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Interview with Kaiaphas (18./19.4. 2005)
How did you get in touch with Aphazel in the first place ?
Kaiaphas : We exchanged letters and traded demos thru the mail from 93 to 95 ... then, one day he decides to visit America and that’s how we met.
How do you feel about your time in Ancient now ? Nice memories etc ?
Kaiaphas : Sure, I have many great memories ... I had a lot of fun being in Ancient ... it was great to visit all those countries and perform in front of a bunch of screaming fans ...
There’s been rumours that you might rejoin Ancient if Night Visit sells well
enough, and yet I’ve heard you wouldn’t like to play Black Metal anymore. But
perhaps something in the vein of The Kovenant’s Animatronic. So what is
your statement about these things ?
Kaiaphas : Well, when I performed with them as a guest in Greece a few years back, I was asked to re-join the band and I certainly gave it a lot of thought ... I really missed performing with them and the great treatment from our fans …
however, I live in Brazil now and I’m completely involved with my current projects so there’s no chance I’ll be re-joining them anytime soon ... maybe one day, if I decide to live in Europe, it would be possible but definitely not at the present time ...
also, in my opinion, their sound is too primitive. I would prefer it much more if their sound was more innovative and “futuristic” … to me, the music of bands like The Kovenant is much more interesting ...
If you hand't left Ancient back in 1998, and if Aphazel hadn't moved to Italy,
do you think you'd have stayed for longer in Ancient and what would you think
of an idea of being still a member ? How do you think it'd have affected if
you'd had stayed ?
Kaiaphas : I left Ancient because I wanted to have more artistic control and change the sound and image of the band totally … however, Ancient is Aphazel’s creation and he is and will always be the leader … besides that, the band was falling apart during that time anyway ... we were completely un-professional. Something big had to happen in order for the band to survive ... in the end, Aphazel made the right choice by moving to Italy and re-forming the band … as you can see, they are much tighter and professional nowadays …
About your singing style, your voice is quite unique. Are you influenced by
any other singers, and if so, who ? Or is your voice just the way it is without
that you decided to make it to sound that certain style ?
Kaiaphas : Thanks … I was born with the ability to make extreme vocals ... my main influences were Quorthon, Nocturno Culto, and later, Dani Filth and Mr.Doctor from Devil Doll ... Besides black and death metal style vocals, I’m heavily into the tuvan/mongolian khoomei (throat-singing) style ... when I was in Ancient, I wasn’t so good at it, but nowadays, I’m quite proficient at it ... although, I’m certainly no master throat-singer … it takes several YEARS and a lot of practice for that ...
Since you also have played drums back then, do you have any interest to play nowadays ? And did you have any fave drummers when you still played
drums ?
Kaiaphas : Yea, I still like to play the drums ... here in Brazil, I don’t have a drum kit so I don’t get to play so often … some faves are Ian Paice, Neil Peart, Carl Palmer, Bill Bruford, etc ... typical fave drummers …
Can you tell something about your time in Thokk ?
Since you did only Of Rape And Vampirism with Thokk, did you ever had in
mind to work with The Marauder anew ?
Kaiaphas : In 94, The Marauder and I started a project called THOKK with the intention of creating “ norwegian” style black metal. We recorded a demo in 95 called “ A trance for the ever-toiling witch” … that demo turned into the “ Of rape and vampirism” cd ... back then, I was very naive and didn’t know anything about copyright law and things like that … therefore, I was completely ripped off by the guy who released the cd … I never got any money from that ... all I got was a lousy 10 copies!!!!!!!
Could you tell something about your current bands ?
Kaiaphas : Certainly … I have 2 electronic projects at the moment … MINIMAL CRIMINAL, which is dark minimal/pro-aggressive psy trance … and KAIAPHAS, which is electro-gothic ebm/futurepop … For the last 2 years or so, I’ve been heavily involved in the wonderful world of computer music production … and, I believe, I will continue on this path for the rest of my life … the possibilities are endless!!!!!!
Any final words for Ancient fans ?
Kaiaphas : I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to all the Ancient fans worldwide … It brings me immense joy that my work has been admired by so many people … I would also like to mention that the music I’m making now is, by no means, “soft” music … some of the tunes I make are darker than any black metal on the planet ... I encourage everyone with an open mind to explore further the world of electronic music, especially psy trance and ebm …