Interview with H. of Oerheks (Silver Knife, Hypothermia, Monads…)

This is a discussion that took place over the course of a week with H.—Lone member in the atmospheric black metal project called Oerheks. I received an early listening promo for 'Landschapsanachronismen' and was levelled by the atmospheric heft and austerity flowing through the two-track demo, so I reached out to H. and bothered him with a series of probing questions in preparation for the album release—which releases today (February 22, 2023)—below is the album for stream through bandcamp followed by our conversation below…

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SHOM) First of all, thanks for taking the time to chew some fat—It’s freezing cold here in Toronto as I’m writing this, what’s the weather been like recently in Kaggevinne, Belgium?

H.) Hi Chris, thanks for the opportunity to talk about Oerheks! We've had some extremely cold weather in the beginning of January, resulting in some magical ice-transformed landscapes, followed by snow, followed by rain, and right now the sun seems to have come back almost right on time for Imbolc.

SHOM) So you already have a very well received debut under your belt in ‘Cagghenvinna’ which saw itself unfurled last year on August of 2022 by the highly regarded Amor Fati Productions and found its way on quite a few year-end lists (including my own)… did the noise around the internet change the way you approached writing for your sophomore demo 'Landschapsanachronismen’? Was there suddenly a feeling to fill expectations or was it done within the same framework as your debut?

H.) It did not, since the second demo was long finished before 'Cagghenvinna' was released. In fact, in the Summer of 2022, about a month before the public release of the first demo, I started working on the fifth Oerheks demo. The third was also completely finished and ready to go to press before Oerheks went public. For the fourth and the fifth release I just have to finish some smaller things, add some stuff and record the vocals. In the past I've fallen into traps created by expectations of a debut recording, and my reaction over the years evolved into always trying having the next release ready before the current one goes to press. It doesn't always work, but so far with Oerheks, it has.

SHOM) Very wild, so you’re quite ahead of yourself in the sense of song-writing—Was this spurt of individual productivity a result of the earlier lockdowns and the free-time that that period gave? And are details like album name/cover already thought of and just locked in the vault until announcement?

H.)  I wouldn't say Oerheks is a result of the lockdown(s), I've always felt the need to record music, whether for bands or solo projects. However, the first recordings for Oerheks did occur in the first lockdown, indeed. Besides isolation, the Spring of 2020 offered incredible weather, giving me the opportunity to go on walks and hikes in my area every day. It gave me the inspiration that would eventually end up in the first couple of demos. 

Album concepts and (working) titles grow together with the songs, and very often are already set in stone before recordings are finished (sometimes even before recordings are started!). The fact that the first three demos were finished before the release of 'Cagghenvinna' gave me time to let the concept and artwork of each release take shape to the fullest. So, in a way they weren't locked away at all, they kept evolving even after they were musically finished. 

SHOM) Now that 'Landschapsanachronismen' has already been heard by thousands of folks through the early demo premier over at the Black Metal Promotion page, could you elaborate on the inspiration and the themes explored within ‘Landschapsanachronismen’?

H.) Just like with 'Cagghenvinna', the theme of the second Oerheks demo is centered around my local area, called Kaggevinne. It's a very small town with a rich history, mostly because of an ancient forest that used to be present here. The forest was called 'Prinsenbos' (or Prince's Forest, named after the Prince of Orange who used to own these lands). Today, only one survivor remains of this forest: the Old Oak of Kaggevinne. A magical solitary oak, with branches curling far and wide into the sky; it truly is a sight to behold in this sloping landscape. 'Lanschapsanachronismen' tells the story of this lost forest, how it got eradicated and how the solitary oak is a mighty yet painful reminder of what once was. 

Photo by @hagatissa

SHOM) Inspiration is often a fickle thing in the work of artistic expression, sometimes we’re caught up in specifics and other times it’s fleeting or ambiguous—Besides the history and landscape of your surrounding area what other forces drives Oerheks sound? 

H.) I'd say it's a deep and unrelenting obsession with the sound of black metal, combined with the ritual-like sensation of recording music in solitude. Inspiration for Oerheks comes when it comes, and usually pretty intensely. Once I start recording, I forget all about reality and time and hours/days seem to pass within moments.

