Khors

1. I remember your name since band ASTROFAES, because older albums of this band are in Czech still very sell-able. In 2004 you left this band and together with Khaoth and Helg you founded KHORS. BTW, your co-members are known for HATE FOREST, ULVEGR or YGG. I think that they have here in Czech still very good place of fans. But why do you founded in 2004 absolutely new band, what do you wanted to change and do totally from it´s roots?

Hello to all the readers of Parat Magazine. It’s nice to know you watch my career. Nothing I can hide from you)) Well, in 2004 there was a moment for me to start all over again. There were too many reasons for that and I guess there’s no need to consider them in details now cause a lot of time’s passed since now. From the position of today I can only note that I made the right decision and there’s nothing for me to regret.

 

2. Helg was always noticed as frontman in case of composing music and lyrics, too. You said that without him it wouldn´t be KHORS at all. But then he left you on short time. What about band in that times, how it does work and how it would be without him, does it would exist without him?  The composing of new songs, motives and that all, is it any himself priority or do you let it on him just for your convenient? Is he the head-composer of „Wisdom Of Centuries“, too?

Helg was not with us for about a year but we still had close contact and he continued to write music for Khors even as he’s not in line up. As for “Wisdom of Centuries” record so there were no head composer for this album. Three tracks are written by Helg, another three by Jurgis, one is made by Saturious and Khaoth and also one track of Jurgis was composed in his cooperation with Warth.  

3. You are very often noticed as black metal band, but you mark yourself rather as „pagan atmospheric dark metal“. Do you try intently  with new album to make off your black metal roots more?

Normally it’s up on media and music labels to specify the musical styles definitely as they’re interested in providing information and sales. It’s a little bit hard for us to specify our music style. Heathen Dark Metal is a concept which can reflect our music to some extent.

As for black metal roots so we never try to leave them and I guess it’s impossible. Rather we can say we develop our musical concept from album to album and evolving ourselves in each of them.

4. Athough your fans and listeners were used to your special sound, this new album will be very suprising for them I think. It is more experimental, epical, atmospherical – and stance of vocal songs and instrumental songs is balanced as 4:4. Do you feel with „Wisdom Of Centuries“ exactly that way, you want to go for permanent time?

Athough

“Wisdom of Centuries” is the conceptual record and lyrical component predominates in it. That’s the idea of 4 instrumental tracks and 4 metal ones. I don’t know what kind of music the new album will sound like but I can note we’ll continue and develop our experiments with ethnic instruments.

 

5. You changed label and get to cooperation with prestige name- Candlelight. Once you said, that end of your cooperation with Paragon Records could became only, if still tragical merchandise of musical albums goes totally down.  You said, it would be time to go out from underground. I think, the time has come now.

We‘d like to thank so much again Paragon Records for those amazing years of our joint cooperation. That was really great time for us and we hardly would go if there’s no the offer from Candlelight Records. It’s just the another level for sure and another opportunities for the band. As for sales fall so it’s universal phenomenon and it affects the major companies as well. These are realities of today’s muisc business.  

6. It´s clear what means for you that contract – better distribution, more chances, so why not.

Does it change any things around working in band, or process of composing new album were the same, so everything from composing to graphic were in your hands and only later, after finish you sent complete record not to America but to England?

It didn’t affect the work upon the album at all. We almost finished all the works on it when it’s signing with Candlelight. We contacted the main office in UK.

 

7. Have you with Candlelight contract only to releasing or are you in cooperation with them via any booking agenture even to concerts? I think that motto –as more concerts, more chances to sell – is still actual.

Candlelight is not obliged to manage tours and live shows for us but I sincerely hope they will assist it because the label has to be interested in that I believe. At the moment we reduced the quantity of live shows we can play due to our employment on the basic jobs but still we ready for interesting offers if there are some.

8. What about your lastyear´s concert here in Czech republic how did it work? Was it your first show in here?

When Ukraine´s band wanted to go on gigs on West, does it still cost many struggle and energy for organising all that papers and permissions? If I look on situation in Ukraine as Czech citizen, Ukraine is not in EU and many metal bands can tells about the terror around the crossing of abroads, which often is and mainly the experiences with customs officers J

Yes, the show in Brno last Fall was the first time for us in Czech Republic. It was a perfect show and that tour over Slovakia and Czech in the whole and we thank so much the guys of Ancestral Volkhves for the invitation and thank the fans visited those shows and supported us as well.

