Lvcifyre interview (Menthor)

Lvcifyre and “The Broek Seal” presented wild, brutal, and destructive music for the ears, and this new ritual was released by Dark Descent Records in 2021. Therefore, Metallerium agreed to an interview with Menthor, drummer of this wild band to talk about the new album, other details within their influences, and more.

Para leer la entrevista en Español: Entrevista a Lvcifyre

Metallerium: Welcome Menthor to Metallerium webzine pages. It’s great pleasure to talk with you about Lvcifyre and this new beast "The Broken Seal" and more into the Heavy Metal world. The band is formed in 2007 and two years later you have your EP "Dying Light ov God" (2009) and then "The Calling Depths" comes out in 2011. Where South American bands influence Krisiun, Rebaellium, Abhorrence, and many more are present in his first album. Why did you decide to move away from the English sound made by Bolt Thrower, Benediction? What were the main reasons for forming an aggressive jackal band in England?

Lvcifyre: There was no decision per se to move away from any kind of sound, Lvcifyre sounds like Lvcifyre and sure, there may be influences from what we grew up listening to, but that was never something that we intellectualized when writing the music.

Metallerium: As mentioned in the first question. I see these South American influences are in bands like Lvcifyre, Grave Miasma, Scythian, and Cravel Idol. Could we be talking about an extreme new wave in England with south American roots? And which albums influenced this Latin way?

Lvcifyre: I don’t really know what to say about that, I suppose you might find common influences in these bands from England, and perhaps some of them are broadly South American (Sepultura, Sarcofago), but to be honest I think the bands mentioned above sound very different from each other. Sure, there is something that unites them, but from where I’m standing, that has more to do with certain energies in this part of the world, rather than the actual sound in itself.

Metallerium: Then in "Svn Eater" (2014) Lvcifyre's sound gets a little darker and creepy you’re your Black Metal influence started to come out a bit more. Was this a natural evolution? o Was this something thinking for the band? Coz there is a big difference between "The Calling Depths" (2011) and "Svn Eater" (2014)

Lvcifyre: Yes, it was a natural evolution in the band’s direction and in the band’s sound, I think the production choices made a big difference. In Svn Eater it was more according to our vision of what Lvcifyre should sound like; on The Calling Depths things were a bit more embryonic and it was our first studio full-length, so we were still experimenting…

Metallerium: After these two albums you decide to release the EP "Sacrament" (2019) a year before your failed presentation at Total Death Over Mexico in 2020. What was the band's reaction to canceling your first presentation in Latin America? And how are the proposals to have a tour in this part of the world today?

Lvcifyre: It was said that the show in 2020 did not happen, it would have been great to go there but problems of “force majeure” got in the way. As for plans to tour South America, there is nothing lined up at the moment.

Metallerium: Into this concert was canceled in 2020 in Mexico. What bands were you hoping to see live from this part of the world at that festival? and if you perhaps do a tour in South America. Which bands would you like to share the stage in countries like Peru, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, etc.?

Lvcifyre: To be honest, I don’t exactly recall the line-up for the festival, and there aren’t really any bands I would specifically want to share the stage with. However, every now and again I have come across some good bands when touring in South America.

Metallerium: Speaking of concerts worldwide, England is the first country where everyone is vaccinated and festivals like Bloodstock and other concerts are starting to happen. And I remember that members from The New Model Army, Frost, and more told me that the restrictions were going to go away since last June 21st. Tell me, how do you see the live presentations by the end of the year 2021? Do you have dates scheduled for this year? Or are things still to be seen for the next few months?

Lvcifyre: At the moment nothing is certain when it comes to living presentations. I don’t think the restrictions are going away any time soon, so it is hard to predict such things. There are shows being discussed after the album release beginning of this year, but nothing confirmed as yet.

Metallerium: Changing the subject, a detail that caught my attention in Lvcifyre’s Music is the lyrics of the band. It is noted that there is an inclination for Satanism, Occultism, Death, chaos, and other details related to these subjects. For you, what is Lvcifyre's approach to Satanism and the occult matters? Could it be said that to be a member of the band you have to believe in this kind of religion? Or what are you trying to express to the fans when you talk about these issues?

Lvcifyre: Everything about Lvcifyre – music, and lyrics – is the expression of something that goes beyond the physical form, it is an expression of occult forces that are channeled through us. The lyrics in themselves are not just the result of our studies in the subject of Occultism, but also something that is more primordial, this force that is inside of us. We came here to spread fire to the world.

Metallerium: Speaking again of the band's lyrics, these kinds of lyrics all the time present controversy outside the Heavy Metal world, so what do you think of people who enter the Satanist religion or any other religion for having listened to bands like Lvcifyre, Deicide, Adversarial, etc? Are they sheep?

Lvcifyre: Lvcifyre is not about any form of organized “religion” – when people listen to Lvcifyre and a flame is lit deep inside them, then I wouldn’t call them sheep; I would say they have awakened.

