EWIGKEIT - "Live from a bunker" was recorded on Saturday the 4th of October 2006.
Mr Fog outlines the plan: "It really is an old nuclear bunker - converted into a studio, it belongs to a rich friend of mine. Its on the outskirts of Brighton, and is a underground concrete complex of 3 rooms. The room we used is the reinforced room which is supposed to be where you ideally go when the nuclear strike takes place. The ceiling is 6ft thick, with a lead lining and wire mesh throughout"

Featuring:
James Fogarty (vox/ guitar), Jordan Long (bass) (nominated for a Perrier award for his comedic ability and an in demand actor) & Andrew Bridge (keys and digital manipulations)
Camera by Anthony Gates.
Mr. Fog, front man and reclusive genius behind Ewigkeit states "EWIGKEIT played it's first live studio performance deep in a converted nuclear bunker because due to the themes of the music, we thought it would be the safest place to escape the tyrannical power of the New World Order"
He continues - "the bunker is (as far as we know) bunker-buster proof, and impenetrable to US spy satellites"
The gig which lasts for about half an hour "it is dedicated to all those who fight the powers-that-be past, present and future and the successful continuation of anti-establishment musical warfare"
Mister Fog also mentions that "The gig induced extreme paranoia" Fogarty continues to prepare for all-out total war with the illuminati through sonic mind altering and anarchic riot inducing noise. Battle plans are currently being drawn up to continue where the last musical assault on the fascistic global elite left off (Conspiritus Earache rec. 2005)

Warning: Watching this video "can lead to paralysis of your gullibility in the mass media machine"

Eccentric Brighton based leftfield band Ewigkeit will be on "The metal lunchbox" on Totalrock this afternoon at about 1pm UK time talking about future projects, musical challenges and Ewigkeit's world view.

Ewigkeit have been quiet throughout 2006, the elusive Mr. Fog seemed to be slipping further into seclusion. Then out of the blue he announces "I've released a FREE E.P. - Fuck copyright, Fuck the industry"
Errrm...we had to find out what the fuck was going on...

What's the idea behind 'Return to the Land of Fog'?
The idea was to revisit my favourite tracks from the Land Of Fog album.  As these have largely not been heard by the people who have bought "Radio Ixtlan" and the new album "Conspiritus", I felt it would be a nice gesture to those who have shown interest in the music and story behind Ewigkeit.

What tracks?
The tracks that have been re-recorded are Land Of Fog, Tired Face and Super Sonic Blue Thunder.  These were my favourite songs from that album, as I still find I like something about them.  They are definitely "metal" and, to me at least, they are classic tracks.

Why is it free?
Not only are E.Ps commercially and financially unviable, but I just wanted to celebrate the beginnings of the current phase of Ewigkeit as a musical journey.  There's no point expecting people to pay for them - even though they are better than most current bands.  I always thought that most records I have bought/heard/downloaded in the past few years have only had 2 or 3 good songs on them anyway.  There's no fillers on this MP3 E.P....  I guess it's also a way to make stingy people aware of Ewigkeit without having them have to break the law by illegally downloading them.

Too much music is instantly forgettable and made on a production line.  Unfortunately, that whole capitalist idea of fast-food music has crept into the rock/metal scene in the past few years.  How many times have you heard all the buzz in the press recently about certain bands/groups being the "next big thing", only to hear them and find out it's a rehash of the biggest pile of middle-of-the-road shit with some obligatory gimmicry attached ?   

What is your opinion of downloading music generally?
My personal opinion about downloading music is that it isn't harmful to anyone.  The major media companies (film & music) complain about it, but then the majority of what they release these days is absolute shite which is manufactured for the only reason of making money.  There's no harm to the artist what-so-ever.  What the fuck is that twat Lars Ulrich doing sitting in his fucking mansion complaining about downloads for ?  His band owes so much of it's initial success to covering other band's songs and tape-trading between fans !  Fuck off Mr Money and all them other whinging millionaire grannies - you've had your fucking day, time to retire..  

