Interview with doom death metal band from United Kingdom - CONSECRATION.
Answered Daniel (vocals), thank you!
Recenze/review - CONSECRATION - Exanimis (2026):
Ave CONSECRATION! Greetings to the British underground. I hope everything’s going well over there. It should be you’ve released the fourth fantastic full-length album of your career this year. I have to admit, it literally pinned me to the wall. It’s dark, energetic, and cuts like a sharp knife. It’s very clear that you’ve done a great job and brought a lot of talent to the table. How do you see the new album in relation to your previous recordings? Where did you want to take things, and in what ways do you think the recordings differ?
Hi Jakub and thank you for the interview, and also huge thanks for the amazing review you did for Exanimis recently! It is indeed going well over here – summer has arrived with a mini heat wave so we’re currently enjoying that while it lasts!
Cheers for the kind words about the new album. In relation to our previous recordings; I think Exanimis is a massive step up for us. In one way it is a natural progression from our previous album Cinis; but with a more focussed look at the song structures, so we believe it came out more consice and cohesive as a whole compared to the last record. We always take things in the direction that feels right at the time, exploring ideas that are relevant, so there is that evoultion too, but retaining what we know works and what our core sound is. The production on the new album adds so much more depth too - giving the album the tones and the overall sound it deserves, which we have been striving to acheive for years. The cavernous vibe has always been there on the past material; but this time around it has got that proper finish to it, like the cherry on top that, until now, has been missing a little... We are very, very pleased with how it has turned out and excited to hear what everybody thinks of it!
“Exanimis” embodies all the attributes of good death and doom metal. For me personally, it’s an album I love coming back to. How did it come about? How does CONSECRATION compose new material?
Thank you for that. Well it came quite naturally for us really. Following on with writing after Cinis; we just did what we always do, started coming up with ideas and seeing how they develop. This approach allows us to continue building on the foundations we already have and hone them further. We did make a conscious decision to have some of the material a bit more punchy and to the point, so to speak, as we now know what really works to make a song stand out and cut out any uneccessary fluffy bits that don’t really add much to it overall.
We feel that with the addition of Andy on guitar (who joined circa 2019 I think, after Fragilium came out) we have a formula that really works for us. So, for writing - this all starts with ideas from the guitarists, a few riffs are jammed out and they’ll see what works and anything that doesn’t goes straight in the bin. These ideas are then added to with the drums and bass. After a rough structure for a song is fleshed out, I’ll add some vocals based on how I feel the song sounds and what direction it is going in, and the guys work on adding all the leads, harmonies and all the lovely fills that really bring a song to life. We do think it is important to combine the elements of doom and death metal together in a way that suits the song, so some will have an emotional solo, some parts would focus on a brutal riff, some might be heavier, some be more poignant and bittersweet, but you know that it is still us because they will always have both elements blended together in our way in the song.
I looked it up and saw that Greg Chandler of Priory Studios handled the recording and mixing. I have to say the sound is absolutely killer. It keeps making me turn up the volume on my stereo. Greg Chandler created a sound for you that’s brutal, raw, yet dark and primal. What was it like working with him, and why him specifically? Which studio did you record in, and how did everything go?
We’ve always wanted to work with Greg, and his band Esoteric has been a huge influence on us. Esoteric was actually one of the reasons for us wanting to start a doom band in the first place, and having the opportunity to play with them on a number of occasions has been career highlights for us. Greg was also the mastering engineer on Cinis, and we knew we wanted to record with him properly. He has been fantastic to work with, a true gentleman and his knowledge and experience in what works and what doesn’t with this style of music is second to none. We went to Greg’s studio - Priory Recording in Birmingham, and the sessions were really cool. We couldnt have been in safer hands and are very pleased with how it has all turned out. Greg is a legend in every sense, and is highly recommended.
An integral part and a sort of bonus for fans today is the CD. You released it yourselves, and it features a corpse-themed cover. Who designed it? How did you choose the motif, and how does it relate to the music on the new album?