Metallerium: In this type of matter, many people think that Black Metal is related to the underground scene with satanic symbols especially in South America. And when a band with different aspects in the music do more progressive and technical things, the fans react very badly to these kinds of changes, because they seem offended that they are not listening to a Mayhem, Impaled Nazarene, Darkthrone from the 90s. What do you think about when fans are too close with their thoughts and tastes, especially on Black Metal?

Lvcifyre: It doesn’t matter what tools or approaches a band uses to do their music; the important thing is the artistic essence/coherence/honesty. I suppose lots of people do it in search of approval, acceptance, or whatever, but the role of an artist is to create a model that will be a good example for people to aspire to; everything else cannot really be called art.

Metallerium: The pandemic is an everyday topic. Where many people die, others recover, but at the same time, it is a theme that many other extreme metal bands predicted with the end of time. So, what do you think of many things related to the extreme metal world with this pandemic? And, could it be said that the concept of misanthropy fits perfectly for these years? Could you be considered as a misanthropic band?

Lvcifyre: I wouldn’t say that Lvcifyre is a misanthropic band, though I have enjoyed the solitude that the last two years have brought me. With regard to the pandemic, how people generally think of it is not necessarily the reality. The pandemic is more a reflection of changes in the world that go beyond just the pandemic itself, nothing is without meaning and nothing happens hermetically separate from everything else.

Metallerium: Now talking about this “The Broken Seal” the music is faster and darker. But the cover art is different compared with the previous albums and the influences are more from the US. Why did you decide to get away from the Latin sound naturally? o How was the writing process for this album? Was it caused by the pandemic? Or was it before this one? 

Lvcifyre: Prior to this album we used to work with Timo Ketola and he was perfect for Lvcifyre, since he could really understand the vision, but with Timo sadly passing away, we had to look for a different artist. It took a while to find the right person, but Daniele Valeriani did a great job. Although his style is very different from Timo’s, he quickly grasped what we were looking for and things went surprisingly smoothly with him, he did a great job. All the music for The Broken Seal was written before the pandemic, but we went to Milan to record the album at SPVN studios, owned by Stefano Santi – and that was just as the pandemic hit Europe. It all started in Milan and I suppose that is an omen, an indication of what to expect from this album.

Metallerium: Into this "The Broken Seal" you invited Marek Górecki "Mark of the Devil" for the third time. When you compose new songs, do you think about the guests and their characteristics? o How did you come up with this idea? And why him? Does Cultes des Ghoules have to do in some way with Lvcifyre?

Lvcifyre: During the writing process we don’t really plan anything or try to adapt to any musicianship skills that any of us possess, quite on the contrary: most of the time what is written is a challenge to be performed. Regarding Marek, we know that whatever he does will lend the right atmosphere and a whole new dimension that we had not anticipated. As aforementioned, we are a channel by which other forces come through.

Metallerium: Into the matter of how an underground band and a conventional band was should be considered, there are patterns that more vinyl or cassette productions stick to the underground concept, and the CD only expanded the collections of the fans. What do you think are the factors for fans to stick to this underground metal concept? And where are located the digital platforms?

Lvcifyre: The care that is put into the presentation, the artwork of the physical formats (vinyl, tape, and CD) adds to the music and helps create the image that the band wants to put forward. As for the digital format, you can see it from different perspectives: it is useful and I use it myself, but in some of the ways that it is being used today, it has become the fast food of music. There is an idea created by the current music industry that a band should be constantly releasing music and constantly present on social media. This capitalist approach is very damaging to art, it takes time to produce art with value and nowadays lots of bands are just putting out shit that is harmful to the world.

Metallerium: Another detail is about the listening methods of the fans, coz this new generation prefers to hear one or two songs on the digital platforms. What are you think about the albums doesn’t have the same impact in comparison to the 80s or 90s? And what do bands need to do to improve the listening of all songs in albums? 

Lvcifyre: In today’s age, people’s attention span is very short – as you pointed out, they don’t tend to listen to complete albums anymore. When you have a good piece of music (album), in order to really grasp it, you need to dedicate your full attention to it, listen to it a few times, and let it sink in – and with each listen discover more and more layers. A while ago the CEO of Spotify said something along the lines of “today for a band to be successful they need to release music every few weeks.” Well, that might be true if you are making money from playing music and if making money is your business, or you simply want attention, but if you are in the business of artistic creation that does not apply to you. It has always been this way and looking back in history, some of the greatest artists were always struggling because they went against the established order and that doesn’t sell. True art is adversarial.

Metallerium: Well, Menthor. The sad time arrived at this interview, I hope you enjoy this one as I did, and thank you very much for your time. Take care during this pandemic situation and our best wishes from this part of the world. Any last words for your Latin America fans and Metallerium readers?

Lvcifyre: I hope we will be able to tour Latin America soon.