The cult of the night and of nature, added to an irrepressible passion for the power of blood, have made Krvna pass us by this end of the year with the publication of his second full length «For Thine Is the Kingdom of the Flesh». Respect the classics, especially Swedish, but brings fresh air to black metal.
REA- Hello Krvna, can I call you Krvna? Welcome to our humble abode.
KRVNA – Hello & Thank you for taking the time to put this interview together, likewise, I am humbled and Hails to you and to all fans in Spain!!!
REA- For someone clueless or far from black metal scene, How you would define Krvna?
KRVNA- is a one-man black metal project that began to take form in 2020. This year being the first year of CoVID restrictions here in Australia, my father died from cancer, and I broke my shoulder at around the same time as his passing. So KRVNA became my ‘way out’ of a depression I had forming over the course of that year. It was a good distraction, to say the least.
REA- Personally, you have been involved in music for quite some time. Tell us how and why you leave the above and start Krvna.
KRVNA – Yes, I have played in many bands over the years and was lucky enough to tour and play many shows, but this was many years ago. Whilst I was still actively involved in music, I had stopped playing shows back in 2012. So, the last decade was spent in almost a self-imposed ‘exile’, despite still playing and writing much music at home. After I had developed an accumulation of riffs and ideas, and was physically fit enough (after I broke my shoulder), I had decided to start KRVNA and began recording ideas for the demo and for my first album, Sempinfernus.
REA- It’s only been a year and a half since the release of the excellent «Long Forgotten Relic» demo, which left us all stunned, impossible to get a copy of that cassette! Tell us about that first recording.
KRVNA – I didn’t want to release ‘Sempinfernus’ first – and I genuinely wanted to release a demo, like in the old days. And, on cassette, too, as how it was done when we were young, back in the early 90’s. So, to me, my demo was very much a ‘tipping of the hat’ or a mark of respect to the old days, and the old ways.
REA- In 2022 it was reissued with two new songs through Zazen. How does it arise?
KRVNA – The re-release was organised by V.P Adept from Acherontas/Zazen fame. He and I had been in contact since the release of the demo – he was onboard very early on in the history of KRVNA. The idea of re-releasing the demo was appealing to me as it was only ever released on 50 copies of cassette. So, having it on CD with some extra tracks felt like appropriate. The Two new songs ‘Tithonus I & II’ were recorded and written at around the same time as ‘For Thine’ was. The lyrics were recital from a poem I enjoy by Lord Tennyson – “Tithonus”; a man who is granted immortality but not immortal youth.
REA- Just a few months later, your first FL, «Sempinfernus», was published. Was it the same recording session as «Long Forgotten…»? This album has already attracted a lot of attention in the black circuit, both trves and among more open minds Kike. What is the secret?
KRVNA – Yes – time flies! Sempinfernus was released a little over a year ago now and was most definitely received well. This album to me has a darker and more abrasive feel to it, when compared to my other releases. This compliments my state of mind at the time of writing, I guess! As for the secret – well, I just make sure only the good riffs make it to the album. I definitely never plan on having ‘filler’ songs on my recordings – so every riff, every song, needs to be part of my ‘A game’. If I come to a point in life where I am no longer convinced of my own music, or have nothing left to say, I’ll stop releasing music. So far, so good, though & life (and death) has provided me with much inspiration!
REA- Just a year later you release your second FL «For Thine Is the Kingdom of the Flesh». Tell us about the process of writing and recording this marvelous album.
KRVNA – This was recorded in a similar fashion to all of my other releases. The riffs were compiled over a period of well over 10 years. I literally had hundreds of ideas and would selectively and carefully put the ideas to together to form songs. The over sound/feel/atmosphere of the music would be dictated to me during the mixing and arranging process. I didn’t necessarily have ideas in mind of how I wanted albums to pan out – but in the end the mixes would take on a life of their own and I would just follow the album’s path, naturally.
REA- For «For Thine is…» you get files from Third Eye Temple, and you take care of recording and mixing yourself. Why the change?
KRVNA – Yes – I like seeing ideas through from their creation to the final product. So, from writing the riffs, arranging, mixing, mastering… it feels only natural to be involved every step of the way, in the hope that at least I create a unique sounding product. Third Eye Temple & Ancient Dead have been in close contact with me since the release of Sempinfernus & the move to release For Thine’ through them felt quite natural. We get along very well, and I like how they work, and in turn, they appreciate my work, too.
REA- Also stylistic change. It sounds less melodic Swedish black and has a lot of personality. Is it a natural evolution or have you wanted to correct things regarding the debut?
KRVNA – You know I don’t generally have an idea of how an album is going to sound overall, when i first start to put the ideas together. At this early stage, everything sounds much the same and similar, to me. It is only during arrangement & mixing, where the songs and album tend to take on their own form, to me. Yes it’s definitely a natural evolution, none of the stylistic changes here were forced, they occurred naturally and to me this is the best way, to keep things convincing. I think deliberately pushing music into certain spheres can make things feel and sound a little disingenuous.
