ADORIOR has been linked to extreme Metal since its inception in 1994. Three full length albums, two demos and two splits spanning a 29 year career may not be much for some, but every time they have decided to put something out, it has shaken the global underground. Right after the release of their third and astonishing album “Bleed On My Teeth”, an amazing and savage blend of pure Death, Thrash and Black Metal, we were lucky enough to have Melissa Jaded Lungs (vocals) and her bandmates answer some questions. And since ADORIOR interviews are really hard to come by, we wanted this one to be worth it. Well, we got just that and much more. Enjoy!

Let’s go back in time. You are the only remaining founding member, so can you tell us why it took two years between the forming of the band in 1994 and the release of the first official recording, the “Beyond The Distant Blue” demo in 1996? What was the aim of the band back then? And how did you and Chris met and start the band?
Melissa: “Hello Al, you alright mate? The main obstacle was Chris moving from Belfast in Northern Ireland to London and getting a crew together. This kind of music wasn’t exactly popular back then, with no internet and insane amounts of partying to do – things took as long as they took. How did we meet…? Previously I’d been putting ads in the local Metal mags / music shops but getting nowhere. Back then school girls generally weren’t supposed to be getting into extreme metal and they definitely weren’t supposed to start bands. Deciding that action needed to be taken, I put an ad out in an international mag which the Nunravager answered. We started tape trading and sending each other ideas for songs. We had the same taste in music, we both collected vinyl and most importantly shared the same vision. Our single focus was to start a band, the nastier the fucking better, so Chris made the move to London. Before we had cheap death defying flying buckets of shit, the journey involved hours on coaches and ferries. I remember helping Chris move his record collection. Mid winter two teenagers shivering in leather jackets with his vinyl strapped to a granny trolley. Puking my guts up with the ferry threatening to tip us into the slate grey misery of the Irish sea. “I am trapped in its ice cold blaze. It drains the warmth from my soul. Feel the dread and my mind is in torment. And still its eye of death glow so cold.” All we could afford was a bedsit in this dilapidated old house so cheap they let people who got kicked out of asylums live there. It was in the garden of this stately home, we asked Tony Slutsodomiser to join. Tony’s been one of my best mates since I was 15 years old and we’ve always done everything together – so of course he was in! We decided it was time to leave this palace when we came home one day to find that the pipes had frozen and exploded causing the shared toilet to fall through the ceiling from upstairs into the hallway – ‘just above our door’. Between the demo and “Like Cutting The Sleeping” is probably when we moved into the infamous mold infested “White house”. We stayed here until we all developed ‘JadedLungs’ (and no, that’s not where my stage name came from). “Beyond The Distant Blue” was inspired by the colour of bruises – artwork by Paulrus McCarrol is a head split open exposing a dripping cunt birthing a fallen angel. It was recorded on a 4 or an 8 track, who the fuck can remember – in a place called ‘Leatherhead’, no shit it’s an actual place. Then the three of us moved to the notorious ADORIOR “Black house.” A few mates reading this might have frequented these fine establishments.”

