The Whipping Post presents...

Slechtvalk Interview - Added 11/14/01

The Whipping Post - So is the lineup of Slechtvalk still just you, or have you found other members? Even if you don't find others, will you go forward with new material when the time comes? 

Shamgar - I am relieved to say that I have found some musicians (guitarist, bass guitarist and drummer) for Slechtvalk. We have been rehearsing for the past 4 weeks and it's going fairly well. We still need to find a keyboard player and hopefully we'll find someone soon, because it's pretty important we do. 

WP - really enjoyed your "Falconry" album. What kind of responses have you heard so far? Also, what kind of responses did you receive being on the ABLAZE sampler? 

S - Most responses I got were pretty good, although most had their complaints about the inhuman fast drum computer, but without it I could never record 'Falconry' so hopefully most people can hear beyond the drum computer. I haven't gotten any totally negative reviews as far as I remember, so that's good. Because of problems at the bank with transferring the money we weren't able to get on last ABLAZE sampler, but if all goes well we should get on the next edition. I have to ask my label what the status is on that one, because I normally don't interfere with their promotional strategies and it has been a few weeks since I was informed of the last progress, but one of them is getting married this week so they are all pretty busy with that. 

WP - Are you working on any new material at the present time? When can we expect to feast our ears on new music? 

S - We are working on new songs for a 2nd album. I think we have finished around 60% of the songs, but we still have to write or finish the other 40%. I have to get used to the band thing a bit, because it's very different writing with others instead of writing alone. Hopefully we can enter the studio around January/February and the aprox. release date would be around April I guess, but we still need to finish 3 or 4 more songs (we have been working on 2 new ones, but I must reorganize it a bit and try to make up some keys before we can tell if they are any good or not) and hopefully we have finished those before December, but when inspiration fails us, it might take longer so we might have to postpone the recordings, thus postponing the release date. 

WP - What can we expect on your next new release? Will you continue along the same lines as "Falconry" or do you plan on experimenting a bit? 

S - 'Falconry' was a soup of totally different blackmetal styles, but remarkably have something that connects them. The next album will also cover a variety of blackmetal and dark metal styles, but in a different way than 'Falconry'. On the overall, 'Falconry' is fairly key-based and a bit friendly, compared to the average blackmetal atmosphere. The next album will be more guitar based, although keys are still used, but in a more fitting way (gliding along with the guitars like a cool winter breeze, with only a few melodic things). Also the next album will be much rawer, because its more guitar based, and more agressive or sorrowfull, depending on the song you listen to, than 'Falconry' was. I don't think we experiment alot, because most things we do and plan to do (an occasional choir, clean vox, fast screams that overflow each other like waves on the cliffs) have already been in use by several other black metal bands. Also the lyrics on the next album tell a medieval story, but you'll have to see that out for yourself when the cd is ready. All I can say is that practically all lyrics will be in the first person, from the perspective of many different persons (ranging from a righteous highly honoured warrior from the ranks of the King's finest, to loathsome back-stabbing children of the dragon). 

WP - Any comments you'd like to make to Slechtvalk fans out there? 

S - The time we live in prepares us for the coming empire of darkness and new ways of controling people are being introduced for the sake of our own protection, but those things can also be used against us in the coming empire of darkness. I want you to be alert to this and remember not to accept the mark of the beast but stay strong in your faith.