(In this new interview Comrade Aleks participated in an exchange with Jacob Nordangård, the principal creative force behind the Swedish doom band Wardenclyffe, whose new album Temple of Solomon was released this past February.)
As you may remember, Wardenclyffe Tower was an early experimental wireless transmission station designed and built by Nikola Tesla on Long Island in 1901–1902. Such a bold endeavour! And yet it was too bold for its age.
The Swedish doom metal band Wardenclyffe doesn’t offer you something as innovative or technological as you might imagine from their name. Their doom(-death) is appealing yet absolutely traditional in some way. Though I can’t say the same about lyrics written by the band’s spiritual leader Jacob Nordangård. That’s hard to explain, and anyway we did this interview with him due the release of the band’s second album Temple of Solomon one month ago. We touched on a few contradictory themes here, and I believe everyone should do that from time to time…
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Hi Jacob! Wardenclyffe’s new album was digitally released on the 22nd of February, and please accept my congratulations. It was long way from Control All Delete to Temple of Solomon, what slowed you?
Thank you! My plan was originally to release the album much earlier but other projects had to be completed before. Our rhythm guitarist Ola Blomqvist had his Dautha-project and solo guitarist Robert Karlsson was occupied with Godhead Machinery. I also got employed by Stockholm University and had no time or ability to rehearse between 2017 and 2019. At that time I wrote the book Rockefeller – controlling the game which was released in April 2019. It sold well and the money I got funded the recording of Temple of Solomon.
I remember about your book project, but can you tell our readers about its plot and how you gathered materials?
I first intended to include a story about the Rockefellers in the second edition of Bulletin of the Mad Doctor. The first issue had dealt with the background to the song ‘The Omega Point’. As I gathered material it was obvious that their involvement in world affairs was too extensive to be included in a magazine. I therefore decided to make a book out of it.
The question I asked was why the family that built its fortune on the oil business has funded environmental organizations and has been instrumental in creating the climate movement. It took me back to their ideas about population control, eugenics, and management of the global commons. I started to collect material based on the annual reports from their main philanthropic vehicles the Rockefeller Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. I have also read a lot of biographies to get a grip on their goals and personal ambitions.
There was also the single The Omega Point in 2015. Did it continue the concept of Control All Delete?
Yes, all the songs are connected thematically to each other. The Omega Point was released together with my biography An Inconvenient Journey and it was re-released together with my book about the Rockefellers in 2019 (this time with “Rockefeller” as the A-side).
An Inconvenient Journey? What is it?
After ten years at the university I had to write my story about all the strange things that happened and how I went from being a celebrated student to being treated as a pariah. My findings about world politics stirred up things and made powerful actors try to intervene and stop my work from reaching a larger audience.
You uploaded three singles digitally to the band’s Bandcamp before Temple of Solomon‘s official release. Did it help draw people’s attention to the band? You were quite for awhile.
We did actually release a song on the 22nd of each month (on leading digital platforms) starting in July 2021 with the opener ‘HAL’ and ending with the final release of the doom ballad ‘Inevitable’ on February 22d 2022. I also held lectures about each song on different locations in Sweden and there I explained the background to the lyrics. We also had the lectures recorded and published at our YouTube-channel (unfortunately only in Swedish). It has slowly raised interest for the music but I honestly have more fans that support me as an author and researcher than the other way around.
How did you organize those lectures and why did you choose this way to promote your ideas?
I arranged them together with my wife and we tried to find historical locations that would fit with the story. One lecture was held in the The Order of the Knight Templars here in Stockholm to fit with the Temple of Solomon-theme. We actually live in the same house as their local lodge. Four of the lectures were held in the Old Town in Stockholm. One of the locations was used as a custody in the 18th century. It is famous for being the place there King Gustaf III of Sweden’s assassin Johan Jacob Anckarström was held before his execution. It gave the right vibe.
My idea has been to combine different art forms and present science and history in an unusual way. I am very tired of the stiff way of doing things at the university and it has been a dream for me to combine music and lectures.
Why did you also choose this kind of music to spread these ideas further? How does doom metal benefit this theme?
Doom metal is the perfect soundtrack to the events that are unfolding and no other genre would do this any justice.
As I understand, Temple of Solomon was released only digitally. Do you have an opportunity to release a CD edition? Do you actually need a physical format now?
