With their latest album, All My Gods Are Dying, Amenspear dives headfirst into a darker, more expansive sound while retaining the raw intensity of earlier work. We caught up with the mind behind the one-person project to talk about the shift in sonic direction, the writing process, and why a Greek hydra might be the ultimate live collaborator.

“All My Gods Are Dying” seems to expand your sonic palette considerably compared to Vaera. How intentional was this shift, and what did you hope to express through this broader range of influences?

It was an intentional shift. I’ve always wanted Amenspear to be a project that incorporates progressive influences. Vaera mostly stayed in the lane of that “epic” thrashy black metal sound, but with All My Gods Are Dying, I wanted more varied tracks. So it has moments that are more death metal, some psychedelic, rock-ish, and doomy. I hope that all these influences indicate to a listener that you never quite know where an Amenspear song is going to take you.

Tracks like “To Feed The Spirit” and “Haruspex” show continuity with your earlier sound, but with increased death metal elements. What drew you toward incorporating more death metal this time around?

As the years have gone by, I listen to a lot more death metal compared to black metal. I’m really drawn to the groove and brutality of it, as opposed to when I was younger and the atmosphere and melody of black metal attracted me. But a great death metal riff can often get your body moving, and I like that.

The project is still relatively new, but this album sounds like a major creative leap. Can you walk us through your writing process — were the songs composed as a cohesive narrative or more as standalone pieces?

They were composed as standalone songs. I wanted the album to have that feel of some classic rock and ’90s alternative rock albums where it feels like a collection of songs — as opposed to albums where the songs sort of flow into each other.

Given the ambitious nature of All My Gods Are Dying, how do you plan to translate this material into a live setting, if at all? Are there plans to expand Amenspear into a live lineup or remain studio-only for now?

There are no plans for Amenspear to be a live act for now. It’s still just me recording everything. But I’m open to performing live down the road, if the fanbase demand is great enough and other musicians are interested in collaborating.

Thematically, the album’s title and song names suggest a deep exploration of loss, spiritual tension, or existential crisis. What personal or philosophical ideas informed this record?

The title is actually a phrase I’ve had in my head for over a decade, going back to when my grandfather passed. I just thought of it and figured it’d be a great album title one day — and here we are now. So it references the actual loss and death of influential and important people in one’s life. But it also touches on how the things in life that we make our gods, or idols, often fail us and can only lead to disappointment.

With the recent passing of Ozzy Osbourne, many metal artists have reflected on his influence. What impact, if any, did Ozzy or Black Sabbath have on your musical development or worldview?

Ozzy was a legend and his death affected me greatly. I’m a massive Black Sabbath fan, and their work with Ozzy (and Dio!) — along with Metallica — was my introduction to metal. I was blasting Sabbath all week after he passed and it never fails to impress me how far ahead of their time they were, and how awesome the music still sounds. Ozzy was a massively underrated vocalist too — his work on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage is great! To me, Sabbath is the second most important band in music history after The Beatles. And you could feel that importance across the music world when the tributes to Ozzy were pouring in. May he rest in peace.

As a one-person project, you’re handling every instrument yourself — what’s your current recording setup, and were there any specific pieces of gear crucial in shaping the tone of this record?

It’s just me in my home office on my laptop. I have my guitars and a Focusrite Scarlett DAW. This one was recorded on my black cherry Schecter Hellraiser Solo-6. I recorded Vaera and some more music to come on that, but I recently retired it. It served me well since I was 16!

Some tone packs with Toontrack’s EZMix were crucial for the album. There was a moment where I briefly thought about scrapping the album (or releasing it as two B-side type EPs) because I really didn’t like the sound. But then I found the right guitar tone thanks to an EZMix pack and it sounded great. Not only saved the album, but made me like it more than Vaera and A Casket Of Relics!

And finally… If Amenspear had to collaborate with one mythical creature to perform “Haruspex” live in a doom cathedral, which creature would it be and what instrument would it play?

Ha! Great question! “Haruspex” is a banger! I would go with the ancient Greek hydra, because there’s that middle section with the punky Darkthrone-ish riff where the growled lines are overlapping a bit — and the multiple heads of the hydra would definitely help sing that. So maybe the hydra would take lead and backing vocals, and I’d just sit back and stick to guitar.

All My Gods Are Dying is available now on all major streaming platforms. Follow Amenspear for future releases, riffs, and possibly… hydra-assisted live sets.

Categories: Amenspear, Interviews, Music

Tags: All My Gods Are Dying, Amenspear