Interview Exuvial

Exuvial explores the depths of sci-fi and existential themes in their latest release, The Hive Mind Chronicles Part I: Parasitica, blending progressive, black, and technical death metal into an epic narrative.

1. Can you tell us about the concept behind The Hive Mind Chronicles Part I: Parasitica and what inspired you to explore themes of science fiction and human-AI relations?
The album follows this ancient hive mind that evolves in a distant world, developing from sea life into a parasitic intelligence. When their world starts dying, they encode their consciousness into a signal and send it across space. Once it reaches Earth, the hive mind materializes and starts deploying drones that parasitically take control of humans.

Earth's protector AI manages to free one person who helps reprogram some drones to fight back. These rebels journey deep into cave systems to confront the hive mind but get lost in the darkness. In a last-ditch effort, the AI triggers a global nuclear strike to stop the infection - leaving only two signals drifting in space.

We drew inspiration from sci-fi classics like 'Contact' and 'Alien,' but also hard science about insect evolution and parasitology. It's part one of a trilogy, exploring what happens when humanity faces something entirely beyond our understanding.

Science Fiction is fascinating in how expansive it is, and seeing ideas of potential futures come to life with advanced technology and different perspectives of future civilizations can make it feel exciting to look forward to, or terrifying in how it plays out!

Thinking of films where some AI takes a turn against humans has been a concept that entered into our music.. The “creation ” (AI) destroys the “creator” (humans). While it feels so surreal and distant from where we are currently, it is also a bit of a social dialogue in how we interact with each other, and how we as humans treat living and non-living things.  We as a species are fixated on how we can continue to improve, get stronger, look younger, be more efficient, and yet we will do this at extreme costs to ourselves, our environment, and even to those around us. 

The inspiration came from a plethora of sources, but the delivery was intended to tell a story that while seeming distant and fantastical, isn’t far from where we stand today.  And given how much AI has taken shape and embedded deep into our world today since the creation of this album, it seems more pertinent to dig deeper into this epic.

2. This album is part of a planned trilogy. How far into the process are you with the next installments, and how does the story evolve across the series?
We have a framework for lyrical concept in albums two and three, and several solid musical ideas brewing for album two, once we shift back into a writing focus mode. The second album will pick up where we left off - those two signals drifting through space after Earth's destruction, the hive mind AI and humanity's AI protector. We're planning to explore themes of duality and psychological struggle, and musically we're looking to incorporate more cosmic black metal elements. We have plans for the final conclusion as well. We look forward to connecting the dots and exploring where the music takes us.

3. You mentioned that you were influenced by films like Contact, Alien, and The Matrix. How did those narratives shape the way you approached the storytelling in this album?
These films influenced how we approached both the cosmic and horror elements of our story. Like Contact, our album deals with humanity receiving a mysterious signal from space containing instructions to build something - though in our case, that construction becomes the catalyst for our downfall. The life cycle and parasitic nature of our hive mind was heavily inspired by Alien - especially how it evolves through different stages and the horror of discovering something in deep space that's beyond our comprehension. The Matrix's themes of artificial intelligence and control influenced our overall narrative, especially the struggle between humanity's AI protector and the Hive Mind AI, and how humanity becomes enslaved by a system that takes over their consciousness. All these influences helped us build a story that blends cosmic discovery with biological horror and the struggle for control over consciousness.

4. The album blends progressive metal, black metal, and technical death metal. How do you balance such diverse genres while maintaining cohesion in your music?

We approached this project with intentionality, letting each song evolve naturally. While we embrace the fierce energy of technical death metal and black metal, we let the music guide us to what works best. Sometimes that means intricate riffs and blast beats, other times it calls for atmospheric sections or clean vocals. Having this range helps convey the journey better. Some passages need that raw black metal aggression, while others call for more progressive elements with intricate harmonies and layered compositions. It's about serving the song rather than trying to fit into any one genre.

5. "Autonomic Awakening" plays a pivotal role in the album’s narrative. Can you explain the significance of this track within the overall storyline and how it reflects the emotional and musical journey of the album?
‘'Autonomic Awakening' marks a crucial turning point - it's the first glimmer of hope in what's been a dark journey. Up to this point, we've seen humanity falling under the hive mind's control, but here we have someone breaking free from their programming. They're chosen specifically because they have the knowledge to reprogram other drones to fight back. The music mirrors this internal struggle - we start with introspective acoustic passages that build into powerful metal riffs, representing the battle against the parasite pulling them back into the abyss. We used clean vocal harmonies alongside the heavy parts to capture that duality of consciousness, that fight between control and freedom.

6. The technicality and complexity of your music are clear, especially in tracks like "Hypermanipulation" and "Subterranean Swarm." How do you approach writing songs with such intricate structures and time signatures?
Our writing process usually starts with ideas composed in Guitar Pro, which we share back and forth between the core of the band - Ethan, Fernando, and Ibrahim. Sometimes we're sending files remotely, but the magic happens when we're all in a room composing together. That's when we lock in. Fernando initially programmed most of the rough drum ideas, and when Andrew Baird came on board, we gave him those skeletons to work with and he took them to another level. We let the songs develop naturally rather than forcing complex parts - if a section needs to breathe with a simpler groove or an acoustic passage, we let it happen. It's about letting each part evolve organically and exploring variations to decide if one version feels more cohesive than the other.  We also are drawing from a vast range of influences, and thinking about how can we make a part more exciting, or fill the gap on what feels missing, helps drive the composition. 

