Dealing With The Devil: A Conversation With Paul & Steve O’Brien of Aeons Abyss

An in-depth look at 'Terror Manifest' leading up to this week's release.

Words by Kman (@kmanriffs):

If you know my work, you’ll know that I’m always on a never-ending search for new and upcoming bands to promote and draw attention to. Melbourne, Australian act Aeons Abyss appeared on my radar around mid 2019 after the release of their debut EP, Pity Eloquence, which was then followed up in November of that year, entitled Impenitent. But things were not as they seemed on the surface of these two releases, because musically, pretty much everything contained within had been sitting on a shelf for near-on 25 years waiting to be unleashed. Yep, old ideas were once again given life through the reformation of high school friendships and the drive and willingness to see their earlier work come to light. The journey is an interesting and unique story, and with the impending release of their sophomore album Terror Manifest just days away (as this goes to publishing) we sat with vocalist Paul and guitarist Steve (both unrelated ‘O’Brien's) to chat about the path they’ve taken to reach this point and the plans moving forward. So, grab your red wine chalice and deck of Tarot cards, sit back, and read about Aeon Abyss plight in dealing with the devil….

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Welcome to Heaviest of Art, Paul and Steven, we are thrilled to have you answer some questions for us today!

Aeons Abyss: It is a pleasure to be interviewed by Heaviest of Art. Your aesthetic take on extreme music correlates with our own fascination and reflects the impulse behind our creative efforts. I particularly enjoyed your recent article on CYNIC ahead of their release, 'Ascension Codes'. So thank you for considering us.

Of course, the main reason we have you here is to chat about the forthcoming album ‘Terror Manifest’ – you and the band must be keen to see it released come November 5th?

Paul: It feels like it has been a long time coming and that the songs from 'Terror Manifest' are old friends and yet at the same time it has been a busy process and Steve in particular has been a powerhouse of resistless activity preparing for the release. Our ambition in some respects has transcended just the music. There is a social message behind this album that we have tried to promote in a considered way, from diverse enterprises like The Metal Podcast and in the album’s artwork and through live performances. Of course, COVID has compromised the latter two. Nonetheless, it reflects the philosophy that rational argument is drowned by the relativity of ‘fake news’ that refuses to distinguish opinion (for which read, prejudice) from fact. This leaves art as perhaps the final bastion of persuasion but even art is ruthlessly commercialized and conforms into a commodity while the germ of subversive creativity lives on in the underground where it is broadly ignored and selectively cherished.

Fair call on the social message surrounding the new album and we will dive into the specifics of 'Terror Manifest' real soon, but at this point can we set the scene for the readers who may not be all that familiar with Aeons Abyss. Your evolution as a band is a rather interesting, unique journey I believe. Research says you formed in 2017, but the journey has been far longer! How did this all come to fruition? Who is Aeons Abyss and why does the Metal world now have the pleasure of listening to and witnessing your music?

Paul: Steve and I first formed a band in 1990 during our second last year of high school. Steve’s brothers, James and Adam were involved as well as high school friends, Michael Bush, Andrew McConville and Glenn Chuck. We wrote a series of songs that constitute the EP, Pity Eloquence and the LP Impenitent, yet coming from rural Victoria we never exploited the opportunity to play live that was the only mechanism then to perhaps win a record deal to immortalize those tracks. We were pursuing higher education and starting careers and families so that by 1995 we had stopped creating new material and without a formal end the whole enterprise faded into reminiscence. There were abortive restarts; In the 2000s, for example Michael became involved with mixing tracks from overseas bands and hinted that we should record some stuff but we were yet distracted and later when Steve prompted him he had moved on to other hobbies. But Steve and I had always had the stronger collaboration and when he approached me in 2017 about recording our old songs, I had no hesitation to try. It was clear that Steve’s ambition wouldn’t stop there and I don’t think he ever completely stopped composing. I am confident that he never will. Our original name, Cataclysm, was already famously in use. We wanted to encapsulate something monumental in our new name to reflect our ambition for eclectic tunes and ambitious narratives. An eon is an immense interval of time; an abyss is a fathomless depth. Aeons Abyss describes a fall, morally, philosophically, physically, so profound that it becomes meaningless to measure its distance, where all sensation bleeds away leaving only the disquiet of vertigo until direction and time themselves dwindle into unmade chaos.

