“Live by the rule of Fang and Claw, Survival is the highest Law” ~
Credit: Doomsday Photography
Conducted by Felin Frost
It is with great honour that I bring you an in-depth interview with Tes Re Oth, the vocalist of the Belgian Black Metal horde Serpents Oath. These guys have been burning the “Black Flame” between mortals since 2020 and released a blasting album called Nihil in 2021. Now, on 2022, they released Ascencion, the second album. Ascension is a new sonic dimension and surpasses Nihil; This second album perpetuates the saga of these Belgians who, through their rites of black art, bring a new vision of what pure black metal can become, meticulously constructed and performed in unison from the beginning to the end. Enjoy!
Before we delve into the bowels of this stupendous entity, Serpents Oath, I’d like to hear from you about the extreme metal scene in Belgium. How were the beginnings of the scene, and how is it today?
Wow, that is going back quite some time 😊 From my point of view, it moves in waves.
During the evolution of the extreme metal scene in Belgium, we started off with a handful of bands, and as time progressed, there came more and more till, at a certain point, it started to fall apart a bit. However, there is always a residual fire burning, and in recent years, however, you can see it growing again to a healthy state and apart from bands, you see more good fests and concerts popping up again. Let’s see if Covid put another dent in it, but at the moment, that doesn’t look like it.
When did you start your activities in the extreme metal scene? Have you, Draghul and Daenum been active in other bands in the past? Tell us a little about each one of you.
We all have long histories in the extreme metal scene and have played in several bands throughout the years. However, from the start, we decided not to name drop any of those bands, as we wanted people to listen to Serpents Oath with a fresh pair of ears and an open mind, not because we played with such and such band. The past doesn’t matter anymore as the road ahead with Serpents Oath is our total focus.
Serpents Oath started in 2020 and immediately launched Nihil. How did this formation take place? At which point do the ideas and beliefs merge, giving life to this entity so differentiated?
Draghul and I had played together for a long time in another band before. When Daenum came to help out initially as a live guitarist for that band, we started to jam together. As soon as we started creating, we realized we were establishing a very different entity. We also realized that apart from the music, we had a similar view of what it meant to be in a band together and shared the vision of what we wanted to achieve. The connection between us was instant. Hence, the decision was made to leave the past behind, give birth to this new Beast, and start afresh. It felt very liberating to create from scratch and give shape to this form.
Transhumanism has been present since the formation of the band. This philosophical vision, so to speak, and everything that involves it, requires knowledge, study and dedication; that is not acquired only to compose an album. Since when has this become so essential that it merges and becomes a part of your life? What thinkers and philosophers have had, and still have, a significant influence on how you live and interact with the world around you?
The vision behind the band is indeed one of transformation. This shines through first and foremost in the lyrics and is carried through in the cover art and other visuals. The transformation is that of an individual striving to become transhuman with the ultimate goal of beating even Death. This is the ultimate rebellion as even Death is not accepted as a given.
Symbolically this is also represented in the Band’s logo, where the Serpents form the basis of life (the dragon that is visible even in a DNA strand, the building block of all life). Those Serpents also represent the connection with the source within oneself. The eye in the middle represents the awakening of the third eye, essentially awakening the Inner Self and thus your Ascension to become your own God.
As you can imagine, striving for basically Immortality doesn’t happen overnight and is approached from 2 sides: the Night- and the Dayside.
From a Dayside perspective, the aim is to not physically die. This is very much rooted in the advancement of science, prolonging life to the point where we live long enough to witness the day were dying of old age is no more. The first successful clinical tests of reversing the decay of cells have already happened.
From a Nightside perspective, the aim is to not need a physical body. This is rooted in the astral plane, where you train in order to be first aware and later control your astral body.
Both aspects are cemented in doing, not believing, so it is a very practical approach: test everything, believe nothing!
Now about Nihil. Society has always been full of veiled, and often not so veiled, forms of chaos, greed and death. Nihil through music and lyrics is a response to all this; in my view, transhumanism is the breaking with everything related to the ignorant, blind and mundane way of life. What are your thoughts on these statements?
That is a good observation. Society is indeed built upon everybody following the same cycle. To break with that is the first step. When starting on this path, one of the first things you need to do is to break down the barriers that one has built up over many years whilst functioning in this Society. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to become a hermit, as you can learn how to use the trappings of society to your advantage. As soon as you see through how it works, you can make it work for you. See it as a Wolf in sheep’s clothing, the fact that the Wolf is wearing that does not change the fact that he is a Wolf. He just uses it to achieve his goals.
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Nihil approached the black arts in a very structured way, an intelligent and authentic way of what it is. Since when do you, Draghul and Daenum, live under this influence, and how essential is this knowledge?
