On the occasion of their new “Of Blood and Wine” EP release and the track Of Blood and Wine, released for the first time in our Podcast The Infected, episode S02E12, “Love, Blood and Wine,” The Infected visited Of Blood and Wine in their remote manor in the dark Finnish woods.

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It is a waning moon at midnight. The atmosphere is chilly, the cemetery gates are unhinged, and something right behind us seemed to be moving just now, but we won’t be distracted. We’ve been granted an audience with the small cabal that forms Of Blood And Wine; vocalist Lord Crobath, guitarist Count Kristoffer and Marquis Nosferaatu, the bass player.

We are allowed entrance into the Khrypt. The gothic music from Marquis’ Manor Mix augments the gloomy atmosphere. The bleak light of the moon illuminates the scene. A deep red liquid slowly swirls around in a crystal decanter. We sit down on slabs of cold marble, hoping to lift some of the veil of secrecy surrounding this sinister trio.

Lord Crobath, in a deep baritone voice: “Welcome to our abode. I understand you are curious and would know what we are like? I think you’ll find out during this interview with the, ah, band. I understand you would know what drives us, what the source of our energy is? I assure you the source of our energy is Blood”. Lord Crobath, raising his glass and smiling: “…and wine”.

Marquis Nosferaatu: “On the other hand, we do have to spend a significant amount of our energy and power on studio work. Since we insist on recording and mixing ourselves, that takes a lot of time and effort. Apart from that, making it through the constantly bright Finnish summers is also pretty straining for us.” Grinning; “I am sure you’ll understand.”

Lord Crobath: “Since you have chosen our song Of Blood and Wine for your podcast, it may be interesting to know that IKEA is the origin of that track. Nosferaatu and I were there to get new furniture for my castle and were eating hot dogs when some random guy walked past us and said, in an intense, gothic voice, “I will drink my hunger away.” We immediately contacted Count Kristoffer about this life-changing experience.” Count Kristoffer: “When I heard about this, I instantly felt so inspired that I grabbed my guitar and wrote the song. It took me about the time it takes to finish a glass. Of, er, wine…”

A fight of bats swoop over and disappear out into the darkness of the night. Lord Crobath, his gaze following the bats: “You may be surprised by this story, but yes, sometimes we venture forth into the world, disguising ourselves and blending in. In this guise, I am a chemist, Marquis Nosferaatu unemployed, and Count Kristoffer…” Kristoffer: “I’m going to tell you a secret. I’m not really a vampire. I’m just dead inside.” Lord Crobath: “The world is a strange place these days. The situation isn’t good at all in general; we can only wish the world was as much in sync as our drummer is with our synth player. But alas. Oh well, at least it has allowed us to dedicate more time to songwriting and other nocturnal pleasures.” Lord Marquis Nosferaatu: “Our main challenge is to drink blood and survive the daytime; other bands might have it rougher.”

Marquis Nosferaatu: “Although frankly, sometimes it has been difficult to meet the strict deadlines we set for our releases. Lord Crobath: It has become harder to stock up enough helium so I can consistently hit those high zero octave notes. But what we miss most is live performances. We hope that it will be plausible to arrange some performances soon.”

Lord Crobath: “Experiencing music is a beautiful experience. I think the wonderful thing about it is that everyone can have their interpretation of it. If the experience is good, that’s all that matters.” Count Kristoffer: Music should evoke emotions of any kind. At least for me, music is one of the greatest goods; you can always rely on it, and it can bring anything you are able to imagine to you, sometimes even something you don’t, and the latter is the best part.” Marquis Nosferaatu, brushing back his long hair: “Music is the purest form of magic.”

Count Kristoffer: “So, it was great to hear our song on the Infected. We have listened to a couple of episodes, and you’ve earned a pair –  a couple – of listening ears. We will follow the podcast in the future for sure. As for your listeners, I hope that someday some of them will find the true secret of Of Blood and Wine. But you have to realize, our new release Of Blood And Wine, all of this, it is just the beginning. We are constantly evolving, our tastes maturing.” Marquis Nosferaatu: “Actually, my tastes have shifted towards O Negative, whereas as a young vampire, I was all about that A positive blood.” Lord Crobath: “ Yes, the local victims do have better tasting B positive than the ones back in Transylvania, and I really appreciate that.” Count Kristoffer: “And in music, back in the day we were all about heavier music whereas nowadays our music tastes are spanning almost every genre. On my Khrypt playlist, I am playing bands like Witches of London and 616. Both are awesome, and they are relatively new bands like us.”

A single chime of a bronze clock tower bell outside signifies the end of the interview. Lord Crobath: We are at the end. Yet, even though life itself may have ended for some of us, every ending is just another beginning. So, do endings exist?” Lord Crobath extends a bony hand, signaling the congregation to rise. “I’ll tell you one thing, though… What you haven’t heard is the ending of my vocal range. Close the curtains, lie down, and listen to our first EP, “Of Blood and Wine,” which has just been released. You might find the answer to that age-old question: “Are you goth or not?”

Check out the new EP on Bandcamp

Or find Of Blood and Wine on Spotify: