Tuesday 8 October 2019

Song 3 (WIP)

So I watched Blade Runner 2049 again recently and decided I wanted to give it a go at making my own electronic soundscape. This is a work in progress - I might use it as a filler on my upcoming EP.



So I tried my hand at making an electronic soundscape over the weekend. It was actually really fun once I worked out how to do a couple of things.

First major difference was my use of reverb. I literally sent all my synth to my reverb send primarily, and add direct to mix bus only when they needed emphasis. What you're hearing is mostly reverb send.

The explosions are just a floor tom sample, again lots of reverb.

Thursday 15 August 2019

Writer's Block

I used to happily brag that I never suffered from Writer's Block. I seemed to be able to create songs out of thin air once I got back into it a few years ago. I worked non-stop these past two years and released my debut album, with time and energy left over to do marketing and all the other things that go with an album release. When I was a few weeks away from official release, I started a new project, try to keep the momentum going. One single every 6 weeks was the goal. I managed to get one song out in July.

And then it all ground to a halt...

I'm not sure what happened. I just have no fire inside me anymore. I play stuff and it sounds ok. I used to lie awake thinking of all the things I could do to make a song better. Now the feeling, the desire disappears the moment I put the guitar down.

It could be that real life and work have ramped up these last few months leaving no room for anything else.

It could be that it's winter and I've gone into some kind of hibernation.

It could be because I'm changing everything about my workflow, my virtual instruments, my drums, the way I write songs in general.

It could be because I tried doing vocal lessons and realised how much work I have to put into it to get where I want to be. You can't really practice regularly at full volume without a soundproof space.

It could be because I was reminded about how many things I was supposed to be doing regularly - like practicing guitar - that I just never do anymore.

And instead, I come home from work and sit in front of the TV! I never used to do this. Or when I do sit down in front of the computer to do some music, I only need the slightest distraction - and bang - the moment is gone.

I've given advice to many others about writers block and it's usually "don't be so hard on yourself, you just need to give yourself time to recuperate and re-energise". Maybe it's time to listen to my own advice.

Thursday 18 July 2019

Press: Roadie Metal - Review: Tatius Wolff - The Relapse (2019)

http://roadie-metal.com/resenha-tatius-wolff-the-relapse-2019/

One of the essential factors to Metal has always been the thrust of his emotions, experiences and embedded feelings in vigorous lines compositions, and of course this is also one of the elements present in the world musical creation in all styles, but the metal itself, It has a fluidity to the extremes of feeling like no other style, anger, despair, and all the peaks of human emotions are embedded easily and this is where I start the analysis of the first full-length, " the Relapse ", the Australian project Tatius Wolff , released on the last day June 8, 2019 independently.


Influenced by the wave of noventista gothic metal, melodic and progressive, m was founded in 2017 as the solo project of alternative metal Stephan 'Wolff' Borg inspired by Type O Negative, Tool, Nine Inch Nails and Deftones, a search for the mix of sounds flowing between silent interludes and more aggressive landscapes in a very characteristic identity.

I always mention how much I consider it important that the emotional aspirations to be used as combustion for music and inevitably also becomes a therapeutic process or a torment exhaust process and as I mentioned above we can say that Stephan knew employ this creation.
Stephan is a multi-instrumentalist from Sydney who grew up between the metal influences to join the band of Death and Doom Metal "Oblique Visions" as guitarist, with which it was launched the demo "The Fallen" in 1994, followed by the album "Seas of Serenity "in 1995.
in 1998 Stephan moved to Australia, which ended his involvement with the band and 17 would follow until the EP" thumbscrews "containing three single tracks were released in 2017 already as Tatius Wolff.




In the same year Stephan was hospitalized and went through all the turbulence that a debilitating disease submitted it on a journey of trials, tribulations, hope and despair. Feelings derived from the delay in recovery and instability vivid for those who face the struggles of becoming ill.
After the data run to the album starting with the cover that exemplifies picture indisputably where the foundations are in place, the phrase "For a good listener word half simply" can be used here and how not to mention that art is the exact album contents.



