The new HALIPHRON album “Anatomy Of Darkness” is your second for Listenable Records. Did you do anything different as it comes to e.g. the songwriting, recording, mixing and mastering compared to your debut album “Prey”?
“Yes we did! On “Anatomy Of Darkness” we paid attention to the reviews and feedback of the fans and press concerning the album “Prey”. The songs on ‘“Anatomy Of Darkness” are shorter, more riff-based, more in your face, there are even more guitar solos. Besides that, the strings and choir parts are a little bit less present than on “Prey”. So we deliberately created some more space for the guitar and vocal parts. Also, I have put more variety and more extensive vocal parts on this album. A lot more low growls, screams, talking, whispering and even some clean singing. Also the way of recording, mixing and mastering is different. With the previous album “Prey” we were sort of forced to record the previous album in our home studios, due to the pandemic. We all have a home studio nowadays, so that was pretty easy. But that‘s not the same as a real professional recording studio of course. We worked with Hans Pieters (NL) as recording engineer and Andy Classen (DE) as mixing and mastering engineer. Those two knew exactly what we wanted and they are engineers for many, many years. They worked on productions of After Forever, Belphegor, Legion Of The Damned, Epica, to name a few. Our goal was to record everything analog for this album. So we can really mic the drumkit and test different microphones, several setup-combinations, guitar and bass preamps and cabinets. We had way more choices than a simple plugin (which are amazing nowadays, too). But we wanted to go back to the late 90‘s / early 00‘s feel of sound instead of the modern ‘digital’ sound. We think we made the right choice for this album, songs and production.”HALIPHRON started in 2021 and the lineup is still intact, except for the drummer. Frank Schilperoort was replaced by Paul Beltman, who will be heard on the new album. And David Gutierrez Rojas will no longer be joining you on keyboards at live gigs?
“From the start of HALIPHRON, it was clear that Frank was a session musician and not a permanent member of the band. But it still felt that way and it was fantastic that he recorded “Prey” with us. We played awesome shows (Copenhell, support for Arch Enemy, Into the Grave, EMM, to name a few) and we had great experiences! When the second album came up, we told him that we wanted him as the permanent drummer, but unfortunately, that didn’t work out for him. His spot has been filled by Paul and with him we’ve found a great and dedicated drummer. He did an amazing job on our album “Anatomy Of Darkness” and the live shows we’ve played so far (for example Bloodstock, Burning Q and Stonehenge). After our first album “Prey”, David wrote all the keyboard parts for our second album but has mentioned that he can’t combine live performances with his other commitments at the moment, so he won’t be performing live with us anymore.”

Let’s have a look at “Anatomy Of Darkness”. Luckily, I got the lyrics too, so we can discuss some of those as well. By the way, who wrote the lyrics for the new album?
“I wrote all the lyrics. It’s really important for me to create a certain feeling when I sing. This can only be achieved by writing my own lyrics, do my own research (did that a lot) and put my heart and soul into every piece I write.”

The art on the front cover truly covers it all. There’s an ominous figure with an eerie sky and he’s walking in some sort of wheat field. Who made it?
“Everyone has an inner darkness and this is brilliantly visualized by Dimitriz, who also did the artwork for our previous album “Prey” (never change a winning team!). On the cover art you can see the darkness itself which is dissolving into pieces of its own anatomy. On the back cover you see that the pieces of his anatomy are also dissolving into birds of freedom. So also the artwork is created in two different ways of choices and fits the whole concept perfectly.”

The album opens with an instrumental, “Opus Addicere”. Mostly, that means there’s a concept and a storyline. Is there one on “Anatomy Of Darkness”?
“The main theme on this album is addiction, but there is no storyline from A to Z. These addictions could be seen from two perspectives: What will the devil on your shoulder say to your inner darkness during your addiction, or what would the angel on your shoulder say? What will you do or choose: keep the addiction or fight against it?”

First conventional track with lyrics, “Silent Escape”, doesn’t give the impression at the beginning that we are dealing with a symphonic death metal band here. But after one minute the pedal goes to the metal with a murderous guitar riff and fast speed drumming, followed by your incantatory vocals. So it’s a symphonic before death metal song about addiction?
“As you know we like to mix death metal with symphonic elements and I think this style we are playing right now fits HALIPHRON perfectly. “Silent Escape” tells the desperate journey of someone trapped in addiction. He desensitized himself to the pain with painkillers, leading to a dark, empty existence. Despite knowing the truth of his situation, he is seduced by the false solace of painkillers and other substances. His addiction whispers promise of escape, keeping him in its grip, while his hope slowly fades away. He acknowledge the merciless hold of addiction and the illusion of comfort it provides, as he drowns in sorrow and decay.”

