1. When I interviewed you, back in 2020, we were in the post-pandemic period, shortly after the war in Ukraine began. It seems like you're living surrounded by adversity. How do you think these events have affected you as a band? Would things have been very different if you hadn't experienced these events? In other words, would Grave Circles have a bigger impact right now than it is?
Hails!
Vinnitsya is a wonderful town which is located quite a ways from the front lines and is more or less normal. It is difficult to say what is normal, as it is hard to recall how things were before the war and compare. It is uncertain when this new reality will end and whether it will end at all. Certainly the things which are happening around us affect us personally, but I wouldn’t say that this serves as fuel for the fire of creation, it is rather the opposite.
Our bass player Kate, lives in Kyiv. The situation there is much more harsh, more difficult, you often hear explosions and there are many civilian casualties.
2. First of all, I'd also like to express my condolences for Kosty's death in the war. I imagine it must have been devastating news. Have you already thought about what the future of Grave Circles will be like, or is it still too early to think about continuing or disbanding the band?
At this time we (Veksha and Dodes Kor) are working on a new album which is called Tome III and we have also brought in a new drummer LTVN. The release of the new album is the one and only goal of the band at this time. Noone can fill Kosty’s shoes so we have decided not to incorporate anyone else on second guitar.
3. “World Within the World” was released almost six years after your first album, with an EP in between. I think there was also a problem with the album's sound last year, which I assume also delayed its release. How did you approach this long writing process? How did you manage to pull off this recording despite the obstacles that I suppose the current situation in Ukraine will pose?
After the release of Tome II the band was going through a difficult time, mainly, because Kosty left. His condition worsened day by day and he decided to stop making music which left me more or less on my own. We tried to incorporate musicians to do a tour in 2020 but the coronavirus sham ruined our plans and right after that full scale war began. I asked Veksha to help me record some of our older material which came out as the EP called Pestilence and Death and at about the same time we began recording new songs. After some time, Kosty came back and the three of us began to work together. Veksha is the original Grave Circles bassist. Unfortunately, when time came to record he disappeared for half a year and as such did not participate in recording Tome I.
As it pertains to the album “World Within the World” - it was pretty much ready in 2023. We had traveled an arduous journey in search for the right sound. Ultimately, we had to take the mastering and production of the album into our own hands, so to speak. The result is in front of you.
4. I don't know if it was your intention from the beginning, but “World Within the World” has a somewhat more direct and raw, more organic sound. Was this something you intended from the moment you started recording the album, or did it emerge as you were recording and writing? How would you define the album's sound, and where did you look for inspiration for it?
When the foundation for the new album was being laid and the first demo recordings saw light of day the fact that this album was a departure from the previous releases of Grave Circles became crystal clear. Unlike Tome I and II, the new album was created, at least in part, during live rehearsals. This resulted in our music having more classical structures and simpler arrangements. In addition, we wanted to move away from what I would call, cliche “modern sound” and come up with something unique. Something more raw, more distant, dirty…. It would be fair to say that the material itself influenced and determined the sound of the future album. Clandestine Blaze - Falling Monuments was certainly a huge inspiration.
5. Regarding the album's themes, you've always maintained a broad approach in your lyrics, often focusing on human decadence, social themes, and a critique of the indoctrination that religions impose on society. What themes do the lyrics of the new album address, and why do you find them interesting to address?Could you explain this visual concept illustrating the album a little more?
The cover of World Within the World depicts the severed head of a deer, infested with larvae. A fly injects several larvae into the deer’s nose, which gradually grow, devouring the soft tissues around the tongue, eventually starving the animal to death. This serves as a metaphor: just as the larvae slowly kill the animal, so do the ideologies and religions injected by society destroy the individual. This concept runs like a red thread through all eight tracks of the album.
Song “Yielding to the Embrace of the Ground” captures a state of mental collapse, a terrifying descent into madness during a bad trip. It felt like a near-death experience, but one that allowed me to glimpse beyond to the other side.
