Interview with Spider God

Interview by Jay Parker

Hi this is Jay reporting from Bogota, Colombia...Today I'm talking to Spider God from UK... A refreshingly melodic sound and with an abundance of material released since 2020, this band is certainly shining bright... Thanks for taking the time to talk to our readers...

1) Tell us about Spider God… when/where//why did you decide to form the band?

Spider God was conceived during October 2020 in the South West region of the UK. The raw black metal scene was experiencing a resurgence - thanks in part to the pandemic, which enabled a lot of solo musicians to indulge in new bedroom projects - and I felt like experimenting with the genre myself to see what I could come up with. I had some riffs for another project that I’d abandoned a few months before, and although they were quite melodic and positive sounding, I found they worked quite well when filtered through the raw bm aesthetic.

2) Run us through your discovery, from start to finish... (some seriously great BM there)... when and where did you record? Where can our readers buy your music?

All of my releases so far (apart from one) have been inspired by different films that have given me particular inspiration. The first three EPs are based on Bergman’s Faith Trilogy, and each song of each EP tells the story of one of the films from a different character’s perspective. I recorded the first two EPs back-to-back over two weeks, while the third EP was recorded a few weeks later, towards the end of 2020. Conceptually they were always meant to be taken as one whole piece, although the music progresses in complexity and confidence as I grew into the Spider God persona. Then you have three splits, recorded between the end of 2020 and the start of 2021. The first is a split with Mnima, and the concept for my side was built around a photo Mnima found of a patient of Jean-Martin Charcot (which we used for the album cover). I was fascinated by the research I did into the most famous of his patients, Augustine Gleizes, and based my lyrics around the film version of her story, called Augustine. The second split was a four-way collaboration with Revenant Marquis, The Sun’s Journey Through the Night and The Oracle. We united through a shared interest in movies, and while the concept behind this split (called the Four Winds of Revelation) will remain a secret, I can tell you that my song, The Master’s Malady, is based on Herzog’s Heart of Glass. Finally, we have the split with Altered Heresy, and my side was based on another story of female ‘madness’, the film Requiem, which is loosely based on the supposed possession and exorcism of Anneliese Michel. Then, at the end of last year, Repose Records and I had the mad idea of releasing a series of cover versions of pop songs from the 80s-present day, one a day during the twelve days of Christmas. It was a fun challenge to reinterpret and record these songs over the course of about a week, but we never thought the end result, Black Renditions, would be as popular as it has been…!

3) The last release, Ett främmande språk (A Foreign Tongue) is web weavingly wicked slice of spider infested magick... run us through it please, start to finish...

This EP is the culmination of the Faith Trilogy and is based on the film, The Silence. The first song, Horrible Forces, is from the perspective of a young woman who is dying in a foreign hotel room on the way home with her sister and her sister’s son. In the song, she bemoans her illness while also reflecting on her fractious relationship with her sexually promiscuous sister. The song has multiple parts and is possibly the most ‘epic’ in the whole series of EPs. The second song, Eclipsed By Blood, is told from the sister’s perspective as she tries to break free from her dying sister’s oppressive, judging gaze. The chorus for this one is particularly upbeat! The third song is called Strangers and Tears, and is from the perspective of the young son, so it is very naive and wide-eyed, lyrically. Finally, the fourth song is Embrace Despair, which, despite its name, is meant to instill some sense of hope at the end of a very dark set of EPs, and is told from the perspective of an elderly employee of the hotel. The song itself is probably the most anthemic one I have written so far, and I almost axed is for being too upbeat, but I’m glad I included it in the final tracklisting as it pushed the Spider God sound even further, I think.

4) Tell us about the inspiration behind your music and your lyrics... What instruments/ tunings do you use?

Well, I’ve already detailed the lyrical content, but the music is inspired by recent riff-heavy acts like Lamp of Murmuur and Véhémence, as well as bands from the hardcore and metalcore scene of my youth in the early 2000s - bands like Poison the Well, Converge etc. In terms of instruments and tunings, I just have a cheap Jackson Dinky that serves me well, and I use Drop-D tuning on most songs, although sometimes I use standard tuning. I record everything myself, although I’ve recruited Patrick from The Oracle to record drums on several of my releases.

5) What bands inspired you to play BM? What bands did you listen to growing up?

Definitely the two I mentioned above, along with Revenant Marquis, for sure, and Kommodus, Nihil Invocation, Leviathan, Xasthur, Inquisition, Taake, Darkthrone, Profanatica, etc. etc. Growing up, I was influenced more by hardcore and even pop-punk, so it wasn’t until university that I really got into the early black metal stuff, along with bands like Weakling, Twilight, Wolves in the Throne Room etc.

6) What does the future hold for Spider God? Will you be weaving that web of wonderful wickedness the world over? I understand some live shows are coming up?

We have big plans for 2022 and beyond. Along with the long-delayed vinyl versions of all SG releases, there will be at least two brand new releases to come before the end of the year, as well as two live shows already confirmed. The band has expanded into a four-piece, and we have been rehearsing for these shows for the last few months. The first show is the sold-out Lamp of Murmuur gig in London on 8th May, and the second is a slot at Darkness Over Cumbria in July. We’re hoping to set up some more shows before the year is out as well.

7) What are you working on musically at the moment?

Well, the debut full length is now complete, and I’ve been working on a split with an excellent new BM project from a well-established member of the community.

8) Tell us about the BM scene in UK... recommend some new bands for our readers to check out…

There’s definitely the beginnings of an emerging ‘scene’, although it’s still in its nascent stages and is spread across the UK in different pockets. Powerhouses like Heathen Deity, A Forest of Stars, Winterfylleth and Abduction are all acts I massively admire, while bands like Vegard, The Sun’s Journey Through the Night, Reign, Gate Master, Lungtoucher and Somaglia are also doing really interesting things within the genre. In Wales, the Pembrokeshire scene is exploding, with amazing projects such as Revenant Marquis, Capel Beulah, Plaguehurst and Ogof really pushing the boundaries of black metal. There are so many more, so it’s safe to say we’re building something diverse and exciting here at the moment.

9) What are your plans and ambitions as a musician long term?

I want to push Spider God as far as it will go, and I have projects in other genres that I want to develop further as well. I’m under no illusion that I’ll be able to make black metal a full-time job, but I do know I’ll always make music in some form - it’s always been a big part of my life and there’s not much point to life without it!

10) What is your favourite BM album of all time and why?

It’s probably Burzum’s Filosofem. The atmosphere of that album is unparalleled, and Varg absolutely nailed the true anguish and despair of the genre.

11) Why do you write your song titles in Swedish?

It’s a nod to the fact that those EPs were inspired by Bergman’s films. I have to admit, I sometimes just write the English titles when promoting the songs/EPs, but that’s just laziness…!

12) any advice and wise words for upcoming and coming musicians out there looking to emulate your success?

Don’t churn out the same old bargain bin BM with the same xeroxed artwork. Try something different. The genre needs it. Ignore the purists and gatekeepers - they’re valid in their attempts to preserve the ‘true’ nature of the genre, but that doesn’t mean you can’t mess around with the formula. Also, if at all possible, get out of your bedroom and play with others in a live setting - that’s when the real fun starts!

13) Would you like to add anything for our readers?

It’s awesome that sites and magazines like this one continue to thrive, and the support of dedicated readers is invaluable both to the writers and the musicians, so cheers for keeping this genre alive!

A massive thanks to Spider GOd Sick as fuck, 666