The Tongue of the Demagogue
interview
Abyssal is quite new band in the underground, their blood is fresh and dangerous. They come from England, but more details about this band are obscured, we know they have two fantastic albums "Denouement" from 2012 and "New Qui enim Dominus Sunt eius" from 2013. In such quick succession two albums came out, I was suspicious about silence around the band. Therefore we contacted the band and asked them what was really going on around them and, of course, I was interested in circumstances of their new album. Their music is a mix of more extreme Metal genres, but clearly dominated by infernal Death Metal with a touch of the evil Black Metal, and there may surprise you also slow Doomy moist odiousness. But more already in the interview.
Hello, your latest album is out since January 2013, it is quite a long time for evaluating. From my perspective this is a great material that will be outstanding also in the future as it contains greatly written songs with the atmosphere grabbing the throat. How are you satisfied with new " Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius "? Do you think you could do something even better?
Hello, thanks for arranging this interview. It is strange talking about Novit enim… now because, as you say, the album is over two years old, and listening to it now offers some forgotten surprises even to me. Looking back, I think the album was satisfying to release, and fits in nicely within the Abyssal discography.
As for surpassing Novit enim… and writing something better, I firmly believe the upcoming Abyssal album is stronger in just about every way. Novit enim… was certainly not without its flaws and shortcomings, and hopefully many of these have been corrected for the next release.
Your music reminds something like a black hole, distorted tones as if twisting in spirals of bottomless pits, disharmony coupled with a cacophony while all the songs are as strong as steel pillars. Where do you take inspiration for such a cursed music?
Inspiration comes from everywhere; it is difficult to pinpoint specific points of reference. Musical inspiration of course comes from the obvious sources; French black metal, Sepulchral death metal, doom - anything that is hideous or mournful. In terms of concepts, there is much that comes from allegorical interpretations of the human condition. Suffering, deceit, despair, oppression etc. these are all dark concepts that shine far beyond the actual act, and can inspire tremendous imagery.
Have you met also with misunderstood by critics because of your dissonant artistic feeling? What's the strangest review of "Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius " you have read? Strangely enough, I met only with the best ones...
As you point out, the reviews for Novit enim… were generally positive - however there were of course some that were negative. The kinds of reviewers who would negatively appraise the album were generally people who went in expecting a similar, riff oriented, structured type of death metal in the style of Denouement. Novit enim… is a challenging, awkward listen, and I think people who listened in the incorrect mindset would certainly struggle to enjoy it.
I would say that atmosphere is far more important than the technical side of riffs, drums and bass for example in your music., although all these things are certainly rather a means to achieve the strange atmosphere. What do technical skills and the atmosphere mean to you?
Atmosphere can be attained through incredibly slow chord progressions that a child could play, however this brand of atmosphere can become dull or predictable very quickly. The trick is of course to balance musical complexity with an atmospheric feel. The dichotomy between ‘soulless’ technical playing and ‘emotional’ but simplistic playing is a relatively new phenomenon. Classical composers had no trouble making music that required tremendous musicianship, but at the same time was atmospheric, emotive and even memorable.
This is what Abyssal generally aims to do. We are not incredibly proficient at this style of composition, but do our best.
Can you describe the individual members of the Abyss in terms of musical experiences? Does anyone of you have any special musical education? From my perspective you are working excellently with the composition and that needs a great deal of talent, experience, but apparently also the music visionary! It's almost magic of music, or music of magic?
There is no formal musical background behind anyone involved in Abyssal. I myself am a great fan of music, and I aim to capture the power of my influences in the music that I write, which sometimes involved playing very complicated progressions, but I would not rank myself as a virtuoso on any instrument by any stretch of the imagination.
When I listen to most music, it seems to me as if it was inspired by what is happening on Earth, everything related to life, death and the like, but your music is in opposite, as if it wouldn't come from our reality but rather of some mad portals hiding unimaginable horror, chaos and death, your thought processes must be extremely transcendent at writing process...
This is actually a common theme that many listeners seem to wrongly take away from Abyssal. There are no occult of otherworldly points of inspiration on either Abyssal album. While I may be a fan of HP Lovecraft and artists such as Portal who directly channel his essence, Abyssal draws directly from the churning chaos of reality, which is arguably even more terrifying.
I'd point at As Paupers Safeguard Magnates track, namely moment from 4:00 to 4:30, surely you know what I mean, it comes to me quite jazzy and it definitely causes quite a decent shock for your extreme music. Could you write how did you get this idea?
The particular segment in particular was inspired in part by a band called Dodecahedron who released a single spectacular album 2012. The band were very proficient and blending jazz-like rhythms with horrific black metal.
If you had to compare your "Denouement" debut with second „Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius“, what would you highlighted in both ones? Do you perceive Abyssal as an evolving band or you do not attach importance to such things and the music goes as it currently feel?
Denouement is a much different record. It is far more conventional death metal, with discernible riffs and traditional song structures. The intention of Denouement when it was released was for it to be a demo, as it collected together a great deal of unreleased material from previous incarnations of Abyssal. However, when it was released, the disc was greeted as a full-length.
Denouement no doubt has its charms, but due to the nature of the way it was written (combining much old material with some new), the disc is somewhat directionless and inconsistent. Novit enim… is a much more focused and coherent disc.
Abyssal is definitely an evolving project. I have a great deal of respect for bands like Vader who remain close to a signature sound, but Abyssal seeks to make each albums a unique experience.
Your last album is two years old, I believe you have some new songs and a new album will see the darkness of this world this year. What should we look forward, what would you might reveal about it?
As I am writing this, the process of recording the third Abyssal album is nearing completion. This album will build upon Novit enim… but also progress into new territory.
