Forged across Canada and the UK, Necht merges epic black metal with an elaborate mythos rooted in the ancient Enkari civilization. We spoke with Zenith Maharg and Ascendant Zhargor to learn more.
1. Necht
operates from both Canada and the UK. How do the contrasting geographies
influence the atmosphere and creative process behind your music?
ZM: That’s
a good question. I guess the fact that our Temple operates from two countries
simply gives us more real-life experience to draw upon when we try to re-create
the experience of the lost world of the Enkari. Bear in mind that little is
known about them - including exactly where this civilization was located!
So, given we know so little about their actual geography, we instead draw upon
our own surroundings to give life to the tales that we are telling. In our
case, Alberta, Canada is a vast, landlocked province of intimidating mountains,
endless forest, huge skies, ongoing prairies and extremes of hot and cold.
Northern Ireland is a smaller and gentler landscape and climate, where the cold
Irish Sea laps upon the shore, rain and sun are in a constant struggle for
pre-eminence, and the winter may be marked by gloomy, cloud-laden skies. To
write about your own experience is always the most convincing; and while we
cannot truly imagine the life of the Enkari, thousands of years ago, we can try
to bring that to life by incorporating the physical and emotional footprints of
the places we do inhabit.
2. Your
work is deeply rooted in the mythos of the Cult of B’ahn and the Enkari
civilization. What inspired you to construct such an elaborate cosmology for
Necht’s musical world?
ZM: What
struck me about the Enkari is the doomed nature of their struggle and the
parallels between their ancient world and our modern one. This was a culture
where, for different reasons, the prosecution of war became the defining
purpose for two strands of the same religious belief-system. On the one hand,
the Cult of B’ahn in Lashmir, who believed that they needed the souls of dead
warriors to reinforce the sun god’s struggle and thus prevent the
Mother Dragon from consuming the world. On the other hand, the Karnifori of
Ishpan, who had come to believe that they would be reborn in a better world in
the Apocalypse of the Dragon. The same gods, the same people, two different
interpretations. Neither able to consider the other’s viewpoint, nor question
their own. The outcome of this philosophy – the fracturing and eventual
destruction of their whole civilization – was, of course, entirely predictable
and they must have seen it coming, but were apparently unable to change, being
locked in by their own cultural inertia. This is obviously fertile ground for
setting stories that work in the context of black metal, but also interesting
in its own right.
3. The new EP, The Inevitable
Suffering, builds on your 2024 debut. How does this release expand or
evolve the Temple's narrative and musical direction?
ZM: We
continue to try to push ourselves to perform at the edge of our abilities,
while remaining true to the musical vision of the Temple to present epic black
metal that evokes a grim, martial and awesome atmosphere in keeping with the
stories of the Enkari. So, on this Lesser Meditation, we have further
incorporated the symphonic atmospheres that we introduced in The Prophecy
of Karnifor and they have more prominence throughout. Simultaneously, the
speed and aggression of the Sermons on The Inevitable Suffering is
greater than on that debut Meditation. So, I would say that, while the same
elements are present, this release contains them is a much more concentrated,
potent form.
4. You
refer to the five tracks as “Sermons.” How important is ritual and symbolism in
both your studio work and live rituals?
ZM: It is a
critical part of Necht! Each Sermon is intended to both reveal something of the
world of the Enkari, but also to encourage introspection by the listener. The
mystery of the Enkari – the fact that we know the broad thrust of their belief
system and history, but that the details are blurred by time, distance and a
lack of hard archaeological evidence, the fact that this is therefore mutable
and open to interpretation – allows us to more easily bring these people to
life, and we hope this allows the listener to more easily consider how the
lives of these people may mirror our own. The Enkari met a dreadful,
self-inflicted end. We hope that by revealing more of their story, we may
perhaps have some small influence on our own cultural trajectory (to more
positive ends).
5. Tracks
like “Dread Is The Consort Of The Dark” feel both ferocious and cinematic. Can
you take us inside the composition process for one of these Sermons?
AZ: The
writing and composition process is quite natural for us when it comes to
the cinematic elements of our Sermons. We are inspired by the epic and
symphonic orchestral music from old movies we saw growing up, still struck
in our heads. With “Dread…” the song was mostly written with a structural
foundation of heavy riffs and powerful drums, setting in the symphonic
elements with the right accents to give more of an atmospheric impact, without
losing the harshness and aggression we were trying to create.