Cover Art by Dimitris ‘satta’ Kourtzas

And musically, a description or classification of your style of heavy music – the death/thrash tag is probably one that you would agree upon. But what else would you say is going on within your compositions? What sort of heavy music fan is going to find your music appealing?

Paul: It is interesting how metal is fractured into different genres and that death metal in particular is further splintered into disparate categories so that aficionados can dispute for example whether Altars of Madness or Butchered at Birth are more thrash metal than death metal or whether The Sound of Perseverance is still death metal or is it Prog metal. We would be flattered to be considered in those arguments but truthfully, most fans tastes transcend genres, certainly ours do and that is what you are going to hear in 'Terror Manifest'. There are thrash metal, melodic death metal, grind core, black metal and doom metal influences on both the music and equally in the vocals. Further to that there are blues influences and homages to classical music including death metal/black metal vocal harmonies and counterpoint. There are two ambient tracks that are quite unique, something like ‘Impressionist death metal’ in their attempt to render a perception, incarnate. As we reach into our subconscious to evoke its story there is no boundary to the collected memories. We think that the story succeeds and that any heavy music fan might find it compelling especially as it challenges their expectations.

‘Impressionist Death Metal’ – you’ve just invented another genre! Ha! I want to dive into the new album soon, but I thought we might get there via ‘Impenitent’, your debut album from 2019. What were your expectations upon its release? Were you pleased with the response to it and what it represented for you at the time?

Paul: Releasing 'Impenitent' was a catharsis of unrealized ambition that exculpated twenty-five years of regret. The recording quality gave fidelity to Steve’s musical vision. The old lyrics were purged of their adolescent naivety to more fully realize their original narrative and I was satisfied with the vocal performance. That had been the extent of my ambition. However, its reception particularly by old school death metal fans who like us grew up through the Halcyon 90s was especially gratifying.

Steve: The release of 'Impenitent', and our debut EP, 'Pity Eloquence', was for me a really cool achievement, in that not only had we restored our music from the 90s, but we’d self-recorded and released our music to the world. To also get really positive feedback from the likes of Maor Appelbaum, who mastered Impenitent, was humbling. This in turn gave us something to start connecting with metalheads from all over the world, who started engaging with us on our music, whilst also becoming true friends of our band.

Cover Art by Ivan Radnic

And since its release, the band has evolved from yourselves (as a duo) to a 5-piece outfit. Was this a deliberate intention to go from what was essentially a studio outfit to a fully-fledged line up? When did you first realize that what you were doing had legs and opted to pursue filling vacancies in the line up? Can you give the readers a bit of background as to who the new guys are and where they may have come from?

Paul: We reconstituted ourselves initially as a recording project to capture the songs of our past and to create new ones but our other regret was not to have performed more live shows. Each live performance is a unique entity that draws as much from its audience and our effort in recruitment was specifically for live performances. James (on drums) was involved from the days of Cataclysm and had already played an advisory role during the recording process. Brett Saw (rhythm guitar) brings the broadest heavy metal background imaginable and embodies the very concept of transcending genres while Leigh Boyd (Bass) has a hardcore/punk aesthetic with its powerful and distinct voice. These guys are serious musicians and awesome to work with as listeners to The Metal Podcast co-presented by Steve, Leigh and Brett can attest. They will lend their creativity to future recordings, which is very exciting.

