Dawnbreaker - Black Metal after Nihilism, Atheism and Self-Destruction (Part 2)

Dawnbreaker is black metal from the United States, with five full-length albums released since 2018. What makes Dawnbreaker most unique is its history, which stretches back to 2004 and even before that. Before Dawnbreaker, there was Angelcide—ghastly black metal steeped in contemptuous blasphemy, the kind that would make Slayer blush. Angelcide released three albums, along with several EPs, splits, and demos from 2004 to 2017, in addition to numerous side projects, often profoundly entangled in blasphemy and satanism. The satanic lifestyle of drugs and perversion—and everything that goes with it, too graphic to describe here—was the hallmark of Angelcide.

That was, until one day, when it all became too much. A personal crisis of epic proportions occurred, and the man behind Angelcide, in a shocking turn of events, began to feel the presence of God. Thus, Dawnbreaker was born, and the black metal that had for decades mocked God was now, however unlikely, black metal in the service of God.

In a previous installment of this interview series, we gained insight into a happy childhood, an adolescence gone astray as a black metal anti-social extremist and dangerous weirdo, and the era of Angelcide up to the moment of his conversion to Christianity.

This, more or less, is where we pick up the interview in this installment.

I have read something about your music that I am not sure that I understand. You spent some 15 years making obscenely blasphemous, anti-social black metal against God. However, after you repented and you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you actually went back and recorded your old satanic black metal songs and changed the lyrics to reflect your Christian faith in a project called Hosts of Lord? That seems like a huge amount of work! Is that three full-length albums and a bunch of demos, all your satanic music from 2004 to 2017! Did you go back and read your old lyrics or was that too painful or embarrassing to see what you had written? Did you play all instruments and record it all yourself?

- Yes, I took a great deal of the songs I had from “Angelcide” and other side projects from that era and rerecorded and restructured them for Dawnbreaker and Hosts of Lord. I actually didn’t need to re-listen to anything, I remembered all the riffs and song structures very well. The lyrics I didn’t remember for the most part, I wasn’t thinking about the lyrics at all when I decided to rerecord them. The songs (music, not lyrics) were meaningful and powerful to me and I didn’t want to be ashamed of them. They were also recorded poorly and I wanted to give them another chance now that I was better and more experienced with music production and also a much more proficient musician. This all came after recording and touring with the band Abazagorath, so I understood the recording process much better. And yes, I did it all myself with no collaborators. Just an engineer to record the vocals, since I was living in apartments during this time and couldn’t scream without disturbing the neighbors! There was at least a 10-year gap with everything I rerecorded since the original recordings, so I ended up combining the passion I had in the early days with many years of experience as a musician and audio engineer. And since nobody in the Christian/Unblack metal scene was familiar with my early work, it was all new and fresh to them anyway!

Is Hosts of Lord finished? Has the mission been completed, as way to rectify or atone? Why call it Hosts of Lord and not Dawnbreaker? It's probably not a good business decision, given that for fans it is easier to keep track if everything that you record is simply called Dawnbreaker. I like the raw black metal of Hosts of Lord. I like everything about a song like “I Beheld a Clash of Otherworldly Entities.” The harsh vocals, the guitar riffs, the tone, the drums sound, all of it. Do you use vocal effects on Hosts of Lord? Are the drums on a song like the one I mentioned, are those programmed?

- Hosts of Lord was started because I just had too much music! From about 2016 – 2021, I had a huge surge in motivation and creativity. Maybe it helped that I was getting a prescription for Adderall, which is basically just speed (it literally said “amphetamine salts” on the bottle) and drinking a lot of espresso coffee. But maybe living in New York City during these years also had a cultural impact, the hustle and bustle and the grind, you know? It made me want to work hard. Whatever it was, I couldn’t keep up with all of the inspiration that was flowing at that time. So, by the time of the early Hosts of Lord releases (2020) I had already released 3 Dawnbreaker albums that were improving in technicality and production quality. I didn’t want to oversaturate with too many releases, especially without a logical transition between them. So, I thought I would create a new project that would be raw, low fidelity recordings. To capture those early days of my black metal works, and also the early days of black metal in general. I wanted to take my earliest demos and turn them into completed, full length works. And also record some other stuff that was written from that time frame but never recorded. I didn’t use vocal effects (I used the worst quality computer microphone possible), tuned to standard (the Dawnbreaker albums are downtuned), and yes the drums are programmed but made to sound live. I also initially wanted to release the albums on secular record labels, whereas all of Dawnbreaker’s music was released on a Christian label. But the other labels got complaints from people about releasing a Christian band, so I ended up returning it to Christian Metal Underground Records (a sub label of Vision of God). But Hosts of Lord wasn’t very successful, and maybe I should have recorded this material as Dawnbreaker at some point. Sometimes I even think about rerecording some of it again for a Dawnbreaker release haha! I don’t plan on releasing any more Hosts of Lord albums, but I have admittedly been inconsistent when it comes to this stuff.

You are now a grown man. Do you have a wife and kids? Or, does doing music really leave no time for raising a family? If you don’t have a wife and children, is something that you think about? How does the prospect of raising children sound to you?

- I had a wife for many years, but unfortunately we ended up parting ways. This happens to many of us, Christian or not, although it’s extremely embarrassing as a Christian and a stain on my legacy and testimony. You can “not believe in divorce” but sometimes divorce believes in you! I never particularly liked being around children, and thus never had much of a desire for it, but I’m absolutely open to them if the situation arises! Not because I want to, but because it’s the right thing to do. I think it’s objectively better to have children and I probably would have been a more fulfilled, better version of myself if I had them. But I also believe you don’t necessarily have the right or guarantee to them. I definitely will re-marry if/when the opportunity arises, as the Catholic church never recognized my first marriage (it’s a long story).

