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Welcome to Hierophant Nox Issue III! Apologies that it has been slightly
delayed; I think January is a world-wide pain in the ass, and many of the bands we have
interviewed recently have been hit by illness, emergencies and general changes of plans,
so it’s been best for us all to delay our issue date by a couple of days.
Our special
feature this fortnight is an interview we were lucky enough to conduct with Asomvel at Ian’s
lovely club, which happens to be located a couple of miles from my house (which was news
to me, but I don’t go out much…). As a webzine, you get used to conducting
interviews via email, or instant messenger, so when you do occasionally get out there are
sit across a table (of alcohol) from your target, it’s a special occasion.
We also have
another ‘Shipwrecked Sounds’ for you, courtesy of Helvetia (Earthwhore/Throne Ov
Damnation). As every one of his choices seems to make him horrible, depressed or violent,
we’ll just have to hope he doesn’t get stuck on the island with any poor
unsuspecting innocents.
In the review
section we’ve been blessed with a wonderful bounty from Cold Spring Records, which we
have fought over tooth and nail; Deadwood, Sagittarius and Nordvargr all feature this
issue, with more to follow in February. We’ve also had a look at Agonia’s latest
offering; Dead Man’s Hand from Norway, and Satanic Muttley has been thrashing all
around to new releases on Relapse, namely 16 and Rumplestiltskin Grinder. We’ve
covered a really wide variety of sounds with our reviews this fortnight, so don’t
overlook any which are unfamiliar; you might discover a gem.
Apart from
Asomvel, we spoke to the wonderful Bahn, a gentleman and a friend, who elucidated the
future plans of Abalam, Slitvein and the ‘This Way to the Dark Ride’ radio show.
I caught up with Amaroc, a new band from Norway with a great pedigree and an instantly
impressive sound, and got to know Immolith, whose work in Coffin was featured last
fortnight, a little better. We also checked in with Azrael of Ethereal Forest to get the
latest on his new venture.
I’m pleased
to say that we’ve recruited another alcoholic zombie underling for writing duties; Mr
Dave Waite of the print zine Corpseplayer will be joining us on a rather roving and
freelance basis. I’ve worked with Dave extensively in the past, and must say
(although don’t tell him) he’s one of my favourite writers, so I’m really
looking forward to seeing what he produces for us. Much like Muttley, he likes ‘weird’
things, and is currently researching for a thesis on dark ambient music, so hey, he’ll
fit right in.
Issue IV (oh my!)
will be up on 12.02.09 as planned, and will feature Generic, Slagmaur, Skaldic Curse,
Tyrann and doubtlessly many more. If you’d like to be involved, check out our ‘Contacts’
page for details.
Lastly, thank you
to ALL who have made our launch month so fabulous. 20 interviews, 45 reviews and two
massive label focus features far exceeds our original targets, and we’re thrilled
with how it’s all going. I haven’t tallied the number of words we’ve spewed
forth over the past 31 days; it’s not quite “War
and Peace” but it’s getting on for a short novella in length. Here’s to
many more novellas of extremity…
Dark regards
Ellen –
Editor
HIEROPHANT NOX |
