Interview with VIGIL

Hi! What inspired the shift from Onera to Vigil, and how does …And The Void Stared Back album represent this evolution?
Onera had run its course. There were some internal issues that made it not viable. At our age we don’t have the patients for conflicts. Justin and I (Craig), wanted to keep something going since we work well together. Onera does however have an unreleased full-length album that we have just never got around to getting out there. It has a guest vocal spot from Anneke van Giersbergen (the Gathering, Devin Townsend, VUUR) on an 18-minute epic song. Maybe someday soon.

Can you share the main themes explored in “…And The Void Stared Back” and how they connect with your emotions and vision?
The main themes are loss, internal struggles, and anger towards being wronged. These themes tend to run through all the stuff we do. I think it’s because we are all older now and have a lot of experiences to draw from. Don’t get me wrong though. We are well adjusted and for the most part content. But it’s the traumatic journey we all took to get to this place that we are exploring and sharing.

How did the idea of having two bass players in Vigil come about, and how does it influence your sound?
Justin and I were talking about creating something very heavy and sonically different than what is typically found in this genre. While talking it out one night I just said “Hey! What about two basses?”, and that started the conversation. Justin tends to play very melodic stuff and a lot of moving bass lines. We wanted that progressive feel but not at the expense of losing the low end when he moves off the rhythm and root notes. I knew Joe from work and the local show scene. He was just starting to get back into playing bass after a hiatus to raise a family and that kind of thing. We asked him if was interested in trying this idea and see if we could make something out of it. He came on board, and he is the low heavy constant we needed to follow the drums to keep the groove.

What were the major challenges faced during the album’s creation, and how did you overcome them?
The first major challenge was dialing in our frequencies, so we didn’t cancel out each other. We tune to B standard and Drop A and my guitar sound has a lot of bass in it. Once we put each other into the proper location in the sound field we were off. Finding and keeping members is always a challenge too. Between maintaining a common vision, time, work, families etc. it’s not easy to find the right people. We went through a few drummers to finally find Brandon. Dave was on board from the start, but we waited to have some material ready before bringing him in. The biggest problem was during the pandemic. It slowed down our progress and people were not showing up to practices and all that stuff that came along with it. We lost a few members and kind of just kept going until we found the combination that worked.

Could you talk about the band’s collaborative process and how each member contributes to shaping your sound?
We almost always start off our practices with a warm-up improvisational jam. I record all these things for use as song parts. Then I go home and listen to the recordings, organize them into folders by theme, sound, or type (like harmonies, grind riff, pretty clean part…) and start arranging. Sometimes I use Guitar Pro to work out things and other times I just patchwork the recordings together and write out a song map to bring to the room and start working it out with the rest of the guys. Then as a band we make changes and additions to the rough outline. Justin likes to work by bringing in partially completed songs or parts to show us and we just start jamming with them. We both work slightly differently, but it always ends up with us as a band working out the details.

How do you use symbolism and imagery in your songs to convey emotions like sorrow and anger?
We try to stay away from imagery and symbolism because those kinds of things can become polarizing and can even become weaponized to force an agenda. We like to have the music, lyrics and arrangements speak for us.

What’s your take on the current doom/death metal scene, and where do you see Vigil fitting into it?
Locally there is a healthy doom scene. There are more “stoner doom” and “sludge doom” bands around here versus what we do. But it all works great for a nice show lineup. We like to have a little diversity with our live shows. I know that as a fan of music I would not enjoy 4 hours of just funeral doom or death metal. We like to give the audience more variety. As for the overall scene it’s alive and growing. I have seen it becoming more popular and I like all the sub genres that have developed from it. Vigil is trying to make our mark by being honest and sincere in our delivery. People can tell if you’re not into it, or if you don’t believe in your product. We try very hard to make quality and consistency part of our process.

Looking ahead, how do you envision Vigil’s sound evolving in future releases?
We have three new songs done and we are rehearsing them and playing them at shows currently. We are getting more melodic and progressive but keeping the heavy. As for future releases we will have to see what happens. I don’t like to go into the studio with too detailed of a plan. The magic happens when you feel the moments and react accordingly. Trust your instincts and then stand by them.

Discuss the importance of visuals and aesthetics in enhancing your music’s impact.
We would love to start creating light shows. However, that requires a major shift in our current delivery. One thing is that we do not play to a click track. We like to push and pull and have the songs breathe. I’m not against it entirely, but it’s not where we are.

Are there specific artists or bands that deeply influenced Vigil’s creative process?
In no particular order we do have a list of bands that we love and of course they become part of the tapestry we create. Ahab, Katatonia, My Dying Bride, Opeth, October Tide, Devin Townsend, Ayreon, The Gathering, Russian Circles, If These Trees Could Talk, My Sleeping Karma. The list could go on and on.

What does the album title “…And The Void Stared Back” signify for you?
It’s part of the saying “If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you”. To us that means that even though we have gone through bad things in life, and traumatic events that we all have had to endure. We should not let them consume us and take away what we are as humans. We should learn from them, adjust ourselves to be better for it, and move on. Basically, don’t let the world ruin you.

Share your thoughts on music’s role in expressing complex emotions.
We try to tell stories with our music, both lyrically and with the instruments. I have always loved movie scores and the process behind making music fit a certain scene. When we start arranging, we are focusing on the imagery the music is starting to create and then we lean into that. We let the music direct the outcome.

What message do you hope listeners take from “…And The Void Stared Back”?
The world can be a cruel place, and humans are equally to blame for it. But never let either define you and your journey through life. Bad things happen to good people, and good people are not always equipped to deal with it. At the end of the day, we are all trapped on this rock hurtling through space, and no one gets off it alive. Don’t squander your time. Live life and look for hope and happiness.

What’s next for you? Thank you for your time!
We are looking forward to the official album being released very shortly by Argonauta Records. Having support for promotion and distribution is huge. Especially for us since this is not our full-time job. Joe and I have a side project we started during the pandemic lock down that is about to be released. It’s an instrumental post-metal band by the name of A World Worth Burning. We just finished up our 8-song full-length and currently are in the mixing phase. So far it sounds amazing. And as always, it’s very heavy. Keep your eyes open for it soon.