Looking back on things, to when you were a teenager and a young man, how do you think that your parents felt seeing their baby become this really disturbed, mentally sick individual?

- Yes, all the time. It was hell for them! But they always loved and believed in me anyway. They tried there best to help in whatever way that they could. They didn’t see the worst of most of it, outside of me going to jail a few times! But we all got along most of the time after my teenage years, even though I still had some troubles to work out. There was only one or two years where things were really terrible. But they were happy we had a continued relationship and I tried to be respectful as I got older. I still see them often!

I sent you a link to an article about a former satanist to whom Jesus appeared. The former satanist had a crisis and a breakdown because he was heavily involved, not just in atheistic-satanism, but rather in worship of the devil. Given your years in the anti-Christian lifestyle, did you come into contact with devil worshippers? Looking back on it now, what are your observations about such people? Are they angry? Are they frustrated with their lives and with the emptiness of their life? It's usually single people who are not real adults because they live their lives for themselves, and are not responsible for other people, family, children or other people in general. Being 18 years old does not make one a man or woman, but when you become directly responsible for the well-being of other human beings, it teaches you the value of serving other people and about the meaning of life, a life shared with other people. What are some of your conclusions and observations as to why disturbed individuals, angry people, people frustrated with their empty lives, people who are unhappy, anti-social, who hate the human race, drug-consuming people, hedonist/pleasure-obsessed people, these types of people attracted to atheism, satanism, nihilism and self-destructive ideologies and behaviors?

- I did read the article yes, fascinating stuff! Yes, I met some real witches, theistic satansists, and genuine psychopaths! I could tell you countless horror stories. Yes, a lot of frustration, hatred, darkness, and psychotic episodes. Our society naturally leads people to hedonism and pleasure obsession. From baby boomers on, these became the new gods and nothing mattered as long as “you were getting yours.” People pursue this hedonism in different ways, and it isn’t necessarily limited to devil worshipers in the literal sense. You have so many pleasures at your fingertips now, the phone that sits in your pocket all day can bring you whatever your mind and heart can conjure up. Just a few swipes from your finger and there’s whatever food you want at your door, or whatever kind of woman you want ready to take her clothes off. Or a community of sickos to tell you that whatever debased habit or thought is in your head, is totally normal and should be encouraged and pursued. There’s a funny meme about this… if somebody in 1970 has sexual fantasies about toasters, they just get over it and live a normal life. But in 2025 there’s a whole Reddit page of people sexualized by toasters ready to encourage you to ruin your life! It takes severe and extreme discipline to keep yourself grounded in this age. Because much of popular culture is ready to reinforce your worst temptations.

Have you encountered people who formerly lived their lives in these ways, but that eventually became tired of the emptiness of their atheistic and satanist way of life? Sometimes such individuals feel the need for a connection with God. They feel God pushing them towards Him. Yet, they resist. They resist, in part, because they know all of the disgusting things that they have done in their past. They feel shame. Shame for alcoholism and what it has done in their lives. Shame for the drug addiction. Shame because of the extreme sexual immorality, thievery, violence, deceit that they have done. Shame because they know they have used people, exploited people, maybe killed people (like drunk driving), raped, spent time in prison, and who knows what else that they have done. It is normal for people to feel shame. How about you? Did you feel shame? What would you like to say to someone reading this, someone who feels a deep sense of shame. That person feels God calling them to a better life, but they don't do it. They feel unworthy. They think, “God won't want me. I'm too filthy.” What would you like to say to that person that is reading this right now, feeling ashamed?

- Yes, I felt great shame. Because in my past, I engaged in almost all of those things, maybe all of them besides rape and murder! But God still decided to not only forgive me, but pursue me relentlessly! Of course, there were consequences to all of them. Consequences I’m still facing over 20 years later. But in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness, there is a way, a truth, a light. A narrow gate. And all through the Gospels, Jesus sees the poor, lowly and broken sinners. He sees the heart and not the exterior. So yes, if you are reading this, look at all the terrible things I’ve done, and see how God forgave me and chose me to represent the Christian faith within the metal scene! There are many who seem so far beyond hope or redemption, that God will do incredible works with. So someone reading this, maybe could be one of them!

When you became Christian, how did you go about telling people? Did you deal with ridicule?

- I was off social media at the time. For years, I was private about it and told no one. Maybe for two years. I didn’t consider myself a full-blown Christian yet. But I was praying to Jesus Christ daily, fasting, meditating. But in 2016 I went to a Joel Osteen event, and they read the verse in the Gospels where Jesus says “He who denies me before people, he I will deny before my father.” So I answered the altar call that night, and became a Christian publicly. But I was pretty isolated at the time. Eventually I joined a church and a church worship team, playing guitar in fairly large services of 300-400 people. It all happened fast, and was surreal. But I needed to make a public declaration still. And I did it with the first Dawnbreaker album, DEUS VULT. That was my true declaration of the Christian faith, and it was intended to be so. I even self-released the album, created a record label to release it, because I wanted to make sure the message was exactly as I wanted it. All of the layout, everything, that the lyrics were there. The album was literally me screaming about my conversion and that I was a Christian now. It was probably the most important thing I ever did. I wanted that testimony out there, so if I died that year, it would be on record, for everyone to see. Most of my friends in the metal scene accepted it, as they had found their way into the “conservative” ecosphere where Christian voices were prominent. Some said “I’m glad your happy, but don’t try to force your beliefs on me.” But others – not my good friends, but others – have said “I don’t like that you’re a Christian.”

