The War Inside My Head: An Interview with Black Metal Project Yhtill

Call it "life," call it "fatigue," call it "being submerged by the contingencies of birth, gender, location, family, and existential dread to the point of a very shallow breathing" but I have not been able to get excited about anything. I appreciate things, I notice things. But it's very hard for me in my current state to get excited. Finding out about the bewitching noise/black metal project Yhtill, of which I had written very recently, has had that effect on me. An impact that goes beyond "cool new track, dude/ette" and delves into that hard place in the middle of the spherical soul in which all the seemingly mindless things you do throughout the day – writing an avant-garde metal blog in the middle of (another) war would be one – flips into that soft place where you remember why living is a thing worth doing, and the role art has in said transformation. 

It isn't easy listening, no. Rarely has anything been recommended by me, interviewed by me, fawned-over by me that would fit that description. But in its vague noisiness, in its uncompromising artfulness, it a source of inspiration in a time in which, typically, these sources run dry. If you love the cloudy noise of bands like Fell Voices, Mahr or just being assaulted by another consciousness foreign to yours, please check them out, please support them, and also maybe read this short interview with main-brain Yhtill about some of their inspirations and motivations. Which, I should add, includes more than one mention of bands and projects lovingly mentioned in this very blog (Gyldensterna, Emanation, and Sarah Davachi, to name but a few). So, meant to be, and all that (black metal) jazz.

Side note: I had never head of Leo and Diane Dillon (re: the amazing cover art). WOW. 

If you're new to this metal blog of bones you can also check out the various interview projects I have going on as well as the weekly recommendation posts. And if you'd like to keep abreast of the latest, most pressing developments follow us wherever I may roam (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Bluesky, TIKTOK etc), and listen to my, I guess, active? (no) podcast (YouTube, Spotify, Apple), and to check out our amazing compilation albums. You could also possibly support my unholy work here (Patreon), if you feel like it. Early access to our bigger projects, weekly exclusive recommendations and playlists, and that wonderful feeling that you're encouraging a life-consuming habit. It's probably a bad idea, but to each their own. On to Yhtill.

What was the first album you bought with your own money, and where did you buy it?

Some classmates and I made a pact to buy and share Pink Floyd’s pre-Dark Side albums. My local record store’s only option was Atom Heart Mother, so that was my contribution. We all ended up gravitating more towards Obscured by Clouds.

What 2-3 albums did you hear the most growing up?

Yes – Close to the Edge: A frequent request of mine as a child and a stepping stone – the unusual presented in a very accessible way.

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue: I fell asleep to this every night for a long time. It fights to turn on in my brain every time I close my eyes.

Darkthrone – A Blaze in the Northern Sky: The album that calcified my taste and lit the path forward. Absolutely immensely important to me.

What albums taught you the most about the technical aspect of making music?

I am willfully ignorant of any technical methods others use. Recording is an experimental and iterative process for me with no outside contributions: DIY taken very literally. There are some albums that I find inspiring in the sense that they represent aspects of the creative potential of individuals.

Elysian Blaze – Blood Geometry: Monumental: it is what it is and settles for nothing less.

Emanation – The Emanation of Begotten Chaos from God: Music for a suppressed ritual that resurrects a blind idiot god.

Brulvahnatu – Menstrual Extraction Ceremony: Raw, muscular, repulsive, but cannot be ignored.

What is the last album that absolutely shocked you?

Toadliquor – Back in the Hole: I assumed this band was dead after decades of silence. This came out of nowhere and punched me right in the gut.

What album relaxes you or centers you the most?

Recently, Sarah Davachi – The Head As Form'd in the Crier's Choir. Anything besides drone or ambient demands too much conscious attention.

What are the 2-3 albums you’ve listened to the most recently?

Paysage d'Hiver – Steineiche: All Paysage d'Hiver is mandatory winter listening.

Rhinocervs – RH-12: Bleak and eldritch, refuses its own permanence.

Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda: Speaks directly to me without needing words.

What album is grossly underrated?

Fell Voices – Untitled (2010): this record will never let me forget it. Wish they hadn’t disappeared.

What album would you recommend from your local scene?

I have to ignore “local” here since I have no engagement with any scene. Here are some independent releases that have made an impression on me recently:

La Torture Des Ténèbres – The Final Century

Tatterdemalion – Ultraterrestrial

Gyldensterna – Solange Noch Zeit Ist