I think the late ’90s were a bit confusing when it came down to extreme Metal. There was a lot happening at the time with a lot of bands exploring and going everywhere trying to “fit in”. How did ADORIOR keep their style firmly rooted with all that white noise going around? I mean, I always thought that ADORIOR has a lot of POSSESSED influences mixed in with your own style and a hint of early ’90s Black Metal. Were you filtering out everything to keep the band locked onto Death and Thrash Metal?
Melissa: “Best thing is to not give a shit about “fitting in”. I’m a firm believer that your bullshit radar needs to be your sharpest weapon and compass, that way you won’t get lost in life. Yes, the ’90s was a weird time – it’s quite funny to see so many people getting all nostalgic about it now. There was grunge, crusties with body lice bringing dogs on strings to shows, hockey tops and shorts, all manner of crossover nonsense, but the worst crime against Metal was probably vamping out. Can’t think why but we got into a lot of fights back then. If someone said something dumb about a band you loved. Next thing you’re rolling around on the floor punching the shit out of each other. Most of us just laughed it off and once the bruises faded, then we’d be back having drinks and probably more scraps at the next show. Growing up for most of us meant developing a very thick skin fast. However… there are always exceptions to the rules, people who can hold a grudge like a fucking priest can clutch his favorite choir boy. Most of us over 40 grew up listening to the usual gateway drugs like SLAYER, JUDAS PRIEST, WASP, POSSESSED, SODOM, VOIVOD, VENOM, CELTIC FROST, BATHORY etc. These legends gave us the hunger to start our own bands! Metal was exciting and dangerous, we had a common enemy like Tipper Gore and her fun police to fight back against, shit like this just fueled our fire. ’80s Metal was sex, drugs, rebellion and spandex, the ’90s was more about misanthropy, self harm and misery, which let’s face it didn’t exactly work out for a lot of our mates. Growing up was a miserable enough experience, as soon as we could we preferred to have a laugh. The ’90s did however give us the second wave of Black Metal or whatever they wanna call it. Chris and I were well into tape trading when we met and already into bands like BEHERIT, MAYHEM, IMPALED NAZARENE, SARCÓFAGO, MORTUARY DRAPE, SADISTIK EXEKUTION, BLASPHEMY, CORPSE MOLESTATION, BESTIAL WARLUST etc etc. What was happening internationally, especially in Norway, all the church burning and action taken by bands just a few years older than us. Fuck Yeah! Metalheads our age all over the world were united and excited by this. Most promoters in London couldn’t handle us, but we had a few guys like Mike from the Devil’s Church who would offer us regular live shows. Gradually more and more mates moved to London like Pierre from Paris, the DESTRÖYER 666 boys and our pack grew. We have kept up many of these friendships for over three decades. If you’re genuine and just listen to what you like, your music will reflect that.”

Your second album, “Author Of Incest”, featured a sharper and severe production. It also showed a much more aggressive phase of the band, although still firmly rooted in your style. Your vocals also shifted to a more constant yell / growl instead of the various techniques you had used in the past. Did you feel that the music needed that change since the band was aiming for a more brutal and vicious sound? How do you look back to the album nowadays?
Melissa: “All our music is written entirely based on how we were feeling at the time. I still love “Author Of Incest” and after all these years later wouldn’t change a thing. The production was heavier simply because we had learned more how to articulate what we wanted in the studio. Necromorbus was a young gun at the time and did a savage job for us. If we’d had a clue about recording and had someone like Necro at the helm “Like Cutting The Sleeping” would have sounded more like “Author Of Incest”. Being young, lacking in experience, also there just weren’t many engineers who could bring this kind of music to life in those days. Having two guitars really fattened it up – Tommy’s contributions added plenty of furious leads and hooks to the fight. There was none this remote bollox back then, we lived together and rehearsed all the time. Here’s an example of how the writing session for the song ‘Author Of Incest’ went. We wanted a different riff for the start of the song. “Tony give us a riff” says Chris. “OK”. Tony Slutsodomiser comes up with that catchy main riff for ‘Author…’ on the spot. Killer we all say! Then I pipe in with… “An Incubus that night was sent to fuck her human form.” Stunned silence by the band. Wide eyed they all just looked at me. Someone says in semi excited horror / confusion. “You can’t sing like that, it’s… too catchy.” “Like fuck I can’t” And that was how we wrote the title track to the album. I’d actually say I pushed myself more on “Author Of Incest” vocally than “Like Cutting The Sleeping”. ‘Birth Of Disease’ is one of the songs that still challenges my vocal range the most. Fighting, fucking, drinking, snorting, friends dying, the world drowning and unleashing our Metal fury. That’s the spirit captured on “Author Of Incest”.”

Right after your second album, came the line-up changes and also the sound. In the song that you put out on the split with TERRORAMA, I heard a lot more Black Metal in your music than ever before. And let me be honest, it was not exactly what I was expecting and it was a bit tough to understand, at least for me. What was the approach to that release? Did you feel the band was drifting away from its original style?
Melissa: “Excellent question Al and very happy to finally answer this. Firstly I like to get it straight, it’s no-ones fault, just one of those studio things. A few people really like this release but to me and Chris it sounds like a bag of old horse shoes thrown into a washing machine. We recorded most of it live and when we were in the studio the sound was so heavy / perfect we were all just smiling at each other like idiots – confident as shit. What the fuck happened is still a mystery, something with the mics we think. The lads went to great lengths which was deeply appreciated to try and fix it, but to no avail. We’ve talked about maybe re-recording ‘Gutters Of Cum’ one-day – cos it still feels like unfinished business. The cover doesn’t sound as bad for some reason but none of it was supposed to sound like a Blacksmith had been at it. Imagine those two songs with a sound between “Author Of Incest” and “Bleed On My Teeth”. That’s how “Fucking In Fire” should have sounded. Anyway shit happens and pretty sure most bands have had a similar experience.”

