Ben Aldritch meets Hatemagick in his own home the evening of may fifteen. After only
hearing a couple of songs of this fairly new dark industrial band, he doesn’t feel quite
prepared to ask all the right questions. He reasons that since Hatemagick isn’t really
famous nobody will probably find it too much of a disaster.

Hatemagick lives in an apartment building. Perfectly suited for a hermit compared to what
others might find lonely. I knock the door twice and wait. I knock again. Then suddenly I
hear sounds from within the apartment. The door opens with a jerk and I am welcomed by a
smile.

Hatemagick is younger than I had expected. Around his neck hangs a silver necklace with a
Hatemagick pendant and on his clothes are Hatemagick patches. Apparently he is not afraid
of self-promotion, which I guess is really the only reason I have been invited here
tonight.

How did he find me? In his first email he tells me he had been googling for journalists
interested in alternative music until he finally got to my website and decided to write
me. His email was so fascinating and strange that I decided it an imperative for me to
find out more.

Ben Aldritch (from now on BA): What started Hatemagick?

Hatemagick (from now on HM): Everything did.

BA: Yes I see, but there must have been something more specific which got you started as
well?

HM: My hatred for church and christianity. I wanted Hatemagick to be the sound of burning
churches.

BA: Did it work?

HM: For me personally it worked very well. It was an act of magick. Inner transformation.
On the outside I guess most churches still stand and I don’t mind anymore.

BA: What made you so angry with christianity in the first place? As I understand you come
from Norway which is quite a secular society.

HM: Secular seen from the outside, but on the inside there is christian guilt and morality
which they swim in. Try to mention it and people will say there is something wrong with
you.

BA: And the music then, how did the sound come to be?

HM: The sound was found through endless hours of soulsearching and meditation… and a lot
of fiddling around with sound synthesis of course. Making all the music on your own
demands a lot of the creator, but it also give equivalent amounts of freedom.

BA: Which genre is Hatemagick?

HM: Impossible to pinpoint. Some of it is industrial, some EBM and some aggrotech. They’re
all just names in the end and are of course useful. I would never call it jazz. It is dark
and evil and it comes from the heart. And sometimes from the beyond.

BA: Any new albums coming out soon?

HM: At the moment I am making a lot of music, and it is of another level of quality
compared to previous works. Expect a new album within a month or two.

At this point Hatemagick suddenly jumps from the chair as if he has forgotten something
very important. He comes back with Hatemagick necklaces, postcards, CDs and t-shirts.

BA: What kind of sound can we expect? Any artists you would compare yourself to?

HM: I am very inspired by many, many artists. Within my own genre, or at least close to
it, I would mention Die Sektor, Aslan Faction, Rhesus Factor. There are so many artists
and songs which inspire me daily. Right now I am listening a lot to Lily of the Valley, a
goth-synth band.

BA: What do the symbols on your covers mean?

HM: They could mean anything. As far as I can say, I don’t really remember what they meant
when I made them which is for the best in all kinds of magick.

BA: Do you consider yourself a magician?

HM: A warlock. There is a huge difference. I am not interested in show and tricks.

BA: Have you always been a warlock?

HM: Yes, but I forgot how to be for many years. I blame christianity again for that.

After this the interview went onto more personal matters which Hatemagick refused me to
publish in this interview. Although sometimes impersonal and distant, Hatemagick struck me
as a very sympathetic person which cares highly about his own and others’ music.

HM: A few last words to the few who might listen? Music is the will of the soul, and if
you find your own sound you will find your own soul standing there looking back at you.
Music is magick.

On those words we end this interview which has been very interesting for me as this is a
genre I am not all too familiar with, and Hatemagick proved to be just as fascinating a
person as the first email could reveal.

Ben Aldritch