The Unofficial Utopia returns with Nocturne Secrecy, a darker, heavier evolution. Blending progressive and thrash metal, the album confronts genocide, sexual violence, and corruption with fearless honesty and raw intensity.
1. Your debut album, Realitized
Fiction, explored mental health and addiction. With Nocturne Secrecy, you’ve
delved into even darker topics like political genocide and sexual violence.
What inspired this shift, and how did you approach writing such heavy subject
matter?
I
think lyrics and music come from what you observe and experience. The current
scenario of the whole world is absolutely a mess. There is war all around,
fascists are manipulating the entire world in the name of religion, money,
status, and whatnot, and there is an increasing amount of crimes going on the
streets. Recently, a medical student was heinously raped and murdered in the
city I live in, and the criminals are still out walking the streets. It
just seems like society as a whole is on the verge of collapse. You can’t
really turn your eyes away from these, can you? That’s where the whole
inspiration comes from.
2. The
album’s sound combines progressive, thrash, and extreme metal. How did you
decide on this particular sonic direction for Nocturne Secrecy?
I think we
were already having some thoughts about adding a progressive edge to our
identity because progressive music allows you to be free and explore much more
detailed sections of human emotions, musically. I was exploring new music, and
Scorcher was listening to a lot of Thrash Metal music at that point. He came up
with a couple of songs, with riffs and lyrics, and I immediately knew the
direction this was going. I had a few lyrics that I wrote long back, and I
thought, let’s do this, let’s turn these into songs. Now, at various points in
my life, I have written various things. These lyrics just happened to have come
out at the moments I questioned society the most. These lyrics were dark and
provocative in a way. We used some progressive stuff in these songs along with
heavy thrash metal influences. We didn’t just want to say that we were angry.
We wanted to say that we were angry about some very particular things, and
Progressive helped us clarify that message.
3. The
themes of innocence versus corruption run throughout the album and artwork. Can
you explain how you translated these abstract ideas into music and visuals?
Nocturne
Secrecy is an album that asks questions. You see, every crime starts at a very
individual level. The world is a shitty place now, but no one is actually born
bad. And if that’s not the case, then what is the exact point when innocence
turns into corruption? This idea has been the centrepiece, around which the
songs were written, talking about extremes of human behaviour.
4. Each track has a distinct
identity, from “Screams (Intro)” to “Nocturne Secrecy.” Which song was the most
challenging to write, and why?
I think
Nocturne Secrecy was the most challenging song to write. One of the major
reasons was that this song didn’t follow a conventional structure. This song
was also the finale of the album; therefore, it had to kind of capture the
essence of the whole album in it and at the same time stand out as an
individual piece of music. That’s the reason this song had us thinking the most
while composing it.
5. Many
bands shy away from addressing topics like sexual abuse or political warfare.
How do you balance the need for honest expression with the sensitivity of these
issues?
It is actually true that a lot of bands nowadays are hesitant to write about sensitive topics. But I have no clue why. When did metal become such a submissive genre and start caring about whether or not the songs are hurting people’s sentiments? Things are going on all around us, and they need to be talked about. As much as I know about Rock Music, it has served the purpose of speaking out facts. That is exactly what we did here. We spoke about what we saw.
6. Progressive
and extreme metal can be very technical. How did the band approach the
songwriting process to make sure the music remained emotionally impactful?
I think
songwriting always has some degree of technicality associated with it. Be it
any kind of song. Emotions are reflected best when the technicality is used in
the right places and at the right times, and I think that is exactly what we
tried to do in this album. When the album comes out and when you listen to it,
you’ll find that there is a balance of technicality and emotions in every song.
We didn’t force ourselves to be massively technical. We didn’t have to prove
anything to anybody.
7. You’ve
mentioned that the album is dramatically different from your debut. How do you
feel your sound and approach have evolved since Realitized Fiction?
I won’t
really say that it has already evolved. The best way to describe it would be
that it is still evolving. We wrote Realitized Fiction when we were university
students. The point of view toward the world was different. As we
approached Nocturne Secrecy, our second album, we looked
around and felt that we couldn’t possibly narrate the present worldview in a
softer tone. There is a lot going on in the world if you see, and we were kind
of angry and pissed off. One more thing was that we never wanted to be limited
by the prejudices of subgenres. I think artistic expression should be free in
its own way.
8. Nocturne
Secrecy has only six tracks, but each is packed with intensity. How did you
decide on this tracklist, and what was your goal for the album’s flow?
The main
theme of the album is to portray the point where innocence turns into
corruption. The violence and the absurdity that the human mind is capable of
can be hidden from conversations by being politically correct. But it can never
stop the crimes from happening. When we were composing the tracks, we were very
sure about what we are looking forward to and how we want to deliver the
message. If you listen to the entire album when it comes out, you’ll find
multiple dramatic shifts in the sound, and I think that creates the perfect
balance. The album was constructed with the aggression of thrash metal and the
expressiveness of progressive rock.
9. Global
support from your debut helped push you forward. How have your fans reacted to
this new, darker direction, and has it influenced your creative decisions?
To be
honest, we have been faced with many questions about the sudden change in the
sound. The listeners of our debut album were confused to a certain extent when
we performed the songs live. But the best part was that they connected to this
sound as well. They did have questions, and we answered them every single time
someone asked those, because I think we owe that answer to them. I am looking
forward to the global audience being just as understanding and supportive this
time as well. I am sure they will show the same support to us, if not, even
more. Our listeners are brilliant people and are very much aware of the message
that we want to deliver.
10. Looking
forward, what do you hope listeners take away from Nocturne Secrecy — both
musically and thematically?
Musically
speaking, this album is an amalgamation of thrash and progressive metal. There
are various sections in each of the songs that are crafted in a very articulate
manner. The riffs, the solos, the lyrics, the vocals and the slight hints of
symphony are bound to keep them engaged throughout the songs. Thematically,
this album deals with the horrors of human actions. We don’t want to take
specific sides here. In our future works, we will, but for now, we are just
looking forward to letting people know what exists and is often not discussed.
We have seen multiple posts about the children of Gaza, the children of
Palestine, the sudden conflict between India and Pakistan, the terror attacks,
and the list goes on. But we sometimes fail to talk about where this mindset
originates from. What makes human beings such pathetic creatures, and what
triggers their lust for blood? We fail to talk about the rapists that roam free
on the streets, the paedophiles who take advantage of little children. These
happen every single day on this planet, and I think it’s high time music stops
being so politically correct and starts spitting truth on the face.
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