Interview: Xaphon
Photo by Micah J. Mathewson
Tennessee – the land of country music, average BBQ (I’m from NC, so I’m biased), the Smoky Mountains, and the Tennessee Titans – also known as the motherland of Xaphon, a blackened death metal act out of Clarksville. One of the best new projects of 2024, Xaphon blew my mind when I first heard them. It was like finding a black metal band that drank way too much coffee one evening, piled into in a garage with good acoustics, started slamming down some mad breakdowns, and then decided to record it for everyone’s enjoyment.
So, of course, I have to interview the guy behind music. And wouldn’t you know, despite the whole “black metal” and “death” bit, he’s quite the friendly fellow. Stereotypes, once again, demolished.
It’s a pleasure to present you this interview where we dig in with Xaphon about their music, their ethos, what they enjoy outside of music, and much more. Enjoy!
Thanks so much for taking time to do an interview with us! It’s a pleasure to dig deeper into your work as Xaphon and you as a person. For starters, you’re based in Tennessee, correct? What part?
No problem. I appreciate your interest in Xaphon, and I’m always down to talk about music. Currently, I live in Clarksville, TN, but I spent the last 10 years or so living in Nashville and a two-year stint living in Bell Buckle, TN. I love middle Tennessee, and based on everything I’ve seen, I like Clarksville the best. It’s the best fit for my wife and I.
You recently released your first album as Xaphon titled Heights of the Far North. As a bigger fan of black metal than death metal (sorry everyone), I found myself immensely enjoying this record. Personally, I find the vocals to lean more in the black metal vein than death metal, albeit most of the music is far more death metal than black. Am I off base in saying that, or do you feel that you incorporate black metal into your music, forming a blackened death metal sound?
Thanks for listening to the record. You’re right, there's plenty of black metal influence in there. I’m a huge fan of both black and death metal in their purest forms. As for my own music, I just try to write riffs and songs that sound interesting and inspiring to me. Vocally I definitely gravitate more towards the higher pitched sounds, which I think is why you’re hearing more black metal than death metal. I chose to call Xaphon a death metal band because it seemed like a better way to market the music, and I think, as you mentioned, the music is more death metal. For me, personally, I get a lot more enjoyment out of writing death metal riffs that have a little more groove to them, but don’t get me wrong, I live for a fast blast section and some high screams cascading through a blackened forest. With death metal I feel like there are less rules for what you are allowed to do in the genre. I feel like I can write any type of riff, sing any type of vocal style I want to, and write lyrics about anything in the death metal space. That being said, I love the speed, fury, and aesthetic of black metal.
‘Heights of the Far North’ by Xaphon
What inspired you to start Xaphon? Have you done any other musical projects before this one?
For several years I had a lot of thoughts and stories to tell, some my own, but also concepts and beliefs that I hold dear that I wanted to share with anyone that would listen. Because the subject matter of what I wanted to say was more extreme, it only made sense to put those thoughts, concepts, and beliefs into lyrics and present them with the most brutal and extreme music I could come up with. I’ve been in a variety of different metal bands over the years, but I had always played guitar and never wrote any lyrics. To be completely honest and maybe a little blunt, I got tired of listening to metal bands sing about the occult, witchcraft, trampling over God, making a mockery of Jesus, the endless deconstruction of one's faith, giving yourself over to evil, and silly songs about ravens and ancient pagan rituals. For me, at least, I believe Christ came to reign over all of that stuff and to prove that he is the one true God, which he did, by fulfilling all the Old Testament prophecies and dying on the cross to make a way for humanity to connect with God. That is, in part, what I believe, and so, it only made sense for me to share my thoughts and worldview in the form of metal music. I try to make the best possible art that I can, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life.
If you had to self-describe Xaphon, what would you say about the music (sonically), the lyrical content, and the overall aesthetic of the Xaphon moniker?
