"The Lord is coming in Glory and His name is Satan. . ."

As long as France's black/death metal act Arkhon Infaustus are around, the world is not a safe place to live.

Continuing from where the evil and vile regime left off with 2000's powerfully violent (and creepy) Hell Injection comes Filth Catalyst (on Osmose Productions), a carefully sculpted ode to all things violent, unlawful and evil. Not only does the new album crush anything else that postures malevolently this year, this album sets the standard for evil in 2003. Arkhon Infaustus indeed speak volumes from deep within their darkened, desolate souls and stand behind any venomous beliefs they spew forth.



"We knew there was pressure going into this album, but we knew what we had to do," starts bassist/black metal vocalist 666Torturer about the making of the new disc. "We weren't going to change things up musically because of good or bad publicity. This album was a lot of hard work. We put two years into the making of this album and its work was inspired by what we had done with Hell Injection, but also by what other elements and experiences we could bring into the music of Arkhon Infaustus. It was indeed a challenge for us and I think we [guitarist/death vocalist D.Deviant, drummer A.Zk6 and guitarist Toxik.H.] came out of it quite successfully with Filth Catalyst."

And unlike the trend jumping and multiple rehashed bands of today's music scene, Arkhon Infaustus are not concerned with what's going on around them. They are focused on doing things their way and only their way.

"When we come together to make an album and anything else important to the band, we put all of our effort into it-the music, the imagery and the lyrics. We are not a cliche black metal band at all," he says. "We are not waging a war against Christianity. This is a lot deeper than that. We speak of things that are a lot more theological than just spewing off about religion. We really believe in what we do and what we say."

He continues, "A lot of what we do and create comes from our vision of what evil really is to us. We use the word Satan quite in a bit in our lyrics, but it is much more than a Christian word. We use this word because the Christians made it a very powerful word and made it a symbol of rebellion and hate. We go from there on to much deeper realms of theology within our music and the way we go about our lives."



Some might wonder just what led 666Torturer down this path of evil and destruction. No doubt the bassist could have easily chosen another route in his quest for musical creativity and expression, but he chose evil. Why?

He responds, "I think we have been chosen to do this. I think there are a lot of things that led us to our work with Arkhon Infaustus. We went through several bands to get to where we are, but it was necessary to grow as individuals and come into our own visions and perceptions of life and the world around us and eventually come together to create the band we are in now. Evil has been very deep in our lives way longer than when we first started creating music. It was through the music and the imagery that we created with Arkhon Infaustus that we have been able to tap into the evil that has run through us for many years. It still is a powerful force."

No doubt the new album sees a new resurgence of evil.

"Of course," the bassist agrees. "With the new album we continued on with that premise but explored a few more aspects of that. We knew we had taken the level of evil so far with Hell Injection but knew there was a lot more to showcase via our music and imagery."

And it wouldn't be just a hunch to assume that the band members are perfectionists when it comes to what they do. Just look at the imagery and other aspects outside of the music and you can see the hard work put into it all.

"Are we perfectionists? Yeah, you could say that," he laughs. "We are very involved with what we do and no matter what it is, it has to represent what we are about. I mean, look at the images that come with the CD-these are perfect snapshots of us right now. Even in the studio, it is very important for us to achieve the perfect sound and style. From guitar riffs to lyrics to the music process of assembling it and on to the pictures, we work extra hard to make sure that what you see with the final product is how we want to be viewed. This is Arkhon Infaustus and we are not hiding anything from our fans or anyone else for that matter."



He adds, "And while we are very sure of what we want to do as a band, making music is a difficult thing in the long run. I mean, over the past few years we have continued to evolve as the band and come up with ideas and just try to make Arkhon Infaustus better with each release. We spent two years on this album working and re-working songs to make them better and representative of what we are as a band right now. But also, it comes as something very natural for us too. I mean, we never really run out of ideas and are always bringing ideas into our rehearsal area."

Credit for their success, to be fair, should be shared between the band and Osmose Productions. Unlike some labels that would fight a band's use of violent imagery and offensive visions for an upcoming release, Osmose Productions has been very supportive of the band's vision and growth.

"Osmose really believes in us and we really believe in them," he says about the label's support of the Hell Injection artwork, which had been banned in several countries. "I grew up with the label and their first few releases like Impaled Nazarene, and it is great to see 12 years later that they still stand behind the music they put out and the artists, ideas and visions. When the album was censored, we didn't know what to do next and the label took control of it and helped get the album out there. It was a great feeling knowing that they would take on that area of stress and allow us to continue writing and just being in the band and not worry about that nonsense. And they still stand behind us with the new album."

Tell me about the album title-what is the meaning behind it?

"The title comes from the result of the album. Hell Injection came from the notion that we were injecting and planting all these seeds of evil into people, while Filth Catalyst is the evil that attracts all evil. When you listen to us, read the music, look at the pictures you understand on your own just what we are about. All of those elements combined just act as a snowball with each listen and it gets bigger and bigger each time. Filth Catalyst is a perfect title because it truly represents how we work as a band, where we want all of our ideas and plans and sounds to merge into one final product.



"We really believe in what we do and we aren't cheating people," he reiterates. "We believe that people get a lot out of our music when they hear the album."

What was your reaction to the final result?

"I got two very different reactions from the album when I first played it back," he says. "The first reaction was this real hatred and violence within me when certain songs played, especially a track like "Nox Microcosmica." Playing back that song I felt all the hatred and anger that went into the making of the song and the lyrics we penned to give it life. Despite feeling like that, I also felt a real sense of accomplishment with this album. I think we have provided a message to music fans out there and that we are continuing on to the real path towards evil."

I gotta ask, what do your parents think about all of this?

666Torturer answers, "I don't really talk to my parents very much, maybe once every few years, 'cause I left home around 18 and haven't really put any effort into talking to them. I don't think they would like what I am doing, especially the music and the spirit of what this band is all about."

You can't always please your parents.