Interview to GOMOLD (Hungary)

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1. Hello dear friends, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.

Greatings to you and to all readers! Thanks, I’m in one piece…yet, ha-ha.

I’m living in Budapest, within district Zugló.

By taking two jobs, and with all my spare time, I put all my efforts into Gomold. 

I’m a bit peaky-faced due to lack of sleep,…but you know what? 

I swear I enjoy it, because Gomold is the Black Metal worth all the sacrifices.

2. Let’s start with the boring basics. Care to explain to the unknowing precisely where in the world you emanate such an aura of evil from?

I’m glad about your question, and I’d not say it was boring.

Firstly, I’ve been working since my 17’s to establish a stable, strong band.

To achieve this, lots of personal experience and self-improvement were needed. 

Then came the year of 2023, the other ingredient

…that year has broken me, and I was disappointed in everything and in so many people. 

And this was the year when the foundations were made, as I created Gomold as a side-project. It was obvious for me to pour evil, hatred and revenge into the shape of music.

And in 2024, with previously written lyrics, Gomold was launched as a solo project.

3. How much exposure did you have to black metal and extreme music in general growing up?

Black Metal is an inseparable part of my life since I have stepped into the age of 16. 

Of course, it took a journey to find my place and style. 

Nowadays, no matter where I go and when, Black Metal is always here for me.

4. Away from the metal scene, musicians are very often associated with satanism. You are a black metal band - how close are you to religious themes?

As far as I consider, Black Metal does not work without the concept of Satanism or any of its aspect. 

Though Gomold’s music is not always about it – obviously it would be boring -, but the main concept is there. 

I’m not meant to convince people or force them to leave their religion, because that’s sucks… I leave it for the Christianmob, who are ready to disdain and slay everyone not sharing their beliefs.  In addition, I found, that Christians are the greatest criminals and deceitful maggots most of the time. Let’s take again the year 2023… there was a shady maggot awfully messing with me, posing as a deeply religious person. And now comes the Joke. That fuckin bitch is no longer working there.  But I hope that Satan will teach her a lesson and pealing her skin off in hell. 

As for me, I met with several religious cults, but I tell you something to think about…

Was there any religion in a life of a cavemen? Why is Satandeemed always evil? Because he brought knowledge to people and liberated them, endowing mankind with free will?

5. As an emerging band in the extreme metal scene, what are some challenges you've faced, and how have you overcome them to pave the way for your future?

It was about a year ago, when Gomold started, and my first day was quite interesting. I’ve had hard times back then, also in a financial sense…

My brother, the studio manager and producer of the band asked me if I’ve been up to a rehearsal. Then I said I wouldn’t have been able to due to the lack of money. He replied: “no worries, I’ll pay the rehearsal fee, just give it a go!” And he also attended the rehearsal place, because I didn’t want to start it on my own. At first, I stood there with the guitar in my hands, everything was prepared to play, but I felt being left without any idea for a song. Then, as if something possessed me, the first riffs came. At the beginning, it started as a solo project, later the other members joined us. Basically, the most challenging things were our different working schedules in our civil lives. We are all working, and in addition to that I take two jobs to ensure all financial resources for the band.

6. How do you define “underground” and where do you see yourself and your band in it?

We must admit that Black Metal was always an underground genre, (and it always will be). But I see your point. When I speak “underground”, I talk about music made by passionate musicians. Not everyone will like it, but it doesn’t have to be this way. We must take care only of those who insist on the band and support it. But that support also includes making audio releases and collecting them. It’s also important to emphasize the networking and co-operations with other musicians.

7. What is the spiritual ideology or philosophy that drives you both as individuals and as a band? Do you think it can become a limit to your creativity?

I’d not classify the band  in a spiritual way, because it’s totally different. Surely, we have our “Satanic” arc, but if we take our drummer, Lucious, he is a researcher in biology during his weekdays. I really appreciate his doctoral degree, and the intriguing ways he sees atheism.

As for my viewpoint,…. if the free will and critical thinking is Satanistic, then I’m definitively a Satanist.

Nevertheless, all the foolish people sticking to religion are not aware of wearing spiritual shackles, which I refuse to put on. At this point, I’d cite Taylor (acted by the great Charlton Heston, RIP) from the classical Planet of the Apes movie…

“I’m seeker too.”

8. Your debut demo “MMXXIV” delivered a raw, malefic and primitive sound. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind these 3 tracks and how it felt to release your music to the world?

Hmm… it includes everything I went through in 2023 with all the negative aspects of that year.

When I was broken, I decided not just to stand up, but to buildan Empire myself. I started listening again to the early cult records in terms of music…

to the records of the legendary LLN (Les Légions Noires) bands, such as Vlad Tepes, Belketre, Moevot and Mütiilation. 

I was always fascinated by their enigmatic behaviour, since they barely reveal anything from their identities even nowadays.

I wish I could meet them once in person to give credits for the amazing dose of black power they gave to me!  Due to their impact, I built up the musical themes gradually, and soon the lyrics were ready. Except one, the song called “Örvénylő Sötétség” (Swirling Darkness), which I didn’t want to include on the record, but after Mandragora have been convincing me for so long, that it was added to the release. 

But basically, the feeling I wanted to give out was the desire for revenge.

