Chapel of Disease Reflect on Embracing and Subverting Expectations on "Echoes of Light" (Interview)

On the chorus of "Echoes of Light," the opener and title track of the long-awaited fourth album from Chapel of Disease, the phrase "I'm chasing light, just to destroy it" rings with profound metacontextual significance. First formed in 2008, and following the release of their debut 2012 LP Summoning Black Gods, this German extreme metal quartet would gradually bend and twist their old-school death metal roots, with each new album peeling back a previously unseen layer of stylistic depth. 

The band's third LP, …And as We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye, marked a major turning point for Chapel of Disease, with its touches of bluesy guitars, Knopfler-esque twang, and prog-scale ambition coalescing into an underground-lauded progressive death metal gem. This record solidified that Chapel of Disease thrive in the face of change, and between 2018 and now, things sure have changed for the band in more ways than one.

Between the five-plus years since their last release and the 2023 announcement that the band would be retiring their initial lineup, both Chapel of Disease and the world surrounding them have changed drastically. As the long-awaited follow-up to …And as We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye, a record renowned in its own right for its novel deviation from the band's prior output, Echoes of Light embodies that same adventurous spirit, arguably exceeding it at points thanks to a wider scope of influences and a more seasoned understanding of how to meld said elements into a work that ignores extreme metal genre labels in an effort to remain true to the band’s core artistic vision. 

With the added emphasis on its retro rock-inspired flavorings, and half of its tracklist featuring significant portions of clean vocals, it's hard to classify Echoes of Light as a death metal record. What is absolutely undisputable, however, is the fact that Echoes of Light is a Chapel of Disease record, through and through, capturing the essence behind what makes this project so damn compelling in the first place. Change is daunting, but as Chapel of Disease asserts on the opening track's chorus, it's a challenge that powers the band on not just this latest release, but into the uncharted waters of the band's future.

We had the opportunity to chat with Laurent Teubl–Chapel of Disease's vocalist, guitarist, and sole currently active founding member–about the new album, the long road in its leadup, the creative process behind it, and what it means to be unafraid in constantly challenging oneself to pursuit the purest form of one's artistic vision, outside expectations be damned.

–Evan Mester

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I remember first coming across Chapel of Disease back when I had a metal radio show in college. I heard the first track on  …As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye, became immediately hooked, and have eagerly awaited a follow-up for over five years. What feelings, anxieties, and expectations did you have about announcing Echoes of Light and, by relation, the return of a band that so many people have been waiting over half a decade to hear something new from?

Interestingly, I had to read your last line twice, since I tend to forget that it has been around half a decade between our last two albums. A lot has happened since we released …As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye, and quite some time went by between actually finishing the production of this new record and then announcing it. We finished recording the album in January last year. Then, shortly after, our lineup decided to part ways, leading to the rollout of Echoes of Light getting postponed until we had new members onboard to play live shows. 

These circumstances sort of overshadowed my personal expectations when the announcement of a new record came closer. After sitting on a finished yet unreleased album for such a long time, you sort of lose track of what feelings to have, especially when taking into account a major lineup shift. Yet when we did announce everything, it was a very pleasant surprise that people were generally digging the news, since that is not always the case after big lineup changes, which I was aware of. 

So I'm very thankful for that. And now, after some time and the first singles being out there, I have to say that it has been quite different going from The Mysterious Ways Of Repetitive Art to …As We Have Seen The Storm…, simply because the band has gathered a lot more attention since the previous record. I am noticing that expectations are high and that the new record has been awaited much more than anything we've released so far.

The announcement of Echoes of Light was one of two significant events regarding Chapel of Disease that transpired in 2023, the other being the announcement of the band's initial lineup parting ways with you continuing the project as its sole remaining founding member. In what ways did this major change for the band impact this latest record? Is it something closer to a clean slate or a send-off for the previous era of the band?

The lineup change didn't really affect the music on this album at all, since that came about after finishing production and recording. So, while we probably confused a bunch of people with the news of the "split" from last year, it kinda worked in our favor, since you can't really call it a clean slate (having a new album with a past, non-existing lineup) and neither a send-off (since continuing the band itself under the same name). So I'd have to say it's something in between here: keeping the band going since we've all decided on that and since this record is a Chapel of Disease record and also accepting and working with the cut that was made. However, I don't see the music itself as disconnected from anything the band has done before, rather more the opposite. It's our continuation of what we have started to work on with our previous releases, and it's everything this band stands for.

