Interview: The Ruins of Beverast
August 18 2008 at 05:11:51 AM
Burning bridges with Alexander von Meilenwald.
The former drummer for German Black Metal group Nagelfar and founder of The Ruins of Beverast, Alexander Von Meilenwald has long been of interest to us here at The Left Hand Path. A student of linguistics and history at Aachen University in Germany, von Meilenwald’s sinister workings on record reflect a bevy of interests in religion, ancient warfare and even science fiction. He released his first solo album, Unlock The Shrine
, in 2004. Two years later came Rain Upon the Impure
, an hour-long opus full of swampy dirges and murky portraits of phantoms peaking along the Rhine. It took some time, but eventually we tracked down von Meilenwald via email for this interview. We promised not to ask what the band’s name meant.
In each of the half-dozen or more bands you’ve been involved with besides The Ruins of Beverast, where you write and perform with all of the instruments yourself, you always sit behind the kit. Did you always enjoy playing drums first and foremost or did you pick up later?
When I started my first band as a teenager I wanted to play the drums and nothing else, because I wanted to be responsible for high speed. Actually, Nagelfar has never been a high-speed band but I enjoyed playing the drums anyway (and I still do). In the course of time, however, I felt the need and motivation to create my own songs, so I started to teach myself the basic guitar skills. Creativity is rather limited if you have no idea how to handle a guitar, you know... I am not a good guitarist at all, but it’s absolutely sufficient for my needs.
How did you first get involved in music? Do you come from a musical family? Did you have other aspirations in the arts besides playing music?
No, no one in my family has anything to do with music, and so I don’t know how I came to it, really. I was totally keen on any musical matters ever since I can remember, but I cannot explain why. I listened a lot to the popular music of the 80s when I was a child, and later became involved more and more into the rock and metal scene, because I was bored by ‘normal’ music. I cannot think of any other artistic concerns back then, it was solely the music. I have developed a certain interest in literature throughout the years which comes along with my academic studies, but I cannot find the time to develop it further unfortunately.
Do you have any formal music training?
No. Actually, I had some lessons in electric piano when I was around 13 or 14, but nothing really serious. I do not like such kind of lessons, as I don’t think they can provide me with skills that I can really need for this kind of music. I prefer to teach myself or ask friends for help.
What was the main reason or goal behind forming The Ruins of Beverast?
Well, it was my insatiable need to create dark and diseased music, because I still am not able to survive without composing and perfoming metal... So when Nagelfar disbanded in April 2002, Zingultus (our vocalist then and now the frontbeast of Graupel) and I planned to continue as a two-piece, but this could not happen due to several reasons. So after a period of about 10 months after the Nagelfar-split I started to work alone.
After your previous band, Nagelfar, broke up, you went on to release The Furious Waves of Damnation demo alone as The Ruins of Beverast in 2003. However, the first full length, Unlock the Shrine, contained all new material up to that point. That’s roughly 20 new songs over the course of a year. Did the idea for the music come to you immediately after Nagelfar dissolved or had you been thinking about or working on it before then?
Starting a new project was a true relief for me back then, because the last days of Nagelfar revealed a heavy break between Zorn (our guitarist) and me, which made me long for a musical project which I could lead alone. But as I said before, my first plans after Nagelfar concentrated on cooperation with Zingultus as vocalist and me doing the music. Yet, I did not compose any new songs until the beginning of 2003. These were the tracks for the Furious... CD-R, which has not been a real demo but a test for myself. I wrote some Darkthrone-styled songs just for the fuck of it and made a CD-R out of it to spread it amongst my friends. It should have never been released, and I can only repeat myself saying that for me a Black Metal ‘Demo’ has to be a TAPE, and not a blank CD. So the actual ‘release’ of
The Furious Waves of Damnation was at the time when it was featured as a 10” MLP within the 2LP-edition of
Unlock the Shrine. But to return to your question, the songs for the CD-R were written and recorded within about four months and finished in May 2003. I was truly hooked again when recording F
urious..., and so I spent the rest of the year composing ‘serious’ material. Well, the songs for
Unlock the Shrine evolved rather rapidly indeed, but it was one of those periods of time again when I neglected all other matters just to concentrate on the music.
You also covered Beherit’s ‘Witchraft’ on the demo, which might sound surprising considering the contrast of styles. Did any of the later Beherit albums or even Marko Laiho’s decision to continue on with the band by himself have an influence on the direction you wanted to take with The Ruins of Beverast.?
