Cold Northern Vengeance Interview
by Mark Hensch
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Seabrook, New Hampshire's Cold Northern Vengeance capture all that is strange and spellbinding about the New England region. Buried within their complicated, atmospheric sound is the repression of the Puritans, the fear of the Witch Hunts, and the supernatural horror of Lovecraft. Driven forward by masterminds Heathen and Gemini, the phantasmal eeriness of this band is what separates them from their contemporaries. Heathen and I corresponded via e-mail about region, religion, and rock in the band's newest effort, 2008's Domination and Servitude.
Mark Hensch of Thrashpit.com: First of all, thanks are in order for taking time out from your schedule to answer my questions. I find your latest album fascinating, so I appreciate it.
Heathen: Thank you for the support. I too find the album fascinating...
Thrashpit.com: Take me back to the beginning. Where did the roots of Cold Northern Vengeance take hold and how did it grow into what it is today?
Heathen: Let's see here. We started in November of 2002. The weather up here was completely frigid and miserable at the time. Gemini and I met through our mutual friend Chris Maclean from Martyrvore. We were into a lot of the same stuff, mainly the atmospheric black metal and the darker side of things. I said "let's start a mysterious cultist black metal band in the vein of the Scandinavian bands with some other touches." We got drunk out of our heads, ran out to the ocean in a raging blizzard and that was very inspirational for me. CNV was born that night. The rest is history.
Thrashpit.com: How did you settle upon the name Cold Northern Vengeance?
Heathen: (Laughs) Well, the band was conceived during a snow storm under the influence of lots of alcohol. The cold, brutal weather coupled with misanthropy, the devil, occultism, depression, booze, chaos, madness, rebellion and on and on. There you have it. It sounds like a fitting name to me.
Thrashpit.com: This is the first time in a while I am truly at a loss in describing one band's particular sound. How would you describe yourselves to some one who has never heard you before? Is black and/or death metal enough?
Heathen: That is a tough one and I am not exactly sure. Nietzsche had a quote that said "one must have chaos inside himself in order to give birth to a star." It is something like that. We try taking the paths to chaos. It is about channeling that mystical and hypnotic force that is the Dionysian. That is what we are all about. Can you pin-point and completely define chaos? Neither can I. CNV is art and I believe that true art knows no bounds. People will try to pigeon hole us; it gives them this sense of comfort.
Thrashpit.com: The latest album is entitled Domination and Servitude. What significance does the name hold for you?
Heathen: The album's title refers to the Master and Slave Paradox and is a subsequent look through that sort of perspective. I believe that the people in positions of power have intentionally subjugated art. They know it makes people think, makes them question... That is the last thing these people want. They want to be comfortable in their ivory towers looking down at the masses of assembly line drones. How did things go from The Doors to Nickleback? What went wrong along the way? They are aware that true art has the potential to cause dissent so they orchestrate ways to subjugate it by replacing it with "consumer" music. A real 1984 scenario appears to be taking form. Big Brother is watching. The slaves shall serve...
Thrashpit.com: Domination and Servitude is chaotic - none of the songs sound alike and first-time listeners will have quite a few surprises awaiting them. What kinds of bands and artists influenced you guys, producing the unique sound heard today?
Heathen: There have been so many bands and artists that have inspired me over the years. I listen to a lot of different genres - black/death metal, neo-folk, ambient, classic heavy metal, industrial, punk, outlaw country, Oi!, experimental, classical, electronic, acid rock and on and on... You can definitely hear a lot of those influences in Domination and Servitude. CNV will continue on that sort of path on the back roads of New Hampshire. Total mind f*ck, total paradox...CNV Dungeon Cult 93!
Thrashpit.com: Listening to Domination and Servitude, I seemingly catch several nods towards modern, post-Enlightenment philosophy. Lyrically speaking, I am often reminded of Friedrich Nietzsche. As for the title, it reminds me of the Master-Slave Paradox written about by Georg Hegel. Is this intentional, and if so, how have these thinkers influenced you? Is there anyone else besides them I am missing?
