Alioth Borealis Interview

 

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

Alioth Borealis is atmospheric USBM with ambient elements, founded in 2021 by Vastarien in Cleveland, Ohio.  Conceptual and lyrical themes of cosmic horror are drawn from weird fiction and other dark literature and film.  Listen alone, at night, preferably staring up into the stars or down into watery depths. The new album, “Beyond the Stars / Below the Waves,” explores the unfathomable depths of these abysses.  It will be released on cassette by Jems Label on August 30th.  Two new singles and a music video are streaming now.  

2.You have a new album coming out towards the end of August, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?  

The new album is the first proper full length release, mixed and mastered, unlike the previous strictly lo-fi outings.  It still has raw, weird, and slightly “off” elements, but it represents an expansion of the atmospheric cosmic black sound explored on the “Obscure Splinter of the Infinite” EP.  

Although technically still a solo project, most of the songs include a session collaborator or two.  The main step forward is the incorporation of a human drummer rather than the programming used on earlier releases.  Jesse Greenfeather plays on the bulk of the songs and added a pummeling muscularity not present previously.  The new release also includes varied vocal techniques, more layering of synth and piano parts and interludes, and a guest vocalist on a track.  To me, it still sounds like AB, just expanded, more organic, and more fully realized.  

3.A lot of your lyrics cover Cosmic Horror  and is also inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Thomas Ligotti, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in their work?

If asked I speak about the project as follows: “A chanting circle of dark beings beckon an ancient terror that threatens existence. Shapes loom forth in a dimension without coordinates while strange new constellations appear in the night sky.  Gaze into the cosmic abyss and contemplate the cold horrors and soul-shattering beauty of the universe.”

Metal and HP Lovecraft have been together since the early days of our forefathers in Black Sabbath.  Every metal fan should read his collected works.  Many AB themes come from his ideas, particularly that there are dark things in space, and right here on earth, that are too terrible and immense for us to understand.  It is better to just avoid these thoughts, but some of us seek the knowledge against our better judgement.  The song, “Dagon,” includes lyrical excerpts from that HPL short story and explores the dismal consequences of learning too much.   I personally don’t want to know the answers to the questions of the universe that so many obsess over.  

I find it hard to argue with the way HPL puts things in perspective (to paraphrase): we are small and insignificant, we don’t matter, the universe doesn’t care about us, and we will not and could never understand it… 

Thomas Ligotti is the heir apparent to HPL with added pessimism.  The sound of Alioth Borealis represents the atmosphere of his tales.  The album opener, Andromeda, is meant to evoke his uncanny universe.  His are the darkest, strangest stories of all.  The music of “Aguirre” was composed after reading his short story “Nethescurial” and dreaming of ancient cults and obscure, untamed locations.

I’m a voracious reader of weird fiction, horror, sci-fi, and other dark genres - and other literary influences appear on this album - William Faulkner’s Southern gothic, Joseph Conrad’s heart or darkness, and Brian Evenson’s alien apocalyptica.  

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

This project was born of plague during the pandemic.  One positive I found during the shutdown is that I had a lot of free time to be creative and contemplative.  One night, staring at the Great Bear in the night sky, I recalled an old folk tale that said “When the star of Alioth leers through the Aurora Borealis, evil is afoot.”  Thinking back, I don’t know if I heard this in real life or in a dream, but it doesn’t matter.  The band name came to me soon after, as I continued to focus my mind on the malevolent presence of that star.  I was reading lots of weird fiction and cosmic horror, as always, and writing lyrics and concepts in that vein, so the name made sense to me.  During the recent electromagnetic storms, I finally witnessed the star though the lights, which affected me deeply.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The artist is a Russian painter, Valentine Kulakov, and you can see his work on his instagram, @degenearts.  When I first saw his surreal, nightmarish paintings, the style immediately struck me as the perfect compliment to the songs I was working on.  He is heavily influenced by the same weird fiction authors that I read religiously.  The cover painting depicts Robert W. Chambers’ “king in yellow” but it also reminds me of HP Lovecraft’s “Dagon.”  As much as I love stark, shadowy album covers, I wanted to do something different for this release.  The swirling, colorful, almost psychedelic look invites closer study of its details.  Prepare to spend a while on this artist’s page when you dig into his work. 

In regards to the visual aspect, I should also mention the music video I recently released for the song “The Mausoleum of All Hope and Desire.”  Smara Kand shot dark, beautiful footage in the Austrian Alps and tells a story of a search for forbidden knowledge.  Very much a tale of Necronomicon/Nethescurial.  

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1c29VWaq2Hw

6.With this project you record mostly everything by yourself, are you interested in working with a full line up or do you prefer to work solo?

To expand on my answer from a previous question.. I did find it very exciting to collaborate with other musicians on this release.  I plan to continue AB in this manner.  I would also like to include a few more guest vocalists on future releases, even in a duet format on a song.  I will do much more collaboration in general.  

