Exclusive Interview: Godeater talk writing and recording “Alvorecer”!

At the end of November Glasgow Technical Death Metal act Godeater presented us with their first new material in three years in EP “Alvorecer”. Joining them in the studio for the first time was vocalist Jamie Harrison, a man known for his work in The Argent Dawn, Nexilva and Sleep Inertia and it seems to be a match made in heaven. We spoke to guitarist Ross Beagan about what went into writing and recording the new record and the conversation went something like this…

How did your previous experiences writing and recording help to smooth the path for EP “Alvorecer”? “I did a lot more instrumental pre-production this time round! I’ve normally just written in guitar tab software/midi and done a few demos along the way to let people hear how things are coming together, but I actually wrote EVERYTHING in my DAW This time and recorded a version as I went along. Jamie really hates the whole midi thing, so I put in some extra hours to get really high-quality demos together before we recorded the final takes and put vocals on there. Only real downside is that I then had to go back and relearn everything by ear to then tab it out for playing live!”

How does the writing process of a new track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? How does it evolve from there before you consider it the finished article? “Honestly, it could be anything at this point! I sometimes come up with individual riffs/sections and workshop some general sounds/ideas, but I tend to put more of a focus into the overall picture of a song that I want or maybe feel that a release is missing – should it be fast, slow, heavy, softer… then I start building the riffs and the arrangement from there! I’m not very good at working on one single song, I’ve always found myself working within the framework of a bigger release and seeing how all the songs fit together. It’s a bit Charlie Kelly in the mailroom really…”

Even in the digital age, we still believe the first bite is with the eye so who was responsible for the cover work of “Alvorecer” and what made you choose them? “I guess we wanted something really grim/chilling to match the vibe of the music. I really like more visual/photographic/design-based artwork over some of the more “fine art” covers you see in the genre, so that helped push us in that direction again.

Honestly, we were sort of struggling to find someone to fit the vibe, budget and timescale we were working to, so we ended up making the artwork in-house in a combined effort from myself and Jamie! He had all these cool photos from a trip to Canada, I edited/distorted them and came up with the layout. Even though we haven’t printed any physical copies for Alvorecer, there is a full booklet with lyrics etc that turned out real sick!”

If you could have a guest on board next time around, who would you like to work with in the studio? “I’d absolutely love to get Susanne Sundfør in to do some spooky ethereal vocals. I’ve had a lot of fun getting Andy [Macdonald, guitarist and backing vocalist] to become a little make-shift choir on some new songs we’ve been working on, but I absolutely adore her voice, so would love to get that on there somewhere!”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “Andy dabbles with different bits and pieces, but I’m loyal to the Ibanez Guitars x EMG Pickups combo. No endorsement, they’re just the guitars that worked the best for me and feel right in my hands. We tracked all the rhythms for the EP on my RGR565 and I did all the solos/cleans on an old white RG560 from the 90s.

Amps, we’re in the digital realm now and I can’t really see us going back. Andy’s running an Axe-FX II and I’m running a Kemper Profiler. We keep it pretty simple, no crazy tone switching, just your basic rhythm/tight rhythm/lead/atmospheric/clean tones.

Strings, D’Addario NYXL 13-56, the set with the 4^th wound string.

Picks, Dunlop Tortex or the Tortex XL Jazz 3s, the green or the purple ones.”

What difference would it make to you if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer? “I guess it really comes down to artist support – what can a company do to help the creative process or the touring side of things? An endorsement with a company for strings/picks would go a long way, we burn through both really fast because you always need fresh strings and picks sound the best, so anything to lighten the financial load of that would be welcome!

Access to a custom or mod shop for some guitars would be nice though, but that’s not quite as essential!”

“Alvorecer” by Godeater is out 28th November 2025 with merch available here.