Music/information revolution on the internet good thing/bad thing?  
I think the reason you see lots of high-profile news stories in the media about the evils of downloading (and the internet in general, come to that matter) is that the internet is a media through which un-regulated transfers of information can take place at the blink of an eye on a global scale.  Obviously the people at the top of the food chain don't like that - it's taken away people's belief in the media to an extent.  Now you can find out for yourself about facts behind news stories and other things that have remained hidden for so many years.  People are actually starting to wake up to the control of the media - and the internet is one media that cannot be controlled.

Free music, terabytes of porn, killing millions of real people in virtual war games, it's a utopian dream surely?
Why are there so many viruses on the web ?  A paranoid cynic (like myself) may think that it is a "problem - reaction - solution" scenario where-by people demand that something be done about it, and then you are offered free "email scanning" engines by your internet providers.  We've already seen the fuss made by the U.S govt. about google not handing over it's search records.  I think there will be a lot more of that to come.

It's all very ironic that the internet was actually developed by the U.S military...

So what can we expect on the horizon for Ewigkeit?
Hmmm... I am thinking about some new material, but  I am not 100% sure as to what it will sound like or what it's theme / narrative will be.  Its always tempting to do an album around a concept - but i cant be sure if I want to do that again after Conspiritus.  I am keen to keep it on a more politically aware edge like Conspiritus though, as my interest in global politics is keen to say the least !

Ewigkeit's debut music video It's Not Reality is now online...
The track It's Not Reality is taken from the stunningly crafted new album 'Conspiritus', where we are taken on a journey through a paranoid world of conspiracy fact and fiction. This melodic soundtrack of industrialsed ambient and progressive metal was written, recorded and arranged by main-man James Fogarty and mixed by legendary producer John Fryer.

We took some inspiration from the classic John Carpenter film 'They Live', and adapted those ideas on a shoe-string budget, shot it in and around the area I grew up in - scummy Brighton"

all to often, metal videos have no narrative or ideas behind them - they're always just the same fucking music to the same fucking video - I think we came up with something different both musically and visually here.

click the image to watch the video

The video was filmed and produced by Brighton-based director Anthony Gates, and features James Fogarty (Ewigkeit) and friends Jordan Long (actor/comedy writer), David Else and Andrew Bridge (Freudstein).

Earache records resident musical virtuoso Ewigkeit will be making some hard to find tracks availble exlusively to members of his Email mailing list. Subscribing is free and its easy to do.

To become a subscriber, simply send a blank email with the title "mailing list" to fogarty23@ntlworld.com.

In addition, the man behind the music, James Fogarty, is working hard to find many of the written interviews which have been conducted over the years for Ewigkeit along with additional materials to be posted on his very own website, www.deathtomusic.com

Critics have called Ewigkeit's new album, Conspiritus, the Pink Floyd of dark metal. Garnering praise from many media outlets, Ewigkeit is sure to be one of Earache's best releases of 2005.

Ewigkeit's Conspiritus is set for US release on November 29th through Earache records and is already available in the UK and Europe. To purchase Conspiritus visit your local record store or check the Earache webstore via the links below.

What you have here is truly some revolutionary metal, ....if you embrace the new dynamics of music, Ewigkeit are the way to go. Room Thirteen

Get ready for Ewigkeit's second album for Earache - 'Conspiritus' an analysis of a hypothetical reality in which the world is controlled and manipulated by shadowy figures hiding behind multi-national corporations, the media machine, international banks and the global military.

Described by Metal Hammer as an amazing fusion of death metal, psychedelia, tripped out lyrical paranoia and heavy electronics, 'Conspiritus' is a non-stop seamless cinematic journey in sound which encompasses the characteristics of metal, rock, electronica and sample-based music - mixed by a master of all these genres: John Fryer (Depeche Mode, NIN, Cradle of Filth).

If there is a soundtrack to the strange times we live in, 'Conspiritus' is it.

An advance track from the album  is available for fans as an Mp3
download exclusively  from www.metaltracks.com/freebies

Ewigkeit have completed work on New album  entitled Conspiritus.  Recorded and engineered by Ewigkeit main man James Fogarty and mixed by John Fryer Conspirtus is due for release on Earache on 29th August 2005..
Conspiritus is an analysis of a hypothetical reality in which the world is controlled and manipulated by shadowy figures hiding behind multi-national corporations, the media machine, international banks and the global military.

Over the ten tracks on display James’s lyrical themes explore the ways in which this shadowy elite will seek to manipulate, enslave and exploit mankind; from slavery via debt through manufactured diseases, to control through the media, all woven into a non-stop seamless cinematic journey in sound which encompasses the characteristics of metal, rock, electronica and sample-based music - as gratifying to the spaced out devotee of Pink Floyd as to the fan of the regimented grimace of Killing Joke.

Full tracklist
1. Intro - The Hypothesis
2. It's Not Reality
3. Square Sunrise
4. The Nightmare Institution
5. Far Away From Heaven
6. Transcend the Senses
7. The Thought Police
8. How to Conquer The World (Live At The bohemian  grove)
9. Theoreality
10. Conspiritus

An advance track from the album  is available for fans as an Mp3 download
exclusively  from www.metaltracks.com/freebies

Earwig Kites? Dirty hippies? Dimmu Burgers? It’s all in a day’s work for England’s newest left-field sensation (and Earache Records’ latest crowning achievement), EWIGKEIT.
Front-man James Fogarty (aka Mr. Fog) explains the art of dreaming, and why reality is what you can get away with, after all.

Conceivably described as “King Crimson meets Arcturus,” many bands claim Pink Floyd as influences, but it would appear this band is actually doing something about it—and while spacey prog-rock influences are not uncommon for gothic or doom-oriented metal bands, it is highly unique for a blackened post-death band…
And while Mr. Fog and co. may be humble about their influences and artistic success, upon successive listens, it becomes clear that there is nothing to be humble about at all: Nothing sounds like EWIGKEIT, and very little could even if it wanted to. EWIGKEIT is the sound of consciousness expanding…forcibly.
Explore…

Fnord?
(NOTE: This is an in-joke; fans are implored to seek out Robert Anton Wilson’s Illuminatus! Trilogy, from which EWIGKEIT take some of their lyrics.)

(laughter) Fnord? Oh yes! I’ve read the Illuminatus! trilogy recently, actually. I’m very into the whole conspiracy thing—not just since 9-11, but just generally…

Before we kick into high gear, some of your fans wanted me to ask you a couple of questions…
I have fans?

Yes, you do. You actually have quite a few.
Oh my God…(cynical laughter)

Well, I asked your fans what they wanted to know—and hopeless optimist that I am, I assumed it would be something deeper that what I had in mind.
(laughter)

For starters, give us the proper pronunciation of your band, and its meaning.
It’s pronounced “Evy-kite”: if you’re from southern Germany, it’s pronounced “Evischkeit.” It’s German for “Eternity.” Some seem to think there’s something “fascist” about the name, but it’s complete bunk. There is nothing “fascist” about eternity, no matter what language you put it in.

Well, your “fans” also wanted to know the following: 1.) Are you a dirty hippie? And 2.) Why do you call yourself “Mr. Fog?”
(Much laughter.) Well, I wouldn’t say I’m a hippie…but I am a big fucking hairy guy with a huge beard and dreadlocks. I keep a steady job, and a rather boring one at that. I live in a decent area.

So why “Mr. Fog?” (I’d think it’d be rather obvious, personally…)
Well, many of my relatives were called “Foggy” as a nickname…

So it was like the Blackadder episode with the jailkeepers all named “Ploppy?”
Ah, yes! Very funny comedy. Very funny, indeed.

