Ershetu: A Haunting Ambience of Ethereal and Serene Soundscape
From the depths of the creative collective minds of some of Black Metal's most prominent figures, comes a universally awe inspiring dynamic soundscape. Enriched in the cultural ethnicity that bring forth the concepts of death. Ershetu delivers compositions of a dark and unique atmosphere that is enriched within the elements of Black Metal to produce a cultural inspired masterpiece. With members from Borknagar, Solefald, Blut Aus Nord and Forhist, you can only imagine the talent that is executed with precision upon each and every album. A haunting ambience that opens into a torrent of guitars, bombardments of blast beats and chilling vocals that create an ethereal and serene soundscape.
I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with some of the members of Ershetu and dive into the minds behind their art. I look into the conceptualizations behind their project and the various elements within. We talk about what inspired them, how the project took shape, and what the future holds. So let’s dive in and see what they had to say.
FM: Where did the idea to form Ershetu come from? Was there any special meaning behind the name?
Void: I was very clear about what I imagined this project should sound like. Being myself very fond of bands like Limbonic Art, early Covenant, Summoning and the likes, I wanted something very orchestral and epic. But obviously, I didn’t want to copy these cult bands and albums. I wanted us to take our own approach. Both Sacr and I are also big fans of movie scores, video games and classical music. When I told him about the idea, it was clear I wanted very cinematic music. The idea was to transport the listener with us on a journey. I wanted the music to be rich and unique. The music of a non-existing movie somehow.
At that time - mid-pandemic and surrounded by death - it felt right to propose that we dive into the idea of “Death” as seen through the eyes of different religions and/or civilizations for a series of concept albums. Sacr’s challenge was to compose music that would transport the listener into the chosen territory, and mine to assimilate as much knowledge as possible and transcribe it into interesting lyrics.
ERSHETU is the “Mesopotamian Underworld” (hell) in Akkadian language. Which is one of the most ancient languages to our knowledge.
FM: The band's lyrics deal with death in different cultures. Is there any culture that fascinated you about their beliefs on death?
Void: There is not much to learn from so many civilisations/religions. It’s very interesting! When I was younger, I was fascinated by Mayans and Egyptian mythology, but history in general is fascinating. I love all the mysteries and stories from the past. Also, very interested in all the “secret societies” etc. I guess the most impactful ones from my youth are old Egyptian beliefs on death.
FM: The band released Xibalba in 2023. Can you explain what the album title means? And what was the writing like for the album?
Void: “Xibalba” is the Mayan “underworld”. As I was deep into reading about Mayans (including the “Popol Vuh”, which is sometimes referred as the “Mayan Bible”), Sacr was writing the music itself. He started with all the orchestral parts, then we added the “Metal” parts. That’s why it’s a very different album from most of the ones we’re used to getting in Black Metal.
FM: You mentioned fascinations of the region due to the high-tech future focused aspects that are still tied to their rich cultural past and their attachment to traditions and ancestral customs. Can you elaborate more on how that influenced your choice and focus for the setting of your latest album Yomi?
Void: Japan is a very unique country, I’ve been there a couple years ago and it’s always been a source of interest to me. They are very “advanced” / “high-tech” focused, but at the same time they have a rich cultural folklore, which they seem still attached to. I don’t know if younger generations still are, only time will tell, I guess. But to me, this fracture between futuristic/ancestral is very interesting. But even more interesting to me is the whole “Kami” beliefs tied to Shinto religion and that’s why we decided to take this aspect of Japan for “Yomi”
FM: You used unique and traditional instruments on Yomi. Was it to pay tribute and homage to the culture of Asia or more of the dynamic soundscapes produced by these instruments?
Sacr: The essence of Ershetu is to compose music by including traditional instruments from each civilization, culture or religion that we explore. For Yomi, there is a Koto and a Shamisen for plucked string instruments, a Shakuhachi (flute), a Shô (mouth organ), the Hichiriki (a kind of oboe). For percussion, the Taiko, Odaiko, the Kakko, the Kane, the Ko-tsuzumi, and the Shoko. It is therefore quite natural for us to do research on traditional instruments, their histories and their origins.
FM: Vindsval from Blut Aus Nord and Lazare of Borknagar are in the band. How did it feel to have members from such well-known acts in the band?
Void: To us, these two persons are not “Lazare from Borknagar” and “Vindsval from Blut Aus Nord”, but two close friends of ours and creating music together is not linked to their fame with their other bands but with the bonds created over the years. These collabs have deep meaning to us. We won’t deny it’s a big honor for us to have them both contributing to Ershetu.
FM: Do you think that working with members of already well established bands may hinder or help aid in the creative process of writing?
Sacr: To me, no, not at all. Quite the contrary!! Everyone can bring their own touch which makes the music richer!!
Vindsval: Personally, I don't intervene at all in the creative process, and I don't compose anything for Ershetu; I simply play the guitar and bass parts written by Sacr in the studio. On Yomi, I also took charge of all the vocal parts, but the tracks are entirely composed and arranged by Sacr.
FM: With building a successful anticipation of your latest release and visually stunning video of the track “Ketsurui”, how do you feel this album will be received?
Sacr: It's always complicated. We never know what will please or displease... Once the album is released into the "universe", it no longer belongs to us in a way... It makes its own way... But the feedback is pretty crazy!!
Vindsval: On a personal level, this is a bit more stressful than the release of the first album, on which Lars did a phenomenal job with the vocal parts. I hesitated for a long time before accepting, out of fear that Xibalba fans might be disappointed and reject my proposal. Initial reactions seem to indicate that people have understood our two very different approaches. This was my only concern with Yomi, which benefited from absolutely monumental writing work and should logically fully satisfy those who love Ershetu.
FM: When talking about death ingrained in cultural beliefs that are still practiced and linked to many religions today, yet having a different approach from your own point of view, would you care to elaborate on this and possibly share your own point of view?
Void: We try to offer our interpretation/understanding of Death as viewed by others. We don’t try to do an academic study of it. Our goal is to gather knowledge and, with it, build a “story” without including too much of our own “point of view”. It’s a difficult task of course but we try to stay as neutral as possible. What we try to do, somehow hidden in the texts, is to draw parallels with humans in general and the way we still behave nowadays.
Vindsval: I compare death to the infinity of the universe, something that the limits of the human mind prevent us from fully grasping in concrete terms. How can one imagine the end of everything, one's own extinction, the end of thought, absolute nothingness?
From a personal perspective, I don't think we have yet understood the meaning of the life/death cycle. I am firmly convinced that the answers will come later, and that the reality of it all has nothing to do with how we currently perceive this cycle. I believe we are not approaching it from the right perspective.
FM: After the release of Yomi, what does the band have in store for the near future, any plans for a follow up tour possibly?
Void: At this stage, there are no plans for live activity with Ershetu. It would be very complicated and require a lot of musicians to reproduce the tracks live. We keep the idea in the back of our minds but I’m very unsure it will ever happen. We’re currently brainstorming ideas for the future. What’s for sure is that we don’t lack ideas to create new music and dive into new territories.
Ershetu’s full-length release of Yomi, under the mighty Debemur Morti Productions, offers an album that is enriched in Japanese tradition and haunting atmospheric elements. A must have for those who enjoy Black Metal. Yomi is available now for purchase at Debemur Morti Productions with links provided below. If you wish to follow and support the band then please head over to their socials provided.
Debemur Morti Productions
EU shop : https://dmprd.com/ershetuEU
US shop : https://dmprd.com/ershetuNA
Bandcamp : https://dmprd.com/ershetuY
https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/
Ershetu
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https://ershetu.bandcamp.com/
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