I would say that the music of Xaphon is high information music that is both rhythmically and harmonically interesting. The music is fast, brutal, and technical, and it’s a real challenge to execute. I don’t favor one particular style of metal, so there’s a lot of variety. Lyrically I write about things most Christian or even non-Christian metal bands wouldn’t approach. I try to do this in a tasteful way that challenges listeners and hopefully inspires them too. My aim is to hopefully connect with people in a deep way and encourage and empower a fellow Christian brother or sister. I also want to challenge the current cultural movements and point people to reality and the truth. If a Xaphon song makes perfect sense to you or resonates with you on a deep level, then that song is for you, and I’ve completed my mission. As far as the aesthetic goes, I hope I can scare as many non-Christians as I can Christians, and I mean that in a good way. [laughs]
Photo by Micah J. Mathewson
Does spirituality or philosophy influence your work, both lyrically and artistically? If so, can you tell us about that briefly?
Absolutely, they do influence my music. Over the years I’ve studied a range of philosophers, both Christian and non-Christian. Dostoevsky, St. Thomas Aquinas, Rousseau, Schopenhauer, John Locke, and really all of the transcendentalists are great. Recently I’ve been more interested in Biblical studies, so I’ve been reading and listening to a lot of Dr. Michael Heiser. He has brought a lot of clarity to some of the most confusing and strange parts of the Bible - the type of Bible passages that are often mis-represented in the general public and are used to lead people away from Christ.
If you didn’t write metal music, what other genre(s) would you think you would like to explore?
There are no other styles of music, only METAL! I’m kidding. I love post-rock and ambient guitar music. I also love progressive rock, shred guitar music, jazz fusion, and classical music. I’m actually working on an ambient guitar record; it’s all instrumental. There’s a little bit of metal in there, but it’s mostly an ambient-doom, post-rock record.
Who are you outside of music? What are some of the things you love in life, what do you do for fun, and what is your favorite kind of pizza (very specific question, I know)?
Well, lately I’ve been cleaning up a lot of dog vomit around the house. My 2-year-old goldendoodle named Carl got into his salmon oil that we put a little bit of on his food. He loves it so much that he decided to drink about 16 ounces of it. So, he’s been throwing up everywhere, and I’ve had to deploy the Bissell Green Machine on the carpet and couch where he puked. He refuses to barf on the tile or wood floors, only soft and comfy material is good enough for his puke. Luckily, the salmon oil is non-toxic, but it has taken a couple days for him to get back to normal.
As far as outside of music, there’s not much that I do. [laughs] I have a guitar-related YouTube channel where I talk about guitar gear and really all things related to metal guitar playing. I like to go to the gym, go running, take my dogs for walks, mow my yard, and check out cool coffee shops and record stores. Occasionally, I’ll have a cigar, but sometimes they make me sick. [laughs] Most importantly, I love spending time with my wife. We love cooking together, checking out a new restaurant, traveling together, or seeing a movie. We recently saw “Dune: Part 2” and loved it. I would love to ride on a sandworm and battle against the Harkonnens!
My favorite type of pizza is probably Domino’s thin crust with whatever toppings I’m feeling. I also love a wood-fired pizza, but if I’m being honest, my body doesn’t digest pizza well, so I usually opt for something else.
Do you think you’ll ever get a supporting cast to play live?
Xaphon rehearsals are underway. I’m hoping that we will be ready for a live show by June or July. Getting a band off the ground is always a tough thing. Usually, musicians are involved in several different projects simultaneously, so aligning schedules can be a challenge. I think we’ve got a solid group of musicians to bring Xaphon to the stage, and I’m excited to start booking shows when we’re ready. We will probably start by playing a few shows in Nashville and then look to areas around us that are a few hours away. Who knows, maybe we will plan a tour in the fall?
Last question, which is always the dumbest and most fun of them all: since you’re in Tennessee, do you think you’ll ever make a metal version of Dolly Parton’s music? It only seems right. You could even record it at Dollywood!
[laughs] I think I have too much respect for Dolly to abuse one of her songs that way! I think I’d have more fun watching someone else do that. The guy that did the Korn version of “MMMBop” (a Hanson song) is my hero though. He rules!
