‘PURE GOBLIN BLACK METAL, FORGED IN THE FIRES OF
MOUNT DOOM’ is how ORCRYPT describe their music; an unholy alliance of
HELLHAMMER, BURZUM and early SATYRICON built around a concept based on Tolkien
mythology, Warhammer, and D&D gaming. The three-piece have been creeping
around the subterranean regions of the English scene since 2010, when they unleashed
their 4-song demo ‘The Mirkwood Massacre’ upon an innocent public. Five years
(and hundreds of slaughtered elves) later, their first full length album
‘Mercenaries Of Mordor’ saw them hacking and burning their way to the top of
the UKBM mountain, alongside the likes of CRAVEN IDOL and AKERCOCKE. In 2019
the band re-emerged with a changed line-up and new demo ‘Dice & Damnation’,
comprising two ruthless new songs and a cover of EMPEROR’s ‘Lord Of The
Storms’. Now black smoke is rising over the English countryside once more as
they prepare to put out their new album ‘Balrog & Roll’. Taking my life in
my hands, I contacted UGLUK (drummer and sole original member), J.R.R. Martin
(screamer and Dungeon Master) and guitarist SAMMAEL to talk about black metal,
eating man-flesh, and hoping for everlasting pestilence…
How did Orcrypt begin and what are your main influences and
motivations?
UGLUK - ORCRYPT began to glorify the atmosphere of low-fi
black metal masterworks 10 years ago. A home-recorded
demo tape aesthetic pervades our first recordings, and that is exactly what we
wanted. Our riffs and songs are designed
to be totally orthodox, unremarkable and entirely within the confines of the
vision set forth by the early 90s.
For the debut album, we took lyrical inspiration from the
equally flawed Bakshi animated version of Lord of the Rings; It was rough, cheap
and unfinished - yet has some of the most stark scenes ever made in a cartoon.
J.R.R. MARTIN - For the new album lyrical inspiration was
drawn from Gary Gygax's Dungeons & Dragons. A lot of people seem to have
forgotten that in the 80s this simple game was feared as a corrupting and
destructive influence in the same way that black metal was in the 90s.
After 'Mercenaries Of Mordor' the line up
changed, with GRUUL and GAUROTH departing to be replaced by J.R.R. Martin and
SAMMAEL on vocals and guitar respectively. What happened to the old members?
J.R.R. MARTIN - I believe one was eaten by a dragon, and
the other started working as a guard for a warlock.
UGLUK - Some people disappeared, some didn't have
time. As a result, the vision of the
band is more refined and the new line-up is more appreciative of the
foundations of the band. This is Black
Metal for people who reject the overproduced, homogenised trendy music that now
parades as Black Metal. We offer you:
raw, underground atmosphere with no aspirations of fame or notoriety. This is True.
What can you tell us about the new album ‘BALROG
& ROLL’ and how it compares to 'Mercenaries...'?
SAMMAEL - It's clear we've taken far more influence from
other genres and tried to incorporate it into our sound more than Mercenaries
did but you can still hear it’s ORCRYPT from all Ugluk has contributed.
UGLUK - People who want it to sound like it's recorded on a
dictaphone under a pillow in a cardboard box may be disappointed, but not too
much. The riffs are Classic Black Metal
in the style of the debut albums of SUMMONING, ISENGARD and BURZUM, with a little
DARKTHRONE and MOTORHEAD. There is also a dark dungeon keyboard track, like on
the debut. That's important - but is
strictly MINIMAL. We use broken, low-budget second-hand keyboards from the late
80s to retain that unpolished, low-fi minimal sound. You could put it on loop to use in a ritual,
but you’d have more fun drinking beer.
J.R.R. MARTIN - ORCRYPT are still working within the
restrictions we set ourselves, however whereas on “Mercenaries…” the atmosphere
dominated the riffs, on this album the riffs are far more dominant. Lyrically
the focus has also shifted from Tolkien’s Mordor to Gygax’s Dungeons &
Dragons, firstly because everyone seems to be making music about Mordor, and
secondly because Dungeons & Dragons is filled with darkness, corruption and
evil. Ultimately for a lot of people the appeal of either Dungeons &
Dragons or Black Metal is that it gives the opportunity for power fantasies,
cathartic release and getting in touch with something deep, dark and primal, we
have just merged the two.
How does UK black metal differ from what comes out of
Scandinavia and elsewhere?
J.R.R. MARTIN - That’s a difficult one. Those
Norwegian bands made such an impact and left such an influence that in the
thirty-odd years since there are still thousands of bands, from all corners of
the globe, that desperately try to sound like those initial demos. But beyond
that, there is such variety between those Norwegian bands that they ended up
sounding as different as they did similar. Lyrically they often tread the same
ground, but change the names and locations. While to their credit, some bands
do try to incorporate a “local flavour” to their music, the vast majority of
bands end up sounding the same, regardless of where they originated.
