Germany's NECROS CHRISTOS developed into one of the most talked about underground acts throughout the last couple of years, without even having released a full length album. A couple of demos and (split) EP releases already offered enough quality to gain them a loyal diehard following (yours truly included). No surprise that in the meantime a full length album has already been recorded that is about to be released shortly... Reasons enough for us to hook up with the band's main man and driving force Mors Dalos Ra for an in-depth talk about the past, present and future of NECROS CHRISTOS...     

Tell us a bit more about yourself, like how you ended up becoming a Black / Death Metal addict (and musician later on)... Have you been involved in any other musical projects before you founded NECROS CHRISTOS back in the autumn of 2001?
"Metal wise, I can be regarded as an initiated neophyte since 1987 and since 1990 I played in several Death / Black Metal bands prior to Necros Christos. All of them had burned their mark on me, but will not named in every detail. I grew up in a towerblock area which was the perfect ground for Metal and my mostly older friends introduced me to such stuff as Motörhead, Venom, Black Sabbath, King Diamond, Celtic Frost, Slayer which turned me on the side of our triumphant Coven and on the spiritual path of the occult…"
What was the actual inspiration when you decided to name yourself Mors Dalos Ra? Do you think it is necessary leaving behind your regular birth name when you're starting to play Black / Death Metal nowadays?
"It might not be necessary when you play that kind of “Death” Metal which serves the ignorant. Real, horrible Death and Black Metal is a Cult we dedicate our souls unto and which should be served ritually and with great purpose. My name wasn't invented by myself, it was given unto me from a source which to explain here would make no sense. The triune council of mors dalos ra is all about the secret, obscure work of the invincible Occult Absolute…"
According to your website it took you over a year to finish the material which later ended up being released as your first demo tape "Necromantic Doom"... What was the reason for this lengthy period of writing / composing?
"Simply because I stopped working on “Necromantic Doom” for nearly more than half a year after the first guitar tunes were recorded. I played bass and did the vocals for another great Death Metal band at that time named B.C. Imperator which had priority over Necros Christos. Well, things change…"
Talking of your website, I was pretty surprised that you went for www.darknessdamnationdeath.com instead of necros-christos.com or something... any particular reason for that?
"Yes, as those three words perfectly symbolizes what Necros Christos is all about as well as real Death Metal should be…"
"Necromantic Doom" finally got released in October 2002 on your own "label" Tothundemeton... Was it a CD-R only release or did you also spread a tape version of it? Why did you limited it to 70 copies?
"It was a CD-R only release with a pro. printed booklet including lyrics. I never limited it to the afore mentioned number, I simply stopped spreading it when the incoming of “Black Mass Desecration” was clear. The most important people had it in their collection anyway… and, to be honest, I ran out of booklets and was simply too lazy and busted to do a repress…"
Did you record the material all on your own? I mean, was NECROS CHRISTOS still a one-man project with programmed drums at the time?
"Yes."
Apart from the fact that the "Necromantic Doom" material still sounded a bit immature compared to what was about to follow, to me the drum machine was definitely the weakest point and destroyed a lot of the atmosphere... Do you share this opinion or do you blame most of it on the production side of things?
"Although I dislike the machine as well “Necromantic Doom” remained my favourite Necros Christos demo until now. The atmosphere is still breathtaking…at least it is for me."
How do you judge the songs on that release in general these days? Have you ever considered to re-record one or more of 'em with a full line-up?
"Well, we already did my friend…and will do regarding the soon to be released “Triune Impurity Rites” album. Besides this, and referring to the question before I have to say that the songs on “Necromantic Doom”, from their essential flow and composition up to the keys and leads are still totally representative for Necros Christos…"
Was 'Triumphant Executions' recorded in a different recording session maybe? To me it sounds a little different compared to the other songs on that demo...
"No, same recording session, same sound if you ask me. Maybe the song in itself is even a bit more weird than the others are, but still a perfect end for “Necromantic Doom”…"
As far as I know that demo was originally supposed to be the only NECROS CHRISTOS release... What was the reason for that and why did you change your opinion and continued on afterwards?
"Before I actually finished “Necromantic Doom” I thought everything could have been said. When I finished “Necromantic Doom” the grand Necros Christos gave me insight in what was about to follow and so the rest shall mark history…"
When exactly did Martin Chain (from CURSED NAZARENE) join in on drums? By the way, how did you two originally get together?
