Watain on North American Tour: 'Wilderness and Depravity Awaits'

Posted on Nov 8th 2010 12:00PM by Amy Sciarretto Comments

WatainAnthony Dubois

A lawless and dark cloud has settled over American soil, but don't run for cover. It's just the evil goodness of Swedish black metal overlords Watain, who are sweeping through 24 cities all over North America for the next month or so in support of 'Lawless Darkness.' They'll be spreading their blackened metal seed with Goatwhore and Black Anvil laughing maniacally by their side.

The tour is also Watain's maiden voyage in American as a complete five-piece band, due to various criminal records and other bureaucratic balogna which has sidelined members. The Devil's Blood's SL will play second guitar for the Watain tour dates, as Set has been denied entry to the U.S. -- again. Nevertheless, border patrol forces should fear Watain, because 'Lawless Darkness' annihilates the listener like ritualistic blood sacrifice, and as vocalist E proudly told Noisecreep, "We've emptied the very bowels of our hearts on that album!"

Watain and their empty bowels are going to lay waste to the U.S., musically speaking. Don't expect them to be, you know, burning churches or anything extreme like that. "There's never enough time on a tour to indulge in much else than the shows themselves, which is perfectly fine with me," said E about killing time while on the road. "Then there is of course the decadence and debauchery surrounding them. [The U.S.] has quite a lot to offer when it comes to the latter, so I have no worries about staying busy."

E steadfastly admitted he does not pay attention to the band's status in the underground black metal genre -- we're not talking the Cradle of Filths and Dimmu Borgirs of the world here -- which has been rising to prominence. E said, "I just know that we have always followed our hearts in which the shunned tradition of black metal has been embedded for many years. Anyone that does that has rightfully earned his place in my book. I hope others judge by the same values, but then again, I would not care much if they wouldn't."

Watain obviously prefer to traffic in the dark and eschew the light. It's not pretty, but it is effective. "We will spread the very light of our god, which is purity-driven to such degree that it is taken for horror, madness and darkness in the eyes of the blind," E said. "Come to the show and see for yourselves ... many a night of wilderness and depravity awaits."

E said he skips other hobbies and pursuits because his entire life is based around what he calls the "temple of Watain," which "includes and requires quite a variety of tasks as well as the skills to perform them. Everything from meditation to writing to guitar playing to knife wielding to Harley riding."

The singer also shed a sliver of light on the chilling darkness that comes with the black metal genre, saying, "It comes from the places which the reflective powers of their minds shut out, and choose to deny. Such is the nature of the human mind, for it is created to 'protect' and to chain the individual within the illusion of his ego and his conception of 'reality.' When he gets too close to the fire, he pulls away his hand. When the streetlights on the way back home have gone out, he chooses a different route. When the Lord comes, he turns away. Some call it protection, I call it limitation."

Filed under: Interview, Tours

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