Hey look! A new-to-me black metal project that I am all in on. Namebearer, the Maine duo formed by members of Obsidian Tongue and more, are set to release their new EP, Industries Of The Fading Sun, this coming Friday. (Ummm a quick pivot: if you aren’t as excited about the new Obsidian Tongue as I am, you should be.) But anyway! Yes. The overlap with one of my favorite local projects should be enticing enough, but let me tell you that this thing is awesome. It’s a form of raw, honest, dissonant black metal that is sure to satisfy those that lean towards the atmospheric and the heavy equally. And my favorite part? It just feels different. So let’s prepare for its arrival with a Profile, yeah? Brian Tenison (guitar/bass/vocals) was kind enough to respond to our questions and introduce this project a little further. Give it a read, and give some of the EP a listen, right after the jump. Enjoy!

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How and when did you first get into playing music, or metal more specifically, and how did your band get its start? Any pushback from family/those close to you?

I first got into extreme metal when I was 16, and started playing metal when I was 18 or so. My family never pushed back, but they definitely thought the screaming was confusing and didn’t understand that part at first. I don’t really talk about my music that often with my family, but they’re supportive of it when it does come up. My first band Eave started with my best friend from high school, and eventually we added two more permanent members. Namebearer got started in 2023, so about 10 years after my first band.. I wanted to do a solo project, focus on improving on guitar, and just fire from the hip and let the ideas flow.

How would you describe your band and what you play to someone who is completely in the dark?

Whenever people are totally clueless about metal I just say “metal” and leave it at that, because I don’t see much point in elaborating. But if I was trying to explain it to a metal head who’s never heard us.. I’d probably say something between melodic, atmospheric, and progressive black metal.

Is there anything about your upcoming album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

After the release of the first demo, I started on the next Namebearer release. I wrote 4 songs and scrapped them all.. The 5th song that I wrote finally felt like it was hitting on something, so I kept going from there… As a result, the working titles of this EP were song 5, song 6, etc, with no songs 1-4 to speak of. I think that confused Brendan a few times! Another interesting thing – Brendan and I spent an entire Saturday trying to record drums initially, but never were able to record anything at all that day due to an insane amount of technical issues. We finally did record them over the course of a few other days, but then after a while we actually scrapped all of those drums and just redid the entire thing. The ones that you hear on the EP came after all of those fiascos and were self recorded by Brendan as one takes because he didn’t have the ability to punch anything in.

Any funny stories from playing shows / tours / festivals, etc?

Brendan would be the one with the good stories. I haven’t played as many shows as him! There was a show we played recently though in our other band Obsidian Tongue where a guy was really drunk and bought one of every merch item we had, and then he was hanging around for a while trying to sneak more money into our pockets and stuff.. He eventually left more money on the table because we weren’t letting him into our pockets haha. He was funny. And generous! Thanks man!

What do you see as some of the great things happening in and around the metal scene (yours or just in general) and what are some of the worst things happening right now? Additionally, most folks have passions for a cause or causes that are close to them. What, if any, are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you / your band and how do you insert those issues into your music?

I have a close group of friends who support me and my music, and I support them, their music, or any of their endeavors. The scene that I feel a part of is really just me and 2-3 people that I am in multiple bands with. I’m not aware of any great things happening in any scenes, honestly. On the topic of causes, political issues etc.. I want my music to exist as an escape from those things for people, the same way a video game, a book, or a movie can be. Namebearer’s music doesn’t involve or acknowledge real world situations. With that said, I personally am still a part of this world, and I understand the value in using any sort of platform to advocate for marginalized people, or to discuss issues. So on that point: Anyone should be able to freely express themselves as long as they are not hurting others, and all people should be treated with respect and dignity as long as they are not hurting others. I want to specifically stress these points in regards to queer and transgender people, as they have been very threatened in the US under the current administration. Animals should also be treated with respect, love and care. There are
many bad things about this world. I have to respond accordingly, and I’m happy to do so, especially when prompted. The actual content and message of my music will not be a part of that though.

Do you guys have day jobs or hobbies you want to share?

We both have pretty normal 9-5s.. Outside of music I like hiking, kayaking, learning Finnish, and spending time with my girlfriend..

What advice do you have for music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

It can be frustrating when music critics say things like “this is clearly trying to do x” or “clearly taking inspiration from x”. I’ve seen comments like that about other bands of mine where we were not at all trying to do x thing and were not at all inspired by x thing. I also don’t really like statements like: “For fans of (insert most popular band that is only vaguely similar to the music in question).” It just comes off as kind of uninformed and diminishes the music that is being commented on. It’s awesome to hear other people’s opinions about your music.. negative or positive! But stating your own thoughts or ideas about the music as a fact is really goofy in my opinion.

Any specific long term goal(s) in mind?

I want to continue to improve as a musician, become a better vocalist, guitarist, bassist, live performer, and composer.. And I want to learn drums soon! For Namebearer specifically, we’re focused on a full length next.

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently?

Dawn of Solace – “Affliction Vortex”
Paysage d’hiver – “Die Berge”
Unanimated – “Ancient God of Evil”
Circle of Ouroborus – “Kiromantia”
Ulcerate – “Cutting the Throat of God”

What is the near future outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

For Namebearer, we’ll just see where things lead for now. For other bands, we have a lot of stuff cooking.. We’ll be releasing a demo soon from a new band of ours consisting of myself, Brendan, and our friend Aaron from Falls of Rauros. There are some really big Obsidian Tongue announcements coming up too, but I don’t want to spoil them here!

Summarize your band in one word.

Direct.

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Many thanks to Brian and Namebearer for the time!

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Industries Of The Fading Sun is out on May 2nd. For more information on Namebearer, jump over to Instagram.