When Antania formed from the remnants of Luna 13, how did you come to name yourselves after the goddess Hecate and devise the Slayer comparison?
I (Dr Luna) have been an avid devotee of the Dark Goddess since my late teens. I started invoking her while living in India. So the name Antania, a title of hers, seemed fitting. Our first publicist, Selena Fragassi titled my work in bass music as “the bass music scene’s Slayer”.
How did you become interested in invoking Hecate while you were in India, and what were the circumstances that led you to journey there in the first place?
I went to India directly after high school after being diagnosed with an enlarged heart. I heard about ayurveda and I believed it could help my health. I got invoked with Aghora's Kali worship and I felt so connected to it. I started going to India all the time and spent most of my time there practicing Ayurveda and worshiping Kali. Before my guru died, he asked me to westernize my Aghoric path so I shifted from Kali to Hecate.
Tell a little about New York's Temple of Hecate and how you got involved with them? What is the nature of your involvement with this group?
My day job is, I write books about the occult and have books out about Hecate. I have been working with dark paganism for years. I was initiated into the Temple of Hecate as a third degree high priest in 2022.
How long did you study the occult before you were initiated as a third degree high priest?
I have been heavily into the occult since high school. Music and the dark side of occult are my passion.
How many books have you published about Hecate to date, and how much research did you undertake while writing them? In addition to Hecate, what other subjects have you published your books on? Is there a website where people can learn a little about them?
Two books on Hecate. “Hecate: Death, Transition and Spiritual Mastery” and “Hecate II, The Awakening of Hydra”. “Hecate II” has a forward by Twin Peaks’ Sheryl Lee. I also have two books out about an ancient Astrology system used by Alexander the Great. Amazon is the best place to find them.
How extensive was your research on Alexander the Great's ancient Astrology system while you were writing about it?
Interesting to note that Indian professors seem to know a lot more about Hellenistic mysticism then the west. I was handed the book “The Javanataka” at in Indian library and translated the science of it out of sheer boredom, not knowing that had never been done before. My book “Asterian Astrology, The List System of Alexander the Great” has my translation in the front and the actual “Yavanajataka” in the back. Alexander the Great had a much bigger influence on the East then the West.
What was the length of time it took you to translate “The Javanataka”? How extensive was your research in compiling and writing “Asterian Astrology”?
It’s would have been a real challenge if I don’t have the education that I had with Vedic Astrology. I was well versed in Vedic and that made the translation pretty smooth.
Do you offer “Asterian Astrology” exclusively online or is it also available in print? Is it available for purchase online or in any local or major bookstores?
“Asterian Astrology” is available in print via Tara Press. It’s in most book stores.
What are some of the differences between the astrology represented in “Asterian Astrology” and contemporary astrology?
Contemporary or western astrology is a fluke. It’s 24 degrees off the constellations. The zodiac in the sky moves 1 degree every 72 years. Catholicism made observing the stars illegal 2000 years ago so the tropical astrology is stuck with alignments that no longer connect to the starts above. All ancients used Sidereal astrology.
There has been an availability of “Asterian Astrology” since 2010. What has been the response to the publication since it was released?
The publishing industry won’t allow Sidereal to succeed because Tropical makes 56 million dollars a year. Yet Asterian astrology has a huge underground following and is the chosen system of innumerable celebrities in Hollywood.
Who in Hollywood, that you are aware of, has adapted Asterian astrology as an alternative to more widely known systems?
Chelsea Handler, Rashida Jones, Drena Dinero, Meghan McCain, Regina Hall and Sheryl Lee are just a few. Several I cannot mention.
Do you have experience playing in bands before Antania? What genres did they cover and what was their level of activity locally? What point in your career did you realize you wanted to pursue a different path?
I was in the band Kill The Gods in high school and had some moderate success in that band as a bass player. I fell ill at the age of eighteen, ended up leaving music and moving to India to repair my health. I started playing synthesizers while living in India and started creating the sound of Bass Metal at that time. I saw “The Prodigy” perform in London and came up with the idea to do a black metal version of them and that solidified what I do now.
In what ways did you develop black/doom bass in order to stand out in the local/underground music industry? Could you tell the readers how Antania has grown since it was founded?
I knew from playing synthesizers that I could create one of the heaviest sounds out there. You have to see us live to feel how much power comes off this sound I created. Antania is one of the heaviest projects on Lucifer’s green earth. I love seeing faces when just two people walk on stage and Metalheads will be like “this can’t be that heavy because there are only two of them” and when the sound hits, mouths drop. Antania is a monster.
In order to achieve the sound you desired, how much experimentation did you undertake? Did Luna 13 have any impact on your experimenting?