Start my hearing in " Auxilium ", an instrumental track from 4:35 traveling in oscillating guitars and setbacks in an atmosphere that awakens a feeling depressed and at the same time with fury, I confess that it is a time of uncertainty about what we will find the follow, but it's interesting how the nuances change through the " the Shock" Where you will find all of the above elements and influences but the way this is all grouped the listener is quite intriguing, so the instrumentation continuously diverge as the general representation of each style. We can define as follows, you will find a marked progressive presence with brief solos that flicker, the aggressiveness of Death rhythmic metal harsh and aggressive and a dissonance with the industrial pinches of Gothic Metal in its melancholic.
I like the distant keyboards introducing that run in sequence for more sharp lines, the first tone of the vocal comes here and although this stylized tone not like me much I still see him as a good fit the theme of the nuances developed.
We spent the " Recovery"And textured vocal is maintained while the battery work get more presence. There is plenty of counter-time at several points and sonoplásticos effects are employed in a synthetic sound.
" False Hope " comes to counter aspects of guitars that keeps more in the Death metal weight and can finally hear any more the voice of Stephan. A curiosity about Tatius Wolff is I have enough of the metal feel of bands like Godflesh in times of "Streetcleaner" in a blender with Tool in times of "The Pot", I just like to find in the foreground more vocal.
The title track, " The Relapse " is a bit darker turn and a distant gothic atmosphere is present but has lucid points lapses pianos.
Alternative Metal is something quite confusing in my opinion because it deals with almost mind - blowing pulsations of the human psyche and in fact it gets delirious tones even musically, sometimes even a bit incomprehensible, but it is nice to get to " Proelium " that holds only a diffuse instrumentation .
" Trauma " and is the point of this album where extreme confronts the most cynical depression Gothic Metal, and I like this contrast although I feel that is too abrupt between the passages of time within the range.



" The Tormentor " is quite different from all the rest is possibly the one that pleased me so far to contain a more consistent fit at all points, starting winding and developing more creatively within the styles mentioned. Extra point on the vocals that finally gain a most remarkable place. So far the best track on the album.
We finished the album in " Despair " with the metal in a more stimulating presence.
I must say that this is a rather curious album and a really good example for those who are familiar with the lines of the alternative metal. This is an album for more selective tastes in style but overall Stephan can take you to very distressing feelings and reflective with a taste trip to the '90s.




Note : 8/10

Track listing

1 - Auxilium
2 - The Shock
3 - Recovery
4 - False Hope
5 - The Relapse
6 - Proelium
7 - Trauma
8 - The Tormentor
9 - Despair

Band members

Stephan "Wolff" Borg - All instruments, lyrics and production

Press: Subterranean Noise - Underground Rock and Metal: INTERVIEW: Tatius Wolff

16. July 2019

INTERVIEW: Tatius Wolff



A few days ago I had the pleasure of reviewing "The Relapse", the conceptual debut of Australian one man band Tatius Wolff, and founder and sole member Stephan Wolff was more than willing to satisfy my little curiosities.

SN:
Could you first of all tell me a little about your project? When did you form the band? What are your inspirations and influences that made you the band you are today?

WOLFF:
In 2015, after 17 years of not playing guitar or writing any music, I decided I wanted to start playing bass. I bought a cheap bass and joined an internet community called Wikiloops, where I collaborated with other artists (https://www.wikiloops.com/artist/Wolffy_au.php). This is where I first started learning to record and mix. In 2016, my old band from Malta, melodic doom death metal Oblique Visions asked if I could start writing music with them again. We did this for a year and did a 20 year reunion gig in Malta (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlM2-N_ZqJOaGzNVwSb5k-PNBQ4FUiks-). But by the start of 2017, I realised this couldn't be a long term solution because of the distance. I was very insecure about my song-writing capability, my audio production skills and my voice - but I found the courage to go solo anyway.

