INTERVIEW: Kam Lee – Nattravnen

Though more commonly known for his role in MANTAS, the precursor to DEATH, and MASSACRE, Kam Lee, “The Godfather Of The Growl”, has a huge output of material spanning the last 30 years. Working with a selection of musicians, he has created an impressive discography of underground, raw death metal, spanning a variety of projects. His most recent offering is Kult Of The Raven, the debut album from NATTRAVNEN (read our review here). We were able to catch Kam for a chat about NATTRAVNEN, his long career in death metal and his lyricism. 

Hey Kam, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. With Kult Of The Raven about to drop, how are you feeling?

Kam: Like plucking out the eyes of the dead and devouring the damned souls of my enemies as they lie dying in misery upon the blood soaked ground… Oh wait… How am I? Yeah, I’m doing just fine… just grand… thank you for asking.

How has the response been to Kult Of The Raven so far – both critically, and from fans of your music?

Kam: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!

NATTRAVNEN is a collaboration between yourself and Jonny Petterson (WOMBBATH, HEADS FOR THE DEAD, URSINNE, JUST BEFORE DAWN etc.). How did the collaboration between you two come about?

Kam: Demon summoning I am afraid… It all started with demon summoning spells, a bowl of cat nip and a single Raven feather dipped in honey. Apparently if you do this ritual in the dead of winter under the full moon, you can summon Jonny‘s outrageous beard demon.

The Beard Demon then made contact with me the following night and all went swell from that point forwards.

Lyrically, Kult Of The Raven follows a story you have written yourself. The full story can be found in the liner notes on physical copies, but can you give us a summary of the story you wanted to tell?

Kam: It’s really a boy meets girl – girl gets boy, boy leaves girl for another girl, girl wants revenge – girl wants to commit suicide, girl doesn’t commit suicide but instead gets murdered by the first girl, boy gets sad… then boy takes revenge on other girl, girl takes vengeance by murdering a bunch of children in horrific ways… people create a cult to worship the crazy she-bitch type of story! Told in a gothic horror/fairy tale/Mythos type of way – with undertones of Edgar Allan Poe and tinges of Brothers Grimm.

What inspired the story of Kult Of The Raven?

Kam: Reading a lot of Grimm’s Fairy Tales while listening to THE SISTERS OF MERCY, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM and THE CURE albums with my cat sleeping on my lap. But really – I stated formulating the idea back in 2010 while working on my other band THE GROTESQUERY‘s first album. I had a bunch of notes and ideas that I wanted to originally make into books or novels… but after time have found their way to come to life through my music projects. I actually had to outline of the story – but not the main antagonist until Jonny told me about the myth of the Nattravnen. I started to research about it, and it fit so well with the story I had outlined that i just took the basis of the characters mythological origins.

Is a story-based concept album something you would consider doing again, either with NATTRAVNEN or one of your other projects?

Kam: [I’ve] already been doing it since THE GROTESQUERY‘s first album back in 2010. Every album for that band has been a concept album with an in depth story. As a matter of fact the first three albums are a trilogy, the fourth album is the first part to a new story line with werewolves, the new fifth album will be a standalone album – total H.P. Lovecraft worship.

Though there are obvious geographic difficulties, do you have any intention of playing live/touring with NATTRAVNEN using session musicians? Or will it be a studio-only project?

Kam: I would like to perform live. It’s something I would easily do if the proper terms could be met.

Although it’s possibly a bit early to think about it, do you have any plans in the works for more NATTRAVNEN material?

Kam: [It’s] already in the works… the story of The War Of Nevermore will be more in depth, and shall explore even more mythological figures of both Scandinavian and Lithuanian mythology. [The] music is pretty much already written and I have already written lyrics for two of the 8 tracks.

Kult Of The Raven is the second album you’ve released this year, following THE GROTESQUERY’s The Lupine Anethema. How was the critical response to that record?

Kam: It was good, but I don’t feel it was as popular as the previous releases. I also don’t feel it was not as advertised as the prior releases. So the backing and push really wasn’t as before. It was a new label [Xtreme Music], they did okay, but it was not released on vinyl – which I feel didn’t help. Seems a lot of fans of THE GROTESQUERY like the vinyl versions but then this album was only released digitally and on CD. It didn’t sell as much as the prior releases. Also, there were delays and alteration midway between creating it, so it lacked any true focus musically as the prior releases. It was not part of the original story concept that fans knew from the prior three albums and although the music was still [the] old-school death metal style that we’ve always portrayed, I feel it lacked the more brutal approach the fans expected it to be.

Your lyrics for THE GROTESQUERY appear to be heavily influenced by H.P Lovecraft. What is it about The Cthulhu Mythos that makes it such a perfect subject for death metal?

Kam: Undertones of misanthropy and utter disdain for humanity, and monsters… tentacles, and horror’s beyond description!

Are the Lovecraftian lyrics you’ve written based purely on existing works in The Cthulhu Mythos, or have you used your lyrics to expand The Cthulhu Mythos in any way?

Kam: I expand on the Mythos and take influences from it. I’ve adapted directly from Lovecraft’s fiction, but also take my own twist with it. I also incorporate my love of Greek mythology into it as well and a lot of Edger Allen Poe too.

You’ve been involved in a huge number of underground, grass-roots death metal bands over your career. Looking back, which projects are you especially proud of?

Kam: BONE GNAWER, THE GROTESQUERY, AKATHARTA, GRAVE WAX, THE SKELETAL and NATTRAVNEN, of course, but you know MASSACRE will always be a great part of my beginnings as it’s the band I originated the death growl in… and of course MANTAS.

DEATH for the demo era but after that it was more Chuck [Schuldiner]’s thing. Not so much my ideas anymore other than Evil Dead and Infernal Death. Nothing else from Scream Bloody Gore was really my material. Besides, to me, DEATH changed with every album, eventually moving away from traditional death metal horror roots to become a more technical thrash metal act.

Is there anything in the works for a new GRAVE WAX release with Mark Riddick?

Kam: No… we are done with that project.

What does 2019 hold for you and all your projects?

Kam: More recordings. [The] new THE GROTESQUERY and the band I’m doing with David Ingram and Karl Willets called TROIKADON… we are still planning that. I have a few other cool projects to get done as well.

What up and coming bands in the underground scene are you particularly impressed by these days?

Kam: Still dig all of Rogga Johnansson‘s bands, as well as Jonny Petterson‘s bands… I like my other band mates of AKATHARTA‘s band CROPSY MANIAC – horror grind at its best. To be honest, [I’ve] been moving away from listening to death metal lately… I still have my preferred favourites, but not really been into much new stuff.

Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us, Kam. Before you go, do you have any parting messages for Distorted Sound Magazine’s readers?

Kam: Ia-Ia-Yog Sothoth – Ia-Ia – Ctulhu… fthagn – li’gnth lo Sha’r en thygn rar’!! Y’errT Reltub si A GinKcuf TnuC!! Os Si Cir’E feirG a YddaHs Tawt!!

Cheers and Thanks for the support!!

Kult Of The Raven is out now via Transcending Obscurity Records. 

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