Interview: Christfuck with founder and drummer Yngve

Christfuck

With founder and drummer Yngve

Conducted by:  Lady Kat Chaos, Dave Wolff and guest Fury, John Barker

Live Interview:  November 15, 2015

Lady Kat Chaos:  Hails and Welcome to our blasphemy! It has been an honor for us to welcome you, Yngve? How things have been with you?

Yngve:  It is always an honor to talk to you Kat. This has been a bit of rough during the last few months but everything turned out to be good in the end!

Lady Kat Chaos:  Indeed, you've been extremely busy lately with many recordings from other projects. Emerging Black Metal and Thrash Metal with a coldness and ominousness vibe while

releasing blasphemy throughout the lands of Greece, Christfuck’s EP, “Hellgoat Militia” has been released for the fans for a while now, how has the response been thus far?

Yngve:   Blasphemous as it is, the "Hellgoat Militia" EP was released indeed, but due to some delays and post office strikes at Peru where the label (Mercyful Hell Prods) is, we don't have our copies yet. Yesterday though they contacted me and informed me that the tapes are on the way to Athens!

Lady Kat Chaos:  Yes, the wonderful delays of post offices from one country to another can become exasperating. Why did you decide on releasing it on cassettes?

Yngve:  The reason is simple. Old school analog sound... That's it! Christfuck are playing old school thrash/black metal and that is the way to listen to it the way it should be listened to.

Lady Kat Chaos:  I have always appreciated cassette and vinyl releases. Especially when it comes to Black Metal, the physical presentation of a release to me contributes a great importance of the demo, EP or album.  Formats like cassette can give the listener something to view, hold and see in addition to hearing the music presented.  Is it cheaper to get pro cassettes pressed? Do you feel they are still nostalgia factor? 

Yngve: I believe that in some metal genres such as black metal and a little bit in thrash metal, cassettes never gone extinct. I think that people are turning back to buying physical releases once again. Baby steps, but it happens. It was about time. It is much cheaper to have pro tapes pressed of course. As for nostalgia, well, we grew up listening to lp's and tapes after all...

Lady Kat Chaos:  I feel in some countries that cassette’s didn’t die out, whereas in some they have but it’s fully coming back.  Have you seen a lot of tape trading these days in Greece?

Yngve: Maybe it is hard to believe, but tapes never died in Greece! As long as there are underground black metal (mostly) bands, tapes will always be there!

Lady Kat Chaos:  What made you decided to work with Mercyful Hell Prods?

Yngve: A friend of mine made a deal for her band with MHP, so she told me to check them out. I did, we talked and the deal was made! The simple old school way!

Lady Kat Chaos: I have read that you will also be releasing your EP "Hellgoat Militia" on CD format by Hellraiser Producciones Py or has that changed?

Yngve:  Hellraiser Producciones Py will indeed release the CD version, limited to 500 copies. All the artwork and layout will be done by Hel Pyre herself.

Lady Kat Chaos:  Where was your EP "Hellgoat Militia" recorded?

Yngve:  The drums are recorded at Made In Hell Studio with my good friend David. Bass and vocals are recorded at Hel Pyre's studio and the guitars were recorded by Vulgate at his studio. Mix/mastering was done at Dark Fairy Studios with the help of Sakis Darkface.

Fury:  Sakis Darkface is a very talented and grounded musician.  It was mixed well. What is something that you have learned during the mixing process that you didn’t know all ready?

Yngve: The fact is that I left Sakis completely free and alone to mix everything. I just told him what I had in mind and he did it just like I wanted it! It is amazing!

Fury:  Where you with Sakis Darkface while he was working on the mix and mastering?

Yngve: No I left him completely alone to do his thing.

Fury: Sometimes Black Metal bands will add in some hidden sounds that can take an individual to catch it. Did you add any interesting elements (as far as sound) other than your instruments?

Yngve: No nothing like that! Just straight forward thrash/black metal!

Fury:  What I find interesting is that some countries like Norway, government will help bands with grants for albums and touring.  Is Greece the same way or do you have to do it all on your own?

Yngve: Hahahahahahaha... the day something like that will happen here, I will let you know... if you can wait for 2 more centuries...

Fury:  Is it expensive to put out your own releases in Greece?

Yngve: If we are talking about making your own tapes and/or CDs, yes it is quite expensive. That is why many bands work with digital releases.

Fury:  Does Greece have record stores where you can purchase both signed and local bands music?

Yngve: There are very few left but those few are fully updated with anything you may need.

Dave Wolf: When did Christfuck get started and what is the purpose of the band?

Yngve:  Christfuck started in 2013 as a one man's band to spread blasphemy against Christianity. I wrote some tunes, but in the way I found Vulgate on guitars that also brought Hel Pyre in for bass and vocals.