The involvement in the Dark Arts has been just as long as my involvement in extreme metal music. Over decades I have walked on my own individual path, and that obviously has formed me as a person. Hence it feels only natural to use that in my lyrics as it is deeply personal. Most lyrics have double layers, which will only be recognized fully by certain initiates; however, if it stimulates someone to dig deeper, all the better. I approach the Dark Arts in a very practical manner and use it in my everyday life. The aim is for my work on the Nightside to leave footprints in the Day. To summarize this in a couple of lines isn’t possible but suffice to say: test everything, believe nothing!
This is also represented in the title as “Nihil” is not a representation of Nihilism and thus that life is meaningless. Rather it represents the rejection of blind belief and strives to eradicate that and base everything on one’s own experience.
How did you contact and sign with Soulseller Records? How did the label receive your music?
After recording our album, we started looking for a label to see who would be interested. With Soulseller, we had a mutual friend who introduced us. From the first listen, they knew they wanted to work with us. From our side, we were honoured to team up with Soulseller Records and join the home for bands like Gorgoroth and Svarttjern. Beyond that, when we looked at the passion and respect they put into re-releases like Ancient Rites and Rotting Christ, we knew this would be the right label to work with. Since then, this impression has only been reaffirmed, and it feels really good to work with such a professional team that respects our artistic vision and gives us the freedom to take everything we do to the next level.
Your dedication to this album was remarkable; each of you and the union between you showed an excellent set of skills. Was the reception of Nihil by the public satisfactory for you?
When the 3 of us started creating this infernal music together, there was no set direction it would have to take, apart from it being Black Metal. The songs we felt that pushed us as individuals and as a unit were allowed to make the cut. That is how we ended up with our own relentless and unforgiving version of nihilistic black metal on the debut album. Reactions were extremely positive, showing that listeners pick up, on a conscious or subconscious level, the true intent that one puts into the music.
Surprisingly, at least for me, for this dazzling second album, we had the entry of two new adepts, Mørkald and Baelus. Tell us a little about how this union took place and the importance of the Serpents Oath being a coven of five members.
As the aim always was to perform our music live, we embarked on a search for a full lineup as soon as the first album was recorded. We went through a lot of candidates to find Baelus and Mørkald. It is always tricky since you are looking for members who are not only technically up to the challenge and into the music but stand firmly behind the band’s vision. When you then find the individuals that bring this spirit to the table (and believe me, we had a lot of candidates that were not up to the challenge), it gives the band extra fire.
The addition of new members gives another evolution to the original entity. In the end, this then results in an output that is even more devastating than before. Daenum, the guitar player from day one, brings the majority of the music to the table. On the first album, he then brought those ideas into the rehearsal room, where, together with Draghul on drums and myself on vocals, we shaped these into the songs you hear on the album. We had already started the same process for the next album and had about 5 songs ready. The new members then contributed more in the final 3. However, having then the possibility to play the first batch of songs with a second guitar and a bass in the rehearsal room, you start to already add some extra layers and fine-tune ideas that you couldn’t do before. Hence even those songs were brought to the next level.
The fact that we live in the vicinity of each other and get together several times per week to play music and discuss various topics has also had a major influence. It has meant that we have established a unique bond as we have become more than the sum of our parts. It also meant that musically we got aligned very quickly, could test out new ideas immediately, and keep new music flowing. Spending that much time together not only means that you get attuned to each other but also that you keep pushing each other to constantly improve. Our vision of transformation also applies to that: tomorrow, you should be a better version of yourself than today. Just like the Serpent that sheds its skin, and a new version emerges, so have we evolved, and that evolution you can hear on the new album.
How many people were involved in the recording, including the music videos? Where were the locations? All the pomp and circumstance and the actual representations of what the invocations are and how they are given, have they been taken together?
For the album recording, it was just us five in the studio recording everything. The intro’s (invocations) were created by Melek-Tha, who used several contributors for the voices.
On the music videos, we have our own dedicated “Fang & Claw” crew that helps out with all aspects of the production. This means that at certain parts of the shoot, we had up to 10 extra people behind the scenes, ensuring we got the best result in the limited time available. We can’t thank them enough for their support. That, of course, is only the culmination of all preparation work that happens beforehand, and especially finding the right location is the key to bringing our vision to life. The other part of the preparation lies with me, as I take the song and the lyrics and see how I “translate” that into images that make sense and are fitting to the essence. Some footage that was originally intended to be used for “Summoning the Ancients” ended up in Blood Moon as we decided to let the artwork shine in the video for “Summoning the Ancients”.
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Where were the video locations? How long did it take for this material to be done and approved by you?
The first location we found, a decaying church, was perfect, but unfortunately, the police were there to stop the shoot before we started filming. A real shame as it was an incredible setting. We continued looking, however, and found a decommissioned church which in the end proved to be an even better setting for what we envisioned. We initially went filming an entire day (around 10 hours), but after reviewing the material, we decided to go back and film another full day to ensure we had the material we wanted. After that you basically select all the footage and go through it with an editing company. After several sessions with them, they were clear on what we were looking for and put it together just like we envisioned. The entire process took months, but it is worth all the effort we invest in it to make sure we end up with a good representation of our vision.
