Black Metal is more than music, Black Metal is one of the purest forms of expression

and transcendence known by mankind and one of the few that fully understands the
essence of this dark art is Dagon, The Voice of Satan of Inquisition. Let him enlighten
us all.

What do you wish to accomplish with Inquisition in terms of sound and concept?
Which is the reason of its existence?

The most important issue above all others is to have people reflect upon the fact that Black
Metal is beyond music and standard Black Metal imagery, those two things are the mere
wheels of the fire chariot that carry a very important message that must clearly at all times
be projected correctly in order to carry out the reality of true Satanism and expose the dark
magical mystique that lays within the obscure circle of the cult where only those who are
willing can find the truth of what Satanism and the Luciferion knowledge truly is.

The hymns which Inquisition creates and performs may not be fulfilling to most who have
created in their mind a standard vision of what Black Metal is and in their mind should be, I
do believe beyond all truthness that we are doing what we do in the most appropriate
manner when you focus your attention on what the essence of Satanic music should be and
must be.

When we speak of sound, style, voice, concept and all musical execution in general the
achievement we are thriving for is one that carries the listener far beyond his present
moment of just listening to music. This is about black rituals in the form of music, in the form
of Satan and Lucifer, darkness and fire. Ancient gods of the past being awakened through the
spells of vocal incantations, Pagan war drum strikes and guitar melodies that only summon
the demons of hate.

All this mentioned above is my reason for the existence of Inquisition, and this is why we
create the dark invocations we do.

What inspires Inquisition? From where do you gather in order to create?

The simple notion that my spirit is as ancient as time itself, I am here in “modern times” but
my spirit is very old therefore my inspiration is old and cryptic and this surfaces when I
create the hymns of Inquisition, the thought of that, the belief in that inspires me greatly.
Demonic art inspires me, to look at old diabolic woodcuts made in times when Satan was a
real threat to people inspires me more than anyone can believe. I can stare for quite long
periods of time just trying to look deep into the world of the woodcut I am staring at trying to
understand what was going through the mind of the artist when it was made. Of great
inspiration it is indeed.
The knowledge that I use as inspiration is gathered from books on the occult, the real occult.
The art of Black Magic, demonology and Satanic studies based on the Christian viewpoint of
what Satan and Lucifer are, not just the philosophical neo-Satanic form of Satanism. If you
chant to Satan then you must study it’s origins both from the Christianized form and the
Qaballistic form as well. The demons of Babylonian religion are important to me for
inspiration. Baphomet, the mysterious war god demon of the Templars, not so much is
known about “him” but indeed a large part of our focus point in Inquisition deals with
Baphomet.

Astronomy, the eternal black universe, the cosmic sea of Lucifer. How can one not be
enlightened by such greatness after a deep look into something so primitive, vast and
timeless.

Which artists/musicians have influenced you in your art? Only Black Metal musicians
or are you influenced by other styles or genres?

Many forms of music I appreciate and even influence me. I have music from a few different
areas of the world, folk music that is of course, something that reflects a common cause of a
culture and identifies them as a culture of there own highly appeals to me. Different forms of
electronic music, I go very deep when it comes to dark ambience music. Brighter Death
Now is a favorite for me, Genocide Organ is also highly listened to on my part. Suicide
Commando performs some excellent dark techno industrial and of course every since I was
a young kid I always enjoyed all the early Tangerine Dream albums.

Music of the early period, Gothic and Renaissance era is truly a jewel to me.

These days not to much Metal inspires me, of course I like Metal but after hearing so much
for such a long time it can get quite stale if there is a lack of innovation. But on that topic,
Bathory The Return is my greatest Black Metal inspiration, Burzum, old Immortal and the
essence of the Polish Black Metal scene greatly inspires me. I have been for a very long time
now a great admirer of the Polish circle.

Inquisition’s last full length, Magnificent Glorification of Lucifer was released last year
through No Colours Records. How would you compare it to other Inquisition releases?
Did you write/record it with a certain idea in mind? Are you satisfied with the final
result?

The mindset I had with this album was highly focused on taking the listener onto a direct and
straight forward path to the essence of Satanic strength, might and vision. With less
complexity and emphasis on song duration and more emphasis on the message I truly
achieved what I had planned for.

I wanted each hymn on this album to be much more memorable, not just musically but
lyrically and by breaking down the song structures you allow for the music and the message
to isolate themselves from one another much more and ultimately each entity individually
stands out with greater highlight, speaking within the realm of music and verse that is.

