Conducted by Robert Mallett
Between Åland and the southwestern Finnish city of Turku lies the Turku Archipelago, a large maze of islands made up of old fishing settlements, wooden churches and a myriad of stone labyrinths. Many who have visited this region, with its fog rolling in from the sea like a living entity and a folklore replete with tales of island spirits, sea demons and drowned sailors, are quick to note its sense of otherworldliness.
Traditionally, those who lived along the coastline viewed the sea as an inhabited and deeply unpredictable realm, with Finnish folklore telling of strange water beings, apparitions that foretold death and disaster, and spirits associated with particular rocks, coves, or islands. So it isn’t surprising that the many prehistoric ritual labyrinths, the jatulintarha, were sacred places where seafarers performed Rites before setting sail. This is one of Finland’s most atmospheric regions, so that sense of mysterious maritime atmosphere is more than anything else the prevailing cultural psyche that prevails in the city of Turku itself.
Turku, the regional capital, is an old medieval city that blends its original architecture with neoclassical planning and modern, slick Nordic design. Its atmosphere evokes the full sense of the sea, of salty air, mysterious mists, ruins and ancient, pre-Christian Rites. So it isn’t at all surprising that the uninvited and, for many, wholly unwanted imposition of Christianity while under Swedish rule between the 12th and 16th centuries met with considerable opposition here. Both then and now.
Turku’s medieval clergy infamously generated demonological sermons, performed exorcisms, and penned moral treatises that ranted fanatically about the Devil’s influence. Such texts helped frame Turku as a battleground between the divine and demonic forces that fought their eternal war through the minds of humanity. Today, many contemporary Satanists have reinterpreted this metaphysical conflict in symbolic terms. The Devil acts as a rebel. And a rebel against all moral authority, which any true Satanist resents and deeply despises.
That Black Metal’s anti-Christian, Satanic, Luciferian elite in Turku has manifested in the form of one of the truly great bands in this genre, Archgoat, is no surprise. Archgoat, with their relentless, mesmeric and profoundly brutal Ritual sonic assault, could only come from Finland, and only from Turku. They evoke the mysteries of this region as no other artist credibly could and have unleashed their rejection of Christianity and its unwanted intrusions into their mysteries, their myths, their ancient folklore for nigh on 38 years. Unstoppable, highly focused, icily determined to wage a war against the wretched, rotting corpse of the failed Nazarene cult, Archgoat are true legends of Black Metal and the dark Archipelago from which they emerged, aggressive and with a steel-clenched fist.
We recently caught up with Lord Angelslayer, the longtime bassist and vocalist of these unrelenting masters of Black Death sonic violence, to talk about their outstanding new release, Nightbringer, Lightbringer and about what it is that inspires him after so many years at the forefront of Black Metal’s war against religious fanaticism and stupidity.
Lord Angelslayer
The new album Nightbringer, Lightbringer is another fantastic release from Archgoat. What is the motivation you all share to make albums this good after 37 years?
Hails Robert, thank you for your comment. I don’t believe there are any hidden secrets behind what we do. It is simply the pure motivation to play the Devil’s music as it is meant to be played — with dedication, without compromises and from the soul. I don’t see time as anything other than a bringer of experience and patience in believing in what you do and how you do it. As a composer, I know that you always run into phases, regardless of how much or how hard you work; you don’t make any progress and get frustrated with this. But when it is acknowledged, and you know that behind this hill to climb is a “downhill slope” where suddenly all the work falls in correct places effortlessly. You cannot force the music to become what it is meant to be. You can only keep walking the path until it does.
How long did the album take to write, and did anything much change in terms of the recording process?
I think it was sometime around mid-2024 when I made the decision that the time was right to start composing a new album. The amount of work that goes into an album — composing all the music for the main instruments, writing the lyrics and lyrical arrangements, developing the artwork concept and recording everything — is something I would estimate at around 1,000 hours. Since The Blessed Vulva in 2011, I have been responsible for the compositions and lyrics, so in that sense the process has not changed very much over the years. After Goat Aggressor joined Archgoat in 2017, we worked on The Luciferian Crown more traditionally, developing the songs together at the rehearsal place, but since I moved to Germany in 2018, the process has been somewhat different. I compose and demo the songs with all the instruments myself and then send them to the other guys. They can listen to them, absorb the material, and, if they have something to contribute, bring in new ideas or suggest a different direction. This way of working has become very natural for us over the years. It gives me the freedom to build the compositions in their entirety, while still leaving room for the other members to bring their own perspective into the music.
Goat Aggressor
The lyrics remain very focused on attacking organised Christianity. Is this theme focused on the Church in Finland or more broadly?
As they say, sharing is caring. We have been more than happy to include the entire Christian church organisation under the umbrella of our lyrical targets. The church, its doctrines, its symbols and the machinery built around them have always been the target. There is something inherently amusing about an institution preaching salvation while spending centuries telling people what to believe, how to live and what to fear. Our lyrics are not written simply to provoke for the sake of provoking. They come from a genuine contempt for religious oppression and the mentality behind it. The music and the lyrics are one entity — both are meant to carry the same hostility, darkness and blasphemous spirit. So yes, the Christian church has earned its fair share of attention.
Do you feel Christianity is finally beginning to die out, or is it still a poison well that needs to be fully drained?
I would say that these sick modern times create the conditions for this sick religion to grow back stronger, just as it has done in previous decades. As they say, good times create weak people, and weak people become easy prey for a predatory religion. Weak spirits are easy to lead, easy to manipulate and easy to embrace into the void of nothingness. This well will not run dry by itself. As long as there are weak minds looking for something to believe in, there will be those ready to feed upon them and lead them into their congregations. The cycle will continue in one form or another until the final cataclysm comes to reap the weak from their congregations, leaving nothing behind to defend their sick cause. Perhaps that is simply the nature of such things. Religions may rise, fall and return in different forms, but the weakness they feed upon remains the same.
Ritual Butcherer
Which countries do you enjoy playing in the most? How do you find audiences in the UK?
I would say that my preferences change from time to time, but Thailand, the USA and Finland have always been among the countries where I have most enjoyed playing. We have been playing in the UK since the Elektrowerk show in 2004, and I am always very pleased to have the opportunity to play in all the countries that make up the UK. We are happy to return to London and play at the Underworld in Camden this November. I have only positive memories of the London audiences we have encountered over the years. We have not been playing in the UK outside London for a long time, though, so this is something I would happily see changing. There are certainly many places in the UK where I would be more than happy to climb on the stage.
What comes next for Archgoat? Do you feel that after 37 years you will aim even higher and produce even greater work than you have so far?
As the new album has now been released, we are already ramping up the shows and tours to support it. We currently have two tours planned for next year, covering two continents, with around 30 shows in 22 different countries. But that only covers the first three quarters of the year, so my careful estimation would be that we will end up playing somewhere around 40 shows in total next year. And I would certainly not be surprised if that number grows along the way.
There can certainly be no doubt that weak minds prevail and populate the bovine herd of humanity in astronomical numbers. Likewise, their profound credulity, flecked with greed, selfishness, ignorance and narcissism, leaves them as unwitting dupes, as prey to the purveyors of salvation and smug bovine moral codes. This is what makes Cult Black Metal so honest, eviscerating and at the same time, so liberating.
One can either feel the pressure of being surrounded by an entire mass of the stupid and the gullible or laugh heartily at their inane circus of lunacy. What’s more important is that In the end, the fog takes what it wants, the sea keeps what it claims, and only those who stand unbowed in the darkness will ever understand why this music was forged in war and meant to be carried into eternity.