Aesthus: Finnish & Blood-Drenched in His Name
Having reviewed their first two singles from their LP, Hänen Temppelinsä Varjoissa, we at the Citadel had to talk to Aesthus. These satanic Finnish heathens truly impressed us with their Demo, Polku, in the way they dynamically merged classical ear-crushing black metal with satanic lyrics and melancholy melodic breakdowns. Aesthus accepted our humble invite to discuss the band and their new LP. Here is what they had to say:
Welcome to the Citadel. Would you tell us a bit more about each of the band members and what brought you all together?
Aesthus started as a one-man-project in 2017 by Morbus. Before starting to gather more members he did a few unreleased demos with programmed drums etc. Some riffs and even complete songs from that era can be heard on our new album. For example ''Tyhjyys, ikuinen kuolema'' is a song from those old demos and re-arranged by the band.
Because Morbus had just moved to Turku at that time, knowing basically no one in the city, the gathering of members started on internet platforms somewhere between 2018-2019. After a few line-up changes, Veles (bass) and Nachash (guitar) have been hanging around the longest. We played for a short period of time as a trio when we were still looking for a drummer and a vocalist. At that time Nachash played the drums at our rehearsals and recordings from that time you don't really wanna hear.
Shortly after that J.A. contacted us and came to rehearsals, leading him to be our drummer. He then introduced us to his friend Adversa who became the singer. That’s when the whole project started to progress.
You hail from the darkest depths of Turku, one of the oldest and most ancient cities in Finland. How has that inspired you?
We don't think the city itself gives us any inspiration. After all, we all originate from different places in Finland. Nowadays three of us live in the Turku region. Turku has a great history and a great black metal scene though.
Congratulations on releasing your first LP recently, Hänen Temppelinsä Varjoissa. What was the creative process like for this album?
Thanks. We're pretty proud of how it came up. As said, there is a lot of stuff from different eras from 2017'ish until this day. Most of the songs still being completely new. Before recordings, we practised a lot. Most of the time everything started from Morbus sending demo tracks or playing the riffs at rehearsals. Then we arranged all of it as a band. And of course, have to give credit to Nachash for one song in the album ''Jälkeläinen''. The creative process was pretty easy. We had songs, played them and had fun. ‘’Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa’’ sums up how the band has evolved from start to the stage where we are now.
The LP Hänen Temppelinsä Varjoissa is a blend of more traditional black metal, but with a melodic injection at times, yet on the demo, Polku, you also have these brilliant breakdowns like halfway through Mustan Unen Kohtu that border on the DSBM side. Would you say that you are looking to create a more dynamic sound?
''Polku'' and ''Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa'' differ a lot from each other. The demo was really ''homemade'' and it can be heard in both, sounds and in songs. We were just starting as a full band and it definitely sounds like it. It is nice for a demo but now we have really evolved to another level. From just a project to a full band.
But when making music, we don't really think about whether we are doing it this or that way. If it sounds good to us then it's worth making. All of us listen to lots of different music and it can be heard in our songs. If there is some DSBM or melodic vibes in our music, it just comes naturally. We don’t consciously push it in any direction.
Who leads the lyrical content in the group, or is it more collaborative?
Our lyrics are made by our vocalist Adversa. It is more pure to sing your own feelings and lyrics on stage. Each of us has our personal beliefs and we let them out in our music.
How is the working dynamic with the band?
Just like in any connection with other persons. Sometimes you agree with each other and sometimes you don't. We're all individuals. Everyone brings their own shit to this band and that's why we sound like us.
Do you have any live shows in Finland planned in the near future?
We've had some discussions but nothing has been confirmed yet. Our first live show was meant to be already in November 2020 but got cancelled because of covid shit.
How difficult is it these days to get noticed as a black metal band in Finland?
It has the same positive problem as all over the music industry these days. You can record your own music at home and release it all over the internet without any labels etc. behind you. Promotion from labels of course helps, but nowadays even many labels release piles of shit so you just have to do your own thing and believe in it. After all, all art should be made for yourself and not thinking if someone likes it or not.
Your lyrics praise the Dark Prince himself, are any of the band members practising Satanists or occultists?
Each of us has our own personal beliefs. We let our music and lyrics do the talking.
To what degree were you guys influenced by other Satanic Finnish bands such as Cosmic Church, or Impaled Nazarene?
I think it's pretty obvious that Finnish black metal and Finnish melancholy drive us all. All of us listen to a lot of various music besides black metal and all that stuff influences us.
Tour, Drink, Collab
Name one band you'd want to tour with, one band you'd want to drink with, and one band you'd want to collaborate with.
Tour: Can't name just one band. Even in Finland we have lots of great bands that would be worth touring with.
Drink: We drink with the bands we feel good drinking with. Sometimes it reveals the true nature of people and we don’t need to drink with them anymore.
Collab: We have one split coming in the future. Other than that we don't think collaborating and making smaller releases is a bit of a waste of time if it's not something really special.
Thank you Morbus and Aesthus for the interview and we urge our readers to check out Aesthus on Bandcamp, and devour their album!
