Interview: Darkend

Lígia May 6, 2018

Interview by Lígia

Hello sons of darkness, today evil Black Metalheads Darkend from Italy take over our edition to let you know about their history, talk about their project, new material and approach on Black Metal as well as the Italian Black Metal scene.

This Is Black Metal: Thank you for accepting this interview, it’s a pleasure talking to you. Formed in 2006, Darkend had a big start, touring with big names like Marduk and Rotting Christ. How did this project came to life and at the time how did it feel to tour with such bands when you were just beginning?

Animae: Hello there, thank you for your time and support. For us music was always a gate to the inner Abyss and our aim, since the beginning, was to get people able to really feel the presence of those unnamed ghosts that whispered our music into life. Of course, on an artistic side, things evolved a lot since 2006: back in time we dealt with some kind of dark & raw music that year after year became what we now call “Extreme Ritual Art”: a combination of obscure heavy riffing, Gregorian chants, Goetian and Sacred music from the past, mixed with lyrical exorcisms and mantric spells.
Touring with Rotting Christ, Melechesh, Samael, Cradle Of Filth, God Seed and many more was crucial for our evolution both on an artistic and on a (in)human level: it gave us the certainty that everything is achievable, with the power of True Will.

Animæ – Darkend

TIBM: Do you have any interesting /funny story to tell from tour?

Animae: What happens on tour stays under the shadows of those days. It’s a cosmic law that we will never break.

TIBM: What gear do you use?

Animae: Whatever allows us to truly express our souls. In these days, we’re dealing a lot with strange instruments carved in human bones.

Congressus Cum Dæmone – Darkend featuring Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ

TIBM: What is the process of composing for Darkend? Where do you get all your inspiration from?

Animae: I get all the inspirations needed from my Inner Abyss, exclusively. The creative core of the whole thing revolves around me & Antarktica. Basically, I have visions. I try to capture their atmosphere and then I explain them to him and from that we start to write structures, riffs and arrangements.

TIBM: When can we expect a new album? Have you been working on new material?

Animae: Yes, we completed the songwriting process just some days ago and we will record the new album in June and July. Then our label will decide when it will be time to deliver it. I guess it will be at the end of 2018/beginning of 2019.

Animæ – Darkend

TIBM: Your last album The Canticle Of Shadows was darker and more intense than the previous works…is its successor going to follow that evolution?

Animae: Yes, it will be a little bit rawer and the atmosphere will be more melancholic, compared to “The Canticle Of Shadows”.

TIBM: Can we expect more special guest appearances in the future? What are some of the musicians you’d like to work with?

Animae: Probably there will be some other special guests on the new album, yes. It would be awesome to have a David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) guitar solo, one day. And there are a lot of other musicians that I really respect and appreciate, but probably I would prefer to work with them outside of the borders of Darkend. Darkend is a very personal and intimate entity and we feel like needing guests only when their Spiritual emanation perfectly matches with the emotions we need to express. It has nothing to do with fame or extra-exposure.

Darkend

TIBM: How is the Black Metal scene in Italy?

Animae: Quite healthy and somehow really rooted in the depth of true Magical cults.

TIBM: What is the next level? What are the plans for the future of Darkend?

Animae: As said before, we will record our new album soon and we’re still writing new material. Then, after the summer festivals and with the coming of autumn, we will embark for sure in another European tour. Our next level is always to be more intense and more sincere than the day before.

TIBM: Finally, please leave a message for your fans and This Is Black Metal readers…

Animae: Thanks a lot for your attention and for your support, feel free to contact us by following our main portals on-line: www.darkend.it and www.facebook.com/darkendofficial. And of course, thanks to everyone out there that will welcome Darkend into its Soul. No one of you will be forgotten. Be true to your Spirit, always.