Hello, Dark Ones!
I decided to start the week with the Q&A section, for a change.
I hope you are well and already slowly feeling the breeze of autumn, as stubborn as that hot orb in the sky is.

Let’s start with the Q&A…

Q: „Has The Void really been hacked?“
A: The site has never been hacked. Attempts were made last and this year for DDoS and other types of attacks against it, mostly because of my visible support for Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion (you saw the button leading to the official page of the donation campaign under the patronage of Zelensky, I assume), but as well in one of the previous materials I mentioned – I dealt with the problem quite quickly.
As a result of these attacks, several countries are blocked as a location and I have developed a special protection system for it. It detects any suspicious IP addresses and even unmasks VPNs, reporting the real address and VPN service type to me in a separate report to protect security and thwart stealth attacks. In other words, if THE VOID goes down, it will be due to my own personal error somewhere in the code, rather than hacking by outsiders. And if it ever does happen…well, let’s just say that the damage to their computer system (and the networks in a good radius around them) will be far greater than the site’s temporary malaise. Don’t mess with the wrong witch, my dudes & ladies…

Q: „What do you think about haters? Do you have any?“ How are you dealing with them? Give advice!”
A: Let’s first clarify what a „hater“ is so there is no confusion. Here is the definition according to Google – “A hater is a person who takes pleasure in unfairly showing hatred towards other people, manipulating, criticizing or belittling people or things. A hater finds fault with almost anything that is not his, does not own, or cannot do.“ Hmm.

With that said – of course I have „haters“. Before I came along and created THE VOID, there was never a woman in our country who was so brave and had the character to create such a place by herself and with her own resources, nor was there ever anyone so obsessed with black metal to maintain such a place for more than six years and not give up his ideology, even in extreme circumstances (in fact, I have written articles even from a hospital bed with  systems on).
What do you think? Do you think this is not a problem for the ego of a stable part of the more limited people in our society? Especially to those who wish they had achieved what I have achieved so far? Or those who are dying of envy that I’m accomplishing everything on my own with no help from friends and no connections? Of course it is.

I was aware from the beginning that there would be people who would try to create headaches in one way or another – such is the human psyche. A few years ago Miroslav wrote to me and inspired me to be brave because he seemed to know what I was going through and what was coming (I recommend you pay attention to this guy’s comments because he knows what he’s talking about… and he’s from the old school generation of music fans, who have seen a lot and you can take a lot from it), as well as other people in the industry here and around the world who warned me about the dangers of creating such a place.

So despite those who are not entirely happy with the existence of THE VOID and occasionally demonstrate their low upbringing and lack of an adequate moral compass, I feel great. In the years just before THE VOID firmly entered the space, the black metal scene was almost dead in our country. Turn around and see what our scene is becoming now. How many bands have resumed activity in our country since 2017 and held concerts? How many new and really cool authentic bands  have appeared? Did you feel how the rest of the music media world started writing more about black metal and sounding more and more rebellious? Do you think this is a coincidence? I invite more people to review the facts because I keep a timeline and cover in real time the wave that has been caused by THE VOID  for several years now. When one puts a particular idea above one’s ego and is willing to sacrifice much in its name, that is exactly what results—something that cannot be easily overthrown.

Outside of THE VOID, there are also ‘zlobokrytcheta’ (that’s my word I use instead of „haters“).
Every figure that stands out is at some point discussed in some way, and there are always some people here and there to act against them, to try to interfere in their personal space, etc. in order to feel relevant.
When such people appear in your life, do not despair – it is simply a sure sign that you are doing the right thing and that you are truly special, that you are in the light of your authenticity.

Look at every  a bit more well-known person in the world who truly inspires people – there is no person who has succeeded in something and at the same time does not have at least one hater. It even happens to Keanu Reeves, lol.

In such cases, it’s just important to have a good and realistic self-esteem and know how to regulate your balance, to be able to distinguish constructive criticism from just throwing out insults and please, rarely take things personally, because it almost never is and it’s good to guide your focus around the things that matter to you.