ZM: And
typically, the Ascendants will construct all of the music for each Sermon
before I set my text against it. We want to ensure the musical flow of
the Sermon is paramount.
6. The
themes of eternal war, sacrifice, and divine struggle are ever-present in your
lyrics. How do these themes connect with contemporary human experiences, if at
all?
ZM: I
believe these are themes that we can all relate to. The rage that sustains
B’ahn is, after all, the rage against ‘the dying of the light’, as the poet
Dylan Thomas famously put it. Having been roused to awareness, He is not
willing to acquiesce in the inevitability of His own death but instead
struggles to sustain His life in the face of impossible odds. I think we all
can relate to this struggle to live, at some level or another. Sadly, for all
too many people in our modern and ‘civilised’ world, this struggle to live
day-to-day remains literal, whether due to war, famine, disease, poverty,
inequality, etc. The same struggles that the Enkari faced, thousands of years
ago. The setting has changed but many of the same problems remain. At the end
of the day, I think we understand ourselves best by understanding our history,
and we understand our history most easily through stories.
7. Symphonic
elements are woven seamlessly into your black/death metal foundation. How do
you approach orchestration without compromising the raw aggression of the
genre?
AZ: This is
difficult to describe. Sometimes it is just a case of emphasizing the guitar
riff with another melody or just a basic underlying key. Also, where the keys
are sitting in the mix would be another approach for not losing too much of the
harsh sound of the guitar riffs.
ZM: Yes,
when we are mixing, we try to ensure that the orchestration is complementary to
the base of black metal and does not dominate it.
AZ:
Ultimately, when it comes to writing music, for us, how it feels is
most important. Definitely, we will keep the epic atmosphere going forward in
our writing process for the next Grand Meditation.
8. You've
garnered high praise across international metal media. How do you respond to
this acclaim so early in Necht’s journey? Does it add pressure or
motivation?
ZM: Yes, we have been pleased to have received positive recognition by many Heralds, like yourself. However, we feel no pressure from this; we will continue to do as we always have, and to make music and tell the stories that we best enjoy ourselves. We hope others enjoy this also, but that is fundamentally immaterial.
9. Necht’s
live rituals have been described as powerful and immersive. What can initiates
expect when attending a performance by the Temple?
ZM: We try
to ensure that Initiates will experience a visually mesmerising and
participatory Live Ritual, indicative of the ancient Cult of B’ahn, sun-god of
the Enkari. As such, we take the stage and conduct our Rituals in full
battle-dress, which itself is inspired by the descriptions of the Cult of B’ahn
in the Enkari-B’ahn scrolls. For example, as Zenith, the spear and shield I
carry on-stage are not just weaponry – they are part of the panoply of my
position in the hierarchy of the Cult, signifying as they do the Lightning
Spear and Thunder Shield wielded by B’ahn in His cosmic struggle against His
Mother, Karnifor.
We also
invite all Initiates to bind themselves to B’ahn by taking part in a recreation
of the ancient Ritual of Ashes. During this Ritual, Initiates are marked by
having the ashes of the fallen smeared upon their faces and are welcomed into
the Cult. We are pleased to say that cries of “Glory to the Sun!” are
frequently heard ringing out from Initiates at these Rituals!
10. What
lies ahead for Necht in 2025 and beyond? Will the saga of B’ahn and Karnifor
continue, or are there new mythologies yet to be unveiled?
ZM: We
are working on our next Grand Meditation, which we aim to prepare and reveal
next year. Of course, we will continue to draw our inspiration from the mythos
of the Enkari and their history. However, while The Prophecy of Karnifor and The
Inevitable Suffering have explored various elements of the Enkari-B’ahn
Scrolls, seeking to introduce some of the fundamentals of this belief system,
we are contemplating that the next Grand Meditation will dive deeply into a
particular story, more like a traditional concept album. We have also been
working on drawing out some of the work into a novel, which may or may not be
released alongside the Grand Meditation. Finally, are also actively trying to
connect with booking agents in Europe to perform our first Live Rituals outside
of Canada, hopefully during the summer of 2026.
Our thanks
for your time and consideration of the Temple. GLORY TO THE SUN!
Zenith
Maharg.
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