Interview: Deeper Vileness (Black Metal)
Deeper Vileness are an up and coming Black
Metal band, residing in the United States, who, according to their Bandcamp.com
site, “have been a subject of many rumors and controversy within the
underground scene.” They play a classic style of Black Metal, deriving from
many of the sounds of the second wave, to create a catchy and aggressive sound
that will definitely appeal to the readers of this blog, and here is an interview
with this mysterious band, consisting of Kadesh (guitars, keys, vocals and noise ) and Arjun (guitars,
bass, drums, mixing):
Mattowarrior: How/when did you guys form?
Kadesh: The idea to create Deeper Vileness initially started in 2012
through 2013 but the band never actually recorded anything until 2014.
Arjun: I joined Deeper Vileness in the early
summer of 2017. The band had a good amount of demos out and were quite
impressive for my standards. I wanted to make a contribution to Deeper Vileness
as it seemed like a project of immense potential.
Mattowarrior: Early demos were very "kvlt" and "necro", but also had more "Dungeon Synth" styled tracks like "Shadows of the
Castle Walls".
Kadesh: The first demo and EP are
really the same in terms of the mix of ambient sounds and guitars however the
evolution is truly learning how to play better and learning how to record
properly.
Who are your biggest influences, Black Metal and
non- Black Metal?
Kadesh: I would have to say my influences are
more so general rather than for the band. What really influences the bands
sound has little to do with other bands as we are trying to create something
entirely new, which will be more obvious on the debut album. When it comes to
bands I respect very much, one definitely has to be Sodom due to their raw
sound and creativity, and Abruptum as they are one of the heaviest bands of all
time. I spend more time listening to non Black Metal artists personally,
especially a lot of Dark Ambient and Noise.
Arjun: I am influenced by many other sources
than just Black Metal like Kadesh. Personally Deeper Vileness for me isn't
supposed to share the same agenda as other Black Metal. It serves greater
meaning and originality than mere imagery.
Mattowarrior: I noticed some of the new material
has a more midpaced feel, which I think suits the atmosphere (and I'm a fan of
early Gehenna (Norway) and other bands that did a more midpaced thing back in
the day) and is better than projects that just blast the way through (though
there is a time and place for that).
I also noticed that even though there are keys
the music isn't dominated by it, and there are genuine riffs, unlike some of
the bands that went overboard with the symphonic sections in the past.
Kadesh: We did write some pretty fast songs but
it was due to the songs we chose to use on the EP. Choosing all midpaced tracks
was totally random but I think it worked out well.
I
am primarily a keyboardist and attended 2 semesters as a Piano Major at a
university - the writing is truly more about atmosphere and conveying a meaning
rather than technical performance. Also Gehenna’s “First Spell” is a pretty
amazing album!
Arjun: About the mid paced feel, as said it
totally suits the atmosphere required. Well, the reason for that is because we
don't start making tracks based on the pace. It's pure creativity and
improvisation to represent something internal. It's aesthetically supreme for
us.
Mattowarrior: How is the black metal scene in
Texas? (The band’s Bandcamp.com site lists Harlingen Texas as their homebase)
Kadesh: I’m not entirely sure but I would like
to have nothing to do with it.
Arjun: Never even been there.
Mattowarrior: You guys have a really genuine
sound with genuine cold atmosphere, what do you attribute this to, being in a
warm climate like that?
Kadesh: Warm climates are more depressive than
cold climates. It’s more or less life in general that influences the art.
Arjun: What goes on in the head on an
existential level is explanatory in the music. If artists think the climate
shows in their music, they should work in weather forecast agencies rather. I
think the internal melancholic forces and intellectual prowess take over the
feel for us, creating the “Vileness” or the “Coldness” you refer to. It has
nothing to do with external factors like weather.
Mattowarrior: Tell me about the songwriting
process.
Kadesh: This is the first release where I didn’t
write every instrument. Arjun wrote bass and drums on all tracks (except
Daemonolatria, which I wrote). Recently writing music has been like creating a
recipe, I have the main section and then everything else is almost like a
seasoning. After the main section is done then i’ll then add the keys, or
ambient noise, or etc. I didn’t write the lead guitars (which act as an
ambience rather than a traditional lead) until the rhythm was recorded. Total
Improvisation!
Arjun: I just try imagining the sounds of a
finished track and try to feel what Kadesh wants to create musically while
writing instruments. Other than that it's mostly improvisation in the right
direction.
Mattowarrior: There were no lyrics listed on the
bandcamp, what are the songs about subject wise on the new ep?
Kadesh: I’ll have to take a look at that. I
submitted the lyrics to one of those lyric websites but for some reason it does
not seem to show up on search engines. Hmm…..
The lyrics depend on the track - "Daemonolatria" concerns a necromantic ritual, "Amidst Funeral Winds" and "Kingdom of Ruin" have
multiple very personal lyrics but are left up for debate to the listener.
A very special
thanks to Kadesh and Arjun for participating in this interview. You can find
out more about Deeper Vileness from the following links:
Bandcamp:
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