Good afternoon, thank you very much for answering these questions. How is everything going in Nottingham?
Nathe – Everything is going well! The weather is nice and as usual, the Nottingham music scene is doing great.
1. At what point did you decide to create the band? Why did you choose the name Outergods and what does it refer to?
Nathe – I’ve been trying to form a band with this sort of extreme style for a while, probably as far back as 2018, and after a few iterations, I eventually created what would become Outergods with the help of Sam (vocalist). I chose the name as I’m a fan of cosmic horror/Lovecraft, and the is a subtle underlying theme of our music. The “outer gods” are cosmic deities in Lovecraftian lore, and more recently, Elden Ring. I just combined the two words for aesthetic reasons.
2. Has it been very difficult to work with a group of five musicians from the Nottingham area to finish off this first album? I say this because in the band there are musicians or more veterans than others and also different influences and musical styles present as death, black or grind. How was the way to compose and record this first album? what brands of instruments have you used for the process?
Nathe – It was a very straightforward process. The writing was done primarily by me and Sam, with Alex helping with the lead guitar parts. Because we all had the same vision of what we wanted, everything flowed pretty smoothly. I’d basically write and record a demo of a song and send it to Sam who’d sometimes give some feedback before writing the lyrics and vocal patterns. When we had a group of songs we liked, we’d record the final version of the songs. The guitar used (aside from the title track) was an LTD M-1000 Deluxe with EMG 81 and 85 pickups. The title track was recorded with a Charvel Joe Duplantier Signature Pro-Mod with Seymour Duncan Black Winter and Sentient pickups. I also used a Digitech whammy pedal for additional guitar effects and an Alesis Q49 for some of the electronic layers.
3. Intense, dark, and visceral, with a successful combination of styles such as black and death, the latter being the one that carries the greatest weight in the compositions, even with sections that can be reminiscent of grind, how would you define the sound of the album for Who hasn't heard it yet? What bands and styles are an influence for you when composing for Outergods?
Nathe – I’d probably class it as extreme metal, seeing as it has a lot of blackened death metal elements, but also grind. Some of the inspirations for the album, and us as a whole, are bands like Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, Strapping Young Lad, Nile, and black metal bands, like 1349, Carpathian Forest, Belphegor, and Emperor.
4. Your lyrics seem to be focused on horror and nightmare themes, what inspires your lyrics and why do you address these themes?
Nathe – The lyrics, for the most part, are based around an idea of a personal hell, but woven in with dark fantasy and horror themes. However, there are some songs, like “Into The Howling Void”, “Catacombs Of Madness” and the title track which are purely cosmic horror/dark fantasy stories.
5. The album has been released by the American record label Prosthetic Records, a label with a focus on both death and black or other styles such as extreme metal. When did the opportunity arise to release your first album with them?
Nathe – I’ve been a fan of Prosthetic Records for a very long time. We were going to self-release this album, but I decided to send it over to Prosthetic Records in case they’d be interested in it. I had no expectations, though. But to our surprise, they responded and wanted to work with us. So, at the last minute, we cancelled our original plans and now we’re in a great partnership with Prosthetic!
6. The album cover has been created by Tim Sinfield and FetusK, who are these people and why did you decide to work with them? What does this cover represent and how does it relate to the content of the album?
Nathe – Tim Sinfield is my brother and has created the majority of the art for my music-related projects, so it made sense that Tim would do this cover, too. Tim basically did the entirety of our cover art and FetusK helped with the CD and vinyl layout.
7. Although the production and mixing were done by you, for the mastering you went to Kristofer Strandberg from ES Music, why did you decide to work with Kristofer and what do you think he has contributed to the final sound result of the album?
Nathe – Kristofer is part of the Swedish metal band, Eyes Wide Open, and I’ve known him for about 5 years. He’s an incredible songwriter and producer. We’ve worked together before with my solo project, Lost Outrider, and when it came to looking at mastering this Outergods album I decided to get Kristofer to help as they have a great ear for production. I feel their mastering added an extra layer of clarity and helped glue it all together.
8. Although the album will be released soon, you have already started to offer some concerts, how is the response of the fans live towards your music? With all the intensity that your music gives off, is it difficult to capture it live? Do you consider it essential for a band to be able to offer concerts?
Nathe – Phil Core of Torturous Promotions put us on our first show back in December 2022 and since then we’ve planned regular shows to get our name out there. We were even able to play Bloodstock Festival this year, which was an amazing experience. Due to the amount of experience all 5 of us have in the live scene, we have been able to do a faithful live recreation of these songs and the response has been great. In regard to how essential it is for a band to play live, I’m not sure. Some artists can put out records and become incredibly successful without even playing a single show, so I guess it varies. For us, we just love playing live.
9. The black scene in your country always seemed to be dominated by colossal bands with a long history, such as Cradle of Filth or Akercocke, among others, however for some time now it seems that the scene is becoming populated with a number of new bands, always with a more transgressive character within the scene, what do you think about the black metal scene in your country and which bands would you recommend?
Nathe – One of the best black metal bands in the UK is Abduction. The records they put out are consistently great and their live show is phenomenal. Another black metal band that was formed in Iran and is now based in the UK is Trivax. I’d suggest checking both these bands out.
10. How were your beginnings in music: the first concerts you attended, the first albums you bought? What happened in your life pushed you to want to be a musician?
Nathe – The first concert I went to (excluding seeing my dad’s band live as a kid) was Machine Head in late 2004, followed shortly after by Fear Factory. My parents bought me albums like Linkin Park and Nirvana when I was about 12. When I was about 13, I started getting albums from bands like Machine Head and Sepultura. I’d say it was probably my dad that pushed me to become a musician. He bought me a bass guitar and eventually, I moved to guitar.
11. What album represents for you the essence of black metal? What last albums have you bought?
Nathe – For me, the album that represents the essence of black metal is “Under A Funeral Moon” by Darkthrone, as it was the first black metal album I bought in my early teens and was what got me into the genre. I think the last album I bought was “Covenant” by Morbid Angel on vinyl.
12. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Outergods fans this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
Nathe – Thank you all for listening to our music and make sure you grab our album on vinyl!
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