Portland, Oregon's NICODEMUS began in 1998 as the brainchild of guitarist Christopher Morris. Drawing influences from Progressive, Traditional and European styled Black Metal, NICODEMUS have caught the attention of many underground Metal fans. Though they may call the States their home, they have definitely put their concentration on the European market, signing with Greek label Sonic Age Records. With a recently revitalized lineup, NICODEMUS will be making their debut UK tour this July.

First of all, what are your expectations for the U.K. tour?

"Well, for the most part, we want to get the video out and the album that we've pressed under Sonic Age Records and just get it promoted. I mean, there's a lot of fans over there that we need to pretty much show the live show to 'cause they've seen it on the video and they want to see the real deal, so we want to show them the real deal and that's pretty much it."

Okay, speaking of the video, what were the ideas and concepts behind the "Next In Nocturne" video?

"Well, Joni (DeRouchie, director) and Chris Morris (guitars, vocals) both came up with the concepts in tandem and that's pretty much it. I mean, Joni had a lot of concepts and so did Chris and they just came together and made that video work and they made it work quite well, I think."

Now what is with the rarity of live shows, because I haven't seen NICODEMUS advertised as playing hardly ever.

"Well, there's all kinds of opportunities to play shows, but basically, as far as this band is concerned, a lot of it is done behind the scenes for how far we get. Now that we've gotten things that we want to get behind the scenes, we're actually stepping out from behind the curtain and go for it, so you'll see more in the future, trust me."

I know you guys are looking to further establish your presence in Europe, but what about the States?

"We've got no problem with the States, the States are great, man. But the thing is the type of music we play is more responded to in those areas in Europe. I mean, there's no question about that - you know that as well."

How is your relationship with Sonic Age?

"Good."

(after a pause) Just good?

"Yep."

Okay. Now tell us a bit about the additions to the band.

"Well, I'm one of them. Basically, their longtime guitar player, Matthew McGee, he stepped out and he wanted to do some other things; he wanted to play some jazz guitar and things like that, so I stepped in. And I co-produced the album with Chris Morris and Andrew Green. It was a shoe-in because I already sang half the vocals on the album, you know, for the screaming stuff, a lot of the harmonies and stuff, so it was a shoe-in. So basically, I did that… they were interviewing different guitar players and I kind of waited for awhile, then I eventually contacted them and said 'hey, how about I do it.' Especially after I heard about the tour - I was like 'yeah, let's do it, let's go.' I'm already on the album, it's obvious… and then Erik (Scholibo, keyboards) has been in the band the band, really, off and on, for about three years. Throughout the course of recording the album, he's just kind of been there and they took him on as a fulltime member and that's how that worked."

You're filming the show tonight for a DVD; tell us a little bit about that.

"Well that's the course of maybe four or five, maybe ten - I don't know what their plan is exactly, I really don't know, as far as I'm concerned. But it's going to be the course of anywhere between five and twenty shows making up the footage for a live DVD, so this is one of them."

Anything else going to be on there, like the video for "Next In Nocturne", behind the scenes stuff?

"I actually don't know what their plans are, I really don't. I'm that member. (laughter) I'm the member who comes along and plays and helps out, but they make all the plans. Sorry you missed them. Quote. (laughter)"

I've just got one last question and this does not have much to do with anything at all… As zombies are technically the living dead, if you have sex with one, is that necrophilia?

"Well, the thing is, when you have necrophilia with a dead person, a true dead person, in my mind, there is no movement. There is zero movement and that's really the joy that those people would probably enjoy. (laughter) You know, I hate to put 'en' and 'joy' together, you know - it's a redundancy. So at the end of the whole statement, I have to say that no, it's not the same thing - zombies walk and when they bite you after you're done fucking them, you're one of them too and that sucks, 'cause really, I'm among the living." [FIN]