Would you say, “Nothing on this album is true, but it’s exactly how things are?”
I would say ‘yes.’ Definitely. As far as how things “are,” I would recommend our fans come see us live.

Well, then, speaking of “live,” Timothy Leary suggested that every time we move on to a new land, our consciousness expands—hence why he supported the US going to Mars. Would that imply that touring is the path to enlightenment?
You know, I was actually talking to someone about this last night! I think so, actually. Definitely. But it’s the fans who’ll find out, won’t they?

The lyrics to “Esc.” (pronounced “escape”) imply you don’t believe in Death as a natural state. Leary once suggested that Death and Aging was a learned response. Care to comment?

That wasn’t really where I was going with it, but I think what you’re saying is very interesting. I definitely see what he means. I think you have to have that level of optimism—even if you know that it’s wrong.

Powerplant: Salvia Divinus or Psylosiben?
Indeed, the plant is highlighted…very good. It has very much to do with the Carlos Castaneda “power-plant.” As to your specific inquiry…I’m not so familiar with the former, so I would have to say the latter. Everything in moderation.

Would you agree that the War on Drugs (and its “Just Say No” rhetoric), like Sexual Abstinence programs, only rob young voyagers of a proper handbook?
Yes, absolutely. I mean, I’m not very into the drug thing anymore—despite what the album might imply. I don’t even drink anymore. I used to drink heavily, but I quit for this album. It was like a pile of bricks being lifted off my shoulders. I know what you’re saying though—a manual for naughty girls and boys…

Without encouraging the use of ANYTHING, what would be the first piece of advice to someone who “just said yes”? Safety tips?
Make sure it’s natural…like mushrooms, pot, or alcohol—I wouldn’t go any further than that, personally.

The lyrics to “Journey To Ixtlan” are significantly darker than other songs. Was this a bad trip or a bad day?
(laughter) Those lyrics weren’t actually written by me. They were written by my co-writer. He’s actually ten years older than me—he’s actually a charted psychologist. But he’s had his rock n’ roll days. That’s more his thing.

Referring to “Conquer the Fear,” how might one make “weakness their crown?”
That’s a good question. I was raised Roman Catholic…the song was really about integrity. It’s not how physically strong you are—that doesn’t count for shit at the end of the day.

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Is the world ready for EWIGKEIT?
Would I be the student or the teacher? I mean, was the world ready for Napalm Death? When they started out…what they were doing was, at the time, very different—it was anarchic, and very new. A lot of the bands now, they’re aping what they did years ago—as well as bands like Obituary, Morbid Angel, and so forth. But these bands started in 1987 or 1988—and yet we’ve got these bands aping what they did back then, what was done fifteen years ago, in the year 2004. It’s time to move on.

You’re obviously a Carlos Castaneda fan… How did the “art of dreaming” play into the creation of your new album?
Well, it’s actually been three or four years since I’ve read the Carlos Castaneda books, but I’d say it played quite a large part.

Is “Radio Ixtlan” a pirate station?
(laughter) Yes! Well, “Ixtlan,” in the Castaneda mythos, would be the place that you could never get to. It’s the place where you can find peace. Maybe it’s death, maybe it’s something else. There’s no time there. Interpret it however you like.

What went into the creation of “Radio Ixtlan?”
A lot of work! By that time I’d stopped smoking and stopped drinking. I was quite ill.

So this album had a sobering effect?

Actually, it was quite the other way around. I was able to record because I’d stopped these things…originally, I wasn’t intending to record another album. But the label that released Land Of Fog were saying “we want another album!” But I only wanted to do it if I could make it a particularly strong release.

Well, it’s definitely that…it really makes a person want to explore your older material.
Well, the first album is shit. The second one, I produced that one myself. It was a very deep album…but still quite immature, musically. Now the third album (Land Of Fog)—that’s closer to what I wanted. That’s the one to check out. .

Will Earache be reissuing your previous releases?
No…I doubt it. I’ll probably be doing that myself.

