by Niklas Göransson

With his world reshaped by grief and disillusionment, Neill Jameson found solace in Krieg. From the wreckage of Sono Lo Scherno rose Destruction Ritual, a sonic manifesto of pure, unfiltered malice.

 

NEILL JAMESON: By late ‘99, after the Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child fest in Texas, I no longer cared if “Sono…” ever saw the light of day. I’d gone through so many versions that I couldn’t even tell what the ‘right’ one was anymore. Some weren’t just bad – they were ridiculously bad. I felt ready to move on.

With a constantly shifting line-up mired in drama, Neill spent 1999 struggling first to complete KRIEG’s second album, “Sono Lo Scherno”, and then finding a label to release it.

Frustrated and fed up, but also riding the momentum of his stage debut with JUDAS ISCARIOT at Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child, Neill shifted focus to “Destruction Ritual”. Immediately after returning home, he booked studio time at Vortex Sound and began tracking guitars.

NEILL: I plugged in a Boss Heavy Metal pedal, cranked everything to ten, and just went for it. I wanted to channel that raw, violent energy I’d just experienced in Texas, so the entire thing was improvised in about three hours. Well, except for a riff in “Immaculate Whore”, which I lifted straight from a JUDAS ISCARIOT song. Nobody’s ever called me out on it.

I’m tempted to think that’s due to the abrasive guitar sound.

NEILL: True. With a clearer recording – and a better grasp of what I was doing – you’d be able to hear traces of the later KRIEG style, which came directly from being around Andrew (Akhenaten) and other musicians in the USBM scene. But I wanted “Destruction Ritual” to hurt. Stripping out the bass made it even more painful to listen to, exactly as intended.

Was omitting the bass a decision from the start?

NEILL: No, I actually tried adding basslines, but it clashed with my vision of making the harshest, most unfiltered statement imaginable. I was ready to move past the bestial black metal style – I just didn’t know where to take it yet. So “Destruction Ritual” had to be the final, perfect expression of that era.

Much like KRIEG’s debut album, “Rise of the Imperial Hordes” – and in complete defiance of standard studio recording practices – Neill began by tracking a series of riffs, which were then assembled into separate songs. Once pieced together, he handed the compositions over to the purported drummer, Teloc Coraxo of BLOOD STORM.

NEILL: Teloc put on his headphones, attempted to play, then ripped them off and said, ‘What the fuck are you trying to do?’ And I responded, ‘Just blast along with it.’ We got through two songs before he finally went, ‘Sorry, I can’t keep doing this.’ After that, I left the album alone for a while.

 

Following Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child, Akhenaten arranged a second JUDAS ISCARIOT performance at the July 2000 edition of Germany’s Under the Black Sun.

NEILL: Initially, I thought the Sacrifice show was going to be a one-off – a grand performance never to be repeated. I also had no idea about Andrew’s plans of moving to Germany until we met in Texas. Apparently, he’d been renting an apartment in Nuremberg for a while and would travel back and forth, staying weeks at a time.

Did Akhenaten mention any differences between the US and European metal scenes?

NEILL: Mostly the cultural differences in general. One of the biggest things for him was how much harder it would be to construct vehemently anti-Christian messages living over there, where it wasn’t as openly oppressive as in the American Midwest. There, you’d see churches on every street, giant religious billboards along the highways – constantly in your face.

This time, JUDAS ISCARIOT would perform as a four-piece, with Neill again handling bass, Honza from AVENGER on drums, and NARGAROTH frontman Kanwulf as second guitarist.

In July 2000 – just one day before Under the Black Sun – Neill flew to Germany. He went straight from the airport to Akhenaten’s apartment in Nuremberg.

NEILL: Kanwulf showed up ten minutes later, and we jumped into a car and headed to someone’s practice space. I was jet-lagged, sleep deprived and desperately needed coffee… instead, I got thrown into this super-intense rehearsal. That’s when I found out about the NARGAROTH cover – which wasn’t part of the original plan.