SAMMAEL - Genuinely have no idea how to answer
that, it's never been something I've considered haha! UK black metal is very
similar to Scandinavian black metal except lyrically less centred around Norse
Mythology. Though I will make a point that recently I've been listening to a
lot of Cumbrian black metal artists, I think they've added more atmosphere and
character to Scandinavian black metal. UK black metal often has more humour
also, I find a lot more UKBM bands don't take themselves too seriously in
comparison with Scandinavian Black Metal.
UGLUK - UK black metal bands largely seek
fame and fortune from creating what is largely a load of noise. We differ because we are honest, without
ambition and with zero budget.
Do you prefer the 1st and 2nd waves of black
metal from the 80s and early 90s or do you favour the modern kind?
UGLUK - Late 80s, early 90s. Modern Black Metal is extreme metal pop
music. However, there is a growing
number of bands and fans rejecting the consumer-friendly polished turd releases
of large labels. We celebrate the grim
and raw. Cult's Not Dead.
SAMMAEL - 1st and 2nd wave... Absolutely.
J.R.R. MARTIN - Why not both? VENOM & BATHORY?
Fantastic! MAYHEM, BURZUM, DARKTHRONE, SATYRICON, EMPEROR? All incredible! But
did these bands stand still? No. They changed, evolved, and expanded. Some
people like that, some don’t. Bands like VOICES, ZEAL & ARDOR and Video
Nasties are continuing to take black metal into new spaces. Some of it I like,
some I don’t, some is barely black metal anymore. But that isn’t what ORCRYPT
is about. ORCRYPT was built upon and thrives within our self-imposed
limitations.
The black metal scene has been criticised for
the right-wing politics of many of its top bands. Is the criticism justified,
and where do you stand on the NSBM issue?
SAMMAEL
- is NSBM becoming an issue in black metal? I've heard about it multiple times
over the last few weeks... Politics has no place in black metal, in my opinion.
I, like most others, don't want to be associated with it.
J.R.R. MARTIN - One’s politics are one’s own. If someone
makes a political statement, through their words, actions, or music, they open
themselves up to criticism and debate. When a band or musician is called out
they can attempt to: justify their actions; explain if they were misunderstood;
or apologise. In a lot of cases though, bands don’t do this, becoming defensive
or insulting fans and journalists, and it creates drama. As for NSBM itself, I
have no time for it.
UGLUK - All of that finished in the mid 90’s. That was 25 years ago. Our only political agenda is to enslave all
under the heel of Morgoth!
How has Covid19 and the lockdown affected the
band?
UGLUK - It hasn't. We have been social distancing since
birth.
SAMMAEL - Hasn't affected me a great deal, I
never left the dungeon anyway.
J.R.R. MARTIN - It’s true. We barely tolerate each other, let
alone other people.
What are Orcrypt's plans for the future after
lockdown?
SAMMAEL - We've got a few things in mind!
UGLUK - We will finish mixing the new album and release
it. But we hope lockdown continues for
eternity.
J.R.R. MARTIN - Once lockdown ends we might have to finally
make that music video we were thinking about.
What is the most memorable experience you've had
with Orcrypt?
UGLUK - Recording the debut album onto an
aged, sun worn cassette, then recording back onto the computer to master. It is gloriously low-fi and is like listening
to it on Long Wave radio. 66.6 Long Wave Mordor International radio broadcast
SAMMAEL - The creation of the music has a
certain black magic to it I'll never forget.
Which new UK bands would you recommend?
J.R.R. MARTIN - VOICES, DEVASTATOR, OLD FOREST, VIDEO
NASTIES.
SAMMAEL - Check out our brothers OLD FOREST, a
big influence on me in general... Another great band is OLD CORPSE ROAD!
UGLUK - ORCRYPT!
Any further comments?
SAMMAEL - Check out deathtomusic.com for more
from ORCRYPT!
UGLUK -Curse the Elves, feast on Man-Flesh and listen to
ORCRYPT!
J.R.R. MARTIN - Roll dice, worship Satan, enter the
ORCRYPT!
Thanks a lot for agreeing to do this!
J.R.R. MARTIN - Thanks for asking us and thank you for your
continued support!
The new ORCRYPT album ‘Balrog & Roll’ is due
out soon. You get a taste of it from the song ‘Vermintide’, which is on the new
Wulfhere Productions compilation ‘Supporting British Black Metal Vol. 4,
alongside songs from SKIDDAW, SKULLTHRONE, WHINLATTER, ULFARR, BLASPHEMOUS
DEGRADATION, GOATVOMIT 666 and VOLNIR.
J.
Cooper
Copyright
Metal Punk Inferno 2020
