Mithraic Magazine

In a world saturated with instant information, constant media updates, and a barrage of competing viewpoints, it’s easy to fall into a passive acceptance of the narratives presented. Yet, there are always those who question the surface, who embark on a personal quest to discern deeper truths beyond the readily apparent. It’s within this spirit of seeking, of pushing beyond the confines of conventional understanding, that the compelling force of Myncæfr takes root. Like those individuals determined to forge their own path through a dense fog of material knowledge, Myncæfr emerge with a remarkably distinct artistic vision, and a sound that transcends the familiar subterranean landscapes of black metal. Zero delves into the origins of this potent creative force, seeking to uncover the initial sparks that ignited Myncæfr’s unique journey.

First of all thank you for your time. Myncæfr seems to have emerged with a pure determination and a strong sense of artistic direction. I think everyone I’ve spoken to so far has been really fucking excited about this band. Can you tell us about the band’s genesis? What brought you together, and what were the initial creative sparks that ignited Myncæfr?

Things started by coincidence to be sincere. It started initially with F. creating most of the riffs, and then D. was supposed to take care of the production, but in the end there was so much of D. in the project that both decided to take the project together. 

From the beginning F. had in mind the concept of writing about philosophy from his point of view. Then after a few discussions the concept for this specific EP was settled to be what it is. An EP inspired by the Allegory of the Cave by Plato. During the process we decided to get some references also from Nietzsche, but it was mostly influenced by Plato.  

I wondered if you could expand on this idea of writing an EP inspired by Plato and the “Allegory Of The Cave”. And also just touch on some of the references and inspiration from Neitzche’s work.

Well, the allegory of the cave is something that can be understood and adapted throughout different time periods of mankind.

But I think that our time period has something different from the previous, we all have access to the internet and all this technology, yet misinformation prevails. We now have the possibility to look for any information at any time, yet we have to doubt everything we hear. And soon we will have to doubt things we see.

The more we advance with technology and as a society, everything still feels uncertain and lost. The idea to bring this topic was that however things feel uncertain, the knowledge and the comprehension of reality as it is key to at least deal with it.

In the allegory, the people in the cave accepted all that came to them without questioning. But when one of them sees “beyond” and returns to tell the others, the fear of facing reality makes the questioning be exactly doubting the truth, while they still believe in the lies.

And that vision also matches with Nietzche, Zarathustra is the herald of knowledge, bringing salvation to humanity through wisdom, but to comprehend his words you must question all the dogmas and tabus that have been imposed on all of us. Which is not something easy, as you have to deal with facts like the human-being is not a divine creation, there is no god guiding and protecting you, the true “demons” are just humans…

Also about Nietzche, I really like the concept of the “super-man”. The super-man is no racial or genetic evolution, it’s a mental state of evolution where you have already detached yourself from all those dogmas and tabus accepting the truth and the reality as it is.

Now that Ignorance Veil has been released, what has the response been like, both locally in Dresden and further afield? What is the scene like in Dresden?

To be sincere, one of the members lives in Dresden, and the other one is a bit far away. Talking about Dresden, we don’t have so many contacts here, so we are not sure if people from the scene know about the project. We are not tied to any kind of scene, and our geographical location is more than irrelevant. 

Even if someday we decide to play live, it is not going to be in the local scene.

There’s an obvious black metal influence there but there’s something extra. You have that raw aggressive power, but there’s an almost ethereal note laced through it that only exaggerates the darkness that’s there. Was this a blending of influences that brought you to this sound or was it a more natural sound that came through the song writing?

I don’t know if we can actually choose influences to explain how the music happened. The process was so natural that we didn’t think so much about what kind of references we would have. We were very influenced by the Icelandic scene, so we have been talking a lot about Sinmara, Misþyrming and also other bands like Deathspell Omega and Mgla.

We are both very influenced by the third wave of Black Metal, but we are also listening to other styles of music, but we are not sure of how relevant it was to what we created here. We think that every experience as a human being will influence your style when composing. So it is hard to tell if some music or even a museum has influenced our music.

Ignorance Veil balances raw black metal elements with a remarkably clean and precise production. This clarity enhances those ethereal aspects of your sound. I think it only emphasises the uneasiness and dread. Can you talk about the production choices you made for the EP? What were you aiming for, and how did you achieve that balance between raw and a more controlled sound?

Well, I think that Black Metal production should always sound at least a bit raw, and the ambience is one of the main aspects to reach the right atmosphere. We tried to work a lot of reverbs and use each instrument as part of a symphony, not having anything as a central element for the music. The whole idea was to have a sound that was modern in a sense, but without too much clarity, so always keeping some kind of mystery that reverb brings.

I’m a huge art fan, and I love exploring the connections between a band’s music and their visual elements. The cover of Ignorance Veil features the incredible ‘Hypnosis’ by Sascha Schneider, (a fellow artist of Dresden I believe). What specifically resonated with you about this piece, and how do you see it reflecting the themes and atmosphere of the EP?
Were there any other artworks or artists you considered for the cover of Ignorance Veil? If so, what made ‘Hypnosis’ the final choice?

We came through hundreds of artworks, and to be sincere was the most hard part of the process. Both of us have very different tastes, and to be sincere, F. has wasted my time sending me hundreds of terrible artworks. But, he also came with this gem that he came across in a movie called “The Lighthouse”. When we saw the artwork and then we noticed that it was from Sascha, then the choice was kind of obvious considering all the elements present in our music.

What really brought our attention to this artwork, was the concept of illumination, spreading across the dark figure’s face directly into the naked character. That matched with our ideas and concepts we tried to bring on this release.

Beyond visual art, what other non-musical influences have shaped your creative vision for Myncæfr as a band? Are there any particular works of literature, films, or even philosophical ideas that have resonated with you?

Well, both of us have different perspectives about life and the society we live in, the actual moment of humanity and how ignorance seems to be something that is being valued. So when we were writing the lyrics, we had a lot of conversations about how we could approach those themes. And so, this is what we ended up with.

Now that Ignorance Veil is out in the wild and gaining traction, what are the priorities for Myncæfr? Is this a project that will be taken live? Is there new material in the works?

We are working on new material that should be released later this year, but the future of playing live is very uncertain at this point. We would like to do it, but we have no plans so far. Our priority now is to create music that we like, and we try to not think so much about the future, as this band is not the priority for both of us at the moment.

And finally, aside from those mentioned before, are there any books, movies, albums, artists, musicians that we should be checking out, what are we missing? 

Everybody should listen from the oldschool to the new wave of Black Metal. We don’t want to mention any artists here as nowadays people are easily shocked by any artist with a different political view. So, we prefer to just tell people to listen to music made with a real purpose and not the hyped bands. 

From the philosophical depths of Plato’s cave to the artistic illumination of Sacha Schneider (and Robert Eggers) Myncæfr are set to make some serious waves in the black metal scene. Their dedication to produce an EP with such genuine purpose speaks volumes. While the potential for live performances seem uncertain, the promise of new material on the horizon offers a compelling reason to keep our attention set to this unique and thought provoking sound they’ve delivered with Ignorance Veil. This is a band that encourages you to look beyond the shadows and contemplate the deeper currents that shape our perceptions. I for one, can’t wait to witness this illumination.

-Zero 

Links:

Bandcamp