“AD HOMINEM STANDS AGAINST EVERYTHING THAT CORRUPTS THE STRENGTH AND DIGNITY OF MAN” – KAISER WODHANAZ
Whenever or wherever it was decreed that Black Metal should henceforth be safe, woke and tolerant of all, Kaiser Wodhanaz / Ad Hominem didn’t receive the memo. Thankfully, the raw energy, antagonism and belligerence that fuelled the early days remain to the fore on explosive new album ‘Totalitarian Black Metal’.
‘Totalitarian Black Metal’ is an apt and poignant album title considering the treacherous and tyrannical times we live in…
“The term ‘totalitarian’ may have several faces. When it comes to Ad Hominem, it implies despotic, tyrannical music that leaves no survivors, nor resistance. One shouldn’t see this as any kind of political issue.”
The arrival of the seventh Ad Hominem full-length offensive is a timely one as this shameful year also marks the 25th anniversary of your first-ever release. What motivates you to keep offering this unapologetic voice of resistance and fortitude, often in the face of adversity?
“It just comes from my guts, that need to create the most hateful content. I see no other way for Ad Hominem to exist.”
In a long and impressive lexicon of evocative song titles, ‘Choke the Woke’ is another powerful and concise one that goes straight for the jugular. Ultimately they will choke on their own virtue signalling and ignorance, but isn’t the real worry that they’ll already have dragged the rest of society down with them?
“This is without any doubt the most absurd movement / propaganda exercise we’ve known in the last decades. I want to mention the ‘queers for Palestine’, who deserve the gold medal here. As you said, the damage is already done and I wonder if we’ll ever get rid of that disease.”
How important is it that anti-religious sentiment should remain a non-negotiable bedrock of Ad Hominem?
“Being anti-religious doesn’t automatically mean the content is worthy. There may be good and evil in any kind of credo, if that’s what your question is about. Ad Hominem stands against everything that corrupts the strength and dignity of man.”
Are you disappointed that Black Metal seems to have forgotten that it should be wielded to express counter-culture sentiment? Has the underground been diluted into something meaningless and impotent?
“I guess people (i.e. artists) are now scared to provoke and speak their mind. Hopefully some bands keep on not giving a shit, continue to rail against all the current repression, and stay true to what they are (like Marduk, Impaled Nazarene, Destroyer 666, to name a few of them).”
Do you fear that a day will inevitably come when only rainbow-clad, Jew-loving subservient woke-warrior mongrels will populate this once-glorious, adversarial subgenre?
“It won’t, as long as I’m alive.”
‘The Nuclear Solution’ – complete with the recurring mantra ‘the H-bomb is the cure’ – continues your longstanding tradition of imploring thermonuclear annihilation upon the masses. Would it be better if we were blown off the face of the planet as punishment for our collective stupidity and weakness?
“This is what shall happen, some day. I’m not a kid and I obviously care for my nearest and dearest (without forgetting nature), but the human masquerade has to end, at some point. Whether it would be for the better, I don’t know. For whom? If we’re not here anymore to judge, who cares…”
While we wait to be cooked, are you hoping to have the opportunity to perform the new songs in a live setting? Are there clandestine gatherings being organised as we speak?
“For sure, the new tracks are ready to be performed on stage. There should be a couple of gigs for us this year. So far, we’ve got something planned in Belgium (April 26th) and Finland (May 17th – Steelfest). But more are coming up. We’ll appear with a new line-up; me on vocals only. Let’s see how it goes…”
