Wraith

Recorded at many places in Paramount, Cerritos, and Long Beach, California. Written mainly between 2016 and 2022, with parts dating back to 2006.

This album literally went through hell. In May of 2022, my house caught fire. I lost almost everything, particularly all my guitars, and thought I had lost this album as well. Miraculously, the drives in my charred tower managed to survive unharmed, and I was then able to clone the drives and continue on. I moved around for months, all the while still working on this music, finally finishing it in July. I had a very different vision for this album back in 2014, but it’s transformed greatly over the years, it’s become much less cryptic and much more honest.

I’m still significantly loath to share actual lyrics, but I think they finally mean something to me. I wish I could stop taking years between releases, but quite honestly I think this album could not have been made in a short time, maybe it’s thanks to all that time that it became what it is now, for better or worse. It’s like it grew alongside me over all these years, I mean I still thought I was a man back when this album was merely an idea.

And if any good came from this situation, it allowed me to do something I wanted to do very badly back in 2016 when the album’s core was taking form: I got to record many of the songs with a St. Vincent guitar. I miss my guitars so much, seeing them charred up was so traumatizing, but this guitar is doing an amazing job carrying on their legacy and carving one out for itself.

This is an album of contradictions, harsh dissonance and beautiful harmony, utter nihilism and affirming fervor, of finality and immortality. I hope these songs might mean something to someone out there.

I would like to thank everyone listening to this. I particularly want to thank my sister and my nephew and the rest of my family and friends for helping us after the fire. I also want to thank Iōhannēs for all the support, both moral and musical. I also want to thank Kakophonix for another phenomenal performance on cello. And thank you to all LGBTQ metal fans and musicians for refusing to concede to anyone, we're here to stay.