I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Metatron, frontman of both the Meads of Asphodel and the Wolves of Avalon, two bands I’ve been a fan of for many years now. The Wolves of Avalon is a more recent project, a pagan metal band with lyrics themed around Bri�sh history, the Meads of Asphodel have been ac�ve since the late 90’s with a lyrical focus on the inhumanity of humanity and specifically tying that in with religion and the atroci�es commi�ed in its name since its incep�on. That’s played out to the sounds of pre�y much any kind of music you can conceive of with black metal at its core, along with a quintessen�ally Bri�sh sense of humour in spite of dark subject ma�er, and over the years the band have developed a cult underground following and have become one of the most fascina�ng and unique bands on the UK scene. They’re not a band free from controversy. Some of the themes behind some of the albums, while carefully considered and well intended, have nonetheless ra�led a few cages along the way. Two of those albums in par�cular, The Murder of Jesus The Jew and Sonderkommando, have drawn flak for numerous reasons, which is understandable if taken at face value. But there’s more to it than that, and these are referenced in the interview which follows. For this reason I’d like to give you some background info behind these two albums, so you’re aware of the overall concepts and contexts of those releases and can form your opinion however you wish but with that knowledge. Both those albums �e in with the core themes of the Meads of Asphodel’s lyrics, that of the atroci�es carried out by humanity in the name of religion and the hate that’s spread both from and to the three Abrahamic faiths since their origins. The Murder of Jesus the Jew tells the story of the likely historical roots of Jesus, that of a Jewish healer, a mortal human who was put to death by the Romans and whose story has evolved and placed him as a divine figure and the basis of the Chris�an faith. Essen�ally going back to where it all started, and what has become the basis of much of the world’s culture. Sonderkommando, which followed on from that album, is a much darker affair, being a concept album based around the Holocaust and one where Metatron visited Auschwitz-Birkenau in order to research and fully appreciate and get a feel of the gravity of this blight on human history. The lyrics to the albumwere wri�en on that site, and the dark spectre of those historical events is captured fully in that albums music and lyrics. The Meads have gone to lengths as well with this album to not frame this as a problem of Nazis perpetra�ng atroci�es against Jews, this is human beings doing this to other human beings and can easily be recreated in other circumstances in other �mes and places (historically it has been, and no doubt in future will con�nue to be). Metatron has wri�en and published extensive notes, explana�ons and thoughts going deep into the concepts on both these albums and these are available to read at metatronhq.com as “Metatron’s Codices”, I’d say these are invaluable reading for full insight into the lyrics. It’s important to note also, for those not aware of goings on within the black metal scene in recent years, there’s been increasingly vociferous arguments taking place regarding Nazis and Nazi bands within the scene. Such bands are present, unfortunately, although not in the sorts of numbers you might think from how fierce this whole debate gets, and there’s been a ferocious backlash not only against those bands but against anything remotely associated with them, or perceived to be associated with them. Both the Meads and the Wolves have been dragged into this, partly because of some of the concepts explored, partly due to the fact that some of the guests they’ve worked with over the years have been controversial, and partly as well due to the fact that they simply don’t care what people think and are quite happy to poke the hornets nest. As a result they have been in the firing line, and you will see the frustra�on borne of such accusa�ons played out in the following interview right from the outset. The background is important hence the fact I’ve a�empted to give some of that informa�on to fill you in if you’re unfamiliar with the history of these bands.
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