by Niklas Göransson

Building on the partnership with NoEvDia, The Ajna Offensive became a driving force in the mid-2000s wave of orthodox black metal. Meanwhile, Tyler Davis began expanding his publishing house, Ajna Bound.

 

TYLER DAVIS: “Kénôse” was the perfect embodiment of everything I’d envisioned for the future of Ajna. It fused an ideological, religious angle and extreme music that I resonated with deeply, accompanied by a surrealist forty-page booklet containing mostly artwork. DEATHSPELL OMEGA challenged the listener on every level, and that had a significant impact on me.

May 2005 saw the first collaborative release between The Ajna Offensive and French label Norma Evangelium Diaboli (NoEvDia): DEATHSPELL OMEGA‘s “Kénôse”. This was followed by the US edition of “Dödens evangelium”, the latest album from Sweden’s ONDSKAPT, along with a reissue of their debut, “Draco Sit Mihi Dux”.

The following month, Ajna released a seven-inch EP by Swedish black metal band MORTUUS. Tyler signed them after being approached by one of its members, who was looking for a US distributor for his fanzine, G’hinnom.

In the fall of 2005, the label announced an alliance with American black metal band NEGATIVE PLANE, hailing from Orlando, Florida. The duo – Nameless Void on strings and vocals, Bestial Devotion on drums – had recorded a promo tape the previous year.

TYLER: Apparently, they only dispatched two or three of those tapes, and I was one of the recipients. The moment I heard it, I wrote to them and said, ‘Let’s work together.’ Matthias (Bestial Devotion) and I quickly worked out a deal – and once we met, we instantly connected, sharing the same vision.

 

By the time of the announcement, NEGATIVE PLANE had just finished recording their debut album, “Et in Saecula Saeculorum”, at Down There… – a semi-professional studio set-up in the basement of BLACK WITCHERY drummer Vaz. Afterwards, Bestial Devotion visited the Ajna Offensive compound in Jacksonville, Oregon.

TYLER: Having spent so little time in person with any of my bands, I look back on it as a great experience. We went up to a hill where they dump roadkill and collected deer skulls – probably one of the few photoshoots back then using bones like that. It felt like an epic little road trip, especially in the dead of winter. Come to think of it, my house would’ve been freezing.

Since 2002, Tyler and his wife have lived on a property in rural Oregon comprising a house and farmland. ‘Twenty-five minutes to the post office with two stop signs between here and there’, to quote the man himself.

TYLER: That’s when I introduced Matthias to AMEBIX, RUDIMENTARY PENI, CONFLICT, CRASS, ANTISECT, and other punk stuff. I also remember playing him Tom Waits and similar music, which is amusing because… well, I doubt he was sitting around with the BLACK WITCHERY guys listening to those kinds of records.

Looking for European distribution, NEGATIVE PLANE sent an advance of their album to NoEvDia in France. Label manager Christian Bouché recalled listening to it and ‘hearing MERCYFUL FATE’. At the time, he insisted that any black metal released by NoEvDia had to be groundbreaking and revolutionary, leading him to ‘overlook the brilliance of NEGATIVE PLANE’, as he put it.

TYLER: I wasn’t part of those discussions – at least not to my knowledge. But Christian has since apologised to the band for sticking to his strict criteria about what he would and wouldn’t work with back then.

 

The Ajna Offensive released “Et in Saecula Saeculorum” in May 2006, establishing NEGATIVE PLANE as the label’s first homegrown band to release an album.

TYLER: Good point; I didn’t see it that way at the time. But yes, it’s still incredibly special; I hold that record in the utmost regard. In fact – as you can see – I’m wearing a shirt of it right now. Absolutely groundbreaking stuff. And it was unique enough to stand out. It’s had more reprints than almost anything else I’ve done, though it took a while to catch on. Despite limited media coverage or tours, it did quite well for me.

In the lead-up to the release, Tyler conducted an in-depth NEGATIVE PLANE interview and published it on the Ajna website. While it may not have garnered as much attention as DEATHSPELL OMEGA, Tyler’s background with Descent Magazine provided a significant edge in presenting new bands signed to his label.

TYLER: Ajna was always the underdog, so no matter what I’ve done in terms of promotion, we’re only talking small spikes at best. Nothing’s ever taken off, nor have I seen any sudden surge in sales. It’s more of a slow, gradual climb – no particular promotional effort has ever sparked a major leap, as far as I could tell.

 

Around the same time, Tyler forged a partnership with another American black metal act: AVERSE SEFIRA. In March 2006, Ajna released the vinyl edition of the Texas-based band’s third album, “Tetragrammatical Astygmata”.

