NOX-you recently contributed a cover of the classic black metal song rite of darkness to a bathory tribute record called "a tribute from the hordes to bathory".I am a huge bathory fan quorthon’s vocals were truly sick and i consider them to be the finest black metal band to ever exist even beyond venom.i was curious how much
has bathory influenced you in terms of sound and your playing?
LUDAS-We are actually not directly influenced by Bathory from the beginning. It was the whole Scandinavian BM scene which influenced us in the beginning. Of course Bathory was, and is, a very important factor in the BM scene, but Sauron was primary influenced by the fast and aggressive BM . This cover is in honor to Quorthon and his music. We recorded this song before he died. The release of the LP was also planned before his dead. Now you also know how fast the release sees daylight. It’s planned for about 1,5 years now and we still don’t know when it’s gets released finally. Bathory is not a direct influence to the music SauroN.

NOX-you claim to prefer the ice cold sounds of the north rather than the well produced strains of glamour blackmetal.you also claim to have been inspired to form by the darkness emanating from the north then known as darkthrone and burzum.black metal in Norway especially in the late nineties transformed so much it almost
began to almost no longer resemble black metal.im talking about dodsheimgard and arcturus hear even ulver.mixing music is interesting and can be innovative but everyone knows mixing to much produces a weakened mongrel which doesn’t carry the qualities of either genre.groups like yourself,carpathian forest
and deathspell omega are moving back almost in a timewarp.back to the true old sound.do you feel anything good can come from such mixing or has black metal become to mongrelized?
LUDAS-Well, I think there is a very important factor here. Musicianship and dedication to the spirit of BM. Bands mixing things can be very interesting, but move away from the grim essence of BM. Musicianship get’s more important and I think it’s a logic evolvement. I do not think the genre is mongrelized because there are enough bands who still carry the essence along with them. I think we should all make a separation between these 2 styles. What Snorre did with Thorns was also very refreshing, but still carrying the essence. If a band wants to evolve to more mature music, it’s there right to do so. I like most of the bands you mention, but when listening to them I do not expect to hear grim BM. Deathspell Omega is also a band which shows great skills in musicianship but also carries the essence. Even more than most nowadays bands. I will never make music like Arcturus does, but I can listen to it. For me it’s just not BM, but musicianship.

NOX-not to be offensive but it is well known that you are missing a hand.i noticed the quality of the drumming on both your debut and your latest cd.many people find the fact that you are a one handed drummer amazing so i must ask how exactly did you lose the appendage and how much of a hindrance has it been as a
drummer?from listening to your cds i would say not much!
LUDAS-Thank you very much for that. That’s also the reason I play the drums. If it was audible I was missing something I would be stupid to keep playing the drums. I was born with one hand and started drumming because of someone making a joke about me drumming. I played rubbish for a few years, but when SauroN started it all became more serious and I started working on my skills. Now I drum for 13 years, from which 7 are serious. I practice as often as I can and try to pick up skills by listening to fellow drummers and other styles. Of course there are things I cannot play. I won’t play jazz, or really tiny technical additions to the play, because I have only one wrist to play tricks with. I play pretty straight forward. Really fast blasts are played with my right hand on the snare. To other arm plays hi-hat and cymbals half the speed.

NOX-viral genocide,universe turned necropolis,the filth that breeds such hateful anthems.such loathing for humanity.are people truly a disease who should be rightfully exterminated?everyone knows useless ignorant people shouldn’t multiply but have you ever considered taking it all the way like columbine school killers kleobold and harris?is nihilism a natural state of being?is there a true philosophy behind such extreme nihilism and misanthrophy?have there been any nihilistic tomes that inspire you?if so explain.
LUDAS-Well, what you find in SauroN is pure frustration and feelings of overwhelming negativity. It comes from a rotten core. Yes, I did have thoughts of extreme acts, but never did them, because I would loose my own freedom by realizing them. On the other hand, you must come back to reality when thinking of such things. We play BM to get rid of this negative emotions. Universe of Filth is a big fuck off statement. Our 2nd album, For a dead race, is more based on occultism and other issues.

