Aversio Humanitatis Interview (A.M. & S.D.)

Aversio Humanitatis' music  is not aligned with any school, and just like their previous album, this "To Become The Endless Staticuna" has a different dark atmosphere, it never stops being a black metal album despite not having elements as classic as those squeaky voices, here the voice is deeper, something more death metal,  but torn as if it were desperate, while the guitar riffs, melodies and other arrangements resort to dissonances to dissonant tremolos, etc., but quite apart from the resources they use, the important thing here is the atmosphere that results from all these sounds.  

Para leer la entrevista en español: Entrevista a Aversio Humanitatis 

Metallerium: Welcome to the pages of Metallerium, it's a pleasure to talk to you, about the band, this new and more related things within the world of Metal. We will start by asking how the band has been since their previous release Behold the Silent Dwellers in 2020?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

S. - During these years we have been intermittently composing the songs that can be found on the new album, preparing concerts, dedicating ourselves to other parallel bands or simply to personal matters of each one.  

Metallerium: The name of the band suggests a rejection or estrangement from humanity. How has this philosophical premise evolved from their beginnings to their most recent material?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

S. - I named the band in 2010 and, personally, I still identify completely with it. I still have a great tendency to flee from this society; Humanity tires me and disgusts me deeply, but I feel that there is nowhere to escape, because I am also part of it. I try to live in my own world as much as possible.  

Metallerium: Your lyrics often explore decadence and emptiness. Is there a common thread or "narrative of desolation" that connects all your works, or is each album an isolated ecosystem?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

A.M.- There is always a transversal narrative in all our works where our ideas and vision of the world are very present, but the last two releases have been conceived as thematic albums.  

Metallerium: The art of your covers is always striking. What importance do you give to visual aesthetics as an extension of music?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

A.M.- For me, art is a crucial part of the set of pieces that make up the entirety of an album. I'm not just referring to our jobs but in general to all the music I consume. I think it's one more platform on which to express a message, to express whatever we want with the album we're putting out.   In the case of "To Become The Endless Static", for example, both the images created and the technique used seek to recreate the theme that is explored at a narrative level on the album: the gradual degradation of the mind and existence.  

Metallerium: Aversio Humanitatis is known for a dense and oppressive sound. How do you strike the balance between the technical aggressiveness of Black Metal and those atmospheres that envelop the listener?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

S. - When I compose a song I try to give it dynamics, so that it doesn't feel one-dimensional or unidirectional, something that is often abused in extreme metal. In the case of Aversio Humanitatis, I aim to combine very varied influences and create music that is both aggressive and atmospheric; that plays with repetition and monotony to create hypnotic sections, but also incorporates violent and intense riffs. It is not a formula that we have studied on paper, we have simply been developing it empirically over all these years.  

Metallerium: Comparing your early works with the most current ones, such as what Simón Da Silva recently discussed  about your new album, in what aspects do you feel that you have sacrificed purity for experimentation, or vice versa?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

S. - As I mentioned in the previous question, I think that over the years we have tended towards a much more aggressive sound than the first works, which were more based on repetitive and atmospheric riffs. I wouldn't say that we are an experimental band or that we have made big changes in direction, but we have been incorporating new elements into our sound with each recording and making changes progressively. If you listen to our discography in chronological order, you can see how each work leaves the ground prepared for the next; they always go hand in hand.  

Metallerium: "To Become the Endless Static" The title suggests a transformation towards "white noise" or eternal paralysis. What does this "infinite statism" represent for you in the context of human existence?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

A.M.- White noise in this case is the state of balance, nothingness and everything, to which we return when we cease to exist, either physically or mentally. Everything is made of white noise, we are signals that only exist because we are perceived and when those signals begin to fade and cease to exist we return to chaos and disorder.  

Metallerium: Having members involved in the production (as in The Empty Hall Studio), what advantages or challenges do you have to have full control over the final sound of the band?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

S. - The advantage is, as you said, to have total control over what we do. I don't have to explain my vision to someone else, but I have a sound in my head and I just have to experiment a little until I get the result I want.

The downside is getting overwhelmed with working on your own material during all phases of the process, from the first songwriting ideas to the final mastering. This can make you lose perspective and even motivation if you don't know how to manage it well. On the other hand, even if you have absolute control, you are also limited by your own means and knowledge. If we worked with other producers, we could also draw on their experience and maybe even achieve a better sound.

We will see if in the future we have the contribution of other people in the process. Honestly, I treat the production of my records as if it were that of any other client in the studio, in the sense that I set a specific time to finish it and try to stick to it.  

Metallerium: Even though the album deals with themes of emptiness and desolation, the music is incredibly dynamic and violent. Is that contradiction between the (static) message and the (chaotic) execution intentional?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

S. - The theme of the band has been the same from the beginning: it tends towards introspection and the exploration of the self, but presents these internal pains as universal problems, in an apersonal way. I don't really see that there is a contradiction between these two things; This is extreme and dark music, and the lyrics reflect exactly that.

There may be a tendency to categorize bands, or even bands themselves to categorize themselves and try to fulfill certain assumed archetypes within metal: if you have these types of riffs, you have to have these types of lyrics. But that's not how we work. We try to do things our own way and, without having originality or distinction as our main objective, we do like to do things a little differently from what you might expect.

On the other hand, there is a reality: practically all the music is composed by me, while all the lyrics are composed by Alex, so clearly there is a discontinuity in the creative process, or rather a complementation. Everyone has their own life moments and moods; I can be writing a song inspired by specific ideas and then Alex write lyrics about that music from a completely different perspective, but equally inspired by what my riffs convey to him.

That's part of being in a band and not in a solo project. Not everything is monolithic or shows a single vision of things, but it is a collaborative creation in which several of us are breathing our inner monsters.  

Metallerium: After outstanding participations in events such as the Catalonia Extreme Gathering, how do you translate that introspective and complex atmosphere of the albums to the chaos of a live stage?  

Aversio Humanitatis: With honesty. Getting on stage to play our best and letting the music speak for us. We have never considered that we should wear a lot of paraphernalia, costumes or bombastic decorations on stage; we prefer something austere and serious.  

Metallerium: How do you see the health of Black Metal in Spain today? Do you feel part of a collective movement or do you prefer to stay on the margins as a solitary entity?  

Aversio Humanitatis: I would say that there is quality, although not quantity. There is still a lack of consistency in the scene, but we have a handful of great bands, labels, studios and some festivals. We are not bad, although compared to other European countries there is still a long way to go. You can find bands such as Altarage, Balmog, Jade, Negativa, Délirant, Voidescent, Akóuphenom, Marthyrium, Orthodoxy or Teitanblood.

Aversio Humanitatis is not on the sidelines. We are not the most active band on the scene in terms of number of concerts, but we have always been present, sharing the stage with many local and foreign bands. I wouldn't say that there is a "collective movement", but there is also no bad atmosphere or anything like that. I think each band is looking for its own path and we support each other as much as possible.  

Metallerium: If someone were to listen to Aversio Humanitatis for the first time, what song or album would they say perfectly encapsulates their "dislike" for humanity?  

Aversio Humanitatis:

S. - Of course, I would recommend our new album, To Become the Endless Static. I think that the latest work of each band encapsulates the vital moment in which they find themselves and what they want to express at that moment; It's the band's present and, without a doubt, it's what I would show anyone right now. However, I'm also very proud of our previous album, Behold the Silent Dwellers.  

Metallerium: Thank you very much for the interview, this new album is great, we hope to see you in Latin America sometime. Final words.  

Aversio Humanitatis: Thank you for your interest in Aversio Humanitatis.