So, what are you actually trying to accomplish with EWIGKEIT?
Catharsis. This is my therapy.

Are you aware of how much it rules? How does it feel to be one of the most original voices on the Earache roster?
It has to; it’s useless otherwise. Obviously, I’m not satisfied with the first few albums, no…but I think this one holds up quite nicely.

Would you describe EWIGKEIT as “Headphones music”?
There’s certainly an element of that. I want to push the music forward. There was a scene in the 80’s that was very much like that in the 60’s—very similar to your rave culture of today….there was something very dangerous about it all back then…something very exciting, really. But where is it now? Where is the danger, now? Everything is so…so…safe. Even Death Metal—it’s not threatening anymore. It’s all speed for the sake of speed. I mean, 90% of people who play in grindcore bands don’t even know why the fuck they play blast-beats half of the time. I do it to push the music forward.

So you feel most “extreme music” has just become “extreme” for the sake of itself, having become a bankable entity? Like mall-punk or “commercial” black metal?
Exactly. Like Dimmu Borgir…or Dimmu Burger…it’s prepackaged McMetal for your convenience. Take a totally unrelated genre—hip-hop, for instance. When it started in the 80’s it was all about the message—bands like Public Enemy or N.W.A., both very political bands. Now you just have guys grabbing their crotches, bragging about how many bitches they have.

What would you say to those who might initially pass on your band due to its unusual moniker?
If there are people who want to do that, I don’t think I’d really want to have them as fans, because they probably wouldn’t get it anyway.

Well said. So tell me about your influences.
Recent? There isn’t too much terribly recent that I like; I’m mostly influenced by the musicians I play with, to be honest.

Anything else you’d like to impart to your fans before I let you go?
Print some blank lines. Let them fill it in themselves:
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Monday 6th September finally sees the release of “Radio Ixtlan” Ewigkeit’s debut album for Earache.
The brain child of The Meads Of Asphodel co-founder, James Fogarty, has with “Radio Ixtlan’ produced an album that will appeal to fans across the board – from Black Metal to Killing Joke to Opeth to The Orb – this is such a diverse and challenging album, based around the mysterious Mexican Incas, combining tribal atmospherics and cosmic trippy psychedelia that would keep any Pink Floyd fan happy! Mr. Fogarty is not one to shy away from experimental and controversial projects – he is part of ex-KLF man Jimmy Cauty’s new project Blacksmoke. If you like your music challenging, thought provoking and different then this is definitely an album you should be checking out

Earache Records announce the signing of the UK's most promising
progressive-minded metal band, Ewigkeit.
Ewigkeit (pronounced Ay-vig-kite) which means 'Eternity'in German,is the brainchild of one James Fogarty (aka Mr. Fog), and began life in Brighton UK in the mid 90's as a studio based project when a young Mr. Fogarty became disillusioned playing in generic Thrash & Metal bands. He wanted to experiment with more ambient and progressive elements in the predominantly metal-mix, resulting in the highly innovative Ewigkeit sound.

In the summer of 2004 Earache will be bringing Ewigkeit's new album to the masses.Entitled 'Radio Ixtlan' it is James' most ambitious project to date and is already being hailed as a potential 'The Dark Side Of The Moon for the death metal generation' by some critics.

Although Ewigkeit were formerly considered to be a Black Metal act, 'Radio Ixtlan'is a diverse listening experience based around the mysterious Mexican Incas,and contains enough trippy psychedelia to please fans of Pink Floyd, Killing Joke, Opeth, The Orb and even Moby. 'Radio Ixtlan' will definitely appeal to those who like their music challenging, experimental and certainly different.

James is also a member of controversial ex-KLF man Jimmy Cauty's new project, Blacksmoke, www.blacksmoke.org and with that band has been performing shows at various locations from art-house installations to London's Barbican venue.

'Radio Ixtlan' is slated for release on Earache Records on July 12th 2004
and comprises the following 9 tracks;