by Niklas Göransson

Alone in The Black House, Neill Jameson left the shelter of fantasy and descended into the corridors of his haunted past. What began in storm and ended in snow became more than a Krieg album – it was an act of purging.

 

NEILL JAMESON: “The Black House” was a reflection of itself – all individual aspects fed into the larger framework. Every lyric carries a distinct emotional weight, which is why the music is somewhat varied. It became one large, living, breathing organism with each element deliberately crafted to complement the others.

KRIEG were set to record their third album – fourth, if including the shelved “Sono Lo Scherno” – at Winterblut Studios in Germany, starting early January 2003.

Neill travelled across the Atlantic a week early to refine the material with Akhenaten, who’d recently joined KRIEG as guitarist. Earlier that summer, the former JUDAS ISCARIOT frontman had ended his solo project on its tenth anniversary.

NEILL: Before flying to Germany, I spent five hours daily fine-tuning song structures. Once I arrived in Nuremberg, Andrew (Akhenaten) and I dedicated a couple of days to working through his parts, assessing their fit with mine, and adjusting accordingly. It was my first experience actually composing for a record rather than improvising in the studio.

“The Black House” was built on a recurring series of night terrors Neill began experiencing in 2002, all set in a warped version of his childhood Pittsburgh home. Each song represents a room from these dreams, and each room symbolises a real-life trauma.

Neill left for Germany carrying a notebook filled with descriptions of these dreamscapes. According to an interview published in Anvil Magazine, he’d kept the album’s concept hidden from Akhenaten.

NEILL: Oh, I definitely waited until we were sitting in Andrew’s kitchen to reveal the album’s themes. Given the VELVET UNDERGROUND cover, he already sensed things would be different. Still, we didn’t thoroughly discuss the concept until I arrived and walked him through the lyrics and vocal arrangements.

Were you concerned his Nietzschean ‘black metal elitist’ stance would clash with your introspective self-scourging?

NEILL: Probably, yeah. At that point, this ‘depressive suicidal black metal’ trend hadn’t quite taken hold. ABYSSIC HATE had released “Suicidal Emotions,” but there wasn’t yet a distinct subgenre – none of those kids with emo haircuts cutting themselves up.

How did Akhenaten respond?

NEILL: Any concerns I might’ve had were unfounded. If there’s one thing Andrew has always valued, it’s artistic integrity. Even if something doesn’t align with his tastes, he respects honesty in creative expression – something he instilled in me early on. He fully supported both the record and its concepts.

Case in point: the VELVET UNDERGROUND cover. Originally released in 1967, “Venus in Furs” is a hypnotic, droning track inspired by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 19^th-century novella of the same name – a literary work that gave rise to the term masochism.

Despite loathing Lou Reed, frontman of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND and a key figure in avant-garde rock, Akhenaten agreed to record it.

NEILL: I sent him two versions – the original from “The Velvet Underground & Nico” and a slower, dirtier live bootleg without cello. I figured he’d prefer the latter. Instead, when I arrived, he said, ‘I’ve bought a cello and have been taking lessons.’ He learned a new fucking instrument just for that song.

Did he ever use the cello again?

NEILL: I have no idea if he even touched it afterwards, but that kind of dedication came to define the entire recording. Both of us knew this album had to be significant – lyrically and conceptually. It was about writing from lived experience rather than fantasy.

Previous KRIEG records were mostly tracked at Vortex Sound in New Jersey, with drums for “Destruction Ritual” recorded at Studio One in Racine, Wisconsin. For “The Black House”, Neill chose Winterblut Studios in Nuremberg, Germany.

NEILL: It was a small studio just outside the city, run by L’Hiver of the band WINTERBLUT. From memory, the building had previously been a World War II bunker. NARGAROTH recorded “Rasluka Part II” at Winterblut, and I believe Andrew tracked parts of “To Embrace…” there.

