Interview with Hangsvart Phobophage by Daniel Ryan

Interview with Hangsvart Phobophage by Daniel Ryan

How long have you been making music for?

I started to play bass in 2007 (I was 16) and quickly extended to the guitar. I started to sing soon after. I never took any lessons and learnt bass/guitar and singing on my own. I quickly started to compose my own songs as the bands I was listening to were too underground and extreme to find any tabs.

What is your favorite instrument to play on?

I tried 6, 7 and 8 string guitars and 4 and 5 string basses but I definitely prefer 8 string guitars. Even if I don't shred and that I am not really interested in solo. I also love to play the Mongolian ancestral flute Tsuur.

What acts have you played with before if any?

Beside my solo projects and the bands I have been paid to sing for, I was the singer in Arrant Saudade, Restless and Ancient Lament. The three of them are not active anymore. I helped the band Scorched Earth to start in Toulouse, France, a small local band of Death Metal, as their singer, but I left for personal reasons. I did one album with a friend under the name We Hate You Too, as the singer. I sang a few times for the band Vmthanaachth, as a guest.

If you had to layout all the bands in order you played in as a timeline what would they be?

2013 - Hangvart (solo project)

2013/still active - Abysmal Growls of Despair (solo project)

2014/2015 - Ancient Lament (singer)

2015 - Arrant Saudade (singer)

2015/2016 - Plagueprayer (solo project)

2015/2016 - Ursus Horribilis (solo project)

2015/2017 - Catacombed (solo project)

2016/2018 - Scorched Earth (singer)

2017 - Restless (singer)

2017 - We Hate You Too (singer)

Last album being: Inearthed - Abysmal Growls of Despair - 2024

What is the coolest experience you have had as a musician?

My coolest experience was definitely being the main singer for the Kontakt library Omen - Ritual Voices & War Chants by Silence + Other Sounds. You can check it out here.

What inspires you to keep doing what you do?

I have a need to put into music my inner world. That has always been the big thing behind all my different projects.

If you had to name some influences what would they be? I am inspired by ancient spirituality and ancient wisdom; by the horror of Mankind and by high fantasy and fantastic worlds.

I am influenced by bands like Funeral Moth, Comatose Vigil, Sunn O))), Shape of Despair, The Howling Void, Catacombs, Hate Forest, Amenra, Siebenburgen, Behemoth, Suffocation, Devangelic, Beastcraft, Earth, Immolation, many classical composers and soundtracks... And by authors like HP Lovecraft, Beckett, Tolkien, Steven Erikson...

What is your favorite venue you been to or played in?

I have not done many concerts as most of my bands are solo projects or online bands. I have only played in venues in and around Toulouse, France, in 2016 and 2017 mainly. Mostly with Scorched Earth, but also a few alone and one or two for We Hate You Too.

To sum up this interview, which website can we find your latest music and any shout outs to anyone for the readers of Asphyxium zine?

You can listen to Abysmal Growls of Despair in my Bandcamp as well as on any streaming platform (Spotify, Deezer, Apple, Youtube and such). Thanks for the questions and having me in your zine!

-Daniel Ryan