SHOM) As a follow-up, are there any specific albums that directly or indirectly influence your motives with Oerheks?

H.) Indirectly, I'm sure there are a lot. However, there is no direct musical influence to Oerheks. I tried to cut myself off from ideas such as 'making it sound like band X meets band Y' (for example), and chose to let the inspiration come from the inside. In this way, Oerheks is a mix of my past/other current projects and something new all at once.

SHOM) You released your Oerheks debut 'Cagghenvinna' on the same day as fellow-countryman Aerdryk, who was also releasing his first solo debut output, both of which were put out with the support of Amor Fati Productions—How did this take shape and unfold?

H.) CVB and I are close and are in touch with each other on an almost daily basis. Whenever we're working on something new musically, we are each other's main checkpoint. In the process of recording both Oerheks and Aerdryk, a lot of unfinished stages of songs were sent in both directions. We appreciate and need each other's honesty for whatever we're working on. Thus, Oerheks and Aerdryk were growing together; and releasing it together seemed only logical to us. Marius from Amor Fati was immediately up for the idea, and thanks to Addergebroed, we had a double premiere with an interview to promote both releases.

SHOM) Can you provide some background to the album cover on Cagghenvinna and or any surrounding details?  

H.) All my life I've had a minor obsession with maps, especially old maps. In one of my many searches for maps of the area, and maps including variations of the name Kaggevinne, I stumbled upon the one used for 'Cagghenvinna'. To this day, I can't exactly explain why I chose this map and not any of the other ones that were an option, but it somehow struck a chord, and I knew it was the right one.

The map itself shows the area where the current provinces of Antwerp (North), Brabant (South) and Limburg (East, just off-screen) meet. To the east, we can see the nearby town of Diest (once a stronghold of the Prince of Orange) as a walled city, with the Demer running through it like coronary arteries. It also shows Zichem as a walled city, before most of it was destroyed during the Eighty Year's War. North of Zichem, the natural flooding area in the valley of the Demer is marked by diagonally crossed lines. West of Diest and South of Zichem, there's a seven pointed star, which is Scherpenheuvel in its earliest stages of being a town. South of that is the most important element of the map: The Forest of the Prince of Orange. All around are interesting landmarks, like spots labeled 'Justice', with a drawing of a gallows. These are still referenced today on those exact spots, in names of streets and areas.

Ever since the 1970's, Kaggevinne has been split up into two parts. The eastern, more populated part, is part of Diest. The western part, still called 'Prinsenbos' (Prince's Forest) today, is mostly fields and remnants of the ancient forest. It officially belongs to the territory of Scherpenheuvel. I live in that western part. The Old Oak of Kaggevinne is located close to the border of both parts of Kaggevinne.

SHOM) What does the recording process for you normally look like? Do you have any rituals or practices you perform before or after a recording session?

H.) It's usually a pretty impulsive process. I'm a person who doesn't record all too often, strange as that may seem. Yet, when I do, I sink into the process 100% and forget about time, the world and myself. I usually can't stop before most of what's in my mind and inspiration has become a tangible result. Though I usually have ideas and riffs written down, the recording process is still greatly improvisatory. As for preparation rituals, I always try to get enough walks/hikes through the area before and during the recording process.

SHOM) Comparably to Oerheks, your other project Silver Knife has also seen quite a lot of support and praise on a global level—How did this international collective take shape?

A) N. and I kept bumping into each other in the weirdest places, usually when I was on stage with Hypothermia and he was on stage with Laster. We started playing with the idea of doing something together one day. It remained a "one day we will" kind of plan for several years, until I invited N. in the Summer of 2019 to go and record an album with Déhà. We spent two days going over riffs and ideas at my place, then spent two more days recording the album (and the groundwork for the 'Ring' EP), and that's how SK started. Later that year, we asked Pierre (aka Business for Satan) to join us on drums.

Though SK is technically an international band, the term gets wildly less impressive if you see how we don't really live that far from each other at all.

SHOM) ‘Landschapsanachronismen’ launches into a soaring riff straight out of the gate on “Een Eenzaat in het Landschap”. It’s an abrupt start full of energy and feeling which gave me the same feeling as Nocturnal Triumph’s release last year, makes the hair on your neck stand!

