Hi Blake. Thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you all today.
Doing well - very busy, but surviving. Thank you for having me.
For people not in the know, can you provide a brief history of how the band came together and where it is today.
During the height of the pandemic, I found myself at a loss for what to read. Someone that is no longer in my life gifted me a copy of Liber Al Vel Legis, otherwise known as Crowley’s Book of the Law. While the first couple of reads were almost indecipherable to me, I found myself entranced by his language and ideas, albeit with a tempered sense of enthusiasm at times because of some of his more outrageous ideas.
At the same time, I found myself picking up the guitar again after a long break - several years in fact. I started by just refamiliarizing myself with the instrument, like meeting up with an old friend for a pint after several years. Suddenly, I found myself chipping away at songs. I’m not necessarily enthusiastic about some of the first songs I released, as they aren’t really representative of who I am as a musician, but they were important steps. By the time I was writing the first EP and the first album, I had found a voice of sorts.
Step forward a few years and two lineups later and I believe I’ve found my voice, one that is represented best by my new album, The Falling.
How would you describe your music in your own words.
Psychedelic and occult doom with a heavy dose of black metal influence.
Why did you choose the name AIWASS for your band.
Put simply, people encouraged me to release some of my music online. I didn’t have a name and hadn’t planned on picking one out - music was and still is a way to deal with my struggles with mental health and I had no plans of releasing my music. After some persuasion, I decided to pick a name. Flipping once more through Liber Al Vel Legis, I found myself stumbling onto the same paragraph on the first page, over and over and over again: “The Author called himself Aiwass.” Aiwass, the voice that dictated the book to Crowley and his wife while in Egypt, came to signify the voice of passion, creativity, and insight. For Crowley, it was the voice of his Holy Guardian Angel. For me, perhaps it was the voice of my own personal devil. In the end, nothing else seemed to fit.
We're here to talk about your upcoming new album The Falling. What can people expect from the album?
I think this album is a major step forward for me. It’s my first concept album. It’s the first album I wrote after my first tour, my first shows as a frontman. It’s also my first album after a considerable time of psychological difficulty. While it’s still clearly Aiwass - it has the bludgeoning guitars and bass and the bombastic drums and the spacey vocals to a certain extent - it’s a massive step forward for me. While Wayward Gods was an album that had been living within me for who knows how long, The Falling is the album that I wrote when I not only knew how to write an album, but also the album that I wrote when I had to write it.
This is no happy journey full of major scale riffs. This a descent into darkness, a soundtrack for a mental break or for some kind of calamity.
The record is perhaps one of your bleakest records yet but one that features your trademark style of Psychedelic Doom and I loved the use of different sonic experimentation on this release. Was that what you wanted to achieve with this album?
Definitely. I was in a very dark mental space, one that I didn’t know I could escape from. Writing this album and recording it was a physical and psychological necessity. One thing that’s important to note is that this is the album where I believe I fully came into my own voice. The doom, the gloom, the psychedelic touches - those all come from my influences, but The Falling itself is something different - it’s a representation of who I was and at times still am. The necessary prerequisite for experimentation is necessity and I felt that necessity on a visceral, molecular level.
What inspired you to call the album The Falling.
I went through several iterations of the title. None of them really connected with me in the end and I believe Todd at King Volume was able to sense that. He asked me to reconsider my original title and after going back and forth, Todd pointed out that Justyna (who created the painting that became the cover) had titled it The Fallen. I thought about what the album was about - the slow descent of someone’s psychological state as they searched for salvation in the occult - and suddenly The Falling was the only option in front of me. I’ve not looked back since that moment.
Was this an easy or hard album to record and write for compared to your previous albums.
To be honest, it was a bit of both. I wrote this album for the better part of a year, but the final song structures came together incredibly organically - honestly, it freaked me out as at times I thought I’d channelled something that was speaking through me as opposed to speaking up myself. Once that bridge was crossed and I let go, the album came together very quickly. In contrast to Wayward Gods, which I believe had been gestating in me since I heard Electric Wizard the first time as a young teen, this album seemed to explode from the pit in my stomach. It was the only album I could have written at the time of composition.
Did your daily struggles, challenges and triumphs in life shape up the creative outline for the album.
It did in fact - to such a level that at times it is a painful album to listen to. My mother died - there was a lot of death and loss in my life in general - and the last lineup of Aiwass had dissolved. I was alone and, in a weird way, very free to do what I thought I had to do. I didn’t sketch out the concept or anything like that. I’m no Roger Waters. But the songs, once I had finished writing and arranging them in their specific order, suddenly made sense and told the story of the misery that I felt in my heart and in my brain. Struggles, challenges informed the writing and triumph informed the commitment to see my vision to the end.
Where there any particular bands, musicians or albums inspired you when making the album.
In a way, yes, and in a way, no. I purposefully did not listen to much metal music during this time. I was mostly listening to jazz and classical music. However, there were a few artists/albums that really impacted me when I was first starting to write. Some of these albums include Mishlei and Yodh by Mizmor, The Eye of Every Storm by Neurosis, and Atma by Yob.
How does The Falling compare to your previous records.
Heavier, more claustrophobic. More well-thought-out. More personal. Waywards Gods and His Name Was Aiwass were the products of someone learning how to be themselves. The Falling is an unadulterated insight into where my mind was during the composition and recording of the album. I’ve also inserted some elements I wasn’t brave enough to include on previous releases - tremolo picking a la black metal, acoustic guitar, fewer effects on the vocals.
You're debut album Wayward Gods made a huge impression with the Doom/Stoner Metal underground community. Did that surprise you at all. As it was a great album which I still listen to this day.
