This project comes from Portland, Oregon, America and consists in two members: Tyler Smith and Aaron D.C. Edge. We´ve talked about the name of the band, the meaning of the new album, album cover and so on. Welcome, guys!!!
M.I. - Hi there and thanks for this interview. Could you introduce yourself?
Thank you for taking an interest in Bible Black Tyrant, my name is Aaron. I write the riffs, scream the words, and create the artwork.
M.I. - What can you tell us about this band? Why the name?
It’s a reference to the film, Sleepy Hallow. Ichabod Crane's mother was murdered to save her soul by his father, a "Bible Black Tyrant”.
M.I. - Your debut album “Regret Beyond Death” was released in 2018 and your forthcoming (“Encased In Iron”) will be released this year (28th February). What can you tell about this new one? Are there any similarities between them?
“Regret” was about living free of religion. “Iron” is about living in torment, as described through the five human senses.
M.I. - Who were or what are your main influences, on the procedure of writing and developing this album?
Someone, who had been very close to me, burned our connecting bridge last year. I was destroyed and defeated. “Encased in Iron”’s lyrics are forged from what I consider to be that relationship’s reminder of life’s suffering.
M.I. - Do tell us the meaning of the title and cover, please.
Ichabod Crane's mother is locked in an iron maiden, with no escape, and ultimately destroyed. The art and lyrics are the poetic link to the suffering humans endure by the hands of others that they love. The metal of the cover is a series of connected steel, not unlike our connection to other humans.
M.I. - This album is too methodical to call it chaotic. Do you agree? In your words, how would you describe it?
I agree, and not much of the songs that I write for Bible Black Tyrant—or Lumbar, Ramprasad, Hellvetika—are void of chaos in connectivity… all linked with bridges of introspection.
M.I. - “A black curse, whispered perverse by loved ones that spit on us. Tasting bile, and the salt of our own tears in this vault. Savoring our own severed tongues. Trying to utter sounds while boiling. Do you know how you taste while trapped and locked in a box? As the steel heats, bravery is replaced with fear. Life in the iron cage, with little air to breathe, starving. We are mistreated and then forgotten; that is the human experience.” You focus on the torture that is human existence. Why?
I live with multiple sclerosis, so I’m in pain every day. That pain, though, is nothing like the dagger’s we humans throw at each other, the pain we cause our own loved ones, the heartbreak of love ended, desire brought to an uncomfortable boil.
M.I. - Was it a difficult album to write, produce and sing?
It all came to me, as did the first recording, in a very fluid process. It wrote itself. When you follow your heart, your gut, poetry and music escape you with little craft. And, Tyler’s drumming makes for very interesting rhythms… never a dull moment. A main difference between this recording and the last, is that “Iron” is mixed by someone other than me, this time by Eric Leavell. He added some grit to all the stems, giving the release a cohesive experience of thick muck. I’ve worked with him on so many releases in 2019.
M.I. - What can the listeners expect from this album?
A rough, honest, short, relatable, bloody road.
M.I. - “Valorous” is the introduction of the album. Why?
Because the song’s second line, “This life, vile.”, sums it all up. Eric Leavell helped forge the presentation and track direction, he made sure to keep the songs in a fantastic order. Though, to me, each can stand on their own and in any order.
M.I. - What will the next single be and will it have a video?
We have yet to decide that.
M.I. - Do you pretend to go on tour? Which countries will you visit?
No tour, no shows planned… this is a recording project only.
M.I. - Any final words for the Portuguese readers? All the best! Thank you so much for your time.
I want to thank all of you who support our music and poetry. I hope you can overcome the pain of life.
For Portuguese version, click here
Questions by Raquel Miranda
