### Watain - Erik Danielsson (first one)

#### 24/07/07 || Global Domination

This interview was conducted by ex-staffer/cocksmoker Doomsdayzach.

I dunno about black metal musicians, man. I mean, they can make some kick ass tunes, but they’re some odd motherfuckers. The folks in Watain are no exception, as they have spent a bit too much time under the black wings of Jon Nödtveidt. Ah well, the folks in Watain may think I’m a retarded mindless sheep, but their tunes still rawk my cawk. Actually… you know what? Fuck that! Bastards completely raped me here and didn’t even give me the courtesy of a reach-around!

Global Domination: I would like to welcome you to Global Domination. It seems as though we share common goals as far as taking over the world is concerned. That’s awesome right?

Erik Danielsson: Yes, the only difference appears to be that we are actually doing it.

But seriously, I fucking applaud the fact that you guys are so dedicated to what you do and what you stand for. It’s rare that a band will stand up and so proudly declare that they are the best fuckers on the planet and deserve to be worshiped. Well, actually, Lord K says it all the time. You guys may have to fight to see who has the better band. He’s Swedish too, so it’d be easy enough to set up. Are you willing? What kind of tactics would you use in said fight to beat his ass?

Luckily we are not even remotely close musically, hence I do not have to endure the flapping of my finger that it would take to beat them.

Watain finished up a small tour of the US not long ago. And not surprisingly, you didn’t make it to the west coast. Where’s the Seattle dates man? Are you going to hit us up on the next run of dates? I know there’s some people here who are absolutely nuts about you guys and would kill to see you play here.

A full scale US tour is being planned for November right now, including the west coast obviously. Will be interesting to see whether or not the rumors are true, that the west coast is just a big wasteland of wimps and posers. Fertile ground for destruction and tragedy…

Seriously, don’t skip Seattle man. All the fucken tours are doing it. Dark Funeral is going to come around for the second time this year in October and it’s the second time they’ve skipped us completely. Promise you’ll come! I mean, I’ve heard from numerous people that your show at BB Kings was literally one of the best shows they’d ever seen. How is it that you manage to just fucking kill everyone else out there? Musically of course, I’m not talking about what you guys do offstage.

Because we have the all-devouring fire of Satan burning within our hearts.

Why is it that most black metal bands have absolutely no sense of humor? Are things really that bleak? I mean, I know black metal musicians are serious about their art and all, as any band should be. But can’t you just look at yourselves in the mirror sometimes and laugh at how silly it is at the same time? And on that note, what are your thoughts on the video for “Call of the wintermoon”?

Humor of the juvenile kind as yours has never served a beneficial purpose for something as sinister and terrible as Black Metal, is it so hard to understand? Do you think the warriors of Al Quaeda were joking around a lot while plotting to transform the western civilization into a realm of fear, oppression and war? Things are not funny here.

The artwork on this album isn’t really your typical black metal artwork (which usually consists of one of the band members crawling through the forest in leather, spikes, and corpsepaint). What made you go with this style of artwork? A lot of it almost looks like woodcut carvings. Who was responsible for the artwork? It says on the back of the booklet, but that font is fucken hard to read.

Of course it does not look like a typical Black Metal album, at least not like of the kind you are restricted to think about. We are not a part of that. We were responsible for the artwork obviously, why the hell would we let any else do the artwork for our album? Does the painter have someone to decide with what colors he is supposed to paint?

Dissection comparisons run rampant through the press, and I don’t fucken understand that shit. Still, you have a song dedicated to Jon to lead the album off. How close were you to him? How did he influence your outlook on your music if at all? Also, did you find Reinkaos to be the musical abortion that everyone claims it was? I didn’t think it was so bad personally, but I’m just a journalist who doesn’t know shit, right?

Yes, you are. But indeed it was one of the greatest metal albums ever written. If people do not understand that it is their own loss.

