Bereft Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Well, we’re a band from Wisconsin, and we began our musical journey in 2011.


2.You have a new album coming out in November, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

It’s always hard to give a completely accurate description of our music, but I would call us a Post-Metal band with elements of Doom and Black Metal.  We really like to blend those three genres together to create something that we hope is a little fresh, and different. We really try and make it as atmospheric and emotional as we can. Obviously there are numerous bands out there that fuse these types of music together, but it really isn’t something we intentionally do. Our interests as far as what we listen to all play a role in our music style, to some extent I suppose.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Zach and I write the lyrics, and most of them center around our views on religion/politics/personal subjects.  Our central theme for our first album is about how organized religion as an institution has played a central role in halting the advancement of mankind. Whether it is technical advancement, human progress through the way we treat one another, or anything else.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Bereft'?

When Zach and I are started this band, we wanted a name that was significant to both the music and our lyrics.  We both had an idea of how we wanted the band to sound, Bereft just fit, and felt right as far as our music goes.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
I think one of my favorite shows we played, was with Agalloch this past summer. It was one of our first shows playing with a bigger national act, and Agalloch is a band I truly like; it was very cool to play with such an awesome band.
I guess I would describe our stage performance as one that we put ourselves into 100%. Personally for me, I get bored watching bands that seem like they don’t want to be there, or don’t seem to appear to put much emotion behind their live performance.  Playing music live is something that I truly love; the music, lyrics, and live performance are very important to me.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

We are planning on getting out there as much as we can once the album is released.

7.Currently the band is signed to Silent Pendulum Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Absolutely. Silent Pendulum Records is a vinyl label based out of New York that releases music in the Black, Experimental, and Post-Metal genres. Michael Kadnar (Black Table, Downfall of Gaia) runs it, and we met him when we played with his bands last year in Madison. We kept in contact with him, then approached him with our album, and he’s going to help us release it on vinyl on November 18th of this year. He’s a fantastic guy, and really puts a lot into his new label.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

So far it seems to be going well, we have released one song on our Bandcamp page, which has seemed to be well received thus far. We’re super excited to get the rest of the record released this November!

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Well we really like to experiment with our sound, so I’m not completely sure to be perfectly honest.  With time I’ve noticed our song writing ability has improved, and that’s very important to me.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Well I grew up listening to bands like Pantera, Slayer, Black Sabbath, etc.  When I was in high school I really got into a lot of punk/hardcore, which I think dictates a lot of our ethics as a band. Recently though, as far as metal goes and new albums from this year; the new Thou album is incredible, Alraune, Pall Bearer, Forn, and Bastard Sapling, just to name a few. I like to listen to things in every genre, and the rest of the guys in the band all listen to different types of music. I definitely think it adds to our influences to be multidimensional in that respect.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I love to read, I’m an HBO Series fanatic, hanging out with my family, being in school, and work take up about all of time.

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

I’d just like to thank you for the interview and thank you for your time. I’d also like to let people know that our new album ‘Lost Ages’ will be available via our Bandcamp page on vinyl, cd, and digitally on November 18th of this year. Thanks again!

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