By:
Daniel Jackson
Kosmogyr is a long-distance
collaborative effort between Shanghai resident Xander Cheng and former Shanghai
resident Ivan Belcic, now living in Prague. Their potent black metal brew is
one of both melodic grandiosity and colossal sonic weight, that added heft
given from the judicious use of deep, churning melodic death metal. The band
displays a clear understanding of what’s made these styles work so well over
the last twenty-plus years, while still sounding very much a part of the here
and now.
In
that sense, Kosmogyr acts as a musical counterpoint to
the idea of post-black metal. Its existence is proof of how black metal has
necessarily grown and adapted rather than morphed into something else
altogether. There will always be plenty of bands holding down the fort for
traditionalism, and the genre still thrives even within those rigid boundaries.
But it’s the genre’s ability to blend with new sounds and seamlessly interact
with different musical contexts that makes it so creatively viable more than
twenty years after its original peak.
The Process
That
Kosmogyr have accomplished what they have on ‘Eviternity’ despite the expansive
distance between Shanghai and Prague helps define Cheng and Belcic’s drive and
passion for the music they’re making, when so many others would likely have
tried to find new outlets, rather than commit to a more complicated system for
making music. Thankfully, Belcic offered to help explain the collaborative
process that went into making the album:
“The typical Kosmogyr song begins with a collection of riffs from
Xander, along with rudimentary
drums underneath to give me an idea of what he has in mind. He’d send me a set of riffs that
belong together, and I’d go through them to sort out which feels to me like a
chorus, which has
more of a “main riff” vibe, and so forth. I might ask him to flesh out a
section, or bring another riff
or two in, depending on the direction I’m seeing for the arrangement.
“After coming
up with a first draft of the arrangement, I’d bounce it back to Xander for his
feedback, and based on that, we’d make whatever final changes were needed
before arriving at the final song structure. After we locked it in, I’d go back
and write all the detailed drum parts with fills and such.”
An
approach based on one artist rearranging and fine tuning the pieces put forth
by another isn’t one you’re likely to come across very often, at least not in
black metal. It speaks to a selflessness in Cheng that he’d create riffs to be
put together in ways he may not have imagined himself. It also speaks to Cheng
and Belcic’s symbiotic musical relationship even across such a great distance.
That’s especially impressive given black metal’s history with one-person
projects and inflexible creative methods.
The
use of drum programming as opposed to a live drummer has, and will continue to
be, a subject of debate among metal fans. Some fans are strongly against it,
regardless of whether it’s done out of necessity, born out of lack of
resources, reliable musicians, or anything else. For some listeners, the
circumstances surrounding the use of drum programming don’t factor in at all.
But like anything musical it’s all about how it’s executed. Someone who is
generally against non-human drumming might still be a fan of albums released by
Type O Negative (from 1996-2003), Anaal Nathrakh,
Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Limbonic Art, or Summoning.
Often,
the best programming will come from someone who understands drumming to begin
with. It’s extraordinarily helpful to know how a drummer might accent certain
notes or how to use dynamics to give programmed drums a more human groove
element that a lot of drummerless albums lack. Belcic describes his own
approach to programming:
“Though I am a drummer, I am sadly one bereft
of the chops, stamina and discipline needed to pull off this style of music
with perfect timing and finesse. The programming on the record is what I would
play, if I could play it at the required level.
The drums
were programmed note by note using the same MIDI composition software as the
songwriting. Despite this, I tried my best to take as natural an approach to
the drum programming as possible. I’d listen to the riffs and air-drum along to
the drum parts I’d hear in my head, and so that’s how I’d figure out what each
riff would get. The same goes for fills — I’d listen along, and anytime my
brain-drummer threw in a fill, I’d transcribe what I “heard” with the software.”
