
Interview // 2021-03-07
Thy Light
Thy Light is depressive black metal by duo Paolo and Alex. I discovered them during an early reaction on my former YouTube channel.
The experience hearing Wanderer of Solitude, for the first time, is one that I will not forget! It was my first time listening to this type of black metal. I could feel the pain so clearly, and was drawn to it's beauty! This song was the catalyst that opened me up to more styles of metal, and to the aches of others presented in new ways. There was a lot of discussion when I posted this song - I was not the only one struck by how powerful this song is.
I invite you to check them out if you haven't heard them. Be prepared to stay a while and soak in the atmosphere.
I was thankful that Paolo and Alex were up for a chat!
You had a demo released in 2007, a full length in 2013, and I have heard that you are working on a new EP. Any idea of release date?
PAOLO BRUNO: That is correct, we have a new EP recorded and it is scheduled to be released on June the 6th of this year.
Will your past releases become available in physical form, again?
PAOLO: We have plans to repress Suici.De.pression on vinyl this year, so it is probably happening. In regards to No Morrow Shall Dawn, I think there are still some copies available from Pest Productions so this is not a priority at the moment.
Are your personalities melancholy or solemn, or completely different from the music?
PAOLO: I think it is really hard to talk about myself without having a biased opinion, but, I don't consider myself a melancholic person, not anymore like when Suici.De.pression was written. The dark essence you can see reflected on Thy Light's music is a part of me, but it is something that only comes up when I dive into myself. That darkness was never revealed to anyone, not to my wife nor my family, other than through Thy Light's music, so it is not something one will ever notice when in my physical presence.
ALEX WITCHFINDER: I would consider my personality to be quite easy-going. Despite the fact that I'm quite introverted, I am very sociable with those that are close to me, and always try to communicate myself in the most clear way with anyone who takes the first step. I had a case of depression previously in my life - as the lyrics and concept behind Suici.De.pression suggest, but I went after professional help, overcame, and since then I never had anything pathological or close to what I had before. Of course I have my downers as everyone else I know, but in general I'm in a good mood with myself. When I write or compose something I tend to do it on days that I am not very good at, because those are the ones I feel more inspired. That is somehow a valve of escape, and therefore it is good that something is made out of it, rather than having that negativity reverberating in my daily life, which always demands from me energy to keep on going. I'm afraid I don't have much time to just be melancholic without my job, studies, and duties giving me a kick, telling me to get my shit together as soon as possible.
What does your name, Thy Light, mean? I know the story, but I would love to hear it again for anyone that doesn’t know it.
PAOLO: The name's essence dates back to when I was a child. In that far away past, I used to go almost every week to the cemetery with my grandmother to visit my grandfather's grave, and during one of those visits she mentioned that when she was a kid and lived in the rural area of the countryside, they used to see some "fireballs" in the cemetery and they used to say that those fireballs were the spirit of the dead leaving their body. Later I heard that those "fireballs" were the evaporating gas of the corpse decomposition. With that said, Thy Light means "your light", your "fireball", your soul leaving you body after you die.
When you were growing up did you have music/bands that you could lean on the way people may use your music? (cathartically, embodying pain)
PAOLO: Surely yes. I really had some songs that I could find some shelter in hard moments in the past. I could make a huge list here but I will mention just some of the most important ones: Metallica - Fade to Black, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters; Anathema - One Last Goodbye; Pearl Jam - Black; Nevermore - The Heart Collector; Kings of Leon - Cold Desert. The last two are a bit more recent, but both are songs that I can relate to in that regard.
What was your first experience playing an instrument? Was it love at first sight?
PAOLO: I think that the first time I tried something was on an electric organ that my grandfather had at home, but I was a kid, so I was just playing with that like a toy as I had no idea that it was a musical instrument. Later I started trying to play my grandfather's acoustic guitar. This was probably when I realized that I wanted to play an instrument. The funny thing is that after that, all I wanted was to play drums, I never wanted to be a guitar player. Maybe I could have the guitar as a secondary instrument, but my desire was to be a drummer, but as drums are very expensive and the only way to play it back then was very loud, my family was always against it.
Can you remember the first time that you ever wrote a lyric? What was it for?
PAOLO: In my case it was probably for Sergulath, a pre-Thy Light project I had with some friends and then I wrote some stuff for my previous band, Desdominus, but I am really bad at expressing myself through writing, that is why I trust Alex with most of this subject.
ALEX: The first lyric I wrote I was still a kid. I started listening to metal when I was still very young, in the first or second year of elementary school, and that was my escape from reality, my own inner world which I shared with only a few. I remember that some kids dreamed about being a football player, or professional skaters, and despite the fact that I never wanted to be a rock star, I always had childhood bands. In the beginning I used to play covers of Type O Negative, Black Sabbath, Helloween, Kiss and other bands that I liked with some school friends, but I guess that what really made me start thinking about composing something was when I became closer to the Brazilian punk and hardcore scene from the 80's and 90's, that somehow gave me a kick: "I can do that as well." I guess that I was 12 when I recorded with some friends the first demo of this school band I had. There were the first lyrics I wrote, but it was all too naïve and fun to do. I started writing in a more serious way when I was a bit older. The fact that I was American living in Brazil always made people go to my place to translate stuff to them, and at a point I started writing it myself as well. Not only lyrics, but also letters in the time in which getting demos and CDs was only possible via regular post. There was a point in which I started writing a lot, but not everyone would actually record that, despite the fact that those lyrics somehow circulated among friends and people closer to the scene, and that's exactly what made Paolo invite me to do the lyrics for the first Thy Light demo. Previously I had written something for the bands of my flatmates and closer friends, such as Abske Fides, Au Sacre des Nuits, and Infamous Glory, even despite the fact that they only recorded and released that later.
