All Interviews
Lord Belial
Lord Belial
Posted on Dec 17, 2005
by Anders
The Swedish black metallers are now ready with their new album "Nocturnal Beast", their 6th full length, and a pretty good slap of black metal. To hear what there had been going on in the band lately and to get behind the band and hear what was driving them, I hooked up with vocalist and guitarist Thomas Backelin, who I caught on a day where he was plauged by the flu, so he had all the time to answer thoroughly on my questions, and he sure did.
Hails, how are things in Sweden as we speak?
Hi, it's kinda crappy actually, I got such a bad flu going on but there's nothing to do about it so… other than that it's just great now that the new CD is out!
Will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us how you got into the path of black metal?
It all began in the middle of the '80s when I got introduced to metal by my older brother (Micke). I got intrigued immediately by bands such as Venom, Bathory, W.A.S.P., Celtic Frost and Slayer. In 1987 Micke and I started to play together, but back then Micke played the guitars and I played the bass, so not everything is as it was in the beginning.
A small introduction of the rest of the horde will be appreciated as well, together with a bit about why they are the right ones for Lord Belial!
All members of Lord Belial has to have the same mentality (if it's for the good or the bad, I don't know, hehe) so it has been a very clear decision when we have been replacing members a couple of times. Anders was brutally forced to join me and Micke in '90 but it wasn’t until '92, when Pepa joined in, that Lord Belial was born. Hjalmar Nielsen joined forces with us in 2003 as we were completing the recording of "The Seal Of Belial" which Micke sadly was absent from, but Micke rejoined in 2004. Now we're having a steady line-up.
You are now ready with your new album "Nocturnal Beast", how has it so far been received?
We've received lots of tremendous crititicism about it and lots of positive comments from fans all over the world, so we're feeling very satisfied with it.
How do you feel about the album?
I'm feeling extraordinary proud of it actually, because it has lots of controversial elements which almost isn't "allowed" in black metal nowadays, such as really soft parts with lots of clean guitars and melodies, melodic solos, extremely slow and mid-tempo parts. We did all this on purpose just to get rid of this shallow ultra true black metal thing that's still going on. Lord Belial is more than just a band, it's something very personal and because of that we feel that we can do what-ever-the-fuck we want without anyone has got anything to do with it, either you like it or you can just piss off!
What do you expect from it?
We never expect anything from our albums; we mainly do it because of our own desire to be fulfilled. Sure, if lots of people like it it's even better but it isn't like we're trying to get a massive career out of the band.
What did you want to accomplish with the album when you started out to write the material?
We wanted to accomplish a very dark and gloomy album filled with anxiety and strong emotions and atmosphere.
Do you feel you have accomplished that?
Absolutely
It seems like you started to tread on a darker and more misanthropic path with the last album "The Seal Of Belial", which wasn't as fast and melodic compared to your earlier albums, how did Lord Belial develop into that?
We got fed up about the band's development after the completion of "Angelgrinder" so we decided to change everything and to really think about what we really wanted to do with Lord Belial and the answer to this was really easy and natural- we should go back to something more akin to our roots. We we're way off track with both "Unholy Crusade" and "Angelgrinder" I think, mainly "Angelgrinder", which almost is pure death metal and now when looking back, it doesn't feel like it belongs in the world of Lord Belial.
Have the influences of the band changed through out the years?
We as persons has been through some drastic changes every now and then and of course both people and opinions can change but it hasn't inflicted that much with the concept and dedication of and with Lord Belial.
Have you started to see the world in a different perspective, which has had an influence on the song writing?
On that point nothing has changed, the world is still as ugly as before.
Who writes the music in the band?
Earlier it was almost just me writing the material, but now we're in the process writing a follow-up to "Nocturnal Beast" and this time everyone is contributing with their ideas, and all of us is arranging and changing stuff to make the material as good as possible. This is something really good for the whole of the band I guess, to make all feeling more involved.
Where is the inspiration for the music found?
Everywhere, mostly it just pops out when I play the guitar or when I'm listening to music or driving the car…
Do you have to be in a special mood to come up with new music or in a special place or the likes?
Not really, "Nocturnal Beast" was actually only written in the nocturnal hours. Me and Micke went to the rehearsal room for several weeks and made all the basic ideas and then I sat at home completing it all with chords and lines and then added lyrics to it all.
Can you mention 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you and to the sound of Lord Belial?
Bathory 'Enter The Eternal Fire', Slayer 'Angel Of Death', Celtic Frost 'Circle Of The Tyrants'. Those songs have been with me through rough times as well as in good times. Those songs are eternal.
