With their latest opus, Apex Violator, Cincinnati-based melodic black metal band Valdrin has once again plunged listeners into the rich, esoteric depths of the Ausadjur Mythos—a sprawling narrative universe of gods, underworlds, and doomed heroes. We sat down with the band to discuss the alchemical process of balancing storytelling with sound, the philosophical undercurrents behind Nex Animus, and what it means to seek meaning in the chaos.
The Ausadjur Mythos has clearly grown into a sprawling narrative. How do you balance the demands of musical composition with the complexity of storytelling in a concept this layered?
The process can be very difficult at times, and at other times it falls into place naturally. We always begin the process of writing an album with a rough storyline in mind, what character we are focusing on, and what we want to achieve musically. No idea is subservient to the other – all are equally important. Writing music is a reflection of how I am feeling at a given time, and what I am trying to achieve in the storyline of the Ausadjur Mythos. It always lines up perfectly, often times even predicting my own future in a haunting way.
The most difficult, but ultimately fulfilling process is the assembly of the track list. Often times, we have an over abundance of music that we all really enjoy, but the track list has to get assembled in a particular order that completes the puzzle, and thus creates the events of the story. The rough “outline” of the story can drastically change at this point, and this is when the album starts to feel like its taking on a life of its own, and I am answering to the music, and not the other way around.
Writing complex, non-linear music is a lot easier than most people think. The true challenge is to write narrative song structures that feel traditional, and are filled with memorable moments, and lyrics that have an emotional resonance to them, regardless of how invested the listener is in the storyline of the album. This is what I want to get better at: classic songwriting, not just a serious of riffs. I think we’re getting better at that with each album.
‘Apex Violator’ appears to be a pivotal moment in the saga—both thematically and musically. What sets this album apart from the previous chapters like Effigy of Nightmares or Beyond the Forest?
The immediate answer would be the musicianship, which has objectively improved. Though in truth, the songwriting and narrative element has always been there, and I am still proud of those earlier albums. Apex Violator is quite simplistic conceptually; it is a character study of an evil being reaching his breaking point, his “berserker mode” if you will, and while the album is telling the literal events of Nex’s conspiracy with the Animus gods to reverse time and destroy the universe, it is also a reflection of pure psychopathy and the perverse ideas a psychopath uses to justify his actions.
For those who are familiar with the Ausadjur Mythos, it’s obvious that Apex Violator has a lot more in common with Effigy of Nightmares than it does with Beyond the Forest, simply because it’s another release centered on Nex Animus. Two Carrion Talismans, Effigy of Nightmares and finally, Apex Violator make up a trilogy of musical movements based around Nex’s evolution from an a feeble old man, overseeing the underworld of Orcus, to a supreme cosmic god of chaos and entropy. This is where the title Apex Violator comes from: the ultimate desecrator, he who violates the highest level of existence.
The dual progression of Valdrin and Nex Animus feels almost like a metaphysical chess game. Do these characters reflect internal philosophical or personal conflicts for the band, or are they purely fictional constructs?
I believe these concepts are reflective of humanity as a whole, and the classic themes of good and evil that have existed in story telling since the dawn of mankind. I by no means claim that the Ausadjur Mythos is anything other than the classic hero tale, just retold with my own nomenclature and settings. All of it is very idiosyncratic, and typical of my outlook on life, but I am no different than anyone else in the sense that I am just trying to find the answers on how to live a meaningful existence – a life worth living. Everyone’s life is a hero-tale, or at least it can be, its up to us to define the terms, define the movements, and to act upon our instinct for meaning. Being in the “zone” or in your “element” are the moments when you are living your true meaning; follow that, and at least you’ll begin to feel some connection to this existence.
Nex has entirely perpetrated the chess game, and he has won time and time again. I personally am upset with Valdrin for his continued failures, and constant succumbing to the will of Nex, but therein lay the inspiration. After all, the greatest heroes are made from fighting the worst of villains, and while Valdrin’s task of defeating Nex seems insurmountable, I am along for the journey and I want to believe in Valdrin again.
