Shūnyatā Interview

 

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

Shūnyatā is a black metal band with Buddhist and contemplative lyrical themes.  Musically the style of songwriting is inspired by the early albums of bands like Dissection, Emperor, Swordmaster, Finnish bands from the mid 90s and early 2000s, and bands like Hakuja from Japan. 

2. Recently you released your first album, can you tell us a little more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

 We were fortunate to have access to Null Set Studios which can produce high quality recordings.  The songwriting, although somewhat melodic, was still fairly raw.  There aren't any clean vocals or anything like that.  I tried to make sure the melodic parts are interspersed with enough dissonant and harsher riffs so it feels balanced.  We have triumphant as well as melancholic riffs, some melodies have a medieval flavor to them.   I was really inspired by Mgla's approach to lyric writing.  They stepped away from the fantasy element in black metal lyrics and speak more from their bleak observations of life and the world.  They take it in a purely nihilistic direction. I often lean that way myself but the lyrics for Shūnyatā are more from the experiences and observations of someone following a contemplative Buddhist path.  So the nihilism is tempered, somewhat.  There are descriptions of experiences that arise from meditation in our lyrics as well.

3.  The band has been around since 2017, but waited until 2023 to release an album, can you tell us a little bit more about the earlier years?

In 2017 I was spending a year under temporary vows as a Buddhist Monastic.  During the year I decided I did not want to commit for life, or for another full year.  Null and I were occasionally in contact and we agreed to do a black metal project together.  He reached out to Absutheon and Meraxis who were also interested.  In the meantime I was sneaking off to a woodshop on the Abbey grounds where I was starting to write the songs using an old acoustic guitar that had been sitting around the woodshop collecting dust.  Dawn and The Dark Age were the first songs I wrote.  It was against the rules for monastics to do this so I had to sneak off and do this secretly.  

When I got back we began recording right away.  Unfortunately we ran into so many issues with the recording process that everything took way longer than it should have.  It took us a long time to figure out what was causing so many issues with the levels in the mix.  We ended up having to re-record most of it all over again. Then covid lockdowns happened, Null and myself had lots of extra demands from our jobs at that time which further complicated the process. Null also had other projects he was recording at Null Set so I had to wait for him to finish other obligations.    It took way too long, we learned a lot from it about how to streamline the process and hopefully we won't run into those issues again.

4.  A lot of your lyrics cover Buddhism themes, can you tell us a little more about your interest in this topic?

I practice Buddhism, as I said earlier I took temporary monastic vows for a year. But I should say the others in the band do not.  Null is a hard atheist/substance materialist.  Absutheon is interested in Buddhism but he also has interest in different pagan beliefs.  I don't want the band to be a proselytizing project for Buddhism, it's more just an expression of my thoughts and experiences trying to follow this path.  

If I were to have an influence on someone regarding this, I would rather it be that they try to engage in some kind of contemplative practices or lifestyle.  It does not have to be through Buddhism in particular.  Spending time in solitude and seclusion in nature away from technology.  Maybe adopting some contemplative practices.

We spend so much of our lives, especially today, lost in distractions and addictions. It's very hard for people to even be embodied nevermind trying to understand our true nature.  Now that I am no longer a monastic I try to spend a couple of weeks each year on solitary retreat alone in a cabin in the woods without technology where I can engage in contemplative practices more deeply.  I still study Buddhist philosophy and I still find it to be the most helpful orientation for me to see through the many delusions our society and my own mind can come up with.  

I believe a contemplative path is about trying to see reality clearly, without filters or distortions, projections or interpretations. 

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Shūnyatā?

"Shūnyatā" is usually translated as "emptiness".  This translation is a little bit misleading as in the west "emptiness" is usually equated with the nihilistic idea of "nothingness".  But a better translation would be "non-thing-ness".  A "thing" is stagnant. "No-thing" just denotates absence.  "Non-thing-ness" I believe means things as they are without the conceptual imputations we project onto our experiences and perceptions. 

For a little more clarity, "emptiness" means that all compound phenomena are empty of 1. permanence: they are subject to change, 2. independence: meaning such phenomena are interdependent, and 3. indivisibility: such phenomena can always be broken down into smaller conceptual parts just like a line always has an infinite number of potential points on it.  

