NOX-YOUR CURRENTLY SIGNED TO BLACK METAL RECORDS. WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER SEEKING A LARGER SCALE LABEL IN THE FUTURE OR ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR CURRENT LABEL?

VELINNOS-Blackmetal.com has been a very supportive label for Velonnic Sin from the initial split on Antinomian to the full-length Ritual, they have always stood by the music. We are happy with label and all, but sure, in the future we might be open to other opportunities.

NOX-YOU DID A SPLIT CALLED “BEYOND THE CEMETARY GATES” WITH SIN ORIGIN SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND I WAS WONDERING WAS THIS COLLABORATION MUTUAL MUSICAL RESPECT OR JUST A LABEL THING?

VELINNOS-The label put the split together but after it was released the two bands were able to meet and become friends.

NOX-YOU DERIDE THE PREVALENCE OF DEVIL WORSHIP LYRICS WITHIN METAL MUSIC IN ONLINE INTERVIEWS WHILE PENNING WITHIN YOUR SONGS LYRICALLY SOMETHING FAR MORE ELOQUENT. SO I MUST ASK ARE THE MEMBERS OF VELONNIC SIN SATANISTS OR LUCIFERIANS?.DEFINE YOUR BELIEFS IF YOU COULD. SPIRITUALLY IS THERE A MESSAGE WITHIN YOUR MUSIC?

VELINNOS- For me, I am not here to upset parents or piss off Christians or push the Satanic envelope. What I want to do is create an atmosphere with the lyrics, to tell a story be it one that has been told before, such as the story of Auriga, but in a way in which the reader can relate to the characters. I’ve always felt like someone who stands apart from society, and it reflects in my lyrics. It means a lot to me when people can feel what I’m trying to say. In effect, I have done my job. As far as my beliefs, all I can say without sounding too cliché is that I acknowledge the primal instincts of man, indulging in them rather than being governed by them.

NOX-THE NEW YORK SCENE IS STRONG IN TERMS OF DEATH AND HEAVY METAL BUT IS BLACK METAL EMBRACED BY TRI- STATE FANS? IVE HEARD THE SCENE HAS FADED OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. GROUPS LIKE DEIMOS AND GROM THOUGH SEEM TO BE HOLDING THE BLACK METAL FLAG HIGH. IS THERE A TRUE SCENE AND ARE YOU PART OF IT? HOW ARE THE AUDIENCES? IS THERE UNITY IN NEW YORK?

VELINNOS-Death Metal and Hardcore have always been a huge thing in NY, and now there’s a lot of that metal core music. The black-metal scene isn’t huge here but that is fine. bands like Grom have been around for a bit and they know what they’re doing and do it well.

NOX-YOU SPEAK OF A FASCINATION WITH MEDIEVAL LIFE AND HISTORY. THE HISTORY CHANNEL SPECIAL ON THE FLAGELLANTS WAS RATHER GOOD. DID YOU VIEW IT AND WHAT IS YOU OPINION ON CABLE TVS SUDDEN FASCINATION WITH ALL THINGS MEDIEVAL AND BARBARIC? I PERSONALLY ENJOY IT.

VELINNOS-I didn’t see that special, but I do try to watch when the history channel has a special like that. They are very interesting to watch, but sometimes they serve more as an introductory lesson, rather than an in depth look at the events. To me, nothing is better than reading a good book on the subject. Jonathan Philips, The Fourth Crusade is the latest that I’ve perused, and it really brings alive the horror and ferocity of the sack of Constantinople. When I want to read fiction, I usually reach for a historical fiction novel I just read one on Attila the Hun. Really great stuff. very inspiring.

NOX-YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM MILTON AND HIS SATANIC EPIC PARADISE LOST. DO YOU AGREE WITH THE CONCEPT OF BYRONIC SATANISM AS IT IS TRADITIONALLY DEFINED? ARTISTS LIKE .BAUDELAIRE AND VERLAINE AS WELL AS BYRON AND BLAKE SEEM TO HAVE NEARLY AS MUCH INFLUENCE ON CERTAIN YOUNG SATANITS AS ANTON LAVEY HIMSELF.

VELINNOS-Byron’s darker poems are definitely some of my favorites. Miltons influence is shown in Emissary of Night, I admire Paradise Lost for its showing of Satan as a powerful and charismatic leader, not just an Evil figure as most figuratively monochromatic texts display him as.

NOX-YOU SPEAK OF MEDIEVAL TIMES IN YOUR LYRICS. SEVERAL CABLE STATIONS HAVE AIRED SPECIALS RATHER FREQUENTLY ON THE ANTI CHRIST, THE SECOND COMING AND ARMAGEDDON. THE OMEN JUST OPENED IN THEATERS AS WELL. I FIND THESE PROGRAMS ENTERTAINING BUT ALSO SOMEWHAT DANGEROUS. THEY SPEAK TO A DISTURBING APOCALYPTIC MIND SET THAT IS NOT ONLY AN OFF SHOT OF RELIGIOUS FANATISM BUT A DANGEROUS REMINDER THAT THE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS OF TIMES PAST ARE NOT FULLY BEHIND US. ARE WE HEADED TOWARDS ANOTHER DARK AGE? DO YOU BELIEVE ITS POSSIBLE FOR THAT VAST A WAVE OF RELIGIOUS FANATISISM AND PARANOIA TO EXIST AGAIN? IS IT POSSIBLE?
ISLAM HAS ALREADY TRAPPED THE MIDDLE EAST IN A MODERN DARK AGE. CAN IT HAPPEN HERE?

