KHNVM, evolving from a one-man project to a full-fledged band, has crafted a distinctive blend of philosophical depth and brutal death metal. Here's their story.
1. KHNVM
has undergone significant evolution since its inception as a project to
becoming a full-fledged band. How has this transformation impacted your
creative direction and the overall sound of the band?
Ans. Thanks
for the invitation for the interview.
To be honest, I have mentioned in all my previous interviews, change is just
and the only constant feature in life. Same goes for the evolution of a band.
This year marks my sixth year in Germany, and when I look back when I incepted
the thought of continuing my musical endeavors, it was always in my mind,
whatever musical projects I will create, it needs to be a live performing band.
As a one-man project, when KHNVM recorded the debut “Foretold Monuments of
flesh”, I made sure that soon I will be taking live members to bring that aural
assault on stage. In spite of re arranging the songs in a way of playing in a
live setting, the transformation and overall sound was more into my creative
will. The three albums so far have a formula, which is like mixture of fast
songs and slow songs. So depending on the mood and overall playability of the
band, I can select the setlist in a way that we can deliver exactly how we
recorded in the album.
2. Your
upcoming unreleased album, Cosmocrator, is inspired by
philosophical themes. Can you give us insight into the specific works or
ideas that influenced the album's concept?
Ans. There are actually a lot of messages and my
understanding of human nature, and their psychology being expressed in the
unreleased album, Cosmocrator. All 7 songs have its own story to tell. For
example, the title track Cosmocrator, is depicted as the ruler of the world,
which has a meaning of both “GOD” and “SATAN”. This is coming from more of a dilemma
of coining certain entity depending on what one believes. This sort of duality
also resides in human, and we can see this in our daily life, looking what is
happening around the world. Also, the other songs, for example “Venom Spawn” is
based on the theory of ouroboros taken from the works of one of the greatest
Philosopher in the modern history, Carl Jungs. The opening track “Purgatorial
Pyre” is based on the fact that through our lives we are burning in an
everlasting fire kneeling for mercy from an imaginary entity. This idea came
while reading another phenomenal philosopher “Christopher Hitchens” renowned
book “God is not great”. Another track which is named as Fetid Eden, depicts
the human nature of giving in to the seven deadly sins on the contrary that the
whole world is based on these sins. In short, the lyrics plays a very crucial
role in fully understanding the album.
3. Your
music blends pulverizing blackened death metal with elements of eastern
classical music, especially on Visions of a Plague Ridden Sky. How
did you come to fuse such different influences, and how do they contribute to
the atmosphere of your music?
Ans. Well,
in general when you read the genre, death metal/black metal, people have a
pre-determined concept of what they are about to listen. The two oriental
instrumentals with a very different atmosphere actually destroys that concept
and works as a surprise element which boosts the interest of the audience. I
try to put couple of these surprise elements just to reset the mood from
listening to continuous distortion to a more blissful environment and then drag
them back again to the cacophony. This is my personal way of toying with the
audience, making sure that obviously in the live set up, they get the exact
same elements to observe and enjoy.
4. The
transition from Bangladesh to Germany must have had a profound effect on your
musical journey. How have these two different cultural environments shaped
KHNVM’s sound and lyrical content?
Ans. The
distance from Bangladesh to Germany is about 7232 km. It can be literally said,
world’s apart. Another thing that the audience might not know about me is, I am
a trained eastern classical musician. I have lived and breathed easter
classical ragas and always wanted to blend those in extreme metal. The german
culture has more influence over my life structure and way of life rather than
my musical endevors. Music wise I had always been influenced by the eastern
classical theories. But yes, I must admit, the lyrics actually is influenced by
the cold German weather. I still remember when I first moved to Germany in cold
October, experiencing my first weeks without sun and extreme snow, I was pushed
to in a very dark corner in my mind, fighting my inner demons. Thus came the
idea of forming the project/ later on transformed to a band, to fight these
demons. The south east Asian people has more stronger connection to the Sun as
it controls our biological clock. Here, in Germany, the cold winter with close
to no sun for weeks actually impacted on writing lyrics about human psychology
and their constant fight with the inner demons.
5. With Foretold
Monuments of Flesh focusing on the inner evils of the human mind
and Portals to Oblivion delving into themes of chaos and
destruction, what is the overarching message you aim to convey through KHNVM’s
discography?
Ans: The
core lyrical theme of KHNVM ( pronounced as kha—noom) is human behavior and
psychology. You don’t actually need to believe GOD and SATAN/DEVIL as both of
the entity stays within every human. It’s just how we control and perceive both
the notions within.
