QUESTIONS ANSWERED :

1 The history of the band ?

2 Are all of you involved in other bands/ projects besides VINTERSEMESTRE ?

3 What made you to decide to keep your identities secret ?

4 Do you think you sell more/less Cds by keeping them secret ?

5 Could you tell me something about your lyrics ?

6 Did you quote anybody on the page 2 in the JÄÄVERISAATANA booklet ?

7 All the pictures and texts in the same booklet show a close relation towards nature, don`t you think it has become sort of a cliche among the black-metal bands ?

8 As far as I know VINTERSEMESTRE`s MCD, JÄÄVERISAATANA, was at first supposed to be released as an 7" but turned out to be a MCD, what happened ?

9 Do you think vinyl is dead ? Do you miss it ?

10 Seems to me that the only crowds buying vinyl are those into black-metal or grindcore, can you think any reasons for that ? Do you share my opinion ?

11 Many of today`s black-metal bands have a very misanthropic attitude (at least towads the press), do you think all these guys are really that mean or do they just have to grow up ?

12 Did VINTERSEMESTRE ever release a demo tape ?

13 What kind of bands, authors etc. influences VINTERSEMESTRE and in what way ?

14 Anything else ?

VINTERSEMESTRE released their first public MCD, JÄÄVERISAATANA in the late autumn 1995. A full lenght CD titled KIRKKOKYRPÄ should be released sometime in the beginning of summer 1996. Besides them, there are only very few old demos, but they have all been given away to some of our closest friends. No more copies of any of those demos will be pressed or released ! VINTERSEMESTRE`s history goes all the way back to the year 1991, when the band was originally formed and given it`s name. Since then we`ve been writing material, but we decided to record only some of the oldest songs on the MCD. More old songs will be on the KIRKKOKYRPÄ along some new ones. Some people have compared VINTERSEMESTRE`s work to IMMORTAL and EMPEROR, but our unique style will be more clearly audible on our new CD. During the years VINTERSEMESTRE`s members have played in different projects and bands, and still do, but VINTERSEMESTRE has always been alive and well ! Because of those other projects there`s been a misunderstanding that VINTERSEMESTRE would be a project itself which is not true ! Then, what comes to our identities, the idea keeping them (secret) unknown from the vast public is to stay outside the ridiculous black-metal scene. VINTERSEMESTRE is a definitely black-metal, but we don`t have to show that by taking "satanic" names or painting our faces. The music is what counts, we don`t have to pretend to be something more than we are unlike some new scene`s bands. It`s so obvious that some of the kids don`t know shit about anything; satanism or occultism is much more than "penquin-masks" or stupid names. If someone thinks he`s a master in satanism after reading La Vey`s literature he`s totally mislead ! Don`t be fooled by others, open your eyes... What really gets into us is the fact that most of the people even inside the scene don`t know the differences between satanists, satan worshippers or witchery ! Anyway there`s a possibility that we`re using some kind of fake or nicknames on our CD just to protect our musical rights, but one can be certain that we are not gonna use names taken from some books ! There`s one minor thing though, someone who doesn`t know our music, may not buy our records because he/she can`t find the usual markings (photos, names etc.) from the booklet. We lack the satanic image required to be considered as a black-metal band, therefore we might sell less records than we would with more traditional image.

VINTERSEMESTRE`s lyrics are mostly about everyday life, about how we are controlled by different institutions and organisations. Also witchery is always an interesting topic, not to forget the so called darker side of us. we`d like to remind some people that the so called "dark side" can also be much more than satan-controlling-my-life-aspect. With that we want to bring out the psychological aspect as well as the religious point of view. One have to make a clear difference between religion based satan and "dark-side" images and the dark side (or animal-side) found inside of everyone of us. Then a little bit about nature. Eventhough nature as a subject is kept somewhat a cliche, it means a lot to us. It`s understandable that people outside Scandinavia are getting tired of lyrics handling nature, but the truth is that for people up in the North nature plays a big part in everyday life and partly because nature is still all around us. In central Europe the situation is totally different, that`s why it there might be difficult to understand the importance of nature and a clean environment. The most ridiculous of all are e.g. bands from southern Europe or even further south that sing about ice-cold snowy winters... what do they know about winter anyway ? Bands should choose their own topics, not to mimic other bands. If you can`t come up with anything of your own, let somebody else with more brains to write the lyrics !

The quotes on the JÄÄVERISAATANA booklet are free translations from the diary of an old Russian samhain who lived in the beginning of the century. The diary belongs to one of VINTERSEMESTRE`s member`s grandma who bought it when traveling in Russia. The diary contains samhain`s thoughts and views about nature and the modern way of life. More of his thoughts will be in the KIRKKOKYRPÄ booklet.

Any questions considering the record company, no matter how small or insignificant has to be asked from them ! But in this case to the question of JÄÄVERISAATANA`s vinyl form, we can make an exception. Vinyl doesn`t have as good a sound quality as a CD does. If vinyl would`ve been perfect they`d never invented Cds. It`s pure stupidness trying to keep it alive, no-one even buys it anymore. One reason for black-metal bands to release their records on vinyl though is the cheapness of manufacturing. Because black-metal is now at its top, record companies are trying to make all the money with it they can. But the world becoming more and more digital there will be no more markets for poor sound quality with hiss and pops. So, our opinion is that if you make records good enough, why not release them as Cds.

Now about the attitudes in black metal scene. Well, it`s true that many bands are still too young to know what they are dealing with. They don`t have the big picture yet to realize how the society works. They think they are cool when they fight against christianity and the church. Too bad, they don`t understand the western church is just a tip of an iceberg. Politics control our lives. So how incredible as it might seem, but the press has a great influence on people. Of course you have to choose where to write and how to write, but maybe even now we might to change couple of opinions. But yes, at least the western world believes and churches are worth to fight against. Then again, what comes to those misanthropic attitudes towards the press, it might just to be a sign that those people who have them don`t have anything to say...mindless fools !

Ignorance is one of the biggest sins we know. You can`t understand how you are being used if you don`t study or read a lot. History of mankind and civilizations are as important to all of us as present economics. Economics and money, religions, the biggest causes for wars of today and the past. If the people involved in the black-metal scene (or any music scene) would understand their power to shape opinions, they wouldn`t underestimate the press or underground publicity. By writing lyrics that give something to think about the opinions of the people could be changed for the better or for the worse. The reason for all of the mentioned above is that even some think they can withdraw themselves from the society, it`s impossible in the world we live. Somehow you are always tied to the surrounding world. One shouldn`t therefore only study the so called black literature, because afterall it`s been created in the shadows of the dominating world order, and the dominating church, which in the west is catholic. One can learn so much more by studying other religions, ancient beliefs or even ufology. And of course, don`t forget psychology and filosofy. Look around, don`t be narrow minded !

-VINTERSEMESTRE-