Varjo

Wolves of Perdition

Finnish Black Metal scene has a long and glorious history that comes from the last years of the 80's, and spreads its talons until today. And even when things seem to calm down, there comes another fine piece of the genre from Finland. And this time, Metal Temple writer Marcos Garcia had the opportunity to interview WOLVES OF PERDITION, a ferocious quintet that is releasing their first album "Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare".

By "Metal Mark" Garcia

• March 24, 2021

WOLVES OF PERDITION's Varjo: "When making music

Before we begin the interview, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity. As WOLVES OF PERDITION is releasing by now its first album, please, tell us about the band's history, how did you started the band until these days. Did some of you played on another band before?

Varjo: The band was formed in 2017 and there really isn't much of a story to it. We decided to make it happen and aim to make as vicious and uncompromising black metal as possible. Everyone has played in some bands before, but those bands won't be mentioned by name, because this is our clean slate and no one is having any nostalgia trips with the past.

You're from Finland, a country with an important Black Metal scene, with many legendary names. Can you say that WOLVES OF PERDITION's main musical influences come from other Finnish bands or from bands from other countries as well? And can you name a few of your musical inspirations, as musician and for the other band members?

Varjo: For us there hasn't been any Finnish bands as an influence or inspiration. Any melancholy that might be found on the album comes from just being Finnish, but other than that, nothing. We don't listen to Finnish black metal that much. The main inspirations have been extreme black and death metal bands from all over. The intense ferocity is what inspires us and keeps this machine going, so as for some of the inspiring and influencing bands, you might find some hints of Marduk, Belphegor or even Deicide here and there.

You're an active band since 2017, but why you took three years before the release of "Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare". I mean, in the past, bands have difficulties to record an album. But today is usual to record one on their first year of activity.

Varjo: The songs just kept on coming and since we never operate in a hurry, we focused on making everything as good as possible, at times just playing in rehearsals for the hell of it. That's in fact what made this album sound like it's not a debut album. Sure, these days you can record a full album before even having a band around you, but how quickly we get to release something wasn't a priority for us. It was to make everything work exactly as we wanted. There are enough bands out there that sound unfinished because of how easy and fast everything is to record, so considering that, the easiness is a double-edged sword.

Now let's talk about the album. Who produced the album? And by the way, one thing that astonished me when reviewing "Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare" was the set of instrumental tunes: at the same time, they have that crude and simple approach of the past, but are defined as well in a way that can understand what you're playing. How did you found such tunes?

Varjo: Only the drums were recorded in a studio and everything else we did by ourselves. The mixing and mastering was done by Pasi Löfgrén and we are extremely pleased about how strong the album sounds. If this album was made using the sound of 90's black metal, it would have sounded like shit and lost all the punching power. Overall with the album and the band as a whole we have no intention or interest to ever go towards any Transilvanian Hunger -sound. We needed a sound that is cold, but also has an impact, so the result is almost blackened death metal sound. It's about what and how you want the music to speak for itself.

Another one about the recordings: we're in the middle of a devastating pandemic, the COVID-19 one. So how did you record in such troubled time? It's hard, because there are limitations to people to walk on the streets, and even to get together in some places.

Varjo: The drums were indeed recorded in a studio in the middle of the first lockdowns, so the drummer was isolated from the rest of the band, because they isolated a part of the country and the rest of us were left behind the guarded border at the time. Guitars and bass were recorded around at where we live and vocals got recorded a little later at our rehearsal place. Pretty much everything is self-made and we made it work despite some little delays that everyone had, but considering the circumstances I can't say we really had that much problems. Smooth ride compared to what it could've been.

Another feature that is amazing: the contrast between aggressiveness with a set of ominous morbid melodies, what makes you sound different from many other bands that use traditional Black Metal approach. Can you say that there are coming from classical Black Metal acts, or perhaps from traditional Heavy Metal? And by the way, they're excellent!

Varjo: We listen to a lot of music, so it's hard to pinpoint where exactly the melodies come from. When the music starts making itself, you just go with it. That's pretty much all there is to that.

Still about the melodies you use, some Black Metal fans complain a lot when a band with a traditional/Old School insight uses them. But you dare to use them, so how the fans are reacting to your music by now?

Varjo: If the problem is using melodies, then simply don't listen and the problem is solved. There's no further discussions about that on our behalf. When making music, you have to ask yourself: Are you staying true to yourself, or true to what someone else says. If you're true to yourself, you don't even think about the complainers. If you stay true to what someone else says, you're always someone else's bitch. The reactions to our music have been very promising. People have liked the album, reviews have been great and even a few places refused to review the album, because it crossed some lines. That's exactly what we like, what we aimed for and what we got. It's of course great that people like our music, but it's still not meant for everyone. The album isn't meant to be even sold to everyone. Couldn't have been better.

You're signed to Folter Records, so how did you get in touch with the label for the release of "Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare"? And are you satisfied with their work by now?

Varjo: We got the contact to Folter Records thanks to Wrathcrime from the band Sarkrista (listen to them or we will kill you), who passed the word about us, sent some material and it all went from there. Everything has worked very well, communication works perfectly and it's always great to deal with professionals. We are very satisfied, so nothing to complain about.

I know that's so soon, but how is the answer of the press and of the fans for the album? Did you get a feedback by now?

Varjo: The feedback has been nothing but great. Reviews have been good and our supporters have enjoyed the strong album. Some very few have had some trouble understanding that we are not Sargeist or Behexen and therefore don't sound like them despite being from Finland, but overall the reception has been very good.

And about the lyrics? Ok, one can say that Black Metal is about 'Satan', 'death' and 'darkness, but it seems that you have a lot to say. So tell us about your matter and lyrical ideas.

Varjo: The lyrics on Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare deal with topics you might expect. It's a blasphemous ride that doesn't spare religions and gives punishment to everyone equally. The songs deal with mass murder, executions, destroying the earth, rise of the second horseman, war, the fragile mask of humanity etc. Nothing that special when explained here, but worth noting is that Satan isn't mentioned once and Lucifer appears only in one song. The reason for this is that the devil has been put inside the texts, like poison injected to your blood stream. Not visible, but you know something is wrong. Those two names are used sparingly (if at all), because for us they mean things like beheadings, rising terrorism for example, nuclear devastation, murders, beatings, drive-by shootings. Everything realistic and evil, all the bad that happens in this world all the time either you think about it or not. This is not to say it's something to admire or go towards. It's simply the ruthlessness of nature on a cosmic scale. The brutally cruel aspects of life, that the wine drinking "black metal vegans" on a beach party think they want to get involved in.

The pandemic caused a great problem to bands: they need to tour to show their music to the fans, but some bands are doing live shows on Facebook and Youtube. And how are you dealing with that? And are you planning to make shows as soon as the pandemic ends?

Varjo: We're planning some shows when the corona-coast starts getting clearer. At the moment there isn't much to do. Some stream shows are a possibility, or coming up with a music video. Nothing certain at this point, except making some new material. No one can promise anything during these times.

One more, please: many bands are using the times of lockdown to write songs. And besides "Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare" is released by now, do you have ideas for a next release? If yes, tell us about them.

Varjo: It could be an EP or straight up a new album, we'll see how it goes. We'll continue with the same intensity, that's for sure, but every bridge gets crossed only when we get there.

Well, that's all. Once more, I thank you for the interview, wish you success with the album (personally, I really loved it), and please, leave your message to our readers and your fans.

Varjo: Thank you too! If they play a victim - Make sure to kick them. There's no mercy found around here.