Imperium Dekadenz has become an increasingly established reality in the black metal scene over the past few years. This German duo has managed to create a very personal and immediately recognizable style from the very first album ...und die Welt ward kalt und leer, released in 2006. Last summer Imperium Dekadenz were celebrating a kind of ten years jubilee from the formation of the band (the band was founded during late summer 2004 by Vespasian and Horaz). I had the honour of interviewing Horaz, guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist of Imperium Dekadenz, and I asked him about these ten years and various other things.
In 2013 you released your latest album Meadows of Nostalgia. Exactly ten years after the formation of the band you are now one of the most important black metal bands not only in Germany. Just to take the stock of these ten years, how does it feel and at what point in the development of your musical discourse do you think you are?
Horaz: Of course it feels good to receive recognition and respect for the hard work we investigated. But it is fulfilling your soul if you have the chance to do something with true passion and people feel that power you gave from your heart to a 12cm flat silicon wheel. It's a big step to decide to produce something with all of your passion, knowledge and skills ...and release it to the public. Negative critics can be destructive, but you have to learn to use it on a constructive way. We learned a lot in these years and we had such moments you will never forget in your live. All steps we did for creating art, were improved with each album we released like a carpenter learns to improve his craft with every piece he completed. I think the most important skill is the possibility to combine your soul, spirit and knowledge in a way that a song is much more than just the sum of the single parts of it. So, here we are... still thirsty to learn, still hungry for passion.
Today the German black metal scene is among the most important ones with a lot of interesting bands and you are one of the leading bands. What is your vision of the German scene? What in your opinion is the feature that distinguishes the German black metal scene?
Horaz: The German scene is typical German I would say. Passionate, quarrelling, perfectionist, begrudged, determined, conservative but still seeking, very differentiated, narrow-minded, crazy and dedicated. German Black Metal bands are more critical examined in Germany than bands from abroad, so the result is that you are very loved and hated by the people. Further it is very hard for a Black Metal band to be accepted by the overall metal scene in Germany, because the most of the followers of the BM scene wants to be separated from them, ...being more extreme and deep minded. I think that is a typical German thing, too... and it leads to elitism... unfortunately.
Despite your remaining faithful to your dark and majestic music, it seems to me that in Meadows of Nostalgia there is a stronger presence of the atmospheric element. Do you think this will also characterize the future development of the music of Imperium Dekadenz? How do you imagine your sound on the next album?
Horaz: Atmosphere was always a fundamental part of ID and it will always be. Our whish for the next album is to become darker, more engaging, more powerful, epic and still keeping the typical ID-mood. Our current material approves that intention, but there is still a lot of work to do. We plan our next release for the first half of 2016.
Has the song-writing process somehow changed over the years? What new elements influence your art?
Horaz: Some are still the same, but the most changed from album to album. Our jobs, our locations and private situations gave us no other options than changing many things. I think that was a positive factor for every album. Now, we have a new situation. The next album will be produced with the same setting - or let me say a very similar setting - and we are extremely curious about the result. We spent more time with our second passion... ancient history, so I guess the next album will be influenced by that. Our life is changing and our characters are changing, because we got different views and visions on things, so there is no doubt that new influences will flow into the new creation, without being able to know them.
What is the message you want to communicate with your music?
Horaz: There is no message, just passion.
I noticed that in the lyrics of Meadows of Nostalgia you often use mythological figures, such as Abnoba and Bacchus. What is the role of mythology in your lyrics and how do you choose the mythological figures you talk about?
Horaz: Mythology transports a kind of darkness, epic stories, brutality, perfidy and all the other attributes that supports the idea of "modern" Black Metal. I say "modern" because Wagner was for sure the first Black Metal project and today we turn back to these days. So we think these mythological stuff fits perfectly into the ID universe. Abnoba is the Roman/ Celtic goddess of the black forest (region in Germany were we come from). Abnoba is a melting point or icon for us, because she combines our interest to the ancient history and mythology and our passion to dark and rough landscape of the black forest.
Can the text of “Striga” be interpreted as an anti-Christian allegory?
Horaz: Yes it is. But it is not only against Christianity, it's against the stupidity of religious fanaticism and the destruction of a higher wisdom that comes with it. Religious fanaticism is the enemy of wisdom and art. Once the people observed the nature to understand the cosmos and I think they were much closer to the truth and lived their life closer to the human destination.
What do you listen to and what do you read in your spare time? Are your readings in some way connected to the songs you compose or the texts you write?
Horaz: For me it is a combination of reading internet articles, books and watching documentaries about many topics. The focal point is history and archaeological stuff as you can imagine. At present I listen to the soundtrack of the movie "The Fountain", the latest Wardruna Album, Mgla, Burzum, Verdunkeln and Whiskey Ritual. In the next time I will read the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius.
Who are the guys of Imperium Dekadenz in everyday life?
Horaz: We have normal jobs 5 days a week. Vespasian lives in Munich and I close to Stuttgart. At the weekend I want to go outside into the nature and/or visit historical places like ruins etc. as much as possible in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. I often went to museums if there is any special exposition I am interested in. Doing sport is another important point for me... and yes I am a heavy drinker and a hedonist, hehehe.
What are you preparing for the future?
Horaz: Our new album is in the pipe line and 2015 will be the year of hard working on it.
Where and when can we see Imperium Dekadenz live in the near future?
