Interview with Ascalapha

St. Louis has a thriving, yet often overlooked metal scene. Ascalapha is an integral part of our scene, representing with intensity and authenticity. I was fortunate enough to interview Monstro of Ascalapha and talk black metal, influences and the local extreme metal scene.

-Grey Arnoldsson Woden Records INTERVIEW Grey: For those just discovering Ascalapha, could you please describe your band in your own words?

Monstro: ASCALAPHA is a band that expresses the human condition through tales of various characters going through a spectral journey. Each release is a different story that fits with a distinct sound. It can range from atmospheric, gothic, melancholic, and raw black metal.  

Grey: When and where did Ascalapha first take shape? 

Monstro: I’ve been writing solo music for quite a bit but never released anything publicly. I originally wanted to create a post-rock band but I realized I have experience doing vocals in the past with local bands. My love for black metal made me feel confident that I could create something special. 

Grey: Being a solo artist, how do you handle the creative process? Do you write, play, and record everything yourself?

Monstro: I do. It originally started by writing a theme and a story for the album. Depending on what feeling I want to invoke, I follow that by playing with guitar riffs and programmed drums. However, for the final, I have Nikola from Esoterik Studios to record live drums and engineering. That’s the “final” touch the releases need. 

Grey: Do you wish to remain a solo project or are you looking to expand to full outfit?

Monstro: Ideally, I’d like to stay solo. But I want a full band with talented musicians to help perform on stage. Having been in a lot of local bands in the past, I realized there’s more freedom in creating music alone. You can capture the exact feeling you want that way. Though, I do sometimes miss when music gets created organically with other musicians during practice. But for now, solo. 

Grey: What influences have helped shape your music?

Monstro: My favorite band is Dir En Grey. If you look through their discovery, all their albums sound very different but still like Dir en Grey. That was a big influence on my writing. Keeping every release different but still familiar. Of course, I can’t sing in Japanese. But you can still feel the emotion they bring through the music. It’s very special. But for black metal specifically, some would be: Gehenna, Mortifera, Celestia, early Dimmu, and Agalloch. 

Grey: I've listened to your discography several times over. Your sound has a very distinct atmosphere. Do you plan to achieve a specific sound for a release or does it emerge naturally as you write and you shape it from there?

Monstro: Thank you so much! Yes, I try to achieve a specific sound for every release. Almost all the stories end with the character dying or being dead. Despite some songs being more aggressive than others, melancholy is the perfect “feel” I want to invoke on every release. If I had to pick a word for it. 

Grey: How do you want listeners to feel when they listen to your music?

Monstro: I try to encourage listeners to read along with the lyrics. That makes the atmosphere a lot more immersive. It’s feelings that feel familiar despite being a fictional character. 

Grey: St. Louis often gets overlooked on bigger metal tours. How important has the local music scene been for you, if at all?

Monstro: It’s very depressing. There have been so many shows where I have to travel to a neighboring area to see the bands perform. But, the real heart of music will always be in local shows. I’ve been going to backyard, garage, and shitty venues ever since I was a teenager to support local bands back in California. Tae, from Midwest metal punks did an incredible job with hosting a lot of superb shows in St. Louis. Hands down one of my favorite things about St. Louis. 

Grey: Opeth, Emperor, Dethklok, and Behemoth have all announced tour dates in St. Louis this spring. If you ask me, that's huge for the local underground scene and more shows than we usually get. Are you optimistic about the growth of the scene?

Monstro: I really hope so. The “bigger” music scene in St. Louis is a good place for passionate metal fans. I think the misconception that St. Louis is dangerous scares a lot of people away. Plus, there were some rumors of old venues being in on stealing gear from bands. Which just further damaged our reputation for a little bit a few years ago. But despite all of that, I hope we get more bands here. They will see how much we care for metal! 

Grey: Are there any other local bands or artists that you feel deserve more attention right now?

Monstro: I have a lot of friends in the noise scene which I want to give a special shout out to: WAMHONDA, Josh (@touchfreak) and all his incredible support in the art and noise scene, Midwest Metal punks, dour, bifurcation, trash goat, Blackwell, spinal fetish 

Grey: What about shows? Have you or do you plan to perform live? 

Monstro: I have locally but I keep my identity a secret. But for Ascalapha, I’m going to actively start looking for musicians to perform live in St. Louis and around the Midwest if possible. We need more black metal here. 

Grey: You recently released the "Shadow Under a Raven's Wing" split EP with Ithilrå. Anything you want to tell us about it?

Monstro: I’ve been a fan of Ithilrå and his other projects for a while. Our themes are similar so I imagined a split would be great. For my side of the story, I took inspiration from tales my family back home would talk about. A lot of Latin America has folklore and superstition tales that they like to bring to their children. I find it fascinating and a huge inspiration for this story. I also wanted to make these tracks more “brighter” by adding more vocals and upbeat chords. Despite being a depressing story haha

Grey: Anything we have to look forward to as Ascalapha fans? 

Monstro: Hopefully see Ascalapha perform live! Live shows are extremely fun and people would have a blast seeing black metal, in full paint and everything live. Stage presence is part of the experience so I hope I can bring that soon.  

Grey: I can't wait, and I know those reading can't wait either. Thank you again for talking with me! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure to like and follow Ascalapha on Instagram for exciting news, and listen to the new EP "Shadow Under A Raven's Wing", now streaming!

https://ascalaphabm.bandcamp.com/album/shadow-under-a-ravens-wing