[IMGLEFT]http://www.npearce.ultimatemetal.com/thralldom1.jpg[/IMGLEFT]By Nathan Pearce
Thralldom is one of the few USBM bands that hails from somewhere other than California, but one listen to the bands latest, Black Sun Resistance, demonstrates that the East Coasts black artists are clearly building a sound worthy of the cult status of their Left Coast contemporaries. I had the opportunity to interview both Killusion and Jaldagar (the duo that makes up modern day Thralldom), and this is what transpired.
UM: It seems Im a little late getting into Thralldom. Your band has sort of become a cult favorite in a similar way to Xasthur and Leviathan. Please describe your feelings about this.
KILLUSION: Hmm . . . not so sure about that.. To me it seems that those two bands are much more popular and on the radar of the public than Thralldom. But perhaps my isolation from the scene explains this. Leviathan and Black Witchery are the USBM bands that I would hail.
JALDAGAR: I have to honestly say I am so out of the loop that I have only heard of those bands, but havent gotten around to hearing them because of my lack of interest in black metal.
UM: Speaking of Xasthur and Leviathan. Do you feel that Thralldom is a part of this recent explosion of USBM?
KILLUSION: Not at all. We have been doing this for a while, and personally I dont listen to whats current. I am against the idea of a scene, to be honest.
JALDAGAR: (Nod)
UM: Thralldom is from New York. The recent surge in USBM seems to be coming from sunny California. Whats the scene like on the East Coast?
KILLUSION: Again, there is no scene on long island NY(with the exception of The Paragon Cult). It is pure isolation, and we like it that way.
JALDAGAR: I dont know anyone else here making Black Metal music. Just shitty hardcore and punk.
UM: Black Sun Resistance seems to have taken a slightly more abstract approach to your particular brand of black metal, as compared to Beast Eye Opened To The Sky. Even the cover art is abstract. Song structure seems to be very chaotic. This is a nice departure from the norm of black metal bands. Please describe your approach to the writing and recording of Black Sun Resistance.
KILLUSION: Our approach to Black Sun Resistance was typical of Thralldom: spontaneous and off the cuff. The riffs are always created out of the aether. Most black metal bands these days are just doing paint by numbers BM. Its sad . . . and it takes a certain sense of creative fire to make Thralldom happen. The chaos explains it all. Every Thralldom recording is different from another. The chaos is the only connecting thread. Beast Eye . . . was done with other members and now Thralldom is only myself and Jaldagar. This makes for a wide open canvas . . . as nobodies outside opinion can disrupt the unspoken connection we have as a duo.
UM: Both Beast Eye . . . and Black Sun . . . have a certain feel to them. Sort of an I dont give a fuck feel. Or maybe a fuck off and die feel. In other words, your music is black metal, but youre obviously trying to do something different. We all know black metal was originally meant as a rebellion against the popularity of death metal. Black metal was supposed to stay underground. Are you simply trying to be your own band, or is this more of a rebellion against the rising popularity of black metal?
KILLUSION: The rebellion is against the real world. The society that humans live in every day. Humans are in Thralldom, Magick and the Occult is warfare against the slave-state. An artistic assault is what we give to the dead ones. It is simply an exercise in isolation and the release of esoteric energy. The focus is on the Occult and hidden order, not any scene.
UM: Speaking of modern black metal, and metal in general, what are your feelings about the modern scene . . . underground or mainstream . . . black metal and other forms of metal?
KILLUSION: There are some good bands out there in black metal., but on a whole I think there is a real lack of quality. Every asshole who picks up a guitar now thinks he can easily make a cult BM band. To me there has to be personality and individuality to a black metal band. The qualities of a real Satanist. I hate almost every other kind of modern metal. I stick to the classics, such as Morbid Tales, Show No Mercy, The Return etc. Organic production is my only requirement for metal. Triggers suck and so do those god awful noise-gated, chugga-chugga, pretty-boy metalcore bands . Fuck them all. Hahaha!
JALDAGAR: I stopped listening to black metal frequently in 2000, and occasionally listen to Darkthrone. I got so bored with the dynamics of metal I started to study jazz full time, and my listening is often dominated by electronic music.
UM: In a recent interview with Terrorizer magazine, there is mention of the physical image of Thralldom. I believe something is said in regards to your un-black metal appearance. Do you feel the appearance and life style defined by black metal bands in the early 90s is dead? Or is Thralldom only concerned with the music and art of black metal?
KILLUSION: The panda face is completely overdone to death. Its a joke now. Yes some people still feel its important, but for Thralldom we dont care. Image is for selling records. We dont care about that shit. This is just our art! Take it or leave it. I certainly dont approve of these assholes posing like they are so evil, but in reality the only thing they are doing is disgracing the whole movement that really never fucking existed. Hahaha! Most people who look for attention are NOT being productive. It almost seems as if they want guys to look at them and think they were cool! Haha! Id rather have girls think Im cool. Again, LET THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING!!!
UM: Is Thralldom a live band? If so, please describe a typical live performance.
KILLUSION: Never have never will.
JALDAGAR: I remember us mysteriously getting booked at a Chelsea piers metal fest in 2001?
UM: Unless Im mistaken, Thralldom is already hard at work on their next album. Can you give us any insights into it?
KILLUSION: Yes, some songs are recorded, and its easily going to be our strongest most creative record yet. I feel we have really come into our own and the cerebral flame still burn. The vinyl version will come out on Parasitic Records. There are tentative titles but until we finish it there is no telling what the beast will become. Overall there will be more nightmare explosions and excessive sounds combined with our brand of psychedelic hate.
UM: Please add any final comments, criticism, etc.
