Exclusive Interview: KRYPHOS | Depressive black metal duo from South Korea

9 mins read
Kryphos band from Seoul, South Korea
Kryphos from Seoul, South Korea
Kryphos, a South Korean depressive black metal band, which incepted in the year 2010 is nothing but a ferocious band that delivers extremely malicious music that stresses the theme of suicide. South Korea isn’t a country where metal in general is a prolific genre but for it to be non-existent is a myth.
The music which the band plays connotes or conveys a catharsis of emotions in a repertoire of intense darkness that is being shed upon by the searing riffages like a chant in a mountain where the bright full-moon shined upon the silhouette, where the lonely wolf howls & gaze into nothingness. Though the music is the core of what it is sensed what brings about the rawness of this band is the powerful-deplorable yet soulful vocals that plunge into the last layer of your skin, it is impressively and horrifyingly beautiful.
The band has one EP and a debut album to its name which were released in recent years and they are currently signed with Pest Productions.
Here’s Sane (Bassist/Keyboardist) and Kalte (Vocalist) with Mebanaibor Nengnong in an exclusive interview where they talk about the band, the scene in Korea, and their future plans.
Interviewer: Greetings from Headtilts! Thank you for being here. Take us to the dungeon on how the band was formed.
 
SaneHello, I’m Sane, I’m the Bassist and Keyboardist of the band. There’s actually nothing special of our gathering as a band but it was just a matter of how people naturally met when they wanted to aspire and play the same type of music. 
I was serving in the Army and when my time in the military reached its end, I was looking for a session vocalist. Around that time Ares was taking care of vocal duties. Unfortunately during the making of our debut album, there had been several changes in the line-up which derailed any development for the completion of it. However, I managed to lay the final brick on the album with Kalte on vocals and Tau on drums.
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Interviewer: So, why did you choose Depressive Black metal as your musical preference? What’s the story behind this genre from the band’s perspective only?
SanePersonally, I was utterly into Black metal until the late 90’s. Truthfully, I kind of lost interest in metal after the late 90s. So, I started forming bands here and there where we played different genres since. But like I told you when I completed my service in the army in 2009, I somehow stumbled upon the DSBM genre by chance. It was really refreshing, as a matter of fact, it came as a shock to me. It was so different from the typical and usual Black Metal I knew back then. It deals with the theme ‘Suicide,’ which is really appealing to me because I personally support Suicide and Euthanasia. I believe it is a personal choice.
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Interviewer: But wait, I just need to ask one thing, why Kryphos as a band name?
Sane‘Kryphos,’ is originally derived from the Greek word ‘Apokryphos,’ which means ‘Hidden.’ The word ‘Apocrypha,’ in the Bible also has same originality. I think it was a fine choice for a band’s name, given the type of music we play and how DSBM is being perceived among the Black Metal scene.
Sane from Kryphos band
Sane from Kryphos
Interviewer: I see, but South Korea is not a prolific region for black metal yet you’re here standing tall. How do you manage to stay consistent, and active, and deliver brutal black metal in Seoul?
SaneWell, I think this question can be directed not only for Black Metal but Metal in general. First of all, you obviously have to really love the music you play, secondly, you also need extra money to support yourself. 
I just want to add here that there are many metal bands in Korea who tends to execute or perform good playing techniques but not as good in mixing-producing skills. This bugs me and it is something I want to look into and develop it. But no matter what, I’ll keep Kryphos alive until my desires are fulfilled.
KalteWe’re living in the 21st Century where people from different countries are connected to the Internet. So I don’t really care about regional matters. If our music doesn’t fit in with the people of Korea, then I can spread our music to people outside our nation who might like it.
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Interviewer: That’s cool! What has been the major influence for the debut album?
SaneNeedless to say, I am influenced by Nyktalgia – self-titled album and Mayhem – De Mysteris Dom Sthanas, which can be heard in the songs I wrote.
KalteI didn’t really write any songs for the album Jesus Devouring. Sane does almost everything in the progress and development of it, but I hope I could put in more for the next album. However, nowadays I’m so much into melodic, emotional stuff. So… wish me good luck!
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Interviewer: Luck is in your way, Kalte! But how’s the scene here in Seoul, South Korea?
KalteI go out a lot to attend shows and meet up with friends. The funny thing is, I see the same people in the same place every day, every day for 5 years, the same people! haha. It is a very tiny scene with nothing new surfacing up, every single show has the same line-up for many years now. But the good thing is, people are mostly very kind and nice. So it’s fine for me.
Kalte from Kryphos band
Kalte from Kryphos
Interviewer: Looks like I’ve derailed the interview on the band, I apologize. Can you explain why suicide is appealing to you, Sane?
SaneMost of the DSBM songs are about something more personal and they dig into your inner feelings, but I try to deal more with reality, like people who actually killed themselves or historical incidents. This is also a scheme to avoid general derisions over DSBM bands, which is why we’re still living since Suicide is our main idea because we sing about actual presents, not about our feelings.
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Interviewer: I see. To Kryphos, what comes first, the lyrics or the music?
SaneI get concepts first, then I make some notes. Lyrics are set up after sorting out the melodies.
KalteThe same is for me, well mostly in the order of how Sane does it.
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Interviewer: You mentioned before, a change in the line-up, what happened?
SaneExcept for me, everyone has been changed. haha, this can be a little delicate question. Kalte do you want to answer this one?
KalteWell, it seems Sane wants me to talk about Cide. Cide (ex-vocalist) was a friend of mine and there were issues involved in our friendship, as well as between him and the band. So yeah, it kind of sucks for him!
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Interviewer: All right let’s not dig deeper then. What is the core concept of the album? Can you explain the theme behind it?

