Jussi: First of all wanted to say thanks for putting a great CD with potential especially being a 2-piece outfit. How does it differ from just being the both of you arranging the music to an entire full length? Any difficulties in this regard?
Gath: I think it’s actually easier when you have only two members in a band, you have to do less compromise than in a “real” band. The only hard part is that you must practice more with different instruments (for example: bass, synth…) and that takes time because our main instruments are guitars. We had to practice especially playing the keyboards, because we used them a lot on the album. We didn’t do any computer-cheating tricks with the synth everything is played for real with the keyboards. A big hail goes to Wargus for this, because he played a major part in the synth recording process.

Jussi: Is it rare to find a unique combo of just the two of you from Finland within the black metal industry? Also do you find this bit of a challenging considering most bands are three or more people?
Gath: Yes of course it’s challenging, as I earlier said; you have to practice a lot with different instruments. We have been friends with Wargus for years so we really hadn’t to “search” for each other within the scene. Actually the Finnish BM-scene is pretty small and practically no one knows us, we really don’t hang out very much with other bands or musicians.

Jussi: Would ARGATH consider having more members in the group especially for live situations as performances and such?
Gath: Yes we do, actually I can tell you a little secret; we have found a great drummer to play with us live and also maybe on our next recording. But it’s all still pretty open, we need to practice a lot, especially the new material. We have also found a bass player for live shows, and we a still on the search for a good synth player.

Jussi: Can you tell more about Societatis Draconistrarum, and the elements or ideas that went into the creation of this album?
Gath: Well, SD is a combination of different elements, musically speaking; it contains elements from various music/metal genres. We really didn’t plan anything, we just started rehearsing and SD was the outcome. The recording process was very long and I think you’ll notice that when you listen to the album. Our original intension was to create a fast avant-garde metal album, but the outcome was a “little” different due to the long creation/recording process.

Jussi: Was it difficult to arrange all the musical components for this recording considering it was only the two of you that did all the composing?
Gath: It’s always easier when there are less people composing the music but the arrangements are of course more difficult, because you need to play every instrument by yourself.

Jussi: Can you give me a brief history on ARGATH?
Gath: Everything started back in 1997 when I and Wargus started to play black metal in our garage and the later in the cellar of Wargus. We bought a 4-track recorder and recorded our first demo with it in 1999. After that we lived in different cities and it was pretty hard to practice or to record anything but we still managed to make 3 demos during that period from 2000 to 2003. Then in 2003 we live again in the same city and recorded I Invoke. And after that we started to create our debut album and here we are.

Jussi: Since being a black metal Finnish oriented group, is it different in some regards since most of black metal groups hail from other parts of the Scandinavian territories?
Gath: Why should it be different? You mean that it would be easier to make a name for your band when you would for example come from Norway? Maybe, but I really don’t care. It’s all about the music, if you play good metal it doesn’t matter from what country you come from.

Jussi: Any current happenings on ARGATH to report?
Gath: Yeah, we are creating some new material and hopefully start to practice it in the near future. Our intension is to release a MCD in next summer, but let’s wait and see…

Jussi: What does ARGATH have to offer sound wise for someone that has never heard of the band?
Gath: This is a hard question to answer. Maybe ARGATH offers a new approach to blending different styles of metal together. We mix different styles of metal but still want to keep them in a way separated from each other, this explains the rapid changing of styles on the album. Some people like it, some hate it. The best way to find out is to buy the album and listen to it.

Jussi: How would you describe ARGATH as a whole? Is there anything that makes the group different compared to most new and upcoming bands?
Gath: ARGATH is a f*king mess. We sound different on each album/demo we make; this is the reason why we don’t have any fans hahaha. For example; someone buys our demo and likes it and thinks “Oh man, this is some old school stuff”. Then the same guy buys our album and listens to it and throws the CD at once in the garbage; “What the f*k! They use techno-beats!!!” This example had of course a “little” overkill but you know what I mean? But we like it this way; it’s refreshing to change the musical style on each recording. Maybe some day there will be an “ARGATH sound”.

Jussi: What two songs would be the bands musically strengths that would represent ARGATH’s creative power overall? If any, why?
Gath: Societatis Draconistrarum and The Astral Prophecy, I don’t know why but I simply like them. You know, SD was the first song we recorded and The Astral Prophecy was the last…

Jussi: What would the band like to achieve within a two-year timeframe?
Gath: We would like to release an album or a MCD, and we would like to do a small tour in Germany/Europe.

Jussi: Wanted to say thank you for allowing us to interview the band. Let us know about the bands future projects, until then stay extreme!
Gath: Thank you very much for interviewing us.