How do I compare it to previous releases? Vocals are deeper in tone, guitars are brighter,
drums are much more present, much more repetition of melodies enhancing the hypnosis
effect, shorter songs. Overall, with these minimal modifications it is very Inquisition and most
importantly still very true to the essence of Satanism which to me is more valuable than
anything else in Black Metal.

The concept of the album is Lucifer, a name mentioned quite often but not well understood
by many. To give you a perfect example of my Luciferion vision I must say that it has been
entertaining to read and hear such comical comments in reference to our photos on
Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer which is the result of the misunderstanding of Lucifer as I
just mentioned. The images of us represent the son of the morning, the morning star, the
sun, Lucifer, shining upon us. This is clearly something that was done to enhance the
message of our glorification of Lucifer, bearer of light and wisdom.

The odd color of our cover art represents the old blood remaining from the rituals of the
song Baptized In Black Goatblood.

Everything we do has a meaning and this can bring the ultimate satisfaction to the author
when meaning stands in front of your music. We are both highly pleased with this release.
These songs are truly the best live as well, for us anyway from a performance point of view.

How is it like to work with No Colours? Are you happy with them? How did you get in
contact with them originally?

This is something I get asked in every interview now so I will sum the explanation and
basically say that No Colours came to us with an offer to release our debut album on Double
L.P. and we spoke about a full contract as well since we were without a label after the end of
Warhammer Records. This is the perfect label for Inquisition.

There seems to be a lot of different conceptions of what Black Metal is around the
world, so I would like to hear Inquisition’s definition/explanation of Black Metal.

It is the music that speaks for Satan, proves the existence of it’s force and Black Magic. It is
the music of Black Metal that must inspire wisdom learned from the shadows. It is the dark
fire torch of death and destruction that is only for the purpose of ending the faith that Jewish
lambs and Christian sheep and shepards have in Jesus Christ and Jehova. The war must
never stop against Christianity and the Jewish “Cult”. Those are the seeds that must be
crushed. Lucifer proves to us that man will always, by true nature, be his own God at will and
isolate himself away from the monopoly of false Gods.

Black Metal can have any form of anti-Christianity within the ideology since it is about the
protest and denial of Judeo-Christianity as it’s first priority; but real Black Metal in essence
MUST begin with the recognition of Satan as THE foundation of the Black Metal code. This is
where Black Metal began and this is how it must be, always, there should be no doubts.

Just look around you, your society and it’s moral codes and you cannot help but see the
obvious Christian presence everywhere and for this Satan and Lucifer must be invoked for
the influence and inspiration of Black Metal with the mere purpose of enshrouding the realm
of the white-light God and obscuring his presence through black magic incantations of grim
hymns.

By glorifying Satan and Lucifer we become true enemies of God.

There seems to be two main branches when talking of Satanism in Black Metal: the
primitive Devil-worshipping and the more modern one. I believe that your lyrics make
obvious that you approach the more primitive Satanic perspective (at least as the
band’s concept). Could you explain what Satanism is and the role it plays in Inquisition
and Black Metal in general. What do you think of modern and primitive Satanism?

Modern day Satanism is only modern in the sense that we speak of it in reference to “Today”
but this basically shows that Satan is more than just a force, it is an intellect as well, an
attitude, a mindset and has always been in man by nature but the Christian values want to
remove this from your persona.

The primitive aspect of it as you call it, and I can see why of course, is the visual symbolism
that speaks for Satanism as well as the ritual side. This truly is the left hand path of Satanism
itself, the dark side OF the dark side. This is where Inquisition belongs because our hymns
are rituals, literally. This is the side where true power is obtained.

Both sides of Satanism are necessary, equally. This always shows through a person and or a
band when they have Satan within them. There is no way of hiding this or posing as so, the
truth of Satan and Lucifer radiate clearly from a true infernal soldier. This is what this is all
about, this is it and both sides are my foundation of existence and that of Inquisition.

Many fans claim that Black Metal is supposed to seek the destruction of organized
religion, yet, when any band becomes a bit known they start crying sellout and that
Black Metal belongs on the underground, thing that I find ironic because how is Black
Metal supposed to destroy the conventional way of thought if it’s only heard and
known by people that already are against religion and modern values? What do you
think? Black Metal belongs in the underground? How can Black Metal work as a war
against organized religion if it will never infiltrate the mainstream?

The only thing that MUST stay underground are terrorist actions against religion and it’s
followers, underground war is a smart war.

Music however, the propaganda machine must reach many. True Black Metal is elite and
elite people don’t let others degrade their art and value system just because it is being
exposed to the masses so there should be no fear about that.

Different it is when a band reaches many on a big scale by compromising it’s ideology and
softening it’s edge by “dulling the blade” a little just to appeal to more common people to sell
more and become rock stars.

