You have had quite a few member changes throughout the years, how has this affected the band?
What is the current situation of Antaeus? I understand that this last show in Holland was to be your last, that Antaeus in now finished? What led to this decision?
You recently did a tour with the German band "Secrets of the Moon," how was this experience?
Out of all of Antaeus' history of live performances, is there one show that sticks out in your mind as being a favorite?
What would be the craziest thing you ever did during a live performance? (I heard a rumor of drinking bleach
on stage, any truth to this?)
What lies ahead now, for you and the other members of Antaeus? Do you think you will continue to write music?
If there were one important message you felt for Antaeus to convey through the years, what is that final message?
What inspires you outside of music?
What kinds of books interest you? Any favorite authors?
The world, internationally, is sinking into chaos and despair. The future seems bleak to many, and far worse if mankind continues at this rate of decay. What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe at this rate a dark future awaits mankind?
If you could decide the way you would one day die, what would your choice be?
-Lastly, I thank you for your time, any final comments or words of wisdom?
First, can you tell us a little bit of what has been going on with Antaeus since your last MTA interview, several years ago?
At this very current moment, the new album +Blood Libels+ has "just" been out of press (sept for Europe, November for the USA), released under Norma Evangelium Diaboli banner and Ajna Offensive (US license). It is not a common thing in AntaeuS camp to feel 100% satisfied about a release, but this time we are. The recording process took place at BST Studio and it really did well capture the unshaped, chaotic essence of the band. The digipack version came first, then the LP, both with a very special "AntaeuS style" layout made my SECT. Blood Libels delivers 8 tracks of satanik audio violence, shaped on the razor's carves, reflecting the inner violence and mind corruption of AntaeuS entity. Those incarnations of our
chaotic pulses are : Rot, Cyklik Torture, Controle and Abuse, Colliding in Ashes, Words as Weapons, Here is Punishment, Gates to the Outside, Blood Libels. Some tracks from this album have been released as the split EP with Malicious Secrets and the 7" Rot, but those have been re-recorded for the full length release, in order to keep its cohesion, even through deconstruction. It also features a very own interpretation of Diamanda Galas Sono L'Antechristo as a special track, which keeps the schizophrenic atmosphere of the original version, adding some extra layers of sickness, and as a kind of inner link to the previous albums that also included some samples of this track.
Those were the most "recent" news, in the meantime we had to perform in the US once, among bands like Teratism, Demoncy, Krieg, Abazagorath... in NYC. Some gigs here & there in Europe : Portugal with Sinister & Testament, Holland with Watain/Kaamos/Dismember, Belgium with Nox/Proclamation/Necros Christos... Actually a lot of live events...
It slowed us down, but has no effects on the song writing at all. Since the core of Antaeus did remain the same for all those years. The worst was to find suitable band members and reh' over and over again the same tracks. And once we would have a "stable" line up, one had to quit or be kicked out. We're bored trying out members, so since our drummer did quit, we did not look for a new one. Same goes for a second guitar player since we kicked out Servvs after the tour.
Performing live has never been my goal, nor my interest. Most of the live performances we've done those past 12 years have been worthless, usually bad conditions & any problems you could think of. I'd rather spend 20 usd to see a gig instead of spending 200 usd just to perform one. The festival in Holland was obviously a failure. So no regrets so far. With a stronger line up, it would have been worth it, but performing "blood libels" that way, was just a mistake. + Set and I are facing health issues, making it impossible to do any performance either...
This tour was a mistake for us, as I would explain furthermore. We had inexistant crowd reaction everywhere, apart from Italy and Paris, the rest was either obviously not having a clue of what we were doing or just thought we were crap. I did not get to talk with many people on that tour at all, but all those who came to me kept on saying that we should not perform live anymore. And they were right. In London, around 20 people came to me to mention that "your band sucks." And I couldn't agree more, Bad sound each night, 3 gigs out of ten, the microphone was not even redirected through the monitors, so in the audience, I was just "non existent".
Really a lame experience, we thought that this tour we did in 2002 was not good to us since we toured with "bigger bands" more established, but in the end, even with a more underground package, it did prove that Antaeus as a live band means nothing.
We are not cliché enough and spilling blood all around for some and we are too harsh noise to others. I recall one drunk guy in Austria who actually thought the gig was violent, weird...
