You’re very clear about being anarchist and anti-fascist in your politics. Have you had any experiences on tour that have made you think that those political messages are connecting with people?
Yes, a lot. People thank us at every show for speaking out about these things which is great, I feel like these are ideas that everyone has had, it just needed saying. No one wants Nazis at shows or in the scene in general, they just make it more exclusive and divided in a scene that is meant to be about acceptance and inclusion. There have been a few messages in particular that have stood out. We got a message from a friend of Heather Heyer who was at Charlottesville when Heather was murdered which was really moving, plus it’s a great honour to be invited into queer, radical or femme spaces that might otherwise be hesitant about including black metal bands. We also get to meet thousands of people who love great music and harsh riffs and aren’t absolute pieces of shit which is the ideal scenario! I don’t want to go on about how many nice things people might have said, we are just the latest band to say this stuff, there have been a ton before us. I will say though, the more people speak out about inequality, the safer it is for everyone. Do your part, make the world a better place.
When was the first time that you, as a band, decided to incorporate anarchist and anti-fascist ideologies into your music?
From the first second this band existed, it was always going to be a black metal band, but unfortunately black metal does have a slightly negative legacy, so we knew if we wanted to be included in the DIY and crust scene that we came from we would need to be explicitly “not dickheads”. Also, this is one of the things I care about the most, so it’s what I naturally started writing lyrics about, I’m not going to pretend I’m really depressed or believe in Satan just because that is the fashion. I sing about the most honest, heartfelt things I can. Also, if you are going to start making music in this day and age, I feel like there is responsibility to try and fight for change, especially as a band of straight white men. People treat this as a niche belief, but we must exist in the only scene in the world where it is actually controversial to be anti-racist, anti-capitalist and anti-sexist.
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