Being empty of these qualities is what allows for all the possibilities and different forms of phenomena we see. If any quality of a person, for example, were permanent, it would be petrified like cold dead stone. In this way "emptiness" is actually the seed of all possibility.  The "middle way" in Buddhism is not supposed to fall into either eternalism or nihilism.  Eternalism being the belief that things are permanent, solid, unchanging, indivisible etc.  Nihilism being the idea that nothing means anything, there is no pattern or point to anything, it's all "nothingness" and pointless in one sense or another.

Nonetheless if I am being honest I often find myself struggling with existential nihilism, and doubts in my path. So my lyrics and music often slide into feelings of hopelessness and Nihilism which are not really part of the Buddhist path or philosophy but have been a part of my own personal path for a long time before I found my way to Buddhism. Lately I have been struggling to find a good balance between worldly concerns and contemplative practice.  Something I am still working on.

6.  Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

Juanjo Castellano Rosado did an amazing job on it.  It was definitely inspired by Emperor's "In the Nightside Eclipse", for those who can't tell haha.  But we added a unique twist to it.  The wraith-like figure in robes represents some kind of contemplative, or even a dead monastic, looking from the wilderness onto a congested and polluted modern city. The contrast of the wilderness and nature vs the concrete and electronic grid systems we have put ourselves in. Contrasting a contemplative with a busy and materialistic lifestyle. These were things I was hoping were expressed in this.  It alludes to "The Dark Age"  not as a time in the distant past but as our current time.  

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

We wear vaguely monastic looking brown robes with corpse paint.  I want it to be simple and raw. We have mostly played small shows across New England.  I think our best show was the last one we played at Ralph's Diner in Worcester MA.  The local scene in Worcester is small but dedicated, so it's always great to play there, good turn out and energy from the crowd.    We have been fortunate enough to open for bands like Uada, Churchburn, Lightcrusher, and Dzö-nga, when they were playing shows near us.  

8. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

Unfortunately our drummer Null has a very demanding work schedule as well as other commitments making shows difficult at the moment.  He is finding his other commitments too great, so we will be looking for another drummer to play with us live.  If it works out, whoever that is could transition to being our drummer on future recordings as well.  Null is committed to helping us finish 2 more albums for recording, since we have already started working on these.  After that we all have agreed we will need a new drummer for recordings as well.  

If we can find a live drummer in time I would like for us to be able to start playing live shows again with a new drummer next year and then be able to do a real tour in the following summer.  

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

I think people have liked the music. I have been glad that people seem to like the songs we have shared so far.  Some people seem ambivalent about the Buddhist contemplative themes, but a few find that very interesting. 

10.  Where do you see the band heading musically during the future?

Most of the next two albums have already been written.  I can say that the musical style will be very consistent with the first album, it is not changing directions in any major way.  I think we are refining the style a bit.  There were a couple of songs that had a slight death metal influence with drop tunings on the first album, like the track "Renunciation".  We are not straying as much from the black metal style on the second album.  There will be no more drop tunings.  The lyrical themes will be very different.  Just like the Catholic Church and other Christian organizations have a lengthy history of abuse scandals, so do many Buddhist institutions.  So the next album is mostly about that.  I have to commit some Buddhist heresies and blasphemies before I can move on.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

All the 90s black metal has had a huge influence on me musically, so of course the old albums from Mayhem, Immortal, Darkthrone, Emperor, Satyricon, Gorgoroth, etc.  Dissection, in particular the Storm of the Light's Bane album, had a huge impact on the way I approach songwriting on the guitar.  That is my favorite album ever written.  I am also a fan of many bands in the Finnish scene, there is a particular style of riffing that is melancholic but still raw and aggressive that you hear from them.  Some Ukrainian bands  also capture somberness and melancholy very well.  Other bands I have been listening to lately are Fin, Hakuja, Welkin, Kampfar, Wallachian Necromoon, Lightcrusher, Summoning, Noenum, Behexen, Order of Nosferat, Lunar Spells, Blaze of Sorrow, Ungfell, Uada, Godkiller, and Swordmaster.

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

I think that covered it.  Thank you so much for the interview and taking an interest in our music.  

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