1. Hello A. Sorensen. Please introduce yourself to the readers?
Greetings! I am A. Sorensen, guitarist, founder and principal songwriter for Vermont-based metal band Lightcrusher.
2. When did you first discover metal music and who were the first bands and artists that you listened to? Who are some of the current bands that have caught your attention?
Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I was first introduced to bands like AC/DC, Motley Crue, and Metallica from my older sister. Ever since then, I’ve been in pursuit of faster, heavier shit. I’m a big fan of 80’s metal as a whole. More current stuff that’s caught my attention, however, are bands like Evilfeast from Poland, Malokarpatan from Slovakia, and a bunch of bands coming out of Chile and the Quebec black metal scene.
3. When did you first become interested in writing and playing music? Did you take lessons when first starting out or are you self-taught?
I come from a musical family and so I’ve always been surrounded by relatives who either knew how to play instruments and/or had a strong appreciation for music. I was 11 when I first picked up a musical instrument. It was a shitty old alto sax. I made the switch over to bass guitar at 16 (it looked and sounded a hell of a lot cooler than the sax) and learned guitar shortly after that. My main focus became the guitar while living overseas (out of necessity). Where I was living basses were hard to come by, but guitars were plentiful. I did take saxophone and bass lessons early on, but with guitar I’m mostly self-taught.
4. What are the instruments that you currently play and are there any new ones that you would like to learn one day? Who are some of your biggest influences and favorite musicians?
So, currently I play mostly guitar and bass, occasionally dabbling with piano. I’d ideally like to become competent with the drums. This is mainly due to the extreme drummer shortage we’re experiencing in Vermont and the rest of the region.
When it comes to influences, Dick Dale (the “King of the Surf Guitar”) was definitely an inherent part of my guitar playing. It’s from listening to him that I learned fast tremolo picking. For favorite musicians, I have way too many to list, spanning several genres and time periods.
5. A. Sorensen, I believe you started Lightcrusher back in 2010? What gave you the idea to start this band?
Yes, that’s right. I started Lightcrusher in November of 2010 with our first drummer. I had been living overseas for a number of years and had just returned home from military training prior to Lightcrusher’s creation. Being away from Vermont (my hometown) for so long gave me a greater appreciation for my beautiful, but often desolate home. I was also on a big death-doom kick at that time and that sort of “thing” didn’t yet exist in the Green Mountains. In fact, there wasn’t much in the way of extreme metal in the entire state at the time. I wanted to change that and thus Lightcrusher was formed.
6. How did you choose Lightcrusher as the name of this band? What is the current line-up of Lightcrusher?
“Lightcrusher” means the “crushing” or “vanquishing” of hope. 2010 was a dark time in my life with lots of uncertainty for the future. My personal struggles were what influenced me in the naming of the band.
The current lineup, besides myself, is M. Schrift (vocals), K. Emmons (guitar), L. Gallows (bass), and we just hired on our new drummer W. Molleur over the summer.
7. Lightcrusher's music seems to draw from a variety of genres. Who would you say are the band’s biggest influences? For the readers who have never heard Lightcrusher how would you best describe the band’s musical style?
We certainly draw influences from a vast amount of bands, both metal and non-metal. If I had to pick a few, I’d say our biggest influences vary from early-Katatonia, and Paradise Lost, to Ruins of Beverast and Nagelfar. Style-wise, I’d say we lean more toward black metal with strong death-doom roots.
8. “Forever But Never Named” is the band’s second full length. How long did it take to write the music for the new release? How long would you say it usually takes to complete one song?
Surprisingly, the music on our latest album seemed to come together rather quickly compared with earlier material. Maybe because we were dealing with 6 tracks as oppose to 8 this time around. But, we also did things slightly differently this time around. Firstly, I only wrote 3 of the 6 tracks, while the other 3 tracks had been divided among K. Emmons (Track #1), L. Gallows (Track #3), and by dungeon synth group Sombre Arcane who, wrote the music for Track #5. I honestly couldn’t give you an estimate of how long it took to write each track, but it seemed the creative process went much smoother for us this time around.
9. Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are the subjects written about on the new release? Which usually comes first the music or the lyrics?
I wrote lyrics for most of our demo tracks early on, but since 2015 all lyrical duties were handed over to our vocalist, M. Schrift. Much of his lyrics come from his novella writings. From there, it’s hard for me to speak for him on where his inspirations lie. I can tell you, though, that in the writing process I often will write the instrumentation for each song first and then present to M. Schrift for input. We then do a bit of back and forth until lyrics and song structure is how we want it before presenting to the rest of the band. This has been the process since 2015. Maybe there’s a better method, but it seems to work for us.
10. Besides the “Forever But Never Named” release, are the band’s previous releases still available for the readers to purchase?
Yes, either through digital or CD format. Fans can certainly check out our Bandcamp page at: lightcrusher.bandcamp.com. For purchasing our latest release, please visit our label, Born For Burning Productions, at: bornforburning.bigcartel.com.
11. Have you or the band ever had the interest in making a music video for any of the band’s songs? If you could make a video for any of the songs off the new release which one would you like to see made into a music video?
We’ve certainly discussed this idea as a band and aren’t totally against it. Regarding which songs? Probably “Icarium’s Path… “ (from our 2018 album “Constructing Stairs of Mortared Bone“) or “Coursing Through Black Veins of Earth” (from our latest album) for starters.
12. What does Underground Metal mean to you?
“Underground Metal” to me, at least from a musician’s standpoint, means NOT kowtowing to the demands or expectations of others. In other words: creating music which speaks to the individual, not for the sake of appeasing a wider audience by embracing the trends.
13. Besides working in Lightcrusher do you currently work with any other bands or solo projects? If yes please tell the readers a little about them?
As a whole, the members of Lightcrusher are in close to a dozen other metal bands (our bassist, L. Gallows, especially). For myself, I’m currently involved in 3 others: Hell Priest (speed/thrash), Wallachian Necromoon (raw black metal), and Ejaculator (black/thrash). All 3 have releases.
14. When you need to take a break from working on new music or band business what do you like to do in your free time?
I’m a family man, so free time can be hard to come by. But when I’m not involved with music or family, I enjoy being out in nature. Vermont offers us great opportunities to escape the chaos of the world with its many mountains and vast forests if we choose.
15. Thank you Aaron for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final words for the readers?
Thank you, Patrick, for this opportunity. For the readers, 2022 promises to be a busy year for us as we get back into the writing process on yet another release. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for updates. Hails! Band Contacts https://lightcrusher.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Lightcrusher-101203422326237 Label Contacts https://bornforburning.bigcartel.com/ https://www.facebook.com/bloodfiredeath1975
