Apathy Noir - Biography
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2016-
2008-2016
Biography
In 2003, Viktor was the drummer for an underground Black Metal band called Nattstrype when he felt he needed another outlet for his music.
Apathy (as it was then known) was born, with Viktor as the sole member. Viktor experimented with different styles of music, ranging from Folk music, to Blues, Rock and Metal. In 2006 Viktor found his home in Doom-tinged melodic Death Metal, drawing influences from bands such as Opeth, Katatonia, Agalloch to name a few. Other musical influences range from 70's Progressive Rock, Folk music, Black Metal and even classical music. In the spring of 2006 the EP "Cold Endless Winter" was recorded with session musicians Sebastian Laudon (then Gustafsson) on bass guitar and Vidar Wetterhall on vocals. The EP was met with raving reviews and accolades.
After a couple months of hiatus, Viktor began working on new songs for an upcoming release. In late summer of 2007 he was approached by Serge Farinas (Simbelmyne, Amidst the Withering) and collaborations were initiated. Serge added additional rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars to the songs. As on the first EP, Sebastian Gustafsson and Vidar Wetterhall were once again hired for bass guitar and vocal duties. Another guest musician, Johan Dyyk, contributed with guitar solos for two of the songs. The full-length album "A Silent Nowhere" was released in April 2008.
During late 2009 and mid-2010 Viktor found a new vocalist in Cláudio Lousada. Again, Viktor sought Serge Farinas for help, this time with bass guitar. Unfortunately, the sad reality of daily life and work obligations put the band on hold. The song written during this period remained without vocals and bass guitars.
However, in September 2011 Viktor started to patch together all the pieces from those songs and ideas that were formed years ago and in January 2012 the EP "Ghost Light" was released. Included on the EP were also three demo songs recorded in 2007-2008.
In December of 2012 work began on the follow-up to "A Silent Nowhere". Feeling re-energized and filled with fresh ideas most of the material was written by Viktor during a period of 5 months. This time around Viktor decided to handle the bass guitar himself which meant that the songs could be finished much sooner than otherwise but also giving Viktor the creative control of the bass as well. A new vocalist was also found in Philip Grüning. The new album, "Beneath The Ashen Sky" was released on October 14 2013.
In March 2014 Viktor announced that a new record was in the making. The writing and recording process had actually started in December 2013. However, in the spring of 2015, vocalist Phiip Grüning decided to leave the band. Vocal recordings had already begun and of course this was a setback for the recording process. All the songs were written and recorded, all that was left was the vocals. Luckily, friend and previous member Vidar Wetterhall (vocals on "Cold Endless Winter" and "A Silent Nowhere") was interested in rejoining the band. He came up with a lyrical concept and after a few months of test recordings, Viktor and Vidar spent the autumn and winter to lay down the vocals. Apathy Noir's third full-lenght album, "Across Dark Waters", was released on January 26, 2016.
However, only a few days after the album's release, Viktor was forced to change the name of the band due to legal issues. All released music and references to the band name had to be taken down from both online and physical stores, websites and printed goods. As a result, all albums had to be re-released under the new name and websites and aggregation services had to be informed to update their information. After all the legal work, Viktor took a short hiatus from music to focus his mind on other things, for example renovating his home on the countryside.
The hiatus was short-lived as the urge to create music was too strong to ignore. Investing in new studio gear and instruments, Viktor began writing new material with an initial goal of just releasing a single or an ep. Viktor and previous vocalist Vidar Wetterhall teamed together once again to work out a lyrical and musical concept, however this never came to fruition as Vidar decided to leave the band later in the writing process. This meant Viktor once again had to find a new vocalist. After posting an ad on the band's Facebook page, UK-based vocalist Andy Walmsley (Beyond Grace, Twilight's Embrace) showed interest in recording the vocals as well as writing the lyrics. Collaborations were started in the autumn of 2017. Vocal recordings were finished in November 2017 and final mixing and mastering were done in December 2017.
