Bridging
Australia and Sweden, Absent Light Arena forge a cinematic, emotionally charged
blend of modern heaviness and 2000s-inspired metal, channeling real-life
pressure, resilience, and raw honesty into their evolving sound.
1. Your
project bridges Australia and Sweden. How does working across two continents
influence the creative chemistry between you both?
Aaron:
Jason and I worked together on a few projects when he was still in Australia,
but since he moved to Sweden, he has really sharpened his craft. Jason comes in
with a strong vision for how the instrumental should feel, then gives me room
to experiment and find the vocal ideas that sit on top of it. We are in
constant contact, trading demos and notes until we land on something we both
still want to listen to weeks later. The distance actually makes us more
deliberate, because anything we send each other has already been thought
through, and every change has a purpose. As long-time friends, there is a good
push and pull. Jason is a high-level perfectionist, and I help keep him open to
different ideas and rougher textures. On the flip side, I can sometimes settle
too early, and he is the one who pushes me to dig deeper and lift the
performance. That balance is a big part of why the songs end up feeling tight
but still human.
2. Absent
Light Arena blends early 2000s alternative metal hooks with modern
post-hardcore heaviness. What made that mix feel like the foundation of your
identity?
Jason: That
era of metal is what pulled both Aaron and me into music in the first place.
Those were the years I started learning guitar and Aaron was finding that
intense vocal sound he has now. Because it was the spark for both of us, and
still a sound we genuinely enjoy, it became our foundation quite naturally
rather than as some planned concept. We never sat down and said, “Let’s box
ourselves into this exact style.” You can hear a lot of different influences
across the tracks. But Aaron’s vocal approach and the way I write guitar parts
keep pulling everything back into that early 2000s alternative metal and post
hardcore space, just with a more modern edge. That mix is why all the
variations still feel like the same band.
3. Your
songs often explore burnout, self-doubt, and rebuilding. When you write about
these themes, what helps you translate intense emotions into something
empowering rather than overwhelming?
Aaron: I
want to write about things people live through, and most of that is not
isolated, so I write what I know. Sometimes that lands as empowering, but I
would be lying if I said it never feels overwhelming. Dominoes came out of a
period where I was really struggling financially. I was angry at how insulated
some C-suite executives are from the consequences everyone else copes with, and
I was scared about what my own future might look like. I do not think I am
alone in that headspace. The way I keep it from just being a wall of negativity
is by channelling those thoughts and feelings into structure, melody and
movement. If I can take that intensity and shape it into something that hits
hard but still carries a sense of push or fight, then it becomes more than just
venting. Hopefully that honesty comes through in the lyrics and the sound, so
listeners feel a genuine experience they can relate to.
4. Jason, as the composer and producer, how do you balance cinematic atmosphere with the tight, punchy metal elements that define your sound?
Jason: For me it’s about making the cinematic elements support the emotion of
the song rather than sitting on top of the mix. I start by building the
atmosphere with textures, pads, and sound design layers so I know the mood I’m
aiming for. From there, I intentionally write the heavy and atmospheric parts
to work together. I like to treat the orchestration as something that comes in
waves when the song needs it, so each swell lands with maximum emotional
impact. By treating everything as part of the same story, I can shape a
dynamic, cinematic flow that still lets the guitars and drums hit as hard as
they need to when the moment calls for it.
5. Aaron,
your vocal delivery is deliberately raw and upfront. What guides the emotional
tone you bring to each track?
Aaron: I
think the best tracks are the ones where you can actually hear the singer
feeling something, not just hitting the notes. When Jason sends me the
instrumentation, I sit with it and listen to what the music is saying. Is it
uplifting, is it tense, is it angry, is it worn out? From there, I line that
feeling up with the theme of the song and pull-on real moments from my own life
that match it. My job is to make sure the vocal and the instrumentation feel
like one story, and to facilitate that I lean into whatever emotion fits that
track.
6. Your
upcoming single “Duat” leans into a heavier, more progressive direction. What
new techniques or influences did you explore on this song?
Jason: I
have always been drawn to Egyptian sounds, but Duat is the first time I really
let it steer a whole track. It all started with the horn line that opens the
song. Once I had that motif, I pretty much built everything out from there,
using its phrasing and tension as the backbone for the riffs and drum accents.
