CHALICE of BLOOD Interview!

1. Hails! Fresh of the fiery breath of your new EP "Helig, Helig, Helig" I must say I liked it much! 
Both a classic sound and powerful! I am though pretty new to your horde and have only heard before this the split with ISRATHOUM but I can see your progress even so. 
As with this EP how do you feel CHALICE of BLOOD has grown? Have this creation enable you to grasp your goals? As this is a stepping stone towards a full opus (I hope and guess) how does your visions look like if your glance in to the future on that?

- Thank you. We are indeed very pleased with how the MLP turned out, and it is surely a huge leap from our earlier recordings. Funny that you hear a progression between the split 7” EP with ISRATHOUM and the 12” MLP though, since they were recorded at the same time. However, “Sacrament of Death” from the split is indeed a bit different from what we usually do, and perhaps it is also musically somewhat more naïve, in a sense, than the MLP. Regarding our future plans, only time will tell. I can’t promise a full-length record anytime soon, but this is surely not the end of CHALICE of BLOOD. We will emerge from the darkness yet again when the time is right. We will however soon participate with an exclusive track for a quite extraordinary compilation album which I hope will finally be released later this year.

 
2. Let´s go a bit downward into the depths of the EPs songs, the opening track "Hoor-Paar-Kraat" from what I understand has to do with the "Lord of the Two-in-One" of Thelema path written of in Crowleys The Book of the Law? I have no big knowledge on these stuff but what where your ideas of it and also was there a meaning by putting it at the start of the Ep?

- Yes, you are indeed at the right track. Aiwass, the intermediate being revealing the Book of the Law (or Liber Al vel Legis) to Crowley in 1904, describes himself as “the minister of Hoor-Paar-Kraat”. Hoor-Paar-Kraat has for instance been identified (by e.g. occult writer Kenneth Grant) as Set, Shaitan or Satan, the concealed aspect of Horus (whose manifest side is Ra-Hoor-Khuit) – the true formula of Illumination, called evil to conceal its holiness. Hoor-Paar-Kraat can also been seen as to represent the Higher Self, or the Holy Guardian Angel (from the Abramelin grimoire), and in relation to this, in the capacity of the “Lord of Silence”, or the silent Self (i.e. HGA), what better way than to ascribe him to the instrumental opening track that sets the tone for the whole endeavour?

3. On the "Nightside Serpent" I can guess but please describe your side of it. A bit melancholic vibe it has also...

- The track sure has a melancholic vibe to it, but it also has some major chords which I think, without over-selling it, makes the sound somewhat more interesting than the ordinary black metal approach. To put it simple, the track deals with Luciferian illumination and the attempt to capture the gnostic spark – set in a specific conceptual setting. It is a very basic narrative in that sense, but that is also of course a part of what makes it highly relevant for the “Helig, Helig, Helig” effort as a whole. I believe most of this track was composed right after the recordings of the split 10” with ARKHA SVA, i.e. some time in 2007, so it’s not exactly brand new and might thus perhaps be a bit more akin to that era than anything else.

4. “Shemot” is extra interesting because I have myself thought about writing something regarding Moses & the ordered baby killings...but what’s behind your lyrics?

- The term “Shemot” is certainly lifted from the Book of Exodus, as you implicitly have pointed out. However, I can assure you that it does not deal with killing babies or anything of the sort. The lyrical frame work is rather inspired by a curiosity regarding a problematic verb in the Hebrew Torah, or Pentateuch, and its translation into Latin, i.e. the Vulgate translation from the fourth-century. This curiosity has to do with the notion of the horned face of Moses, or rather, in this specific discourse of speculation, Moses is, or becomes, horned as a direct consequence of the Lord himself being horned. Fascinating as this is, it certainly also suggests some interesting associations and parallels as you can imagine, but that’s a completely different story. In any case, this is merely the context for the initial inspiration for the lyrics, and it did eventually evolve and take other forms from there.

