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Interview by HERR
MORBID
Hail !!! FURZE is for some people a new entry in the Black Metal field,
but I know the band has existed since the first 90’s… You
released several demos but your project has always been totally out
of the classic norwegian BM scene… is It a choice or you simply
haven’t received the right attention from fans and media before
now?
Existing as FURZE since Autumn 1998. As WOE J. REAPER Spring ‘96/’98,
as failures as CURSED, NATTEN & SORCERY Autumn ‘92/’96.
Unstable line-ups + other things in general I won’t talk of now.
The demos “Necromanzee” and “Zaredoo” came March
and May ’98, then, as FURZE, “Trident Black Metal Feast”
September ’99 and more or less a non-spreaded one-track demo entitled
“Leizla” in February 2000. So, you see, the releases came
rather lately. We concern with the present and future.
The first thing I noticed in your interesting concept is the quite strange
monicker… Why did you choose FURZE? The “furze” term
in english language is a kind of flower, but I think your interpretation
is something really different… I read in other interviews about
a process called “furzement”, would you like to explain in
depth this very peculiar concept ?
“Furzement” for you is most interesting as FURZE records,
I guess. It’s not a bound concept, except for the sweet torment
that occurs to enfurze. Because… This plant may be my scythe, The
Scythe. Furze means Gold(en) Thorn, hopefully quality then. - At least,
auto evil pictures, thus total… Every letter and note is result
of Direct Ray(zè)-impulse, with other words, a sharp constructive
possession (furze) in a destructive orgasm. – This is Furzement.
Your musical style is quite particular, in fact in your music we can
find some strong old-school Black Metal influences, but also Doom riffs
and for instance I think several riffs in “Avail the autocrat of
Evil” are clearly Black Sabbath-oriented and really “groovy”…
I suppose you have a really various musical background (in the booklet
you also thanx Prince for the “Purple Rain” album). Tell us
also your fave bands ever.
Some things that inspired me probably are: Black Sabbath – the
first 6 LP’s, Hellhammer, Thorns – new and old (!), Monumentum,
Destruction, Morbid Angel – especially old, King Crimson –
certain 70’s records/tracks, Possessed, Bathory – the first
6 LP’s, Slayer, Candlemass – first 2, Darkthrone – mostly
Peaceville, Vulcano, Celtic Frost, The True Mayhem… I’m a
necromaniacal Celtic Frost and Hellhammer collector, so anyone: furze_knapstad@hotmail.com
. I need japanese “Into the Pandemonium” LP with booklet,
“Apocalyptic Raids” split with Bathory LP (bootleg and I don’t
know for sure what the Bathory side includes), “Satanic Rites”
LP – not picture disc, but regular LP, said to be on brown vynil
(?). If anyone know about/got the talked-about unreleased tracks from
the recording-sessions of Hellhammer or Celtic Frost: I must know, thanx!!
FURZE is basically a one man band. I know you had some problems in the
past with other members, so you decided to remain alone. Do you think
the one-man band solution is comfortable and fits your technical and
ideological needs ?
There are negatives and positives with both solo and band playing. I
want control, and it has showed itself very hard to find members earlier.
Except for the Furzement itself, I also play the guitar very different
than others. So then the way of making riffs and the sound (due to my
fingerbased technique) gets different.
Your lyrics are incredibly cryptic and unusual. Sorry for my ignorance,
but I would like to know something more about the figures of “Zaredoo”
and “Devacamo”, and in which way they influenced so deeply
your lyrics and ideology. And who is in your vision the “Autocrat
of Evil” ?
Zaredoo is my own word and it’s used as sort of “calculation”
whenever used. Devacamo (is taken from the Rosenkreuzian literature)
is that plain that someone spiritually or consciously exposes, but Devakasha
is a sort of “beyond”. Then it’s the spark inspiration
(furze) that is the thing catched within the writing/recording of “Devacamo
Possessed Black”, so I never use any symbol literary or visually
if it ain’t sparked the 1-2-3 way (furze). Nothing to say about
Zaredoo today. I would like to say that the lyrics and music create
something, those two factors, so please read while listening with Furze!
It creates “the third” (furze) so it shouldn’t be necessary
to tell of the vision you eventually could/would get. “Avail…”
is a good example of that!
Usually the 90% of the Black Metal bands are involved into Satanic and
demoniac creeds and indeologies. Reading your lyrics I haven’t
clearly understood your position… Surely they are anti-christian
lyrics, but do you follow some divinities and in which way do you do
it?
I do it the way that I act when I’m inspired, it’s that. Murderlust
or just out of nowhere (Zaredoo…?) a riff or a word. Woe J. Reaper’s
position in Zaredoo bringing scythe closer. Sometimes I feel Satan’s
Megalomania. It’s not important to me in which way has been symbolized
this or that by others, it’s interesting sometimes, but not important.
If it is very interesting (or irritating), I might get inspired, in
the name of Satan or just reaping or any Zaredoo at all could be fermed.