Lady Kat Chaos:  Interesting question Dave of AEA Zine, now shifting on to the history of the band.  As you mentioned Christfuck has begun erupting since 2013 and definitely a prominent act in the underground extreme metal scene at one time as a one-man band. What made you decide to look for other members?

Yngve:  At first I didn't. It just happened. I was talking with Vulgate for the recordings, he offered to help and he was in.

Lady Kat Chaos: I know that outside of drumming you also play other instruments. Where you at first going to handle the vocals before Hel Pyre made her offering to do vocals and also record bass?

Yngve:  My first thought was to handle everything except vocals. You don't want to listen to me singing.

Lady Kat Chaos: I cannot sing either.  When hanging out with friends, driving on the road or at a show do you sing along to other bands and has anyone told you to stop singing along?

Yngve: No one told me because no one has ever listened to me singing. It won't happen anytime soon. ;)

Fury:  Did you take any guitar lessons or was it more a calling to you to just pick it up and try it out and you grew some passion for this instrument alongside of you playing drums?

Yngve: No I never took guitar lessons. Ever since I was trying to learn how to play, I was playing along with favorite songs and eventually I started writing my own music.

Fury:  How often to you practice on your guitar skills and drumming techniques?

Yngve: Guitar not so often. I don’t own a guitar nowadays. As for drums, I play 3-4 times per week. I have to go to a studio to practice as I cannot have a kit at home (Noise and room problems).

Lady Kat Chaos:  As a drummer do you feel that you often need to demonstrate playing, two opposite sides: one of them being both structure and logic and another of instinct and intensity. How do you balance them, and are you stronger in one compared to other and how are you working on your lesser skills?

Yngve: I think I am well balanced between those two. I try to evolve at all sections while practicing. That way, I am always calm that I covered all issues.

Lady Kat Chaos:  The natural consequences we embrace. Do you feel that playing drums is a great part of your life?

Yngve: Drums are my whole life. It is what I do, maybe the only thing I do REALLY well. Without drums I am empty.

Lady Kat Chaos:  You live it and breathe it.  What specific aspect of your contribution to the Black Metal and Thrash Metal scene fuels your passion for music?

Yngve: You know that is a tough question. ;) There are so many things that fulfill my hunger… I cannot possibly begin naming!!! I love playing drums no matter the genre. When it is black or thrash metal though, now that is my thing.

Lady Kat Chaos:  As your skill levels grow as you get older, your confidence does also increased during your career. Has your view changed on the importance of drums in song structure?

Yngve: A LOT!!! When I was younger I thought that if I fill the song with double bass drum and thrash beats everything would be perfect. Well, I was wrong big time. Now I am listening closely, I am taking notes and then I begin composing the drums.

Fury:  When playing them both do you get a sense of two different types of moods and atmospheres while you are creating?

Yngve: There is a change in my mood throughout different songs. Imagine when I am playing in different band and genre! It is a whole new level of different.

Fury: You mentioned that you cannot sing.  Have you thought about taken some vocal lessons to bring out this feature of yourself? Have you ever done backup vocals before?

Yngve: Nah… Singing is not my thing. Yes I have done backup vocals. Sometimes I participated in some gang vocals (in a thrash metal recording) and sometime I just tried to sing some poser back up vocals. That was a tragedy coming to life! Hahaha!

Lady Kat Chaos:  At one time I wanted to devote myself to playing drums in my earlier years but that changed a very long time ago. Your decision to devote own your life to music seems to have been taken the past six years. Could you specify the time and circumstances around it?

Yngve: Since I started playing drums in 1995 I wanted to be a musician for life, but you are correct though, that the decision to make it a full time job was taken much later. It was sometime in 2011 to be specific, that a friend of mine wanted me to record 2 songs for a project of his. I did, since I had nothing planned for that evening and it was a chance to hang out with some friends. When I recorded, he took out some money and he gave them to me. I was like “what the fuck man?” … His answer was what triggered my thoughts for some time until then. He said: “Hey man you did a job for me as a session drummer. Session drummers are getting paid. Take the money”. I got back home, I put an ad and that was it.

Lady Kat Chaos:  Your EP consists of 4 songs, 3 of your own, the "Hellgoat Militia", "Infernal King" and "Anima  Satanas",  that were executed extremely well with your arrangements.  I’m not always a fan when a band or project does covers songs for various reasons, that I will not discuss in this moment but, I do need to say at times it’s can be risky.  The cover song you have done, Rotting Christ's song "Exiled Archangels" featuring Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan (Iron+Steel, Venom Inc/M-PIRE of EVIL/Atomkraft) on guest vocals is this still appearing on your EP or have you made changes?

Yngve:  Of course it will be as it is! No changes at all! Mr. Tony Dolan is one hell of a metalhead! I asked him and he said yes within 5 minutes! He is a pro and it showed. He respected the deadline we had and he was kind enough to keep us posted on the progress. It was the ultimate honor to have him as guest for the EP.

Lady Kat Chaos: I have to say that you covered legendary Rotting Christ song, “Exiled Archangels" and nailed it.  I’m not easy to impress but was enthralled with your latest offering, how do you feel as a collective towards your own creation?

Yngve: I feel proud and utterly satisfied! It was something that I wanted to do for a long time and when I finally made it, it made me go one step further. Next goal: The first full length!

Fury: I must say that is a great release by Christfuck and people should get a copy of it. I was impressed from the first note to the last. Was it your intention to blend in old school thrash metal with a black metal vibe when we speak of your lyrical writing and the vocals?

Yngve: Yes my intension was to create a band with a Satanic image, but not a black metal band. Mixing thrash with black metal was the next best thing. Thrash metal music with black metal lyrics and vocals that is. It fits perfectly!

Fury: Does everything come to you naturally and have you ever played or created something that has sounded force upon you?

Yngve: Yes every riff I ever compose regarding guitar, is coming as it is in my head. I was never forced to play anything. Not in my music.

Dave Wolff: How long have you known Tony Dolan, and what was your experience working with him like?

Yngve:  I know him since May of 2013 when he came in Athens for a gig with M-Pire Of Evil. The experience was awesome! It went down so smooth.

Lady Kat Chaos:  Do you have any plans to release others songs, by giving a tribute to your influences?

Yngve:  Do you mean cover versions or just showing the influences from within the songs? If you mean the second, I am already composing some songs for the first full length album, but we will have a long road ahead for this to come.

Dave Wolff: What led to your decision to write lyrics against Christianity? Was it the hypocrisy displayed by some Christians or was there other reasons?

Yngve:  First of all, I don't write the lyrics. Everything about that is handled by Hel Pyre herself. Now as for why we are against Christianity, I can talk about myself and for the band, but not for the other members in person. I am sworn anti-Christian, so to create a band like that was something natural. I am glad that Vulgate and Hel Pyre share the same feelings.

Lady Kat Chaos:  What was the most challenging part of creating your EP?

Yngve: To be able to preserve the old school atmosphere in the songs and in the production.

Lady Kat Chaos:  I know that Christfuck was basically a studio project. Are you perhaps maybe conjuring a few important fests in Greece if summon by the right offerings or would each of you rather stay as a recording project?

Yngve:  No one knows what the future will bring. Up to now, we are a studio band but you never know.

Lady Kat Chaos:  At what point did you feel that you could lead a project of your own?

Yngve: That came when I left Acherontas in 2011. It was the point that I turned Mortuus Sum to a full band. It was a side project until then.

Lady Kat Chaos:  The artwork and layout were created by Arts of Pervertion great work. How important are demonic images character signify the adversity and symbolized your work. How do you feel the artwork represent the same context on this EP?

Yngve:  The artwork is EXACTLY what we wanted. The artwork is done by Jorge from Arts of Pervertion by hand. It is exactly what this band stands for. We vomit upon the Holy Book of Lies.

Dave Wolff: In what ways was the experience awesome? Did he have a good feel of the song he lent his vocals to? How well did his vocals fit your music?

Yngve:  First of all it was awesome because we worked with Tony Dolan if you know what I mean. His vocals were a perfect fit for the song. This Rotting Christ's song is pure hell on its own, so Mr. Dolan added some evilness more.

Lady Kat Chaos:  Greece’s recent black metal scene has been highly distinctive due to the most esoteric approach on the music and also in live appearances. Many enthusiasts have termed ‘Occult Black Metal’ to distinguish the bands of the scene but hence many also don’t like to be known within this circle. What’s your prospect on this?

Yngve:  I prefer not to talk about that, since it is something out of our circle. Christfuck is not an occult band. We are a Satanic band and that's it.

Lady Kat Chaos:  As you stated briefly that your music and message is heavily shrouded in Satanism, as a band what particular meaning do these leitmotifs hold for you? Was your black flame lit through the aeons?

Yngve: The band is solely a Satanic band. It is what stands behinds us especially lyric wise. Christfuck was created to spread the message of anti-Christianity!!!!!!!

Lady Kat Chaos:  Some bands today, don’t like to define themselves under the term “Black Metal” because feel some have overused it and do not have the true obscurity, blasphemy,  and feel selected few are truly elites.  Do you unassociated with many and just create music only to invoke the aura of total darkness, evil and blasphemous hatred for thyself?

