The Ever Living are currently gearing up to release their incredible new album Herephemine. Ahead of its release, we caught up with Chris (keys/programming/vocals) and Andrei (guitars) for a track by track insight on the album – and also reviewed it ourselves! Get involved below.
The Ever Living on Herephemine
The Great Defeatist
Andrei: Probably the most contentious track on the album within the band, but this one ended up being the album opener and a real favourite of Jonny (Renshaw, Devil Sold His Soul), who produced the album. I wanted to write something sludgier and more imposing than we had done before, and this one relies far more on traditional riffs than the usual textural approach I take for the guitars.
New Mutiny
Chris: It was the first one written for the album and was a clear sign of the direction we were heading in after the EP. It has everything in there and I’d like to think it’s almost genreless. I guess this is what we call ‘cinematic metal’.
Prismatic Dissonance
Andrei: My love-letter to drone. Around the time I started working on this, some near-telepathic coincidences started happening between Chris and I. Perhaps subconsciously triggered by Dissonia as a working title for what is now known as Interrotron, I sent this guitars-only track over to Chris and what came back was the perfect counter-part in the form of a keys-only track which he had give the title Spectral Dissonance. I already had the word “Prismatic” floating round in my head for a title, so it was clear that this should become Prismatic Dissonance and the two tracks formed an instant symbiosis. We knew we were in the writing groove at this point and the songs were already falling together without even consciously deciding that it was time to write the album.
Incandescent Array
Andrei: Despite spreading our wings elsewhere on the album and really exploring and expanding both our palette of sound and the running times, I also wanted to write something that would be as immediate as, and more concise than Separated At Death, our lead single from the previous EP. I am always trying to offset static parts with dynamic parts and drones with melody; and this one does it all. Chris’s keys then perfectly add yet more layers of hooks and textures. This is as close to a pop song as we will ever write and the breakdown has the kind of seismic groove that I just love to write and play live.
Apex Minor
Chris: Thanks to Andrei’s sweet lick in the middle of this track, it went from something quite unsettling to something that is more sultry. I wanted to write a heavier post rock song (different to post metal) that has a more traditional song structure. I didn’t intend to but with that sweet lick of Andrei’s it sounds in parts like Deftones in their most dreamy state. It’s a heavy instrumental track that was written without vocals in mind (apart from the very end). I made the decision before starting the album that I would push back from screaming when I could so as to not bombard the listener unnecessarily.
Fifty Metres Deep
Chris: As the title suggests, I wanted a track that felt like the listener was descending into the deep depths. Originally I planned on having some underwater sound effects to add to the atmosphere but we thought that the metal stoners (and there are a lot) would think it was the sound of a bong so we dropped it. It mixes live drums with electronic beats which gives it a nice full sound and is probably the rockiest of the tracks on the album.
Spectral Dissonance
Chris: The second part of the Dissonance tracks. A keyboard only track that was to complement Andrei’s guitar only track, showing the two sides to our sound. The rhythm keyboards were programmed in a strict, almost mechanical way but the guitar like solo over the top was the first take that was recorded and was completely improvised to give it a live feel to give some life and personality to an instrument that is essentially a software plugin. It has a Pink Floyd meets Vangelis vibe.
Foreboding Epiphany
Andrei: I remember writing the riff on Christmas Day 2016. I also remember picking out the acoustic guitar parts on the same day two years earlier. However, the track was written long before I realised that the acoustic part would work to make the perfect complimentary addition to the intro. The whole piece is the result of various experiments in new territories for me as a guitarist; use of delay effects on the guitars to create the rhythmical introduction, the first (and only) use of acoustic guitar in the context of The Ever Living and taking what I would consider atypical staccato rhythms more usually associated with bands like Helmet and applying them to our sound.
Nocturnal Itch
Chris: This is my take on synth wave, dark wave or whatever you choose to call it. This is a track to drive through an empty city at night to or a track to make out to. It’s also a glimpse at what the keyboards are doing when Andrei’s guitars aren’t making a racket and clearly shows my love for Depeche Mode.
Funereal Waltz
Chris: Another beast of a track. Whereas Andrei’s tracks are written with guitar, mine start out at a piano so writing a ‘metal track’ this way will naturally give it a different feel, in this case a more classical or symphonic sound. The big guitar riff, for example was written as a cello part which makes it sound more dramatic and theatrical as opposed to headbangy.
Interrotron
Andrei: The lead single/video and also the first song that I sent to Chris after the EP-cycle ended. It started off with a much simpler structure and the entire track flowed from the doomy dissonance explored in the intro with the guitars. Chris’s beastly addition in the verses turned it into the the track it is today, but the space I was striving for with the big, slow chords of the intro were a direct reaction to the claustrophobic feel of our EP.
Departure Board
Andrei: The guitars for this track have been looking for a home since before I moved out of my parent’s place, first recorded on a Tascam 8-track digital recorder that now lives somewhere at the back of my wardrobe. As ever, Chris’s keys just take this to another level and I love the title he came up with for it; understated and perfectly fitting for the final track.
Our review
Release date: 4th May 2018
When it comes to good first impressions, The Ever Living have got you covered. As soon as I hit play on this album, which also happened to serve as my introduction to this band, I was instantly floored. Herephemine is crushingly heavy whilst also incorporating beautiful melodies and the pairing of the two approaches is stunning.
It’s difficult to know where to start with describing how stunning this album is. Each of the twelve tracks shines in its own way, bringing something different to the table but also blending together well so the album is an all-round coherent and well-constructed listen with a good flow to it. From opener The Great Defeatist right through to closer Departure Board, there’s not a single track that stands out as being ‘weak’ or ‘out of place’.
A personal highlight of Herephemine for me is actually the opening track. The Great Defeatist is one of those songs that just grabs your attention instantly, and the attention to detail is superb. The darkness to the track adds a lot of ambience and atmosphere (I still get goosebumps listening to it now) and it’s a mighty way to open the album and draw the listener in. Meanwhile another great inclusion is the more melodic number Apex Minor which is an almost-entirely instrumental track featuring some absolutely glorious soaring guitars and stunning keys.
If you aren’t familiar with The Ever Living and like your music beautifully heavy, then you seriously need to check these guys out. Herephemine is stunning, and a release that will stay with you for a long time after you’ve finished listening.
Purchase your copy from here.
