Abigorum (Russia / Germany) 13/08/2020

I got to know Aleksey when he contacted me on behalf of his label Satanath Records and asked me to listen and review some of his label’s recent releases. So, apart from some nice albums that he sent me, he also sent me the first album of his own project Abigorum which was released recently. After some transformations, the band has found its final line up with Aleksey from Russia and Tino and Sandra from Germany, got united and created a very interesting release. After some months of waiting because of his heavy schedule with his label, Aleksey gives us information about the very active Satanath Records and introduce us to Abigorum.

1. Hello Aleksey, thank you for the interview. Firstly, do you want to give some information about Abigorum? Do you want to tell me more about the two new members of the band?

Aleksey: Hello! I had an ambient project called Satanath, founded in January 2011. By the beginning of 2012, I started recording something heavier that did not fit into the Satanath genre. Therefore, in April 2012 I founded a new project called Abigorum. Of course, the first demos are not extreme metal, but simply pen tests before something big. There was the demo "Abigorum" 2012 without vocals, the single "My Haemophilia" (about my own disease) 2013 with vocals, the collaboration album "Unholy Ghost Liturgy" with Cryostasium in 2016 and the split album "Spectral Shadows" with Striborg in 2018. Abigorum sang on German language since 2019 with the arrival of two German new members. In fact, the history of the group is divided into two stages - before and after their arrival… Tino (from bands Metamorph, Trond, Wulfgar and Phreneticum) - vocals, guitars, lyrics. His lady, Sandra - bass. They live in Brandenburg. I make keys and drums, I live in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

2. You come from and you live in Russia, while the two new members come from Germany, is that correct? How was the cooperation between you, considering that you are in other countries? How and why did you decide to add them to the band?

Aleksey: I have known Tino since 2014, he wrote to me about the publication on my label Satanath Records of the new album of his project Wulfgar (which I first heard in 2012), but then the release did not work out, and it was released on another label. We haven't communicated for a while since then. And at the end of 2018, Tino wrote to me with the idea of publishing his new project, Trond. I listened to him and immediately realized that it was brilliant. An excellent disc in the spirit of classic black metal. We have planned the release and started communicating on various topics. Although Tino is a harsh black man, he is actually outgoing and positive. We think in one direction. He said that he has many more ideas and wants to implement them. I told about my project that I mainly do splits and collaborations. He got interested and joked that it would be cool to record something together. That's how the joke turned into an idea to invite him to my Abigorum project and write something together! He started composing melodies, writing guitars and vocals. We had similar experiments with the creation of ambient paintings, so I took up keyboards, different sounds and a drum machine. Then we realized that we also needed to record the bass parts, which Sandra, Tino's girlfriend, happily did. The group was completed, and in six months we recorded the first album!

3. Do you write all of the music or it is a collaboration between all the members? What inspires you to write music and what kind of feelings do you want to express?

Aleksey: This album was recorded by us in half a year. We sent each other instruments, and laid tracks. Something was invented by Tino, somewhere I asked melodies at the expense of a synthesizer. I am inspired by other bands, cosmos, perfectionism, atheism, ridicule of human prejudice... Album "Exaltatus Mechanism" tells the story of the fascination of the black and grey side of evil and hatred for people who are accustomed to a normal life and do not understand that everything around them is just an illusion, and that they are slaves.

4. I think that your music is a mixture of Doom – Funeral Doom with Black Metal. Do you agree with that categorization? How would you describe your music?

Aleksey: Yes. The band's sound was noticeably heavier due to the emphasis on guitars, and the tempo slowed down significantly. The Abigorum cardiogram stretched out almost into a straight funeral-doom. German-language lyrics in the coal soot of black metal, permeated with ambient samples, creates a depressing atmosphere. The album's compositions are imbued with stunning riffs that literally draw out veins and soul. For me this album is just one solid black sadness and the funeral of humanity.

5. I guess that the lyrics are written by Tino, as they are written in German. Would you like to give me some information about the lyrics and what they are about?

Aleksey: Right! I've always liked German since I was 12 when I listened to Rammstein! :) Tino offered to record something in Russian, but I'm a bad vocalist. Texts about death and various things. Here is one of the texts: Die welt die du um dich herum sehen kannst ist nur eine illusion die die mit der liebe gottes sind werden mit satans hass sterben das sterbliche Ende ist nahe die welt die du um dich herum sehen kannst ist nur eine illusion es kommt ein königreich der dunkelheit mit dem tod der erst der anfang ist.

6. Have you made any plans for your next release? Have you started discussing about the concept or have you started composing new ideas?