NOX-are all wars good?the war with Iraq is killing thousands of people including Americans and draining the American government of untold trillions.is this a positive thing?yes Islamic extremists are butchered daily as well as Americans but does it really make the world a more pleasurable place to live?
LUDAS-No, it doesn’t. But this is humanity and this is what we all hate, not? Nobody wants extremities at his doorstep. No one. But there are always war because of power and politics. The people who should die, do not die. That’s a pity.

NOX-you are inspired by the bands of the Norse black circle musically but are you inspired philosophically as well?the black circle attempted to start of war with the servants of Yahweh would sauron support continuing that war?have there ever been similar attacks in Denmark upon churches as the ones that occurred in Norway in the early nineties?were you a varg supporter or a mayhem one?
LUDAS-There have been cases of arson in Holland, but on a very small scale. I was a mayhem supporter and all the other guys in the band were varg supporters, haha. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore of course, neither back than. It was a musical preference too. I liked mayhem better than burzum and they liked burzum more. There is a lot to say about the philosophies behind these bands and also our own band. If you ask each member why they play BM, you probably get 4 different answers. Arson is pretty useless, because the buildings will get rebuild anyway. People should just learn to think for themselves. This happens more and more, but even the people I didn’t expect it from believe in higher powers. Humans just need some fuckin religion to keep there live’s on track. Maybe it’s something natural. There’s nothing wrong with spiritual release, you even can’t live without it. BM is all about fighting the lies of religion, not the religion itself. Satanists are religious too you know. I wonder how many do realize that.

NOX-is there any serious satanic philosophy behind sauron whether it be satanically or intellectually other than welcoming the nihilistic destruction of humanity?many black metal bands no longer see lavey or even Satanism as a inspiration but prefer asatru instead are these black metal warriors lost and on the wrong path?
LUDAS-I don’t know. I’ve never thought these things. Some people find BM pure Satanism, other find it NS, other find it all about intolerance. I think it’s about extremities. It doesn’t matter in what way. Is everything society (the common man) doesn’t want to know about BM?

NOX-sauron is so misanthropic and nihilistic yet your early work was less so.more satanic and in line with other more sinister black metal brethren so I must ask are sauron satanists?if so whose philosophy do you preach or live by?laveys,crowleys, or do you follow the elitist pagan philosophy of many modern Satanists like Vincent Crowley and Pete helmcamp of revenge/angelcorpse?do you support the elite or do you feel even true elitism is a waste of time in such a useless debauched world?should we separate from the vile multitudes or just drop the bomb?
LUDAS-Sauron handles a lot of issues, varying from Occultism (also Satanism), to pure hate, to misanthropy, raging madness etc. We don’t follow a certain philosophy. Each member has is own way of thinking and everyone has different approach to lives misery and lives goodness.
I don’t believe in any God and so I don’t believe in Satan. I do like some ideas of the writers you mention, but certainly not all of them. It’s like politics. All parties have something you support, but none of them have it all.
If we drop a bomb all should go, not just a certain amount or race. Human = human. There is no vile multitude. I am always interested in how people would define that. That multitude might consider us as the vile multitude. People are territorial beings. That keeps the circle going.

NOX-your enemy is humanity not just the plague that is Christianity but many feel Christians are along with other religious fanatics responsible for the current state of the world.other than utter annihilation is
there anything we can do to fight the lie of Jehovah and his brethren?
LUDAS-There is a philosophy about the holy grail, the truth behind Christ. If that truth is revealed, the whole Christendom will fall. So to speak. Nowadays religion is just for the weak at heart, I believe. You can’t make religious people stop believing by saying everything they do won’t help them. That God is a lie. (That would make Satan a lie too by the way). If you want to fight the lie you should first be aware that you can only be a Satanist on a philosophical basis and not on a religious basis, because if you do believe in Satan on a religious basis, you are also a believer of the Christian lie. Satanism in a philosophical way for me is the Satanism that was used to step aside form the rules made by Christendom. Not believing in, or summoning demons and dark forces. If all people were able to think big, open minded, there would be no religion needed to gain joy or purpose in life. Religion is all based on theories and answers to life’s questions which cannot be answered by reality.
There is as much to say about Christendom as for Satanism as well. Satanic rites are just as bad as Christian rites or sacrifices to god’s people never saw. I hate all religion and I am not religious, so I am not the right person to answer this question. Eventually everyone knows when we all leave each other be, there won’t be any problems. But that’s not a basis to make extreme BM about, is it?

