Interview Avernus

Avernus has returned after over two decades with their new album Grievances, marking a significant milestone since their last official recording. Drummer Rick Yifrach shares insights into their creative journey and musical evolution.

1. "Nemesis" is your first official recording in 21 years. What inspired AVERNUS to regroup and create new music after such a long hiatus?

This is the question we get asked often and for good reasons. 

We finally put together a full album because everything fell into place at the right time. 

It wasn't for lack of want or desire, we had that. 

It was the time, will, and need to create something that we felt was worthy of putting out that got us going.

Jimmy recorded a demo of the album using bits and pieces of songs we had written over a few years. He weaved them together into what you hear. And All during Covid 19. 

It sounded great and that's what got us really going, until we finished the album in four studios.

2. Your forthcoming album Grievances promises to be your most mature and emotionally dismal work yet. How does the songwriting process for Grievances differ from your earlier releases like Of the Fallen?

Avernus has always been a band that shared in the writing process. This is a major element in our writing.

We are each good at different writing styles. We use this as a strength and together we make it work. 

Of the Fallen should have turned out better. We put a lot of work into it, we just didn't capture the right sound in the studio.

It took us a few years to understand how to construct a song, and how to harmonize in more experimental and experienced ways.

It took some time, but we got better at it. You hear maturity in Grievances, so we are told. It comes with time and experience, and age of course. .

3. "Nemesis" is a nearly 10-minute track that reflects the band's growth. Could you walk us through the inspiration and creative process behind this song?

"Nemesis" is a powerful song to play, especially for me on drums. The inspiration came when Erik was warming up one night at practice.

The main riff, the chorus riff just came out of his brain, to his fingers, and onto his guitar. I loved it, and we built around that riff.

It was the first song we wrote on this album, and it went through many revisions until we got it right. 

It's angry, it's moving, and perhaps triumphant. It is a song about the recklessness of humanity, and earth's final triumph over everything.

At least that's how I see it. It's as if the Earth itself is growling out those lyrics and playing the music.

4. With the resurgence of interest in doom and death metal, how do you feel the metal landscape has changed since AVERNUS' early days in the 1990s?

The idea that death and doom metal has reached the heights that it has is incredible! It was such a niche genre in the early 90's, especially death/doom.

With time new bands emerge, try new things, some work, most don't. 

But never underestimate the power of nostalgia and younger generations discovering the "older stuff".It's pretty damn amazing and invigorating!

5. You’ve described Grievances as a "decades in the making" project. What were some of the challenges in bringing this album to life after such a long break from recording?

I think that each member would answer this question differently, but I'll do my best.

We felt that we didn't finish what we started. We tried to do things over the years but we never quite captured what we had in the early to mid-90's.

The biggest challenge if you ask me was getting the band together in a practice space on a regular basis as we got older.

It's still a challenge, perhaps our biggest challenge. Thanks to modern technology we have been able to experiment with new ways to write and practice.

Having the right members is critical. I call us the core four, and working with these guys is like working with a hybrid mind. We know how to work together and we are close friends.That is important.

6. The band has seen several lineup changes over the years. How has the dynamic between the core founding members (Rick McCoy, Erik Kikke, James Genenz, and Rick Yifrach) evolved while working on Grievances?

This one is easy to answer, I touched on it in the previous question. Let me add; the members in the band have been the biggest difference as far as I'm concerned.

Avernus had many great members over the years, we were a seven piece at one time. It took a while but I think we knew who had to be in Avernus for it to work properly.

We are lucky to be doing this together again, us four.

7. Your track “Godlessness” was featured on Metal Massacre XII in 1995, and now you're partnering with M-Theory Audio for this release. How does it feel to come full circle, working with Marco Barbieri again?

Marco is the man that gave us our first shot at getting a song released by a label, Metal Blade, which was Godlessness . 

We wanted and hoped to sign with them, but it didn't work out in the end.

Marco did everything he could for us and we never forgot the effort. 

We recorded Grievances, and for us Marco Barbieri was who we wanted to work with above anyone.

We sent him a complete copy of the new album, then waited.

A few weeks later he replied with something like "where do you want me to send my offer to?" 

It was one of the best days of my life. Everything came full circle, and here we are working with a true legend of music and someone we deeply admire. 

Marco now has his own label in M-theory Audio. It just doesn't get better than that. 

8. What themes or messages can fans expect from Grievances? Are there specific experiences or emotions that influenced the direction of the album?

We wanted this album to be a continuous piece of music from start to finish. Easier said than done. This is where Jimmy really came through.

The music flows in just the right way that it in itself tells a subliminal story of a near death experience.

The lyrics deal with the process of aging, of feeling death, fearing death, and ultimately overcoming that fear, welcoming it.

It is nihilistic to a point, but that nihilism is conquered through accepting our limited time here and contributing to something that  is bigger than us all. Like putting out this album.

9. Looking back on AVERNUS' early days, how do you reflect on the band’s impact on the death/doom genre, and what role do you see yourselves playing in it now with your return?

The thing about the band's early impact was, we didn't know we were making an impact at the time. 

We were just a group of young guys thinking that we are no better or worse than all the local bands from around here. 

It was only later, over the years that, at least for me, I realized that perhaps we had some sort of repercussion in our genre.

Hopefully this new album will breathe new life into us and we can get to a place that makes a difference, only this time we'll know it.

10. You’ve re-recorded an early demo track for the vinyl edition of Grievances. Why did you choose that particular song, and what significance does it hold for the band?

Yes! A song from our Sadness demo called Ashes of Adoration. It is a song that we put a lot of time into writing in 1994, but the recording just didn't come out right.

We had just enough time to cut an extra drum track in the studio, Jimmy wanted to do the song justice, so I layed down the drum tracks, and we built on it from there.

It came out the way it should have. We pitched the idea of putting it on the LP as a bonus and that was that.

A very talented female singer, Suzanne Lynch did the vocals, it came out great. We revived a 30 year old song.

11. What’s next for AVERNUS? Can we expect more live performances, future releases, or any other plans following the release of Grievances?

Great question! I'm not sure that we have the answers to what happens next, only that at the very least there will be another album for certain.

We will be playing live, a lot of that will depend on how Grievances does.I will leave it at that. 

We have local shows coming up. We will have to wait and see what the future holds for us.

It's a "we'll cross that bridge when we get there" situation. We love playing live, and in time we will better be able to give a more satisfying answer.

For now we are just hoping that people will like and appreciate this new album.

Thank you,

Rick Yifrach

Avernus – Forging Sound, Fueling Souls (avernusdoom.com)