BlackEternal Interview

 

1. Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording and release of the new album?

Nightmare: First off, I just want to say thank you very much for the wonderful album review and interview. It means a lot to me and I'm grateful that my music can be heard and appreciated for what it is. Since the Album release last month, I've been keeping very busy musically. Currently im working on 3 projects. One is the re-release of my first EP from 2016 entitled '6EQUJ5' I was always very unhappy with that release in terms of sound, quality and even timing. So I’ve re-recorded it from start to finish, it sounds 100% better and im hoping to bring it a new life very soon. Also, Im working on a collaboration project with a good friend of mine from Slovenia, Denis Mocnik. His band is "Return to the Void" and it will be a depressive black metal / Doom style album. Its already sounding great. He's a fantastic vocalist and drummer and we're very excited to put that together and release it. Lastly, I’m working on the 4th full-length BlackEternal album Entitled "Encounters II: Aftermath" this album I’m extremely excited about. It will pick up where my first full length album "Encounters" from 2019 left off. I'm already writing and composing the music and working with my actors to bring the story to life. 

2. Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ form the stuff you have released in the past?

Nightmare: "The Oakenford Chronicles" is different from my previous releases in terms of production. I had very little resources when it came to studio gear and software on my previous albums. I now have a professional grade home studio and musically the mixes are sounding much better than before. Also "The Oakenford Chronicles" has been my longest album as far as total running time and story. There's ALOT of music as well as tons of story line and voice acting. Overall, it was just a very big album to produce and it took over a year to put together. I believe this is my best and most ambitious work to date. 

3. On your last 2 albums you have a concept story that has been a part of 2 albums, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwriting on the last couple of releases?

Nightmare: The song writing for BlackEternal to me has always been about my characters. Along with the symphonic black metal aspect of my music, the characters and the actors who play them are just as important to me. Every one of my albums has main characters, supporting characters and even extras who play small roles within the story. I hire professional actors to play these characters and they do an amazing job. When I sit down to write a BlackEternal album, i always think of Characters then the setting and then very difficult horror-infused situations for them. Whether it be paranormal, hauntings or alien abductions I try to write realistic characters that listeners can relate to. Once i have my characters in mind and the terrible situations i want to put them in, the music and compositions and sound profiles come shortly after. I use the emotions a character would be feeling to write the song that is revolved around them. It all comes and meshes together very well as part of a single narrative. 

4. So far all of your releases have been concept albums, is this something that will also continue on future releases?

Nightmare: Absolutely. When i was a little kid, even before my teenage years i was always fascinated with horror movies, paranormal topics, ufology, and of course heavy metal. I even wrote short horror stories as a hobby back then. One thing i wanted to do was merge together all my favorite subjects. Hence BlackEternal was born. I fully understand that the metal genre is no stranger to horror, but i wanted to do something unique and different. Something that had never been done before. I wanted to bring the aspect of deep storytelling, character development and even character drama to my music. Which is why there are audio-book style tracks on my albums in between songs at times and sometimes even during the music tracks themselves. To me, it’s all about giving the listener a movie-like experience, my goal is to suck the listener right into the story and have them be on the journey along with the characters within the album. Which is why all my albums will be concept albums. 

5. You have also covered a good amount of occult and alien themes with your lyrics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

Nightmare: For some reason that I cannot readily explain, I've always been drawn to Horror. Horror movies, The paranormal, Ufology and the darker subjects. I even played horror-style video games like Doom, Resident Evil,  Castlevania and Ghouls and Ghosts as a teenager. Even as a kid in elementary school in the early 80's i was known for this. That 'weirdo kid' who was always talking about aliens or ghosts to the rest of the class. I grew up watching horror movies and documentaries about hauntings and alien abductions, so it was something that’s always stuck with me. It feels like home, it’s where i feel comfortable and happy. That being said, writing Horror stories and characters for BlackEternal albums comes very naturally to me. 

6. A lot of your music is also heavily influenced by horror movies, which films have had the biggest on your music and songwriting?

