The Interview: Abyssal

Its dark, brutal and above all, magnificent. In a interview conducted as part of Metal Horde Singapore, I managed to catch up with the nefarious Abyssal as they provide the sermons to your disorientated souls

i. What is the history behind the formation of Abyssal?

ZAHID :

Believe it or not, it all started with a birthday song. From there, we moved on to explore other genres that basically had movement or feel in any sense of the songs we played. As time passed, we got more and more confused and we didn’t know what we were playing till we suddenly landed where we are right now.

All of us happened to be in the same secondary school and we didn’t exactly start out on the right note. Chien and Hafiz were like bread and butter, Chien and Zahid were rivaling drummers, Zihan and Hafiz used to pick on Zahid, Zahid feared Bakar, Bakar picked on basically everyone else. Haha it all sounds like we were from a soap opera cast.

CHIEN :

Yes, the birthday song was the earliest trace of us writing a song together, but i would say

Abyssal truly began when ‘A Blasphemy Is Born’ was developed about 2 years ago. Prior to that, the band can be summarized as this:

80s Rock (Scorpions, Deep Purple) à Mandatory Metal (Metallica, Iron Maiden) à

Power Metal (Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody, \m/ Blind Guardian!!! \m/) à

Going Heaver (In Flames, Opeth, Kalmah) à

Now (Everything from Doom, Black to various Folk music, whether it is going to be represented on the EP or not)

Basically, we met in secondary school, started to play music together (covers first), developed our taste(s) for music together according to the ‘timeline’ above, and began to aproduce songs as we discovered ‘new’ sounds and influences. Of course it (influences) varies with each individual, but the general summary is that.

We wrote a few 80s ballads and Heavy/Power metal songs, then upped the symphonic elements, added Melo-Death influences, then some Melodic Black and eventually arrived at ‘A Blasphemy Is Born’

singapore is/has a very kancheong society, so if you are typical and do not have time to pay

attention to details (which is a very sad thing) here is the summary in 4 bullet points.

-Met in secondary school. [Ancient History]

-Played covers of 80s Rock, Heavy/Power metal [Early Beginnings]

-Developed sound with symphonic elements, Melo-Death. [Formation Era]

-A Blasphemy Is Born. [Abyssal]

ii. Recently, we have witnessed the band sharing the stage with an orchestra (at the recent Clash Of The Titans showcase with the Fused Orchestra). How did this collaboration come about?

CHIEN :

A violinist at my school who leads the Fused Orchestra approached me (and

Abyssal) to play for the concert. They wanted to try out different genres for the second half, which included pop and Jazz and of course Metal. It was a good experience for both sides, as well as an opportunity for us to hear our how our songs will sound like with live strings.

iii. How does it feel doing a concert that is different from a metal gig?

ZAHID :

Well, for one, it was bloody VCH, so it was an honour to be playing at such a venue. Can’t say the same about the management though, but the stage was pretty and had so many lights so we were content. Also, there was more restraint for keeping the tempos and the volume so it was pretty tough.

CHIEN :

The first big difference would be the huge stage and dressing rooms.

The first big difference would be the restraint and inhibiting atmosphere/mood of the event.

Not an easy task trying to balance just the right amount of ‘metal’ to put into the performance. It is no mass ritual: we wanted to respect the organizers and the orchestra. However, it would have been unfair to both sides if we had toned down all the way and did it ‘peacefully’. We would have been posers, and the audience would have watched a lie. I’m quite sure the balancing could have been much better, but it was a rushed concert anyways.

iv. Prior to Clash Of The Titans, what other gigs have Abyssal been involved in for the year 2010?

Mass Ritual II, III which were our third and fourth gig respectively


V. Word has it that there is a disc coming out for Abyssal, would you like to talk more about its upcoming release?

Firstly, it is being produced at Inversion Studios with Cedric, and should be ready by late September/early October for release.

CHIEN :

This is more of a demo-EP for us. We are still heavily experimenting with our music and developing our sound*, but figured that it is a neverending process for any band, so we decided to produce a CD. The experience gained from the whole production, from recording to reviews and criticism, would give us new perspectives to work with for future materials/releases.

*This can be clearly seen from the disjointed nature of the five tracks. We have a blend, or mess, of

Symphonic/Melodic Death/Black, some Folk, some Doom, traces of ‘Classical’ music some Gothic elements even.

