(via Metal Insider)

Canadian Industrial Metal duo The Unravelling have had quite the journey. In 2010, they released their critically acclaimed debut 13 Arcane Hymns. At what seemed like the breakthrough they had so deserved, singer Steve Moore was diagnosed with cancer, putting the band on an indefinite hiatus. During this time, instrumentalist Gustavo de Beauville became heavily involved with soundtrack work and studio production (even more extensively than he already was). Through Moore’s positive mentality, he beat cancer and rejuvenated The Unravelling as quickly as he could. The band has recently released the “Revolt” single and has begun work on their long awaited follow up to 13 Arcane Hymns. Moore and Beauville caught up with Metal Insider to talk about their struggles, salvation and their future.

The overall sound has changed drastically from 13 Arcane Hymns to “Revolt.” Why did you guys decide to take The Unravelling in that direction?

Steve Moore: Well, the sound is always evolving, and the songs themselves will be quite different from each other too. “Revolt” is one piece of the new album’s puzzle. That being said, it has changed a lot since 13 Arcane Hymns. I know that Gustavo has his own reasons for the shift (soundtrack work, more production training, etc.), but I personally think it goes a bit like this. We want to do
something visceral and direct; more moody and atmospheric than overly technically focused. That requires a sense of space in the music where most bands would tend to fill it up. On the last album we were going for a full band sound. This time we’re not. A song can sound as cinematic as we want it to…we don’t really have the trappings of trying to fit into something. The lyrics have changed significantly, and this is partially because of my own ideas and concepts changing, or falling away, over the past 5 years. There’s much less personal struggle elements. The concept of the album is more of a “destroy the self-image” than building it up in any way, and that’s affected all aspects of what I do. We just know the way we like to explore sound and are honoring that – satisfying the inner teen in us who used to wait impatiently for Columbia House to arrive! The test is always if we feel it on a deep level.

Gustavo de Beauville: After trying the traditional metal band approach and realizing how cantankerous and unprofessional the scene was I switched gears. Reality kicked in hard and made me refocus on composing music for film and video games. I started teaching myself how to incorporate orchestral instruments into songs and discovered hybrid orchestral – where composers fused classical with electronic elements. Artists that really stood out for me during this time were Two Steps from Hell (Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix), Troels Folmann, Clint Mansell, Hans Zimmer and John Murphy. These are guys that were actually earning a living with music. Trent Reznor also provided a lot of inspiration. Hence the radical shift away from drums, bass, guitars and vox to “whatever I need to craft the track”. Guitar is the instrument that I grew up playing but now I feel equally as ease using synthesizers, arpeggiators, preprogrammed beats or even a hang drum to make music.

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