INTERVIEW: Helmuth – Belphegor

Austria’s BELPHEGOR are one of the longest serving blackened death metal outfits in the game. Having formed in the early 1990s, they have been plying their Satanic wares since the early days of both black and death metal across stages the world over with an enviably strong discography. In September 2017, the duo, led by vocalist and guitarist Helmuth, released one of their strongest albums to date in Totenritual. Since it’s release, BELPHEGOR have been dominating stages across the world in support of the record. Ahead of their Europe Under Black Death Metal Fire Tour alongside label-mates SUFFOCATION, with support from GOD DETHRONED, NORDJEVEL and DARKRISE, we caught up with Helmuth to discuss Totenritual, the upcoming tour and what the future holds for BELPHEGOR. 

Hey Helmuth, thank you for taking the time to talk today. As you’re gearing up for the Europe Under Black Death Metal Fire Tour with SUFFOCATION, how’s everyone in BELPHEGOR doing?

Helmuth: All good here. We are busy as always, preparing for a four-month world tour starting on March 23rd, which will run until the end of July. We will play three co-headlining tours; kicking off in Europe with SUFFOCATION, then head over to North America for a festival tour with DARK FUNERAL, followed by Japan with TAAKE – and there will be some ingenious open air shows in between and after.

What can fans expect from you on the Europe Under Black Death Metal Fire tour in terms of stage production?

Helmuth: Live performances are the true essence of BELPHEGOR. The stage production and imagery are important to us. We always bring elaborate sculptures, banners, fog machines, and for some special open airs we even have our own pyrotechnics. In 2019 only three festivals will get “Pyro-Rituals”; Party San (Germany), Copenhell (Denmark), and Gothoom (Slovakia). There will be some new gear during these upcoming tours as well. The extreme musick still thrones above all. Anyways, for me, being on stage is transcendental, almost orgasmic. The best experiences are when you feel the energy between the band and the audience. It’s pleasure, pure magick. We shred the tracks into the audience with the utmost brutality.

You’re taking a break from the tour early on to play the Lords Of The Land festival in Glasgow for the first time. Are you looking forward to playing your first Scottish festival?

Helmuth: We fly over to Scotland after the first European tour dates. It will be a bit hectic, but it’s not new for us to deal with an intense travel schedule, often sleeping in vans or planes. We’ve done some rituals in Scotland before, but this will be our first festival there and we are already excited about it. Scottish people know how to celebrate a Diabolical Death Metal ceremony. I want to mention the London Ritual – 15th April in Camden at The Underworld. It’s always a pleasure to shred in the land of NWOBHM and MOTÖRHEAD, JUDAS PRIEST, BLACK SABBATH, etc. Hails to England.

The cycle for Totenritual has taken BELPHEGOR all over Europe, both on the touring and festival circuit, to Mexico, Latin America, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. How has it all been for you so far?

Helmuth: Yes, we toured for this album worldwide and are still doing so. It’s always thrilling to march into new countries like Australia or New Zealand. It was an intense experience to go nuke down under and I hope will be invited for future Rituals.

Given how far you are into the Totenritual cycle, are you planning on mixing things up with the setlist to showcase some lesser-played songs?

Helmuth: Yes, we brought an older track into the EU set-list, a song I wrote in 1998, recorded 1999 and released 2000 called Necrodaemon Terrorsathan, the title track from that album. I’ve had people asking for it for years. We also added another Totenritual track in the set titled Apophis – Black Dragon.

Totenritual is inarguably one of the strongest albums in your discography to date. Looking back on the album retrospectively, are you still as pleased with the album as you were when it released 18 months ago?

Helmuth: Yes, I am. Looking back on your work, it is normal to find things that you could have done differently. If you are absolutely satisfied with something you’ve created, you aren’t being critical enough. There is a lot of creativity left and we will work hard to develop further with the next record. Totenritual sounds exactly as we wanted and we developed and reached another extreme level of death/black metal musick within our core sound we are known for. I’m really proud of our eleventh album.

Following up such a strong album is no easy task. Have you begun work on BELPHEGOR’s twelfth album already, and if so, when can we expect some news on it?

Helmuth: In early October 2018, Serpenth and I began composing sound collages for a new LP project. There are many ideas we’ve already gotten started on and after the world tour, our schedules will be free and without pressure, and we will start rehearsing new sound collages. If all runs according to plan we should be able to unleash the untitled album #XII beginning 2020.

Lyrically, Apophis – Black Dragon and Totenkult – Exegesis of Deterioration from Totenritual both seemed to touch on elements of Egyptian mythology. Is this an area you are likely to explore further within the lyrics of future albums?

Helmuth: Apothis – Black Dragon is about the ruler of darkness and chaos, the indestructible black dragon. He always takes the forms of dragons and serpents. If you look into his eyes for too long you die. He is said to be the oldest enemy of the sun god RA [RE] in Egyptian mythology, born from the saliva from goddess Neth. Vocals on this exalted track are in four different languages. We have used archaic languages/ spells/ chants since 1998, though mostly in Latin. I allow all I am inspired by to flow into our verses. When I travel this planet, I do so with open eyes, and so many ideas come to me.

For over 25 years, BELPHEGOR has been a mainstay in the European black and death metal scenes. How do you feel the genres have evolved since you founded BELPHEGOR?

Helmuth: This year is our 26th anniversary. It’s unreal to me. We’ve released eleven LP´s and never split up, followed any trend, or anything else. We’ve travelled and toured the world a couple of times already and plan to continue, stronger than ever and we are absolutely into it and on fire! Some things for the better, some things for the worse, but we are do everything ourselves. I must admit I don’t pay attention to much around me so I cannot really answer this question. I am too focused on the evolution of  BELPHEGOR.

BELPHEGOR are one of the biggest names in Austrian extreme metal. Are there any underground black/death metal bands, either in your native Austria or further afield, that you are particularly impressed by?

Helmuth: I call BELPHEGOR a European plague because I am the only one from Austria since the end of 2005, which means 13+ years. Serpenth is from Prague, and marched alongside me since 2006 and has become an important link in the chain.  The live line-up we have at moment has session members from Hungary and Sao Paulo. There are so many creative and talented bands and musicians everywhere, worldwide. I don’t care so much about where they come from. I support what I like and don’t even waste time with thinking about the rest. Nowadays, after my heart operation in 2011 and alcohol addiction before, I’m very focused and try to channel all my energy into things that are important to me. Life is too short to waste time on things you don’t enjoy.

Thanks once again for your time today, Helmuth. Finally, do you have any parting messages for Distorted Sound Magazine’s readers?

Helmuth: Thank you for the space, man. Regards to the metal community. See you all on the road. An honour – this horror!

BELPHEGOR will be playing at Lords Of The Land festival Glasgow, on April 6th. They will also be playing with SUFFOCATION at The Underworld, London on April 15th.

Totenritual is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. 

Like BELPHEGOR on Facebook.