As of lately, Arckanum has become the latest new thing that I've hear a lot of people talking about. The most I ever know of them was that infamous video on Youtube and that honestly rather unimpressive troll mask. So after investigating, I'm just curious what this guy has come up with as his ideas behind his music and his image. I could not find the gnosis article on his website. Just wondering...

Why don't you ask the man?

http://www.mortemzine.net/show.php?id=1043
Question 10 and onwards.

IIRC Arckanum is related to MLO/Temple of the Black Light. There are a bunch of other black metal bands related to the same themes, while being more or less related to the cult itself.

It's the same shit that isnspired Dissection's Reinkaos, the recent Ofermod album, Watain's latest album, and some other stuff (most of which I can't remember). The interpretation is just a little different.

If you're really interested in what lies behind this "chaos gnostic" kind of stuff:
http://www.templeoftheblacklight.net/
and look up information regarding a movement called "Current 218".

The book describing most of the "religion" is called Liber Azerate. It used to exist as a free download from MLO's website (which now just redirects to Temple Of The Black Light), but now all there is is a notice talking about a future release in English with physical copies.

Since it was availible before as a .pdf though it shouldn't be too difficult to obtain. Right now I don't remember which language it was written in though. The .pdf might be only in Swedish.

Seems just like a new definition of the same old stuff... or likely an attempt to try and make it 'more evil'. What ever happened to music?

Or not, since he has been doing it since their first CD.

gnostics believe that the earth which is a sort of prison was created by jehove, a false god called the demiurge. they seek to reconnect with the true god who lies behind the prison of the physical. chaos gnostics are the same but behind the veil they dont see a true god they see absolute chaos which they wish to return to. the material prison is the cosmos where we are governed by cause and effect, this is their enemy.

Either way, have you ever seen his troll mask?

Reading his interview, I can help but think as he's typing his resonses on his computer, he's either holding a diet Mountain Dew in one hand or a battlemace. No matter how you look at it, its laughable.

I like the troll mask!
Anyway, feel free to point out what was laughable with the interview, I'm interested from what viewpoint you approached it.

Does anyone know the reason to why he wears the troll mask?

This is a very good short summary of Gnosticism.

If I remember correctly, it's got something to do with a desire to "distance himself from humanity" and that he sees trolls as a powerful and good symbol to use in this endeavour.

What is laughable is how goddamed seriously he takes it (also his description of the god Pan soulds like something a mallcore ICP fan would come up with, it souds naive and angry)

My point of view is the idea that with this "blacker than the blackest of black" image he puts up, he either doesn't take black metal seriously in the least, or he takes it way to damn seriously.

And if he does take these ideas so seriously, then he is a fool. How can we expect that the whole univese will be subdued by a small handful of angry little egoists in Sweden? Of what profit or substance is a life spent raging and cursing from some bare darkened alcove at all of existence convinced of the idea that one is mastering it through little rituals and incantations? I guess in a way he really does emulate that mask of his...

I prefer to embrace the cosmos and be awestruck and humbled by it. To me the usiverse is beyond our understanding through our pale divinities and barely detectable through our sciences. I feel the purpuse of our life is to master our reality as is presented at our level. That cannot be achieved by loathing all of reality and desiring its destruction, for we know that the universe will exists beyond Arckanum. He should throw in his lot with the Hare Krishnas.

The only other reason to admire Arckanum's creations is on a purely aesthetic level, for unless you submit to his ideas, there is nothing of value here.

I just noticed that on the info for the album Kostogher it says:

"During the time this album was recorded, LP III "Kampen" and LP IV "Faunaz Samgang" were completed. "

What happened to LP IV "Faunaz Samgang"?

I think a shotgun round would take him farther from humanity than any mask could...