Thy Despair
Interview conducted on April 08, 2020
by Dan Locke
Thy Despair band plays dark metal since 2006. Man’s aspiration for freedom and his scramble with insidious creatures willing to enslave his body, mind, and soul is the main idea the band develops in its lyric
Band Members
Elin – vocal
Phil – growl / guitar
Strike – guitar
Navka – keys
Anton – bass
Alex – drums
Dan Locke: What is your up bring?
Thy Despair: We play on contrasts of light and darkness and reveal dark beauty in our songs. Heavy guitar sound and gloomy melody interweaving with a duet of soprano and growl voices will affect the strings of aesthetic sorrow in your soul.
How did you discover music?
I liked heavy music since I was 7 years old. All band members have similar stories.
How did you get the band together so many years ago?
I didn’t. Thy Despair started in 2006 as a garage band and collapsed several times for many reasons. Only in 2017 we gathered the present lineup of motivated and talented musicians and started our way to world recognition.
Why did you pick the type of metal you picked for the band?
We didn’t pick any concrete style, we just play the music we like. All band members like different styles of metal and it reflect in our songs. We sometimes joke that all band members play in different genres while playing the same song.
How did you get Elin into the band?
She was the one who started the band in 2017. Elin and I had a trial rehearsal to find out if she could sing some old songs of Thy Despair. And that’s how the new page of the band’s history started.
How did you get your band’s name?
In the very beginning, the band was called Thoughts of the Desperate and played slow gothic doom. Later music became quicker and more complicated but dark romantic remained the focal point of the band’s lyrics. That’s why the name was changed to Thy Despair.
How is live music in Kiev?
There are clubs to perform in and plenty of good metal bands to play with.
First and last concert you went to?
The first concert I attended was Behemoth in 2005. The last big show I went to (if to exclude the shows of my band) was Mystic Festival 2019 in Krakow, Poland.
Let’s talk about your current album The Song of Desolation. It seems you are working on a theme. The last EP in 2018 “Free One”, was called. And now as I understand it the title means the idea of freedom.
Our EP “The Free One” is named after its opening song. The idea of The Free One song is: none has the right to take your freedom away and the ones who dare should be always fighting back.
The Free one was released in two different variants. English and Ukrainian languages. Was it hard to release both versions at the same time?
We have 2 variants of almost all our songs and we play them at concerts so it wasn’t hard to record them, just a bit more sessions of vocal recording at the studio.
Your band has been around for over 14 years. How has the sound of metal music changed over the years?
As I said above, our band’s sound made a long way from slow gothic doom to what you can hear now. The sound changed, even more, starting from 2017 with a new lineup. All the musicians improved their music parties to make the music sound better. But the thing that influenced our music most of all was the second guitar with completely new parties written mostly by Strike. Before, we had just a single guitarist in the band’s lineup.
Elin- you are going to school to learn how to do some web design. Are you going to take your skills and put them to work with the band?
Sure thing. All the disc cover and booklet designs were made by Elin.
How do you feel with the COVID-19 happening? And how it is affecting the music world?
COVID-19 is a disaster for all spheres of life and the music world is no exception. We had to abandon the idea of a concert album presentation and tour. Luckily for us, we were just planning it when things in the world became worse, so we didn’t meet with such losses as bands with canceled concerts and tours.
Are you still going to do something for Record Store Day?
We are going to release the third single off our upcoming album. Follow the news.
What do you do to relax after a show?
We usually spend time with band members and other musicians to exchange experience and have a good time.
Digital vs. vinyl?
Both have advantages and disadvantages
Any plans to tour over in the USA?
We would like to do it in the future. At the moment we were not offered.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? And what is the meaning that song means to you?
Shape Of Despair – Fallen. Reminds me seashore and metal festival in Ukrainian Crimea (even though Shape of Despair has never played there).
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
The one thing I can be sure – we won’t stop playing metal.
Anything you would like to say in closing?
Keep safe, stay healthy and support Thy Despair \m/.
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