Doomed Confessionary: Myk Colby (Liminal Erosion)
Photos by Ryan Bonner / Bringmecreatures
Born from the mind of Gainesville, Florida multi-instrumentalist Myk Colby (Wharflurch, Plasmodulated, Hot Graves), Liminal Erosion is a new death doom project that channels cavernous weight and glacial atmospheres into a deeply personal vision of extremity. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Mournful Congregation, Katatonia, Dream Unending, and Disembowelment, the project finds Colby forging something bleak, hypnotic, and uniquely his own.
The band’s colossal debut album, »In The Time Vulture’s Talons«, is out now via Iron Fortress Records on digital, CD, and cassette. Conceived, recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely by Colby, the record is a fully realized statement of intent that blurs heaviness and atmosphere into an uncompromising death doom experience.
We caught up with the extreme metal architect himself, Myk Colby, to discuss the origins of Liminal Erosion, the making of »In The Time Vulture’s Talons«, and where the death doom behemoth might lead next.
You’ve worked across a lot of extreme metal subgenres, what drew you specifically towards death doom for Liminal Erosion?
Myk: I had been going that way with a lot ov my projects for awhile, but I wanted to indulge it way further, and sorta get this vision from my mind and into the world. The nature ov what I wished to express definitely lends itself to slow, glacial tempos and heavy riffs / atmospheres.
You’ve said this project began almost by accident, what moment made you realize it had become something bigger than a passing idea?
Myk: The moment I had the first song pretty much done. I had found a really cool reverb setting, and started goofing around… which sounded pretty cool, so I recorded it. Then I got OBSESSED with it, and ended up writing and recording the body ov the first song (Spectral Thrumm) all that same day. Once I started adding piano and organ, I realized I had my vision on the horizon for real. Then I just kinda got swept up in it.
What does the name Liminal Erosion mean to you?
Myk: To me it represents a part ov everyone’s life where you stagnate, and you’re in sort ov a developmental purgatory, which is a place that is very dark and dooming for some people, inspiring for others. You can get lost in the quagmire ov your own inertia, and let happiness and hope atrophy within yourself. Getting older can bring this on super heavy, and it most certainly did for me. Luckily, I thought to eat lots ov psychedelic mushrooms to rewire my brain, and I survived that, but I think about it a lot.
You’ve mentioned wanting to create a form of death doom that truly satisfied your own sonic vision, what elements did you feel were missing from the genre that you wanted to capture here?
Myk: I suppose it wasn’t what was missing so much as what certain bands employed to what I felt to be a fault. Although I did feel that more ambient, shoegazey atmospheres are missing in some things (in other bands, totally unnecessary), so that’s something I really focused on. There’s also that tightrope ov repetition: letting a part go on long enough to get hypnotic, but not long enough to become boring or belabored.
The textures on »In The Time Vulture’s Talons« move between crushing heaviness and almost meditative calm, how did you approach building that emotional balance in the songwriting and production?
Myk: I just listened to it as I was creating it, and felt the ebb and flow, which is what I hoped to capture. The way the lyrics are staged goes along with that as well, trying to invoke that full spectrum ov experience for the immersive listener. The calm parts also serve to make the heavy parts heavier in contrast, and I feel that ties to the human emotion experience, especially in dealing with distress / death.
How did you come to work with Iron Fortress Records?
Myk: We had been talking for awhile, they had offered to do releases for other projects that I do which were already intended for other labels. When this came along, I thought ov Iron Fortress, mostly because I’m a fan ov what they do and how they do it, but also because I felt like it would be a cool change ov pace for the label, and perhaps it would stand out as such amongst their releases.
You performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered everything yourself, what does total creative control give you that collaboration sometimes can’t?
Myk: Collaboration obviously requires compromise, which is fine in most situations, as it benefits the final product. But in this situation, it all was in my head, and I just had to work to get it out. Having someone else interject an idea would have derailed that process. I didn’t even tell people I was working on this or show it to many people for a long time, actually. I kinda hid it until it was almost completed. I didn’t even want any feedback or criticism or praise, I just wanted to try to actualize it in a void (as much as possible), and birth it unto the world whole. That being said, there is a vocalist I am considering collaborating with for the next release as a feature, so that may come to fruition as well.
The title »In The Time Vulture’s Talons« is striking, what is the symbolism behind the “Time Vulture,” and how does it tie into the record’s central themes?
Myk: The Time Vulture concept really came from the artwork – thanks GruesomeGraphx!!!! – and after I got it, the concept just unfurled in my mind. To me, it represents that feeling that the good moments in your life are gone and lost, never to be reclaimed again. It’s a metaphor for letting yourself slip into a mental death, foregoing all future joys and hopes, as the Time Vulture drags you into the future, miserable and lost. The lyrics portray it as feasting on the dead dreams ov humans, and that’s a metaphor for the depression and life-ending loneliness one feels when one has basically given up on life. Having known this feeling firsthand, I felt compelled to share it, from the vantage point ov having conquered it in my personal life. But when you’re in those talons… all hope is lost.
Now that Liminal Erosion is out, do you see this as a one-off exploration or the beginning of an evolving project you plan to continue expanding?
Myk: I absolutely have more material in the works for it, I’ve even made a batch ov trippy guitar sounds that I intend to use to make the experience even more cinematic and immersive. I even have musicians that are interested in playing this stuff, so we may even see a Liminal Erosion live performance one day… although I’m not promising anything, haha.
Any final words?
Myk: Just a huge round ov THANKS to everyone who was listened to this project. It means a lot to me, and a lot ov people have reached out with enthusiasm about this that I didn’t really expect, so I am humbled and thankful for the opportunity! Big thanks to Iron Fortress Records for believing in this, and to GruesomeGraphx and Ryan Bonner for handling the aesthetics for this so nicely. I don’t really take myself too seriously, but I am serious about my music (even tho I put a mask on and all that stuff, I just can’t help it), and it touches me deeply when other people GET it. Thanks as well for this thoughtful interview, Cheers!
Order your copy of »In The Time Vulture’s Talons« here.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well