Conversation with Laszlo Szandrik on behalf of Hungarian Black Metal cult Fantom. Thanks for the kind assistance of Metal Ör Die Records.

How did you want to influence your audience through your music, what kind of impact you wanted to give?

Back then, at the age of 16-17 I didn’t think about it. I just played the music I liked and hoped that others will like it too. I composed the 90% of the music, but for the lyrics others were responsible.

What is your personal credo? Do you follow a religious, moral or theoretical code?

Most of the people know that i am officially a Khrisna follower because of my later band Mantra, but my worldview is quite wide. I know very well that the world is much more what we see and experience.

What was the main motivation that driven you to create music?

Hard to explain it. Everybody has such favourite musical styles/genres that they can identify with. Then there are musicians who can try to express the inner music to the outside work, and if there is a success that is a fantastic feeling. However simply very good to create music.

What are the answers that only black metal can provide to the recent life we live in?

In my understanding Black Metal has a pretty wide concept. There are persons behind it who are seriously follow the occult ways, then there are the ones who look for some higher force and of course the ones whom are just there for the trends. Generally the metalheads are more opened for the questions of our world, and many of them can come up with really meaningful things, this can be useful, but the ones who just pushing patterns doesn’t worth a single penny.

How did you see back then and what is the recent status of your local black metal community?

To be honest I don’t know that much about the recent scene, sometimes I check new stuff but I don’t visit gigs. At that time there was a great enthusiasm, with little knowledge and terrible instruments. Nowadays the younger generation is way more professional and they can work in professional studios.

What is your opinion about Black Metal as a musical genre? How do you see it’s past, present and future?

I would say Black Metal will always remain a subculture, but for example Slipknot at the era of Iowa album, used typical very Black Metal symbols and cliches could fill stadiums with sold out shows, same goes to one of our idols, Slayer, they also reached a high popularity.

Krishna and Black Metal as a destructive music can be linked? We have witnessed some examples in the history of the genre.

Indeed there are Indian Black Metal bands who sing about the Vedas the thousands of years old scriptures. In this scriptures you can find detailed descriptions about the Demons, their planets and battles, so there is plenty of raw material. Most of the people know only the guys who are happily singing in perianths but Krishna is much more complex. With my band Mantra we also played very heavy music, but of course that was no Black Metal.

Looking back, what do you think about your one and only demo entitled Lucifer Jelenj Meg! that released in 1987?

Knowing our circumstances back then I can say it was a very well done demo, we were in pair with the international groups, but soon after the release of demo we had to fulfil our military service what ruined everything for the band, after that we couldn’t follow.

(Lucifer Jelenj Meg! re-released multiple times over the years. On CD format by Metal ör Die Records and on LP by FOAD Records).

What is the recent status of Fantom? Can you imagine you will release something new in the future?

It’s honorific we could be a part of the early underground and many people still remember for us, but it seems it’s over. Very few of our old members still active as a musician or some of them distanced themselves from the genre, so no continuation is expected. There was a meet and greet not long ago, we had a good chat but that’s it.

Lucifer jelenj meg | Fantom

our impressions about the album:

The furious youth planted and cultivated the seedling of chaos and let them bloom until it became a bleak, voracious blob.Swift and heated melodies mixed with incensed vocals, unites in a relentless musical formation, without any obedience. Optimal during midnight raids, before reading religious texts or just before a common street fight.