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Aethernaeum is a Folk/Black Metal band from Berlin (Germany). The lyrcal themes are spirituality, nature, poetry and romanticism. They make a coherent sound and the people that like the style MUST check this band.
We talked with Alexander Paul Blake that told us a bit of the band. Check below our chat.
GroundCast – To warm up the things, can you tell us how the band started?
Alexander Paul Blake: “Well, I’m doing music for about 20 years now in several bands and covered lots of different styles. But my love for Black Metal never really had an outlet in those years. In 2012 I finally had the time and ideas to release a solo
album with some Black Metal tunes. It was called ‘Die Rückkehr ins Goldene Zeitalter’ and has been released under my pseudonym Alexander Paul Blake. Afterwards I turned the project into a real band since I didn’t want to stand so much in the focus as a single person anymore and also liked the idea of sharing the creative process with other musicians. We called it Aethernaeum and released the first (or second – depends how you count) album ‘Wanderungen durch den Daemmerwald’ in 2013. And now we’re back with the new record ‘Naturmystik’.”
GroundCast – What are your influences?
Alexander Paul Blake: “Generally speaking I listen to nearly anything, but with Aethernaeum we try to create atmospheric Folk Black Metal with big atmospheres, dynamic, passion and lots of melodies. It has been bands like (early) In The Woods…, Empyrium, Dornenreich, Agalloch, Burzum, Emperor, Wolves In The Throne Room or Moonsorrow, that have inspired the music, but I think we managed to create a unique style out of this, which sounds like Aethernaeum.”
GroundCast – This year you will release the album Naturmystik. What can you tell about this release?
Alexander Paul Blake: “For me it’s the consequent next step. We tried to continue what we’ve started with the
previous two albums, but also integrated some new influences, for example the tribal aspect in ‘Der Baumpercht’ or Post Rock influences in the instrumental song ‘Jenseits der Mauer des Schweigens”. The recordings took us about one year and the arrangements are very dense, sometime we gathered up to 100 different tracks within one song, which was also difficult to mix. So it’s an album with lots of details beyond the surface and I guess you can listen to it quite often without being bored. So, headphone recommended!”
GroundCast – Exist some concept behind the band’s songs, something would you like to tell?
Alexander Paul Blake: “It’s not a concept album, which tells a continuous story, but like on the previous albums the songs deal with nature, spirituality and self-discovery again. It’s all woven with each other and has several layers. I try to write lyrics, which create images in the listener’s mind, but also have a certain mystery. I don’t want to be too concrete. It’s naturmystic poetry, so to say.”
GroundCast – What means the name Aethernaeum for the band and how it reflects in the songs you make?
Alexander Paul Blake: “The name combines ‘Äther’ (German for ether) and Athenäum, which is the name of a magazine, that was published some 200 years ago in the time of German romanticism. I am a big admirer of romanticism and it has a strong influence on the lyrics. Likewise does the spiritual side, which is expressed in the ether part of the band name. I know, that it’s not the easiest name and lots of people have problems to spell and pronounce it right, but I like the sound and meaning. And I also think a band, whose music demands some attention, may have a difficult name ;-)”
GroundCast – What are the future plans to the band? What can we expect to hear from you?
Alexander Paul Blake: “We’re going to produce a videoclip by the end of this month with Rainer ZIPP Fränzen, who has already worked with bands like Dimmu Borgir, Leaves’ Eyes, Atrocity or Faun. In March 2016 we’re going on a Germany tour with Dornenreich, which will be a big opportunity for us. Apart from that we’re working on a new album with our other band Eden Weint Im Grab at the moment.”
GroundCast – We are in the internet era, where everything can be easily downloaded in any place on Earth. What is your opinion about it? I know that this is a theme that divides water, while some musicians support it 100% and others not.
Alexander Paul Blake: “Well, I think you can’t turn back the wheel of time and have to cope with the way things are now. You have more opportunities, to reach people all over the globe very easily with the internet, but it’s much harder to earn enough money to pay the costs for the music. Not only because so much is online for free, but also because there are so many releases that people can’t afford to buy everything. It demands some sense of responsibility from listeners, they must understand that it’s necessary to support artists and that not everything can be for free. We definitely prefer real albums with a booklet and also release an artbook with 60 beautiful pages, because we think it supports our music better than just a download.”
GroundCast – Do you have any projects that you would like to share here with us?
Alexander Paul Blake: “You mean other bands? As I said, 4 of 5 Aethernaeum guys also play in Eden Weint Im Grab, which is more of a dark metal/gothic metal band with German lyrics and a kind of horror image. You can watch some videos on Youtube or find us on Spotify and other streaming platforms. Apart from that we have our own Winter Solitude Studio here in Berlin, in which we also produce other bands.”
GroundCast – Thank you for your time and now the space is yours to say anything to your fans and our readers here.
Alexander Paul Blake: “Well, thank you for your support and to everybody who read this interview. We hope you will give us a chance and check out our songs wherever you find them online 😉 Thanx and stay tuned.”