Exclusive Interview: Aeffect talk “Theory Of Mind”!

Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Buster Odeholm (Humanity’s Last Breath, Vildhjarta, Reflections) who brought his signature monstrous tone creation to the party, “Theory Of Mind” is the first burnt offering from gargantuan beast Aeffect. A project rising like a phoenix from the ashes of previous bands by multi instrumentalist and vocalist Mark Broster who brought drummer Mike Pitman along for the ride, it offers bleak dissonant down-tuned guitars as the pair forge the darkest kind of Progressive Technical Metal. Here’s the first of two exclusive interviews with Broster about how it all happened…

Having exited Sarpanitum in 2010 and Xerath in 2016 respectively, what brought Mark Broster and Mike Pitman together to produce the beast that is “Theory Of Mind“? “I originally wrote and demo’d Theory of Mind with programmed drums, but always had the intention of recording with a live drummer. When the writing was sufficiently mature, I had a small list of drummers that I thought would fit the style. I didn’t know Mike, but got in touch with him as I knew his work in Xerath (they played Meshuggah-infused symphonic metal).

Mike has a full-time job as a computer game score composer, but does some session drumming on the side. I sent across the demo tracks and Mike was available and into the music – it worked itself out pretty quickly really. We made some minor changes to a couple of tracks, but I really just wanted someone who could ‘humanise’ the drums I had programmed. I think my request to Mike was to play it mechanically, but with the ‘embellishments’ to bring some groove and feel”

The album is like a page turning horror story, so gripping you can’t put it down despite the urge to look away. You shared a demo in March 2022, 14 months before the album release but just how long did it take to write the record and make the nightmare a reality? “That’s a nice comparison! It’s funny looking back at it. I’m not really operating Aeffect as a traditional band – it’s really a passion project. I’ve not been driven by timelines or external influence, so have just worked at a pace that felt natural. The two tracks on the demo were always going to be part of the full-length debut, but I wanted to put a demo out to gain a bit of exposure and also to demystify a whole bunch of stuff that I needed to do to self-release (marketing, social media, digital distribution, album artwork etc). It’s been a bit of a slog!

While Theory of Mind isn’t a concept album, it’s definitely been a natural creative evolution, rather than a conventionally structured composition. I mapped out the themes and images I wanted to conjure and built the songs from there. The tracks were almost entirely written as single end-to-end compositions, rather than compiling a bunch of riffs together, though there were naturally edits and restructures throughout the process. We actually recorded the drums in May 2022 – so over a year before the album release. I tracked the rest of the instruments and vocals at home, which took quite a long time due to other life commitments and also trying to get the right level of performance. I also edited everything before sending across to Buster to do the production side – lot’s of learning on the job!”

Did you find creating the punishing journey through notions of ambition, purpose, legacy, exploitation, neglect and despair a cathartic one? How do you look back on the process now? “From my perspective, the lyrics and concepts within them are there to serve a purpose. My intention was to guide the listener and reinforce the overall aesthetic and mood I was trying to create. I arrived at the album title ‘Theory of Mind’ because I kept on coming back to how humankind internalises what is going on around them. Experience, perspective, desire, fear, even technology: they all colour how we interpret the world around us. I was keen not to stray too far into specifics with the lyrics, so was conscious not to push any political or social agenda”

If we are made up of our genes and our influences, what is in your jeans and who would you consider your influences? “I think a lot of my influence comes from trying to create a mood, rather than the specifics of the topics being addressed. I’m quite drawn to things with an oppressive atmosphere: movies, architecture, music, books etc. A few references I had when thinking about the themes in Theory of Mind were Cormac McCarthy’s book ‘The Road’, the movie ‘Prisoners’ and the TV-series ‘Chernobyl’. I feel compelled to mention the score-composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who sadly passed away in 2018. His music was absolutely the soundtrack to my creative process – anyone who likes music to induce feelings of existential dread should check him out!

Of course, all the above is filtered through twenty-five years of listening to all sorts of metal music. I’ve had phases of being into almost every metal sub-genre, but certain bands have stuck with me. I’m very aware of certain albums that I’ve drawn from for Theory of Mind: Meshuggah – Nothing, Mayhem – Chimera, Immolation –
Close to a World Below” 

As the album is the work of two musicians alone, do you have any plans to flesh the band out for live shows or do you consider this a labour of love and a pure studio project at this stage? “The dream is to take these songs into a live setting. However, there are currently no plans to do so. My focus has been solely on delivering the album. There is a lot of investment and practicalities in assembling a live line-up and achieving a compelling live experience. Perhaps, once the album is out, I will be able to shift my focus, but for now, I’ll take it one step at a time”

What’s next for Aeffect? “I’m really excited to see how Theory of Mind lands with listeners. I plan to invest some time and effort in promoting the album. I’ve been busy working on a couple of video’s and some social media content, but that’s more through modern necessity than anything. Interviews like this are really valuable and interesting to do, so I’d like to that you at Metal Noise for the opportunity. The catalyst for writing Theory of Mind was an image in my head, which was subsequently turned into the cover artwork. I’ve recently had a new image in my head for a second album, so time will tell how it manifests itself”

“Theory Of Mind” by Aeffect is out now and available over at bandcamp.