Interview with Winter Deluge done by Patrick
1.Hails please introduce yourself to the readers?
G'day I'm Aaron and I am the guitarist and one of the founding members of Winter Deluge.
2.When did you first discover black metal and who were the first bands you discovered? Who are some of the current bands that you enjoy listening to?
It would have been around late 2004 - early 2005 when my brother and I discovered the kind of black metal we liked and wanted to play, It was Immortal (Pure Holocaust, Battles in the North, Blizzard Beasts) along with Seth (The Excellence), and Satyricon (Nemesis Divina).
Others followed in the coming months like 1349 (Liberation, Beyond the Apocalypse) and classics like Bathory, Darkthrone, Emperor, Mayhem etc, but those first few albums we listened to alot in the beginning.
It depends how current we are talking but in terms of most recent metal releases, I've been heavily into the new releases of bands such as Bölzer, Sijjin, Oath of Cruelty, Concrete Winds, Ares Kingdom, Ensnared, Vanum, Vircolac, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Necrowretch and some others…
Sure there is plenty of other great stuff coming out with bands like Degial in recent years and Venenum etc, but unfortunately most stuff these days does not have the same long lasting effect as those which always come back to me and draw me into an obsession where I want to listen to that band or album over and over.
3. Winter Deluge was started in 2005 when did you first get the idea to start this band? What is the current line-up of the band?
My older brother Nathan approached me about starting the band with him as we had recently become obsessed with Black Metal (I was 15 and he was 17 at the time).
After already playing in different bands and already being heavily into Thrash Metal and Death Metal, it was only natural for us to head down this path as our hunger for extreme music kept growing.
There were no active bands in NZ at the time playing this style of Black Metal, or at least none gigging or who we were aware of… Because of that, you could say we wanted to raise the banner for this music which we were passionate about and we wanted do it with conviction. When we started we were a 3 piece under the name 'Desecrate' in which Nathan was playing bass and had written the first few songs, myself on guitar and vocals and a mate of Nathan's on drums who had lost the fire very quickly and lacked the ability to go further.
This, in turn resulted in Nathan switching to drums and us forming a line-up and changing the name. Over about 10 years or so the line-up changed frequently until 2015 when Mort (Guitars) and Thomas (Vocals) joined the band, later followed by our original bassist Tommy rejoining in the band in late 2018.
4.How do you feel Winter Deluge's music has changed over the years? And who would you say are the bands biggest influences?
Well, growing up I suppose… Naturally it's just more influences, progression in musicianship and members over the years.
We've never really been the sort of guys to sit at home and try and ace our instruments but we've always had those weekly rehearsals/hangouts and always had a vision for what we wanted to achieve musically.
These days we don't really have a specific vision for what we want to 'try' and achieve, we just let it come naturally and we work together as a unit. We know what we want to hear…
I guess overall in what we listen to the most and other general musical influences, it would be: Motörhead, Slayer, Metallica, Immortal, Bathory, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Seth, Black Sabbath, Dissection, Deströyer 666, Morbid Angel, Dawn, Sepultura, Ulver, Kreator, Enslaved, Angelcorpse… the fucking list goes on mate, so that's just off the top of my head… In general the music we listen to, our dislike for the general public, politics, religion etc and who we are as individuals, plays a massive part in what comes out musically.
We don't necessarily seek to be 'original' but we only follow our instincts and nothing else…
5.Degradation Renewal is the bands newest release how long did it take the band to write the music for the newest release? Does the whole band take part in the writing process or does one member usually write everything?
It took us from the previous album in 2016 until a few months before we went into the studio in April 2019 to finalize the material, we take our time...
In the period of time after the songs were written and between going into the studio, Tommy had just rejoined so we spent that time writing the bass lines and tightening up the songs. Yes the whole band takes part in the writing… In the past I had written and composed most of the material but it has always been a collective effort.
In the early days Nathan had plenty of riffs and had written one of the songs on the first album. Tommy's written a few and Grant (ex-guitarist) had also written a couple.
The material we bring to the rehearsal space most often gets some form of creative input or an added riff here and there by all of us. Nathan's always had a strong part in the structure and arrangements once the material is presented and is often the first to point out when a riff is shit and needs to be thrown out, which eliminates the weak elements.
He also often strongly influences the tempos and rhythms in which can influence the way those riffs end up being played.
I'm sure as a band we can all agree that all in all since the current line-up, the collective contribution and the overall stronghold is stronger and tighter than ever.
Mort, if not bringing excellent riffs to the table or suggesting great ideas in general, just creates magic on top of, or behind whatever you are playing and if speaking personally, thats what I had desired the most over the years within the creativity of the band.
6.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are some topics written about on the new release? Which usually comes first the music or the lyrics?
Thomas: I am the vocalist and am responsible for the lyrics.
The main topic is humanities urge to self destruct, the sickness and degradation that surrounds us. The songs are individual components that all lead towards this concept.
Usually the music comes first as from this I can get a better idea of what the lyrics should be.
7.Besides the upcoming Degradation Renewal release are the bands past releases still available for the readers to purchase?Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise currently available if yes what is available and where can the readers purchase it?
