Whispering Shadows Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project these days?

Musical project work is slow and steady, I am trying to work on creating a different style of music to my current. More relaxed and clean. The Whispering Shadows stuff is still a priority but I mainly use this a way to let out the anger and pain. Where as the other music as a subtle beauty to it. I guess.  I'm a huge fan of different styles of music so I want to incorporate these in anyway I can. It's all about trial and error.

2.Your last album was released in 2018, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I think I got better at expressing myself. The early stuff was very atmospherically rooted in black and doom where as the newest stuff has a post rock element to it. Plus I can't growl for shit anymore so I am trying to work out a better way of incorporating vocals.

3.With every album you go into a different musical direction, do you feel a musician needs to show progress with each recording instead of keeping the same style which can also get very stagnant at times/

I actually hate my early work and will happily give it away free to anyone who asks but oddly this is where my main fan base has come from. I think if you keep your music the same the people with wither away. It's about growing as a person aswell as growing as an artist. Life changes every day...so why should music stay the same?

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored over the years with your music and also how would you describe your progress as a songwriter?

I tend to change my writing style with each release. Each song is personal in its own write and takes a page out of the diary of Me I would say however I sometimes have help with writing from a good friend who's writing far surpasses my own. Her name is Kris and she has helped with a few tracks...a few that I've not released but she wrote the intro lyrics to "Eden" and all of "miles of Ashe and no shade" I won't go into depth about what each song relates to.. however the entire album "unveil the dream catcher" revolves around my grandma who died not so long ago and it's about her battles with dementia.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Whispering Shadows'?

It means "people who talk behind your back"

6.Can you tell us a little bit about the artwork that was presented on the 2018 album?

This was just a photo I took whilst in Kyiv , Ukraine. It's simple and I liked it.
The album before was drawn by Ksenia Ostapenko who is the wife of my good friend Yegor who is in the band "Narrow House" check those guys out!

7.In 2013 and 2014 you released a good amount of music but since then have only released 2 full lengths, do you feel your music has gotten powerful since you have cut back on putting out releases?

I've never stopped making music. I actually try to make music each time I have some time but because my music took a drastic turn into a different direction I worried I would alienate the fan base I had and it actually took "Yegor" the dude I mentioned previously to say "publish your stuff man" so I did. There's actually alot more on my computer that has not been made public. Powerful? I dunno if powerful if the right word..it's just taken on a life of its own and I believe If I didn't rely on stupid programmed drums it could turn out to be something really special.

8.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

Again I'll mention "Yegor" here...he is the only person I've really done anything with as I helped work out a solo for an album or ep he is yet to release. I did do some stuff many moons ago with a guy called "Ilya" and the music he was made was so impressive and beautiful but I didn't have any patience back then and I was unable to meld both mine and his style. I am open to working with others but I am abit of an arsehole and if it's not how I see it I somewhat refuse it. I am working on this though haha

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

Minimal I would say.

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

More post rock, post black territory. Maybe acoustic aswell. My dream however is to make a musical piece that resembles that of the works of "angelic process" as that got me defines how music should make you feel. I want someone to feel what I make the way I feel when listening to that music.

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?

Angelic Process, Alcest, Slow, Clouds, Shape Of Despair..they are my biggest influences.

At the moment I am listening to the same stuff as before..but I would say my main pleasure is "Sleep Token" or "Flora Cash"

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

Yeah, thank for your time in reviewing my stuff and giving me this opportunity. I am still making music so check it out if you can. Also check out "Narrow House" for some cool ass music and "Abrisad Photography" for some cool band photos taken by my freind. If you wanna know the man behind the music check out "Mr Vice" on YouTube and also o have a podcast called "Withered Hands Podcast"

Shameless promotion I know but why not eh?
Take care and keep safe.

Silencer

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/

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Whispering Shadows/Salvation Escapist Therapy/2018 Full Length Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  United  Kingdom's  Whispering  Shadows  which  continues  his depressive  style  of  blackened  funeral  doom  metal  and  the  album  was  self  released  in  2018 and  called  "Salvation  Escapist  Therapy".

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  are  very  heavily  rooted  in  funeral  doom  metal.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  and  atmospheric  style  as  well  as  some  grim  yet  depressive  black  metal  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  keyboards  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.  Deep  death  growls  are  also  used  briefly  on  one  track  while  clean  vocals  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  and  all  of  the  drum  beats  are  programmed.

