Ian Arkley of My Silent Wake

posted in: Articles, October 2018 | 0

Once in awhile, you hear something and you know you have just heard some of the best of the best in that style. That is how I feel when I listen to My Silent Wake. Let me back up in time for a bit. The late 80s for me were a time when I was immersed in metal and some goth music. Seventh Angel was one of the bands I knew was a bit more ahead of its game in the metal genre. It would be comparable to a fine red wine amidst a corner liquor store. A decade or so later, Matt Hunt told me about this band My Silent Wake and mentioned it was Ian Arkley’s band. I did not have to give it a second thought before I picked up the albums. MSW is some of the best metal with goth and traditional elements/instrumentation that  you are likely to hear. The albums vary in styles and the music is original. It is my pleasure to share with you this interview with Ian, whom I found to be kind and gracious.

DP: My Silent Wake has been around for awhile. Can you talk about the latest MSW album and how it is unique?

IA: The band has been going since 2005 when 75% of the final Ashen Mortality line up decided to form a new band, playing similar music but dropping the old songs and with more freedom as to what we play. Some early MSW used songs that were written and performed by AM. Over the years we have had some drastic lineup changes. I have remained in the band the whole time. So yes, the band has been around for a while. The latest album is our tenth. This discography includes two experimental albums and an acoustic album, and is additional to split albums and other re-release and rare stuff. The new one is the first metal album to fully feature Simon Bibby on keys. He joined prior to the previous album, which was experimental. Simon also added keys to some previous metal stuff that was re-released. The new album has a much fuller sound with keys played on everything. I like the addition a lot. Even though we had some keys in the past, it is far more prominent now. Si took up bass in the late eighties to join Seventh Angel and now has taken up keys to be a part of MSW. I am proud of what he and the other members of MSW have achieved on this album. I feel it is one of the best we have done. Everyone played to the best of their ability. The album distils everything that is MSW in one release.

Do you have a My Silent Wake album that stands out for you? Can you tell us a story about that album?    

Hmmm….difficult. I think The Anatomy of Melancholy was our most ambitious, as it is a double album and covers a lot of ground with acoustic songs as well as metal. The recording was very different from the first one. Jasen, our drummer at the time, had a wrist injury. That meant he had to record at home on an electronic kit with one hand and overdub the parts he would have played with his other hand. The album has some fan favourites in “Sturm, Storm” and “The Dying Things Were Living For.” Andrew from Paramaecium stayed during the recording and took the band photo on the album inlay. No one else from that period remains in the band apart from me. But we still play “Sturm” live. Each album has strengths and weaknesses. They all have something to offer.

Apart from music, do you do other work or have other passions or interests?

No money is made from what we do. It is often a difficult job to scrape together enough money to record. Even keeping a band ticking over is difficult in this day and age. And album sales are at an all time low. I work as a freight train driver. All the other lads in the band have full time jobs. Apart from the band, my main interest is railways. But I enjoy many things such as listening to music, reading (mainly about Fortean subjects), playing in other bands, and spending time with friends and family.

I love trains as well. As a passenger, I love being able to take my time and enjoy the ride, often seeing landscapes and scenery one does not see on highways. I wonder if we as a modern society are in too much of a rush to slow down and see the world. Instead we are speeding down highways, trying to make deadlines. What are your thoughts?

Yes, I think that is true. We are connected at all times and don’t have any time to relax and switch off. Social media is an addiction and is often quite destructive, as well as being an amazing way to stay in touch. Back in the day, people worked very hard. After their work, they would not be in constant connection to the outside world. Sometimes I long to be far away from all of the communication and stresses. I think I am not alone in this. We have so much at our fingertips and it is overwhelming. We haven’t adjusted to it all yet and it is causing us a lot of stress and conflict that is often unnecessary.

As much as I love making music, I feel that the modern environment for bands doing such a niche style can be pretty demoralising and can lead to many mixed emotions. I am beginning to realise that at nearly 50 years old, the end of my career making extreme music will soon be coming to an end. That is hard to accept. If you have got to a certain level, you have a team to work on everything with you. But for small bands it is constant hard work, and you have to ask yourself if you can maintain it when age catches up with you.

I would also like to touch on Fortean Times. I see there is a UK magazine on Fortean Times. I have heard of this referred to as “paranormal.” Can you describe your intrigue? I personally find some of the paranormal fascinating.

The whole Fortean philosophy is one of a type of agnostic interest in all things unexplained, rather than being arch skeptic on one hand or a true believer on the other.

It is the inquiring middle ground that rarely comes to solid conclusions.

Of course some of the mysteries get solved in the end!

I recently listened to the MSW song “There Was Death,” and was impressed by how beautifully heavy that track sounds. What are your musical inspirations? How do you keep current and fresh in music?