Nuclear Winter Records have produced and released the CD, Cassette and Vinyl formats. The cover artwork was created by me, as I produce all of our artwork, be that our album covers and booklets, or merchandise designs and web art. I think it’s very important to marry the lyrics and visuals together, and also to have a coherent feel across everything. I think strong artwork that suits the music is integral to any bands image.
Nuclear Winter had their own designer do the booklet layouts this time around though, whereas previously all of that would be done by me too, so it was kinda fun and nervewracking to see someone else do the internals as I have a strong idea in my head with how these should look with the cover art I did. We are very happy with how these have all turned out, they did a great job!
I always try to add parts of the lyrics to the artwork, so there will be small nods in the art to ideas or phrases in some of the songs. As with the lyrics, I like to allow the listener scope to add their own interpretation to it. As a whole, the imagery explores some ideas that are conjured up around the album title, which translates as dead or lifeless. The central female figure is kind of ghostly and ethereal, in an purgatory-esque style landscape, the arch ways are symbolic of transitioning between the living and the dead. There is also the beauty of the female form mixed with the decay in the landscape (an idea I always like playing with), so a few different ideas are running through the piece, yet are all related to death in some way.
I’ve been wandering through the underworld for over thirty years now, and when it comes to music, I always turn to Britain for a sure thing. I think we have similar dispositions and tastes when it comes to metal. I really like your bands and follow your scene closely. Maybe I even envy you a little we only have a few death metal bands back home that are worth checking out. How do you explain the fact that death doom metal is doing so well in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, and labels?
I think the support of fans, underground labels, zines, etc is what makes the scene what it is and I think that is similar irrespecitve of what country you are from. We have had such fantastic support from all over the world, not just in the UK, so are very grateful for all of that. Our fans are amazing and we wouldn’t be where we are now without them, and the support of all the people who have helped us on our journey so far. You all know who you are, so thank you! As for Death/Doom in the UK – maybe its our shitty weather that makes everybody so misearble haha.
There have been some fantastic bands from around here, some not about anymore, but yeah some of my favourites include My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Anathema, Enchantment, Decomposed, Esoteric, and some other great bands from around here to check out would be Mourning Beloveth, The Prophecy, The Crawling, Eye Of Solitude, My Silent Wake and The Drowning.
You play old-school-influenced doom death metal. These days, a band can’t really avoid comparisons, but I’d be interested to know how the idea to form CONSECRATION actually came about, who your role models were and are, and where you want to take your band? Are you tempted by big international festivals, for example? Would you be willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
We touched on Esoteric as one of the reasons for Consecration starting out earlier, so there‘s that, and we all share a love for extreme metal, be that death, black, doom, or anything else. We all have our favourite styles, and I think in some way that all goes into the Consecration melting pot – but not in any intentional or conscious way. We never set out to emulate or copy anyone, and never will. Sure there will always be times where you can go – that sounds a bit like this – but there are only so many notes you can play, at some point something will sound like something else haha. Obviously you cant deny your influences; as they do shape your preferences on what you like to hear, and therefore this affects what you like to play. We all love death metal and doom metal, especially the feelings these two in particular can evoke when combined, and the breadth of emotion and feeling you can convey in the music.
But for sure, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost really stand out, especialy for me, as personal inspirations. I love the tones, the feeling, the song writing, and the poetry in the lyrics. Aaron and Nick are such great lyricists and frontmen, and the music is just amazing. You know these songs are all done from the heart, and that makes them so much more relatable, which is something I like to think we are acheiving with our music too. Other influences for me a vocalist would be David Vincent (Morbid Angel), Ihsahn (Emperor), Glen Benton (Deicide), Karl Willets (Bolt Thrower/Memoriam), Jeff Walker (Carcass) and John Walker (Cancer)
And yes, festivals and tours we are definetly happy to play and be involved with. You have some fantastic festivals in Czechia with Brutal Assault, Obscene Extreme, Metal Fest, Symbolic, etc – so hopefully we’ll be able to play out there soon!