Steve: I know this sound a bit silly, but Brett pointed this out to me, in that 'Terror Manifest' has in of itself manifested its own story with the band, like it was meant to be. For instance, the creation of the song The Magician (original title related to fire) really helped kick along the concept of Tarot, and The Magician card in tarot suite equals creation. Then when I kicked off our recruitment campaign Leigh was the 1st to respond and then join us, and he literally lives one block away from my house and has his own music setup that works in perfectly for the unique needs of our band (with Paul living in a different state). Brett is connected in a big way to the stories we are telling through 'Terror Manifest' and Tarot. And my brother Jimmy, just happened to be able to fill in on drums for us when other plans around a drummer fell through at the last minute.

So, we get to ‘Terror Manifest’ – firstly, this is all brand new material I believe, so when was it recorded and how long have you been sitting on it for a release date?

Paul: The music for 'Terror Manifest' was completed in 2019-2020. Steve is far more prolific than I am and he was writing most of the songs while I was yet laying down vocals for Impenitent. By January 2020 we had the basic structure for the nine traditional tracks and had just improvised The Magician. Steve established the track order that worked best musically and from there I constructed the unfolding story of the fool. Each song has its own aesthetic that lends itself to a particular suit of the Tarot. We purposefully took our time to sit with preliminary recordings that allowed us to work up the collaborative pieces. I had some ambitious vocal ideas that didn’t always work straight off, for example the recitative character of death metal vocals makes counterpoint too dissonant unless it’s grounded by the lyrics, while sometimes we’d discover that we needed an extra guitar solo or Steve would suggest where there might be additional vocals. As is often the case in imaginative work, these ‘add-ons’ constitute some of the most memorable moments in the album and that back and forth was especially satisfying. We also waited because our friend Dimitris “satta” Kourtzas, the artist responsible for the cover of Impenitent, was working on oil paintings to depict each of the eleven tracks. This was to have been integral to the art of 'Terror Manifest' and we considered Satta as the third member then of Aeons Abyss. Unfortunately the Covid pandemic grew worse in Greece and we have lost contact with him. To Satta, we wish you and your family all health and happiness.

I only ask, because Iron Maiden sat on their latest for 2 years before its release. I can’t imagine being in a band, writing and recording an album – blood, sweat and tears involved and then sit around waiting for 2 years to see it come to light. It seems Covid has held so much back. Not just playing live, but the whole fucking process of recording and release…care to comment?

Paul: There is some value to sitting on creative works to diminish your personal investment, the blood, sweat and tears as you describe, that dominate immediately before fading. This might improve its revision. It is curious then, how Iron Maiden ended up with such a colossal release when finally it dropped. Perhaps they just kept writing and decided, “fuck it, we’ll include them all!” I imagine for such an iconic band that there is a reasoned marketing strategy necessitating concert tours to leverage from the release and that such management considerations can take precedence over artistic sensibilities. We underground musicians envy the opportunity had by commercial icons to earn a living from their art and without suggesting that it reflects on their output, I wonder if the pressures of making a living from it might not taint the spontaneous freedom of making music. It might be a case of take care what you wish for, lest it come true.

To my ears, 'Terror Manifest' is the absolute proper step up from your debut. The Death/Thrash tag is a little restrictive, no question. There is much more going on. Did you have a vision of what you wanted going into the album? What would you suggest as the main differences between it and Impenitent?

Paul: Lyrically, it was always my intention to create a single narrative as opposed to the songs of Impenitent that each told a separate story. But this cannot be like say chapters of a book and in the end every song also has to stand on its own. The tarot idea facilitated this particularly well and separate from the continuous story each song has its own allegorical significance.

Steve: Not initially, other than I wanted it to have an epic production sound. Also, musically, it just needed to work with Paul’s vocals.

Let’s chat music, then lyrics! – Steve, there’s a bit going on here, mate! You’ve written all but 2 tracks on 'Terror Manifest' – considering the ‘age’ of your music on the debut, has anything changed in your songwriting approach for the album?

