• Hello my friend, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.
Hello to you, mi amigo! I am doing well! I am at home in Texas where it is scorching at night. I am about to begin work on a song or two.
• Would it be possible to tell us more about your personal musical background and how do you feel you have developed as a musician?
To use an oft-said cliché. I grew up in a musical household. My dad sang and still sings in the church choir and my mom played the organ at an early age. My uncle was and still is an active musician who plays folk and Americana music, He wrote a song for the Country and Western singer, Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” in 1978. I used to listen to that record quite often just to honor my uncle. Around that time, my mom used to take my brother and I for piano lessons where Il learned the fundamental of music. I began playing the trumpet in 1979 in 6th grade. I started composing music around that time as well. I also would transcribe the melodies to the main themes of Star Wars and Superman on a small music notebook.
At what age did you start listening to extreme metal? Which bands would you cite as influences both fundamentally and in regard to your band’s sound?
I started off listening traditional heavy metal in the early 80’s-Dio, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden. Back then, extreme metal did not really exist. It was the pioneers of the bands along with Rush, Styx, Night Ranger and Journey that I drew inspiration from. Then, in the summer of 84, I heard Metallica’s “ Ride the Lightning” album and things started changing. I bought “Master of Puppets” as a record and basically wore it out. It started a hunger for things harder, faster, and heavier. In Summer of 1987, my favorites were the Big 4 of thrash,DRI,SOD, Circle Jerks and most of the early thrash bands. I also love King Diamond. Dio was my favorite, though. I tried to emulate his lyrical style in my poetry. The bands that have most influenced my sound are Draconian, Asylum(TX)Trees of Eternity,Paradise Lost, Dream Theater, Solitude Aeturnus, along with ambient and electrnic artists such as Aphex Twin and Robert Rich.
• What challenges have you faced as an independent artist, and how have you overcome them while maintaining Silent Deep Ocean's uncompromising vision?
The Dallas- Fort Worth scene has a huge death metal following, It is a community where everyone knows each other, Unfortunately, I left the metal scenein2015 to raise my son. I have not gigged in an exceptionally long time, almost 1o years except for playing in church praise bands, The challenge is that with working full-time and being a single father, I do not have any time to play live other than at church. I made peace with it, however. Making sure my son is a responsible, caring and intelligent young man is the most important of all.
Your music seems to carry out a deeper meaning. What messages or themes do you hope to convey through your artistic expression?
I have always loved the concept of silence and space, so a lot of my compositions have to deal with mystery, uncertainty and things lost passed. I try to convey a sense of remembrance. One of my passions is ancient archaeology so I am fascinated with ruins, shipwrecks, and antiquity. I am heavily influenced by fantasy and that plays a huge part in my music.
As the sole member behind Silent Deep Ocean, how do you manage the creative process of writing and composing music, lyrics, and playing multiple instruments? It can be a challenging process at times. I usually sit down at my keyboard and devote an hour or so “noodling “until something interesting appeals to me. Sometimes, I am inspired by a songs or poems. The essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson are a huge inspiration to me as well so some of his themes and concepts make their way into my mind when creating. I write in the dark most of the time so I let the darkness dictate to me what I make. The only light is the computer monitor. All my instruments are software based because I live in a small house and do not have a lot of room for guitars and outboard gear.
Your debut album, “The Throne of whispers and dust” delivers a mysterious, heavy, and nostalgic sound. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind these 10 tracks and how it felt to release your music to the world?
The inspiration behind the sound is catharsis by way of a story that I developed a few years ago. It involves a poet that dies and goes to hell and is led around in hell by a rogue demon that commits guerilla warfare on Satan. The demon wants to be reinstated in Heaven, so he is willing to do anything to get there. Most of the songs on the album are connected to the story. The hooded character on the cover is my main character, Emberil, who is me. When I released my album, it was a tad bit unnerving but so far the reviews have been very good and the album has been well received.
What part does artwork and lay-out play when you release a new recording? How do you best catch people’s attention?
Artwork is essential to the songs and cannot exist properly without it. I try to capture the attention of the listener by capturing the atmosphere of the music in the artwork. The artist that I worked with is very patient and thorough. I used an existing theme in his artwork (The hooded figure) and made it my own. I gave him a few pointers but let him work his magic. It is the same thing with the logo too. I wanted an ancient, old English type of font to reflect the music. My music is not brutal death metal, so the logo needs to reflect the genre. I believe that the artwork should tell a story and not just be an abstract or random image just to be hip or cool.
Describe your vocal delivery. I feel your growl register vocal style is unique, how difficult is this to pull it off?
As I get older, it is increasingly difficult to growl so I use a “studio growler” from time to time. There is a software instrument that I use to imitate the growls as well. On the next album, I will have some of my vocals on there, though.
When you work in the studio what kind of process do you go through? Do you come in all prepared or do you improvise?