We knew that we would really get VERY bad reviews in Germany since we mostly get insults from there, so it was no surprise at all. Yet I really thought that the United Metal Maniac team did a killer job at their venue, I'd return there to witness gigs, really a great place.
About some complaints we had about our "set list" performed each night (initially it was : rot/devotee/dpe/words as weapons/gates to the outside/ inner war/cyclic torture/ blood warIII/ blood libels and we did take away three of those in the end) We nearly had to cancel this last tour of Antaeus, our drummer did quit the band, we had to find a suitable drummer in the time given, since we had already agreed on supporting SOTM on their European tour, we couldn't cancel. We couldn't find the right drummer, in the end, Fleshkult from Horrid Flesh helped us out, though it was obviously not of his drumming style, which was perceived on the tour and which somehow affected our sound and our set. I did NOT feel confident about going on tour with such a line up, we couldn't properly present our Art and I kept on saying to the others that it would be a mistake to tour now.
In the end, I was right, but the drummer is not to blame, he did his best in a very short time notice. We had two more tracks on the first gigs of the tour, but since they somehow managed to ruin the whole set by confusing all the members, we had to cut them. Also since the band was just a support act, we did not own anything to anyway, we already paid to present our work, more than anyone that did attend any of those gigs anyway. At the end of the tour, I only wanted to perform 4 tracks and leave the stage. Considering the crowd reaction & turn out we had, we SHOULD have done that. It was not worth it.
SOTM were killer every night though, all hails to them.
Athens, Greece. With Injekting Khaos and Dead Congregation. Performing in New York was also an honour for me, I'm planning to go back on my own to those two places.
That would be one of those "happenings" I would not recall myself until I got to see pictures and had people commenting on it afterwards. Most of the gigs we did perform got me stressed in a way that I usually do not recall anything from the performance. No need for drugs nor anything at all, my paranoia is strong enough to turn me into "something" else by then. I just "sweat/scream/expulse" anything within. The worst gigs had to be those that had myself too confident, then I get to focused on too much of the structures, the sounds and it all gets ruined. It has to be "one" or else it's not worth it.
Impossible to give a proper answer to such a question, we simply have no plans right now. Yet it would be a mistake to really describe AntaeuS as dead, though it surely looks stopped as of now. No line up and no reh' at all for the coming months. On a personal level, I've often been asked about my side projects : Tenebrare and Aosoth, Tenebrare actually had to stop since bass player & guitar player (twins) did relocate outside of our area, the new band emerging from those ashes is composed by the one who did compose all the musick in Tenebrare, the new band is called Dokimatia, the work is pretty much in the same vein, yet it has very slow tracks, oppressive & depressive, I was meant to be session vocalist for them, but due to the lack of time that limits me, I've been "kicked out" somehow.
Aosoth wise, we did record two split eps : one with the mighty Sargeist from Finland, out on Asphyxiate recording soon and one split ep with French TEMPLE OF BAAL on debemur morti prod. Another split ep is in the making with French Malhkebre, to be out on Battleskrs.
We've also completed a full album since, considering the two splits eps have been recorded for over a year now. It seems most UG release always have to be in plans for years before getting released.
Some bands also did offer a vocalist position, though I was honoured, I could not accept.
With Antaeus now being a band of the past, can you describe to us any overall emotions you feel as you look through the years of memories?
A band of the past and with a possible future. Memories : frustrations. Not much to comment from those years, my main mistake must have been SPIKEKULT and not Antaeus, I do regret doing that label. Fuck that piece of shit, I shouldn't have spent that much energy on it.
Anything we felt worth exposing is within our work. Those caring should pay attention to what hides/resides within. So obvious for some, so bleak to others...
Any Art form would grasp my attention, be it Architecture, Books, Painting, body modification, "art happening".
Last two authors that really caught my attention were Peter Sotos (frontman of power electronic band Whitehouse) and Alain Soral. The first being easily available in the US bookstores, I doubt the second one will ever make it. He mostly deals with French sociology and analysis of politics. Strong minded individual and a different approach on those matters.
As far as I am concerned, this has been the one and only way I ever witnessed those past 31 years. Could not really discuss that matter, nor would I really care for it as a whole. A dark future could be a "way too bright" one actually.
Today, I would choose human bombing sacrifice. A strong act indeed.
Hails to you D. for all. No need for final comments, since this end is too minimal to be a real conclusion.
AMSG.