"I knew him years before and when Mike Meacham from War Hammer Records (RIP) told me he would like to release the next Necros Christos demo with a real drummer I immediately contacted Chain and we began working on “Black Mass Desecration” fanatically… This all happened during a short period in summer 2003. I already had written songs as 'Bonethrone Triumph' and 'Impure Burials Prevail' so we did start without further delays and finished one song each rehearsal…Besides this, it was one of the most abysmal summers Berlin ever had, the foul demon rose well and all the atmosphere which surrounded our voodoo like congregations made me shiver for real…"
Your second demo "Black Mass Desecration", which was released in 2003, was a big step forward, not only in terms of the drum part, but also when it comes to the vocals, production and overall songwriting... How do you explain this big improvement?
"Mmh, I can't see this big improvement songwriting wise, really. Of course the production and drums were much better than on “Necromantic Doom”, but the essential flow and riffing of the songs was exactly the same as on the first demo. Nothing drastically changed than only the tools we were supposed to work with…"
It seems that the co-operation with the small Silcharde label didn't really turn out as expected for you... So, would you mind telling us what kind of problems you had with them?
"Although it is a waste of time I may get my little revenge here. Big promises were once made by this guy behind Silcharde… and I believed him. Well, a fault, but who knows before the fall? Even Satan Lucifer didn't before he was cast out of the womb of heaven. In the end I got 200 prof. printed booklets from Silcharde which I could distribute with standard cassettes at least. Of course the whole thing would have been so much easier in doing all the shit alone from the beginning, but you'll always learn by mistakes, right? He also does owe me lots of stuff from a trade we once made but which he never fulfilled due to his inconsequence and lazyness… enough said, he can simply fuck off."
When exactly did Martin quit the band again and how did you hook up with Luciferus Christhammer as his replacement? Has he been involved in any other band prior to NECROS CHRISTOS? And how about your bass player Black Shepherd Ov Doom? When did he join in temporarely and when and why did he decide to stay permanently?
"There wasn't a real quit of Chain but both of us agreed that it would be best letting him go concentrate on his other projects and me finding a drummer with whom I could rehearse permanently and play live. Christhammer was also a long time friend before he actually joined and in fact he was my first choice right from the start but some things needed to be done until he finally turned his soul on the path of Necros Christos. Mister Shepherd was the one and only choice for a bassplayer in the end. I knew him from the very early 90ties and his band Drowned is maybe the oldest, serious Death Metal band out of Berlin I guess. When he relocated from Braunschweig to Berlin the pact was sealed..."
Did you start playing live around this time or have there been any NECROS CHRISTOS gigs previously already?
"No, only one private rehearsal gig as a two piece prior to this which was joined by some close brethren of ours…"
Your best release till now, the "Grave Damnation" demo, came out at the end of 2005. Musically it was already easily recognizable as NECROS CHRISTOS, but you made a big step forward again when it comes to the arrangements and production side of things... Would you say that playing live quite often had something to do with this, that you were more aware of what works best for the band and what doesn't?
"Honestly, no. Playing live is essential, that's true, but it had no effect on my songwriting process nor the arrangement in general as we only do what we feel has to be done and not what could please the listener most…"
The demo also features a cover by GOATLORD ('Acid Orgy'), which is a quite unusual choice... What made you go for such an obscure band as opposed to something more common? Have you played / recorded any other cover songs as well already?
"If you believe it or not, “Reflections Of The Solstice” is my favourite Death / Doom Metal record ever, so it was destiny to finally come up with a cover of Goatlord. Honestly, I always wondered why the hell no one else ever did a cover of them. As far as I know we were the first ones though…which makes it pretty cool. And, why should we cover anything just because it is more common? So far, we also did 'Electric Funeral' by Sabbath and 'The Fog' by Goatlord again. But there're no plans in recording any other tune than 'Acid Orgy' for our releases…"
That demo was also released on CD by Worship Him Records from Norway... Would you mind telling us a bit more about this?
"Mmh, even if I would like to the story is not that exciting. Worship Him asked and we agreed. One of the good choices we did in our career…"
All of your demos have been released by various people / companies in all different kinds of editions... What is the reason for that and why do you prefer to limit the number of copies so drastically?
"Not every “release” was meant for everyone. Some of them simply had the task to update certain, close contacts of mine. On the other hand, I never thought that Necros Christos would gain so much interest as it finally got. From now on the number of limitation will be wether much higher like in case of the Split 7inch with Teitanblood or, concerning the album, non existent. That our 2^nd and 3^rd demo got released in a bride variation of formats was mostly because of the shitty distribution they got from their original companies (I might not want to call those dumb motherfuckers “Label”) as for example Silcharde or Ironfist Kommando. I hope I will have the chance once to meet those guys in person…"
Just like early ACHERON also NECROS CHRISTOS prefers to play a very midpaced style and even uses the same type of moody intros to each single song... What is the reason behind this and why do you choose to name those musical pieces "temple I", "temple II" etc.?
