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INTERVIEW WITH NOKTURNAL MORTUM
Questions answered by: Knjaz Varggoth
Interview took place on 1/11/2001 in Kharkov, Ukraine
Interview made by: Sonia

You started as a Death Metal band Supporation. Can you tell me more about that?

We started back in 1992 as Supporation so we will celebrate our 10th anniversary next year. At first we were a Death Metal band but this style could not assure us any finance so we decided to continue as a black metal band. That was the beginning of our history.

Then Crystaline Darkness was born...

Yes, but we had to change the name back in 1993/94 to Nocturnal Mortum because there already existed a band with that name in western underground.

At first the name Nokturnal Mortum was written with a -c but then you changed this -c into -k...

We changed the letter so that we wouldn't find a band with the same name again like it was the case with Crystaline Darkness. Now we have our own name.

The line-up changed from Supporation to Nokturnal Mortum...

I'm in the band from the beginning. This is the current line-up: Knjaz Varggoth - Vocals, Guitar; Xaarquath - Bass; Munruthel - Drums; Sataroth - Keyboards (at first he joined the band as vocalist); Saturious - Keyboards and Vrolok - Guitar (he replaced Karpath, who left before "NeCrist"). Vrolok is also a member of Runes of Dianceht. They play the same style of music as Nokturnal Mortum: national socialistic Black Metal. Soon we'll sign a contract with a Polish label.

You're not signed with any label at the time...

We had a contract with The End Records but it was broken. We have different points of view. They didn't like our policy, we didn't like the way they do business. They owe us some money. That was enough for a conflict.

What possibilities do Ukrainian bands have to make it across the border?

There are possibilities because Europe has shown a lot of interest in Ukrainian bands. Here are some of those which have released their albums under foreign labels: Hate Forest (Red Stream, USA), Lucifugum (1st CD - Dark Horizon, USA; 2nd CD - Adipocere Rec., F), Astrofacs (Adipocere Rec., F). With guys from those bands we're spiritual brothers. We're together in terrorist acts...

Terrorist acts?! (I'm all ears) What kind of terrorist acts?

In the past we burned down churches. Nowadays we're more into political movements against subpeople. What is your opinion about that?

I understand and I support that kind of movements. We have some blacks, Asians and mostly Muslims in Slovenia. I don't know how they are able to live with such incredibly stupid, sick mentality.

Now, this is the reason why a lot of labels don't want to support us and it's one of the reasons why The End Records broke the contract. We had some problems with Nuclear Blast... but that won't stop us.

What about the concerts and clubs in Ukraine?

We'll have a festival on winter solstice (23rd December). There will be only pagans and people who support our ideas visiting it. There will be no Satanists at this festival.

How would you describe Ukrainian audience on the concerts?

I've been to a lot of concerts and I can say that skinheads and metalheads who are into Black stick together in all Slavic countries.

Skinheads and metalheads together?! That doesn't go for Slovenia, that's for sure.
It was more than 12 years ago or even 14 years ago. There was a festival in Križanke called "Novi rock". There were bands from ex-Yugoslavia playing that night with Destruction as headliners. On this festival there were 10 or 20 skinheads. First they made a circle around a very young (he was probably fifteen), skinny and small metalhead and they beat him up pretty badly (he ended up covered in blood and with broken ribs). After that a couple of other metalheads got hurt by the skinheads. They were all young, small and skinny and they all ended up in blood. On that same night a metalhead from Serbia got stabbed with a knife by the skinheads. There were probably a couple of hundred metalheads on that festival but nobody dared to react. Well, as long as I can remember Slovenian metalheads were considered as cowards. Anyhow, generations have changed from then and I hope that skinheads don't attack white people anymore.

It seems to me that "Goat Horns" was your best accepted album, even though I mostly listen to "NeCrist". Which of your albums do you prefer?

Most accepted album in our countries (Ukraine, Russia) and in Poland was "Lunar Poetry". In my opinion our best album is "NeCrist" because it was well prepared. "The Gates of Blasphemous Fire" is not exactly what we wanted to do so I don't like it that much.

Now let's play a game. I will give you one word and you tell me the first thing which comes to your mind.

Black Metal - fighting, struggling
Nokturnal Mortum - the culture of the struggle
love - love, bright feelings
Ukraine - mother
Osama Bin Laden - subhuman
girls - that's what we're fighting for
marriage - honour
kids - in the future

Any last comment you wish to add...

Hold on, keep on working, keep on fighting. We're with you.

This interview has no preface. I tried to write it but the harder I tried to make it short the longer it got. That is why I'll write just a short conclusion.
I spent almost one month in Ukraine (Mokačevo - Kiev - Kharkov) and I can say that this is a really great, beautiful, interesting and unforgettable country with a lot of history and very nice and helpful people. That was my first but definitely not my last visit to Ukraine.
On this occasion I would like to thank all members of Nokturnal Mortum and send a big hello to all great people I met in Kharkov: Vika, Tanya, Mitja and his wife, Dimitri, Aleksei.
A big thanks goes also to: Valja, Andry and Nadja - if I hadn't met you, I would probably had to go back home without this interview.