Heavy Metal Tribune

Being one of the few extreme metal bands that fuse eastern elements into their brand of death metal, Weapon certainly caught my attention from the first time I heard their songs. We talk to band leader, Vetis Monarch to learn more about the band's music and inspirations.

HMT: Greetings Weapon! The band will be releasing the sophomore album, From The Devil’s Tomb this coming November. What are the expectations of the band for this album?

This is the strongest Weapon release to date; there is no doubt about that. For the first time we are satisfied with the production which we weren’t at all with our previous releases. As far as expectations go, we want this album to attain maximum exposure – we want to tour the world as far and wide as possible.

Looking at the releases of Weapon, it seems that the band is pretty influenced by Eastern philosophies, in addition to the dark themes of the songs. Titles such as Trishul and LEFTHANDPATHYOGA from the upcoming album certainly caught my attention. What was it that influenced the band to write music with these influences? The riffs and guitar lines in the songs of Weapon are certainly not the usual riffs that bands of the black/death metal genre play.

We incorporate satanic elements from several different traditions. Eastern occult tenets are particularly inspiring to us because they aren’t limited by the duality of most Western religious factions. That being said, we aren’t a band solely focused on the mysteries of the East. Evil has no boundaries.

As far as compositional elements are concerned, a lot of the riffs and arrangements are quite unorthodox when you compare us to traditional metal. I was born and raised in the East and therefore it’s in my blood; the rest of the band have a great appreciation for Indian, Middle Eastern and Oriental scales so the influence is unavoidable.

From the Devil's Tomb

With music that is unique as such, fusing Eastern musical elements with extreme metal, how have crowds reacted to Weapon?

People that have witnessed us live got their got asses handed to them. Our live shows are vicious, merciless and absolutely relentless – a sonic and visual assault on the senses. As far as the music itself is concerned, we have had fans tell us about self-mutilation, bouts of euphoria and violent urges to harm others just by absorbing our music to the fullest.

To be honest, the only other band that I have ever heard of that has strong Eastern influences in the music is a Singapore band called RUDRA. Were there any particular influences when writing the music for Weapon?

Rudra is the best band from Asia right now, hands down. We have a great amount of respect for their work. But as far as our musical influences go, we take inspiration from the usual suspects – Deicide, Mayhem, Samael, Morbid Angel, Abhorer, Root, Armoured Angel, Entombed, Blasphemy etc.

With track titles such as Para Bhakti, which was derived from Bhakti Yoga (correct me if I am wrong) and LEFTHANDPATHYOGA, do you indulge and immerse yourself in any spiritual practices? What was your spiritual journey before the formation of Weapon?

I am a Satanist. My religion / philosophy is always being developed with research, analyses, out-of-the-box thinking and above all, devotion. I immerse myself in practices that suit my personality the best, and I pick and choose from various satanic sources to further improve myself as the ultimate adversary, a shining example of the Black Light. Before Weapon I was just a rebellious teenager bent on violence.

It was mentioned in a previous interview that I read that Drakonian Paradigm took the band 4 years to write. However, From The Devil’s Tomb will be released soon, only 1 year after the previous album. What was it that makes the band able to release the follow up so quickly, compared to the debut?

Perhaps the biggest factors here are that a) I was completely fucked on heroin and cocaine during the writing of ‘Drakonian Paradigm’, and b) the lineup was highly unstable during those 4+ years. ‘From The Devil’s Tomb’ saw us finally get a strong lineup where everyone was on the same page musically and spiritually, and I was no longer using any drugs. These things make a big difference if your band is going to be a professional band in any degree whatsoever.

Weapon live

The new album artwork is extremely well drawn and vivid, would it be possible to tell us the concepts behind it?

The basic concept here is that of ‘as above, so below’; emerging from the Devil’s tomb and conquering ALL. The details of this piece are paramount, and we would rather people figured out the nuances on their own.

How does the music on this album compare with previous releases of the band, such as Drakonian Paradigm? There is certainly a heavier feel to the new track, Vortex – 11724.

Our Death Metal influences have taken more of a lead role this time around, with the emphasis being on pummeling brutality more than ever before. For people our age, Black and Death Metal are 2 sides of the same coin, so the flow is seamless. ‘Vortex – 11724’ is a perfect example of this: slithering, rumbling and utterly full of despair, yet retaining the Weapon sense of catchiness and melody.

What will the lyrical directions for From The Devil’s Tomb be?

Satanic to the fullest! Every release under the banner of Weapon is indoctrinated in the Left Hand Path. I think we are looking more inwards this time around for inspiration.

The upcoming album will be released by Agonia Records. How did this collaboration come about and what has it been working with Agonia Records?

Actually it was The Ajna Offensive who got us in contact with Agonia Records. ‘Drakonian Paradigm’ suffered from poor distribution in Europe, so for the new album we wanted a European label taking care of things in that part of the globe. So far we have no complains – everything that Agonia has promised to us has been delivered.

After the release of From The Devil’s Tomb in November, what does the future hold for Weapon?

More live dates across North America and hopefully a trek through Europe in 2011. And as always, we are working on new material.

We have come to the end of the interview, the last words are yours!

We appreciate the fact that you did not ask boring questions. ‘From The Devil’s Tomb’ is now available everywhere. Buy it!

Thank you once again for the interview and we wish Weapon all the best in the upcoming album release!


Weapon on the internet:
Official website
MySpace

©2010 Heavy Metal Tribune | Hong Rui