By Zoran Theodorovic …..Buy us a Coffee on Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/capitalchaostv
On Primordial Reverie Ascendant, Ryan Koepke (Guitar/Bass) and Chad Bernatchez (Vocals/Lyrics) expand an instrumental universe into a sprawling narrative of ambition, regret, alien worlds, and human creativity. From cinematic soundscapes and technical brutality to the growing debate surrounding AI in music, the duo discuss the creative process behind their latest release and the ideas that shape their sound.
Ryan, Primordial Reverie Ascendant expands on the instrumental world you established with Primordial Reverie in 2025, while Chad’s arrival introduces clean and harsh vocals, adding another dimension to the storytelling. How did bringing vocals and lyrics into the project change your original vision, and were there moments when the music took an entirely different direction because of the narrative?
Ryan: It’s interesting because I think it completed the vision more than it changed it. The music was always written instrumentally out of necessity rather than as an entirely creative choice. As a result, a large portion of the story and imagery was already defined.
I think the original absence of vocals allowed me to build very elaborate supporting elements that I normally wouldn’t have considered if I’d started the other way around. With lyrics, though, we were able to put words to the original story concepts and expand on them. Chad was also able to introduce even more harmonic complexity into each section, as the vocal harmonies often differ from what preceded them rather than simply following along in unison.
Chad, the album’s protagonist embarks on a journey across the universe, only to discover that escaping into the unknown cannot necessarily resolve what remains broken within. The closing track, “Singularity,” brings that idea into sharp focus through regret, self-reflection, and inevitability. What drew you to explore the psychological cost of pursuing something greater than yourself, and how did you approach writing a character whose ambitions ultimately become a source of suffering?
Chad: I’ve always felt that the story of pursuing more was interesting and fun. As artists, I think it’s relatively easy to put ourselves in those shoes, as we tend to be willing to accept costs and make sacrifices in pursuit of our craft. I’ve also played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons and have played and written a few Warlocks. It’s a headspace I feel comfortable in.
I also think that, in the age of social media, it’s very easy to compare your situation to others and get caught in a loop of comparison, where everything can feel like the grass is greener on the other side. I wanted to approach the story from that perspective, with the ultimate realization being that the protagonist had the green grass the whole time. Once you establish that feeling, it’s natural to draw on things like regret and remorse to further color the protagonist’s emotional breakdown.
Ryan, tracks such as “Zephyr of Ouroboros” and “Entropic Harvester” incorporate unconventional time signatures, evolving motifs, and intricate guitar work, while “The Waiting Storm” takes a more direct approach through catchy riffs and memorable choruses. How do you balance technical complexity with emotional impact and accessibility, and do you ever have to deliberately restrain your instincts as a musician to serve the bigger picture?
Ryan: For the most part, I try not to force anything into the music. The result comes from my personal tastes and influences. That’s why some tracks end up being more straightforward, while others go a bit crazier. I do have some rules I stick to, though. The primary one is that everything I write has to fit the overall narrative structure of the album.
The most important thing I try to maintain is dynamics. That applies to both the technicality and the tonality of a track. One of the major pitfalls of modern music, in my opinion, is that technicality has reached such a level that songs end up lacking memorable melodic sections. I see technicality as a way of elevating emotion, not defining it.
One thing I never think about is accessibility or restraint. This is a creative outlet for me. I love my audience, but I will never write with them in mind.
Both of you, Primordial Reverie Ascendant moves through cinematic orchestration, death-metal brutality, atmospheric synths, and unpredictable progressive structures. With Ryan handling production, mixing, and mastering at Chromatic Variable Soundworks, how did you approach making such contrasting elements feel like parts of one coherent universe? Was there a particular track that proved especially challenging to bring together musically and conceptually?
Ryan: The production elements are really the key to making everything sound cohesive. Without them, songs like “Carving a Dragon” or “The Waiting Storm” could sound like they were written by a different artist than something like “Chromatic Haven.” Having key sounds or elements to ground everything was very important to me.
