Interview with Barghest of Spearhead 2008

By Bradley Smith

Your new album Decrowning the Irenarch seems to be receiving a lot of great press in the underground.  How do you feel about it and how do you see it as a progression over Deathless Steel Command?

I’m personally very satisfied with the release.  It’s a pretty significant progression from “Deathless…”, I would say, both musically and lyrically.  “Decrowning…” is a perhaps more focused and coherent release overall, certainly having the upper hand in technicality and performance. 

As a ruler of/by peace, why would you want to decrown an Irenarch?  What are the lyrical themes behind your new album?  Do you see it as somewhat of a concept though not in the traditional sense?

Firstly, a “ruler by peace” (one who rules by a doctrine of pacifism over a concordantly pacifistic society) needs to be decrowned/deposed in order for a ruler by conquest, a warrior monarch, more specifically an emperor in the traditional sense, to be inaugurated. (The reasons for which I shall explain later.)

Secondly, the fact that a society or civilisation requires a “ruler of peace”, as I explain in the foreword to “Decrowning…”, is indicative of a society whose violence has spread inwards, which emerges due to lack of external struggles, i.e. a lack of war.  Thus, the decrowning of a “ruler of peace” is more of a metaphorical elimination of that society which has grown decadent and disruptive.  The lyrical thematic behind the album, which on a personal level I hold to be a fundamental truth, is that war is a cause for personal as well as societal fortification and ascendancy.  To quote a section from the foreword:

“The traditional and healthy civilizations of Eurasia were ordered hierarchically: the warrior class lying central to the three classes or castes of those times; the upper being the priestly caste, the lower being the cultivating caste. The warrior caste was that which helped cement the immovable unity of such civilizations. (Such a structuring survived, albeit in artificial formations, until the feudal age of medieval Europe, despite the disruption of alien religions). A civilization that does not fight, a civilization without struggle or conflict loses its warriors; it thus loses its societal stratification. The masses become comfortable, in time they become indolent ignorant, blind and disruptive…”

To answer your last question, I think one could call it conceptual, due to the fact that at the heart of the lyrical thematic lies this certain traditional world-view, vastly different from the world-view or values of today.  But I myself would not see it as conceptual, no.   

What role do you see for military personnel/organizations within western societies?  Is their time past or are they fulfilling a vital function?  Where do you see the militaries of the world in the near term future?  More conflicts or a new “Pax Romana?”

I believe that the military is a good character building institution, and that the people serving in the military are deserved of our respect.  However the ideologies or values behind such modern wars, specifically the wars the West are involved with, are, unlike the wars of antiquity, often dishonourable and devoid of meaning.  Hence why even a society that does have a military can still be as decadent and worthless as our society is.  I see no reason why the militaries of the world won’t continue.  Sure the military might be serving idle purposes currently, due in no part to the common soldiery I might add, but the fact that war still exists on this planet is some small comfort I suppose.  

To me the new Artwork is central to the lyrical and aesthetic vision of Spearhead.  What sort of aesthetics do you think sum up what Spearhead represents?  Are aesthetics important to Spearhead and bands/metal in general?

I think our current aesthetic already sums up quite succinctly the Spearhead thematic, the album artwork itself filled with symbolism representative of the traditional martial world-view.  Of course the aesthetic is important to an extent.  Too often you get releases, even by bigger bands, with lazy, uninspired artwork and visuals.

When I view Spearhead as compared to other bands it seems like the philosophy and drive behind the band is somewhat more serious and “deeper” than most.  Do you think that Philosophy and unity of theme are important to Spearhead?  What would you say are the motivating ideals behind Spearhead?

As mentioned above (Q2) when speaking of why the irenarch(s) needs ‘decrowning‘, I think you can see it is clear that this ‘philosophy’, be it deemed a mere ’philosophy’ at all, is not a belief I take lightly, nor are the “motivating ideals”.  I think it is important that such ideas are expressed through Spearhead, because I haven’t seen the concept of war discussed in such terms by other metal bands (even War Metal bands) or any bands.  However, first and foremost these creeds and ideas are important to me, and if other people wish to take interest in them that’s up to them.  I’m not seeking to change anyone’s opinion.