I officially started Tatius Wolff April 2017. This is when I went public, created the Facebook page, started writing my blog (https://tatius-wolff.blogspot.com/) documenting my journey into the unknown.

I have a blog post about influences (https://tatius-wolff.blogspot.com/2017/08/my-earliest-influences.html). I can go back to listening to Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana as a kid - albums that belonged to my mum. I got into Van Halen and Guns N Roses as a teenager. I learnt to solo playing along with Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder on repeat for months on end. I then switched to metal after a friend (the drummer of Oblique Visions) took me to a metal gig and they played Sepultura's Troops Of Doom. Pretty much the next day, I got myself a copy of Arise and Entombed's Left Hand Path - I was hooked and the rest is history. My biggest influences are Type O Negative, Tool, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails and early Entombed. Lately, I've discovered Meshuggah and Mastodon, whose influences are definitely shining through in my music.

SN:
How would you describe your music? What are your ideologies with the music you make?

WOLFF:
Man, such a tough question. It's definitely heavy, but I would believe the genre could be anything from progressive rock to Djent(ish). When I quote genre's for my music, I'm just recycling the genre's of my favourite bands, because I really don't know where I fit in the scheme of things - alternative metal, gothic metal, industrial metal and progressive metal.

For the first 3 singles in 2017, I was doing the social justice warrior themes - neo conservatism, the right wing movement, the miliary industrial complex, money in politics and indigenous people's issues. But I found that my music wasn't vulnerable enough. There was emotion, but it wasn't personal enough. I thought about the two greatest concept albums in my collection - Pink Floyd The Wall and Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral, and I decided I wanted to write a concept album about something traumatic I had been through. And so The Relapse was born. Althought it's about getting sick and recovering, themes are quite broad - everything from personal struggles to bullying and grief.

SN:
What is the meaning behind the "Tatius Wolff" name? What made you choose that particular name for your project?

WOLFF:
It's a combination of my nickname and a Roman name that sounded good with it. The Roman Standard Bearer logo of the band came first, and I just looked for a name that fit the character in the logo. I believe "Tatius" means founder.

As a high school teenager in Australia, I had a friend call me "Stephan Wolff" after Steppenwolf, Born To Be Wild. This continued once I was living overseas in Malta, where everyone in the metal scene just knew me as Wolff. When I was thinking of a band name, I wanted the word Wolff in there, but it needed something more because there were already a bunch of bands with Wolff as their name.

SN:
How do you write material? Can you describe the creative process?

WOLFF:
It varies. It could start with a bass line, a guitar riff, a scrawl of lyrics or I'll plan the whole song out on paper beforehand. I'll also take notes of songs that I really like sections of, and go back to them to see if something similar would fit into what I'm writing.

Then I put down simple drums first as a framework to track against. I'll customise snare and kicks appropriate for the riffs. I'm not too fussed what goes down initially because I'll iterate and make incremental changes to the song hundreds of times before I'm anywhere near the mixing stage. But I do record my takes, like it's the recording that will be on the album - because quite often it will be. Nothing worse than being at the mixing stage and hearing electrical hum or sloppy chord changes. The last check is the static mix because if the song sounds good raw with no effects, then it's probably ready for mixing.


SN:
"The Relapse" is a concept album, as stated in the EPK. Could you tell us a bit more what the story is about?

WOLFF:
In October 2017 I found myself suddenly hospitalised with a bowel infection. After years of never being sick this was a huge shock to me. I didn't take this incident serious enough and when I returned home, I didn't treat this issue with the respect I should have. 5 weeks later, I was back in hospital with a bowel obstruction, a lot of vomit and a pipe into my stomach. Those 6 days really hit home how out of control I was with this health issue. At the lowest point, I thought I wasn't going to get better anytime soon and I felt like complete shit. Feeling insignificant and irrelevant to the universe, I realised it was all completely out of my control. And that's the story - shock, recovery, false hope, relapse, trauma, torment and despair, all wrapped up in an album.