Human beings rush to join religious groups or one or another ideology to fill a void inside their souls. Critical thought, going against the grain, dissent from societal norms have all become exceedingly rare in our times. Creation of personal idols, marching in lock-step with the herd and obedience to the will of others. This is the concise explanation of the tracks - The Feral Instinct/Last of Us. These songs form a cohesive narrative.
6. I suppose Kosty's death could alter the course of events in Grave Circles, but the release of the album "Tome III" could become a reality. What can you tell us about it? Will it continue to explore that rawer side of the sound, or will it adapt somewhat to its predecessors?
While working on Tome III we have noticed that songs are fast and dissonant but also depressive at the same time which bring them closer to our earlier work. This is not surprising as many of the pieces date back to 2016. In other words, it is a return to our roots. After Kosty’s death this became even more important for us and I hope our creation will see the light of day. As it pertains to the sound it will be our next experiment as walking the same paths over and over again does not interest us.
7. Schattenkult Produktionen handled the release of "World Within the World," a record label that doesn't heavily rely on digital formats, among other things. What factors influenced the change of record label? Beyond the CD version currently available, is a reissue in other physical formats possible?
When we started looking for a publisher for “World Within the World” we ran into a brick wall. There were publishers who turned the album down, some just ignored it. It was as though we had just formed a new band and started from nothing. LADLO declared that they only work in France and its neighboring Nations. We did get good feedback from several respectable labels, but it just did not work out.
For Example in the fall of 2024 one label gave us the green light on releasing the vinyl and stopped responding to us. By springtime we found out that the release was cancelled due to the fact that one of our members played in Peste Noire.
Schattenkult Produktionen had previously released several albums of two Ukrainian bands, Do Skonu and Shadow Ground, so we reached out and quickly arranged the release of World Within the World. The label’s strengths include great design ideas, fast production times, and their decision to exclude digital sales from their page, all of which set Schattenkult Produktionen apart. It was definitely a pleasure working with them.
In the near future the release should be available in cassette format from Monastyr Records and there are other plans for another release on Vinyl in the fall, but these are far from certain.
8. Regarding the recording, mixing, and mastering of the album, it seems there were some issues or doubts that led you to redo it when the album was almost ready. As I mentioned earlier, what were you unsure about with what you had recorded, and how did you decide to start all or part of the recording process over again?
Initially, the biggest problem with the recording process was the atrocious sound of the snare drum. In the end, with the help of equalizers and partial sampling, we managed to completely fix it. We also played around with the splashing cymbals, but the biggest issue was the balance of instruments and the final master. In the end, three people were involved in the mastering. Before the final version, it was a somewhat different, hi-fi sound with hyper-loud drums, fluid guitars, and rumbling bass. This is a common problem which plagues modern sound engineers today. When one works for YouTube templates, many recordings get completely buried by “modern” sound processing. In the end, we realized that we would have to work to achieve what we felt was the best result through trial and error. And so the end result is very much our creation.
9. On the new album, as has happened in the past, you've collaborated on some projects, especially on guitars. How did the opportunity to work with Leor, Val, or Lazareth come about? How did these collaborations fit into the album?
Lazareth is essentially the 5th member of the band, responsible for wind instruments. He has been with us since the days of Tome II, and he is currently recording parts for our new record. Valeriy was the band's guitarist in 2020 but he ended up moving to another country. During rehearsals, he came up with the intro arpeggio for the song “Yielding to the Embrace of the Ground.” Leor is a friend of the band and a former guitarist of the well-known band Space of Variations. He is also currently working on his other project Ellia. During a jam session with him, we created a part of the song “Feral Instinct.” He also played the solo on this track.
11. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit. If you'd like to add anything for Grave Circles fans, this is the place. I hope you enjoy the questions.
Thank you. I believe it's best to let the music speak for itself. People come and go, but music is eternal.
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