DATE OF INTERVIEW: 25th January 2020
TWIN TEMPLE
ALEXANDRA JAMES; ZACHARY JAMES
METAL DISCOVERY: So, if Satanism is about escaping the restrictive confines of binary thinking; individualism; non-conformity; anti-oppression; tolerance; anti-prejudice…
ALEXANDRA: You really have done your research!
(Alexandra James on the innateness of Satanism)
"I think Satanists are born, they’re not made. Zach and I both came into this world with a specific personality and it wasn’t so much a becoming, but a realising. As we discovered more texts and more philosophy and writings on Satanism, then it was sort of like, this resonates with me. This is the name for what I’ve always felt that I was."
Twin Temple
Photograph copyright © 2016 Harry Eelman
Interview by Mark Holmes
RELATED LINKS
Official Twin Temple Facebook:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Steve Phillips for arranging the interview
Official Twin Temple website:
Official Twin Temple Twitter:
Review + photos of Twin Temple @ the Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 25th Jan 2020:
Official Twin Temple Instagram:
MD: I looked at that and thought, well, I’ve been a Satanist all these years and not actually realised!
ALEXANDRA & ZACHARY: [Laughs]
MD: Aside from the practice of Satanism, do you think Satanism can or should also be used as a word for describing people with a certain mindset and a particular way of being, without them ever identifying as a Satanist?
ZACHARY: Yeah.
ALEXANDRA: Yes, absolutely.
ZACHARY: That’s exactly what it is.
ALEXANDRA: That’s exactly what it is. I think Satanists are born, they’re not made. Zach and I both came into this world with a specific personality and it wasn’t so much a becoming, but a realising. As we discovered more texts and more philosophy and writings on Satanism, then it was sort of like, this resonates with me. This is the name for what I’ve always felt that I was.
MD: It’s innate in a person then, rather than something that’s learned.
ZACHARY: Yeah.
ALEXANDRA: You don’t need to be initiated. No one can tell you that you’re not a Satanist, that’s entirely up to you. It’s up to the individual and that’s the beauty of it. You don’t need to have a priest, you know, to initiate you. Nothing like that. It’s all about self-initiation and declaring that identity for yourself.
MD: I’m definitely a Satanist, then!
ALEXANDRA: Well, welcome!
[Laughs]
MD: Thank you.
ALEXANDRA: Satan’s blessings to you! [Laughs]
MD: Do you subscribe to a secular notion of morality with your philosophical worldviews?
ALEXANDRA: No.
ZACHARY: It’s all subjective.
ALEXANDRA: It’s subjective and objective, all at the same time. The world is a paradox. Nothing is true and everything is permitted. It’s about slashing the binaries and letting go of those really outdated and constricting ideals of good and evil, and letting yourself just be who you are.
MD: But I think if you talk about morality from a secular perspective, I think that does transcend the binary concept of morality. You know, nothing’s inherently good or evil, it is all subjective to what each person decides is good or evil based on their own cognition from their own standpoint. So maybe secular morality could be part of Satanism in that sense? I could be hideously wrong, of course.
ALEXANDRA: I suppose I think that morality, at the end of the day, is up to the individual and it’s about finding the compass within yourself to guide yourself and trusting that inner knowledge. But, you know, tempering it with experience and knowledge and rationality and logic and intellect. So I think morality is this thing that’s in flux and you can’t really pinpoint it. And I think to say, “These ten things are evil”…
MD: Nothing should ever be regarded as inherently good or bad, or good or evil.
ALEXANDRA: Well, it depends on where you’re looking at it from. I mean, for a long time, being gay, masturbating, menstruating are evil. That’s completely subjective. I don’t agree those things are evil from my vantage point, so how do you put laws on every single human when every single human is unique, on morality.
MD: Exactly. Good answer. So, out of interest, have you seen last year’s ‘Hail Satan?’ documentary?
ZACHARY: We have.
ALEXANDRA: We have, yeah.
MD: Is that a good representation of what it is to be a twenty first century Satanist, would you say?
