Line Up:
Dahaz On Vocal
Marko Illic On Guitar
Damjan Dobrila On Keyboards
Vojin Raktovic On Drums
Well,Friends Of Aristocracy!
We speak again of our newsroom, where in a little while, we will have in all its emotions, the interview 227 of the Aristocracy.This time, the Aristocracy is proud to talk to a robust band that bases all of its music on hidden darkness and deadly horror and other artifices worthy of great terror.
We are talking about a dynamic band that shows all the evil force of Black Metal allying itself in some moments with the attitude of Thrash Metal and the heavy fury of Death Metal.However, make no mistake, we are talking about a Black Metal band. A band that comes from Serbia and goes by the name of Carnival Of Flesh and this is their second full album entitled Anthems Of Extinction, which has a slow and heavy approach. We want to thank the band a lot for this work and for their work done before this one that goes by the name of Stories from a Fallen World held in 2015.
Also, we want to thank the band for answering our humble but important questions.Right now, let’s go to one of their songs so that their unprecedented interview for the Brazilian press can begin.
A1:Talking about the composition work in Anthems Of Extinction ?
Carnival Of Flesh:As some of our fans probably know, we’re geographically dislocated, which makes a lot of things more complicated. Dachaz has moved to Amsterdam, Netherlands some 11 years ago, while the rest of the band is spread across different cities in Serbia. In late 2019. Dam and Tarkalion came to Amsterdam for a 2-week intensive composing session. We spent 8-12 hours each day working together on the songs and the rest just enjoying the Dutch delicacies). This was both a very focussed but also a very organic and relaxing experience. Additionally, Dam and Tarkalion came with their partners who were the early review board for all the ideas we were putting together, effectively removing some of the “overly artsy but not really listenable” moments. We managed to finish the most parts of the album in that session, musically speaking. Then there was a bit of a COVID-induced delay to get the lyrics done, and to finally hit the studio where some final quirks were polished.
A2:Why we can say that this album is intricate ?
Carnival Of Flesh:This is probably for others to say, but our take on the topic is that our sound matured. “Stories From a Fallen World” was the sound we wanted to achieve somewhere around 2004., but failed to until we restarted the band in 2014. We have since matured as people as well, and our musical tastes have continued to develop, which all contributes to the depth of the album.
A3:Not that I don’t like the fact that this album is more organic, but how and why this decision was made ?
Carnival Of Flesh:The group of people recording “Stories From a Fallen World” never played together before,we just hit the studio with a bunch of old ideas. On the other hand, the group of people who wrote and recorded “Anthems of Extinction” have performed together many times, toured together, and spent a lot of time together in general, which all makes the sound more organic, in a sense.
A4:We see a bit of doom on this album, although I like this doom, why Sludge and Stoner don’t match what you guys want to do ?
Carnival Of Flesh:The doomy influences probably come from Tarkalion who has played doom/gothic back in Arnor and stoner with Temple of the Smoke, and who carried great part of composing of the new album. The rest of us aren’t strangers to slower and heavier tones of doom/goth/stoner either. We’re not genre-puritans, so we’re open to playing “what feels right”. I know that sounds like a cliché, and might end up killing the band like the “experimental phase” of …and Oceans did, for example, but equally, I wouldn’t want us to become irrelevant through mass-production of the same old.
A5:Some literature or film inspire the band ?
Carnival Of Flesh:While we’re not intentionally aligning our music or lyrics with any specific other media, everything we consume influences us, at least on subconscious level. As such, I can say that between the 3 of us who are responsible for the sound/image/general direction, we’ve been reading and watching a lot of epic fantasy, sci-fi and philosophy.
A6:Why the band have this name ?
Carnival Of Flesh:Around the time we were forming the band (back in 2002), we listened to a lot of Aura Noir, whose song “Broth of Oblivion” has a verse mentioning “…a carnival of flesh”. That resonated with our teenage minds, and we picked that name. Since we invested a lot of energy under that monicker, we didn’t really think too much when rebooting the band it was just the name we knew and held dear. But, thinking about it retroactively, I feel it fits our narrative as we tend to take a darker spin on things that are close to home.
A7:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Carnival Of Flesh:The artwork has layers upon layers of symbolism. Essentially, our resident artist, Stefan Petrović, read the lyrics, listened to the music, and incorporated all the key details from the album’s message into a very eloquent front cover and equally impressive booklet artwork.Without revealing all of it, you can find different symbols for death, planetary destruction and prevention of eternal life, while lightly flirting with alchemy and supernatural.
A8:Why mortal horror is so inspiring for this album?
Carnival Of Flesh:It’s less of just mortal horror, but misanthropy and pessimism in general. However, it is true that all of the lyrics were written during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the global mental health has dipped to its lowest.
A9:How is Carnival Of Flesh different from your previous bands ?
Carnival Of Flesh:For all of us, it’s musically different to our other or previous endeavours, our other bands ranged from bohemian punk, to chiptune, indie jazz, grunge and everything in between. However, it manages to capture our mutual love for symphonic black metal, and it’s our mutual outlet for that part of our personas. Additionally, as mentioned previously, this is the first “remote-first” band for all of us. Thus, the rehearsals and everything else comes with a lot of self-preparation, requiring an elevated level of professionalism, that we didn’t have to deal with previously.
A10:The band’s goal is to show the fall of humanity. But, this fall is more pronounced today than in the time of our parents ?
Carnival Of Flesh:We tend to share the view that humanity is on a downward spiral. Our parents are boomers, and while we’re Eastern European, that still meant they grew up with more freedom and wealth than our generation did,while still incomparably less than their Western counterparts. While our parents grew up with free markets, travelling to other countries at will, affordable housing and generally care-free life, we grew up with wars tearing our country apart, one economical crisis after another, closed borders, empty shelves, ozone holes, melting glaciers, etc. We do recognise that there are a number of improvements happening globally every year, but we feel it’s a bit of “one step forward, two steps back” kind of situation, to which we decided to dedicate this album.
A11:This album is conceptual ?
Carnival Of Flesh:Yes, like the previous album, this one is conceptual. Storytelling is an important part of our identity, which is why each album has been and will be an overarching story.
A12:What are the convictions your music wants to offer ?
Carnival Of Flesh:We strive for theatrical delivery of socially conscious storytelling, wrapped in professionalism. We’ve played with the same rigour, regardless if the venues were empty or full, because we believe that our audience deserves a proper show.
A13:Besides being the fourth song, what does the band mean by Can of Sorrow ?
Carnival Of Flesh:“Can of Sorrow” is a slang term for “teargas” of which, a lot has been used by the police to surpress demonstrations in Belarus and Serbia, which inspired the song.
A14:What kind of subject don´t deserve a Carnival Of Flesh ?
Carnival Of Flesh:We have strongly kept away from religion, and we intend to keep it that way. Not just because we need to be different and steer away from Satanism,it’s just that none of us are religious, and rebelling against religion in that capacity doesn’t resonate with us.
A15:The band feel differences between Stories from a Fallen World and now in Anthems Of Extinction ?
Carnival Of Flesh:As mentioned previously, it’s partially related to us maturing,both as people and as artists, but also due to different people being part of the composing and recording process. Furthermore, our live lineup has changed a number of times since, which further adds to the differences.
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