Were you a fan of the band?

NEILL: Sure. This all happened before “Black Metal ist Krieg” and the cassette tapes with pennies taped to them. At the time, NARGAROTH had an air of mystery, and Kanwulf was a major figure in the European black metal scene. So, on top of playing my first show overseas, I now had to learn a song by this guy I’d met five minutes earlier.

 

Under the Black Sun was my first underground open-air festival in continental Europe, and it left me in complete awe. That said, I had experienced similar gatherings in Sweden, albeit on a much smaller scale. However, for an American, it must have been something truly out of the ordinary.

NEILL: Absolutely mind-blowing – a large-scale festival, strictly black metal, open air, and run professionally. The only outdoor concerts I’d ever known were what I saw on TV as a kid, like METALLICA playing massive stadium shows. Experiencing one firsthand was unreal. And holy shit, there were a lot of bands way better than us <laughs>.

Beyond JUDAS ISCARIOT, the line-up featured AMON AMARTH and SATANIC SLAUGHTER from Sweden, Norway’s TSJUDER, EINHERJER, and HELHEIM, Czech veterans MANIAC BUTCHER, and German acts DIES ATER and DUNKELGRAFEN.

Acknowledging the gravity of the moment, Neill strode forth onto the stage – only for his bass strap to snap.

NEILL: First fucking song. Fortunately, you can’t really see it in the videos, but I had my knee up, holding the bass in place the whole time. Before the next track, I managed to get the strap back on. Could’ve been worse, I guess – like a broken string. Apart from that, it was another formative experience.

Word and visuals from the performance spread quickly through forums, IRC, and beyond. The iconic photo of Akhenaten burning an American flag on stage caused quite a stir, and rumours circulated about someone being stabbed during the set.

NEILL: That show definitely raised KRIEG’s visibility overseas and fuelled my newfound fervour. It reminded me a lot of Sacrifice in the sense that, for the first time, I didn’t feel alone in this. The European scene carried a level of seriousness and dedication I’d barely encountered before. Many US black metal bands had death metal roots, whereas in Europe, there was a cultural weight behind it.

 

In October 2000, three months after the JUDAS ISCARIOT performance at Under the Black Sun, Neill’s life changed irrevocably.

NEILL: I’d taken a friend to the train station, been gone maybe twenty minutes, and when I returned home, my mother was dead on the floor. I called 911, then performed mouth-to-mouth on her corpse – something I’ll never forget. The sensory details are burned into me: the smell, the feel of her skin, the pressure inside my head as I completely lost it.

Did you immediately know she was dead?

NEILL: Yeah, the moment I walked in. When the paramedics arrived, they fed me some bullshit like, ‘Oh, we’re getting positive signs’, which only deepened my cynicism. Eventually, it was ruled an undetectable heart condition, likely triggered by a tooth infection that had spread and caused extensive damage.

Is the heart condition genetic?

NEILL: No idea. As an adult, I’ve gone to cardiologists, explained what happened, and they’ve basically shrugged. ‘Sorry, bud. We can’t tell you shit.’ For all I know, I could be a walking time bomb – just another fun aspect of life I get to carry around.

Needless to say, this turn of events upended Neill’s entire existence. Enrolled in university at the time, he dropped out and never returned.

NEILL: Everything changed. With no will in place, I was suddenly responsible for my mother’s estate. I had to care for her two dogs and cat, as well as keep the house in order – which I did a terrible job of. All these seemingly minor, mundane things became overwhelming.

Had you processed your father’s passing by then?

NEILL: No. I was still in my early twenties and – as should be obvious by now – not the most emotionally mature person. People had suggested therapy multiple times, but I never believed in it. So, everything stayed buried.

Do you think the subculture that shaped your worldview influenced how you grieved?