The cannibal song “Feasting On Flesh” is not one for HALIPHRON’s live setlist, you’ll need oxygen after you’ve finished that one. How did you even record that in the studio?
“I can imagine you think this is not a live song, but nothing could be further from the truth. We’ve practiced this song live together in the rehearsal room many times, just like all the other songs on the new album. This is indeed one of the more challenging songs to perform live, but it’s a matter of lots of practice and breath control. “Black Star” is another one like that and we’ve played it live several times already. I love challenging myself and since I write my own lyrics and vocal lines, I can push myself to the limit, or even just beyond. I believe you shouldn’t make it too easy for yourself and it has to stay interesting for the listener too. Apparently, that worked because you’re bringing it up, haha.”Since this is an interview and not a review, we have to skip some tracks. But “Buried Truth” is really interesting, not only for the radio message at the start, but also for the Middle Eastern two lines sung in clean vocals: “Do you hear our melody / Reveal our history”. First: is that also you singing, and second: is the song based on a true story?
“Yes, the clean vocals are also me! Not only the “Do you hear our melody / Reveal our history” lines but also the “Find us, before we fade away / Search for us” part. I started as a clean vocalist at a very young age, so I was trying out some clean vocal lines because I heard them already in my head when I was writing the lyrics. It fits the story very well. The song is not based on a true story but the addictions I describe in all songs are real. I want to give my mind the freedom to explore without focusing on the actions of just one person. Additionally, this song is not about the person as a murderer, but about the addiction to killing in general. I am always very interested in what is happening in people’s brains. I’ve done a lot of topics about several sick and twisted things (all related to human behaviour) on previous records, but this time my interest was purely on addictions. How many different addictions are there, why and how do people get addicted, what are they trying to escape from, how will it affect the lives, etc. etc.”

“I often see that people are mostly judged by their appearance and put into boxes, without anyone making an effort to get to know them or figure out what’s really going on.”

– MARLOES VOSKUIL –

Let’s leave the casino song “Double Or Nothing” and “Epitome Of Perfection” for the listeners to explore and we automatically arrive at the last two tracks on “Anatomy Of Darkness”, “Art Of The Blade” and the title track. “Art Of The Blade” has really confrontational lyrics, especially for people with a borderline personality. It starts with: “The biggest trend here, isn’t about sex or music. / No, it’s about scissors, razorblades and knives…”. And in the middle of the song: “The evidence of pain, carved into my skin / I wear my scars with pride / If you are truly concerned / Then show me your empathy.” Is it something that happened to yourself or in your immediate environment?
“No, but the reason why it seems so ‘in your face’ is probably because I’m really trying to put myself in the shoes of someone with an addiction. What do they feel, what are their fears, what brings them sorrow? And since I’ve experienced these kinds of emotions myself, I can truly imagine how it could push someone to their limits. What I find so interesting is why one person might spiral out of control while another doesn’t. In addition to that, I do extensive research and I think that this combination makes the writing feel more direct. I wrote: “The evidence of pain, carved into my skin / I wear my scars with pride / If you are truly concerned / Then show me your empathy” because I often see that people are mostly judged by their appearance and put into boxes, without anyone making an effort to get to know them or figure out what’s really going on. In “Art Of The Blade” his scars, while misunderstood by others, are a testament to his pain and resilience. He challenges the shallow judgments of others and assert his identity beyond his scars. The lyrics end with a defiant stand against those who judge him, emphasizing his strength and complexity.”

Finally, we have “Anatomy Of Darkness”. It is almost completely instrumental except for some spoken words, a message to Satan coming to Earth and destroy God’s creation. “Interestingly, our heavenly Father has told us that you are the devil. / An evil spirit. And all your angels and those deceived by you, will go into having an everlasting punishment. / To the place that God calls Hell. / Where there will be outer darkness.” Who wrote this message, who recorded the spoken part and what is the meaning of this track at the end of the album?
“To be honest, I had to ask around because it’s the only song I’m not a part of. Ramon (Ploeg – guitarist) had that sample sitting around for a few years, just waiting to be used. For the longest time, we couldn’t find the right music to fit the spoken part until we came up with the instrumental track “Anatomy Of Darkness”. We had to adjust a few things to make it fit perfectly, though. The track is more like a compilation, a final piece where all the musical storylines come together. All the songs are about exploring your inner darkness, but that darkness can mean different things — like fear of something, even fear of darkness itself. Just like the figure on the cover, he represents darkness itself. It’s really up to you how you interpret it, or what you see when you look in the mirror.”

Both your previous band Izegrim and HALIPHRON are typical live bands where you are the most successful as musicians. So the bookings are pouring in for a club tour and festivals next year?
“Playing live is amazing! Recording an album in the studio is fun and it’s fantastic to hear all the pieces come together, but performing the songs live and getting reactions from the crowd brings so much joy and energy. You can really see that joy in us on stage. Doomstar Bookings is busy planning the shows for next year, but unfortunately, I can’t say anything about it yet. Thank you and I hope to see everyone at a live show soon!” ■