If a person reading this, is thinking about what you have been telling them about Jesus, but they don’t know where to start. In religion there are charlatan preachers asking people for money. There are many scams and scandals. So many denominations, too, fighting each other, attacking each other. It is not always easy to know where to start. What part of the Bible is a good start for them to read? How can you help them to start to learn about the real Jesus?

- Just jump in and start reading. I would start with Romans and read to the right – this will give you a sense of what the faith actually entices. Then read one of the gospels, John or Matthew maybe.

To be continued.

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Deus Vult by Dawnbreaker

https://www.facebook.com/dawnbreakerworship/

Readers that are curious about the Dawnbreaker interview installment that came before this one, please see this link.

Dawnbreaker – From Blasphemous Music to Making Christian Black Metal (Part 1)

https://metalbulletin.blogspot.com/2025/09/dawnbreaker.html

Maldisdeun - American death doom from the forests of Bellingham, Washington

Here in the state of Washington, U.S. we have some brutal death doom that has been coming out of the city of Bellingham in the form of Maldisdeun. Their album Anti-Access World Denial (2023) was a rather ominous tale of technology in the hands of elites seeking methods of control and power. Their music is very heavy, like electric caveman metal, but with lyrics about corruption and power. In this interview, the band talks about how they make their music, the problems they ran into while recording the album, and how the changes in their sound and personnel with their new EP Into the Flame of Fear in 2025. Let’s go into the depths of this death doom.

Back in 2023, Maldisdeun stormed out of the gates with a heavy dose of brutal death doom metal in the form of Anti-Access World Denial, a story about genetic manipulation for purposes of control resulting in a war. What was the inspiration behind the concept of Anti-Access World Denial?

Drake: The initial idea was spawned from an interest I’ve had with the idea of the next form of human evolution. I figure if women could control their own means of reproduction - with men entirely out of the picture – that'd likely be a major step in humanity’s evolution. Men would really have little use in society, and I thought there was a lot of ripe subtext to dig into with this idea.

With that initial idea in mind, I fleshed it out a little more and let the story go where it wanted to. The main overarching theme is to not hold much faith in humanity, no matter what tribe you belong to. I think people are easily corrupted by the smallest sliver of power and will abuse it whenever they obtain it.

The album has a strong thematic focus on war, manipulation, and downfall. How do you balance these heavy themes with the musical style of death doom metal?

Drake: The lyrics for sure fit the style, otherwise I wouldn’t have wrote them. I’m more interested in real-life horror and tragedy than I am about typical meaningless death metal schlock lyrics. We use the main lyrical concept as a way to provide social commentary about societal degradation, politics, economics, etc., without beating people over the head with our own personal beliefs. The lyrics are an invitation to have your perspective refocused.

What challenges did you face while recording and producing the album, considering its thematic depth? For example, you needed a certain number of songs to function as chapters, right? How many times did you doubt that you could put it all together—the story, the songs, and the overall theme?

Drake: When we were writing the album, the lyrics had to be re-wrote a few times due to changes in the tracklist order. I wanted the lyrics to retain a chronological order from start to finish, so when we had enough songs for a full-length LP, if one song sounded better juxtaposed against one that was later in the album, I’d have to rewrite the lyrics of the former to make it fit the timeline of its new order in the tracklist. Integrating the lyrics and music could be a bit of a pain at times, but any good art is worth suffering for. All in all, writing lyrics is always gonna suck to some degree, you just have to keep working at it until you get a result you’re happy with.

The recording process we underwent for this album could be a whole book unto itself – it was an incredibly trying experience and I’m amazed it didn’t destroy the band. A few months beforehand our drummer had informed us he would be leaving the band. He was still down to record the album, but we had to find a producer in time to do it quick before he changed his mind. This rush didn’t help things, and to make a very long story short, we made a lot of rookie mistakes that I should have known better about. It was during COVID times too, so that only exacerbated the problems we encountered. Many hard lessons were earned.

Tell us about the uptempo punk-metal sound at the beginning of the last song, “A2WD.” It’s fun and different, almost like something we wouldn’t expect from you.

Dan response: That riff came to me because I came up with the slower riff before it and loved the feeling of the chords and the build-up. I wanted to build tension and intensity using the same chord progression with some variation. Once I heard the riff all together in the song with lyrics, drums, and bass, it became a favorite of mine. I think the beauty of death metal is you can sneak in other punk and metal genres in a song and as long as you think it has a flow to it and think it’s heavy that’s all that matters.

Metal Archives shows this line-up for the album: Walker Eberdt on drums, Dan Fitzgerald on guitars, and Drake on vocals and bass. But your new 2025 EP features this line-up: Dan Fitzgerald on guitar, Drake on vocals and drums – as before, but now with Andrew Shore on bass, and Trevor Fisher on guitar. Therefore, the core of the band has been Drake and Dan taking care of guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. Do you remember what motivated you to form this band with this sound?

Drake: Dan may remember this more clearly, but originally, Dan and Walker started the band, I wanna say in 2018 or else early 2019. They were looking for a bassist, so Walker hit me up. I ended up singing for the band too. This was the original lineup for Maldisdeun.