Both your releases open with a powerful intensity, do you feel it important to set a pace and tone early within Oerheks? Have you ever explored various intro types?

H.) Well first off, the comparison to Nocturnal Triumph is humbling! I could only dream of writing such unstoppable expressive riffs… 

As for song intros; I love them, and have experimented with them plenty in other projects. It's true that the first two Oerheks demos are filled with songs that start off straight away with little or no build-up at all, but that's just because it fitted the atmosphere of the song. On the next demo, for example, I've played around with intros some more, as it did fit on those songs.

SHOM) Throughout ‘Landschapsanachronismen’ there are moments of what sounds like poetry or a saga in Flemish (?), tonally it gives the album a deeper sense of austerity but could you shed some light on what is being conveyed in these narratives?

H.) These parts are fragments of the lyrics. One wouldn't be able to separate them from the full context of the texts, but as you mention, they offer a deeper look into what is being conveyed. In 'Een Eenzaat in het Landschap', there's a spoken word fragment that goes as follows:

Stap voor stap vestig ik me in dit landschap

Eenzaam, maar vertrouwd

Verloren, maar thuis

Dit landschap vestigde zich in me

I'll try to translate this to the best of my abilities:

Step by step, I am settled in this landscape

Lonely, but familiar

Lost, but home

This landscape has settled inside of me

This section shows the intrinsic, deeply personal side of Oerheks, turning the atmosphere of this landscape unto me. The text goes on to describe a specific path towards the Old Oak. In this sense, the 'Loner in the Landscape', talks about the lonely oak, but about myself as well. 

The spoken word fragment in 'Een Oude Wijsheid Werd hier Geveld' is:

Een oude wijsheid werd hier geveld

Als bloedende lichamen onder de zon

Vloeiend sap, glimmende bijlen

Mijn landschap bloedt

An old wisdom was felled here

Like bleeding bodies under the sun

Flowing sap, shimmering axes

My landscape bleeds

Obviously this refers to the felling of the ancient forest. It's a dramatic turning point in the song, after which the melodies and atmosphere get more aggravated

SHOM) The sound throughout the album is very charged in the sense that it feels grandiose and battle ready—A vast and deep expanse with an ancient wisdom to impart. Listening to the final result, do you feel like you successfully matched the tone in the music with the albums message?

H.) Yes, absolutely. There is a sense of both triumph and tragedy in this release, which is exactly what I wanted it to convey. All in all, I want the listener to be transported to the Prince's Forest, both nowadays and many centuries ago, to witness the majesty that once was. As always, there are some things that aren't perfect and things I'd change. However, this is also why the release is a demo. Oerheks is still forming, still taking shape. Imperfections are a way of the process. I'll learn from these and refine them for future recordings.


SHOM) What aspect are you most proud about on ‘Landschapsanachronismen’? Do you have a favourite moment or riff that stands out to you?

H.) That's a really tough one. From day one in Oerheks, my personal challenge has been to put melodic leads over already melodic riffs, and this is something that really worked out well on Landschapsanachronismen. A new element are the classical guitar intermezzos, which I feel really add something special to the overall atmosphere. Favorite moment or riff, I really couldn't pick, but for the sake of it; let's say the final 4 minutes of the release (classical guitar interlude + final riffs of 'Een Oude Wijsheid Werd hier Geveld')…

Maybe that will motivate people to listen right up to the end of the demo.

SHOM) Let's leave it right here H.—A thousand thank you's again for taking the time to talk music! Feel free to close this out anyway you'd like, floor is yours…

H.) Thanks so much for your time, your effort, your in-depth questions and the opportunity to share my thoughts and words, Chris. 'Landschapsanachronismen' will be available from the Oerheks bandcamp page today, both digitally and on LP. 

LP's will be available from Amor Fati Productions (& distributors), the tape will be available from Babylon Doom Cult Records.Whoever orders the LP from me will get a little extra (to make up for Belgium's ridiculous postage rates).

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Oerheks - Landschapsanachronismen (bandcamp)

Amor Fati Productions (bandcamp)