Kogaionon MAGAZINE'S HISTORY

The entire Kogaionon madness originates in bygone times, when a bunch of friends started a local radio station with a regional area coverage, the first one from Suceava, named Top '91. Given their desire to proffer informational diversity to the listeners, they have thought it might be an inspirate idea, somewhere late in the evening, once a week, to bestow a hour solely to extreme Rock music, the so called/blasphemed Metal. Therefore, starting out december 1991, for over 10 years, we have had, every Monday evening, after the 11 pm BBC, this emission, under the name ANTOFAGASTA RADIOSHOW. We have promoted this way thousands of bands, we have presented live and recorded interviews with and about the essential Metal events from all around the world, we have organized hundreds of interactive contests offering attractive rewards (CDs, magazines...) ... the entire playlist was intended solely for promoting extreme underground bands and, usually, in every issue of this show 10 to 15 albums were presented. I have been bounded, due to family reasons, to give up this very path in the autumn of 2001, but only for a while... probably, one day, Antofagasta will be ON AIR again!!!

After four years of radio activity, in 1995, I felt the need to get more involved in supporting the underground scene and, considering my direct links to over 5.000 Metal contacts from all around the world (bands, labels, magazines, clubs, individuals), I have decided to do a printed magazine in order to help the fans into accessing the needed information. I remind you that, back to that time both e-mail and website were tabu, and the only communication channels were via letters, faxes and telephone calls. In fact, the entire promotion of the scene was done through the so - called flyers, that could be found in the correspondence envelopes and in the magazines, but most of them were only sustaining Death Metal that was very fashionable at those times. In order to create a magazine that solely promotes less popular musical genres (Black, Doom, Gothic, Death, Dark, Ambient, Ethereal), 1995 marked the advent of the first Kogaionon issue.

Many keep on asking me about the name choise. Kogaionon conceals the Dacian mythology, the ancestors of these lands, the ones that, about 2000 years ago, were assimilated (according to historians) by the Roman Empire and later on have become Romanians. Mythology claims that Zalmoxis, the great Dacian (pagan) priest from these lands, withdrawn to the sacred mountain: Kogaionon. Zalmoxis is considered to be the first reformer of the pagan religion and this is the bond with Kogaionon: where is a mountain with tough stone and a circular hollow ground ... there is a priest, a new man, that brings serenity to the soul... This might be the approximate translation from several languages: Latin, Greek...

Where does Metal entwine with free Dacians? There is a powerful oath from my point of view, one that requires to enter a totally different dimension, mystically pented inmost our innerselves, one I see no point to approach hic et nunc, moreover I can't afford myself the needed psychological comfort to deepen this theme. The quintessence is that I avow my ancestors and I am proud of these lands' history, the same way northerners appreciate their runes, Odin's eye or Thor's hammer, or the druids carrying deep within their enigmatic approaches towards existence... but I'll end my divagation here.

Kogaionon started its existence in 1995 and during the time it embraced various presentation forms, at first simplistic ones regarding both imagery and printing quality, and later on there were professional issues, with an artistic and original lay-out (for further details enter Kogaionon issues folder).

The magazine has always pursued to hold forth to the readers information regarding less popular, but full of potential bands, many of them completely unknown in the time of editing, but later on they become main reference for the Metal scene: LACRIMOSA, OPETH, MOONSPELL, IN THE WOODS, THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, SUMMONING... The essence of the approach has always been the subjective, honest, critical touch, one that enlarges upon the most obscure detail in every single review or the hidden motives of the one I was reporting on (band, label...). Every single interview has been preceded by an intense documentation, and every single question has been profound and laconic, many times inconvenient for the dialogue partner. Furthermore, a great many artists admited that Kogaionon interviews were the most detailed and interesting from the multitude of questions that they have received from the musical press. The very same feedback came from the readers, that is why it develops a salient feature for Kogaionon magazine.

Kogaionon's purpose is to exist as a printed magazine and that is the way for it to remain. Unfortunately, it can only come out annually, and it is destined only for those collectors longing to keep up Metal information in their personal archives. Or, if I may say so, Kogaionon is oriented towards the printed press admirers, the ones appreciating the scent of printed paper and that, from time to time, enjoy to turn over a musical item that could be partially anachronic nowadays. It is in the same manner as I would desire to listen to an earlier album from a LP and not a tape, CD or MP3!

Moreover, given the last decade's technological performances, I have also built up this webpage to let know, periodically (usually once a month) the events that I consider to be important and that echo within Kogaionon's realm. Hosting a forum or sending daily newsletter cannot enter Kogaionon's path that is to stay: underground!

This is the film of my main activities towards sustaining the extreme Metal scene and I am sure there is no place for the epilogue yet. Underground will never die!

Editor.

May 2006.