REA- Why did you decide to include the «Gethsemane Ablaze» re-recording of your debut demo?
KRVNA – Gethsemane Ablaze is a very important song to me – If i were to choose one track that would help define what the overall sound KRVNA is/has, it would be this one. And I felt its sound and subject matter were appropriate for the current album. It fits perfectly and needed to be re-recorded and shown to a greater audience, I think.
REA- At the level of acceptance and criticism, you will be happy, right? Or is it something you don’t care about? How far does Krvna want to go?
KRVNA – Yeah, you know you can’t ever please everybody – not everyone is going to like your music. We are involved in a subjective exercise and everyone is going to approach things in life a little differently. Some people will immediately understand what I am trying to achieve, and others won’t get it at all, and I’m OK with this. My music isn’t for everyone. I’m not here to try and re-invent the wheel. I’d said this earlier, my music should be viewed as a sign of respect for the old ways & I hope people can hear this in it.
REA- Are you already thinking about the next job?
KRVNA – Yes, most definitely – I’m always writing and trying to come up with ideas of what to do next. This time it might be in the form of another album, or a few EPs or split releases; time will tell!
REA- The album is a delight at the sound level but added to a concept and atmosphere as rich and addictive as that of blood, night and ritual vampirism. Tell us how and why that theme.
KRVNA – These ideas were not foreign to me. Even as a child I grew up hearing of Stories of vampirism, witchcraft, shapeshifting, and death. These stories were handed down to me from my mother, her family is originally from a small, oft forgotten village on the Istrian peninsula, in Croatia. We are descended from Romanian folk, people who’d left their mother country some 600 years ago from Transylvania and kept their traditions, culture and folk stories alive, even to this day. However, it should be said that their language is currently listed as one of Europe’s Most Endangered languages/cultures by UNESCO, Istro-Romanian. Growing up this way, hearing these stories, I feel I never had a choice of how I was going to turn out. This is all expressed quite naturally and honestly through my music.
REA- We’re not talking about vampire TV commercials and comics. We talk about Strigoi within a very dense and studied philosophical concept. Tell us about your training in the subject and tell us some basic concept to get started on the subject please.
KRVNA – Absolutely – my ancestors truly believed in these things. My mother even has a story of being accosted by a vampire as a child, that she would be visited each night and blood sucked out of her by (what the local witches called) ‘Morana’. ‘Morana’ also happens to be the slavonic deity of death and winter, and I am sure this is of no co-incidence. Even though we are only a generation out, living in the new world, the echoes of the past can still be heard, even here in Australia. I wanted my music to be another way of shining a light on this glorious, darkened past.
REA- Explain to us about transubstantiation and your belief in immortality.
KRVNA – The more I’ve lived, and the older I get, the less appealing immortality becomes. We grow tired of life, I think, and when the time comes, many of us a exhausted and ready for that eternal ‘nothingness’. Some, however, may not be so ready, and these ideas of immortality have seemingly subsequently been with humanity since its dawn. It is a romantic concept, though, but perhaps we should be weary of such things, like the warnings put forward in Tennyson’s Poem, ‘Tithonus’.
As for transubstantiation – the fact that christians believe in this concept was fascinating to me. This is the literal consumption of the flesh and blood of Christ in order to obtain immortality. It’s easy to draw parallels with vampirism and multitudes of other pre-christian/pagan beliefs. The concept of blood veneration, of sacrifice to appease gods, to achieve immortality – these ideas live with us, seemingly even in one of humanity’s most common modern-day religions & this should be of little to no surprise, most of Christianity’s rituals & concepts are just re-appropriated from the many belief systems that pre-ceded it. Nothing new, here.
REA- In black, above all, it is very common to be a single member. In your case, what positive and negative points do you see in this? Any plans on playing live?
KRVNA – It feels appropriate/right for KRVNA to be a one-man band. My philosophy is built upon misanthropic & anti-life ideals. There is nothing sacred about this pathetic existence. I’ve seen too much, experienced many bad things in life… So, believing this; the concept of the one-man band, of not being on anyone’s ‘team’ or ‘side’ – is an honest representation & manifestation of these ideals. Having said all of this though, I am always in talks with close friends about the prospective idea of maybe one day taking KRVNA, live. It may, or may not happen, I suppose time may tell. I am quite happy with things remaining as they currently are.
REA- It is impossible not to wonder about your musical influences. Also tell us about other influences such as literary or artistic.
KRVNA – I grew up in the late 80’s early 90’s, and I could rattle off a list of bands that influenced me and I am sure you would not be surprised, and you would also more than likely hear the influence these bands have had on my music. It started off with Death Metal – Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Obituary, but very quickly turned to Black Metal. I’d by chance picked up a ‘Darkthrone’ CD in a local store where I grew up… I was 15. This was a watershed moment, for me. I remembered looking at this cover (Panzerfaust) and thinking ‘What the fuck is this!!!???!!!???’ with total amazement. From there, Emperor, Mayhem, Dissection, Abigor… the list goes on. As for literary influences, of late I’ve been reading Walt Whitman & Dylan Thomas poetry. Art – my favourite is Doré.
REA- As a sound engineer, please convince me about the myth of mastering. A lot of bands spend a lot of money on it. Do you think it’s necessary or is it just because of the name and label of «Mastered in…».
KRVNA – Sure – mastering to me is essentially the act of ensuring a balanced & dynamically sound end result, while being able to compete against the volume of everything else that is released around it. We’re in the post ‘volume war’ era of mastering now, and to me it’s an act of ensuring my mixes will work on desired platforms eg digital, cassette, vinyl, CD. Each one of these platforms serve as a final filter to the listener. So mastering, as an act, is just to ensure that the music is delivered appropriately and accordingly via each platform. CD volumes can be much higher than volumes set for vinyl, for example. Also, you want less bottom end and high-end sibilance on vinyl, too. So mastering is a way of taking care of this, prospectively without changing the overall perceived mix. As to whether or not it’s integral to have it mastered by a studio of note – no, I don’t think this is necessary in this day and age. Also – we’re playing black metal, so being picky about this kind of thing is generally counterintuitive, don’t you think?
REA- Do you think that black metal is in fashion and is atrophying or losing its essence?
KRVNA – I definitely don’t think Black Metal is in fashion. There looks to have been a time where it was definitely something a great degree of people were interested in, but these days, it seems more like a relic from a bygone era to me. I’m OK with this. I don’t think Black Metal suits the modern age – it’s principles and philosophy are seemingly at complete loggerheads with what is currently considered cool, appropriate, and ‘safe’. Is it in a state of atrophy? Judging by output alone, I would hazard a guess at ‘no’, but at the same time if I am to factor in effect on its ‘essence’ – we may definitely be dealing with some kind of existential crisis, haha. I think like every generation, the information that is passed down is copied, and copied imperfectly, and you end up something that may resemble the original source but has deviated enough in which it no longer espouses original attributes & or Ideals. Does some modern black metal have this problem? Yes. But not all.
REA- At REA we are intense. What is the underground for you? What is your opinion about that gap between the underground and the big bands?
KRVNA – The underground is part of the scene that espouses the most genuine product. It is free from editing/censorship & doesn’t play by the rules. Invariably bands that manage to make it out of the ‘underground’ seemingly play by a different rule book. There’d obviously be pros and cons to both states – I have little to no ambition about changing the position of my band. I am happy with where I am, and what I am doing, and I infrequently consider what other acts are doing, at current. I am not young anymore, and don’t bother keeping abreast of what the modern world is doing. This includes what’s happening (for the most part) with the BM scene, underground, or ‘major’ league.
REA- Are you one of those musicians who consume concerts? I know of many who complain about lack of support and then don’t show up for events…
KRVNA – Rarely – I played a festival late last year and this was the first show I’d contributed to in a very long time. It’s not something that interests me much, in all honesty. I infrequently make it out to shows, too, but it all really depends on who is playing and whether or not they’re of interest, to me.
REA- I imagine you heard about the recent Morbid meeting. What do you think? Would you have liked to attend?
KRVNA – I think people our age were all reasonably excited at this idea. I think there’s a degree of nostalgia that creeps in with time, and bands reforming, and particularly in this case, having Dead’s brother assuming vocal responsibilities was such a good idea. Would I have liked to attend? Sure!!
REA- Do you currently reside in Australia? How is the extreme scene over there? Recommend us something from the underground there. I’m still in love with the onewomanband Suldusk
KRVNA – Yes, I am living in Sydney, Australia. This city sucks the very life out of your soul. Everything is so expensive, and life is difficult here. Everyone is constantly treading water. There are some fantastic bands that have come from the Australian Scene over the decades. Starting with Slaughterlord, Sadistik Exekution, Nazxul, Armoured Angel to the more current bands, Drowning The Light, Pestilential Shadows, Runespell, Graveir…I could keep going. Whilst in Australia the scene is relatively small, it definitely punches above its weight in output!
REA- Do you know anything about the Spanish extreme scene?
KRVNA – I’ve been in contact with the band Ouija from time to time online & saw they’d released a new album this year which I genuinely enjoyed!
REA- Finally, a classic question. Out masks. Those hidden tastes, difficult to confess but innocent. Some mainstream band you listen to, unexpected hobbies…
KRVNA – I grew up in the ‘grunge’ era – so I listen to a lot of music that came out of Seattle, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana. I also like a lot of 80’s New Wave stuff, too. Damned Nostalgia!!! As for unexpected hobbies, prior to music I was very much involved in martial arts, but gave that up, many, many moons ago.
REA- Thank you very much and congratulations on your music. Say goodbye to the interview as you want. Here your house. big hug and good luck
KRVNA – Thank you again for this opportunity and who knows, maybe one day I’ll make my way to your beautiful country and get to check out what your local music scene has to offer! I may just hit you up! Cheers!!
Rock Entre Amigos 