A brand new Aerith single has landed featuring no less than Andy Gillion of the mighty Mors Principum Est! Furthermore, word has it there are plenty more features and much more epic Melodic Death Metal to be had in the future! Equipped with Aborted drummer Ken Bedene, vocalist Aaron Green, and bassist Frank Bedene – they’re a highly talented and well connected band that brings out all the stops.

To carry on tradition, we’ve embarked on another nerd infested interview with Aerith’s set of metal vocal chords – Aaron Green!

Are you a wizard?

Aaron – Nope I am a Ranger Half Elf Level 5 of D&D Edition 3.5!!!

Living the dreams of true nerds, you’ve continued on this rampage of prime Melodic Death Metal features. To name a few you’ve worked with current and former members of Scar Symmetry, The Black Dahlia Murder & Arsis, Fallujah, Darkest Hour, Conducting From The Grave, Nightrage… and now no less than Andy Gillion of Mors Principum Est! So here’s the deal… You only get 3 more collaborations – dead or alive – and the universe cuts you off. Who’s it gonna be?

Aaron – Damn…..that is a hell of a paradox to answer hahah…wow….. I need to think here. Well I really would love to Collaborate with any of the In Flames guys if it be Jesper, Anders or Bjorn and since they fall under one band lets say that is 1. Another would HANDS DOWN for me personally would have to be Devin Townsend, the man is my music guru so I would love to Collaborate with him in anyway shape or form!! To choose one that is no longer with us that’s so hard…..I guess for me it would be amazing to have one of the Darrell brother (Dime or Vinnie) to do something with us or Chuck Schuldiner! I mean it’s hard to narrow it down cause there are soooooooooo many all of us would love to collaborate with, hell I would love to collaborate with Adam D of KiIllswitch Engage, Howard Jones, Tomas Lindberg of At The Gates, or even Nergal of Behemoth..…there are just waaaay too many too choose from it would make my head explode. We really have been very fortunate to have had such an amazing group of collaborations with the many amazing artist we have had featured thus far and we are so eternally grateful to them loving our music enough to want to feature on a track! We really cannot wait to reveal more too come we have on newer material and I will say this, we have had the fortunate blessing to have had a vocal guest appearance on a track we are working on that we can’t reveal yet, but their band has been hugely influential to us as musicians and on me as a vocalist, to hear him sing the lyrics I have written has been a dream come true and also have had the pleasure to have had one of my favorite female metal vocalist feature on a track as well! I better stop there before I reveal too much but I promise you that we got so many amazing more guests to come!

Now, the more important question… Who’s your go-to Mortal Kombat character?

Aaron – oh bro, for me its Liu Kang all the WAY! As a hardcore Bruce Lee fan, for Liu’s character being influenced by Bruce I have always been automatically attached to Liu Kang! My other is of course Johnny Cage!

If the character on The Void Realm artwork had a Mortal Kombat Fatality, how badly would it end for Kano?

Aaron – Ever seen The Watchmen movie or read the comic? That part where Doctor Manhattan implodes the character Rorschach?….it would be like that…

Tell us about The Void Realm.

Aaron – Where do I begin? Might be a bit of detail here so apologies And feel free to skip ahead if its too much. Well musically this was the first track of new material written after the release of our self-titled debut EP in 2018. It got shelved for sometime as we had other tracks that were ready for release before, mostly do to me not really having anything lyrically written for it yet. I reached out to Andy having been following him for sometime and being a fan of Mors Principium Est. While doing so, I came to find out he and Ken knew one another after the fact and it all came together! We got Andy to record his solo sometime around 2019 I believe. When I decided to revisit the track I listened too it on repeat for a week to connect a vibe too it that would help me figure out what part of the story it was reflecting of “The Wanderer” character and the story I have been writing about since our self-titled EP. So, around the end of 2019 I was home and I decided too micro-dose and I wrote all night while the track was on repeat. I recorded vocals on “The Void Realm” last year in the summer of 2020 and recorded vocals on a few other tracks as well. Following that, we took a break due to getting busy in our personal lives, Ken finishing the new Aborted record and the pandemic hitting. Then in the beginning of March of this year we decided to hit up Mendel again to mix and master since this track had been completed after Frank recorded bass in November last year with Ken! During the process I asked Mendel if he would like to do a intro for the track and he jumped at the opportunity! I was very surprised how well it turned out (not that I had any doubts. It has a very Metal Gear Solid vibe too it (which is my favorite video game!) and makes sense since Mendel is a total gamer nerd like us and LOVES that series as well and as much as it had a impact on me, the Metal Gear Solid series soundtracks had a impact on him as well and without any intention, another game reference became apart of the project and I could not be more stoked on the random outcome it had on the track and connection it has to us all as friends! The intro to the track Literally sounds like a intro to a Metal Gear game haha I hope Kojima-San would be proud, Kojima should hit up Mendel *wink *wink

The concept of “The Void Realm” came from a random article I read that explained what “Void Realm” is. The best way to explain it is that this realm is an alien universe with several characteristics that distinguish it from our own. It contains elements which don’t exist outside of it’s dimensional plane. The realm is composed mostly, or at least in part, of anti-matter. Anyone or anything that moves from one universe to the other must reverse its polarity on a molecular level. Time passes at a faster rate relative to ours. It is measured as, for every week which passes on Earth, a year passes in the Void Realm. This intrigued me, and it gave me a real idea of what where the portal would go in-between The Wanderer’s point of entry, to the “Eden” like world seen in the portal (as seen in our self-titled EP cover)In writing this section of the story I wanted to expand more on what the experience the character had once he went through the portal (shown in our self-titled EP cover) and what effect it would have on him physically, mentally and spiritually, how that would transform him into something more and gi e h clarity on everything he has been through in his life that has lead him to this moment. The experience is like he is “free falling” into a “rabbit hole” and absorbing everything everyone before him who has traveled in the realm and absorbing all their experience and knowledge and that of the universe.

