[Interview by Athanas]
Nihilistium is a one-woman pure Depressive Black Metal hailing from the UK created by Mörtemiis back in 2019. Writing about suicide, trauma, despair, depression, loneliness and also satanism in its lyrics, Nihilistium began with a demo entitled “Melancholic Delusions” which was released in May of the year it was formed and has since released so many EPs, full-lengths as well as splits that are so interesting and mesmerizing. This is a band that you should respect and appreciate its works. Let’s hear the answers from Mörtemiis for the following interview.
Hail! Mörtemiis… Say something about your personality? When did you first get to know extreme music and why did you devote to Black Metal?
Children of Bodom got me into metal at age 10. I got into black metal at age 14. The music was just beyond amazing.. the lyrics, some of them I cant agree with but a lot of lyrics written by DSBM bands are.. something else... they hit me in the core.. I believe depressive black metal artists have the ability to somehow save people.. They heal the wounds in the broken hearts of the listeners and bring light to them when they are in the darkest places of their own minds..
Please introduce about Nihilistium; the band history, musical and lyrical concept, influences/inspiration, etc?
I started the project when I was 15. I was in a state of constant misery. I was always in bed, crying all the time.. Then I decided to take up Depressive Black Metal. Bands such as Depressive Years, Happy Days, Hypothermia and Make A Change Kill Yourself are the major influences in my music and I think it’s clear my lyrics are usually about trauma, suicide and despair, but I do not encourage anyone to act on it.
Do you still have any comments for your debut demo “Melancholic Delusions”? How would you rate the quality of your first work and was it well-received?
“Bloody Echoes...” was a fair game, but I think a lot of my early work is just shit. There are some songs I wish I never written let alone published. However, I do think there should be more tempo changes in my songs like the ones in ‘Eternally Wandering’.
Explain a little information and your personal description for each EP and full-length album that you have produced;
(1) Bloody Echoes of Mental Internal Screams...
(2) Nihilistium
(3) Punishment in the Abyss of Self Hate
(4) Mass Suicide Pandemic
(5) Evocation of the Reaper’s Bane
“Bloody Echoes...” is an album that I wrote when I was put into a psychiatric hospital. I was going through a lot of grief and heartache those days.. “Mass Suicide Pandemic” was partly written out of boredom and partly because there was more and more people killing themselves every day here because of Boris and all his stupid ‘Corona’ bullsh*t. “Punishment In The Abyss of Self Hate”, I think that one is the most popular of all my albums.. Most of that was written because I was living in pure denial of something, and it was tearing me apart, and partly because there was still some parts of my past I needed to get out of my head.. My song titled ‘Die Alone’ was quite a hit so I also put it on that album! I cant remember why else I wrote it.. “...Reaper’s Bane” was written out of pure anger and evil feelings, feelings of power and rage. I never gave a fuck about anyone or anything during the making of that album. I was filled with pride. That’s what Luciferianism does to you.. There was one song I refused to release on that album.. I think I had a change of heart shortly before the album was complete, but I knew it had to be released. It is but a piece of musical history now..
Which one have you considered the best from Nihilistium (as to date), or your personal favorite pick to say the least? State the reason why?
“Evocation of The Reaper’s Bane” is probably my best one, specifically the track ‘Wo Alle Straßen Enden’.. I dunno why.. German war songs seem to work well with black metal, I plan on doing more of that!
The latest product is a 5-way split CD titled “Mourning in Autumn” (released on August 7th, 2021). How did the idea for this split release come about? Give your brief opinion for each other band involved?
Me and Ezra Gilgeours kind of came up with the idea while recording a cover of Mayhem’s ‘Freezing Moon’, which was also featured on the album. Another friend contacted musicians he knew on facebook and told them I wanted to make a split album, and most of them seemed eager to participate. The dude from Tanak Bihis was from Malaysia! That was surprising for me as I thought they were a less fortunate country than Britain. For one man, his music was outstanding and, to be honest, it was better than mine. Grimtone’s music kicked ass very much like the music from Scheinwelten! I told everyone that I didnt want this album to be 100% black metal, so I told the guys to see if they could create some dark ambient tracks.. Isaac from French act ‘Neant’ had a lot of that to offer. However, some of his tracks were shorter than I wanted them to be.. some of the tracks he showed to me made me feel somewhat uneasy.. Theres a LOT of extremely raw and poor quality shit going on in this album.. I gotta give it to ya straight though, some bands were honestly better than others.. The album finishes off with an instrumental doom metal cover of one of Beethoven’s well known songs, ‘Moonlight Sonata’. That one is like one of those tracks that I will listen to on a long road trip when I’m bored and can’t think of anything else to listen to. Anyway, I figured this might be a good way to introduce the fans to what will be my future doom metal project going by the same name as the album; “Mourning In Autumn”. I must finish off other projects before I bring that one to life. For now, I’ll just say prepare for doom or BE doomed!
Share something about Ars Mentis Morbum Records?
It is a label where all my works (including some artworks) are gathered.. it is the art of extreme/cathartic music, it is the art of disorder.. It is my own label.. It is me.. Nothing more..
Do you already have some new composed/recorded tracks? What future releases are in your plan and schedule?
I plan on creating more dark ambient and doom metal music sometime... I must wait until it’s the right time to bring them to life.. Since it is just me in the project, There is never any deadlines when it comes to creating and releasing my stuff..
What are your principles and philosophy in your work?
I’m not doing any of this for attention. I’m creating all these different projects because I love music. I know I’m not the most talented girl in the scene but I’m kind of just experimenting with different genres, including dark ambient. If I’m just sitting around waiting to die, why should I not create something for people to listen to in the meantime? I dont care how I will be remembered anymore. I want the broken to know that I too have felt their pain, and in music, there is healing. I write a lot of songs about suicide and may have controversial imagery, but I’m not directly encouraging anyone to act on it. I want my music to calm their anguished souls..
Salute and thanks. End this interview session with a little bit of your thoughts on the current Black Metal scene. What do you like and hate the most in this scene? Your opinion on the scene acceptance to the one-woman-band?
One thing I hate about black metal is people who are only in it for attention thinking they’re being all ‘edgy’ and shit. Black Metal should be a form of art to express raw emotion and mental sickness.. Being part of a Male dominated musical scene and the whole ‘acceptance’ shit, I dont care about it at all. I am just another sack of flesh drawing closer to my grave day by day.. Isnt that what we all are?
linamortemiis@gmail.com
http://nihilistiumdsbm.bandcamp.com