ADORIOR has had line-up changes through the years. Do you feel that the band was developing onto new grounds with contributions from these musicians or did the material was a logical development of the band moving forward in its own style? Were you and Dani doing other things during the hiatus or were you just searching for the right people until you found them?
Melissa: “Being in a band as intense as ADORIOR isn’t something most people want to do forever and I’m cool with that. It’s not the sort of music you can just keep churning out for the sake of another tour or whatever. Chris had to retire to continue his dream to spread GOATAIDS to the world – I spent 20 years searching for spandex disco pants and the studded Messiah who would cleanse the Metal scene of posers. Dani was busy perfecting his hair, Tony got stuck up a tree so there wasn’t really much time for anything else. We never bothered searching for members, when the time is right we’ve just put the word out and the right people get in touch. We’re still close with most of the former members and we’ve never had anyone leave the band on bad terms. There is a freedom about being in ADORIOR that attracts a certain type. Must be the irresistible scent of self destruction.”

How did Steve (guitar), Tom (bass) and Roland (guitar) came into the band after the hiatus? Have you and Dani met them before? And how easy was it working with them? Also, do you know how they manage to keep ADORIOR’s music completely away from their current and previous bands (GRAVE MIASMA, CRUCIAMENTUM, DESTROYER 666)?
Melissa: “Nobody willingly wants to sound like ADORIOR, our music has been described as “Like a murderous clown falling down the stairs”. It was actually the lock down that got Steve and me firing like a hail of 50 cal.”
Steve: “I’m used to doing everything on my own, so it was quite challenging in the beginning writing with Melissa. Melissa is very opinionated – she likes changing things and moving all my riffs around. Sections I love, sometimes she doesn’t like and wants to remove, she has a very unpredictable way of singing.”
Melissa: “Stevil is an insanely talented songwriter but can be quite traditional and fixed in his thought process. Let’s just say he’s not the only person to find me ‘unpredictable’ haha. I’d say Steve, don’t get attached to complete song ideas cos you know I’ll want to change some of it, so don’t pissed when I do.”
Steve: “OK.”
Melissa: “Next week another full song, I want to fuck around with it – Steve gets annoyed. Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! Haha.”
Steve: “I do like writing with someone else and the fact that Melissa and I got through one album together let alone three together in a year without killing each other must mean we’re doing something right.”
Melissa: “I’ve known Ro (ex – GRAVE MIASMA, ex – DESTROYER 666) since he was 15. He officially joined in 2022 but has been an honorary live member since 2011 when we played with MORTUARY DRAPE. He also did a couple of songs with us at the BLASPHEMY / VULCANO show. The last song we wrote was ‘Sips Of Sarin’. Ro was involved in this and it’s one of our favorite songs on the record, so you can see where this is going. Tom (GRAVE MIASMA / MALTHUSIAN) has been a tight inner circle brother for years. First time Tom saw us was the md show with Ro.”
Tom: “I joined ADORIOR because I like being a dirty shirtless animal and wanted to be in a band that wears lots of studs.”
Melissa: “Dani Molestör has been in ADORIOR for over 20 years, we’ve shared half a lifetime of madness together and are stronger for it.”
Dani: “I met Chris and Melissa at the Devil’s Church – found out they were on the hunt for a drummer, they asked me to come to their room in Camden to try out. The road to ruin began! Since then I’ve been smashed in the face with a merch bag by Melissa for throwing it in a ditch, soiled myself at a festival on more than one occasion, had my arm slashed open and had my 40th birthday sabotaged by WHITESNAKE and Jim Gillette vocal videos.”
Melissa: “Chemistry or Chemical warfare? The others all knew each other. Stevil and I had barely met, yet he’s the one I wrote most of “Bleed On My Teeth” with. Since meeting we’ve written, “Bleed On My Teeth”, one and half shaRds albums and he invited me to collaborate on his new QRIXKUOR album “Womb Of The World”. We are very different as people but I’ve never met anyone I can write with on this level. Above all we are mates.”
Roland: “I actually left GRAVE MIASMA and DESTROYER 666 with no intention of joining another band, I was given the opportunity to join ADORIOR once again. Once the live scene opened back up, it felt absolutely necessary to play for the harshest band in the UK. ADORIOR is the soundtrack to the apocalypse! Obviously me and Dani have a lot of history with GRAVE MIASMA, so the stage chemistry has a strong foundation. Probably better than ever these days. I met Melissa and Dani when I was 15, getting into the more extreme shit like SARCÓFAGO, BLASPHEMY, old SEPULTURA, so it was a massive turning point. What ADORIOR were doing at the time blew my fucking head off, and still does. Every band has its own special aura or energy – ADORIOR’s is utterly unhinged, sinister and explosive… but beneath the chaos there’s a lot of depth, truth and meaning when you read between the big fat lines. To play in a band I grew up around and respected as a teenager is an honor… especially with the long friendships and unrelenting passion for this insane music!”
Steve: “As the world’s oldest 32 year old – who got into the more extreme end of underground Metal in the mid 2000s and the London scene after moving there in 2011, as such missing much of the active period of that ADORIOR era, “Author Of Incest” was always regarded with a special reverence of mystery in our formative circles, and we longed for the rumors of illicit activities in the camp over the years that followed to bear truth – would they ever follow such a monument? Could they? Fast forwarding to the summer of 2019 at an opportune pause in my QRIXKUOR scheming, receiving an unexpected invitation to reanimate the ADORIOR beast on stage was an honor in itself, and suddenly I found myself in the privileged position of being able to kick the lazy cunts up the arse and finally commit the bitter dregs of the preceding 15 years of sin, sin and SIN to tape.“

