Spinoza Ray Prozak Interview
this interview came up as part of a series of academic inquiries answered, but as the interviewer had more verve than most, it has come to rest here as a resource like all else on this site for the study of metal.
1.I understand that www.anus.com is your website and that you are the author of the information posted on the
website. How recent is the information and what inspired you to design this website?
2.How did you become interested in Metal, particularly Black Metal? What attracted you to the scene? Is it part of
your identity/lifestyle ? Are there any interesting stories that come to mind?
3. When, where and how did the Black Metal scene evolve? ( examples of bands would be great).
well, most credit the term "black metal" to venom, in 1983 or so, with their release of the album by the same name,
but the term "black" was used to designate evil versions of otherwise secular ideas long before that, and venom's music was more hard rock than
metal itself, so i tend to shy away from this event and point instead toward the work of bathory and celtic frost which emerged in 1984. their
music sounded diabolical and featured the distorted, obscure vocals of occultist diatribe that distinguished the music immediately from the more
sonorous and clear-cut counterparts it possessed in the speed/thrash scenes. evil has always been portrayed as evasive and of dubious clarity in
western literature since the judeo-christian invasion, hence combining fast and primitive music with unlistenable vocals was more than an
extension of the surly growl of motorhead, a venturing into new territory where evil was embraced as a polar alternative to mainstream religion
and bourgeois/suburban mindsets.
after this initial outpouring, the genre continued over the next few years to grow, mainly important for
its influences on bands like morbid angel and later slayer, but reached a final state of initial maturity with the extremes achieved by
sarcofago, who made deliberately unsteady and violently unstable music which combined the simplicity of the most intense hardcore of the time
with a uniquely metal vision of evil and a coherence arising from chaos. simultaneously, quorthon of bathory unveiled what was to be his
masterpiece, "blood, fire, death," which combined the newly intense and chromatic musicality of death metal with an epic, odinist view of the
anti-morality which is the hallmark of black metal's ideology. this occurred in 1987, and the genre essentially slept from that point on until
1992 when the nordics revived it. the interim material regressed into speed/heavy metal in a faster, more melodic and musically literate take on
what venom had explored, which was essentially a less doom-and-gloom version of what black sabbath had originally undertaken in the founding of
the proto-metal genre in 1969.
the nordic scene was the first outburst of "modern" black metal, and unquestionably the most important bands
were darkthrone, immortal, burzum and to a lesser degree, mayhem. while mayhem are remembered by most people as the founders, this reputation
was mostly backfilled by "historians" trying to figure out what was occurring the genre from 1987 to 1992, and finding a band that while active
produced few innovations until influenced by others within the rising norwegian scene. after this first burst of creativity, a second wave of
bands emerged in the middle 1990s such as graveland, summoning, ildjarn, gorgoroth and others who expanded upon the ideas of the previous
generation.
4. What are the underlying ideology/theology surrounding the scene? What are the belief systems? Is there a
difference in the North American Black Metal scene as compared to the European? Do they share the same belief systems? Can you think of a
reason(s) of why they do or don't ( share the same belief systems)?
5. Why Nihilism, Nietzsche and Hedonism? Can you discuss these terms and what they mean in correlation to the
scene?
6. Is Satanic imagery and worshipping Satan a must in the Black Metal scene? Who is Satan? Is Satanic imagery
another tool to sell more records? It is my understanding that Aleister Crowley and Anton LaVey are prominent figures in the Black Metal scene?
Is this true and what do you think of their teachings/ philosophy?
7. Black metal condemns commercialism, the corporate world, and the Hollywood glitz as portrayed by the media.
Would you say that Marxism is an integral part of the Black Metal scene? Why or why not? Where does Black Metal fit in in terms of
sociological/anthropological ideologies (i.e. functionalist, post modern, etc)
8. How do one learn more about the music when the scene does not promote commercialization?
10. What do you think of bands who use satanic imagery (i.e. Marilyn Manson/Slipknot etc) but are commercially
successful? Do they still get respect within the Black Metal Scene or are they considered posers?
11. I was recently reading "Lords of Chaos" and the authors were describing how churches were being burned in
Norway Does this occur only in Europe and why do you think it happens in Norway? What are the socio-economic/psychological and political
factors that drive people do carry out such actions?(lack of employment, education, abusive homes etc.) Are they trying to make a statement? Is
it another war against the Christian Fundamentalists?
12. Do you feel that Christian Fundamentalist will exploit and criticize the scene because Black Metal practices ,
rituals and beliefs are considered "evil" . Christianity wants to root out all evil in the world as evident in the 15-17th century witch hunts
in Europe and in the modern day accusations of satanic ritual abuse in England and the United States in the '80s, is Black Metal another reason
to root out the evil and is this the primary cause for the anger and hostility between Christian fundamentalists and Black metal fans?
13. Who gets involved in the Black Metal scene? How does one get involved in the scene ? What are the
demographics/psychographics? How is gender viewed, more specifically how are women viewed with respect to the scene? What are their roles? (
i.e. are they in bands for example).
14. What is the future of the Black Metal scene? Where do you think it is heading? Are there any recent changes to
the scene?
15. Is there anything else you would like me to add or is there anything that I have missed? Please feel free to
add any additional comments. If you have any questions for me, please let me know
i would like to at this time state that any comments about a genre will be "generalized," and that mine apply to the
people i've met who are founders, creators and innovators (leaders) in these genres, not to the masses of people who've either bought a few
albums or started some half-hearted zine, band, label, etc. there are plenty in the scene who disagree with me, but it seems to me - and to the
people who actually make the impressive parts of this scene and its music occur - that the contrarians are off-base, that they are skeptics who
are trying to bring the scene to agreement with them rather than vice-versa, and fundamentally, that they are people from a mainstream society
who want to be "rebels" but have no interest in creating an alternate or viable future instead of that which in their view afflicts them.
for example, i don't know how many times i've heard the following: "well, i'm into black metal, but i don't hate christians, i hate everyone
equally" and "everyone should die, there is no hope, destroy everything" - these values are alien to black metal, in which (as in nature) the
strong and noble are rewarded and the weak, pathetic, parasitic and priestly are beaten back to the positions which they deserve, namely the
lower ones. black metal at its best is elitist. it is about celebrating what is great in life and rejecting the lies of the past 2,000 years,
including christianity, judaism, humanism and egalitarianism. however, these views are only shared by the elite who actually do something in the
scene, and not by the many legions of fanboys, imitators, ripoffs, commercial parasites, etc. etc. you might want to interview some of those for
a blazingly illiterate counterpoint to any scene luminaries you can reach.
i have no questions for you but offer my thanks for a well-
researched, well- analyzed set of interview questions. the only thing i would like to add further is that most critics of black metal (in the
sense of "public denouncers" and not academic analysts) are skeptics who deny the inherent idealism (the "sacred") and nihilism/materialism (the
"profane") to life. they look at black metal and say, "it will never work," meaning that in the mental confines of their own perception they
cannot find a way why such a thing would work, as a plausible social system or a personal philosophy. to them i say, you are prisoners in a cage
without walls.