Join us as we delve into the inspiration and creative process behind Arx Atrata's latest atmospheric black metal album, "A Reckoning."
1. Congratulations
on the release of "A Reckoning"! Can you tell us about the
inspiration behind this album and its title?
Thank you!
The title 'A Reckoning' refers to the fact that all actions have consequences,
which I'll elaborate on shortly. Musically, I feel this is a natural
progression from my previous albums, keeping much the same atmosphere but
perhaps with a more powerful production than before.
2. The album begins with the
instrumental track "To Sunder The World." What was the significance
of starting the album with this piece?
Musically,
it can be thought of as part of the song that follows it, "I Was A Witness
To His Passing", and it has some of the same musical motifs, but people
may want to listen to that song without waiting three minutes for the vocals to
start! Therefore it makes sense to make it a separate track, though I recommend
listening to them together! Thematically, "To Sunder The World"
refers to the metaphorical act of bringing ruin on one's people, ending the
world as they know it. The rest of the album, and indeed all of the lyrical
content, deals with what happens after those events.
3. Your music is described as
atmospheric black metal. How do you balance the atmospheric elements with the
more traditional black metal sound?
Often what
will happen is that I will write a riff that is 'pure' black metal and then I
think about how to make it more melodic or epic. And sometimes it is the other
way around - I might come up with a part that is melancholy and atmospheric but
it needs an injection of aggression to make it work. It's an ongoing process
where I am constantly writing and rewriting parts and rearranging different
sections so that the music hits the right blend of beauty and fury for this
project.
4. Can you delve into the themes
and stories explored in "A Reckoning"? What message or experience do
you hope to convey to listeners?
The core
theme of 'A Reckoning' is that we always have to face the consequences of our
actions, eventually. This is true of individuals, such as the person that is
the subject of the lyrics, but also of cultures and humanity itself. We have
wrought changes on the world and on nature that we are starting to look back on
with regret, not just for what we have lost but for what that means for us in
future. Sometimes the response to our actions is far more profound than the
actions themselves. We must tread carefully and beware of doing things that
cannot be undone.
5. "Mercy Unearned" is
described as the heart of the album. Can you talk about the creation of this
track and what it means to you?
The music
for this song was actually written for the previous album "The Path
Untravelled" but it didn't fit with the tracks that were eventually
chosen. So there was a lot of time to ensure that this song was as good as it
could be. The lyrics were written specifically for this record however. They
deal with the fact that our existence is fragile, and that sometimes the fact
of who lives and who dies is very unfair. No life, once taken, can be returned.
We should be mindful of that.
6. You've been creating music as
Arx Atrata for over a decade now. How has your sound evolved over the years,
and what new elements did you bring to "A Reckoning"?
It's hard
for me to say how the music has evolved because I try to keep it consistent
from album to album. On 'A Reckoning' you can hear the same synth sounds that
were heard in the first seconds of début album "Oblivion", read
lyrical themes that were also in the lyrics of "Spiritus In Terra",
hear riffs developed from the ones heard in "The Path Untravelled",
and so on. I'm lucky enough to have people who are steadfast fans of what I do,
and with each record I want to reward them with something new, but not
something different.
If
anything, "A Reckoning" is unusual among my work as an album where I
took elements away, rather than adding new ones. There are no acoustic guitars
or strings on this record. It would have been predictable, given that the
album's lyrics tell a historical fantasy tale of a warrior, to reach for
traditional instrumentation to reinforce that metaphor. Instead, I took it in
the other direction - these are otherworldly sounds for another world. I drew
some inspiration from the soundtrack for the TV series "The Last
Kingdom" which mostly eschewed the traditional orchestral music associated
with historical fantasy and instead opted for a largely synth-driven approach.
7. The album artwork is stunning
and evocative. How does it reflect the music and themes of "A
Reckoning"?
The
artwork, as with the previous album, was done by Namurian Visions (https://namurianvisions.com/), with very little guidance from
me, beyond sharing a few abstract ideas and colour preferences. She works by
listening to the music and channelling that into the art. In a way, this makes
it a far deeper representation of the album than could be obtained from any
simple brief I could give to an artist. I would encourage people to look at the
art while listening to the music and the lyrics, and to draw their own
conclusions about the connection.
8. Your music has been influenced
by the landscapes of ancient Sherwood Forest. How do these natural surroundings
inspire your creative process?
I am lucky
enough to be able to visit Sherwood Forest on a regular basis as it is not far
from my home, but the truth is that there is very little of the original forest
left. In many ways, it is that fact that influences my music more than anything
else - the knowledge that we've over-exploited our natural world and that we're
losing touch with our past, not just in a metaphorical sense but by literally
destroying the ancient landscapes that birthed us. England is one of the
world's most nature-depleted countries with almost no 'wild' land left and even
our national parks are mostly managed for animal agriculture rather than
wildlife. As the home of the Industrial Revolution we have exacted a severe
toll on our land and all that dwell on it - but it's a debt that must be
repaid.
9. With "A Reckoning"
being your fourth full-length album, what do you consider to be the biggest
milestone or achievement in your musical journey so far?
I don't
think there are any particular milestones other than the albums themselves.
Releasing a record without any label backing or indeed any bandmates to help
spread the burden is a massive undertaking, and I am just grateful whenever I
manage to complete one and get it into the hands of fans.
10. For new listeners, how would you
describe the journey they will experience when listening to "A
Reckoning"? What do you hope they take away from it?
I hope that
they are able to listen to the album in full from start to finish, as it was
designed to be heard that way. Beyond that, I don't presume to tell them what
they should feel, but there is a message in the lyrics if they choose to
embrace that, a character who can be empathised with despite his mistakes, and
I hope the ebb and flow of the music reinforces the lyrics and the theme in
such a way to fully immerse the listener in the world that it tries to depict.
Arx Atrata – Atmospheric Black Metal from England
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