Ten years go by and suddenly BAM! Two singles and your new album “Bleed On My Teeth”. An absolute banger of Death / Thrash Metal with some Black Metal brushstrokes and lots of influences straight from the early ’80s. For me, it was totally unexpected and surprising. And what an album may I say. It’s 100% ADORIOR with the music reaching new heights in terms of brutality, rawness and attitude. Add the amazingly varied vocal attack and there you have it, album of the year for me (and several VFTD colleagues). Can you please let us know what was the process behind it? Were the songs made from scratch or was there unused material? How was the recording process on both music and vocals?
Melissa: “Thanks Al, that truly means a lot you felt our record deserved album of the year. It was a very unexpected honour to hear how much “Bleed On My Teeth” has affected people. ADORIOR’s always attracted individuals. We confuse and frighten scene queens. “Bleed On My Teeth” is not an easy listen. It’s a relentless mix of organised chaos with catchy head banging moments. Reckon it’s come at a time we’re people want something to fire them. Chris and I always said that the third ADORIOR release would be an extreme Heavy Metal album. We wanted this to be a hard, honest record, with more of the sentiment of ROSE TATTOO and MOTÖRHEAD. What a lot of people don’t know is that the third ADORIOR album was nearly ready but for various reasons it never saw the light of day. Some of Nunravager’s riffs from those covert sessions and Slutsodomiser’s leads are on “Bleed On My Teeth” – it was important to all of us that their energy be captured on this record. You know certain ideas just get stuck in your head and they won’t go away. I’d put a lot of time into the lyrics and some of the arrangements, so wanted to include some of it on “Bleed On My Teeth”. Sections on ‘Ophidian Strike’ and ‘Precipice Of Fire’ were written 20 years ago. The rest of the album is brand new. Steve was very respectful of this and Chris thinks this is one of the best extreme Metal albums of all time. Ultimately we’re all massive music fans and collectors – which means we listen to more than just whatever Metal is trending at the time. When Chris retired, I never expected to be writing another ADORIOR album, but here we are. As much as we are influenced by excellent albums, we try to keep this to a minimum with our own song writing. I’ve never been driven by other people’s opinions but I couldn’t have done this album without Steve or Chris. Self belief and the support of the people that matter, is all that matters.”

