Purgatorial, a Manchester-based death metal project founded by Kris in 2024, merges crushing heaviness with emotional depth. Their debut album, Fading Whispers of Voidbound Souls, explores themes of fear, anxiety, and haunting introspection.
1. Kris,
Purgatorial is a relatively new project, having started in 2024. What motivated
you to form the band, and how did you arrive at its signature sound so quickly?
Purgatorial
came off the back of my other project; Eowa. I had some song ideas that I
didn’t feel fit the sound I already had, so I tried detuning them a lot to make
a completely new sound. I have always wanted to try something darker and
heavier so I figured this was a great opportunity - and it just snowballed from
there. Before I knew it I had another project.
2. Your
upcoming album, Fading Whispers of Voidbound Souls, touches on themes of
fear and personal anxiety. Could you share more about how these concepts
influenced the songwriting process?
When it
comes to song writing I always do the music first and then the lyrics later.
It’s just how my brain is wired, I don’t know if it’s the “normal” way to do it
or not. Once I had eight songs down musically that I was happy with, I listened
back to them and had a think about what they reminded me of. For example,
“Doomed to Repeat” sounded apocalyptic and with all the horrible stuff going on
in the world over and over, the song theme came to me quite quickly. I guess
you could say the music influenced the song concepts this time around.
3. The
track “Pelagic” explores the fear of deep, open water, while “The False Ones”
is inspired by nightmares of torment. Are these fears personal to you, or are
they more generally inspired by human experiences with fear and anxiety?
They are
personal to a point. “The False Ones” is unique in the way that it is based on
a strange dream I had. I was following some strange mothman type beings around
my home town at night and they had glowing eyes and squealed. For some reason
the dream stuck with me although it didn’t necessarily disturb me, so with a
bit of creativity I re-imagined it as something much creepier. What I now have
in my head after putting that song together definitely does disturb me.
“Pelagic” as you’ve mentioned is also personal but I’m sure others can relate
to it quite easily. I don’t think I have true thalassophobia, but the speed and
heaviness of that song made me think of a huge dark abyss. Before I knew it I
was watching videos of sperm whales in open water on a bigger screen which made
me feel uneasy, and the lyrics came from that.
4. The
album was recorded and mixed entirely in your home studio, with Neil Schneider
on drums and mastering. Could you tell us more about the production process and
any challenges you faced along the way?
If you can
call it a studio, yes. I’ll be real with you, it’s just my personal computer in
my home office. I’ve been messing with simple audio production for a few years
and I have finally reached the point where I think I can make something that is
just about worth listening to. At first I was just going to demo the songs this
way then have them redone properly, but when I sent them to people for feedback
they said it sounded good enough to be the real thing. I also don’t really have
much budget to put into music nowadays so I figured it would be more efficient
this way. My good friend, Neil, did a great job of the drums on this and he did
them at lightning speed too! We met initially through needing someone to master
my other project’s debut album and I liked his work on Blackbraid, so I got in
touch through his website. We’ve been talking ever since and I look forward to
working on many more things with him in the future.
5. Your
label, These Hands Melt, seems like a perfect fit for Purgatorial’s intense,
dark themes. How did this partnership come about, and what has your experience
been like with them so far?
I had my
eye on These Hands Melt for a while. They worked with my buddy REL of WOLKN and
the CD quality was really good. My friend Lucia does design work for them and
when she saw me share the first Purgatorial single back in January she said I
should give it a shot and drop them a message, so I did. I didn’t have any
expectations honestly as labels get lots of submissions, but Mauro gave some
great feedback to the songs I showed him and here we are! They’re a good label
to work with for sure. Very professional with high quality products.
6. Death
metal can be an intense genre for listeners. How do you balance creating a
heavy, impactful sound with the emotional depth and vulnerability that your
themes convey?
I try not
to think about it too much otherwise it puts me in a bad space musically and
nothing sounds good anymore. I wouldn’t say I’m an exceptional guitarist by any
means, a lot of what I write is simple power chords that are made to sound a
bit more impressive with chugging and trying to make them into interesting
patterns and that’s how I like it. Our guitarist Ryan is a genius with the lead
guitar sections - I tend to leave most of that to him. I think it’s just luck
that the themes have managed to find their place in the music if I’m honest. It
came together naturally, it was almost too good to be true.
7. The
album title Fading Whispers of Voidbound Souls is intriguing. Can you
share the meaning behind it and how it reflects the overarching themes of the
album?
At first
the title was just going to be “Voidbound” after my partner randomly said the
word. I thought it sounded really good and suited the tone of the music. I
found a few other bands that had used it as an album title though so I decided
to expand on it. The meaning of the title isn’t too deep if I’m honest, but
it’s a bit of a nod to unheard voices of those who are in need. There is
currently a genocide and a war that is being thrown right into our faces
through the media and the cries for help are mostly unanswered. I guess it
relates to that. It makes me sad and angry that even today we allow such things
to happen, all because of selfish, bloodthirsty and greedy old men. You know
who I mean.
8. As a
band based in Manchester, how does the city’s music scene and environment
influence your sound and approach to music?
Not a lot
really. Manchester is most famous for Oasis and The Stone Roses - two bands I
cannot stand. It’s not my favourite place to visit either, it’s too busy and it
always rains. There are some good local acts for sure that I do follow though.
Some my favourite Manchester bands includes Cairns, Winterfylleth and Wode. I
still need to familiarise myself with the death metal side of the scene though.
9. Beyond
fear and personal anxiety, are there other themes or concepts that you plan to
explore in Purgatorial's future work?
Definitely.
I don’t want to give too much away yet but I am no fan of the Royal Family and
the absolute mess the British Empire caused. Also the next 4 years across the
Atlantic are going to be… interesting, let’s say. I’m sure that orange clown
they elected will give me a lot of things to be angry about (again).
Purgatorial is mostly fuelled by things that piss me off.
10. With
Fading Whispers of Voidbound Souls releasing soon, what are your goals
for the album, and how do you hope it resonates with listeners? Any plans for
live shows to bring these songs to the stage?
I’m hoping to get as many ears as possible behind this album. I enjoy making music and sharing it with people, and having a physical CD that people can own makes it more exciting! I don’t want to rush into new music just yet either so I am considering some live shows for 2025. If all goes well then we will make more noise about that side of things.
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