Steve: Well, there has been almost 30 years of different music influences, from all genres, especially classical, since the music of Impenitent. Plus, having a small home studio with access to killer guitar tones and modern drumming programming helps. To be honest, since I picked up a guitar back in the day and worked out how to play, 90% of my time would just be freestyle jamming riffs. Once I make a riff that has legs, the song tends to write itself, and this normally happens quickly. Sometimes I might challenge myself to a certain style or vibe, or to work out a way to transition one riff into another. Also, being able to set up some song structures with drum patterns is a good way to approach it. But typically, once I get going, the song is in my subconscious and it emerges to the point where I know it’s done.

Influence wise, for me, there’s a ton of regulars shining through - Morbid Angel, Obituary, Carcass, Slayer, through to Megadeth and Iron Maiden. But something else I did notice was the Chuck Schuldiner vibe – not necessarily in the main riffs, but more so the melodic lead work. I mean the opening melody to ‘The Fool’ sounds like something off Human or ITP? Am I right?

Steve: No doubt, all those bands come through. And yes, I love Death, especially the James Murphy era and without really knowing all the various music nodes, I am often drawn to the more exotic scales for my lead work, and these were used by Chuck quite a lot. The Fool was an important composition for me, as I wrote it knowing it would be the opener. I remember channeling a bit of a Behemoth vibe, just in terms of tone and space, and tempo across the track.

Other examples are evident on ‘The Hierophant’ and haunting intro that begins ‘The Ace of Staves’ – sounds like My Dying Bride! Your doom elements are huge on that track.

Steve: 'The Hierophant' is so much fun to jam. The song was born from the middle riff, which has a pretty cool snake-ish vibe. Also, I remember with The Ace of Staves, I had been listening to the entire My Dying Bride discography, and I wanted to pay homage to them through some music. I had written the opening lead melody, but I also had a riff inspired by Russian composer Mussorgsky, and needed a way to combine them. For me, Paul’s lyrics are so amazing in this song and he captures the mood of deep despair that comes through in the 1st half of the song so amazingly well. Especially with the content of the lyrics about industrialized killing to feed wealthy gluttony. We had some problems with this song in the mastering literally over one note in the second solo, which ended up being squeezed a little too hard in the final mastered version, and we gave Jack Control (from Enormous Door) a hard time to recapture the original emotion, which he ultimately did perfectly.

Then there’s this underlying black metal element – some well-placed tremolo picking in the fast-paced sections of tracks. A real Scandinavian feel. Would I be on the mark here?

Steve: The stylings of black metal convey a different emotional response, and me and Paul both really like black metal. We felt that concept theme of 'Terror Manifest' gave us free reign to mix styles, and for it to still work and carry through as part of The Fool’s journey.

I have a favorite track I’d like to chat about – Track 5 - ‘The Devil’ - love that rolling riff that drops in around 1 min 30 and backed with some killer lead work – then fades out with some bluesy slide guitar. I have had the pleasure of viewing the video you have put together for said track. Is this your first foray into the visual representation of the band? Care to comment about how it came together?

Steve: The blues riff at the end of 'The Devil', is where that song came from. I wrote that component of the song way back in the early 2000s when I was only playing an acoustic guitar for many years. I think subconsciously when I put the music for that one together, I was channeling a crossroads, and thinking Robert Johnson the whole way. This is another cracker to jam. I was also super impressed when Paul and his wife worked together to sing the harmonies in the 2nd half of the track. Paul has also said to me out of all our songs there is no better example of music and lyric fitting together.

For the video, our bass player Leigh is a creative beast, and he showed me some videos he made a few years back for other bands. We were in lockdown in Melbourne, but the band as a collective was still looking to create as much as we could, so I asked if he was interested in making a video. He said yes, and we gave him freedom to create his own visual story to the lyrics and music. We think it came out sick. We have talked about making a few more, like a continuation of this story, and even discussed making a short film down the track to fully realize The Fool’s journey.