Yes, some releases are available. The first EP 'Vehement Visions of Nihilism is long out of print but a digital version is available on our bandcamp page (other releases also available on bandcamp).
Frozen Blood Industries (which is Thomas' label) handles the releases for 'As the Earth Fades into Obscurity' and 'Devolution-Decay' and they are also available through various underground labels worldwide.
Werewolf Promotion from Poland released a tape version of 'As the Earth Fades into Obscurity' with the 'Vehement Visions of Nihilism' EP as the bonus tracks, which surely will still be available with labels he has traded with.
In terms of merch, you just have to keep an eye out or you can look us up and contact us directly.
8.Has Winter Deluge played very many concerts over the years or do you prefer working in the studio?What have been some of the bands most memorable shows over the years?Who were some of the bands that Winter Deluge has shared the stage with?
Yes we have played many but mainly in New Zealand and only 3 in Australia.
We do enjoying working in the studio when that time comes for sure, but we do enjoy playing live. I see it as an opportunity to project the energy of your music onto others and create an atmosphere in which it can become a personal celebration of your creative aggression.
We don't play live as often as we used to simply for the fact that it can stagnate if you play too often in a small scene and after many years you really only want to play shows with the bands you like and fair enough, I say.
It's not really worth the energy for us to rehearse a set, haul equipment and play a show with bands that attract turnout's who are not interested in your music or even just having to watch shit bands you don't like is not worth it…
In that regard, we would much rather focus on enjoying our rehearsals and focus on what we are writing, we will only stray away from that to rehearse a setlist for shows that we feel will be important to us.
There are many memorable shows, there was the first 'Black Metal and Blasphemy' show in Wellington but for me it would have to be when we opened for 'Behemoth' here in Auckland a number of years back.
It was and still is the largest crowd we have ever performed to and the energy in that place was fucking wild! Behemoth were great guys too, they really enjoyed our set and treated us well.
We need to get to other places in the world and we will in due time.
9.Everyone has their own opinions on what "black metal" stands for. so i was interested in yours. what does "black metal"mean to you?
Purest's of the genre will tell you it means only 'this' or 'that' or that it 'only' represents the spirit of satan or whatever and that's fair enough, but for me the music stands for the same thing as any other great form of honest and purely aggressive underground music…
It's a rebellion. It's a rebellion against the sheep of society, it's something that you are drawn to without an outside influence and at a young age it can make you very self aware.
More so, the feeling and energy I get from the music is something I can relate to on a deeper level, therefore I think it can only be executed well by certain individuals who have more or less separated themselves from the herd and are content with their own vision.
It is a 'sound' and a sub-genre of metal but it is certainly not one which only requires the musical talent to be able to perform and write the 'correct' style of song structure, you also need to be convinced by the individuals behind it who have executed it.
It is not for the weak and it is certainly not for trendy cunts or someone looking for something to play or be into for a short period of time. If there is not a genuine approach to the creativity and more of a fixation on the novelty, then the lack of authenticity can be sniffed out from a mile away…
10.Winter Deluge comes out of New Zealand's black metal scene what are your thoughts of New Zealand's black metal scene over the years?
There's not a lot I can say to tell you the truth. There were a few of us gigging together quite often back in the day with bands like 'Anno Domini Mortus' and 'Blood of the Moon' who are no longer active.
I can't say there is a genuine 'black metal scene' here that really exists.
There's 'Exordium Mors' who much like us, wouldn't be strictly classed as 'pure' black metal by some but have always been at it and definitely have a black metal sound amongst them, There's 'Vassafor' who are strongly rooted within black metal and do it well.
'Skuldom' were a great band who were more active back in the day but besides that there's fuck all, at least none that grab my attention anyway… It seems like it's mostly a novelty for some or just a bedroom project for the online forums which we try to avoid like the plague…
11.Who are your all-time favorite bands coming out of New Zealand and are their any new bands you could recommend to the readers?
I really enjoyed 'Aphelon' back in the early days of discovering the NZ underground, the early 'Dawn of Azazel' stuff, Exordium Mors, Malevolence,Heresiarch, Vassafor, Stälker, Execrate/Pervertor, Corpsefeast and Skuldom and probably some others…
Methchrist and Graves are some killer new bands that have grabbed my attention.
12.Besides working in Winter Deluge do any of the members currently work with any other bands or solo projects? If yes please tell the readers a little about them?
Nathan, Mort and myself play in another band called 'Exaltation'. It's Mort on guitars, Nathan and I (having swapped instruments) with Nathan on guitars and myself on drums and the addition of Al Cunningham on Bass/Vocals.
The music is more rooted within the Black/Death metal sound, we released a demo a couple of years back and are hoping to begin working towards the full length soon.
13.Thank you for taking the time fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
The new EP 'Degradation Renewal' is scheduled to be released on the 24th April by Osmose Productions… Keep an ear out for it get yourself a copy if the world hasn't burnt out by then!
Cheers!
Band Contacts
https://winterdeluge.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WINTERDELUGE/
Label Contact
https://www.osmoseproductions.com/
https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/osmoseproductions/
https://twitter.com/OsmoseProd
