Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 01:48 AM by Nikos Nakos
In demonology, Belphegor (or Beelphegor, Hebrew: בַּעַל–פְּעוֹר baʿal-pəʿōr – Lord of the Gap) is a demon, and one of the seven princes of Hell, who “helps” people make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich. Bishop and witch-hunter Peter Binsfeld believed that Belphegor tempts by means of laziness. Ηowever whenever they come, as their 2 scheduled performances for the very next weekend were cancelled in Athens & Thessaloniki, don’t be lazy or get fooled by anyone and miss Belpheghor’s awesome blackened death metal…it would be a shame after all!
Hey, Helmuth! This is Elpida from Metal Invader! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. The purpose of this interview is to shine some light upon “Conjuring The Dead” and to know you and the band better, so I’ll keep things simple, hehe! First of all, how are you? Is life treating you good these days?
Helmuth: That’s a philosophical question; no clue what you would consider a good life! Anyways, all good here, we are busy recording the new album which you can expect to appear in September and we get prepared for the coming two Greece Rituals next week.
It’s been over two years since the release of Belphegor’s latest full length album “Conjuring The Dead”. Now that time has passed and your mind is at ‘ease’, are you ultimately satisfied by the final outcome? Moreover, are you satisfied with the crowd’s and press’ reception of the record? I’m guessing that since you’ve been performing the tracks live, feedback must be intense.
In August it’s been 3 years since “Conjuring The Dead” saw the unlight. We don’t create compositions for feedback. I mean, It’s great if people dig it. If some are offended or don’t like Belphegor they can just fukk off, we aren’t preaching to anyone or pandering to the crowd to like us. You can listen and understand what we are doing and what we create. We do our own thing in our own Reich and have decided to walk our own path. That’s always been the goal, and remains now and ever the main plan.
Belphegor is a live troop yes, and of course we dig it to shred our hellsounds with uttermost brutality and precision to the crowd worldwide. We look forward to the Greece invasion at the end of January. This will be among the first Rituals in 2017… Let’s make it two unforgettable devil-nights, full of magick!!
In “Conjuring The Dead” you adopted a more Death Metal approach, while simultaneously maintained the trademark Belphegor features. What led you to that decision? Did you feel the need to change some things to ‘spice things up’?
All of it came naturally to us, since I have struggled with nearly losing my life during my heart operation. I was really pissed and the result is ‘Conjuring The Dead’. We tuned guitars down, so of course everything sounds more intense and brutal in a Death Metal way with Blackest Metal influences. It always has to be a new challenge with each tour, each album project. We try to stay excited and enthusiastic about making Musick you know… to try different things, vary producers/ studios etc. So we can continue to increase and shift the dynamics and develop as musicians and as a band. Stagnation = death!!
We play ‘Gasmask Terror’, some parts of ‘Pactum In Aeternum’ and of course the single which is the title track in a live situation from that album. We always go for the fast and most dynamic tracks. BELPHEGOR on stage is TNT!!
You’ve adopted one of Mozart’s tracks’ title “Rex Tremendae Majestatis”. In your (essentially) adaptation / interpretation, one can easily distinguish the filtered influences in the composition and the building of the same (though darker) atmosphere. How did this idea dawn onto you? Care to give us a second sight on this one?
I dig classical musick, you find on each BELPHEGOR output some classical influences. On ‘Blood Magick Necromance’, we for example had as main inspiration for the song ‘In Blood – Devour This Sanctity’, Johannes Brahms – Hungarian Dances and used the melody for the chorus. Of course with a disturbing Death/ Black soundwall.
I love this piece of Brahms art… it’s so intense… full of dark energy. Same goes for ‘Requiem’ opus from Mozart, he wrote it on his death bed knowing he would die soon and never could finish it, it is art… in its purest form!
It is like Death/ Black Metal in classical style fukking Mozart’s – ‘Requiem’, I adore it. Give it a listen… you will get goosebumps if you have a little bit of understanding for theatric– obscure art. Writing music, creating… while dying, what could be more intense… or should i say insane??