Awesome, I hope that comes to fruition, Steve. Now Paul – the lyrical theme of 'Terror Manifest' is your baby, I believe. Having read the extensive press release prologue around the new album and the lyrics for each track it is clear that lyricism is a big part of the band’s identity? Care to comment?

Paul: I have always been ambitious to write interesting stories often with allegorical meanings if for no other reason than we relate more to particular events, especially fantastic ones, when they reflect our universal experience. I think that there is a musicality to poetry and to prose that can add its voice to enhance music. I also believe that there is there is an emotive power to death metal and to black metal vocals that is often dismissed but that can be realized through the story it portrays.

Also, thematically TM is a very interesting beast. All tracks are centered around the deck of Tarot Cards, essentially exploring how humanity exists and operates at the behest of multinational/corporate greed. I hope I’ve interpreted that correctly. Could you expand on that a bit more? Furthermore, how long have you had this idea incubating and where does that motivation come from in your writing?

Paul: My wife is fascinated with Tarot and took to studying it. She expected me to be skeptical if not dismissive but I was impressed with it, not as a source of divination but as providing a guided meditation. In the same way that a symphony for example liberates imaginative fancy by imposing its structural form, I considered that a tarot reading might prompt the reader to view their circumstance from different perspectives. It was a compelling impression that informed the story of 'Terror Manifest' that was always about a reaction to the scourge of modernity. It is a rallying cry against institutional duplicity while also a cautionary tale about the dangers of dogmatism. The zealot determined to save the world does so by sacrificing of their individuality. We are social individuals who vacillate between personal narcissism and group enthusiasm, both of which are the source of evil.

So, what happened to writing about Sex, drugs and Rock n Roll, Paul? Rose Tattoo probably did it best anyway, so why bother competing! Seriously, where and when did the ‘Death Metal Poet’ tag come from? Were you a big English Lit fan/student at school? What are you reading about right now?

Paul: Metal lyrics have always been more subversive and dark than rock lyrics that admirably suits my personality. We continue to rail against religion and Christianity in particular when the malevolent forces of our time rather subvert our defiant creations and turn them into products. It is sadly ironic, like the iconic visage of arch revolutionary Che Guevera used to sell a million t-shirts! The ‘Death Metal Poet’ tag arose from the avatar I chose at a whim for Instagram. I’m not a huge fan of social media and I respect the tireless effort Steve puts into it generating an audience for Aeons Abyss but I pity the users who follow death_metal_poet as he is fucking useless. For someone who gets on his soapbox and never fucking shuts up, I don’t post much at all. I have always been a writer of stories and I have recently sent a manuscript to some publishers in the vain hope that they might be gullible enough to publish it, otherwise my frustrated literary ambitions haunt Aeons Abyss. At the moment, I am reading ‘Life and Fate’ by Vassily Grossman. With its descriptive beauty and intricate narrative, it’s a masterpiece!

I’ll add that to my wishlist! Got any lyrical themes/ideas brewing for future AA material?

Paul: Yes, I do. The hope at this point is for me to first write lyrics that Steve and the guys can use as inspiration to compose music. This would be a reversal of our usual process but would distance its style nicely from 'Terror Manifest'. We want to focus on playing live in the short to medium term so that gives me time to experiment. To that end I am playing around with different poetic meters in hopes of manipulating the evocative power of words. A story is slowly formulating in my head but I hesitate to describe it because it seems grander there. It is ambitious, playing with repeated melodies across the album like Wagnerian lite motifs. I don’t know yet how I am going to pull it together and risks failing spectacularly, but that is exactly where we feel most inspired creatively.

And Steve, what’s your take on what Paul brings to the table lyrically? Given the depth and complexity of his writing, I would assume you are happy to give him free reign?

Steve: Ever since I have known Paul, his writing has always been next level amazing. We will often discuss ideas, or I might plant a seed in his mind through a discussion on an interesting topic, but once he has his story, there is no stopping him.

