In the present form Thy Despair band was formed by Nephilim in the fall of 2017.
The band started with recording EP album called The Free One. It was released on May 16th, 2018 in two languages: English and Ukrainian. The lyrics were strongly influenced by war in Ukraine. Man’s aspiration for freedom and his scramble with insidious creatures willing to enslave his body, mind, and soul was the main idea the band developed in its lyrics.
2018-2019 Thy Despair played lots of shows in small clubs and Ukrainian open-air.
In May of 2019 the band has released a tribute to Game of Thrones main theme on Youtube with authorial sympho dark metal music, lyrics and epic video.
In May 2020 Thy Despair has released the LP Album called The Song of Desolation and a video clip on a song Army of Dead
Greetings from Metalheads forever Magazine, how are you today?
Greetings from Thy Despair, this is Nephilim speaking (guitar, extreme vocals)! We are fine as long as the brave Ukrainian soldiers destroy the accursed Russian occupiers. For our part, we help our army by donating money so that our heroes are well equipped and have everything they need. We call on everyone to support the Ukrainian army by making donations to volunteer organizations such as the Prytula Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org/uk . Even the smallest donation will help.
In 2020 you released your first full length album “The Song Of Desolation” can you tell me about the making, production and songwriting behind the album?
Our album includes 10 songs which basically were written in 2006 – 2009 years. Until 2017 Thy Despair had constant problems with its line-up and the band collapsed several times. I was also involved in other metal projects so Thy Despair was on pause for many years. In 2017, I was finally lucky to find some amazing talented guys who joined the band and made the release of our LP possible. We finalized the music and most lyrics were rewritten from scratch but you still can hear the echo of 2000’s gothic doom in our album The Song of Desolation.
What was the concept that was put behind this album?
Most of the songs are inspired by Ukrainian folklore and describe the beauty of dark romance. But the lyrics of the three songs were written under the influence of Russian intervention in Ukraine, which began in 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and started a war in the east of our country. These songs are The Free One, War, and Falcon.
Been almost 2 years, what is the current plans, do you plan to get back into studio or something is already in the works?
We were planning to release a new conceptual album in the end of 2022 and most of the songs have already been written in the beginning of this year. But then the war started. When Russian missiles hit civil buildings in your city and you see the results of their war crimes every day, many things become more important than music. Things like volunteering, donating, helping friends who joined the army, trying to keep your family safe and surviving in new conditions of wounded economics and ruined logistic chains. So our current plans are to help Ukraine win the war.
Can you tell me how Thy Despair was formed and how you got together as a band?
As a strong viable organism Thy Despair was formed in 2017 by Nephilim (guitar, extreme vocals), Elin (soprano vocal), and Strike (solo guitar). We got together to play old Thy Despair songs just for fun but we liked the result so much that after a single rehearsal we decided to revive the band. A bit later Anton (bass), Navka (keyboards), and Alex (drums) joined us. In 2021, Strike left the band, so now there are five of us in Thy Despair, but we are stronger and friendlier than ever.
The album came out at the peak of Covid, did you guys get a chance to go on tour?
We had plans to go on tour but Covid has ruined them all. Now it is even funny to remember what a tragedy it seemed to us. When something goes bad remember that it can always become worse and enjoy the moment. By the way, if you are tired of wearing medical masks come to Ukraine; no one cares about the masks when bombs fall from the sky.
How does the future look like for the band?
All the band members are good friends. Recently we had a band meeting at Navka’s place and had a great time enjoying the company of each other. But at the moment the future of the band looks misty. War is not the best condition to create music, so if you want to help Thy Despair, please support Ukrainian army by donating to volunteer organizations such as the Prytula Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org/uk. The only way to stop the war is the victory of Ukraine.
What would be the message that you want to give to the fans?
War is the worst thing mankind has ever invented, and savage Russia is the only one guilty in starting it in the geographical center of Europe. Ukrainians and Russians are not the same people. They are two different peoples and the only thing that unites them is the fact that Russians oppressed Ukrainians since 17th century. Please don’t listen to Russian propaganda and check all the information before believing it. I wish the war never comes to your home. Check out The Song Of Desolation album by Thy Despair if you haven’t yet done it, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay metal \m/.
