Ethereal Sin. Interview with Yama Darkblaze.

Interview by Jay Parker. Hi, this is Jay. Today ‘ll be talking to Mr. Yama dark Blaze from Japanese Black Metal legends ETHEREAL SIN… Hi Yama, thanks for taking the time to talk to our readers…

1. When and where was Ethereal Sin formed? What inspired you to form the band? Who is in the current line up?

Okay, Ethereal Sin formed at 1997 in Kobe/Japan. Before it, I played in other Death/Gothic metal band. but I'd like to play more Black metal sounds. so I left the band and formed new one. Current lineup is following. Yama Darkblaze - Grim & Male Vocal Kikka Schwarzfleet - Lead Guitar, Chorus Syngolet Nollrune - Rhythm Guitar, Chorus Seth Maelstrom - Bass, Chorus Gensui Fitzgerald - Drums, Chorus Hal Purprite - Keyboard, Chorus Lord Wilhelm - Support Violin

2. Your latest release is fast, frenetic, melodic, historic... it’s a great listen! Every track is like a nightmarish fairytale of old...I especially love the traditional instruments... tell us about the album... when and where was it recorded? what’s the story behind the songs?

Thanks, man. This album recorded at our home studio in Tokyo on Apr - July/2020. Mixed and Mastered by Stefano Morabito/16th Cellar Studio. He’s also known as the engineer for the Fleshgod Apocalypse album, and he’s done almost all of our albums. Then, I write a description of all the songs as following.

01. Time of Invocation. The song was written by Shiroumaru, who was the support G, and Morgan, a former member of the band, participated as a guest female vocalist. The theme is a ritual to invoke the gods in Japanese Shintoism.

02. Beyond the Love and Hate. This song is based on a Japanese short story written about 100 years ago, and the theme is revenge and repentance. M. Pneuma of Dark Mirror ov Tragedy is the guest vocalist on this song. In the last part of the chorus, he interacts with me to express the two main characters (one who wants to take revenge and the other who does penance).

03. Like a Garuda. This is the first song that Kikka provided to Ethereal Sin. It is a catchy song like a melodic death metal on the theme of thinking about a lover who died in an accident.

04. Into the Misty Rain. The song featured in the lyric video, a symphonic/ melodic black song in the style of just Ethereal Sin. The verse features a guest appearance by Yuri of Rakshasa. The theme is a legend about a forest that is always covered in drizzle.

05. Dash across the Sky and Sea. It also has a guest appearance by Yuri in the verse. This song has a positive theme that is not found in other songs that like a young lady in a deep window or a prisoner in a jail, a person who is trapped in the current environment will escape.

06. Braveheart again. This is like a Viking metal song, with a bit of experimentation in the vocals by mixing in more rough sounding natural voice. The theme of the song is the story of an old retired soldier who returns to the battlefield to help his hometown/family.

07. Ouka. The theme is the suicide attack weapons used by the Japanese Navy during World War II. The song is a mid-tempo number and Yuri makes a guest appearance in the verse. The song ends with a part of the radio broadcast by the Emperor at the time of Japan’s defeat in the war.

08. Faraway scene. The theme of this song is that a person who is only going to die quietly in old age is longing for the hometown in his memories, the distant scene he saw one day, and even though his body may die here, only his soul is going to return there. I was expecting it to be a depressive black song at first, but as it turns out, it’s more like typical Ethereal Sin.

09. Hagakure. A long song provided by Kikka. The theme of this song is a book called “Hagakure”, which explains the Japanese Bushido. We put some Japanese instrument named Koto. and Morgan is a guest on this track.

10. Transparent Twins. This is the first song I wrote for this album, a mid-tempo song with a violin that was intended to be the album’s closing number. The theme of the song is unforgettable sorrow, which I wrote based on my own personal experience.

11.Time of Requiem. An instrumental song that serves as the album’s ending and also the title track. Like the opening track, it was written by Shiroumaru, with Morgan as the guest female vocalist. It is a requiem for the various stories of death covered in this album. It is also a prayer for the world that was strangely struck by the unprecedented disaster of Corona.

3. Who writes the songs? How do you write them? What tunings and instruments do you use?

I’m the main songwriter for Ethereal Sin, and I wrote most of the music on this album as well. 03 and 09 are by Kikka. Basically, I write the songs on guitar and give rough demos to the other members. After they arrange the individual parts, we play it in the studio to make it consistent and fine-tuning. Whole Tone Down Tuning and a supporting member plays the violin. In addition, we put some Japanese traditional instruments to it. For example, Koto, Kagurasuzu etc...

4. Tell us about your previous releases...

We’ve released many music materials than I can remember exactly. It’s been almost a quarter of a century since we started, Ha-ha maybe... 1st material released at 1998 as Cassette tape incl. 5 songs. 1st Full-length album released at 2009, 2nd was 2013. Up until this time, the music was symphonic and melodic black metal, not much different from what it is now, but the looks and theme was more European Vampiric or Dark Fantasy. In 2014, We released Split album with our Asian brother band “Dark Mirror ov Tragedy”. and same time, we shift our concept to more Japanese Traditional Style. Later, when we had a change of members, we decided to eliminate the female vocals that we had always used since the beginning of the band, and instead shifted to focus more violin, piano and some Japanese traditional instruments. 3rd album “Kakuriyo” at 2019 is from that transition period. Of course, this album is also full of our own melodic, symphonic, fast and evil songs that have the power to take the listener into a world of dark tales. So don’t forget to check it. And we were able to make our 4th album that released in Aug/2021, the very sound we had been pursuing for the past 5 years.

5. Who were your influences growing up in Japan?

Umm...My musical influences might be the folk songs my parents listened to, back in the 1970s - 1980s.

6. What’s the scene like in Japan? Recommend some bands for our readers...

To be honest, the extreme music scene in Japan is not in such good shape either. Most of the well-established black metal bands have ceased to exist or long sleep, except for us, and for the younger generation, melodic death metal and metalcore have become the mainstream. If I had to name names, I’d say “Wirbelwind”, our guitarist Kikka’s other band, and “Galundo Tennvulance”, who just released their first EP, have interesting sounds. “Sable Hills” is also good, but as mentioned above, all the bands are in the style of Melodic Death or Metal Core, so if you are expecting Black Metal, I would recommend “Zxui Moskvha”. They are still in their infancy, but they are legitimate black metal with lyrical melodies.

7. Tell us about your plans for the future.

We have often toured outside of Japan in the past. like China, Korea, and other Asian countries, as well as the W.O.A. in Germany, a festival in Norway, and did the UK tour in 2020. So as soon as the corona dies down a bit next year, we’ll be back on the road. At the moment we are scheduled to play a festival in Finland in June 2022. After that, maybe a tour of Russia? In the fall we’ll be touring France, Portugal and Spain as support of Fleshgod Apocalypse. Please come and see us!

8. Do you have a message for our readers?

Sure. Hail to dark fellow soldiers! We are Elegiac Black Metal horde from Japan. Our sounds are not for only Black Metal fans, but also Melodic Death Metal, Viking Metal, Folk Metal and Melodic power metalheads. The story of Extreme Metal definitely exists also in Japan, the Far East of Asia, where not many people come into contact with it on a regular basis. I hope you will take this opportunity to experience a part of it. When the problems that cover the world with Corona have been cleared up, please come to our show and see us directly. Until then, Keep the Black Flame Burning!!! It’s over.

A massive thanks to Yama… Keep the black flame burning my brother…