There are also a lot of motifs that repeat throughout the album. Many of them are mutated to the point where they’re difficult to pick up on, but I think listeners will still subconsciously recognize recurring melodic movements.
Writing “Overture” last was a very conscious decision on my part, as I wanted the album to come full circle.
The most challenging track for me was “Carving a Dragon,” by far. It has a lot of natural orchestral layering, which was difficult to keep from getting in the way of the instrumentation. A lot of the challenges came down to mixing, but those often stem from compositional changes that need to happen.
Chad: For me, it involved a lot of back-and-forth with Ryan to make sure I was staying within the realm of the story he was trying to tell, while also letting the songs inform where we were in the plot. I think the storytelling blocks were established very early on, and we simply respected them while I added a few of my own little spices to the soup.
I don’t recall any songs giving me too much trouble, but I think “Chromatic Haven” was probably the trickiest to get right rhythmically and tonally. The verses and choruses are also so different sonically, so I had a bit of a challenge keeping the narrative arc consistent.
Progressive metal has always thrived on pushing boundaries, but the genre now encompasses everything from extreme technical virtuosity to atmospheric soundscapes, cinematic storytelling, and more accessible, hook-driven songwriting. Where do you think progressive metal stands creatively today, and what do you feel the genre needs to do to keep moving forward rather than simply becoming more technically demanding?
Ryan: Progressive metal has such a contentious definition at this point that nobody can agree on what it actually means. Everything in music has been done to some extent, so the idea of constantly progressing becomes subjective and unsustainable. It’s become more of a status symbol than something useful to consumers trying to determine whether they’d be interested in a particular band’s music.
When I think of progressive music, I think of the traditional elements that defined the genre, which were genuinely progressive at the time.
I think technicality and complexity are very subjective and can’t be used to define the genre. For example, the music I’m currently writing amplifies both tenfold compared to this release, but when I wrote Primordial Reverie, it felt much more radical to me. If I were to define the genre based on that, I’d have a hard time labeling my past music.
Chad: I think the idea of progressive metal is a bit of an oxymoron in itself. The genre is constantly being experimented with, taken apart, and put back together, so to speak. In many ways, I feel like the label has lost its meaning because we’ve been using it as an identifier for music that deviates from traditional song structures.
I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I personally enjoy all kinds of different musical styles. I do think there’s a trend of people trying to turn progressive metal into a formula and a commercial product, though. That personally doesn’t resonate with me.
AI has become a contentious subject in music, with some people viewing it as an existential threat to human creativity and others treating it as just another tool. What do you think people misunderstand most about AI’s role in music creation, and where would you personally draw the line between technology that supports an artist’s vision and technology that begins to replace the human experience behind it?
Ryan: I think AI has absolutely no place in creative fields. It’s solving an issue that didn’t exist. The biggest argument I’ve seen in its favor is that it enables people who were previously unable to create music to do so. I don’t think everything in life should be easy.
I’ve put 20 years into learning an instrument, and I still need to maintain those skills every single day. That gives me a level of passion that only time and discipline can provide. It makes somebody creating music with AI unrelatable to me.
The line I would draw is specifically around generative AI, which I think is mostly what people are discussing. I don’t have moral issues with certain plugins, such as an algorithmic mastering suite. I think someone who believes AI is mastering their music for them would never hire a mastering engineer to begin with. However, I would personally never want to use a tool that doesn’t give me complete control over and understanding of my creative decisions.
Chad: Personally, I don’t see the point of AI in music. If you’re talking about automating certain workflows, such as editing drums, I guess that’s a use case, but I think it kind of defeats the purpose.
I truly believe art is about the process because that process informs the result. AI really doesn’t leave room for happy accidents, and those are usually what make art worthwhile. I don’t believe people who actively consume art are interested in perfection, and I think using AI in your workflow robs both you and the audience of those happy accidents.
