KAISERREICH INTERVIEW
DONE BY USBMS
1) Lets start by having the members who create the music of Kaiserreich introduced.
Well, KAISERREICH is a four-member path, which includes Abraxas on guitars, Necrobosco on Bass, Krieg on drums and myself, Serpent Est as the vocalist. There is too much to say about us all, the time is short so it's better to keep my mouth shut.
2) Next, what drives the band to create BM? And how has your sound evolved?
We're not a twenty-year band so we're not evolved yet, I guess. We're doing nothing new and there are lots of bands that play better then us. But we have the attitude and the feeling in order to produce some good-old BM. We are linked to the past, in some ways. We have different reasons to create BM. Some of us are involved in sects and are interested by occultism. Some others are interested by human decay and negative feelings. I'm personally driven by the active force that lies in BM. I'm referring to the powerful black blood that flows in our veins, the blood of the Will. I'm not a Satanist, nor a spiritual person. I'm a humanist and I guess that Mankind has the rights and the duty to enslave the world under his feet, perverting the nature and destroying it for his own purposes. Mother Nature creates awesome masterpiece, but it's nothing compared to Men's Pollution. War and decay are not mistakes, just Mankind's emanations. We should clearly accept it as soon as possible. That's my personal opinion, which is NOT supported by the rest of the band.
3) What is the philosophy of the band and the message behind the lyrics of KaiserReich?
Mainly, the lyrics are composed buy myself to be honest. I'm not that interested in lyrical messages.
I mean, most of BM lyrics are simple and stereotyped hymns to evilness or unholy things. One could say, "Yeah, that's it! That's what BM is." and it's usually true. I guess there is no point in repetition. I prefer to let the music speaks by itself. Music and atmospheres are the right point of view on BM. I personally prefer to give a trace to the listeners, like the track titles. When you approach a BM song from Kaiserreich, you have the title, the music, and some lines on the booklet: now you can imagine almost anything, it's all about you and the music. The emotions and thoughts you've got in this way, are the right ones. You don't have to care about what I'm trying' to tell you, 'cause I'm singing just for myself and you should listen to BM just for yourself. There is no links between artists and listeners in BM 'cause BM is a personal thing. That's my point. Krieg, who wrote some lyrics on KRRH, is interested in human desperation and he blames men for their weaknesses and useless role in this world. His is also inspired by negative thought on death. Speaking of other bands, I guess there are very few bands with something interesting to say. Nargaroth's lyrics on BM are good, it's not intrinsically interesting, but it's self-referential which is unusual in music. Spite Extreme Wing's and Janus' words are really cool, but it's in Italian so you can't enjoy their goodness.
4) On the CD case booklet it reads, "North Italian Black Metal", Explain the difference in sound or style of BM from different parts of Italy?
Good question.
That sentence was strongly wanted by the former lead guitarist, Elfire, who's a very proud one. In Italy (as in USA, as far as I know…) there's some rivalry between North and South. There are no significant differences in Southern and Northern Italian BM 'cause both have roots in the Norwegian BM style.
Some southern bands are trying to mix their traditional instruments with BM and some northern bands are talking about Italian northern myths.
5) Who created the Kaiserreich band logo and name?
I created the name. Actually, I never thought it was a new word. Kaiserreich is the result of Kaiser+Reich, which mean respectively Emperor and Reign. It sounds really harsh and strong and the meaning is also a powerful one. Some members have had doubts on it because it sounds really NSBM (and we're not an NSBM band) but in the end I think everyone loves the name. At last, I discovered that the "kaiserreich" is the definition of the period when Germany was headed by kings. A German girl designed the logo, by the name of Mèli Hoppe, with the supervision of Kaiserreich. The KRRH brand was invented by Elfire.
6) How did you come up with the name for your band, does it have significant meaning any one?
Well, as I told you, at first we were just interested in a strong name that sounds like thunder. Once we found the name, we noticed that it fit perfectly to a BM concept. The idea of a Kingdom is magnificent and the Emperor is an awe-inspiring figure. The BM concept usually leads to Satan, but most of the time it is intended as a symbol of freedom, courage and pride. In the word: a leader. We choose the Emperor instead of Satan because the second one is too ambiguous. The Emperor is just a man, but a worthy one. In our vision, the Emperor is just the path we should follow to realize ourselves. No matter were your path lies or where it leads, it's up to you. The Emperor is just a reflection of his followers, so, in the end, He is you. I guess it sounds Buddhist…
7) how do you feel about the sudden explosion of support from the Black Metal community? And what is the BM scene like in Italy?
BM is spreading its wings in these last years. In the '90s 'twas only just a trend, driven by great bands and many clones. There are still clones nowadays, but most of them have no interest in big bands because they're just playing BM for themselves. That's the only way to achieve BM. We've got another difference, most of the first BM bands are nothing but clones of themselves. Some "betrayed" the path. Others lost their interest for BM. We are glad for listeners' interest in our music. We've sold a lot of CDs and merchandise during our gigs, so I guess someone likes us. Our music is good, but I think it's more a fact of attitude on stage. Italian BM scene is good enough. We have a new wave of italic bands that claim themselves as renewers of an ancient or/and glorious past: roman heritage, Latin nobleness and fascism.
