1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project that you play?
I just updated Myrewood and by the time this comes out, Sword of Virné should also be done too. Just some remixing and rebalancing of the music. Currently working on some new music before I really get into the meat of what this project is heading toward.
2.In April you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in he past?
This is much more inline with what you would hear from a soundtrack. There’s bard music, a village track, and a lot of atmospheric tracks that make you feel like you’re in a forest, underground, in a tense moment before things erupt, and some battle songs. So quite different from my previous releases, but rounding out what this project is.
3.On previous recordings you had more of a symphonic and extreme style of metal and on the new album go for more of a folk style, what was the decision behind going into this musical direction?
That’s been the plan for a long time. There are three pillars to the project: metal, stories, and orchestral soundtrack music. Sounds of Ardul is that third pillar to follow the other things I’ve done.
I sort of envision myself like a director without the movie. There’s story and world and characters and epic thematic music and melodic motifs, all that’s missing is the set and actors.
4.All of your lyrics cover fantasy themes, can you tell us a little bit more about how your interest in this topic has evolved over the years?
I fell in love with fantasy a long time ago in middle school. My brother recommended that I read the Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore. From there it was stuff like the Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy, Lord of the Rings, and other stuff. I’m much more of a fantasy nerd than sci-fi or anything else.
And then along the way I wanted to combine my passions for metal music, fantasy, and music from my favorite video games. All that brought together is the essence of what I do.
5.On the website you also have a couple of novel's written and published, how do these novels fit in with music you create?
The music and story of Myrewood work hand-in-hand. The music gives you the epic cinematic feeling with raw visceral emotion, while the story takes you in deeper into the world and let’s you explore more and learn.
6.You also created your own fantasy universe, can you tell us a lite bit more about this world you create with your writing and also what are you inspirations as a writer?
It all started with the trilogy I’m working toward, and I thought it would be a much better idea to start to build that world before jumping into a monumental project. Myrewood was that first step.
It’s dark fantasy and a bit more old school with only four races: humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs. There’s magic and complications and gods and dangers all around. There was big cataclysmic event that split the world into the continents. And the magic is chaotic, as we saw in Sword of Virné. It’s not safe and can’t be controlled.
Right now I’m just exploring the world and seeing what stories can be told and really making it come alive.
Some of my influences are the Dragon Age games, Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, and The Witcher.
7.With this project you record most of the material by yourself, do you prefer to work solo?
To a certain degree, yes. Like I said before, this is a huge passion project and I like doing much of this myself. However, I can’t do vocals, at least for right now. So I’ve gotten help from great people like Thomas Blanc, Sofia Frasz, and Aaron Johnson III, who I am in a band with called Left After Death. I also worked with Maxwell Aston to do art for me and he did an incredible job.
8.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
There’s a really cool nature preserve close to where I live. It’s hard to find trees where I am, but this place has some great spots, and I found this cool area with that tunnel sort of bit and thought it would be a great representation of where this next project is going, sort of transporting you to another realm. And I love trees.
9.On the new album you also have a few quests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording?
Sofia Frasz from Exiled Hope is a kindred spirit. We both tell stories through our music and incorporate orchestral elements. We had a talk at one point and wanted to collaborate and the time finally came. She did an amazing job.
The other is my vocalist and bass player in Left After Death, Aaron Johnson III. He’s a great guy and super creative, doing other style like goth rock and EDM and his own symphonic metal stuff, so it was pretty obvious to have him do some stuff on my music as well.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of metal and fantasy?
Reactions have been good! They love it, compared it to other bands like Dimmu Borgir or One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII. I recently had one interaction recently where someone said they haven’t heard of blackened death metal and fantasy, so I had to chime in and say, “Hey, I do that! And there’s orchestra stuff too!” I’m glad people are enjoying it and not saying I should give up. haha
11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
Just doing more. More music, get that trilogy out, other orchestral stuff, maybe work with other artists and helping them with their music, and doing more collaborations. I got a lot of music friends I want to work with. I always try to improve on what I’ve done before, so that’s the goal as an artist.
12.What are some of the bands or musical styles you are currently listening to nowadays?
I’ve been listening to a little more Mental Cruelty, particularly their A Hill to Die Upon Album, as well as some Wormwitch. Just to channel those styles of riffs and be influenced by what they are doing. Then there’s always Shadow of Intent, and I’ve been playing Octopath Traveler 0, and that has great music as well.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the wonderful questions! I’ve been super busy writing all sorts of stuff and coming up with ideas, so I’ll be working on stuff for a long, long time.
Official Website: chroniclerofardul.com
Bandcamp: https://chroniclerofardul.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Chronicler-of-Ardul-100063489851273
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5h3LfVFyzZA7Tl0eBhQxKg
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/chronicler-of-ardul/1678862672
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chronicler_of_ardul
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