Nightmare: Well, I'm an 80's kid. So naturally I love all the older horror flicks. It’s what i grew up on. I’m a huge fan of the Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento and the Italian horror flicks just as much as i love the original Romero Zombie flicks from the 60's 70' and 80's. Let’s not forget the good old American Slasher flicks like Friday the 13th and Halloween and Texas chainsaw. I'm also a huge fan of Vincent Price and his work along with the British Hammer Horror flicks from the 60' and 70's. I'm not very fond of the newer horror flicks, but i do watch them occasionally. Personally, i stick with the oldies. 

7. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

Nightmare: Great question! With all of my album covers, I try and capture what the album is about. It’s hard to do that with a single picture in most cases, but i certainly try. For "The Oakenford Chronicles" album cover we see our main protagonist "Tiffany Morgan" as she’s sitting in her wheel chair in the hallway of the mental asylum. Clearly she's losing her mind. Around her we can see the personification of the demons haunting her which are the arms coming at her from all sides. Behind her through the windows we see our main antagonist "Sylvanis Throne" getting closer. In the foreground we see a wheelchair. This is to represent her physical vulnerably as she was left paralyzed from the demonic attack at the very end of the previous album “Darkness Embrace” 

 8. With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

Nightmare: Like many metal heads, I was in dozens of different metal bands growing up. I played guitar for some bands, bass for other bands, drums, and sometimes even just vocals. It was always fun to play gigs with friends and write music together and have practice sessions, But I'm older now and I’m at a point in my life where playing live and band practice is no longer important to me. I much prefer working, writing and composing my music alone late at night in my home studio. It’s a much more peaceful experience for me and i don’t have to edit my thoughts to match anyone else's vision. I can write my characters and compose in peace and not have to run my ideas by anyone. I much prefer working alone and it will always be that way going forward. I absolutely enjoy collaborating with other musicians on their projects, but as far as BlackEternal goes, this will always be a one-man-band. 

9. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of symphonic black metal?

Nightmare: This is a Fantastic question! I'm going to be openly honest and completely transparent with you. I'm very shocked by the reception of my music.  I’m truly very shocked and surprised because the reception has been mostly positive! I say this for a few different reasons. I'm an old man, and I've been into metal since i could walk, I've been to a thousand metal shows and I’m well aware of how the 'scene' can be. Some readers may not like my answer, but as i said before. I'll be totally honest here and i mean this with no disrespect to anyone, but at times the metal community can be slightly judgmental. Especially in black metal. If you don’t sound like "True Norwegian Christ-raping black metal" like mayhem did in the 90's or if you don’t spew lyrics about Satan and church burning and sacrifices or look like Gorgoroth with corpse paint and blood, some fans tend to tune you out and not give the music a chance. Especially for black metal that comes from the US. I grew up with that style of black metal, so don’t get me wrong, i love it as well. But it’s not what BlackEternal is trying to be and i think people are starting to realize that. That being said, amazingly, the reception has been very positive and very encouraging. I've received some fantastic reviews from some great metal sites and also some amazing fan emails who appreciate what I’m doing. Generally, my music and cinematic style has been very well-received and it’s honestly been a shock to me. When I first started this, I was positive that everyone would hate it, but I didn’t let it discourage me and I kept doing what I wanted to do. I never set out to do anything to "fit in" with "the norm" even in black metal, so the fact that people actually enjoy what I’m doing as different as it is, has been truly amazing to me. 

10. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Nightmare: That is correct. To date, all of my productions and releases have come out of pocket. Luckily, being a systems engineer for an IT company, I’m good with computers. I'm good with Photoshop and video editing, so i put together all my own album covers and album trailers, teasers, videos and productions. I would absolutely LOVE to have interest from a label who believes in what I’m doing with black metal. Having backing by a well-known metal label would be a dream come true for me. I've received some interest, but not from any legitimate labels. Mostly people just looking for money upfront unfortunately. I'm usually put off by that because if a label truly believes in what you're doing, they will back YOU and not the other way around. I’m not very good at "selling" if you will, so i haven’t put myself out there in terms of pitching my music to any major labels or mass emailing every label that i can find. I just don’t do those things. That being said, I'm hoping one day the "right person" listens to one of my albums and happens to be from a label. That would be a dream come true for me. 

11. Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

Nightmare: To be honest, BlackEternal for me right now is simply a hobby that I use to express myself creatively. Also as a bit of stress relief at the end of a long day. I work full time in the IT field, I’m a professional mixed martial artist and a full time father to a wonderful 5 year old. My days are mostly very busy, so typically, i only get into the studio late at night once all the responsibilities of the day are over with. I just want to continue to do what i love doing. If my music can reach any type of success, that would be truly amazing, but if not i will still continue to write my albums and tell my stories with my characters and actors. 

12. What are you listening to nowadays?

Nightmare: Actually, I’m glad you asked. I listen to a bit of everything. I'm very diverse when it comes to music. I mostly listen to heavy metal of course. Death metal, Black metal, Thrash metal, but i love all types of music. From the Classic rock of the 70's, to 80's hair metal, to Credence Clearwater Revival, to the Beatles, to Queen, to 90's grudge to hardcore punk, I even like the occasional country or rap song. I even listen to softer indie music like "Calamine" I absolutely love Julie Stepanek's voice and their music is so peaceful to me. Most would say this is uncharacteristic for a black metal musician, but much like Martial Arts, Sticking to ONE genre or ONE style of anything is like a prison to your mind and keeps your inner skills trapped. Especially when it comes to music. 

13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 

Nightmare: Yes. There are just a couple of things I’d like to say to wrap things up. First and foremost I want to give a big THANK YOU to anyone who has already listened to "The Oakenford Chronicles" or anyone who will read this interview and go listen to the album. The listens and streams and album purchases mean so much to me. Secondly, I want to thank the actors who played the main characters in the story. Kim Reiko, Tiffany Clare and Julian Illman all put forward wonderful performances on the album and im very proud of their work. Without my actors and characters my albums are nothing. Also, If anyone wants to download the album but is having financial hardship due to this pandemic. Please email me directly at Corpsegrinder01@yahoo.com and I will personally send you a free download code. Lastly, I want to thank A Different Shade of Black Metal Zine for the great album review and for this interview! Its been fun. Thank you all and stay tuned for new material coming soon! 

-Nightmare-

Website: www.BlackEternal.com
Bandcamp: https://blacketernal.bandcamp.com/releases
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightmareEternal
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46mpEuoYG8P6-r0AAGAPuw/featured
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6D8zj2AYSbrwnxuPpLi6rP
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/blacketernal/1317188234

Demande a la Poussiere/Quietude Hostile/My Kingdom Music/2021 CD Review

 

  Demande  a  la  Poussiere  are  a  band  form  France  that  plays  an  apocalyptic  mixture  of  post  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Quietude  Hostile"  which  will  be  released  on  March  25th  by  My  Kingdom  music.

  Aggressive  shouts  start  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  apocalyptic  soundscapes  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction.  The  riffs  also  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal  while  post  metal  style  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Blackened  metal  screams  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  and  saxophones  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  post  apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Demande  a  la  Poussiere  are  a  very  great  sounding  apocalyptic  mixture  of  post  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Morpheme"  "Perdu"  and  "Expiravit".  8  out  of  10.

http://facebook.com/DALPdoom

https://youtu.be/IIaKJ9zozvo

    

Sol Draconi Septem/Hyperion/Time Tombs Production/2021 CD Review

 

  Sol  Draconi  Septem  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  melodic  and  industrial  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Hyperion"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Time  Tombs  Production.

  Industrial  style  synths  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Saxophones  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  are  mostyl  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  death  metal  growls  can  also be  heard  at  times.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  are  also  utilized  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  utilized  briefly  ona  couple  of  songs.  Symphonic  and  atmospheric  sounds  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  music  as  well  as  the  songs  also  capturing  a  very  sci-fi  orientated  atmosphere.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  Dan  Simmons's  "Hyperion  Cantos".

  In  my  opinion  Sol  Draconi  Septem  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  industrial  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Man  Who  Cried  God"  "The  River  Leth's  Taste  Is  better"  and  "The  Last  Pilgrims".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Medieval Demon/Arcadian Witchcraft/Hells Headbangers/2021 CD Review

 

  Medieval  Demon  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Arcadian  Witchcraft"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Hells  Headbangers.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  a  few  seconds  later.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era  and  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  ritualistic  sounding  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing.

