As we all know the Middle Easthas turned out some cracking metal bands over the years and whilst the number of outfits seems to trickle through there is no doubting the quality and unending drive these bands have. Most extreme death metallers will be familiar with the touring soldiers of Nervecell and now the band has some compatriots in their footsteps, namely Nephelium. Having relocated to Canada, Nephelium have subsequently released their bulldozing debut ‘Coils Of Entropy’ to considerable acclaim in the underground and the more publicized metal mags around the world. An album brimming with scorching riffs and tech inspired leads the debut is a brave and ambitious debut. Martin Harris caught up with drummer and original member Alan Madhavan for everything Nephelium.
Ave Noctum: Firstly can you provide our readers with a brief history of the band to date?
Alan: First off, allow me to thank you for your interest in us Martin. Believe it or not, Nephelium was conceived on an absolute impulse. My buddy Zaid and I were out and about driving around and I felt this strong urge to play black metal. Having said that, I wouldn’t call it ‘divine’ intervention but that’s literally all it was! While on the road, I called Alex and told him what I wanted to do and without question, doubt or hesitation, he answered positively. We searched for musicians to complete the line-up (we had a keyboardist at the time – whattup Sameer! :D) and recorded our demo, Archaic Malevolent Sorcery and after several line up changes and hiatuses, put out our EP, Ignite the Wrath of Silence. After playing several local shows and spreading out music across the Gulf, Alex and I set our sights higher and wanted to play to die hard fan bases around the world and alongside the bands we grew up listening to. It was time to pack up and leave! Alex moved first and I quickly followed. During that interim period, Alex recruited Boyan and Dan and Jay was later introduced to the band through out current guitarist James. After Boyan, Dan and Jay parted ways, we had to stall again to find musicians. Alex finally got in touch with Flo and without a second of delay got him on board. I coincidentally bumped into James at a subway station and said that we were looking for a guitarist. Rehearsals began and the search for a vocalist continued. Soon after Devlin joined the unit, things snowballed. 15 years, a few periods of drought, countless line-up changes, a demo, an EP and most importantly, that phone call and here we are…:)
Ave Noctum: Why did you move to Canada?
Alan: Alex and I have always been hard-working individuals since we were kids. Apart from the fact that we have family here, our research told us that Toronto didn’t have a top notch, premium death metal band. We saw that as an opportunity to pursue in building a stronger fan base and metal scene in Toronto as we did back in the U.A.E. Along with making a name for ourselves and playing music from the heart, we want to be “That insane death metal band from Toronto!” It was a lot of hard work getting to where we are and we are well aware that it is going to continue to be – we thrive off it and welcome it with open arms.
Ave Noctum: What does Nephelium actually mean and what is its significance on how the band is portrayed?
Alan: Nephelium, as referred to in the King James Version of the bible, were beings of superior genetic composition, often giants, and were the offspring of fallen angels from the heavens and women from Earth. This cross breed species, down the generations, is believed to have resulted in the human beings that we are today, with our flaws and sins.
Similar references are made in different religions, and it is easy to make the hypothesis that these stories were actually primitive retellings of visitors from another planet fucking up with the DNA of apes to create mankind. This theme speaks to us all as we blend together religion and technology to tell stories and write music from different perspectives around this central concept. Whatever religion you believe in, there’s something within that will peak your interest, and we truly believe that every metal head on this planet became metal heads because they are subconsciously aware of their “inner power” for every metal head is a descendant of the Nephelium!!!
Ave Noctum: The album has received incredible amounts of praise which you must be exceptionally pleased about? Did you expect it at all?
Alan: Writing and recording this album was a chaotic hybrid of emotion and thought. From the time the first note was played in the writing process to the finalize button during mastering the record, we knew that we wanted to create something unique yet listenable and accepting. Consequently, we knew that people would like what they heard as it would be an awakening, if you will, something fresh. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the webzines, magazines, interviewers and such for such outstanding reviews. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! Because of you, our fans and our true love for metal, we will only continue to deliver bone-crushing, face-melting music!
Ave Noctum: Based on this what would you say makes Coils Of Entropy stand above the myriad of quality brutal death metal bands and albums that are released these days?
