Temple ov Ahriman interview

Hail! Temple ov Ahriman was born during the Covid years, like countless other solo projects. Looking back now, do you think this band could have existed under normal circumstances, or did isolation itself become part of the DNA?

Yes and no. I essentially retired from music for five years during my mid to late 20's, and what I realized during that time is that I can never completely close the book on music. It's just one of those things I have to do in order to feel fulfilled. So creating and performing music will always be a part of my life regardless. But certainly the covid lockdowns and other developments in my personal life allowed me the freedom to pursue this project with a unique fervor and achieve things creatively that might not have been possible under any other circumstances.

You mention that the material originally began as songs for another band’s follow-up. At what point did you realize this music no longer belonged there?

Well, I think the guys in the other group were maybe a bit overwhelmed at the pace I was churning out new songs. Or maybe they just didn't think the musical direction I was taking was right for that band. I don't really know, but for whatever reason they weren't bothering to learn much of the material. After about a year and a half of waiting I decided something had to be done. I did not want to sit on this material any longer, so the only option I saw forward was to start my own project as an outlet for these songs.

Was Temple ov Ahriman created because the material was too different - or because you didn’t trust other musicians to execute it the way you wanted?

No, I don't think it was too different. Sure, there's some songs that were sort of a departure, but it felt like a natural evolution to me. Really it was just a matter of time and efficiency. Tomorrow is not promised and I had to get these songs out there one way or another.

The title Heretics of Consensual Reality is strong, but also deliberately loaded. What exactly is “consensual reality” in your eyes - social illusion, imposed morality, mass psychology, something else?

There is an author on the occult named S Ben Qayin. In his books he describes something he calls the Consensual Reality Matrix. This is the causal, mundane world that just about everyone agrees to be true. The black magickian, however, is someone who seeks to influence and effect change in this world through means that most would not acknowledge to be "real" or "legitimate". Thus, the act of ritual black magick can be interpreted as an act of "heresy" against the CRM.

If reality itself is consensual, does that mean truth is negotiable?

Well, this Q and A certainly took a philosophical turn. There's certainly as many "truths" out there as there are people on this earth. The thing about "truth" is it pretends to be static and unchanging when nothing in nature truly is. The only contant is change and by that logic lies are more "real" than truth itself cause what is a lie if not fluid, dynamic and ever changing? Change is also an opportunity for growth. That's why we on the Left Hand Path embrace the "Prince of Lies".

That title also suggests opposition by default - heresy against collective agreement. But black metal has been “heretical” for so long that the word risks becoming decorative. What makes your form of heresy actually meaningful?

A sincere and honest spiritual expression of occult beliefs in theory and in practice.

The record took several years, three studios, and thousands of dollars to complete. At any point did you consider that perfectionism might be damaging the spirit of the album rather than preserving it?

That did cross my mind. There is a certain spontaneity and enthusiasm absent during your third go around in the studio versus your first, and maybe that's reflected in the performance. Maybe not. I think the results speak for themselves, though. I left those final sessions feeling like I had done everything humanly possible to make it the best record that it could be.

There’s a romantic mythology around one-man black metal projects, but there’s also the obvious danger of no external resistance. Who tells Thornicator when something isn’t working?

My intuition mostly. I know what sounds good and what doesn't, and there will certainly be some things on later records that challenge closed minds, but I didn't write all the music that I have by limiting myself to a narrow set of self-imposed restrictions. I like to think of any stylistic departures as a broadening of the sound rather than a fundamental transformation of it.

You mention combining second-wave black metal, Finnish black metal, and D-beat. That’s an interesting triangle, because one is built on atmosphere, one on violence, and one on propulsion. Which of those forces dominates the writing?

Atmosphere, for sure. And in the broadest sense of the term. It really all boils down to the vibe of the song and the emotions that it stirs up in people. My intention with this project was always to write evocative music with minimalistic riffs, relying heavily on harmony to accomplish such in lieu of flashy melodies.

Finnish black metal is often misunderstood outside the underground - many reduce it to just ugliness and chaos. What specific qualities of that scene speak to you?

Well, there's a certain sonic juxtaposition present that I enjoy. It's somehow both dirty and melodic at the same time. But I think what really draws me to it is the devil-may-care attitude a lot of those acts have. Most of the decisions they make, from their recording choices to the ideologies they embrace, doom them to a career of commercial inviability. But rather than roll over and admit defeat their response is to simply go the DIY route and start their own label, festival, etc. That level of commitment to authenticity, and the drive to overcome any adversity that may follow, is inspiring to me.

D-beat has always carried a punk directness that black metal often lacks. Was bringing that in a way of cutting through black metal’s tendency toward abstraction?

Hmm, no. I would say it just a matter of injecting these primal high energy, high intensity moments into a track to break up the monotony.

A lot of contemporary black metal bands invoke second-wave traditions while sounding too polished to carry the same danger. With three studios involved, how did you avoid sterilizing the material?

Sometimes I'm not sure that I succeeded at that. Haha. Even when I received the final mixes I had my doubts that it was maybe a bit too clean still and hadn't quite struck that balance that I was aiming for. It wasn't until the mastering process that things took a turn that I was really enthusiastic about. I told him that I wanted more of a lo-fi finished product and he did something (I'm not sure what) to make it sound a bit more dirty and granular without sacrificing too much clarity.

Austin is hardly known as a black metal city. Has that worked for you or against you?

Probably against me. It makes it harder to find musicians for live shows. That's for sure.

The promo says you had “too much material for one band to learn”. That almost sounds like an accusation against collaboration itself. Is black metal ultimately better when fewer hands are involved?

I feel creating in general is better done alone. At least for me. I'd rather pull my own teeth out than woodshed material with three or four other guys. There's just no need for that nowadays and it's terribly inefficient.

What’s one obscure Finnish black metal release that shaped this album more than the obvious names?

Hmm, I can think of a few but if I had to pick just one I would probably go with "Enter the Necropolis" by Sarastus.

The name Temple ov Ahriman immediately points toward adversarial cosmology, dualism, and destruction. Yet the album title seems to question dualism through “consensual reality”. Is there tension there, or is contradiction part of the point?

Personally, I don't see a contradiction there but I suspect the meanings we deduce from those names may differ slightly. Temple ov Ahriman was a band name I entertained as far back as 2014, and 'Heretics of Consensual Reality' is an album title that I thought of five years later in 2019. The two were conceived separately at entirely different periods of my life. Any comparisons between the two seems to be overanalyzing things a bit, but that's just my opinion.

You describe the album as a “journey”, which is one of the most abused words in metal. So let me ask differently: where does the listener end up after these 42 minutes?

I'm not sure, but the thing about a journey is it's about the journey, not the destination. The sequence of the album is very important to me. There's high points and low points on this record and a lot of thought and consideration went into where those moments are placed. I liken it to composing one large "master song" of sorts with the individual tracks as your "riffs" to work with.

After years of setbacks, money, and obsession, what would have hurt more - releasing this unfinished, or never releasing it at all?

I think never releasing it at all would have been much worse. Of course no one wants their stuff to be widely circulated before it's complete, but I think that would be preferrable to those songs doing absolutely nothing on a hard drive somewhere.

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