document.write('\x3cmeta http-equiv=\x22x-dns-prefetch-control\x22 content=\x22off\x22/\x3e\x3col class=\x22tumblr_posts\x22\x3e\x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eThis is a test post\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3eWith some test text\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eWraiths Interview in Zero Tolerance - Full Text\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3c!--StartFragment--\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe recent Wraiths interview in Zero Tolerance magazine was a necessarily truncated version of the full discussions held between the band and interviewer. However, we thought there was enough of interest to post the whole thing and, thankfully, Zero Tolerance agreed. So, here it is:\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e1. Tell me about \x3ci\x3eThe Grey Emperor\x3c/i\x3e\x3c/b\x3e\x3cb\x3e, what does the title refer to? \x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: Death, ultimately. Death as a constant presence and the ultimate, inescapable power.  It harks back to the idea of Death as an invading, conquering power which is shown to great effect in works such as Bruegel\x26#8217;s \x26#8216;The Triumph Of Death\x26#8217;. As the Emperor is a distant yet omnipresent figure to the medieval serf, then so is Death to all humanity. However, for all this, Death is as absolutely neutral as the grey dust of the grave.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e2. It\u2019s hard to dissect noise as near-abstract as Wraiths make, but Grey Emperor seems if anything more \x26#8216;aggressive\x26#8217; and more bleak than the music on \x3ci\x3ePlaguebearer\x3c/i\x3e\x3c/b\x3e\x3cb\x3e do you think that\u2019s a fair interpretation?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: I think so, yes. There are certainly more familiar elements in \x3ci\x3ePlaguebearer\x3c/i\x3e, more rhythms and motifs, for listeners to latch onto. These are all but removed in \x3ci\x3eThe Grey Emperor\x3c/i\x3e and, listening back, it\x26#8217;s probably one of the bleakest recordings we\x26#8217;ve produced. To call it \x26#8216;aggressive\x26#8217; is interesting and I think I agree but it\x26#8217;s a strange kind of inward aggression, a wild raging against Creation.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: Wraiths is a constantly-evolving project, we played a lot between \x3ci\x3ePlaguebearer\x3c/i\x3e and \x3ci\x3eGrey Emperor\x3c/i\x3e, so the two albums reflect where we were at that times. We\x26#8217;ve never made any concious decisions to go in any particular direction, though.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e3. Obviously plague/disease \x26amp; such are still a part of life, but is there any specific historical period that interests you?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: It has to be the years of the Black Death in the middle of the 14thC. The absolute decimation of the world\x26#8217;s population was unprecedented and has never happened again to a similar degree. World culture changed irrevocably at that point, even the climate changed less people meant large swathes of forest grew back. Entire communities rejected ways of living that had been adhered to for centuries; tradition and religion became absurd concepts with only nihilism, despair or immediate hedonism being the only truths. Perhaps the loss of faith in traditional Christianity was one of the plague\x26#8217;s greatest effects; the dawning realisation that the Church was powerless in the face of this ultimately evil force must\x26#8217;ve sent a huge psychic shock through the land. The social effects of the plague stay with us even now. The mass death of labourers and artisans meant that those who survived the plague could command far greater fees than previously, simultaneously beginning the struggle for workers\x26#8217; rights and sowing the seeds of capitalism.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: I\x26#8217;m fascinated by historical interpretations of the supernatural genesis of plague and disease; there\x26#8217;s a strong correlation between Wraiths performances and illness - I like to think that our music upsets a higher power. During the great plague, a lot of people believed it was God\x26#8217;s revenge for human\x26#8217;s moral decline - the flagellant movement would go around Europe during the plague, publicly flogging themselves to atone for humanity\x26#8217;s sins. I think there\x26#8217;s a strong need for that at Wraiths events.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e4. The visual aspect of your work often seems more black metal-related than your actual music, how important is the aesthetic side of Wraiths?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: It\x26#8217;s critically important. We view releases as a whole, with the music and artwork interacting with each other. How can it be otherwise?\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI think our aesthetic may well be related to the same sources that black metal tends to use which is why there\x26#8217;s often a similarity.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: Wraiths\x26#8217; aesthetic and music are inseparable.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e5. Black metal is often cited as a reference point when discussing Wraiths, is BM a big influence?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: To a certain degree, although not so much for the music itself. The sense of isolation and rage that the best black metal creates is something that we also attempt to work with, although where BM often tries to turn it into something majestic we use it to flagellate ourselves. I think it\x26#8217;s more a case of working along similar lines, in parallel, than being directly influenced by BM. Most black metal still works in the paradigm of a rock band whereas we very strictly don\x26#8217;t. There\x26#8217;s a certain crossover with bands that work on the fringes of black metal, someone like Aluk Todolo or WOLD, and that\x26#8217;s something we acknowledge.