It is not obvious that
someone suddenly starts making this kind of music, how
did you came to the idea to do so? What was your relation
with music during your youth, can you summarize some of
the reasons that made you develop until what you have
become now?
What a question to start of
with! I really don’t know what makes you get into
this kind of music. I guess that a morbid fascination for
evil, death and violence helps a lot. I have always been
into sick and odd stuff. I listened to a lot of music
when I was young, especially Einstürzende Neubauten and
SPK which was considered very strange back then (early
eighties). I don’t feel that they have inspired MZ.
412 much, but maybe they helped me think in other
directions than what "normal" music should have
made me… I don’t know… MZ. 412 back in
1988 was very inspired by Memorandum, Throbbing Gristle
and Test Dept’s first albums. I think we have
matured over the years musically into something own.
It’s always a bit
difficult to place an original band in some drawer with
others, if it comes to tell others what it’s all
about or alike. How do you describe MZ. 412 musically?
Unique. Dark. sometimes a bit
ambient, sometimes very harsh. Elite. Christraping-industrial-evil.
Whatever… We always try to do something new with our
music, but the darkness and the destructive feeling are
always there.
I do not know when you
exactly started with MZ. 412, quite some time probably?
When and where did you find the right individuals to
start of with? Is there a specific meaning for the band‘s
name?
MZ. 412 was formed in 1988 as
Maschinenzimmer 412. The reason for "Maschinenzimmer"
(meaning "machineroom" in German) was that we
felt that we did music resembling machine-like sounds,
like a machineroom in hell… As the years went by,
some of the original members formed other projects and
the interest in Maschinenzimmer 412 went away. It took 4
years, before me and Ulvtharm decided to raise the band
from the dead. By then we had made some new friends in
the BM-scene and Drakhon and Shaitan, both from local BM-bands,
decided to join us. As we started to rehearse/record new
material we felt that the original concept of
Maschinenzimmer 412 didn’t really fit this new crew.
We were all much more into the darker side of humanity
and magic. To mark that fact we shortened the name to MZ.
412. The number "412" is special to us in a way
I will not reveal…
In the meantime it has
been a while since you released a new album again, now
you made "Nordic Battle Signs" available. But
what is for you the most important thing (in general) for
an album to be good? How do you manage/achieve that?
That we have the motivation
to record one. If you get into the studio and feel like
you want to go home again it won’t work. You must
bring the magic of creativity into the studio. For us it
means that when we have recorded an album we must "rest"
for a couple of years. We usually work with other
projects during these years.
By doing this music, is
there a particular higher state of (un)consciousness you
want to achieve, how do people have to interpret your
music? Is there a certain message in it?
Of course, but it’s
always up to the listeners what he/she will experience.
Some people are very perceptive, others don’t feel
anything. We use a lot of ritual elements when we record
the music and I believe that sometimes we "capture"
the power on tape. I will not further discuss this as it
is not good for the magic, and it is our business, not
yours.
All your albums are
slightly different from each other, what were the
adjustments. Can you tell us this for each of the album-titles?
Macht Durch Stimme:
Very primitive! We only used scrapmetal and samplers.
Malfeitor: Also very
primitive. Made during the same period as M.D.S.
In Nomine Dei Nostri
Satanas Luciferi Excelsi: Totally new, both in style
and philosophy. We had some line-up changes and the BM
elements started to shine through. We also invested in
new equipment and got ourselves our own studio (Nar
Mattaru).
Burning The Temple Of God:
More BM! Also more atmospheric and scary.
Nordic Battle Signs:
Perfection! A mix of the new and old. Our music polished
into perfection. I doubt that we can beat this album…
I just love it. It’s totally T.S.B.I.!
How do your life shows
look like?
We are basically a
studioband, so frankly I don’t know. We played live
9-10 years ago and it was total chaos - lots of skins and
weirdoes! Our fingers bled cause we pounded like crazy on
metal - pipes, oildrums, scrap etc…
Your albums do not only
contain industrial, there are also some dark ambient
influences included. Is this the only style of music you
are interested in or what do you also listen to?
Personally I listen to
primitive BM, noise/power electronics and ambient stuff.
Favourites at the moment: Panzer Division-Marduk,
Sutcliffe Jügend, Slogun and Isvind.
As many of us know for
quite a while, the BM-scene represents more Puritan and
anti-Black ways of living and understanding. The true
values of life are far from being known to the listeners
of these days. What do you think about the black (?)
metal scene of these days? Which are/were your favourite
bands?
Too much keyboard/Goth/romantic
bullshit is getting popular! And they call bands like
Dimmu Borgir and C.O.F. black metal! It’s so far
away from the true spirit of it all! Personally I fave
real ugly, fast stuff like Belketre, Isvind, Vlad Tepes,
Marduk and occasionally some Immortal.
Is or was someone of the
band once involved in other bands or projects? Which
bands then, can you give a short description of each one
of them?
We were initially consisting
of 2 guys from Pouppée Fabrikk who left us in 1991-2 (I
think). P.F. is some kind of hybrid-metal-electronic band…
quite talented actually.
Nordvargr/Drakh is an old
project/recording Drakhon and me made, which Roger
Karmanik has promised to release on a CMI sub-label.
Unfortunately he still (after 2.5 years) hasn’t
released it. But it will come, I trust Roger completely.
The music is more ambient than MZ. 412 and features some
guitars and classic BM vocals. I’m also involved in
another project but it is too early to mention now…
"Eternal is the war
against the false Judeo-Khristian dogma!" Can you
explain to the readers why you feel so much hate against
the church. (Actually I want to hear your whole theory
and philosophy about this subject). What did they do
wrong to you (or us) and what do you want to win back?
I could write an essay on the
subject, but I won’t bore you. It’s all been
said a thousand times before. The root of evil in the
western society is Christianity - representing a totally
unnatural way of life.
Algiz, Uruz, Nautiz &
Othila are a small, but interesting detail on your "Burning
the temple of god" album. Are you willing to reveal
the profound meaning of these, on a personal level or in
general?
Algiz means protection, Algiz
may represent a time when unwanted influences venture
into ones marked territory, we try to stay clean in
spirit and soul with its help.
Uruz is a vital untamed
source of energy, giving us the motivation to create our
works.
Nauthiz represents the need
we have to express ourselves through this medium, and an
outlet of feelings - both personal and collective.
Othila, being the rune of
inheritance and possessions, makes us aware of our
background as Scandinavians, doing anything to honor our
roots.
To which one of the 9
worlds represented by Yggdrasil do you feel most related?
Why?
Tricky question… I
believe my answer will be both, Midgard and Jotunheim.
Midgard, because I feel strong for the survival of our
world (not necessarily for everything living on it though),
and Jotunheim for its total chaos and eternal winter. I
love the winter!
Do you got a certain
thought or theory about misanthropy and/or nihilism?
No, not really…
misanthropy to some extent is healthy, you can’t
love everybody, and the truth is that most people are
assholes.
What can we expect from MZ.
412 in the future? Do you have an own vision about what
the future will bring?
Hopefully we will continue to
make interesting music that is if our equipment survives
the Y2K problem… Muahahahaaaa, no seriously we are
planning some collaborations with other bands, and right
now we are collecting source material for new tracks.