It is undeniable that the production on “Bleed On My Teeth” is modern. There are no albums coming out of a 4 tracker anymore. At least, I have heard none in the last couple of decades. Yet the overall sound is so organic and raw. Huge drums, pounding bass, sharp guitars and shocking vocals. Everything sounds like it should. Even the mastering feels right, with lots of dynamics and no bricked sound whatsoever. How did you find Greg Chandler (Priory Recording Studios) and why was he your choice for recording and mixing engineer? And did you have Patrick W. Engel as your first choice for the mastering process?
Melissa: “Greg Chandler and Patrick Engel need no introduction. Yes they were both our first and only choice. As Arni says have a plan A and stick to it. With the combination of their incredible talent, attention to detail and experience it gives the album a violently vivid feeling. When capturing the madness in the studio Greg becomes the sixth member of ADORIOR. Greg’s own musical talent with ESOTERIC is legendary. His dedication to ADORIOR and decades of close friendship enables him to add a level of depth and detail few engineers could reach. If you’re into sound he has a very interesting set up at his studio, it’s in this beautiful old Priory. It’s fascinating watching him work and I always learn so much from a session. There are moments on “Bleed On My Teeth” that you can feel more than hear – like the record is possessed. Mixing and mastering can get very intense. Greg and Patrick have a rare quality which is to really listen to what the artist wants. Greg and Patrick take on board everything that you say and deliver more than we could ever have dreamed possible. Thomas and Matt from our labels have fully supported us enabling all this gold foiled ox blood madness. Without the trust and belief of our crew none of this would be possible. The artwork and layout was a project in itself. Nuno is an absolute demon – we worked for months on it together. Alex Heresie also deserves our deep thanks, the layout is a masterpiece and the tape layout simply visionary.”

On “Bleed On My Teeth” the atmosphere, the vibe and the attitude is there. It oozes malice, venom and hatred. And to top if off, the performances are simply stellar. And your vocals are on another level going from yells to grunts to growls and everything in between. And the high-pitched Araya-esque screams are on point. How were you able to fit in every instrument and the vocals perfectly? Does the band go into rehearsal and work along the way or do you come in knowing how everything should go from previous rough tracks or demos?
Melissa: “Thank you Al. Steve and I would come up with the material then have regular writing sessions. Once we had the ideas down we’d smash it out at the rehearsal room or round my place. Some of it’s done very crudely – I kinda treat my phone like an old tape recorder and record melodies / vocal ideas when they come to me, so I don’t forget them. Steve uses Logic.”
Steve: “A good example is the ending of the title track ‘Bleed On My Teeth’. Melissa and Tony really liked what I considered a throw away riff and could see how it could grow into what ultimately closed the album. ADORIOR is a mad house but I enjoy the challenge, feedback and banter we have in ADORIOR.”
Melissa: “Stevil’s thoughts on how it feels to write in a different style to QRIXKUOR that would suit a band that’s been going for so long…”
Steve: “Not as different as one may think in the actualization of a fledgling vision by acting as the lens through which the black light of the previous work shines to reveal new shapes in the universe, beyond all that which had come before – the only additional parameter here being that the previous works were conceived by the previous line-ups of the band, at a time when I was more worried about what was in my school lunchbox. Stylistically, my delivery wasn’t hugely different – just filtered through the lenses of an Eb tuned guitar and the original members. We’d all spent plenty of time imagining the third ADORIOR album by the time of my arrival in 2019 – it was just a case of making dreams flesh.”
Melissa: “When it comes to singing, I enjoy learning different techniques but mostly just do what comes naturally, always aim to be as authentic as possible, apart from when I’m trying to copy Tom Araya ;). If someone asks you who your favorite band is and it takes you more than a second to reply then they’re not your favorite. Mine is SLAYER!”

ADORIOR is now working with Dark Decent Records (USA). Did the label contact you first? How do you feel they have been working so far? Is the response from the underground to your new album what you thought it would be?
Melissa: “We are honored to be working with Dark Descent Records in the US and Sepulchral Voice Records in Europe. They’re fucking good lads – the energy and commitment it takes to do what they do commands respect. Matt had expressed his interest in ADORIOR back when we played in Texas. Once Thomas had conveyed his, we just had a chat and everything was agreed on the old fashioned way. The demo actually came after the agreement haha – they hadn’t really heard much of our new stuff, but they trusted us on our word to deliver the goods and are very pleased with the results. No other label has ever heard the demo for “Bleed On My Teeth” and we didn’t talk to anyone else – only Matt & Thomas. Something happened with “Bleed On My Teeth” none of us were expecting. It got people fired up – even some of the most jaded old fuckers said it made them feel like the first time they heard SLAYER. That’s about the highest complement anyone could give us. Ladies thrashing their brains out down the front, proudly rocking their ‘Sweating like a Rapist’ shirts. Haha. Younger Metalheads feel like they were part of something strong. Wanting to go nuts, lift weights in their Wife beaters and feel powerful. This is what Metal should be about, uniting us and making the underground stronger.”