No, not really, it was a spontaneous decision to do this cover version. I admire Beherit up to
Messe des Morts, because their early material is so incredibly ritualistic, ugly and anti-musical that I still love to surrender to it. I was however bored of all the Gate of Nanna coverversions, because I think it was the most-covered song just because of the fact that it seemed to have some real guitar-riffs, apart from the fact that its lyrics were printed. I wanted to bear the challenge to occupy with a song that is not really ‘coverable,’ just like ‘Witchcraft’ is... unfortunately I had to remove the song from
The Furious Waves of Damnation 10” because of lack of space. I cannot tell you anything about their later works. I took a listen to this
'H418' album (or whatever it is called) from 1994 and I was totally shocked of course, because I was a Black Metal kid. This might perhaps be different today, I don’t know, perhaps I will obtain their newer albums some time. I do not know anything of his plans to reanimate the band, I don’t observe those things. I would really like to take a listen to his DJ-compilations though…
What’s the advantage of working alone? And do you have a preferred method of laying out a song? Does it start with the lyrics, a riff, an idea, a story, a scene from a movie, a painting? How does it all come together for you and how much is added after the basic structure of the song is complete?
The end time of Nagelfar consisted of discussions and discontentment which led to compromises and results that noone was really satisfied with. These infinite struggles really affected the band atmosphere, and you can imagine how relaxed I felt when I was able to transform my ideas into music without passing the way of discussion and quarreling. It is a real advantage taking over the responsibility for all you do...
The foundations of the songs are the lyrics, because they set up the atmospheric ‘formula’ or pattern for the song and fix the kind of riffs or melodies or elements that will be proceeded within the song. I compose the lyrics from a spontaneous idea, never prearranged, because that would bereave them of their authenticity and ‘spirit’ (I cannot find a better term). I compose the music based on the guitar parts of course, then adding suitable drum parts which I have to imitate with digital drums at first. Anything else is added later, sometimes not until recording. I still do a lot of experiments while recording the songs and sometimes totally rearrange them.
Rain Upon the Impure sounds like it was recorded under a mattress inside of a mountain. Personally, I like it, but I can see why a lot of people find it difficult. Even with such a layered sound, you can’t really get those gradual nuances like you would with even a small orchestra using a guitar and synthesizer. In that regard, I think it helps to smooth out the dynamics a little bit. But what was your reasoning? And are you still pleased with the result?
Well, first of all:
Rain Upon the Impure was by all means intended to be a difficult album, in every respect, also sound wise. Just as an example, the guitars are downtuned for five semitones, which is I guess not really common in Black Metal (I guess just the opposite is usual). I wanted the album to sound dirty and ugly, and it should not be ignored that we are speaking about an underground-Black Metal release... But nevertheless, I am not really satisfied with the sound. That is mainly because some essential details are truly ‘pressed down’ by the weight of the sound, the guitars are not present and dominant enough and the sound of the snare drum is bad. There’s a simple reason for this, because I finished the editing and mixing too straight, without owing myself a break of a few weeks just to revalue it. I couldn’t get any distance between me and the recordings, just worked on for weeks and weeks and at the end, I was exhausted and just wanted to finally finish it. I will change the procedure for future works to make sure this will not happen again. Nevertheless, I must say that I love the album, because the overall atmosphere of the songs is just as I wanted it to be.
The lyrics, too. It’s nearly impossible to read the lyrics in the booklet…
I don’t think it’s impossible, but it’s surely a bit hindered because the layout turned out to be darker as intended when it returned from the press plant. I have no problems with that, the booklet fits the music, and if anyone is really interested in the lyrics, he will be able to read them. Those problems are something I am sort of unconcerned with, it seems. Several people discussed about the arrangement of the booklet. I mean, surely the graphic arrangement is an important factor of the overall work, and it is indeed for me as well, but I would never judge an album because of the booklet. Anyway, in the 2LP edition of the album, the lyrics are definitely readable for all people...
The lyrics to both albums speak through a kind of surreal, despairing nightmare imagery, particularly when dealing with the topic of war (or perhaps, merely using war-like metaphors?). On this you sometimes take a more existential tone rather than simply glorifying the carnage. Could you talk about the inspiration behind the ‘The Mine’ on Unlock the Shrine and also the opening track to the last album, ‘50 Forts Along the Rhine?’
