The Enigmatic Serpent Ascending

Serpent Ascending is presented by Jarno Nurmi whose many underground metal credits include membership within Slugathor, Desecresy, Nerlich, and many other supreme entities.  Surely a personal work of mystical artistry, The Enigma Unsettled is the debut blackened death masterwork now unleashed through I, Voidhanger Records.  In this interview, we discuss with Serpent Ascending’s creator about the origins of the songs, a compelling study of Satanism, future plans with Serpent Ascending and the various other projects, and other topics of interest.   Read on for darkened enlightenment…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Serpent Ascending, and how long the band has been together.
My name is J. Nurmi. Excluding the session drummer on the album I am currently the only member of Serpent Ascending. Serpent Ascending was founded in 2008 when I found my creative skills again after a long break that took about 3 years. The name Serpent Ascending already reveals what the project is about: Spiritual ascension of the fiery Serpent that has been known with many names (Satan, Shiva, Lucifer etc.) during the millenia.

Where are you based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
Serpent Ascending comes from Helsinki, Finland. The scene here is quite large. Many people are into metal music and it’s definitely one of the most popular genres in Finland. Active undergound scene with many great bands especially within Black Metal scene. Finnish underground Death Metal is not that popular here but the scene is very much alive. Or dead if you wish.

Is there any story or concept to the CD title The Enigma Unsettled?
Occult themes of the album are always more or less enigmatic and esoteric and simply put that’s basically where the album title comes from and it also summarizes the utmost feelings that the music contains.

The album doesn’t have any single story. It’s divided into three parts that are called The Mournful Pilgrimage, Serpent Ascending and The Entwinement and they all have their own concepts that deal with different views on occultism even though there are some themes that are visible through every part of the album. For example the concept of spiritual purification that is death as transformation and change. It’s not the physical death but death before actually dying followed by rebirth into more illumined states.

The Mournful Pilgrimage is the journey through the dark aspect of man that is equally important as the light side which usually gets more attention than its darker counterpart. Serpent Ascending is the ecstatic yet sometimes painful awakening of the fiery Serpent that burns away the dirt within our being. The Entwinement literally entwines these two sides together.

Select any two Serpent Ascending songs and what inspired the lyrics?
The title track of the album was inspired by the paradoxical nature of the world we’re living in and the quest for the meaning. A journey that drives some men insane yet leads some towards the enlightenment.

“The Entwinement” is a vow to aspire towards the Truth however difficult the Way might turn out to be. It marks the decision to voluntarily go through the forge that changes the whole being of man. It is not primarily a physical change but a spiritual one. In the middle section there’s a plea to be entwined into and become one with the greater force and consciousness of the master within us. The ending of the song is something that usually can only be expressed in poetical and mysterious ways. It is the union and oneness of gods that are seen in opposition to each other. There are reasons for the separation but in our earthly life they are extremely difficult to understand.

Who did the fantastic artwork for The Enigma Unsettled and how much input did you have on it?
The artwork is made by an American artist called Wiley Trieff. Personally I didn’t have any input on the artwork. It was suggested to me by Luciano of I, Voidhanger records and I thought the pictures suited the music perfectly. Of course there’s always some troubles when fittting two art forms together when they’re created separately and might have different creative intentions but I think the outcome turned out to be great. I hope the artist himself could also be equally satisfied with the result of this entwinement. His terrific artwork truly deserves attention and I am happy to give my relatively small input on that.

Since you are in at least three other bands, what made you decide to start Serpent Ascending? What do you find within this project that you don’t find in the other bands?
The main reason was the urge to make it in my own way and express things that couldn’t have been expressed with other bands because they’re main ideals were and are different and are mostly channeled by other people. Currently I am in two other bands, namely Desecresy and Nowen. Both bands are expressing more or less different things from Serpent Ascending and I know we couldn’t have found agreement on how to handle these songs that are now released on The Enigma Unsettled. The main difference is that they are not as deeply and consciously based on ideological and spiritual basis. There are some similaritities between Desecresy and Serpent Ascending and from my point of view the bands are like different beams from the same source but must be led separately.

What does the term Satanism mean to you, if anything?
Satanism is based on individuality, i.e. the individualized consciousness as opposed to the oneness. It’s not against the oneness although it sometimes might seem to be so. More truthfully we could say that the separation from the oneness is a crucial part of the progressing spirituality and at a certain point the aspirant (an occultist, yogi etc.) must become a Satanist. Actually I think that every individual must become a Satanist at some point to develop the pure vision of the Self and it should happen under spiritual guidance of the inner master. Satanism is definitely NOT about being an egotist which is about confusing the personality and the mind (or the physical body) to be the Self which they are not. That’s one of the basic mistakes in hedonistic and atheistic views of Satanism. I see Satan as the ruling principle and archetype of our world, not as an evil deceiver but as the grand challenger who brings us the trial and the triumph when we surpass the tests that come to us only in our present state of separation. There’s other sides to him too but not enough space to write.

Since The Enigma Unsettled is basically two earlier albums, how close are you to recording an all new masterwork?
I am working on the next album and have a few songs ready. The album will be the first magnum opus of Serpent Ascending bringing in some new elements while maintaining familiar things that deserve to be preserved. I have a concept slowly crystallizing in my mind and the album will continue with occult concept and the main idea is to go through seven main archetypal manifestations of Satan.

Have you ever performed live as Serpent Ascending or plan to do so in the future?
I have plans to play live with Serpent Ascending in the future but the line-up is not yet completed. Probably after the next album there will be a good chance to play live as the bands musical and idealistic foundation has found its external forms. This far there has been no chances for live activities or members because the band has been “hermetically sealed”. Wrong inspiration and disagreements can damage the work during the vulnerable early stages and that’s why Serpent Ascending had to be spawned solely by me.

How did the collaborating with I, Voidhanger Recordings come about?
I had finished working with The Mournful Pilgrimage demo in December 2010 and uploaded it on the myspace site and Luciano from the recording label heard the songs. He then contacted me with a recording deal in mind. It was something that I had expected and hoped to happen and was really happy with Lucianos vision. A strong vision certainly is something that metal scene and music in general need today: A vision filled with enthusiasm that go through all obstacles and builds monuments that last long and are never seen before.

What’s up next for Serpent Ascending and your other bands and projects?
I am currently writing new songs for the album that will be the next step in the ascension of Serpent Ascending. Some of those ideas I already told about earlier in the interview.

With Desecresy we’re recording the second album. Actually vocals are the only part that are yet to be recorded. In my opinion the album is a huge step forward and not just musically but lyrically too as these sides are equally important to me.

Nowen also recorded its second album earlier in the autumn 2011 and it will see the light of day during the beginning of the next year. The album contains some great thrash/death metal with a touch of originality.

Any final words of wisdom?
I wish all the best to you and everyone reading the interview. Thank you very much!

(Interview by Kenneth Morton)

Serpent Ascending on Myspace
I, Voidhanger Official Home Page