Interview with Lord Monk of Berserk
By Bradley Smith
I know it's a bit boring but I feel that Berserk is kind of a hidden gem and I was wondering if you can give our readers a little background information about Berserk's history?
- Berserk was born in 1998. The founder members were Forjstorm, Frozen Wind and
LordMonk.
Nazak, the vocalist, joined us later. In 2001, Adipocere Rec. released our first
album “From the Celtiberian Woods” and in 2003, the second one entitled “Rites
of Supremacy”.
In 2004, Adipocere re-released our old demo “Return of the ancient laws” with
some extra live tracks, and Battlelord Prod. from Japan has released a live
album recorded in Bilbao.
I just received your Live from the Woods CD. I must say it was lot better than I expected for a live performance as I am not usually fond of live albums. Do you feel playing live is integral to experiencing Berserk?
- Well, live shows
aren´t our priority, because we prefer to dedicate all the time to composing and
recording new stuff. Anyway we like to play live and we enjoy in all moment on
the stage.
It says
you performed at Bilbao for this show, how many people were in attendance? How
was the crowd reaction at the show? What can an uninitiated person expert from a
live show of yours?
-
It were about 200 people
in the show and the reaction was very good. Maybe they were a little quiet, but
very well. Bilborock, the venue, is great, because it is an ancient church
reformed in a new hall. Our gigs are very stronger and intense, so I recommend
you that come to one of them...
One thing I really enjoy is how up front the bass guitar is in your music. It seems that many bands these days fail to understand what a powerful instrument the bass guitar can be. What do you think the role of Bass guitar is in your music?
- Hehe, thanks for your words.
Yes, you are right. I like the music with powerful bass guitars.
Specially, in Black Metal, bass guitar doesn´t have importance like the guitars
or drums.
But this instrument is very
necessary for the bass sound and the base of the music.
Do you feel being from Spain has hindered you from being more recognized within the scene. In my opinion if you had been Sweden of Norway you would have been a lot more (in)famous. Do you feel there is an over emphasis on those scenes within metal these days?
- We know that to be Spanish is an inconvenience in the Metal scene.
People have many prejudices about Metal from Spain. There are great bands in our country, but not support from people and labels.
The distance with the rest of countries is another important factor. It is more difficult to organise a tour from Spain, because it is very far from the other European countries...
Since we are on the topic of Norwegian scene why did you choose to cover of Burzum's Lost Wisdom? It seems that is an odd choice since there are so many available songs to cover out there.
- Well, we have played a lot of
covers of our favourite bands like Satyricon, Ancient, Mayhem, Enslaved,... and
now we are playing the excellent track “Lost Wisdom” of Burzum, because we like
the feeling and the power of this track
When I am listening to your music I feel an
undercurrent of melancholy that blends together with the feel of anger that
rides on the surface. What moods are you trying to convey with your art?
- Yes, that resumes very well our music. We think that our style mixes the slow parts with others with fury and anger. So we are a band which represents the essence of Black Metal, hate and melancholy.
I feel that philosophy plays an integral role in a person's artistic expressions and this is even more true when it comes to black metal music. Do you feel this is accurate? Can you elaborate a little on your own personal philosophies?
- Umm, it is very difficult to explain our personal philosophy in a short answer, hehe...
I only can tell you that we think in the paganism like a way of live, we trust in the values of the ancient times, and we apply them in our lives actually.
Do you
get any sort of people writing you that don't understand your relationship with
Pagan/Celtic lore? Maybe there are people that think because you are from
Spain
you shouldn't sing about these lyrical topics?
-
No, that isn´t true because the Celts lived in Spain too. It was a time when
Celts and Iberians joined their forces, and this is our old culture, the
Celtiberian.
Off the topic of music, do you follow world events? How do you feel about the death of Catholic pope? What about the War going on in Iraq?
- Well, life isn´t easy in this modern world. See the self-destruction of Nature everyday. The hands that control the planet are dirty, the money moves all...
What plans
do you have for the future? Hopefully a new album soon. Are you going to
participate in any tours?
-
Now we are working in
the composition process of the new album. We will enter in studio in July, so we
don´t have any tours planned for the moment. Maybe we could participate in some
fests over Europe.
Do you have any last words of wisdom you have discovered in your earthly existence that you would like to impart on our readers?
- Thanks for the interview and support, and sorry for my bad English. I hope that you understand all the concepts that I explained.
Keep alive the pagan flame...