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3ePersonally, I like a lot of black metal so I\x26#8217;m sure there\x26#8217;s an influence there that\x26#8217;s possibly not entirely conscious.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: For me, the BM aesthetic is appealing, but not so much the music.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e6. A lot of the imagery etc used by the band relates to the plague \x26amp; pestilence. How far is this informed by being based in Edinburgh, a city which has several landmarks etc that survive from periods when plagues were rife?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: The atmosphere of Edinburgh is intimately bound with our music. You can\x26#8217;t walk the city\x26#8217;s streets, especially at this time of year, without feeling a sense that death permeates the very stones. Due to the nearby port of Leith, plague has visited the city on a number of occasions and left its scars. From where I live, I can see a hill strewn with gravestones and only last month some building work revealed a completely unknown graveyard just underneath a nearby road junction. There are tales of hauntings everywhere, of plague victims bricked into their homes, of paupers burned alive in lodging houses. Body snatchers and murderers and madmen walked the streets. Famous figures from literature - like the bi-polar Dr Jekyll \x26amp; Mr Hyde, based on the real-life Deacon Brodie - haunt our alleyways. One of my favourite stories is of some young boys who, in the 1800s, found seventeen miniature coffins hidden in a cave on Arthur\x26#8217;s Seat, the extinct volcano that sits in the middle of the city. To this day, no-one knows what they represent or why they were put there.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eEdinburgh is a very old city with very many secrets.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: Edinburgh was a walled city with a large population during the plague, growing up in Edinburgh, the history lessons are filled with tales of medieval life, and then you can walk around the Old Town and see the surviving buildings from that period, it really makes an impression.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e7. Were you surprised by the reaction to Plaguebearer? For a work so seemingly inaccessible it was extremely well received. \x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: I have to admit that we probably were, yes. We both thought it was something special and we\x26#8217;re very proud of the record but for other people to find something in it, and often very different things, is a bit surprising. We\x26#8217;d already had positive responses for the \x3ci\x3eOriflamme\x3c/i\x3e demo, which was possibly even more surprising considering it was such a small release. Having support from Paradigms Recordings and Aurora Borealis was obviously helpful in getting the recordings out to people.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e8. You point out on your website that none of the music/noise is made with computers/synthesizers, is this an important point for you? If so, why?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: It cuts to the heart of what Wraiths is about. We want to bring a physicality back to serious noise performances that, in our experience, has been sadly lacking. I don\x26#8217;t want to press a button and have a machine do the work for me, I want to be able to hit things and to scream. I want to stretch myself physically.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: At the time Wraiths started, there was a glut of one-man-and-a-laptop noise acts, who made excellent music that was very boring to see live; our music is very immediate, and direct, and so using pre-prepared sounds in a live performance would be nonsensical\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e9. Your works are recorded \x26#8216;under ritual conditions\x26#8217; - what difference does this make to the \x3ci\x3esound\x3c/i\x3e\x3c/b\x3e\x3cb\x3e of the material? What does this actually mean in terms of making music?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: It\x26#8217;s a hard question to answer, I have to admit. There\x26#8217;s a specific mindset that\x26#8217;s required to perform as Wraiths and that\x26#8217;s tied up with many different things. We approach the music and the performance ritualistically and, I hope, that embodies the eventual product with some of that ritual.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: I think the ritual nature comes across in our recordings in a tangible way \u2013 perhaps \x26#8220;hypnotic\x26#8221; is the wrong word, but something like that, if when the music stops, you\x26#8217;re a bit disorientated, and have a strong sense that \x3ci\x3esomething\x3c/i\x3e just happened, but you\x26#8217;re not sure what, then that\x26#8217;s what we\x26#8217;re getting at.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e10. The use of ritual suggests some form of magic \u2013 is there a specific philosophy or system behind all of your work? Is it something that is also relevant to your daily life?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: I\x26#8217;m going to be a bit lazy here and copy an explanation I\x26#8217;ve given elsewhere as it pretty much covers my thoughts on the matter in the most consistent manner I\x26#8217;ve managed yet.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWe talk about \x26#8216;ritualisation\x26#8217; more than the specific act of ritual; the approach to existence as an ongoing ritualised endeavour, of which the prepared ritual itself is only a part. I try and carry this through most of my life but it is certainly heightened with regards to Wraiths, where the whole project is ritualised to a greater or lesser extent. I remember Grant Morrison talking about how his writing is not made up of sigils but is a sigil in itself and this ties with Wraiths\x26#8217; approach; each aspect of the band\x26#8217;s output - live events, releases, the aesthetic concept - form elements of a wider, holistic ritual. Wraiths perform the ritual, Wraiths \x3ci\x3eis\x3c/i\x3e the ritual.