The Australians THE LOOM OF TIME have mixed the old and the new on their debut „NihilReich“ by taking the best of Black, Death, Doom and Heavy Metal and putting it into a coherent context. In the following, detailed interview with bandleader Matthew J. Ratcliffe you can learn more about the band’s strange name, about how the metal-scene has strayed from its original sense and why the Australian always keeps a bottle of vinegar at his side.
THE LOOM OF TIME is a rather unusual name for a metal-band. How did you come up with that name?
I stole it. I wanted a name that wasn’t typical of metal so people wouldn’t automatically know what kind of music they were going to hear – to help keep an open mind – and although growing up listening to metal, a long band name was often a bad sign, I feel like it’s a new era now and we can really do what we want. The name itself I took from Herman Melville’s „Moby Dick“, which he in turn took from Greek mythology – The Loom of Time is what the Fates use to weave the threads of our destiny together, it’s the tool of our predestination.
Your music is also far from generic, you blend elements of Black, Death and Doom Metal among other styles. If you were to describe your music with only one genre (it may even be a made-up one), how would you call it?
Every band needs it’s own sub-genre these days! It’s getting ridiculous! So I think I’d just call it progressive metal and be done with it. One of the hallmarks of the progressive genre is the blending of styles and the breaking of convention – as we move forward as a band, I think it’ll be easier to apply that label.
You have a broad range of musical influences like Marduk, Immortal, Emperor, Candlemass and even more bands. However, most of them seem to be rather older ones. Do you also approve some more modern bands?
Of course, but it takes a while for a band to start to „influence“ me, so those new bands just haven’t had enough time yet. Bands that acknowledge the old, but press forward with the new catch my attention – definitely check out Khemmis, Enthean, Lesbian, and Mizmor for „new“ bands doing great stuff.
„NihilReich“ ist your first full-length, containing six relatively long songs that together last about 35 minutes. Why was that the exact right running time for your first album?
Originally I had only intended to make a short EP, but when the creativity started flowing it just wouldn’t stop, so I got to a point where I had to cut myself off and just „do it“, and it perhaps feels like a long EP (an LEP? or an EEP?) rather than an LP, but however you see it, it serves it’s purpose – to give a good introduction to the band, but still feel like a complete work. When I listen to music, personally, I like to just sit in front of my stereo and just listen, and having an album that fits on one vinyl record, about 20 minutes each side, feels just right in terms of length, and I don’t think „NihilReich“ outstays it’s welcome.
You definitely don’t seem to be running out of ideas considering your tracks are full of creativity. How is the development of heavier tracks like „The Ashes Of Your Fall“ different from the one of lighter songs like „The Fight For The Subhuman“?
I think that human beings are creative creatures, but we can let ourselves get lazy sometimes and just rest on the idea that music is meant to be repetitive. Repetition certainly has it’s uses and I’m not afraid to use repetition myself, but I wanted THE LOOM OF TIME’s music to feel like it was always pushing forward, that if I needed a certain kind of riff, I would just write a new one instead of replaying one we used earlier. I write an intro and then I think „where is it leading“ or „what does the song need next“, then I work on the next section until I’m happy and start the process over. The heavier songs and the lighter songs, and the songs that are a little bit of both were written in that way, the difference was that they started differently and the flow of the music just took them in different directions, otherwise, it all comes from the same place, creatively.
Which one is your favorite track of „NihilReich“ and why?
The opening track „The Ashes of Your Fall“ is probably my favourite. It was the first song I wrote for the record, and although it’s a bit long, and a little less focused in some ways, it really acts like an overture for the rest of the record with a little bit of everything in there.
You took the painting „The Two Crowns“ by Sir Francis Dicksee as cover-artwork. How did you came upon it and why did you choose it to be the artwork of your debut?
I had toyed with the idea of commissioning an original painting for the album, but I really love these classical art pieces and it feels like using them in this way gives them a new life in our modern world – and also because bands like Candlemass and Angel Witch did it! This painting in particular struck me because it shows the pinnacle of the human race, the triumphant warrior king, made low by the sudden realisation that his great works are ultimately worthless. Mankind’s hubris is definitely a theme that runs through the lyrics, on one hand we have too few people that recognise their place in the grand scheme of things, but also we feel for the king because he’s suddenly very alone – he’s the only one in the frame not celebrating his own triumph.
On your Bandcamp-page, above every track it says „the lyrics aren’t important“. Why are they of no importance to you?
I didn’t want people to get fixated on them. I’m proud of my lyrics and they’re written on topics of interest to me, but ultimately, THE LOOM OF TIME is not here to send a message or convince anyone of anything, although I’d be more that happy if you found depth in these words, they’re only there to serve the music. When a person reads that the lyrics aren’t important, it gives them the freedom to make their own judgement, to listen to the music without feeling like they are being manipulated, but if they want to delve into them, then of course they can – just don’t let it stop you from enjoying the music!
Please let us talk a little bit about the lyrics nonetheless. Quite fitting with its title, „NihilReich“ seems to have rather nihilistic lyrics, which are also kind of accusatory. What do you want to express with those lyrics?
