The
Nightmarish Compositions is a really suitable title
for the new release of Israeli band BISHOP OF HEXEN.
I had the pleasure to talk with Keyboarder Dimrost, who answered
the questions about music, lyrics and the band’s philosophy
in an interesting and extensive way.
Leo:
Congratulations for your new album The Nightmarish Compositions!
The title is really well chosen, the atmosphere is ghostly and
sinister. How and where do you compose your songs?
Dimrost: Thanks Leo for this interview and compliments!
The title for the album was chosen by our former vocalist and
my brother Balzamon, we all thought this was the perfect title
to describe our music and lyrical concept. The music is written
by me (Dimrost) and our guitar player Ariel.E.
The riffs are then brought to the other band members who give
their own insight and inputs regarding the music. The music
is then composed by the band.
Leo:
Please explain the band’s philosophy!
Dimrost: The whole proportions of the idea behind this
album are of biblical scale. Biblical not in the classical religious
conception, as the religious "facilities" grasp it.
(Be it church or synagogue), but in a secular way. These mentioned
"facilities", have deliberately mislead the asses
through the ages that they have the monopoly of the historical,
date, time, and facts. They claim that the bible or the new
testimony is the beginning of mankind, whereas the bible has
been written after 35000 years of human existence. 35000 years
of experience has been narrowed down into one book, which summed
them all up beautifully and in a very colorful way. A way that
for us as Hebrew readers is more accessible. (We can approach
it directly because the same 3000 old Hebrew that has been written
in the bible is used by us today). The concept 'in a nutshell'
is about our perception of Satan and god, of good and evil and
equivalence to the classical one. Satan does dwell on earth,
but in our hearts and minds. There are days which he wins us
in fact every breath we take generates a different mood and
thought. Every thought we think has a tad devil and a tad heaven
in it. Each song has a different angle of that battle that rages
within us, every waking moment.
Leo:
Could you explain the contents of your lyrics?
Dimrost: The lyrics deal with the psyche turmoil of
grief, anguish and toil that we endure during this journey called
'life', and of the modern partly Judeo-Christian paradox, especially
in the Black Metal community. They claim that the bible is anti
Satan and considered to be "white metal". In fact
the bible is the primary source to evil. We live in a world
that good people are murdered and demons run amok. Thus Satan
is not a cloven hoofed beast, it is us. Derived from that assumption,
the bible is the most satanic creation. I wish that our lyrics
will be understood "right", in the sense of giving
us proportions on who we are and how temporary everything is.
Everything but this battle mentioned before.
Leo:
How important is music in your life? Do you work besides your
musical career?
Dimrost: Composing music was something I never stopped
creating, it is a huge part of my life even now that The
Nightmarish Compositions album is released, I
still write compositions for the next BISHOP OF HEXEN's
release. A musician can never stop creating what he desires
most. Of course we must work in other jobs besides music, unfortunately
in Israel a band cannot live only by creating and playing music
and we must have a regular, mundane job, in order to pay the
bills and just live…
Leo:
Was the life as Metal fan difficult in Israel?
Dimrost: In Israel we can do whatever we desire, play
what music we wish and believe in whatever we want. It is a
democratic country and you can pursue any form of art and belief
you wish to.
Leo:
Where did you get your stuff from?
Dimrost: Each member of the band bought his gear in
Israeli music stores, as the music scene in Israel is very developed
and you can purchase any kind of instrument you wish to.
Leo:
Which albums influenced your childhood/teen age?
Dimrost: If I write down all the bands and albums I
listened to, this interview will be 50 pages long. The main
bands which had a big impact on me are: Arcturus, Dimmu Borgir,
old Cradle of Filth, old Emperor, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Rhapsody,
Slayer etc.
BISHOP OF HEXEN’s music is influenced
by a large variety of styles such as classical music composers,
epic movie themes and our own interest in fantasy and history.
We combine all these influences and create our own music style.
Leo:
Were/Are CDs and T-Shirts expensive?
Dimrost: Unfortunately, in Israel CD's and all other
Metal products are quite expensive as most of the Metal products
are imported from abroad, but you can find less expensive 2nd
hand stuff in some stores…
Leo:
What changed in the last 12 years of your band’s existence?
