Interview

Black Metal Trio Wild Beyond Bassist Talks New Album And All Things Black Metal With Metal Underground

Wild Beyond recently released their follow-up EP, "Black Sites in Lower Chambers," to their self-titled full length album that debuted in 2023. To say that Wild Beyond is motivated to create a footprint on the U.S. black metal scene might me an understatement. Metalunderground recently had the opportunity to ask Wild Beyond's bassist, Jimmy Viola questions about "Black Sites in Lower Chambers" and all things black metal and here is what he had to say.

Nikos: I see that your debut album, “Wild Beyond,” was released in 2023. How long was Wild Beyond a band before your debut release and can you please give us a brief history of the band?

Jimmy: I first met with our guitarist and vocalist Eddie in fall of 2021. I had gotten word that he wanted to start a new band, and I myself was looking to start a new project. We convinced drummer Evan to join a few weeks later. 10 months later we had our entire debut LP recorded and picked up by Gates Of Hell records. We wanted to put out a record before we played shows or anything. We certainly had a fire lit under our asses to get the music out.

Nikos: The “Black Sites In Lower Chambers,” follow-up EP was recently released. What are your expectations on its success and which song is your favorite and why?

Jimmy: The fact that we even got these songs recorded and released is a success in itself. And, people dig the music. The critical reception tends to notice more cohesive songwriting in this EP. We've been compared a lot to Immortal and Bathory on this release, which is incredibly flattering. To that end, I consider “Visions Before The Seizure” my personal favorite, because it has a haunting acoustic and keyboard introduction, and I think it's the most ambitious in terms of frosty black metal riffs. I think all three songs are strong compositions that compliment each other.

Nikos: I listened to “Black Sites In Lower Chambers” and to my ears, it has that classic, underproduced and raw black metal sound. There are passages that remind me of early Emperor. Would you say they are an influence for Wild Beyond? If not, which black metal bands would you say you are influenced by the most?

Jimmy: Yes, the EP absolutely sounds raw and underproduced, because it was. The drums were recorded in a friend's basement with our colleague Ryan Mulvanerty engineering the session. All the guitars, vocals, bass and keyboards were recorded in our practice room, or in my home studio. I stuck the microphone next to the guitar amps and let 'em rip. What you hear is how we sound.

Per our black metal influences: Emperor is a big inspiration for us. We like our black metal with a huge atmosphere, epic guitar parts, and powerhouse drumming. We cover Dimmu Borgir “Spellbound (By The Devil)” to conclude this EP as well. Evan wanted the drums to sound massive like on Enthroned Darkness Triumphant. Covering a song off that album was a fun little homework assignment to learn from the masters.

Other black metal bands of that style we listen to include: Immortal, Bathory, Aura Noir, Abigor, Vader, Cradle of Filth.

Nikos: The United States is not generally known for having a lot of homegrown black metal. Would you agree or disagree with that statement and why?

Jimmy: Underground black metal in the states has always been out there. We're way more inspired by thrash metal and death metal from North America than black metal. But it's out there. Our frontman Eddie formed the black metal band Infernal Stronghold in the early 2000s, while he was still an adolescent in Catholic Boy's School, and played with them till 2015. Evan drummed in Woods Of Ypres, which started as a black metal band, and also played in Woe in the early 2010s. The resolve is strong.

Nikos: I noticed that “Black Sites In Lower Chambers” was released on cassette. Cassettes have slowly been making a comeback for about a decade now. I’m not sure if were around when cassettes were at the top of the physical music media pyramid, but if you collected them at some point, what was the first album you bought on cassette?

Jimmy: The first cassette I bought was the Metallica Creeping Death single from my local record shop when I was 14. The first tapes I listened to in heavy rotation were Black Sabbath Paranoid and Candlemass Nightfall, when I was 16 years old.

Nikos: Are there any plans to release “Black Sites In Lower Chambers” on vinyl?

Jimmy: Not likely. However, you might hear these songs re-recorded on our upcoming full length...

Nikos: Going back to the black metal genre in whole, what is your favorite pre-2000’s black metal album and what is your current favorite black metal band?

Jimmy: Mayhem De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas wins for lasting influence on me, as well as being one of the first black metal records I owned as a teenager.

Presently, we're all fans and friends of PLAGUE FEVER from Richmond, Virginia.

Nikos: What’s next for Wild Beyond? What are your plans as a band over the next year? Any plans to tour?

Jimmy: We are scheduled to record the drums for our next full length album in early December at Red Planet Studio in Clifton Heights. Our focus is entirely on the recording effort for now. We'll be ready to hit the road in 2026 once the album is recorded and released.

Nikos: Is there anything you would like to add that we didn’t cover in this interview?

Jimmy: Thanks for reading. We hope you listen to our music and PLAY IT OUT.

You can connect with Wild Beyond via the links below.

Bandcamp

Ampwall

Give eye to "Slaughtering the Lion" from their latest EP below: