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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Q&A with Draconis Infernum

From left to right - Xeper/Sonic Depravation, Kount Cider/Aural Misanthropy, Niloc/Blade ov Inhumanity
*Note: I couldn't find any promo shot of them with Serberuz Hammerfrost inside, but I do have a photo of him here if you guys are interested to see it - http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6219440&id=510082344&ref=fbx_album


The very first local band interview by Zetalambmary is finally up! In this interview, Shadori sat down in front of his computer to talk with Xepher of Draconis Infernum via e-mail so as to learn more about the band.

Here goes:

Zetalambmary: Draconis Infernum is probably the coolest Singaporean metal band name I have come across so far! Why this name?

Xepher: Draconis Infernum which means Infernal Dragon was a recommendation by a friend and I thought it suited us well since we’re all Chinese and the dragon was a good representation of it. On the other hand from the black metal aspect it was relevant and hence we settled for that name.


Zetalambmary: Your style is "strictly old school black metal". What are the bands that influenced and inspired you guys to make similar music?

Xepher: Just to name a few, Bathory during the black metal era, old Darkthrone, old Mayhem, old Venom and of course not forgetting, Slayer, which is of course not black metal, but was one of the bands that inspired us to start writing our own songs.


Zetalambmary: Contrary to popular belief, many metal musicians actually have their roots in classical instruments (e.g. piano, violin, flute). Do you guys?

Xepher: Well, we don’t exactly have classical roots except for Serberuz Hammerfrost, who plays the piano. As for Niloc, his music roots and influences are the blues.


Zetalambmary: What are your thoughts on the infamous misconception that just because certain forms of metal are satanic, all metal is satanic and thus, metal musicians are bad people?

Serberuz: We don't give a fuck!!! It's them who made the mistake, it's them who're not educated enough to realize the importance of looking things through from all angles and perspectives before jumping into conclusions. It's their fault. So why are we the ones expected to clear it all up? And by we, we don't mean just Draconis Infernum but the whole Metal community. Why are we the ones expected to explain things when people who're unrelated to us apparently do not know what's called self-reflection?!

Make no mistake here. Long before Metal ever existed there was Country and Blues. It was the same thing people are saying about us now, what people were saying to them back then. The very term "Underground" came from that era, used by Country and Blues musicians. Not Metal. People just need to find some sort of excuse to feel better about themselves. But guess what? Their existence means NOTHING to us!!

Having said that, Black Metal stands for The Adversary. It will always do for us. The facts have spoken for itself what kind of hypocrisy ALL religions have been (absolutely, without any exceptions at all), and Black Metal stands AGAINST them all!!! Those vermins who think they're "Holier than Thou" can think whatever the fuck they want if self-deceit makes them feel better about themselves. It's none of our business. Better be hated for who we are than to conform and be loved for something we're not. Non Serviam!!!


Zetalambmary: Asian metal seems to be on the rise recently, with bands like ChthoniC and Wormrot being signed on to reputable record labels overseas. What future do you foresee for Asian metal?

Xepher: It’s definitely on the rise with more Asian bands touring Europe, getting signed to reputable labels and getting proper international recognition. There is definitely more to come in just a matter of time. It’s about time more Asian bands get recognized.

At the same time more international bands are coming over to tour Asia which shows that Asia is being recognized by the other side.


Zetalambmary: Do you guys have any plans to strike a record deal with a prominent label overseas? If so, which would be the preferred label? Century Media, Metal Blade, Nuclear Blast, Relapse, Roadrunner, Spinefarm, or Victory?

Xepher: We definitely welcome label support, however it doesn’t matter which label it is as what’s more important is what the label can offer us.


Zetalambmary: You guys are more famous overseas than locally, how do you feel about that?

Xepher: Are we more famous overseas? I’m not too sure about that. However it would be great if more people came to know of our music, but not to the extend that it goes mainstream.

Our music is not for the masses. Many people don’t and will not understand it. It’s only for a certain type of people who embrace a certain type of ideology.


Zetalambmary: As you guys are still indie, the band's expenses mostly come from your own pockets and that sure as hell isn't cheap... Was that why "Death In My Veins" was limited to only 500 copies?

Xepher: 500 was the minimum that we could press and as we weren’t sure if it would be in demand, therefore we agreed on 500. We felt that 500 copies was enough at that time to spread the plague. Currently, all 500 are almost gone.


Zetalambmary: Your second album is titled "Rites Of Desecration & Demise", and is said to be much longer than "Death In My Veins". Is there any other information about it you guys can share with your fans?

Xepher: I cannot say much right now, but yes, it is definitely longer, you’d just have to wait to find out.


Zetalambmary: Here's a fun question, if each of you could choose to date a hot metal chick, who would they be?

Xepher: Mother Mary.
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There you have it folks, apart from the last question and its reply, I hope all the other questions and answers have deepened your understanding of Draconis Infernum a wee bit more.

While we sit tight for the impending dark onslaught of Draconis Infernum's upcoming second album, do check out our review for their first album "Death In My Veins", and if you like it, buy it to support the band.

Until next time, and we hope to bring you more local band interviews!

P.S.: Foreign band interviews will be great as well, if ever possible.

3 comments:

Serberuz Hammerfrost said...

Thanks for the interview! There's only one thing (or two) that needs to be changed:

1. That photo you showed? I wasn't even in there. Wrong photo wrong caption. Hahaha!

2. I think "Serberuz" was mispelt somewhere in the answers.

3.Question number 4 was done by me. Hahaha! XD

Okay I need to stop being a correction machine. Once again, thanks a lot man! \m/

Wraith said...

Okay, I corrected it again. Actually, it is great that someone is actually commenting, or else it really gets superbly lonely around here.

Thanks for the comments, keep them coming!

Wraith said...

Hahaha, I found your misspelled name. I copied the responses from you guys directly from the e-mail, which means your own band mate Xepher misspelled your name! It was in the response to the 3rd question, but never mind, I corrected it already!