Something about the following phrase used to describe the album struck a chord with me, as Ván Records described Echoes of Light as "a journey to chase light, only to ultimately destroy it…". I'd love to hear more about this core conceit of the album, lyrically and thematically, and how it relates to Chapel of Disease as a whole.

The album is quite self-reflective, and, at times, it does talk about itself. How it was made, how it wants to be heard, how it hears itself. The quote you referenced plays with the title track's chorus ("I'm chasing light, just to destroy it"). These lyrics reference how I approach making music: Always reaching for something obscure in the beginning, something that has to be chased and does not have a concrete form, and at times, it may not even seem to be reachable at all. 

And in the event where it seems to have finally manifested, when you think you've achieved bringing form into the obscure, the whole process starts off again, taking you back to where you started since you ultimately destroy what you've been longing for. This is pretty much how Chapel of Disease approaches each of our albums: after finishing a record, we're always thinking about what could be done next that doesn't repeat ourselves but still manages to capture the defining sound and atmosphere of the band. It's quite a manic process, but it is what keeps the drive of the band going and it is the main motivation.

What was the writing and recording process like for the making of Echoes of Light? Any specific milestones or challenges you want to highlight?

It was tough, to be honest. It took a while to distance ourselves from …As We Have Seen The Storm, which was received very well, and we were very pleased with it in our own right. I remember beginning to write the title track of the new album around the time that things got going (we were playing around with "Selenophile" before a bit, as far as I remember) for Echoes of Light. Once we had the core of that song, we knew we were on to something, and things started coming along, and a general idea took shape of what the record could be. 

The next song we wrote was "A Death Through No Loss. " Then, the pandemic came along and halted the writing process significantly. I can't claim that it gave us the opportunity to focus more on the creative sides of a band, since I myself didn't feel all too creative at the time. So there was some time where we were stuck with three songs until the following three came together. Around this time, we also had our longtime bass player and friend depart the band and move away. So, taken altogether, the making of Echoes of Light was a considerably more difficult process compared to that of our previous records. However, the challenge it put forth pushed us as a band, making our songwriting all the more focused, honed, and fully realized. As a result, I like to believe we got better at bringing out the most of each individual track and weaving each piece into one cohesive whole.

Arguably one of the most fascinating characteristics of Chapel of Disease is the band's progression over the years from a familiar old-school death metal sound to the unabashedly unique harmony of progressive death metal, hard rock, and blues as it exists today. Could you tell me the story of how Chapel of Disease ended up embracing this distinct stylistic identity over the years?

It's really about us wanting to include all the different styles of music we have an affinity for. It is just a very natural evolution that happened step by step if you take a look at our discography. We would not be around anymore if we had stuck to the OSDM formula out of principle since that is just not how we understand being fans of music and musicians in general. And really, that is the whole thrill about it all: How can we incorporate whatever we want into this music without it losing its identity and unique sound? 

Of course, "whatever we want" is all in the realm of rock, blues, proto-metal, heavy metal, and extreme music, as you've said. They're all entangled or in some way esoterically connected, and that's why I never doubted that these different stylistic influences would be able to become an organic whole. Honestly, I never really thought about it all that much. So, really, to us it was never something that was all planned out or that we had a clear vision of, but we just started absorbing what we were into and gaining our own ideas and sounds from whatever that may have been. 

I always liked the idea of this evolution being a very natural thing to us, which never needed all too many words or was ever planned out, since I like to believe this authentic progression is reflected in the music itself. You don't have the feeling it is desperately trying to sound a certain way by choosing this or that recipe- it simply sounds the way it does.

What impressed me the most about Echoes of Light was just how refreshing and stuffed full of surprises the record was, even with the novelty of …As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye having been living rent-free in my head for the past five plus years. With Echoes of Light, in what ways did Chapel of Disease seek out to build atop the ideas and concepts of the previous record as a foundation? What were some of the rewarding ideas and aspects you tinker with?