  A  lot  of  the  music  also  captures  the  atmosphere  of  the  classic  Greek  black  metal  era  along  with  the  music  also  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  keyboards.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  spoken  word  parts  also  giving  the  music  more  of  an  occult  atmosphere  when  they  are  utilized,  one  of  the  tracks  also  introduces  melodic  chants  onto  the  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Luciferian,  Necromancy,  Occultism  and  Witchcraft  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Medieval  Demon  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Meet  Her  Majesty,  the  Black  Queen"  "The  Grand  Archon"  and  "Arcadian  Witchcraft".  8/5  out  of  10.

http://medievaldemon.bandcamp.com/album/arcadian-witchcraft

https://youtu.be/UPvPDswOVdo   

Wolfheart/Skull Sodiers/Napalm Records/2021 EP Review

 

  Finland's  Wolfheart  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  ep  "Skull  Soldiers"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Napalm  Records.

  Epic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Vocals  are  mostyl  death  metal  growls  along  a  few  black  metal  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  when  the  music  speeds  up  while  elements  of  doom  emtal  can  also b e  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of t he  songs.  Symphonic  sounds  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Some  of  the  faster  riffing  also  adds  in  some tremolo  picking  along  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  one  of  the  tracks  is  also  an  acoustic  song  which  also  adds  in  clean  vocals  and  the  ep  closes  with  a  live  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  Winter  war  which  was  a  battle  between  Finland  and  the  Soviet  Union  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Wolfheart  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Skull  Soldiers"  and  "Reaper".  8  out  of  10.

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Feed Them Death/Negative/Brucia Records/2021 CD Review

 

  United  Kingdom's  solo  project  Feed  Them  Death  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  avant  garde  mixture  of  black,  sludge  metal,  experimental,  noise  and  grindcore  from  his  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2021  album  "Negative"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Brucia  Records.

  Avant  garde  soundscapes  and  clean  playing  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  faster  grindcore  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffing  also  brings  in  some  dissonant  structures  and  at  times  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  sounding.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  Guitar  solos  and  leads  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  are  also  done  in  a  very  chaotic  yet  progressive  style.

  Elements  of  noise,  industrial  and  drone  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  also  starts  getting  more  diverse  sounding,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  clean  vocals  and  shouts  are  also  added  onto  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  philosophical  writings  of  Theodor  Adorno.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Feed  Them  Death  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  avant  garde,  black,  sludge,  doom  metal,  grindcore,  experimental,  noise,  industrial  and  drone,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Minima  Moralia"  "Our  Cruelty  to  Reality  (Evokism  IV)"  and  "The  Idiotic  Yearnign  For  More  (Barbarism  of  Perfection)".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/feedthemdeath/            

BlackEternal/Darkness Emrace II: The Oakenford Chronicles/2021 Full Length Review

 

  BlackEternal  are  a  solo  project  from  Las  Vegas,  Nevada  that  plays  a  cinematic  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2021  album  "Darkness  Embrace  II:  The  Oakenford  Chronicles".

  Horror  movie  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  while  spoken  word  parts  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  album  and  are  done  in  more  of  a  narrative  style.  Symphonic  elements  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  blast  beats  also  being  programmed  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Heavier  riffs  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  symphonic  elements  while  the  vocals  are  mostyl  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  Demonic  voices  are  also  utilized  at  times  along  with  some  of  the  music  also  capturing  the  atmosphere  of  a  home  for  the  mentally  disturbed  and  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  cinematic  sounding  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody,  the  songs  also  alternate  between  spoken  word  horror  tracks  and  black  metal  songs,  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  also  done  in   a  very  melodic  style.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  a  paranormal  investigation  that  led  to  everyone  being  dead  and  the  only  remaining  person  living  in  a  mental  institution  and  the  horror  coming  in  and  murdering  everybody  in  an  occultic  ritualistic  witchcraft  style.

  In  my  opinion  BlackEternal  are  a  very  great  sounding  cinematic  and  symphonic  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pavor  Nocturnus"  "Voices  From  The  Crypt"  "Thorne's  Domain"  and  "Demonic  Spirits  II".  8  /5  out  of  10.

Website: www.BlackEternal.com
Bandcamp: https://blacketernal.bandcamp.com/releases
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightmareEternal
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46mpEuoYG8P6-r0AAGAPuw/featured
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6D8zj2AYSbrwnxuPpLi6rP

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/blacketernal/1317188234