THE
ARTISTIC CALIBRE OF A B
In
their relatively short lifetime the much-lamented Hammerheart Records
became a loving and caring benefactor for the average instrument-wielding
Joe and his gothic sister. Miscellaneous mediocrities packed like sardines
on a label roster devoid of favouritism for anyone competent to do more
than merely palm-mute a guitar, hammer a china cymbal to death or apply
one amazingly necro-like corpse paint... How very admirable! And it was
all done to harvest every little tarnished dime in the pocket of
over-zealous teenage headbangers worldwide. What a pity such a virtuous
enterprise had to conk out. Fortunately, my friends, we have the
newfangled music enterprise Karmageddon Media to keep at this selfless
cause and continue to fabricate hundreds and thousands of desiderata:
re-issues of re-issued re-issues, rarity collections to kill all rarities,
and hyperbolic tributes for must-be legends... Incidentally, has anyone
read The Emperor’s New Suit by
Hans Christian Andersen?
*cough,
cough*
Please
excuse me. If you overdose on sardonic rants, it can seriously obstruct
the airways. If truth be told, Karmaheart did propagate the infrequent
quality product, truly worthy of five-figure prints and extensive
mail-order circulation. One such odd curio is The
Nocturnus Demos. Made up of the two official demo recordings by this
landmark Floridian ensemble, this 8-track anthology was put together in
agreement between Hammergeddon and the ever-prolific Mike Browning:
percussionist, vocalist, theremin operator, lyricist of occult matters,
founder of the real McNocturnus and holder of a rather nice curriculum
vitae. >>> Morbid Angel (1983-1986), ‘the first real true’
Incubus (1986-1987), Nocturnus (1987-1992), Acheron (1992-1995), Nocturnus
A.D./After Death (1999-), Devine Essence/Lisa The Wolf (2000-), Wolf &
Hawk (2000-) <<< Browning’s credits are many and diverse, and
his creative spark shines still. Here is what the streetwise dignitary had
to say to Evilution about them halcyon days of yore – carpe noctum!
# The idea and
concept of Nocturnus obviously branched off into two different directions
with and even before the release of Thresholds. Why was it important to put out the two Nocturnus demos
on an official release at this present moment?
“It was actually Hammerheart that came to
me and said that since Nocturnus has officially announced their break-up
for the second time, they wanted to release the two demos on CD. And I
told them that I didn’t have a problem with that, but that legally I
didn’t own the name, so I couldn’t sign any contracts or receive any
royalties. But I could supply them with a bunch of pictures and flyers as
well as the real biography of how the band was formed. I was the only one
with stuff from both line-ups, so I said to them that at least I could
help make it look killer. A lot of companies and people asked me about
releasing these demos and I told them all the same thing. Only Hammerheart
had the balls to actually go and do it!”
# How do the two
demos differ and compare in terms of both music and lyrics?
“It’s
almost like two completely different line-ups, where the first one was
much rawer and had no keyboards. It was just heavy evil music and it was
recorded in a guy’s house on an old 8-track reel to reel, but the second
one was done in a studio and was produced by Jon Oliva [Savatage mainman
and vocalist], so there is a big difference in the sound.”
#
Could you please describe the four songs on the 1988 demo The Science of Horror in the light of their final manifestation on The
Key; which of the two versions do you personally prefer, and what are
the respective fortes and flaws of the two recordings?
“I
don’t think anything I have done has ever been perfect, but I think the
main difference was the speed of the songs. They were all really fast on The Key and on the demo they were actually slower and sounded a bit
more evil rather than technical. You can speed just about any rhythm up
and then call it technical.”
#
What would you describe as the most significant musical differences
between the four demo songs that were realised on The
Key compared to the other six songs on that album?
“The
four demo songs were written when Gino [Marino] was in the band, and a lot
of the parts were done by him, whereas the other six songs were mainly
written by [Mike] Davis, and that is the big difference that you noticed.”
#
Your contributions to Thresholds
were somewhat restricted by your fellow band-members’ change of
conceptual focus and musical direction. To what extent does the musical
outcome on that album harmonise with the old material on the demos?
“Did
I even have any contribution to Thresholds?
I guess I did play on Thresholds
but not much more than that. Nocturnus had turned into a money-making
corporation (or so they thought) and the main focus had become: ‘Let’s
write sci-fi instead of occult stuff, and we will make a lot of money.’
So I think that it’s like listening to two completely different bands if
you try to compare Thresholds to
the demo.”
#
How, if at all, does the essence of the demo material link up with the
‘comeback’ album Ethereal Tomb from
1999 as well as the two tracks on the Nocturnus 7" single?
“I
really don’t see why they even wanted my name so bad. Ethereal Tomb was so different from the Nocturnus I played in that I
would have called the band something else and not just use someone
else’s name to try to make money. I know the copy of Ethereal Tomb that I have doesn’t even say who’s in the band,
and the drummer was wearing a mask. Were they trying to fool people into
thinking it was the original line-up that did The
Key?! And the 7" had the song “Possess The Priest”, which was
a song that was originally written and played out in the first Nocturnus
with me, Gino Marino and [Richard] Bateman. Not only did they steal my
name; they even used songs they didn’t even have anything to do with
writing originally.”
#
How are the chances of a reunion between yourself and the Nocturnus
line-up from the Threshold era?
“Oh,
I don’t play musick for money! If people don’t like my current bands
then I really don’t care. I’m doing what I want or I just don’t do
it at all. If some people like it, then that’s cool, but I’m not doing
it to make money. That’s for sure!”
#
What musical objectives did you seek to pursue immediately after the split
with Nocturnus following the release of Thresholds?
