I have always appreciated the rivalry of tribes – Part 1 >English

רְשִׁימ֥וֹת־תֹּ֖הוּ | An Interview with Werwolf >Satanic Warmaster

By: Yossi Ben-Oz, Noa Artzi, Tal Idan

10-5-19

The interview you are about to read, is for many people a taste of the world beyond.

But before we dive in, a short story:

About 3-4 months ago, three of us in the magazine started an on and off talk about the futile nature of what we might call a ‘tag-discourse’ - that is: the foolish and mind numbing tendency these days to talk to anyone with an opposing opinion via the need to constantly “tag” instead of confronting the harsh points they make, and try to actually cope with them. We have talks like these a lot by the way, and I have to say that despite the obvious abyss-deep differences between us, we find them truly engaging. well, most of the time. Somewhere along the way it sprung to me that it’s almost like to secure peace is to prepare for war: If you know you’re up to a talk with a worthy opponent & willingly step into the challenge, you might just have a chance to enrich yourself with insights that you’ll probably never understand otherwise, while also sharpening your mind with the exercise.

The next step was crystal clear: We want to interview. One with a worthy and interesting opponent of the far end of the Metal scene.

A couple of names came up. We quickly agreed about the one we want to talk to, contacted him & made the offer.

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Werwolf, the man behind Satanic Warmaster and by all means a non-politically-correct figure (to say the least, some may add) is truly an interesting person, and perhaps even an adversary in many aspects. Exactly the reason why a good, honest and straight to the point interview was so intriguing to us that we just had to try and do it.

After a check on his side, he immediately replied with a yes. We asked a lot of questions. This added up into a long and and great interview so we’ve chopped it in half, but only for convenience.

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This piece was made possible thanks to a third party (a dear friend) who wishes to remain anonymous.
Questions: Noa Artzi, Tal Idan & Yossi Ben Oz.
Edited & proofed by Noa Artzi & Yossi Ben Oz.

Preface: Yossi Ben Oz.

We are proud to present: An interview with Satanic Warmaster.
If you are fast to quiver, don’t carry on.

Keep it real. Keep it metal.

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First off, thank you for agreeing to do this interview. I reckon this is no standard thing and I must add that we are pretty excited back here in Israel. Surprisingly (or not), Satanic Warmaster has quite a few fans over here.

Out of your many projects, it appears that only Satanic Warmaster has been growing big and making a difference. What do you think is the reason for this? Is it because you’re putting your heart and soul in SWM, whereas the rest of your stuff serves mostly as its growth stimulants?

-Satanic Warmaster is and has been my main musical project ever since it's inception. My impulsive creativity and the variety of other musical entities I have naturally created [might be the reasons why they] haven't gotten to a similar magnitude, so it is only natural that Satanic Warmaster shines and is the brightest beacon on the pyramid of skulls. I have always had the urge to create and destroy projects, and they serve as a fertilized soil for my imagination.

I am deeply curious: why Satanism? I mean - if spirituality is close to your heart, why not follow the path of your ancestral pagan culture? Isn’t Satanism merely playing a role in the Christian theater? Why play this part at all?

-Satanism, to a high degree, evolves from a dark pagan root. Despite the fact that to some it might hold some association to Christianity, it became clear to me at a very early age that what I felt, experienced and learned was not a part of any duality where Christianity would have any part in. Like most things, Christianity has assimilated Satan to be portrayed as it's opponent, when in reality Satan in all aspects (except of course it's most literal biblical form) is a much more ancient entity.

In one of your interviews, you have described the Satanist as “one who is meant to lead, not follow”. I assume this role holds true in regards to the Satanist’s relation to divinity, suggesting an active, “Spiritually Virile” position before the divine. Do you view Satanism as a path with a Spiritually Virile orientation?

-Satanism is a path for the strong, for those who walk as wolves among the sheep. Satan is not a deity to be followed, but to be lived for, channeled and weaponized. We could truly speak of something that is spiritually virile.

