Carach Angren, who doesn't know them? Well, they make a very special kind of Black Metal, as they add a lot of horror to everything they do: the music, the lyrics, the shows, their style.
They are starting an European tour with Thy Antichrist, Wolfheart and Nevalra on the 9th of June. Lachryma Christi will be attending one of the shows (you may expect a review after), and interviewed Ardek about this and other stuff, and it is all quite interesting. Read below!
Hello!
So Carach Angren are a different kind of Black Metal. With all the horror and ghost stuff, how would you name the style of music you play?
We call it “Horror Metal” nowadays because our music has a lot of different elements, not just black metal - although that has been the main influence from the beginning. Another important part of the music is the storytelling aspect. From the very first release we have been about telling ghost and orror stories throughout our music. We always want our music and shows to feel like watching a wisted horror movie.
All your albums seem to be conceptual albums. Is it for any reason in special, or it just happened to be that way?
I remember when we first started that I had this intuitive feeling to make an EP about one story. It felt like an interesting idea, also musically to compose everything like it was a soundtrack. At that time it was just a hunch and it felt and worked really well but we had no idea that this would become our trademark so to speak. We just did what really worked for us. It’s important that you make your work in a way that you enjoy it yourself I think. I always say if we can’t headbang to it and if it doesn’t capture our imagination, we can’t expect our fans to absorb and go crazy on it.
After some research, it is possible to see that Carach Angren means something like Iron Jaws, in the Elvish language Sinderin, and refers to a fortified pass to Mordor, accordingly to J.R.R.Tolkien (in Lord of The Rings). Is that why you chose this name?
Yes that’s the origin of the name. Well to be honest it went a bit different haha.
When we formed the band we were looking for a name and Seregor literary had written “Carach Angren” down on a piece of paper many years ago before he formed his first band. So one day he icked it up from one of his drawers and presented it to us. We immediately felt it sounded great and mysterious, so this was also an intuitive decision. We never intended to refer to the realms of LOTR, ut it’s a cool coincidence that it actually means “Iron Jaws” and is a Ghost portal in that world.
Are you in general big fans of horror and fantastic and ghost stories?
Yes definitely. Especially Seregor is a real movie fan, he digs through a lot of movies all the time, looking for things that inspire. I read a lot of books and basically we have always been drawn to the darker side of things since we were children. We liked monster movies, horror, and so on. I think it either pulls you in or not. There is room for a lot of creativity, invention in the horror and thriller genres I think.
Where do you get the ideas for the concepts of the albums?
It can be anything from something we see in a movie or read in a book or just brainstorming on certain themes. Lammendam for example was a local urban legend that was barely known by anyone so it felt exciting to turn that into our first album. The second album was a very known story but for some reason that also pulled us in. Personally speaking it just has to be something that feels right and I never know upfront what we’re going to do next. It just happens and we follow that.
Dance and Laugh Among the Rotten is a very special album. The amount of goosebumps one can get while listening to Charlie is extraordinary. When can we expect a new album coming out?
Thank you, this was our goal, to make it feel like an actual demonic infestation. I think the primal background vocals and structure of the song contribute to this feeling.
We are working very hard on it and a lot of music is done, but we don’t want to rush things, we are aiming to release the new album next year.
Lachryma Christi will be seeing Carach Angren for the very first time in June in Lisbon (PT). How is it to see Carach Angren live? You have this new tour starting on the 9th of June. What can people expect from this tour?
Yes, we are looking very much forward to returning to Portugal! We have a very good fanbase there. Last time (during our tour with Rotting Christ) we met many of you!
Carach Angren live is like a whole new extension of what you hear on the albums. You can’t compare it.
We always have been working hard to give you something extra during shows, not just play the songs but embody them. We use a lot of theatrics and have developed our unique way of performing. We always get feedback that people are enormously surprised by the way we perform. Especially Seregor literary acts out the songs, so come out and stand in front if you dare;)
You have been around for quite some time, how do you see your journey when you look back? Do you feel fulfilled yet? There will always be evolution, but is this what you had in mind so far?
I always have envisioned and hoped for all the things we have achieved so far so that is really fantastic.
It’s amazing to see your albums coming out, people coming to the shows, play huge festivals, go to different continents and meet fans everywhere. It’s really been a rollercoaster. That being said, the ore of the band and what we want to achieve next is something we try to keep focussing on. With very goal that has become reality you need to set new goals, both musically and in other areas. In my opinion you can’t for example make the same album twice, plus you develop as people and artists. As our fans know, we try to experiment with our music because it gives us new fire. We don’t want to just keep doing the same thing, that would be the easy way. We like to take risks, try out different things and keep moving.
We are confident that somehow it will always be Carach Angren, now matter what topic we tackle or what kind of experiments we undertake.
You played at Inferno Metal Festival in Norway this year. How was it? From the videos the imagery looks great. Spooky and powerful. The whole thing looks very theatrical. It is noticeable that the visuals are important for you. It is like this in every show? How do you plan that side of the shows?
Thank you. Yes it was a great succes. Actually, it is a lot of work to bring a production like that and it is not always possible unfortunately. We do everything we possibly can to make a show successful, big and loaded with theatrics. We have robotics, risers going up and down. You can imagine this takes a lot of practice, preparation and efforts to integrate everything smoothly. Then there is the whole business side of things, logistics, you can’t imagine haha.
We try to adjust our show to the possibilities available. In a smaller more intimate club show we approach things differently compared to a festival like Inferno.
The Portugese fans can expect a sick and twisted epic performance.
Lachryma Christi wants to thank you for your time, and wants to wish you a great time during the Pitch Black Summer 2019 Tour. Is there anything else I didn't ask, that you would like to tell your followers?
Be sure to get your tickets in time and come out to our shows, we can’t wait to flood Portugal with a night of Horror and powerful fierce metal! See you there!
(all photos used with permission of Season of Mist, except the flyer for the tour, taken off the band's Facebook page)
Seregor - vocals & guitars
Ardek - orchestration & keyboards
Namtar - drums
Read more about Carach Angren here:
https://www.facebook.com/carachangren/
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