Grief (Nyctophilia) #Interview

A project dwelling in the darkest depths of misanthropy is without a doubt Nyctophilia. With a discography comprising of six full-length albums and a great mumber of EP’s, splits and demos, project mastermind Grief is one of the most prolific musicians in the underground at the present times. In this interview, he touches upon the current state of Nyctophilia, as well as his other project, Thurthul, his inspiration for creating music, his philosophy, and much more. A quick disclaimer, however, heavy topics ahead.
Hello, and thank you for doing this interview! How are things looking for you? There has been mostly silence with both of your projects ever since you released the “Hate, Vengeance, Black Metal” EP with Thurthul back in 2023. Should people expect new music coming from you soon, or are you simply taking a break from music?
Hello, thanks for your time, things are looking shit for me as I’ve been struggling mentally for a long time but who cares… We all descend into darkness one way or another but to answer your question I have to say I’ve been working on and off on new stuff for both Thurthul and Nyctophilia but I’m taking my time, as these new records will be different from previous ones.I did I also mix and master all my records on my own and this takes time, but hopefully 2025 will bring more Nyctophilia and Thurthul works.
Speaking of Thurthul, one of the most noticeable aspects of this project, at least in my opinon, is how different it is soundwise, particularly when compared to the material you released with Nyctophilia. How did this project materialize, and what determined you to go down such a different path?
It’s a good observation, Nyctophilia has and always been about sound of darkness and night I always tried describing it as a soundscape of night almost trance like, it’s all my inner dark energy channeled into music.
Thurthul on the other hand, I have created it with one purpose, to release all my hate towards world and the direction it’s heading, raw, primitive and straight forward black metal. It’s still obviously dressed in how I generally feel about how black metal should sound and feel like, but it’s essence lies in hatred and this is mainly why I created it as a separate project. It’s just something that could not be achieved in Nyctophilia even if you could say Nyctophilia is still pretty hateful.
It is also interesting that these two projects are also polar opposites when it comes to the themes they include, with Nyctophilia being the more nihilistic, misanthropic one, and Thurthul leaning more on themes of heroism and strength, although still with a hateful undertone. Was this an intentional choice, or that is simply how it came to manifest. What inspires you when creating music for each project?
Yes it definitely was done with purpose as like I said in Nyctophilia I’m sort of limited with the vision I have for it, it’s all about chilling and misanthropic feeling of the music, but I’m also a human being (unfortunately) and have interests that lie in other things other then darkness and death hence creation of Thurthul in which i try to honor history of our ancestors and values they were fighting for, values that seem to be getting ever more lost in current world.
So the choice was definitely a deliberate one as Thurthul is mainly inspired by heritage values and things people were willing to do to stand for in defence of their beliefs something that again, seems to be lost in our modern world.
One thing that I, and other people have noticed is the honesty that manifests in your music, no matter the band. There is an emotional aspect attached with it that tends to leave quite on strong mark on those who happen to come across your music. Do you use music as a sort of emotional and mental outlet? Is there a certain mindset you go for when writing music, or do you do it without thinking much of your current state of mind?
For me, without emotion art does not exist. What would be the point of me writing 15 albums (although I had time were I could do 2 albums a year which wasn’t good either and now I see it) filled with millions of solos and insane production if it held no emotion that resonate with me.
So even though I could write 3 albums a year there just wouldn’t be any point, when I write a song or part of it being a riff or a synth part or whatever it is, it has to resonate with me on emotional level even if it may seem simple and basic there has to be something there…
I used to be able to just sit down and write most stuff that came to my mind, these days as I progress as a musician I try to be more careful with what I chose to be final piece but yes I definitely have to be in a right state of mind. Sometimes I may not be playing any instrument for months and suddenly I wake up one day and write whole song in a day, what are the circumstances of how this happens is hard for me to say.

