Evil comes to your town courtesy of Osmose Records and Arkhon Infaustus. Their dynamic version of blackened death is bound to inspire a kult following in the underground. Based out of France, their current slab of brutality is entitled the Filth Catalyst. Read on for the darkest of enlightenment...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Arkhon Infaustus and how long the band has been together.
Torturer, bass & Black Metal Vox. Deviant and I have started the band in 1997. We soon recorded for ourselves a rehearsal tape, but it happened that Nihil from Mordgrimm Rec got one, and this is how the first release of Arkhon Infaustus got out.

Where is the band from and what is the music scene like there?
We are located in France, but we don't really care. We belong to Planet Satan. I believe that all scenes have great and shitty bands and people. The same here. Some dedicated bands and some pointless cunts. The fact that it was very hard before for a french band to be released, has kept our scene really violent and extreme. The flame has kept burning.

What exactly is a Filth Catalyst? Where did you get the idea for the title?
This album is the Filth Catalyst. The Evil that attracts all evil. The spark that brings the burst. The more people understand this album, the more it becomes powerful. It's a chemical comunion of the listeners and ourselves. The idea comes from our world, our semantic, chemical and evil.

The cover artwork on Filth Catalyst is disturbing and brilliant. Who is the artist and how much input did you have on the final creation? And what does it all mean?
This work has been done in twice. We first made the picture here with a french professional photographer, then we had this picture metamorphosed by an italian designer. We keep an eye on every detail, from each note, sample, word or artwork. From the pix to the final cover, we have given all details and checked all states of creation. This is the perfect image for Filth Catalyst. It represents our vision of Christ's nativity. To give some elements of comprehension, I would say that the most simple metaphors are the wings that try to reach a higher level of the virgin but whose son is like chains to a too human morality and belief; she is giving blood to Christ, whose prematurate death is contaminating the future. "Two thousand years have been enough."

Describe the music of Arkhon Infaustus to someone who has never heard it before.
Perverse, bestial and satanic. We have no limits, we don't try to sound DM or BM. We just play with dedication, and what we create is always Arkhon Infaustus.

What were some of the reasons why your previous album Hell Injection was censored in several countries?
The distributors didn't want to work with Hell Injection pretending that we were praising murder, rape, drugs. We didn't expect that problem at all. We don't intend to shock people, but what we are is shocking to the masses. This time they didn't see it coming. We have turned it into a more malignant way, so that even if the new opus is worse, they didn't really understand it. There is no better way for the devil to spread plague than appearing in an angelic shape, and as you know, God is Satan's best pawn.

How did your tour with Mortician go? Any strange happenings while out on the road?
This tour was really strange. There was no other bands like us. Mortician is very different from us, but they are very extreme and that's what we respect with them. But we have no respect for bands claiming Satan on stage and not even believing it really. It was several times so close to fights. It was troubles almost everyday; we can't along with people so different from the stage and in their lives: most of them were listening to Pink Floyd stuff or so... Anyway, we are not touring to make some friends, but to bring our message and meet those who join the cult.

Are there any Arkhon Infaustus groupies running loose around the world?
No fans really, but some people really dedicated. We have met some people tatooing the cover or cutting the band name with a syringe on their arms a la Slayer before we go on stage. This is their way to give us what we give.

Have you ever played here in Los Angeles or plan to do any kind of touring here in the States in the future?
We would really enjoy to come and play in the US, Canada and South America. But to get there is so expensive, and more than that, we have been censored with our first album in the US. Our sound engineer is the same as Nile's, so maybe one day we'll manage to arrange something? Nile is a great band and touring with them would be a great experience.

Describe a live Arkhon Infaustus show to those of us who have yet to see you play.
There are lots of different shows to see from Arkhon Infaustus. We sometimes perform some sexual performances on stage so that people that really understand the concepts of Arkhon Infaustus will get deeper into it. This has been such as satanic rituals with real facial cumming to goat horns masturbation. Some people left some shows because of the extreme visions we give. This is how it should be, people just coming for a nice and cool gig should not come and see us. Our gigs have to be seen as experiences.

What CD do you have in your collection that someone would be very surprised to see you own?
I mostly have only BM and DM stuff. I'm a big Diabolos Rising addict.

Do you have any messages for metal fans who might be interested in checking out your music?
We are not cheating people. What we give is what we are. So if all this don't suit you, just fuck off, and if you are really interested in it, then you will get something true and dedicated. Filth Catalyst can be heard and read. And both are important.

If the world were to suddenly come to an end, what song would you want to hear blasting away before the final explosion?
"Love the Death as the Life" from Aborym.

Amen.

Pacific Sunwear