Speaking of journalists, is it frustrating speaking to journalists like myself all the time who generally do not share nor really understand your personal outlook on embracing the darkness? Are we just a bunch of posers for enjoying Watain without getting into the ideology behind the band?

Yes, you are.

One of the members of the band is named P Forsberg. Is his first name Peter?

No, it is not.

Why do you go under your first initials instead of using either real names or pseudonyms? Someone should use the name Grrrnaghsnacksz. That’d be awesome.

Yea, awesome.

What about corpsepaint, leather and spikes? What does it mean to you when you dawn the black metal garb? In what way does it enhance the listening experience?

It is about achieving the feeling that you yourself feel when you put on your baseball cap, shirt and tie every morning. The feeling of that you have physically adapted yourself to the greatest extent possible to the task that lies before you.

Do you think corpsepaint is overdone by too many bands, or does it really matter?

Nothing matters but the desolate silence of total death.

What are your thoughts on the Swedish band Bloodbound, the heavy metal band that wears corpsepaint like make-up? Do you feel that this is something only black metal bands should do?

They can embarrass themselves as much as they want to, I’ll live through it.

Ok, enough about wardrobe. I’m starting to feel a little more gay than normal. Maybe I should look into being an interior decorator or a hairstylist. So “No return” was a working title for this album. What exactly does that mean, and why is “Sworn to the dark” a more appropriate title for the album?

It means “fuck off”.

What made you decide to include both titles on the album cover? Aren’t you worried that some retards out there will think the album is called “No Return” or “Sworn to the dark – no return” or some silly shit like that?

The album is called “Sworn to the Dark – No Return”.

Interesting, since the cd spine simply says “Sworn to the dark”… Alright, let’s have the ever-popular “rate this band” question, which are great because you learn pretty much nothing about the artist. In this question I’ll ask you to rank each band on a scale from 1 to 83, 1 being the equivalent of getting rammed up the ass with an enraged bull’s horn and 83 being a delicious ice cream sundae (your choice of flavors and toppings) as well as say a few words about the band:

- Emperor: 1. Shit.
- Immortal: 1. Shit.
- Watain: 83. Obviously.
- Dissection: 83 The best black/death metal band ever…
- HammerFall: 1. Shit .
- Satyricon: 1. Shit.
- Dark Funeral: 1. Shit.
- Dark Throne: 2. Shit. 2 because they used to be good.
- Dark Tranquillity: 1. Shit.
- Dark Angel: 70. “Darkness Descends”, yes.
- Dark Empire: 1. Shit.
- Darkane: 1. Shit.
- The Haunted: 1. Shit.
- Dream Theater: 1. Shit.
- David Hasselhoff: 2. Shit, but he still gets a 2 just to acknowledge the fact that I value his work higher than most of the above “artists”.

Is the candelabra that each member is holding in the photos inside the book the same one that adorns the cover of Dark Throne’s “Transylvanian hunger” album? They look the same. Why did you go with this specific design of candle holding accessories?

It is in fact on the Transylvanian Hunger cover, but not the one Fenriz is holding, but the one shoved up his ass.

Who’s skulls are those in the photos? Did you slay these people, or are they the skulls of fallen elders, or did you just buy some off eBay?

They are skulls of nosy journalists.

Which album or moment do you feel is the defining moment of the black metal genre? Probably the new Dimmu Borgir album huh?

Bathory – The return. Venom – Black Metal. Mayhem – De Mysteriis. Mercyful fate – Don’t break the oath. Nifelheim – Servants of Darkness. Watain – Sworn to the Dark.

One thing I was curious about is that you seem to be terribly unconcerned with being underground and kvlt, tr00, and frostbitten and all that other shit, yet you took your band name from a song by Vox who released like half of a demo at some point in the early 90’s. I mean, no one has ever heard of this band before right? It’s a cool band name though (Watain, not Vox. Vox is a terrible band name).

Yea.