T.R.O.B. lyrics in general avoid too concrete and nameable topics and phrases, because the whole concept of the lyrics exists of metaphoric compositions. Somehow none of the phrases actually reveal what they seem to reveal superficially. The topic of war is never really present on the ‘second level,’ perhaps with a slight exception within ‘50 Forts Along the Rhine,’ where a historical reference is given, namely the onslaught of the Roman commander Drusus and his following attacking ancient Germania inferior shortly before the year 0. But in general, the lyrics contain kind of a sarcastic personal world view which sometimes devises surreal and abstruse anecdotes of world’s end. ‘The Mine’ is a fable of an apocalyptic scenery where remaining mankind is torn asunder into a moribund tribe that lives on the surface, and a sophisticated tribe that has found shelter underground. The inferior tribe is punished for fatal ignorance towards the laws of nature.
Let’s talk about the samples. It’s seldom you hear a clip from a movie used on an album that isn’t merely there to introduce a single track or for some comedic purpose. With Beverast, it’s almost like you’re re-cutting an entirely different narrative because it’s actually interwoven with the music; the samples and sound bytes flow with the rhythm of the song and don’t pop in and out in just a sequential manner. The import might be vague, but there’s a weird logic to it – continuity between the artwork, song titles, and music…
Well, it is indeed elemental for my usage of samples that they are hardly introducing or interrupting a song but kind of interweave with the music, and therefore I often have to cut and edit the samples to make sure they fit into the rhythmical pattern. It is very hard to say which purpose they serve actually… It is an ‘instinct’ that tells me which passage could be enhanced by resorting to a spoken passage or a sound sample. In terms of content, they certainly emphasize the essential topics set up by the lyrics. It is not wrong to regard them as a link between the visual, textual and musical aspect, but perhaps this might be a bit too much of attention to the sample thing, because normally they are added rather late during the recordings and are not indispensable for the song.
Do you view the two full-lengths as concept albums? What do they represent to you personally?
No, they are not concept albums in the traditional sense. The songs represent complete topical units on their own.
Unlock the Shrine however features interludes that are annexed to the previous or successive song. This album was kind of a therapy for me at that time, because of some personal struggles, so its personal meaning for me is immense. Apart from that, it was my first sole musical effort, which sets a mark in my life, of course.
Rain Upon the Impure was supposed to represent a musical no man’s land of unease and discomfort, ugliness and disorientation. It was indeed a challenge to compose a work like this... The album was perhaps also created as a monument against boring Black Metal standards. Sometimes I think so at least.
There’s also a noticeable religious motif running through both albums as well as the track on the split with Urfaust. You enjoy using things like church bells and choirs, either sampled or played with an accompaniment on guitar (‘Blood Vaults’). It creates a strange atmosphere of the old world together with an esoteric, spiritual feeling to the pieces. In the short piece ‘Rapture’ from Rain… you even quote from ‘Salve Mundi Salutare,’ a catholic poem most famously used by Bach repeatedly throughout his Passion of St. Matthew.
The religious motives are truly omnipresent and they are most likely caused by my pronounced interest in historical matters. I am not bound by a ‘traditional’ religious belief, but all the more interested in the distant analysis of those beliefs from a historical point of view. This does consistently lead to religious metaphors within the lyrics or the usage of audio samples with religious motives. Consequently, some of the songs seem to have a significant ‘medieval’ atmosphere; certainly not speaking about these infantile bagpipe-rubbish with men wearing skirts (who told them that this kind of music was performed in the Middle Ages, by the way?!), but about a dark, old and cryptic soundscape. And as you spoke about “Rapture:” I am rather amazed you recognized the piece, because it’s actually pitched down and playing backwards… to be precise, it is indeed a part of ‘Salve Mundi Salutare,’ namely the last one which is ‘Salve Caput Cruentatum’ in its original Latin version, but later was translated into Middle High German and called “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” (‘O’ head of blood and wounds’). This piece was again used by Bach within his Matthew Passion, and the version I used was performed by a chorale within the cathedral of Aachen, my hometown.
Do you view Black Metal as a form of spiritual music? Why the affinity for the choir and how much of an impact has Catholicism had on you personally? Were you raised in a religious household?
