INTERVIEW: Qrixkuor

From the murkiest depths of Blackened Death Metal spews an entity called QRIXKUOR, offering an experience like no other of pure ritualistic psychosis, presented as Extreme Metal. I spoke to mastermind S (also of ADORIOR) about these sonic apparitions…

1. Greetings S! First of all, let us talk about your formation. QRIXKUOR was conjured from the abyss in 2011 before releasing two demos in 2014 and 2015 respectively. What possessed you to be the demiurge of such potent apparitions and what happened in this three year incubation?

We simply had the throbbing pulse of madness in our ears and hearts, and joined in darkness to make flesh our dreams of death. Late-2011 is when myself and our former drummer first met, but would be stretching things slightly in terms of starting QRIXKUOR – I believe it was in fact mid-2012 before we made much progress of note, and it took until early-2013 to get the original line-up fully in place, recording the initial demo in April of that year and waiting to release it until our debut live show in April 2014 (not the plan – we had numerous delays and much bad luck in this period). The MLP was taking form even around the time of the release of ‘Consecration of the Temple’ – we debuted ‘Crypt of Illusions Bane’ at the aforementioned show and the rehearsal demo was a bridge between the former and ‘Three Devils Dance,’ including one track from the latter, to distribute at the live performances that took place while we were finishing up the mixing for it. 

2. 2016 saw your debut MLP / EP however you prefer to title it. This was a masterful and labyrinthine work of 3 daunting, claustrophobic and superbly written songs. Two sublime almost quarter-hour pieces sit either side of a slightly more direct (yet nearly ten minute) middle track, all twisting into some multi-dimensional 40 minute of Black-Death horror! What was the input for you on this record in terms of influence, spirituality and discipline as clearly this was not thrown together but crafted with insane attention to detail.

The main influence on ‘Three Devils Dance’ was the virgin insanity of that time, in which all of us did a great deal of self-exploration both individually and as a group – resulting many successes and many failures, all of which was drawn upon when creating that material both musically and lyrically. I could compile a list of influential bands – and it would be remiss to deny that many seeped into our collective unconscious during our formative years – but with one of the intentions of the release being more intuitive composition, with even less regard for tradition and moving further from any kind of hero-worship, this would be essentially worthless. Musically, it was simply the next step on this one-way path, and a much better representation of the vision unfolding than the demo presented. It was indeed curated with great attention to detail, both as the three individual pieces and ultimately the sum of its parts – which should be the primary basis of evaluation with all releases.  

3. According to the world wide web (of potential deceit) previous members include R, M and A. Are any of these members participants of other majestic music or purely a part of QRIXKUOR’s earlier body of work?

As far as I know, not currently. Or at least, not in any way with any parallels to QRIXKUOR.

4. Talking of members, the mastermind of Vassafor (plus member of a plethora of excellent bands and magnificent producer) VK has joined the fold on bass while DBH of Grave Miasma and a bandmate of yours in Adorior is taking up drums. What do these two musicians bring to QRIXKUOR and how has it been to work with them on the new opus? I believe most people reading this will know of the many outputs of the whole trio, but perhaps you can shed some light from your perspective on the collective. 

They are musicians and personalities with great experience and unique perspectives – their roles were to interpret the nightmarish foundations that I had already laid down through their own eyes, ears and limbs. Both offered their assistance to my fledgling album around the time of the previous line-up’s dissolution, and the trio was assembled initially with the sole initial purpose of recording ‘Poison Palinopsia.’ Obviously, given that VK resides in his homeland of New Zealand and that he would’ve been unable to travel in the period around the album even if desired, our communication was conducted remotely, with the actual rehearsals taking place between DBH and myself. The collaboration was smooth – they would not have offered or been accepted without already being firmly on the same page. Their contributions exceeded my already high expectations, and were vital to the success of the final result.

5. Now, let us meander into the present and discuss “Poison Palinopsia”, your debut album. Featuring only 2 songs which span nearly 50 minutes, this is certainly not a traditional, conventional or even remotely digestible approach for the average Metalhead. Yet in these twisted pieces, attention is held by intricate and fascinating songwriting with a visceral feel throughout. How did these pieces take form and in which manner did the other two contribute? 