Too many inspirations to mention but they include doom, goth, NWOBHM, classic rock, extreme and traditional metal, experimental, darkwave, folk, prog, classical, early music, etc… I listen to a lot of music and it all gets so very hard to pin it down to a few bands. I hope we have our own sound. Inevitably, there will be comparisons. I never try to sound like any one else. Rather, I let the songs develop naturally. We don’t analyse what we do too much. We just get on with writing and performing the music we love.

When you are writing music, do you have an idea in your head and begin working on the pieces to develop them? Or is it more a spontaneous arrangement where you share an idea and others contribute to it to help the song grow?

Song writing takes many forms in this band and the experimental stuff is written in a different way to the metal stuff. Often there is just an initial idea when recording the ambient and experimental stuff, which has layers added in recording to make a final picture in the end. Metal stuff tends to start with a riff and gets developed and fully written before recording. Music or lyrics can come first and some are collaborative and others written entirely by one person. Even these have everyone’s personal contribution in the end. As to what they decide to play and on the new album, MSW is added to the writing credits so everyone has some credit for all the songs.

The Seventh Angel releases are being re-issued on vinyl on Bombworks. I still consider Seventh Angel one of the better of the Christian metal of that time. Tell me what brought about these reissues? 

Matt Hunt from Bombworks/Retroactive got in touch about doing the reissues and we were very interested in getting the albums out on vinyl again. It will be the first time for Dust of Years. Around the same time we will put the demo CD together, as well as a bonus for fans wanting to hear the origins of the band. I was reluctant to put out demo stuff originally. But I have decided that it is part of the history of the band and should be heard by a wider audience. Even though it is rough, it has some merit. I am not proud of some of the lyrical content of the demos and the first album. However, the music still sounds good.

I know for a lot of us, our beliefs, religion and otherwise, shift and change over time. We at “Down The Line” enjoy hearing about peoples’ journeys? Can you speak about how your worldview has changed since being in Seventh Angel and other metal bands with a strong Christian leaning?

The dreaded question that would take hours to answer properly. Yes, my beliefs have altered and that should not be important to anyone else. It should not affect anyone else. I am honest about it because I don’t want anyone listening to our music under false pretences. MSW was never a Christian band though some of us were very easy-going believers right at the start of the band. Some of the lyrics are pretty obviously written with a personal faith. It was never preachy or judgmental. These days and for a few years, I have been agnostic. I would say there hasn’t been anyone involved in the band for years that would class themselves as a Christian. I prefer an open minded approach to religion. I am not atheist and like to explore different thoughts and ideas about after-life subjects.

It is pretty sad to see the way some Christians are behaving right now, from the supporters of awful people in power to the stupid petty arguments and judgmentalism. I still see people with a faith that are a good example and are a good advert for their beliefs. But they are the less outspoken. If indeed Jesus existed, what makes his followers think that he would want them to be arguing on the Internet (for all the world to mock) about the wording of the title of the latest Stryper album instead of doing good deeds and striving to better themselves? What makes them think that homophobia, misogyny, lying, cheating, child abuse, racism, etc. are acceptable in their politicians and role models? Awful things are overlooked because of the belief that repentance is enough even if justice is not done. Extreme right wing Christianity makes no sense at all to me and is a million miles from the words in the bible. Then again I suppose it can be twisted to suit.

I would like to do more with Seventh Angel one day. But I don’t want to be associated with these kinds of people. We would get judged for who we are and what we think. It is not worth the hassle. I came to the conclusion years ago that everyone that has ever been born is the same. No one can possibly know more than the next man about mysteries that we all question. How can anyone claim to know what an unseen and unheard God has to say and then tell everyone else this as fact? Why are some considered right and some wrong? None of us knows but some of us admit this.

On some of MSW’s music, you play several traditional instruments, such as mandolin and didgeridoo. What kind of music from older traditions inspires you?

I am a big fan of medieval music and neo classical, neo medieval etc. I grew up in a home where classical music was played a lot. I like folk music, especially the British folk rock bands from the 60s and 70s. I enjoy trying new and strange instruments and making non-metal music as much as I do making metal.

Do you read or listen to podcasts? What have you enjoyed lately?

As for podcasts I like scientific, Fortean, and music podcasts. I don’t have time to listen to many. I read various books, mainly novels and “Fortean Times.”

What bands or artists inspire you today?

I always answer these questions and afterwards remember stuff I forgot to mention. Dead Can Dance and Zeppelin remain my two favourite bands. I listen to a lot of old music and a little new of many styles. A band I like very much are Blue Angel Lounge. The best recent metal band I enjoy are Obsequiae. I like their mix of black metal and medieval.

Any upcoming projects we can anticipate in the near-future?

The new MSW album is due in March. I am hoping to start work with The Other Window again on new stuff. And I have played some guitar on the next Attrition release as well as my contribution to Guillotine Dream, which shall remain slightly anonymous.

What brings you joy? What brings a smile to your face?

Friends and family; being out on a steam railway on a nice day; watching a band I love; comedy; my girlfriend of course! She makes me laugh a lot too; remembering good times; creating things (models, music, photos etc); recording and playing live (when it is a good gig!).

My Silent Wake website

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*