Canadian extreme metal band A FLOCK NAMED MURDER returns with Incendiary Sanctum, their most intense and uncompromising album yet. We discuss its creation, themes of worship and loss, and their evolving sound.
1. Your
upcoming album Incendiary Sanctum pushes every aspect of your sound to
its limits. Can you walk us through the writing and recording process and how
you approached making this your most uncompromising release yet?
Ryan: Some of the writing on this album
dates back even to the initial writing sessions that spawned our first album,
An Appointed Time - obviously much more refined and confident as the years went
on since that release. We were crafting songs collectively and I was coming up
with a lot of riffs and melodies drawing from nearly every influence I have,
and then the challenge became how to tie all these ideas together in a way that
sounds cohesive and not just like a bunch of unrelated songs smushed together.
That was
very much a matter of meticulous composition, not just in seeing if the
structures flowed smoothly (though that’s a huge determining factor as to
whether or not we can sign-off on a song - we’ve spent a LOT of time just
working transitions), but whether the song as a whole makes sense and has
continuity. You can make a song that flows well from one part to the next, and
then take a step back and find it goes nowhere or just meanders and never
really gets to the point. We want there to be definitive climaxes and prominent
themes that take place in the music that stick with the listener even as the
song travels to different territories.
And then
when you try to incorporate a wide palette of inspirations, you have to
experiment with how you can merge them seamlessly so that it becomes a unified
whole. An Appointed Time was very much trying to figure out what that balance
looked like, and I think we did a good job of it. With Incendiary Sanctum, we
blended all the ingredients together to greater effect and then had moments
where we went further with each aspect to realize their full potential.
In other
words, we really leaned into it. If it’s a black metal part, it has to rip
faces and sound menacing. If it’s a doom section, it needs to fucking crush you
under the weight of sheer existence. If it’s melodic, it needs to be something
that will stay with you from the moment you hear it and be accompanied by just
the right chord progressions. And if it’s a more atmospheric and post-metal
direction, launch the listener into the oort cloud and create an atmosphere
that swallows and surrounds them to the point where they have no idea how they
got in there, and wish for no escape.
2. The
album's themes revolve around worship, loss, and the passage of time. How did
these ideas influence the music, and what personal experiences shaped this
record?
Cam: I write all lyrics separately from
the music, they almost exist in their own worlds until it comes time to fit
them together. Despite that though, I feel that the influence of both elements
are felt in one another through an osmosis of sorts. It's not really a
conscious decision on my part to pass that influence or “feel” between the two;
it just happens organically.
Not super fond of getting into the personal side too much but I'll say that there's a lot in this record that I feel most people, if you have an empathetic bone in your body, could resonate with on some level. Grief over the loss of a loved one or someone you know in your community, witnessing the decline in someone's health, grappling with horrors in the world that are utterly beyond comprehension, depression and the absence of peace within oneself, that's all in there. And the relentless passing of time; when the illusion that there “will always be more time” begins to evaporate. There's knowing that our time here is finite and then there are the moments when you begin to see it wither for real.
3. You
mentioned that Incendiary Sanctum is a “eulogy burning away the very
idea of worship.” Can you elaborate on that concept and how it manifests in the
lyrics and atmosphere of the album?
Cam: This quote is remarking on how I
feel about worship as a concept. There's divine worship obviously, and that's
the easy target that a lot of people go after, and then there's everything
else. Human beings love worship and that goes far beyond the divine. I think
putting anything on a pedestal to where justification occurs to make sense of
atrocity, is dangerous and insidious. A lot of people claim not to worship
anything or anyone but they'll worship power, for instance. I don't think I'm
superior or somehow found some way to make myself insusceptible to this
nebulous concept I'm outlining here, quite the opposite frankly. We all have to
make sense of our existence somehow and we're going to grasp onto something. If
you really start digging deep, can a person also worship the concept of
non-worship or irreverence? Does it become a feedback loop of sorts then? Does
it matter?
Incendiary
Sanctum also refers to burning away the “inner sanctum” of oneself either in an
act of sacrificial worship to ANY idea or even just through self destruction.
