Fall Ov Serafim Interview

Sweden's latest hate mongers of Black Metal Fall Ov Serafim spew forth their brand of evil ahead of their much anticipated debut album "Nex Iehovae".

How are things with you and the rest of the band?
Were doing just fine thank you.
For those out there who have yet to hear Fall Ov Serafim, how do you best describe your music?
The music is Black Metal. There is keyboards in it, there is thrash metal elements in it, and there is death metal in it... I think that will do as a description!?
Where does the bands name originate?
The band name has to do with the Bible. In the Old Testament there is angelic beings called Serafim that is guarding the throne of God. The name Fall Ov Serafim was therefore taken to represent the fall of god and Christianity...
June 1St saw the release of your debut album, ‘Nex Iehovae’, how pleased with the album are you? What has been the early reaction to the record?
We are very pleased. The reviews have been great so far and it's a great album that has been well received.
The bands formation came as a result of the break-up of Misteltein. What was the story behind the split?
All about that can be read at our website... It all was about Hel and Nagrinn who decided to quit the band. After they left they had registered/trademarked the name Misteltein for themselves which off course was a fucked up thing to do...
Are the band looking to distance yourselves from the work of Misteltein, or do you think the association will be an advantage to the band?
Well... The music is sort of a natural result of all the new members coming in and so on. Nirag has been the main song writer on this album and since he has been involved in the songwriting on both of the Misteltein albums there might be some traces of Misteltein left in our music.
‘Nex Iehovae’ was recorded at Mystical Arts studio and then produced at Berno studio, how did the band enjoy their time in the studio? Is it an environment you enjoy?
We had some technical issues in the recording of the album and that resulted in a quite pressured feeling from time to time but I think this made us more determined and focused in the recording process. The studio, mystical arts, was our guitar players (Ahldrathan) studio and except for the few problems we had, our time in the studio was just fine. About Berno I can only say that he knows very well what he's doing and he gave the album a great sound.
What plans do the band have to tour?
No tour plans for the moment.
Given the speed at which the band came together, how did the dynamics work when it came time to writing the new material? Is the process a collective or individual one?
It's a little bit of both... We write our stuff at home mostly and then we put it together at the rehearsals. After the basic songstructure is done, Nirag composes the keyborad arrangements. In the writing of Nex Iehovae the band dynamics worked just fine.
‘Nex Iehovae’ has just been released through Regain Records. How did you come to sign with Regain?
We simply went over there with two songs we had recorded and they liked it.
As the majority of the band members are involved in various other projects. Is Fall Ov Serafim a full time or part time project?
For the most of us it's the main priority.
Many of today’s Black Metal bands appear more preoccupied with image than the music they produce. Are there any contemporary bands you listen to?
I listen mostly to to bands like Bathory, Gorgoroth, Funeral Mist, Marduk and Darkthrone... Anyhow there are a lot of newer great acts out there as well that I listen to like Watain.
Some of the genres great and most influencial bands are making come backs, Emporer and Celtic Frost. Do you think this demonstrates a lack of new talent? What is your view on the genre?
I think the Black Metal scene has lost the focus it had in the early 90's. Many band has gone to do other things than Black Metal, for example the Kovenant and so on. Then there's all these bands who split up and then does comebacks and... I don't know what to say about that... Some comebacks are greater than others. This sort of disorder in the scene creates and has created a lot of new and fresh Black Metal acts but also the ones trying to go back to the roots. The variety created is in my opinion great and gives the genre a breath of fresh air... Out of chaos comes a new order!
Any last words to your fans out there?
Thanks alot for the interview. For the ones who wish to keep up with our activities you can keep updated on our website at: www.fallovserafim.se

All photographs and images used with kind permission of Fall Ov Serafim.