By Bradley Smith and T. Ciekals (Djevel)
Your new album Vracejte Konve Na Misto
has finally been released. Can you explore a little bit with
us about
its creation? How does it differ from
Mantras and your previous art?The main difference is in lyrics. This time more introspective, depressive, real, lived experience, less sensations. Strange album. A transitional one. Self-therapeutic. Partly also a reason why I didn't ask Vlasta, Silenthell and Monster for a cooperation. I'm singing in unpleasant, helpless mood based on worsening of everything around me.
You had a new custom guitar made recently. Can you tell me why it was necessary? What was it about our previous guitar that disappointed you and what guidance did you give the person crafting your new one? How does the new guitar’s sound compare to your previous one? Did you give your new guitar a name?
Made in 2010. Of course it has its name, it's written on the guitar head: Ganesh, the lord I like particularly. You can never find this sound with factory-made guitar. I have several other guitars, but I play mostly this one. The luthier Jan Vlasák showed me practically how much determining is the combination of certain wood sorts for the resulting sound, not to mention the quality of craftmanship, hardware and pickups. Monster has his bass from the same master.
You wrote that the new album was
created under the Inspiration of nocturnal
winter landscapes. How does that differ
for you from the Indian spirituality of Mantras? I mean can
you compare and contrast how these
two divergent themes inspired you to create new artistic endeavors with
Mantras
and Vracejte Konve Na Misto?From Indian perspective, Czech lies in north, so the stylization is apparent. Northern feelings came into play, some depressive winter impressions, study on funeral typography, that's the scene. Illustrating Lovecraft, smoking chillum, trying to survive this awful winter. I survived, but it was enough. I'm going back to India next winter instead of making music, for sure.
(Question by T. Ciekals of Djevel) “To put watering cans back in place”..a very strange title, yet maybe not when it comes from The Masters of the Hammer; is there a concept behind it or is it just strange for the sake of strange?
It's a common inscription on graveyards telling visitors to put cans back after watering graves of their relatives, it's explained already on our website. Apart from that, nobody ever titled anything like this. Getting rid of clichés is also a message.
How are you inspired by Graveyard typography? As a professional typographer what do you look for in a font as you are wandering through cemeteries?
I've made a couple of fonts inspired by grave inscriptions, used in the cover design, by the way. Stones show beautiful typefaces until early 20th century. One of the last remarkable type-carver Eric Gill is my favourite. After, we can encounter just worsening along with monumental architecture. A good taste is vanishing even from postmortal design. An unpleasant theme.
Necrocock described you as a lover of Czech’s Ancient Beer Culture. What exactly is this beer culture? What about it do you love and as an expert of sorts on this topic what should an outsider know? I mean what makes Czech beer culture special and sets it apart from other countries’ beer culture?
Good
beer is good beer, non-filtered, non-pasteurized, brewed after the
“Reinheitsgebot” which is the German act enforcing the purity of beer.
The
higher quality of beer, the more you can drink. Unlike wine or whisky,
beer is
an extensive drink, ideal for communication, I can drink the whole day
with
nice people - impossible with mediocre beer. I'm getting superb beer
from two
small local brewers (for free, I do design for them), I don't drink
that fake
made by big breweries. In the middle-ages there had been cruel physical
penalties for modifying beer and I'd renew them since the big companies
nowadays sell incredibly dull swipes only.All of your lyrics are in your native tongue, however it is impossible not to notice the one title in English, Lovecraft. Can you tell me about this song and how this author influenced your work and why you created a song called Lovecraft?
I do illustrations for the complete work of HPL in 5 volumes for a Czech publisher. I had an opportunity to read it again after 25 years, that's all. My conclusion? Read Poe instead...
Did you ever get your Issue with Nuclear War Now resolved? What was the end result regarding their 4LP reissue of your first two albums?
I have no idea who is Nuclear... what...?
You recently stated that you could Judge other music, but not your own. Why is that? Do you create the music and set it free, and never go back to listening to it? Or do you create your music and spend time with it after its birth? And do you find yourself too critical of your own work if you go back and listen to it at a later date?
I
don't listen to MH records after they’re out. Only when recording and
checking the samples of vinyl prior to the pressing. Tired. I prefer
other
bands. When recording session is over, I grab Hank Williams jr.(T. Ciekals) How has the return of Masters hammer affected your life these days, it must be good to know that the flame has been burning among the fans all these years even though you were sleeping?
But I'm still sleeping! Sitting behind a computer in studio is not a real musician's life. Same goes for my other work. I have a good internet here in my loved wilderness, no people around, I work alone.
In my previous interview you closed by saying that feedback from the audience was important and asked for people to contact you with their opinions. Did you receive many emails? And how was their opinions regarding Mantras? Did their words affect anything you might have done with Vracejte Konve Na Misto?
Feedback and critique is always very important. Objections on composition/arrangement and sound are helpful, and of course - a slightest indication of boredom from various listeners must be a deadly warning for musician. But if one complains he missed his dark-occult feeling this time, he just dropped on a wrong band I assume.
You have mentioned in another
interview that we face a paradoxical existence
in this world. I was wondering how you
see our existence as paradoxical and what in general you feel our
existence on
this planet and in this plane should be?Did I? I don't remember the context of it, so I can't reply precisely.
As I'm getting older, I quit thinking about such things. I love my work and friends and that's more than enough. I bet such paradoxical theories are good for theorists, not for real life, I encountered such shift soon after I quit my academic career, I had to start to chop wood logs for my oven and grab some food to put in, there is no time for academic thinking. I have some real philosophers among my closest friends, I have a picture what futile life is it like.
(T. Ciekals) Did you ever find the magnificent deer that vanished in the bush? Or is it still on the loose?
No, it's just a tale.
I would to say thanks again Franta for not only continuing with Master’s Hammer, but for being a TRUE artists. I’ll leave any final words for you and wonder if you have any further upcoming plans for Master’s Hammer.
No plans beside leaving Prague tomorrow for countryside.