1. Hi Man. First of all, thanks for the really well-crafted album. I immediately put it into my personal “Best doom of 2010”. What kind of responses on the new album you’ve received so far?

Fortunately, the responses have been quite positive so far. I'm happy that others are able to enjoy this music, and find something meaningful in it.

2. What have you been doing during that 2 years-long lapse between THE HOWLING VOID’s albums? Have you been working on other projects or you focused solely on “Shadows Over the Cosmos”?

I've been quite busy, working on multiple albums for multiple projects. I spent a lot of time writing and recording new albums for both Intestinal Disgorge and NORMPETERSON before finally settling down to compose the new Howling Void album. It seems as though I'm always in the process of recording something. I'm constantly creating music, whether I want to or not.

3. All in all I came to a number of four side-projects. Am I right? Could you briefly tell us something about your side-projects? I am especially interested in Hordes of the Morning Star and Normpeterson.

NORMPETERSON is a project that I started a few years ago with J, also a member of Intestinal Disgorge and Hordes of the Morning Star. Our purpose was to try and blend sludge, drone, and noise together to create a truly unsettling atmosphere. The debut CD "Crawlspace" was released in May by Pull the Wire Productions. Hordes of the Morning Star is another project featuring myself and J, which is focused on creating black metal with a touch of doom and death elements. We are currently waiting for the debut CD "Consummatum Est" to be released, but it has been delayed for 3 years now. Not sure when that album will ever materialize.

4. Which of these bands is your main one? If you consider some to be more important than others…

I'm not sure that I consider any band to be the "main" band. I think that each project represents a different idea or interest that I have, and I'm never satisfied with anything that I do. Sometimes it feels like I have to create music, but I don't even know why. Intestinal Disgorge has been around the longest. I've been involved with that project for over ten years now.


5. If my information are correct, you’re from Texas, right? THE HOWLING VOID’s music evokes natural images in listener. I agree that such perception may vary from man to man but when listening to “Shadows over the Cosmos” I imagine something in the vein of long travel through cold plains. The link between virgin nature and cosmos. That’s not very fitting to hot Texas. Are there any particular places which influence you when composing your music?

The only thing that is important, is where the music takes YOU. Simply triggering your imagination, that is what it is important. I take my inspiration from within, not so much from without. So it doesn't matter where I am when I compose. I'm always somewhere else in my head. As for Texas, this is a very large state, and if you travel long enough in one direction, you will pass through desert, hills, plains, pine forests, grasslands, beaches, and on and on. The landscape can vary dramatically as you travel, and in the winter the north of Texas is constantly dusted with snow. It's a very rich place for the imagination.

6. The line-up of THE HOWLING VOID consists of You alone. Haven’t you ever felt like inviting at least one additional member? Is THE HOWLING VOID your personal and solo confession? Or it is more like a break from others constantly griping into your music?

No, I've never considered adding any members. This is intended to be a solo project, but I do have session musicians available if I ever decide to perform live with The Howling Void.

7. You changed label for the album and Russian Solitude Productions is taking care of it now. How did you come into contact?

Solitude contacted me after the first album was released, and expressed interest in the project. Of course, Solitude has a solid presence internationally and a great distribution network, so I was very happy for the opportunity to spread my music via their label. They have done an excellent job.

8. Are you satisfied the work of your new label? Are you aware of bands released alongside THE HOWLING VOID? Personally I think that it is a high-quality label.

Certainly. Solitude is involved in releasing many very interesting projects. I have enjoyed many other releases from Solitude, but I'm not one to drop names.

9. Another change occurred in the artwork department. The author of cover’s motive is Feodor Vasilyev. It suits your music well. Did you choose his painting yourself or it was proposed to you by label?

I found the painting while browsing through a collection of scanned artwork one evening, and the image instantly resonated with me. I immediately knew that this painting would suit the mood and aesthetic of the album. The work is called "Thaw", and the image of the river thawing, the skies filled with clouds, and the trees tossed by the wind symbolically mirrors the concept of the album on many levels: the dissolution of the Universe.


10. Are you interested in other forms of art besides music? I do not mean painting only. Please name several of your favourites even if your interested is only shallow.

Yes, I'm interested in pretty much everything, though I do focus on literature. I spend most of my time reading, especially Neo-Platonic and Gnostic texts, as well as lots of Philosophy, Economics, Science, and fiction. Regarding the visual arts, landscapes have always been very resonant with me.

11. THE HOWLING VOID is often labelled as funeral / symphonic doom which is quite appropriate I guess. Is creation of such specific genre somehow important for you? Or is it just a typical overpressure of ideas which you must vent?

No, the genre label is not important at all. It just gives you a frame of reference, it lets you know what to expect before you actually hear the music. But it is not real. It doesn't actually shape the music, or limit what I can do. I make those choices myself, depending on my own vision. I'm not going to mold my music to specifically fit into some imaginary category.

12. And what about your favourite doom bands?

Thergothon and Skepticism.

13. There are no photos made in order to promote THE HOWLING VOID but one. And I guess that the single photography is used as a connection between your musical projects. I guess that such concealment is intended and also part of a certain attitude, am I right?

Right. The music is what is important, not me. I would hope that people focus on the music, not on the person playing it. I'm just a guy with some instruments, nothing more.

14. Well, thank you for your answers and take care!

I appreciate the opportunity. Thanks and take care.