Horaz: At the moment we are working on new shows. Expect some show confirmations in the near future. Concerning the tourng - Fortuna was not generous to us regarding a bigger tour so far, so if someone wants to see us live... stand up and hit the keys.
What would you like to say to our readers to close the interview?
Horaz: Stay fierce!
Interview by Herjann
[email protected]
In 2013 you released your latest album Meadows of Nostalgia. Exactly ten years after the formation of the band you are now one of the most important black metal bands not only in Germany. Just to take the stock of these ten years, how does it feel and at what point in the development of your musical discourse do you think you are?
Horaz: Of course it feels good to receive recognition and respect for the hard work we investigated. But it is fulfilling your soul if you have the chance to do something with true passion and people feel that power you gave from your heart to a 12cm flat silicon wheel. It's a big step to decide to produce something with all of your passion, knowledge and skills ...and release it to the public. Negative critics can be destructive, but you have to learn to use it on a constructive way. We learned a lot in these years and we had such moments you will never forget in your live. All steps we did for creating art, were improved with each album we released like a carpenter learns to improve his craft with every piece he completed. I think the most important skill is the possibility to combine your soul, spirit and knowledge in a way that a song is much more than just the sum of the single parts of it. So, here we are... still thirsty to learn, still hungry for passion.
Today the German black metal scene is among the most important ones with a lot of interesting bands and you are one of the leading bands. What is your vision of the German scene? What in your opinion is the feature that distinguishes the German black metal scene?
Horaz: The German scene is typical German I would say. Passionate, quarrelling, perfectionist, begrudged, determined, conservative but still seeking, very differentiated, narrow-minded, crazy and dedicated. German Black Metal bands are more critical examined in Germany than bands from abroad, so the result is that you are very loved and hated by the people. Further it is very hard for a Black Metal band to be accepted by the overall metal scene in Germany, because the most of the followers of the BM scene wants to be separated from them, ...being more extreme and deep minded. I think that is a typical German thing, too... and it leads to elitism... unfortunately.
Despite your remaining faithful to your dark and majestic music, it seems to me that in Meadows of Nostalgia there is a stronger presence of the atmospheric element. Do you think this will also characterize the future development of the music of Imperium Dekadenz? How do you imagine your sound on the next album?
Horaz: Atmosphere was always a fundamental part of ID and it will always be. Our whish for the next album is to become darker, more engaging, more powerful, epic and still keeping the typical ID-mood. Our current material approves that intention, but there is still a lot of work to do. We plan our next release for the first half of 2016.
Has the song-writing process somehow changed over the years? What new elements influence your art?
Horaz: Some are still the same, but the most changed from album to album. Our jobs, our locations and private situations gave us no other options than changing many things. I think that was a positive factor for every album. Now, we have a new situation. The next album will be produced with the same setting - or let me say a very similar setting - and we are extremely curious about the result. We spent more time with our second passion... ancient history, so I guess the next album will be influenced by that. Our life is changing and our characters are changing, because we got different views and visions on things, so there is no doubt that new influences will flow into the new creation, without being able to know them.
What is the message you want to communicate with your music?
Horaz: There is no message, just passion.
I noticed that in the lyrics of Meadows of Nostalgia you often use mythological figures, such as Abnoba and Bacchus. What is the role of mythology in your lyrics and how do you choose the mythological figures you talk about?
Horaz: Mythology transports a kind of darkness, epic stories, brutality, perfidy and all the other attributes that supports the idea of "modern" Black Metal. I say "modern" because Wagner was for sure the first Black Metal project and today we turn back to these days. So we think these mythological stuff fits perfectly into the ID universe. Abnoba is the Roman/ Celtic goddess of the black forest (region in Germany were we come from). Abnoba is a melting point or icon for us, because she combines our interest to the ancient history and mythology and our passion to dark and rough landscape of the black forest.
Can the text of “Striga” be interpreted as an anti-Christian allegory?
Horaz: Yes it is. But it is not only against Christianity, it's against the stupidity of religious fanaticism and the destruction of a higher wisdom that comes with it. Religious fanaticism is the enemy of wisdom and art. Once the people observed the nature to understand the cosmos and I think they were much closer to the truth and lived their life closer to the human destination.
What do you listen to and what do you read in your spare time? Are your readings in some way connected to the songs you compose or the texts you write?
Horaz: For me it is a combination of reading internet articles, books and watching documentaries about many topics. The focal point is history and archaeological stuff as you can imagine. At present I listen to the soundtrack of the movie "The Fountain", the latest Wardruna Album, Mgla, Burzum, Verdunkeln and Whiskey Ritual. In the next time I will read the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius.
Who are the guys of Imperium Dekadenz in everyday life?
Horaz: We have normal jobs 5 days a week. Vespasian lives in Munich and I close to Stuttgart. At the weekend I want to go outside into the nature and/or visit historical places like ruins etc. as much as possible in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. I often went to museums if there is any special exposition I am interested in. Doing sport is another important point for me... and yes I am a heavy drinker and a hedonist, hehehe.
What are you preparing for the future?
Horaz: Our new album is in the pipe line and 2015 will be the year of hard working on it.
Where and when can we see Imperium Dekadenz live in the near future?
Horaz: At the moment we are working on new shows. Expect some show confirmations in the near future. Concerning the tourng - Fortuna was not generous to us regarding a bigger tour so far, so if someone wants to see us live... stand up and hit the keys.
What would you like to say to our readers to close the interview?
Horaz: Stay fierce!
Interview by Herjann
[email protected]