In 2013, RISE OF AVERNUS proved themselves as worthy competitors of Septicflesh. Five years after their debut „L’appel Du Vide“, the Australian symphonic death/doomers finally are back with „Eigengrau“. You can now learn more about how the band has changed personally and musically in the meantime, what there is to know about background of the German album title and why the symphonic elements are just as important to RISE OF AVERNUS as the metal parts are, in the following interview with bandleader Ben VanVollenhoven.
Five years after your debut „L’appel Du Vide“ you have recently released your sophomore album „Eigengrau“ – so it’s been a while since your first record. What have you been up to in the meantime?
Well! Since „L’appel Du Vide“ there’s been a few lineup changes, a 5 track EP called „Dramatis Personæ“ as well as a switch in focus in terms of the creative aspect. To be perfectly candid, „L’appel Du Vide“ was an experiment. „Dramatis Personæ“ was a bridge. For our latest release „Eigengrau“, I focused on a more uniform and structured approach with songwriting, and kept live performance in mind while writing this album. You could view it as a change in musical direction. We’ve also toured both our home country and broken new ground with our first international tours alongside some of our favourite people, these bands include Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Sigh, 1349, Arcturus, Eluveitie and Fleshgod Apocalypse. We also supported Rotting Christ and Septicflesh during their Australian tours back in 2014… although our material and stage show have gone through some major changes since then.
There have been personal changes in the band since your debut was released: You now have a new keyboarder and singer as well as a new bassist. Why did you have to go on without your former members and how did you stumble across Mares and D’wayne?
As anyone may have experienced, people’s priorities change. Sometimes they find life as a musician or artist is no longer what they want. I can appreciate that shift as I consider myself an artist with an evolving perspective. Realistically? Music should only have a place for those who are willing to invest themselves wholeheartedly and keep it as a reason for existing. Not to mention that the new musical direction wasn’t fully embraced by everyone at the time. Therefore it was important to find people who it resonated with! Mares came into the picture back in 2014 when RISE OF AVERNUS were playing in her home city with the old lineup. I had heard her previous projects and really enjoyed her vocals, both clean and screams, so after Catherine’s departure I contacted her and she was interested in coming on board. After our previous bassist Daniel departed, I was approached by various people asking to audition. One person in particular stood out for me, which was D’wayne. He has been supportive of the band since it’s inception, and I had spent time with him at many shows previously. It made sense in my eyes to select him as our bassist moving forward.
Did this personal change also result in changes in your songwriting or in the whole dynamics of the band?
Yes and no… we are influenced by many factors, both internal and external. I’ve always had a clear picture in my mind of where to take RISE OF AVERNUS’ music. I suppose with a lineup change there are new minds with enthusiasm and new ideas that they bring to the table… Music and songwriting (like life in general) are in a constant state of flux.
I guess there’s some people who compare your music to that of Septicflesh – after all, Seth Siro once more created the artwork for your record. What is your opinion on you being compared to this band or others?
At first I would say that we are humbled for some people to make that connection, but in terms of our music, the only thing we really have in common is utilising theatrical elements and merging them with heavy music. People hear mid tempo music with orchestrations and make automatic connections, although in terms of the music there’s not much that’s very similar… our lyrical content is very different, not to mention we’re from opposite sides of the planet.
Your sound is very symphonic but also heavy with a lot of death/doom. If you had to strictly choose between the two, which one would you choose, the metal instrumentation or the orchestration?
I would say „Fuck you, why are you making me choose?“ (laughs) On a more serious note, there’s a delicate balance between the two elements in a lot of RISE OF AVERNUS material, it’s what gives us our ‘sound’. I couldn’t choose one or the other and still have it sound like us.
Could you also imagine releasing a solely orchestral record or maybe a symphonic alternative version of a „regular“ RISE OF AVERNUS album?
If it were something I felt the need to do, absolutely.
How did you develop a fascination for symphonic music as well as for metal?
