Melodic black metal is usually associated with the cold regions of Scandinavia. However, temperatures in Canada are often just as unpleasant, which draws a lot of local bands to this genre there as well – like, for example, ARCTOS, who released a remarkable debut album titled „Beyond The Grasp Of Mortal Hands“. On the occasion of the release, frontman Dan Wilberg answered our questions about the creation of the record, the influence of his home region on the album’s sound as well as where he personally draws the line concerning the use of keyboards.
I think your band name ARCTOS goes very well with your music – it sounds cold and majestic. How did you come up with the name?
It took quite some time for us to decide on a name that we felt suited the band and our music. I was reading an article about wildlife conservation efforts in our national parks and noticed the word as part of a scientific name for a Grizzly bear. Upon further research I discovered that Arctos is a latin word that means, as we understand it, ‘bear’ or ‘Northern people.’ We found this to be quite fitting for us as we are heavily inspired by nature and our Northern habitat.
You have already played in another band before ARCTOS with a few of your band mates. What motivated you to create ARCTOS?
Yeah, a bunch of us were involved in a blackened folk metal project called Trollband on and off over the years. ARCTOS was always a goal of mine, and though I enjoyed playing in other bands, I always wanted to create my own music. When Trollband went on hiatus in 2014, Nick, Josh, and I decided to continue playing together and eventually I presented some song ideas that I had been working on before joining Trollband. We quickly discovered that we could collaborate really naturally with each other and so we began to write music as a band. Now ARCTOS is the only project I’m involved with.
Your music can all in all be categorized as melodic black metal. What do you think is your most distinctive musical feature that sets you apart from other bands in the genre?
I think it’s hard to pin any one thing in particular as our ‘unique’ feature. I’d say that overall, we blend a lot of different sounds from a lot of different musical genres together and I’d like to believe that we incorporate them in ways that keep things true to the black metal genre. We never want to sound tacky or like we’re mixing things together as a novelty. One thing that I think we do well is to avoid falling into tropes and cliches. Our lyrics deal with themes that are often associated with black metal, but each song has a personal spin on it that keeps it rooted in authenticity. We don’t want to just talk the talk, so our songs are about us and our experiences and thoughts, things that we have actually lived. Occasionally we’ll use metaphors to add a more exciting flavour to the lyrics, but it’s all built on a foundation of lived experience.
Where do you get most of your inspiration from as a musician?
Well, we mentioned the land around us, that’s the biggest one, but it’s our surroundings in general. Society has proven itself time and time again to celebrate mediocrity and to de-incentivise people from pursuing challenge and facing adversity. Having dealt with a great amount of challenge in my life and also a great amount of loss, I have thought often about mortality and what it truly means to ‘live.’ If I happen to die tomorrow for whatever reason, I want to know that I at least tried to create something that could make the world and my life a richer experience. Life without purpose is just existence and life without end is immortality. Music is immortality. Creating immortal art seems like an extremely inspirational pursuit in life, so as long as I’m alive, I’ll continue to walk this path.
Music is often associated with the region it comes from – in metal for example Swedish death metal or Norwegian black metal. Would you say that your Canadian background is also reflected in your music?
Absolutely! As a country, we’re a lot younger than most, so for us our country’s history is less of an influence than I think Norway’s or Sweden’s histories were on those bands. For us, the land itself provides most of the inspiration. Our winters are long and cold while our summers are hot and short. We have some truly amazing natural areas, some of the finest in the world, but we also have of vast expanses of prairie that can be oppressive in their emptiness. The land has a very dualistic nature and that serves as content inspiration for us.
Black metal bands who often use keyboard and piano in their songs are often considered cheesy. Where do you yourself draw the line in this matter?
That’s a very tough line to draw in this case. I think that I draw the line when it detracts from the music or draws too much attention to itself. It needs to work in harmony with all of the other pieces and actually improve the song as a whole. We usually use the keys in a supporting manner, but once in a while there will be a natural area where the other instruments play second fiddle. Nick, who writes the piano and most of the other keys, has a very good ear for writing pieces that suit the music. Whether he’s writing pieces to match something that I’ve written or vice versa, he knows when to pull things back or ramp them up. Dynamics are the key to engaging songwriting in my opinion, and keys and piano can add some really incredible dynamics.
According to your label you secretly worked on your first EP „A Spire Silent“ for three years. Why did you take so much time and choose not to announce it beforehand?
We just wanted to make sure that we were happy with the music. Patience is an artist’s best friend, even though it can be a very frustrating friend at times. Most of the songs on the full length were actually written before the songs on the EP, interestingly enough, and that should hopefully speak to our commitment to quality. If we’re going to release music, we want to be damn sure we’re proud of it.
„Beyond The Grasp Of Mortal Hands“ is your first full-length album. In which way do you see the record as a further development compared to your EP?
