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…