Besides the 2002 JUDAS ISCARIOT album “To Embrace the Corpses Bleeding”, Akhenaten had also worked with Winterblut for DEBAUCHERY’s “Dead Scream Symphony” EP and FLAGELLATOR’s debut album, “Channeling the Acheron”.

NEILL: Winterblut felt like the right choice – not too expensive, and more importantly, it was the first time I recorded with a studio engineer who understood black metal. Also, I’d never had a full session line-up that truly grasped the material before. For once, everything followed a structured process.

 

Before beginning work on “The Black House”, KRIEG recorded a fully improvised EP titled “Patrick Bateman”. Both line-ups included Neill, Akhenaten, and Steve MetalKommand, but had different drummers: M.K. of KATHARSIS played on the EP, while Thrawn from SECRETS OF THE MOON handled the album.

“Patrick Bateman” was named after the protagonist from Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho. Neill and Akhenaten loved the book and wanted to draw inspiration from it but had no concrete plan for how the EP should sound.

NEILL: That EP came from months of conversations between Andrew and me about how to bridge KRIEG’s musical transition. “Patrick Bateman” pushed the bestial black metal sound to its peak, complementing “Destruction Ritual” but incorporating deeper tones, thanks to the bass. Sonically, it plunged us downward before rising toward where we were headed next.

In a 2003 Final Solution interview, Neill spoke about favouring realism over escapism, explaining why American Psycho resonated more strongly with him than Lovecraftian horror. This marked a notable shift from his earlier, fantasy-driven self – someone previously drawn to Dungeons & Dragons and literary world-building.

NEILL: I no longer felt comfortable with fantasy themes. It was about leaving childhood behind – letting go of that last vestige of innocence. I also wanted to take my work seriously, and in turn, be taken seriously.

Do you think this was a natural evolution or one driven by the recent hardships?

NEILL: Those years completely reshaped my worldview. Everything that happened – my mother’s passing, 9/11, my surroundings, the people in my life – pushed me towards reality over escapism. Honesty in my work became paramount. Processing those experiences was therapeutic, a way to purge the poison.

Was the outcome satisfactory?

NEILL: Yeah, “Patrick Bateman” was the perfect bookend to KRIEG’s first phase. Even the environment mirrored the shift. We recorded this violent, raw, improvised piece during a thunderstorm. The next day, as we began “The Black House”, the storm had given way to gentle snowfall. That contrast felt like a clear division between eras.

Much like Mortiis – an early inspiration to Neill – who divides his discography into distinct epochs, “Patrick Bateman” marked the end of KRIEG’s first evolutionary stage, defined by “Rise of the Imperial Hordes” and “Destruction Ritual”.

NEILL: You’re from Sweden, so you know the tranquillity snow brings – its own unique silence. Nothing else compares. Waking to that snowfall, then heading to the somewhat isolated studio to record “The Black House”, reinforced the feeling of something new beginning. It felt like stepping into a different life.

 

Riff-wise, “The Black House” didn’t stray far from “Destruction Ritual”, but it was clearer, heavier, and more structured.

NEILL: “The Black House” sounded exactly how I heard it in my head. I wrote everything on an unplugged guitar without distortion, so I always knew how the riffs would translate. Hearing them fully produced wasn’t shocking to me – but I knew it would be a completely different experience for anyone else.

You’ve said that figures like Lou Reed and Iggy Pop had begun to inform your musical direction – can you specify what elements you’d trace to these influences?

NEILL: Some of the rock ‘n’ roll-oriented parts in “The Black House” definitely carry a bit of THE STOOGES. I was also really into “Songs for the Deaf” by QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE. Nearly every day before heading to the studio, I’d torture Andrew by playing it. He hated that band. Hated Lou Reed. Hated how I brought the third EARTH album as a reference for the guitar tone I wanted.

“Pentastar: In the Style of Demons”, EARTH’s 1996 album, moved away from their earlier drone-metal monoliths toward a more structured, riff-driven approach. To accommodate this shift, the guitars have a dry, deep, and minimalist sound.