Yngve: I don’t care what people thing about their music. I play black metal because it is what I do best. Black metal is me. It is what made me how I am today. It is a way of life and a way to express my inner fellings and thoughts. Darkness is one of them.

Lady Kat Chaos:  One of the first and most important black metal bands to ever come out of Greece, is  Varathron (1988). They have never changed their identity over the years and stayed loyal to their eternal darkness and to the occult.

Yngve: Varathron, Necromantia, Rotting Christ and Thou Art Lord... The 4 bands that started everything in the Hellenic black metal scene!

Lady Kat Chaos:  Do you think that the new generation would probably lose interest quickly and lack a deeper respect for the older bands from old school such as Venom and Sodom because some will find them not extreme enough compared to some bands today?

Yngve: No I don't think that! There is no way that a new metalhead will not listen to the ancient Ones...

Lady Kat Chaos: Would you say within your homeland that many black metal groups get along weather they are a Satanic, Occult or Pagan band or is their battles between each other?

Yngve:  No there are no battles between us. One thing that unites us is that we are all ant-Christians. If a band is Pagan or occult or whatever else another is subject but at the end of the day we are ALL against this decease called Christianity!

Lady Kat Chaos:  The Greek Black Metal underground, do you take notice and participate in its growth or do you prefer a more insular approach of doing what is right for Christfuck?

Yngve: Of course I take notice. It is a part of me, I am a part of it. Simple as that!

Lady Kat Chaos:  When it comes to the term “scene”, do you feel it seems individuals are mimicking each other by following a given musical or ideological trend?

Yngve: I think that each band has a unique sound and image. Every band has something different to show to people and of course a different message to send.

John Barker: Hey Nick! What has Christfuck got planned for the future? Any gigs?

Yngve:  Hey John, Thanks for asking! There is a somewhat planned event for the band, but it is so early and unfortunately I cannot talk about it yet!

Lady Kat Chaos:  If you were to play live for a special event, would you feel that you would focus and pay a lot of attention to what you needed to play? With that being noted would you feel it would also ruin the drive of the songs?

Yngve: When I play I am ALWAYS focused on what I have to do. No I don’t believe it ruins anything. The more focused I am, the more tight the outcome is. That means that I am well prepared and well studied.

Lady Kat Chaos:  You do get many offers from bands who want you to join forces with them as a permanent member or a session player.  Are you selective with your choices?

Yngve: Yes I am. I don’t play with all the bands. One of the reasons, is that sometimes I am really with no time at all. Other times, it is reasons that I don’t fully understand. For example, when someone reads the ad where it specifically writes that I am getting paid and in the end they are like: “What? You want money? I thought that you were just going to record and that’s it. No we are not interested” … No comments…

Lady Kat Chaos:  Now, I prefer to dedicate myself to what I am doing these days by helping as many as I can with promotions and doing interviews in zines. Have you decided to keep things at a minimum?

Yngve: I am never at a minimum! I try to do as many things as I can!!!

Lady Kat Chaos:  Have you ever felt that you don’t extra time or spare energy lately to work on anything else?

Yngve: Rarely. When that happens, I get some 4-5 hout sleep and I am set to go once more!

Lady Kat Chaos:  With the qualities the bands you’re apart of now, do you feel exciting to see how they evolve in 2016?

Yngve: Yeah I am for sure! Evolvement is coming with fast paces! I can see that even on me! No comparison to the drummer I was last year with the drummer I am now.

Dave Wolff: Are you generally satisfied with the interview I did with you for Autoeroticasphyxium zine? How much information will readers get about you and the metal scene in Greece from reading it?

Yngve:  I am very satisfied indeed!!!! I believe that someone that is searching the underground will find some very useful info!!!!!

Lady Kat Chaos:  You’ve mentioned earlier that you have started composing for a full-length. Are you critical to what parts go into each song to create a blasphemous anthem?

Yngve: I have riffs here and there in my head. I just record them all and then I begin compiling them. Sometimes, there is a song coming out from that. If not, then I start jamming and see what I will come up with.

Lady Kat Chaos:  Yngve, I know that this interview was set for a short time; I thank you for chatting with use for a short moment. Any announcement or statement you want to spread before ending the interview before I lock you outside our hellas gates?

Yngve:  Thanks for the first Christfuck interview! Always a pleasure to talk with you and Obscure Chaos Zine.  Spread the word of Satan and keep an eye on us through our page (www.facebook.com/goatmetal666). The "Hellgoat Militia" EP will be available on tape very soon and until the end of the year on CD also! Hails!

Keep spreading the word of unholiness and don’t forget to spit on the graves of Christian “saints”. Christianity is a plague that must be extinguished once and for all!