Interview: Unreqvited

鬼 (Ghost) of Unreqvited - photo by Robin Parsons

Unreqvited has become a foundational name in atmospheric black metal and blackgaze, crafting some of the most expansive, impressive, and beautiful albums you can find in the scene. There’s a lot of depth and passion that clearly goes into creating these highly reflective albums that allow listeners to reflect on nature, the cosmos, life, death, and other fun, weighty topics. Unreqvited scratches that itch for a metal artist that you can purely enjoy the sound; but if you dig deeper, you find a lot of meaning and thought-provoking ideas behind the music. 

We at Blacfroje were huge fans of the artist’s recent release, A Pathway to the Moon, so we chatted with the mastermind behind the project, 鬼 (Ghost), to learn more about what went into the album. We also talked about what goes on behind all of Unreqvited’s music and what we can expect from Unreqvited in the near future. 

I find that your music is often trying to balance things we see as paradoxes, such as grief and hope or beauty and despair. Would you agree with that? If so, how does that play into your creative process and songwriting?

I would definitely agree with that. A big part of Unreqvited has always been about exploring contrasts. I don’t set out to necessarily create that balance when I’m writing, but it naturally tends to come out that way because that’s how I experience emotions. Songs may begin with a melancholic piano passage, but as they develop, I’ll start to layer them with more euphoric and uplifting sonic elements. 

I like songs to have a wide dynamic range, and that interplay tends to be what scratches that itch for me. I also like the emotional ambiguity of it all, where a song can feel completely different depending on the listener’s mood. Some people might hear catharsis and release, while others may feel overwhelming sorrow.

You headed into some new territory with A Pathway to the Moon. There’s one moment that almost has a harpsichord sound that I enjoy a lot. Can you talk a bit about why you started to include more clean singing, as well as some of the more blackgaze-inspired and progressive parts of the album vs. a purely atmospheric black metal sound?

I always try to push the boundaries of what Unreqvited can sound like on every release, but I really wanted to explore some new territory with A Pathway. I’ve always tried to inject a broader spectrum of influences into the music I make and not have it be purely blackgaze or atmospheric black metal. But for this album, I abandoned any notion of fitting into a specific category altogether. I wanted it to exist entirely on its own terms. 

The clean singing is something I’ve been toying with for a little while, though it’s typically been used as more of an atmospheric layer, buried low in the mix on previous records. Having the vocals be the focal point of this record definitely felt like a bit of a risk, but it was a creative shift I’ve felt compelled to make for quite some time. After using the same vocal style throughout Unreqvited’s discography, it felt like the right moment to evolve and try something new. 

‘A Pathway to the Moon’ by Unreqvited

I also found the themes and lyricism of A Pathway to the Moon deeply rich. What went into crafting those lyrics, and what do they mean to you?

Unreqvited’s music has always been very open to interpretation over the years, being mostly devoid of lyrics up until this point. Even with A Pathway introducing more lyrical content, I

wanted to preserve that sense of openness, ensuring the words left plenty of room for listeners to connect with the songs in their own way. I don’t like to get into what the songs mean to me,

because I want to keep that creativity in the hands of the listener to craft their own meaning.

Nature and reflecting on it seem like massive parts of your music. Why is that? What is it about the aesthetics of nature that compels you to create music around it?

There’s something spiritual about nature that is beyond words that I am trying to channel into the music. Nature embodies raw beauty, vastness, tranquility, chaos, and decay—opposing

forces that mirror the emotions I seek to convey in the music I make. I also think I simply just

spend far too little time in nature, and I find myself yearning for it quite a lot.

Did you find that the focus on the cosmos in A Pathway to the Moon pushed your creativity in a direction different from that of previous albums?

I think it did. Previous albums were a little more grounded in earthly realms, despite still being very ethereal and otherworldly. With this album being a brand-new direction free of genre

constraints, the cosmos felt like the perfect concept to explore to embody that vast, boundless

freedom. The sense of infinite space felt like a perfect fit for the expansive sound I was aiming for.

In the deluxe edition of the album, you cover Hans Zimmer’s “Cornfield Chase.” Why did you land on covering that? What was that like?

It was sort of a last-minute decision. I didn’t initially know we were going to be doing a deluxe edition with a bonus track until I was completely finished producing the album and had handed in the masters. It was kinda just the first thing that came to mind when I began thinking about what I could cover that would fit the cosmic theme of the record and naturally complement the overall sound and narrative I was exploring. Zimmer’s work is pretty iconic, so I wanted to pay homage to the original while still adding my own touch. I wrote and recorded everything in a single day, taking the essence of the track—its tension, its soaring melodies—and reinterpreting it with the same expansive, atmospheric qualities I used on the album.

Your merchandise looks amazing. Are you involved with the visuals for it and your albums? Do you find that the visuals come from the music, or can they also influence your music?

I always collaborate with different artists for the album covers, and those can typically come before the writing of the album, sometimes during, or after. This time, I had commissioned the album cover before I even began writing a single note for the album. I already knew what I wanted the concept to be. For all the merchandise, I mostly work closely with my close friend/roommate/live bass player for all of that stuff. He has been responsible for about 90% of the merch designs since Unreqvited’s inception. I trust his vision immensely, so while I usually provide some guidance for the designs, I give him plenty of freedom to create on his own.

鬼 (Ghost) of Unreqvited - photo by Robin Parsons

As an individual, are you spiritual in nature? Do you have a philosophical or spiritual worldview that influences your music?

I always refer to myself as kind of an “aspiring spiritual person.” Haha! I’m deeply drawn to the mystical and the unexplainable, topics like death, the afterlife, and the idea of God. These themes often find their way into my music. On a personal level, I identify as an atheist and lean toward believing in ultimately nothing, which might sound bleak to some, but it’s where I find myself at this moment. 

That said, I’m not closed off to the idea of something greater than us. I find the concept of a higher power or universal force fascinating, but I still struggle with whether I could truly find myself believing in something like that. Ultimately, I think my spiritual journey is less about finding definitive answers and more about embracing the questions themselves.

Any sneak peek you can give us for any upcoming projects, whether that’s Unreqvited or beyond?

I am working on a new unannounced project with my live bassist/graphic designer that will fall somewhat within the post-rock realm, which I’m pretty excited about. I always have new music in progress for other projects of mine, each at a different stage of completion. 

I have a split release coming out very soon with H V N W R D, and a full album that is nearing completion for The Ember, The Ash. 

As always, new Unreqvited music is in the works, and I’ve already composed several songs for the next album.

Last question: Other than maybe Interstellar, what other sci-fi world can you see your music fitting into and why?

Good question. Despite picking an Interstellar theme to cover for the album, I definitely lean more into fantasy than sci-fi. I do think this album has its own unique identity and would be difficult to place into another sci-fi universe. There are a few sci-fi games that I’ve loved over the years, getting to write music for something like the Halo universe would be incredible. Those soundtracks have such an epic, atmospheric quality, and it would be really cool to contribute to that kind of sonic landscape.

You can follow Unreqvited on Bandcamp, Instagram, and Facebook.