Interviews: Wyrdstæf

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Atmospheric Tribal Black Metal band Wyrdstæf from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name? Did you plan it, or did it just come out like that?

Urzhan - The name Wyrdstæf is a portmanteau of the Old English words wyrd and stæf. To the Anglo-Saxons, wyrd was a concept roughly equivalent to fate or destiny, while stæf could mean either a physical staff or a written letter or character. I chose the latter interpretation, so the name roughly translates as "Words of Fate".

I chose an Old English name because that period of history has always been very close to my heart, both as a medieval historian and as a pagan. More importantly, language lies at the heart of what Wyrdstæf is trying to do. The Stone Age is the longest period of human history, yet we know remarkably little about the people who lived through it. Archaeology can tell us what they hunted, what tools they used, and where they travelled, but it cannot tell us the stories they shared around the fire, the myths they believed, or how they understood the world around them. Neuroscience tells us that our brains function much the same way they did tens of thousands of years ago. These were not "cavemen" in the popular sense, but people who loved, feared, grieved, celebrated, and dreamed just as we do today. Wyrdstæf is our attempt to imagine some of those lost stories and give them voice once more. In that sense, "Words of Fate" felt like an appropriate name for the project.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Urzhan - I don’t really know what genre we fall into, to be honest. We started off as black metal because that is what I listened to the most at the time we formed the band, and it seemed a good vehicle to carry the music and story that I wanted to tell. However, we have already started working on our second album, and I don’t think that fits neatly into just a black metal categorisation. I would prefer not to be bound by the constraints of any particular genre and rather let the music flow naturally from the story that we want to tell. I believe that we can only improve from here, and as we become more cohesive in our sound over time, we’ll gradually eschew more genre norms, which, in my opinion, is a good thing.

That being said, I do enjoy the various attempts to categorise our sound. People can call it whatever they like, we’ll just keep telling the stories.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Urzhan - I knew the majority of the members of the band from my work as an extreme metal promoter in York when I was studying for my Master's in Medieval History way back in 2018. Revenant, I have known you since I was younger, as we both grew up in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and had a few mutual friends through the local music scene. Though the lineup is no longer the same as it was when we first formed Wyrdstæf, every member has been someone I have known and been close friends with at that time in my life.

4. Each band member's favourite band?

Urzhan – I find it difficult to pin down a favourite band, as my tastes shift so wildly over the cycles of time, and I find that there is no band that I can come back to as a favourite, but rather varieties depending on my mood or what I’m working on at any given moment. I love a lot of atmospheric, folkier music for writing, but very heavy extreme metal or industrial techno for exercise, for example. Recently, I've been obsessed with Arkhaik's Uihtis album; there's something deeply unsettling about what they do, and I think it feels truly ancient in a way very little music manages to, particularly in our genre. Beyond that, Heilung and Wardruna have always been important touchstones for me. I think their philosophies regarding music and history are very similar to my own, and I think their dedication to capturing the essence of a particular period of time comes across so well in their writing.

Revenant - This is a tricky one for me as well, as I very much go through phases of focusing on certain bands/genres depending on where I am in my life. I think for what I do in Wyrdstaef, though, it would have to be Nine Inch Nails, more specifically Trent Reznor’s use of vocal drones and other organic sounds processed through effects to create the kind of background texture that feels like something itching in the back of your head. I try to use as many organic/unstable sounds as I can to add in a similar kind of chaos and a sense of unease. We’re telling stories from a time where the world itself was both a friend and an enemy, and I view my role as conjuring that kind of creeping uncertainty.

Baksu - It’s certainly difficult to narrow it down to one band, as there are so many that fall under the favourite band list from various genres. Starting with the foundations of Iron Maiden, Priest, Metallica, and Sabbath from an early age, then getting more into the extreme with the likes of Dissection, Watain, Emperor, and Mayhem, and more modern bands like Svartidaudi, Misphyrming, and Mgla. However, I always found bands such as Heilung very inspiring, especially when it comes to the live ritualistic aspect of it.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Urzhan - I can only speak for myself as the storyteller behind Wyrdstæf, but I am fascinated by the idea that homo-sapiens have remained fundamentally unchanged throughout history. The people who lived forty thousand years ago laughed, grieved, loved, feared, and dreamed just as we do today. The world they inhabited was vastly different, but the mind behind the eyes was the same.