9. Were there any elements of the recording that proved particularly troublesome? How do you typically approach songwriting and arranging?

The making of the songs is a very interesting process, and since Lucius joined the band, we have been writing our songs most of the time. 

We let ourselves become inspired by that mysterious force working inside us, which manifests in our music. But there was not a single time when we were spontaneously caught by ideas while we were heading to the rehearsal room.

You are asking if there was any annoying thing during recording…?

Suddenly I couldn’t mention any, except we had to put it together for an entire weekend, because that was the only day when the whole band could assemble, so we had to take the band photos at the same time, (many thanks to Attila Csihar(Tormentor, Mayhem!) for making them!)

10. Crotalos, you hooked up with a couple of friends on this release – drummer Lucius and bassist Big Chris. Just outline your friendship with them.

I know Big Chris since he was my colleague in 2010, when we had lots of conversations, including his stories about his former activities in the Hungarian musical underground, since he was the vocalist and bassist of the Grind/Death Metal formation, Kitten Remains.

That band is in a dormant state, but let’s hope it won’t stay this way too long. Thus, we talked a lot about making music together.

Although greater things have been occurring in the band since 2024, he remained one of my best friends from the early days.

Two years later, I got to know Lucious, although we hadn’t talked too much for years, until our paths were not crossing each other.

But after Gomold started, and the strong guitar riffs were born, a drummer was needed

So, I texted him, that “there is a Black Metal band ongoing, and if you are interested in drumming, we’d like to invite you for an audience.

Luckily, he joined immediately the next section, and he gave a positive impression by bringing his first drumsticks, so it seemed he was taking it seriously.

We let him play, and before he left the rehearsal, I asked him to tell something about himself before inviting the next applicant, but in the moment, he said “..and I’m from Zuglótoo”, I said “you are hired”. 

So, the musical front was assembled, and we kept on practicing three of our own songs and a cover before recording the demo.

11. The lyrics of are in the Hungarian language. This makes it difficult for people who do not speak the language to understand what they are about. Was that done deliberately and are you also trying to add some extra mystique?

I wanted the first demo to be made in Hungarian. I considered a switch to English, but I rejected the idea, because many Black Metal excellence is working on their mother tongue even in Hungary, (for eg. Niedergang, Infectus, Lidérc, Hold…).

And that adds an extra layer of mystery to the uniqueness of the band.  

12. Your prior material featured ex vocalist mandragora. How did this collaboration came about, and what was the experience like working.

Mandragora and I have a friendship, which is more than 10 years old, and I consider her my best friend.

She is the only person who knows EVERYTHING about me.

As you know she is no other than the daughter of Attila Csihar, and we talked a lot about trying her voice in Black Metal. 

It often occurred in my mind about how effective it would be to have a female vocalist in the band, and finally she entered the band.

Unfortunately, she had to suspend co-operating with us due to her work duties, but she gave a marvelous performance while I was mentoring her.

On the other hand, it was not the last time to hear her voice, she will re-appear soon besides preserving her stable place and supportive attitude in our band.

13. As a band, what do you hope listeners take away from your music? What emotions or connections do you aim to evoke through your songs?

From one side, I want to create that team-spirit I always admired in the underground scene, which keeps musicians in a strong unit, (omitting here the few assholes not doing so), and I’d like to add something to that unity. From another perspective, my purpose is to make our listeners keep their eyes open against the overwhelming filthiness of the modern world, which I wish to escape.

14. Are there any plans for collaboration with other artists or musicians in the future, and if so, what excites you about the potential of those collaborations?

We have lots of plans, though their realization takes time, and it needs proper timing. 

Currently, you can listen to our split with a special US band, Hessian where I gave the vocals to the song “Kibaszott Fekete Rock & Roll” (“Black Fucking Rock & Roll”) in Hungarian. Since then, we have created an American-Hungarian band called Dromó with the leader of the band, which is also considered a full-fledged band of the ZBMK. But my very old desire, e.g. once to make a track with the vocals of Mütiilation boss Meyhna'ch.

Or a Mütiilation/Gomold Split with even just one-one killer tracks on it. But with a musician from any Les Légions Noires band, it would be a huge honor.

15. Live performances are an integral part of the black metal experience. Does Gomold have any plans for live shows or touring in the future?

One show is surely scheduled for 2026. 

It will be a self-organized event, which will be repeated annually with further bands joining.

As for the first one, we invited two Spanish Black Metal excellences.

But for now, we have a lot to do to make things work smoothly.

16. You have a new demo coming out this year, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

The new demo is titled “Zuglói Árnyak” (“ZugloianShadows”), and I think it become great. 

I think we have just found our true sound here.

The recordings on this material are more conscious and clear sounding.

This is due to the work of my brother (Bálint Pataki Tas) and his conscientious attitude to the band as a studio guy and coach.

In addition, we are getting a perfect label to the record, thanks to Laremy Wade (Hessian, Dromó).

I’m at least as excited about the final record as many others expecting its release.

17. Thank you! I want to give you the final word. Is there anything you want to share with our readers?

We are also thankful for the opportunity for this interview!

Keep your eyes open and never surrender to all the bullshit of this fucking “modern” world! 

Hail Zuglo!

https://gomold.bandcamp.com/