Interview with Ank from Tharaphita for "Ideon Antron" online magazine, issue 02

1) We are very happy to have you with us. Please introduce you and Tharaphita by giving us the story so far.

Hello! My name is Ank. I am a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of Estonian Pagan Metal band Tharaphita. I founded this band 15 years ago and for now we have released four full-length albums plus some mini albums and demos.

2) It is not well known in Hellas but it seems that you have in Estonia a really strong metal scene. What kind of reactions do you have from different parts of the world?

Estonian metal scene is growing stronger right now. There are some bands who could become big names in the international metal scene after some years. The most well-known Estonian metal band Metsatöll has already toured with bands like Finntroll, Ensiferum, Samael, Rotting Christ etc… I also recommend people to check out the following bands: Sorts, Loits, Urt, Sõjaruun.


You can visit the page: www.estonianmetal.com

3) The last years we hear a lot about the genre pagan metal. A lot of water came down the stream since Skyclad first started it. Today a lot of bands plays pagan but not necessarily the members are Old Believers. Do you think that it is a trend or it is the values of the Old Ways that bring people onto this scene?

There are probably many bands/people who follow the trend or become randomly involved in the scene but mostly they will be gone soon. It really seems like a pagan/viking/folk metal boom today, but it´s not bad of course, because also the real bands finally get the attention they deserve. Only the time will tell us, which developments will come next in the scene …


4) Hundiseadus is a magnificent song that has gave us shiver; can you please tell us the story behind the words? It has puzzled us a lot.

Hundiseadus (The Law of the Wolf) is about the wolfen society. Some parallels can be driven between the human society and the nature, where the strong ones will survive and the weak ones are destined to die, but in the society, the raw strength has lost its importance to crafty competence for power and material things. Homo homini lupus est.


5) Can you please tell us a few words for your Mythology and the History of Estonia? We know so few things about! How important are they for Tharaphita and for you as men?

Tharaphita (with several variations in the spelling) is believed to be the fire god of our ancestors before Estonia was conquered and the land divided between the Christian kingdoms and orders of Westerns Europe. During the last years, several extremely valuable ancient treasures and burial places have been discovered in Estonia, which have revealed that instead of savage and poorly developed communities, as written in historical reviews, our ancestors had had a great civilization that has been remembered also by our neighbouring nations in their mythology and epics. The times before the defeat of our ancestors after the Livonian Crusade in 1227 are called the Estonian Viking Age. For us, remembering the old times and the great deeds of our ancestors is of great importance. People should learn to be more respective with the nature, because the nature actually gives us the air to breathe and the food to eat but people tend to destroy selfishly everything around them for only to achieve temporary material gains.

6) How far have you been for giving a concert? How would you react if supposedly you were invited for a pagan festival in Hellas by Old Believers? Which other bands would you like to play with in this supposedly –for the time- festival?

Since now we have played in Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. But it would be very glad to play in Hellas, gig organizers are welcome to get in touch. I think that people who like the bands Amon Amarth, Skyforger and Moonsorrow should check us out. We would really appreciate to play with the bands just mentioned but of course we consider all the pagan-metal bands to be our friends and co-fighters.

7) Which bands are your inspirations in the History of Tharaphita? Do you find time to listen new stuff? If yes, which bands do you find really interesting?


In the history of Tharaphita, perhaps the following bands are of the greatest importance: Bathory, Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal, Mayhem, Isengard, Storm, Enslaved, Rotting Christ, Root, Master´s Hammer, Katatonia, Celtic Frost, Running Wild, Manowar, Iron Maiden, Accept, Dio, Black Sabbath, Count Raven, Tiamat … and also some non-metallic stuff like Dead Can Dance, Nebelhexe… for example.
I really try to find time to listen to new music and it depends on the mood what kind of music.
Firstly I usually check out the new releases of the bands that have liked in different periods of my life. In this year we already have some awesome albums from the great old bands like Accept, Burzum, Overkill … but I listen to new bands too, I recently discovered bands like Fejd, Lifelover etc…

8) It is really hard to find your cd-s in Hellas, is there any shortcut address that someone can attend to? By the way, how do you find the whole thing that is called “music industry”? Are you satisfied by today’s status?

Our cd-s and shirts can be ordered from: http://www.nailboard.org
I am quite satisfied with the music industry today, now everything depends more on the band itself.

9) I have read that you are writing new songs. Can you tell us some words about the style and the time that are about to be released?

Yes, we are writing a new album. The release date will probably be in the year 2012.
I guess it will be more melodic but darker and deeper compared to our last album, which came out in 2007.

10) Yes we have finally made the circle of questions! We hope to have you again in the future with us! We offer always the last words to our guests! Please send your message to the Hellenes fans and close this interview as you like!!


Greetings to all pagan-metal friends in Hellas! Be aware of yourself and your past to control your future!

Please visit our Myspace: www.myspace.com/tharaphita



Thank you for your time to answer to our questions!