SN:
Judging from the fact that this is a rather personal album, concept wise or not, and myself also making the same kind of album earlier, I imagine it must be a relief to finally have finished it. Was it a difficult album to make? It must have been a therapeutic experience to make this kind of album?

WOLFF:
Being my first solo album, it was an amazing learning experience. I no longer have aspirations of becoming a rock star, so for me this is a personal development journey of writing, recording, mixing, releasing and promoting music.

As a novice audio engineer, I could tweak these songs forever, so at some point I had to make the jump and commit to releasing my baby into the big bad world. It was primarily difficult because a lot of what I was doing were firsts for me. And as time goes by, there are plenty of things I could go back and change - but I have to let it go, and get onto the next big adventure.


SN:
Are you sticking to the digital format for your album, or will there be a physical release as well?

WOLFF:
For now it's digital format. I've had requests for physical CD's and t-shirts, so they are on the cards to make if there is enough demand. But for now, it's just a digital release.

SN:
You do everything on this record, from writing and composing to production. For gear and hardware geeks, what kind of gear do you use to form your sound?

WOLFF:
Haha - the shittiest and cheapest gear I coud find and only free audio plug-ins. Let me explain.

For quite a number of reasons, I wanted to prove to myself and to other upcoming artists, that without money, having amazing musical instruments, the best audio equipment or expensive plugins, that releasing a good quality album can be done. You can produce something that's a level of quality worthy of public release. The flaws you hear in my audio production are my fault, through lack of experience and skill not the fault of my equipment or free plug-ins.

So if you're an upcoming artist, without any cash to buy an amazing guitar, or the latest audio plug-in - don't worry, you can make good quality music without them. Just get that music out to the public and start building your audience as soon as possible.

If you're still wondering what I used, here goes. First model Ibanez RG8 (with the shit pickups), Chinese Monterey MBE-40BK bass, Ibanez 540P, the cheapest mic on Amazon, Neewer NW-800 and a pair of AKG K702 headphones.

Free VST bundles I can't live without - Variety Of Sound, Antress, Dead Duck Software FX and Instruments, Ignite Amps, MT Power Drum Kit 2 (groove library), Nick Crow Labs, LePou's Amps, Tokyo Dawn Labs, TSE, VLadG, DSK Synths, YouLean and Steve Slate Drums 5 (free). I also use SM Drums and The Metal Kick Drum drum samples.

SN:
Are you planning any live performances with the project?

WOLFF:
Unfortunately, I have not found the courage to go play solo with backing tracks yet. And all my efforts to find a band since Oblique Visions have failed. I haven't given up yet. I may at some point try playing live solo, but it's not a priority for me at the moment.

SN:
What are the future plans for Tatius Wolff?

WOLFF:
Another album of course! Just trying to work out what concept theme I'm going for. I've had quite a few thoughts - a very dark story about a local tragedy, social justice and political warrior, relationship challenges - just not sure which one to go for yet. We'll just have to wait and see!

Check out Tatius Wolff 's discography and pre-order "The Relapse" at https://tatius-wolff.bandcamp.com/. If you're a fan of Meshuggah, Type O Negative, Deftones and Nine Inch Nails, you'll discover a fine blend of these bands when you lend an ear to Tatius Wolff.

Press: Scared Wolf Reviews - The Relapse album review

https://www.facebook.com/scaredwolfreviews/posts/2557685014250623

The Relapse is the debut album by Tatius Wolff, a solo alternative metal project by Stephan ‘’Wolff’’ Borg.

Founded in 2017, this Sydney musician decided to create something to express his talents and use time wisely. The Relapse is a concept album, and only a visionary can make such a reality. In April, the lead single False Hope was released with an accompanying lyric video and in May, the second single The Tormentor was released (with a video).