On Nyctophilia now, ever since you started this project back in 2015, you have put out quite an influx of releases, including, but not limited to six full length albums. What are some key moments in the history of this project, that you would say influenced your approach to it the most? Are there any of them on which you draw upon as inspiration?
It’s really hard to say as I have been going through different shit in my head doing all of those albums, but I could definitely say “Dwelling in the Fullmoon Light” was the first proper album I did and I still sometimes revisit it to look for something, whether it’s a feeling or just some approval that I didn’t completely fucked it up haha.
“Darkness calls upon me” was definitely the most weird one for me as I don’t remember much from the time I was making it as I was going through some weird stuff in the head at time.
There is one and that’s “Bezdeń” this album in my humble opinion is a complete album from start to finish it’s a journey and the best thing about it is that I wasn’t even planning on making it, it just sort of happened.
That’s the album that inspires me to continue my work and I still come back to it occasionally to draw inspiration from it, especially from how well it happens to flow from one song to the next. It was also the first album I managed to get released properly on vinyl by amazing (back then Death Kvlt Production now Death Prayer Records) which has always been personal goal to me.
A handful of your releases feature paintings of artists such as Julius von Klever as album covers. What attracted you to such works of art, and what role does art have in your creative process? Have you ever approached different art forms besides music?
Some of those paintings just resonate with me and you know how some people like to say things like Beethoven would play metal if he lived now, well I like to think most of those amazing painters, would be artist that make artwork for black metal bands if they lived now.
Since “Dwelling in the Fullmoon Light” was the first time I used one of those classic romantic paintings it just sort of became a standard for me, they posses something that when I listen back to my finished album and look at the painting I happen to pick, something just draws me inside of it. I always like to say, when you look at the artwork of the album you should hear the music and when you hear the music you should see that artwork it’s a certain circle that has to be completed
Like on “Bezdeń” when you listen to track like “Światło Wieczności” and look at this stunning painting of Caspar Friedrich “Uttewalder Grunt” you can almost feel like you’re there, alone in vast darkness of the forest valley.
I never attempted any other form of art unless you consider how much drugs one can take a form of art haha.
An interesting aspect of your songwriting for Nyctophilia is the way you use both simple and intricate riffs in that repeat throughout the songs to create that cold hypnotic atmosphere, that comes of as both chilling and meditative. This clashes with the vocal performance, which is nothing short of gut wrenching. Would you say this is an innate part of the philosophy attached with the band, or is it something more spontaneous and emotional?
Vocals are always tricky thing for me, on one hand I always wait for the moment to do them but on the other hand I HATE doing them.
I don’t practice every day although I used to but I simply don’t have that much time now to write, record instruments, mix and master record and practice vocals every day and also keep my daily work life. This is something that may surprise some but MOST vocals on Nyctophilia and Thurthul are done in one take on a day I suddenly decide to do them, there are obviously minor fixes I do but I don’t sit and practice each line. I just roll the song, press record and go for it, it’s a very reactive way of doing it.
First take is always reactive and emotional after that all you do is try recreating original emotion and you end up getting lost in the maze of what you could or could not have done so yeah vocals are definitely a spontaneous thing for me.
Speaking of the philosophy of Nyctophilia, what are the main principles that the music is based upon, and how do they show in your life and view of the world? Would you consider it possible for the music to showcase ideas that don’t truly align with those of the artist?
Like I explained a little earlier Nyctophilia is a soundscape of darkness and night, misanthropic, romanticised view of my world, a world I’m left alone, far away from troubles of our every day world and troubles of being human.
Obviously it’s very hard to live life like and I’m not even sure if I could lead a completely solitary life. Solitude is beautiful until it starts driving you mad and I mean mentally mad.
So Nyctophilia is my escape my way of coping with dreams that I know are not achievable.
This subject is also touched upon in my last album “Weltschmerz” which is basically the very thing I described here. I mean If there are artist that create “art” without being devoted to what they convey in it I honestly feel sad for them but I think we all know what those people are called within a scene.

One aspect of your work that is permanently attached to it is the idea of nature, and the connection between the human soul and nature. How did you become fascinated by nature, and why did you choose it as the defining theme of your music, along with others?
I have always been drawn towards nature having spend most my early years on countryside in Poland and making trips to many beautiful places like mountains or national parks something just stuck with me.
I find it calming and peaceful it also is violent and unforgiving like life itself. I also believe that we, as children of the stars are part of it and nature is part of us (our soul) we are bound together in a certain way that I can’t explain with words although unfortunately we seem to be getting more distant with the time that’s passing and progression of the world but it seemed only natural to make most of my music be influenced by it and honor it in some way.
There is nothing that is more fitting for your music than, probably, the stage name of “Grief” which you chose for yourself. What is the history behind this pseudonym, and how did you choose it?
Most of my life I grieved about being myself, being part of this shell that you can’t escape and every day seems like a fight for survival, again it only seemed natural to pick a stage name that resonates with my life and the way it describes it.
Along with nature, your music often touches upon themes such as death, and I’d say the frailty of the human condition. How do these themes connect, and how do you explore the relationship between man and nature in your music? Would you say that black metal has lost its connection to its origins just as humans have lost touch with the natural world?
Isn’t death and nature the most natural things on this forsaken world?
There is nothing more certain than death in human life and in nature death also symbolises change and natural order of things.
„Death is just another path one that we all must take” For me the bands that first emerged with these themes were of course “Burzum” and “Mayhem” especially Dead era.. but I think Burzum perfectly touched on this subject with albums like “Filosofem” and “Hvis Lyset Tar Oss” we are mere specks of dust in a grand order of things of the universe.
I think the more we distant ourselves from nature and natural world the more we are getting lost and lose touch with ourselves.
I wouldn’t necessarily say black metal completely lost its way but I think a lot of bands took it in a direction that I personally don’t find quite right and same goes for most people, we fill our life’s with unnecessary bullshit that has no meaning but then again who am I to tell them what to do, all I can do is „decide what to do with a time that is given to me” those who know will know.
Another common motif that seems to be ever present in your work is the one of the ghost, with many of your albums actually carrying that ethereal feeling with them. Is there any particular symbolism that this motif carries, does it tie to the idea of the soul returning to its original place in nature?
I like to think that all of us have been put into this world with some kind of purpose and until your spirit does not find that purpose you are in a way „lost”. Whether it’s a way of life or the things that you do, we all strive for this goal of feeling like we achieved something or found our way of life, otherwise life has no meaning and without this we are nothing but ghosts roaming this planet.
If it ever will be given to me to say with all my being (spirit/soul) that I did what I could to complete my journey in this world I will be content with my life and I’ll happily return my soul where it belongs.
Lastly, I want to thank you once again for taking this interview, and I hope you found the questions interesting. Are there any final thoughts you would like to share?
Thank you very much this has been a wild ride for me and it definitely has been really interesting answering all those questions. Thank you to anyone who took time to read it and all I can say is that more music is on the way and next Nyctophilia album will be something that some might not expect both in terms of sound and composition and will be touching on subjects of universe and spectral being.
As always, Hail Darkness!
Interview by Ioana
Nyctophilia
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