The album began as 4 pieces, ultimately becoming 2 individual yet united sides of a single vinyl, which is the format that I wished to present the album as and curated the material for. Melodies, timbres, rhythms, tempos and dynamics were selected and intertwined to musically narrate the horrific soundscapes desired, with the only limitation imposed being the possibility of running out of wax. This was not intended to be conventional or digestible. It is not even intended to make rational sense at every moment – the kinds of visionary experiences on which QRIXKUOR’s foundations were formed do not make sense, more often than not. Certainly not immediately. An accurate narrative takes precedent over a classically ‘memorable’ structure in this case. 

VK and DBH joined the process towards its conclusion – after all of the music and lyrics had been exorcised – adding the final layers of darkness to the compositions. Given the specific approach of the music and its connection to the lyrics and intended atmosphere and flow, there was little possibility for them of changing the already established sections or structures – merely adding their personal touch to the chaos and the outside viewpoints necessary to take it to a level that it would not otherwise have reached.

6. To follow, American titan of Death Metal, Dark Descent Records and Ireland’s master of morbidity Invictus Productions are handling this release. What is advantageous about having not one, but two labels spreading the music in different continents for you and do you feel the release has been delivered to your expectations? 

Dark Descent has the monopoly on the death metal ‘market’ in North America, and the labels joining forces for the record (as they have done on many previous releases by other artists) simply allows for a larger and wider reach, as well as sharing the financial costs involved in making the album – which are still fairly modest in the grand scheme of things but significantly higher than ‘Three Devils Dance,’ for instance. A bit difficult to answer the last part of the question at this stage, but news of the release at least seems to be infecting a wider audience than any of our previous work – reflected in the initial sales figures – and I am certainly extremely satisfied with all aspects of the promotion thus far and also the physical product. A personal connection to the labels is important – I have worked with Darragh of Invictus for many years at this point, and having met Matt of Dark Descent several times on my/his travels over the last few years, I knew that the record would be in two good pairs of hands.  

7. On your entire body of work, especially the new album, the artwork has taken form in clear occultism and spirituality but also a very clear psychedelia to my eye. Please shed some light on these visions that accompany your music and perhaps what they may contain. Or if you prefer to be elusive, maybe just what they represent to yourself would suffice.

They represent the ever-haunting presence of the beyond within. Visionary experiences, both self-induced and otherwise and in conscious and unconscious states shape our interpretation and understanding of the inner and the outer, the limitless, cyclical nature of life and death, the fragile fabric of reality and the possibilities for expression of these through the mediums of the word and dynamic sound. There is great beauty in this world, and also great horrors – QRIXKUOR prefers to deal with the greatest horrors of other worlds.

8. Finally, I feel it would be remiss to not ask something this obvious. What is next? Will the trio gather from their far reaches of the globe to dominate in a live setting or keep things focused on the studio side of things? The last words are yours to excite, warn and prepare QRIXKUOR fans and enemies alike for whatever onslaught is yet to unfold.

This is not a question I can answer with much degree of certainty at this moment. There are many obstacles that stand in the way of performing live, and it would certainly require more pieces than a trio to adequately reproduce our work in such a setting. This is thus for now an eventual hope rather than a plan. I am a significant way into the process of writing the soundtrack to QRIXKUOR’s next chapter, so this may well be the initial focus in the world’s seemingly endless state of unrest – and perhaps sole focus, since rehearsing for a live show and a new release are two overlapping but separate endeavours, both of which require a great deal of time and preparation. We are not bound to any kind of album or touring cycle and nothing will be done for the sake of it, so whatever comes next will be whatever can be channelled most effectively with the available resources, whether that is in the studio or on stage. I also have other creative projects aside from QRIXKUOR whose needs must be considered, and approached with the appropriate passion and attention. Rest assured that in any eventuality, I am not sitting still.