TEMPLE OV AHRIMAN-Interview with Thornicator

TEMPLE OV AHRIMAN consists of just one member, Thornicator, with the help of drummer Rom Gov. Hailing from Austin, Texas, TEMPLE OV AHRIMAN is part of the United States Black Metal scene or U.S.B.M. for short. Thornicator recently released his debut album, “Heretics of Consensual Reality.” From the varied vocals to sharpened guitar tones to interesting lyrical content, the album is an excellent first outing. Metal Centre emailed Thornicator to find out more information about the album. Read the interview below.

“Heretics of Consensual Reality,” the debut album from TEMPLE OV AHRIMAN, was released on Friday, June 26. You experienced a setback in completing the album. What happened?

Well, the first studio we went to was just a very prolonged experience that ultimately failed. From the day we started tracking drums ‘til the day we got the ‘final’ mixes back, almost a year had passed. I’m not sure what happened. I had trusted this person before with a small project and he did a great job, but what I got back after a year of waiting fell very short of the mark. At this point I really didn’t have a budget to re-record the album at another studio, so I upgraded my audio interface, invested in some more mics and re-recorded it myself at home. I sent the stems elsewhere for mixing and a similar thing happened. I ended up waiting a very long time for the mixes and eventually the guy just went AWOL. Third time was the charm, though.

Where did you record the album? What was the recording process like?

All guitars, bass, vocals and keys were recorded in “a fetid pit of despair” aka my home studio. It was definitely the right call ‘cause I was able to track every night just focusing on one or two songs at a time to get the best takes possible. All drum parts for the album were recorded at Evil Snail Studios in South Austin. It’s interesting to note that they were the last thing to be recorded for the album. Usually, you start with drums cause they’re the foundation so to speak. In that regard we sort of did things backwards, but everything was recorded to a click track so it proved to be no problem at all.

You, Thornicator, played all the instruments except the drums. Who played drums on the album?

The drums were recorded by none other than Servitor aka Rom Gov. He co-owns Evil Snail Studios with his brother, Kfir Gov. Those two are a power duo, for sure, and I’m indebted to them for bringing this album back from the brink. Their professionalism is unmatched. Most songs were recorded in just one or two takes with minimal punch-ins.

Considering you played most of the instruments, what was the writing process like?

I was on fire during that time churning out two or three new songs every month. A lot of times inspiration struck me at the most inconvenient moments. For instance, “Baphomet’s Kiss” was conceived at 2am on a weeknight. I had already stayed up way later than I should have, but I knew I had to strike while the iron was hot. I went to bed two hours later and got just three hours of sleep that night, but it was worth it cause I had a fully finished instrumental demo when I finally passed out.

You play most of the instruments on the album, but you have a live lineup? Who comprises your live lineup? Would you consider using them on your next studio album?

On guitar we have Imazapyr and Anhedonia. Imazapyr might be recognizable to people who are familiar with my other band, TRIACANTHOSE. Anhedonia is a younger guy who also fronts a really great Death Metal band called DEATH FILE RED. Our newest addition is our drummer, Fiend, who just played his first show with us. Out of all of them, Fiend is the only one that might appear on a record simply because I can’t play drums myself. It’s no disrespect to the other guys. It just makes more sense for me to track the parts myself since I wrote them. It’s more efficient that way and also I’m very particular. There are little idiosyncrasies in my playing that can be difficult to explain to others like maybe they’re bending a note too fast or not far enough, etc.

Your voice is shrill. How did you develop your voice?

I started out with discovering my mid-range vocals then I worked my way outwards to the extremes. Low Death Metal growls came next, and finally the piercing highs. When I developed my high voice, I decided that that was what I wanted to do 90% of the time. Everything else just felt too easy and effortless in comparison.

While blackened shrieks comprise most of the album, there are a handful of Death Metal growls and some pitch shifted vocals. Was it important to utilize a variety of vocals?

Yeah, of course. I’m always trying to avoid becoming too stagnant or predictable. At the same time there’s a box of acceptable sounds that I allow myself to work with. I never ever want to be that band that ends up with clean singing on every song.

