I haven’t seen any pictures of this guy since his Ofermod days, so was quite surprised to see what looks like a studious monk blasting away at the drumkit! An “old days” photo of him can be seen in the AnXpm post. Anyway, here’s what Mr. Lundin has to say:

Anyway, judge for yourself:

Email me or MM if you’re after something not listed at the store. I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement involving international postal services and the exchange of that weird money stuff.

It has an improved layout superior to the original version (which didn’t even have printing in the inside of the booklet!). General quality of the release is better in every way.

Click HERE to purchase. It will soon be available at Amazon.com as well.

Franang #8 printed zine (France, 2003)

Gallery of the Grotesque #4 printed zine (USA, 2003)

Rituals of the Cloven Hoof #1 printed zine (USA, 2003)

Blessing Moment #? printed zine (Malaysia, 2004, never published?)

Carrion Eyes #1 printed zine (England, 2004)

Rituals of the Cloven Hoof #2 printed zine (USA, 2004, never published)

Cerberus #? printed zine (Finland, 2004)

Sick Scripts webzine (Fuck knows, 2004, later appeared in Metal Force zine, later Asian Death zine)

Dark Ritual #? printed zine (England, 2005)

Depravity #? printed zine (Wales, 2005)

Funeral Maelstrom of Hate #? printed zine (Italy, 2005)

Zabulus #2 printed zine (Finland, 2005, never published)

Dark Legion Archives / ANUS.com website (Texas, 2008)

PlagueHaus webzine (2008)

Womb #2 printed zine (Finland, 2010, features the 2005 interview from Zabulus)

Until the day of release, those unfamiliar with the sound of AnXpm can visit the myspace page for two samples: AnXpm

As you may know, it’s entitled “Morthwork” and should be released later this year. I’ve heard early demo versions of a few songs and I was surprised as the musick is slightly more “songlike” but with like a million different layers that creates a really intense but deep melancholy mood in the typical Hammemit style. Another surprise was the haunting cover of Emperor’s ‘Towards the Pantheon’!

Also last year’s MCD “…From the Old Hills Desolate” will be available again soon after record label The Heresy Press relocated and is under new management.

To start with something different, what have you been listening to this week?

The Clemencic Consort version of Carmina Burana is usually in regular rotation. It’s my favourite version as it’s quite characterful and distinct. It’s got more energy than other versions.

Apart from that, Christian Death’s “Only Theatre of Pain”, even though I know it’s just Joy Division with theatrical gothic frills. That and Sepultura’s “Beneath the Remains”.

What’s happening with Hammemit these days? Isn’t there any chance of more noisier stuff in the Emit vein ever being recorded again?

I’m still working on the “Morthwork” LP. I’m also recording a cover/reworking of a Christos Beest track for a forthcoming official CD collection of his old musick.

I think I came to a dead end with the “noise” side of things so I doubt I’d ever do anything in that direction again. I know there are people who would like me to do that, but I think I can go further with my current style.

What’s the lineup for Hammemit now? In the past you used session musicians like the Ofermod guy Atum and you had four members on the Spires album?

It’s just me at the moment. The four members on “Spires…” were sort of an “inside-joke”. I’m not against collaborations with others but I don’t think there’s much need now. In the past it was mainly percussion that others helped with but I’m not using percussion anymore except as brief accentuations. Having said that, “Atum” as you call him once wrote an entire Emit track by himself for the unreleased “Mother of Blood” LP, but he’s a unique exception. I doubt anyone else would understand where I’m coming from.

What happened to Atum anyway? Did he convert to Christianity? Did that piss you off or come as a shock? What about the lost Ofermod album Pentagram?

Oh, the drama…! Emil/Atum/Adiatrikon/etc gave a long interview with a zine called Serpent Bearer some years ago about his conversion. He was baptised into the Catholic faith, yes and he’s still making music with Reverorum ib Malacht. He’s one of the strangest and most intense people I’ve met, a real manic enthusiast about anything that interested him. I wasn’t really surprised about his “change” and I’ve nothing against it either. We spent nearly two weeks visiting various churches and ruins, dragging our girlfriends around after us, haha.

