Summon: How did the band get started?
Angelus: Well, from the moment I realised it was, and still is, very difficult around here to get a hold of individuals that more or less share my views on music, specifically Black Metal and its Message, I decided I would create something on my own. You must know that here in the town of Lokeren, Belgium, people basically only play in bands to be ‘cool’, to get girls, having fun and have free beers. That’s not exactly why I play music. When I actually started to aim at making a couple of hymns for an EP, it must’ve been the summer of 2007, though I had been writing music many years before.
Summon: What kind of music do you play?
Angelus: The hymns I have created thus far can be described as Black Metal. Yet, I am aiming at creating something of a new ‘sub-genre’ of this type of music, namely ‘Black Military Metal’, which would combine Black Metal and military marches into a new, unseen type of dark music, in order to more closely and intriguingly bring the propaganda of the Greater Dark to the human mortal.
Summon: How has the band response been?
Angelus: Thus far I have only heard positive reactions to the Malpertuus EP. This doesn’t mean it is perfect or anything, far from it, but it is satisfactory to hear and a sign that the Message has, probably unknowingly, poured into the minds of the listener.
Summon: Where did the band name come from?
Angelus: A couple of years ago, I was opting for ‘Angband’, in honour of the Dark Lord Melkor’s fortress in Tolkien’s magnificent book ‘The Silmarillion’. I was really convinced it had to be a name from Tolkien’s legendarium as it had greatly influenced me already back then. However, upon checking Encyclopaedia Metallum I discovered that nearly every name of Tolkien’s tales, including Angband, was already a band name and for the better part for worthless idiot-bands. So I turned to local medieval stories and legends, getting to know about the name Malpertuus in school when studying one of these local medieval tales, named ‘Van den vos Reynaerde’ (‘Of the Fox Reynaert’), a widely known tale in these parts. I had heard of it too but never actually read it until then, winter of 2007. Malpertuus is the greatest of the fortresses of the fox Reynaert. I chose this name because it is the chief fortress of the dark antagonist of the story but also, and more importantly, because the story of Reynaert has a double face. While at first it looks like a fairy tale, with talking animals and such, as the tale progresses it reveals its true face. The author meant it as a mockery of the mindless human masses and as a story of pure anti-humanity and misanthropy, depicting the animals, except for Reynaert, as a representation of humanity itself and the actual humans in the stories as mindless barbarians. Reynaert the fox, who is about to be sentenced to death for all the evil he has inflicted on the animals, masterfully uses cunning lies and deceit to escape not only his punishment but also murder the better part of his accusers before departing freely and setting off to Rome. After Reynaert has departed, the animals finally realise they’ve been deceived with open eyes by him.
Summon: Where do the lyric ideas come from?
Angelus: As I have said earlier, Malpertuus is meant to bring the Message of the Greater Dark to the human mortals. In order to do this, lyrics (and music) that breathe Darkness are essential. I write lyrics alone in the dark of night and, through meditation and complete inner peace and silence let my mind absorb and paint visions of pure Darkness before my eyes, after which I translate these visions in words. That’s how I write the lyrics. What they are about is something else and this differs from hymn to hymn but the essence is always the same, an invocation of the Power that is Darkness. There are tens of thousands of ways to do this in a lyric. I could explain the meaning of every lyric in detail but I will not because I also want the listener to find his own interpretation. No matter how you may interpret the lyrics, it will always result in a vision invoking the Darkness being painted in your mind if it is strong enough.
Summon: What is your view on Satanism and Occultism?
Angelus: Satanism and Occultism can in no way be seen as the same. I don’t really support Satanism for it is in essence but a creation of the human mind and there are many variations of it. Still, I have done a lot of reading on it and I do support the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’ for it is indeed only the strong that shall endure in the end while those too weak to grow and adapt will perish. This can not only be said of physical life, but also of death. But in general, Satanism is not for me. Occultism, to me, indicates the attempts of the human to come closer and adhere to the Power of Darkness, if somewhat poorly mostly, and therefore I do support it. I do not, however, support such humans that dare call themselves ‘the great Beast’ or similar names such as one Aleister Crowley and countless others that shall not be named. These are just human filth unable to realise what Power they are offending and provoking, thinking they are the torch that will lead the human into the Darkness while really they are just worthless matchsticks burning in the face of the Greater Dark. Religiously speaking, I adhere to no religion for they are but products of the human mind and in the long run have done more harm than good to the human. I serve only the one Power that was there before time and that will remain forever after, that power, feared and even hated by the mindless human masses in their adoration of the Light, rooted in every facet of both the physical and spiritual existences, that Power that is Darkness.
