1. In 2015, you released the album “Abberant” with the one man band Alex Wills with a style that we can define as melodic and progressive death, however a couple of years later you created Dark Doom, why this change of record in so short period of time? Why did you decide to create Dark Doom?
I'm surprised anybody knows that album exists! I wrote it while I was studying music at university and it represents the music that I was listening to a lot at the time. Over the next couple of years I began to get into darker music such as Black Metal so I decided to try and make some myself. I found that when I write in this style the music has more of a unique sound so I stuck with it.
2. Three Eps, two albums and a compilation is the baggage that Dark Doom has left us to date, which is a very interesting release rhythm. As the only member of Dark Doom, what is your way of working in the studio and how do you deal with the composition and recording of a new work?
My recording process has always been done at home. I generally record demo's as I write songs and then re-record everything to a higher standard and mix/master it all myself. My Most recent album The Journey is the only exception to this as it was recorded with a good friend of mine who mixed the album, he also played the drums.
When I write music it normally comes in short bursts of inspiration where I will write an entire EP or album in a week and then do the final recordings later. This is the reason for the large number of EP's that I have released in the past.
3. I see that you participate as a live guitarist for Abduction, how did the possibility of collaborating live with Abduction arise? Is there any influence of Abduction that has crept into the music of Dark Doom? And on the other hand, being a guitarist, when it comes to having to deal with the entire creative process of Dark Doom, which instrument is the most difficult for you to master?
I cannot confirm my involvement with Abduction however as a band that also operates locally to myself, that I am very familiar with I think that some of their musical style has made its way into my inspirations.
I generally find doing vocals the most difficult as it is not something I have ever trained for and I only began out of necessity.
4. How have you evolved as a musician from the first EP release “Unfathomable Evil” to the most recent “Echoes”?
I think that since my first EP in 2017 My style has changed drastically. My early work as Dark Doom was a lot more melodic and upbeat and listening back to it, I am not a fan of how I produced it. Newer music of mine is far darker and sadder, which I prefer.
5. Black, doom, death and a melodic tone, broadly is how you could define your music, but for you, what does Dark Doom sound like? And the sound of which bands have influenced in forging their sound?
I would define Dark Doom's genre as Atmospheric/Melodic Black metal. I generally like music that makes you feel Sad or hopeless. I find it difficult to pinpoint specific bands that influence my music in the black metal genre but one I can say for sure has influenced me is Time Lurker.
6. Duality between life and death, emptiness, loneliness, are themes that can be glimpsed in the texts of "Echoes", could you go a little deeper into what inspires you to write the lyrics of your songs?
When i'm writing lyrics I like to think of a landscape and try to imagine how somebody who found themselves there would be feeling, and what their story would be. I'm a fan of Zdzislaw Beksinski's art and so a lot of what I imagine is very dark and sorrowful. From that I try and construct a narrative and write lyrics based around it.
7. "Echoes" is illustrated by an image in the dark nature, why did you choose this photograph as the cover of the Ep and in what way does it relate to the music it contains?
The cover art for Echoes is a photograph taken by a friend of mine of a location in the peak district in England. I was looking for a dark landscape for my cover art and I thought his picture worked well for it. So I asked if I could use it and he said yes.
8. If we except your last album "The Journey" which was released both digitally and on CD by the Marwolaeth Records label, the rest of your releases have been self-published, was there no interest from any label for the edition of your music Or do you prefer to control this whole process? And going back to Marwolaeth Records, how did the possibility of editing through them arise?
Most of my records are self released and this is because I'd never tried to seek any label involvement before The Journey. As I had little to no audience at the time of my earlier EP's/Albums I didn't think it would be of any use to seek out partnership with a label.
Marwolaeth was a chance encounter which I was very happy with. I applied to have one of my earlier songs on a compilation that they were releasing and I got talking to them through that. They offered to do the Physical run of CD's for the Journey and they did an excellent job. I retained full creative control of the music and production throughout.
9. How were your beginnings in music: first concerts that you agreed to, first albums that you bought? What did you do in your life that made you suppose you wanted to dedicate yourself to music?
I first started getting properly into music when my parents bought me my first guitar. My friends were already into music like Metallica but I never paid attention until I started wanting to learn it. First concert I went to was a festival called Bloodstock. It's quite local to me and is the biggest true metal festival in the UK.
I knew I would stick to making music when I began really getting into metal bands like Amon Amarth, Insomnium, Dream Theater and Trivium in my early teens. My taste has evolved since then but I'm just as passionate about it.
10. You come from the English city of Derby, what can you tell us about the extreme scene in this city?
The Extreme metal scene in Derby is a strange one. There are a lot of really heavy bands in a lot of genres however it is very rare to see a good show here. Most of us go to Nottingham or Birmingham (both less than an hours drive away) to play or watch shows as the crowd and atmosphere is always a lot better.
11. Have you offered a concert with Dark Doom? What future plans do you have for the band?
I actually have played shows in the past and enjoyed it a lot. I use a backing track in place of a band and do guitar and vocals live. It's often a little strange playing metal alone but audiences have seemed to like it. When the Lockdown is lifted I will be looking for shows to play and I am currently booked to play at Eradication 2020 in Cardiff, Wales this November.
12. Thank you very much for the time dedicated to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something else for the followers of Dark Doom this is the place. I hope the questions have been to your liking.
You're welcome, thank you for reaching out to me. I guess the only thing to add is that I will be releasing a new album called Mourning's End some time later this year. It will be a similar style to Echoes and I hope that you all enjoy it very much!
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Clear red vinyl limited to 100 copies
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