An interesting fact about “Pactum in Aeternum” came up in a discussion a few days ago which surprised me all the way and made me search a bit online about it. Based on my findings, you once mentioned that in this track natural and self – made instruments were used (ok, that’s normal), along with instruments made of real human and animalistic bones. The latter amazed be and made me shiver. Could you please tell me why and how you did that? It’s truly fascinating.
Thanks for appreciation. I collect bones since almost 15 years, we went to a guy that built some instruments out of real bones to add this magic and resonance to the album. It’s archaic, cold and obscure… perfect fit for BELPHEGOR. So we did it!! The band’s name is KRAMATACH from Austria.
The record’s cover artwork is a creation of Seth (of Septicflesh). It’s stunning and freaks me out at the same time. What’s the main idea behind it and what are your interpretations of it? Obviously, we / you can find yourself in it, so are there any thoughts about it you’d like to express?
The cover art is impressive, indeed. Thanks to Seth, he did a great job with the artwork again, for BELPHEGOR. First he did it in 2006 for the ‘Pestapokalypse Vi’ LP. I don’t need describe anything, look at it… you see everything that we’ve been dealing with lyrically and energetically for 24 years and what BELPHEGOR represent. Make up your own interpretations… and descend into darkness.
Obscurity and Satanic themes have always been main pillars of Belphegor’s lyrics and general aesthetics. Are you spiritual yourself? Do you walk on the left hand path or is the rebellious nature of such lyrics the reason these themes are used by your band?
We are atheists with tendencies to nihilism. Glorifying the brutal musick of Death!! Rebellion, resistence, refusing is the most important thing when it comes to art, yes. There is no god. I am my own god and I am possessed. Death Musick must excite, incite and provoke, not calm you down…
A more general question now… You’ve been around since 1992; for some younger fans, that’s a whole lifetime. What makes a band like you keep going strong? And if I may, would you consider the health issues you faced a few years back as a stimulus for new things? A fresh start maybe?
I don’t use the word fan, it is decadent to me… or let’s say just disgusting!! When traveling the world, you get a lot inspiration from the journey and the musick, the Rituals… you need to sacrifice yourself but on the other hand you get a lot back from performing on stage, you see a lot of things while travelling the world. And I am thankful for it…
You know, leading a band like BELPHEGOR isn’t an easy thing… I still adore it and we have a lot to say and musickwise we are better than ever before. Never joined a trend and we have never slowed down or changed our attitude/ sound drastically, the hellfire is burning higher than ever before. Goal accomplished. Hail!
What led you into forming Belphegor back then? Did you anticipate the success of the band and where you’d find yourselves a quarter of century later?
It was all hard work, dedication, practicing and thousands of sacrifices on the way… but you know, it was worth it!! BELPHEGOR isn’t just a band; it is a force, a legacy in extreme Metal and my life, my everything!
What are your personal main influences? Who inspired you?
I could write a book here. I dig flamenco guitars, NWOBHM, classical composers and of course everything where you can hear a guitar shredding, starting from Rock till extreme Musick. Anyways, we are just tracking the new still untitled album. At the moment I am busy recording the four rhythm guitars. Drums and Bass guitar are done and it already sounds brilliant. This LP will be released in September 2017, followed by a worldwide touring cycle. Be prepared..
Belphegor will be visiting Greece for two gigs in Thessaloniki and Athens. Are you as excited as we are? What should we expect from you?
We are very excited to march into GREECE again yes. It’s been a while since we played those two cities. We have the strongest line up and have developed a lot since we last visited Thessaloniki and Athens.
Alright, that’s all from me for the time being! Thank you for having us; it’s been a pleasure talking to you! Are there any words you’d like to address to your fans? Warm the crowd in view of the concerts here in Greece!
Greece!! Expect a special Ritual along with aggressive – brutal sound collages. It will be diabolic, don’t miss the cremations… see you all soon. Hail Metal! Hail Death!