SaneJesus devouring one of his Apostle. In other words, ‘Jesus fucked up his own apostles’. I think Jesus did commit suicide. He headed to Jerusalem even though he knew that he’d get killed. In Korea, people call such a thing as Suicide. The apostles who were expecting all the glory and wealth in the name of Jesus, were totally betrayed and resented by Jesus. But somehow they managed to cover it all up in the name of Christianity, and left it to posterity. This is the main concept of this album.

Jesus Devouring One of His Apostle by Kryphos album cover
Album cover of ‘Jesus Devouring One of His Apostle’ by Kryphos
Interviewer: That’s deep man. Correct me if I’m wrong but composing and improvising can be a little tricky and difficult, how do you balance it out and create a sound that people can easily recognize it’s Kryphos?
SaneI don’t really try to make it recognizable, I rather let it flow naturally as it comes. But there’s one thing I do care and I’m aware of, that is to be open-minded with the scene in Korea as well as around the world where I can try to the best of my abilities and create something that can be smoothly touched and felt with the sound of Depressive Black Metal.
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Interviewer: But please clarify something for me, I bet people out there too would want to know. It was mentioned in one website that the band’s EP Suicide Suite was allegedly destroyed by H. Navi. Can you tell us something about the incident, who is H. Navi?
SaneWho’s H. Navi? Perhaps they’re talking about Mr. Moon maybe? The story is this, we released our EP via his label. We had a dispute in between over certain matters which, I don’t know, prompted him to discard, and destroy all our copies in the end, which was very unprofessional. Fortunately, we were able to sign with Pest Production around that time, who were without a shred of doubt, incomparably nice, not like that scum out there.
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Interviewer: Surely the band has overcome that phase of an adversary. The debut album is nothing but a ferociously intense art.
SaneOur debut EP was about the suicide of Dead (Mayhem). But all of that shitty logo, album Cover, everything was just managed and decided by the label. However, for the debut album, the band itself sat and discussed what we needed to portray based on an idea of mine. That’s the difference.
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Interviewer: With that, went can we expect new materials from the band? How different would it be from the earlier record?
SaneI was influenced by Mayhem so much. It’s typical for DSBM to be at a slow pace. But this time we wanted to show that DSBM can also be fast and vicious. That we can play fast! That’s why we made many high-tempo songs in the album. It is my first time working with Kalte, I believe and I know that she did a good job to have performed with such technical vocal lines on the album.
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Interviewer: What’s in store for Kryphos in the future, any tours happening soon?
SaneWe’ve had several live requests, but we couldn’t really do any of them. We have just recently regrouped again, and at the moment we’re searching for new members who can play on live shows. I cannot guarantee though, hopefully, we’ll bring some good news on this upcoming year. Tau just recently quit the band due to his profession.
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Interviewer: But I have to ask, the vocal is so badass and raw, the consistent shrieking vocals, how do you manage and maintain this technique?
KalteWell that’s a compliment, thank you. I’m actually not that much satisfied with my vocal recordings. The problem was that last winter I underwent quite a big surgery and we decided to record it before the schedule. The gist of it was that the vocal recording was rushed. We had to give up so many things, I still think that I could do much better. I need to connect with my darker side in a deeper manner in-order to reach the apogee of vocal ingenuity that I desire, I suppose!

Interviewer: A South Korean depressive black metal band itself is beyond greatness since as you know it’s a K-pop-dominated nation. So, how does it feel to play this genre? Does society look at you any differently?
SaneIt’s more than correct to say that, all the media, labels, listeners and reviewers, none of them are interested in DSBM or any other extreme metal. I cannot even say that we exist in the same place as K-pop. Because it’s totally disconnected. Of course, in society, nobody cares. Perhaps it’s better for us to relocate to another country dominated by Christianity, ha!
KalteYes, Seriously, people here don’t really care. When I tell people about the band, 99% of people would just say, ‘Yeah? That’s awesome-‘ and that’s it. 1% would add more to it, ‘that’s kinda spooky’. haha!
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Interviewer: So, typically how are you as a person and the rest of the members aside from playing in a band? Your hobbies and talents besides music.
SaneI like the Marble series, nowadays I’m into the game ‘Future Fight.’ I like other old games also, in my free time I love playing games like the series ‘Super Robot Wars,’ or ‘Final Fantasy,’ things.
KaltePainting, Practicing the drums, Getting drunk at a party, and playing the Fallout series. These are my routine these days.
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Interviewer: Thank you, I appreciate your time talking to me. We’ve reached the end of the interview. Good luck with your future endeavours. More power to KRYPHOS! Any message to our readers?
SaneI want to thank you to everyone who likes and listens to our music. I hope we can bring more new and better music again in the future.
KalteThank you for everything. Cheers.
 
LET HEADS TILT!