The Metal Crypt - Praise the Flame Interview

Interviews

Interview with bassist Necroterror
Interview conducted by Luxi Lahtinen

Date online: June 14, 2013

Praise The Flame, a dark, Chilean 3-piece Death Metal act, is all about occultism, Satanism, profanity, darkness and all things evil. The guys bow to no one, their only purpose to play obscure, cursed and all-annihilating Death Metal, with no compromises.

What drives this mysterious Chilean Death Metal band? Find out by yourself with Mr. Necroterror, bassist for Praise The Flame, as your guide...

Luxi: How's it going? Have you been keeping busy now that Praise the Flame's latest release, the 5-track EP Profane Cvlt, has brought new attention to the band?

Necroterror: We're doing pretty well with Profane Cvlt. We've received excellent comments from different sources. It's going to be re-released in Europe by Blood Harvest as a 12'' LP and also on CD by No Colours. Both versions will contain bonus tracks and new art.

Luxi: Before we will get in-depth about the EP, would you mind enlightening the readers of The Metal Crypt as to when Praise the Flame came together and what were the motivating forces behind starting the band?

Necroterror: JJ and Druaghonic left the band Insorcist in mid-2012 and then, at the end of August of the same year, JJ (at that time with no band) told me about his desire to form a band with no other purpose than making dark Death Metal so, of course, I joined the project immediately. Right after that the demon Druaghonic, who also plays in the old cult band Death Yell, joined. Our first rehearsal was in September and that's how PTF was born.

Luxi: Would you say that each band member shared the same vision of what Praise The Flame would be all about before you actually started making music?

Necroterror: We always wanted to play cursed, obscure and direct Death Metal; the style had already been chosen. What we didn't know was what result we were going to get after recording, mixing and mastering the songs; it was devastating.

Luxi: The first official recording by Praise the Flame was a promotional demo titled Profane Cvlt MMXII, containing two songs, "Mayhemic Wrath of Glorior" and "Path to Dark Despair." Did that demo bring you the positive attention that proved you'd chosen the right path?

Necroterror: We launched that promo from our EP just to spread the pest. I don't think it's just some kind of demonstration, there's no right or wrong in music. We just do what we like and try to get the best result out of ourselves. This music goes to the dark souls of the strong ones!

Luxi: You recorded this two-song affair back in September 2012. Do you believe you got both of these songs twisted into the exact mould you intended from the beginning, one which you felt would allow your Death Metal to serve the whole world?

Necroterror: The information you've got is not right and I can see you got it from The Encyclopedia Metallum. We don't know who the fuck added us in those archives without our permission and with the wrong info (FYI, the info was already corrected by us). We recorded the whole EP in November 2012 and the two songs we got for the Profane Cvlt MMXII promo were just some pre-mixings from the same recording sessions. These two songs are pretty crushing and they have a strong structure as we intended. We don't create music hoping our Death Metal will be 'okay' for everyone. Our target is to remain underground, doing profane and obscure Death Metal, direct and not gay. Fuck off, world, HAIL CHAOS!

Luxi: Due to the immediate success of the Profane Cvlt MMXII demo, Praise The Flame received a lot of attention. Is your deal with Apocalyptic Productions a direct result?

Necroterror: Apocalyptic Productions is an excellent underground label that mainly deals with emerging bands like us. They've got pretty good contacts and distribution, which got us interested in signing with them to vomit out our EP. The Profane Cvlt MMXII promo was released independently, in limited, numbered copies, to spread our material.

Luxi: Now, talking about your latest 5-track offering, which is the Profane Cvlt EP, did you record the other songs ("Endless Scourge" and "Doomed by Darkness" plus an intro, titled "Perpetual Covenant") after Profane Cvlt MMXII or were they recorded during the same sessions when you did "Mayhemic" and "Path?"

Necroterror: As I mentioned before, we recorded the whole EP in only one session in November 2012.

Luxi: Would you say you are happy with the songs on this EP or are there some things you would do differently if you had the opportunity?

Necroterror: We might say that we're happy with the result but we will never conform to it; conformity is the foundation of weak souls! The EP turned out to be great for us. If we had wanted to change anything, we'd have done it. We don't second-guess ourselves.

Luxi: What can you tell us about the cover artwork for the Profane Cvlt EP? Do you think it suits the grim, dark and evil song content in the way Praise the Flame wants to display it?

Necroterror: The MCD cover is an illustration from the Sixteenth Century. We used this cursed image because it reflects a cult of the fire and the demon. I think this image represents, in some way, the work we want to show. Soon, a new cover, with different art, will be released for the European versions.

Luxi: Listening to the songs on the EP, I cannot help but be reminded of LA's Death Metal veterans Sadistic Intent. Is it intentional that you guys sound like them or is it pure coincidence?

Necroterror: My respect to Sadistic Intent; what a great cult band. But we neither want to sound like them nor do we want to sound like any other band, for that matter. Praise the Flame burns in our own fire.