I think that it builds on the EP, but not drastically so. Like I just mentioned, many of the songs on the full length and the EP were written around the same time, so in many ways they are very similar albums. I’d say the main improvements come from the recording process. The EP used digital amps and some sampled drums, and though this saved us some money, I wish we would have saved a bit more to go for the more natural approach. Recording drums in a great sounding room and using our actual gear for guitar and bass recording went a huge way towards capturing our live tone.
The album features „The Light Beyond The Sky (The Passage II)“, a sequel to the title track of your EP. What is the connection between these two songs?
The events in both of these songs were actually derived from personal experiences that I had, those events being me getting caught in a blizzard while at the top of a mountain and also (on a separate occasion) watching the Northern Lights by myself during a very difficult time in my life. Both of these events were very profound and thought provoking for me in different ways, and I wanted to try and relay my thoughts through the two songs. „A Spire Silent“ deals with the acceptance of adversity in hopes of the achievement of growth, strength, and accomplishment. „The Light Beyond The Sky“ is the conclusion of that journey and it confirms that yes, the true path to worthy life requires effort, but it will always be worth the journey. The line ‘The weak shall die before their time, they shall not wait for death to claim.’ seems to be talking about suicide, but in reality I’m referring to the people who cower in the face of difficulty or challenge. There is no strength to be gained in that path, so make sure you’re walking the right one.
Would you say that the new songs have sometimes presented you with technical challenges?
Quite the opposite. We’ve been playing these songs for years now, and though we’ve worked constantly to refine them and bring them as close to ‘perfect’ as possible, we are so familiar with them now that it makes playing them a breeze. We also practice regularly which helps us keep on top of our game.
In terms of production, you’ve chosen a more modern, powerful sound. Do you think a lo-fi sound wouldn’t go so well with your music?
Honestly, I think the album would sound pretty good with a lo-fi sound. I’ve thought about the classic black metal sound quite a bit, and though I love it and treasure the albums that pioneered it, I think it would almost be less ‘true’ of us to go for that sound. We have good amps, we have good drums, and we have access to a studio with some really excellent recording equipment. To achieve a lo-fi sound, we’d basically be taking our raw recorded sound and applying a ‘kvlt’ filter on top of that. That seems fucking stupid to me. Our performances are minimally edited, there are no drum samples, and all of the amps are real. To me, this is about as accurate of an ARCTOS sound as you can get. That’s what I think is truly unique about this approach to production; no studio fuckery, just us playing our music with our gear.
Looking back, are you completely satisfied with the production or are there things which you would do differently next time?
I’m very pleased with how the album turned out. I think once you’ve pressed the ‘STOP’ button, you’re instantly going to have ideas on things you could add or do differently. That’s just art, and that’s what makes it beautiful. An album reflects a very specific piece of time in your life and should serve as a marker along that road. I have some ideas that I’d like to put into effect for our next recording, but I have nothing but pride for my work and the work of all of my band members. Everybody stepped up and performed fantastically on this album.
The artwork of „Beyond The Grasp Of Mortal Hands“ is quite beautiful and also fits the music well. Who created it and what was the idea behind it?
Thanks, I’m glad you think so. This is actually a picture that I shot when we were taking our band photos in the backcountry of the Canadian Rockies here in Alberta. I think that the image captures a beautiful face of our world that often people are not willing to see. Winters in Canada are harsh and cold, and many people will never push themselves to leave the warmth and security of their homes unless they absolutely have to. The wilderness has so much to offer, and to behold a mountain sunset in the middle of winter is an experience like no other. In the background of the cover you can see some low mountains. These mountains are a very recognizable feature from the town of Canmore, but this is a view of them that many will have never seen. That in itself reinforces the idea behind the album’s title.
You decided to work with the label Northern Silence regarding the release. Did you consider other options before as well or was it clear from the beginning that you would choose Northern Silence?
Northern Silence was one of my first picks. There are few other labels that I have a great deal of respect for, and I approached them as well, but after the first email response I could tell instantly that Northern Silence would be the one for us. Torsten is an enthusiastic guy that truly loves the bands on his label and I feel so privileged to be a part of the family now.
What are your next plans for ARCTOS? Will you be spending a lot of time on your second album as well?
Hard to say how long the second release will take, but we already have a few songs written and many ideas in the works. We spent a great deal of time finding our signature ‘ARCTOS sound’, so now we have a solid foundation to work off of. I think that moving forward we will start to have a more collaborative approach to writing. Jeremy and Jacob have a lot to offer and I know that their ideas will help to continue to evolve our sound and push us all as artists.
At this point I’d like to go over our traditional Metal1.info brainstorming with you. What do you think about the following terms?
Epic: Overused word, should be used sparingly.
Climate crisis: The bill comes due.
Symphonic metal: Usually lame, can be alright sometimes.
Batushka: Total clusterfuck at the moment.
Summer: Too fucking hot, good for hiking and mountain biking though!
Melody: Only minor keys are real.
Finally many thanks again for your time. Are there any last words that you want to say to the readers?
Thank you! I hope you all enjoy the album and please listen to it at least once all the way through. Also if you can listen to it out in nature somewhere, that’s even better.
17. September 2019 Stephan Rajchl
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