Did you know that you had to be the vocalist since the start of the band? Were you influenced by other female vocalists like Dawn Crosby, Debbie Gunn, Sharon Bascovsky and the likes? Your vocals cover a lot of aggressive moods and emotions. In my humble opinion, it’s a unique theatrical style that I’ve rarely heard. Only Wendy O. Williams, Lori Bravo and you come to mind, actually.
Melissa: “Thanks Al, when starting out, I actually wanted to be a guitarist like Jeff Hanneman and Chris Holmes. I was probably above average for my age but soon realized I was nothing special on the guitar. Having an unusual voice makes a lot of people give up, cos they think they can’t sing. Kate Bush’s story about how David Gilmore picked up her demo is very interesting. My Mum’s partner taught me how to play guitar, he introduced me to singers like Bon Scott, Angry, Janis and Phil Lynott – he showed me that having a different voice was better than having a note perfect one. Chris and I started tape trading with Lori in the mid ’90s, she’s an incredible singer but I was already singing before I heard NUCLEAR DEATH. Can’t say Lori was an influence to how I sing but she and Wendy O should be an inspiration to us all. Never really thought about influences being a male or female thing but if asked who my favorite female Metal singers are – Leather Leone, Wendy O, Lori, Sabina Classen’s vocals on “Finished With The Dogs” are incredible. Kate Bush and Lisa Gerrard for my Queens for non Metal. Some of my main influences are Russ North, Larry (BLESSED DEATH), Chris (INFERNÄL MÄJESTY), Bon Scott, Angry, Dio, Halford, Tom Araya, Sheepdog, Paul Di’Anno, Midnight, Wildness Perversion and the Big Boss. Each project I’m involved with gives me more confidence to try different approaches.”

Now, I think the song titles and the lyrics in both the “Beyond Distant Blue” demo tape and your “Like Cutting The Sleeping” debut LP are more ethereal, gothic and dare I say atmospheric than the material that came after that, which feature in your face, more evil concepts. Are you the author of all the lyrics? And if so, has your writing style changed or is it ever adapting to the style of the band? Do you look for inspiration when listening to the music or do you find the words within you or your surroundings?
Melissa: “Yes definitely in my surroundings, dreams and experiences. It’s been mainly me doing the lyrics since the start, Chris wrote some of the earlier lyrics or collaborated, he also wrote most of the lyrics for ‘Birth Of Disease’. I’ve always kept journals, write down what I’m encountering at the time. These later get turned into lyrics for songs, ideas for artwork etc. From Yeats to Bon Scott all words are a form of poetry and expression. Ryme, rhythm, phrasing. Some of the lyrics for the demo were written when I was about 15. At that age you’re still finding your feet and everything is a bit dramatic. Call it our CELTIC FROST “To Mega Therion” / BATHORY stage.”

I also need to ask, please, which were the concepts behind songs such as ‘Begrime Judas’, ‘Sips Of Sarin’ and especially the title track ‘Bleed On My Teeth’.
Melissa: “If ADORIOR has moved you – your life’s probably been a bit of a battlefield. I know a lot of soldiers – figuratively and literally, ‘Begrime Judas’ is for the survivors who’ve been through some heavy shit and come out of it alive. There is a whole concept behind the album but I prefer not to reveal it and for people to make their own journey with it. If you read the lyrics and look at the gatefold artwork there are many stories woven into its web, some relate to the songs. ‘Sips Of Sarin’ is about my grandmothers snake, memories, visions and a dream about stabbing a statue of Jesus. ‘Bleed On My Teeth’ is simply about life and the experiences we gain. The people who have at some point been a part of the journey or still are. Life is an endless series of lessons. Living, loving, fighting, losing, winning, dying – nothing is simple, nothing lasts forever. The whole album but especially the title track is a good old fashioned fucking reminder to wake up before its too late and fight for what you believe in. “Do you like to watch, or step right in it. This life’s a fight… you wouldn’t last a minute”.”