The relapse opens with the crunching Auxilium, a progressive piece which works well as an opener; this song would suit those hardcore Djent fans with it’s pulsating riffs and whom those want to head-bang. The shock is the 2nd track and it starts off calm only to get you with a heavy hook. The scaling mellow lead riff is air guitar worthy. This song is 7 minutes, it’s an epic. Recovery is the 3rd song, and has a cool drum intro, it’s a doom song, with Thrash riffs and majestic melodies. The 4th track is False Hope, a fine tuned cruising track that makes sense why it was chosen as the 1st single, you can feel the heart pulse here. The title track is at number 5, it’s an interesting track, a fair hard rock/industrial. This one will cleanse and please your mind. Proelium, the 6th track, seems like it’ll be a ballad, but that changes into a ripping onslaught of progressive power. Trauma hits you in 7th place, what comes to mind is being in a stadium, but it calms down, so, there’s some unexpected goodness here. So far, the songs have really surprised, they can be constant metal or switch to a strong easy going track. There’s personality here, the changes, codas, interludes are well placed and like shifting gear, you get the best of all elements. The Relapse is an exercise of music itself, it’s fusion put to it’s breaking point. It continues with The Tormentor at number 8. Well, with a gospel start with harmonic justice a choir voice and is this that ballad of the senses? NO, it kicks it up to an extreme level, the level of pain Tatius Wolf went through to give us this album. Art inspired by life, no imitations or limits. The Tormentor sneaks up on you and attacks. Number 9, the last song is Despair, and it’s fairly grounded, heavy and light but all makes a fine outing.

Now, there’s a lot, a tonne to say about each song, so, giving a statement of the highlights and a small description so not to spoil the journey is fair. Tatius Wolff is loyal to the music, himself and having of gone through so much to give you a major accomplishment, is worth the effort. You’ll be taken through each step and breath of this cycle, and come out stronger by the inspirational feat Tatius Wolf lived to give new life. The Relapse lifts you up, knocks down with energy and is an awesome listen.

https://www.facebook.com/tatiuswolff/

Sunday 30 June 2019

Press: Tatius Wolff ‘The Relapse’ Album Review

Big thank you to Adam McCann and Metalheads Forever Magazine - Official for this awesome review! I really appreciate your support!


Co-Editor by Keith Clement - June 18, 2019

Tatius Wolff ‘The Relapse’

Album Review By Adam McCann

Independent Release/Alternative Metal



Tatius Wolff is the project and brainchild of former Oblique Visions guitarist Stephen Borg. Following his departure from Oblique Visions, Borg stepped away from music for seventeen years before getting back in the saddle releasing the single ‘Thumbscrews’ in 2017. This single garnered enough response for the multi-instrumentalist to record and deliver his full-length debut album ‘The Relapse’ this year.

‘The Relapse’ gives Borg the ability to really expand on the ideas he placed down on ‘Thumbscrews’. Through ‘The Relapse’, Borg is able to deliver a concept album about living with a debilitating illness and many of the thoughts, challenges and emotions which unfortunately come with it. Tracks such as ‘The Tormentor’, ‘Proelium’ and ‘Trauma’ all show touches of Type O Negative, Nine Inch Nails, Tool and Deftones really show just how powerful Borg can write with their muddy baritone vocal delivery and Gothic influences. Yet, there are tracks here which push Borg’s musical boundaries, the opening instrumental ‘Auxilium’ has enough time and dynamic changes to interest fans of progressive metal and even djent. However, the track ‘False Hope’ does have a similarity to ‘The Beautiful People’ from Marilyn Manson. Furthermore, as interesting as this album is, it does have a quality about it that requires it to be consciously listened to fully appreciate rather than simply background music.

Borg has been away from the musical scene for far too long, but ‘The Relapse’ is an excellent place to begin his foray back into the world. ‘The Relapse’ may not appeal to casual listeners of the genre, but for those who enjoy a deeper meaning to their music with an understanding of song craftsmanship and construction, this album will provide endless hours of entertainment and enjoyability.