When it comes to civil discourse in the open forum of ideas, I try to be non-judgemental and open minded to all points of view, but this is not the open forum of ideas, this is death metal! This is a soap box and this is an emotionally charged style and if the lyrics do not befit the style of music there is emotional discord, so although I wanted to explore philosophical concepts that I would otherwise be quite placid and detached about, the music deserved to have lyrics that were confrontational, and, as you say – „accusatory“. It works on two levels, then, we get to explore interesting concepts and we get to do it in a way that elevates the music emotionally as well.
With words like „Subhuman“ or „NihilReich“ and phrases like „[…] we concoct subversive fantasies like life is what you make it and to exist is an achievement […]“ your lyrics might be considered quite controversial. Did you intend this?
I get the impression that most people can look at their music collection and see something that generally represents their own views, that is, that most people listen to music they agree with. Now that can only mean one of a few things, either, people buy music because they agree with it – filling their collection with stuff that affirms the beliefs they have already, or, they form their views based on the musicians they admire are telling them. In both cases it shows weakness – buying confirmation bias to make yourself feel better about what you believe or perhaps worse, basing your views on what musicians are telling you! Heavy metal wasn’t supposed to be some opiate, some comfort zone for weak willed individuals it was meant to be challenging! I think we all remember the illicit thrill of first listening to music that we knew we weren’t allowed to, music that made our teachers and parents nervous. What happened to that, now that all the music we listen to we agree with? It died when it became commonplace, and what Black Sabbath started, was briefly resurrected by the Norwegian Black Metal pioneers, but these days? It’s dead. My hope, is that at least somewhere on the album you will find something that you disagree with, something that makes you feel persecuted, that there will be at least a little controversy in there somewhere.
With your music you want to break up some of metal’s typical structures, which you seem to think are rather limited. However, in the underground there are of course some bands which think outside of the box and even create whole new genres. Why do you nonetheless think that the metal-scene is too close-minded to embrace new things?
It’s hard to predict how things like the internet, and ease of access to recording equipment will ultimately shape the scene, suddenly flooding the earth with more music than we’ve ever had access to before. But perhaps that unpredictability gives us freedom to do whatever we want. The scene as a whole won’t have to embrace a new “thing” for that “thing” to be able to flourish regardless. The metal scene should be open minded, because metal started as a challenge to the norm, but I think as it’s grown, more people who have forgotten that, or never realised it, have joined the fold, and like most humans, are resistant to change. Won’t matter though. The world’s going to change whether we like it or not. If you like some particular part of metal, don’t worry about what the scene is doing – just enjoy what you enjoy! That’s what I do.
What can you tell us about the Australian metal-scene?
Because Australia is so culturally diverse, there doesn’t appear to be one „style“ that you’d call Australian, and so it’s taken a while for the world to start to notice us, but finally bands like Ne Obliviscaris and Psycroptic are really getting the recognition they deserve. I think whatever style you’re into, you’ll find an Aussie band doing it brilliantly, you’ll just have a hard time finding other people into the same thing here, because we’re spread so far apart from each other, it’s just a really big island we live on!
You’ve already played live shows as THE LOOM OF TIME. How did the audiences respond to your gigs and do you also plan to do shows outside of Australia some time in the future?
The shows have all been a lot of fun, I think there’s enough thrashy moments and doomy moments in our music to really get people head banging, and the songs were conceived with live arrangements in mind so it’s worked well for us. We’ve played the big cities in our state and one in our nation’s capital, so we’ll probably head to our other states before venturing overseas, but we’re definitely keen to!
What are your plans for the near future of THE LOOM OF TIME?
We’ve started writing the next record, but I imagine it’ll be a while before it’s finished. I’m not going to rush it, and I’ve got no „old riffs“ to just dig up, so it’ll be all new and a forward progression from „NihilReich“ as we expand creatively. I’m looking forward to it! And in the mean time? We’ll keep on gigging!
Alright, we’re close to the end of our interview. To finish it, I would like to ask you to take part in our traditional Metal1.Info-Brainstorming. Please tell us what comes to your mind while reading the following terms:
President Trump: I didn’t vote for him…
Best Australian band: Striborg!
Abortion: So if a foetus isn’t a human, then eating one doesn’t count as cannibalism, right? Now that I think about it, I don’t know a single cannibal that’s pro-life. Makes you wonder.
Best Black-, Death- and Doom-Metal-album:
Black – “Winterbastard” by Valhalla
Death – “Clayman” by In Flames
Doom – “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” by Candlemass
Box jellyfish: Why I always carry a bottle of vinegar with me. That and fries.
Vegemite: Being raised in Australia and the UK, I’m one of a very rare breed that can enjoy both vegemite and marmite – but I’ve never tried them together.
So, once again, thank you very much for this interview. If there’s anything left you want to tell our readers, you may do so now:
Thank you! Sorry for some of those long answers! Keep metal alive by supporting the bands that inspire you, and you can still learn from music you hate, so don’t be afraid to listen to everything! Thanks, again!
28. November 2016 Stephan Rajchl