Alan: Firstly, Coils of Entropy is a concept album. Not a lot of extreme bands take this approach to writing lyrically. Musically, we have several elements of various sub-genres of metal and genres in general on this record. A lot of extreme bands focus too much on technicality and speed and trying to make everything as intricate as possible and forget about the essence of groove and feel. Having said that, there are some pretty technical phrases on this album but as mentioned in a few reviews, even our 10:05 title track will keep your ears peeled and not bore you.
Ave Noctum: Can you tell us something about the song writing process in Nephelium? Does it explain why a lot of your songs are longer than most death metal bands tend to write?
Alan: We work a lot on brainstorming. Usually James will sit there with his Mac to take down ideas, Alex and I will be kicking around riffs and rhythms and Flo is there helping me manipulate and twist phrases to achieve solid transitions and such. Aside from Mac duties, Jamie tends to write some of the most killer stuff on his own and then present it to us to work with and bend into shape. We have days where we’ll go into our ‘library’ and see what we’ve got when constructing the skeleton of a song. On others, again, if it feels good and right, impulse wins. I don’t feel that this technique of writing has an impact of the length of our songs though. When we feel the need to end, we do.
Ave Noctum: When listening to the album the songs seem to jump from one style or riff to the next. Was this a conscious decision or something to make the album more intense and frenetic?
Alan: We play exactly what we feel. The reason this record is a journey of different styles and genres is because we all come from different backgrounds of music, which again, in relation to question 4 keeps things interesting.
Ave Noctum: I very much enjoyed the leads on the album, very Trey from Morbid Angel like, would you agree?
Alan: Absolutely! Alex is a wizard. His interpretation and conceptualization of music is some of the best I’ve heard amongst world renowned artists. Through the years, I have learned so much from him to make my job as a drummer better, a lot of which I owe to his lead playing. Trey and Morbid Angel are definitely a big influence on him.
Ave Noctum: Is there a particular theme or concept surrounding Coils Of Entropy?
Alan: This is a thematic album that revolves/gravitates around one central theme – the stagnation of all life and the arrival of entropy. All moving forces in the universe eventually stand still and all matter dissolves back into quarks. And it is in such fashion that all life comes to a halt. According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the total entropy of any isolated thermodynamic system tends to increase over time, thus approaching its maximum value. Therefore, the entropy in the universe as a whole increases in a steady function of its various thermodynamic components. Entropy is the only quantifiable force acknowledged by the physical sciences, that “picks” a particular direction for time, sometimes called an arrow of time. As we go “forward” in time, the Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us that the entropy of an isolated system can only increase or remain the same; it cannot decrease. If life is viewed as a sound wave, then entropy is the decay after the resonance has died out.
As artists we felt compelled in venturing forth in exploring the depths of inevitability and gradual doom that leads to the end of each living thing. This album observes the signs of the coming end of an eon – the era of man is slowly dissolving into murky dusk. The key concepts that will keep returning throughout the album are spiritual decay as well as corporeal disintegration. We will serve as the heralds of the spiritual and emotional emptiness and numbness, as well as the physical apocalypse that will follow. Just as when life has departed from a body, its motor functions linger until rigor mortis sets in, so will our world experience a delay between its metaphysical and material death. We may already be living in that period without realizing it – who knows? And as the machine that has ceased its functioning starts turning into dust, so do its individual components, no matter how small. This album is a celebration of the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one – one we will unfortunately not live to see.
Ave Noctum: What particular lyrical ideas you have chosen for the album?
Alan: The lyrics represent visions that the entity we speak of throughout the album receives from the memory base of a dying world. It saves these visions through means of the wire like attachment on its bottom right eyelid as seen in the artwork. The image of the tree is a mystical symbol and the only thing in existence at the time whose puzzle the traveler is trying to solve. Essentially, what the traveler sees is a conjured image of a failing mind. The lyrics are a direct representation of the traveler’s journey.
Ave Noctum: Where did you record the album and why? How was the recording process and were there any issues that needed to be resolved?
Alan: We were holed up at Rouge Valley Studios formerly know as AquaSound. Our engineer/producer, Dariusz Szcepaniak was Alex’s teacher at Trebas where he completed a course in Audio Engineering. I think it is safe to say that the recording process humbled us and escalated us to a new threshold of understanding sound. Dariusz is exceptional with his work and wanted this album to be as perfect as we did. Due to finances, I was limited to 4 days in total to track drums. I worked 8 hour days – definitely some of the best days of my life! 🙂 Through sleepless nights and mind-warping treks through the blistering cold on public transport, Coils of Entropy or “Soils of Onion Pee”, (our working title :D) was made. Apart from the studio undergoing some renovations, nothing really hindered us in the process.