6. Your
live performances are often described as "rituals." How do you
prepare for these shows, and what do you hope the audience takes away from the
experience?
Ans: It is
not exactly rituals I would say where we do extra acts or production to make
the set more interesting. We are a three piece band and we put our heart and
soul while playing live. In our set, all the instruments are being played live,
no backing tracks and extra gimmicks so in our sense, the ritual means that we
are worshipping the metal gods through our instruments and let the metal gods
shine upon us, hahahaha. On another note, we often hear this feedback from the
audience that, “how come we produce such a wall of sound with only just three
person on stage and sounding like six person on stage”. For us, personally that
is the biggest compliment we can have like being able to create such a massive
sound wall even with just three person with every instruments played live. For
the audience, may be in near future we will work more on the production, but
now people are in for a treat when they come to our concert to listen and enjoy
extreme metal which has lots of soul and not just traditional three chord
tremolo picking band.
7. With Visions
of a Plague Ridden Sky featuring both brutal death metal tracks and
two instrumental pieces, what inspired you to explore instrumental
compositions, and how do they enhance the storytelling of the album?
Ans. The
instrumental tracks are my testament towards my roots. I have interest on
learning string instruments and always wanted to learn SAZ and OUD. In this two
instrumentals named as Hourglass of Decadence part I and II, adds a really
soothing atmosphere after the chaos and also builds a bridge towards the next
epic song. For many years I have followed Sufi and mystic aged person named
Ozgur Baba, who stays in the mountains and plays Cura ( the smallest in the
baglama family) and sang verses from famous Turkish poet Yunus Emre. I noticed
in one of the videos that, whenever he sings and plays, it adds an extra vibration
in the nature surrounding him. I tried to connect myself in the same frequency
in my short trip to Salzburg, just before I hit the studio for recording the
third album and I took my SAZ with me. There I composed 5 tracks and out of
that 5 I included 2 tracks in the third KHNVM album coined as Hourglass of
Decadence.
8. The
philosophical depth in Cosmocrator seems to showcase a new
artistic evolution for the band. How does this album differ from your previous
works both musically and thematically?
Ans. Well,
I have always tried my best once writing new songs for KHNVM, I make sure it
doesn’t dwell within its previous shadows. In terms of music, most of the songs
are mid tempos with weird chord progression and unconventional drum lines. I
have infused a lot of Jazz drum lines within the songs which gives a complete
different texture. Plus we have changed the mixing and mastering studio and
work is handled by Blackstorm Productions(Basque Country) by the notorious
Ekaitz from Sijjin ( ex- Necros Christos). It is more organic then the previous
albums but also more dynamic in terms of tonality and sound and atmosphere. I
am pretty sure, if placed properly, people will enjoy it.
9. Your
journey as a band has seen both challenges and triumphs, from lineup changes to
relocations. How have these experiences fueled your determination and creative
output?
Ans. To be
honest, I have always struggled for getting members as dedicated as me and want
to push the limits with me. But, just like other things in life, you cannot
expect and control other people’s priorities. My priority for last 5 years has
always been KHNVM and playing music on stage. I have worked with drummers who
after one tour said to me, just sitting on the cars for 8 to 10 hours ( as we
are touring a lot) does not make sense to him anymore. So immediately I decided
to let him go as I don’t want to force people to be in this journey. I realized
that If I want to make music and continue to make extreme metal, I cannot
depend on other’s choices and priorities as it will never supersede. So as a
result, I continued to make music in my own pace, no matter what and asked
around help whenever I needed to play live or go for a longer tour. I always
made sure, to get what I want, no matter what. This has been my fuel through
out my musical career.
10. What
can fans expect from KHNVM in the near future, both in terms of new music and
potential live performances? How do you see the band’s sound evolving as you
continue to push the boundaries of extreme metal?
Ans. The
priority now is to find the new album a new home. That means a new record
label. We will end the year with a mini tour within Germany, playing at some of
the most prominent clubs of the country. Also we have a 10 day tour in April
2025 with Greek Black metal veterans Embrace of Thorns in west Europe. That
will be a killer tour! Also we have been confirmed for some major festivals for
2025 which will be announced in due time.
I have already started writing songs for the 5th Album, aiming to
release in 2027 and also an EP within this 2 year span. I have now shifting my
strategy of releasing singles in every six months so that I still can be active
creatively and stay on the game. I am not sure how far we can push the
boundaries but I intend to continue writing and releasing my music and play
live as long as I am alive and kicking, hahahah.
Thanks
again for the questions. All the best to Lelahel Metal and keep supporting
extreme metal.
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