ZIHAN:

What is made has been with us for quite some time (for eg. ABIB 1 year+). We needed the right moment to start the recording, and i believe that as of now, the songs are

ready, and thus we decided to go into production.

Vi. The underground metal circuit consists mostly of extreme metal bands and being a symphonic metal act in the pack can be an eye opener to some. How do you keep the crowd engaged by offering a different dish to the table?

ZAHID :

Being symphonic doesn’t make us any less extreme or brutal, which is what we try to reflect in our songwriting and chants. We’ve made our chants a tradition in our performances and we love the responses we get from the crowd. One day, we hope to see our chants being echoed by anyone and everyone. It’s kinda like spreading our seed. yummyyummy.

CHIEN :


Symphonic?: A Preliminary

The label ‘symphonic’ has probably caused quite a few arguments since the times of Emperor. Labels were awesome in the past, because genres were still pure and straightforward. When you say Thrash Metal in the 80s, you know your neck is going to get snapped. When you say Black Metal in the 90s, you know a church is getting burnt. Nowadays, the genre(s) is(are) so highly developed, inter-influenced, confused, and misunderstood that it would take countless layers of sub-genres and an essay to define a band.

With all that said, I am not against labels and genres. They still serve as a (non-authoritative and non-definitive) guide for audiences. Also, anyone is entitled to label us as anything. Perspectives are astronomically diverse as of 2010. Hypothetical and extreme but: A pure Westlife fan would probably label Slipknot as Raw Black Metal. A pure Gorgoroth fan would probably label Sonata Arctica as Pop-Metal/Hard Rock. People from my grandmother’s generation would probably think that the speakers are spoilt when they hear Nile. And the thing is, all those views are legit. Views are never wrong, they are only formed. They key is to always look deeper, and never settle for a one word genre label, unless the band is indeed that. Exploration and discovery is one of beautiful things in music that has been neglected due to instant noodles.

In simple words, a symphonic band can be extreme, an extreme band can be symphonic. The raw materials are all laid out infront of us. Everything has been done before. What keeps bands and music going is the personal/unique way of rearranging and fusing these materials. Use labels as guides and as a descriptive medium, not as expectations.

‘How do you keep the crowd engaged by offering a different dish to the table?’

CHIEN :

Technically, we try to

Mix and match sounds that are already developed, which is what musicians have been doing for hundreds of years. Then we try to avoid re-creating a ‘blend’ that has ‘already been blended’, which is also what bands have been doing for decades.

Incorporate some of the rarer sounds (of which none are present in the EP, upcoming songs probably), like Renaissance music, rarer folk influences like Traditional Japanese. Also, we try to improve the quality of blend that is already common, like classical music and Middle-Eastern-ish stuff.

But, no matter how much we try

Someone else has done it before, and has done it better. So the only option left is to be as true to the music as possible, working with it as children and not products. If we enjoy our own music, there is a high chance other like minded people would enjoy it too.

FIZ :

Different dish? sushi or murtabak? hmm…its the appeal we have i guess…we engage the crowd through our sincere compositions and theatrics.

ZIHAN :

We are symphonic, but symphonies should not be the main focus of our sound. It may be the feature in some tracks, but generally, it functions as support and color in our sound, and should not be treated as prime. Even some may think that we are symphonic on first

impression, personally, to me, the thread that goes through all our songs is more of atmosphere and a fusion of melody and elements of Death/Black. To us, the scene and the genres do not pressure us. It is basically our enjoyment of our own music.

Vii. While most bands jump at the fastest opportunity to get their material promoted by various social platforms, Abyssal only has a myspace page to spread the word around. Too much of a hassle making multiple pages or refusal to cave in to instant gratification?

ZAHID :

We’ve seen countless bands dying before they’ve even started and even more so are doing it just to be famous and known in the scene. We just don’t like the idea of being seen as one of them. Although with the upcoming release, we will definitely be expanding to a few of those platforms.

FIZ :

Music is precious…and something genuine…not many can (truly) appreciate (true) music…its like a contamination…once good music is released it’ll spread around like wild fire…to spread good music, we have to engineer it to the best quality…its not easy to make good music. We wouldn’t want to rush…we want to make proper music with soul.

