The band was formed by Cernunnos and Sabathan in 1993, the horde released a demo in 1994 and got signed to AFTERDARK RECORDS for a 7”EP and an album but only the EP got out, then ENTHRONED put out the first album Prophecies of pagan fire on EVIL OMEN RECORDS. The horde took Norganest on guitars and Tsebaoth got fired some months later.
They toured during the PURE F*CK!N’ S*D*MY TOUR in 1996 along with SACRAMENTUM/BEWITCHED and ANCIENT RITES and a mini tour in Germany as headliners. In 1997, the blackened horde brought forth the second offering with Towards the Skullthrone of Satan, right after the suicide of Cernunnos in April of the same year. A tour followed up with new drummer Namroth Blackthorn and guitarist Nebiros along with DARK FUNERAL. In April 1998, ENTHRONED released a tribute to the departed brother Cernunnos (Regie Sathanas) and toured again in November as headliners over Europe with USURPER and HECATE ENTHRONED. Two months later, we entered the ABYSS studios in Sweden to record The Apocalypse Manifesto album that is when some tensions between some members started and the beginning of a dark period for ENTHRONED, bad promotion, back stabbing between members etc… so me and Sabathan had to do some cleaning: Nebiros had to leave and we took Nerath Daemon as our new axe man and the composition of the new album entitled Armoured Bestial Hell was completed and the last change appear when we decided to take another drummer due to some attitude problems and musical divergences with Namroth Blackthorn, so now our new drummer Alsvid is a part of the new ENTHRONED stronger than ever before with truly dedicated members and a true brotherhood.
1994 promo (demo 1994)
1994 Scared by Dark Winds – split 7″EP with ANCIENT RITES (AFTER DARK RECORDS)
1995 Prophecies of Pagan Fire (EVIL OMEN RECORDS = subdivision of OSMOSE RECORDS)
1997 Towards the Skullthrone of Satan (BLACKEND/PHD)
1998 Regie Sathanas (BLACKEND/PHD)
1999 The Apocalypse Manifesto (BLACKEND/PHD)
2001 Armoured Bestial Hell (BLACKEND/PHD)
Well, everything you want to spit out about Armoured Bestial Hell…
To me it is our best album, more mature, more varied with a lot of aggression, we did not base our songs on the blast beat thing like we did with The Apocalypse Manifesto. It is also very raw and it is the beginning of the new ENTHRONED era. The only thing I have to complain about is the snare drum, which is not loud enough because Namroth Blackthorn did not like to hear his snare, but it will not be a problem in the future!!!
When Hell Freezes Over is based on a true story. Tell us about this story. Who is J. CARNIÈRES?
CARNIÈRES was a great poet from the 16th and 17th century. Some of his visions and works are very interesting in the intellectual way to see what we call blasphemy. He used some words to explain in an imaged way, the reality of the dark, very realistic visions, I must say. But I do not know that much on the man himself. I used a part of one of his poems because it was appropriated to the story. In 1632, some corpses were found skinless with dark symbols burnt on their chests in Namur, of course some so-called “witches” were burnt, accused of these facts, but there were still some victims. Suddenly the massacre ended and the legend says that the “demons” might appear again at the dawn of the new millenium.
KRIS VERWIMP (our national pride) and ADRIAN WEAR (magnificent cover – also INFESTATION…) were responsible for the previous coverart. In my opinion, ROK is responsible for the ‘worst’ ENTHRONED cover-painting. Do you agree? Which one do you prefer? Tell me more about the works of ADRIAN WEAR and ROK. How did you get in touch with them. What instructions did you give them? Is it expensive to have a KRIS VERWIMP cover e.g.?
ADRIAN WEAR has nothing to do with the artwork of The Apocalypse Manifesto!!!! He just put together my pictures, my works, the way I told him to do, BLACKEND credited him as the author of the artwork, but all in all it is my f*cking work, with his help.
ROK is not responsible for the horrible colours of the artwork of Armoured Bestial Hell; once again PLASTIC HEAD f*cked up the whole cover art, sorry but it is true!!! Take a look at the vinyl version that DISPLEASED did: it is f*cking brilliant and I love that artwork, even if there is a tank on the front, I though it will look too much like ANGELCORPSE’s Exterminate album but all in all it suits our music perfectly and more than everything we do not give a sh!t of what people can think!!!!