And when I listen to our songs and read his lyrics, there are times where the depth of his words, and how he has his conveyed his message blows my mind. I think his writing is genius. We have run into the odd tensions where I’d suggest changing a lyric, or re-phrasing something to better fit the music. But we also pride ourselves on our music telling a story, so that process will never compromise the end product.

For music already written, we’ve since worked out a process where I arrange where lyrics can go within a song (from a musical perspective), and how the phrasing can best work in a particular section, then Paul will write his story to that. It works a treat.

I must also mention the merch you have linked with the new album. All the regular bundles – but sets of Tarot Cards as well. Only seems fitting that the punters get to deal the Death card while listening to 'Terror Manifest', hey?

Steve: It was a lot of fun to make a suite of Tarot cards that respected the archaic practice, was reflective of the story and also touched on relative elements of modern society. We wanted the main image to be the song name in a font that suited the song, which was also a fun process to work through. Paul and I did consult with a local Tarot reader in Northcote, and Brett, our guitarist, who knows Tarot like the back of his hand (which is tattooed in Tarot symbols) also helped with the designs. There is only a small number made, and some of the bundle offers will disappear when the album drops. For anyone seeking to use the Tarot, the idea is you should focus on the thing that you are pondering, draw a random card, and then listen to the corresponding song. Ponder upon both the card and the music, and see what answers formulate.

Care to comment on the cover artwork for the album, Steve? More like a photo capture of a Tarot card and chalice setting than artwork, but suitably linked to the whole album theme.

Steve: Paul mentioned Satta before, and our intention was to have him do our artwork. We are lucky that his early studies still produced some useable art with images for The Magician, The Hermit and The Hanged Man in particular. But when we came to grips with the fact that Satta was no longer an option, Paul came up with a concept of some scattered cards. As we discussed it, I literally set it up on my dining table and photographed it to show him, and that was the shot we used. It just had a dank old school vibe that we fell in love with. Just the way the light shone through at that very moment, casting shadows across the cards. I wasn’t able to recreate that moment any better later on, even with a DSLR camera. We then focused on combining that artwork with the oranges of the candle flame. Earlier Paul and I did our own photoshoot, so then I was able to put all the elements together for the various album format designs. Brilliant Emperor Merch helped finalise everything for print, and it was job done.

It works a treat! Really authentic! You’ve also thrown out some special edition cassettes for the new album and previous material. Small runs, but virtually sold out I believe. Who is buying these? – people from where?

Steve: We have the most amazing followers and friends from all across the world, so our small runs of merch end up spreading all over the globe. I also do a bit of trading at times with other bands and some small distro companies. That is both a suggestion and an invitation to other bands that are sitting on merch - trade it!

Does this resurgence in the cassette tape format surprise you? I have a ton of classic metal material in my cassette collection but can’t find a quality tape deck to play them on!

Steve: I think the resurgence of the cassette is a reflection on both the retro novelty of the item, but also how cool they look. Plus, on a good player, a well mastered cassette sounds really nice. I think back in the day, we’d play them to death, and invariably they’d chew up and wreck. Nowadays, they are viewed more as a collectable, so they are preserved and looked after better. I agree it is hard to find a quality player though. It took me about 6 months to find a semi descent one.

Can we chat about your online presence. As you are aware I am a massive supporter of the underground and promoting the ‘virtually unknown’ is a major part of what I do on social media. You guys have obviously realized the potential of various platforms and are liberal users as a way of self-promotion and getting your music to the world. If you’re in a band, you just have to have a social media presence now, yeah?

Steve: Firstly, thank you for the work you do online, it is seriously immense. You are the bulletin board for the metal release world! For us, when Paul and I started this, our initial plan was to purely focus on promoting our music through social media. There is so much music being released every day, so if you do not have a connected fan base, even if you happen to get lots of streams on Spotify, your audience will be transient. Social media is not for everyone, but I think back to how hard it was for us as kids to get our music heard. Now, we can release a song and connect with people all over the world about our music through these social platforms. For a band to succeed on their socials, they should look to create a community around their account, beyond just posting purely about themselves, and being overly selective about who they follow.