For those unaware, who still haven’t had the opportunity to get in touch with Ascension, what can they expect from this album?
When working on these songs in particular, we had a live environment in mind. That was also a result of being able to play it “live” with 5 members in the rehearsal room. We could test out what worked for us and what didn’t. This was a great filtering process and actually meant we cut down on some material as well. We had quite a few guitar lead parts ready to be recorded. However, after testing it, we noticed that this time they were distracting from the brutal essence that was the basis of the songs. Hence, we actually discarded quite a few of those planned lead recordings making this album an even more devastating affair. The end goal was to make songs that would take you by the scruff of your neck and wouldn’t let go.
Is there a track you most identify with on the album? And what about the other members?
You can see from the tracks we chose as singles where the preference of the band lies. Ultimately you want to give the listeners the chance to get a good taste of what they can expect from the new album. So we picked 3 diverse songs that illustrate the variety of the album. “Blasphemy” represents the all-out assault version of the album. Unrelenting aural attack combined with lyrics that are clearly aimed at tearing down the 3 main Abrahamic religions. Not just to be the opposer, but because they are constructed to blind their followers and stand in the way of personal progression, of becoming your own God.
My personal favourite is “Summoning the Ancients”. On the musical side, it has quite some variation in it, but on a lyrical side, it is the description of the opening of my personal ritual called “the calling of the 4 winds”. Hence it has a special meaning to me. With “Blood Moon”, we picked a song that also shows input from the new members and, towards the end, shows a side of Serpents Oath that we hadn’t explored much on the previous album.
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The reception of this album until now surpassed your expectations?
When we released ‘Nihil’, our debut album, responses were extremely positive. This meant that expectations are high when working on the follow-up. In our case that meant it fueled us even more to ensure we push the new record to the limit. As we were very satisfied with our debut album, it was more a question of fine tuning instead of changing things.
It is then even more satisfying to hear that people really get what you have created, and the response so far has been nothing but fantastic.
How satisfied was Soulseller with the masterpiece? Will the partnership remain?
From their part, they were really satisfied with the performance of our debut album as they offered us a new deal in the first month following the release. From our perspective, we are honoured to team up with Soulseller Records once again, as they have been a great partner to work with from the beginning. The fact that they allow us to follow our vision without imposing any limitations has been a major factor in deciding to work with them once again. They stand behind our vision and you can see that in the quality of the output as well. Especially when looking at the vinyl where apart from the gold foil printing, they accepted to not have any mundane or practical info clutter the art. That means you will find 2 pieces of art back and front, without any label logo, barcode, release number etc. Just beautiful art to be fully appreciated, no matter which side you look at it. It is a bit too early to say if our next album will be with them as well.
Now, about the concerts Serpents Oath gave in in June. How satisfying and exciting was it to get back on stage? Has any curiosity or unusual event occurred that is worth to point?
Luckily concerts have indeed started again without any restrictions. To be able to do that is extremely liberating. The energy that we received from the audience has been immense. It is what keeps you pushing for more and as such becomes part of that transformative process. In the end that is what the aim of extreme music is, to be played live with an audience that loses themselves, as that is what lifts you to another plane. Nothing compares to that. Take all the live streams that you want, they cannot capture that energy on film. You have to be present in order to experience it. How else can you smell the incense, taste the blood in the air and feel the warmth of the flame on your skin? Only in a live environment does this music truly come alive.
Photographer: Doomsday Photography
This year, Serpents Oath will perform several times. Do you already have concerts with set dates and in which places?
So far, we are confirmed for 6 festivals starting in September. Currently, that is mainly focused on Belgium, Holland and Germany, but we are looking to expand that.
The Ascension album release is recent, I know. But as an unconditional fan of the band, curiosity plagues me. So I ask you, for 2023, can we expect another bombastic work from Serpents Oath?
Since we meet up as a band several times per week, we never stop creating new music. 2023 might be a bit too quick for it to see the light of day but rest assured that the fire burns bright, and you will get more new music from Serpents Oath going forward.
I will end this interview here and thank you from the bottom of my soul for your time in answering my questions. I am eternally grateful for the existence of Serpents Oath; I am thrilled with the addition of these new members. As a journalist, I should be impartial, but without any regrets, I am not.
I leave this space for you to leave a message to all the fans. Long live Serpents Oath, and thanks again!
It has been a long journey getting to this point, and we are proud to be able to share our new album with the world. Thanks for the support, this interview and for giving us the chance to share our Vision with others. For the readers, be sure to check out our music and prepare to be bound by the Serpents Oath!
BUY THE ALBUM HERE: https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ascension
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BLACK METAL CULT 