Rating : 80/100

MHF Magazine/Adam McCann

Sunday 16 June 2019

Press: The Aussie Metalhead reviews The Relapse

Round two ya dirty bastards! My (somewhat late) album review of Relapse by Tatius Wolff! Got one more review coming tonight, so stay tuned for the lightning round fuckers!



(Google Transcript)
(0:00) How the fuck are you maggoty piss pipes doing today? It's The Aussie Metalhead  here I'm pretty stoked to be following up last fortnight's single review of False Hope with the full-length album review for Sydney-based alternative metal act Tatius Wolff. The album is entitled The Relapse and it's a concept album tackling the themes of recovery from the initial shock through to the final reconciliation and resolution. Pretty heavy subject matter and I imagine it'll carry a lot a lot of emotional weight to some, myself included so I am very interested to see how Mr. Wolff has tackled this particularly personal subject matter here on this album. So without any further fucking delay here it is The Relapse by Tatius Wolff.

(1:00) Auxilium is a fucking interesting opener, honestly one of the biggest surprises for me on the entire album. It opens up in this kind of mechanical swaying groove, the mix awash with colourful strokes of synth and airy harmonics. It's weird, kind of janky and dissonant which is complemented nicely when it drops into this very kind of proggy chugging passage, riding an interesting time signature, It's kind of juxtaposition but it's sort of I guess it opens up your mind a little bit before things get switched off in this really weird kind of rocky swaggerish riff that offsets everything that came before hand. In a way I feel like this song's objective is to subvert the expectations of the initial listener and I think that in that respect this song doe it quite well. Before we can get too comfortable though it switches up into something that I can only kind of describe as sort of "Djentified Tool", if that makes any sense. Strangely enough reminding me of a few of the rhythmic grooves from "Vicarious" at times. So yeah that's Auxilium in a nutshell. It's strange bizarre hypnotic and of course instrumental. Now I think that it's an interesting choice to have opened up such a heavy emotional concept down with an instrumental track anyway. I kind of I feel like the trippy qualities that Auxilium brings to the table kind of paints this emotional tone of someone who feels scattered. It really is sort of the initial numbing shock when nothing makes sense and I think that if you think about it emotionally it makes a lot of sense as the opening track for the album. Well we're one track in and I'm pretty digging it so far. Well let's see what the next tracks got going on.

(2:55) The Shock is something of an oddball of a track to be honest it opens up this kind of standard bassy proggy intro with some cool little melodic licks in there very kind of eighties sensibility with the guitar licks in this particular intro. It's pretty fucking cool. I got this sort of cerebral feeling of a familiarity but at the same time something quite distinct and very much its own. It's when the vocals come into the mix that things get very strange. I listened to the album several times through, through a decent pair of headphones and then the next time around through a set of speakers. What I found is that through this song in particular, the vocals didn't sink into the track, they sort of do feel like they're very much layered on top. It's honestly something that I found quite a bit challenging to get through on and my initial listens. When I jumped in it kind of made sense from more of a thematic standpoint the track focusing on the immediate aftermath of a traumatizing revelation. So it doesn't make sense that there's a sense of disparity there kind of the the scattered nature of the human spirit throughout such ordeals and then the fragmented vocal presence sort of made a little more sense. It's not the easiest listen but at the same time I feel like some of these decisions could have been made from a purely thematic point of view of show don't tell as it were, which personally I'm always down for when it comes to telling the story. There's a sick kind of breakdown bridge section near the halfway point of the song when the vocal is settling and the distorted whispery effects have dropped to deal quite an enormous blow of clarity to the track that really stuck out to me it's preceded by this cool little piano and bass section that really crashes into the breakdown I really enjoyed this part. The bass and drums on this track are fucking popping I actually really didn't mind the program drums here at all it's such an interesting and mix and Tatius' himself has a distinct vocal style that stands out as well as a range of influences that combine and transform into something quite unique. There's also some banging Djenty instrumental grooves and and melodic passages throughout this song but I won't spoil them as a lot of the fun comes from hearing them the first time itself. Overall this song is fucking weird but I kind of like it for those reasons. It transform and it goes to weird places, doesn't feel janky or forced, it's actually quite unpredictable at times which as you guys know is something that I personally am always down with. All right bit different bit weird but I liked it next song.