TYLER: Growing up, I learned about bands by noticing t-shirts, stickers, and even decals on guitars. Seeing what SLAYER or METALLICA displayed on their gear introduced me to MISFITS. Similarly, I discovered AVERSE SEFIRA through their tour alongside WATAIN and SECRETS OF THE MOON. I picked up some of their material, which sparked a friendship with Jeff (Wrath Sathariel Diabolus). Eventually, we collaborated on a couple of records.

Later that year, following a fallout with Moribund Records, Jef ‘Wrest’ Whitehead of LEVIATHAN approached Tyler. To sidestep contractual obligations, Whitehead hoped to issue an unreleased LEVIATHAN album under his side project, LURKER OF CHALICE.

For the European market, Whitehead contacted NoEvDia, who instead referred him to their twin label, End All Life Productions. Meanwhile, The Ajna Offensive was set to handle the US vinyl edition. Alas, Moribund discovered the plan and threatened legal action, citing a clause stating that any music written with LEVIATHAN in mind belonged to the label.

TYLER: One of the issues was Jef’s twenty-something-page contract with Moribund, which practically amounted to signing away his firstborn child. Honestly, it’s preposterous to me that a Satanic label would use the Judeo-Christian justice system against the creators of their own music. That seems antithetical to the worldview that Moribund espouses and holds on high.

Jef Whitehead shared his perspective on this ordeal in an April 2024 Bardo Methodology feature. I found it amusing that Jef felt NoEvDia didn’t consider his music ‘spiritual enough’, thus relegating it to End All Life – a telling reflection of how the label was perceived at the time.

 

On a related note, in September 2006, The Ajna Offensive and NoEvDia released ANTAEUS’ “Blood Libels”. It’s almost a cliché by now, but this truly is a band one must see live to fully understand.

TYLER: Well, rumours spread quickly, and MkM (ANTAEUS) had certainly acquired a reputation. Believe it or not, I have seen them live – though not back then. But maybe we’ll get to that later. They certainly pushed viciousness to new extremes, didn’t they?

The following month, The Ajna Offensive reissued DEATHSPELL OMEGA’s “Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice”, as well as FUNERAL MIST’s “Devilry” and “Salvation”.

TYLER: Hm. I’m not sure when I first encountered FUNERAL MIST, but it was probably while importing some NoEvDia releases. I must’ve heard them and immediately thought, ‘This is essential for the label and for America.’

At the time of their release, what kind of interest was there for FUNERAL MIST in the US?

TYLER: None, as far as I’m aware. I remember trying to get some American magazines to review them, but at that point, no mainstream publication here would touch anything of the kind. I recall Decibel dismissing it as ‘too serious’. They’ve come around in recent years, much to my chagrin. This was inconsequential, though, as FUNERAL MIST took root organically.

Come 2006, Ajna had secured distribution through Southern Lord Recordings, owned and operated by SUNN O))) co-founder Greg Anderson.

TYLER: Sales were surging. CD demand was already picking up, yet DEATHSPELL OMEGA and FUNERAL MIST elevated everything to a new level. I had no choice but to keep up if the bands and NoEvDia wanted to expand. Larger CD pressings in America became essential.

 

In September 2006, The Ajna Offensive released “Path to Yirah”, a CD album featuring a single, expansive track by SYMPHONIA SACROSANCTA PHASMATVM.

The song originally appeared seven months earlier on “Likpredikan”, the second demo of Emil Lundin’s post-DÖDFÖDD project REVERORUM IB MALACHT. It was inspired by a dream Emil had in 2004, where he found himself inside a church, watching five spectres perform a haunting requiem. Upon waking, he recorded it from memory, resulting in a thirty-four-minute ambient piece.

TYLER: At that point, Emil and I were in regular contact, constantly discussing ideas around his recordings, releases, and the esoteric themes running through them. So yes, I knew about the dream, which only fuelled my desire to release it. I thought his dirge was phenomenal – perfectly suited for meditation or psychedelic experiences.

“Path to Yirah” brought a pivotal development in Emil’s approach to black metal as he moved toward a more emotive, synesthetic soundscape. Early signs of this transition can be found in the first REVERORUM IB MALACHT demo, “What Do You Think of the Old God, We Call Him Judas?”, recorded during the summer of 2005.

Following the demos, Tyler and Emil agreed that The Ajna Offensive would release REVERORUM IB MALACHT’s debut album, “URKAOS”. It was recorded in the summer of 2006.