Back to Dimmu Borgir, they’ve almost become a joke in the metal community, especially by the kvlt black metal kiddies. Do you feel that they deserve all the shit they get, or do you feel that they deserve the notoriety they have gained? Is their current music up to par?

They deserve the notoriety as much as Britney Spears does, or whoever that adapt themselves completely to the preferences of the audience.

The Swedish black metal scene seems to be very strong and has spawned a number of great bands (Marduk, Dark Funeral, Dissection to name the big ones). Why do you feel the Swedish black metal scene is so overlooked in favor of the Norwegian scene? Do you think Norway has a stronger and better black metal scene, or is it simply because their shenanigans got more media attention?

Who the fuck cares?

Do you feel burning churches is a good tool for the Anti-Christians out there? Does it really prove an effective point, or is it silly and childish?

It is great, just as it is great to blow up a day care center for children. Every act of destruction and chaos opens up gateways to the hungry darkness that hovers beyond the barriers of this world, and as it enters through these holes it tightens its grip around the heart of men, urging him on towards the edge of the cliff. An edge that is very near now.

I have a friend who is very much into occult things and basically worships Dissection. In discussing “Reinkaos” with her (more specifically, the song “Black Dragon”), I made a comment to the effect of that I wish I could summon a dragon, because how badass would that be to have a dragon as a pal to fuck up all who stand in your way, right? I’m not talking a power metal Rhapsody type dragon, but like a mean motherfucker who would tear shit up. She seemed to get offended that I would trivialize the dark arts by saying I wanted a pet dragon. Am I an asshole, or should people not take such things that seriously? I mean, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to invoke a dragon?

The human consciousness is limited only by the human being in which it resides. In your case you are condemned to be restricted by terms such as “bad ass”, “pal”, “tear shit up” and henceforth the illumination of Draconic energies –about which the mentioned lyric is mostly about- is not something that can find root in your limited intellect. Now don’t be sad, because this is how most human cattle work, and it is also why Satanism is often mentioned as a doctrine of the Elect. It demands intense study, eternal ordeals, sacrifice, crime and the eradication of all codes that uphold the barriers that blocks the way to chaos within the mind. It is very easy to have an opinion on, but to comprehend what it is you are having an opinion about is a completely different story, which most persons, especially in the black metal community, most often chooses to forget about.

That’s badass pal! That response tore shit up. Now, this is an old argument that I’m sure you’ve heard many times before, but when you sing about the glory of Satan, you are admitting that there is a God, which in essence agrees with Christianity. What are your thoughts on this issue?

Of course there is a god.

What is the one cd in your collection that would most surprise someone? I have a Journey cd and a few HIM cd’s. Pretty embarrassing right? Ok, your turn. Come clean.

Probably something with Dark Funeral.

Have you heard about / seen the first ever black metal porno, “Phallucifer”? It looks pretty hilarious, yet still somewhat retarded. What do you think, win or failure?

You know things get quite comical when you of all persons refer to things as retarded? Anyway, the movie is shit.

Once again, I cannot stress enough that you guys need to make it to Seattle. Please?

Yea, I have to pay a visit to your mother anyway.

What kind of bands (black metal or otherwise) do you feel are worthy of attention lately? Or are you one of those guys who doesn’t listen to any metal that came out past 1992? There have been some good releases since then man. I mean, just because Pantera sucks doesn’t mean there weren’t other worthy releases.

As far as black metal is concerned; only us and Nifelheim.

Final question: how do you feel about NSBM bands? Do you think they’re a cancer on the face of metal or do you support them? Possibly indifferent?

They mean as much to me as your questions. Irritating but still irrelevant enough to not give a fuck about.

Alright, I’m going to wind it up here. Thanks a fucken ton for taking the time to stick out all these questions. Do you have anything to say in closing? Go ahead and say it, and also let us know what your favorite brand of soda is if you don’t mind.

Fuck you!

Fair enough. Fuck me.