NEILL: So here I am, staying at Andrew’s place – this guy who set up an important recording session, assembled studio musicians, learned and wrote parts, drove me around to sort everything out – and I spent every morning blasting music he despised. Probably an ingrate move on my part; but to his credit, he was surprisingly open-minded about most of it.

In an interview the following year, Neill reflected on how channelling these nightmares into “The Black House” had, in a sense, helped banish them from his psyche.

NEILL: “The Black House” really was like exorcising a part of myself. At first, finishing the record brought a sense of relief. Then, through repeated listening over the coming months, it felt like slowly lifting a stain. Those recurring dreams faded until they were eventually gone. Other nightmares followed but never took hold the same way.

 

A website update following Neill’s return home announced that, for the first time in years, KRIEG had an official line-up: Akhenaten – now using the name D.o.A – on guitar, and Steve MetalKommand on bass. The drummer position remained vacant.

NEILL: Since most of my plans at the time revolved around Europe, I was considering either keeping Honza as a live drummer or bringing in Winterheart from STERBEND and NYKTALGIA; I don’t recall exactly. But Andrew and Steve were the first solid members I’d had in years.

That same update also confirmed an upcoming KRIEG appearance at Vengeance Fest in New Jersey alongside BLACK WITCHERY and MANTICORE – but not with the new line-up.

NEILL: No, it wasn’t financially feasible to fly them over. Instead, I brought in American session members. Marcus from SARCOPHAGUS and FOREST OF IMPALED played bass, Joe – the owner of Regimental Records – handled drums, and that would’ve been Blake Judd’s first time playing guitar with us live.

At the time, Neill was embroiled in conflicts with various other US black metal bands – including ALGOL, who were also performing at Vengeance Fest.

NEILL: That whole situation started because their singer, whom I’d never spoken to in my life, launched a letter-writing campaign urging labels worldwide not to sign KRIEG or carry my music. No idea what his reasoning was but obviously, it pissed me off. So, I went to ALGOL’s manager, Kyle, and asked, ‘What the fuck is this about?’ He had no clue either.

The manager in question, Kyle Powell, was also the promoter of Vengeance Fest. He’d previously organised Destruction Fest in 2002 and The Return of Darkness and Evil the year before. At the venue, Powell arranged for Neill and the ALGOL singer to sit down and hash out their differences.

NEILL: This guy couldn’t really explain himself, so I told him that after we were done, I was gonna fuck him up. Later, during our set, I announced my impending plans of beating his ass. As soon as we finished, I jumped off stage, all fired up – but he’d already left. Things cooled down after that.

 

In March 2003, two months after completing “The Black House”, Neill returned to Germany to prepare for KRIEG’s third European tour.

Before setting out, the band recorded six new tracks intended for various splits. The material expanded on the direction of “The Black House”, but with a more cavernous depth. The vocal delivery reminds me of VON, while the murky atmosphere brings to mind DEMONCY and MORTUARY DRAPE.

NEILL: I wrote everything at home after returning from the Winterblut sessions in January. When I flew back to Germany, I brought the riffs and plenty of ideas; the rest was refined and structured in the studio. And yeah, you nailed the influences on those tracks – MORTUARY DRAPE in particular. Amazing band.

What is that droning sound in the background?

NEILL: It’s from The Ring. In the scene where the first person dies and someone walks upstairs to find them, there’s this weird, unsettling drone – almost a pulsing effect. I thought that sound would be perfect as a constant presence beneath the surface, tying the songs together with its ominous thrum.

One of the tracks, “This Fading Form”, features a rare appearance by Akhenaten behind the kit. Although handling percussion for JUDAS ISCARIOT’s first eight years – spanning five full-length albums – he wasn’t widely known as a drummer.

NEILL: Honza couldn’t really play doom metal. The first half of that track has these half-doomy riffs before it suddenly stops and goes into a blast. Andrew actually sat down and handled the slow section, then – during the feedback break separating the parts – he stood up, ran off, and Honza jumped in to finish the song.

