Hi this is Jay reporting from Bogota, Colombia…
Today I’m lucky enough to be talking with Ysbryd guitarist/bassist from Welsh Black Metal/Dungeon Synth band, Ysbrydnos, which means ‘Spirit Night’ in Welsh.
Prynhawn da Ysbryd, hope you’re well… thanks for taking the time out of your busy recording schedule to talk to our readers…
1- When / why/ where was Ysbrydnos formed?
I formed the band in 2020 after a period of inactivity with music. I got a home recording set up during covid and then after a few death metal EPs started writing black metal inspired by the landscapes and folklore of west wales where I was living at the time. The name comes from the description of nos calan gaef as being a night where the veil was thin between worlds and I found myself drawn to that idea of capturing an ephemeral essence that was otherworldly in the music . I prefer the translation as spirit night rather than ghost as my pseudonym Ysbryd refers to the inner well of inspiration I draw from when I write for the project, a lot of the music is improvised and feels channelled through me rather than directly coming from me with any conscious intention.
2- The debut album, The Forest Howls At Dusk was released back in 2022.. you’ve done a couple more bits since then… tell us about them and where people can get digital and physical copies…
The debut is still available on vinyl from my label nocturnal curse and repose records, and on cd from cavernous records. Since then we’ve released a few splits and an EP entitled Phantasmal Bells Below The Devils Pulpit which is inspired by the ghosts of monks in the ruins of Tintern abbey near Chepstow. For the photography we used images taken by Apotheosis In Splendor, the main member of Wrach, which is another Welsh black metal band. A new cd release of this EP is coming soon from Masters Of Kaos Records.
3- What inspires your music? What are your lyrics about? Who writes what?
I write all the music for the band alone, I also conceptualise and design each release , usually giving the vocalist Aga a title , concept and relevant articles for each song to write her lyrics from. The main inspiration behind the band is Welsh folklore, with a focus on the medieval era; and the natural world. Wales has lot of forests and mountains and plenty of spaces to escape the modern world into, time in these places always inspires me.
4- You are rare in having a female vocalist… How does this change your sound and the overall atmosphere of the music?
When I was searching for a vocalist I really wanted a female singer to give the music another dimension and approach. Aga also contributes her flute playing to the music which lends itself to the folk themes and the Celtic flavour of the compositions. Unfortunately she'll be stepping away from the band now as she's completing her nursing degree and starting full time work. So for upcoming releases I'll handle vocals, and be using drum and woodwind VSTS.
5- What bands have influenced you? What music did you listen to growing up?
I’d say the biggest influences musically are Mgla, Hulder, Burzum, Darkthrone, Gehenna, even stuff like Thornium and Godkiller have had an influence on the riffs. Although with the new stuff I'll be limiting myself a lot less and incorporating more folk elements like acoustic guitar, live percussion and accordion. Growing up I got into rock at age 8 through my dads rock records, then around early teens found extreme music and dove in pretty deep. I think getting Transilvanian Hunger and De Mysteriis were big at the time, as was finding Emperor when I was a bit older, although it took me until my 20s to allow melody and synths into my bm listening habits haha. With my dungeon synth stuff I'm influenced by Burzum again, hate the man but love the music, especially how simply he uses minimal sounds and the ambient stuff. I also enjoy Ornatorpet, Thangorodrim, Wallachian Cobwebs, Mortiis, Forest Shrine, Ring Of Tamyrlin, anything ambient and epic.
6- What equipment do you use and what is the recording process?
I use a 7 string Jackson and a cheap 5 string bass for all the guitar work. Usually running through Reaper where I'll use pedal and amp sims, although recently I've been recording a lot more to cassette using old cheap synths and a Yamaha mini amp head mic'd with a knock off Sm57; so I may combine pedals with analog recording for the next album. Synth-wise I use FL Studio to sequence everything and a MIDI keyboard with Sforzando for most of my instrument sounds, and other synth plug ins for specific tones I'm after.
7- Do you have new releases planned for 2025?
