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1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Demolyn is a solo black metal project very much inspired by old school black metal but drawing inspiration from a huge range of different genres. The main focus of the project is keeping it raw, atmospheric and writing each song to be unique.
2.In August you had released your first full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on this recording?
It won’t take long for the listener to notice that musically this album is quite influenced by the first and second wave of black metal. A lot of old-school vibes, that’s the type of black metal I usually enjoy myself so it just happened naturally. In the same way, I don’t think it will take the listener long to notice the regular occurrence of ambience throughout the record. I wanted to create a very atmospheric listening experience, both through the instruments and sound effects. My goal was to give the listener the feeling that they are placed “inside” the song. For example “På Toppen Av Berget” is about a mysterious entity that that has comes from the outer realms and lands on top of a snowy mountain over a small village, and through the sound of wind and cold melodic riffs I wanted to give the listener a feeling that they are on this icy cold mountain.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects that you have explored with the music so far?
In “Tales of Demolyn” a big concept of the album was to create a unique story for each and every song. The lyrics are mostly completely fictional but occasionally drawing some inspiration from real-life experiences. Mostly the lyrics are fantasy, war/battle, supernatural and horror themed.
4.The solo project is from Sweden which has many legendary bands, musically how do you feel you differ from other bands or projects from your home country?
I’d say something that makes “Demolyn” different from others is that I aim for a lot of variety in my music. I don’t want to limit myself to a very particular sound. I like to mix it up a lot with blastbeats, very slow tempo, mid-tempo, cold melodic riffs, acoustics and not having just one-style as a formula. When I wrote “Tales of Demolyn” I wanted variation across the album so that you’ll never really know what to expect from the next song that comes on.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Demolyn'?
I came up with the name ‘Demolyn’ during the writing of “The Seven Riders of Demolyn”. I had written the full lyrics for the song which was about these seven riders that roamed a fantasy world. All that I had left was to find a good name for this world. The Seven Riders of… what? I made a long list of names that I just made up which sounded “fantasy-like”. As soon as I came up with Demolyn it stuck and I really liked it. I felt it carried a sound which would represent the music perfectly. I liked it so much that I decided to change the meaning of the lyrics so that Demolyn would represent me or a person instead of a world and took it as the name for my project.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The artwork is based on the closing song, “The Seven Riders of Demolyn”. The seven characters on the horses are those seven riders and the last larger hooded character is Demolyn/me. The background and most of the details are based on the lyrics from, “The Seven Riders of Demolyn”, like the icy mountains and the lava. The album’s title is written on a scroll as a concept of the album was that each song is a tale and I wanted the album to almost represent opening a fantasy book with a collection of tales. I decided to add the eighth character (Demolyn) in the background of the seven riders to make it better represent the full album and not just the song. The seven riders look as if they have been sent out on command of the hooded character and that’s to represent how this album and the “tales” are being released into the world.
7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
For this specific project, I am open to working with other musicians to a certain degree. Currently am looking for a drummer for future releases and to step away from the MIDI drums. In the future I’ll definitely want to explore the idea of incorporating some unique instruments and working with other musicians. But when it comes to the guitars, bass, vocals and songwriting - those will always be me.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
I have received some interest from a few smaller labels. However, I don’t see much benefit with a label for me at the moment. Possibly in the future of course, as long as I am convinced that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans off black metal?
I am happy to say that the reaction has been quite positive. I think if you are a lover of the early black metal days then you’ll probably appreciate some aspects of “Tales of Demolyn”.
10.Where do you see yourself heading into musically during the future?
There are so many possibilities with music. I see myself experimenting a lot as I don’t want to limit myself musically. I can see myself trying out different sounds for albums in the future.
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?
Some bands that I believe have had a lot of influence on my music are Satyricon, Bathory, Mörk Gryning, Marduk, Dissection and Immortal. Bands like Death, Metallica, Slayer, KISS, The Doors and Iron Maiden have also been very important for me but obviously not a direct influence on my music.
Some bands I have been listening to a ton lately are Khold, Beast In Black, Azaghal, Bloodbath and Behemoth. I really enjoyed both Khold and Behemoth's new albums which made me dive through their catalogues. I’ve had “The Satanist”, “The Apostasy”, “Svartsyn”, “Morke Gravers Kammer” and “Satanica” on repeat these last weeks.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interview and many thanks to everyone that supports me and my music. Making music is the greatest thing I know and I am happy that there are people out there who enjoy it. I welcome all lovers of black metal to this journey that has barely begun.
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