1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
A. Well the project was founded in February of last year between me and Morgomir, who quickly left the project to start his own rock one ‘Diego De La Nada’, I decided on the name Perpetua, meaning ‘eternal’, I wanted to continue the project by myself, to craft the music that I wished to make, without anyone else’s influence changing it
2. How would you describe the musical sound that has been present on the recordings so far?
A. The sound I have aspired for is raw DSBM, like black metal should, stripped down to its bones, raw, pure emotion, in the vein of the 1990’s sound, not to be kvlt or anything, or trve, just because I like that sound and thought it would best convey my message of suicide. There are mistakes in my music, I won’t claim to be a great musician, but I create the sound that I wish for, and I won’t take them out, as that would be lying, and I think some of it adds to the sound.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?
A. Most of the topics I try to cover are linked in with depression, suicide and its causes, all the factors that cause depression, but the overall aim of the music and lyrics is to cause people to think about their lives, most people nowadays don’t think about their life, don’t appreciate, and some don’t even deserve it. I want people to think about this, and those who come out with an appreciation of their existence are those who can find meaning in the words, the rest I hope will find despair and pain and come out thinking ‘suicide, that sounds like a good idea, I’ll give that a go.’ The music is all about trying to make people appreciate their lives for what they are worth. That’s why the lyrics are so dark and depressing.
4. The project was originally known as 'Perpetua' what was the decision behind the name chance?
A. Well, the meaning behind ‘Pereptua’ is Latin for ‘eternal/perpetual’, and for me that represented what I was aiming for then, to convey the eternal nature of darkness and depression, how, when you’re in that mind frame, everything seems to last forever; sadness, grief, betrayal, death etc. The reason behind the name change was twofold; firstly, I had in my head, changed the direction I wished to take with the music, I wanted to explore darker corners of music and ideas, lyrics and themes, to truly bring out the darkness, misanthropy and sorrow that I wished to convey. So I wanted to change the name to represent this, and ‘Abandoned by Light’ was the name I chose. The other reason was that I didn’t feel that the name ‘Pereptua’ was been taken seriously enough by other people or bands, so I wanted a name that would stand out, and would convey the musical themes.
5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Abandoned by Light'?
A. Well, for me, the name represents everything that depression and suicide is, the feeling of isolation, and loneliness, when everything has left you; happiness, friends, family, faith and caring. You feel that you have been abandoned, and left on your own. So this is what ‘Abandoned by Light’ means, when everything has left you, and all that there is left, is you and your thoughts, when even the light of your God has gone. It’s in these moments, when suicidal thoughts creep in, and your hopelessness takes over, and that’s the aim of ‘Abandoned by Light’ to leave you in these moments, and let your mind do the rest.
6. So far you have recorded all of your musical solo, are you interested in working with any other musicians in the future
A. Not in the sense of making Abandoned anything other than my solo project, I’ve spoken with people about featuring on tracks, I was actually talking with Morgomir about coming and playing on another track, since he did guitar on ‘King of Cuts’ from the first album ‘And Dusk…’ But I want to keep Abandoned by Light my own project, I am in another black metal band with another guy, who played in Arendia, and we’ll be releasing an album soon from that, but Abandoned will remain my project for now.
7. In the last year the project has been around you have released a great amount of music, do you feel you have put a lot of time and energy into this musical project?
A. There have been a few releases, but not as many as some other bands; Unhappy and Dhampyr have released much more, but yeah, I try and put as much time as I can into Abandoned, and I wish I had the time to put more in, I am working on the next album at the moment, and an EP, and planning a possible split with Morgomir’s new band. Over the next few months I aim to put a lot of time into Abandoned by Light. I just feel that this is something I am passionate about, so should put all the time and effort in, to make it the best I can.
8. So far you have been a part of splits with Unhappy and Tearfall, what are your thoughts on the bands that have participated on those split albums?
A. Yes, I also did one with a project called ‘Life Has No Meaning’ who were good, but as for those two, they are both brilliant bands, Tearfall’s latest album ‘Eat Me, Drink Me’ is a fantastic album that is on regular rotation for me. As for Unhappy, I love the music he puts out, particularly the first album ‘Dear God, Thanks For The Suicide Option’ and the latest ‘Rotten Black Suicide Tree’. They are both great bands, and would love to work with either of them again in the future.
9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of depressive black metal?
A. To be honest, I haven’t heard a great deal, what I’ve heard has been mostly positive, a few negatives here and there, but mostly positive. I haven’t heard enough to make a judgement as to whether I’ve been accepted by the fans, but I’ve had a fair few downloads of the albums, and the Facebook page is becoming more popular, so I’m assuming people like the music, but haven’t heard a lot from people.
10. Where do you see this project heading into musically during the future?
A. Hopefully ever darker, on the next album, I’m wanting to make a more aggressive sound than has been on the previous ones, and create a darker and more suffocating atmosphere, more depressing. I want to learn how to craft better sounds, creating music is always a learning process, and I’m still trying to figure out some new things to bring into the music. I also want to reintroduce piano on the next album, like on the first, so expect that in the future, alongside aggressive soundscapes, think Shining meets Nocturnal Depression, meets Xasthur, meets Abandoned by Light, and that’s the hope for the future.
11. 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?
A. I try and take influences from everything I listen to, be that classical, American Indian, early rock and metal like; Sabbath, AC/DC, Cream, Eric Clapton and others, to more modern stuff like Marilyn Manson. Obviously a lot of my influences are black metal, stuff like Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Silencer, Abigail Williams, Watain, Vinterland, Nocturnal Depression, Shining, Thy Antichrist, Thy Light, 1349, Xasthur, Altar of Plagues etc. At the moment I’m listening to a lot of Shining, I absolutely love the sounds they create and the atmosphere, also Satyricon and ‘Secrets of the Moon,’ their album ‘Priveligivm’ is a masterpiece. Another album I’ve discovered recently is Bloody Melancholy by ‘Life is Pain’, that’s a great album. And Raped Christ are a good band for anyone into utter raw blasphemous black metal.
12. What are some of your non musical interests?
A. When I’m not recording or writing, I’m normally just finding new bands to get into, working or reading. It’s not immensely interesting; I’m at university at the moment, so that takes up a lot of time.
13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
A. Thanks for the interview, keep an eye out for the new album ‘Life O’ Despicable Life’ and the new music video I’m doing. And remember; share needles, slit your wrists, and suicide is an option. Have a nice day.
Thanks again,
Karhmul
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