Summon: How many albums have you released?
Angelus: I have, throughout the last 5 years, written a lot of songs but most were done away with, got lost by accident, or never got further than the rehearsal room. Therefore, Malpertuus has as of yet released only one EP, ‘In Hora Mortis Vestrae’. I could’ve created at least 3 EP’s by now but I naturally value quality above quantity. The EP can be heard on MySpace and is available in cassette form, in honour of the good old times of Black Metal… and also, to a lesser extent, because pressing albums is fucking expensive here, and not only here I’m sure. Write to malpertuus_1466@hotmail.com for info.
Summon: Tell me about some of the songs on the latest album?
Angelus: I shall, in general terms’ explain a bit more about the hymns on the ‘In Hora Mortis Vestrae’ EP because as I said before, there has to be room for own interpretations, which in the end will always come back to the essence of the hymn, an invocation of the Greater Dark.‘AD 1466’, the prelude, is inspired on a piece of music by a person named Christophe Beck called ‘What’s that do?’. It can be heard in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode ‘Innocence’. I chose and rearranged it mainly because BtVS is the only series that have really influenced me and that I can watch over and over again without getting bored for even less than a second. To me, it is more than a hundred times better and valuable than most of the series out there combined. I also chose this piece of music because of the context it appears in and its utterly dark and military-like nature. ‘With Nightfall Cometh Eternal Sleep’ is about the idea of being at peace with one’s self and sleeping peacefully for all eternity. I remember being too tired for words when creating the lyric to it and the visions painted in my mind were according to it and created in me the desire to rest and sleep “in darkness and eternity”. ‘In Hora Mortis Vestrae’, Latin for ‘in the hour of your death’, is a hymn written from the point of view of a being that is beyond physical death. This being mocks the humans, realizing that no matter what they will do, they will die and rot away and eventually the memory of both them and their possible deeds and accomplishments will fade away. ‘Our Souls Proclaim The Greatness Of The Lord’ is a hymn meant as an invocation of the greatest spirits of Darkness, also containing the joyful thought of a strong spirit being freed from its physical prison in the moment of its prison’s death, something few can actually call a joyful thought. ‘Universeel Lied der Duisteren’, Flemish for something like ‘universal anthem of the dark ones’ is a cover of the German military march ‘Die Wacht am Rhein’, a hymn I was completely blown away by the first time I heard it. Its lyric is very loosely based on the original German lyric and praises above all the Greater Dark. A translation in English adapted to the song, not a literal translation that is, can be found on Malpertuus’ MySpace page.
Summon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Angelus: When writing, I can be influenced by lots of different types of music, and not only music for that matter. However, I find I am influenced the most by classical music and of course Black Metal. Concerning classical music, the names of Van Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and especially Vivaldi pop up in my mind now, among others. When naming the Black Metal bands that have had the most influence on my writing of music, Bathory would have to be named as the greatest influence, followed by Mayhem pre-1993, early Gorgoroth, Marduk, Immortal, Judas Iscariot and Dark Funeral. Of course I listen and have listened to many other bands but these I would cite as musical influences. Yet, above all there is the influence of the Greater Dark that is there when I write or compose and it is through the Dark influence I am able to create music and invocations.
Summon: Which current bands have influenced you?
Angelus: Mayhem, Marduk and Dark Funeral are still active and doing well I think. I was positively surprised by Satyricon’s ‘The Age of Nero’ since I felt they had really moved to some kind of dark Rock-n-Roll with ‘Now, Diabolical’. I am looking very much forward to Infernus’ Gorgoroth new album, as I have great respect for Infernus’ works and fully support him in his legal battle with the traitors Gaahl and King. Good thing Pest is back, Gaahl can’t even reach to his heels and the two albums King wrote for Gorgoroth are nowhere near as good as the five written by Infernus. This on a side note, he he. The other bands and persons I have cited in the previous questions are either dead, eternal peace upon them, or disbanded.
