Interview with Arctic Swarm

This post was originally meant to feature a review of Nidrosian Blak Mass III, but due to some complications in regards to pictures, this wil have to be postponed. But fear not, acolytes, because I have something greater in store for you today. Namely an interview with Xabraxas of the ultra kvlt band ARCTIC SWARM!

Arctic Swarm is one of those rare obscure and unpredictable bands that refuse to let go of its Kvltist Principles, and chooses to remain hidden in the abyss. Xabraxas himself is an icy and mysterious fellow. Hardly anything is known about his person save for some obscure rumors of a burning church, a ritual gone awry and a priest locked up in a mental asylum. But we are not here to discuss rumors. We are here to discuss the frozen entity that is ARCTIC SWARM!

N.S:

Hail, Xabrazas! Tell me the gruesome background of Arctic Swarm. What motivated you to start it, and what are the thoughts and ideas you wish to project?

Xabraxas:

Hails, beings of frost!The tale of Arctic Swarm is only this: a blanketing of the universe in eternal permafrost as the Hessians assert dominion over the weak and the reversal of all natural and manmade processes bring the Antarctic Age to its glorious beginnings...the foundations of mankind will crumble beneath humanity's gluttonous obesity, and only the slender warriors of the ice shall prevail unscathed by these blizzards of beseechment. ARCTIC SWARM preaches a message of anti-weakness and, subsequently, anti-capitalistic social habitation, in an audial battery that conveys this message in an artistic and immortal manner.

N.S.

.You have gone to great lengths to keep your music concealed from the mindless masses, and as far as I know, there are only a handful releases circulating in the obscure underground. Tell me about these releases. What motivated you shroud them in secrecy?

Xabraxas:

These releases have never been released beyond a chosen pool of true cult berzerkers, those who have naught to gain but added ideals to their insane psyches. The only ones that I have deemed worthy of the experience of the first three unreleased ARCTIC SWARM albums are those that have lost their minds and their souls to the ever expanding nothingness. These three albums are not by any means of a transcendent quality, but, like the legendary Mengele's experiments, these three albums were used as a way to test my inventions on a disassociated and hated control group, so that I can assess the effects of the music on the human mind that has lost itself to oblivion. The Antarctic Age is soon upon us, and I must strive to make consistently sufficient offerings to the spirits of the glacial winds, so that I may humbly rise to their hall of stalagmitic glory on the day of my death, an artisan of the cold.

N.S:

You have never been afraid to experiment, thus making it impossible to predict what your next outputs will sound like. What are your main influences and inspiration?

Xabraxas:

My inspirations reach deep into the abyss, plucking from the grimy horrors only the most ingenuous parliaments assembled to create blackened art. If I were to recite the names of my indirect mentors of the frost, I would cite REVEREND BIZARRE of Finland for their ludicrously evil approach to audial ceremony; I would cite BISHOP OF HEXEN of Israel for their bombastic assault of the winds of terror; I would, shocking as it may be to the black hordes, cite DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN of New Jersey for their unrelenting demolition of the human mind and audio receptors I would cite OBTENEBRATUM of France for their truly abysmal grimness;I would cite VULVAPEST of Chile for their pure hatred; and I would cite DEMENTOR of Colorado for their unwavering devotion to chaos.

N.S:

There are rumors circulating in the shadows that you are working on an upcoming release. Is there any information you can divulge?

Xabraxas:

ARCTIC SWARM is preparing the candles for the unholy rite "Blasphemic Reveries", a split release with Norwegian legion INNAVL. Each side will be 5 tracks of untold abhorrence, to total ten anthems and hymns that will be presented as an offering to the revulse and ignominous hordes. It will be distributed for free to any who wish to experience it; even the mindless moshpit nulls.

N.S:

Tell me about your home town. What is it like to be a kvltist in Albuquerque, New Mexico?

Xabraxas:

It is a true challenge for ARCTIC SWARM to thrive in the heat of the desert that is Albuquerque, New Mexico. The parched draughted wastelands are a perfect backdrop in which to test my audial frostvirus on the unsuspecting tanned loons!

N.S:

While the Black Circle, Les Legions Noires and the Temple of Fullmoon has long since met its end, there are still underground black metal circles around the world, eager to carry the torch, so to speak. What is your view on modern black metal conclaves such as Blazebirth Hall?

Xabraxas:

I fully support the forming and convening of artistic circles of any kind, black metal being no exception. These often, but not always, regional gatherings are innovative ways to allow others to influence one's soul and therefore their art. They sometimes circumvent the ridiculous development of "music scenes", instead melding with others anywhere from 5 to 5000 miles away, and reinforce the icy core of a frost warrior's heart. Blazebirth Hall, Les Legions Noires, and The Order Of The Silver Night all are/were great collections of musical genius.

N.S:

There are some who claim that black metal should only be about the music, while others maintain that the music and the ideology is too intertwined to be separated. What is your opinion on this matter?

Xabraxas:

The spectres of the sullen and the lords the ice care not of the appearance of an artisan of the hall! Alas, one could appear to be the most grievous wanderer of the forests, but if they have feces as their creations, they are no better than the placebic idiots that populate the mainstream radio stations. ARCTIC SWARM does not stand by a demented view of human equality, but one of equal artistic opportunity. An African, a Norwegian, and a Malaysian could all make great art if they convalesce from normal humanity into a creature of the darkness as other black metal artists have.

N.S:

Is black metal for anyone, or only for a small, exclusive elite?

Xabraxas:

Black metal is for everyone! The more that are exposed to it, the better, as we can purge our walls of the scum that cannot comprehend the intricacies of its perfection and leave the perfect tribe to initiate the Antarctic Age and invocate black metal as it should be concieved!

N.S:

Who (If anyone) do you consider to be ‘true’ in modern black metal, and who do you consider to be the ultimate sell-outs?

Xabraxas:

The only true black metallers are those that fully understand the doctrines and don't follow anyone, including even figureheads such as VARG VIKERNES. Sadly, the majority of black metal has turned to mirror the majority of the masses; following the latest trend. Alas, it is altogether necessary to have false black metal acts such as Dimmu Borgir in order to build one's love of black metal. As long as one moves on and learns of the superiority of black metal, they should be free to explore what they want. After all, after hearing HATE FOREST, one would not look at Cradle of Filth the same way again.

N.S:

Any final statements?

Xabraxas:

No. I have grim business to attend to.

Thank you for this interview, mighty Xabraxas!

That is it for now, maggots. I urge you all to study the words of Xabraxas very carefully and keep your eyes open for future ARCTIC SWARM releases!

Keep it kvlt!

Yours cruelly, N.S.