There is no doubt that …As We Have Seen The Storm… changed a lot for us. I think I can speak for the rest of the band as well when I say it was the first release we were truly satisfied with. By the time we completed it, we realized it has its own thing to it (which didn't really occur to us while being so focused during the album's righting process). It opened a bunch of doors, since we realized we could incorporate all these different moods and styles without losing touch with what we had in mind as a general atmosphere of the music. So yes, while there would not have been that record without The Mysterious Ways Of Repetitive Art, it really did lay a foundation for the band to go even further and pick up on the play with light and shade.

The decision to incorporate clean vocals was just the next logical step we took to challenge and push ourselves creatively, and especially so knowing that some tracks like "Shallow Nights" and "An Ode To The Conqueror" demanded them. It's once again a different and new layer to play with for the band, trying to achieve another color to be used for the music. The moodier passages you'll hear on Echoes of Light go hand in hand with the use of clean vocals. 

I was aware that the very prominent guitar work does have to be taken back at times to give the vocals space to work. There's less noodling but much more chord-based and reverb-soaked sounds to let these particular tracks breathe a bit more. This is quite a different record from the previous LP, where that one was pretty much all-in at all times, which can be great, but in the case of Echoes of Light, applying occasional restraint on these passages elevated the overall project. Then again, to make up for those passages, other solo sections are even more extended and prominent than they were ever before. Being a huge guitar nerd, I think this is just something I could never get rid off while making music. Guitar leads to me are almost like a vocal line, they are there to create hooks and truly express something and not just to be a solo where it's a hundred notes in 10 seconds.

I get asked about our genre a lot, and I have to say, I don't really have an answer and never think about it all too much. To be fair though, I doubt you can really call this a death metal record. It is still part of extreme metal, yet it's also very straight rock-oriented by now. But I really don't know what to call it; maybe others can do better here.

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not but the opening tracks on Chapel of Disease records always tend to be highlights for me, and with Echoes of Light, that trend once again continues. What was it like to make this one in particular, and why was this one you decided to use to kick off the record?

This one really was where it kicked off songwriting-wise. I remember writing it quite distinctive and I used to be hooked quite early on in the process of doing so. You need that starting point when beginning to write an album and that was all there. Since the song takes you through so many different moods but also starts off with quite a big sounding and catchy intro, we knew after finishing it that it would most likely be the opener for the record. 

It still seems obvious to me that it is, just because of how it builds up. It is one of my favorite songs we've ever written as a whole, since it is somewhat different and probably—concerning the structure of it—one of the most proggy songs we've written so far. It is very thought through in its build up and that was the hard thing about it. When you listen to it, that is pretty much how it works in general: It's a constant build up - with an interruption, being the moody middle section—from the very start, just to really unfold itself at the end.

In addition to the title track, what are some other personal favorite songs from the album? What makes them standouts and/or so significant to you?

I really enjoy "A Death Through No Loss" since I connect a lot of personal memories with this one. "Gold / Dust" I think has a great atmosphere playing with the very laid-back vocals but quite straightforward and heavy conjunction of guitars and drums. Those three instantly come to mind at this point. But then again, it's almost impossible to choose individual songs from a new album, since they are all still sticking onto you in their own way.

And now an expected question with a twist. What artists and bands can you cite as stylistic influences for Chapel of Disease while writing and recording Echoes of Light? One caveat: non-metal bands only!

Good one… Rory Gallagher instantly comes to mind (fuel to the fire!). I listened to him a lot after the recordings of the previous record and can safely say that he's a favorite of mine when it comes to guitar players, as he is to so many others. Unique phrasing and yet ever so catchy with his lead work. Winterhawk with the Revival record is always a huge inspiration since I think it simply is one of the best albums ever recorded, and they're a band that is criminally overlooked (how could this ever have happened?). Rush became an influence during the making of the …As We Have Seen The Storm… record and has stayed so ever since. 

Be it 2112, Hemispheres, or the obvious - Moving Pictures - they are just an amazing band in every regard. The same goes for Wishbone Ash, especially their 1976 Live At Rockpalast record (one of my favorite recorded delays concerning the lead guitar sound- is that an echoplex?). Other than that, I grew up listening to The Police a lot, and these last years have been doing so again and realized why I admired them so much. Stewart Copeland is one of my all-time favorite drummers. Without him, it would've been a completely different band. And one more, which you probably won't be able to hear while listening to the record but which was constantly with me: Colter Wall with his self-titled album. Probably one of the records I listened to the most during these last months and years. What a voice and what an atmosphere!

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Echoes of Light released February 9th via Ván Records.