1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Silaera mostly takes influence from various forms of black metal such as atmospheric and post black metal, as well as some other genres like extreme progressive metal and blackened death metal. The project also takes inspiration from science fiction and cosmic horror, which I’ve used as a basis for a lot of the lyrics and visual ideas.
2.In April you have your first full length coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous ep's?
The previous EPs were a little more tightly focused around one or two subgenre influences. Adrift is mostly atmospheric, while The Alien Face of Death is more influenced by post black metal and progressive metal.
The upcoming full length, An Aberration of the Void, takes all of these ideas, refines them, and adds more. There are long atmospheric sections, heavy riffs, progressively evolving song structures, choruses with harmonized melodic leads, chaotic breaks, and a few sections with clean guitar tones. Each of the five songs on the album has a different sound and feel to it, ranging from dark and heavy (like in the first single), to beautiful, depressive, or even a little uplifting.
3.The first release was all instrumental while later releases have included vocals, what was the decision behind going into this direction?
The decision to release the first EP Starless as an instrumental was simply because I wasn’t happy with my vocals at the time. I had attempted to record them but ultimately decided I needed more time to practice. So I released it as an instrumental with the intent of revisiting it later. That ended up becoming the EP Adrift.
4.A lot your lyrics cover cosmic horror and science fiction themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
I’ve always been fascinated with space, astronomy, engineering, and the universe. I’m also drawn to horror, mostly in the music I listen to, but also elsewhere. I think the universe has a certain horror to it, just in that it exists without explanation, and also its unimaginable size relative to ourselves. I also like to think about what long-distance space travel might be like and what could go wrong. The fusion of space and horror then seems to be the obvious choice of what to write about for my own black metal project.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Silaera'?
There is no meaning behind the name Silaera. I wanted to find a unique word where the only meaning is the project itself, and nothing else. If you search for Silaera, you find the music.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The artwork is a painting by Adam Burke of Nightjar Illustration that I commissioned for the album. I had been following Nightjar Illustration for years and I thought his art style was perfect for the cosmic horror themes of the music. The idea behind the art came from some of the lyrics from the first song on the album, The Emergence of Suffering:
“A crack in the vacuum from which horror crawls out
An aberration of the void
Sparks the emergence of all life
And all that is terrible
And all that is wrong”
The idea was to paint an image of the universe springing into existence as the source of all suffering that came afterwards.
7.With the exception of a session drummer you record most of the music by yourself, are you open to working with a few band or do you prefer to work solo?
For this project at least, I prefer to keep it mostly solo. I like to sit down with a guitar and give a lot of careful thought into writing. I find I’ve written my best and most cohesive material this way. For the album, I finished composing all five songs including drum skeletons before handing it to Neil. He took the drum parts I had written and enhanced them with fills, cymbals, and extra details in his own style. It ended up much better than if I had done it on my own, so I am becoming more open to bringing in other musicians.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label, or have received any interest?
I’m open to signing to a label, but I haven’t received any interest so far.
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
Although the project is still relatively unknown, the feedback so far has been very positive!
10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
There are a few directions I’m planning on heading in after this album. I’ve been experimenting with some side projects in other metal subgenres, one of which is a death metal band called Scornmonger which released its first demo a few months ago. Another that I just started writing material for is a faster kind of extreme metal. For Silaera, I want to write more complex and progressive compositions, experiment with 8-string guitars, try new vocal styles, and continue evolving the sound that I’ve created with An Aberration of the Void. Of course it will all still be heavily influenced by black metal.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that you are currently listening to nowadays?
There are a few bands that I still listen to regularly which are some of my biggest influences, like Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Ellende, Abigail Williams, Ne Obliviscaris, and Anaal Nathrakh. Some others I’ve listened to a lot recently are Blood Incantation, Eximperitus, and Blut Aus Nord.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the support and the interview!
https://silaera.bandcamp.com/album/an-aberration-of-the-void
https://www.instagram.com/silaeramusic/
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