INTERVIEW: Anthony Kaoteon & Walid WolfLust – Kaoteon

Heavy metal is now very much a global affair. Since the advent of the dawn of the internet, heavy music has spread across the globe and now, bands of utter quality are emerging from the least likely of places. Enter KAOTEON. Hailing from Beirut, Lebanon, the duo of Anthony Kaoteon and Walid WolfLust have forged a eviscerating sound whilst overcoming a series of adversities and barriers in their homeland. Now, all these years later, a new album is imminent. We caught up with Anthony and Walid to lift the lid on their upcoming record, Damnatio Memoriae as well as casting a light on the issues they have faced throughout their career and what the Lebanese scene needs to thrive.

So you are gearing up to release your brand new album, Damnatio Memoriae, later this month. What can people expect from your upcoming new record?

Anthony: The way I see it, Damnatio Memoriae is the soundtrack of tormented souls whose past is haunted. It is a dark, intense, melodic and brutal record with more riffs than most records out there of its genre and vocals that stick to your mind forever. It is 100% mental, 100% metal.

The new album arrives after a lengthy wait since Veni Vidi Vomui, seven years to be exact. How has the band progressed and developed in that time?

Walid: While Veni Vidi Vomui was released in 2011, it was actually mostly composed in the earliest stage of the band. The first lyric I wrote for that album (Decrepitude) goes back to 2001, and the last song (To Purge One’s Self) was written in 2007. To put this into perspective, most of the songs were written with that youthful anarchist approach. On the other hand, the bigger part of Damnatio Memoriae was written in our 30s where naturally we approached life differently. You dissect every aspect of life with different eyes, a balance of wiseness and rebellion.

For this record, you’ve teamed up with Linus of OBSCURA and Fredrik of MARDUK. What was it like working with such excellent musicians and what have they brought to the record?

Anthony: It was a challenge to get them on board. A challenge to keep up our knives sharpened so that we deliver the best we can. Linus‘ grooves and Fredrik‘s blasts are from two different worlds and KAOTEON joined them under this record. Today, Linus is a dear friend of the band and we look forward to hear his new record with OBSCURA.

Sonically, the new album is quite the beast and it certainly displays a ton of aggression. What sort of lyrical themes and messages are you looking to portray with this record?

Walid: I have always been personally occupied, mentally and emotionally, by topics related to everything that touches me. I have little interest in things that are beyond my control but I think a lot about who and what we are, how we treat each other and what we do with this planet as I think we have control over these topics if we ever decide to take matters into our own hands and unite for anything beside our selfish needs. I think I discuss my philosophy on life throughout my lyrics. Damnatio Memoriae discusses these topics, especially what I consider is killing our humanity, and my proposed solution for this human mistake. In addition to this, I have always found the album writing and recording process to be a self-healing ritual. It does great wonders to put your thoughts into ink.

Now, you originally hailed from the Middle East and have faced censorship at the highest level; something which the majority of metal bands have never experienced. Can you give us an insight into some of the adversities you have faced and how they have shaped you as a musician?

Anthony: Talk about metal or just life in general, Lebanon is a country with many great qualities and people but although it hosts the wildest parties and some of the craziest things I have seen around the world, the majority are still blinded by pre-historic traditions that keep dragging the country and its people down. Modernism is not wearing mini skirts, drinking alcohol and eating pork ribs as many Lebanese justify the openness of Lebanon. Freedom of choice, thought, speech and expression is what we expect from our society without prejudice, labelling and framing. This has helped shape our black hearts especially that we were raised in bomb-shelters, played under clusterbombs and lived under siege for a long time. Nevertheless, those were amazing days that I wouldn’t exchange that for anything. Another passport would definitely ease life in general, from travelling without a visa to social security and pension but it is what it is and we shall overcome anything coming our way.

Despite this censorship and persecution, you have forged on with the band and are helping put Lebanon on the map for heavy music. Even though there is such restrictions in place in Lebanon, what is the talent like in your homeland and what do you feel needs to be done to allow the Lebanese scene to thrive?

Anthony: Bands and metal fans need to support one another and that is what we are trying to do when we mention bands in our features. Furthermore, if we expect metal to thrive in Lebanon, metalheads need to show that they are not what people perceive them to be. Now, should metalheads really care to make the effort? No! But should they be just hopeless and waste their lives because they are stuck in a country that doesn’t understand them? No! I believe metalheads owe it to themselves to explain that metal is a music genre just like any other with a different lifestyle and fashion that needn’t to be judged.

Walid, you are now based in Amsterdam, that is a completely different setting compared to Lebanon. How has this change affected the development of KAOTEON?

Walid: Life in the Netherlands offered clarity. I could think clearer now that the external noise didn’t exist anymore. Unfortunately most of that external noise, in third world countries, come from the constant concerns about basic human needs. Water, electricity, safety, the present and the future, and the well-being of your loved ones. It’s a constant poisonous cycle that echoes louder and louder and you grow accustomed to it. Losing that noise was a amazing gift that I have offered myself by leaving.

And with your new record set to be released towards the end of the month, what are you hoping to achieve with Damnation Memoriae?

Walid: The support we have received so far is immense and we are very happy that our friends and fans have enjoyed the new album, but beyond that, we hope that people would heed the message that we are trying to spread and would start doing things differently.

I imagine once the record has been released the attention will turn to touring, what plans do you have in store for 2018?

Anthony: First stop, Complexity Fest on the 24th of February in Patronaat, Netherlands where Walid is living for the past three years. Second stop, too soon to tell but definitely coming somewhere near you soon.

To close, we will offer you the floor. Do you have anything to say to the readers of Distorted Sound?

Anthony: There is a huge undiscovered talent outside Europe and Americas. Ample of content for your magazine. Check out bands from Lebanon, Egypt, UAE, Syria, Cyprus, KSA, Bahrain, Iran, Tunisia, Algeria, Palestine, Turkey and all the exotic countries that are still holding metal dear to their hearts and thanks a million for reaching out to us to speak with your readers.

Walid: In addition to what Anthony said, I would like to thank everyone of you for your support for extreme metal. If you do like Damnatio, spread it as a plague! Cheers!

Damnatio Memoriae is set for release February 23rd via self-release.

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