Ave Noctum: What changes have you made since the EP?
Alan: Along with a different line-up, our writing style has definitely been altered. Also, since then, we have been exposed to so many different kinds of music that has influenced our method(s) of composition and sound.
Ave Noctum: Your album is self released but highly professional what, if any, offers have you had from labels and are you likely to take one up?
Alan: Certainly! We are waiting for the right one to snatch us!
Ave Noctum: The cover art is interesting, what is it trying to convey to the listener and who did it?
Alan: Artwork duties were handled by Juanjo Castellano (www.juanjocastellano.com). If you read the narrative in the middle of the album booklet, you will understand that the observations and themes are that of an entity looking into the world and its demise. The eye is the entities. It stares into what its mind is believing is real and “saving” the information, if you will, through the device attached to its lower eyelid on the bottom left.
Ave Noctum: How did you about finding the services of the new guys Florian Ravet, James Sawyer and Devlin Anderson?
Alan: Flo was a long time friend of Alex’s that he got in touch with and James was one of the few phenomenal guitarists that we knew through the scene. He always used to tell us that Nephelium would be the only band he’d join, so if we were ever looking for a guitarist, hit him up! After several phone calls and e-mails we still couldn’t get in touch with him but somehow, I bumped into him – it was meant to be! 😀 Devlin was among the handful of the most devastating vocalists in the city and when we caught wind of him being bandless, we jumped on that like a fat kid on a cupcake!
Ave Noctum: Added to this who would you say are your major musical influences and why?
Alan: We all come from various backgrounds of music but as a band I would say Death, Decapitated, Kronos, Dream Theater, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, the list could go on and on honestly…It’s because of the music we listened to growing up. Again, it’s probably a subconscious thing as we play what comes out naturally.
Ave Noctum: What has been the effect the Canadian metal scene has had on your development?
Alan: We haven’t toured outside Ontario just yet but the support that we’ve received thus far is greatly appreciated and is an integral component of the blood that keeps us alive and eager to write.
Ave Noctum: Do you have any current particular sources of inspiration or influences?
Alan: Personally, I’ve being listening to Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree a lot these days. The man is a genius. His articulation and unique phrasing just blows my mind – so much to learn from! Aside from him, two Indian percussionists, father and son, I’ve being listening to are Vikku Vinayakaram who plays the ghatam (an ethnic Indian clay pot) and Selvaganesh who plays the kanjira (a skinned tambourine) – UNBELIEVABLE musicians!
Ave Noctum: What’s the Toronto metal scene like? Any bands I should be checking out?
Alan: It’s a work in progress. We’re still working on building and establishing it so it is more recognized. The fanbase and enthusiasm is there; it’s just that we have to get more people to understand our message. Some kick ass bands out here – check out Nexortus, Serene Molestation and Xyphos!
Ave Noctum: What would you like to improve upon for your next album?
Alan: I wouldn’t say improve but I would like to add to our music. Use more ethnic instruments aside from our primary instruments – not haphazardly but intelligently of course.
Ave Noctum: A huge number of death metal bands are hitting the road these days, what are your touring plans for the album? Do you intend to go back to Dubai at all?
Alan: We would love to go back to Dubai and the Middle East for a show. We have a few things in the works but have to tie up some lose ends before making our way. Do check our social networks i.e. Facebook, Twitter, ReverbNation, MySpace and so on and keep your eyes and ears open for a show in and around your area.
Ave Noctum: What are your overall goals for 2012 and beyond, apart from world domination of course?
Alan: To be knee deep in work with a new album that is going to blow peoples minds!
Ave Noctum: Is there anything else you like to add for Ave Noctum readers.
Alan: Thanks again for checking us out and giving us more exposure. Best wishes to you too brother. Stay sic!
If you’ve not heard Nephelium’s debut “Coils Of Entropy” then after reading this I expect you to be purchasing said album pronto, whether you’re an old school fan craving that double kick annihilation or a tech addict after a fix of leads then this album is certainly for you.
Interviewed by Martin Harris
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