Are people in Israel open-minded? Are there many Metal fans
or is Metal only existing in the underground?
Dimrost: Metal has changed allot during the last decade
in Israel, the media is more open minded and gives much more
notice to the metal scene, it expresses in more metal concerts
coverage, more metal albums coverage, we have many bands from
abroad coming to play live in Israel, and of course there are
much more Israeli metal bands playing every kind of metal genre
possible.
Leo:
What about concerts? Are there any in Israel and how much is
a ticket?
Dimrost: Concerts are very common in Israel, almost
every week there are about 2 or 3 concerts in the Tel-Aviv area.
A ticket costs about 20- 25 dollars for a live show from abroad,
it costs less for an Israeli live metal show.
As I've said before, we have many bands from abroad coming to
play live in Israel, and of course there are much more Israeli
metal bands playing every kind of metal genre possible.
Leo:
Your record label CCP is located in Austria. How did you get
in contact? Are you content with the label’s work?
Dimrost: When we were looking for a record label to
release our 2nd full length album, we decided to send CCP Records
our 2004 promo CD Unveil the Curtain of Sanity,
as we got very good feedbacks about them. Of course they offered
us a very fair contract deal and that eventually led us to sign
with them. CCP Records are doing a good job regarding promotion
and distribution for the new album. Of course we expect CCP
to enhance BISHOP OF HEXEN’s reputation
in the global Black metal scene
Leo:
Do you want to play a tour in Europe including Austria?
Dimrost: Well, now that The Nightmarish
Compositions album is released, we plan to go
on a European tour and we are working on the details as we speak.
Of course Austria will be included in the tour as we have lots
of fans in your country and we want to spread our blasphemy
in your country.
Leo:
What would you say about your popularity in Israel and the rest
of the world?
Dimrost: Well, we have lots of fans in Israel and we
get allot of support from them since the beginning, of course
we get tons of feedbacks from fans from other countries in the
world, so I guess we are pretty favorites in the global Black
Metal scene, the fans are the blood of the artist, and what
keeps BISHOP OF HEXEN going!
Leo:
Are there any other bands from Israel you could recommend? Is
there a strong scene in your home country?
Dimrost: The metal scene in Israel is huge, bands playing
every kind of metal genre possible. Bands such as Orphaned Land,
Salem, Betzefer, Bartholomeus Night and Winterhorde and many
more.
Leo:
Are you happy with the internet as a platform to get more advertisement?
Dimrost: I think the internet is a good way to gain
more advertisement and publicity for your music, but it also
destroys the expectation and joy of listening to a new album
which just arrived in the local CD store, it’s a shame
that people now days don’t have that little sparkle in
their eye, the innocence is lost.
Leo:
Is there a master-plan for the next time?
Dimrost: The next release will be something unheard
of in the black metal scene; it will most definitely be the
most gigantic BISHOP OF HEXEN production. The
next release will be even more bombastic and alluring then The
Nightmarish Compositions album.
Leo:
What do you think of…?
…Black Metal:
My life's true desire. The most dark, alluring, mind intriguing
music genre of all.
…Politics:
Part of life's everyday involvements, I try to stay away from
it as much as I can.
…LPs:
It’s a shame they almost don’t exist anymore, the
true and most sincere way for a
Metal fan to enjoy his music.
…the album of the year 2006:
Haven't heard it yet.
…the next band with great success:
Dragonlord, The Vision Bleak, new Necrophobic is a Killer!
…2007:
A whole new year for BISHOP OF HEXEN to unveil
its blasphemy upon the earth.
Leo:
Finally I would like to learn a few Israeli words please:
One beer please: Bira Achat Be'vakasha!
Metal music: Muzikat Metal
I like this album: Ani ohev et ha'albom ha'ze!
Head banging: Head Banging
Concert: Hofa'a
My favourite band is: Ha'lehaka Ha'ahuva Alai
Hi
Leo:
I hope to see you on stage in the future. All the best and thank
you very much!
Dimrost: Thanks Leo for this really interesting Interview,
it was a real joy. I would like to thank all our fans, for their
tremendous support in BISHOP OF HEXEN in the
past 10 years; you make it all worth while! For more information
and updates, visit BISHOP OF HEXEN's official
website at: www.bishopofhexen.com
Dark Greetings from IsraHell…