Exclusive Interview: Eftboren talk writing and recording their self titled EP!

As Black Metal duo Eftboren wander down the left hand path they have stumbled across a world of Shoegazing psychedelia infused Post-Metal with claustrophobically bleak psychological horror abandon and Sludge Metal guitar tones. Their cryptic writings await with a self titled EP born of their musings, a nod to the ancient warriors of the old guard while exploring new uncharted territory. Our second conversation with the band finds us discussing everything from gear to song writing and it went something like this…

How did your previous experiences writing and recording help to smooth the path of the new record?

W: “We originally recorded our rehearsals via a Tascam DR-40 Portable Recorder, and spent at least 3 years (including the pandemic) writing and getting ready to record the EP. We did a pre-production session with Sam at Sound Sanctum Studio in the summer of 2021 and recorded the EP over 3 days in November 2021. Everything was recorded with both of us playing together for the full takes. E did extra guitars, bass and vocals on a separate occasion. We spent the majority of 2022 going back and forth on the mixing and mastering. Sam was incredibly patient with us as we were very picky”

E: “It’s been in the works quite a long time, and considering it was the first time that only the two of us have properly written and recorded something together we wanted everything to be just right. We knew that once we had the songs fully finalised we had to practice them over and over again to ensure no time got wasted in the studio”

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?

W: “E comes to me with a riff or melody and we jam it to flesh it out. Other sections can come from rhythms or grooves. For example, in ‘Treespell’ the middle section came about by me playing a 6/8 groove when we were jamming the original riff”

E: “I’ll normally start with a riff, bring it to W and see how things evolve from there. While we piece it together instrumentally I try to see if the music evokes any lyrical themes. Frustratingly, the lyrics seem to take forever for me to do. So they’re always the final piece to add. We iron a track out over a period of time until we feel it’s ready. Unfortunately I’m not a song writing factory, but I’d much rather spend more time working on a song until we’re 100% satisfied with it, rather than scrambling to compose something quickly in order to just fill up space in an album’s track list. At the end of the day it’s more about the quality over the quantity”

What was it like working with producer Sam Chatt (Young Ghosts, Scumgod, Goliath) at Sound Sanctum Studio for the EP?

W: “An absolute dream, Sam is great to work with and I fully recommend him to anyone who needs any form of recording service”

E: “Fantastic! Sam is an awesome producer and a lovely chap, from the moment we met with him to discuss recording we just knew he was the right guy. From the start, we were determined to give the tracks a very raw ‘live in the rehearsal room’ feel and Sam really helped us to bring across that vision without things sounding too polished…this is supposed to be evil sounding, dark, heavy music played by human beings after all! So much of metal these days is manufactured to be perfectly in time, snapped to a digital grid and it just doesn’t really appeal to me. Sam added a few well-placed subtle effects here and there and even joined in with some guest vocals, well… I say vocals, he can be heard screaming a word (on ‘Devoured by Saturn’) but that still counts! Anyway, I can’t wait to work with him again. We both can’t recommend Sam and his Sound Sanctum Studio enough!”

If you had the opportunity to work with a guest in the studio next time around, who would you like to work with and why?

W: “Old Tower. To make the most bizarre and sonically bleak collaboration possible!”

E: “From The Bogs of Aughiska because to me they are currently one of the most exciting projects on offer. But of course we’ll have to see. I can’t really say at this moment in time…”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound?

W: “Like most drummers that aren’t endorsed, I use whatever I can get for the best price haha!

Drums:

Pearl ELX: Birch drum kit, 22” bass drum, 12’ and 16’ toms.

13”6.5 Mapex maple M series snare

Cymbals:

Zildjian Sweet crash 18’

Zildjian K ride 20” 

Zildjian a custom china 18”

Zildjian K Hybrid custom china 19”

Istnabul 14” Power hi hat

Murat Diril 17” Lumineer crash 

Pedals:

Tama iron cobra rolling glide double pedal 

Mixed hardware: 

Tama hi hat, snare stand and Gibraltar stands”

E: “I play a Fernandes Monterey (Les Paul shape) guitar equipped with Seymour Duncan passive pickups and Ernie Ball ‘Not Even Slinky’ 12-56 gauge strings. My current amplifier is a Laney GH50L stack. At the moment for Eftboren I utilise three pedals: an Ibanez Smash Box SM7 Distortion, a Boss RV6 Reverb and an Electro Harmonix Freeze Sound Retainer”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer?

W: “That would be glorious, it would make a huge difference to what I could afford to get. I’m a firm believer of a good tradesman never blames his tools, especially given the current outrageous prices of said gear”

E: “It would be huge! Right now I certainly wouldn’t say no to an endorsement from Laney or some other loud amplifier company and perhaps some kind of home studio equipment. Obviously I’m not holding out for that to happen anytime soon, but it’s definitely a nice thought!”

“Self Titled” by Eftboren is out now and available over at bandcamp