Iterview with Black Metal Artist Kade Storm
By Mick Michaels
The Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome
to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder!
Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!
KS: Thank you for the opportunity.
CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
KS: My personal definition of the band's sound and style is just Black Metal. That's the aesthetic and thematic foundation of the music. However, there are some heavy Doom Metal and Death Metal dynamics to the sound. As such, I also use the label Blackened Doom Metal. It's basically atmospheric, dark and heavy music.
CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the connection to your fans?
KS: I'm not sure if I could offer a worthwhile answer to this question. I think it even depends on how it is perceived. There are some people who follow my music and consider it in high regard. It has received some excellent reviews thus far, which is great. However, the market is also saturated with many phenomenal artists and bands these days and that does make it difficult for fans to really connect to everything that's on offer out there, even things that might actually fall within their immediate scope of interest. I think people should just create what they genuinely want to create, be content with it, promote it if possible, and engage the fans if they seek engagement.
CV: Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
KS: I engage people who enjoy the music, if only to also get their perspective on how it is perceived, because I will never have that perspective myself because I was part of the creation process. It's kind of how I probably react to other music that I hold in great regard, but haven't created myself. These are two very different angles, sometimes even diametrically opposing ones, on the same concept. For example, my previous album was actually fairly well received. The reviews were very good and many listeners enjoyed it, while I was personally never satisfied with it, even during the writing process. I practically reject it today.
CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
KS: Depends on how we define true interaction. One can interact with fans, and even have worthwhile exchanges, but also without giving away too much, which leaves room for privacy. I'm sure it's far more complicated than that as it does require a kind of balancing act.
CV: Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views among various cultures?
KS: It probably does because there are numerous factors out there that can influence how people see music. I think the one common underlying fact is that it can be stimulating, but cultural differences in this regard are highly nuanced.
CV: Do you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend to connect more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
KS: Possibly. I think it actually depends on the scene in question. I'm not really interested in or can speak for the mainstream. Extreme Metal, as an umbrella, is a uniquely global phenomenon. It's carved out its own sub-culture that, while rooted in Europe and the Americas, now has a following all over the world. On account of that, bands that make it big in that scene see appeal everywhere.
CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
KS: Not everyone, but the fact that the technology has advanced as far as it has, has removed the figurative financial and technological bottle-neck that would limit many creative people from being able to create studio-grade music. This is also why we have a much larger number of bands and musicians today than we did in the past.
CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
KS: That's a very subjective topic and also a contentious one. Even determining who's really a follower and who's really a creator can be debated. I think everyone is creating as a result of inspiration; there's something out there that motivated them and gave them the idea to pursue their ideas and engage in create accordingly. Now depending on how far they go with being creative with that inspiration, this can result in a radically different sound and concept that many would consider a new style or approach on its own and that could very well become a future trend. Whereas others inspired by the same initial concept might go on to create something far more in line with the original creative formula and that may well be a worthwhile artistic endeavor. Did the youngsters in Norway truly create Black Metal, or were a lot of its perennial characteristics already carved out by Metal bands in the '80s, like Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Sodom and even earlier iterations of Death Metal? Moreover, these older bands didn't come up with something entirely new within a vacuum, as a lot of their work was inspired by certain aspects of punk and British Heavy Metal. As such, I consider this both a very intriguing topic, but when it comes to using it as a basis, to draw distinctions and even dichotomies between followers and creators, is of little consequence, because at some point or another, a supposed trend setter was also at some level, following something, and also sometimes, a follower just does an excellent job of continuing something great.
CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
KS: This is almost a philosophical question, which is great. Again, as per the last question, I can only properly reflect on this in the context of the broader Metal genre. It's somewhat understandable that people like to create sub-genres to mark some distinction from the broader trend, one often centered around style or theme. It's not really about fan appeasement, but more about acknowledging the more intricate aspects of style, character and distinction. Of course, this can also go on for quite a bit until each project, band, and even each individual release, could become its own sub-section of another sub-section of another sub-section. I'm also sympathetic to what Mantas/Jeff Dunn, formerly of Venom and now of Venom Inc., said about the subject. To him, he didn't like the split and preferred that it all be united under the banner of Heavy Metal, because as a sub-culture, it does share far more in common than the technical differences that emerge between sub-genre styles and techniques. Yet it can also be argued that those who listen to a variety of Metal genres actually appreciate this and don't need such consolidation; they can like a number of different sub-genres while also enjoying the distinctions that are acknowledged.
That said, I wouldn't argue that the constant emergence of sub-genres has weakened the impact of music as a whole, or that, again, this is to appease ardent listeners of a certain style of music. It can certainly create inane arguments between certain types of listeners, but it doesn’t see how it has weakened the impact of music. Also, somewhat related, but it is difficult to imagine the Black Metal crowd – both the listeners and the bands/artists – having common ground with the Unblack Metal/Christian Black Metal crowd; it wouldn't work for the most part as both parties approach their respective music from very different, sometimes antithetical, perspectives.
CV: What can fans except to see coming next from you?
KS: Further promotion of my recently released LP, Ascension. Which was digitally released at the end of April this year, and also has a physical CD release via Narcoleptica Productions.
I've recently released a Black Metal LP titled Ascension, it's Black Metal in aesthetic and thematic style, but also has some heavy Doom Metal and Death Metal elements. It's also getting a physical CD release via Narcoleptica Productions.
KS: Thank you for the opportunity.
CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
KS: My personal definition of the band's sound and style is just Black Metal. That's the aesthetic and thematic foundation of the music. However, there are some heavy Doom Metal and Death Metal dynamics to the sound. As such, I also use the label Blackened Doom Metal. It's basically atmospheric, dark and heavy music.
CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the connection to your fans?
KS: I'm not sure if I could offer a worthwhile answer to this question. I think it even depends on how it is perceived. There are some people who follow my music and consider it in high regard. It has received some excellent reviews thus far, which is great. However, the market is also saturated with many phenomenal artists and bands these days and that does make it difficult for fans to really connect to everything that's on offer out there, even things that might actually fall within their immediate scope of interest. I think people should just create what they genuinely want to create, be content with it, promote it if possible, and engage the fans if they seek engagement.
CV: Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
KS: I engage people who enjoy the music, if only to also get their perspective on how it is perceived, because I will never have that perspective myself because I was part of the creation process. It's kind of how I probably react to other music that I hold in great regard, but haven't created myself. These are two very different angles, sometimes even diametrically opposing ones, on the same concept. For example, my previous album was actually fairly well received. The reviews were very good and many listeners enjoyed it, while I was personally never satisfied with it, even during the writing process. I practically reject it today.
CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
KS: Depends on how we define true interaction. One can interact with fans, and even have worthwhile exchanges, but also without giving away too much, which leaves room for privacy. I'm sure it's far more complicated than that as it does require a kind of balancing act.
CV: Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views among various cultures?
KS: It probably does because there are numerous factors out there that can influence how people see music. I think the one common underlying fact is that it can be stimulating, but cultural differences in this regard are highly nuanced.
CV: Do you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend to connect more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
KS: Possibly. I think it actually depends on the scene in question. I'm not really interested in or can speak for the mainstream. Extreme Metal, as an umbrella, is a uniquely global phenomenon. It's carved out its own sub-culture that, while rooted in Europe and the Americas, now has a following all over the world. On account of that, bands that make it big in that scene see appeal everywhere.
CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
KS: Not everyone, but the fact that the technology has advanced as far as it has, has removed the figurative financial and technological bottle-neck that would limit many creative people from being able to create studio-grade music. This is also why we have a much larger number of bands and musicians today than we did in the past.
CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
KS: That's a very subjective topic and also a contentious one. Even determining who's really a follower and who's really a creator can be debated. I think everyone is creating as a result of inspiration; there's something out there that motivated them and gave them the idea to pursue their ideas and engage in create accordingly. Now depending on how far they go with being creative with that inspiration, this can result in a radically different sound and concept that many would consider a new style or approach on its own and that could very well become a future trend. Whereas others inspired by the same initial concept might go on to create something far more in line with the original creative formula and that may well be a worthwhile artistic endeavor. Did the youngsters in Norway truly create Black Metal, or were a lot of its perennial characteristics already carved out by Metal bands in the '80s, like Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Sodom and even earlier iterations of Death Metal? Moreover, these older bands didn't come up with something entirely new within a vacuum, as a lot of their work was inspired by certain aspects of punk and British Heavy Metal. As such, I consider this both a very intriguing topic, but when it comes to using it as a basis, to draw distinctions and even dichotomies between followers and creators, is of little consequence, because at some point or another, a supposed trend setter was also at some level, following something, and also sometimes, a follower just does an excellent job of continuing something great.
CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
KS: This is almost a philosophical question, which is great. Again, as per the last question, I can only properly reflect on this in the context of the broader Metal genre. It's somewhat understandable that people like to create sub-genres to mark some distinction from the broader trend, one often centered around style or theme. It's not really about fan appeasement, but more about acknowledging the more intricate aspects of style, character and distinction. Of course, this can also go on for quite a bit until each project, band, and even each individual release, could become its own sub-section of another sub-section of another sub-section. I'm also sympathetic to what Mantas/Jeff Dunn, formerly of Venom and now of Venom Inc., said about the subject. To him, he didn't like the split and preferred that it all be united under the banner of Heavy Metal, because as a sub-culture, it does share far more in common than the technical differences that emerge between sub-genre styles and techniques. Yet it can also be argued that those who listen to a variety of Metal genres actually appreciate this and don't need such consolidation; they can like a number of different sub-genres while also enjoying the distinctions that are acknowledged.
That said, I wouldn't argue that the constant emergence of sub-genres has weakened the impact of music as a whole, or that, again, this is to appease ardent listeners of a certain style of music. It can certainly create inane arguments between certain types of listeners, but it doesn’t see how it has weakened the impact of music. Also, somewhat related, but it is difficult to imagine the Black Metal crowd – both the listeners and the bands/artists – having common ground with the Unblack Metal/Christian Black Metal crowd; it wouldn't work for the most part as both parties approach their respective music from very different, sometimes antithetical, perspectives.
CV: What can fans except to see coming next from you?
KS: Further promotion of my recently released LP, Ascension. Which was digitally released at the end of April this year, and also has a physical CD release via Narcoleptica Productions.
I've recently released a Black Metal LP titled Ascension, it's Black Metal in aesthetic and thematic style, but also has some heavy Doom Metal and Death Metal elements. It's also getting a physical CD release via Narcoleptica Productions.
CV: Thanks again for taking some
time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
KS: Thanks again for the opportunity. Much appreciated…many thanks.
Check out Kade Storm at:
Band Camp: https://kadestorm.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kadestormmusic
Narcoleptica Productions – Band Camp: https://narcolepticaprod.bandcamp.com/album/ascension
KS: Thanks again for the opportunity. Much appreciated…many thanks.
Check out Kade Storm at:
Band Camp: https://kadestorm.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kadestormmusic
Narcoleptica Productions – Band Camp: https://narcolepticaprod.bandcamp.com/album/ascension
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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.
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