Somewhere between death metal and black metal lies Vyr Muk. This is the one-man project of Vladyslav Blizniuk, a Ukrainian multi-instrumentalist who, in collaboration with various Ukrainian vocalists, delivers the sophomore Vyr Muk album titled “Chants of the Tenebrous Depths”. Living through the bleak darkness and the inhuman horror of war, Vyr Muk creates exquisite blackened death metal that will make a strong impression on fans of the extreme metal sound. Myth of Rock, having discovered the tremendous talent of Vladyslav Blizniuk, spoke with him and now shares with you everything that was discussed between the two sides.
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
Give us a short biography of Vyr Muk.
Vyr Muk is my musical project, that’s originates in Kharkiv, Ukraine and which debuted in 2023. The project works in the genres of black/death metal with some symphonic vibes and ambient, with a focus on dark, deep themes.
What does Vyr Muk mean?
These are two Ukrainian words that translate as “Whirlpool of Torment” which, in my opinion, fits very well with the themes covered in my music.
How are you feeling now that the album (“Chants of the Tenebrous Depths”) is finally out?
To be honest I`m very happy with it. It took lots of effort and time. The real struggle was to make every single voice to sound more or less similar with others, because everyone recorded themselves with different equipment and in different conditions.
Why did you choose “Chants of the Tenebrous Depths” as the title?
Because the album focuses on deep dark themes and because chants are usually performed collectively, since there are 9 participants on this album it’s a collective work.
What was the first idea or emotion that triggered this album?
The one and only trigger for all my music is war that is now happening in my homeland, this album is not an exception.
Does Vyr Muk feel more like death metal or black metal to you — or is it 50/50?
Now I would say it’s 50/50, but my music is starting moving closer to death metal, I guess.
How do you approach writing riffs when you work completely alone?
First, I usually start with guitar riff, in most of the cases I just jam and record the riff if I like it. Sometimes the whole idea of riff sound appears in my mind and if my guitar is near me at this moment I try to record it. Then I try to apply some simple drums just to find some suitable groove. In such way I make a skeleton of the song, after that I try to make the drum part more complex and interesting, after that I rerecord all guitar parts and bass parts, write text to the song and record the vocals.
What role do the lyrics play in your music? Do they come first or the sound?
First come the instrumental part itself, after that I choose one typical idea/topic that I want to be expressed in my lyrics. Most of my lyrics is dedicated to war, struggle or some other negative events related to war. On this album most of the lyrics was written by the vocalists themselves, so topics are a little bit different.
You play every instrument — which one do you enjoy the most while recording?
I play guitar, bass and keyboard, drums are midi programed, all orchestral parts are played by me on the midi keyboard.
The album uses flute — where did that idea come from?
My good friend Yevhen Tankovskyi plays flute, and we decided to collaborate for one song on this album and after the main instrumental demo was done he composed and recorded his part of live flute that suited perfectly into the song.
How does the current situation in Ukraine influence your creative process?
Since I live in Kharkiv and the city is 30 km away from the frontline, it influences me on the everyday basis. Also I serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so I am involved in this on professional level as well.
Is music your way to escape the war, or to scream back at it?
I think its both, during creation process I distract myself form this and dive deep into the creative process, but at the same time it’s the way to express my aggression, fears and all other negative stuff and transpose it into the music.
How do you pick the guest vocalists you work with?
It was the first time I decide to have guest musicians, vocalists on my record. Few members reached me first with proposition to make feat, after I had 3 requests I decided to go further and try to create album that will consist of feats mostly, so I decided to contact my friends and people I know and ask them if they are interested.
Which bands or artists inspired you the most growing up?
Black Sabbath inspired me to try to play guitar, so I would say that they had the biggest influence on me. I also enjoy lots of other iconic bands from extreme metal scene such as: Dimmu Borgir, Septicflesh, Behemoth and many others. I also enjoy many bands from Ukrainian metal scene.
How important is atmosphere versus riff brutality in your songwriting?
I mostly try to focus on riff brutality but atmosphere also needs its place.
What was the hardest moment during the making of this album?
The hardest moment was to make all vocals sound on the same level and mix them properly so they would not sound very different from each other.
What’s your relationship like with melody? Friend, enemy, or necessary ally?
Depends on the song I want to create, if I want the song to be more melodic it’s a must have. If I focus on the brutality and other stuff melody can be moved away.
Describe this album in three adjectives.
Experimental, brutal, touching.
What keeps you going when everything feels dark — musically or in real life?
I would say fear of death. When you realize that due to conditions you live in, the probability of death rises in several times you want to do as much as possible and leave something after yourself, at least some small legacy of several songs.
How do you know when a Vyr Muk song is done?
When I`m satisfied with the result and can accept it, also I send my record to several friends and ask what they think of it. Just to have opinions of other persons who also make metal music. Every time I see that there is a step to improve, but if the song sounds ok, I stop changing it, because in other way it can become never ending process.
If someone’s listening to your music for the first time, what do you want them to feel?
Since my music is mostly aggressive or gloomy, these are main emotions that I want my listeners to feel. But in general, I will be happy if there is any emotion that people feel while listening to my music, because the worst thing for an artist is when his work does not evoke any emotions.
What question should I have asked you, but didn’t?
I can’t really imagine, there were lots of interesting questions in this interview that I am happy to answer.
Send your message to our readers please.
Hope you found something interesting for yourself while reading this interview and maybe it will encourage you to try to listen to couple of my songs. Also support your local artists, it helps a lot and gives lots of motivation for new bands and projects to grow!
