harvest catch up with their follow-up album Albsegen since where they made their debut spirit and witchcraft have stopped: Merciless classic Black Metal with a keen sense for the art of tempo changes. The album demanded a top mark from me and so I still had questions Witch N and Noir.
Frank (Soundmagnet.eu): Hello you two, since your debut less than 1.5 years ago, you’ve definitely been on my radar. Lay the tracks for Albsegen already in the drawer or why did your second work come around the corner so quickly? When did you start recording?
Witch N(Harvest): Hello Frank, yes it was actually the case that we did the recordings for Albsegen already in the can when spirit and witchcraft Released at the end of 2021. This is mainly due to the fact that there were delays in the pressing plants due to Corona (as we all know), but also due to our enormous creativity in the years 2020 to 2022. We wrote and recorded two complete albums within about 1.5 years. Somebody has to do that for us! And: The third album is almost finished now…
Frank: I think the Doom part is even bigger on the new album and that makes your sound even darker. In particular Chaotic Visions and Apocalyptical Dissolution stick out for me Can you describe the background to this?
Black (Ernt): I think the backgrounds are of different nature. Firstly, it must be said that the guitars are not as in spirit and witchcraft are tuned to E, not D. This matters a lot when listening to the new harmonies of the songs. In addition, I think that it always depends on what your own mood is at the moment a song is created.
A traditional Betruf spoken backwards is used to bless the albums
Frank: The Alp blessing is known to me as a betruf. what whispers Witch in your business of intro? Are all the songs lyrically connected or should they be viewed individually?
Witch N.: The deliberate spelling differently – namely Albsegen with “b” – results in a play on words with the traditional Swiss Betruf and the old German word “Alb”, which stands for an insidious, oppressive being responsible for our nightmares. In the intro I therefore whisper the verse of a traditional prayer, which we then played backwards. This is how the “blessing” of the albums arises, which is representative of our hate and disgust for the conditions in our world today. Albsegen is not a concept album, but the lyrics all deal with similar themes such as the revenge of nature, which deliberately has female connotations, with forces of nature and nature spirits, with chaos that will dominate everything in the end, with complete dissolution and infinite nothingness – so rather not so humane…
Frank: Your style continues to sound like a decal of the Nordic black metal wave of the early 1990s. Did that direction shape you or do you see your musical roots somewhere else?
Noir: At least my roots are definitely in the 1990s Black Metal, I grew up with this sound. But Dark Ambient also shaped my younger years. These gloomy sound worlds still influence me today.
Soon you can experience ERNTE live
Frank: The time after the Corona years leaves more scope for performances again. What about live performances at the moment?
Witch N.: After we finally found a rehearsal room at the end of 2022 and recently also a second guitarist and a drummer, we are currently preparing for future live performances. So you’ll be hearing about it soon!
Frank: I personally find the metal scene in Switzerland very exciting. Some innovative bands come from the neighboring country. How does the cohesion of the scene look like with you in general?
Noir: Well, the scene is small in my eyes and therefore “you know each other”. I can’t say whether there’s any cohesion there.
Witch N.: Switzerland alone is almost too small for a real scene. In my estimation, however, there are several groups and scenes that exist in German-speaking countries across borders – ie in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Frank: A compliment from my side, the cold and rough sound is really bomb. The album was again by V recorded. How was the collaboration with Priory Recording Studios? Can you imagine an upcoming one in another studio HARVEST to record an album?
Noir: I have to correct you. Our albums were not recorded at Priory Recording Studios, only mastered there. Our albums were all named in our own studio Hell Study recorded and mixed. We do everything ourselves and we will continue to record and mix everything ourselves in the future.
Witch N.: Dass Greg von Priory Recording Studios Mastering our albums kind of came naturally as I’ve known him since the mid 2000’s and have worked successfully with him many times. He always does a fantastic job and is a good guy.
We like whiskey or beer more than chocolate (…)
Frank: Since there are now special merch for sale from every band, including black metal, such as coffee or beer. When will the ERNTE chocolate from Switzerland be available ;-)? Can you imagine something like that?
Witch N.: Well, there probably won’t be any chocolate. We’re more into whiskey or beer haha. So far nothing is planned in that direction…
Frank: Last question, tell me off the top of your head, your three favorite Black Metal discs?Witch N.: Urgehal – Massive Terrestrial Strike, Hateful – Feeling down, Spectral Wound – Infernal decadence
Noir: Mavorim – Axis of the world, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult – Night Time, Satanic Warmaster – Carelian Satanist Madness
Also on Soundmagnet.eu
Album Review – Harvest – Alb blessing
Album Review – Harvest – Spirit and Witchcraft
Columns – Black Metal – Made in Austria
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