Summon: How did the band get started?
Samyaza: I had the idea for the project since 2013 and never really had time to get on it and actually do it, but I am very glad I did now!
Summon: What kind of music do you play?
Samyaza: I play a version of atmospheric black metal. I have a very lo-fi sound due to the DIY recording style I like so much. I also incorporate ambient synths into my music.
Summon: How has the fan response been?
Samyaza: The fan response has been amazing so far. Obviously you always have those select few people who dislike your music, but that is what happens when you put material out there, not everyone is doing to dig it as much as the next guy. You just have to keep an open ear out for criticism and grow from it.
Summon: Where did the band name come from?
Samyaza: Aeolus is the Greek god of winds. The region where I am located is sometimes very windy and the sound the wind makes while passing through the trees was extremely inspirational to my music, so I thought that the name was very fitting.
Summon: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band.
Samyaza: The only member in the band is me, Samyaza. I collaborated a few of my ideas with a few other people but I am the only official member as of now.
Summon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Samyaza: I compose all the music and lyrics. I also do all the recording, mixing, mastering, and promotion. I run a very extensive one man operation.
Summon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Samyaza: All lyrics are inspired by nature. The main concept I wanted to grasp was the changing in atmosphere in a forest when day turns to night. It goes from a very surreal and comforting atmosphere to a dark and dangerous one, and I think that is a very neat concept. In all of my lyrics on “Celestial Forest,” a wolf is mentioned at least once. This is because I think the wolf is a great and powerful creature that is extremely majestic, but at the same time extremely dangerous.
Summon: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism?
Samyaza: I respect both and follow the ideologies of both, although I do not consider myself religious in any aspect of the word. Organized religion, or any religion for that matter, is nothing for me and I definitely don’t want it connected to my music.
Summon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Samyaza: So far, just one EP, Celestial Forest. There is more Aeolus material on the way though, I assume before the year is out we will have more!
Summon: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
Samyaza: The songs are very rough and aggressive. There are very ambient transitions songs that complement the hard hitting tracks of the EP. It is meant to be listened to in one sitting, front to back, to get the full experience.
Summon: Do you have any side projects?
Samyaza: I do not at the moment. I run a webzine entitled Temple of Darkness that reviews/interviews underground black metal bands so that takes up a lot of my time as well as Aeolus does, so I do not have the capacity to handle another music project at this time.
Summon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Samyaza: I have a very long list of influences. Burzum is obviously a huge influence on my sound as well as old Darkthrone. Emperor was the band that got the idea of doing my own black metal project.
Summon: Which current bands?
Samyaza: Agolloch and Wolves in the Throne Room are two big ones that influenced my sound. A lot of smaller, relatively unknown bands also inspired me a lot. Bands such as Appalachian Winter, Vallendusk and Scytherium have all had an impact on my music.
Summon: What is the band like when you play live?
Samyaza: Unfortunately, I cannot perform live at this time. I am in the works to get a few live members in the loop so I can do a few live performances. I would handle the vocals and guitar parts live and I would bring in my two extremely talented friends to cover bass, keys, and drums. I feel like if we had a day to sit down and work out everything, we would be able to pull it off quite easily.
Summon: What do you think of the US Black Metal/Death Metal scene?
Samyaza: I like what a lot of the underground bands are doing, it is really working well and I feel like it’s doing very well. I do not listen to a lot of bigger black/death metal bands from the U.S because a lot of them are generic and uninteresting.
Summon: What do you think of the overseas scenes?
Samyaza: I absolutely love the overseas scene. Europe really knows good metal and how to play good metal. Almost all the bands I listen on a regular basis are from somewhere overseas.
Summon: What are some of new favorite black metal/death metal bands?
Samyaza: I love Soul Dissolution from Belgium and Bron from the U.K. I do not get around to listening to a lot of newer material unless I review it for my zine or someone suggests it to me.
Summon: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
Samyaza: I am currently in the workings of my next release. It will hopefully be surfacing before the New Year.
Summon: What does the future hold for the band??
Samyaza: New material! I have not reached my personal goals within this project so I will definitely be releasing more. I am doing everything within my power to give it a better sound and clearer tracks while still recording it by myself to stay within a very tight budget. Hopefully a few live shows will be worked out within the Wisconsin area as well, but as of now that is just an idea!
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/Aeolusmetal
http://aeolus2.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3IULWP6GJh6Bnw0ue6Rttg