Let me take a small detour here. I am usually intrigued by different crafts and creative activities. So, I dug a bit and found SHARDS. How would you describe it and what was the motive behind this other outlet for your art?
Melissa: “I only talk about my other projects when specifically asked. Starting shaRds was mainly as a challenge to myself, it is a collective of musicians / artists, free to come and go as they please. It’s been a privilege to collaborate with such masters of their crafts as Rufus Miller / Sting, Charles Hedger (MAYHEM), Mersus (DESTROYER 666), Tony (ADORIOR), Mats Hedberg and now most recently Steve (ADORIOR) and the mighty Chuck Keller (ARES KINGDOM / VULPECULA / ORDER FROM CHAOS). Over the years I’ve become more and more interested in experimenting with capturing sound. It can be very time consuming and unnecessarily complicated but what interests me is capturing the memory of the moment, if that makes sense. I’ll give you an example of what 24 hours of shaRds adventure can look like. 3am – mid Winter Iceland, wake up in a mountain cabin, Baileys and black coffee, drive to a glacier. Hike up the glacier to record my vocals in an ice cave. Narrowly escaping being trapped in a snow storm that would have killed us, hike down with ice spikes. 3pm drive to a lighthouse to record natural reverb on 3 different floors. 5am back to the cabin – pass out. Our new album is called “Creature Of Vice”. Steve and I wrote most of it, Chuck Keller contributed musically and the artwork is by David S. Herrerias. The vinyl layout and attention to detail is one of the things I love the most about shaRds. The last album “Serum Borne Of Venom” was self released on 220g gatefold vinyl with handmade laser cut gates. shaRds sits astride a labour of love and utter insanity but what comes from it is magical to those involved. The live shows are also remarkable experiences, most of the crew are exceptional artists in their own fields volunteering to be part of these dangerous escapades, its turning the impossible into reality and having the opportunity to work at historical locations, like the St Pancras crypt in Kings Cross and Brunel Chamber have been so a rewarding, its hard to put into words. We were hoping to release “Creature Of Vice” this year but it may have to wait with the current ADORIOR schedule.”

Now back to ADORIOR. So far, what have been your best, weirdest and worst experiences concerning gigs?
Melissa: “All of them!”
Dani: “My first gig with ADORIOR was in 2001. It was supposed to be with BLASPHEMY and IMPERIOUS MALEVOLENCE in Ieper. BLASPHEMY had been cancelled months before but no one had told us. Then the show gets moved to the Frontline in Ghent.”
Melissa: “Good news we know the place well and are mates with the owners. Bad news ADORIOR is now supposed to headline. Fuck Dani doesn’t know enough songs yet. Chris had to stand on a plank of wood on a pin ball machine cos the stage was too small.”
Dani: “I stop playing in the middle of ‘Behold Barbarity’ cos I thought the song had ended. We didn’t have enough songs so the audience screamed for us to play ‘Ritualised Combat (Sin Sin Sin)’ twice.”
Melissa: “Luckily most of the audience were shitfaced and good mates, most of the Frenchies were there, plus a bunch of other idiots who really should have had better things to do. Christine used to take such good care of us, annoying little fuck heads that we were. Alain would stay up all night with us DJing, often it was just me and Matty Razor left but he never left us hanging. We always had a blast at the Frontline. If anyone is still in touch with them, send our regards.”

With this new album and a revamped line-up, what is in ADORIOR’s near-mid future?
Melissa: “Fuck knows mate ;)”

Well, I guess that is more than enough. I thank you very much for your time and your patience. I just wanted to make the most out of this interview. The last words are yours. Thanks again!
Melissa: “Cheers for the support Al. Hails to the Maniacle Voices From The Darkside. The world has changed a lot since I put that add out and Chris answered it. As much as the internet can be a helpful tool that unites and educates us, it’s also bred something far worse than the Black Metal Vampire, the ‘Keyboard warrior.’ If it came to a Cunt contest the Keyboard warrior would win every time. A lifetime dedicated to the Devil’s music certainly hasn’t gone by without its losses and challenges but its also given us the life experience and creative confidence to write an album like “Bleed On My Teeth”. There are plenty of self indulgent wankers doing the rounds, the world doesn’t need another band like that. ADORIOR is more like waking up in jail with no front teeth and wondering where your fucking life went. Thankfully there are still enough of us around to know what’s what. Cheers for reading this you lunatics – I’ll leave you with some sage words, feel free to use them on someone deserving. “Pain taught me honor, pity made you a Cunt.” Ultimately it’s up to us what kind of Warrior we become. Keep your poser filter firing and your bullshit radar sharp – cos this life’s a fight!”

Live pics: Karen Toftera / ShotOnStage
Band pic: Rosa Navas / filmmaker_ros
Interview: Alfonso Perez