Ever since Walker left, we’ve had trouble nailing down a solid lineup, until 2023. I decided to shift to drums when Walker left since I figured we’d have a harder time finding a drummer than a bassist. I’ve known Andrew for a long time, and he said he’d be interested in playing with us, so he was added to the fold. We stayed a 3 piece for a bit, but Dan and I always thought adding another guitarist would really add some depth to our sound, we were just hesitant because we dealt with a lot of flaky people in our previous member searches. Thankfully, Trevor – who played bass for the band briefly in 2022 before moving to the East Coast – moved back to Bellingham early this year and said he’d be interested in joining the band. Trevor is a great lead guitarist and a very easy personality to deal with who we already had prior experience with, so it was a very natural fit.

Dan would have a better idea as to the original motivation of forming a band with this sound. My goal in helping shape the sound when I joined was just to make sure we were always doing something that was true and unique to ourselves and keeping it heavy while not trying to specifically emulate any other band.

Dan: When Walker and I first started making music, we had only one goal, and that was making music that conveyed the agony and pain that one endures in life. Our first couple of songs we made a bit more blackened death doom with lots of misanthropic riffs. I had just left a band where my creativity was being stifled, and we had the common goal of being free to write whatever we wanted as long as it was heavy and we both liked it. I don’t think we really found our sound until Drake joined on bass and vocals. Things started to click, and we were able to have our own style without stressing genre and labels too much.

The new EP in 2025 is called Into the Flame of Fear. I’ve been enjoying the two new songs. When you were recording the new music, were there some things you wanted to improve upon? For example, the drums cut through more clearly. What does your drummer Drake think about his real drumming being replaced by sampled sounds?

Drake: Glad you enjoy the songs! We were 100 percent bound and determined to make a better recording this time around than the LP. I figured with a new lineup, we needed to make a statement and give it our all in the studio to turn out something we were really happy with, because our last experience definitely left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

The older I’ve got, the less I care about sound sampling or whatever, I just want a recording to sound good. Before you even enter the studio, you should be dealing with someone you’ve researched and trust – this point cannot be stressed enough. If you find that person, you should then give them the free rein they need to do their job because they know what they’re doing better than you. You don’t go to a mechanic to fix your car and then start taking wrenches out of their hand. Likewise, don’t go to a producer to make your album sound good and then start telling them to not use x or y effect, because they likely have a better idea as to the big picture sound for the record. I’ve been stringent and controlling in the past with producers when I’ve recorded, and every time I was, I ended up with a recording I didn’t like because I wasn’t willing to butt out and just let them do their job. How instruments interact with each other in a studio isn’t the same as in a live setting, and you need to make sacrifices in order for everyone’s performances to shine through in the studio.

I’m not 100 percent certain, but I’m fairly sure the kick drum is sampled, that’s about the only sound replacement that I believe exists on the drums. Like I said, I don’t really care, because sampling/triggering is not the same as programming drums. I’m still performing the drum parts, the sound just has to be altered because there is limited space to define low-end frequencies with our band because we play super downtuned. If the producer felt that was the best way to add distinction to the bass drum sound, I’m not going to argue; he’s not pulling that out of a hat just because he can, he is doing it because he cares about the totality of the record and knows what it will take to make it sound the best it can". And when I listen to it now, I can tell he was absolutely right in making the decisions he did. He's not making those decisions randomly.

What themes are you exploring in Into the Flame of Fear, particularly with the tracks “Pervasive Strife” and “Mass Suggestion”?

Drake: Andrew wrote “Pervasive Strife”, I wrote “Mass Suggestion”.

“Mass Suggestion” is a song about statues appearing in a village where nobody knows how they arrived there. The general populace’s interpretations of said statues lead to lethal consequences for the unfavored of their community. Thematically, the song is about paranoia and fear driving the actions of most “civilized” people – hence, “Into the Flame of Fear”. You could really boil down most of my lyrics to “people suck and are not to be trusted”.

Andrew: In regards to “Pervasive Strife,” Musically I wanted something kinda simple to play but sounded really big, something that could be off [Morbid Angel’s] Gateways to Annihilation or like some Immolation tune. Lyrically I was thinking along the lines of an early concept for the next album that Drake had told me about, I wanted a bit of a side conversation in that early story about human struggle and the fact that to be human means to struggle. I chose to write about Ahriman (or Angra Mainyu) because he is the demon of struggle in the Zoroastrian religion, like he is the thing that encompasses the entire concept I wanted to go for, so Ahriman it was.

Was there a particular event or inspiration that sparked the creation of Into the Flame of Fear? Was there a certain catalyst for the music and lyrics of the EP?

Drake: The main driving force for getting this new EP out was the addition of our new members. We really wanted to release something this year to showcase the strengths of our new lineup and to show we’re more focused and driven than ever. I think our songwriting has improved overall and we have a clearer vision of the music we want to make, because there was some grey area when the band first started.

“Mass Suggestion” was wrote quite a while ago, while Andrew brought “Pervasive Strife” to the table pretty fleshed out. We thought these 2 songs would be good to release on their own since I have a specific concept in mind for our second full-length, and I felt like these 2 songs seemed more like singles than something that was part of a larger whole. I also thought it’d be a cool way to stretch our wings lyrically by still having a story in mind for each song, but being lyrically contained to one piece of music.

I was surprised to hear a guitar solo! I did not get the memo that this was going to happen!

Drake: We’re not at all opposed to guitar solos, there is one in “Exterminatory Brackets” on the LP, and we do have a few more defined lead licks on the LP as well. Adding a second guitarist though has definitely given us more room for guitar solos and to play around with added harmonies and textures, hence why we added Trevor to the lineup. Our main objective is always to keep things heavy, but we’re not allergic to melody, it just has to be utilized carefully so it makes sense with the theme of the song.