That
existing knowledge of how drums should be played shows in the end result. While
the tones themselves still have a somewhat mechanical sound to them, the beat
selection and natural flow to the programming makes the experience much more
genuine than it would be otherwise. I asked about specific drummers Belcic
might have looked to as an inspiration for his programming style, but there
wasn’t as much direct influence as you might expect:
“There was only one time I remember
purposefully grabbing influence from a specific drummer, and it was after
spending an hour or so in a YouTube rabbit hole of Anup Sastry videos. I think
it was while doing the drums for “Iridescent,” so if you hear any fills in that
song that sound particularly badass, that’s why. Anup, if you’re reading this,
thanks for slaying.”
Crushing Sounds, And The Voice They Require
Turning
our gaze back to the guitars, one of the things Kosmogyr
brings to the table that few others do is a robust and heavy guitar tone. The
closest black metal comparison I can think of is the tone on Gorgoroth’s ‘Twilight
of the Gods’, though it’s not as murky. Cheng is inclined to view it as an
obvious, natural choice:
“For me as a producer, the guitar sound is
not about taking influence from which bands or which genres — it’s all about
creating a rich sound that is enjoyable to hear. For the audience, a rich sound
overall is more fulfilling than an unbalanced mix, even with excellent
songwriting. I wanted the music to be welcomed by a wider group of people, so
before I started the production, I’d already created my concept for our sound
and our mix.”
For
posterity’s sake, Belcic adds “Those fat
chords under the main riff in “Eviternity,” though, that was all me. It’s my
one actual bit of guitar writing on the record, and the world must know”.
When
it comes to vocals; it goes without saying that every band is going to be
different. While strictly-defined vocal limits might work for bands as
different as Meshuggah or early Darkthrone,
Belcic’s more varied approach on ‘Eviternity’
is just what’s needed. Having found plenty of extreme vocal space to explore
between his caustic highs and thundering growls, Belcic sheds some light on his
vocal approach:
“I’ve always been drawn to vocalists who
utilize a dynamic range of textures, and it’s the type of vocalist I try to be.
It was important to me that our songs be given this sort of treatment, as
opposed to more of a one-style-fits-all approach.”
And
as to whether this was something mapped out in advance or played out by ear,
Belcic clarifies further:
“The vocal
choices were made on a very instinctual level. I wasn’t consciously making
decisions so much as responding to each passage of a song with the vocal style
that it evoked. It came down to how each riff affected me as I listened to the
songs, and how adjacent sections would complement and contrast with one
another.”
His
range didn’t come easily to him, though:
“For many
years, the high-end black metal shrieks have stubbornly been the toughest vocal
style for me to grasp, and so it was an inspiring challenge to hack my way
through these recording sessions. I did all the vocals in the bathroom of my
apartment…I can’t imagine what my neighbors must think of me.”
The Last Word
Lyrically,
Kosmogyr prefer to remain something of a closed book. Where
some bands have created a captivating musical identity by wearing their
political beliefs on their sleeve; Belcic is tight-lipped, preferring to let us
all sort these things out for ourselves. Knowing that Kosmogyr
recently appeared on the socially-conscious ‘Crushing Intolerance’ black metal compilation series, I’d wondered
if their political views had found their way into their lyrics at all:
“I don’t want
to characterize or contextualize our lyrics in any sort of overt way, because I
think everyone should be able to create their own sense of meaning for the
songs. I can say that while I’m quite open about my views online, and while
we’re proud to have been included on last year’s Crushing Intolerance
compilation with Black Metal Alliance, our album isn’t an explicitly political
record.”
With
that left to our imagination, Kosmogyr has given us
more than enough to process and appreciate on ‘Eviternity’. It’s not just the devastating waves of sorrowful
melody, the gorgeous atmosphere provided by the ambient lead guitar work, or
the multifaceted vocal performance giving the album the voice this music
demands. It’s also about all the effort and patience that went into it, as a
long distance collaboration of this sort would have required. That the album
ended up being so damned good must have made all of that work worthwhile.
“Eviternity”
is available to buy here
