Hey guys! First of all, thanks for taking time to answer our questions, Can you give a short biography of NOX ULTIMA? And the band style?
Nox Ultima is black metal with a elements that borrow mostly from death metal and ritualistic music. The compositions are celebration and rituals that seek to glorify and pay homage to all the vital and empowering ideals that affect our lives. The style of black metal that we play could be described as raw black metal, but without all the constant blasting and muffled sounds that resemble bees in a box. Sure, the sound is raw (both off and on stage) but such rawness is necessary to convey the exact feelings that the songs seek to evoke. Nature is not sleek, refined and processed so why should our praises to everything primal be refined, processed and sleek?
- What’s the Meaning behind the band name?
Nox Ultima is the ultimate darkness that gives meaning to every act and instance of light. Without the eternal dance of polar opposites there can be no meaning. Struggle and conflict are needed as themes of life for life to have any meaning. Unlike a brave new world where the swallowing of a single pill will grant eternal bliss, ours is a world where diversity is possible if one embraces a Promethean fire and with resolve sets upon their own path.
- What pushed you to play Black Metal?
We were brought together as a group because of our need to play this sort of music. Each of us had empty hollows in our lives that could only be filled by playing the sort of music that we loved. For some of us, black metal serves as an outlet for aggression, for some it is the love for the genre that makes participation and playing feel right. For me it is the feeling of attaining the intangible and the mystical when playing these ritual compositions under a certain, manipulated, state of mind. The unattainable and the intangible become realities.
- How do you see the actual position of the band, compared to when you started playing music? Any changes happened to your style?
Good question. Nox Ultima isn’t actually even that old, so it’s quite easy to remember the “olden days”. When we first started our style was at the same time, more simplistic and yet perhaps even more progressive. A lot of signature changes that have been pretty much been left out on the newer songs.
Also, most of the newer songs are quite the bit longer and perhaps faster. The lyrical content hasn’t changed a bit and most likely will never change from the topics expressed thus far. I can tell you that our yet unreleased material will have perhaps even more mid-pac ed elements that reek of death metal without the songs ever loosing that black metal feel.
- I listened to many great Finnish B.M bands, how do you see the scene today in Finland?
To tell the truth, we’re not really interested in the scene. We’ve made some friends and everyone seems really honestly interested in what they are doing with their music and also met with people who have been quite vocal about their preferences and views and what black metal should and should not be. Unbent and unbroken we stand on our own and will continue to do what we deem important.
Personally I believe in co-operation between musicians to a great extent, which probably means that in the future we’ll try to get some of our friends from other bands together and do something interesting with then.
Split albums with local groups are also more than likely to appear in the not-too-distant future. Perhaps it could be said that while, the black metal scene is slightly even alien to us, we do have friends and allies with similar musical aspirations whom we will be supporting and as much as we can.
- Largest source of inspiration?
Our musical inspirations are drawn mainly from all forms of metal. Perhaps the ones that we collectively have professed our love of are Darkthrone and Carpathian Forest (we’ve actually been playing cover songs from both of these bands). Other notable influencing bands are Morbid Angel, Incantation and Dissection. A lot of inspiration is also drawn from books and from the world around us. All life pulses to a certain rhythm; you can never know when this rhythm happens to provide you with a drumbeat or a guitar riff. All it takes is the willingness to listen.
- What the band plans in the coming months, new releases & live shows?
Well, first off, we’ll be playing a single gig in Helsinki in October. After this we should most likely be ready to start recording new material. The initial plan is to record a cassette with few songs of our own material and some covers that we’ve been playing around with. The main idea with the cassette is to record it live and not process the material in any way – a true capturing of the raw and unvarnished sound of our music, unspoiled and uncorrupted. The chosen format is also a tribute to those who still cling onto their tape decks and vinyl players. We salute you!
We’ll also be recording a new cd with the customary four songs (this time an intro and three other songs) almost at the same time. Which comes out first isn’t certain at this time. We’ll probably try to spend some time honing the new material so we can be sure of the quality. The new material is a bit faster and more demanding than the old one. Also, it’s really important that we get a right sound for the songs, since atmosphere is extremely important.
- Are you guys signed or have ever worked with a record label?
We’ve had some discussions with labels, and even though the people involved were more than able partners, we unfortunately could not agree on the terms. This means that we’re still unsigned and will remain so until we can find a label that is able to offer us what we require.
- Thanks for your time and good luck for your future projects with NOX ULTIMA. If you want to tell something please feel free :
Support your local scene, attend gigs, drink, use other substances, let the music take you to place where you’ve never been, feel the pulse of the world in your veins and live a little.
*UPDATE : Nox Ultima Splitted up in 2014*