So, on the new EP, is Drake doing ALL the vocals? Some of the vocals are a deep growl, and there are bits of crust-like punk-style vocals. Is it the work of only one person?

Drake: No, Drake only does vocals on “Mass Suggestion”, Andrew handles the vocals on “Pervasive Strife”. In the future, we want to utilize both singers more to make for a more distinct and adventurous vocal sound – and to give our drummer some more time to breathe while he's playing.

Did you experiment with any new sounds or production techniques on this recording compared to your past work?

Drake: Yes, this time around, we opted to record with the guy who mixed our last LP, Kelly Sorbel. Recording from the ground up with the same person who is also mixing your recording is a huge benefit and lent a focus and consistency to the recording we didn’t have with the LP. Kelly has a lot of experience with bands of our ilk and works in a studio I’ve spent a lot of time in, so I was much more comfortable with the recording situation overall than with our last recording. Since he mixed our last record, he already had a rapport with us and our sound and I think he did a great job. I couldn’t tell you every little thing he did - I’m not super recording-tech savvy - the only cool nugget I do remember is during the bass tracking of the bridge of “Mass Suggestion”. For some unbeknownst reason, Andrew’s headphones cut out during the build, which he is by and large leading - with only minor drum accents and a click track to keep tempo. He continued to play for a good stretch with absolutely no audio being fed to his headphones, but ended up being incredibly close to on-time with the tempo, so we just decided to leave his recording as is. If you listen closely to the accents of the drums at the start of the bridge, the bass and drums sound just a hair off from each other, but I thought the energy of his take just felt right and that it was just cooler to leave it as it is, things don’t always need to sound absolutely perfect to make an impression.

What do you hope fans take away from Into the Flame of Fear, and how does it reflect the band’s current artistic direction?

Drake: I hope people hear that we’ve taken a step up in quality. I’m kinda bummed how some stuff turned out with the first LP – I almost consider it more of a demo at this point - but I can’t change it, all I can do is try to make something better, and I think we achieved that. At very least, I think we took a major step up in the production department. I think we’ve found more of our sound, and I hope people do take something away from the lyrics as well, because we put real thought and time into them and they do have a message. I’m greatly influenced by Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone, and I try to approach my lyrics with that same storytelling approach in mind. Serling is great at utilizing an entertaining macro concept to make really smart, measured, and poignant social commentary. If The Twilight Zone is morality disguised as sci-fi, I hope “Into the Flame of Fear” is social commentary disguised as death/doom.

By the way, speaking of lyrics and music, I see on Metal Archives that you guys are young, so you probably haven’t thought about this, but you know, one day you will be 45, or 55, or 65 years old and a father and grandfather. Do you think about whether you would be embarrassed by your own music or would you show it to your own kids? Since you work so hard on the music and dedicate yourselves to your art, don’t you think you owe it to yourselves to make something you can be proud of?

Drake: It’s interesting you say this, because this is something I’ve subconsciously thought about quite a lot, actually. I’ve always approached any project I’m in with the idea “would my parents be proud of this”? While the type of music I play is about the furthest thing away from my parents’ cup of tea, I do think approaching my art with a real intent, message, and goal is something that they would be proud of and any listener can respect, because it’s got real backbone behind it, not just aimless brutality for brutality’s sake. I never wrote lyrics about murder or satanism or whatever other tired cliche because I don’t care about any of that and can’t relate to it whatsoever. I have to be able to stand behind and defend anything I create artistically, so what would really be the point of making art with no intent or message whatsoever? In a world with such an over-abundance of music, I don’t think saying meaningless garbage just to fill space in a song is a really respectable approach to art. That’s why I make a concerted effort to write lyrics that mean something to me and hopefully get a listener to think a little bit, because ultimately when you’re singing on a song, you’re just talking to someone who can’t talk back. Therefore, it would behoove you to have a point to what you’re saying and be selective in the words you’re using. I think it was Vetis from Weapon who said something to the effect of “if you’re not adding anything new with the music you’re making, stop making it”. That’s an artistic ideology I can absolutely agree with.

Into the Flame of Fear by Maldisdeun

Anti-Access World Denial by Maldisdeun

https://www.facebook.com/maldisdeun/

Tomas Lindberg (1972-2025)

The YouTube channel BangerTV does a tribute to Tomas Lindberg.

Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg (16 October 1972 – 16 September 2025) was a Swedish vocalist who fronted many death metal bands, most notably At the Gates.

Amongst the other bands he worked with are: Grotesque, Infestation, Lock Up, Nightrage, Sign of Cain, The Crown, The Lurking Fear, Liers in Wait, Necronaut (live), Sacrilege (live), Ben-Hur, Conquest, Disfear, Hide, Skitsystem, Snotrocket, The Great Deceiver, World Without End.

"Sam shares some thoughts on the passing of At The Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg and shares a previously unseen extended interview from Metal Evolution in 2010."

A Tribute to Tomas Lindberg | Raw & Uncut Interview from Metal Evolution

Interview: Inpathos - melodic death metal from Washington State, U.S.

Surrounded by mountains, forests and cloudy skies, the college town of Bellingham, Washington State, one of the northernmost towns in the contiguous United States, located about one and a half to two hours north of Seattle, depending on traffic, is home to a gem called Inpathos. The band (2020-present) has steadily built their discography with a debut album in 2020 titled Divinity, the sophomore in 2021 named March Towards a Blackened Sun, an EP in 2023 called Ascension, and now their third album, Apparitions in 2025, which features 12 tracks spanning approximately 57 minutes. Brimming with ideas, their latest release represents very well their dedication to their craft. From their debut, Inpathos demonstrated a clear and well-formed musical identity: intense, fast, shredding guitar work combined with melodic yet heavy and brutal sensibilities. By releasing albums in rapid succession, they have honed their sound through growing experience in songwriting and recording. Fans of melodic extreme metal would do well to look into this hidden treasure of a band in a town near the border between the United States and Canada.

