The Total Sound Of The Undergound

Lelahel Metal

Delve into the atmospheric depths of Pontifex's debut album, "From the Pale Mist." Explore the band's unique blend of black metal subgenres and symphonic elements.

1. Congratulations on the upcoming release of your debut album, "From the Pale Mist"! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the album title and what listeners can expect from the music?

Thank you for the support! When I first started writing the music for the album, I knew I wanted to set an ominous tone; I knew I wanted mist to be in the title and tried different phrases till I found something that stuck out to me. This album features intensely dark atmospheres in the music and a balance between haunting melodies and aggressive style changes. The songs pull inspiration from many of my favorite black metal subgenres, including DSBM, Classic Norwegian Black metal, and melodic black metal.

2. Pontifex has been described as a symphonic black metal band that pushes the boundaries of traditional black metal. How do you approach blending ambient and dark symphonic sounds with the aggression of thrash and death metal to create your unique sound?

Black metal is a tricky genre; it is both a genre severely limited by the narrow scope of its audience, and a genre that is incredibly expansive with the various subgenres within black metal. When I am writing material for Pontifex, I am always very aware of retaining the core black metal sound in our music; however, there has to be changes in the music to keep it interesting and to set it apart from the many other bands performing this type of music. I make sure to add nods to thrash metal, death metal, or even classical music in almost every song to provide more variety.

3. The album features former Suffocation drummer Mike Smith, adding a unique dynamic to your music. How did Mike's involvement come about, and how did his drumming style influence the overall sound of the album?

Our original vocalist grew up in Long Island and knew Mike from back when. Working with Mike was an incredible experience, he took the drum parts I wrote and made everything much more aggressive and much more intricate. The intricity of the drums, and the power of the performance, really adds to the the atmosphere and energy I was aiming for when writing the music. 

4. "Abyssal" is highlighted as a track that showcases your ability to integrate symphonic aspects with heavy metal riffs. Can you walk us through the creative process behind this song and how you balanced different elements to create a cohesive sound?

This song, Abyssal, is the magnum opus of the album. The first thing I wrote for this song was the choir and piano outro at the end; from there, I took the chord progression of the choirs and wrote the rest of the riffs around that central theme. There is a lot of counterpoint between the two guitars in this song that adds to the depth, particularly in the first two riffs. The style change in the middle of the song hammers home the aggression before we bring back the melodic ideas with the guitar solo. During the solo, I knew there had to be a clean transition back to the choir chord progression, so I used a pivot chord to take the song to a new key.


5. With influences like Satyricon and Horna, Pontifex aims to innovate while staying true to the essence of black metal. How do these influences manifest in your music, and what sets Pontifex apart from other bands in the genre?

The tonalities and energy used by bands like Satyricon and Horna can be heard well in our music, the style of black metal they play is haunting, aggressive, and still melodic. There is always energy driving the songs forward. I have done my best to capture that energy without retreading any of the things that make those bands exemplary. The biggest thing that separates us from other bands in the style is that we are not afraid to experiment and incorporate all of our influences. People get caught up on sounding black metal at all times, it has to be "trve kvlt" or it isnt good. Our approach is more so to think of black metal as a canvas which we can use to express ourselves in a musically diverse way, rather than a strict guideline to be constrained by. It also helps that our vocals are not typical of a black metal band, which adds further variation to our music. From a visual standpoint, we are one of the most diverse black metal bands that I have seen; our bassist and drummer are both women and we have members of multiple ethnicities as well. It is a great opportunity for us to showcase the impact that this music can make on anyone, anywhere.

6. Your music has been described as taking listeners on a journey to dark, mysterious places. How do you evoke atmosphere and emotion in your songs, and what themes or concepts do you explore through your lyrics?

Evoking atmosphere and emotion is always the hardest challenge of writing a song. To really create the atmosphere I want, I spend a lot of time analyzing how the chords interact with each other. Music has natural tendencies that our ears have grown accustomed to hearing that can be exploited to create specific feeling or atmosphere. Our lyrics deal frequently with the human experience, the trials of life and the effect it has on a person.

7. As a band from Orlando, Florida, how has your local music scene influenced Pontifex's sound and style?

Orlando is one of the greatest places to be for an extreme metal band; however, the amount of black metal in Orlando is very small in comparison to death, thrash, or any other style of metal. The sounds of death metal are interwoven with our music in part due to this massive death metal scene we have here. It is a great genre and scene, and I enjoy playing both styles of metal.

8. "From the Pale Mist" will be available on all major streaming platforms. How important is it for Pontifex to reach a wide audience, and what role do streaming platforms play in the modern music industry?

Of course we want to reach a wide audience, we would not invest all the time practicing, recording, and mixing into this band if we didn't want it to be heard by people. Black metal has a lot of great underground artists, but I can't see the point of releasing music for no one to listen to it. Streaming platforms are a double edged sword; while they are certainly helpful for showcasing the vast array of talent that there is in the music industry, it has also contributed to the decline of physical media and made it difficult to search through the thousands of artists to find the ones that you resonate with.


9. What are your plans for promoting the album following its release on May 7th? Any upcoming shows, tours, or other projects in the works?

We have been working with Metal Devastation PR for our current PR campaign, and could not be happier with the results. We have shows booked through September throughout Florida.

May 8th at Conduit in Orlando with Oceans of Slumber

May 17th at CMC in Gainesville our CD Release Show

July 19th at Uncle Lous in Orlando

August 2nd-3rd at Brass Mug in Tampa

September 21st at Troubled Times in Lake Worth 

We are always looking to play more shows in and out of state!

10. Finally, where can fans connect with Pontifex online, and how can they support the band's music and upcoming releases?

 You can connect with us at our Bandcamp, Facebook, or Instagram accounts. Purchasing music and merch is always helpful, but sharing our releases and announcements is a huge help to us at this point. It takes a village, and we are grateful for all support. Show up to shows, support your local music scene!

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Pontifex - YouTube

From the Pale Mist (Single) | Pontifex (bandcamp.com)


 

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