How does your collaborative process work? Is the music created first and lyrics added later, or does it vary depending on the song?
PAOLO: It really depends. We usually don't follow a rule regarding the order, but usually when I have a song, I always talk to Alex about what was the feeling I tried to turn into harmony and melody and then he comes up with a lyric that matches it. However, there are situations where I have some songs and he has a lyric, and I read the lyric and decide it should fit one of those better.
Can you tell me about an experience when your music really touched someone and they shared it with you?
ALEX: I am not quite sure about many specific cases. Oftentimes we receive messages on our Facebook inbox, and I always try to respond one by one, from release inquiries to people saying how much they appreciate it, or how it helped them to pass through different times in their lives. I had very nice conversations with some people, especially regarding music and cinema, which are my biggest passions. But to mention some specific cases, two come to mind right now. There is a creepy one and one that made me very happy: once I received a letter on the mail with an used razor and excerpts from lyrics and our logo written in blood on paper and some blood-soaked dry cottons. That was disturbing, but it is a reaction - and I rather have people reacting than just ignoring what we do. Another case was these two Mexican fans, César and Ninfox, who made a self-made documentary on the 10 years of Suici.De.pression, and that was a very positive surprise to me.
PAOLO: I think the one that had a huge impact on me was when a guy wrote to me, more than a decade ago, on Myspace, saying that one of his best friends passed away while listening to Thy Light and that it was his choice because the music meant a lot for him. That is something that impacted me a lot. There are other situations as well, but I always try to have it in mind to try to boost my wish of keeping writing music and releasing it. I mention releasing it, because I will probably keep writing songs as they are the only way I can express myself 100%, but lots of times I have doubt if I should release them or keep them just for me. But then I remember of those situations and it helps to push me and say, "No, I really need to share it, if there is one person that will really get the feeling and identify themselves with this song, that will be worth it." Also, as Alex mentioned, the documentary by César and Ninfox really surprised me.
Do you feel like your music is meant for everyone? For instance, would you share it with loved ones, or is it meant to be somewhat private in nature?
PAOLO: No, I don't think it is for everyone or anyone. I don't say it from an elitist perspective where "people have to be good enough to deserve listening to it." But a lot of people don't really get the profound meaning behind some music. Thy Light was not created for fun, or because we wanted to be rock stars, to play huge music festivals and have fans seeing us as some kind of idol or in a higher position comparing to them. It is something that I prefer, that people that really have some emotional identification with music, listen to it. I don't want it to be just another band among thousands that release something, people buy the records, listen to it once, post a picture on social media, and then keep it on their shelves full of dust. I want people having the full experience, turning off the lights, putting the music on their vinyl, CD player, or even YouTube and letting the music flow through their body, manifesting their inner demons, their shadows, so they can face it eye to eye. In regards to sharing it with loved ones, I share a lot of stuff with my wife, my closest friends, but that is a very few people. I always ask for their opinions, what they feel when listening to the demos of the songs, to know if I am really being sincere and faithful to my intention with that specific song.
Do you ever create upbeat music that is a lot different from the style used in this band?
PAOLO: Yes, I used to do it more in the past but I still have plans to do it again. I played for twelve years in a melodic death metal band called Desdominus where I used to do guitars and vocals, and I wrote a lot of music that is totally in a different direction than Thy Light.
I have a friend that I can go to, and I know she isn’t going to try to make me think everything is wonderful if it isn’t. I really appreciate this kind of honesty, and I feel like your music is similarly sincere. Has it been easy to express sadness and vulnerability in your music?
PAOLO: I can say it is easy in a way because I just touch my guitar to write to Thy Light when I am in a very introspective mood, or if I have something very dark is screaming from the inside and I need to bring it out so It can vanish and stop torturing me. Consider that, it is someway easy as the feelings will become the notes, and the notes are already biased by the feelings, so it is a very straightforward process.
I often go to music for varied moods - for example, when I am excited or angry. Can you give me an example of a song you might go to for a specific mood?
PAOLO: I think it is hard to say something specific since I am very eclectic and I can find lots of songs to express the same feeling. But just to try to give a rough example, everyday that is raining I listen to one, or both, of the first two releases by Tristania. That is something I have been doing for more than 20 years. Now that I live in Scotland I don't do it precisely like that, as it rains 90% of the time here. When I want to focus on something, like answering this interview or when I am working for example, I like to listen to something more ambient/atmospheric, like Trist's Hin-Fort album or Ison's Andromeda Skyline. When I'm doing sports or driving, I listen a lot to hardcore like Madball, Terror, Agnostic Front, or some death metal, like Bolt Thrower. So I think it is not exactly depending on my mood that I choose my music, but mostly depending on the situation I'm in on my daily routine.
During this stressful time with the whole pandemic thing, what would you tell fans they can do to help bands that they enjoy?
PAOLO: For bands that live from their music, I would advise people to do what I do. Buy records, buy merch, if they are doing live presentations and charging for it, pay for it if you really like the band. Thank you for your interest in our music. It was a pleasure to talk to you, Sarah. Thank you for this opportunity to talk about our music to people that are interested in it, and keep it up with the great work on Every Song Sucks!
Playlist Pick
After interviewing Thy Light, I decided to add the song The Crossing of the Great White Bear to my playlist.

100% of people like this interview!
Did you enjoy this interview?