty if you ask me, but it have one big +. Every "Systembolaget" store have like 100 different beers, and maybe 100 different whiskeys and like 1000 different wines! So we have a lot of different brands to pick from! Personally i like scotch whiskey and irish dark stoutbeer!

13. I was very pleased to find out that Jon Nödtveidt (Rest and Reign in Chaos) is your hero as well as mine. From your letters, I've got to know that you didn't know Jon personally, but what do you think of Him as a person and musician?
Because i have a lot of friends that knew Jon personally, I know that he was a great person and musician! He was like a never ending source of musical energy and inspiration and the guitar riffs just sprayed out of his fingers into his guitar! He is, and will always remain, my greatest inspiration both musically and spiritually! Hail the bloodline of fire!
Hail Jon Nödtveidt!
Might his legacy never be forgotten.

14.Tack så mycket, Tobias and Jormundgand! Hail to Northern Dragon of Chaos! Your message to readers of Sadistik Witchfukk..?
Varsågod min vän! I hope to meet you in the mighty Carpathians soon!
Hail Satan!

You can listen to the music here: http://www.myspace.com/jormundgand666
And the link to Burning Eye Productions: http://www.myspace.com/burningeyeproductions

Interview taken by Georgius and Necrotrooper

Interview with Rawar of Contaminated(death metal band from Uzhgorod/Ungvár/Ujhhorod)

                                         

1.Hailz, Contaminated! Because this is the first interview with you, and there is also lack of informations about you on the internet, please tell us your biography!
Hail Sorin, here is Rawar of Contaminated, firstly a big thanks for your support!
The band has been created in 2007, when 2 friends, Rawar and Nefarious decided to create a death metal band of old-school style. The band recorded their stuff: demo-album "Towards Murderous Compulsion" in 2007 (that demo-album, which one includes 17 tracks in veins of "British death metal school", as  Benediction, Napalm Death ('90's era)). Next demo-album, "Subliminal Absurdity" was released in 2010.
Contaminated band recorded their most professional and technical album, "Your Ashes are Nothing" in March, 2013. That album includes a mixture of American and Dutch death metal traditions of old school.....

2.Did the members played in other bands?
I came into metal music in 1996 and as musician, we, with Nepharious created a death/black metal horde called Anubis in Uzhgorod, in 2001. Anubis band existed until 2005, we played some gigs in our hometown, Uzhgorod, and recorded a demo-album entitled „Heretical Perception” and we had good reception there. After that I did a few shows with a local thrash-band, Terrorium, between 2005-2007, as a drummer. Then I enjoyed (as drummer) in the resurrection of a great Ukranian heathen black metal band, Reusmarkt, with Vladimir(guitars) of Anubis. With Reusmarkt I played a lot of live performances(for example Kolovrat-Fest and crushed some places through Ukraine) and I left that band for personal reasons, one of that it was my loyalty to play old-school death metal.

3.Well, you are a good death metal band. And the only new good band I know from Uzhgorod. Can you describe the local scene? What about the reactions so far?
Thanks a lot! As for me I never called  that we had/have a local scene here in Uzhgorod, the reason is simple: we have a lot of bands with excellent shit, „metalcore, punk, deathcore, pseudo-black metal”, that is not my cup of tea. We have a few old bands like Castrum and Soulrest. We never played live but between old-schoolers of our hometown we had and have a good reception.

4.Now, let's talk about your debut LP. Give us some infos about it!
The recording process of drums, guitars and bass we did it at „homework-studio”. I hate recording process, I’ve felt sick. Vocals were recorded in Municipal Radio”-studio. Thats all.

5.Did you signed with a label or it will be self-released?
It has been a self-released one and we’ve sent/will send to a lot of labels through Worldwide.

6.Did you played any live-shows so far?
Still not, but if we will catch a good label, I will search some musicians for the live shows.

7.Do you plan to make a tour to promote your album?
Let’s see. Hopefully, yes!

8.What bands influenced you?
Firstly I had been influenced of American death metal (as Death (R.I.P. Chuck), Obituary, Deicide, Maevolent Creation, Atheist, Resurrection et cetera), Dutch death metal (Pestilence, Gorefest, Sinister, Asphyx). I’d/ve prefered/prefer also old school Swedish Dödsmetal, like Grave, Nihilst, Carnage, Entombed, Dismember etc.


9. Please enlight us about your lyrical conception!
That is a good, deep question. In my opinion as music as lyrical conception are whole one! But this does not means black metal position, where lyrics are supreme.
I see that mankind comes to logical end! Because processes of Universe always have the beginning and the end. Then no need to have a surprise, what happening nowadays, it’s a cycle process of time. Humanity are marching to a logical, forthcoming end and going to a new era, but I think the mankind didn’t make some conclusions. Read our lyrics and I hope You’ll understand my opinion about all.

10.What bands from Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania and Moldova can you recommend us? And also from the entire globe(if you can add some)?
Ok, step by step:
From Russia: Septory, Morrah, Grace Disgraced, Khasm, Sect, Djur….
Ukraine: Sidus Mortuorum, Slaughter Brute, early-Fleshgore, Ulvegr, Violent Omen
From Romania I would like to mention Avatar, and from Moldova Lethal Outcome and Disentomb…
Hungary: Gutted and I know personally a freak funny man, called Georgius, who used to be as vocalist in Hungarian black metal horde, Domhring and early Castrum also.

11.Your all-time favourite metal 10 albums are?
1. Death: Spiritual healing
2. Sepultura: Beneath the remains
3. Kreator: Extreme Aggressions
4. Slayer: Divine Intervention
5. Obituary: Cause of Death
6. Devastation: Idolatry
7. Demolition Hammer: Tortured Existence
8. Pestilence: Consuming Impulse
9. Sinister: Diabolical Summoning
10. Benediction: Transcend the Rubicon
( this is random one because I listen to and like much more..:) )

12.Can you recommend us some foods and drinks from your area?
It’s funny, I know, but I prefer Italian kitchen
Ok but from local ones I like so much  traditional Ukranian and Hungarian ones. Some foods for example: borshch, vareniki, rakott krumpli, gulyás. I like good Russian vodka and Bourbon-whisky. And I like also a good Czech or German beer.

13.That's all for now. The last words are yours!
Mersi, Sorin, for your support again! Open your eyes and ears to Contaminated because we are working with our official site in facebook. You do a great job with supporting of true underground, wish you all the best, Transcarpathian regards!

Contaminated can be dismembered here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Contaminated/102422679862156
http://www.myspace.com/contaminatedband

    INTERVIEW BY NECROTROOPER