7. Your lyrics delve into existential questions and the limits of human understanding. How do these themes resonate with each of you on a personal level, and how do they shape your approach to songwriting?
These themes connect with our shared fascination with science, psychology, and the unknown. We all grew up loving sci-fi that asks the big questions - what's out there in space? What happens when we make first contact? But we also wanted to ground these cosmic ideas in real science. We dug into books about insect evolution, underground ecosystems, and SETI research to build our world. The psychological aspects - like losing control of your own consciousness or fighting against an invasive intelligence - tap into very human fears. When we're writing, we try to balance these bigger existential concepts with personal, intimate passages in the music.

8. What was it like collaborating with guest musicians like Sanjay Kumar, Ben Towles, Ben Gassman, and Kyle Chapman on this album? How did their contributions enhance the album’s sound and narrative?

Collaborating with these musicians was a wonderful experience!  We have known Ben Gassman and Kyle Chapman from their other bands (Aethereus and Blighted Eye) , having toured alongside them in our previous band Apotheon and keeping in touch over the years, and we still support and look up to each other! Inviting friends that inspire you and add to your music makes the whole experience that much more special.

Fernando has hosted Aethereus a number of times when they came through Denver on tour, and the same goes with him hosting Greylotus (Ben Towles and Sanjay’s band), which allows a lot of fun bonding moments and to support the bands you love!   Ben Towles and Sanjay were very willing to contribute and they really elevated key parts of the album. Ben Towles from Greylotus added this otherworldly solo to 'Subterranean Swarm' that perfectly captures the darkness of that track. On 'Parasitica,' Sanjay Kumar's unique style enhanced the power of humanity's struggle against the hive mind. For the album's finale 'Necrotic Dissolution,' we wanted two melodic solos to bookend the song - Ben Gassman opens it up and Kyle Chapman helps bring it all to an epic conclusion. It was great having both of them contribute to that final track. Each guest brought their own unique style while staying true to the mood and atmosphere we were trying to create.

9. The album features moments of calm and reflection amidst the chaos. How important is it for you to include these dynamic shifts, and how do they enhance the overall emotional impact of the music?
Dynamic contrast is essential to how we write. We love complex metal, but we believe in giving the music room to breathe - letting the heavy parts hit harder by balancing them with softer, introspective moments. You'll hear this in how we use acoustic passages, clean vocals, and atmospheric sections throughout the album. Sometimes it's a nylon string classical guitar piece, other times it's ambient soundscapes or piano interludes. These quieter segments help us expand the emotional landscape of each song and deepen the storytelling. When you're dealing with themes of consciousness, invasion, and extinction, you need that full range of expression to capture the weight of those ideas.

10. Your music video for "Autonomic Awakening" is visually stunning. How do you see the visual elements complementing the audio experience, and what can fans expect from your future video releases?

We were deeply inspired by Warforged, having put most of their discography aligned to video, which really adds more depth to the audio experience, hitting two senses and making the memory tied to the music that much stronger.  Thinking of live performances as well, shows that are just the band playing can still be memorable shows, but thinking of the light show that Meshuggah has for example, truly immerses you into the music in a whole different way.  It was quite an endeavor to record a video for each of the songs (we will be releasing the remaining videos every month after the album release!), but it felt like a worthy endeavor to communicate some of the concepts and expressions in the story, however subtle it may have been.

We plan on making videos alongside the next two albums in this trilogy to help express the story, and will likely dig more into practical effects and props to bring the album to life, and to avoid succumbing to making “just another warehouse band video.”

11. With your progressive sound and science fiction themes, who do you feel are your biggest musical influences, and how do they inspire your evolution as a band?

Our sound draws heavily from bands like The Faceless, Meshuggah, and Opeth - groups that really push boundaries with their music. Der Weg einer Freiheit's approach to black metal and Cynic's progressive elements have also been huge influences for us. We're often compared to bands like Obscura, Ne Obliviscaris, and Black Crown Initiate, probably because they also blend different metal subgenres in interesting ways. These bands have shown us how to balance technical elements with songwriting that actually connects with listeners. All of these influences help shape our sound while we explore our own musical path.

12. Looking ahead to the release of The Hive Mind Chronicles Part I: Parasitica, what are your hopes for how listeners will engage with the story and music?

We hope listeners will experience this album from start to finish as one complete journey. The music is designed to be cinematic, with each track flowing into the next as the saga unfolds. We've packed a lot of detail into both the music and lyrics - there are themes and motifs that weave throughout the album that you might not catch on the first listen. Some people might connect with the philosophical questions we're asking about consciousness and our place in the cosmos, others might dig into the scientific concepts we've woven into the story. Or you might just want to headbang to some fierce metal! We tried to create something that rewards whatever level of engagement you want to have with it.

13. Are there any live performances or special events planned around the album release?

There will be a YouTube Premiere of the album on our label’s YT channel (Silent Pendulum Records) on Thursday, November 21st at 7pm MST! So if you want to hear it a day early, that is your chance!  Following the album release, we will be releasing our 5th music video, Parasitica, in December,  and plan to drop the remaining videos monthly to complete the visual story. We also will record a few guitar and bass playthroughs this winter. From there, we are eager to shift our focus towards writing the second album.  Live performances? SOON.  We are eager to bring this to the stage! For now, we want to make a dent into writing album #2 and once we are in a good place there, shows will definitely be a priority for us!

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