1349 Aren’t Scared by Black Metal Outgrowth

Black metal rising to prominence isn't something that the members of 1349 spend time worrying about. The homogeny and outgrowth of the genre -- which praises all things blasphemously evil and Jesus-hating -- doesn't scare the band, whereas many black metal acts spend their moments trying to keep their genre out of the light and firmly entrenched in the dark.

In fact, drummer Frost has a rather Darwinian view of the genre, telling Noisecreep, "All living things undergo evolution. There is not much point in meaning so much about that. The kind of extreme music that we play will necessarily have a limited audience, but it's natural that it, at some point, starts to reach beyond the core of diehard devotees. If it hadn't, there would, for sure, never have been any possibility for U.S. fans to see 1349 live on American soil."

Black metal fans will see 1349 on American soil at least twice this year. They will tour with Cannibal Corpse this spring and return for a toplining tour later this year. It's about the marathon, not the sprint for this long-running band, which has been together since 1997 -- an eternity in black metal years."We have a genuine passion for the music we play," Frost said. "We have gotten even more tightly bound to our musical work as we have grown with our band and have grown in skill, insight and experience. You want to be where your heart is, you know?"

Wait, we thought black metal musicians didn't have hearts? OK, we know they have tickers. They're just blackened, like the music. 1349's 'Demonoir' is out April 27.