Through An Uncompromising Darkness with Entartung

Through An Uncompromising Darkness with Entartung

Entartung has emerged from the shadows to unleash Maleficae Artes, their next absorbing chapter of  brooding black metal artistry via Dunkelheit Produktionen.  Featuring lyrical content devoted to the darker chapters of human history set to a sonic intensity that is absolutely staggering, Maleficae Artes by Entartung is sure to enrapture all types of adventurous music fanatics.  Highwire Daze recently interviewed Vulfolaic, bassist and vocalist of Entartung, to unravel some of the mysteries of this amazing trio and the gripping manifestations found within Maleficae Artes.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Entartung, and how long the band has been together.
I go by the alias Vulfolaic; I take care of the vocals and bass. Entartung was founded by our guitar player Lykormas back in 2011. I joined shortly afterwards. We hired Haistulf on drums in relation to a live show we once did in 2015; he’s been on the drum throne ever since.

Where is the band based out of and what is the metal scene like there?
Two thirds of the band is from Limburg. I have no idea about other regional bands, to be honest. We prefer to pay attention to what we’re doing instead of the endeavours of others – not to be arrogant or antisocial pricks, but simply because such distractions are futile.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Maleficae Artes title?
No, there is no general concept or overarching to this album. All the individual tracks tell their own tale.

Select two songs from Maleficae Artes and what inspired the lyrics.
Our lyrics are often inspired by actual historical anecdotes instead of made-up stories, because this obviously adds another dimension and a sense of realisme. This particular angle of our lyrics is represented on this album by the tracks “Aufruhr MDXXV” and “Tower of Silence”.

“Aufruhr MDXXV” is inspired by the peasant revolts in Germany in the 16th century, more specifically by an episode in 1525 where local authority is overthrown and meeting the gruesome wrath of the commoners.
“Tower of Silence” deals with a way of disposing corpses which is highly unusual in this part of the world, but common in parts of Asia for over two thousand years, called excarnation. The basic idea is that a corpse is unclean and is able to pollute the elements associated with other funerary customs such as inhumation (earth) and cremation (fire).

Who did the cover art for Maleficae Artes and how much influence did you have on it?
The cover art is a painting by the Italian Baroque painter Salvador Rosa. We are keen on having historical paintings as artwork; but prefer to edit them somewhat in order to make them fully our own and to prevent ending up with exactly the same cover art as some other band.

What has it been like to release new music in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and so much social and political unrest?
It’s always pleasant to get close to the release of a new album, but we have of course lived with this material for quite a while now. The few people whose opinion we value have indicated to like the new album, so we’re quite pleased with the final result. So it’s business as usual, more or less.

As far as current events go, I’m not too bothered. Of course there are some mildly annoying delays in manufacturing and distribution, but that’s about it. As an individual, you’re only influenced by these matters to the degree you allow yourself to be influenced. A lot of people apparently like to be riled up by newspapers, TV, social media, and so forth – but I am not. There’s only so much potential time, attention and energy a person has to spend.

What could one expect from a live Entartung show?
Darkness.

If Entartung could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
That’s a hard question, there are quite a few interesting live acts both in the past and present. There are a number of originators of the black metal style that would have been a pleasure and honour to play with.

Germany is famous for their BEER! What is your favourite beer of choice and why?
I’m not a big connoisseur of beer or alcohol in general; I haven’t even had a single drop of alcohol in ages.
That said, there’s plenty of good Pilsner and Weißbier in Germany.

Next year will signify 10 years in the existence of Entartung. What do you think has kept Entartung so creative and intensive for nearly a decade and through 4 albums?
Well, I’ve been in many bands with many different people in the past three decades and I have come to realise that it all depends on having the right people, having realistic expectations, respecting each other and putting the greater good of the project before the ego of the individual.  I think we have come quite close to meeting all those criteria in Entartung, which explains why we’re still around after four albums.

Are you currently involved with any other bands or projects outside of Entartung?
Yes, we are all involved in several other musical projects in (black) metal and beyond. However, since we want each entity to stand on its own, we simply uses different aliases and choose not to “cross promote”.

What’s up next for Entartung?
We have been talking about writing and recording new music, which lyrical concepts might be suitable and so forth, but no definite plays have been made.

Any final words of wisdom?
Homo homini lupus est.

Band Members:
Lykormas (guitars)
Vulfolaic (vocals, bass & keys)
Haistulf (drums & percussion)

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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