At times I feel that the same people that support you can become to controlling and they get
a sense of ownership over a band and ultimately just want to manipulate what you should
do. I refer to common Metalheads that criticize the growth of a band with the overused coin
phrase “They sold out”. People forget that poser bands are not the only ones that can grow,
well talented and true Heathen-Satanic artists will succeed always when they are true to their
beliefs and live what they sing about.

Black Metal seems to be taken more seriously by fans, than other genres. Would you
say Black Metal goes beyond mere entertainment? Why? Do you consider Black Metal
a way of life?

As I clearly answered earlier, Black Metal is of course much more than just music. It is music
that creates an ideology and it is the result of an ideology, either way.

Inquisition recently played a show with Sumeria, Horn of Valere and Blood Storm in
the USA. How did it turn out? How was the response from the public?

We were very pleased with this show, after recently returning from our lengthy European
tour this was a perfect extension of that tour here in the United States. Besides some very
difficult people that would not give me space onstage and continuously grab me, touch my
guitar and the one individual that literally shit in his pants, the show went very well.

Also, I must remind people that this show was almost shut down more than 2 or 3 times
because of the ADL and ultimately our rituals of Judeo-Christian destruction became a reality,
that is something that added to the meaning of this show being a “success”, the show
became more of a symbolic action more than anything after so many problems.

I understand that you used one guitar, drums and vocals only for this performance.
Only you and Incubus. Why is this? Is Inquisition too personal to share it with someone
else or would you think on assembling a complete line-up for your live performances if
you found someone who fits the bands principles?

I would like to explain this in the most simple way if I can. Incubus and I had to many
problems finding a Bass player years ago, if he didn’t have a drug problem he lacked ideology
that is so needed in Inquisition. This cult is meant to encompass the spirit of the
underground and always recognize Satanism as it’s prime influence inside and outside,
onstage and offstage at all times. How you live and how you act can seriously affect and
influence your songwriting as well as the members that are in the band along your side.

Incubus and I share this mentality to perfection in my opinion and I do not want someone
who is going to interfere with that between us two. We have the bare minimum needed to
create Satanic music in the form of Black Metal, a guitar, drums and a voice. With this
simplistic formula I believe that this adds to the magic of our hymns. You can do so much
with so little, it is all about how creative you can or want to be, it is about your capabilities.

Also, we have never really been a “follow the crowd” type of people, I told Incubus one night
“Lets do the best we can as a duo and display what talent we have as a duo in the studio and
onstage”.

I believe that many have forgotten that Metal was always about going beyond the limits set
by the standard music industry and being a two piece is one way of doing that...this is how
we shall remain.

Inquisition manage to create a very trance inducing atmosphere without sacrificing

any brutality in their albums. I think this is a quite difficult balance to obtain. Do you
think Inquisition manages to maintain this sound in your live performances? What
would you consider the hardest thing of performing live?

Brutality and dark atmosphere are not easy to combine when you want both elements to
maintain their purity and not cross over, as a songwriter this is not easy to do when you try
so hard to keep the songs flowing without any interruptions that can ruin a song just
because you want to add a change from brutal to dark for example. Changes most of the
time must be unnoticed and disguised but my favorite change is the obvious ones that if
anything can make the song better by having this obvious change as a highlight, a strong
tempo change or scale change for example.

In a live situation this of course will never be difficult for us because one thing about
Inquisition that I always keep in mind when writing is that what we record in the studio
must have the ability to be performed live with the same or at least close to the same aura as
the studio version. Yes, I admit there are some things I do in the studio that I cannot do live
such a second guitar performing a small lead but those are the songs that we just do not
perform live. Most of our music is for a live presentation and Inquisition if anything is a live
act, that is our strong side. Many people have told me that they did not like Inquisition until
they had seen us live. I believe that is because they captured the atmosphere that not even
on an album some people can capture.

The hardest thing about performing live - to answer your last part of the question - is having
bad sound. No monitors, a bad drum kit, bad amplification, etc. The irony of the whole thing
is that this movement is about music, sound waves flowing into your ears to produce
pleasure... so why is sound so neglected in our movement when it comes to concerts and
small shows? If it is about money than people without the proper funds should not be setting
up shows and charging what they charge, it is unfair to those who pay to get in and unfair to
the bands performing.

Inquisition was originally formed in Colombia. How would you compare the Colombian
scene with the American in terms of sound and attitude?

Not only in Colombia but from Mexico all the way down to the southern tip of Chile is Metal
more than just a musical form of thought and lifestyle, it is literally an obsession.