The bio mentions a Finnish Black Metal influence. Who are some of the bands in Finland that inspire you?

There’s so many. Everything from the more common names like HORNA, SATANIC WARMASTER and SARGEIST to more obscure acts like SARASTUS, KRATTI and BELETH’S TRUMPET.

The album is titled “Heretics of Consensual Reality.” The album also features the title track. Why did you use this song as the album title? What is this song about?

 The song is basically about the utilization of black magick as an act of “heresy” against the mundane world otherwise known as the Consensual Reality Matrix. I used this as the album title because it just felt like a bold statement, but also vague and provocative enough to get people thinking and speculating about its meaning.

Who is Ahriman and why did you name your band TEMPLE OF AHRIMAN?

To explain this, we have to take a little trip back in time to ancient Persia. Zoroastrianism was the first world religion to introduce the concept of duality (good & evil) with Ahriman as essentially “The First Satan”. What I mean by that is Ahriman is just one of many cultural manifestations of what’s often referred to as the adversarial current. When I speak of a “temple” for Ahriman I’m not referring to a literal stone structure erected in honor of the deity, but rather making your body a conduit, a living vessel to presence the adversarial current on this earth.

Who is “Iblis” on the song, “Wrath of Iblis?”

In Islamic lore, Iblis is the devil sometimes referred to as “Shaitan”. He is also one of the djinn which is the main focal point of the song.

“SPQB” is about the Roman Colosseum. What does the title mean?

It’s more accurate to say that the song is about the Roman emperor Nero. For those unfamiliar with him he was an unusually cruel sadist who would condemn Christians to public execution by wild beasts in arenas such as the Colosseum. Around the city of Rome you will often find the abbreviation “SPQR” stenciled on manhole lids and things of the like. This is short for “Senatus Populusque Romanus” which translates to “The Senate and the People of Rome”. What I did is change that to “Senatus Populusque Blasphemia” or “The Senate and the People of Blasphemy”, a nod to the pagan acts of violence against the early cult of Christianity.

TEMPLE OV AHRIMAN – SPQB (Official Audio)

Why did you choose “White Death” as a single?

My publicist had me pick two songs from the album to be singles. I picked “SPQB” cause out of all the fast songs it was the most concise. For the choice of the second single, I wanted to demonstrate a slower side, so I went with the mid-paced “White Death”. One of the obvious choices if you ask me. It’s been a setlist staple since the very beginning and people tell me the chorus is a real earworm.

TEMPLE OV AHRIMAN – White Death (Official Audio)

“Baphomet’s Kiss” is a perverse song that features orgiastic sex sounds. How did you create these sounds? What’s happening here?

I wish I could say that there’s a real interesting story behind that, but I just found a royalty free sample online. The song deals with the subject of osculum infame (Latin for “shameful kiss”) where witches during a black mass would pledge loyalty to the devil by kissing his posterior. This was allegedly followed by an orgy which is where the sample fits in thematically.

TEMPLE OV AHRIMAN is a U.S.B.M. band. How do you feel about Black Metal in the U.S.A.?

I used to be very critical of USBM, but I’ve warmed up to it considerably in recent years. LEVIATHAN, HULDER and GRAND BELIAL’S KEY are among some of my favorites. Of course, there’s a good amount of bands that aren’t so great, but I feel like that’s true of everywhere really.

“Heretics of Consensual Reality” was released independently. Why did you choose this route? Did you try to get on a label?

Well, I didn’t really have a choice. I shopped it around for the greater part of a year, but that proved to be a waste of time. I was in communication with a couple of labels, but they mostly were stringing me along. So, for better or worse I went the independent route. It’s hard to say if things will stay that way in the future.

How was your CD release show at Valhalla in your hometown, Austin, Texas? Do you have more shows or a tour in the works?

It was good. I was humbled by how many people stayed late to see our set. Currently I’m working on putting together a mini tour of Texas this fall. I plan to hit up all of the major cities.

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