A third album! That's not an easy feat. It looks like no big financial institution is bankrolling you. Three albums and EP since 2020. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! Yeah, we try to do as much as we possibly can ourselves so we can maintain total creative control over our music. Plus, it pushes us to learn and grow as artists and generally as creative people.

It seems like there is a metal music scene in Bellingham. How many of your members are Bellingham natives?

It’s pretty great here! A bit expensive, but we have a dedicated scene with a lot of surprises. Black Breath were originally from here, which is pretty awesome, we have some pretty notable acts that roll through here (Red Fang, Helms Alee, Anciients, High on Fire, etc) and some seriously awesome venues like the Shakedown, the Makeshift, Karate Church, the Wild Buffalo, and many more. Three of us grew up in Bellingham or the surrounding towns, and our previous guitarist grew up here as well (check out his new band Hunter’s Dream btw!)

Metal Archives says that your band began in 2020, but also that you did your debut album in 2020. That doesn't add up, does it? You must have had this bun cooking in the oven way before 2020.

Yup, the band officially formed in 2020. Adonis (Ado) had already written and arranged most of the songs before that though, some coming from ideas written as far back as 2009!

Metal Archives lists two brothers, Adonis (guitars) and Nabil Reed-Boulos (drums), as the constant members since 2020. Therefore, these brothers must have had music written since their middle school or high school days, correct?! What metal bands did you like when you were younger?

That is correct, Ado and Nabil have been writing and playing music together since they were both in middle school, and some ideas from then ended up becoming songs on future albums (see The Void Above and Starless Void... two “Voids”, quite the coincidence huh?). Our biggest metal musical influences were Opeth, Avenged Sevenfold, and Metallica in those years, which is funny because they only shine through clearly once in a while. We’ve always taken our influences and put our own unique twist on them, even from the beginning. That said, we had a ton of influence from the music we grew up with, and since we’re Lebanese that meant a LOT of Lebanese and French music. Dabke, oud music, Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf, and so on.

The rhythms and melodies blended into the metal influences and our own self-expression to create something vastly different from the original inspirations.

As if an album in 2020 was not enough for an independent band, then you recorded and released a second album in 2021. What do you remember about this period of 2020-2021 for the band? It seems like you must have been very busy.

Oh yes, we were definitely excited to get the music out. Plus, with all the lockdowns during those years, we definitely had some free time. Our guitarists would both write constantly, so there were a ton of songs already in the making by the time Divinity was released. It is always stressful too, but in the end it’s worth it, especially when we finally get to play the new songs live and connect with the scene and fans!

At that time, you had the same line-up for the two albums, but nowadays only the two brothers remain from those days, and are now joined by bassist Brendan Brendible and Patrick Bradford on vocals. There was an EP in 2023, but it does seem like it took you some time to build the band back up with new members and to record your third album Apparitions in 2025. Did the stress of being in a band become too much for previous members? Do any of you have children yet? Are any of you students at Western Washington University, given that you live in Bellingham?

So funnily enough, Brendan has actually always been our only bassist. We had lined someone up originally that was going to play bass with us when we started playing live, but he ended up not being able to before we even started. And since Ado recorded the bass on Divinity, it’s really just been Brendan from the start! So, I’d say the three of us are all still original members, with Ado and Nabil being the founding members. We parted ways with our first vocalist Jordan around early 2022 as I recall. He had some other really exciting plans he was pursuing at the same time, so when the opportunity to build them further presented itself, it was a no-brainer! We definitely missed him, but it was really exciting to see him get to pursue his dreams!

It took a really long time for us to find a new vocalist, and I think Ascension was instrumentally complete sometime in fall-2022 if I recall correctly. We finally found Patrick in early 2023, and he breathed new life into the band. We finished Ascension, filmed a music video, and released that summer. After a string of shows to finish out the year, we dove into the next album in early 2024. Little did we know 2024 was going to be a brutal year for us all personally. A couple of us were affected by job changes, we had some illnesses throughout the year, Ado had a long string of injuries and couldn’t play guitar for the better part of six months, a lot of our gear was starting to fail and needing replaced, etc... Finally, our guitarist Anthony decided that after finishing the album, he would be parting ways to dedicate more time to some other projects he was passionate about. So, we finally finished recording the album in Fall of 2024, but were now down a member. We still had to mix/master the album, shoot a few music videos, and begin the hunt for a new guitarist, all while preparing to play shows come spring.

That brings us to the present. We’ve found our newest member (official announcement coming soon, though he has been playing shows with us for some time now), the album and several videos are out, and we’re getting back to playing shows! 2024 and the first half of 2025 were tough, but it can only go up from here!

As for the last part of the question, no kids for any of us at present. Nabil and Brendan both studied at Western, and Ado almost did but headed down to Seattle for a few years to attend UW instead.

What are the Inpathos lyrical concepts? Your very first single, according to Metal Archives, in 2020 was “The Void Above” and the lyrics can be read as a contemplation on the skies. For readers who do not know, in the Bellingham area there are a lot of mountains, hills, forests, and trees. Therefore, at night, it is easy to see the stars and to see the sky. Looking at the night sky makes human beings react with awe. “The Void Above” could be read as atheistic and nihilistic, which carries over to the first album in general, while the second album seems more brutal and gruesome in the lyrics. Where does the year 2025 find you?

