Interviews About Albums: Vyr Muk - Chants Of The Tenebrous Depths (2025)

In this new interview, we sat down with the Ukrainian Black Metal/Death Metal band, Vyr Muk, to ask questions about their album "Chants Of The Tenebrous Depths". 

1. What can you say about this new EP/CD?

This album is the work of 9 artists, including myself. I`m very happy this ambition came to life, and listeners can hear how many good and talented people the Ukrainian underground scene has! Each song is a separate, unique story, and I encourage you to listen to all of them!

2. What is the meaning of the EP/CD name?

“Chants of the Tenebrous Depths”, this name describes the whole sense of the LP, since it is focused on deep, dark topics, and we are chanting about them on this release.

3. Which one is the composer of the CD/EP?

I am the composer of 99% of the music, and I wrote the third part of the texts on this LP. Most of the guest vocalists preferred to write the texts to their songs by themselves, and I wanted to give them as much freedom as needed. Also, the pipe section that can be heard on the Harvest of Innocence song is written and performed by Yevhen Tankovskyi.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

It's hard for me to choose, because all the songs are different and each one has its own highlight.

5. Is there a special message in this EP/CD? If there is what it is?

All the messages are written in the texts. One of the main messages is presented in songs Harvest of Innocence and Lighthouse of Hopelessness, the first one is focused on Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children and the creation of a website with a catalog of children, confirming the existence of slavery in the 21st century. The second track immerses the listener in a suffocating labyrinth of fear and darkness, where hope disappears, and every step echoes with the crunch of bones. It is a harsh, gloomy story about punishment that overtakes the occupiers who bring suffering, and about an extinguished beacon for those whose souls are doomed to wander in purgatory.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

Sure, actually, all the lyrics can be read on streaming platforms and Bandcamp, but most of it is in Ukrainian, so I guess most of the listeners will need to use a translator. Here I will present the lyrics song called “Stillborn Sin”, which is written in English:

Dead smiles rot on forgotten lips

No voice remains

Where walls hold the echo of silent hearts

Birds no longer sing to summon the light

They’ve turned into ashes and broken glass

Black water embraces the knees

It knows the weight of every loss

The wind stays silent — in that stillness, guilt

Teaches the heart how to fall

There are no foes — only reflection

Each glance a scar across the skin

Light is a memory of first affection

That clung to the chest like a birth-born sin

Trees bow their lips to the soil

Dead smiles rot on forgotten lips

No voice remains

Where walls hold the echo of silent hearts

Blood on the stone — a message or mark

Or just a memory lost in the drift

A crucified thought — a tear in the dark

To exist, not live

Black water embraces the knees

It knows the weight of every loss

The wind stays silent — in that stillness, guilt

Teaches the heart how to fall

What waits at the edge, where vision fails

A silence as deep as a faceless death

Where hearts don’t beat but rather pale

Empty embraces carry no weight

Yet someone once stayed in their shape

Words break apart like brittle snowflakes

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

My inspiration is the current war that is now going on in my homeland, Ukraine. I think facing the full-scale war for time period that is reaching 4 years now is one of the worst experiences a person can face during his/her lifetime. I live 30 km from the frontline, and I also serve in the Ukrainian army. So war is with me on an everyday basis, and it's my fucking “Roman Empire” that I think about every minute of my life. Since black/death metal music is suitable for dark and unpleasant topics, it’s a good way for me to show my emotions and feelings.

8. Something to add?

Nothing to add here. I want to thank you for inviting me to this interview.