Let's turn towards the lyrics, who writes them nowadays?
I write all the lyrics.
Where is the inspiration for the lyrical side of the band found?
In my mind, affected by horror movies and the sick life itself…
Do you have a message you want to spread with the lyrics?
Not at all, my lyrics are nothing but my imagination. It's up to the viewer/listener to interpret them by themselves.
How important are the lyrics for the universe of Lord Belial?
It has to be dark lyrics to fit with Lord Belial, other than that I really don't care anymore. Everyone is so damn obsessed whether he or she or that or this is satanic or blasphemic or whatever… I'm so damn fed up with it. I got my own opinions and that is what matter in the end.
What are the ideas and thoughts behind the album title "Nocturnal Beast"?
It was made totally under the influence of the night and thought of as a tribute to Belial as the essence of independence.
The same can be asked about the great cover artwork, who made it and who came up with the idea of it?
It was Kris Verwimp who painted it, I just told him about what we had in mind and he made some sketches from it and then we altered the ideas back and forth, until all of us were pleased with the result.
Is the artwork an important part of the Lord Belial image, you have always had good artwork (looking away from the debut) throughout the years?
Sure it's important, and yes the debut cover sucks hehehe. We will probably hire Kris Verwimp for the next cover as well, because it was such a smooth experience to work with him.
How do you look upon black metal and the black metal scene today?
It sucks, just a few good bands… the rest is just some pathetic losers with corpse paint thinking they're so damned true and evil…
Do you feel black metal has lost some of its magic, when you look back and think of how it was when Lord Belial was formed back in 1992?
Absolutely, in the beginning it was more of collaboration between all bands but nowadays there's such hostility and everyone is trying to be elite and superior towards other bands which such.
Which state of the black scene do you like best, the one today or the one back when you started getting into it?
The old one.
How do you look upon Lord Belial's impact at the scene through out the years?
I think we have added some spice to the scene with the music and live performances and wild partying!
How do you look upon the future of the band, you've been through some turmoil with line-up changes etc… are you ready to conquer the world now?
I think we have a really steady line-up now. We would never want to conquer this ugly world!
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers of Nocturnal Horde?
Bathory – Under The Sign Of The Black Mark
Venom – Black Metal
Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion
Slayer – Reign In Blood
Judas Priest - Painkiller
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
Thank YOU for your time compiling these questions and a big Thanx to all your readers and fans out there, Hails!
Hi, it's kinda crappy actually, I got such a bad flu going on but there's nothing to do about it so… other than that it's just great now that the new CD is out!
Will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us how you got into the path of black metal?
It all began in the middle of the '80s when I got introduced to metal by my older brother (Micke). I got intrigued immediately by bands such as Venom, Bathory, W.A.S.P., Celtic Frost and Slayer. In 1987 Micke and I started to play together, but back then Micke played the guitars and I played the bass, so not everything is as it was in the beginning.
A small introduction of the rest of the horde will be appreciated as well, together with a bit about why they are the right ones for Lord Belial!
All members of Lord Belial has to have the same mentality (if it's for the good or the bad, I don't know, hehe) so it has been a very clear decision when we have been replacing members a couple of times. Anders was brutally forced to join me and Micke in '90 but it wasn’t until '92, when Pepa joined in, that Lord Belial was born. Hjalmar Nielsen joined forces with us in 2003 as we were completing the recording of "The Seal Of Belial" which Micke sadly was absent from, but Micke rejoined in 2004. Now we're having a steady line-up.
You are now ready with your new album "Nocturnal Beast", how has it so far been received?
We've received lots of tremendous crititicism about it and lots of positive comments from fans all over the world, so we're feeling very satisfied with it.
How do you feel about the album?
I'm feeling extraordinary proud of it actually, because it has lots of controversial elements which almost isn't "allowed" in black metal nowadays, such as really soft parts with lots of clean guitars and melodies, melodic solos, extremely slow and mid-tempo parts. We did all this on purpose just to get rid of this shallow ultra true black metal thing that's still going on. Lord Belial is more than just a band, it's something very personal and because of that we feel that we can do what-ever-the-fuck we want without anyone has got anything to do with it, either you like it or you can just piss off!
What do you expect from it?
We never expect anything from our albums; we mainly do it because of our own desire to be fulfilled. Sure, if lots of people like it it's even better but it isn't like we're trying to get a massive career out of the band.
