In terms of end of year polls, most bands may as well give up and peddle out a Greatest Hits album – Triptykon have got this one in the bag. Since its release in April, the second effort from Tom G Warrior's blackened Swiss crew - 'Melana Chasmata' – has spread its misery through the ears of all who dared listen, revealing not a single weak point in the process.
As if that isn't enough, they also happen to be one of the most intense, utterly hypnotic live acts in recent memory. Placed on bills alongside everyone from Hatebreed to Cannibal Corpse and At The Gates to Down, Triptykon have proven their mettle time and time again. Just before the band took to the stage and gave Bloodstock Festival an absolute schooling, we sat down with guitarist V. Santura for a quick chat.
Bloodstock 2011 is seen by critics and the band alike as one of Triptykon's live highlights. Is there one particular moment in the band's career that stands out for you?
It's almost impossible to pick one moment. It's probably multiple moments – when a new song starts in the rehearsal room, for example; when you play something for the first time and it just clicks and it's super heavy. Of course, that moment when it clicks happened a lot of times when we were working on the albums. Sometimes you get that feeling on stage.
I remember a show we had in the first year of Triptykon's life existence. We played the Jalometalli festival in Oslo, people were shouting the band's name before we even came on stage and everyone was going crazy. That was one of the best shows we played. Our band had only just appeared live for the first time a couple of weeks before and people waiting for us in such an eager way made us think: 'OK, we kind of made it!' At least the band has a level of importance to other people and that's where it clicks.
The concept for the 'MelanaChasmata' box-set was originally deemed as unsatisfactory by the band and has since been changed. How important is the physical aspect?
It's very important and that doesn't just go for the box-set – even the CD is a real mediabook and it has an elaborately worked booklet. Just the cover art alone – we had the incredible luck of having cover art from H. R. Giger – makes the physical release extremely important. I was raised in the ‘90s, so being able to hold your own record in your hands is something very special. It's a piece of art and a triptych: the album is music, lyrics and the artwork surrounding it.
During the writing and creation of 'MelanaChasmata', the members of Triptykon were dealing with difficult personal issues. Had they not been apparent, would the album have been difficult – would it have even been made?
It wouldn't be the same and it would have happened earlier. Tom was saying that he actually had writer's block for a long time due to different reasons, and it was a really tough time for the band. We released 'EparisteraDaimones' in 2010. Working on that album went extremely smoothly, and we started making plans to start working on the next one. Basically, nothing happened. I was already writing some music but Tom was just not ready to work creatively on a new album – for me, it was very frustrating.
There were periods in the existence of Triptykon – especially late 2012 and early 2013 – where it felt that the band was just falling apart. It was very difficult, but when it finally started again – all four of us, stood in a rehearsal room and arranging songs – then I could just feel that it was back. It was amazing to rehearse the new songs and see them come alive in the rehearsal room. Nevertheless, the recording sessions and production process were again full of doubts, and I was feeling completely exhausted and empty after that record was done. I'm relieved that the album got such a good reception from the press and fans, because that's just something you can't predict.
What's next for Triptykon?
We're not touring insanely. We're doing one tour this year, which will lead us to the UK with At The Gates. We will also release an EP around that time. We wrote a lot of material for 'MelanaChasmata', and we always knew from the start of the recording sessions that we'd do an EP because we just had so much material that we couldn't fit on one album. So you can look forward to this EP and then we'll see. I think we'll do a tour in 2015, possibly a headlining tour as I think it's about time Triptykon can pull such a thing off.
Thu December 04 2014 - LONDON THE FORUM
Fri December 05 2014 - MANCHESTER Academy 2
Sat December 06 2014 - GLASGOW Garage
Sun December 07 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Mon December 08 2014 - CARDIFF Cardiff University - Solus
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