Mysticum : le come back

Il y a quelques années, j'ai réalisé une interview à Mysticum à l'occasion de la sortie de leur album Planet Satan. Elle aurait dû être publiée sur mon ancien webzine mais, hasard ou coïncidence, elle n'est jamais parue. Cette interview est est toujours inédite à ce jour et je trouve cela bien dommage. Car même si l'album a plutôt fait l'unanimité contre lui, ces réponses d'un artiste resté (un peu trop) dans son jus valent leur pesant de soufre.

Hey man. Thanks for the interest in Mysticum. Here are our answers.
Herr General Cerastes

Hello Guys! How do you feel?
We feel excellent, with pride we fill the gap we left in the scene after our disappearing–act in the late 90`s. And extremely content and satisfied with our killer release of Planet Satan!

First can you tell me how is born the band? How do you meet each other’s?
We where first “Sabazios” and changed our name to Mysticum, when we signed on to Euronymous`s label Deathlike Silence Productions in 1993. Mysticum represents our music fully.

Why do you call the band Mysticum ? Is there a meaning behind that name?
In the back of our minds we always have known that at some point in time we would gather and produce the “Planet Satan”. In the year 2011 we met at our manager Mathias Løken`s place and decided that it was time. Regardless of the state of the BM-scene.

What push you to come back after so many times?
It was and is inspirating to collaborate together making our art of IBM.

How was it to see each other after so many years?
We left the scene in the late 90`s, frustrated and tired of the direction the scene was heading. The Norwegian black metal experienced a media rush in the mid 90`s and soon after this a huge amount of bands popped out from everywhere. Suddenly “everyone” played in a BM-band or listened to it. This loss of integrity and quality within the scene, was our main reason for stepping out. Also an eccentric die-hard-partying lifestyle with increasing addiction to different substances made it hard, if not impossible to be productive. We briefly got together to make “Black magic mushrooms” on the split with Audiopain. Released in 2003.

Why do you wait so long to record a new album? What was the matter?
Living our lives as others. Do not want to elaborate on this question. Thank you.

What did you do in all these years?
Since the release of the split with Audiopain. With “Black magic mushrooms”, we have not been active composing Mysticum together. Apart from Svartravn which has done some session work for Amok and Aborym, there has been no productions. Dr. Best and myself have been exploring the digital world of music with some obscure projects from time to time, but no real releases has seen the light of day.

Did you stay in the world of the music?
Well, PS is a mix of old and brand new riffs, compositions and lyrical ideas. With some tracks consisting purely of old riffs. Such as “Fist of Satan” and “All must end”. Fist.., originally named “The Satan” has all its riffing from 97-98. The lyrical idea of it is also from 98, but rewritten and enhanced the last couple of years. “All must..” is from the early 2000. We found its riffs recorded on an old hard-drive while going through old files. All the electronics of it, are brand new though. So are the lyrics. “LSD” has also old material in it. Mainly lyrical ideas and a couple of riffs. Apart from these tracks the content of PS is based on work from 2011-2014.

Did you write lots of tracks for this new album in all these Years?
An intense urge to compose Mysticum, with an explosion of musical ideas.

What was your feeling when you work together to write songs?
It was something closed and privat, with an extremely high level of quality of the art produced at that time.

Can you tell me how the Black Metal scène in Norway was in the Nineties?
The scene appears to be boring and a bit stagnated. There are for sure some true hidden gems keeping the flame pure, and with the old titans Dark Throne, Mayhem, Enslaved… etc the scene holds some integrity within.

What are the main differences compare to now? And how do you fell on the scene of now?
Sverre Daehlie has been excellent as producer for our latest release. Outstanding work mixing-wise and a great consultant throughout the recordings. Very easy to work with. With his top competence of metal in general with trash/black as his speciality, he has enhanced the quality of this production. We will for sure use his skills in our future releases.

How was the work in studio with Sverre Daehli ? What did he bring to the band?
We most certainly met obstacles along the way. Preforming Mysticum is exhaustive physically and mentally. Problems where solved and the end product became close to perfection.

Do you work on the mastering with Tom Kvälsvoll ?
Yes.

What was important for you in the sound of this album?
To be 100% true to our concepts and legacy. With no artificial add-ond for making up lost time or changes in the outside world.

What push you to sign with Peaceville Records?
Of the offers we had, Peaceville was an easy pick to do for us. As they represent what they do and has been a label for the underground music for decades. A label with excellent creds.

What is for you the Planet Satan?
Here follows our visions for Planet Satan musically and artistically;
- The grandest, hardest and biggest sphere in the multiverse.
- Its outer layer consists of the ultra heavy metal Satanium with 666 protons in its nucleus.
- Its inner core is pure Mysticum, the heaviest metal of all. With 888 protons in its nucleus.
- A sphere which oozes of flawlessness, superiority and victory.
- A sphere Lucifer proudly would send his elite.
- Lucifer himself branding our logo onto it with the hellfire from his heart.
- If god his son and the heavens would have seen Planet Satan, they would piss themselves and immideatly surrender.

Is it a concept album?
Yes.

What are the ideas you developed in your text?
Our lyrics is anti-christian with cosmological overtones. Satan to us is the pure fire within ourselves and all rebelling against any lord or suppressor. Refusing to acknowledge a higher being to whom we should obey or follow. The whole idea of having a master in life or death is unsound. Only for the weak sheeps of ignorant optimism. Satan is the force of our will, battling with the whole concept of god and the followers of it. The only certainty is death, and from there on only the dead know. If there were to be a Hell/heaven dimension in the afterlife, you can be sure to find us in the frontline tearing down the slaving institution of god.

What push you to deliver some text Anti-Christian and Anti-Religious?
The pure flaming hate for religion and ignorance it beholds.

Do you think it’s a form of culture? And how do you live this culture?
We are the cult of Mysticum.

What are the values you want to defend with the band?
The essence of free will, originality, our legacy.