1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Your review largely covered it--it's a combination of black metal, punk, and D-beat. There are other influences, too. I like to incorporate clean vocals and electronics at key points to both diversify the sound and accentuate the heavier parts. So far, I've also ended every EP so far with a song around 10 minutes in length. A lot of my favorite albums over the years have stuck to that tradition, metal or otherwise, and I like to carry it on.
2. You have a new ep coming out later in February, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I do have plans for a future release, but nothing that soon! Aside from a split or two, I'm planning for my next release to be a full-ish-length, maybe 7 songs. I'm not exactly sure how it will be different--I just write whatever comes to me. I am planning on writing a haunted country song, I'm going to incorporate kind of a sea shanty sound into another song... It's kind of weird, I want to write more interesting, diverse songs, but I also want to write more straightforward, balls-to-the-wall riffing. I guess I just gotta write a lot of songs to satisfy all my musical urges.
3. The title of the new ep is 'Three of Cups', do you have an interest in tarot cards?
A little bit, yeah. Less than you'd think from writing two EPs named for tarot cards, though. I'm interested in it as a way to look at one's life, or the world in general. I'm not a believer in anything mystical, but I believe in the power of mysticism and ritual as psychodrama--a way to put yourself in a curious or introspective mindset, to open the door to new perspectives and ways of thinking, to seek what's best for you, and by extension, the people in your life. It can look like a tarot reading, meditation, yoga, prayer, a Satanic ritual, or even just listening to a record in a dark room.
4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?
The titles and themes of this EP and the last EP, Three of Cups and Ten of Swords, largely sums it up. The Ten of Swords represents the current state of the world: chaos, misfortune, destruction, desepair. The world is being torn apart by war, the forces of capitalism are destroying the environment, filling the soil, the water, even our very blood with plastic, all while siphoning more and more money away from normal working people so the rich can consolidate power for I don't even know what reason. Some semblance of self-worth? A funny thing happens when you start accumulating more wealth than you can reasonably have any use for. You become miserable and disconnected from reality. You start to think that you're wealthy because you deserve it, and other people aren't wealthy because they don't deserve it. So rich, depressed, misanthropic sociopaths with no love for the world or the people in it are in charge of everything, constantly tightening the noose of hierarchy. That's the Ten of Swords to me.
On the other hand, the Three of Cups represents everything beautiful to me. Love, belonging, the immense beauty of nature. Friends, music, good food and drink, getting stoned and partying, or staying inside, being cozy with a cup of tea and a book. It's why the world is worth fighting for. It's my hope for the future.
5. I know that the project is named after the the second chakra, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play and also do you have an interest in eastern mysticism?
Like I said, I'm not a very mystical person at all. The project was originally supposed to be called She'ol, named after the shadowy realm of the dead in the Jewish faith. I'm not Jewish either, but a lot of metal bands focus on Christian concepts of Hell, Satan, and crucifixion. I liked this idea of an older vision of the afterlife--still related to contemporary religious traditions, but conceptually closer to Hades than it is to Hell. More ancient, and stragely not well-known. I designed a logo and everything. But, predictably, there were already like three other metal bands called She'ol.
Anyways, I was so happy with the She'ol logo that I wanted something that would let me keep the S and the L. I didn't even know "sacral" referred to a chakra, the definition I first saw was more synonymous with "sacred" and "sacrificial." "Pertaining to sacred rites and observances." I think creating art is a sacred act, so it was still a good fit.
Of course, there's another metal band called Sacral that dropped their first album recently. A German heavy metal band. They're pretty good!
6. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
The art was done by the incredibly talented Amanda Boucher. I wanted something to contrast the stark and menacing artwork from Ten of Swords. Colorful, beautiful, and hopeful. Just like with Ten of Swords, I told the artist the title and explained the concept but left most of the details open. The only important details I gave her were that it should resemble a tarot illustration, that the figures should all look different, that I want purple, and that I like the idea of the heaviness of the music surprising listeners if the art is the first introduction to the project. I love seeing how different artists interpret things, and as both an incredible artist and a metalhead herself, Amanda rocketed past any expectations I might have had.