You are also doing your own podcast show! I’ve taken a listen to a few episodes. Can you tell us more about that and what your intention was in setting it up?

Steve: Paul and I both dabbled with some podcasts before we started our own. I helped Noob Heavy mix a few of his shows, and with Noob I co-interviewed Schmier from Destruction which was epic. We also did a 4-part 90s Death Metal special with our friend Matt Massacre in the States, who runs a show called Straight to the Core Podcast.

Paul and I were planning how we could tell the associated story of 'Terror Manifest' after release, and after we discovered that Spotify was promoting this really cool Music+Talk format that allows you to play songs from the Spotify Library as part of your podcast, we thought that sounded like the perfect format.

We were in lockdown in Melbourne and couldn’t rehearse, so I put it to the Brett and Leigh that we should do a podcast. They leapt at the idea, and we worked out a format that allowed for us to invite in other bands, and also give Paul his podium to speak as Death Metal Poet. We are having lots of fun doing it, getting great feedback and lots of cool guest. We especially want to promote the Aussie underground, so we will continue with this for now. Also, Paul has just started telling the story of The Fool, and this will continue over the next handful of shows, which I really look forward to.

Obviously the other way of promoting what you do, is playing live! Yep, here’s the obligatory question that all bands in 2021 get asked about – what are the live plans for the band around this album and when do you think it’s going to happen?

Steve: It’s actually pretty hard in Melbourne to lock down a live show at the moment. I feel for the bands and venues that have tried, to only seen their plans foiled by the plague, or limited to small crowds, all masked up.

We have gained access to a really cool space just near my house, so our intention for the next 3 or 4 months (as soon as lockdown ends) is to run some rehearsal shows out of this space. Basically, for family and friends of the band, including any of our social media followers, we’ll be putting the word out, and you will be able to come to our rehearsal, hang out, and hear us play a set. Be in the room and be part of it. We may also bring in other bands to this process and keep it pretty underground for a while. Second half of next year, we will start seeking out some formal shows. We’re keen to go interstate to South Australia, where Paul lives, and also to Queensland and Perth, where we got a bunch of friends and other bands we want to play with.

I’ll be sure to lock in a Queensland date if and when that happen! Projecting further, what’s the next step? Have you been writing for future albums? What’s your process with this? Will you be looking for writing contribution from the new guys?

Steve: We will try the live thing, but also we’ll continue to release content relating to 'Terror Manifest'. We have a lyric video ready for The Hierophant, a live playthrough of The Emperor planned, as well as music video for The High Priestess plus we may do that short film I mentioned before. Another live studio recording is on the cards (like we did for the Impenitent tracks at GM Studio earlier this year). Paul and I also found a lost song earlier in the year from about 1994 we’d completely forgotten about on an old cassette, so we will record and release that perhaps next year. We’ve also got an offer to do a split with a hardcore Melbourne band. Paul and I are really keen to bring the new guys into the song writing process, so all these things are possible. In terms of our next full length, I would say this will be at least 2 to 3 years away.

Really hope that all unfolds as quick as possible! Lads, in wrapping it up, it’s been an absolute pleasure chatting with you and I’m really looking forward to the listeners response to the new album when it is released. Any last comments/words for our readers?

Aeons Abyss: Thank you very much to Heaviest of Art for featuring Aeons Abyss and our impending release, 'Terror Manifest'. It is the story of frustrated righteousness, of duped idealism, portraying the banality of commercialism, the fallacy of democracy and the moral obligation of the individual. It is your story. Thanks for listening; we sure as fuck hope it helps!

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Terror Manifest arrives on November 5th. Pre-order your copy HERE.

Cover Art by Steven O’Brien