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eObviously, a lot of this activity is unavailable to outside viewers so the most obvious aspect of our ritual is the live performance. The live \x26#8216;ritual\x26#8217; of a Wraiths performance is, over-used as it may sound, more aligned with concepts of shamanism and the removal of ego this entails; our plain black robes remove the physical differences between us, my mask has the dual purpose of removing individuality whilst also creating a restrictive environment that forces over-breathing, our involvement with non-standard instrumentation forces us to adopt counter-intuitive methods, the \x26#8216;preparation\x26#8217; of the ritual space to delineate it as of particular importance. Similarly, as the personality archetype of The Shaman overrides the shaman\x26#8217;s own psyche then we have, to some degree, become Wraiths; we become Gaendaal and Nakir, two beings very different from our \x26#8216;daily\x26#8217; lives. Our experience of \x26#8216;being Wraiths\x26#8217; is very internalised and we\x26#8217;ve both talked about losing sense of self and time during the time we\x26#8217;re Wraiths, whilst becoming increasingly aware of the other\x26#8217;s actions as they change the environment both in terms of sound and the more generalised environment of \x26#8216;the ritual space\x26#8217;. I\x26#8217;ve entered a trance state where my physical body is simply \x26#8216;removed\x26#8217; and I feel myself dissolve into sound. All of this without recourse to drugs, just a (sub)conscious decision to make it happen that is possibly our own distillation of the Thelemic Will. Whether this comes across to the audience is, of course, interesting to us but of less importance than our own experiences and development.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: We\x26#8217;re probably somewhere within the AOS/Chaos current; I\x26#8217;d say I\x26#8217;ve been put off any magickal workings outside of Wraiths by the aforementioned side-effects of our work due to the heavy coincidence of illness with Wraiths performances.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e11. Given the above, is it emotionally/physically draining to record a Wraiths piece and does it require a lot of preparation?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: It has a striking physical effect, yes, although I\x26#8217;m not sure whether draining is the right word for the recording process. We\x26#8217;ve both talked about losing sense of time and place as the recording process unfolds, almost losing sense of consciousness in itself. In some ways, the sublimation of consciousness is quite invigorating.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eFor the live events, though, it certainly is draining. We work under conditions that most bands would probably consider to be intolerable; costumes that restrict our movement and breathing, equipment that doesn\x26#8217;t always work, the near total inability to communicate with each other. I go on-stage in a state of fear and anger, come off it gasping for breath and often in physical pain due to having not been able to breath properly for the past 30 minutes. Again, this can be invigorating in a way but it\x26#8217;s hard work, definitely.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: It\x26#8217;s absolutely draining! There\x26#8217;s some preparation, but not a lot, it\x26#8217;s best to go in with as few pre-conceived ideas as possible.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e12. A related question, given that much of your work is improvised, how far can you predict the atmosphere or \x26#8216;write\x26#8217; material in advance? \x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: We can\x26#8217;t, really. We\x26#8217;ll discuss what kind of feeling we might want to generate and we chose the instrumentation we\x26#8217;ll use for that particular session but improvisation, by its nature, means that we don\x26#8217;t know how things will turn out. We choose the road we want to travel but are never sure where it will end up nor who we may meet on the way.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: See my previous answer, we never \x26#8220;write\x26#8221; anything in advance, there\x26#8217;s a lot of non-verbal communication between us when we\x26#8217;re recording, which helps determine the direction.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e13. In the case of something like The Grey Emperor, does the title/theme come before the music? Did you have an idea of what you were looking for musically, or does the \x26#8216;theme\x26#8217; take shape as the music develops?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: It\x26#8217;s a bit of both. The music informs the aesthetic of the artwork and design as much as the over-riding aesthetic of Wraiths informs how we approach making the music. As there are no lyrics or overt themes in Wraiths\x26#8217; music we need to use our aesthetic approach to set a scene for the music to work within. To choose a design or a title and then try to make the music fit into that would be difficult, and possibly self-defeating, with our very improvisational method but there are often phrases or ideas floating around as the music takes shape.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e14. Inevitably Wraiths are often classed alongside noise/Power Electronics acts, especially in live performances, but the atmosphere of your work is quite different to most PE acts, are you fans of the genre?