Lyrically, we enter a different section of the story of our character known as “The Wanderer”. This section of the story gives in depth details of the journey he experience’s during his time traveling into the portal he was invited into by the entity (as seen in the cover art of our self-titled EP) and as he fall’s between the two destinations of his entry into the portal and to where the portal leads on the other side, it is a realm that bestows great knowledge of eons of knowledge of beings of other galactic civilizations across the universe that were chose to join the entities known as “The Cosmic Winds”. His time in the “The Void Realm” in our reality would one seem like seconds, but for him it is a lifetime. As he falls through “The Void Realm” he is bestowed all their knowledge that awakens his “Mind’s Eye”, as that happens his physical form begins to transform through a form of rapid evolution by the opening of his “Mind’s Eye” seeing for the first time the truth of why he was destined to go through all the hardships, pain, suffering of loss and anguish, and in doing so giving him for the first time a sense of forgiving himself for everything he has blamed himself for. The awakening of his “Mind’s Eye” shows him how everything he has gone through has led him to this moment, to the entity at the portal appearing before him right after he exiles himself from all he has known, after liberating his home from a tyrannical reign of corruption, enslavement and oppression, “ The Void Realm” reveals to him all the knowledge of life in existence throughout the cosmos and becoming one with the source that birthed all life, The Universal Hive. This journey through “The Void Realm” prepares him for the next chapter in his journey and helps him accept his past that’s created the path to this present moment that has lead him to this divine future all his hardships has prepared him for and destined him to be chosen by The Cosmic Winds”.

In a literal context, the song is about reflection of one’s life if it be our mistakes or past and the ability to grow and evolve from those things to become prepared for what else is to come. A quote O heard once always stuck with me “You cannot make a future if you are still running from the past”. So this song is in context to reflection the past of mistake, lost, guilt, pain and torment. Accepting that with out all those experiences of hardship where you are now you would have never made it to this point and to let go of the past and forgive yourself, to accept that knowledge to grow and push forward as a new stronger being entering the future.

And can you tell the people how unprepared they are for what comes next from Aerith?

Aaron – More epic Choruses, more epic guest spots, more story telling, more epic riffs from Ken and bass grooves from frank! More awesome detailed concept art to help show a visualization of the part of the story its telling! Possible a short comic may be in the making with a friend of ours (we are just talking about that at the moment)

If you all had to switch jobs in the band and record a song, how would it go and what would your new band’s name be?

Aaron – Frank would probably hope on vocals, I would hop on drums, Ken would stay on guitar

What are you looking forward to in the worlds of cinema, interactive visual entertainment, poetry, etc?

Aaron – Well so far its been a awesome year movie wise for me! The Zach Snyder Cut of Justice League, Godzilla Vs Kong, Mortal Kombat, Nobody (Which if you are a John Wick fan like me I recommend it!) and a indie film I fell in love with called “The Girl Who Didn’t Flinch” was amazing! It has a awesome track by the synthwave artist Miami Nights 1984, its shot like a 1980’s film and it just has such a great vibe! I just finished watching “Invincible” on amazon prime, fantastic violent adult hero cartoon based on the comic written and co- created by Robert Kirkman, the man who created The Walking Dead Comics. I have also really enjoyed the marvel shows on Disney+ Wandavision and The Falcon and The Winter Solider! The things I am looming to movie wise this year are the new DUNE remake that is based on one of my favorite science fiction novels and movies and has been directed by one of of my favorite directors Denis Villeneuve who directed one of the best sequels to my favorite movies (Blade Runner 2049) and I cannot wait for DUNE! Show wise I am really excited for Castlevania season 4 on Netflix, and the second season of Love, Death & Robots!

So people know, your whole band is in the same D&D group because you’re NEEEERDS. Tell us about the last time one of your characters died.

Aaron – Well I won’t lie its been a mine since we all played since this last year was CRAZY as you know, but I know for sure the last one to die was *cough* me… I believe we were fighting a gold dragon and I got torched (LITERALLY) and everyone rolled their luck to save me….and everyone missed their luck but one person…so we went through the fight after that with NO LUCK against a dragon and if someone died again…that was that lol sooooo needless to say…I never let that down in the group…

When live music makes a proper comeback, who are you seeing first?

Aaron – Good question! Honestly I want to go to Psycho Las Vegas Fest to see Mercyful Fate, Emperor, Obituary, At The Gates, Immolation and Wolves In A Throne Room. Everyone else I can skip.

Congratulations! Here’s a free coupon for the superpower of your choice. What’s it gonna be?

Aaron – Bro….Invincibility all the way!!!!

*grabs a gun from the mantle* Any last words?

Aaron – “in tribute to the last words of Wad Wilson in Dead Pool 2”….Woodpecker… Gingivitis… Cuntpop… Do you wanna build a snowman?” *BAM*

 

Bandcamp: https://aerithlives.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aerithmetal
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/66pKSI4BmtRwpYjpIgFual?si=m0n_gvkIRBeZMgdsvrLrRw&utm_source=copy-link
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aerithlives_530/