Devouring Star Unveils (and Discusses) "The Arteries of Heresy"

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While death can bring peace, other times, it can be the first domino of grand violence. There is perhaps no greater exemplifier of this dark spiral than Finland’s Devouring Star. While the atmospheric blackened death outfit does indeed evoke the atmosphere of the Black Death from behind dark hoods and ripples of smoke, ominous rumblings spiraling into chaos are foreshadowing what lies ahead in the skies. Just give it a few billion years more, and whatever is left of our ocean-ravaged planet will be gobbled up alongside Mercury and Venus by a red giant clinging to life. By god, it doesn’t get much more metal than that.

If it’s not obvious enough, a delicate meditation on the first winter snowfall is not what’s in store. Offering a no-holds-barred account of chaos is what Devouring Star has come to do well. A fiery gem of the underground, 2015’s full-length Through Lung and Heart describes the grandeur of humanity’s inhumanity through a tale of war-torn blast beats and sinister operatic symphony. After completing multiple splits with the likes of Chalice of Blood and Caecus, Devouring Star has returned with their follow-up full-length, The Arteries of Heresy. Check out an exclusive stream of the full album below.

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Pillaging their way through the veins of all that is holy, Devouring Star uses The Arteries of Heresy as an opportunity to drag listeners another notch down into the pits of evil. Using atmospheric moments a bit more fleetingly than in past work, cyclones of disarray are favored, ultimately begging the question of how there could be a musical methodology behind the madness. With different details strewn so tightly together that it hits you like a dark mass, five cohesive tracks are washed with the unnerving truth; behind the veils of biblical significance, we’re simply adrift on a rock spinning through space that could be swallowed up at any time.

To learn more about the The Arteries of Heresy’s road to production, we spoke with the anonymous Devouring Star.

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As your sophomore full-length, did you take any different behind-the-scenes approaches with this record?

The approach has been steady development and of course with time the process matures, but I wouldn’t say it was any different than writing the EP, Antihedron. The process of writing a release consists of sheer time and thought spent and experimenting how it should sound, boringly enough. Methods such as meditation and certain substances have influenced the writing process. The concepts are no stories or myths, so they develop naturally through normal every day thought process.

I’m really fond of the record’s title; I think it’s a poetic description of the organized chaos of the world. Are there any “arteries” of darkness that you had in mind during the composition process? Perhaps in the modern world, or maybe a more distant time…

You are on the right track. The arteries describe sheer human nature and our connection to the Whore of Babylon and sin. If we look at the cover art we can see the whore becoming one with the world. It is an alternative take on the apocalypse, the whore and the beast who rode the world didn’t ever leave it and no salvation happened, rather they were left here to compose and create the soil and foundation to a species called humans. So in the end, it isn’t related to modern world or any certain time, it has always been in our nature. We are not an image of God Himself, rather we are an image of Sin. Perhaps I could say, that Kali Yuga describes us well.

I’m curious to know who your influences are — the black metal greats, or some other underground colleagues worth sharing? Or maybe another artistic movement entirely?

Some of my main influences are obvious. We have always been said to sound more French than Finnish and I agree. I do admire what the French black metal scene has brought to this world during the years, it has had a much more major influence to me than the Finnish equivalent, although my roots are in it. To me however, it is rather the culture and the concepts that have been influencing me than just the music as I expose myself to many different sorts of music. Philosophy, religion and esoterism are something that are far more valuable than some guys playing metal music. I always appreciate the ones who put true artistic effort into their music and who live what they preach. Art should always be something that symbolizes its creator, not banal entertainment.

Do you plan on touring a bit in support of The Arteries of Heresy, or do you think you will stay in the shadows and let the record speak for itself? What’s the move for Devouring Star?

No tours in plans, we have never toured and I doubt we will do it in the near future either. Some shows have been planned and we are open to offers, although for us, it should be quality over amount. Being rock stars or playing shows for the sake of promotion isn’t something I am interested in, rather every show should be its own experience. The songs of The Arteries of Heresy do fit live purposes much better than our old material, and we are eager to try them out on those premises. However, there is always the chance that at some point we will just stop playing live and I will focus on the releases only. The record should naturally speak for itself, the whole purpose of music is to resonate in the subjective and hopefully trigger an inner experience or something primal in them.

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The Arteries of Heresy releases October 26th via Dark Descent and Terratur Possessions. Follow the band on Facebook.

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