“Barbarian”, the newest doom epic from Hungarian post metallic, experimental hardcore band OAKEN, comes from the band’s new 2-track EP ‘Untitled’, out now via Hardcore4Losers, Dingleberry Records, Ill Will Records, 9Lies, Tortured Tree Productions, Itai Itai Records. Today, we’re thrilled to give you its scary official music video, directed by Kispál László, and the band’s special commentary about the lyrical content and inspirations behind both evilish tracks.
Nem innen való vagyok.
Ők nem jönnek értem.
Nem ide való vagyok.
Ők nem jönnek értem.
Nem ők jönnek.Today they say this gold is iron.
These men will tell you tomorrow that the iron is gold and you’ll end up
dying poor.
Crawlers at heart.
How can you not deify what effaces me? Denying is absurd from now on.
I exist in vain. Witness to my alienation!
Observe the point until it transfers.
I’ve always had the intuition I didn’t belong here.
The wisest won’t take me to the shrine.
Mercy is the gift only for the dead.
Destined to come apart yet we grovel as one.
I saw the humanness in the mountain’s lights
when the wisest kneeled down and prayed his cowl fell as he
disappeared.
Comments the band: “One of the many things I like about underground music is the broad spectrum of topics bands deals with. It is possible to name mainstream songs that have good lyrics with depth but when it comes to debating music with co-workers or family members, I think Punk HC and metal are easier to defend on an intellectual level. If it is accessible I also like to read song explanations. They can be surprising, purely informative, or even disappointing sometimes. I have to admit I am not sure which one this is going to be but let me try my best to give you the background of our new EP.”
THRUST
Years ago I used to read about serial killers. After getting to know the more famous incidents I found a bizarre list on Wikipedia which ranks the world’s serial killers in the number of their victims. If you go through the list after a while you’ll find yourself emotionally drained and it’ll give you a huge amount of absolutely pointless knowledge about forensics, investigations. So I stopped this insensitive pastime but at least I became familiar with complex stories like the one of Ahmad Suradji’s. He claimed to have a dream in which his father told him that drinking the saliva of 70 women will grant supernatural powers. Since he was known in the village as a dukun (a class of shaman in Indonesia) he could easily exploit the vulnerability of desperate women who were seeking his services. Villagers thought Ahmad can change the future, the direction of clouds, and prevent you from aging. The victims had to do their rituals in the sugarcane field where they were told to dig a waist-deep hole in the ground and get inside undressed. Strangled them with a cable, drank their saliva, and then took their possessions. The bodies were buried in the ground with their heads facing Ahmad’s home so it will give additional strength for the spell. He admitted to killing 42 women and was sentenced to death by firing squad. The confession enlightens that he pretended to be a mystical healer only to take the victim’s money.
I have to remind myself that people still believe in witchcraft. People still believe in some type of God. Fate is beautiful. I don’t mean to disrespect anyone’s belief but when there is a middle man I feel antipathy. And it isn’t always as visible as getting strangled with a cable but through superstition and religion, greedy people will be able to capitalize on believers.
BARBARIAN
The lyrics of Barbarian were inspired by Emilian Stanev’s novel Antichrist. I borrowed the book from a local library. When I returned it asked if I could purchase it from the library because I didn’t find it in bookstores. The weird thing is that there was no record of anyone else borrowing it so the librarian did not have any problem making some extra money under the counter. I know what you think. The library industry is rotting and I’m not helping. Please, forgive me!
In a nutshell, the book is about how a fragile talented illustrator named Enyo becomes a relentless savage who can kill a chieftain for example. The author draws a subtle picture of the transformation it is not overly dramatic so I get why this book might be too slow for someone. The protagonist had been tormented by hallucinations since childhood. At one point in the story he lived in a monastery then he fell in love with a cultist which shows how extreme the constant battle is inside him. Anywhere Enyo goes he sees the evil in good, and vice versa which makes him unable to fit in any group. There is no catharsis at the end because there is no achievable inner peace for everyone. I might be wrong but I think he gave up trying to separate good and evil. The reality is that he lived his life in an era filled with ethnic war, ex-communication, and strict social roles when the only question you have to answer is whether or not you are weak or strong.