  One  some  of  the  tracks  the  black  metal  vocals  also  get  more  high  pitched  as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  album.  Elements  of  post  rock  can  also  be  heard  in  some  part  of  the  recording  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  also  being  instrumentals,  when  synths  are  utilized  briefly  they  also  add in  a  touch  of  dark  ambient  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slower  musical  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  depression  and  suicide  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Whispering  Shadows  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric,  depressive  black  and  funeral  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Worthless"  "Eden" and "Suicide  Monologue".  8  out  of  10.

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/

     

Whispering Shadows/Unveil The Dreamcatcher/2016 Full Length Review

  Whispering  Shadows  is  a  solo  project  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  black  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2016  album  "Unveil  The  Dreamcatcher".

  Field  recordings  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  more  heavier  and  atmospheric  funeral  doom  metal  direction  while  also  adding  in  some  death  metal  growls  at  times.  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  and  all  of the tracks  are  also very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Grim  whispers  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  keyboards  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.  Elements  of  depressive  black  metal  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  songs  as  well  as  couple  of  tracks  also  introducing  spoken  word  parts  and  clean  vocals  onto  the  recording.

  All  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  some  touches  of  dark  ambient  and  post  rock  into  some  parts  of  the  recording,  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  an  instrumental  and  all  of the  music  also  sticks  to  a  slower  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  dreams  and  dementia  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Whispering  Shadows  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric,  depressive  black  and  funeral  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unveil  The  Dreamcatcher(Part  One)"  "Inconsistent  Lucidity"  and   "Unveil  The  Dreamcatcher(Part  Four)".  8  out  of  10.

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/ 

Whispering Shadows/Compendium of Sorrow/Cvlminis/2014 Demo Review

  This  is  the  final  review  of  a  recording  from  Whispering  Shadows  which  continues  his  mixture  of  depressive  black  metal,  funeral  doom  and  dark  ambient  as  well  as  bringing  back  the  vocals  this  time  around  with  the  ep   being  released  by  Cvlminis  and  called  "Compendium  of  Sorrow".

  Dark  ambient  synths  and  drones  start  off  the  demo  along  with  some  avant  garde  and  experimental  elements  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  bass  guitars,  melodic  leads  and  deep  grim  black  metal  vocals  start  to  become  a  part  of  the  music  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  being  utilized  in  the  background  at  times.

  As  the  demo  progresses  the  music  starts  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  both  ambient  and  heavy  parts  as  well  as  all  4  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  on  the  second  song  the  funeral  doom  metal  aspects  of  the  music  make  a  very  strong  presence  throughout  the  track  while  also  retaining  a  depressive  black  metal  atmosphere.

  All  4  of  the  songs  have  a  very  different  sound  to  them   while  also  having  a  perfect  balance  between  darkness,  heaviness  and  ambience  as  well a s  remaining  true  to  his  musical  vision  and  the  last  track  is  all  instrumental  and  displays  a  good  amount  of  variety  as  well  as  being  a  re-working  of  a  single  he  released  a  few  months  back.

  Whispering  Shadows  re-works  a  couple  of  tracks  from  previous  releases  as  well  as  adding  in  2  new  songs  which  remain  true  to  the  ambient  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  dark, r aw  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  demo  from  Whispering  Shadows  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ambient,  funeral  doom  and  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sunset  Sees  The  Children  Blister"  and  "Descending  Into  Despair".  8  out  of  10.

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/



  

Whispering Shadows/Murdered Echoes Of The Mind/2013 Demo Review

  Whispering  Shadows  continues  their  instrumental  approach  that  was  presented  on  the  demo  but  adding  in  shorter  songs  this  time  around  and  incorporating  sludge  elements  into  their  funeral  doom,  depressive  black  metal  and  dark  ambient  mixture  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2013  demo  "Murdered  Echoes  Of  the  Mind".

  Nature,  rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  demo  along  with  atmospheric  elements  of  dark  ambient  drones  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  guitars  find  their  way  into  the  music  and  starts  combing  depressive  black  metal  with  funeral  doom  and  the  atmospheric  sounds  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  parts  that  also  mostly  stick  to  a  slower  musical  direction.

  As  the  demo  progresses  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  raw  black  metal  elements  and  guitar  leads  that  are  in  a  very  distorted  yet  melodic  musical  direction  and   the  second  song  is  a  short  ambient  track  which  is  under  3  minutes  as  well  as  being  the  only  song  on  the  demo  that  is  not  a  long  and  epic  song  and  the  heavy  parts  make  a  return  on  the  last  track  as  well  as  mixing  in  a  more  sludge/doom  metal  approach  to  the  musical  sound.