We will eventually release it in physical format. First as a CD and later in vinyl. I also intend to release the album together with my coming book Temple of Solomon. In it I will give the full bakground to the lyrics and it will also include all fantastic cover art by artist Kimmie Fransson. It would feel empty to only have it released digitally.
Some of your songs dealt with the world’s elite conspiracy. Did you see its traces in pandemic restrictions or in those things which were started in Ukrainian territory?
Yes, it very well fits the script. The technocratic system has been rolled out in a fast pace since the declaration of the pandemic was done. It is obvious that the war in Ukraine is the next step to crash the old order and create the new international economic system. A multipolar order with teeth, as United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres has called for.
How do you see this machinery working now? Is it about a reboot of the financial system and transferring money-related stuff into digital formats? Is it about redistribution of influences between players?
Yes, this is the way to introduce a global digital currency and a Universal Basic Income connected to a Social Credit System and Carbon rationing. The United Nations will be upgraded with a High Commissioner for Future Generations and more closely intertwined with G20 and the financial institutions. I have analyzed the United Nations’ “Our Common Agenda” and it really fits with the vision of creating a World Brain or The World Sensorium that I referred to on Control All Delete.
So Temple of Solomon… what made you choose this title? Is it about freemasonry symbolism?
The title refers to the building of the false temple. It is taken from the book Cosmic Humanism and World Unity by Oliver Reiser. In this book he outlines a plan for a World Government and the creation of “A Cosmic Temple of Wisdom” with the help of technology. I have traced him as an important source for the futuristic agenda that now is unfolding. He was also inspired by Freemasonry and Theosophy.
How does the song ‘Looking for the Green Fairy’ fit this concept? It’s looking like a Belle Epoque tribute rather than a conspirological story.
I had the idea to write a song about absinthe for a long time. My lecture talks about how drugs have been used to expand the senses to gain access to divine experiences and how it has inspired occultists like Alistair Crowley and the New Age Movement. The endeavor to contact entities like the Secret Chiefs or the Great White Brotherhood to gain wisdom. I especially talk about neo-theosophist Alice Bailey and the Plan which was dictated to her by the Tibetan – Djwhal Kuhl. It was also the topic of the song ‘Externalization of the Hierarchy’ from Control All Delete. It is obvious that these ideas have been held high in esteem by influential players within the United Nations.
Do you feel your listeners support your ideas regarding these topics?
Some of them have caught up and especially since March 2020. The Music Business has been devastated by the lockdowns and it has made more people aware. It was another story in 2015 then we released Control All Delete. It was too early.
There are seven years between the albums — how much of original Wardenclyffe left in Temple of Solomon?
A couple of the songs were written as early as 2014 so I think it still is there. The material has however matured and some of the new songs may point in another direction. We will see what will come out of the next album Warden 3.
What makes you proud of Temple of Solomon? What are its strong sides from your position as the author?
It is an album that I have invested a lot of time and effort in. It is a milestone in my life and I think the songs are a lot better than anything I have done before. I have stretched my abilities as a song-writer and lyricist. It tells a fascinating story. I think the strength is a well thought out concept and very good musicianship from my bandmates. The producer Kristian Karlsson also made a great work.
How tightly did you communicate with Kristian? I know only that he worked with Griftegård before.
It was Ola who recommended him. He was also involved with Dautha. Kristian is a very skilled musician and singer and really could help us to achieve what we had intended.
You mentioned Warden 3. Do you mean that you already have a plan for the third album? Can you share any details?
Yes, it has been the working title for a couple of years. The title refers to behavioural psychologist B.F. Skinner’s utopian science fiction novel Walden 2. Some titles that I have come up with are “Industrie 4.0”, “Le Corbusier”, “Den tionde mannen”, “Tikkun Olam” and “The Zohar”. I think the album mainly will deal with utopian ideas of creating an ideal society and why it is a bad idea. It is also intended to be our last album.
How pessimistic are you regarding NWO approaching? Do you feel there will be space for music? Though metal often plays a role as a distracting and entertaining element which helps us to forget about reality at least for awhile. So honestly it’s something that fits the conspiracy’s line.
As utopian and totalitarian societies are doomed to fail, I have a positive feeling. It can however be unpleasant for a while. Music will definitely be around and help us through these troubling times. Doom Metal has never been more fitting than now.
Thanks for the interview, Jacob. What would you like to add in the end?
This is the end and the beginning… Alfa and Omega.
https://wardenclyffe.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wardenclyffe/465190890185907?ref=ts&fref=ts