"First, even if I adore Acheron I'm a bit tired of this comparison as our “temples” farly differ from those interludes Acheron had. Why the hell no one ever mentioned Blasphemy for example? Anyway, the “temples” are as important as the songs, plain and simple. They are the pillars that connect the whole ritual and in the end help to establish the temple of the Occult Absolute which every Necros Christos release is. Especially those I performed for “Triune Impurity Rites” will serve their purpose with great devotion…"
You also recorded / released some rehearsal tapes, 7"es and split releases... Could you give us a little rundown what was released as well as some more details about each one of them? Is it all exclusive material on the EPs?
"For a detailed biography the interested reader can check our website. So far, we released two 7inches, “Curse Of The Necromantical Sabbath” on Calabozo Rec. and the Split 7inch with Spanish occult masters Teitanblood on Sepulchral Voice Rex. Some of the songs of the “Curse…” 7” were also to find on our “Grave Damnation” demo. Also, there was a Split LP with US Doomsters Loss…and both featured songs weren't exclusive…"
Sepulchral Voice Records will release the first NECROS CHRISTOS full length "Triune Impurity Rites" in late 2006... Tell us all necessary details about it, like which songs will be on it, where you're going to record, why you decided to work with Sepulchral Voice (as opposed to a more established company) and so on...
"First, I want to send my sincere acknowledgements to Sepulchral Voice. Both guys behind are fuckin' grandmasters of musical Goetia conjuration and know how to promote a release well. We had many offers, some from far bigger labels and I appreciated every single one of them. But, there's this special bond between us and SVR which makes the work as easy as it should be. The recording sessions for “Triune…” are finished since last weekend by the way. The final mix will take a while until we will be able to hear the final result. We're now starting with the layout and photos and I really hope the release could be scheduled for late 2006. To be honest, I'm a bit afraid that it shall be 2007 until the triune rites can be proceeded properly…Not much words about the included songs though, there will be old ones as well as new ones but the whole concept is now shining in its final glory…you'll soon witness what I mean…"
I know it's always pretty difficult (if not annoying) to categorize the own musical creations, but if you'd have to describe NECROS CHRISTOS material to someone who hasn't heard the band before, what would you say? Which bands pretty much inspired the music that ended up becoming your own musical vision?
"Necros Christos is necromantic doom eternal and although pretty unique in its dread riffing and drumming influenced by such glorious cults as Goatlord, Mystifier, Demoncy (“Joined In Darkness”), early Incantation as well as from indian and arabian sitar and lute music as well as Baroque. But due to the fact that I'm into all kind of Rock/Metal worship I'm also deeply inspired by bands as Mercyful Fate, Possessed, Samael, Beherit, Master's Hammer, Black Sabbath, Pagan Altar, The Coven, Jacula, Acheron, Manilla Road, Doom Snake Cult, Pentagram (US), Rainbow, Venom, Order From Chaos, Mortuary Drape, Asphyx as well as still existing or recently vanished forces as Mortem, Pentacle, Repugnant, Teitanblood, Archgoat, Portal, Grave Miasma, Funerary Pit, Proclamation, Excoriate, Kaamos, Katharsis, Coffins, Blasphemic Lust, Coffin Texts, Mortuary Temple, Nocturnal Vomit, Heptameron, Mockery, Black Witchery, Inquisition, fuck, the list could be endless…"
How would you summerize your lyrical topics? Are they mainly of a blasphemous nature? Or more in the Satanic / Occult direction? How important is religion to you (no matter of what kind)? And how does your band name fit in here?
"They're mainly based upon dark tales of the Old Testament but inverted in its content. Also influenced by the Apocalypses of the Apocryphes and the shining emanations of the Qabalah, all mixed with my own, personal experiences with the dead and the deceased, magical practices and visions. Necros Christos is another name for the amorphous entity of the uttermost damnation and darkness. The black brother of Christ. The world did knew the ancient evil under many names such as Ischtar, Ahriman, Shaitan, Satan, Lucifer but will soon witness the incoming of a new form of unrelenting obscurity…which is the grand Nekros Kristos."
Ok, I guess we have covered almost everything relevant by now, so I'll better let you go now. Feel free to end this interview in your own words... Thanx & cheers!
"Thank you very much Frank for the interview, to be featured by the great Voices is a pleasure which we gladly appreciate. “Triune Impurity Rites” is in its final phase so you all be better aware of the things to come…999 mors dalos ra."

Frank Stöver