The new album is called "Black Soil" and will be released on January 31st on Digipack CD and on all major digital platforms.
Apathy (as it was then known) was born, with Viktor as the sole member. Viktor experimented with different styles of music, ranging from Folk music, to Blues, Rock and Metal. In 2006 Viktor found his home in Doom-tinged melodic Death Metal, drawing influences from bands such as Opeth, Katatonia, Agalloch to name a few. Other musical influences range from 70's Progressive Rock, Folk music, Black Metal and even classical music. In the spring of 2006 the EP "Cold Endless Winter" was recorded with session musicians Sebastian Laudon (then Gustafsson) on bass guitar and Vidar Wetterhall on vocals. The EP was met with raving reviews and accolades.
After a couple months of hiatus, Viktor began working on new songs for an upcoming release. In late summer of 2007 he was approached by Serge Farinas (Simbelmyne, Amidst the Withering) and collaborations were initiated. Serge added additional rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars to the songs. As on the first EP, Sebastian Gustafsson and Vidar Wetterhall were once again hired for bass guitar and vocal duties. Another guest musician, Johan Dyyk, contributed with guitar solos for two of the songs. The full-length album "A Silent Nowhere" was released in April 2008.
During late 2009 and mid-2010 Viktor found a new vocalist in Cláudio Lousada. Again, Viktor sought Serge Farinas for help, this time with bass guitar. Unfortunately, the sad reality of daily life and work obligations put the band on hold. The song written during this period remained without vocals and bass guitars.
However, in September 2011 Viktor started to patch together all the pieces from those songs and ideas that were formed years ago and in January 2012 the EP "Ghost Light" was released. Included on the EP were also three demo songs recorded in 2007-2008.
In December of 2012 work began on the follow-up to "A Silent Nowhere". Feeling re-energized and filled with fresh ideas most of the material was written by Viktor during a period of 5 months. This time around Viktor decided to handle the bass guitar himself which meant that the songs could be finished much sooner than otherwise but also giving Viktor the creative control of the bass as well. A new vocalist was also found in Philip Grüning. The new album, "Beneath The Ashen Sky" was released on October 14 2013.
In March 2014 Viktor announced that a new record was in the making. The writing and recording process had actually started in December 2013. However, in the spring of 2015, vocalist Phiip Grüning decided to leave the band. Vocal recordings had already begun and of course this was a setback for the recording process. All the songs were written and recorded, all that was left was the vocals. Luckily, friend and previous member Vidar Wetterhall (vocals on "Cold Endless Winter" and "A Silent Nowhere") was interested in rejoining the band. He came up with a lyrical concept and after a few months of test recordings, Viktor and Vidar spent the autumn and winter to lay down the vocals. Apathy Noir's third full-lenght album, "Across Dark Waters", was released on January 26, 2016.
However, only a few days after the album's release, Viktor was forced to change the name of the band due to legal issues. All released music and references to the band name had to be taken down from both online and physical stores, websites and printed goods. As a result, all albums had to be re-released under the new name and websites and aggregation services had to be informed to update their information. After all the legal work, Viktor took a short hiatus from music to focus his mind on other things, for example renovating his home on the countryside.
The hiatus was short-lived as the urge to create music was too strong to ignore. Investing in new studio gear and instruments, Viktor began writing new material with an initial goal of just releasing a single or an ep. Viktor and previous vocalist Vidar Wetterhall teamed together once again to work out a lyrical and musical concept, however this never came to fruition as Vidar decided to leave the band later in the writing process. This meant Viktor once again had to find a new vocalist. After posting an ad on the band's Facebook page, UK-based vocalist Andy Walmsley (Beyond Grace, Twilight's Embrace) showed interest in recording the vocals as well as writing the lyrics. Collaborations were started in the autumn of 2017. Vocal recordings were finished in November 2017 and final mixing and mastering were done in December 2017.
The new album is called "Black Soil" and will be released on January 31st on Digipack CD and on all major digital platforms.