Traditional heavy metal, black metal and doom metal. Those are the backgrounds of the members of Vhol. Made up of current members of Agalloch, Yob and Hammers of Misfortune, Vhol combine those genres of metal and much more. With the release of their second long player, Deeper Than Sky, Vhol have furthered their sound. Their pedigree alone should warrant you taking a listen. Trust me, if you do, you will be floored by their sounds. With a little psychedelia, a lot of crushing riffs and amazing vocals, Vhol set out to and accomplished one upping their debut. Drummer Aesop Dekker took the time to do a little Q & A for MetalBite so we can learn a little more about what drives the "supergroup" from the Bay Area.

Brian Grebenz

 

Who got Vhol together? When the band got together was it the intention that you were forming a full time band or was this just supposed to be a side project?

After our band Ludicra disbanded John and I started talking about making an album together. He sent me some demos he'd done at home and I was floored by the material. Our only real plan was to record an album, we didn't think much beyond that. Sigrid was a shoe-in for the bass. Not having to worry about having it be a full-time concern we decided to ask Mike Scheidt to provide the vocals. He's been a long time friend and obviously one of the best voices in metal. However, once we recorded the debut the momentum was there and we almost immediatley started talking about doing a second record.

Is there a majority song writer or is it more of a collective effort? How do you approach songwriting? Do you get together and jam or is it more sending ideas back and forth and putting them together in the studio?

John records demos at home and sends them to me. Sigrid works from sheet music, but we get together and play through the songs and experiment with the arrangements a bit. Then the rehearsals are recorded and sent to Mike so he can start sorting out vocals and lyrics.

On "Deeper Than Sky" there's a directional shift away from the black metal and towards speed/thrash metal. Was this something that was intended or did it just come out that way in the songwriting process?

Only John would really know. I think the only real conscious decision as a whole was to make a better album than the debut. We never discussed a "direction."

Have you always been a drummer or did you start off playing another instrument?

In my first punk band originally I was the singer, we had a really amazing drummer but he left for college (college killed hardcore) and I was asked to fill in. I wasn't terrible and I loved it so I just stuck with it.

Who are some of your influences as drummer?

Oh man, so many. Phil Calvert, Bill Stevenson, Bill Ward, Carl Micheal-Eide, Helder from Raw Power, Boris Williams, Tony Williams, Nicke Anderson...

You stated before that the intention was to get together and make one record. You also said when making "Deeper Than Sky" you wanted to make a record that topped the first one. I think you guys succeeded at that. What are your plans moving forward? Can we expect a tour? Will Vhol continue to be a band?

I think we did, we spent a year making Deeper Than Sky, so it was nice to have time to really sort it out. From the songwriting to the mixing it was just more relaxed and focused. I expect that we'll start working on new material soon. Touring is tough because of our comitments to other bands, family… We'd done a few scattered shows after the last album came out, VHOL live is still very much a work in progress.

The name Vhol is a very interesting name. Who came up with the name? What does it mean?

We decided that the best way to name a band would be to just make up a word, this way you aren't in jeopardy of having another band come along with the same name. Originally we asked Mick Barr of Krallice to name us but his suggestions were too bizarre and unpronounceable, we settled on VHOL. Some have speculated that the weird robot bug on our first album cover is a "VHOL" but honestly, it's just a made up word we thought looked and sounded appropriate.

Aside from being a musician you are also a fan. At the present time "Deeper Than Sky" is in my top 10 of 2015. What are some of your favorite albums released this year?

1. Mgla "Exercises in Futility"

2. John Carpenter "Lost Themes"

3. Leviathan "Scar Sighted"

4. Aerial Ruin "Ash of Your Cares"

5. Crown "Natron"

6. Cardinal Wyrm "Black Hole Gods"

7. Vanum "Realm of Sacrifice"

8. Krallice "Ygg Huur"

9. Cemetery "Wind and Shadows"

10. Mondo Drag "Mondo Drag"

You didn't list Vhol in your top 10. So, you mentioned back in your first band you were the singer. When can we expect to hear you do lead vocals for a Vhol? I am formally requesting you sing a track on the next record.

Not going to happen.

Aside from the bands that you are currently and active member of, are there any other projects on the horizon?

Well there will be a new Worm Ouroboros album recorded in January and I'm currently working on a band with members of Vastum, Repulsion, and Scolex. It will be just strapght up primitive knuckle dragging Death Metal.