  Whispering  Shadows  brings  in  some  of  the  earlier  sounds  of  the  first  2  demo's  and mixes  it  in  with  a  more  instrumental  approach  to   ambient  black  and  doom  metal  this  time  around  as  well  as  remaining  true  to  his  musical  direction  and  the production  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  raw  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Whispering  Shadows  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ambient  black  metal  and  funeral  doom,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Sit,  Talk  And  Destroy".  8  out  of  10.

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/



  

Whispering Shadows/Requiem For He Who Breathes No More/2013 Single Review

  Whispering  Shadows  return  with  an  18  minute  track  that  continues  his  mixture of  depressive  black  metal,  funeral  doom  and  dark  ambient  but  without  using  vocals  this  time  around  and  going  into  a  more  instrumental  direction  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2013  single  "Requiem  For  He  Who  Breathes  No  More".

  Dark  ambient  synths  and  drones  start  off  the  track  and  after  a  few  seconds  programmed  drum  beats  find  their  way  into  the  song  along  with  a  bit  more  distorted  guitar  sounds  which  are  more  in  the  funeral  doom  metal  direction  as  well  as  evoking  a  depressive  black  metal  feeling  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  being  utilized  in  the  track  at  times  and  the  music  starts  to  find  a  balance  between  atmospheric  and  heaviness  as  well  as  utilizing  a  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  halfway  through  the  song  you  can  also  hear  a  brief  use  of  human  cries  before  the  music  really  starts  getting  a  bit  more  heavy.

  Whispering  Shadows  creates  a  very  long  and  epic  track  with  the  song  he  provides  on  the  single  and  also  stays  away  from  vocals  to  create  an  ambient  masterpiece  which  mixes  funeral  doom  with  black  metal  and  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  powerful  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding recording  from  whispering  Woods  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ambient,  black  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  8  out  of  10

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/ 

Whispering Shadows/Sea of Shadows/2013 Demo Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  demo  from  Whispering  Shadows  which  continues  his  experimental  mixture  of  dark  ambient,  depressive  black  metal  and  funeral  doom  with  the  demo  being  self  released  in  2013  and  called  "Sea  of  Shadows".

  Distorted  guitars  and  deep  growls  start  off  the  ep  with  the  music  having  a  more  funeral  doom  metal  feeling  along  with  an  atmospheric  background  and  after  awhile  you  can  hear  some  deeper  black  metal  elements  being  mixed  in  with  the  growling  vocals  as  well  as  using  some  high  pitched  depressive  screams.

  As  the  demo  progresses  more  drones  and  melodic  chants  are  added  into  certain  sections  of the  recording  along  with  both  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  with  the  second  track  being  closer  to  the  musical  direction  you  can  find  on  the  first  demo  and  as  the demo  progresses  synths  start  utilizing  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  as  well  as  adding  in  some  dark  ambient  elements  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized  briefly  on  the  second  song  for  a  few  seconds.

  Whispering  Shadows  shows  a  more  depressive  black  metal  mixed  with  funeral  doom  metal  sound  on  this  recording  while  also  still  having  a  good  amount  of  dark  ambient,  experimental  and  drone  sounds  being  present  in  the  music,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Whispering  Shadows  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  depressive  black  metal,  funeral  doom  and  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Dust  Shall  Settle,  Birds  Shall  Weep".  8  out  of  10.

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/

  

Whispering Shadows/The Juniper Diaries/2013 Demo Review

  Whispering  Shadows  are  a  1  man  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  black  metal,  funeral  doom  and  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2013  demo  "The  Juniper  Diaries".

  Dark  nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  ambient  sounding  synths  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  programmed  beats  start  to  kick  in  along  with  a  more  distorted  sound  which   leads  to  funeral  doom  style  guitar  riffs  and  a  mixture  of  growls  and  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  being  mixed  in  with  a  more  dark  ambient  sound.

  A  good amount  of  reverb  is  utilized  in  the  music  along  with  a  great  amount  of  experimental  elements  which  also  brings  a  droned  out  feeling  to  the  music  which  also  reminds  me  of  early  Abruptum  material  at  times  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  being  used  on  the  second  track    and  there  are  also  some  melodic  chants  being  utilized  in  the  background  at  times  as  well  as  both  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Whispering  Shadows  focuses  on  a  more  experimental  dark ambient  sound  with  this  demo  as  well a s  mixing  funeral  doom  and  depressive  black  metal  into  the  musical style  to  create  his  own  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Whispering  Shadows  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark  ambient,  depressive  black  metal  and  funeral  doom  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Sunset  Sees  the  Children  Blister".  8  out  of  10.

https://whisperingshadows.bandcamp.com/