During this period, Emil underwent intense inner turmoil. While studying Latin at university, he immersed himself in medieval Catholic texts, discovering within them a fervent spirituality he’d always sought in black metal but often found lacking. Tyler sensed a shift when Emil expressed dissatisfaction with how SYMPHONIA SACROSANCTA PHASMATVM was being distributed, particularly through labels like NoEvDia.

TYLER: Emil started developing strong opinions about where his music belonged – and where it didn’t. I likely told him my options were limited, given the dearth of Catholic distribution channels for black metal. My perspective was that religion is religion, right? He should be flattered that a ‘Satanic’ or sinister label wanted to carry his work.

In early 2007, when Emil announced his conversion to Catholicism and sincere hope that you’d follow suit – how did you react?

TYLER: Um, ‘Not a chance in hell!’ <laughs> But I didn’t see that as a reason to cut Emil off or dismiss him. To me, it felt like a natural extension of his black metal fanaticism – to reject everything and just dive all the way in. More than anything, I felt curious to see what might come of it.

“URKAOS” was fully recorded and mixed by then; had you heard it?

TYLER: I don’t believe so. After that initial email, Emil went silent. He was all in, pretty much closed the door and turned off the lights to the outer world. To my understanding, he spent all his time living as a hermit, studying dead languages, and reciting cryptic passages from bygone saints. That’s pretty badass, right? Quite commendable, actually.

 

In March 2007, The Ajna Offensive released MORTUUS’ debut, “De Contemplanda Morte; De Reverencie Laboribus ac Adorationis”, recorded the previous autumn.

TYLER: That album blew my mind – it still does. I can’t even put my appreciation into words. It’s everything I want a record to be. The lyrics, the design, the songs… I don’t know. Just look at that cover; you see it and instantly sense the music will resonate on multiple levels.

The cover features a manipulated photograph of a cracked tombstone. While working on the album, MORTUUS drummer Marcus Hinze decided he wanted to sleep on top of a grave marker, so he and a friend confiscated one from the nearest cemetery. Unfortunately, it broke during transit.

TYLER: I always say this album drains me of emotion; it just pulls everything out of me. I can’t explain why – very few other bands manage to do that. The MORTUUS debut is exhilarating in a strange way, and listening to it puts me in an ecstatic state.

Considering that Johannes from MORTUUS was close with Emil, did you two discuss the recent developments?

TYLER: I’m not sure we did because Johannes kind of disappeared, too. I don’t know if you’re aware, but he stepped back from black metal for some time.

 

The following month, in April 2007, The Ajna Offensive facilitated the US release of WATAIN’s “Sworn to the Dark”, also issued on CD by Season of Mist and on vinyl by NoEvDia.

Two years earlier, Tyler had travelled to Sweden with the primary goal of securing Ajna as WATAIN’s US distribution point.

TYLER: For a while, WATAIN were very selective about who they worked with; every decision felt deliberate and intentional. I believed the only way to establish a working relationship would be to go there in person, and it felt essential to bring their vision to America. I was determined to make this happen, even if it meant covering the expenses myself when label funds weren’t available.

So, even at this point, Ajna wasn’t a full-time venture?

TYLER: No. Ajna has never really paid any bills, so I’ve kept other things going. But that’s by choice. After reading your features on other label owners, I think to myself, ‘I’d rather sit outside and read a book for half an hour than worry about processing a hundred orders and responding to 350 emails.’ So, no. This is exactly how I want it.

The Southern Lord distribution deal – does that mean they handled all the logistics and shipping?

TYLER: Yes, for the larger scale. I still worked directly with peer labels like Hells Headbangers, Nuclear War Now!, Red Stream, Dark Descent, and others of that kind. But Southern Lord handled the logistics for larger chain stores or wherever else it went.

 

To promote their new album, WATAIN embarked on a US tour supporting ANGELCORPSE, who had reunited to record their fourth album, “Of Lucifer and Lightning”. NEGATIVE PLANE joined for the final five dates.

TYLER: I remember Southern Lord suggesting WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM as the opening act for the WATAIN tour <laughs>. This idea was very harshly denied and shut down immediately – there was no chance of that happening. It wasn’t even worth passing along to the band for discussion.

How did the tour go?

TYLER: It was amazing – a really unique experience. Not as destructive as I’d imagined, but it still took me a couple of months to recover. Being stuck in a van filled with cigarette smokers and fifteen rotting animal carcasses isn’t exactly a treat for your lungs. But yeah, it was unforgettable.

More orderly than the MAYHEM tour, then?