Do you consider FURZE as a Black Metal band? I think this definition
doesn’t fit completely with your music, in fact FURZE is really
more than a classic True Black Metal band… What do you think about
the new norwegian “scene”, with all those hystorical bands
trying to do (in a very wrong way) something different from their past?
Do you like electronic stuff into Black Metal ?
We label ourselves Black Metal. It’s not really important, but
when the auto-evil pictures arrive, they arrive (often) with the words
“Black Metal” in soul. That is OUR definition of what Furze
is: Black Metal, just call it a natural stigma the fact that we write
those words repeatedly on albumsleeves of Furze, which probably again
inspire us. The old Norse scene ruled. New things I like are still many
of the same: Carpathian Forest, Thorns, Darkthrone, Satyricon. Electronics
can be used right or wrong. I think the 2 firstmentioned bands used
them in a cool way for instance. The problem is that almost everything
is without a dark soul these days. What is sounding like someone’s
trying to express wrath, darkness or any other ingredient we want is
instead empty nothingness of twisted emptiness or something in that
vein… The coolest new band must be 1349 from Oslo! Just completely
totally raw! Apocalyptic Raids from Brasil is also supreme. The day
I want something different with Furze, I’ll follow it, and actually
it happens with every new Furze-song: it’s something different
from the last one I made.
Another unusual element in FURZE is the vocal approach, in fact you
often change your way of singing including strange and bizarre litanies-like
vocals. Why did you choose to use this original kind of singing?
I didn’t choose it, it just happened this way.
On your debut-7” there was a really mad song called “Fresh
Tea!”, characterised by very strange music and lyrics. I often
used the term “strange” in this interview, is it your intention
to be “strange” ? Maybe I’m wrong, but (in particular
on the old 7”) I often noticed a soft and evil irony behind the
songs…
Sometimes this “mad/soft irony” can work very well for/in
Furze. It’s the same to be said: Furze doesn’t try to make
the atmosphere, the atmosphere myself and Furzement it shall be. By
the way, I’m proud the way the 7” (“First feast for freedom”)
came out; it includes all these 4 different recorded tracks (diff. sessions),
but still keeping a certain unity.
Who is Woe J. Reaper in everyday life? Do you study or work? What are
your main interests beside music? Do you consider yourself as a misanthropic
person?
Well, as you know, every second someone dies, so even if we called it
“gold-thorn” it’s merely a black humour indicating both
the quality and quantity of the work of our scythe: it initially looks
like gold, but, I admit, it’s mostly rust what you see. I mean,
when someone handles one every second for so many years with the mankind
going on… It does discolour a bit with all the litres of blood
being penetrated by scythe, not to mention the crusted blood’s
colour: it’s all about this quality-quantity that makes days and
nights go on… You know, I’m not concerned about the fact that
the scythe could be broken BEFORE man vanished from Earth! Now, that
could be only result in a contemporary period of less penetration if
they develop mass-DNA changes including the “eternal-life”
or if they brew Heaven somehow on Earth… By the way, I live in
small house with my equipment, broke, unemployed for Furze, but I need
a work now.
I know that you’ll release 2 new albums soon, “Necromanzee
Cogent” and “Baphomet Wade”. Would you like to talk about
these new releases? I noticed a great improvement from the old 7”
to the “Trident Autorcrat” MCD, so I think that if you’ll
improve your style once more we must expect a real masterpiece of original
but uncompromising Black Metal…
The first one is “Necromanzee Cogent” full-length. “Baphomet
Wade” will be recorded (“N.C.” LP + “Zaredoo Knives”
MLP are already recorded) under different circumstances than the Beoverlook
Recordings as I have done ‘til now. The possessed evil in the 23
mins.-long track “Sathanas Megalomania” is mailed out in its
unofficial mixed version as that was the only option, I’m alone,
without work and I ain’t rich. We received a lot of pretty good
reactions for our debut-album, but everyone wanted to hear more new
stuff before signing; so if we got a cheap studio offer I went there
with at least a bit more detailed sound in mind as far as the mix goes,
but anyway it’s bearable. No real offers yet. “N.C.”
as a whole should though be mailed out at once, but economy didn’t
increase as time went by since recording (September 2000/early 2001)
so I went for this, mailing out “the heart”, and half the
album, “Sathanas Megalomania”. “N.C.” is definitely
darker, and probably crazier to many ears. “N.C.” is Woe J.
Reaper’s Necrosaint Black Metal progressoion! If it was just above
your head with “Trident Autocrat”, the misty eyes seem to
land just in front of your own ones to mesmerize you with “N.C.”…
Your music is quite innovative, on the contrary your image is classically
Black Metal-oriented, with face-paint, blades, etc. This means that
you like evolution but without losing the tradition…
I talked about the fact that we label FURZE as Black Metal earlier…
Never trying to do anything: only doing the call. This is Furze’s
Black Metal evolution.
What do you think about Death ? Do you hope in an Afterlife? Tell us
your vision of a possible world beyond death…
This is the 13th question and the answer
is: do you know my name??!
Ok, thanx for the interview, hope you like it and let us know your dark
prophecy for this 2002…
Wait for “Necromanzee Cogent”. Thanx for support!
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