Yes! I have a new Ysbrydnos Full Length written and recorded, I just need to add some extra instrumentation and vocals and it'll be complete. I actually recorded most of it around a year ago, but due to waiting for drums to be recorded kept having to push it back; this long wait was another reason I'm handling vocals myself from now on, and will be programming drums as I've done in the past, so I can work at the speed I'd like to. I also have a 3 track split with Verletzen that will be out around spring time. Aside from Ysbrydnos I have two solo BM projects Brechfa, which is dark, evil black metal with high shrieks and throat singing, and Crisis Apparition, which is a solo DSBM project. Both have demos out now and both have full lengths which have been recorded and finished, I'm just arranging releases with labels now. I also have a project with Carmilla Dracul from Winter Lantern called Enshroud, we just released a split with Vampiric Coffin and again I've finished a full length for that, just waiting for vocals, so I'm hoping for autumn 2025 release at the latest. As far as my dungeon synth stuff I have the second part of the 'Fathoms Of Celestial Sorrow' split with Atlantean Sword coming soon, aswell as a new Altar Of Moss full length which I recorded improvising live to tape using my analog synths this autumn; it's the closest to the sound I was imagining for the project I've ever gotten so I'm hoping it's well received. I also run a label called Nocturnal Curse, and have one release a month planned for that along with new issues of the NC Zine.
8- Will Ysbrydnos be playing live in 2025??
No I wont play live. I don't enjoy gigs much, especially not if I'm the one playing them; and I dont feel black metal is something that should be even shared live or in a group setting, and I have no ambitions to tour or make a living from this music, its just a release that I prefer to perform and listen to alone at home, or in nature with a tape walkman. I've also been offered gigs with Altar Of Moss playing dungeon synth but again, Im not convinced its the best setting for the music and my overall crippling sense of dread prevents me from wanting to go out and mingle in crowds much..
9- Tell us about the current scene there in Wales… recommend some bands for our readers to check out
Im not really a part of any scene and consider myself an outsider really, but I do keep up with whats going on locally, heres some bands and solo dungeon synth artists I'd recommend: Defod, Verletzen, Wrach, Revenant Marquis, Unholy Grail, Capel Beulah, Sorrowing Knight, Gwallgofrydd & Crymych.
10- You interchange between Black Metal and Dungeon Synth on your records. Which do you prefer and why?
I think I prefer to write dungeon synth as theres more scope for emotion in synths I find. Especially for more melancholic feelings, which I tend to feel more regularly than say, rage or frustration that I would channel into black metal. Saying that I think releasing DS under the Ysbrydnos name was a mistake as it confuses things, so from now all my ds with be under my Altar Of Moss moniker and Ysbrydnos will be solely celtic black metal.
11- what are your top 5 metal albums of all time and why?
A hard one so Ill just do black metal for relevance! These have more to do with when I heard them and what they meant to me at the time, but I feel that you can hear my roots in these releases in everything I make with Ysbrydnos.
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Burzum - Filosofem
Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness
Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
Weakling - Dead As Dreams
12- Do you have any words of wisdom for young musicians looking to follow in your footsteps?
Yeah don't wait for anyone to make your music. Timing and conditions will never be perfect, each thing you make is just a snapshot of where you were at that time both in your mental state and abilities, look at it as a photograph taken at a time in your life, not a be-all-and-end-all release that has to be perfect and set the world ablaze. It matters most that you enjoy making your music and releasing it, not sales, or merch or dickhead reviewers saying its good. Remember people started making this music with what they had, the first Bathory was recorded in a garage to tape at half speed because they needed to fit it all on one master tape, Varg was screaming into a headphone set as a mic because thats what was to hand. These days with home recording you can get a decent enough set up for a few hundred quid and start making right away, just see it as a process and stick with it. Its taken me ten years of home recording just to produce shitty raw black metal at the level i'm at haha. And all labels are not created equal, look at your deal and how much you can make from selling your copies as opposed to how much the label will make and see if the reach is worth it, you can have the biggest internet release going but then still be eating toast for dinner; make some money off your art, dont give it away to seem successful online.
13- Would you like to add anything for our readers?
Yeah I'd like to remind all the white knight gatekeepers currently populating the instagram black metal scene that their crying is falling on deaf ears. Im as firmly anti racism and pro open mindeness as anyone gets; but the recent wave of 'cancel culture' bands coming into an extreme music scene and then crying about it and trying to ban people is ridiculous, especially as anyone over the age of 30 knows that no matter how loudly you whine and scream the world will not bend to your will; you just look silly to people that have already gone through that phase of their lives. I'd also like to say FUCK YOU to all AI art accounts ripping off bands (myself included on the Barrow Lord release) and last but not least THANK YOU to everyone supporting my label, my bands and my zine; and all the friends I've made in the last few years of releasing bm and dungeon synth. Follow my Nocturnal Curse account for all my releases in 2025.
miliwn o ddiolch Ysbryd ! 666 Ysbrydnos https://ysbrydnos.bandcamp.com/album/the-forest-howls-at-dusk https://www.instagram.com/ysbrydnos/
