1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Dyoxidon is a project that I started as a teenager in 2009, with the aim of fusing death and black metal with industrial and electronic music. Plenty of bands were mixing these genres together at the time, but not in the way that I was perceiving in my own mind. I recorded several lo-fi tracks between 2009 and 2013, some of which were later re-worked and re-recorded for actual official releases. So far Dyoxidon has digitally released an EP and two full-length albums.
2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I believe "The Decaying Multiverse" is a much more larger and ambient-sounding album than the previous one, "Exo-Spectrum", and definitely more ambient than the older demo songs, which were more focused on brutality. I felt parts of the previous album didn't flow as well as they should have, so I attempted to make the musical ideas on The Decaying Multiverse much more cohesive with each other. Whether or not I succeeded is entirely up to the listener. I also utilized two guitars in different tunings on The Decaying Multiverse, whereas all songs on Exo-Spectrum were written in one tuning.
3.A lot of your lyrics cover science fiction and horror themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
I believe that in the current state of the world, we are basically living in some kind of dystopian reality. Nothing is really as horrifying as the things that take place in the modern age, be it senseless violent acts committed by people on other people, or the mundane zombie-like state that a lot of the populous is simply content to suffer through every single day. I mostly draw inspiration for lyrics and song ideas from real-world events, both internationally and from my own personal experiences, and present them in more palatable sci-fi scenarios. For now, I'm keeping the lyrics to the songs hidden, because I would prefer listeners to paint their own mental pictures and derive their own experiences from listening to the music, without being influenced by my own ideas of what the lyrics mean.
4.Some of your lyrics have also touches on occult and metaphyseal topics, which area of these fields have you explored lyrically?
I believe that the occult and metaphysical overlap with the mundane and physical world constantly. Those who know how to manipulate these concepts can render a person, group, or population, with no idea of how to react to it, or won't even accept that it exists, utterly helpless. These themes factor in heavily when it comes to the writing inspiration for Dyoxidon.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dyoxidon'?
"Dyoxidon" is a word that I made up. I wanted a name that sounded like a beast or an entity made out of toxic chemicals, to reflect the alien-like aspect of the music.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The artwork was created by artist JL Rey, also known as Phlegeton (www.phlegeton-art.com). He is more well-known for his musical endeavors, which include the bands Wormed and Lifelost, among others, but is also a great graphic design artist. He has done all the cover artwork for Wormed's albums, which is how I became aware of him as a visual artist. I wanted the imagery of Dyoxidon to be identical to those album covers, so I went straight to the source and asked him to do the cover for Exo-Spectrum, and eventually The Decaying Multiverse. I sent him an in-progress version of the album and asked him to create what he sees when listening to it, and the end result is basically that. I'm very pleased with the result.
7.With this project you record everything by yourself but also have worked with musicians in other bands, which one do yo prefer?
At this time, Dyoxidon is 100% my creation, but I am absolutely open to new members joining full-time and and contributing ideas, as long as their vision of the music is similar to mine. Dyoxidon is merely a solo project because at the time of it's creation, there was no one else nearby who wanted to make music that sounded this way.
8.On the new album you also have a few guests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording?
The Decaying Multiverse features guest vocals from S. Wyatt Houseman, who is the vocalist for Colorado bands Helleborus and Akhenaten. I am good friends with him and his brother Jerred, who composes all the music for these bands, and I'm honestly a big fan. The album also features vocals from Jeremy Cuchiara and Manny Moreno, who are members of the Colorado melodic black-death band Ob Nixilis, in which I also play guitar. It was very easy to work with them since I see all of them regularly. I simply sat them in front of a laptop with a microphone and had them record the parts I wanted them to say/growl/shriek, then edited them into the final song versions. Other people were supposed to be guests on the album as well, but they either had prior engagements or just failed to deliver.
10.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
So far I have not been contacted by any labels, though I am definitely interested in finding one that would like to release Dyoxidon's music. I have an entire trove of music that I can re-work and re-record, along with new songs that I write, so there's plenty of material to be worked with.
11.On a worldwide level, how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of industrial, black and death metal?
I've seen a few reviews online already, and they have all been positive. Even friends and musicians in the local scene have told me they
enjoy it a lot, which is flattering. I hope that with more exposure and with actual physical copies of the album, more people will be exposed to it.
12.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that you are a part of?
As mentioned earlier, I play guitar in a melodic black/death metal band called Ob Nixilis, who also released a full-length this year through Reaping Scythe Records. We have been playing a lot of shows throughout Colorado, and are receiving more requests for shows than we can process at the moment. I also have an atmospheric/symphonic black metal project called Auxeptheon, which so far has released a demo and one full-length in 2021. Whereas Dyoxidon is more cold, machine-like, alien, and nihilistic, Auxeptheon is more of a nature and spiritually- oriented outlet for me. I was in a much more different mindset when creating Auxeptheon, so I will have to return to a similar place mentally before writing new music for it.
13.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
Ob Nixilis has almost enough material written for a second full-length, so our goal with that will be to finish it, record it, get it out, and play more shows. I may also be playing guitar live with another Colorado band, but that will remain a secret until it's official. There's also a possibility of Dyoxidon becoming a live entity, as there are several bandmates and other musicians who have offered to assist in bringing that to fruition.
14.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 largest influence on Dyoxidon in the beginning was Italy's Aborym. Though I don't enjoy what they do nowadays, their early albums as an industrial black metal band really expanded my mind as to how black metal, and even industrial, could sound. France's Blut Aus Nord was also a big influence, specifically their more dissonant and mechanical albums like "777: Sects" and "What Once Was (Liber II)". The largest non-metal artist who influenced the sound of Dyoxidon is probably IDM artist Aphex Twin, whom I felt had a very interesting use of melodies to create moods over his machine-like drum programming, both in his slower ambient songs and his chaotic fast ones.
These days I'm still listening to the bands who influence Dyoxidon, but I'm also constantly searching for new music. Some of my favorite
bands/artists these days are The Ruins of Beverast, Beketh Nexehmu, Lvcifyre, Azarath, Akhlys, Perturbator, Mz.412, Moonsorrow, Hate Forest, Paysage D'Hiver, Red Harvest, and Sarpanitum. I also need to mention my friends in Akhenaten, who put out an amazing album in 2022 and have more music in the works.
15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the opportunity to do this interview, and thank you to everyone who has chosen to listen to The Decaying Multiverse.
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