Much of my inspiration comes from trying to bridge that gap. Archaeology can tell us what tools people used or what animals they hunted, but it can never tell us what stories they shared around the fire, what they believed lurked in the darkness beyond the treeline, or how they made sense of death. The best we can do is make educated guesses based on archaeology and anthropology, but I find that the space between evidence and imagination is where Wyrdstæf lives.

I draw inspiration from history, mythology, animism, folklore, and the natural world. Ultimately, though, every song begins with a simple question: what did it feel like to be there? We are not trying to recreate prehistory with academic precision, but to imagine the inner lives, myths, and memories of the people who lived through it. Whilst we may use reconstructed Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European in our lyrics, we are fully aware that we are chasing an atmosphere rather than absolute accuracy. We simply don't know what those lost voices sounded like, but through music, we can try to capture an echo of them.

6. Where was your last gig?

Urzhan - The last gig we played was with NeCrow Events at the Flapper in Birmingham, the day before the Back to the Beginning Ozzy Osbourne farewell show. We played alongside Trivax and Praesider. It was our first non-festival appearance, and I couldn’t have asked for a better vibe. Our next gig will also be hosted by NeCrow events, at the Call of the Crow festival in October 2026, which I am extremely excited for.

7. Where would you like to act?

Urzhan - For me, playing a festival like Brutal Assault or Tolmenator would be amazing, but the pinnacle would be something along the lines of House of the Holy or Midgardsblot. I tend to prefer the vibes of the smaller, weirder, more intimate setups.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Urzhan - Heilung, Arkhaaik, Cân Bardd, Saor, Nytt Land, Forndom

Revenant - Рожь/RYE, Brian Eno, Mattia Cupelli, Einstürzende Neubauten

9. Whom not?

Urzhan - I wouldn't rule anybody out on principle, as good ideas can come from unexpected places. What matters is whether the collaboration serves the story and atmosphere we're trying to create.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Urzhan - Not stage fright, per se, but for me, there is always a slight trepidation before going onstage, one that washes away the moment you get out there. My advice to any beginners would be to feel the fear and do it anyway; you can only improve upon what you practice, and no growth is achieved unless you put in the hard work for it. At the end of the day, you are the one on the stage doing something, being creative, and performing something that you are (hopefully) passionate about. It’s easy to be a critic, but it is not easy to put yourself out there. If you’re achieving that, you’re already doing better than most. Let the fires of your passion flow through you.

Revenant - I’m generally only nervous until I’ve soundchecked. Once I know everything is working and I can hear what I’m doing, I can relax. Other people's opinions don’t matter once you’re on stage. You’ve got a massive PA system to drown that out. No one notices small mistakes either. All that matters is that you get up there, play from the heart, and have a good time.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Urzhan - For me, it’s Heilung and Wardruna.

Revenant - It’s always bands who push the line between music and art, so Ulver, Laibach, Shortparis, Sunn O)))

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Urzhan - I don’t believe that any requests are weird. One of my favourite stories is when a bone necklace consisting of a small muntjac deer skull broke on stage during our performance at the Jorvik Takeover with Gaahl’s Wyrd and Tyr, and I hurled the skull into the crowd. After the show, a man came up and showed me where the antlers had cut his hand as he reached up to grab the skull. He was chuffed, and though I felt a little bad at first, his happiness at getting his hands on it was pretty infectious.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Urzhan - I think that they are extremely dedicated, considering we formed the band in 2017 and are only just releasing our debut album in 2026. It is genuinely heartwarming to see people so into what we do, and see the same faces again and again at gigs, no matter where we might be playing them. I appreciate every single one of them more than I could ever say.

14. Something to add?

Urzhan - We're incredibly proud of Primordial Bloodlines. It's taken us far longer to bring it into the world than we ever intended, but I genuinely believe it has benefited from that time. The album is our attempt to shine a light into one of the darkest and most forgotten corners of human history and imagine the people who lived there.

If listeners take anything away from it, I hope it's the understanding that the past isn't dead. The people who came before us were every bit as human as we are, and their stories deserve to be remembered. We will be continuing the story of the Tribe in our second album.

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