CHIEN :

We are still young and growing. Too much exposure may not be healthy. For example, we have Doom metal influences, which is not particularly popular locally. If we promote ourselves too much and receive many negatives, some of us would probably want to give up the genre. Not to say that we are not true to the music we make, but we have human blood in us, and it is, unfortunately, a natural reaction i would anticipate. Personally, we have to be confident in and assured of our own musical identities before engaging in these commercial and social aspects.

ZIHAN :

If the music is really of worth, somehow, people will be able to find the myspace page. Besides, it is time consuming to manage multiple accounts. The time and effort

can be put into improving our material.

Viii. Is there a power metal influence amongst your members?

ZAHID :

Indeed, most of us were listening to Power metal, trying to keep up with their ridiculous double pedals and solos. Trying to pull a Rhapsody falsetto. Hahaha it was hilarious but that was the genre that showed us our limitations during our youth and it contributed tremendously to our songwriting, especially in terms of strings.

FIZ:

Not me.

CHIEN:

I’m glad you managed to pick that out. Very subtle. Yeah we pretty much started out as a ‘Power’ metal band, Heavy/Power to be exact i think. Then from there all the symphonic and epic elements came in. Kalmah and to a lesser extent In Flames showed us the bridge from Power metal to more extreme influences.

ZIHAN :

All i can say about this is that from what i learnt about Death metal. All us have somehow liked or appreciates Power metal at one point of our lives. It is definitely more easy to the ears of those who just got into metal and stuff. Personally when i started listening to metal i hated bands like Opeth, CoB, Kalmah and stuffs like that mainly because of the vocals, blastbeats and also the weird time signatures. but as time progresses, we all managed to find the beauty of the art of growling, screaming, blastbeats etc and slowly, we start to leave behind our Power metal influences. Nonetheless Power metal is part and parcel of our roots as metalheads.

IX. Growing up, what did the members of Abyssal listen to and who were your musical heroes?

FIZ :

OPETH, Mikael Åkerfeldt.

ZAHID :

Zahid and Chien first started off listening to boybands, punk rock and nu-metal.

Hafiz started off with Limp bizkit and Eminem.

ZIHAN :

As for me, i started listening to Metallica as my first metal band with the song ‘Nothing Else Matters’. had to admit that although they are a thing of the past, they are still good musicians and will always be remembered as the ones who got me into the metal world. Though i’m now into Melodic Death/-Black stuffs, i cant deny the fact that there are other types of music that are worth listening to besides metal. In fact they are the roots to the creation of some of the riffs in our compositions..

X. What keeps the band going irregardless of the obstacles?

ZAHID :

(Law-ee Chee-an Tah-ee)

CHIEN :

A belief that this band’s (and music in general) worth and value is beyond the overrated achievements of o levels, degrees, wifes, children, buying a big house and cars and ___________ (insert whatever desires mediocre singaporean/human culture lusts after here).

ZIHAN :

It’s simple. Our devotion and passion for music. We enjoy playing music we like and we enjoy making music and getting ideas and inspirations from songs we cover or listen to. That’s what have been keeping us together.

XI. Do you have any plans to venture beyond the region?

ZAHID :

Well duh. singapore is too small. we’d like to spread our seed as far as possible. Dubai, Wacken, Stockholm.. nothing is impossible.

CHIEN :

Yes of course. It will be interesting to see/hear reactions from audiences from/with different countries, upbringings and cultures.

FIZ :

Europe

ZIHAN :

I’ll go for Finland. Sweden. Norway. Germany and any other places that appreciates our music. Even Malaysia. I’m not choosy. I’m appreciative.

XII. Any last words to your fans before concluding this interview?

FIZ : I LOVE U

ZAHID : Huh? We have fans?

CHIEN : Do not hesitate to dislike us, or the song(s), if we produce something that you don’t like. Don’t just be fans. Always let the music decide for you.

ZIHAN :

Hmm…I’m not sure if we really have fans yet but if we do, i just want to say thank you for appreciating what we’ve worked so hard for. Honestly, we never made a song to please others. All our songs are made

genuinely from our hearts and soul. It’s an effort to see how far we can go about composing songs that Abyssal band members would like. To me there is no point playing a song by your band that you don’t like. You become an outsider playing a cover song instead. So whatever Abyssal has came up with is what Abyssal’s all about. If it turns out to be accepted well by the people out there, then its a bonus for us as a band (knowing that we can produce things that people enjoy) And if that makes them happy, it makes us happy.