"Palace of the dark light” is in my opinion a release which is contrasting, mixing brutal black metal with ambient songs. Why did you choose to record it in this manner and not introduce keyboards in the black metal songs?

The reason the album was recorded like this is because it all seemed very fitting. To me, the atmosphere is carried on from the black metal tracks into the dark ambient tracks. Even though the sound is very different, I feel that the same atmosphere continues throughout.

What is the concept behind "Palace of dark light”?

Many things make up the album, not something I can explain all that well. I suppose you could say that the ideas that went into the album are a mixture of heathen, darkness, ancient times, nature, etc.

How do you see the future of black metal?

Very tough question. It’s hard to say where black metal will go. There are some really great bands around and there are always great new bands surfacing and this I think will make black metal grow ever stronger. With all the commercialization going on with certain bands, who knows where this will lead the genre.

What kind of black metal bands do you like , the ones which play brutal black metal or the ones which are using female vocals and keyboards ?

Both, though I generally listen to a lot more raw black metal.

What is in your opinion the essence of black metal?

I can only really answer this with one word: darkness.

Besides "Palace of dark light” do you have other releases?

There are a few other releases besides the album.

Evisceration (Demo) – From late 2001
Winds Of Sorrow – Recorded Summer 2002 and is pending release
There is also a split EP with Bleak that will be released sometime this year.

How did the black metal listeners respond to your release?

Very well. I was amazed at all of the positive feedback that I received about the album.

When will be released another Nigrescent demo/album?

Sometime later this year. Winds of Sorrow shall be the next thing released.

Are you involved in other projects besides Nigrescent?

Not at the moment.

What kind of music do you listen in your spare time?

Black metal, dark ambient and classical mainly.

Are you into occult?

Certain aspects of it do interest me, but nothing more.

Which bands inspire you?

There are loads and loads. I would say the main bands are Burzum, Abyssic Hate, Hate Forest, Forest, Gontyna Kry, Seigneur Voland, Kristallnacht, Thunderbolt, Wyrd, Ulver, Mortiis, Vond, Gorgoroth, etc.

Why did you choose to play black metal and not other kind of music?

To me, black metal is a great form of _expression. The atmospheres that can be created are so much more amazing than most other genres.

At the end of this interview please ad something for the readers.

Palace Of The Dark Light is available from Blackthrone Productions for $7.info@totaldarkness.co.uk
Thanks!

Interview by Cătălin Carlaonţ, 2002