Interview Neverlight Horizon
the group Neverlight Horizon from Belgium is one of the most listened to (ie best) death metal stars that still has a lot to offer. At the end of 2023 (December), they are releasing a new album (4-track mini album / EPCD), and again we have a musical treat here, not only musically, but also lyrically. 4 songs – 4 texts tell the story of 4 legends from Wallonia that should (hopefully) have happened.
Horrors, vampires, wizards... Anyone who likes horror and a well-thought-out musical score will be extremely satisfied.
Alan – Hello band. Before we talk a bit about the last thing released. For those who don't know you, who are you, how long have you existed? What part of Belgium are you from?
Neverlight Horizon – We are Neverlight Horizon, formerly known as Born Of Fire when we started the band, almost 25 years ago. We are from the southern part of Belgium, which is called Wallonia. The music we play is Death Metal : fast, brutal, straight to the point.
Alan – Changes, news in the band? New players?
Neverlight Horizon - We’ve had several line-up changes in the past years. Xavier and Simon (guitar and bass) joined the band more or less ten years ago. Laurent and Julien (guitar and drums) are part of the band since day 1. We recently welcomed Aubry as new front man, our last EP is his very first record with us.
Alan – You released the last album, or if you want a mini-album, in December 2023, it contains 4 tracks. Is not it too little? Where did you shoot? Did they sound etc...?
Neverlight Horizon – The record’s length wasn’t really a question when we started writing the songs. We started discussing if after having the lyrical theme defined (we will tell you more about that) and agreed on making a 4 tracks record out of that particular theme. A few more songs were already ready when we’ve been to the recording studio but we decided to save them for later. Recording, mixing, mastering… Everything happened in a Belgian recording studio called “The Pale Flame”. Some of us already worked with him a few years ago through other musical projects. We all liked the way he’s working and the final result couldn’t be better!
Alan – The album was released on CD and all major platforms. Who released the album, and which label? Your closer connection with this label? And you didn't want to release it on LP (Maxi 12")?
Neverlight Horizon – We got in touch with a couple labels prior to releasing it but we finally took the decision to release it on our own (indie release) for various reasons, mostly because we wanted to “save the label opportunity” for a longer record. The truth is… Some labels aren’t interested in releasing a 4 tracks physical CD. We’re right into the digital music era so we’ve got to deal with this. Things tuned our we’re promoting Walxaz pretty well, thanks to our actual partners. An LP release would have been awesome, but again – we’re saving this opportunity for another release or reissue, which is actually not part of our short term goals.
Alan – The mini CD is called Walxaz. Is that Walloon or Flemish?
Neverlight Horizon - This is Walloon. Our songs’ lyrics are based on old tales and legends that were once told in our area. We wanted an EP title that would be directly related to the album’s theme so we chose Walxaz, which is how our ancestors were named by western people. This is the very first noun used to call our ancestors found in history books.
Alan – The text page, and you don't have to describe it all, just a summary. They are stories, legends that were supposed to happen.
Neverlight Horizon - These are indeed legends that were initially told to children to prevent them hanging and playing in dangerous areas, ie. close to rivers, near caves, etc. There were plenty of legends, some scarier than other. We chose the most horrific and detailed ones and made songs out of this.
Alan - Horror - Legend. What is every text you have on Walxaz about? And again just in a nutshell.
Neverlight Horizon - “Mist and Darkness” and “The One With the Hooks” are related stories. “Mist and Darkness” was a demon who could appear as a dog, an old man or a very thick mist. Its purpose was to get people distracted and lost so it could bring them close to the river. “The One With the Hooks” is about an evil creature with hooks instead of his hands, living deep in the river... His purpose was to hook lost wanderers and take them back into the river so he could kill them and eat their souls. “Bellem” was an old sorcerer and shepherd. He used to put spells on people being disrespectful with him. He looked like an old man walking with a cane… The legend also says that he could make red wine flow out of its cane. "Among The Caves" tells the story of a cave that supposedly was a gate to hell. People reported witches performing dark rituals around the cave entrance. Since then, this place is considered wicked and unsafe.
Alan – The album hasn't been out for a long time, so write anyway – let me know if you get any feedback. What were, or were there not responses to him?
Neverlight Horizon – The feedback is really good so far, which is a really good surprise to us. It may look tricky to release music that doesn’t sound like the previous record when you’re playing for 25 years but looks like we got the job done pretty well. The reviews we’ve had have all been really positive and encouraging – we’ve had the same response from fans during our last live shows.
Alan – Let's say you're a well-known band, and there's even a mini-album out this summer. Where are you going in Europe this summer?
Neverlight Horizon – There’s actually no other release scheduled this year BUT if it had to happen, we’d be glad to promote it everywhere we can. We’d definitely go back to Germany, France, Netherlands, and further west. We haven’t had the opportunity to play in every EU country yet but we’d like to put more red pins on the EU map.
Alan – Concerts or festivals. Will they include the Czech Republic and Slovakia? Do you know any Czech or Slovak groups?
Neverlight Horizon – The first bands who comes to my mind are Gutalax and Root. We also listen to Supreme Conception, Brutally Deceased, Dementor,… There are actually a lot !
Alan - Have you had any funny gaming experiences during your tenure (existence)? Or during the recording of the album?
Neverlight Horizon - We’ve had a lot. But only a few we’re allowed to tell. The recording process of the album was pretty serious – we wanted to give the best of ourselves. About the lives… Well… You know everything can happen.
A dozen years ago, the bassist just cut open his left index finger just before the show. This guy tried to perform the gig anyway with a surgical glove on but this piece of crap didn’t held - the bass got covered in blood and the bassist had to leave the stage. I can also talk about the guitarist who forgot his guitar right before leaving Belgium to a one-shot gig in Switzerland…
Alan - Thanks for the interview, finally, if there's anything we forgot to ask, write it down here now.
Neverlight Horizon – Thank you Alan for this very kind interview opportunity. For those who haven’t heard about Neverlight Horizon yet, there are dozens of songs you can listen for free on our platforms so… Check our links and get a taste of “Brewed in Belgium” Death Metal. Some of our band members are also involved in some other metal projects : “Excavated” (Death Metal) and “Absolutus” (Black Metal), feel free to check those two – they’re definitely worth it.
https://www.facebook.com/NeverLight.horizon66/
