OccultBlackMetalZine: The Shiva Hypothesis Interview

Monday, December 28, 2015

The Shiva Hypothesis Interview

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

TSH evolved from our previous musical activities somewhere around 2012; as a group of friends from the east of the Netherlands with an interest in the darker side of music. With the addition of our vocalist in 2014, the band truly came to fruition.
The Shiva Hypothesis strives to mix our love for experimental and obscure black metal with nineties death metal, played with the energy of blackened thrash.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

The overall feel could be described as dark and energetic, evoking a broad spectrum of different emotions in the listener through varying vocal styles, black metal riffing as well as bigger harmonic structures,melodic basslines and some more technical parts.
As a reference point, imagine Emperor,Behemoth, Death and Ved Buens Ende put into a blender with a bit of early Sentenced, Slayer and Deathspell Omega added for further taste.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
The main theme of the band is the concept of destruction and creation, both in philosophical and literal sense. Besides that, we also incorporate elements of mysticism, mythology and folklore from around the world. The tarot and tree of life serve as major inspirations for the lyrical content of the tracks on the promo.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Shiva Hypothesis' and also do any of the band members have any interest in Eastern Mysticism and Philosophy?
There is definitely an interest, but the name does not necessarily imply associations with Hinduism or Eastern philosophy. The Shiva Hypothesis is a theory that identifies patterns in mass extinctions, followed by periods of rapid evolution.This concept of destruction and creation, also embodied in Shiva the God, serves as a general theme of the band.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We try to approach our live shows with a lot of energy and an air of mystery, keeping out the metal macho stereotype nonsense (circle pits remain entirely optional!).
For budgetary reasons, we haven’t been able to have comets rain down from the skies, but in the future we’re hoping to integrate video imagery and maybe some toasty pyrotechnics.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

We’ve got some shows planned, so keep a watchful eye on our Facebook page for more news!

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Although we have enjoyed doing things on our own and have very strong opinions about just about everything surrounding our music, artwork, etc., we would definitely like to work with a label for future releases so that our music can reach a bigger audience, while we can focus more on creating new songs.

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

Nothing but rave reviews so far! There are bound to be some complaints about the blending of styles and the absence of lyrics about Satan, but we are not here to satisfy everyone. Our first objective is to make music we would like to listen to ourselves and if that would inspire others to do the same, that would be a perk.

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Hopefully in the first half of 2016. All of the tracks for it have been recorded and most of them have been mixed. Since our low frequency generator does most of this stuff in his home studio in his spare time, it takes quite a bit longer to finish. After the upcoming full length, we’ve already got some new songs down for a follow-up EP, which features some faster and more ferocious songs, with more blast parts and more big harmonic and dissonant guitar parts.

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?

Beside black metal, all of us also listen to a lot of other music, causing us to bring different influences to the table, which often results into arguments, but mostly leads to interesting passages that sprung from concessions.

Some bands and artists that have definitely influenced us in one way or another (apart from those already mentioned earlier) are:

Mayhem, Primordial, Deathspell Omega, Darkthrone, Secrets of the Moon, Nasum and Absu, but also Fields of the Nephilim, Bersarin Quartett, 16 horsepower, Huun-Huur-Tuu and classical music.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
All of us read a lot, from mythology and philosophy to classic literature. I suppose our evenings of beer-fueled banter can not be considered to be “ non musical”, since there is always some Behemoth album blaring in the background.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the interview and thanks to everyone reading this for taking the time to read this through to the end. Check out our music and come see us live, you will definitely hear more from us in the near future!