Five Magics Music: Interview with Rob, The Witch, of Necronomicon

Hey, how are you today?

Good, thank you

Would you mind introducing yourself, what you do and Necronomicon for those who are unaware of

You guys?

I’m Rob vocal, guitar, founder and song writer of Necronomicon who’s playing extreme metal for over 2 decades.

Necronomicon just recently released “Advent of the Human God” through Season of Mist, how has

The feedback been so far?

To be honest really good, 90 to 95% of the reviews are extremely positive and from the emails we receive the fans are more than happy about the album. Nothing to complain so far.

Can you talk a little bit about the lyrics and ideas behind “Advent of the Human God”?

I continued in the vein and theme of the band, about how human beings need to reconnect with the great all, to be one with the creation, the earth, the sky, the ocean everything. With the opening and the conscience that we are one in all and all in one, we can reach and access unlimited knowledge and wisdom and realise that we are gods ourselves once we unify the body, the mind and the soul with the cosmos.

When did writing for this album begin and how was the process any different from past releases?

We had already some songs in process when we released the previous album “Rise of the Elder Ones”, like right now I have 2 or 3 songs that I could work on. This time however it was a little more demanding due to the fact that we had to record the band at one place and the orchestration in a different studio that was proper for that, plus at the end the album was mixed in a 3rd studio in US. So it was really time consuming, but the result is there.

For a band who released their first demo in 1992, how has recording and writing changed and

Become easy or harder for you over the years?

Writing is a bit easier since we have computers now and we can program the drums and orchestration basics in advance. So it give us a clearer idea where we are going instead of recording on a tape deck and practicing the parts after and re-record it to be sure to no forget it. With the computer I record it once and place the drum right away and that’s it. The album recording process is pretty much the same for us beside using computer as interface to record and not a tape recorder because we don’t use much editing and no plugins. So we practice a lot and go record, take the best version and work with that old fashion way, that’s how we work. We did one album once with plugins and full editing and seriously it became so sterile and I never listened to that album again and for sure we won’t record like that again.

What songs do you most look forward to playing on stage on tour?

We are still debating on that, but looks like the one from the video clip “Crown of Thorns” will be one of them.

Speaking of touring, what are the current plans for tours?

We have 2 tour project in process right now but we can’t give dates or details at the moment, but I can tell you that US and Canada will be properly covered, as for other territory we haven’t had time to really work on it but we are always open proper offers of course.

What are some of the hardest parts of penning music for Necronomicon?

That’s a really good question. I’m not sure to be honest because I always try to influence myself from previous albums we did, so usually it’s not too hard. I think it’s when I try to force it too much that problems emerge, I don’t believe in forcing composition to try to be new or original, which for me is bullshit because it become lifeless and especially soulless. Music need to haunt you, it need to float it your head just like that without forcing it, it need to come to you naturally. I know some people might not agree with that but it’s usually the more cerebral people than the intuitive ones that don’t agree. Let put it that way, it’s like Star wars and Star trek.

You included a cover of the minute long instrumental “Innocence and Wrath” by Celtic Frost, what

Made you decide this fit in with the flow of the album and to choose something so obscure where

Most bands would have covered a full 4-5 minute song?

The real question is “Why not?” … we always did ambient, thematic, intros, songs and that kind of things, so why would we do the same things than everyone since it’s something really characteristic to us. It’s like the people comparing us to certain bands but at the same time saying “I don’t like they add ambiance songs it’s so weird and break the mood of the album’’ so they are saying at the same time that in reality we are not like these other bands because we do something they weren’t expecting and that throw them out of their comfort zone, so as an excuse they will say we copy this or that band but without constancy in their writing instead of see that in fact we have our own identity. So we did that song because it mean something to us , and I know it creates a lot of discussion since it’s out, but like I said it proves our point here, we do things differently.

Being from an area of Canada with a huge local metal scene, are there any local metal bands that

Have caught your eye recently?

I ll be honest I do go to any shows, local bands or international, it’s simply not my cup of tea. Beside that I was at the head of one of the biggest metal booking agency in Montreal for 21 years, so I had more than my fill of concerts.

Last but not least, are there any little secrets about Necronomicon, whether it be plans or little fun

Facts behind songs that you can share?

Well it’s no big secrets but I don’t listen to metal beside vintage stuff once in a while, so I don’t know much about what’s been around for the last 15 years or more. The song called “The Fjord” on the new album is about the band place of origin in the northern part of the Quebec province called Saguenay. Not sure what else to say here.

Thank you very much for your time, I appreciate it very much and I hope to see you on the road

Sometime soon!

You are welcome, be sure to keep in touch for more to come on the band Facebook and don’t forget to get your copy of “Advent of the Human God”