Faceless Entity are R.v.R. (The First), K.v.H. (The Second) and B.D. (The Third). Their new album The Great Anguish of Rapture is the zenith of their power. Furious multi layered Black metal that coalesces yet defies definition. It reflects the Audial thanatophobia that haunts the Faceless Entity.
‘’Thanatophobia is indeed a fear that drives Faceless Entity on a musical and personal level. It has been with us for a very long time, and grew stronger in recent years. This is reflected in the music. Our surroundings definitely influence this feeling, but the conceptual kernel of our music definitely revolves around the internal experiences of thanatophobic episodes.
The decision to be the faceless Entity?
‘’Faceless Entity seemed like the best moniker for what we try to convey with the music: attempting to give a tangible form to death, to something that to us living is formless, faceless. It that sense it was a more thought-out decision.
Does the lack of identity give you complete freedom?
‘’It is less a lack of identity, but more an expression of the mostly feeble attempt to give form to the formless void which is death. In our constant entanglement with death we are bound. But freely expressing our necessary struggle with death offers us a small amount of freedom.
Is that why you are the Faceless Entity?
‘’To us, the living, death is the Faceless Entity.
What drew you together?
‘’We got to know each other through our solo works and decided on working together. The musical connection was very strong from the first moment. The music really started carrying the idea. After our first recordings, we almost immediately knew which ideas were to be expressed in the music.
Is the best way to describe your music as the inevitability of mortality put to music? Are we merely waiting for the end or do you have a mission or purpose during this time?
‘’Spot on. If we do not create purpose while we are alive, the thought of mortality will drive us insane. We have no choice but to create and follow purposes.
Is that where the haunting riffs and drone-like feeling comes from? Is it thoughts made audible ?
‘’This feels like the most apt transmutation of anguish. It is thoughts and mental images of death (funerals, crypts, etc.) put into audial form.
The raw atmosphere of your music. Is Black Metal the only possible outlet to release this state?
‘’Probably not, but it’s what we chose, and what to us feels as the most apt expression.
Is it therapeutic, a release that only music can provide?
‘’Yes, cathartic even. You could say that music is a kind of language without words, most fitting to deal with something as formless and abstract as death.
The intensity of your music? Does it start as a thought or a musical idea and then transformed into something greater? Is your music more intuitive rather than by design?
‘’Sometimes we start with musical ideas, but the largest part of our music is quite intuitive rather than preconceived. Most of our recordings start with one thought-out starting point from which we let our intuitions guide us to the end of a recording.
‘’We were into this type of music from an early age, and it happened to connect best with our emotions. In that sense, it’s the feeling that drew us to the music.
What is The Enigma of Death? It feels like it is an exploration rather than a result? It is not a comfortable subject for many. What drew you to this subject?
‘’Death itself is the enigma. That which is always with us, but never becomes a full part of us. In existence, life and death are never discernable from one another, yet death is decisive for the deceased in a moment. To try to discern meaning from this is the enigma. Our thanatophobia resulted in a fixation on death and its meaning.
If you could change anything about it, what would you do ? Or should you?
‘’We cannot change it, but we can struggle with it. Through catharsis in music, we aim to deal with mortality.
The future direction of Faceless Entity?
‘’After the release of “The Great Anguish of Rapture” and it’s connected release-tour we will most likely start working on a third record.
Tops 6 albums of all time?
‘’As we are a three-piece we decided to stick to 2 albums each, listed below in order. Since we listen to a wide range of music, a list of ‘best albums of all time’ is impossible. But the following albums impacted us greatly:
I Shalt Become - Wanderings
Slowdive - Just for a Day
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
God Is An Astronaut - The End of the Beginning
Summoning - Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame
Comments