1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
We are Uthullun from the US. The project first took shape in 2019, but had existed in one form or another for a couple years before then. We seek to explore the depths of despair.
2.So far you have released an ep and a full length, musically how do they both differ from each other?
Our full length, Dirges for the Void, does contain the songs that were on the EP, but it represents an evolution of our musical composition. It's a further exploration of the use of contrasting yet complementary dissonance, melody, and harmony to create an atmosphere of misery, despair, and dread. It's not necessarily very musically different, but it displays more depth of Uthullun's sound.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with your music?
Lyrically, Uthullun is a contemplation of death, sorrow, isolation, alienation, and self-destruction.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Uthullun'?
"Uthullun" is a word taken from a novel that, taken literally, means "sunless" in a fantasy language, but can also be used to mean "cold." Given the lightless nature of our music and lyrical themes, this word resonated with the band.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?
The album cover for Dirges for the Void calls back to the cover of Sunless, with a black void taking the forefront of the art. It was masterfully manifested by Carlos "Asty" Agraz, who added his surreal, otherworldly aesthetics to our vision. The final product was an image of a dying world, with a sun blackened and bleeding dark fluids into a sea wracked with crystallized manifestations of death and unbeing. We believe art is meant to be interpreted by the viewer, but to us, it depicts the misery of the world coagulating and finally snuffing out the light of the sun, hemorrhaging its black despair to the Earth below.
6.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
Sunless and Dirges for the Void were all recorded and mixed in-house. In the future, we would of course be open to collaborations or splits with other musicians, but we wanted the first form of Uthullun to be wholly under our creative influence.
7.The new album was released on 'Wolves Of hades', how did you get in contact with this label?
Like anything else in this day and age, contact was made through social media. Geor from Wolves of Hades saw potential in Sunless and offered to help the band with publicity and physical distribution. We liked the releases under Wolves and Geor's other related label, Argento Records, and were glad to accept the offer.
8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
Until relatively recently, Uthullun has had relatively minimal promotion - it was more of a passion project and we preferred to stay anonymous than really push our music. The responses we've had to Sunless have been generally rather positive, with praises of the riffs and production at the forefront. Many of our listeners have been in the US, but Wolves of Hades being a European label, we have clearly made some good impressions overseas. Ultimately, Uthullun will continue to express our vision of black metal as we see fit, but we are grateful our interpretation of the genre has resonated with people.
9.Where do you see yourself heading into musically during the future?
You can expect to see an evolution of our use of dissonance. We are most interested in experimenting with dynamism and atmosphere without getting lost in typical atmospheric black metal monotony. To us, though, atmosphere is a key component of black metal in a musical sense - the emotions the music conveys and its ability to bring the listener to another world or state of mind.
10.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?
It should surprise no one who hears our music, but our influences include Deathspell Omega, Svartidauði, Aosoth, and Thantifaxath. On rotation for the band are groups like Worthless, Carpe Noctem, Hræ, Mannveira, Cowardice, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, and Kælan Mikla, as well as the bands cited as our influences.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Outside of music, we are interested in martial arts, horror films, nature and science, and artistic pursuits in general.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Question tradition. Always push your creative boundaries regardless of critics or the standards of the old guard. Create for yourself first and foremost.
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