Lyrics are a funny one for us, because we’ve actually had a different person write them for every release. The lyrics for the Divinity album were almost all written by Ado, with some editing by Jordan to improve the actual execution of them. As can be seen in the lyrics, Ado can be a pretty depressing dude (don’t worry, he’s the one saying as much!) and that definitely comes out in his writing. Moving on from there, Jordan took over primary lyric writing for the second album, which is a super brutal concept album with a dark, medieval feel. With the Ascension EP, Ado was back to writing again, but this time it was more of an abstract concept. That EP is really an ode to this incredible area we call home up in Whatcom County, with undertones of depression inevitably sneaking into the lyrics. Patrick made some edits when recording to improve the structure and flow of lyrics, but this latest album is where he really took the reins. He wrote a full concept story for the new album with the help of his partner Sabrina, and from there they crafted a really cool, post-apocalyptic, occult/sci-fi lyrical journey that carries through the full album. That’s a type of story setting/concept that he really enjoys working with, so from here on out we’ll probably have a few albums in that vein and plenty more concept albums to come.

Was there an overall lyrical theme to the 2021 album March Towards a Blackened Sun? “In Reflection” was an interesting composition that causes more questions than it answers. That album, one could say, seems like the story of a traitor or heretic who has to face his final fate.

Honestly, you nailed it. It’s absolutely the story of a soldier that has been branded a heretic and traitor by the tyrannical conqueror he has been serving. He decided he can’t stand by idly and watch the atrocities any longer, so he deserts and tries to escape and help others, only to be caught and executed in the end. Definitely a really dark story for that one.

How do you approach lyric writing for your band in general?

It’s tough since each release has been written by a different person, but one thing I think those of us that have written lyrics have all had in common is we don’t want the lyrics to be meaningless. Even with the concept albums, there are strong emotional undercurrents and/or personal experiences that give the stories actual meaning and purpose. They aren’t just stories for the sake of having lyrical content - they always have intent and meaning.

Do you ever think: “One day I will be old, and I will have children. Will I be ashamed or proud of my music and my lyrics?” How would they react? If a musician is too embarrassed by their own music and lyrics, what does that say about one’s life’s work and the time and effort spent making metal music?

My thoughts on this one are actually pretty straightforward. I think lyrics and music that are written with intent, meaning, and as true personal expression are an insight into who the writer is at that point in their life. Might they be a bit embarrassing at some point down the road sometimes? Sure. Does that matter? Eh, not really. It’s a snapshot of a point of time from which you have moved on. As far as relatives’ reactions to the music, I suppose it really just depends on the person and the individual relationship?

So, in 2023 there was the EP Ascension. It seems like this EP was a time of transition. By this time the band had reached a new level of skill: the music sounds melodic and heavy in a more skilled way, sharper, and tighter.

It was definitely a time of transition for us, and we wanted to try out a lot of new stuff in a smaller format release so we could focus on doing them really well - a music video, pro mixing/mastering, etc. We’re glad you think it was a step up to the next level! That was definitely the goal.

Your 2025 album Apparitions finds the band once again changing course a little bit, a bit bolder and more confident to expand on the melodic death metal sound. For example, tell me about the extra percussion on the song “Last Embrace.” There are more things happening in the music, I sense.

Apparitions was an extremely ambitious project for us in many ways, including learning how to blend all the different elements we wanted into the music. That’s how things like the percussion on “Last Embrace” (Nabil recorded it), the interlude of “Grand Design”, the intro of “Unraveling Creation” and other quirks came about. Ultimately, we don’t want to play typical melodeath because that’s not who we are. We have so many other influences, and we will always strive to express ourselves as much as we can. That said, we’re definitely not a prog band either. What we try to do is focus our diverse influences through the “lens” of melodeath to get something that feels coherent, intentional, and focused, but also unique to us.

The song “Apparitions’ showcases a very tight, sharp guitar sound while keeping melodies at the forefront. I feel like the changes from 2023 are now the permanent state of affairs: At a certain point, your musicianship and your recording skills have become more refined. Your album stands up very well to the more established bands in the melodic death metal genre. I'm proud of you guys and how much you have grown in your abilities.

Thank you so much! We really appreciate that. We’re always trying to do something better or more interesting with every album, so it’s great to hear others affirm that we’re on the right path.

Sometimes metal bands run out of money after self-financing albums. You are not making money, correct? Every album is a net loss in terms of money. That's why fans supporting your music means a lot.

The support of our fans is everything. Financially, it helps us try new things with our shows, get better gear for recording, hopefully tour soon, and so on. More than that though, sharing the music with people and connecting with them is what makes it worth it. There’s nothing more exhilarating than playing music for people that love it and seeing them enjoy it, then nerding out with fellow musicians and metalheads after a show about other great bands, shows, merch, and gear. It’s one of those things that makes being a metalhead so special.

Of course, we also all work full time and split the remaining costs where we can, but I think like with most musicians the dream is that one day this could become a part-time or even full-time thing (I don’t think anybody is happy in a soul-sucking 9-5, and especially not artists and musicians!). Either way, we are just extremely thankful that we get to do this at all and that we have so many people who enjoy what we do and support us in so many ways!

What are your plans for 2025 and 2026? Are the two brothers constantly writing new music? more shows in Bellingham? what about Seattle and Tacoma? What about other towns like Arlington, Marysville, and Everett?!