I’ve had a variety of situations involving ‘zlobokrytcheta’, and most of the time it was about envy and a desire of someone to acquire elements of my identity. I don’t mind someone being inspired by what I do, I even encourage it – just a few days ago I did a class with a girl and taught her how to use black  paper for her drawings and play with shadows, but when someone imitates and in the same time belittles my work or tries to tarnish my name, it’s about something else that has nothing to do with something as pure and beautiful as inspiration and platonic connection between people.

Some hometown bands,  for example, seem to have taken inspiration from my drawing style and the logo design on my site (https://www.paulafazlich.com) for their patch and t-shirt designs. I appreciate the tacit acknowledgment, but next time I suggest they contact the original artist instead of having an acquaintance remake what someone else is doing. Thus, the expression will be completely authentic, and the work will be true Art.
In 2022, I also had a case where a writer from another media published an album review on the same day as me and threw shade at my work (the Sylvaine review incident).
And if I had to count all the times women have made hateful comments about me or tried to subtly throw shade at me while at the same time trying to imitate whole fragments from my character and personality, mimic my behavior, even my appearance or my hobbies, whole fragments from my bio… I would have to talk for days.
I’ve also had, apart from these things, various strangers or people I know vaguely , to involve my name in their personal dramas – quite a few people take advantage of the fact that I don’t use social networks so much and that I keep my life private and don’t pay attention to rumors and the like, and from time to time they find the courage to let go of some fantasy. Apparently I’m a pretty hot bite, who would have guessed…Well, I guess this is the price to pay for standing out with your face and being above the mediocre.

There are a bunch of other stories, but I can’t even remember them all, and I don’t need to. To date, I am betting entirely on the wonderful emotions and people that my work meets me with here, and along when it comes to my  Art and other areas of my personal and professional life. It’s important to remember that no matter how many haters you have, no matter what they try to do, you can always come out on top and triumph. Never lose faith in your Flame and follow your dreams as if they were your grandmother’s most delicious pie.

Also, I want to tell you that when you cross your own bar and pass a certain level, any innuendo or attempt at manipulation starts to look transparent and like some kind of child’s play, and the haters – like small and cute mices (in my case „zlobokrytcheta“ ), which are just chirping around. Work on yourself a lot – on your psyche, your spirituality, your skills, your knowledge… and at some point you won’t have a problem with who says what, what they think, how much they envy you, etc. You just won’t have the same eyes for these things anymore.

Another piece of advice I want to give you is to be nice to people and don’t stoop low when you happen to run into „zlobokrytcheta“. Neither the energy is worth it nor the karma. Everything in this life is temporary, including people’s opinion of you. I’ve often had people who supposedly hated me and gave me a lot of  trouble, then go on about how cool I was, some of them even personally apologizing to me for their behavior. Let people react according to their level and understanding of things, and you react according to yours. At some point, you might catch up somewhere along the way.

It is good to remember, however, that when a man thinks of being good to another only when he sees that there is no possibility of defeating him and his bad deeds begin to come to light, this is not goodwill, nor is it a true manifestation of humanity, and desire for peace. Recognize when someone just wants to enjoy your good will and look good in public, and when they truly regret their actions or inactions. One is hypocrisy, the other is a very pure and cathartic relationship moment worth experiencing. Give people a chance to prove they’re not assholes, but don’t be too quick to trust.