VELINNOS-These are all very interesting questions. it is hard for me to judge, but I do know that what is happening now with Islam mirrors the events roughly a thousand years ago, with the Crusades, so perhaps that is why it is getting some attention. I think the old cliché is true That history does repeat itself. I think that the notion of an apocalypse is so time-worn and stale. It is natural for humans to believe that their time is the most important in existence but the reality is that the length of our lives is so small, a sliver in a planet that is 5 billion years old. Religion gives people an explanation, although it seems like a rather inane one. We cannot fathom time.

NOX-YOUR MUSIC ON DISPLAY ON YOUR LATEST CD IS UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE. IT FEATURES PROGRESSIVE BLASTING AS WELL AS INTRICATE PLAYING. ITS NOT JUST A BLACKENED WALL OF NOISE.BUT FEATURES STRONG VARIETY AND DIVERSITY NOT JUST MINDLESS ENDLESS BLASTING. VERY FEW QUALITY BANDS WHETHER THEY BE DEATH OR BLACK METAL CAN PULL OFF A GENUINLY EXTREME STYLE SO I WONDER WHAT ARE VELONNIC SINS INFLUENCES AND WHAT WELLS MUSICALLY DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM?

VELINNOS--We have a lot of influences. I definitely make it a point to mix up the style and not just have constant blasting. The songs need to breathe in my opinion. I want the listener to feel the music, not just try to be so technical and/or fast that you cant even groove to it. But as far as influences, they change all the time, but I really have an enormous range that appeals to me from the industrial beats of Das Ich, to the tenebrous sounds of Grave hammer (Dead Gein Recs).

NOX-MANY OF YOUR SONGS TO MY EARS DRAW INFLUENCE FROM OLD MARDUK AND DARKTHRONE. ARE EITHER OF THESE BANDS STRONG INFLUENCES AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BOTH BANDS CURRENT RELEASES ? BLACK METAL FANS SEEM VERY STRONGLY DIVIDED ON BOTH.

VELINNOS-Dark throne hasn’t been a main influence for us; Marduk either, though people have told me that Velonnic Sin sounds to be influenced by old Marduk. The earliest album I have of theirs is Heaven Shall Burn

NOX-OTHER THAN YOUR BROTHERS IN SIN ORIGIN DO YOU SUPPORT AMERICAN BLACK METAL AND THE AMERICAN BLACK METAL SCENE? SHOULD THERE BE UNITY? COMPILATIONS LIKE DESTROYERS FROM THE WESTERN SKIES HAVE ATTEMPTED TO ILLUMINATE THE CURRENT SCENE AND HAVE SUCCEDED. WHAT BANDS DOES VELONNIC SIN SUPPORT?

VELINNOS-We totally support American black metal. The scene is rising and the talent is emerging. America is a focal point of the world, for better or worse. Bands from other countries like to deride the US, but they’re always eager to play hereof course because if you get big in the US, you will make a lot of money. But we support all US bands, from the more renowned like Demonic Christ, Kult of Azazel, etc., and older bands to the newer bands like Ganzmord, Endless Blizzard, Sin, Sapthuran, Nuclear Desecration, etc etc.
NOX-YOUR FIRST NOVEL “THRONES OF MAGIC-NIGHTMOOR FANTASY” HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. I HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK BUT FIND IT INTRIGUING. BANDS LIKE BAL-SAGOTH PRESENT A FULL FLEDGED FANTASY IMAGE LYRICALLY TO THERE LISTENERS WHILE AT THE BOX OFFICE THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY BROKE BOX OFFICE RECORDS. WILL VELONNIC SIN EVER DELVE FULLY LYRICALLY INTO PAGAN MYTHOLOGICAL FANTASY IMAGERY OR WILL IT ONLY REMAIN BETWEEN THE PAGES OF YOUR WRITING? WHEN CAN READERS EXPECT ANOTHER BOOK FROM YOU AND PLOT AND SUBJECT WISE WHAT AREAS WILL IT COVER?

VELINNOS-I prefer fantasy that is heavy on the medieval influence and diverse with political intrigue. The best example is George Martins series, which is probably among my favorite works of fiction ever read. Thrones of Magic is my first work. I learned a lot while writing it, and it shows in the next novel I have been working on. The Shadows Below is a continuation from where Thrones of Magic left off, but it is more focused on the slavery, barbarism, squalor, and disease that encompassed such times.

NOX-AS I MENTIONED BEFORE VELONNIC SIN’S MUSIC IS INTENSE BUT DIVERSE AND ORIGINAL MANY IN BLACK METAL FROWN UPON ANY FORM OF COMMERCIAL EXPERIMENTATION BUT I WONDER WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER USING ADVANCED ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENTATION ALA CRADLE OR LIKE MANY OR DO YOU LOATHE SYMPHONIC MUSIC SINCE IT IS OVER EXPOSED AND TO COMMERCIAL?

VELINNOS-I do like the symphonic style. I’ve always enjoyed bands like Limbonic Art and Sirius. I’m not sure if Velonnic Sin will ever incorporate heavy keyboards, but I would like to see the band evolve perhaps in using other instruments, even the possibility of clean vocals, although with prudence.

I DO THANK YOU FOR THIS INTERVIEW.BE WELL.

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