Your music merges melodic black metal with cinematic world-building. What are some non-musical influences—literary, philosophical, or otherwise—that have shaped the Ausadjur Mythos?
I love these questions; it gives me a break from feeling like an imposter.
Of course, life itself is the greatest inspiration. Grief, death, romance, betrayal, friendship, beautiful sadness, and most of all, dreams are my greatest sources of inspiration. I can find inspiration in the walls around me, an object in the room, or a distant memory that may not have even been real.
As a child, I was very influenced by the Final Fantasy series, and the escapism those games provided me during difficult times. I have been inspired by great fantasy/horror/science fiction writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Clive Barker, Lovecraft, Phillip K. Dick, H.G. Wells, Robert E. Howard and many more.
Nowadays, I find myself more inspired by Dostoevsky than anything else. Reading his books has helped me grow as a person, and never want to utter another word of anti-human nonsense again. It’s taken a lifetime for me to forgive humanity, and by extension forgive myself, because I do believe those mean the same thing. That’s just me though. I’ve always been into existentialism, and the study of suffering, from being a history obsessed kid, to a teenager who read “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl when I was at my lowest point, to an adult who tries his best to just be a decent, responsible, and reliable person more than anything else.
How has the Cincinnati metal scene shaped or influenced Valdrin’s trajectory, considering the cosmic scale of your narrative?
I’m not sure how to answer this, but I’ll try. Cincinnati is a forgotten city, but to me it’s home and unlike anywhere else, and maybe the same could be said about Valdrin. The greatest luck I’ve ever received being born here is meeting my band mates. I could not imagine a better team to go through this journey with, and I truly believe that in a world of billions of people, I lucked out and found three guys who are irreplaceable as humans, and musicians.
Besides that, I cannot really analyze what influence Cincinnati has had on us other than we have a few great friends and fellow musicians in this town who really believe in the band. It’s a humble, working class city with no pretention whatsoever, and it feels liberating to not have to worry about being someone you’re not in order to fit in.
Given the arcane, near-apocalyptic tone of ‘Apex Violator’, do you view your music as a kind of spiritual or existential catharsis for listeners—or even yourselves?
It is most definitely a cathartic feeling for me, often times a very painful one. I still cannot listen to our first album, Beyond the Forest. I love those songs, but I don’t feel like getting in a time capsule and reliving my teenage years, they were traumatic enough to go through once. Apex Violator was perhaps the most difficult album for me to write lyrically. Not that it was difficult to come up with the ideas, just the fact that I was writing lyrics from the mind of a psychopath. I did not like going there, but I was drawn to make lyrics that delved into the worst part of the human psyche.
I have no idea if our music is cathartic for listeners, but I have had a few people tell me that songs such as Beyond the Forest, and Throne of the Lunar Soul, had lyrics that really resonated with them, and that was an honor to hear, because both of those songs I sort of broke character and just wrote about myself. The whole reason I started creating the Ausadjur Mythos was to escape life, and tell my version of the “greatest story,” or whatever. I’m not ignorant of the fact that I might just be narrating my own journey through life, just with a pseudo-mythological kind of terminology. I don’t know.
If Nex Animus and Valdrin Ausadjur had a podcast, what would it be called—and who would get canceled first?
It would be called “My Stepfather is an Asshole.” Both of them would be canceled immediately. They’re far too human and both make mistakes, and the fact that only one would possibly apologize wouldn’t make a difference. Send em’ both to the chopping block!
In a hypothetical metal multiverse battle royale, who would win: Valdrin Ausadjur, King Diamond’s Abigail, or Bal-Sagoth’s narrators?
Sorry King, but definitely Valdrin Ausadjur. However, the Voivod character would give them all a run for their money. R.I.P. Piggy.
Valdrin’s latest album, Apex Violator, is out now. Step into the void and witness the cosmic war between Nex Animus and Valdrin Ausadjur. Just don’t expect to come back the same.
Categories: Interviews, Music, Valdrin
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