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It was near the end of the summer, when Last Day Deaf premiered the ultimate death-ambient/drone opus ‘Look Into My Eyes’ by Empty Chalice. We return in the crime scene, to talk to the artist & throw some light(?) -wrong word-, to talk about his craft and…

You recently released ‘Emerging Is Submerging – The Evil’. Give us some details about this release and in what way does it differ from your previous ones?

Emerging Is Submerging – The Evil was a hard concept moved from another one; the previous concept and album title had to be different. Anyway, I’ve suffered really high and deeply. A personal loss, then I moved my energy to save the most possible of that work. But under a new veil, new words, deeper sounds. Then I got in contact with Mario Cardinale of Industrial Ölocaust Recordings who told me about the chance to together build up the release.Then the title became naturally as the end of an inner self process.This album is more intimate, introspective. Sometimes when I listen to it again I can feel those feelings, which were not so good.

Which track would you pick out as the most unique from your latest release if you had to do so and why?

I don’t have a unique track, but maybe ‘Muffled Scream‘, or ‘Stolen Breath‘. Those tracks are asking me to be played live!

The opener ‘Look Into My Eyes’ is a pure dark gem, introducing the listener into an “endless abyss”. What inspired you to write this one?

It was really simple for me to use an archetype, a symbolic concept for the whole album, as a poetry for introducing the album. Then I was in contact with a great professional whose name is Gabriel Edvy (Blackswitch Lab – London, UK), and I think that the music along with the video sculpture are talking by himself, no more words are needed. Just simple take a look and listen the sound…

What kind of equipment did you use for your last album?

I’ve used my old Arturia analogue synth, Blippoo Box chaos machine, and a little use in post-production of Audacity software.

‘Sidereal’ is another outstanding track. A nightmarish experience. What’s going on with this masterpiece?

I’ve thought to combine some sacral elements, as already done in the past with a track of Gopota (‘Summa Liturgica‘ is the one); after all, I’ve also imagined to combine some championing phrases of a film, then the voices you can hear are coming from this.

Which other death ambient acts should we check out?

Dunno, but maybe, just to speak about another Italian act, I think about Djinn.

Lets go back to your previous album ‘This Way Is Called Black’. You stated: ‘Dense, layered, philosophically deep, dark and haunting, This Way Is Called Black is a powerful statement. For fans of: twisted dark ambient, death industrial, disturbing drone’.

Do you believe that unaware listeners were attracted to this description? It’s more of a warning! Disagree? 

The truth is that those words were used by the Italian label which released the first album, but disappeared. Those words are always on the website of Naked Lunch Records. The only “real” thing done by the label’s owner, after his disappearance.

What does noise mean for you?

Really, means nothing; noise, ambient, industrial, are only labels, which are used by the outside people; I try to make something musically, when I have the right feelings; and I don’t care if it may be labeled as ambient or noise or anything else.

Lets play a game now.. Choose one of two. Which expresses Empty Chalice project most?

Dark ambient or Noise? Dark ambient

Psychic TV or Throbbing Gristle? I don’t listen/like those musicians, then I answer Nordvargr.

H.P. Lovecraft of E.A. Poe? Both

Phillip Dick or William Gibson? No one.

Politics or Politicians? No one.

Lucio Fulci or Dario Argento? Pupi Avati.

In what way does Empty Chalice music differ form Gopota’s one?

As said above, Empty Chalice is more introspective, more intimate. And because of this issue, is more difficult to create something that is the shadow of myself, because those times I need to face the end of every bad thing of my life, of my time, of every day.

What are you planning for your Empty Chalice project?

Probably, the new year will start with the first 2 live appearances, here in North Italy. And then, I hope, a third album for the fall/winter 2018, with a special guest, who is really really important. And a great musician.

Last words belong to you…

Free the darkness.

Christos Doukakis