Interview: THE NOCTAMBULANT

Florida is most known for the death metal scene, right? Well, there are bands that also play black metal, one of the examples can be Dragonlord (Testament’s Eric Peterson black metal band) and this melodic black metal band, The Noctambulant, which I had the chance to see and meet them this September. This summer, they’ve released the second album called The Cold and Formless Deep, which I recommend to check tis album out. Below you can also read an interview I had with the band mastermind, Eddie Helvete, who have talked about the tour they were along Vader and Hate, the new album and other interesting things.

You just returned home after a North European tour along Vader, Hate and Thy Disease. How was this tour? It was also your first time touring in Europe!
The tour was great! It was our first time in Europe and we had a great time with the bands and the fans that came out to see us! Everyone on the tour, the bands, the crew and the management were top notch, plus we loved seeing all the cities in Europe and Scandinavia.

You’ve opted for a crowd funding campaign so you could cover the tour costs. How did it go?
We looked at it this way, touring overseas for an underground band is really expensive, and any help we could get to differ the costs would be great. We also wanted to use it as a form of promotion.

Your second album entitled as The Cold and Formless Deep came out this summer, first of all I gotta say is a really great album! Congrats!
Thank you! We are really proud of this album. As our second album, it’s a lot more cohesive than our previous work.

I can hear some influences that were input this album, I’m talking about the sound here, it has the vibes, somehow, of bands like Dissection, Dimmu Borgir and other bands. Do you agree with it?
Oh, definitely, you nailed it. Dissection , early Dimmu Borgir, Celtic Frost, Bathory, etc. I  really like the more melodic black metal.

And little death metal elements too, here and there…
Well, being from Florida, of course there is death metal in there. Before I got into black metal, I was deep in the Florida death metal scene: Obituary, Deicide, Death, Cannibal Corpse. All those bands were influential on our younger year.

What is the concept behind this album?
The album is about the Mythology of our people. The southern United States is full of stories of dark beings, especially in the Oceans and Forests, which Florida has a lot of, but also the overbearing and ever present shadow of the Southern Baptist Church. Which is just as bad, if not worse than any kind of Mythology or Folklore.

So far, how was the public response to your new album?
It’s been great. So far the critical and audience response has been overwhelmingly positive .

You know is that label of “true Norwegian black metal“ , whatever, there are many good black metal bands around the world (raw black, melodic black, symphonic black, blackened death metal etc.). I had the chance to interview Testament’s Eric Peterson about his other band Dragonlord (black metal), who released a new album after many years. I told him that Dragonlord album is a proof that black metal can be played not only in Norway or other countries from Europe, but also in the US, because his new album is simply amazing. Then I can say the same thing about you hearing TCAFD! How do you comment this?
I agree , completely! And as a fan of Dragonlord, I’m honored! We got this question a number of times while we were on tour in Scandinavia. We would be asked how can someone from Florida play black metal when (black metal) is born in the extreme, frozen cold of Norway. In my opinion, it’s a similar extreme environment. In Norway, you can’t leave your house because it’s snowing and freezing cold for months on end. In Florida, you can’t leave your house because of the extreme heat and humidity, so 2 extreme weathers, just on opposite ends of the spectrum. Not to mention, black metal is more about feeling than other genres of metal, and that is international.

What are your next touring plans? Maybe will you return to Europe?
We are working on a United States tour for the beginning of next year, and we are  fervently trying to get on some of the European festivals for next year.

Was nice to meet you in Stockholm. Hope to see you soon again. Thank you for the interview, it was my pleasure!
Thank you so much ! Looking forward to seeing you again!

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