Many second and third world countries have an environment in them that suits Black Metal
and Death Metal perfectly. Heavy Catholic activity, civil wars, Mafia activity, etc... these
countries offer excellent things that our country does not but also life in some of them mean
nothing. The high social tension and rebellion in those areas of the world only intensify this
music and make “evil” much more of a reality when you see “evil” with your own eyes. I can
speak for myself, in the 80’s seeing people get shot and stabbed because the Cali and
Medellin cartel was at it’s peak was very common, and still is. In the Metal scene this
happened a lot, in the early Norwegian scene all the shit that was going on was already going
on in Colombia 6 or 7 years before that Norwegian hype got so overblown into the media.

This is why there were bands like Parabellum, Masacre, Blasfemia, Inquisition,
Reencarnacion, Astaroth and countless others in such early days. It was because what
surrounded us was true darkness in flesh and blood.

The rawness of the South American scene is real, they are not trying to sound raw like some
European bands, there is really no choice for many of them who cannot afford good
equipment and their brutal and raw songs are inspired by what surrounds them and not only
what is in them. Again I must say, the sheer rawness and attitude that comes from the South
American scene is not formulated, it is real. Of course there is a great number of fakes but
there are many more true warriors of the cult than one knows of.

Here in the United States our scene has an edge that is growing strong, I will say nothing
negative about our scene because that will contribute nothing to it. All I will say is with so
many strong bands how can we complain, our music speaks for us as the North American
Black Metal movement and we do not need to become Satanic/Heathen gangsters to get the
recognition and appreciation we so much deserve.

I believe that we are closely achieving the South American attitude combined with the
musicianship and skills of the European scene, with more time we will evolve into something
very strong if we keep advancing the way we are. This is how I view our American scene of
the U.S.

The South American scene seems to be quite unknown when compared to other
scenes; is it because it lacks overall quality or due to lack of promotion and diffusion
derived from economical issues?

My opinion is everything you just stated in your question, you basically answered yourself.
The really good bands are under-rated, they get bad distribution, and are only appreciated
10 years later when everything else gets boring to people. Murder Rape is a good example, I
fucking love their music, their essence, etc... but they are under-rated.
Could you recommend some South American Black Metal acts?

Mephistopheles from Cali-Colombia, the demo 19.93 from Apolions Genocide from
Cali-Colombia, Parabellum from Medellin-Colombia, Murder Rape from Brazil, Goat Semen
and Mortem from Peru, Ammit from Chile. Those are some of my favorites, I could name
many more but most are already well known.

What lies ahead for Inquisition? Will new Inquisition material follow some new
interesting paths, or will you focus on perfecting what you have done so far? What lies
ahead for Dagon? Some different musical projects perhaps?

Inquisition will continue offering strong, grim, entrancing invocations. We are going to
perfect basically everything we have done on our past albums in our next album.
Songwriting, production, etc... Vocals will remain as the chants of Satan, the essence will
continue to grow. We will always offer something that is not found in many other areas of
the scene because what we do is how we are asked to do things and how we are guided to
do things so the message of the Fire pantheon is revealed as real and the destruction of God,
Jesus Christ and all other lambs of Christ can be a stronger possibility.

I want Inquisition to achieve a level that though many may not like our music many can at
least respect what we have to offer to the Black Metal circle, the real circle and above all our
lord Satan and Prince Lucifer, the upcoming king of Hell. When the hymns of Inquisition
bray, the reality of Satan and his music invoke, this is what the ancient cult is about.

Future projects will be known in future time, do not expect anything in the Metal vein.

Which would you consider the best 5 Black Metal albums ever? Why?

Bathory – The Return: This has set the standards of what Black Metal is musically.
Venom – Black Metal: This set the standards of what Black Metal is in essence.
Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas: The foundation of the second generation of Black
Metal, even the guitar work influences Burzum.
Immortal – Pure Holocaust: This was the steroids of Black Metal, fast and dark started here.

Would you mind elaborating a critique to the modern values? What would you say is
the biggest problem with society nowadays?

Living constantly by what people will say about you or think about you is a huge obstacle, this
even happens in our subculture of Metal. What will God think? What will my friends think of
me if I do this? A big problem when this constantly controls your instincts and desires to
want to do something beneficial for yourself.

Thank you very much for your time. The last words are yours.

Though I speak to very few people I must speak out to those who support Inquisition with
so much fury. I know that appreciating our music is not an easy task and it is definitely not
for a majority of people due to the lack of standardization. Therefore to all those that have
entered our temple and have been touched by the magic hoof, I raise the torch of the black
fire, give you the sign of the horns and thank you.

I would like to thank Dagon for taking the time to answer this interview (many hails to
you!) and 88mm for contact info etc...

Daniel.

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