Luna 13 is when I was able through trial and error create the sound of bass metal that I so desired. Almost as soon as I perfected it, Luna 13 was over. The final and most perfected vision was meant for Antania.
In order to achieve your desired sound, what equipment do you use? Was finding equipment that worked for you as important to your experimentation as trying out different sounds?
Yes! I use plug-ins over massive and so forth. Plug-ins are how I create this sound. I also purposely use older equipment to generate my desired sound. I use a Yamaha drum machine to create drums and a microbrute to create bass lines.
Tell the readers of how your collaboration with Erik Aircrag happened for your “Lividity” demo.
Luna 13 opened for Hocico twice and I came to really like Erk. Not only do I love the band Hocico, they were awesome to tour with. Erk and I would hang out and talk about spirituality and consciousness. He’s a super cool person. I asked if I could work with his voice and he sent me his vocals for Angels and Demons and I created the song around it.
Let us know how you came to work with Blackened Kali Mortem, and how well you work together when it comes to practicing, developing your sound, and thinking up ideas.
Kali Mortem was Luna 13’s photographer yet had some history with singing. Right after Luna 13 ended, she stepped in and became the singer for Antania. I already had several songs already written, she just had to step in and lay down vocals.
How long did it take Kali to adapt to your lyrics and sound? When she started working with you, how much singing experience did she have and how does that benefit your material?
She was a big fan of Luna 13 so she was well versed in the sound I created already. I am constantly writing music and lyrics so all she had to do was Create vocals around them. She adapted to playing live fast.
Name the songs you have written and describe how the music and lyrics complement one another.
I write everything at the moment. Kali does create her own vocal approached and really concentrated on the live shows the most. I believe she will contribute a lot more in the future. Yet I am one of those musicians that is constantly wrong and creating evil music. Occult Spirituality and music are my only interests. Music takes the lead as I firmly believe sound is the highest power.
With the signing of the digital distribution deal, how well known has The Triad Records helped the band become in Europe and elsewhere?
We love Triad and they helped us grow in Italy and surrounding countries. They got us in the main Italian magazines as well.
How has your sponsorship from Kat Percussion helped the band make a name for themselves?
It was as important as getting a record deal. I drop bass live and pound those industrial electronic drums. They saw me using all their stuff backwards live and decided to endorse me. It’s helped validate this type of bass metal I created.
In the past few years, at how many fests have you played and what has the response been like?
We headlined the Black Metal Mass in Oklahoma and played at the Mechanimus Festival in Seattle. We also just booked a huge festival in Portland, Oregon for 2025 this week. We have been well received everywhere. The sound and power of Antania is so unique it really blows people away. No video online can prepare you for how heavy our sound is live.
Since the start of your current tour in January, how have things been going for the band? In what parts of the world has the band appeared date, and where will you perform in the future?
We ended up having to cancel our Texas dates because we both got Covid opening for Trapt. We are getting ready to tour Europe for the first time. Here is our schedule at the moment. We have a west coast tour for July that we will be announcing.
03/16 Fitzgerald’s Bar-San Antonio, TX
03/18 RockHouse-El Paso, TX
04/30 Whisky Ago Go-Hollywood, CA
Support Psyclon Nine
05/18 Klub Pod Minoga-Poznań, Poland
05/20 Backstage Club-Munich, Germany
05/22 Kulttempel-Oberhausen, Germany
05/24 O'Sullivan's--Paris, France
05/26 Le Ferrailleur Nantes, France
What role has Kali played in contributing to the sound of the band during those performances? What are some of the most interesting tour stories you have to share?
Kali brings this very real black metal voice. It’s super original and contributes greatly to our sound. We were pulled over one time for driving with the car lit up with marijuana and let go by the police. This was in Ohio as well where their laws against marijuana are strict. We also played two venues where the song “In the Fire” leveled their sound system. We are pretty new so more stories are coming.
How has the response been to your new full-length album “The God Complex” since Triad released it last January? Has your video for the title track been successful in promoting it?
In your experience, which songs recorded for “The God Complex” have shown the greatest rapport and potential for growth between you and Kali?
That’s the thing about being a duo, every song has a meaning. I think songs “August” which is the sixth song on the release, because Kali is born on August 6 and “D3D Solz” which has my favorite vocals on the release.
Are you planning to begin writing and composing new material as soon as possible? What are your plans for refining and developing your sound in the future?
I am constantly creating bass lines in my head and probably already have four or five songs already written. Yet we will take our time and support this release probably for a couple years but could easily see putting out an EP early next year.
-Dave Wolff
Thanks so much for the support, both from The Triad Rec and from ANTANIA!!! 🤘🏻🔥🤘🏻
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