The guitars are more syncopated and stop–start on this one. I wanted the riffs
to feel like scarabs running across sand, short fast bursts with sudden changes
of direction rather than a straight chug. That pushed me into tighter, more
progressive rhythms and made the whole thing feel more restless and cinematic.
Influence wise, it is a mix of heavier modern prog, cinematic scoring and those
darker Egyptian-flavoured scales I have always enjoyed exploring. Once Aaron
heard where it was going, he pulled it together conceptually with lyrics about
the Egyptian afterlife and the journey through the Duat, so the vocal lines sit
right inside the world the music is hinting at.
7. Falling Where the Stars
Fade is described as your most radio-friendly track. How do you approach
writing something accessible while keeping the core intensity of your sound?
Aaron: For
me the contrast between Falling Where the Stars Fade and Sky Cities explains it
pretty well. Sky Cities lyrics are some of my favourites because it is loaded
with symbolism and little clever turns of phrase. It rewards you the more you
sit with it. With Falling Where the Stars Fade we deliberately pivoted away
from that and aimed for something more immediate. The lyrics are still honest,
but they are more literal and feeling based, less coded. It is about getting
straight to the emotion rather than hiding it inside layers of imagery. In
terms of keeping our core intensity, that lives in the way we use choruses,
vocal delivery and guitars. Even on a more accessible track, the chorus still
has weight, the guitars still hit hard, and I am still pushing my voice right
to that edge where it feels urgent.
8. Absent
Light Arena’s songs often deal with pressure, expectations, and the challenge
of pushing forward. How do your personal experiences influence that narrative?
Aaron: A lot of that pressure and expectation is just real-life bleeding into
the songs. I am in my late thirties, juggling a career, family, and this band,
and the same is true for Jason. There is this constant pull between being
responsible, doing the adult things, and still feeling like you are running out
of time to do the things that light you up. That tension is where a lot of our
narrative sits. I have had periods of burnout, money stress, and feeling like I
am falling short of my own standards. Those experiences shape how I write. The
characters in our songs are usually people who are under the pump but still
trying to move, even if it is just one step, as I am interested in showing that
you can be exhausted, angry or scared and still push forward a little. So my
personal experience influences the tone in that way. That is why the songs lean
into struggle, but they do not stay stuck there, there is always a hint of
movement or fight left in the narration.
9. Tracks
like “Dominoes” and “Fatal Service” seem to explore social frustration and
power imbalance. What inspires you to tackle those themes in a heavy music
context?
Aaron: For
me it always starts with what the music is asking for. I hear the mood in the
riffs and drums, then I go looking for the kind of anger or frustration that
fits that sound. With Dominoes, that drum groove just slams. It made me want to
bang my head and it felt like standing in a crowd that has had enough. So the
lyrics naturally went into that space, social frustration, inequality, feeling
like the people at the bottom keep getting knocked over so the people at the
top stay comfortable. Fatal Service is different. The opening feels monotonous
and grinding, like being stuck in a system that never changes. To me it sounded
like being a number in a call queue or a cog in a machine, so the lyrics lean
into that, hinting that we are all working inside bigger structures that we do
not see, controlled by people we never meet. There are nods to secret societies
and unseen boards pulling strings, but it is more about that trapped feeling.
Heavy music is the right context for these themes, the intensity, the distortion,
and the weight give you a proper vehicle to share that message. You can be
loud, critical, and emotional without sanding it down, and hopefully listeners
who feel the same pressure can scream it out with you instead of just
swallowing it.
10. Looking
ahead, what do you hope listeners feel when they hear the full range of your
upcoming releases—from the anthemic moments to the darker, heavier passages?
Aaron:
Across the whole set of releases, I want people to feel like they are not on
their own in whatever they are carrying. When the more anthemic moments hit, I
want that rush where you catch yourself singing along in the car or at the gym,
almost before you have fully clocked what the lyrics are saying. And with the
darker, heavier passages, I hope it gives people a place to park some of the
uglier feelings, a safe space to vent and feel heard.
Jason: We are genuinely proud of what we have made, but we would be lying if we said we did not care whether people relate to it. The goal is that on the first listen it just feels good and hits hard, and if you enjoy it, on the fifth or tenth listen you start catching lines and layers that are new and unique. If someone can move from cathartic scream along, to reflection, to finding their own meaning in the songs over time, then we have done what we set out to do.
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