NOX-some people claim there’s a connection between the anti -humanity of misanthropy and supremacy.I personally don’t see the connection but many try to create a link.what are your feeling on ns(national socialism) in the scene and is it prevalent in denmark?i feel its very overblown and i myself very rarely run into any nazi black metal fans at all at shows? is it different in your country?
LUDAS-Of course there’s a link. Humans usually get hateful when others fail them. There you have the basis of misanthropy. The disadvantaged human will be angry and this madness varies from person to person. Some don’t give a fuck……..some get very angry…. The rage feeds misanthropy I believe. It’s also the territorial need of humans that feeds misanthropy.

NOX-Other than burzum and darkthrone what brought you to black metal?what is the history of the hateful entity known as sauron?
LUDAS-We were all attracted to BM in the nineties. Prior because of the extremity of the music and the atmosphere it breathes. Ofcourse the happenings in the scene made a little more obscure and interesting. It’s because BM is not just music, but more than that. It’s a feeling, a lifestyle. Everything the common man doesn’t want to know about. It’s all about the release of hate, black emotions, rage and fury. But also very interesting matters like art, philosophy etc.

NOX-a great deal of black metal musicians most of whom will never see any mainstream success claim to be ns and openly identify with the third reich.many people feel it gives the scene a bad name.how do you feel.does ns have a place in black metal?
LUDAS-I think the only place of NS is the extremity. It’s the only thing left, that the masses really hate. Society does not want to know about the extremities of NS. It’s not very shocking anymore to say that Jesus was a filthy cunt, so the scene searches new extremities to evolve. Hitler was also someone who carries misanthropy. He was responsible for more than 6 million deaths, so of course he’s an icon for people who hate other people and want them to die. But many NS are racists and that’s a pity. All humans are shit. I don’t think color does matter than, now does it? It’s very short minded to think so and it’s also very ignorant to claim that a certain race must die and to other one is perfect. Misanthropy is all about the hate and human imperfection. White humans are just as imperfect as black ones. It also proves how pathetically men want a living territory clean from strange influences. I think you show your own weakness and inability to live with others. For me the link with NS and BM is extremity and the way the SS soldiers fought for there cause in WW2. Unrelentless and without mercy, killing everything on it’s path.

NOX-cradle of filth was on the second stage at ozzfest in 2003.dimmu borgir was on the mainstage in 2004 here in the states.it raised a very large amount of eyebrows and made many wonder if this was the death of black metal.will such glamour groups crossing over to such a commercial audience hurt black metal or are both bands so mainstream and so disconnected to the underground that it wont matter?
LUDAS-You gave the answer. The true people and bands are in the underground. Acts like these are disconnected. Some of them try to keep involved, but they are spitted out by the underground. But why should they bother. To them music has become business. They are industry. If that’s what you want with a band, that’s ok by me, but keep away from BM. People in BM know were BM is all about and will not grow out to be such a commercial act. To be a band like Marduk is the limit for BM in my opinion. That’s big enough for BM and to extreme for a bigger audience.

NOX-does sauron have any plans to tour in the new year?will sauron ever come to these shores and unleash its ragefilled might?i see your labelmates engorge and typhus will be touring the states soon.is there any hope sauron will pay a visit?
LUDAS-We would sure like to come to the states when the opportunity is there. SauroN won’t join the US tour of label mates Typhus. Touring the states is always a financial question. We want to tour Europe first if a interesting tour comes along. At the moment there are a lot of death metal tours and shows. That’s not very interesting for us. We are working on a split 7” with Fluisterwoud and writing material for a third album.
That’s it for now. Into hell…