Oh, we have all sorts of plans! So yes, first of all, we are planning to get more shows lined up all around NW Washington and even beyond (Oregon, Eastern WA, etc), and even a tour in 2026 if finances allow. The brothers are always writing, as well as the other members - we try to use a very collaborative approach to writing. We are planning a few EPs, a new album, etc. We’re just going to see how many of those many goals we can achieve and go from there.

What have I forgotten to ask about? What is the best pizza in Bellingham? Do you ever go swimming in the waters in the bay in Bellingham?! I bet it's cold! Ice cream at Mallard!

I (Ado) have been swimming in the bay a couple times, but I definitely prefer being in the woods up in the mountains. And yes, it is definitely cold in that water! Mallard is a great Bellingham staple, and while I’m a terrible judge of good pizza, The Racket (the other side of the incredible venue The Shakedown) has some of the best food in town in my opinion, plus pinball upstairs! It’s a great place to grab a bite and a drink before heading next door to The Shakedown to catch a metal show.

Apparitions by Inpathos

https://www.facebook.com/InpathosBand

Vendetta - Conversation

Tell me who's the Lord of justice, tell me who is right.

Who's to say that I am wrong, who is on whose side?

You condemn me, prejudice and your ego blurs your eyes.

You don't want to hear me speak, you think you are wise.

We were quiet far too long

We were weak and you were strong

We don't believe in...don't belong to you.

I don't want the state in this form: am I just insane?

This is no democracy, you're the ones I blame.

You can call me "Anarchist", call me what you want.

I can call you "damned fascist", but this is not the point

What I want is only justice, what I want is only peace.

What we need is conversation, but do you really care 'bout what we need.

What I want is only justice, what I want is only peace.

What we need is conversation, but you don't give a damn what we need.

Sometimes I do ask myself: "Shit, what can I do?

Shall I really fight with weapons?" But that's not what I want to do.

I implore you, can't you see that it's a dead-end road.

Some just stopped talking, so the bomb will soon explode.

What I want is only justice, what I want is only peace.

What we need is conversation, but you don't give a damn we need.

Who is right, who is wrong?

We were quiet, you were strong

We don't believe in...don't belong to you.

'Cause of this should we be wrong.

Vendetta

Brain Damage

October 24th, 1988

Noise Records

Vendetta - Conversation

https://www.facebook.com/ignescentmusic

Blooded Crown - classic-style melodic death-black metal (Mexico/Finland)

The first song for their debut album is titled "Represión de un principado" (Repression of a Principality), followed by "Arraigados" (Deeply Rooted/Entrenched)

Blooded Crown

Rise And Conquer

July 20th, 2025

1. Represión de un principado 03:59

2. Arraigados 04:19

3. War of Fire 04:04

4. Lamb of Suffering 03:55

5. Rise and Conquer 03:34

6. Heavens Declare 03:55

7. Mortal Lukewarmness 04:02

8. Oath of War 03:08

9. Enter the Eternal Life 03:57

total time 34:53

I am pleasantly surprised by this brand-new entity called Blooded Crown, a collaboration between Mexican and Finnish musicians, and their 2025 debut album Rise and Conquer. It is a really impressive and memorable album—a blend of death, black, and thrash metal—coming across as a classic-style, bona fide gold-standard melodic death-black metal. According to Metal Archives, the album features Mexican musicians Rocío Ivette del Moral (Déborah, Dorcas) on bass and Carlos Osnaya (Carlos Osnaya, Exousia, Renascent [live], Dorcas, ex-Amberdawn, ex-Temple of Perdition) on guitars, orchestration, and programming, joined by Finnish drummer Eero Tertsunen (Angel of Sodom, Desyre, Renascent, The Slave Eye, ex-Kremator, ex-Megiddon, ex-Symphony of Heaven, ex-Mehida [live], ex-Beyond Belief, ex-Kastimonia).

At this particular time, I will focus on the first two songs, both of which have lyrics in Spanish. "Represión de un principado" (Repression of a Principality) is built around two classic riffs. The opening riff is a powerful black metal riff that immediately delivers headbanging energy, almost daring you to remain still, knowing full well that you won't be able to resist moving. The drumming matches this energy, and the song is off to the races! The vocals are both death and black metal at the same time: a decipherable, scowl-growl—an extended, harsh growl. The vocals sound great, with no annoying qualities. The vocals are not just a guy making beer-belly burping sounds or cupping the microphone, but rather enunciated vocals that fit the music well. The song relies on galloping riffs and thrashy chords that march the listener down to the mosh pit or into headbanging action. The guitar solo opens with a tremendous mid-tempo melody that you will want to hear again, only to give way to some shredding, melodic soloing. In the background, there are some secondary sounds of keyboards or synths that fill out the sound.

The second song features a prime-time melodic death metal opening riff with a big thrash energy. The song then shifts to a more intense, blasting black metal tempo, taking things to a frenzied level while remaining memorable. Fans of classic death metal and melodic black metal will want to hear these riffs! The solo is an exquisite bundle of melodies, executed in a skilled and classy way, with a hint of neoclassical flair. It's so good that it feels too short. Then, when the solo seems to be over, there is some melodic tremolo guitar work, functioning as a second, mini solo. Awesome.

Lyrically, spirituality is the recurring theme. The first song speaks of the internal struggle and temptation to revert to a life that had been abandoned, while the second song focuses on maintaining faith in the present despite doubt and fear. Taken together, these songs deliver a powerful one-two punch that should grab the listener’s attention. There are seven other songs, all with titles and lyrics in English. If I can get my act together (!), perhaps I can return to those songs and chat with you a bit more about the rest of this album.

Rise And Conquer by Blooded Crown

https://www.facebook.com/bloodedcrown