Vacantfield came to my attention late on in 2011, when their 3-track EP really stood out as something quite special. Despite these Greek avant-garde black metalists having formed 10 years ago, this is their first recording and with a modest web-presence felt a probing was in order. Luci Herbert spoke to the band for Ave Noctum.
AN: First up, can you tell us why you chose the name Vacantfield and what it means?
VF: Years ago, some friends and I went toNorwayto a small village somewhere in the countryside. I captured some really nice photos from this place and one of those was showing an empty, deserted field with a very pale and cloudy sky above. For some reason, I found this picture very beautiful and somehow “expressive” and inspiring. Therefore, the name ‘Vacantfield’ came up almost immediately.
The name has a nihilistic meaning; a complete vacant field which, to my mind, can be translated as nothingness, emptiness.
AN: You formed in 2001, but the EP ‘Iteration’ is only your first recording. Can you explain what you’ve been doing the past ten years and why it took you so long to release anything?
VF: There are plenty of reasons that we didn’t release anything during this period. First of all, and maybe the most important reason, was the low budget. We needed to have over a year’s savings in order to enter the studio those days and of course we did not have any financial support from a label.
In 2004-2005 we finally managed to enter the studio and record a full-length but it was never released. This was due to the fact that it took a long time (too long) to record the vocal part and some other parts as well. I spent a lot of time listening the rough recorded material of this full-length and after a year or so, I felt that it wasn’t expressing the sound of Vacantfield that I had in mind, so I decided not to release it.
Additionally, back at that time it was just me and Draenzarth (End (Grc)) who had also to dedicate a lot of time on his own project.
AN: What are your influences – both in terms of music/bands and also lyrical themes and concepts?
VF: I have read plenty of ‘Iteration’ reviews mentioning always the name ‘Arcturus’ as the main (or even sometimes the only) influence of Vacantfield’s music. Of course they are a great influence of mine but it is definitely not the only one. Other bands such as Thorns, Code, Leviathan (both US and SWE), Dhg, Craft, Darkspace, Ved Buens Ende and Virus among others could also be sources of inspiration for Vacantfield’s music.
There is no certain influence for the lyrical part. The lyrical theme in general is being influenced by the concept of cosmos, the vast universe we are living in. The main idea behind the lyrics is the realization of our insignificant existence among the uncountable number of stars, planets and other celestial bodies that are surrounding us.
AN: Is there any particular message or “vibe” that you try to put across through your music? What do you consider the most important aspect when you are creating music?
VF: There is no intension to put across any specific message through Vacantfield. This EP was just an attempt to make the listener realize that he/she is nothing more than a simple dot in the macrocosm, nothing significant, nothing special.
I wouldn’t say that there is any important aspect while composing music. I would rather name it as ‘condition’, where I am in a ‘peace-of-mind’ state or having a moment of clarity in other words. That’s the only way to successfully express my feelings through music.
AN: There seems to be quite a “cosmic” feel to the music on the EP. Was this an intention and is there any concept behind it?
VF: Definitely there is a “cosmic” feel and I am glad that this feeling/concept has passed to you, as a listener. As mentioned before, the concept of this EP is based on the ‘cosmos’ and its chaotic vastness as well as the nihilistic perspective of our kind in the macrocosm.
AN: Who designed your artwork, and can you explain the concept behind that?
VF: Artwork was designed by Edrha. It is closely connected to the lyrical concept since it is designed by the same person who also wrote the lyrics.
The concept is based on a certain character, the ‘harvester’. He is an observer of mankind, watching the attempts of humanity trying to explore and understand the deepest secrets of our universe. He is screaming that every ‘success’ is actually meaningless since our world will come to an end at some point and we will be vanished with it, and a new one will begin. It is a never-ending iteration and the harvester knows this very well as he mocks us every time that we, as a kind, make a historical discovery or give a brilliant explanation of a phenomenon concerning our magnificent universe. The time that is left till the end of this cycle is short he says, as the beginning of a new one is coming.
AN: What does the phrase “black metal” mean to you, and do you identify with that tag?
VF: Black metal is a music genre which used to have a strong ideology behind it. To my opinion, this is not the case anymore due to the large number of people and bands that are involved within the scene nowadays, which eventually lowered the quality and ‘corroded’ it in some cases. I like to feel connected with this ideology and evolve it in a way that suits better for me, but I wouldn’t link it with the phrase ‘black metal’. So, black metal is just a music tag for me. Even though I don’t like tags, there are made for a reason: to have an idea of the music that each band is playing. Therefore, I would definitely identify Vacantfield with the ‘black metal’ tag. Nonetheless, I prefer to say that this identification is due to the feeling that Vacantfield’s music creates rather than the music itself.
AN: How do you feel about the scene where you live in Greece? Do you feel a part of it, or do you prefer to distance yourself from any scene?
VF: I think that the Greek scene is growing in terms of high-quality bands. Examples of such bands are End, Dephosphorus, No Hand Path, The One and Thy Darkened Shade among others. Comparing the scene ten or fifteen years ago, where there were very few bands playing this kind of music and even much less playing really good music, things are much better now.
Honestly, I don’t feel part of the scene, since every band has its own style and concept which in most cases is much different than Vacantfield. Sharing the same nationality is not enough to feel part of a music scene 😛
AN: Maelstrom is involved it a number of different bands – how does Vacantfield fit in with all of this, and do you consider all of your projects of equal importance or are some more significant to you than others?
VF: Maelstrom is indeed involved in many different bands. Nonetheless, this wasn’t a problem when he recorded the drums-part of ‘Iteration’ since he had just finished with the recordings of another project so there was some free time for him. He is very enthusiastic, communicative and willing to participate on bands that he really appreciates their music. Hence, I don’t expect that Vacantfield will not fit in his schedule in the future.
As for me, I used to have some other project in the past but I dropped everything in order to focus on Vacantfield.
AN: What made you decide to sign a deal with Duplicate, and how is your relationship with them?
VF: I received an e-mail from Duplicate records, just some days after I created the Vacantfield myspace page, saying that they are interested on my music and asking if I am willing to release anything. Einar is very friendly, talkative and he also has a good reputation in the distro/trading business. Hence, after a discussion that we had, I happily agreed to release an EP through Duplicate.
Einar has already done a very good job on promoting the EP and I am more than satisfied with his work.
AN: Are you planning any tours or live shows or is Vacantfield strictly a studio project?
VF: No, Vacantfield is strictly a studio project.
AN: Do you have any plans for a full-length album – or will it be another ten years before another release? 😉
VF: Well, there is plenty of material composed during these years which is more than enough for a full-length, maybe two. Unfortunately, I don’t live inGreeceanymore which makes things more complicated for rehearsing and recording stuff. Nevertheless, I want to keep Vacantfield active, so there will be a release; there is already a plan for a split with another band but a full-length release is also included in my plans. I don’t know when though…
AN: Thanks for your time! Any final message for our readers?
VF: Thanks for the support. For more, visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vacantfield/228203903887387?sk=info
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