“I
moved my drums right out of the Nocturnus warehouse about five doors down
into Acheron’s warehouse. Literally, the next day I was playing with
Vincent [Crowley] again in Acheron, so you could say that at that time
Acheron had more original Nocturnus members in it than Nocturnus did –
which was zero!”
#
To what extent do you feel that Nocturnus has left a lasting impression on
the death metal scene, particularly in terms of the, at that time, unique
implementation of keyboards in such an extreme musical environment?
“It’s
still hard for me to believe that we did as well as we did. Like I said, I
was just playing musick because at that time I enjoyed it. At the end, I
hated the people I was playing with, so when I got fired I was actually
happy not to be dealing with people like that anymore.”
#
Vincent Crowley left the very first incarnation of Nocturnus in 1988 to
form Acheron. Would the focus and direction of Nocturnus have changed
drastically if he had had his way with the songwriting, and what is your
impression of the Nocturnus impulses left on Acheron and the album Lex
Talionis in particular?
“Well,
actually Vince did write half of the first demo, which was stuff from his
old band Entity. So when we started playing again we already had basically
a whole CD worth of old Nocturnus and Entity songs, which all ended up on
the Lex Talionis CD we recorded. Only now, Vince was singing and I know I
like to sing lyrics that I write and so does Vince. Therefore, for those
particular songs Vince had written the lyrics, so he should have sang
those songs, just like in Nocturnus. Once I wasn’t writing all the
lyrics anymore, I didn’t want to sing songs about army men jumping out
of planes and stupid shit like that, which was what was on Thresholds.”
#
What experiences from your collaboration with Acheron have you brought
into your current projects; has that musical alliance had a lasting
influence on you as a songwriter?
“I
personally like that slower type of evil rhythms more than the fast
technical stuff, so I really enjoyed playing the music in Acheron, and the
band also had the true evil feeling whenever we played. That was the
center focus of Acheron, which was eventually lost from Nocturnus and now
is again in my new bands After Death and Lisa The Wolf.”
#
Could you imagine working with a band like Acheron again and, pardon the
expression, conform to the setting of another band?
“Only
if I enjoyed doing it. I won’t play just to make money with this person
or that; I have a great job and I still play the musick that I want
whenever I want to. There is no pressure and I don’t have to play with
people I don’t like if I don’t want to. But if Vince ever wanted me to
play in Acheron, I would because I really like the stuff Vince writes and
the evil energy we create when we do play together.”
#
What caused you to change the name Nocturnus A.D. into the current moniker
After Death, and what was the original intention behind the formation of
the band?
“I
didn’t even know about the trademark thing in 1990 when I started
jamming with Bateman and Gino again, so I was going to call the band
Nocturnus because it was 3/4 of the original line-up. Then I got a letter
from Lou Panzer saying that he owned the name and Nocturnus was back
together, and I would be sued if I tried using their name. So in spite of
all that I was going to call the band Nocturnus A.D. – and legally I
could have – but I realized how silly it all was, and decided to just
call the band plain A.D. or After Death.”
#
Which deeper musical and conceptual connections is it plausible to draw
between the Nocturnus demos and the current After Death material as
manifested on the demos Consumed by
Fire (2003) and Reviving the
Gods (2004)?
“I
would have to say that After Death is a much more advanced spiritual band.
Nocturnus was all mainly blasphemy and anti-Christian themes because I was
mostly only into Satanism at that time. When I play and sing these words
in After Death, it’s more like performing a ritual or connecting with
other planes of existence. While I’m playing I’m actually transcending
into an astral realm; it’s much more spiritual.”
#
Occultism as a general topic has remained one of your primary interests
and points of departure for lyrical and conceptual ideas. How is this
integrated into your current work, and do you consider it important to
deliver a message along with the impact of the music?
“That
is the only purpose of my musick, actually: The Great Work. That’s why
it’s very difficult to get people to play with because of the
seriousness and level of occult ideals that are in what I do now. Not one
interview or review has ever asked specific questions about my lyrics,
which is half of the band. You have the musick and the lyrics 50/50, and
so people aren’t even paying 50% to the band as a whole, which is really
sad. But again, my demos are free. I’m not even trying to make money
from playing anymore. I’m just playing.”
#
What has been the icing on the cake so far in your 20+ years in the music
business?
“The
fact that I’m still doing what I want to do musically and that I’m not
a slave to the music industry. The Slaves Shall Serve!!!”
#
Could you give us an update on your present-day musical projects Lisa The
Wolf and Devine Essence, as well as any other activities, musical or
otherwise, you may be fiddling with at the moment?
“Ever
since I met Lisa, my world and hers have become enveloped in musick and
magick. We practice both together and besides from work, that’s about
all we do because we want to – not because we have to. We just finished
a new Lisa The Wolf demo (the band was originally called Devine Essence).
It was produced by Erik Rutan of Hate Eternal and it’s available for
free on MP3 through our website. And Wolf and Hawk is an acoustic thing we
do where I get to use hand-type drums from all around the world and Lisa
plays acoustic guitar and sings. They are actually mostly the first songs
she ever wrote on guitar and some acoustic versions of Lisa The Wolf songs.
We just sit back and jam these kinds of songs in our living room. We also
recorded two of them and they are also available for free through the Wolf
and Hawk website. So here are the websites for all three bands.”
www.afterdeath666.com
www.lisathewolf.com
www.wolfandhawk.com
#
Thank you so very much, Mike. It has been an honour and a privilege to
conduct this interview. Best of luck in the future!
“Actually
thank you, Oliver, for taking the time to listen to the musick I have done
over the years and everyone else as well. I will continue to do so as long
as I can still play, and I do hope to do another CD one day and tour again,
but only if all the conditions are right. Otherwise, I will continue to
put out musick for free on the internet and be playing what I want!
Thanks,
Mike666”
Conducted
and written by Misereion.