Atramentus: Out of the Darkness
The old saying goes ‘good things come to those who wait’. While most would agree that 2020 has not been a year of good things, the release of Canadian funeral doom units ATRAMENTUS‘ first full-length Stygian will certainly be among the few positives to take away from the last twelve months. Well, as much of a positive as a funereal hymn of loss, fear and darkness could be.
While officially forming back in 2012, it’s taken the better part of a decade for Stygian to (fittingly) see the light of day. Keyboardist François Bilodeau explains the record’s lengthy gestation; “Phil [Philippe Tougas, guitars/vocals] had written most of the music between 2012 and 2013. To be honest, the main reason it took so long was that it took some time to assemble a full band. He did not feel like releasing a solo project and didn’t want to hurry it into release.”
Though ATRAMENTUS is now a collaborative, fully fleshed effort, it was Tougas’ work alone that solidified the concept behind the record; the tale of an immortal night and the price paid for it. “All credits to the concept goes to Phil,” Bilodeau says. “I know most of the concept’s inspirations are taken from within him, from mental anguish and personal experiences with sleep paralysis for example. Also sprinkled in there are influences from Greek.” The concept stemmed from Tougas’ struggles, not only against inner turmoil, but a struggle against the elements themselves; “He was feeling miserable and anxious after a long walk through a snowstorm (winter here can get pretty brutal) and wrote Stygian III. The music came to him quickly, but the concept came after these events.”
The narrative behind the record is as fittingly bleak and lifeless as you’d expect from an album entitled Stygian. “It’s the story of an unnamed warrior who makes a deal with the gods for eternal life, which brings forth the death of the sun. This triggers countless cataclysms such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and of course all-encompassing darkness and eternal winter, deafening winds,” Bilodeau explains. Split across three tracks, two of them clocking in at over 15 and 20 minutes respectively, it’s a haunting tale.
“Stygian I is about the absolute anguish and terror that he is going through and the horrors that he is witnessing. He falls into a deep depression and refuses to be confronted against his decisions and their dreadful consequences,” Bilodeau explains. “Stygian II is the moment he begins sleeping deeply, stricken with sleep paralysis, horrible nightmares; he is unable to escape the anxiety that is torturing him. He finally wakes up, centuries later, to a barren and frozen world. This is when Stygian III comes into play: the sorrow he feels as he walks the earth in absolute loneliness, having lost all his loved ones. He tries for centuries to search for any sign of life, but capitulates when despair and remorse take him.”
It’s no surprise that the record dwells so heavily on the theme of darkness, both literal and figurative; both the name of the record and the band refer directly to darkness or blackness. This, according to Bilodeau, was absolutely intentional; “It is not a coincidence that both words relate to the dark atmosphere in our music. The one word band name and album title are a reflection of our desire to keep things relatively minimalistic, contrasting with the epic tale of the album’s protagonist and the lengthy song titles. And both names are references to the album’s lore; ATRAMENTUS is the name of the deity of winds, the lyrics contain multiple references to the ‘black winds of ATRAMENTUS’. Phil has put a lot of work into the whole lore so I would recommend getting a physical copy and immerse yourself into the story while listening to the music; it’s a different experience.”
Alongside the crushing sonic catharsis and rich lore, there’s another reason for the doom faithful to consider picking up a physical copy of Stygian: the stunning artwork by Mariusz Lewandowski. A veteran fantasy artist, Lewandowski is known in the metal world for his work with bands like BELL WITCH, and is fast becoming the go-to for doom bands seeking artwork with an epic scope. How did ATRAMENTUS come to work with him? “He was our first choice and from all the work he had done, not only with other bands, which is only a fraction of the paintings he does, we knew we had the right man for the job,” Bilodeau says. “We sent him our music (mixing was pretty much done at this point), the concept and lyrics. I think he 100% got our intent with the record; he perfectly captured the essence of what we wanted to convey. And maybe something connected with him personally, because I think this is one of his finest works. I’m probably biased but I don’t care.”
While it is understandable that ATRAMENTUS wanted to take their time in fully realising the labyrinthine concept of Stygian and its fitting soundtrack, marrying sound to story and ensuring the band members shared the same drive and vision to execute it, fans of the album’s sheer power may prefer the quintet follow up with something new in a bit more of a timely fashion. Can we expect any new material in the next decade? “The future is uncertain but one thing is for sure: we have more to say,” confirms Bilodeau. “We’ll see if that evolves into a full-length album or otherwise, but I guess the decade timeline is realistic!”
Stygian is out now via 20 Buck Spin.
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