As I indicated before, my religious and spiritual interest is not motivated by a form of belief, but somehow, well let’s say kind of ‘scientific,’ although this might sound a bit weird. As a matter of fact, the lyrics of T.R.O.B. are absolutely anti-Catholic; if you just take a look at the ‘Blood Vaults’ – series (which will be continued on the forthcoming efforts), those songs comprehensively deal with the historical misconducts of the Catholic church, the title track of
Rain Upon the Impure is an accusal against hypocritical spirituality as a moral shield, and so on. At the moment, the lyrical and musical draft of any kind of spiritual sceneries is the most fascinating task for me; perhaps this might change in the future, but that’s not what bothers me now.
My view upon Black Metal? Well, until about 10 years ago Black Metal was necessarily spiritual... Then it lost all its spirituality when it got involved in the machinery of modern music, with the emergence of downloadable mp3s, ‘official websites’ and MySpace. Nowadays there are even ‘trailers’ for forthcoming BM albums. I just cannot believe that. But that is a complete different story that is worth writing an essay about, and I don’t think that here is time and space...
And Bach? How much influence has classical music had on the way you compose and how much of your writing do you think is directly influenced by German culture? Is it something you’re very conscious?
Classical music has no influence on my way of composing. I am absolutely no expert in classical music, which does not mean that I’m unable to appreciate its total artistic superiority. The period of time which allowed me a contact to classical compositions is ridiculously humble though, and thus I’d be a liar if I’d anyhow link it to the process of composing T.R.O.B.-songs. The studying of (elder) German literature somehow belongs to my everyday life, but again, its influence on musical matters is rather small. Certain literary motives doubtlessly shine through the lyrics; that’s for sure. Yet it always seems rather disproportionate and pathetic to me to adorn oneself with ‘classical culture’ when speaking about BM compositions. Apart from that, even the literary motives within the lyrics belong to a time when the idea of a ‘German’ country was not even born.
What are your thoughts on the re-release of Unlock the Shrine that Battle Kommand Records put out in 2006? Specifically, the drastic change in the layout of the disc and lack of artwork found in the original?
Oh, this version was actually initiated by Sveinn (leader of the Ván-label), myself and Blake, the owner of BKR. When
Unlock the Shrine was released, the Ván was just established, namely just to release this album. Due to logistic complications and enormous shipping efforts we decided to grant the rights of a North American edition to Blake, and thus he did a re-print with a new cover, which I did myself, because I hated (and still hate) the original European cover. It was done in haste and shows a conglomeration of bad and stolen images, so I rearranged the US-version, and despite the lack of visual elements I clearly prefer it to the original one.
Are you planning anything new at the moment? The most recent track off the recent Gott Itt Uns split delves a little bit more into Death Metal, but it’s also kind of all over the place.
The vinyl-edition of
Rain Upon the Impure has just been released by the Ván. I will start recording new material later this summer, which might perhaps be released in early 2009, but that’s really not sure. I cannot state what direction it will tend to; ‘Desert Lair’ from the
Gott Itt Uns split was actually an unreleased song from 2004 which I rerecorded in 2007, so it does not serve as a reference. The new material is in any case truly sinister again, that’s all I am absolutely sure about at this point of time.
Please explain your thoughts on or connections with the following persons/collectives/objects/symbols:
EYES
The mirror of body and soul, at the same time shadow and light of all that seems to surround the self.
MIRRORS
The utter torment of facing the self, if you refer to the way I handle the symbol of the mirror within T.R.O.B. lyrics. But beyond that, I use them to shave.
POE
Not much to do with him. I appreciate most of his stories, but I do not know them all and they are no significant element of the T.R.O.B. concept.
VINCENT PRICE
He must have been one of the very few persons who were TRULY able to perform horror characters. I adore his voice; it is incredibly unique, and also effective in certain aspects...
THE GERMAN “BLACK METAL SCENE”
I cultivate the friendships with my old friends and bands, but I have little knowledge about recent activities within a so-called ‘German scene.’ Most of the few new releases I heard were not courageous, mature or powerful enough to leave a mark on me.
[Todd DePalma]
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really interesting interview (especially the part about the lyrics) and it seems like Meilenwald thought the same, his answers are much better/more interesting than the normal shit! - the best trob-interview I read so far, actually.
Good work! (here and with the whole website)
Yeah, really open and down to earth when challenging some assumptions about his music. I was surprised with how self-critical he was at times, but regard this as a good thing. Very interested to hear what comes next.
Thanks for reading!