The Total Sound Of The Undergound

Lelahel Metal

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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