Interview: YHWH

Interview by Jeger

Some bands are – in some ways – posers, even if their attitude happens to be in all the right places. It begs the question: why name your band YHWH, put a bunch of occult-related material on your album covers and name one of your albums “Tetragrammaton” if you don’t even know what it means? Worse yet, if it just “sounded good enough.” If you’re a Nihilistic/Misanthropic Black Metal band, then be a Nihilistic/Misanthropic Black Metal band. You don’t see Mgła adorning their album covers with Occult imagery whilst one member refers to herself as HaMephorash… Yes, YHWH’s attitude is where it needs to be, but maybe lay off the Occult stuff, because you will eventually be called out. My interviews are designed to expose Posers. If your music and visual imagery suggest that you are an Occult Practitioner, I will be asking you some questions about Occultism. Usually, a poser band will just not return the interview, but others feel obligated to complete it due to the insistence of their PR guy. YHWH makes some pretty nasty DM-inspired Black Metal, but they don’t know anything about what’s on their album covers… Black Metal is not about what is “good enough.”

Some Black Metal Artists are just spiritually bankrupt. They believe in nothing and everything is just chaos with no real meaning. These people are the ones who generally have the best kind of attitude when it comes to Black Metal. C. Bones of YHWH, judging by her replies, appears to be one of these people. I do admire this band’s attitude and genuineness in regard to their understanding of what kind of people they are inside and what their music stands for.

I ate most of this interview up like a dog gleefully scarfing down his own vomit. Some parts are just true BM Culture/mindset representation, but others rubbed me the wrong way for obvious reasons. Bottom line, it is because of this band’s deep understanding of Black Metal as a way of life that they are being spared the label of posers. And their music is as brutal as a chainsaw wedgie.

During my latest interview, C. Bones of YHWH delivers an honest set of replies, as she provides some insight into the band’s philosophies or lack thereof, their minimalist recording practices and their disdain for stupidity.

This Is Black Metal: Hails! And welcome to This is Black Metal. Outside of when the band started and where you’re from, YHWH remains for the most part a mystery. What can you tell us about your modus operandi/philosophy as a Black Metal band?

C. Bones: Hello. I guess we are not so different than a lot of other bands regarding our modus operandi. Why all this “mystery”? I couldn’t care less about seeing a musician’s face. I came for the music first. If I gave a single fuck about how it looks, I would be listening to the crap of some disposable, idiotic “artist”. This is why – until now – our album covers are shit, because we do not care. We do not play games. We are 100% authentic and honest about the topics we choose in order to enlighten people or simply as an outlet.

TIBM: YHWH formed in 2024 and you have released two EPs thus far with a third looming just over fate’s horizon. Your debut EP, “Tetragrammaton” – the title alone speaks volumes as to the significance of the recording. In Solomonic Tradition and within the Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton), the word Tetragrammaton is a word of power; used to invoke or to cast out spirits and to protect the Practitioner. And for those of us who are unaware, the Lesser Key of Solomon is a Grimoire that holds five different books, one of which is the Ars Goetia, which is a catalog of 72 Daemons, their requirements for summoning, along with their attributes. As a Practitioner, what has been your experience in working with these particular currents and what have been some of the challenges involved in translating your experiences into music?

C. Bones: We called our first EP “Tetragrammaton” because Jonas Sanders needed a title for the Disc Description Protocol. We still did not really know what the title would be at the end of the recording, but we were a bit in a hurry and Schem HaMephorash suggested “Tetragrammaton”. It sounded good enough as it echoed the band’s name. There was no black magic behind it. Sorry to disappoint the whole Parisian Black Metal scene…

TIBM: Outside of your music’s many mystifying qualities, there is also much to be said about how aggressive and delightfully vile it is. Your forthcoming EP for example, “Baghavat”, which translates to revolt or rebellious uprising, is particularly volatile. Can you give us some more in-depth insight into what’s motivating you and the concept behind the new material?

C. Bones: There is no concept behind this material either. We did not want to write something like “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”; even less the equivalent to “666” from Aphrodite’s Child… The only “concept” was always our disgust for stupidity.

TIBM: What is your philosophy in regard to recording? I’ve heard your music cast in a couple different shades: loud and stark as in the new EP and stripped down a bit as in your previous Split release with Hessian.

C. Bones: We do not think too much, intellectualize, or overcomplicate things. We write music and we record it, that’s all.

YHWH – Khatha (EP)

TIBM: Needless to say, there’s a level of danger that has been missing from Black Metal for quite some time. This is due in part to Social Media and to major labels literally destroying once-proud bands who had previously been known for their kvlt sensibilities. YHWH is a different beast altogether – a true Black Metal band through and through. What is your opinion of the current state of the Genre?

C. Bones: When I discovered Black Metal, it really seemed dangerous to me. It was not music for ordinary people and everything was done on purpose to scare them. It was not pretty music, the sound was lo-fi, the riffs were minimalist, topics were about death, misanthropy, nihilism, negativity… That kind of music was intended to be as underground as possible. It was made by and for mad people only. They were not acting like all these fragile and trendy bands of today.

Before Satan became an industry filled with pretenders, Black Metal was something completely different. No one is afraid anymore of Black Metal. It became fun and a lot of morons are aware of its existence thanks to YouTube, Spotify and all this thief-friendly kind of shit. Spoiled children and well-behaved people will never get the essence of Black Metal. What is “true” Black Metal…? This is not only about imitating a music style, but this is also an attitude, a way of life.

TIBM: YHWH refers to Yahweh – the god of the Bible – a deity also known by some as the Demiurge who is, according to Anti-Cosmic philosophy, not the true God of light. Do you subscribe at all to this notion?

C. Bones: No. These are fairy tales written by humans. Do you seriously believe humans – as stupid and primitive as they are – understood anything about any god or about cosmos…? The quest for truth always leads to terror and/or frustration.

YHWH

TIBM: YHWH doesn’t seem to be inspired much by traditional Satanic themes/practices. Personally, I feel like lumping all of these ideas/practices together under the label of Satanism actually limits or minimizes them, particularly as the Faustian spirit: the spirit of rebellion, strength, adversity and free thought is an element that has been with Mankind since the beginning.

C. Bones: I met lots of so-called “Satanists”. They were not. This is rather humorous. They always answer bullshit as “I have my own take about it” or “You can not understand, blah blah blah”, because they know absolutely nothing about it apart from the bullshit they read on their sacrosanct Internet.

As you wrote, we are not inspired much by Satanism. It became childish and cliché and we would be another band of dickheads among other dickheads… We sometimes use their “Satanism” to mock these people (read and listen to some of our intentionally silly songs). Short jokes are the best… We piss on Satan, God, Allah, Maha Kali, Azathoth and every single religion.

TIBM: Much of Occultism has to do with stripping oneself of illusion or any kind of false/ego-driven sense of self. Considering this, what is the most valuable thing you’ve learned about yourself through your Artistic/Occult practices?

C. Bones: As I often say: ego is one of the roots of evil – another being speciesism… We never learned anything significant about ourselves through these practices.

TIBM: Okay, I have to ask… “Hobbit Motherfuckers”? The closing track to the new EP. Please explain.

C. Bones: This is a cover of Turbonegro. Since all bands cover the same childish/boring bullshit, we thought it would be cool to do something a bit unusual. We already planned to do some more hardcore punk covers on a future split EP, and if the average Black Metal fan does not like it, we would be extremely satisfied.

TIBM: Do you have a message for the Horde?

C. Bones: No. Thank you for this interview! Girl power!

TIBM: A special thank you to C. Bones, YHWH and Wormholedeath Records.