GORGOROTH Guitarist Discusses Making Of 'Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt'

Beyond the Dark Horizon recently conducted an interview with GORGOROTH guitarist Infernus. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Beyond the Dark Horizon: Some of the material on your new release, "Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt", is as old as 2006? What was the creative process like?

Infernus: Basically, it was a period where I had more time to concentrate on songwriting that in the years prior to that. It was 2006, right. This coincided with that I got back some sort of a feeling that I was inspired, so to speak, and that I could be able to stand behind the music being written. As a songwriter, of course, most of my entire grown up life I have been writing music. but — allowing me to brag a bit about myself — in the periods when it just did not feel right, I believe now that I was right in my judgment on not presenting to others any half-hearted crap which would in the long run destroy my personal, and what others might refer to as "artistical," integrity. I deem it as I was right. Half the material was written in 2006, the other half during the period in which I worked on the pre-productions with Tomas Asklund prior to the recording of the album; a process which took more or less a year and a half, in which I had to relocate to Sweden from time to time.

Beyond the Dark Horizon: Are there tour plans to support this release?

Infernus: There are! For the European territory we have a new guy, as we had to fire that other snake who intended to work for us, but instead ended up working for the counterpart. So right now we have made a deal with the booking agent of OBITUARY, same guy who has been working with them for some years now. And i believe that is what it takes to have us back in a proper way doing a three-week tour in April. This is what we aim at. Time will tell what will actually happen. And we will, of course, use the first opportunities to confirm any touring activities through our website and other forums. Alongside with that, Latin America is still being held as important for us, and Latin America will for sure be given priority in the future as well.

Beyond the Dark Horizon: Did you have a theme or vision of what you wanted to create with "Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt"?

Infernus: The short version would have to be something close to this: the main intention with the album and whatever we are up to at the time being is to continue what was initially set as a goal back in 1992. We did not try to reinvent the whole genre with this album. You could probably better view it as an attempt on getting better at what we always aimed at: Writing and performing metal music with a certain set of formal standards in a way more or less corresponding to what we hold as esthetically appropriate; all in the name of Satan.

Beyond the Dark Horizon: Do you feel this was an easier album to make after the line-up changes?

Infernus: Yes, as a matter of fact I do. The two other guys were not friends of mine for years prior to their exclusion and with time it seemingly became more and more difficult for them to fit in within the framework given (A framework which was set way back in time before they ever were thought upon as alternatives for filling the places as the band's third vocalist and seventh bass player). It would have been very difficult for us to come through such a process, in the studio together again, taking all the hassle back when recording. Already then, the progress was extremely slow and ineffective. The mood was incredibly bad and unconstructive and we ended up in three different studios because of that, for example. This time everything went smoothly. Spirit was higher than ever, and we all worked in the same direction. For sure, we spent more time on this recording than ever before, but that felt correct and every day was a day of joy.

Beyond the Dark Horizon: Do you have a ritual for creating your music?

Infernus: I have at least a more or less clear mindset when trying to do so. I am now much more concerned about excluding as many traces as possible of whatever binds the music to me as a person, with my history and experiences and patterns already at work. I am fully aware that I am — after all these years — in a certain position of being able to just present whatever b-series of crap resembling material already presented before, and that I might get away with that as well. That is just not good enough. I have both my feet firmly planted in a tradition I cannot or will not choose to deny the importance of; meaning I know my history. The test then is not only cutting through for the sake of it, to just present something entirely new and refreshing, but to cut hard down into my own ego when writing, and to try not to need to have a too strong bond between person and work. I believe this in the end can enable a flow of — you might call it inspiration — which again can create some music able to somehow stand again the test of time. Music in its own sense and within its own framework can become viewed as more timeless and classic. That is my will and I hope I managed somehow to make myself understood.

Beyond the Dark Horizon

"Aneuthanasia" sample (click on player below to launch audio):

"Prayer" sample (click on player below to launch audio):