photos by Brian Sheehan
(On February 27th Metal Blade Records will release a new album by the Houston-based black metal band Necrofier, and the quality of the music convinced our friend Ben Manzella to reach out for the following interview with the band’s vocalist and guitarist Bakka.)
As I’m sure other writers here at No Clean Singing would agree, most record announcements or press releases eventually become like white noise. You feel like you can predict the claims and wording of it being the “best album we’ve made yet”; or, especially in metal, depending on the genre, the claim that the music is “the most brutal thing you will hear all year.” However, when I read about the upcoming release of Transcend Into Oblivion, none of these traps were set, and I knew I’d be eager for this conversation.
During a succinct and relaxed time of conversation with Bakka, vocalist and guitarist of Necrofier, I aimed to hear a bit more about the creative process involved in the detailed song structure that is Transcend Into Oblivion, as well as the recent move to Metal Blade Records.
Ben/NCS: I noticed in the press release for Transcend Into Oblivion, you described the time of working on the record as a “Luciferian dark night of the soul”; with the origins of the “dark night of the soul” term coming from 16th century Catholic mysticism as well as its ties to Jungian philosophy, I was wondering if you could elaborate on what you meant by that.
Bakka: It’s like a personal/spiritual kind of journey and an awakening in the torment of dealing with life experiences. I used different experiences as reference points from life in general, and then in the last couple of years, I was able to achieve things I never thought I would while experiencing rough and stressful circumstances. I was able to pull all of that together, both musically and lyrically, for this record. I try to read in my spare time, and when I stumble across something like the dark night of the soul phrase that stuck with me, I wanted to take the time to create while thinking about it, which culminated during this process.
In my preparation for our conversation, I was able to listen to the record about three or four times. I greatly appreciated the importance placed on the interludes between the three-song suites that comprise the whole record. Sometimes, I feel like, especially in Metal, there are some interludes that are only a minute long and might seem like random filler for the sake of time, but these songs continue the audio story or journey the listener is on.
We tried to push it on this record. When albums have shorter transitions, which I have done in the past, I feel like it represents an incomplete idea. We intentionally made these with an awareness of breaking up the record into three distinct song suites so that the songs are an actual piece of music, and making it a worthwhile idea to contribute to the record as a whole. There are times that sound bigger in percussive elements. Dobber was playing in the room on his drum set, and we also had friends come in using pieces of wood or chains, as well as spare bass drums or tom drums to add to the atmosphere on the interludes.
I love how more natural materials that might not be considered for music, like chains, can be used for percussion. While it might be more thought of in a noise or harsh electronics project, the regimented expectations of black metal sometimes get in the way of that. So, I appreciate when bands make an effort to try something different.
In black metal, you can try things outside of the norm, but some people might be scared to add things or experiment. There are also things that you try, and it quickly becomes clear that it doesn’t work. It was a lot of fun recording this album. We spent some extra time working on the guitars and wrote everything before recording, but we never rehearsed the record as a band before recording it. We tracked the guitars at Dobber’s studio, and then our producer, Joel, flew in to record us at a friend’s studio to record the drums and vocals. We tried to capture the aggression that more closely reflects our live show rather than a rehearsed or controlled studio experience. Playing something a certain way live is one thing, but recording it is generally a different experience.
I felt it was clear that while there is a path to follow on Transcend into Oblivion, where it might be considered a grand or theatrical presentation, the raw and aggressive nature of black metal isn’t always seen as possible in a structured outline. There are bands that have more symphonic elements and are also more known for a structured story, like Rotting Christ or Septicflesh, that might not be able to achieve the grandeur in a live setting that a listener experiences at home.
Well, whenever you add symphonic elements or synthesizers, if you’re not able to effectively run them during your live show, there is too much atmosphere that gets lost.
This new record is also your first release for Metal Blade Records. How did that deal come about, and how has that transition gone so far?
It’s an exciting and welcome transition. We had been with Season of Mist for the last two records, and I honestly wasn’t happy with how things had gone. I had asked for some things, and they didn’t materialize, so they eventually gave us the option of leaving the record label, and we took it. It’s a tough thing with labels; while they can only do so much, if the record gets lost in the shuffle, it ruins the relationship. Metal Blade had asked us a while back to let them know when we weren’t under contract anymore, and the timing was right, so I feel like we were able to both do what we wanted and end up where we wanted to go as well.