Any working monikers for this new project? I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. It was a pleasure getting to learn a little more about you.

My pleasure. No the new thing has no name as of yet.

The Spaniards of Frozen Dawn have released "The Decline Of The Enlightened Gods" (read review here) a superb black metal album, which immediately captivated me. To find out a bit more about the band, I asked their singer/guitarist Grinder a few questions. Who does not know this album yet, should definitely catch up, because it is really done right from the cover to the music!

Michael

Hey, how are you doing? Can you introduce Frozen Dawn a little bit more to our readers?

Hello everybody. Well, about Frozen Dawn we are a black metal band from Spain, founded around 2006. We have released four albums to date, including the last one "The Decline of the Enlightened Gods".

Were you nervous about the album release?

Yes, we were really excited about the new album. We have put a lot of effort on it and we strongly believe that this is our best work to date. It has been a long journey from the conception, the songwriting, the recording, and finally the edition of the album. We are also much pleased that a label the size of Transcending Obscurity has put such trust in the album and the band.

As I wrote in my review, "The Decline Of The Enlightened Gods" is a fantastic album and probably the highlight in your discography. Are you satisfied with the result or would you have liked to change anything in retrospect?

We are more than satisfied with the result, almost for every point of sight. From songwriting, production quality, and engagement the people are experiencing. For sure there is space for improvements, but to date, this is without any doubt the release we are most proud of.

In the past your music sounded quite similar to the typical Scandinavian black metal that was done in the 90s, nowadays you sound like a slightly more melodic version of Necrophobic (and you covered them on the new album). Are these your main influences or is there some more you draw your inspiration from?

This is always a recurrent topic, about the band's influences. And it is always strange to me somehow. People tend to classify the music always to be similar to one or another band, and that's right, but I won't say these are our "main" influences, as I hear a lot of bands, not only related to black metal, that are also reflected in the music. I also think that our music has evolved from the first album to the last one.

You are the vocalist and guitarist in Frozen Dawn. Who is your all-time favorite singer / guitarist?

Well, I would say that I have no fav vocalist or guitarist. I see music as a whole concept, where every member has their place in the songs. I have instead favorite bands like Dark Fortress, Immortal, or lately In Aphelion.

The album title sounds quite mythological. What is the deeper meaning behind it?

All of our albums are about an imaginary world called Winterland. Each of the albums touches on different aspects or stories about this land. And for the last album, I agree with you that we have focused on the Winterland's cosmogony and how these gods fell.

Does the band have a certain philosophy in general?

No, there is neither philosophy nor politics in the band, except for the taste of good music. We think that music should be excluded from any political sign and should be only an art expression.

In the past you were on the Spanish label Xtreem Music, now you were signed by Transcending Obscurity Records. How did it come to this?

Well, when we finished recording the new album we started the search for a record label. Although Xtreem Music is a great label and we have such a good relationship with Dave Rotten, we wanted to try other paths to expand our music. That's when it came to Transcending Obscurity. As soon as we sent the demo to them, they were immediately interested in our music.

Are you satisfied with the label's work for you?

It has been a long journey until we got the album released due to the big schedule in the label, but in the end, we are very pleased with them and with the result. Kunal knows very well how to deal with the band and with the promotion, as well as with the merchandise.

I guess that you are together with Obituary, one of the last bands that use a cover by the great and much too early deceased painter Mariusz Lewandowski. How did you make this possible and did you get to know him personally? I really adore his works.

Mariusz Lewandowski was a friend of Kunal, and Kunal worked with him for some of the other releases. Then Kunal suggested to us, wisely, to select a painting from Mariusz. He said that its painting will fit very well with the music and the whole album concept. That's how we got to know its art, and we were instantly captivated by the power that Mariusz's paintings project.

Do you have any plans for 2023? I read that you're going to play a show in Bavaria soon – anything else?

Well, let's see how the year evolves. These days it is quite hard for a band of our size to perform too many shows without being bankrupt. But for sure we will try to do some gigs here and there when possible.

You are also a live musician in Haemorrhage. Do you know anything about their future plans, too? I guess it is time for some new surgery stories that have to be told!

With Haemorrhage we will be playing some summer festivals this year and hopefully new material will come soon….

Muchas gracias por la entrevista!

Many thanks for getting us interviewed!!! See you all in winter!!!!!!!