I will quickly share some other anti-haters tips:
1. Be careful who you let into your personal space and what you share with those around you. Tomorrow, the same specimens may envy you for something and use their contact with you to harm you, no matter the circumstances. Keep your circle small, but valuable and loyal.
2. Pay attention to the haters for exactly 2 seconds, just enough to reflect if there isn’t something valuable in what was said that you can learn some lesson from. And after that, forget about their existence. If necessary, block them everywhere. There’s nothing wrong with blocking someone you don’t want in your personal space and around whom you don’t feel good. I had such a case in the recent months – I blocked a person on Instagram who showed that he did not know how to respect other people’s boundaries, and even though I had clearly stated that the only way to contact me was by email, he wrote to me on private messages on Instagram several times. I don’t like people who don’t respect my personal space, nor those who write to me by the recommendation of a friend in order to speculate with my name, so listen to your intuition and if the person bothers you with something, block them.
3. Learn to play chess. This will help you predict the moves of malevolent individuals if they ever appear in your life. The game is also fantastic for the brain and is awesome overall.
4. Do what you love and do it every day, A LOT.
5. Be authentic and love yourself – so no one can truly harm you, and you will always be protected by the right one (you).
6. Self-examine yourself regularly and work on yourself.
7. Never lose your sense of humor and have fun in every situation. Even in the darkest times there is light – the light within you.
8. If someone tries to attack your dignity or harm your life and well being…  There are certain laws (or at least there will be such) that might help you in such case.
9. Just enjoy the moment and be happy with who you are, what you have and what you do. Why would you think about some people who are wasting energy on such inferior behaviour towards you when you actually did nothing to them?When you can just enjoy everything around and be happy? It’s simple, but we humans have a habit of making it complicated. Just enjoy the ride and do not overthink stuff.

And remember –  there is a time for sunrise and sunset for everyone.

Q: „Are you making money from the site?“
A: Only the music and the people who read here profit from THE VOID. What remains for me is the personal satisfaction of helping to make this happen. I earn NOTHING financially. For nearly seven years of activity, I have not earned a single coin  from the site, on the contrary – I am „in the red“ with thousands of dollars  invested – a site with such traffic and size requires quite serious maintenance. It’s not like opening a Facebook page/group, an Instagram profile or a YouTube channel – here you need a much more stable allocation of resources of any type – money, time, energy, etc.
I will continue to do all this as long as I have the opportunity, and then I hope to find someone who will continue what I started and maintain it with the same passion. The Moroi may be vampires, but we are not immortal, however, I won’t be around forever…I am fully aware and relishing my mortality.

Q: „What do you think about music influencers on YouTube and Instagram?“
A: 50/50. The positive side of these influencers is that they are of real benefit to labels and bands – they promote their music to the mass consumer, alongside them it is always possible to stock up on „accidental victims“ who will become die-hard fans tomorrow. I consider them to be advertising faces somewhat.
The negative side is perhaps that along with them black metal becomes a bit of a fashion and loses some of its magic.
Don’t you find it strange that there is a specific release date for an album, but it is released on YouTube a week or a few days before its release, always on the same channel, and even before the fans who bought the physical media have actually received their copies ? The obsession with this particular type of promotion is strange to me, but I see that for labels and bands it has already become a tradition – almost every second press release has a link to the premiere on the channel in question.
Personally, I would happily wait for the release date to come and listen to the album on streaming platforms or on my physical media.
For years I hear a lot of titles months before they come out, but if I wasn’t part of the media, I’d definitely wait – precisely because of that thrill of waiting for a new album from a favorite band.
But anyway – the difference between being a YouTube/Instagram influencer and running a media are very different things, in general, and I’m not entirely an expert on how influencers work. I just know that most label owners and musicians see something useful in them.

Q: „Why did you choose The Void as a magazine name?“
A: Because I associate myself with the essence of the cosmic void and am captivated by it. THE VOID  is the Beginning and the End. Also it  is Everything and Nothing. I believe that our natural essence includes precisely this cosmic void, the purity, the primalness, the stillness, the omnipresent energy. That’s why I decided that THE VOID is a very suitable name for such an idea – the spreading of the darkest sounds from the dungeons and their elevation into new dimensions, their thirsty „swallowing“ by the dark matter (our minds, our essence).

To finish, I would like to show you one of the drawings that will be part of the upcoming first paper edition of THE VOID. I am working hard at the moment and hope to be able to share more with you in the coming months.

P.S.  What are you listening to right now? (:

Greetings with my afternoon coffee: