APHYXION – interview with the band

“When we established the band, we were all just 13 years old (…) Death Metalish sound as the foundation of our music, we definitely have some Core tendencies mixed in (…) We want people to think critically, rather than be followers in a blind world.” – APHYXION

Hi. I could not find the meaning of the band name…

It’s a made up word, derived from ‘Asphyxia’.

This year you will celebrate your tenth anniversary. Are you preparing something special for the occasion?

We haven’t set up any special events yet, but these days every show is something for itself.

Of course, you released a new album “Aftermath”. What is the difference between it and predecessor -“Entangled Earth”?

Both are (in our own humble opinion) great records. Our debut Earth Entangled was heavier and very straight forward, whereas our latest record Aftermath is much more nuanced, both in sound, composition and lyrics.

Obviously this is not the peak of musical fertility (releasing two albums in ten years). However the maturity musical of material is more important, and as in the case of “Aftermath”, it is inversely proportional to your age. You are young but the album is very mature…

Well, it is definitely an accumulation of the previous 10 years of defining us as a band, figuring out what sound we want, and what kind of a band we are. When we established the band, we were all just 13 years old, so of course it has taken time to evolve both musically and lyrically to the point where we felt that we were ‘ready’ to start spitting out full-length albums with our name on them. Earth Entangled – our debut album – was released in 2014, which is already 7 years into the bands history, so you might say that we had sort of a slow start!

“Aftermath” presents us the modern Death Metal full of specific melody, rhythm and aggression with ferocity, enriched by the electronic samples (sometimes even in the style of Techno). What bands did inspire you to create such music?

We try to stay open to other genres, and generally listen to a lot of different stuff, so it’s actually quite a mix. While Bring Me The Horizon’s two latest records have been a significant inspiration, even stuff like ABBA has also been helpful when it comes to inspiration for melodic elements. Yeah… Even ABBA.

Recently in some TV interview, some musician from the little-known Punk Rock band also confessed to the inspiration of ABBA, so I’m not surprised, hahaha… Well. I described you as the representatives of the New Wave of Death Metal, which undeniably and clearly signals its presence in the twenty-first century by this type of bands (like you), whose image and content lyrical are completely different from the classic image of death-metal bands (not to say the classic metal bands), and which also has a tendency to approach the areas currently fashionable and widely understood Core music, but still remaining at certain constant conventions and standards rooted in Death Metal (like heavy sound, strong and dynamic aggressive pace, or growling)…

While staying in our lane – with a Modern but Death Metalish sound as the foundation of our music, we definitely have some Core tendencies mixed in. The power and energy in most of the Core-genres is super cool. These days, with so many new bands playing so many sub genres, it’s getting harder to define what the names of these genres actually are. We try to stay open to all sorts of music, and try not to limit our music by what genre we are associated with.

You look very different than classical Metallers. Short and nice hair, normal clothes. Do young Metallers of today not want to imitate the precursor of classic Metal in their image? Many years ago all Metallers wanted to have long hair, leather or jeans clothes, high boots and it was a priority. At present, unfortunately, even people who listen to music of Disco or Pop wear clothes that once were “reserved” for Rockers / Metallers…

It was never really in our scope to imitate the classic metal image, but rather imitate the music. While a few bands still do imitate their idols whole-heartedly, I simply don’t think that it’s ever been a focus-point of ours. We primarily got into metal for the music.

Your subject of text also is different from the typical lyrics for Death Metal…

We want to make people think for themselves, and primarily appeal to either their political or ethical principles. We want people to think critically, rather than be followers in a blind world.

Generally speaking, most of the press speaks favorably about you. Which statements or expressions are most happy for you?

It’s always nice to be complimented on our live performances, which is an element that can always be changed and improved. Getting 6/6 ratings for a live show is always awesome!

And there were some negative posts about your music?

Not everyone’s into our new synths. Fair enough.

And also you have in your account a variety of video clips, e.g. “Some Kind Of Monster” and “Destined to Fail”. Can you tell something about their production?

The music videos for “Same Kind of Different” and “Destined to Fail” are actually our first ever plot-based professional videos, and were both directed and filmed by our friend Hans Asmussen. The creative process that making a music video entails is super fun, and were also highlights of the process of releasing Aftermath.

By the way, you have a nice T-shirts with prints of APHYXION. You have got online sales…

Yeah, we have a shop online at www.aphyxion.bigcartel.com and at this very moment we’re actually having a sale on our old t-shirts -€5 a piece!

What was your biggest concert?

We played in a tent at Wacken Open Air 2011, which was awesome and very overwhelming. Also we’ve had a job at Copenhell 2014, and a lot of other minor Danish metal festivals.

And there were any unsuccessful shows?

Many, but mostly back in the day. With 10 years of performance experience they don’t really happen too often anymore. We actually just finished our first ever Headliner tour here in Denmark, and it went really well. Knowing that you are the main artist of the night, and having the responsibility of getting people out to the venues creates a fair bit of pressure, but we were able to pull it off, getting places packed almost every night!

… Well, and what concerts will be in your future?

We are supporting METALLICA when they come to Denmark on the 2nd of September this year.

You are the representatives of the young generation. What is your attitude to the physical media of music, such as vinyl, tape or CD? Today, more and more young people prefer listen to MP3 or music from the Internet.

It’s always awesome when people collect Vinyls or CD’s, but we can’t really change the market, and nowadays the market is really heading towards primarily streaming from the Internet. The fact that music has gotten more available thanks to the Internet is awesome, though.

So, thank you for the interview and I wish you further success. The last words belong to the young generation…

Stay true to yourself, do what you want to do, and don’t let others dictate how you ought to live your life. Thanks Metal Centre.