Interview

Exquisite Ending Hates You And The Rest Of The Vile Plague That Is Mankind

U.K. metal outfit Exquisite Ending is all about the misanthropy, as I learned when interviewing vocalist / guitarist Cardinal Andra-Inanyus. This very well may be the first time an interviewee told me to kill myself - thanks for helping me knock that off my bucket list guys!

If you can get past the band's active disdain for you and everything you stand for, there's some killer black metal to be found here, with the latest release in the ongoing "Rite of Misanthropism" saga set to drop on Friday (with pre-orders available here).

You can now find out more than you ever wanted to know about hating the vile plague that is mankind through our interview with Exquisite Ending below.

xFiruath: This is the second part in “The Rite of Misanthropism,” covering psalms V to IX. How does this release connect to the last one, and will there be a part 3, 4, etc.?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: “The Rite of Misanthropism” is a sacred tome developed by our cult. It is separated into psalms, of which there are many. These recordings are the psalms of our religion.

xFiruath: Will the various “Rites of Misanthropism” EPs ever be released together as a full-length album?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: When they are complete, when the woven discord of chaos intertwines within their words we will present them as a whole.

xFiruath: Tell me a bit about your label Hibernacula Records and its history.

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: Hibernacula records is run by myself and our drummer, we're both in various different bands, with different characteristics. We began as a distribution label for our own material, then it grew to us helping out other bands with releases, buying distro lists from other labels and bands, and has snow balled into having a bit of a presence.

xFiruath: There's some pretty disturbing stuff on this release and a seriously misanthropic tone to the black metal on display. What sort of head space was the band coming from while writing this material, and what sort of theme or message are you going for here?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: The entire theme around the band as a whole is Misanthropism, taking the misanthropic hatred of all mankind and incorporating it into a paradoxical cult. This is born a lot out of various mental health issues, true misanthropic hatred and substance abuse.

xFiruath: What's the Exquisite Ending recording process look like?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: We write incredibly quickly. Marhtuk and I write the music, we record demos separately and together. Vile comes in for the arrangements and drum ideas, then we record everything ourselves. We keep it all linked, woven, raw, collected, together.

xFiruath: Tell me about the typical Exquisite Ending live stage show is like – do you have any particular outfits/props/etc. you use and what are the primary differences between experiencing the band on CD versus live?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: We want our shows to be more of congregations, black masses if you will. We don the famous corpse paint, in order to pay respect to past black metal artists, and ceremonial robes for the coming mass. We light candles, incense, burning skulls, blood. We also exhibit the disgusting and vile plague mankind does unto themselves with old television sets, all recorded onto VHS. for TRV lofi.

xFiruath: With the new EP coming out do you have any touring/live shows planned for the near future and will be heading abroad past your home territory anytime soon?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: We have shows lined up to coincide with the release, We're playing in London on the 24th of October, We're playing with Forgotten Tomb and Nocturnal Poisoning in Nottingham on November 4th as well as others planned abroad and throughout the rest of the United Kingdom.

xFiruath: Speaking of, what's the state of your metal scene these days?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: There is a scene, it is small, but it's strong. The UK metal community is tight nit, we're all bunking together.

xFiruath: Are any of the Exquisite Ending members active with other projects right now?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: I and Vile are also in a band called Victorian Whore Dogs, Marhtuk plays for Ventenner. We also have several other projects, studio works and recordings separate to that.

xFiruath: With the year ending, what have been some of your favorite metal releases so far and what's coming out soon you are looking forward to?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: New Napalm Death, Nocturnal Poisoning, Mayhem, Mgla, Cattle Decapitation. Not sure about coming soon, I like to be surprised.

xFiruath: Anything else you'd like to add?

Cardinal Andra-Inanyus: Kill Yourselves.

xFiruath: Will do!