Summon: Being a one-man-band, would you ever think of getting a full line-up?
Angelus: If I can ever get a hold of some individuals I deem worthy and who are not into Black Metal for beers, fun and girls then my answer would be ‘yes’.
Summon: Do you play live?
Angelus: Malpertuus hasn’t played any gigs yet but I rehearse with someone on a regular basis, however I have never asked him to join Malpertuus because he has a very busy, and normal, life outside of music.
Summon: If you had a full line-up, would you play live?
Angelus: Of course, bringing the Message personally is always a good thing. By playing live, a greater crowd is reached and thus the Message of the Greater Dark further spread.
Summon: Do you prefer playing with a band or by yourself?
Angelus: I favour writing and composing alone in silence and meditation rather than playing alone. As for rehearsing and playing, it would be great to get a hold of a few worthy individuals to perform with.
Summon: What is your opinion on the conflict between Black Metal and Death Metal?
Angelus: Nowadays, I think there is no real ‘conflict’ between both music types anymore as more and more bands play something of a combination of 3 styles or so. As I understand it, the BM/DM conflict happened intensely during the early 90’s but eventually faded. Still, if there is such thing as a ‘conflict’ between both music types nowadays, I wouldn’t waste time and energy participating in it. After all, what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’, or ‘right’ or ‘wrong’? In this case, it would be completely relative.
Summon: What do you think of the USBM-scene?
Angelus: I don’t really follow any scene but I have of course a lot of respect for USBM, spawning forth such great bands like Judas Iscariot, to name the one I listen to the most. However, I think it’s safe to say that Black Metal is a product of Europe, more specifically Northern and North-western Europe. USBM has earned my respect for taking the right elements of European BM and subsequently creating their own unique feel while not desecrating the essence of BM, the invocation of Darkness. Concerning other parts of the world, I would take great pleasure in killing each and every member of all those pathetic Mexican bands singing about European mythology while knowing nothing of it and not in the least having any connection with it. They could sing of the Aztec culture or another one of the many pre-Columbian cultures in that region but instead they mindlessly start singing about ‘Oden and his eight-legged steed’ just because “the godly band Bathory did so too!”, that is beyond pathetic. Also, I am disgusted by such people in for example Iraq or Iran that think that because 30 bomb attacks happen there every other day or because BM is forbidden there that they “know what real darkness is” and are therefore the only individuals suited to playing BM. The BM that comes closest to invoking the Greater Dark is generally coming out of Europe and Northern-America. Period.
Summon: What do you think of the Norwegian and Swedish scenes?
Angelus: A magnificent hail to them because these scenes were the ones that created Black Metal and continue to stand strong to today.
Summon: What are some of your new favourite bands?
Angelus: I don’t really listen to ‘new’ bands. Most of them are but a worthless copy of the works created years ago. This doesn’t mean all new bands are complete rubbish of course. I just don’t listen a lot to new bands like I said but I have heard music that I like, the Belgian band Herfst (Flemish for autumn) for example. Mostly, I stumble across new bands; I don’t intentionally set out in search of them. And this ‘stumbling’ doesn’t happen very often for that matter.
Summon: Any plans on writing new material?
Angelus: Yes, in the following weeks and months I am going to take my time to write and compose new lyrics and hymns to the Greater Dark. The next EP will have better sound-quality for sure, by which I mean that it will sound darker. Concerning the hymns, it will most likely contain one or two ‘Black Military Metal’ hymns, a rearrangement of a military march and two or three pure-blood Black Metal hymns in praise of the Greater Dark. Still, nothing is certain yet.
Summon: What does the future hold for the band?
Angelus: Who among the humans can tell of the future? It would be stupid to declare a new Malpertuus EP will be out in a few months or to state I will have a full line-up together in a few weeks. No one knows what the future holds. All I can say is I won’t disband Malpertuus unless I somehow die in the near future.
Contact them at:
https://myspace.com/malpertuus
malpertuus_1466@hotmail.com