If I could be presumptuous, for lack of a different word, it also ties into the transitional process reflected in the writing for the record. The label change ties into it.
Oh, shit! Yeah, I hadn’t even thought of it that way. I always primarily related it to personal life changes, but I had stepped out of it, being tied together.
I also made time to check out the two videos that have been made to promote the record. I appreciate that you all took the time to separate songs from the overall structure of the record, because it seems difficult for bands to do that and not feel like it will be disjointed in some way.
We actually have one more video coming out. The first record involved elements associated with the record, along with footage of the whole band playing the song. The second video is primarily me singing in the dark with a candelabra, while the director also incorporated some other visuals. We used to try to go more cinematic, but of course, budgets and time frames can get in the way. We aimed to strip it back a bit this time around.
This second video for “Fires of the Apocalypse, Light my Path III” was a straight-up homage to the ’90s black metal scene. I was moving around with the candelabra, there was candle wax pouring on me, a friend using a smoke machine, and I’m choking while the song is playing, but it came out great. I also feel like that is why the performance came out better, because there is a struggle involved, and I’m not just singing along to the music.
Videos for black metal are hard in general. We have done some in the past, trying to incorporate more psychedelic visuals akin to a band like The Devil’s Blood. But I liked keeping it black and white, and simpler this time around. Videos take a lot out of you, and the process can end up feeling like making a whole other record.
I noticed during the first video for “Servants of Darkness, Guide My Way I”, you hear one of the interlude songs, “Behold, the Birth of Ascension”; I feel like it made the video a great visual introduction to the whole record, so when someone hears the album, they can remember hearing it in the context of the video.
I like how that worked out and think it came out awesome. The record, after all, is meant to be experienced and heard as a whole. Not as a collection of singles put together.
I know for the shows you have announced so far, the set times probably wouldn’t allow it, but have you already started considering, say, for a headline tour, performing the entire record?
We need to do that at some point. We have a couple of support things primarily lined up right now, and we haven’t talked about it too much yet, but we need to figure out at least a couple of shows to play it in full. The final interlude song on the record, “Toward the Necrofier,” it is more of a ritual than a traditional song that we’d like to add to the end of the set, where we might have some extra drums brought on stage and go crazy to end our set.
To wrap things up, while not about the record, I can’t ignore how close the time of Hell’s Heroes is to happening. What are some of the bands you are most excited to see this year?
The Blood Fire Death, a tribute to Bathory, was something I saw in Norway a few years ago, and it was amazing, so I’m looking forward to seeing that again. Coven, for sure, as well as 3 Inches of Blood. Hellbutcher, Holmes: The Sound of Wasp thing should be pretty cool to see. I’ve never seen Power from Hell before, Steel Bearing Hand, Battle Ruins, and I’m really curious what Baazlvaat will be like live.
Without being too predictable, is touring going to be a focus for the remainder of the year? So much about touring has changed since the pandemic, and tours can all end up in one city on the same day, causing fans to forget or be overwhelmed and not end up able to support the bands they listen to.
I think so, we are still working on some things for the spring. We’re looking at a European tour as well as a US tour in the fall at some point. I prefer to do a couple of weeks at a time if possible, rather than a month-long tour. It all depends on what the tour is, and I know people can’t afford to make it out all the time. We’ll definitely be heading out and figuring things out for the rest of the year soon.
Below are the few announced live dates for Necrofier so far in 2026, as well as links for pre-ordering their new album and following their activities:
https://necrofier.bandcamp.com/album/transcend-into-oblivion
https://www.metalblade.com/necrofier/
https://www.facebook.com/Necrofier/
https://linktr.ee/necrofier
3/28/2026 White Oak Music Hall Lawn – Houston, TX w/ Acid Bath, Obituary, High On Fire
5/16/2026 San Luis Metal Festival – San Luis Potosí, MX
5/22/2026 Maryland Deathfest – Baltimore, MD