7.What are some of the best shows that you have played with this project so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

There has been only one live performance from Alioth Borealis, which was a noisy experimental ritual set, played for a select few in a strange location, with an unusual setup.  This was released as “Wall of Teeth/Black Noise.”  Although it was not really representative of the sound or direction of AB, the results were disconcerting, extreme,  and interesting to me.  

(I decided that this kind of departure would be better suited for another project, so I started Night Feeder to use as an outlet for my wilder or more obscure impulses, with its only rules being that the theme is vampirism and the mood is dark.  I think this will allow me to get weird, extreme outsider things out of my system and keep more of a strict focus on AB’s specific sound.)  

As far as future live performances from Alioth Borealis, we shall see.  A vision for the live show exists but it’s very specific and I must free up the time needed to make it a reality.   It may emerge at some point.  

8.On the new album you also have some session work done by members of 'Veska' and 'Cloak', can you tell us a little bit more about their contributions to the recording?

Jesse Greenfeather plays session drums on most of the songs.  I gave him some skeletal ideas for the drum parts but he brought a performance that took the tracks to another level.  He also mixed the album.  He’s an old friend who also plays in several other (insanely good) projects - Burial Oath, Wyld Timez, and Goatchamber to name a few.  He has played live drums for Uada and is currently touring with Cloak.  Cloak is one of the current greats - and Burial Oath’s output is as good as black metal gets (I am highly anticipating their new album and tour).

Pittsburgh’s shadowy Veska are a favorite underground black metal band of mine.  I wanted to include a guest vocalist for one song on the new album.  He was my first choice and I’m glad he accepted and we could make it happen.  He sings on, and wrote the lyrics for, my favorite song on the album, “Aguirre (River Below, Stars Above)” which is a fever dream about a jungle expedition plunged into chaos and megalomania (based on the Werner Herzog film).  Also be sure to check out Veska’s catalogue and ripping new single.   

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

I’ve been happy with the response so far.  I feel it’s an unusual-sounding black metal project, so I am pleased that a small group of others have made a connection with it.  The underground metal community is surprisingly close-knit and supportive despite being strewn across the globe.  There are listeners and musicians I’ve connected with in places that seem very strange and exotic to me.  I do make this music for myself primarily, but if even one person takes this dark trip with me, I am satisfied. 

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

With AB, I would like to create more music in the vein of the new album.  I want to continue with this sound and plan to focus on writing songs that work within a similar framework.  The next album may be thematically 100% Ligotti.  I have recorded (vocals especially) in strange, stressful, or even dangerous settings - I want to do more of that. 

I plan to record vocals for a few other metal projects, one of which will be very aggressive.  More to come on those.  

Side project, Night Feeder, has a raw black metal/noise album recorded, “Children of the Night,” which will release on Halloween.  

I also have a full album of synth/electronic “black ambient drone” material recorded.  I’ll probably release that at some point, but maybe under another moniker.  

11.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?

The 90s Norwegian black metal bands and USBM like Black Funeral primarily influence the sound.  Vocally my inspirations are Dead and Attila.  Not that AB sounds like any of these Old Gods, but they are always in my head.  I was a piano player before anything else - so keyboard-based music is also always in my mind - and bands like Type O Negative and Faith No More that masterfully incorporate synth and piano.  

I definitely have a ravenous musical appetite, consuming as much as possible at all times.  Black metal above all, but I listen to everything and I mean that - classical, noise, edm, narcocorridos, classic rock, reggae, country, rap, jazz, Egyptian percussion.. I need to hear all of it.  Influences from all these probably creep into what I do. 

I think we are experiencing a golden age of extreme metal right now.  Saidan and Spectral Wound put out mind-blowingly good albums this year.  Recent albums by Ascalapha, Charon Kruk, Alghol, Bloody Keep, Bloody Run, Guyod, Skuggor, Ofstingan, Atomic Witch, Deapscufa, and Lord Humongous are all carrying the torch/pushing the envelope and get heavy rotation from me.  I actually feel anxiety due to the fact that I don’t have time to listen to all the great metal that comes out constantly.  I might be much more prolific in my own output if I didn’t have such a long list of bands I need to hear.  

I can’t talk about this topic without saying that Witch of 1692’s sole release, “Impious Mysterial Hymn” might be the most influential and ideal black metal album to me.  Sit in the forest alone at night and listen to that one.  

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

Thank you very much for the thoughtful interview questions.  This is the first in-depth interview for Alioth Borealis and I’m glad it was with Occult Black Metal Zine, one of the best metal blogs.  Never stop promoting the black arts!

Listeners can follow AB on instagram for all updates.  Pick up a copy of the tape from www.jemslabel.com and stream the music anywhere.  

Also, listen to all the sick bands on Jems Label and get your ticket to Jems Fest!

https://www.instagram.com/aliothborealis/