It depends on several things. Sometimes, I have a pre-determined concept. “ The Desert of Nara-Mur”, for example was planned out extensively, On the other hand, I will listen to other bands to get inspiration. “The Throne of Whispers and Dust” started life while I was listening to a Mournful Congregation song. I was figuring out the guitar part and was immediately inspired. The song is also influenced by Daudaro an Icelandic artist who creates a very unique brand of funeral doom. Most of the time, however, my songs are born from improvising in the wee hours of the morning. I will sit in the dark and play the piano until my muse speaks to me.
The production on your album is really solid and extremely well crafted, not only from the perspective that matters most, namely, substance, but also in its structure. What can you tell me about the recording process and what kind of sound you were going for? Are you satisfied with final results?
My main goal from the very beginning was for the album to function as a book so I selected songs over a vast period of productivity that I felt reflected my goal. I never want my work to sound forced or incomplete. The listener deserves a cohesive piece of art, something that can immediately transport them into my realm, Substance is essential. If a track seems like filler material, I will work on it until it fits, or I shelve it and take ot out at another time. The recording process took over a year and a half to complete. Initially, I wanted a very dark and unmelodic album but that eventually changed as I began listening to other bands and having different experiences. I am ecstatic with the sound and astounded that it turned out better than I had hoped and I am very satisfied with the results. It was a very cathartic journey as well.
How much time did it take to put this record together? Do you have extra material that is left out after choosing what fits you most?
It took from December 2022- April 2024 to record. I made a huge number of songs so that there are about four albums worth of material left over. I am going to be putting out an e.p. of some of my piano pieces at the end of the summer.
What do you feel is the quintessential element of Silent Deep Ocean´s sound?
The quintessential sound of Silent Deep Ocean is the atmosphere, I try to invoke a sense of depth, shadow, introspection, darkness, and exploration in my songs. I am primarily a piano and a synthesizer player so obvious, my music is going to be synth heavy.
Writing such slow-paced, melancholic music and managing to fuse intense feelings to the listener is a hard task in my book. Does it have to do with your personal state of mind?
Are you an eternally melancholic person? Yes, I am forever a melancholic person that struggles with depression and anxiety. I have always been an extremely intense person with periodic bouts of happiness. I try to be at a constant state of wary content. My music is therapy for me as for a lot of people that suffer these types of maladies. Music is my way out of the darkened labyrinth that snakes its way around my soul from time to time.
Your songs include some parts with a female vocalist, could you please tell us a bit about her? Please describe how working with her made a difference.
She is a studio musician from Europe, I believe. I used some of her work initially as atmosphere but then quickly realized that she needed to be at the forefront of the songs. She mainly works in the cinema industry working with soundtrack composers. Her voice makes a difference as it adds light and hope to the dark tone of the instruments.
If you were able to put one of your songs into a film or television show, what song would you choose and what type of film or series would it go with?
My earliest musical inspiration of John Williams’ soundtrack to “ Star Wars: Episode 4: ”A New Hope”. It still influences me to this day. I consider myself a “ nonmovie” composer so every song that I write, I envision it as a movie or a tv series.I would love to compose for fantasy, horror and science fiction, The Lord of the Rings score and composer Howard Shore is right behind John Williams as the paragons of movie soundtracks.
And what about inspiration outside of doom metal and music in general? What else fuels your inspiration? What kind of art do you enjoy in your spare time? Literature, cinematography, theatre?
I also am a writer so I try to write poetry every day. I read, mainly theology, archaeology, paleontology, philosophy and fantasy. Spending time with my son also gives me inspiration as well. In fact, a few songs on my upcoming album are based on conversations that we have had or are having. I also love walking for exercise, It clears the mind and allows me to think in silence and solitude. These days all I do is work as a technical writer, spend time with my son and make music.
Can you tell a bit about the scene in Texas and what that scene was like back in the days when you started playing? How did metal music come to your area in the first place?
The DFW metal scene is very varied with the best know band being Pantera, I knew them personally back in the 80’s. I started playing in bands in the area in the 80’s. Back then, metal was not popular in the slightest. It was rock and of course, country. Country is overwhelmingly popular in Texas. Pantera helped establish metal in the area. My favorite local bands here are Asylum, in which influenced my atmospheric black metal side, Astyanax, a brutal death metal band. Coprolalia is another brutal death metal band that is extremely popular, followed by Macabre Eternal, who play horror themed death metal. Prophecy is by far the litmus test for all brutal death metal in the Dallas-Fort Worth scene.
The biggest doom metal band, however, be it here or anywhere is Solitude Aeturnus. They are legends and highly revered.
With the easy access to internet you can spread your music across the globe just sitting in front of your computer. How much effort to you put into promoting the band world-wide?
I promote SDO constantly. I am always finding a new market or niche to post my music to. I am always looking for new friends from all over the globe.
I want to thank you, sincerely, for your time. Before we end our conversation, is there anything else you’d like to share?
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your zine. I would say to the reader for them to follow their passion, be it music, art or underwater basket weaving, If you are passionate about something, it will show and people will be inspired to create. As Emerson hath written in his essay “Circles”, he says “For every deep that closes, a lower deep opens”. Always go for depth and substance.
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