Ok, that would be all from me, many thanks for this interview, wish Abyssal a lot of bottomless ideas and inspiration for the creation of more atmospheric works leading us through unknown worlds....
Regards,
ABYSSAL
http://abyssal-home.bandcamp.com/
Abyssal 2.3.2015 Mortuary
Hello, your latest album is out since January 2013, it is quite a long time for evaluating. From my perspective this is a great material that will be outstanding also in the future as it contains greatly written songs with the atmosphere grabbing the throat. How are you satisfied with new " Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius "? Do you think you could do something even better?
Hello, thanks for arranging this interview. It is strange talking about Novit enim… now because, as you say, the album is over two years old, and listening to it now offers some forgotten surprises even to me. Looking back, I think the album was satisfying to release, and fits in nicely within the Abyssal discography.
As for surpassing Novit enim… and writing something better, I firmly believe the upcoming Abyssal album is stronger in just about every way. Novit enim… was certainly not without its flaws and shortcomings, and hopefully many of these have been corrected for the next release.
Your music reminds something like a black hole, distorted tones as if twisting in spirals of bottomless pits, disharmony coupled with a cacophony while all the songs are as strong as steel pillars. Where do you take inspiration for such a cursed music?
Inspiration comes from everywhere; it is difficult to pinpoint specific points of reference. Musical inspiration of course comes from the obvious sources; French black metal, Sepulchral death metal, doom - anything that is hideous or mournful. In terms of concepts, there is much that comes from allegorical interpretations of the human condition. Suffering, deceit, despair, oppression etc. these are all dark concepts that shine far beyond the actual act, and can inspire tremendous imagery.
Have you met also with misunderstood by critics because of your dissonant artistic feeling? What's the strangest review of "Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius " you have read? Strangely enough, I met only with the best ones...
As you point out, the reviews for Novit enim… were generally positive - however there were of course some that were negative. The kinds of reviewers who would negatively appraise the album were generally people who went in expecting a similar, riff oriented, structured type of death metal in the style of Denouement. Novit enim… is a challenging, awkward listen, and I think people who listened in the incorrect mindset would certainly struggle to enjoy it.
I would say that atmosphere is far more important than the technical side of riffs, drums and bass for example in your music., although all these things are certainly rather a means to achieve the strange atmosphere. What do technical skills and the atmosphere mean to you?
Atmosphere can be attained through incredibly slow chord progressions that a child could play, however this brand of atmosphere can become dull or predictable very quickly. The trick is of course to balance musical complexity with an atmospheric feel. The dichotomy between ‘soulless’ technical playing and ‘emotional’ but simplistic playing is a relatively new phenomenon. Classical composers had no trouble making music that required tremendous musicianship, but at the same time was atmospheric, emotive and even memorable.
This is what Abyssal generally aims to do. We are not incredibly proficient at this style of composition, but do our best.
Can you describe the individual members of the Abyss in terms of musical experiences? Does anyone of you have any special musical education? From my perspective you are working excellently with the composition and that needs a great deal of talent, experience, but apparently also the music visionary! It's almost magic of music, or music of magic?
There is no formal musical background behind anyone involved in Abyssal. I myself am a great fan of music, and I aim to capture the power of my influences in the music that I write, which sometimes involved playing very complicated progressions, but I would not rank myself as a virtuoso on any instrument by any stretch of the imagination.
When I listen to most music, it seems to me as if it was inspired by what is happening on Earth, everything related to life, death and the like, but your music is in opposite, as if it wouldn't come from our reality but rather of some mad portals hiding unimaginable horror, chaos and death, your thought processes must be extremely transcendent at writing process...
This is actually a common theme that many listeners seem to wrongly take away from Abyssal. There are no occult of otherworldly points of inspiration on either Abyssal album. While I may be a fan of HP Lovecraft and artists such as Portal who directly channel his essence, Abyssal draws directly from the churning chaos of reality, which is arguably even more terrifying.
I'd point at As Paupers Safeguard Magnates track, namely moment from 4:00 to 4:30, surely you know what I mean, it comes to me quite jazzy and it definitely causes quite a decent shock for your extreme music. Could you write how did you get this idea?
The particular segment in particular was inspired in part by a band called Dodecahedron who released a single spectacular album 2012. The band were very proficient and blending jazz-like rhythms with horrific black metal.
If you had to compare your "Denouement" debut with second „Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius“, what would you highlighted in both ones? Do you perceive Abyssal as an evolving band or you do not attach importance to such things and the music goes as it currently feel?
Denouement is a much different record. It is far more conventional death metal, with discernible riffs and traditional song structures. The intention of Denouement when it was released was for it to be a demo, as it collected together a great deal of unreleased material from previous incarnations of Abyssal. However, when it was released, the disc was greeted as a full-length.
Denouement no doubt has its charms, but due to the nature of the way it was written (combining much old material with some new), the disc is somewhat directionless and inconsistent. Novit enim… is a much more focused and coherent disc.
Abyssal is definitely an evolving project. I have a great deal of respect for bands like Vader who remain close to a signature sound, but Abyssal seeks to make each albums a unique experience.
Your last album is two years old, I believe you have some new songs and a new album will see the darkness of this world this year. What should we look forward, what would you might reveal about it?
As I am writing this, the process of recording the third Abyssal album is nearing completion. This album will build upon Novit enim… but also progress into new territory.
Ok, that would be all from me, many thanks for this interview, wish Abyssal a lot of bottomless ideas and inspiration for the creation of more atmospheric works leading us through unknown worlds....
Regards,
ABYSSAL
http://abyssal-home.bandcamp.com/
Abyssal 2.3.2015 Mortuary