Interviews About Albums: Iapetus - The Mother Void (2026)
The Mother Void began its conception in 2020 at the height of COVID; it was born of the feelings of hopelessness and futility that plagued the era, and is the seven-year culmination of our own residual strife, suffocation, and grief—exacerbated by the state of current affairs. It is the mourning of a lost future and a functional world. It is our most expansive and personal record to date; darker, denser, more exploratory, and more atmospheric than our previous works—experimental (to some degree), and home to the most ambitious songwriting of our career.
Conceptually, The Mother Void tells the story of a Cosmic Mother and her hated newborn son—birthed in a black hole womb, and orphaned to the void. Every song follows this child as he drifts through the infinite, and has a series of revelations about the purpose of his own life in a universe that condemned him to death from the moment of birth—grappling with the realization that he was destined to failure after being shaped by doomed circumstance. But it also asks the question: in a world dictated by destruction, is it still worthwhile to create? Following our last record, we were again inspired by the German philosopher Walter Benjamin, who once demanded “Fiat ars - pereat mundus,” or “let art be created, though the world be undone.”
As always, we’ve recruited a legion of our favorite (and immensely talented) musicians to bring the full scope of our vision to life—including Fabienne Erni (Eluveitie), who takes on the role of the Mother and who brings an unmatched gravitas to her every taunt and lament. And like our past records, The Mother Void is highly allegorical and referential, and features many allusions to other works of literature, film, science, and art.
2. What is the meaning of the album name?
The Mother Void is meant to evoke feelings of abandonment—of being forsaken by the things that made/broke you—of the psychological trauma that accompanies being orphaned to an indifferent and uncaring cosmos. The meaning is twofold: it refers both to the astral void (space) that serves as our universal womb—where humanity drifts alone—and the internal, emotional void that festers in the face of ontological rejection, of existential futility—that grew alongside my own personal angst about hopelessly railing against the confines of a society that seems fundamentally designed to destroy me.
3. Which one is the composer of the album?
Jordan and I (Matt) are both the main composers of every Iapetus album—though we do occasionally incorporate ideas from our incredible guest musicians. We treat our albums like books, movies, or paintings; they’re not just a collection of disparate songs, but singular, cohesive works meant to be engaged with as a whole. The Mother Void is essentially one continuous song broken into seven parts; every track is like a chapter or a scene that contributes to the grander piece. When we set out to create an album, we always begin with a central thesis, theme, concept, or idea—even the general tracklist and overall pacing are planned from the start.
The goal is always the same: immersion. We want to create things that are experiential—that transport people to other planets, places, and times.
4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?
The grand finale of The Mother Void is a song called TON—it’s named after the largest black hole in the known universe, and it is likewise the longest song we have ever written (18:43). It’s not often that I’m proud of my work, but when I listen to TON it’s hard to imagine that we’ll ever top that one—lyrically or musically—it is unquestionably (in our opinion) the best songwriting we have ever committed to WAV. I can only hope our fans agree.
5. Is there a special message in this album? If there is, what is it?
It’s for the audience to derive from this record whatever they will. Our greatest joy is in hearing the individual interpretations of the ideas we attempt to convey through sound—how each moment or lyric is reshaped and recolored by lived experience. There is always a conversation occurring between artist, artwork, and audience; once we release something, it no longer belongs to us.
6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?
“We scream for mother and hope to return / but nothing amounts to nothing / the future a flowerless grave / so dream to dull the pain / and know that mother is gone.”
7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?
We went far outside of our comfort zone while writing The Mother Void—we barely listened to metal at all. Inspiration instead came largely from artists like Billie Eilish, Aurora, Tash Sultana, Kauan, Alice Kristiansen, Nakey Jakey, City & Colour—a lot of female singer/songwriter, loop pedal, and electro-pop artists that build melancholic soundscapes through minimalism and synths. Some of that influence can certainly be heard; the Mother Void features a few electro-drum sections, and a relatively (for us) heavy use of synths. The occasional dip into metal saw us pulling from more atmospheric sources like Katatonia, Caelestra, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, and Holy Fawn.
Thanks so much for the interview. We hope everyone enjoys The Mother Void when it releases—via Willowtip Records—on October 16th.
No hay comentarios