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: I can\x26#8217;t remember all the genres we\x26#8217;ve been put into! I\x26#8217;m a fan of \x3ci\x3egood\x3c/i\x3e power electronics but it\x26#8217;s a genre I\x26#8217;m mostly ambivalent about as I think it has a tendency to be overly conservative and concerned more with whether things have been done \x26#8216;correctly\x26#8217; than the eventual product. I\x26#8217;m not really a fan of setting out specifically to shock, either, which seems to be one of the main concerns with PE. As for noise as a wider genre then I\x26#8217;m very much a fan, yes, and especially in the live setting. The sheer sensory overload of, say, a Vomir set is hard to describe when it\x26#8217;s not actually happening. The best noise also always seems to have a playful, as opposed to \x26#8216;funny\x26#8217;, attitude that I appreciated very much.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: Some PE is excellent \u2013 particularly live - but much is tedious and childish. The genre we\x26#8217;re probably closest to I\x26#8217;ve heard described as \x26#8220;Death Industrial\x26#8221; (Grey Wolves, earlier Brighter Death Now), although we\x26#8217;ve never conciously tried to sound like anything.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e15. The packaging of your work tends to be very specialised and anti-generic, do you think that this sort of thing is more important than ever in the download age?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: It\x26#8217;s very important for me to make a quality artefact that intrigues people and is a pleasure for them to own. I\x26#8217;d think this even if downloading wasn\x26#8217;t an issue for the music industry. Jewel cases have their place but a band or label who\x26#8217;ve spent a bit more time and effort with their packaging will always stand out for me. It always seems a shame when brilliant music is just thrown onto a CDr with badly printed inlays. They tend to languish on the shelf, which is not always a reflection of the quality of the music or musician. Still, having said that, a bad piece of music will always be a bad piece of music even if it\x26#8217;s packaged in a Faberge egg\u2026\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: Absolutely, the packaging ties in to our aesthetic as a whole, I think people feel swindled paying for a hastily-produced CD which has no value beyond the music.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e16. How important is live performance to the band?\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: Massively. In fact, I\x26#8217;m often of the opinion that the recorded and the live side of Wraiths are two distinct entities that feed off each other. For recordings we at least try to maintain some sense of subtlety. Live events are all about building up a sense of horror and we\x26#8217;ll use anything up to and including the venue itself to achieve that. We\x26#8217;re not interested in standing in front of an audience and being rock stars, however. If people recognise me as being part of Wraiths then, in some strange way, I feel like I\x26#8217;ve failed. It\x26#8217;s much more interesting to appear unannounced, make an unearthly racket and then fade into the mists.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI\x26#8217;m always interested in bands that try something different in the live arena and it\x26#8217;s often intriguing to see how little you have to do to unnerve an audience. Even underground audiences seem surprised if you don\x26#8217;t play on the stage or don\x26#8217;t acknowledge their presence.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNakir: Paramount \u2013 Wraiths is all about the performance \u2013 our albums are simply static recordings of a performance, by far the best way to experience Wraiths is live.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e17. What is next for Wraiths? \x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eGaendaal: Hopefully The Grey Emperor will be officially released on At War With False Noise in the near future, if Al hasn\x26#8217;t collapsed from hand-manufacturing all the packaging.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWe\x26#8217;ve got some live dates scheduled, including a special event on Hallowe\x26#8217;en. There are some possible splits and compilation appearances in the not-too-distant future. We\x26#8217;re also sending the next possible full-length, Dust In Our Mouths, out to prospective labels.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3eThanks for taking the time to answer my questions!\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cb\x3e\x3c!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--\x3e \x3c!--[endif]--\x3e\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThank you for asking them.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e(Initially printed in ZT032, \x3ca href=\x22http://www.ztmag.com\x22\x3ewww.ztmag.com\x3c/a\x3e. Conducted by Will Pinfold)\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x26#8212;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c!--EndFragment--\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3e20.12.09\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3eFor the coming New Year, Ordo Pestilentia now has a new site. Everything connected with Ordo Pestilentia will now be found here including the various musical projects, the Radio Pestilentia podcast and a prospective label (more news on this soon\x26#8230;).\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe main news at the moment is that \x26#8216;The Grey Emperor\x26#8217;, Wraiths\x26#8217; latest full-length, is out now on \x3ca href=\x22http://www.atwarwithfalsenoise.com/\x22\x3e\x3cb\x3eAt War With False Noise\x3c/b\x3e\x3c/a\x3e.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://www.monkeyhouse-recordings.co.uk/Ordo/Wraiths/Images/Releases/REL_Grey_EmperorCD.jpg\x22 height=\x22560\x22 width=\x22400\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe release looks amazing and is presented in entirely handmade packaging, featuring a gate-fold card sleeve enclosed with a wax seal. Head to the \x3ca href=\x22http://www.monkeyhouse-recordings.co.uk/Ordo/Wraiths/index.html\x22\x3eWraiths page\x3c/a\x3e for more details\x26#8230;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a\x3c/ol\x3e');