Interview by Kris Peters
Seldom does a band come along and deliver a debut album as good as Melancolia have done with HissThroughRottenTeeth.
It is an album that captures elements of a plethora of metal genres, with the label winning out being blackened deathcore.
But this is so much more.
Equal parts sonic density coupled with an overwhelming blanket of heaviness, Melancolia have crafted something that elevates their music beyond the sonic realm and into one which conveys mood, passion and horror.
The general sense of foreboding that enshrouds you after listening to HissThroughRottenTeeth is either a masterstroke on the part of the band or the work of something altogether more sinister, but whatever the source the outcome is still the same.
Complete musical annihilation.
Traversing the different stages of a deity's miserable existence, HissThroughRottenTeeth paints an aural landscape throughout, setting a mood and unnerving calm that almost dares you to turn away.
Vocalist and songwriter Alex Hill sat down with HEAVY to unravel the darkness.
"Essentially I guess you would call it some kind of mutation of the deathcore genre," Hill explained of Melancolia's sound. "Musically it's fairly influenced by early Whitechapel, particularly the A New Era Of Corruption era - that's gotta be a top 10 album for me. We were going for that melodic... I don't wanna say blackened - there's definitely some influence of that in there - but it's definitely more like if melodic death metal was deathcore instead. Think more Black Dahlia Murder with breakdowns and some spooky synth sections."
When it comes to HissThroughRottenTeeth Hill is much more definitive.
"I always write in concepts," he offered. "I never write random songs and the idea for me is to always write a story start to finish. And then it basically incorporates those thoughts and feelings and events that have happened in my life within that. Essentially what we've got is the story of a deity that's sort of been cast from the heavenly realm or whatever the afterlife is - or another universe - and he has been cast as punishment into the human realm and has been birthed as a human while still retaining all of its information and knowledge of being a God. Basically, it's forced to live as this all powerful being with no use of its power, stuck in this mortal vessel and has to go through life as a human while knowing all this stuff and being stripped of its power."
In the full interview, Alex goes deeper into the storyline behind the album, the musical side of things, what message can be taken out of the narrative, the cover image and what it signifies, daring to experiment on their debut album, how much thought and planning went into each stage of the album process, using visuals to enhance their music, a typical Melancolia live show and more.