Interview: Solace of the Void
Tell us about your latest release: the main concept; what fans should expect; what were/are your goals with it:
Solace of the Void is a journey into solitude and uncertainty which mixes everything from black metal to dark mystical folk with moments ranging from absolute serenity to outlandish symphonic bombast. Unlike most typical records, this ambitious effort sees 20 prominent metal musicians from across Canada collaborating together over a 4 year time period. Fans can expect 6 unique compositions that were each created by a variety of different artists. Each song carves it’s own journey and has it’s own meaning and appeal.
Did you have a specific sound in mind when you formed the band, or did that grow and evolve as you played together?
Mike and I have different backgrounds, Folk metal on his side and Black metal on mine, but we both love each of those genres. Much of the album was written in the forests of Northern Ontario which helped create a feeling of darkness and solitude. It was these feelings that drove us to strive to incorporate both of these styles that we love. And then of course there were all the fantastic musicians that we invited to join us on this journey. Each one left their own personal mark on each of the songs that they played on. It truly was magical.
How does your writing process normally work out?
For Solace of the Void, it was very organic. Mike and I put the spine of a song together, created and organized riffs which were then recorded. From that point we passed it on the musicians we were collaborating with. 3 drummers, 3 bassists, 6 vocalists, 3 keyboardists, 3 guitar soloists and a cello player. From there, everything just came together. Each musician created their own parts and added their own style and flavor to each song We couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.
What are your ambitions and how far do you want to push your band?
Solace of the Void is a one time musical endeavor and we hope that the music makes it’s way across the globe and is enjoyed by as many people as possible.
We have no plans to play live but if festival opportunities in Europe we’re to come up we would definitely be interested in pursuing them.
What are your influences/musical references and the impact those same influences had in your sound?
Our greatest influences came from the strong feelings that came form being in a beautiful forest as well as simply bouncing riffs off of each other. We are huge fans of bands like Dissection, Insomnium and Emperor as well as classic Iron Maiden melodies and harmonies
What’s next for you?
As I previously mentioned, we would like to take this CD as far as we can. We are already putting together plans for 2 similar type of projects where we plan once again to collaborate with many other Canadian musicians. Mike will be driving a dark acoustic project while the one I will be driving will be satanic black metal. Mike and I are both in a band called Hexenklad which is rounded out with 4 of the collaborators on the Solace of the Void album to complete the lineup and we are currently recording our second album which is due out on CDN records early next year.