Arachnotaur é mais uma fantástica banda surgida do Reino Unido, reunindo o melhor do sludge, drone e doom metal, numa mistela suja, pesadona, mas acima de tudo, cativante.

Até hoje só lançaram um álbum com o nome de Slo=w Pertinacious Threnody On the Abnegation of Succour.

A Ritualis Metallum Infernalium, apercebendo-se da qualidade desta banda decidiu fazer uma breve entrevista aos compatriotas dos titânicos Moss, mais precisamente a Boreas Notus aka Ravage Bone, guitarrista e autor dos vocais sussurrados.
Fica aqui o resultado dessa difusa e misteriosa entrevista:

1 – It’s a pleasure to finally establish contact with your amazing band. I’m very curious about your origin and about your name choice. How did you start and why “Arachnotaur” (which I suppose it is a fusion between spider/arachno and bull/taur)?

We came together as fans of doom and sludge and had all been in previous bands that never approached that style. We chose the name because we felt it portrayed the essence of the music we were creating. i.e. the sinister creeping of the spider combined with the crushing power of the bull.

2 – Your first and only release until today was “Slo=w Pertinacious Threnody On the Abnegation of Succour”, which was, to me, one of the best sludge/doom releases of 2007.
How did the recordings went, since you didn’t have a label who supported a studio and what is the metaphorical meaning of “Slo=w”?

The record was self funded, which meant we were completely in control and was recorded almost entirely live in the studio. The Slo=w comes form the name of the Slo=w Destrucctaur, who is our bleak inspiration. We did not choose the name, it chose us.

3 – About your album, you seem to base the concept of the album on some kind of mythology unknown to me, but it appears to be rather interesting. Can you explain to me the concept of the album and what lies within it?

It is the story of the coming of the Slo=w Destrucctaur, an omnipresent manifestation of the dark and of horror. The album tells of his coming and blackened destruction. It’s a theme we’re looking to develop in the future as the Destrucctaur has become a metaphor for all that the band stands for.

4 – Your album possesses a very dirty atmosphere and, if I’m allowed to say, a certain demoniac ambiance that could be galvanized not only by the crushing riffs but also by the mixed vocals, ranging gutturals, screeches and whispers, which I found particularly enjoyable.
From where came the ideas found on this album? Where do you get the ideas to compose your music?

It was never a conscious decision to sound as we do. We got together and within one session had formed the basis of our entire sound. It was a very organic process, which happened due to our combined understanding of what we were trying to create. We tried to clear our minds of everything we knew and create our own mark on the genre.

5 – Your sound clearly has its own touch, but being a doom band, I’m pretty sure your major influences must come from Black Sabbath, Candlemass and soon. Still, I wanted to ask you, what bands hit you the hardest in the past, in order to make their influence become noticed on your debut?

Definitely Black Sabbath, which goes without saying but beyond that we all listen to a wide variety of music and we all brought that in. Not necessarily doom but everything from EyeHateGod, Mastodon, Envy, Mogwai, Mayhem and Merzbow.

6 – So, I mentioned Black Sabbath, an iconic band from UK and by coincidence you’re exactly from the UK. As everyone knows, UK is the Doom’s cradle, the place where it all began with Black Sabbath and later on with Pagan Altar, Witchfinder General, together with the American bands Saint Vitus and Pentagram. From the UK comes most of the best doom acts out there but the USA are also in the battle front. What comparisons can you draw from the British and American doom scene?

Southern Lord really raised the bar in making underground doom more available to the masses. British doom seems to be more traditionally metal but there are still some fine bands out here doing really interesting stuff and pushing the boundaries like Electric Wizard and Moss. American doom bands, aside from classicists such as Saint Vitus and Trouble seem to be pushing the doom genre into interesting and more extreme fields such as Weedeater and Gravetemple among many others.

7 – Personally I think that doom is a very selective genre, that doesn’t exist for everyone, because it requires the patience, dedication and understanding that not everybody has (just like black metal, it its own way), though that didn’t stop it from fusing with the most unequal styles, such as death, drone, black, sludge, stoner, etc. I have even witnessed a band that mixed funeral doom with grindcore. Which genres do you believe have the best symbiotic relation?

It’s difficult to say as there are great examples in each. We’ve tried to combine a number of the above to blur the boundaries of peoples’ preconceptions but we’re certainly not unique in that. As long as people keep writing innovative music then the genre can only get stronger.

8 – You are currently without a label contract, something that I find very odd, given the quality of your band. Was this a personal choice of yours and if so, why have you chosen it?

We decided to do the first record independently as, to be honest, we didn’t know where it was going to go. Now we’re more established we’d like to get backing from a record label for the second release. This should take some of the pressure off of us and allow us to concentrate on the music. However, if need be we’ll release ourselves again, as the most important thing for us is getting it out there for people to hear.

9 – After releasing “Slo=w…”, the people who heard it are looking forward to listen the new Arachnotaur record, something that I believe it will blast several doom acts to pieces. Do you have anything prepared for a new release? Will it be another full-length? Do you consider any possibility of doing a split, one day?

We have some music that we’ve been working on since the last release and we’ll be looking to get this recorded in the next six months or so. It will, most likely, be another full length although if the opportunity to do a split with a band that we enjoyed came about then that’s certainly an option we’d undertake.

10 – I tend to ask a lot of bands about this and you are no exception: Do you see yourselves embracing the possibility of ever doing a gig in Portugal?
(I don’t even know if you ever played live or if you have the intention to do that but you thing I can assure you: To witness Arachnotaur played live would be a dream come true, as I believe you would deliver a truly astounding performance.)

We don’t play live very often as we’ve concentrated on the studio but we’re looking to get out some more in the future. As regards to playing in Portugal – absolutely. If the chance arose then we would love to come over.

11 – Arachnotaur is a very mysterious yet unusually compelling entity. What can we expect from Arachnotaur in the future? What do you want to achieve or to express with the band?

We want to continue where we left off with the last record. Obviously, the core of our sound will remain but we hope to push it further. We want to play more live shows and take the record out to the unsuspecting public so hopefully that will happen in the next year. Again, the most important thing for us is to actually get the music out there to as many people as possible.

12 – Thank you for accepting this interview, it was a great honor. Do you want to say anything else to the readers?

Firstly, thanks for your interest and your time, and thanks for helping to spread our blackened message. Hopefully Arachnotaur will get even stronger. All is black. Heed the coming of the Slo=w Destrucctaur!

Hails

Boreas Notus/Ravage Bone

MySpace