I’ve used AI very briefly in the past to help write lyrics. The process involved asking for a list of words that rhymed with a particular word or asking for a sentence to be rewritten using a specific number of phonemes. I thought it was improving the work and making lyric writing more “efficient.”
But when I returned to my normal process, I realized how much I was robbing myself of potential ideas by assuming I already had the best one and asking AI to elaborate on it. All of a sudden, instead of looking at 20 words that rhyme with “breath,” I was going down a rabbit hole of rhymes, synonyms, and so on—shoutout to RhymeZone—and coming up with an idea that was substantially better than what I’d initially thought was the best one.
It also comes down to letting someone else do the work for you, in a sense. I personally wouldn’t want someone else writing lyrics or recording for me. So, I guess if you like getting cucked, that’s cool too.
Your music explores alien encounters, unfamiliar worlds, and technologies beyond human understanding. Outside the fictional universe of CEPHEIDAE VARIABLE, do either of you believe intelligent extraterrestrial life is likely to exist, or have you ever experienced something paranormal or unexplainable that challenged your understanding of reality?
Ryan: I’d hope so, because if humans are the peak of intelligent life forms… yeah.
I’ve never personally experienced anything that made me question reality, other than a few very uncanny coincidences here and there.
Chad: I think it’s ignorant to believe we’re the only planet with life on it. Whether we find that life, or that life finds us, within our lifetime is a different story, but there’s no way we’re alone.
Most of the things in our solar system are made up of, like, five elements from the periodic table. There are a lot of elements on that table, plus a lot more things that aren’t on it.
Ryan, since you handle the album’s production as well as guitar and bass, your studio setup presumably plays a major role in shaping CEPHEIDAE VARIABLE’s distinctive sound. What gear, instruments, software, or production techniques were essential to achieving the album’s layered, cinematic character, and how much of that carefully constructed sound can you realistically reproduce in a live setting?
Ryan: I have a large selection of guitars, amps, and other equipment to choose from. For the guitar tones on this album, I primarily used a combination of the Fractal Axe-FX III and Neural DSP plugins. The rhythm tones came from an Aristides H/08, while the lead tones used a combination of that guitar and various Ernie Ball Music Man instruments.
All the bass tones came from Dingwall NG3s, which I think are integral to the sound. It’s a very bass-heavy mix, especially on Primordial Reverie Ascendant. A lot of the perceived guitar tone actually comes from the bass.
The vocals were recorded at Chad’s studio in Stockholm.
One thing I had the most fun with was a digital synthesizer that was new to me: U-He Diva. It wasn’t used for pads or the more audible layers, but it was extensively used to give certain sections interesting character and weight. It’s a piece of software that will stay in my toolbox for the foreseeable future, although I’ll probably use it for different purposes so that things continue to sound fresh.
The entirety of our sound should be reproducible live. We’ve expanded our lineup to include two guitarists, a drummer, and a live bass player. I have no issue with using backing tracks for the cinematic layers. The one exception is any form of keyboard solo.
With two guitarists, maybe we’ll just transcribe those parts for guitar. Or, if somebody wants to be our keyboardist, let us know!
Ryan, you’re based in British Columbia, while Chad is associated with VOIDCHASER, a band whose name sounds like it belongs on a spaceship somewhere between Earth and Stockholm. So, purely hypothetically, if CEPHEIDAE VARIABLE had to relocate its entire operation to Stockholm tomorrow, what would be the bigger challenge: adapting to the Swedish metal scene, surviving the winter, or convincing a giant mechanical spider like the Entropic Harvester to carry your gear across town?
Ryan: I’ve been told Sweden is very Canadian, and the winters can’t get much worse than they are here. The Entropic Harvester is controlled by a rudimentary AI with a jellyfish embedded in it, so that’s basically a no-go.
Categories: Interviews
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