All of this
may sound incredibly vague to some, but the truth is that I feel that my lyrics
have more questions than answers. That's not to say that there aren't moments
that are resolute, but generally I'm writing from a place of trying to
understand something - my place in the world, grappling with the horrors,
trying to find peace. I don't often find a final truth or conclusion, and I
often question if there is such a thing. My writing isn't preaching some new
gospel. I don't have the answers.
4. “Pierced
Flesh Catharsis” seems to explore a desire for transcendence beyond human
limitations. What was the inspiration behind this track, and how does it fit
within the broader narrative of the album?
Cam: Sort of like I've said already, it
was inspired by just bearing witness to the passing of time and feeling
trapped, alone and afraid. A lot of this lyric revolves around imagery, so it's
not as overt as all that, but generally it's a yearning for something more
despite the crushing weight and absence of belief.
The broader narrative - this would tie into the desire to make sense of your own existence, and the silence of God.
5. Your
music blends elements of black metal, doom, post-metal, and death metal
seamlessly. Do you consciously aim to break genre boundaries, or is it a
natural result of your songwriting process?
Ryan: This was very much a result of being
fans of a lot of different kinds of music and wanting to do it all, but also
realizing you should be cohesive and not an absolute clusterfuck. We’re a
product of our inspirations. My favourite band of all time is Agalloch, who did
this expertly well with the influences they’ve had over the years, but Cam is
also a massive fan of Ulcerate who are also forward-thinking and genre-pushing,
but worlds apart.
And then
between all of us, other bands we love and whom we’ve drawn from include
Neurosis, Cult of Luna, Yob, Immolation, Incantation, The Ruins of Beverast,
Nachtmystium, Emperor, Ulver, Taake, Inter Arma, Mastodon, Wolves in the Throne
Room, Dissection, Funeral Mist, Nile… it’s a big and varied list with a lot of
ingredients to work with. So then it’s a matter of “how do we take this
Yob-styled groove and transition into this Emperor-esque layered melodic black
metal, and have it make sense?” - those kinds of weird equations really force
you to think outside the box. But again, it’s not just the transition itself.
It's about finding ways to offer continuity, so that even in a vacuum those
parts feel like they belong together.
6. The
field recordings in “The Eulogy Fields” and “To Drown In Obsidian Tides” were
captured in Yosemite National Park and St. James Cathedral. What led you to
incorporate these sounds, and how do they enhance the album’s themes?
Ryan: For “The Eulogy Fields”, we knew we
wanted field recordings but weren’t sure what of. I was on a trip to Yosemite
National Park with some friends, and while doing a huge hike up one of the
mountains I got the idea to record the sounds of the roaring waterfall nearby.
It was very spur-of-the-moment, but in hindsight it complements the earthy and
ethereal aesthetics of the music. There’s also a nice juxtaposition between the
themes of death and longing with the constant nature of the waterfall - there’s
little recollection of how it came to be or how long it will be, but it’s there
and everflowing.
Cam: I had the idea of church bells at the end of “To Drown in Obsidian Tides” for quite a long time; it was just a matter of getting the right samples. We tried a few ways of programming it with VSTs to no avail, and then I just figured “Fuck this, I'm getting the real thing”. Authenticity is always better anyway, and there's something special about capturing those samples yourself, when possible. I learned of ‘change ringing’, which is a method of ringing church bells by multiple people that sounds random at first listen, but there are specific mathematic intervals and patterns behind it. Not all cathedrals practice this, but I learned that the St. James Cathedral in Toronto was one such place. I went there before Sunday service a few weeks in a row and recorded each time the bells were rung, and then we chose a few of our favourites and blended them.
7. This
album features collaborations with artists like Luke Farndon and Rob
McAllister. How did these guest appearances come about, and what did they bring
to the music?
Ryan: Luke is a long time friend of ours
whom we’ve also admired as an artist for years - his band Drofnosura is
absolutely crushing, highly recommended for anyone reading this! His voice
especially is soul-piercing, and we collectively agreed that at some point he
needed to be on one of our songs. The end of “Pierced Flesh Catharsis” was the
perfect opportunity; it was just a matter of figuring out the call-and-response
between him, myself and Mike. The vocals in that section are chaotic, but it's
such a monstrous vibe. At times the voices are separated enough to clearly
distinguish them, and at other times they all mutate together.
