Probably Smug.

Several months ago I was contacted by Nate, the sole member of Wormtongue, to do a review for his EP “Memorial to a Golden Age”. The more I listened to it, the more I became interested in this project, due to his direct approach to well written music, without using the black metal pretense to define an “image”. Hailing from Richmond Virginia, Wormtongue plays a style of black metal that utilizes folk elements tastefully without going overboard on the raw production for the sake of the stereotype. Recently, I had the chance to contact Nate again and ask him several questions about his project, in anticipation for the release of his new EP, “The Solstice Funeral”.

How long have you been writing music and how did you get inspired to record your own music?

I’ve been playing in bands for something like 6 or 7 years. After a while I just decided to record everything myself, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. It’s completely different than being in a band with other members because I have as much freedom as I want to do whatever I please with my own music.

What are your thoughts on the Black Metal scene as a whole? It seems you mostly try to avoid giving yourself the typical corpse paint and moniker to call yourself.

I’m proud of the music I make and I don’t feel the need to hide behind corpse paint and a moniker. I guess you could say I don’t try to associate myself with most of the black metal scene because a lot of its ideologies are pretty ridiculous. This is a genre in which a lot of bands try hard to sound as shitty and extreme as possible, but it loses its appeal after a while when most of its members sound like angry teenagers and look like they belong in a Kiss cover band. To me, it’s all about the music, not an image.

What are your influences for writing music in general?

I just write the music I want to hear. I have so many musical influences, including all genres of metal to folk music to classical music, and everything in between. I try to include all of my influences into my music to create songs that I would enjoy listening to even if they were written by another band.

Many solo musicians seem fairly staunch about remaining solo, do you also intend to keep Wormtongue a one man project? If so, why?

Who knows? Although I created this project to be an output of my personal musical creativity, I might bring in other musicians in the near future; most likely a drummer. I do understand where other solo musicians are coming from, though. Dealing with three or four other musicians in a band and trying to write music is such a strenuous process. When you write and record everything yourself, there’s no one to argue with your ideas and it’s easier to let your creativity flow. Unfortunately I can’t play the drums, so I might have to get the help of a drummer. I still plan on writing everything myself though, so I guess that means Wormtongue will continue to be a solo project in a sense.

What are your hopes and intentions for the future of Wormtongue?

Soon I’ll start looking for a label. The do-it-yourself thing is tiring. If the opportunity arises there might be shows in the future. I just deal with things as they come, and I basically do whatever I feel is right at the time. As you can probably tell, I’m not one of those extremists who want to stay as underground as possible and sell 10 copies of their demo. Wormtongue will always be underground but I want people to hear the music and I’ll do whatever is possible to get the name out there. Basically, my main goal is to get the music of Wormtongue heard.

Tell me more about the new EP coming out.

It’s called “The Solstice Funeral” and it will probably be out within the next month. It’s too bad it wasn’t finished in time to be released on the summer solstice. I could wait until the winter one comes around, but I would probably receive a few angry emails about that. Anyway, the EP will probably have 5 songs (and a longer running time than the last one). I wouldn’t call it a “concept album,” but lyrically all of the songs sort of fit into a certain underlying theme. More about that when it comes out. Musically, expect some different styles this time around. Most of the same elements are there, but there is probably a little more experimentation on this one. The response to the two new songs that were posted online were great and I hope everyone enjoys the others just as much.

How will it be distributed?

I could be screwing myself over because I haven’t completely decided yet, but I actually might be releasing it online for free, along with some hard copies if some people are actually inclined to pay for it. Without a label and the proper distribution, this seems to be the easiest way to do it without charging too much for it. Once again, it’s not final, but that’s what I’m thinking right now.

What equipment do you use to record? It also sounds like you’ve made upgrades between “Solitude” and these new tracks you’re releasing, what equipment / technique upgrades have you been using?

I mainly record with a Gibson Explorer into a Marshall head. The only difference between the other recordings and the new songs is that I’ve upgraded to ProTools and have better techniques. On the last releases I wasn’t really trying to make it sound great, but I felt that with better songs should come better production. I still do everything myself on a computer.

Including Wormtongue, there seems to be several other one-man projects from Virginia including Plaguewielder, Wrnlrd, Furcalor. Is there a good community of Black Metal fans / musicians out there? Or does everybody seem to be hiding anonymously in their homes?

I don’t know any of the above musicians personally. Virginia doesn’t have much of a black metal scene, so it seems as if most of the solo musicians are hiding out anonymously, as you say. Sadly, that’s how most of the U.S. black metal scene is. Everyone wants to hide away from society. However, we have a great metal scene here in Richmond. There’s hardly any black metal but tons of great death and thrash metal bands. Most of the musicians know each other and it’s very close-knit.

What albums are you most looking forward to hearing once they’re released this year? What have you been listening to recently?

My most anticipated releases are the new Behemoth and Drudkh albums. Lately I’ve been listening to the new releases from Finntroll, Dimmu Borgir, Swallow the Sun, Porcupine Tree and Dark Tranquillity.

You can check out clips of Wormtongue’s new songs, as well as download the “Memorial to A Golden Age” EP for free, on the Myspace page.

Velnias have found a nice balance between blazing fast black metal and black and roll, while never fully commiting to one specific style. I like this in a band, because it can keep the listener guessing, while preventing the artists from pigeonholing themselves to where they can’t stretch out and experiment with new sounds and styles in the future if they feel it to be necessary.

What’s important to keep in mind while listening to any demo of course is that it’s usually one of the first releases of any new band. Not only that, but to spend some of that time listening for what the band can potentially do, while not criticizing them for leaving anything out.

The song writing on this demo is very well structured, and the pacing is mindful of what there is to work with in any given measure, stanza, or bridge. All of the songs here are ambitious, moving past the six minute mark, and then some.

While I sometimes listen to this and don’t feel anything specific grabbing me by the shirt collar, there’s definitely a feel on this demo that shows great potential for the future. What keeps bringing me back for repeated listens is the “looking glass” I see, and where this project could potentially go in the future. Rather exciting indeed.

Visit Velnias’s Myspace page here.