Thanks again for being here. First of all, we know that you’ve been working on something new. Could you shed any light on what’s to come in these dark days?

Dempsey W. Mills: After my last album, Dark Winter Memories, I felt a bit drained and wanted to try a different direction as a new outlet for my creativity. I took a break from writing new Vials of Wrath material for a while. However, I had several riffs and pieces of music that didn’t make it onto the album. After a conversation with Vision of God Records, we decided to re-release the Ataraxia EP in two parts, as I took those musical ideas and forged them into full songs – creating a second EP. So, if all goes well, Ataraxia I & II will be released as a single album sometime this year. The other new musical direction I’ve been working on is called Pallidus. It’s dark, goth inspired hard rock in the vein of bands like Poisonblack, Sentenced, Lacrimas Profundere, Type O Negative and maybe some early 80s goth like Bauhaus. I hope to have an EP out by September of this year.

Did Dark Winter Memories and other subsequent works like Ataraxia and The Ways of Old open new doors and reach new heights for Vials of Wrath?

Dempsey: In some ways. I’ve pushed myself further into exploring my influences and how they affect my writing. But at the same time, I still struggle to find my own sound. Even after several releases. I tend to treat EPs as short experiments in a certain direction, while trying to blend all my influences more on full-length albums.

Several people appreciate the artwork of Vials of Wrath, and many agree that it is something unique. If they all said that Vials has its own style, would you believe them? Or do you have to convince yourself that you need a solid identity?

Dempsey: I think this comes from the commonperception many artists have of themselves and being “my own worst critic”. I’m really grateful that there are those who already consider my music original, but when I listen to a lot of what I’ve written, I’m like, “I can hear that band’s influence in this part,” or “there’s too much similarity to that band here. I have no hesitation in telling most people that if you put Alcest, Agalloch and Wolves In The Throne Room in a blender, you’d get something close to Vials Of Wrath. Maybe a few other Black and Death Metal bands thrown in for good measure. Knowing this, I try not to sound too much like my obvious influences, but they are definitely there and I don’t deny it.

Since you started working with Vials of Wrath in 2011, the project has materialised records in a good sequence, with little time between one release and the next. For the first time, the project is heading towards three years of supposed inactivity. Could this silence be related to inspiration, side jobs or even the pandemic?

Dempsey: Yes, almost all of those have… Want to read the whole interview? Check out the latest issue of Extreme Brutal Death Magazine for this and much more! Order your Extreme Brutal Death Magazine at UNVERGAENGLICH-UNDERGROUND.COM