Cam: As for Rob, I had the idea of dark
and heavy piano chords played underneath the clean guitars in “Pierced Flesh
Catharsis” for a long time. Between that and the bells, I was hearing these
ideas in my sleep for years! Matt (one of our engineers) recommended Rob, who
is a former bandmate of his. It’s a simple part, but the texture really adds to
the gloominess of that whole passage.
8. From
your early days as Sovereign to A FLOCK NAMED MURDER, how has your creative
vision evolved over the years? What lessons did you take from your previous
work into this album?
Ryan: If anything, our creative vision
just became more refined as the years went on. We refined our approach of riff
writing and song composition to a point where it’s now easier for listeners to
find common threads between all of our music as a whole, while maintaining that
each song still has its own unique identity. We’ve taken many looks back at An
Appointed Time with fresher eyes and ears, and a heightened sense of wisdom and
can see in hindsight how certain parts could have been enhanced further. Or ways
to bridge the gap between all the ideas that would’ve made certain songs more
cohesive, or ways we might have unknowingly restricted ourselves from doing the
kinds of ideas we really wanted to explore, but didn’t know how.
That’s not
to down-talk An Appointed Time, though. We were young and incredibly ambitious,
and it shows. In hindsight, it’s still a great record that we’re very much
proud of. We’ve just learned from our past experiences and have sharpened our
blades, so to speak.
9. You’ve
shared the stage with bands like Imperial Triumphant, Rosetta, and Falls of
Rauros. How have those live experiences shaped your approach to performance and
songwriting?
Cam: In terms of songwriting, each are
progressive, forward-thinking bands in their own right. So that fact mostly
galvanized the belief that there's still some uncharted territory to be found
sonically, and the determination to push through the growing pains and find our
sound.
Performance
wise, they're just phenomenal bands and cool people. It's very sobering and
inspiring to see performances with that level of immersion and confidence. It's
a reminder of what you're aiming for.
10. The
album artwork by Adam Burke is stunning. How does it connect with the music and
the themes of Incendiary Sanctum?
Cam: The concept behind the cover is
ambiguous to an extent. It depicts a nameless, skeletal godlike figure with
fissured stone flesh, weeping/disintegrating an ember-like substance into an
hourglass, which pours out of the broken bottom as a stream of blood, and falls
into a forging crucible where it overflows into the “molten sea” that floods
the landscape.
Elements of
the Incendiary Sanctum cover such as the hourglass, the embers, the molten sea,
the reaper-esque god, are all moments of imagery taken from the lyrics. As
otherworldly as it looks, it's all meant to be grounded in real world
struggle/experience. The idea was to show a god that's just as much a slave to
the relentless passing of time as we are, and that there's no conceivable
reason or cosmic moral code to any of this seemingly endless and cyclical
horror and suffering that floods the reality of our lives and our existence. I
wanted to show the “feral sorrow” of this god that is a servant to continue to
forge this “bloodletting of time” and watch as it consumes innumerable
innocents. But I also wanted the piece to have a certain layer of ambiguity to
it, and invite further interpretation and abstractions on these themes.
11. What
do you want listeners to take away from Incendiary Sanctum? Is there a
particular emotional or philosophical journey you hope they experience?
Cam: My hope would be that some are able
to surrender to it and allow it to take hold of them in some way that's
evocative and honest and truly experience it. Either through the music, the
lyrics or both, I hope it offers a moment of reflection where they can perhaps
learn or engage with themselves in some way that's meaningful. My favourite
records from bands that inspired me to create music in this style did that for
me, and ultimately I want to express honestly and if someone resonates with
what we're doing in the same way, then I'll consider that a modicum of
success.
12. With
the album release coming up, what are your plans for the rest of 2025? Can we
expect live shows, tours, or any special projects in the works?
Ryan: We absolutely want to hit the stage now that the record is finally on the horizon. We've been working with a new live guitarist and want to make a point of playing out more often, and we're already working on new material as well.
As for
special projects, both Cam and I have some other projects we’ve been quietly
working on that you’ll hear about in due time. But for now, we want to
celebrate the fact that Incendiary Sanctum is Finally. Fucking. Done.
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