When I started my website ten years ago, I had a vision of trying to support bands that I felt weren’t getting much attention. To let the world know about them. I think I’m doing pretty well at it, at least judging by the feedback. How do you approach promotion? Do you leave it to the label, or do you send CDs out for reviews yourselves? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. How about you? Are you also fans who like to support your peers often? Do you go to concerts? Do you party?
We think you are doing really well and thank you for the dedictaion you are showing to the underground scenes, it’s cool to see a webzine like yours going from strength to strength!
Promotion is a joint affair; the label(s) do some, we do some, we have worked with a few PR companies in the past too, as either standalone campains or as part of whatever promtional work the label is doing. Plue we have all our social channels, and sometimes the old school handing out flyers etc. Also the promotion you guys do with your zines, interviews, podcasts and features etc go a long way in helping us out.
We all buy albums we really enjoy, and think it is more important these days to do so, even though budgets are stretched and adulting means more of your income has to go on day to day crap that you’d rather spend on music haha. Some of us have quite extensive physical collections that are still growing, mine is mainly CDs, Liam loves vinyl and CD. I have also been getting into collecting music books now too.
If a show comes up with bands we like we will try to make the effort to get there for sure, so yes we do still go to shows to watch bands – thats important to us. Our hardcore partying days are probably behind us now, but we do still like to get out there and have a laugh (and a drink)!
On the one hand, a band starting out today has plenty of ways to get their name out there, but on the other hand, there are so many bands out there that fans get lost in the crowd. A lot of people just download MP3s from the internet and, instead of going to a concert, prefer to spew venom on Facebook. How does modern technology influence you as CONSECRATION? What do you think about downloading music, Google metalists, streaming music, etc.?
I’m old school and love physical formats, as do some of the other guys. I like the way the internet and technology has allowed people to reach fans more easily and quickly, on the other hand however, I hate the way streaming and downloads have majorly affected bands; as physical formats, although still popular, can’t compete these days with easy access and oftentimes free streaming services. So its a double edged sword really. People have less disposable income too, so I don’t blame anyone for ading us to a playlist and listening for free – at the end of the day the more people our music reaches and the more people dig it, is a good thing, at the end of the day we aren’t doing this to make a living out of it, but at the same time, bands need income streams from physical products to continue making music in the first place.
I like to ask musicians what death doom metal means to them. How would they define it is it more of a philosophy and lifestyle for them, or “just” a way to relax? What does it mean to you? How do you perceive and experience it?
For me personally, it is a style that resonates deeply, it is heavy and brutal but full of real world emotion and ideas you can actually relate to. So the story driven aspect, rather than fiction like zombies and shit, hits more of a nerve if you know what I mean. Don’t get me wrong though, I love zombies and shit, horror stuff, brutal death metal, black metal and loads of other wierd shit, and sometimes write about subjects like that as well – but stuff that is truly written from the heart has more of a connection to the listener, and more of an impact, and that is what I prefer to do these days.
Finally, a classic but important question. What does CONSECRATION have planned for the coming months? Where can we see you in concert? Are you planning a European tour to promote the new album? If you have anything you’d like to say to fans, labels, or promoters, this is the place…
Not a tour as yet, watch this space, we do have some cool shows coming up though:
Our album launch show is coming up first, which is a local show here in Norwich, we have a show with Fossilization coming up later in the year, and currently 4 UK festivals, 2 of which are with Shape Of Despair, so we’re at Blastonbree, Barker’s Blastfest (Charity festival to help out Nick Barker which we are very proud to be a part of), Deadsoul Festival, and One For Sorrow Festival.
Thank you very much for the interview. I wish the new album every success and hope your fan base grows as much as possible. I look forward to seeing you live somewhere, and I wish you all the best both musically and personally. I’m going to blast “Exanimis” again!
Thank you for the great interview and I hope to catch you at a show soon and share a beer! Enjoy the album and make sure to crank it to 11!
Cheers Daniel / Vocals
about CONSECRATION on DEADLY STORM ZINE:
Recenze/review - CONSECRATION - Exanimis (2026):
CONSECRATION
Nuclear Winter Records
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