Twenty-nine years have passed since Spiritual Decay was released, the last full-length from Lethal Prayer. Now, without any digital fanfare, we are presented its long-awaited successor: Sacrilege Infernus. No press release. No Bandcamp. No algorithmic offerings. No social media presence.

Are we not now compelled to reject the funderground’s exhausted status quo, just as Lethal Prayer already has, through negation rather than appeasement: no inbox spam from PR companies, no curated “metal” personae on Instagram and Facebook, no Metal Archives profiles as proof of existence and validity, no Bandcamp pages optimized for mindless consumption; no endless cycle of performative posts for gaining social capital?

Guitarist and composer Belial’s shadowy labor is not nostalgia for the DIY past. It is resistance to the funderground: to create without audience and to release without applause. So yes, perhaps this is the way forward where nothing is begged for; where a record does not arrive in our email inboxes, but rather it finds us.

When asked about the current state of the funderground, Belial said that it is comprised of “greed and narcissism.” To explain why their latest album wasn’t made available on digital streaming platforms, Belial said: “We’re not in this for money, notoriety, or social posturing. For us, it’s about therapy and camaraderie. When you create music or art to serve a specific narrative, to fit into a particular genre, or just to meet expectations, it stops being real. That’s just pandering.”

Belial begrudgingly allowed the following track to be posted on YouTube. We appreciate his time and insights.

I looked into your former presence on Metal Archives, the Belialgoat profile. You contributed to the site by adding bands like Funerus, Derketa, Mythic, Disharmonic Orchestra, Ripping Corpse, and Conqueror, along with your own projects during the turn of the millennium. Why did you abandon Metal Archives so long ago?

I didn’t abandon them. I had a period of time when I wasn’t online for a bit and I had forgotten my password and through many attempts to try to regain access to my accounts I just gave up. There are several things that are incorrect that need changed, and I don’t even have the ability to fix my own pages I created.

With you, it has never been about social performance. While you maintain a professional demeanor in the public eye, the Belial I have encountered uncompromisingly lives and breathes music. Metal is not a hobby for you; it is existence. I do not sense this same fire in those who waste time playing Nintendo games, who post rehearsals and cover songs on social media, often seeking attention through social performance. In short, I do not believe they suffer for the art as you do.

Thanks for the compliment. I basically do this for my own personal gratification.

You are one of the songwriters of Nocturnus AD, and you have played with Acheron, Incantation, and others. Many PR firms would eagerly attach themselves to a legacy figure like you for the appearance of credibility. Yet you reject these machines. Why?

I’ve always wanted to earn any accolades to my own personal achievements not ride the coattails or glory of others. As much as I am grateful and have much respect for bands and people, I’ve had the privilege to work with I’ve always tried to present my own path, for better or worse.

Some record labels today would have welcomed your new album without hesitation. Why did you not submit it to them? Why did you instead choose to release it through your own imprint, Decaying Filth Music, and only send it to people who you know personally?

Wanting to keep and own all my intellectual property fully. There are a couple labels I am sending it too.

What are your thoughts on the so-called funderground and the current metal landscape? Why does it seem that everything now revolves around appearances and social posturing? What went wrong?

Greed and narcissism.

You have stated that you are underground of the underground, there is an element of integrity of staying true or else you are false. What is trueness for you? What is false?

As I said earlier, I do this for me. We (band) aren’t in this for money notoriety or social posturing. It’ more therapy and camaraderie. When you create music or art for a specific narrative or to fit a particular genre and only for what is expected of you then it’s not truly real, it’s pandering. Thats how I see it anyway but hey, to each their own.

What is the true path forward for metal? Is it going back to the shadows?

Maybe ? I don’t know. There are so many forms of metal and means of expression, its all just a personal matter of taste and interest. Keep being original and trying new things just don’t get lost in lunacy. Sometimes extremity is taken too far to the wrong places but there is a market for anything and everything theses days, so it’ll find its way.

LETHAL PRAYER
P.O. Box 113
Pinellas Park
FL. 33782
U.S.A.

Tags: death metal, Florida Death Metal, funderground, interview, Lethal Prayer