Perhaps not many are aware that you’ve had a genuine heavy metal band going on for a decade (2006-2016). Nowadays it seems as though metal music is on a constant search for the next extreme, sometimes sinking to a level of straight out noise. In my opinion, it only serves to show how Metallers have forgotten the fun element that accompanied Metal from its beginning back in the 70’s, when this genre was first concocted. How does this act fit with the harshness of SWM? What has it fulfilled for you artistically?

-Heavy Metal music has been an integral part [of me] for most of my life, and part of the appeal towards Black Metal came naturally from [my connection to] Heavy Metal music. As with everything I create, a certain sense of fulfillment is reached, even though in this case the fulfillment came from a more musical, nostalgic and carnal angle. It didn't have to fit with any aspects of any other creation of mine, it just reflects a slightly different side of my personality and sense of aesthetics. Yet, in the long run I must point out that even though the realization of being able to venture into more traditional Heavy Metal was interesting and gratifying in many ways, it can never compare to the personal connection I have with more extreme forms of expression.

Watching a couple of your interviews, one can’t help but notice you keep getting asked about your political opinions - A LOT. However, since what you primarily create is music (not political dogmas), I want to address this topic, but from a different angle: From your point of view, is there any kind of inherent value to Europeanism at all? If so, what is it? What makes the tribal European culture so intrinsically valuable that you see as currently being threatened by the “Semitic Religions”, as it is custom to call them?

-I have always found this amusing and frustrating, as I am indeed an artist, and my interest in politics is basically nonexistent. Of course, shitty humans take things that have some kind of a historical charge like politics at their most simplified face value without even the slightest understanding or interest in things I am trying to portray. I feel no oneness to Europeanism as a general thought. It seems whatever pride or wisdom there [once] was, has been crushed, corrupted and sold, generations ago. As I've said before, if European people at this day and age still let religions fuck them, so be it and good riddance.

You consistently denounce any relation of SWM to National Socialism as a political dogma. However, your early lyrics did include phrases such as “Enthroned Aryan spirit the resurrection of our reich”, “Sieg Heil” and “The rite of white man reborn”. What drives these lyrical themes that fuel SWM? What kind of meaning do you, as a Black Metal artist, see in them?

-I do believe that our blood dictates who we are to a high degree, and no demonization caused by historical events can ever change that. I still see the shadow side of the "blood cult" as a gruesome and  powerful concept. The ambition for your own throne, the glorification of triumph and the ritualized justification of your own existence are concepts that surpass any political or collective beliefs. As someone who has created his own destiny and forged his life's work from nothing, those are extremely high values that I will always present from a totally individual and spiritual perspective. Expressing them in the most cruel and vilified words is only appropriate and I would never apologize that.

Did your personal perception of Black Metal evolve during the years that you have been active as an artist and a musician? If so, in what ways does this evolution reflect itself in SWM’s music?

-The major evolution I’ve had with my perception towards Black Metal was that I just let go of the the minimal illusions I used to hold towards it when I was younger, and rather focused on myself. As music and aesthetics Black Metal is at its best, and is magnificent as it was in 1993, but the truths and deeper meanings have crystallized into a completely personal understanding rather than an attempt to reflect some kind of truth from the words of others.

Regarding the previous question, your latest full-length, Fimbulwinter, was a much more “cleanly produced” album which stood out in comparison to the raw, more “primitive” production which characterized SWM’s previous works (though I must say that it didn’t compromise the dark, intense energies of the music whatsoever). What stood behind the choice to use a different production approach with this one? Does it mark any future direction that you have in mind for SWM’s next releases?

-Like it has been with all the previous Satanic Warmaster albums, I’ve create them without taking any burden from previous albums and made them as separate creations, tied to their predecessors only in an abstract and aeonic way. I am currently working on the new album, and in many ways I am sure that the production will be, once again, different, as it has been on all my albums.

Amongst your many releases with SWM, you have one mysterious offshoot with titles in Chinese. Can you please elaborate a little bit more on this one?

-It's a reissue of the "Gas Chamber" demo with a bonus track taken from the lost "Black Carelian Metal" album recording. The titles are in Chinese, because that's what we wanted to do with the label who released it.

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--For the 2nd part of this interview click this.