Teufel: I do not feel worthy of doing this interview. I'll have you know that we at Teufel's Tomb are all huge fans of Aeternus and pretty much all of us find that ...And So The Night Became is by far the greatest black metal album ever released. I actually must credit Steve from Extremities Productions for getting me into the album, prior to that I hadn't been into any black metal at all... anyway... enough kissing your ass. I understand recently long time bassist Morrigan parted ways with the group, what were the reasons for her leaving the band? Was it an amicable split?
Ares: Greetings to you all, I thank you for your compliments. Morrigan has quit Aeternus because of different reasons, she was tired of the scene with its struggles and she felt that she had been through enough of it. Not much more to say really, Aeternus will march on ahead at full speed and we have already a session-bassist working for us. I will personally do the bass in studio next time, a challenge I am more than ready for.
Who have you found to replace her in the group? I'm assuming it was her who did the majority of the piano passages on the previous albums, so have you found anyone to replace her on keyboards, or is that element of the group being dropped?
Ares: Like I said, we have now a session bassist, V'gandr of Helheim. For piano and synth stuff, I'll do some shit myself, but for more complex playing I would need help from a more "skilled" person. There won't be a problem to fix these things up as I now many that could help us out here. Also, if I asked Morrigan to help out on some studio stuff, she would probably say yes. There’s no bad blood between her and Aeternus and she wants the best for us so...
One final question involving Morrigan, who do you think would win in an all out brawl. Morrigan, Jo from Bolt Thrower or Anne (ex-Last Days Of Humanity)?
Ares: Morrigan would maybe lose a physical fight. However, being a Witch she can Fuck Up your mind and life severely if she wants to. At the end she would win.
As soon as I mentioned I was going to interview Aeternus, the second question, after why it was Morrigan left the group, was what equipment do you guys use and what do you have your guitars tuned to?
Ares: We tune in C. Our equipment is Peavey Bandit 115 through JCM 900 Marshall-amps. This increases the distortion from the Peavey in a high degree and then we rule. We use Jackson guitars with EMG pick-ups. Morrigan used an ESP bass with EMG pick-ups on Ascension Of Terror.
Who was mainly responsible for the acoustic guitar passages on your previous releases?
Ares: I play all the acoustic guitars.
There was a noticeable shift in the band's sound on Shadows Of Old. What was the reason for the change in style and what can we look for on Ascension Of Terror? Will it be more like Shadows Of Old or will you be bringing in more of your older atmospheric/doomish sound?
Ares: The sound was changed on Shadows Of Old because of different things. I used other guitars than before this time and it was on Shadows... I started to use the Marshall as power-amplifier for the Peavey. Also, we worked harder and longer than before with the sound. It was a success as we all can hear on that album. The sound is as before in my opinion, only a whole of a lot better. We did not change our style. We added some death 'n thrash riffs/elements in a few songs and it gave that album a good feel. On Ascension Of Terror we have used these elements a lot, one can call this new album a death metal album. We've wanted to do this for a long time and it felt good and right to do so. Ascension... is a brutal, fast and pounding opus, which is much more to the point than before. Dark extremities all the way. We're not turning into death metal, that's important to know. Our new material is more "Aeternus", and we'll use piano, acoustic guitars and synthesizer for darkened atmospheres on our next album for sure. We'll take ourselves back in time a bit. The death/thrash elements will be present, but the in general we will concentrate on doing more original and darkened stuff again.
Several years back both you and Vrolok played with well-known Norwegian black metal group Gorgoroth. Why did both of you leave the successful group and venture off on your own?
Ares: We had Aeternus and decided that was what we wanted to do, basically, that’s the reason why we quit.
In 1999, you added a second guitarist, Radek. Why did you feel a second guitarist was necessary and did his musical visions help change the sound of the group, or is he merely in a playing, non-writing role?
Ares: We felt we need a permanent guitarist for tours and we need new blood in the band. He was for sure the right choice. Highly dedicated and full of passion for Aeternus, he was a great fan before he joined so he's 100% all the way. Radek writes music and so far I have used his riffs for inspiration only, it’s not easy for him to get into the style 100%. He has written some lyrics that are great.
Your lyrical content has always dealt with the past, bloody battles on hillsides and the pride of ancient warfare. How much research have you put into the history of your people and Viking warriors? Would you consider yourself to be a history buff or do you only have a casual interest?
Ares: Our lyrics deal with darkened things, a darkness we define in our own way. I don't do research or anything for inspiration to my lyrics. The bare essence of War, Pride and Honor, the power of the nature and its elements... emotions that is highly appealing to me helps me to write my lyrics.
One thing I have wondered about for a long time is, what Aeternus merchandise is available and how can people go about finding it? The CDs aren't too difficult to find, but I've searched high and low and have yet to find an Aeternus t-shirt anywhere. Are there any even in print?
Ares: If one cannot find merchandise, I guess the smartest thing is to contact Hammerheart Records. They got the stuff there at least; I don’t know what they got in stock these days.
You've toured Europe a few times now with some of the bigger names in metal, including Deicide and Cannibal Corpse. What sort of reaction do crowds generally give your music, compared to the headliners? Are they merely appreciative, or do they truly get into it?
Ares: Usually they get into it all, maybe not truly as in freakin' out like motherfucker, but most of them like what we do.
Have you given any thought into touring North America at any point in the future? Is it of interest to you? If so, who would you most like to tour with?
Ares: It's up to Hammerheart to send us into North America and so forth. We're always ready for touring as we fuckin' love doing it. Aeternus is a live-band for sure. It would be cool to tour with Morbid Angel and Immortal. That's something I personally want to do.
As a true metal warrior, I'm sure you've frequented many a pub in your time. If you're at a bar that only serves Ringnes, will you resort to drinking water instead?
Ares: No, not at all. I like Rignes.
Being that any "true" fan of metal is an alcoholic, what is your favorite brew when entering a pub?
Ares: Budweiser is good, Fosters maybe... I like beer as long as it's beer and not thinned out with fucking water.
I know that showers are sometimes hard to find on the road in the US unless you have a lot of money and you can stay at hotels after every show. When you tour in Europe, do you often go for days without taking a shower? On past tours, how many days set the record for not taking a shower?
Ares: Oh man, you bring back bad ass memories with that question. It's so ugly not being able to shower after a show. I think we went for 3 days once, which was bad!
Who are the people in the metal scene who you hope to see simply so you can wrap a rope around their throat and pummel them to death with your guitar?
Ares: Oh, there are sooo many people I would like to shoot in the scene man. I'll get shot myself I guess if I mention names here so that I won't fuckin' do. I hate false people in the metal-scene, people who do not do their job, un-dedicated people, back-stabbers and so forth. I could make a long list, but that's not necessary.
What sub-genre of metal do you find to be the most useless and hope wears out quickly? I'd have to go with power metal, personally, since I hated Iron Maiden to begin with and listening to 800 bands play what sounds like nothing but Iron Maiden covers makes me want to slam my face through a window and hope I slice my own jugular in the process.
Ares: Metal is metal, as long as it's done properly, it's cool. I have to say that I don't like much bands though, you gotta be really fucking great if you want me to like your band as there are so many, many, MANY bad bands out there in my opinion. Few bands got what it takes man, know it.
Finally, if you could recruit any members from any bands you wanted to create a "supergroup", who would you want to play with? And yes... that is the gayest question I've ever asked. You can feel free to make fun of my laughably small penis instead of answering that question if you want, I just couldn't think of any other good questions.
Ares: Well, that was a weird question. No, I'm happy with what I got. Aeternus is my supergroup! Alright man, I thank you for this interview and for your support.
