Interview by: Anders Ekdahl

Published: May 6, 2015

-Certainly – this is James and Chris from Orphans of Dusk, we are bringing death and doom to the world from New Zealand/Australia. We’ve just released a physical release of our debut gothic death/doom EP “Revenant” which is out through Solitude Productions/Hypnotic Dirge Records. Check it out.

(James) Tough question. For me one early period I remember was when I heard Loss’s “Life Without Hope… Death Without Reason” demo… quite a few years ago. Just two songs, but it was something profound to me at the time. I wrote a lot of demos in a raw style around then and that intense kind of writing birthed Orphans. It was building that crude idea into something really vast that came later, trying to write music in a way that I wasn’t reliant on a second guitarist which for me felt like a limitation. I wanted to step outside of that idea and focus on using other instruments and atmospheric music allowed me to do that. There really isn’t anything that evokes the kind of depths of feeling that atmospheric doom does.

(James) I think the bar has been lowered a lot in terms of, for us, being able to avoid some of the pain and cost of traditional studio time. Chris and I can work together using files, lots of big name bands are doing that now really. But at the end of the day, you still have to write your songs with an instrument and a brain. Being able to create demos with some level of production is something we have over the 4 track era.

Has digital made it easier to get your music released?

(Chris) Yes. More people these days want MP3’s and not CD’s which is where Bandcamp comes in super handy. There are also people out there who will listen to an album online, and decide that it is worth buying on CD.

(Chris) Not for us. We wouldn’t release anything unless we were truly pleased with it.

(Chris) We’ve been said to portray certain influences, namely Type O Negative and Woods of Ypres. Every time I read something of this nature I am truly proud of the sound we have created. These are two of my favourite bands and biggest influences so I’m not surprised if it shows, even though it was not our intent. All our reviews have been quite positive, leaving everyone wanting a full length. This is a good sign.

(James) For me, coming across our music on a metal board which was posted by a fan. We’re appreciative of all our fans around the world who contact us – they mean a lot. We’re from a part of the planet that the metal community doesn’t get to hear from often so we want our voices to howl loudly.

Do you feel like you are a part of a greater community playing in a metal band?

(James) There’s a small but growing doom metal scene in New Zealand, and the musicians are similar – bridging the gap between our music and our fans overseas. The metal community is where we exist regardless of distance. I know I was influenced by the Russian/Finnish doom scenes.

(Chris) We haven’t played live yet we’re still able generate a following. Gigging would be another avenue for us promote the band but it’s kind of impossible at the moment. Right now our focus is on writing our best music.

(James) We are currently writing our debut full length album, which is going well. Happiness is over-rated ya know, there’s something intense about the pain of creation that stands on its own. Some riffs… I can’t wait to get to our fans. It will be worth holding onto your mortal coil for. Keep supporting the doom underground