1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Black Luster is a home-recording project between me & my partner. We make metal, most dominantly black metal but with influences of punk & hardcore – the genres we listened to most in our lives. We have screamy and clean vocals and sing about the anime Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters
2.Recently you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?
It’s the first time we made a record in the metal genre, so it was an adventure to figure out the style we wanted. I wanted to make it modern-sounding, and I wanted to make sure there were riffs. There’s a certain urgency to how it came out that I hope makes it stand out from all the atmos-black out there.
3.Your lyrics cover Yu-Gi-Oh! themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this franchise?
When I was a kid, I watched a the usual mainstream anime on Saturday mornings. Later, I revisited Yu-Gi-Oh! during my college years. It turns out it’s a lot of darker and more sinister than I recalled. It deals with stuff like the Shadow Realm, capturing souls, various mythological creatures & deities, different dimensions and of course all the cool monsters. I felt like the topics would fit right into some of the traditional black metal lyrical tropes and themes.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Black Luster'?
The Black Luster Soldier is a Monster Card in the anime series, summoned by using the Black Luster Ritual. At various moments in the series it’s a sort of deus ex machina. I felt the name Black Luster would be generally cool sounding, but also hint the theme to people knowing the series: “if you know, you know”.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
Our vocalist Invader of the Throne created the cover from a picture we took on a hike. It has typical features, like the black/white contrast, natural elements and a vague portrayal, but the picture itself is very candid.
6.Currently there are only 2 members in this project, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?
I think it will remain a home-recording project with the two of us.
7.So far very little is known about the project, do you prefer to keep a lower profile?
It’s new and we don’t have a lot of public relations in the (black) metal scene. I’ve written to some webzines and some of those, like Occult Black Metal, were nice enough to give us some space online and support us in a world of total abundancy of musical projects. I’d love to be able to reach the niche of nerdy black metal lovers, but my general aspirations with this band are not very high.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
That is not something we have given any thought, to be honest.
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
So far, nice. Someone from the UK bought a CD last week. We have been added to the Encyclopaedia Metallum, which was one of my personal goals. It's an ongoing road.
10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We hope to have some new material in 2027. Maybe a full length, maybe another small batch of songs. There are some general ideas and lyrical topics I want to develop into songs. I’m trying to continue a similar sound – I was very pleased with how ‘The Monster Reborn’ came out in terms of songwriting, so I think we’ll follow up on that path
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?
These first 3 songs were directly inspired by: Woe, a US black metal band with some hardcore influences at the start of their career; Gudtsforladt, another US act that has these amazing melodies and harsh, catchy riffs; Dödsrit, generic but excellent European atmospheric crust/black metal. And Darkthrone, especially the Arctic Thunder/Old Star records, right after their full-on Motörhead period. Nowadays we're listening to the new Ellende, latest Yellow Eyes record, Austere and svrm.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
If you like cartoons and want to re-watch any of the turn-of-the-century popular anime series: consider Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. The different story archs reference so many different mythologies & folklore which all culminate into an epic final season set in ancient Egypt. Of course, it’s mainly just kids playing with monster cards, but still! There is a historical & mythological gravitas that can be quite inspiring.
Thanks for the questions! Very exciting to have DIY zines like yours around.
https://blackluster.bandcamp.com/album/revealing-light
.jpg)