Heathen: Ok, what I believe that I am doing is a sort of figurative necromancy. I am breathing life into a lot of ideas that are all too often swept under the rug. Blood Axis does this sort of stuff a lot as well. We paint a sonic picture with the ideas of Nietzsche, Crowley, Jung and couple that with mythology, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Satanism, Paganism, Kali Yuga and on and on and on. It is the same thing Jim Morrison was doing back in those days - art! We open the flood gates for the swirling vortex to rip through the fabric of reality, on and on into subconscious Lucifer
Thrashpit.com: Many of my favorite authors have come from the New England area, all of them possessing a very peculiar style I have never seen in any other region. How has living in New England driven your sound?
Heathen: I come from a small fisherman's town in New Hampshire. New England has a pretty interesting history when it comes to "strange" characters. There is Aleister Crowley, declaring himself a magus right here in New Hampshire while Blackbeard had his honeymoon on a little island off the coast of where I live. Then we have HP Lovecraft tapping into other dimensions and communing with the Ancient Ones. There were the witch trials, pirates, sorcery, Mega Therion, Paganism. It is all right here in New England waiting to be discovered and reborn... Hell, it has been reborn. CNV channels it and casts its curse on this f*cking drone society of money-driven slaves. Hopefully we can orchestrate some sort of LSD revival or Helter Skelter. Something different from the mediocrity the world banks have thrust upon us. CNV is my revolt against the modern world!!!
Thrashpit.com: There is an old saying that a musician is his own harshest critic. With this in mind, what is your favorite song on Domination and Servitude? Why?
Heathen: I cannot really say I have a favorite. All of them evoke something I am looking for.
Thrashpit.com: Domination and Servitude has tons of samples within it. If you do not mind saying, where did some of these come from and why did you choose the ones you did?
Heathen: The samples add to the overall effect of the album. They are utilized in a way where it forces one to think. There are samples from films like Haxen, Pearls Before Swine and The Blair Witch Project.
Thrashpit.com: How did you approach the lyrics for Domination and Servitude? Being your first full-length album, it does represent the entirety of your band's previous output after all!
Heathen: Lyrics are always a sort of trial and error thing with me. I try and put the right amount of time into them and I am obviously drawing a lot of inspiration from Occultism and Philosophy. Yes, Domination and Servitude embodies the evolution of the band through out the years. It is like an alchemical Molotov cocktail. The next album will be akin to an alchemical atom bomb... A slithering, serpentine, subconscious mind f*ck!!!
Thrashpit.com: Outside of Cold Northern Vengeance, you play in a band called Martyrvore. How does your work there differ from what you do in Cold Northern Vengeance?
Heathen: Well I do some vocals for Martyrvore here and there. I do not write any of it. It is the brain-child of Chris Maclean and Gemini. It is nothing but totally old-school filthy death metal. That is Martyrvore in a nutshell.
Thrashpit.com: What about the live arena? Does Cold Northern Vengeance have any interesting touring plans coming up?
Heathen: Yeah, we are definitely going to be playing more gigs away from home. We will be going to hit a lot of places down south and out west and looking to do some dates in Canada as well. Europe is the main goal. I have been to Germany before and they do not f*ck around when it comes to metal. The UK, Germany, Austria, Italy are all places we need to check out. There are so many different land marks I am dying to see.
Thrashpit.com: Last question! What does the future hold for your band?
Heathen: We want to evolve and delve further into this Pandora's Box we have opened. We will continue on this left-hand path and see what happens along the way, all the while pursuing the 93 current and unveiling "The Great Work."
Thrashpit: Thank you once again for letting me talk with you. Best of luck with all your future endeavors, and I hope that more Cold Northern Vengeance is coming soon!
Heathen: 39 lashes to 93 Hails!!!!!!!!!!!! Massive thanks to Marty/Bindrune Recordings!
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