Yes there are really some problems with signing VISAs but I can’t say it’s too hard to get. We need to get some official documents and one’s from promoter and it really bores) But to tell you the truth to get VISA of EU country which is not in shengen zone is more complex) But I don’t think EU citizens can comprehend our complexities) 

9. Just about every year there is „cause“ about some Ukraine´s black metal band, people blame it for hidden nationalistic radical thoughts inside itself music. Why do you think, that happens?

KHORS is totally anti-political band, but do you must face up to any blame, too anytime?

For me it’s hard to explain why it happens. We never claimed ourselves as nazi band and never been involved in NSBM scene. Our lyrics is not about these topics and we never did any provocations when on a stage but nevertheless we’re constantly exposed to different kind of ridiculous accusations the main meaning of which is that we are friends with the bands which are belong to NSBM scene as antifa decided. It seems a bit steep! First we’ll decide ourselves whom we’ll have friendship with and the second it reminds me a lot the history of 1937 when the whole families of repressed by communists people was sent to Siberia due to they didn’t want to renounce the repressed relatives. Which democracy European community’s talking about then?  

10. Do you think, that West and East Europe feel words – nacism and nationalism so differently? From my own experiences I feel it like on Ukraine is nationalism about national pride, but many West European organisations feel it in wrong sense.

I think the same. It seems to me that modern society of Western Europe is a bit afraid of the word “nationalism” and either doesn’t want to dig the real meaning either try their best to be silent on this. It seems they really mix nazism and nationalism meanings and I think that there’s really problem that some countries of Western Europe still living under the heavy burden of the past and don’t want to throw the fascism away to a trash of history. Don’t look for fascism and nazism where it is not… Patriotism is an important part of our ideology and we view it through the prism of common sense.  

 

11. Do you feel on Ukraine too, that completely strained topics about Second world war were about few last years go to unbounded? As longer interval that more witness died and younger generation feels many facts on thein own, with humour.

I don’t think there’s anything in WWII topic the young generation can feel humour on it. Besides there’s a special truth for Ukraine in that war and it differs from the one that was injecting into minds of residents of Soviet Union in post-war years. But the people’s mentality’s changing when political system’s changing and it usually brings another level of assessment of events that passed. The younger generation doesn’t experience the event as acute as people experienced it back in 60s – 80s years but they still remember the deaths of their grandparents. 

12. Name KHORS became from ancient mythology and it according to ancient Pagans and old time´s Arian people. How many mythological roots stay in your new album and how much do you try to transfer your lyrics to nowaday´s reality?

 

Mentally we always feel our connections with the ancient world. But the new album is not about the ancient times. The lyrics on it‘s dedicated to the courage and patriotism shown by the defenders of Republic Kholodny Yar in the fight against the occupying forces of Soviet Red Army. These events occured in 20s years of the last century on the territory of Cherkassy Region, Ukraine. 

13. Ancient pagan influences many bands often express by many instruments, even ancient or that which we call as folklore. Besides, your homeboys DRUDKH are regarded as the well-known performers of East-European symbiose of metal and folk. Why KHORS never goes that way?

We have our vision of creation the music for Khors. We do it as we feel it and if the time will come we’ll feel we need to add some folk instruments in our music we’ll surely do it.

14. Do you enjoy interviews and talk about KHORS? DRUDKH don´t matter about it, don´t care for talking about, they say that their music tells.. I think in view of their popularity, that might be on it…

The guys of Drudkh is kinda closed to the world and that’s their decision. They always was that kind even when world didn’t know about them. We contact them often but the essence of our conversations never goes beyond our communication. As for Khors we’re opened for any kind of questions although to tell you the truth not all of them are nice to answer)

15. Thanks for your interview and in the end of it, please tell me plans of KHORS to the end of this year. 

Thank you for you interest and for your support. We plan to participate on some European festivals and we’re also continue working on the new tracks of ours.