TYLER: Absolutely. Everything ran smoothly: no major mishaps, arrests, or hospital visits. We didn’t have any run-ins with police, and the band got paid every night. Some venues – especially those that served food – required them to clean up the blood afterwards, but it was an overall successful tour.

 

In July 2007, DEATHSPELL OMEGA released their fourth album, “Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum”, with the US CD version handled by The Ajna Offensive. I remember being utterly bewildered when I first heard it.

TYLER: I was equally perplexed – and maybe I still am, to an extent. It’s a demanding style for someone like me. I believe this album marked a shift in black metal, where it began blending more with other genres and leading to a lot of cross-pollination. That’s when different bands started paying attention.

Such as?

TYLER: Groups like CONVERGE or ISIS, for example – although I don’t listen to them and couldn’t even say what kind of music they make. It’s some mix of metal and hardcore, which was totally out of my realm of interest at that point.

The following year, in December 2008, The Ajna Offensive and NoEvDia released DEATHSPELL OMEGA’s “Chaining the Katechon”, featuring their track from the recent split LP with S.V.E.S.T.

This mini-CD came in the wake of the commercially successful yet polarising “Fas…”, which drew listeners from beyond the black metal sphere. According to NoEvDia owner Christian Bouché, that album marked a turning point, as old-school underground purists began rejecting DEATHSPELL OMEGA.

TYLER: Since the US never really had a cohesive unit of black metal fanatics, I didn’t notice that shift. There probably wasn’t anyone around who cared enough to spark any kind of scene division.

But you were still a fan?

TYLER: Oh, unquestionably. DEATHSPELL OMEGA has consistently challenged my beliefs about what can or can’t be done in music, pushing boundaries and exploring new directions. That’s always been refreshing for me; I’ve never felt disappointed or embarrassed by them, as I have with many other bands. That journey ultimately led to the Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic book and other Ajna Bound projects.

 

In February 2009, Tyler launched a dedicated domain for his publishing house, Ajna Bound. An archived version of the Ajna Offensive website suggests that this was driven by the upcoming book release Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic by Swedish author Thomas Karlsson.

TYLER: At that time, no other music labels – at least as far as I know – were publishing that kind of literature. They might have been releasing things like ‘Oh, here’s a PEARL JAM biography!’ or ‘Here’s a book on NIRVANA’, or whatever was popular back then. But no metal labels had ventured into publishing a theoretical, practical book on ritual magic.

Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic is a guide to ritual magic, engaging directly with the sinister aspects of Western esotericism. Rather than avoiding shadow elements, Karlsson argues that confronting and understanding them can transform inner darkness into creative power.

The volume includes a wealth of illustrations by Finnish artist Timo Ketola, as well as symbols from classic grimoires like The Lesser Key of Solomon and the Grimorium Verum.

TYLER: It became a huge success with many print runs. Thomas Karlsson even came to America, and we hosted an event during the Esoteric Book Conference that drew a sizable crowd. This occurred before labels like Ixaxaar and Three Hands Press emerged. Xoanon existed then, but the later boom – with new grimoires appearing almost weekly – hadn’t started yet. It was the perfect synthesis of everything Ajna represented.

 

In March 2009, Norma Evangelium Diaboli and The Ajna Offensive released TEITANBLOOD’s “Seven Chalices”. Originally signed to Timo Ketola’s label, Dauthus, the band later expanded the collaboration to include NoEvDia and Ajna.

TYLER: I was already aware of TEITANBLOOD’s splits with PROCLAMATION and NECROS CHRISTOS, as well as their demo tape. I don’t think I’d been in direct contact with them, but Timo brought me into the project; that much I know for sure.

Musically, “Seven Chalices” delivered a raw form of black/death metal that was truly unprecedented, potentiated by a meticulous aesthetic presentation courtesy of Timo Ketola.

TYLER: “Seven Chalices” was a real game-changer. TEITANBLOOD bridged the gap between death and black metal in a way that hadn’t been done before, and I believe it sparked the explosion of the war metal genre. It also reached many listeners Ajna had never connected with before.

The following month brought the release of FUNERAL MIST’s second album, “Maranatha”. Few titles post-2000 had been as eagerly anticipated, and Tyler once told me that his first listen took place under reverent circumstances.

TYLER: Now that you mention it, yeah. You get a new record, and it’s like, ‘Listen in darkness at full volume,’ right? Just like the booklets say – you’ve got to take that literally, at least for the first spin. There might’ve been some mind-altering substances involved, too. “Maranatha” blew my mind. Savage, almost psychedelic in its intensity.