My favourites front covers are The Apocalypse Manifesto and Armoured Bestial Hell (the vinyl version of course!). I asked ROK to do our front cover because I am a huge SADISTIK EXEKUTION fan and I love his works, I gave him the title and he knows my visions and my mentality so it was not hard to find something killer. I do not really know Kris’s prices, it depends on the work he has to do, he drew the cover of our upcoming 7”EP Goatlust which is really killer I must say!!!!
There are some resemblances with MARDUK (I am not telling ENTHRONED is a MARDUK clone). Not only musically, also considering the samples used (Apocalypse Manifesto) and the tank on the cover (Armoured Bestial Hell). Do you consider this as a compliment? Or do you care more about having an own identity? Is MARDUK an important source of inspiration to ENTHRONED? I read you blame ABYSS studios for sounding like MARDUK/DARK FUNERAL. I feel you were not too satisfied with the ABYSS-experience, am I right? Is it due to this ENTHRONED went to REAL SOUND RECORDINGS? Are you glad with the result? Do you agree that every studio leaves a recognizable trace in the music they record? Like a GRIEGHALLEN production formerly added a dark atmosphere?
The Apocalypse Manifesto was recorded before Panzer Division Marduk came out, so you cannot really say that we were inspired by that sample thing. It is just a coïncidence, plus the tank, has nothing to do with MARDUK’s one. When ROK explained me what he was going to draw, he told me about a “Satanik war machine crushing corpses and bones under its wheels…”, so…
I do not really take this as a compliment, because we did not do it on purpose, do not get me wrong: I like the guys of MARDUK a lot, we are really good friends, but I was really annoyed by this when I heard Panzer Division Marduk. Even a Polish band called WITCHMASTER used the same samples on their Violence and Blasphemy album.
MARDUK is not a source of inspiration at all, I used to like them a lot till the Nightwing album, but not really what they did after that it, which is too linear to me, but it is only a matter of taste, you know, what they did afterwards was good, but it is simply not my kind of stuff, even if I like hyper-violent music. I am not blaming the ABYSS studio for anything, but that sound did not fit us, that is all!! It is true that the sound of The Apocalypse Manifesto sounds a bit like MARDUK but that is normal with a Swedish studio like THE ABYSS!! We went to the REAL SOUND STUDIO because we wanted a more crushing guitar sound and German studios are really good in that thing and we are absolutely satisfied with the result!!
ENTHRONED‘s web lair is no longer under LUGBURZ. Is it due to ENTHRONED‘s German management? What do you think of LUGBURZ?
LUGBURZ are great supporters of the Belgian scene and what I appreciate is that they do not give a sh!t if you are from the Flemish part of Belgium or not, which is very professional and intelligent We just prefer to have an address which is easier to find on the internet and to have more control, because LUGBURZ have a lot of bands to take care of, which is not the case with our web mistress who is only making two sites, so it is really often updated, which is cool. But it has nothing to do with the fact that our management is from Germany.
React to:
FRONTLINE : the greatest club in Belgium, very cool and like a close atmosphere there, one of my favourite places to play, but only without P.A!!
CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL: One of the strangest persons I ever met, but the biggest maniac and Metal supporter of this f*cking underground, without him I think ENTHRONED would not be what it is today.
HELLRAZOR : Did an interview for that magazine, but never got a copy so I do not know how it looks like or anything.
ABLAZE: One of the greatest magazines in the underground, but too many sh!tty bands included in it, but you need it for every taste, I guess.
You have great questions and cool lay out, good!!
GENTSE BIESTE: One of our best gig ever, the mood was at the top and a perfect sound (FRONTLINE without any PA, the best).
THY INFERNAL : A great American band with the true Metal feeling. One of the best newcomers.
DARK FUNERAL: Caligula is a great guy and their first MCD was very great.
CERNUNNOS: My eternal brother, may he have a great time down there with Satan and all the hellbangers at Belzebuth Café!!!
No, seriously, I wish him the best in the other world.