I’ve been listening to metal since I was an early teenager, and i’ve always been drawn towards things that sounded big. I’m attracted to music with a sense of aggression and grandiosity. Symphonic music is something that’s always been around, and fusing it with metal has allowed me to express these huge moments and movements in as accurate a way as I can. There’s only so much you can say with a guitar, bass and a drum kit. The extra elements give movement and life to my music, and I love using them.
Especially in metal, orchestral music is sometimes looked upon as cheesy. What do you think about this?
It depends on how you use them. Of course major key orchestral hits will sound cheesy. Expressive violin in a minor scale will sound sad and beautiful. Brass sections will add bombast to things. I think Patrick Swayze said it best in „Roadhouse“… “Opinions vary.”
Your latest record „Eigengrau“ place more bears a title in a foreign language. What lies behind this decision?
The German word „Eigengrau“ translates to „own grey“ or „intrinsic grey“, and is incredibly well suited to the overall theme of this album. It’s a term given to the deep grey shade the human eye generates in the complete absence of light… the album is an exploration of different facets of darkness. Sometimes the best and most beautiful words come from languages other than English.
Lyrically, the album deals with some kind of self-realization, right? How is this to be understood exactly?
Is that what you understand? We try to generate ideas and thoughts in others through our music. If our music is giving you something to think about, and that’s what you’re taking from our album, we’ve done our job properly.
Instead of a track of the same title, there’s a song on „Eigengrau“ that is called „Eigenlicht“. What’s up with that?
It’s another word for the same experience, but instead of the focus being on the absence of light and the subsequent reaction within the human mind, it’s the self generated „light“ that’s the focus in the word Eigenlicht. There’s a power play between the two words. Eigengrau is dark, claustrophobic, fearsome. Eigenlicht is self determined.
Would you say that there’s a certain aspect that sets your recent album apart from its predecessor or did you rather focus on improving your already established style?
You can hear the similarities melodically and rhythmically, but we feel it’s evident that there’s been ongoing development in the overall sound of RISE OF AVERNUS. Each of our releases are connected, in the way that discographies are, but each has its own particular style. As I previously mentioned, „Eigengrau“ was written with a strong focus on live performance and expression, and we aim to get better at what we do with each release.
Before the release the album you already made us listen to the track „Forged In Eidolon“. Why did you choose exactly this song to be released beforehand?
We drew names out of a hat… (laughs) In all seriousness, we thought it was the most suitable track to be released first as it encompasses many of the different elements of RISE OF AVERNUS.
This time the mixing and mastering were done by Logan Mader (Once Human). How did it come to this and why did you choose exactly him for the job?
All of us were familiar with his previous work and we wanted this album to have its own life… staying as far away from a „generic“ sound as possible. Logan was an absolute pleasure to work with, he has an incredibly refined ear and gave each instrument and section it’s own breathing room. We’re all very glad to have worked with him.
It seemed to me that the feedback to „Eigengrau“ was mainly positive, but there was also some criticism. In your perception, what was the criticism mainly about and can you also understand the negative parts?
I understand both sides of the critiquing of „Eigengrau“. A lot of people say that it’s fantastic, a few do not. I do appreciate these opinions because if everybody said „yeah, it’s just ok“, it would be a personal and creative failure to me. Our music isn’t for everyone, nor do I believe in writing for everyone.
Can you already foresee if the next album will also take some time to be released?
Honestly? There is no set time for personal and creative evolution. I would guess that you can expect a new release sometime in 2019.
Now I’d like to go through our traditional Metal1.Info-Brainstorming with you:
Low-fi production: Cool
Neoclassical music: Bright
Vantablack: Possibilities
The Australian metal scene: Seasonal
Most suitable language for metal: Music
Desert: Kyuss
Thanks again for talking to us. Is there still something that you would like to tell our readers?
Thank you for your time! We hope to get to meet you one day.
4. Mai 2018 Stephan Rajchl