What did you want to accomplish with the album when you started out to write the material?
We wanted to accomplish a very dark and gloomy album filled with anxiety and strong emotions and atmosphere.
Do you feel you have accomplished that?
Absolutely
It seems like you started to tread on a darker and more misanthropic path with the last album "The Seal Of Belial", which wasn't as fast and melodic compared to your earlier albums, how did Lord Belial develop into that?
We got fed up about the band's development after the completion of "Angelgrinder" so we decided to change everything and to really think about what we really wanted to do with Lord Belial and the answer to this was really easy and natural- we should go back to something more akin to our roots. We we're way off track with both "Unholy Crusade" and "Angelgrinder" I think, mainly "Angelgrinder", which almost is pure death metal and now when looking back, it doesn't feel like it belongs in the world of Lord Belial.
Have the influences of the band changed through out the years?
We as persons has been through some drastic changes every now and then and of course both people and opinions can change but it hasn't inflicted that much with the concept and dedication of and with Lord Belial.
Have you started to see the world in a different perspective, which has had an influence on the song writing?
On that point nothing has changed, the world is still as ugly as before.
Who writes the music in the band?
Earlier it was almost just me writing the material, but now we're in the process writing a follow-up to "Nocturnal Beast" and this time everyone is contributing with their ideas, and all of us is arranging and changing stuff to make the material as good as possible. This is something really good for the whole of the band I guess, to make all feeling more involved.
Where is the inspiration for the music found?
Everywhere, mostly it just pops out when I play the guitar or when I'm listening to music or driving the car…
Do you have to be in a special mood to come up with new music or in a special place or the likes?
Not really, "Nocturnal Beast" was actually only written in the nocturnal hours. Me and Micke went to the rehearsal room for several weeks and made all the basic ideas and then I sat at home completing it all with chords and lines and then added lyrics to it all.
Can you mention 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you and to the sound of Lord Belial?
Bathory 'Enter The Eternal Fire', Slayer 'Angel Of Death', Celtic Frost 'Circle Of The Tyrants'. Those songs have been with me through rough times as well as in good times. Those songs are eternal.
Let's turn towards the lyrics, who writes them nowadays?
I write all the lyrics.
Where is the inspiration for the lyrical side of the band found?
In my mind, affected by horror movies and the sick life itself…
Do you have a message you want to spread with the lyrics?
Not at all, my lyrics are nothing but my imagination. It's up to the viewer/listener to interpret them by themselves.
How important are the lyrics for the universe of Lord Belial?
It has to be dark lyrics to fit with Lord Belial, other than that I really don't care anymore. Everyone is so damn obsessed whether he or she or that or this is satanic or blasphemic or whatever… I'm so damn fed up with it. I got my own opinions and that is what matter in the end.
What are the ideas and thoughts behind the album title "Nocturnal Beast"?
It was made totally under the influence of the night and thought of as a tribute to Belial as the essence of independence.
The same can be asked about the great cover artwork, who made it and who came up with the idea of it?
It was Kris Verwimp who painted it, I just told him about what we had in mind and he made some sketches from it and then we altered the ideas back and forth, until all of us were pleased with the result.
Is the artwork an important part of the Lord Belial image, you have always had good artwork (looking away from the debut) throughout the years?
Sure it's important, and yes the debut cover sucks hehehe. We will probably hire Kris Verwimp for the next cover as well, because it was such a smooth experience to work with him.
How do you look upon black metal and the black metal scene today?
It sucks, just a few good bands… the rest is just some pathetic losers with corpse paint thinking they're so damned true and evil…
Do you feel black metal has lost some of its magic, when you look back and think of how it was when Lord Belial was formed back in 1992?
Absolutely, in the beginning it was more of collaboration between all bands but nowadays there's such hostility and everyone is trying to be elite and superior towards other bands which such.
Which state of the black scene do you like best, the one today or the one back when you started getting into it?
The old one.
How do you look upon Lord Belial's impact at the scene through out the years?
I think we have added some spice to the scene with the music and live performances and wild partying!
How do you look upon the future of the band, you've been through some turmoil with line-up changes etc… are you ready to conquer the world now?
I think we have a really steady line-up now. We would never want to conquer this ugly world!
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers of Nocturnal Horde?
Bathory – Under The Sign Of The Black Mark
Venom – Black Metal
Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion
Slayer – Reign In Blood
Judas Priest - Painkiller
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
Thank YOU for your time compiling these questions and a big Thanx to all your readers and fans out there, Hails!
Lord Belial website
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