Active since 2022, Ethereal Moon has been eulogizing the beauty and darkness of the mind and the cosmos with some of the most positive vibes in the local extreme music scene. Damian Carr (guitar/bass/vocals) has a bright smile that makes you share in his contagious elation as you experience dismal pleasures: themes such as death, hatred and the loneliness of the heavens. For a dude who plays such evil-sounding music, it’s impossible not to like him. Carr and bandmates Lorenzo Torrez (drums) and Ken Chavez (guitar) satisfy all the criteria for an “OG” black metal band — fast tempos, lots of distortion, shrieking vocals, blast beats on drums — and they show off some particularly strong guitar work. But lyrically, Ethereal Moon explores topics and subject matter significantly more complex than the overdone anti-religious rhetoric that is par for a course in the genre. Carr sings about darkness, but on an astronomical scale. Just like the music that he cites as influences on his sound, that cosmic measurement of emotion is as terrifying as it is sad and beautiful. If you’ve ever wondered what’s on the other side of a black hole, you might want to blast off with Ethereal Moon’s self-titled debut. Lyrics and track names such as “Obscure Frequencies…” and “Celestial Spells (within the Astral Dreams)” are sure to inspire scientific and intellectual musings, while the music elicits tears of joy.
Will you describe your sound for us?
We’re cosmic melodic black metal. We try to kind of keep it super OG black metal like [the bands] Mayhem and Darkthrone, but we’re also influenced by Treblinka and Dissection, who have beautiful melodies and dramatic transitions.
What are your favorite venues to play and why?
Sister Bar is one of my favorite venues and the El Rey Theater, but I feel like maybe Launchpad is number one as far as sick venues to play. They always have good sound, and everyone who works there is on top of it. That’s also probably the most classic venue to play.
What are your lyrics about?
Honestly, the first EPU is about chaos theory. One time, I smoked too much DMT and had this realization about existence and my relation to it. So I started reading about chaos theory and whatnot. Our newer lyrics are about sorrow, death and the hatred of existence. We sing about how the universe and space and eternal time relates to our individual existences.
What bands or genres inspire your music?
The first two Dissection albums come to mind, the first Amorphous album and Chelsea Wolfe. I like bands that invoke the beauty and the sorrow of life and then translate that into music and make you feel the sorrow. Those bands have different sounds, but they make you feel the same thing. I actually saw Chelsea Wolfe do an acoustic set at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, and the thing about Chelsea Wolf is she does a bunch of different genres, but she still has her own signature sound. I was actually kinda crying that day. I was basically raised on the first two Merciful Fate albums.
What is the best show you have ever played and why?
June 5, 2022 at Sister Bar was our very first show as Ethereal Moon, and that show was so perfect for so many reasons. Nothing wrong with that show at all. Like all of my best friends were playing, everything fell together, and we played on top of our shit, you know? It was just an amalgamation of all the best things that could happen, and they did happen.
You can check out photos, news, upcoming shows, and links on their instagram or Facebook accounts. Their self-titled debut is available on major streaming platforms. You can take an interdimensional journey by visiting the Ethereal Moon linktree here.
Check out Ethereal Moon Live at the Albuquerque Press Club 10-28-2023 here:
Visit their bandcamp page at theetherealmoon.bandcamp.com/album/ethereal-moon. The record is also available on bandcamp through the underground Chinese label and distro Narcoleptica Productions here, so you can browse a similar acts on that page as well.