The “lost” Ofermod album was called “Pentagrammaton” actually, but it’s not for me to talk about any of that. Michayah is the black metal Pete Doherty.

I’m a total Mayhem fanatik (up to 1993 anyway). I’m interested what you think of the recent Life Eternal CD with early mixes of tracks from DMDS?

It’s another useless cash-in. Out of idle curiosity I’ve just listened to the tracks a bit on youtube as I never bothered listening to them before now. There’s hardly any difference from the known versions and I know this album better than my own probably. Wow, there’s the 2 second “missing” drum intro from Funeral Fog! Attila ought to be raped in the face for “unearthing” this. At least Morgan from Marduk had the decency to just sell his (instrumental) rough mix of “De Mysteriis…” on ebay, haha.

You’re something of a Abruptum fanatic aren’t you? What’s the appeal to you? I always thought they kind of sucked?

I’m no “fanatic” I only really like their “In Umbra…” album. I’ve just written a piece about it for a book called Black Metal Revolution, so I’m not really interested in discussing it again so soon. Suffice to say that that specific album inspired me with its horrific atmosphere, initially for Emit, but I don’t think there’s anything recognisably Abruptum-like in Hammemit apart from in spirit maybe.

You used to put out a printed zine called Anti Art Manifesto. What’s the difference if any between printed zines and web based ones?

I think that before the internet, pretty much every fanmade zine out there was worth reading to a greater or lesser extent. It takes real effort, time and money to make a printed zine and that’s why so few of them made/make it past three issues or so. But that required level of dedication meant that there were hardly any zines out there edited by lazy retarded idiots with stupid opinions. Or you just didn’t buy them if there were.

Then in the early days of the (mainstream accessible) internet there were hardly any places for metal interviews and reviews etc. There was ANUS and some Swedish guy called Marcus or something and that’s all I remember. So those people were dedicated too, because putting websites up back then was hard work also.

And now… everything’s very easy. Every idiot has access to the internet and every one of these mundane idiots wants to make his “opinion” known to everyone else. Well, that’s the difference between “the old days” and now. Idiots had little or no voice because they were too lazy to do anything but now they’re all on the web shouting everyone else down and saying how their opinions are worth the same as anyone else’s.

Would Hammemit ever play live?

I suppose I’m not against it in principle but I find gigs a bit weird to be honest. I can’t see the point in them. I’ve been to a couple in the distant past to see what it was about but I never really got it. I have some live albums of course but that’s different. I listen to those for the same reason as I might listen to some rehearsal tape or whatever.

I sometimes play tracks from the “Spires…” album at home and obviously they sound a lot different from the recorded versions as they’re kind of improvised to start with, but it could be done. But I don’t see the point.

There’s always a lot of photographs in Hammemit releases. Do you take all these yourself? What significance do they have and so on? The inside photo to Nature mystic with the bird flying must have taken ages to capture!

Yes I take them all myself. I quite enjoy it and I have an excellently terrible digital camera with no zoom function whatsoever that gives the photos a strange quality sometimes. I really like the disc image photo to the “Spires…” album, I think that was taken at Salisbury cathedral.

The significance to some of the photos is entirely personal, there’s stuff just out of camera shot or event that has happened at that location. They all individually relate to the lyrics and concept obviously, not just because they look suitably “cool”, which is why with “Spires…” they’re attached to separate lyrics in the booklet.

The “Nature Mystic” photo was just luck actually. Spend enough time out in the wilderness and you’re more likely to witness interesting things.  

Last words?

I always hate these last parts of interviews. Thanks anyway.

HAMMEMIT PODCAST

MM has written about his respect for Abruptum’s “In Umbra Malitiae Ambulabo, In Aeternum In Triumpho Tenebraum” and the influence it had on his musick.

Other bands contributing include Sigh, Gorgoroth, Profanatica, Nunslaughter, Archgoat, Averse Sefira etc. Worth checking out!

Black Metal Revolution website