Luxi: Both JJ (guitars/vocals) Druaghonik (drums) have other band activities, such as Insorcist and Deceivegod. Has this been advantageous for Praise the Flame or do you think it slows things down?

Necroterror: Again, you have got the wrong info, dude! Druaghonik is the only one who's got a side project (Death Yell). JJ and I are 666% dedicated to Praise The Flame. Hence there are no disadvantages regarding the bands you mentioned!

Luxi: The Chilean underground scene has been producing great Thrash, Death and Black Metal acts for the last few decades. Could you tell us what is in the drinking water that gives your home country the ability to produce such killer acts?

Necroterror: There are no special ingredients. Nobody drinks water down here, only alcohol and venom!! In the Chilean underground scene these "killer acts," in my view, are so great because they're really committed to what they do. They set and reach their own goals and each band is focused on producing a more cursed and insane act than the previous one. The dark legions are unleashed in our territory!!

Luxi: How supportive are Chilean metal bands toward each other? What are some of the Chilean metal bands that you would say you are good friends with?

Necroterror: There's really no support from band to band. The band members are pretty cold and impersonal. The only support that I see is when I trade music. Of course, there are some exceptions and, from time to time, unknown guys from different bands support our work through different ways, e.g. they make some good comments about our work or buy our material. However, we do get some support from friends who also have bands. Some of the bands we are friendly with are Morbid Goat Fornicator, Denying Nazarene, Atomic Aggressor, Perversor, Ejecutor, Instengoat, Ceremonial, Blasphemator, Oculterio and others...

Luxi: Probably the most cvlt underground Metal band to ever come from Chile is Pentagram, originally the capital city, Santiago. Nowadays, the band is run from San Sebastian, Spain, by Anton Reisenegger, who formed Pentagram in 1985. What kind of relationship do you have with Pentagram?

Necroterror: None! I have only respect and admiration for their work and for being one of the pioneering Death Metal bands in Chile, along with Atomic Aggressor.

Luxi: Are there any common influences or inspirations that might explain why so many extreme Metal acts coming from your country seem to have a darker, more morbid and even twisted, approach to their music, compared to bands from other countries?

Necroterror: I can't talk about other bands, but regarding influences or inspirations, we carry the Metal from childhood and we listened to everything that was at hand. I don't think that we have to be influenced or inspired by somebody to write music. Au contraire, Metal was created a long time ago and obviously it's hard to come up with new ideas and, of course, that's when the fucking comparisons start. Regarding the second point, I think the reason underground bands in Chile get that result is because there's a total devotion to the everything about the bands, not only the music but also the whole scene i.e. 'zines, labels, distros, producers, etc. Everybody makes a great effort to keep the scene burning like Hell itself!

Luxi: What do you consider your biggest personal triumph, as far as becoming an extreme Metal musician, is concerned?

Necroterror: I can tell you that I changed from guitar to bass and, in less than three months, was recording Profane Cvlt. I consider that just an achievement, not a triumph. In fact, I don't have a lot of experience as a musician; I am just a worshipper of true obscure Metal!

Luxi: So, what's up next for Praise the Flame? Are there new news songs in the works so you can enter the studio to record the band's debut full-length album in the near future? Playing gigs around your home territory is also something that can keep the band's name in the spotlight, right?

Necroterror: At present, we don't have plans for a full-length. We're currently writing in order to release something sooner. Our plans are to release a split album with another band. We've done a couple of gigs at the famous showplace Autos De Fe and are scheduling different shows at different venues and cities. We're mainly going to go and massacre some southern cities here in Chile where the world's most insane bangers dwell.

Luxi: Are you planning to play outside of your home country?

Necroterror: We haven't thought about that, as we're a pretty new band, although we hope to play a show or go touring outside Chile someday. Nothing can be ruled out.

Luxi: Does the Chilean government, and other straitlaced authorities, tolerate this sub-culture known as Heavy Metal music in your home country these days? I remember reading that back in the day Slayer weren't allowed to come to Chile because they were said to be a Satanic band and, therefore, bad for the Chilean kids. I suppose those days are way behind us now, aren't they?

Necroterror: All that shit died more than 20 years ago, and it wasn't Slayer but Iron Maiden (aahhh, okay then, looks like my memory doesn't serve me too well anymore - Luxi) and that kind of censorship is considered illegal now (e.g. anti-democratic). At present, the Catholic Church has neither power nor influence over the government. It's getting weaker and vanishing away. I hope it disappears soon.

Luxi: Promotional videos are important promotional tools for bands. Have you any intention of making one?

Necroterror: We're not interested in that kind of promotion for his band!

Luxi: Well, I guess that was all I had in mind, so thank you for taking some time to answer these questions. Last, but not least, I sincerely want to wish you all the best with Praise the Flame. Any last words to conclude this interview, perhaps?

Necroterror: METAL CHILENO RIGE CONCHE TU MADRE!!!