Aleksey: Yes, we have cool plans. We work now on new album that 100% will be on vinyl. So maybe first album will be released on vinyl too. The new album will have different ideas and developments. We want to release the album in 2021. In fact, everything is almost ready, we just want to conduct a normal promo campaign. Also, this year is not very successful for the music industry due to the COVID-19 virus, so we would not want to immortalize the release of the album in the same year.

7. You participate in another band too. Would you like to tell me more about your experience with that? Tino also participates in other projects. How that experience helped Abigorum?

Aleksey: Yes, I talked about the ambient project Satanath at the beginning. Project have a lot of demos, albums, splits. Another release is being prepared in 2021 (will be 10 years anniversary). I am also a member of the Taiga group since 2016. We have recorded 2 last albums together. Now a new album is being prepared, but without my participation, I think. In this project I just play keyboards and create an ambient atmosphere. Tino has many projects and his guitar playing style is recognizable, so the music is similar to Abigorum and Trond.

8. Apart from making music, you are running your own record label, Satanath Records, that has already released many albums of both new and already known artists. Do you want to tell me more about the label? Is it hard to organize all of the responsibilities of the label and composing and releasing your own music?

Aleksey: Satanath Records is an independent label from St. Petersburg, founded on May 1, 2012 and releasing heavy music.To date, the label has released more than 300 releases: as new albums of various great bands (Corpse Garden, Gloomy Grim, Nazghor, The Sarcophagus, Funeral Tears, Dig Me No Grave, Balance Interruption, Akhenaten, Vomitile, Order Of The Ebon Hand and many others ), and world classics re-editions (Sacred Sin, Striborg, Internal Suffering).Since 2018, Satanath Records began to closely cooperate with the largest labels of the planet (Season Of Mist, Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Peaceville Records, Metal Blade Records, Osmose Productions) and print official editions of famous bands for Russia and the CIS countries (Mayhem, Burzum, Watain, Gorod, Arch Enemy, Swallow The Sun, Rotting Christ, Cannibal Corpse, Vader, Esoteric). The label supports all groups, helps with the search for designers, sound artists and concert organizers.satanath@mail.ruhttp://www.satanath.com http://vk.com/satanath666 http://fb.com/satanath666 http://satanath.bandcamp.com http://instagram.com/satanathrecords http://youtube.com/user/satanath666Yes, it's hard to do a label and write music, so I'm not as productive as I spend more time on the label. Almost all label bosses are musicians. And very often the former. Here you have to choose whether to be a musician or the boss of the label, because you have to fully invest yourself in music. And the label takes a lot of time. For myself, I decided that I would try to devote the same time to both. But on the label, I want to publish really good bands, not just myself.

9. Have you discussed about playing live? What do you think about Black Metal live concerts?

Aleksey: These are still only plans, I don't even know if it will work out, but I want to! This is how it can be organized in Russia for sure, for example, in the capital, but beyond the hill it is questionable. But Tino is also negotiating with their organizers. We'll play live someday! Once the chaos over the coronavirus ends... Black Metal live concerts are cool. I often went to them, I like it!

10. You live in St. Petersburg, is that correct? Tell me about the Black Metal scene there. Are there any bands worth mentioning? Do you cooperate with any other musician or band from there?

Aleksey: Yes! I think here more death metal bands than black metal, but I am not sure. I can say not only about black metal bands, there many cool bands! Bands I released on label of course :) Bestial Deform, Fimbulvinter, Burtul, Bastarth, Inner Missing, SYMD, Monastery Dead... Also - Pyre, Nomans Land, Daat, Skogmark, Ulvdalir, Infiltration, Abyssphere, Flynotes... I know many musicians, we work together. So far, there are no joint works, but I think there will be in the future.

11. What kind of music do you listen to in your spare time? Who are the musicians that have influenced you most and why?

Aleksey: I am a music lover, I listen to different things. In the early 2000s at school, first there was Rammstein, then Metallica, Nirvana, System Of A Down, Deftones, Korn, Slipknot and other standard set, like many others. Then I switched to other metal after meeting Cannibal Corpse. I listen to everything, but my favorite style is old school death metal. Favorite bands: Death, Obituary, Atheist, Suffocation, Immolation, Morbid Angel, Vital Remains, Bolt Thrower, Nile. I also love classics of different genres: Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Doors, Rainbow, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Slayer, Bathory, Candlemass, Iced Earth, Celtic Frost, King Diamond, Dead Can Dance, Dargaard... Of course, my idol is Chuck Schuldiner! He is one of the creators of my favorite style, his life was amazing and tragic. I'm as much a perfectionist as he is. Even outwardly we are similar.

12. Thanks for the interview. Would you like to add anything for conclusion?

Aleksey: Thanks for the questions. I know, I take a very long time to answer. It's because of the label :) Hello to all readers! Listen to cool music, do not quarrel over politics, religion and other shit!

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