5. The “Communicants”? And what’s the spoken words/ sample at the end of the song?

- The words at the end of “The Communicants” are spoken by the renowned actor Gunnar Björnstrand, and it is taken from the incredible Swedish film “Winter Light” (1963). The film itself, dealing with the notion of God’s silence, was certainly a great inspiration for this track and especially its lyrics. “The Communicants” can in a sense be seen as a continuation of the musical direction of the early days of CHALICE of BLOOD – an outlook on the religious art which is black metal that we have no intention to abandon.

6. And last but not least "Transcend the Endless" which is pretty self spoken title and very fitting as an ending song. Grand never ending darkness!

- Indeed, it’s an epic in a very condensed form, and a fitting end to complete the work. It deals with some of our spiritual goals on a quite straight forward and comprehensible level, and can thus be seen as a general statement of sorts, with regard to your next question. Personally, I think this is one of the finer moments of the “Helig, Helig, Helig” 12” MLP, even though it is a bit more melodic and in a few other ways quite different from most of our other hymns so far.

7. Regarding your Luciferian paths what personally do you see/feel you gain from this knowledge?

- We have never, as far as I can remember, claimed to be following a “Luciferian path” ourselves, although the epithet “Luciferian” might surely work as a description of our agenda one some levels. Not least as a way of distancing ourselves from the many Satanism-s that we do not wish to be associated with. For instance, we do not wish to take part in any reactive satanic discourse primarily based on an inverted Christian demonology. That being said, our spiritual and religious interests are esoteric in character, and as such, through various techniques and methods, we do aspire to access a certain kind of higher spiritual knowledge, that perhaps best can be described as gnosis. On another level of abstraction, it can be said that we seek to attain a form of both carnal and spiritual liberation – to become, and to transcend.

8. Is MLO and similar things something that attracts you?

- For sure, I have been interested in the MLO and the Temple of the Black Light for a long time now, but rather from a scholarly point of view than from a practitioner’s’. We are not working with the 218-tradition, and to be honest, it’s a bit ridiculous to see all these bands of attention seeking nobodies pretending that they do when they, in fact, do not. I guess that is what happens when a band like DISSECTION becomes so incredibly influential that they, in the popular opinion, unfortunately are seen as synonymous with an entire esoteric tradition.

9. Regarding the time voids between releases I guess there are many reasons for this but what would you say is the biggest time thief?

- Over the years, the main reasons have been geographical constraints and an excessive amount of other undertakings on the side. The band members have all been living in different parts of the country for almost a decade now, and that certainly limits the possibilities of getting together on the physical plane. However, we have never been a rehearsing band – that is not a necessity – but we prefer to record the music together, rather than from a distance. All of us are also very busy with other commitments, such as other musical projects, as well as profane activities like university studies, work, and so on.

10. I must say the covers on all your releases is of very high quality, how has it been to work with these artists?

- It is indeed very satisfying to time and time again be able to work with excellent artists who are able to convey our visions and sometimes even improve on it. For the first two releases, in the 00’s, we worked with E. Danielsson and A., the man behind the record label Sigilla Malae, for the visuals. For the two new releases, the split 7” EP with ISRATHOUM and the “Helig, Helig, Helig” 12” MLP, we have worked with A. Held of Ubertragic Art and Brianvdp respectively. These artworks turned out amazing, and I think that they perfectly capture the essence of our craft and the concepts behind it.

 
11. Are there plans on playing live sometime? Your music would fit greatly echoing out in "reality".

- Any plans are at this point still very far from being realized, but we have actually discussed it and even approached some potential session members that we would need in order to complete the live line-up. If we were to play live though, we would make sure to do it in worthy circumstances. We are not interested in playing live just for the sake of it. We are not in the entertainment business nor just another pastime for middle class kids with some identity crisis.

12. Thanks for your time! 
By the way to order the EP is it Daemon Worship Productions one turns to?

- Thank you. Yes, it is possible to order our releases from the record label (based in the USA), but also, if you’d prefer, directly from us in the band (based in Sweden). If you happen to live in Europe, the latter option might be a bit cheaper.

Link:

https://chaliceofblood.bandcamp.com/