What do you think of the new ICONOCLASM CD? Still into GOTMOOR? What do you think of the evolution ANCIENT RITES was subject to? Do you like their latest CD? Any other Belgian Black Metal bands you can recommend?
I must say that the ICONOCLASM debut Marching Evil is great, but I do not like at all those female vocals they used, it botches the music to me.
About ANCIENT RITES, their last album is really good too a lot better then Fatherland, in my opinion, I think their evolution has become really mature and goes far beyond Black Metal but it is killer Dark Metal stuff!!!
My favourite ones still are Blasphemia Eternal and Diabolical Serenades. GOTMOOR is not a bad band at all, but I do not like that trollish concept at all. It is not Black Metal to me .
The other Belgian bands I should recommend? EMPTINESS, MYSTICA, PREJUDICE, THE BEAST, MAGELLAN DREAM.
Sharon and Michael from the German RAISING HELL are the managers of ENTHRONED. Could you elaborate on this aspect of professionalism?
Only Sharon is our manager, Michael is just helping her out.
We decided to take a manager because people who were supposed to take care of our promotion did not do their job properly and we wanted to have time for our private lives as well, instead of working evenings and days for the band. Sharon is doing an amazing job for ENTHRONED and I hope our collaboration will not end in the forth coming years !!!
You are fond of Brazilian and Australian Metal, am I right?
I love the Brazillian and Australian scene a lot, well, we all do in the band, but I know a lot of bands that my band comrades do not know. I love bands like GOATPEN!S, CHACKAL, SARCOFAGO, REBAELLIUN, NEPHASTH, ABHORRENCE, S*X THRASH, old SEPULTURA, VULCANO, MURDER R@PE from Brazil and CORPSE M*LESTATION / BESTIAL WARLUST, DESTROYER 666, GOSPEL OF THE HORNS, ANATOMY, NOCTAMBULANT, ABOMINATOR, VOMITOR, SITHLORD, MORTAL SIN, HOBB’S ANGEL OF DEATH, SADISTIK EXEKUTION, ROK, DAVE SLAVE’S DOOMED & DISGUSTING from Australia. These bands got balls in their music to me, they are not following any trends, they are just doing their own thing and do not give a f*ck to anyone’s opinion, that is what I like!!!
Alsvid replaces Blackthorn who had to replace Cernunnos. Nerath Daemon replaced Nebiros who replaced Tsebaoth. Is this correct and do you think ENTHRONED finally found a steady line-up now?
Nebiros did.
I hope that ENTHRONED got a stable line-up now, because me and Sabathan we have really enough of all these member changings.
We have found our best line-up till now with areal unity in the band, maniacs with the passion of Metal and no bigheads, anti-christians for some, Satanists for others, but all bounded by blood!!!
In 1994 ENTHRONED released a 7″ split with ANCIENT RITES (Scared by Dark Winds/AFTER DARK RECORDS). AFTER DARK appeared to be a rip-off. ENTHRONED probably had the same problems like ANCIENT RITES had. Could you explain?
Yes , we had almost the same problems, like Erik running away with some of our money etc…
ENTHRONED has a new drummer: Alsvid of SETH (mighty logo by Szpajdel!). Will he still be active in SETH? Is it something for ENTHRONED to write French lyrics like SETH does? What do you think of SETH‘s evolution from Les Blessures de l’Âme towards L’Excellence?
I am not a fan of SETH, Alsvid knows it, but I must say that The Excellence contains one or two songs that I appreciate. And yes, he will still be active in SETH, but this is not really my concern. ENTHRONED will not write French lyrics!!
ENTHRONED is looking for a new label. It is not really necessary to introduce yourselves and not even to promote yourselves, but suppose this is some kind of job application and you had to do so, which label(s) would you contact and how would you convince them?
We will not try to convince them, if they like us it is good, if not f*ck it. But we want a good label this time, not like our past experiences, we were young and without experience, so we signed contracts without reading between the lines, but now we are men with the experience and maturity, plus we have the bonus: our manager !!
ENTHRONED will be touring the USA and Europe. With which bands? What do you expect? What can we expect?
