Dear readers we have the pleasure to offer you in this article an interview with a Denver-based Post-Metal band, with their debut album “Idyll” released on December 20, 2024. We welcome SUNGRAVE.
Hi, it is a pleasure to have you among our pages, how are you?
“Hey! Thanks for taking the time. We’re doing great! It’s been a wild couple of months after the release, but we’ve been working to refine our live set and book a few shows around Colorado for the first half of the year. We’re excited to get back out there!“
The project was formed recently, how did the band come about and the choice of the name SUNGRAVE?
“Most of us (Grant Luloff – guitar, Joe Elmore – bass, and Nate Girard – drums) met via a couple of posts that Joe put up. We had been working on things for over a year and had a bunch of turnover for the second guitar position, but then we met Nick Brazzel (guitar and vocals) and it’s been a dream lineup ever since.
As far as the name goes, I think we’ve all always really enjoyed names and lyrics that evoke strong imagery, like Explosions in the Sky or Ghosts of Glaciers, but especially doomier imagery. The idea of a dying sun seemed to capture that pretty well. We’ve got a couple Sci-fi nerds amongst us, so naturally the name SUNGRAVE is also a reference to a place in a series called Red Rising.
You offer a mixture of Post-Rock/Metal and Doom, how did your passion for these sounds come about?
“We all come at the project from different angles. For me (Grant), personally, the first time I heard The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, some 20 years ago, my mind was blown. Delving deep into atmospheric guitar-work over time eventually led me to this project. Beyond that, we pull from a wide range of past projects. A little bit of Prog (Nick), Hardcore (Nate), and Shoegaze (Joe) just to name a couple.“
Your debut album “Idyll” was released on December 20, 2024, how would you describe this work?
“There were a few elements that were always incredibly important to us in making the album. We wanted it to flow from beginning-to-end and serve more as an epic arc than a collection of songs. We wanted it to tell a story and one that genuinely came from our experiences and struggles. Finally, we wanted it to be dynamic with intense highs and dense, dark lows. Getting there took a ton of exploration. For example, three of us sing on the album and two of us had no prior experience doing so.”
Cinematic openings, heavy riffs and tempo changes enrich the sound, how does the creative process of your music take place?
“The initial ideas can come from any of us and from about anywhere. The interlude to Oubliette actually came to me in a dream. Sometimes I suck at sleeping, so I actually tossed and turned the whole night and managed to wake up with the melody still in my head and locked it in that morning. After the initial idea, though, we just start building out scratch tracks and do lots of back and forth until we’ve got every layer filled out. It’s wildly inefficient, but that’s all good with us.“
An interweaving of instrumental parts and punchy vocals, what themes do the lyrics deal with?
“The story is about a wayfarer’s journey from a tormented existence at Earth’s core. It deals with internal and external obstacles to happiness, lamenting of the inevitable devastation that is global warming, of personal experiences with the Fentanyl crisis, and of systemic oppression; while also acknowledging the protagonist’s tendency towards pessimism. Ultimately, it’s an introspection, recognizing that pessimism and also the futility in trying to resolve it.”
Two singles anticipated the album, do you plan to abstract any more from this work?
“We have a feature upcoming here and there, but ultimately we’re most excited to get back to what we love most about this: writing music. We are dreaming up ways of putting together a music video for our next released single, though, and hoping to collaborate with some local artists.“
The cover is also very striking, who designed it and what is the meaning of the artwork?
“A local artist by the name of Atostrial did the album art for us. The process was pretty cool. He asked us a bunch of questions about the theme of the album, influences, and emotions we wanted the art to evoke. He more or less nailed it and came back with this first try.”
Many of your fans and our readers wonder if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have plans in this regard for the near future?
“Of course! We’ve got 3 shows coming up around Colorado and honestly, the lineups are all great!
3/22 – Denver – HQ – with Temporal Driver and Riff Dealer
4/11 – Grand Junction – Copeka Coffee – with Only Echoes and Abandons
5/9 – Fort Collins – The Atrium – with Author of Your Downfall and The Polite Heretic
Do you have any particular memories or anecdotes you would like to tell us about your live experiences?
“We really try to have our live show be an experience, so we’ve got a lot of extra DIY stuff going on: lights, smoke, etc. It’s always “fun” to see what problems arise when you add more and more complexity to your performance. At our last show, our banner came tumbling down at the very first hit of the kick drum. Luckily we’ve only experienced small mishaps so far.”
The US has always been at the forefront of music, how do you see today’s scene in your country in your genre?
“It’s easy to look at all of the amazing bands and festivals in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere and feel a tinge of FOMO. But we’ve got it pretty good here. Every experience I’ve had in our scene has been incredibly positive. And there’s no shortage of relevant live music going on. In fact, I’ve got to travel for it, but I’m really looking forward to We Lost the Sea finally making it to the US this year! The Post. festival is pretty epic in terms of uplifting our genre.“
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music with more sophisticated sounds like yours?
“It probably seems obvious, but find what you’re good at and lean into it. That isn’t to say that practice isn’t important. It obviously is crucial, but when you find a thing you’re naturally drawn to, that’s usually the best place to focus your attention and then build around that. Too often I think people get discouraged by thinking there’s a right way to go about this stuff that doesn’t necessarily work for them. In my case, I get more out of diving into tone-chasing or tapping exercises than I do out of practicing sweep picking technique.“
Modulations and effects play a central role in your music, how do you see this new technological wave that is affecting music and its production and diffusion?
“It’s complicated. Technology has always been a huge part of music. People will continue to find unique ways to use it, often not in ways that were originally intended, like turntablism. That’ll lead to a bunch of amazing new music. But, of course, new technology could make it more challenging for artists to make a living.“
Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?
“As is the default here in Colorado, we all dabble in different outdoor activities from trekking to mountain biking to climbing. “
I thank the band for the interview and wish them all the best for the continuation of their artistic career.
“Thanks again for the opportunity to talk with you all!“
Purchase their new album “Idyll” on Bandcamp: https://sungrave-denver.bandcamp.com/album/idyll