Interview: Namebearer
The intent for me was to create something well written, engaging, direct, honest, and driven.
Namebearer is the latest project from Brian Tenison and Brendan Hayter (who both also play in atmospheric black metal band Obsidian Tongue) and their debut EP Industries Of The Fading Sun, which has just been released, demonstrates another style of black metal to their impressive musical arsenal. Gavin Brown caught up with Brian Tenison who delved into a whole host of topics including where Namebearer came from, the creation of Industries Of The Fading Sun and the influence of Finnish black metal on the band.
E&D: Your debut EP Industries Of The Fading Sun is out now. Are you happy that it has now been unleashed on the world?
Brian: Definitely! We’re hoping it’ll resonate with people. We’re happy with how it turned out. I think it’s unique in a good way.
E&D: What are the biggest influences on Industries Of The Fading Sun, both musically and its outlook?
Brian: For me, the biggest influence on this EP is Finnish black metal in general, which is funny, because I don’t really think it sounds like that at all. There are probably other influences that we incorporated unintentionally or subconsciously.
E&D: Was it a challenge translating the song lyrics from English to Finnish for the album and what was the reason behind this decision?
Brian: I wouldn’t say it was challenging for me because I was working closely with my friend and Finnish tutor Veera for it. It might have been a little challenging for her, but it didn’t seem like it! It was just time consuming because English and Finnish are so different, and because my lyrics are already so abstract and kind of nonsensical, honestly! Veera and I had to really interpret things together and select translations for everything carefully so that my general meaning was still carried over to Finnish. Finnish is a very eloquent and beautiful language though. I think metal lyrics work even better in Finnish than in English because in my fairly limited knowledge of Finnish, there seems to be more options for poetic phrasing than in English. The biggest challenge was actually singing in Finnish. Trying to sound musical while singing in a language you are still learning is tough. I had to send Veera a few drafts and have her help me work on pronunciations and syllable placements.
E&D: Who are your favourite ever metal bands from Finland?
Brian: Great question! There are so many amazing bands from Finland across every genre of metal. The Kuunpalvelus scene which includes bands like Circle of Ouroborus, Kêres, and Cosmic Church contains a lot of my favourite metal from Finland, but I also love Finnish doom such as Shape of Despair, Swallow the Sun, and Dawn of Solace. I’d have to throw Fall of the Leafe and Moonsorrow in as two favourites from Finland as well.. Finnish death metal is arguably even more highly regarded than the black and doom scenes there, which sounds crazy to say considering how incredible those other two scenes are. I actually haven’t been listening to a ton of death metal in general for a while now, but from Finnish death metal, I really like Slugathor and Desecresy and I still listen to them pretty regularly. Any fans of Finnish death metal reading this are gonna hate me for not naming more bands, and there really are a ton of amazing Finnish death metal bands- I’m just more of a black and doom guy myself these days!
E&D: What was your intention with the songs and music on Industries Of The Fading Sun?
Brian: The intent for me was to create something well written, engaging, direct, honest, and driven. Something that distinguishes itself from the pack and accurately portrays the kind of things I value about metal.
E&D: The EP is brilliantly atmospheric in its sound. What are the most atmospheric albums you have ever listened to?
Brian: Frozen Graves – An Age of Emptiness, Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn, Esoteric – Paragon of Dissonance, Abigor – Nachthymnen, Katatonia – The Great Cold Distance.
E&D: What had been the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen?
Brian: The first one that comes to mind is a sunset on a walk in rural Vermont with my girlfriend. Vermont is incredibly beautiful, and seeing the sunset on the rolling green hills there is pretty special.
E&D: Have you got plans for a full length Namebearer album?
Brian: Yes, Brendan and I want to get started on it soon. Likely after Obsidian Tongue tours wrap up for the year!
E&D: How was the first Namebearer demo from last year received upon its release?
Brian: It did not get much attention, but the small amount of attention that it did receive seemed very positive.
E&D: How has your music evolved since that demo?
Brian: I think it completely changed. Brendan coming on board as a full member instead of a session drummer changed things a lot. I also just wanted to do something different from the demo and approached the writing, the guitar tones, and the mixing all very differently. Then apart from that, there is a lot more clean singing and synths.
E&D: Can you tell us about the Hidden Dawn collective that Namebearer are a part of?
Brian: Hidden Dawn is a collective/label that myself, Brendan, our friend Aaron from Falls of Rauros created for our own bands. At this point in our creative journeys, I think we all felt very much on the same page about what we wanted to do musically, and how we wanted to do it. It just all came together very easily. We have a lot more planned for the collective.. More bands, and more releases.
E&D: How did Namebearer start as a musical project?
Brian: I started it as a solo project because I wanted to write and record on guitar, where previously I’d always stuck to bass in my bands. I originally planned to use a drum machine, but Brendan offered to do session drums for the project, which is how he became involved with Namebearer in the first place.
E&D: You also have a new Obsidian Tongue album, Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn, coming soon as well. Was that album recorded at the same time as Industries Of The Fading Sun?
Brian: Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn was recorded a few months before Industries of the Fading Sun!
E&D: Did you have ideas on the albums that would work for Namebearer but not Obsidian Tongue that you used and vice versa?
Brian: Brendan and I don’t really think in terms of “does this work for this band or that band” we tend to just start moving forward on something, letting the expression happen and don’t really stop to question ourselves, we just trust our instincts. For Obsidian Tongue though, it might be different. I’ve only just joined the band as a full member and had previously been the live bassist, so I haven’t written anything with the band yet. Going forward when I’m writing with Obsidian Tongue, We’ll have to see if it’s different from how Brendan and I write together in other bands!
E&D: Are there many challenging aspects of playing in multiple bands?
Brian: It can be challenging! I think the main challenge is making enough time to do each of them justice while also taking care of normal life stuff like work, health, spending time with my girlfriend etc. Touring takes up a lot of time in terms of preparation and being on the road, so Obsidian Tongue is currently taking up pretty much all of my available music time. It also can be difficult to keep up with other band members’ goals for bands if you are juggling a few of them and they might only be focusing on one. You don’t want to let them down or hold them back, but finding all of the time and all of the right motivation for each band can be tricky. After these upcoming tours, I’m going to try to shift my focus onto new Eave, Namebearer, and Blood Chariot releases as well as supporting or contributing to releases from new unannounced Hidden Dawn bands.
E&D: What are your favourite ever black metal albums?
Brian: Such a tough one! I’ll inevitably forget some here, but I’ll just go with what have been my favorites for the last few years or so: Kêres – Book of Desire, Circle of Ouroborus – Viimeinen Juoksu, Blut Aus Nord- Memoria Vetusta I, II and III, Immortal- At the Heart of Winter, Cosmic Church- Vigilia.
E&D: What newer black metal bands would you recommend to check out?
Brian: I’ve really been digging Iron Firmament!