Thank you for the kind words - I’m glad you still enjoy it. I was extremely surprised by the reception. Perhaps it’s insecurity or a touch of imposter syndrome, but I never really thought anyone would listen to it. It’s my first born and I will always look at it with extreme affection while at the same time knowing that it’s time to grow and move on. I hope that when people listen to it, they hear how earnestly I was trying to make an album that would be an enjoyable listen. I think I’ve grown a lot since then, so sometimes it does make me cringe a bit, but I think that’s natural.
Looking back would you change anything about it.
I’d change many things about it. I don’t want to trash that album because, one, I do still love that album and two, I still want people to listen to it. But I hear more of the problems with it than I hear the successful elements. I’m still very very proud of “From Chains” but that’s a song I’m ready to put to bed. I will likely never play those songs live again, for example. I’ve moved onto other elements of my style, my personality. I probably would have used different pedals on my guitars and I definitely would’ve had fewer effects on my vocals. Moreover, I’ll never mix my own album again if I have a choice - you need someone else to listen to what you have and help you achieve the vision you don’t necessarily know that you have.
AIWASS first started as a One Man Band. Now it's been expanded to include more members within the ranks with Pablo Anton and Eddy Keyes. When did you decide to add more members to the ranks and what do Pablo and Eddy bring to the AIWASS experience.
When I lived in Phoenix, I brought on other musicians and we had a good run, but in the end, it wasn’t meant to be. I’ve since moved back to my home state of Texas. I wasn’t planning on bringing anyone into the fold because of, put simply, trust issues. However, in the end, you have to recognize your weaknesses and take steps to amplify your strengths and decrease your weaknesses. Pablo and Eddy, while they weren’t on The Falling, are vital to my future plans. They’re both extremely close friends - I talk to them pretty much every day when time allows - and they’re brilliant musicians. Pablo as lead guitarist is going to add flavor that I’d never even considered and Eddy has brilliant ideas for bass and other instruments, as he’s a multi-instrumentalist. I’m excited to see where we go with things as a true working unit.
Do AIWASS perform live dates now or have intentions to perform live dates in the future.
At this time we are not playing live. Pablo and I are in Texas and Eddy is in Canada. Despite the distance, there are significant plans to perform live, likely in 2024. I’m very excited about the possibility and know that I’ve surrounded myself with the best musicians. More importantly, they’re excellent people and I need that in my life.
When it was just yourself performing as AIWASS, you were in control of everything. Is that still the case when recording new music or are Pablo and Eddy involved with the creative process as well. How does this work for AIWASS today?
During the recording of The Falling, I had actually yet to meet Pablo or Eddy. But perhaps that’s why I look at The Falling with so much fondness. It’s my final solo statement. We’re already working on new songs, songs that push the boundaries of our identity, but that also create a new identity together. I’m very excited to see what we come up with together. I’ll always be the primary songwriter, but Pablo and Eddy have become more than essential to my songwriting process.
What bands or artists influenced you to pick up an instrument and to become a musician.
There’s a wide range there. To a certain extent, it all goes back to listening to The Beatles with my mother. She bought me my first guitar, a Takamine acoustic guitar, as a response to me asking for drums. Then I found metal not long after that, bought an electric guitar and an amp, and about 15 years later you get Wayward Gods. But the ultimate inspiration for me in terms of picking up music again would be Mizmor. As a one man band, he inspired me to start making music by myself by showing that it was, in fact, possible to do it all yourself. Without that impetus, I don’t think we would be here chatting.
You're from Austin, Texas - which has a vibrant live Doom/Stoner Metal scene. How involved are you involved with the local scene and what are your favourite bands from your hometown regardless of genre.
I do my best to be as involved with the local scene as possible. I have friends in the scene and I go to a lot of shows, but at heart, I’m still rather shy. I don’t always present the most friendly visage either - I guess that’s somewhat of a reflection of my impulse to put walls up. I haven’t played a show in Austin with Aiwass yet, but that will hopefully change as soon as next year.
As for some of my favorite local bands, I love Greenbeard, The Well, High Desert Queen, Demons My Friends, Destroyer of Light, and Eagle Claw. There are also a lot of heavier bands that I love, especially black metal bands, but that’s probably of less interest to your readership. One band that really crosses over - which interests me a lot - is Communion. They’re well-worth a listen.
How do you all relax away from music. Do you have a favourite hobby that folks don't know about.
This may not surprise many people, but I’m a big reader. I studied English and Creative Writing in undergraduate and graduate school and books will always be a major part of my life and a key to maintaining my sanity. My right sleeve is made up of portraits of some of my favorite authors. Of late, one of my favorite things to do is to put on a classical record - especially Beethoven, Haydn, and Bach - and to read. I’ve been reading Maynard Solomon’s biographies of Mozart and Beethoven and have been fascinated, as it’s a cool intersection between my interests in history and music. I read a lot of philosophy - Nietzsche and Schoppenhauer being the foremost philosophers I enjoy - and the occult obviously. But I also read a lot of novels. I’m a big fan of the classics, whether they are from America, Britain, France, Germany, even Russia.
Do any of you have any side projects that folks can check out.
None for me at this time, but that may come later. I have other ideas and interests that don’t fit within the Aiwass framework.
However, my brilliant bandmates have other bands and everyone should definitely check them out. Pablo is also in Demons My Friends, who just released an amazing album. Eddy is also in Lords of the Opium Church and The Endless (who just finished recording their first album). All three of those bands are ones that I would recommend checking out as soon as possible.
Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom for your fans currently out there.
Be kind to each other. The world is a dark place full of shadows and the light all too often doesn’t filter in. Prometheus stole fire from the gods to bring knowledge and light to humanity. Be the Prometheus of your own life.
Words by Steve Howe and Blake Carrera
Thanks to Blake for doing this interview. The Falling will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from October 13th 2023.
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