#77 | Interview | NONE (Meditative Neofolk Swirling in Portals of Black Metal, Industrial, Noise, and Dark Ambient)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:41:30 — 232.3MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Stitcher | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | RSS | The Full List of Platforms We Exist On

NONE is a sweltering albeit meditative amalgamation of neofolk, black metal, dark ambient, harsh noise, and pangs of industrial thrums, sometimes lacerated by harrowing shrieks. Helmed by Nicholas, who resides somewhere in California, NONE was originally founded as an acoustic duo between himself and a close friend of his. However, the dual effort fell through as time passed along, and instead of halting the project and not having it develop to fruition, Nicholas took it upon himself to carry NONE forward.

This project contrasts tonally against Nicholas’s other endeavors, some of which include a death metal outfit named Plague Phalanx, a black metal project named Awakened Abyss, and Thangorodrim, an occult rock project. Above all though, the starkest contrast of NONE relative to his other endeavors is that he’s going at this one alone. In October of 2017, NONE made its debut with a hypnotic, and at times, brooding single titled “When the End Will Come”. And several months later, in May of 2018, NONE’s debut EP, Infernal Temples of the Meditant was cast into the ether.

It is this EP where I first learned of NONE and when it first struck my ears, I was rather perplexed by the natural coagulation of seemingly disparate genres and tones. A passage of dark ambient led me through a portal toward this looping acoustic neofolk riff, which lulled me into a serene trance as each strum flickered like candle light in an engulfing blank space. And as the blackened ambience tumefied, stifling the still air, industrial throes cracked and writhed, conjuring malefic tension as the guitar matched its mechanical stride. It left quite the indelible impression on me as it’s a sound I’ve not really heard elsewhere and the realms it transported me to were vibrant, yet harrowing.

In this conversation, Nicholas discusses the blend of genres, feelings, and energy comprising NONE. He goes into his writing process, what the project represents for him personally, his latest single titled “Battlefields”, and how he sees it developing in 2019 and beyond. He also divulges the intriguing notion that NONE is more than just the name of his project and his stage name, but a deity of his own construction. Thank you so much for listening.