You can expect the best of ENTHRONED live, with bands like ARKHON INFAUSTUS (new gods) and ANOREXIA NERVOSA in Europe and for the USA we have support acts like NOCTURNAL BREED and SOL EVIL.
We do not know what to expect from the States, not a high-jacked plane I hope he, he…, not to be crashed against a building either he, he…No seriously, we have a lot of fans there and I hope the organisation will be great, concerning Europe I toured a lot here and I know what to expect, except that we have not toured as headliners since 1998, so I am still curious about it.
Norganest is also in THE BEAST (satanic Black/Death). The demo HIM was recorded in the rehearsal place. Tell me more about THE BEAST, HIM and the upcoming CD Goat Pervertor. It will be self-financed, won’t it? Any other side-projects?
I will record the debut album of THE BEAST when I find someone with a mixing desk which I can use for free!!! The title is Tenebrae Satanicum because Goat Pervertor sounds too much like IMPALED NAZARENE EP Goat Pervers!on, so…
We are actually two in the infernal BEAST: me on guitars / bass / vocals and HEADFUKKER on drums.
I will release THE BEAST album myself on the label I will found especially for THE BEAST: GOATLORD RECORDS.
Other side projects are EMPTINESS from Nerath Daemon in the vein of OLD FUNERAL / CARBONIZED and of course Alsvid’s SETH.
What is the signification of ENTHRONED’s pseudonyms? Sabathan seems to be derived from Satan and Sabbat??
Sabathan is the one who is looking for the good unfolding of Sabbats and black masses . Our names shall remain what we are and what we were, if you look for it you will know what we are and what our attributions are.
Armoured Bestial Hell is the last CD for BLACKEND/PHD. THE BEAST was not allowed to sign to another label due to the deal with BLACKEND/PHD. I guess ENTHRONED is not 100% pleased with BLACKEND, if I am not mistaken. Any comment?
No , the story is over with them and I do not want you to use too much ink for such meaningless persons.
Arra Agga Bandar and Hellbeast: Crusades from Below, were they the working titles for The Apocalypse Manifesto and Armoured Bestial Hell respectively?
Yes ,totally.
How do you look upon ENTHRONED‘s international cult-status?
I do not know really, I am just honoured to be considered as a part of a cult band, that all what we achieved finally got a reward, that is the most important, thanks eternally to the maniacs out there who like ENTHRONED and made us what we are today!!
There are a lot of rumours about ENTHRONED‘s image. Any reaction?
No!! We know who we are, what we are and what happened to Cernunnos, we are not liars and that is what a lot of people do not like about us; we are too honest for them, we say what we think, right in the face, we hate liars, so we certainly are not going to be a part of them, so I will not worry about “evil” children who want to spread rumours.
In my view Black Metal (and not only Black Metal or Metal) is linked to a geographic pattern. Do you agree?
No. It does not matter if you come from Brazil, China or Belgium. If you make killer music with the right attitude that is f*cking great, it does not matter where you come from!!!
What do you think of MP3s? What do you think of the fact that demos are released on CD instead of on tape nowadays? Do you regard the internet as a good thing for the underground?
Internet is certainly a good thing for the underground, but it is also used in a bad way to spread bullsh!t, anyway that is the risk.
I prefer the tape format concerning demos and MP3 files are not that good even if I do not really care about it.
Compose the ultimate album:
Vocals: Dead (MAYHEM)
Rhythm guitar: Euronymous (MAYHEM)
Lead guitar: J.Deplatchett ( NECROVORE)
Bass: Holocausto Vangeance (BEHERIT)
Drums: Cernunnos
Logo: T.Jarva (IMPALED NAZARENE, BEHERIT)
Cover art: Chris Moyen (BEHERIT / NAKED WHIPPER / ARCHGOAT…)
Label: SATAN’S METAL RECORDS or PAINKILLER
Studio: REAL SOUND with Harris Johns
Medium: Vinyl of course!!
Anything else you want to say?
Ok, thanks for this looooooooooong interview
Come on the ARMOURED BESTIAL WORLD TOUR 2001 or be crushed.
In Europe with the new gods of Black/Death ARKHON INFAUSTUS.
Thanks, Norganest & ENTHRONED!
G.
THRONE OF ABSENCE 