8) Is there support from clubs and venues to allow Black Metal shows in Italy?
In Italy we have plenty of BM bands and it's not very difficult to perform a show. Sure, you won't earn money nor fame, but if you spend some time into, you'll get some gigs in a while.
Some years ago some guys where involved in criminal acts, self-named "The Beasts of Satan". They were not involved in BM but it was a problem for BM shows in that period. But Italians have a very short memory so now there are no problems at all.
9. What were your intentions when you formed Kaisereich? And have you achieved the goals that were set from the beginning?
Well, there were no goals in the beginning. We're not high-skilled musicians so we couldn't expect anything from BM, except producing a lot of noise. It was pretty nice to discover that we're better than we've expected. Now we're still humble, in some ways, but we're conscious that something could happen, if we really work for it. BM is a way to realize ourselves, and this is the highest goal a man could reach in his life.
10) How many live performances has the band done? And are their tour plans in the future?
We've got just a dozen of relevant gigs, alongside Italian cult bands as Death Dies, Malfeitor and Forgotten Tomb. In January we'll strike Athens and now we're planning a mini tour in East Europe. We're also trying to organize a US summer tour but it's not that simple. We have the will to do it, but first and foremost we have to collect a lot of gigs first just to pay for the expensive travel. If readers could help us…please, do it.
11. Your sound is influenced by Gorgoroth, how do you feel about their recent split up? And what are your hopes for the band (If any)?
Yeah, there are many guys who recognize in Kaiserreich the Gorgoroth's roots. Our live performances are similar to Gorgoroth's appearance, with spikes, corpse painting and raw attitude, and I'm also inspired by Hat/Pest's voice (and Hoest's, from Taake). To tell the truth, we all like the first releases of the band and I think that "Under The Sign of Hell" is one of the best ever, but the last works are not so interesting. I've heard a lot about the Inferno/Ghaal dispute. Inferno is the founder of Gorgoroth but if he's not interested anymore, I guess Ghaal should keep the name of the band. He's the strongest character on the BM scene, right now.
12. Today the Black Metal scene is growing and developing, what are your views on it?
BM scene is pretty large nowadays. Too large, some could say … there are pointless bands everywhere but there are also alot of worthy bands too. Especially, the BM underground scene is rich and prodigal. For example, one of my favourite bands ever is a south Italian one. They're named Nazgul and their "De Expugnatione Elfmuth" is a great opus. The definition of "Orkish Black Metal" is very suitable to their music. There are a lot of bands with interesting concept and through Myspace you can reach it in few clicks. It is very different from the old tape trading days but it's part of human progress so there's no point in refusing what Man creates for Himself. One more thing, BM is a very restricted concern so it's really difficult to produce "bad BM". If you listen to an album several times, you will probably like it in one way or another.
13) Kaiserreich is signed to Funeral Moonlight Productions (a Chinese label), How did this deal come about and how are thing working out so far?
At first we were in contact with a French guy. He was really excited to realize our album but he suddenly disappeared in the Spring 2007. I'm not sure of it, but I guess he's dead. As time passed by, we've decided to self-produce the whole thing. Soon the Chinese guy came up interested in our music. Our deal is a very strange thing 'cause Kaiserreich is always acting different! We're directly involved in the so-called "European version" of KRRH. The "Asian version" is up to FMP and it'll be released in December/January with three bonus live tracks (one of those is a proto-version of a new song, from our next album). So, FMP's promotion has not started yet, but the guy's very skilled and we trust in his label. Plus, Asia is a great and an uncovered country and I really like Asian culture, so it's great to be part of it.
14. Kaisereich has been around since 2004, in these three years what other official releases has the band done?
Not that much. We've released a demo but we never kept a copy 'cause it was really… raw. There is a promo too, with two songs from the full length.
15) What can we expect from Kaiserreich this coming year?
A lot of things as I told you, we're trying to do gigs outside Italy. We shall boost up our live show performances with lots of choreography. Now we're working on new songs and we're thinking about a very big thing. Maybe it's TOO big! I can't say anything 'cause it's very ambitious and it's something never been realized before, but it will involve a lot of Arts under the BM mark.
16) Are there any final things you would like to add about the band before we conclude this interview?
Something like a final note, as a "pray Satan!" or "you should kill yourselves while you're listening to our music"? Yes, I have one: "Man created god in His own image". (Be careful, this is not the good-old anti-Christian stuff, it's something greater and wiser…).
Thanks for your attention.
Thanks for your time and the opportunity to get to know more about Kaiserreich.
For Band Info contact
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Kaiserreich/109361
https://www.facebook.com/kaiserreich.it
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