ALEXANDRA: Well, I would say that it’s one representation.
ZACHARY: From one perspective. We share a lot of the same ideals but we are our own form of Satanism because we, as individuals, practice our own practice. So, they’re a political group, and we have shared political views, but we practice magic and we study the occult, which they call supernaturalism or whatever.
ALEXANDRA: Yeah, they don’t incorporate that in their personal practice.
ZACHARY: But we’ve met them, you know.
ALEXANDRA: Yeah, we had the pleasure of meeting Lucien [Greaves] at our show and he’s lovely. I think we’re all fighting the same fight. But, again, the beauty of Satanism is you take what you want from it and you express it how you feel is best. That’s what Lucien’s done with it and it’s a beautiful thing that he’s…
ZACHARY: It’s a documentary about TST.
MD: The Satanic Temple… yeah, it’s very specific.
ALEXANDRA: Right, it’s about one specific avenue. As far as their political stance, you know, fighting the good fight of separating church and state, I definitely think we’re on board with what they’re doing. Although it’s not necessarily who we are. Like LaVey isn’t who we are… or whatever. That’s the beauty. Everyone finds their own path.
MD: Individualism.
ALEXANDRA: Exactly!
[Laughs]
MD: So, looking to the future, I know there’s already diversity within your music, beyond the 50s/60s core of what you do, but do you envisage your sound and style progressing, to further diversify?
ALEXANDRA: Well, I think already on the record there are other influences.
ZACHARY: Yeah, we’ll always draw from jazz, blues, rock ’n’ roll, country, doo-wop…
ALEXANDRA: Yeah, everything that is rock ’n’ roll and made rock ’n’ roll and will be rock ’n’ roll… you know, “saving rock ’n’ roll” is this thing people have been throwing around forever, and it seems a bit silly to be like, “Oh, we want to save rock ’n’ roll.” But we do! It’s an art form; it’s a classic American art form that’s so close to our hearts and we wanna carry that torch. We truly love that musical art form and I think, to do that, you have to deface it a little bit, which is what we’ve done, to make it more relevant for who we are and the time period we’re living in. Because I don’t think preserving rock ’n’ roll or any art tradition is about making it correct or authentic, because that’s about sixty years ago. You know, we have to do what’s in our hearts today. I mean, it’s cheesy but, yeah, we love rock ’n’ roll and we wanna see it live and continue to find new audiences.
MD: Finally, then, ending on a light note, or maybe that should be dark note, what would be your top five favourite representations of Satan in movies?
ZACHARY: ‘The Devil Rides Out’.
MD: That would be top of my list, actually! I adore old Hammer movies and Christopher Lee!
ZACHARY: All the Hammer.
ALEXANDRA: Yeah, anything Hammer, you know. We saw ‘Faust’ in London, which was a beautiful production… I mean, we love all the pageantry and opera.
ZACHARY: All the early Kenneth Anger… you know, the shorts he made, those are great.
ALEXANDRA: Yeah, I mean, the devil’s been around forever and will continue to be…
ZACHARY: All night, I’ll be like, “Oh, that one… and that one”… I’ll keep remembering all night long now!
ALEXANDRA: Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’… you know, there are so many incredible representations of the devil… how can you really choose? But we are big horror fans.
MD: But ‘The Devil Rides Out’ you said immediately… which was called ‘The Devil’s Bride’ when it originally got released in the States, so kudos to you for saying its original title!
ZACHARY: Laughs.
MD: Apparently, Hammer thought that if they released it under ‘The Devil Rides Out’ in the States, they were worried American audiences would think it was a Western, so that’s why the name got changed.
ZACHARY: Ahhhh….
MD: Which I’m sure was patronizing to American audiences, as many would've read the Dennis Wheatley novel of the same name, that the film's based on!
ALEXANDRA: Well, we’re all riding out, what can I say, we’re cowboys!
[Laughs]
MD: Well, thank you so much for your time.
ALEXANDRA: Thank you. Thank you so much.
ZACHARY: Thank you very much.