 

Once the recordings wrapped up, KRIEG embarked on the Eastern European Domination tour alongside French black metal band MERRIMACK.

NEILL: KRIEG was Andrew’s test subject to gauge interest and establish routes other bands could follow. He wanted to break into new territories – Eastern Europe being one of them. He even tried arranging KRIEG shows in India and China with just the two of us using local session musicians.

After performances in Poland and Slovakia, the tour entered terrain rarely traversed by underground metal acts, beginning in Timișoara, Romania. That night, KRIEG and MERRIMACK shared the stage with NEGURĂ BUNGET, a local band signed to Akhenaten’s Breath of Night Records.

NEILL: Just being in Romania felt surreal. The venue, some kind of high school, was packed wall-to-wall. We performed on a wooden stage while the crowd sat in chairs, as if watching a school play. Honza got incredibly drunk since he knew many people there, making it a chaotic night for us.

At the time, AVENGER drummer Honza Kapák was primarily known as the promoter of Open Hell – an underground open-air festival held in Volyně, Czech Republic. In the early 2000s, Open Hell grew into one of continental Europe’s most important black metal gatherings.

NEILL: Toward the end of our set, the venue’s sound system failed, forcing us to cut a couple of songs. Strange setup, but the crowd of at least four hundred maniacs went absolutely insane. The energy was unreal, and the Romanians showed us incredible hospitality. The response blew me away.

Following Romania, the tour moved to the Serbian capital of Belgrade. KRIEG and MERRIMACK were scheduled to perform alongside local veterans THE STONE, whom Akhenaten had befriended at Open Hell the year prior.

After their meeting, Awaken Productions – a small label run by THE STONE’s bassist – released “Аветињски плес сабласти”, a JUDAS ISCARIOT cassette compilation featuring “To Embrace the Corpses Bleeding” and “Moonlight Butchery”, with titles translated into Serbian and printed in Cyrillic.

NEILL: When we left Romania that morning, one of the NEGURĂ BUNGET members said he’d pray for us. To him, Serbia was this volatile, unpredictable territory. Naturally, I had my own concerns – as Americans, I didn’t know how we’d be received. After all, our country bombed the fuck out of theirs just a few years earlier.

In March 1999, NATO forces led by the United States conducted a bombing campaign against Serbia, aiming to force a military withdrawal from Kosovo. For seventy-eight days, airstrikes targeted military and strategic infrastructure, devastating civilian life and fuelling deep resentment toward NATO countries, particularly the US.

NEILL: We had to bribe the border guards, which was expected, but I think we ended up paying around a hundred euros just to get both bands through. On the other side, members of THE STONE greeted us with plastic jugs of Serbian alcohol. I’ve only had it that one time, yet I still remember the taste almost twenty years later.

Neill is referring to rakija, a potent fruit brandy widely consumed in Serbia and the Balkans. Typically homemade, rakija is distilled from fermented fruit – most commonly plums, grapes, pears, or apricots. Its strength is legendary, often reaching up to 60% alcohol.

NEILL: Brutal stuff, probably strong enough to kill an animal, but I drank it anyway. Andrew instilled in me early on: when visiting another country, you don’t shit on their hospitality. They took us to see war monuments – fascinating stuff – then back to an apartment for dinner. A huge spread awaited us, and drinks flowed all night, including that fucking alcohol.

How was the city of Belgrade?

NEILL: To my surprise, it was stunning – as metropolitan as anything I’d seen in Belgium, France, or Germany. Still, I felt uneasy about how we’d be received as an American band. We even asked the promoter to downplay our nationality. So, when we pulled up to the venue and saw a massive billboard reading ‘KRIEG – USA’…

 

NEILL: I just thought, ‘Oh, terrific.’ Then I noticed DEAD KENNEDYS were booked to play there shortly after – during that reformation period with a different singer – which felt like an odd pairing. But the venue itself? State-of-the-art, absolutely beautiful. And the crowd? Unreal. People were ripping shit off the walls. One of the craziest scenes I’ve ever witnessed.