Lachryma Christi: Interview with Arcanum Inferi (ITA)

This time, Lachryma Christi has the pleasure of presenting you an interview with the Italian Black Metal band Arcanum Inferi. Very influenced by everything that is esoteric and magic, Arcanum Inferi just released their first full-length Ars Hermetica. Let's see what their drummer Frozen has to tell us.

What does the name Arcanum Inferi mean?

Granted that it is not simple to describe the meaning of the name in a few words, I can tell you that they are two words that sum up our message: "Arcanum" comes from "ark" (so a mean which transports and hides at the same moment), while "Inferi" comes from "Im" plus "ferre", that means "to take into". For whoever has experience with the Left Hand Path, the link appears evident...

You are very influenced by all that is esoteric and magic. Would you like to explain a bit about that passion? How did it start?

The band was born from those influences...
Each of us follows his own way, we are solitary experimenters, so each of us has his own "specific competences" and his own way to face this world, but surely we do have in common to act in a solitary way, without aggregating to any kind of sect or similar bullshit...that one, for me, would be stoop to compromise: something unacceptable.
It is not simpe to define correctly the moment when you approach to the occult world, I believe that you are already on the road, a road that you choose by instinct, in an absolute irrational way.

Which bands have influenced you the most?

No one, each of us appreciate some bands (or some scene) more than others, but there are four different point of views...so, as Arcanum Inferi, we cannot say to have been influenced by a particular band.

When you compose, what comes first? How does it really work for Arcanum Inferi?

Sometimes we start from music, sometimes from lyrics...Anyway both things are deeply linked. From the compositions point of view, we usually start with a riff or a bass line, and thereafter the track is developed from all of us. Sometimes are the lyrics themselves to inspire music, maybe a melody that you've got in your head while you're writing, or a whisper which seems to arrive from the inside. Even in this case, rationality cannot give all the responses.

How did the idea of the split "In Tenebris Flamma Trinitas" with Valefar (ITA) and Lux Maesta (ITA) came up?

Valefar and Lux Maesta are more than two bands with who we have a split, they are our brothers who follow the same way...we wanted to set some of our opinions in music, and their meaning is contained in the split's title and in its tracks.

How have the reactions of the public been to your first full-length "Ars Hermetica" (2012) been? Are you happy with the results?

Too many people seem to have really appreciated the final result of our work. The comments were concerned both melodies and themes treated (but, as I said before, both things are always linked); reviews were all positive, and after the release of the album we have also received different offers for some live shows...
From our point of view I can say that we are satisfied, obviously with hindsight is always simple to churn out set phrases like "yes, it could have been better" or "this part had to be arranged like this", but these are phrases that get no outcome...
What we are interested in is to get the message across people, and it seems that this is happening now.

How do you see the Black Metal Underground scene in Italy?

Italy is a Country full of great valuable artists. The underground world is full of incredible musicians that, obviously, are placed in valid bands...unfortunately we have a shameful "organizational politics" which prevent music from having the right space to express itself, and moreover there are some fellows, who I prefer to omit the name, that confuse Art with notoriety...someone calls them posers, I prefer calling them dickheads.

What are your plans for playing live in the near future?

As I was saying before, after the release of Ars Hermtica, we have received some offers to play live, offers that we value anytime. For the moment I cannot give you an assured date, but I believe that we are going to make some live shows within this year.
Let's see what happens...

What is in store for Arcanum Inferi after this new album? What can we expect?

We have already lots of new tracks that will take part in another probable split and in next work (maybe and EP), meanwhile we have been contacted by some label which would like to record our works. We're evaluating everything.
For the moment we are working on those new tracks and enjoy our Black Art inside our rehearsal studio.
I think that we will have another release for the beginning of the next year, but I can't tell you exactly when.

Any message you would like to leave to your followers?

Nosce Te Ipsum... and fuck the rest.