I love the way the clouds radiate out from the moon, it feels like there's some force emanating from it, or perhaps from their toast. The motion of the piece is great, too. I did a few concept sketches that I didn't end up showing Amanda, but in all of them, the figures were still, holding their cups up like statues. Despite their etheral garb, gold crowns, and floating hair, the figures Amanda created feel very real. They're in motion, the wine splashing out of their cups, sometimes landing on their faces or arms. In a lot of ways, it's truer to the EP's themes of revolutionary joy than anything I could have created on my own.
7. With this project you record everything by yourself but also have experience working with musicians in another band, which one do you prefer?
Each has its advantages, but I think I prefer working with other musicians in a live band. There's more spontaneity and improvisation, and I find that I get to know the songs better and they evolve in interesting ways over time. Plus I really enjoy performing live.
8. In the last couple of years you also have been a part of a couple of splits, can you tell us a little bit more about the other musical projects that had participated on these recordings?
Void Angel and Growth! Excellent projects that you should check out if you like Sacral's sound at all. Void Angel is more raw fury, thrashing blackened riffs and twisted leads. Heron is a much better guitarist than I am, and his voice has an undeniable combination of rage and anguish to it. He just released a new EP called "Revenants," I highly recommend a listen.
Growth is a strange project, I think I once called the musician a "bizarromancer." Their sound is closer to Samael or even Igorrr. They utilize an industrial sound, lots of synths and samples, lots of twists and turns that might draw a double-take from the listener. They have a sense of gallows humor, too. Just look at the cover of their recent single, "Happy Collapse." Or better yet, listen to it.
On a personal note, they're great people. In black metal you can find a lot of extreme personalities, but despite the fury I (try to) convey in my music, I'm a very mellow person and can have difficulty meshing with very intense people. The people behind these projects are very friendly and easy to get along with, though. They live in Europe and I'm in the US, but I want to meet both of them some day.
9. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal and crust punk?
Better than I expected. The first Sacral EP was me needing something to do while I was stuck at home in 2020, trying not to get covid. I was shocked that anyone liked it, because in a way, it was just me screaming into the void. Turns out there were people in the void, and some of them liked what I was screaming.
10. What is going on with 'North Star the Wanderer' these days?
We released our second EP, "Terminal," last summer. We're now getting back into playing shows after a long, mostly dormant winter. Our sound could be described as "stoner thrash," but we play lots of weird genre-mixed shows with death metal bands, black metal bands, hardcore, punk, shoegaze, indie rock... you name it. For the summer, we're just working on new songs and playing as many shows as we can.
I'm particularly looking forward to playing the seventh anniversary show at Bone Up Brewing, which is run by a couple friends of mine. A lot of their beers are made in collaboration with local bands, and they made one for North Star called "Man Overboard," named after one of the songs on the Terminal EP. It was awesome to work with professional brewers and basically ask them to tailor a beer to my personal tastes.
11. When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
I want to take a short break from worrying about music, and I'm planning on doing a split with my friends in local blackened crust act called Stryga. They have a demo out called "Funeral Skies" that gets stuck in my head for days any time I listen to it. After that, though, I'm planning to record a full-length. Or full-ish-length.
The foreseeable future has me continuing to play in North Star, and continuing Sacral as a studio-only solo act. It's nice to have both a solo act where I make all the decisions, and a live band where I make relatively few decisions. Eventually I'd like to move to another country. I have my eyes on Reykyavik and Montreal. If it happens, I might turn Sacral into a live band.
12. 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?
My biggest inspirations are probably Darkthrone, Discharge, Cloud Rat, and Full of Hell. Darkthrone and Discharge form the base--harsh, aggressive, and riff-centric. While I can't match the guitar chops in Cloud Rat or Full of Hell, I like how they keep things unpredictable. You never know what you're going to get next from them.
Lately I've been listening to the new releases from Sigh, Trespasser, Enslaved, Dawn Ray'd, Svora, and Lamp of Murmuur.
13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Smoke weed, drink beer, hail Satan. Or don't, that's cool too.
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