KILLUSION: Tthanks for the interview. www.blacksundistortion.blogspot.com
Thralldom is one of the few USBM bands that hails from somewhere other than California, but one listen to the bands latest, Black Sun Resistance, demonstrates that the East Coasts black artists are clearly building a sound worthy of the cult status of their Left Coast contemporaries. I had the opportunity to interview both Killusion and Jaldagar (the duo that makes up modern day Thralldom), and this is what transpired.
UM: It seems Im a little late getting into Thralldom. Your band has sort of become a cult favorite in a similar way to Xasthur and Leviathan. Please describe your feelings about this.
KILLUSION: Hmm . . . not so sure about that.. To me it seems that those two bands are much more popular and on the radar of the public than Thralldom. But perhaps my isolation from the scene explains this. Leviathan and Black Witchery are the USBM bands that I would hail.
JALDAGAR: I have to honestly say I am so out of the loop that I have only heard of those bands, but havent gotten around to hearing them because of my lack of interest in black metal.
UM: Speaking of Xasthur and Leviathan. Do you feel that Thralldom is a part of this recent explosion of USBM?
KILLUSION: Not at all. We have been doing this for a while, and personally I dont listen to whats current. I am against the idea of a scene, to be honest.
JALDAGAR: (Nod)
UM: Thralldom is from New York. The recent surge in USBM seems to be coming from sunny California. Whats the scene like on the East Coast?
KILLUSION: Again, there is no scene on long island NY(with the exception of The Paragon Cult). It is pure isolation, and we like it that way.
JALDAGAR: I dont know anyone else here making Black Metal music. Just shitty hardcore and punk.
UM: Black Sun Resistance seems to have taken a slightly more abstract approach to your particular brand of black metal, as compared to Beast Eye Opened To The Sky. Even the cover art is abstract. Song structure seems to be very chaotic. This is a nice departure from the norm of black metal bands. Please describe your approach to the writing and recording of Black Sun Resistance.
KILLUSION: Our approach to Black Sun Resistance was typical of Thralldom: spontaneous and off the cuff. The riffs are always created out of the aether. Most black metal bands these days are just doing paint by numbers BM. Its sad . . . and it takes a certain sense of creative fire to make Thralldom happen. The chaos explains it all. Every Thralldom recording is different from another. The chaos is the only connecting thread. Beast Eye . . . was done with other members and now Thralldom is only myself and Jaldagar. This makes for a wide open canvas . . . as nobodies outside opinion can disrupt the unspoken connection we have as a duo.
UM: Both Beast Eye . . . and Black Sun . . . have a certain feel to them. Sort of an I dont give a fuck feel. Or maybe a fuck off and die feel. In other words, your music is black metal, but youre obviously trying to do something different. We all know black metal was originally meant as a rebellion against the popularity of death metal. Black metal was supposed to stay underground. Are you simply trying to be your own band, or is this more of a rebellion against the rising popularity of black metal?
KILLUSION: The rebellion is against the real world. The society that humans live in every day. Humans are in Thralldom, Magick and the Occult is warfare against the slave-state. An artistic assault is what we give to the dead ones. It is simply an exercise in isolation and the release of esoteric energy. The focus is on the Occult and hidden order, not any scene.
UM: Speaking of modern black metal, and metal in general, what are your feelings about the modern scene . . . underground or mainstream . . . black metal and other forms of metal?
KILLUSION: There are some good bands out there in black metal., but on a whole I think there is a real lack of quality. Every asshole who picks up a guitar now thinks he can easily make a cult BM band. To me there has to be personality and individuality to a black metal band. The qualities of a real Satanist. I hate almost every other kind of modern metal. I stick to the classics, such as Morbid Tales, Show No Mercy, The Return etc. Organic production is my only requirement for metal. Triggers suck and so do those god awful noise-gated, chugga-chugga, pretty-boy metalcore bands . Fuck them all. Hahaha!
JALDAGAR: I stopped listening to black metal frequently in 2000, and occasionally listen to Darkthrone. I got so bored with the dynamics of metal I started to study jazz full time, and my listening is often dominated by electronic music.
UM: In a recent interview with Terrorizer magazine, there is mention of the physical image of Thralldom. I believe something is said in regards to your un-black metal appearance. Do you feel the appearance and life style defined by black metal bands in the early 90s is dead? Or is Thralldom only concerned with the music and art of black metal?
KILLUSION: The panda face is completely overdone to death. Its a joke now. Yes some people still feel its important, but for Thralldom we dont care. Image is for selling records. We dont care about that shit. This is just our art! Take it or leave it. I certainly dont approve of these assholes posing like they are so evil, but in reality the only thing they are doing is disgracing the whole movement that really never fucking existed. Hahaha! Most people who look for attention are NOT being productive. It almost seems as if they want guys to look at them and think they were cool! Haha! Id rather have girls think Im cool. Again, LET THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING!!!
UM: Is Thralldom a live band? If so, please describe a typical live performance.
KILLUSION: Never have never will.
JALDAGAR: I remember us mysteriously getting booked at a Chelsea piers metal fest in 2001?
UM: Unless Im mistaken, Thralldom is already hard at work on their next album. Can you give us any insights into it?
KILLUSION: Yes, some songs are recorded, and its easily going to be our strongest most creative record yet. I feel we have really come into our own and the cerebral flame still burn. The vinyl version will come out on Parasitic Records. There are tentative titles but until we finish it there is no telling what the beast will become. Overall there will be more nightmare explosions and excessive sounds combined with our brand of psychedelic hate.
UM: Please add any final comments, criticism, etc.
KILLUSION: Tthanks for the interview. www.blacksundistortion.blogspot.com
