How did Vorago begin?
Well, Vorago was a thing that had been going through my mind for several years. I have always been into Black Metal and I always enjoyed different types of Black Metal, but I always wanted to do something in Portuguese, showing a bit of our roots. I made some lyrics and wrote some ideas, but nothing in concrete. It took time until I found people in whom I could trust, people that could understand me. Now I did, and here we are.
How do you define your music? What are your main musical influences?
Well, it�s Black Metal, that�s for sure, but with some epic/folk feeling involved. If I must talk about my musical influences, I must refer with no doubt Darkthrone. But there are others, like Absu, Graveland, Primordial, Moonblood, Burzum, Celtic Frost, old Aeternus, Carpathian Forest, Nargaroth... And from here the list could go on forever... Not that the names I just mentioned can be found projected on Vorago�s sonority, but they were a major inspiration when I decided to form this project.
What is your lyrical concept and what inspires you?
Well, basically, Vorago�s lyrical concept is about the mythology of the Iberian Peninsula and what I call �the old ways of Nature�. One thing that inspired me a lot when writing the lyrics was the old releases of Moonspell, specially concerning the mythological part. Now, I do not think that we should eventually return to some sort of darkened age with people living in the woods, but I can�t stop feeling hatred when I see our cultural and natural patrimony being destroyed. Nature should be a part of us. I also speak about the past. A past considered pure, without the plague of Christianity. This is more about the ancient cultures that lived before the Christians were here; those who were more to nature than the �civilized� ones, where the values of Pride and Honour were still respected. I use this topic to create a feeling of melancholy, sadness for all that is happening to Man and Nature, more than to say we should go back in time. We cannot just forget all evolution. You can say there is also a very patriotic feeling in it, nationalist, perhaps, but not in the political way. Vorago is not a part of the NS black metal scene, never was, never will be. My patriotism is about the preservation of our culture and Nature, not to support some idiots in the government or political regimes. It�s because of this �nationalist� aspect that I have decided to use Portuguese in the lyrics. Our language is a lot more expressive than English and if I am speaking about our culture and past, singing in English would be a mistake for me. But I will not speak much more about it... I know there are people out there that understand me and that I created this music for them and for me.
You do a great Black Metal webzine, 'Black Plague'. Are you satisfied with it?
Any particular plans for its future?
Well, I think can always improve anything I do. That�s why in such a short time I have made so many re-organizations and changes concerning the display and the visual arrangements on the webzine. So, sure I am minimally satisfied with the project, but I�ll always try to improve it.
As plans for the future, I�m going to slow down a bit with the activities. I�m not going to stop it! The Black Plague will go on, but in a slower pace, mainly because I am involved with a lot of projects like Vorago, Dungeons Records (where I help Morbius from Tormentvm running the business), Kult (my industrial/ambient side project); I�m also doing vocals on Tormentvm and that takes some time since we are preparing the debut album and some other stuff and I�m also doing guest vocals in a death/grind project of a friend of mine called Synthetic Syndrome. Besides that, I have my personal life and my work. I�m involved in the Artistic field, as you can see in my webzine where I expose the small part of my work that I dedicated to Metal.
I have noticed you give exposure in Black Plague to bands from different fields inside Black Metal. What do you look for in a band when you consider including it in your webzine?
Well, the first thing is that every promo that is delivered to us, since it is inside the Black Metal / Dark Ambient genre, is always reviewed! We aren�t trying to fool around and missing our responsibilities. If people trust me or M. to review their material, we do it! About the other stuff, if we get in our collection recent black metal/dark ambient releases, we usually give them attention. As for me, I usually give more attention to demos and other releases from newborn and underground bands (especially the Portuguese ones), while M. is more dedicated to, let�s say, stuff much closer to the mainstream. If we find a band worthy or showing an interesting sound and posture, we usually try to contact them for an interview.
What is your opinion concerning the scene in Portugal these days?
Any bands you may be particularly into?
Hm... The Portuguese underground is developing, that is for sure. Lots of bands, some are very good, more labels/distros showing up, more webzines, more professionalism. Perhaps what is lacking now is more places for the bands to play live with good conditions. Right now, we are feeling a lot more union. The individuals are getting closer to each other, there is more involvement. We can see a lot more interaction between bands. Perhaps, one problem is when things get into the international field. The Portuguese scene is getting very strong but just inside our country. We don�t feel that strength when it comes to the outside of �our lair�. Perhaps we are still having the �orgulhosamente s�s� syndrome. But I believe that things will get even better. About the bands I�m into... well, I enjoyed a lot �xul�s �The Unveil of the Darkest Arts�, Onirik�s �The Final War�, Mors Liberatrix demo. Lux Ferre are also doing a good job. Let�s see how things will go in the future. I�m very curious to see which direction Storm Legion will go on their next release; Flagellum Dei�s �Victory of Tyranny� is a must; Tenebrae�s demo is really good with all those Celtic Frost influences, and from what I heard from Corpus Christii�s �Tormented Belief� with real drums, it will blast!!!
How are the recordings of 'Lobos da Guerra' going?
Very slow actually hahaha. But we are going for it. The artwork part is already done, featuring an Iberian wolf on the cover (you can see it on the website), so we are only trying to finish the recordings. But we are trying to do our best, and if we are not minimally satisfied with it, we do it again. We are also involving a lot more people into it, doing several parts and there will also occur some changes, but you will see when it is released. I can only promise you that we will try to do our best.
What has been on your turntable, CD-player, etc. lately?
Hm.. I listen to a lot of stuff because of the webzine, but lately I�m stuck into:
Temple of Baal �Servants of Sin�
Folkstorm �Hurtmusic�
Tenebrae �Lusitana Dimensao Misantropica�
Akercocke �Choronzon�
Coldness / Irae �Our Putrefacted Essence�
Funeral Mist �Salvation�
MZ 412 �Nordik Battle Signs�
But there are releases I can never forget. They are my personal �classics�:
Darkthrone �Blaze in the Northern Sky� and �Transilvanian Hunger�
Burzum �Hvis Lyset Tar Oss�
Nargaroth �Herbstleyd� and �Amarok�
Primordial �Imrama�
Celtic Frost �Morbid Tales� and �To Mega Therion�
Decayed �The Conjuration of the Southern Circle�
and from here the list could go on and on...
What can we expect for the near future of Vorago?
Well, I have another release planned and a split with another Portuguese band. But I rather wait until I get �Lobos da Guerra� released to speak about the future. It is too early.
Thank you for your replies, all the best to your projects!
Thank you for the interview! Regards...
Corvus Tenebrae, anno MMIII
<http://www.voragoblackmetal.cjb.net>
<http://blackplaguemetalzine.cjb.net>
<http://kult.no.sapo.pt>
<http://www.dungeonsrecords.cjb.net>
<http://www.tormentvm.web.pt>