NEILL: Well, I didn’t cry for twenty years after that. In a way, the black metal mindset protected me. It became a shield against the emotional reality of what was happening, letting me push everything down – which, of course, led to multiple breakdowns later. But at the time, I saw it as a crutch.

Was there anyone you could confide in?

NEILL: I wasn’t close with much of my family back then. Nearly everyone in my life came from the black metal scene, so I threw myself into it even more. Bernie (Sabazios Diabolus) from LUST was fantastic. Andrew and Marcus from SARCOPHAGUS were incredibly helpful as well. I also had a decent support system among my old New Jersey friends.

So, only peers – no elders, so to speak?

NEILL: Exactly. At that age, no one really has the emotional toolkit to help the way they might want to; you’ll only fully understand once you go through it yourself. Later, when other people’s parents started dying, they’d come to me. I did my best to be supportive, but at some point, I realised I wasn’t following any of my own advice. I just let it fester.

Instead of processing the loss, Neill focused on legal matters – such as organising his mother’s estate, handling the funeral, and everything else requiring practical attention.

NEILL: A pattern emerged where, whenever something devastating happened, I immediately switched into a logistical, operational mode – no emotion, just getting things done. Since that was my default way of dealing with difficult times, it eventually became who I am. Over time, I built an even harder emotional wall, reinforcing my cynical nature.

 

Building on his live experience with JUDAS ISCARIOT, Neill agreed to bring KRIEG to the stage at the upcoming Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child.

NEILL: I can’t recall exactly when we locked everything in, but it felt like the right time. I sent instructions on how to play the songs – or as close as you could get – to Lord Necron and Blackthorn from THORNSPAWN, along with Bernie from LUST. That was KRIEG’s first line-up.

Originally planned as a two-night event – on December 1 and 2, 2000 – the festival’s third edition almost didn’t happen. The venue burned down, with rumours circulating that it was torched in protest of hosting a Satanic event. Blackthorn managed to secure another location, but everything had to be condensed into a single day.

NEILL: We had one really long rehearsal scheduled right before the show; not much preparation at all. Of course, the airline lost all my luggage, including the bass Bernie was supposed to use, which sent my stress levels through the fucking roof. The BLACK WITCHERY guys were basically my lifeline, making sure I didn’t lose my mind.

How were they in person back then?

NEILL: Absolute integrity; they came off exactly the way they presented themselves to be. One thing that never changed over the years was their ability to introduce me to new music, even beyond black metal. All three of them – Vaz, Impurath, and Tregenda – were walking encyclopaedias of musical knowledge.

Luckily, the airline found Neill’s luggage just before their pre-show rehearsal; and then it was showtime.

NEILL: We played in the middle of the day, so sunlight poured through the windows behind us, which didn’t exactly fit my aesthetic. Nevertheless, we had an absolutely killer crowd, just like every Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child I attended. It was chaotic and violent – everything it needed to be. The perfect place to debut KRIEG live.

Since everyone stuck around on the second day, it turned into another massive US black metal gathering. That evening, a number of interviews were filmed for a documentary called American Underground Onslaught.

NEILL: I don’t remember if they asked me beforehand; I think the filmmakers just went from band to band. I was definitely highly intoxicated in the video. All the stress from the previous day, combined with having no real responsibilities, led to me drinking too much. Naturally, that ended up being the most well-known footage of me speaking.

By then, judging from fanzine interviews, Neill’s perspective on the US black metal underground had changed. He expressed frustration over a wave of newer bands landing label deals while longstanding, more deserving acts like DEMONCY, BLACK FUNERAL, and ABAZAGORATH were overlooked.

NEILL: I was probably the only one at Sacrifice that year still struggling to find a label, which is where my resentment stemmed from. BLACK WITCHERY were with Full Moon Productions, Baphomet Records signed THORNSPAWN… pretty much everyone had something lined up. As you’ll see in the years we’re covering, a lot of my bitterness just boiled down to jealousy.

 

Neill’s mother’s passing set in motion a chain of events, starting with an invitation from Akhenaten to join him in Chicago towards the end of the year.

NEILL: Andrew would come back to the US about once a year, usually around New Year’s. Knowing my mother had passed a few months earlier, he wanted to get me back into the world a little. That became a catalyst for much of what followed; Andrew got me out to Chicago and helped me move forward.

After introducing Neill to SARCOPHAGUS drummer Duane Timlin, Akhenaten suggested they borrow FOREST OF IMPALED’s rehearsal space and attempt to finish the “Destruction Ritual” recording.

NEILL: Unfortunately, I hadn’t properly secured my tapes containing the guitar tracks when passing through airport security. About to start recording, we discovered that some kind of magnetic interference had wiped out everything but four songs – and what was left sounded especially fucked up.

Most likely, the tapes were exposed to a magnetic field from security equipment, which either erased or corrupted the recordings. The surviving tracks had their guitar signals warped and degraded, leaving them barely listenable. Nevertheless, with Akhenaten acting as engineer, they added vocals and drums, completing a demo known as “Forgotten Secrets”.

NEILL: By then, some labels had started showing interest in KRIEG. I can’t remember if it was Death to Mankind or someone else that reached out first. ISO666 also contacted me, so I sent them copies of “Forgotten Secrets”. They basically responded by telling me to fuck off, calling it unlistenable.

 

In March 2001, Belgium’s Painiac Records released “To the Coming Age of Intolerance” – a split seven-inch with KRIEG and JUDAS ISCARIOT. Neill’s contribution, “Destruction Ritual”, came from the Chicago recording session four months earlier.

NEILL: There were a lot of milestones and emotions tied to that release – my first time on vinyl, appearing on a split alongside JUDAS ISCARIOT, and working with a label I really respected. To this day, it’s still one of my proudest moments.

According to a news update from KRIEG’s old website, the split sold out instantly.

NEILL: No question, it moved that fast because of JUDAS ISCARIOT – but for the first time, people had really started paying attention to what I was doing, especially in Europe. The seeds of momentum were there, but I didn’t actually feel it until a few months later.

Around the same time, Blood, Fire, Death re-pressed “Rise of the Imperial Hordes”, financially backed by its original owner, Ted Tringo. Like “To the Coming Age of Intolerance”, the reissue sold out almost immediately. But judging by the wording in KRIEG’s website announcement, Neill had already grown disillusioned with his debut.

NEILL: I think every musician or artist has something they look back on and cringe, even if it felt like an achievement at the time. I’m still proud of having recorded an American black metal album so early in the scene – something that, on its own, gives it value. But at the time, I was sick of “Rise…” and knew I could write better songs and express myself more effectively.

 

In April 2001, Cicatrix Records – a sub-label of Red Stream – released a KRIEG mini-CD titled “The Church”. It featured all four tracks from the “Forgotten Secrets” demo, plus “To Wander the Stars”, recorded with Teloc Coraxo during the original “Destruction Ritual” session in December 1999.

NEILL: Pat, the owner of Red Stream, was close with Andrew – and he recommended “The Church” to Cicatrix. So, yet another example of JUDAS ISCARIOT boosting KRIEG. We briefly discussed releasing the next album through them, but after putting out SECRETS OF THE MOON and HATE FOREST, the kid running the label vanished.

The title came from the Michele Soavi horror film, The Church, produced by Dario Argento. For the cover, Neill used a photo taken during his first trip to Germany. In a 2002 Hellehond interview, he explained that the idea was to capture ‘the feeling of something ancient falling to ruin’.

NEILL: Visiting Germany was incredibly powerful, especially as an American who hadn’t travelled much. Seeing buildings out in the open that predated my home country by centuries had a profound impact. Andrew, some of the guys from SEEDS OF HATE, and a few others gathered for a barbecue at these ruins.