I know that Spearhead is mostly war focused when it comes to music and imagery.  Do you see any relation to your British brethren Bolt Thrower?  At least on an Ideological scale?  As the country that basically formed the modern day conception of METAL, what are your views on the British metal scene?

We get asked this question a lot actually.  There are perhaps a couple of Bolt Thrower-esque passages on the new album, but I wouldn’t say there are particularly strong affinities between us.  I think we’re very different musically and ideologically speaking.  The metal scene is pretty small and rather fragmented at the moment.  There’s not much else I can say.

As a drummer how did you approach your performance on this album as compared to your debut?  When it comes to the live environment how do you try to enhance your performance?  Are there any special techniques or “tricks” you use when performing live?  How is that a different environment for you than the one within the recording studio?

People often forget how much of a controlled environment a studio situation is. Theoretically there is so much that can go wrong when performing live.  Think about it; in a studio you can have many chances to play the same section again until it’s as good as it can be.  Furthermore, each instrument is recorded individually.  The list goes on. The approach to the drums on “Decrowning…” was very different to the debut album. For a start, it goes without saying that a click track was used this time.  “Deathless…” was still only 2 years after the Spearhead drummer had purchased a drumkit.  That in itself says a lot.  The progression and improvement made between each release drum-wise has been rapid, to say the least.  To enhance the performance live there are a few things which make things less problematic; mainly leaving plenty of time to warm-up.  The only “trick” I can think of is using triggers to make the hits more consistent.

Are you ready for Britain to withdraw itself from the quagmire of Iraq?  Or are you glad that the British military is over there dealing death to militant Arab insurgents?  What are your thoughts of the political ideals behind British involvement in that war?

Like I mentioned before, the political ideals of modern war are devoid of any honour. However, I don’t pretend to know enough about the subject to give an informed answer.  I seldom pay attention to the news and I simply don’t care about such conflicts.  They are a matter of supreme indifference to me.

There seems to be a strong attraction between Men and warfare.  Why do you think that is?  Do you think that there is some inherent proclivity in the male of the species towards death and destruction?  Do you think that Warfare is a necessary extension of Politics?

For the same reason that there are any differences between the sexes.  Men and women naturally have different proclivities.  It is only the modern notion of egalitarianism that denies this.  War is not always a force for destruction in any case, but a force for creation, as it most certainly was in antiquity.

As indicated before, war was certainly necessary to the functioning of traditional civilisations.  I think it is and will always be necessary, though it has certainly, undoubtedly taken a back-seat in modern politics.

I noticed you used a sample of Churchill for Decrowning the Irenarch.  What do you think of his leadership?  What are some of the most important leaders throughout history? 

That wasn’t Churchill.  I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you who it was; it was from a compilation of BBC radio broadcasts, and I don’t think it gives the name of the announcer.  Regarding Churchill I don’t know enough about his leadership to comment informedly.  I think it’s fair to say he was certainly a strong character, assuredly one of the strongest we’ve had for many years, and should be emulated in that respect. However from what I’ve read on this period I think there were a small number of great mistakes and errors he made, many of which people seldom hear about.  I won’t go into specifics here, but I personally would have made different decisions regarding a number of his policies.  But then again, I am no politician and I don’t pretend I would have done any better in the grand scheme of things.  He is still worthy of respect.

There have been far too many figures from antiquity who have drastically altered the course of history, perhaps more than people would like to admit; such as Ahkenaton, Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, Constantine I, etc.  However some of the figures I personally admire would be the thinkers like Julian the Apostate, and Plato, as well as the fighting men like Napoleon and King Penda. These are just off the top of my head. Given time, I could list countless figures I admire.

What are some of the future plans you have for Spearhead?  Any concerts upcoming or new material being recorded? 

We expect to play some gigs within the coming months.  We also have a European tour in the works for September this year.  Though no dates are confirmable at present.  We are always writing more material, yes; we haven’t stopped on that front.

I’ll leave final words for you to unleash like a hellstorm upon us.

Thanks for the interesting questions, and thanks for your support.  Sic Semper Tyrannis!

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