(5:43) Next up we've got Recovery and I really did not get into this one on my first few listens it has such an discombobulating intro, I mean you know where I have to be out in my head when I use a word like discombobulating for fuck's sake, it kind of goes from this chuggy groove to like a grungy sludgy off-kilter kind of jig that I found to be quite bizarre to wrap my head around, it's almost like Alice In Chains, Earth and The Beatles all took acid and like got stuck in the fifth dimension or something. Again it just feels so trippy and cerebral. I know that this review is probably gonna sound quite hyperbolic but I'm really struggling to define just what kind of tone this album sits in. Multi-generational trippers is the only thing coming close to be totally honest. I honestly have no idea how I feel about this song even writing the review I have no fucking idea how I feel about this song. Fucking weird. Don't do drugs kids!

(6:54) Ah False Hope I'm not gonna go into full detail about this one as I've already done review for the single. I will post the link to that single review in the description if you're keen to hear a more in-depth analysis of this particular track. To just kind of summarize everything that I said in the previous video I feel like it's kind of Tool meets Queens Of The Stone Age jamming inside a pyramid off their tits on a peyote vision quest. I like the riding blues that transitions nicely throughout the song. I like the vocal effects and the very very basic fucking mix. Overall still pretty sick track.

(7:38) Next up we have the title track, The Relapse. More simply basic grooves transitioning nicely into this song from False Hope. It's quite similar with extra little musical effects and twists thrown in there for good measure. But it kind of still tows the same kind of spectrum that False Hope showed us prior swings from these melodic runs and and crooning kind of clean vocals to these kind of meaner bassier grooves. A lot more Tool vibes here I've got certain sections of the song maybe a little bit of Primus in there when it comes to the unusual kind of jaunty nature of the rhythm but that could personally just be just me. There's a really sick instrumental passage in this song with some really cool kind of Egyptian sounding arrangements that flows back into the main group quite nicely. Not much else to say about this one to be honest it's pretty tight it's catchy has an interesting lyrical imagery and I like where it goes musically. Toight!

(8:35) Ahh Proelium, I've gotta be honest here I mean I have no idea how to pronounce that song title by the way. Pro-Liam it's the one song on here that I really just don't like. Just flat-out could not get into this one at all. I can't get into the gallopy you ride. I really dug the intro with some cool synth and some interesting drum patterns but when it comes to the main riff I just I just can't get into it. I like the slowest section where everything drops off again but I find that the galloping ride that makes up the majority of the first half of the song really didn't sit with me it felt quite out of place and out of home thematically and tonally with the rest of the album. Honestly must have listened to this song more so than any other track on the album just trying to get my head around it trying to see if if maybe it would grow on me but I'm really just oh man just doesn't gel with me doesn't gel with me at all. At the end of the day I just think that this track does not gel with me, it sounds too damn happy it's a bit of a weird placement I think it sitting stands out like a little bit of a sore thumb on the album but honestly it's it's it's fine it's quite fine because I we're about to jump into my favorite track on the whole damn album so brace yourselves.

(10:01) Trauma is just straight up fucking heavy. It has a slamming intro that smacks you right around the fucking noggin before slamming the brakes hard and sitting us for this really cool slow jam section that just completely comes out of fucking nowhere. I actually love this intro because it kind of convinces you that it's gonna be this totally hectic kind of crazy fucking track and then for it to just jump off the fucking platform and dive right into the kind of this slow jam it's kind of a really interesting little parabol but then we hit the fucking accelerator and we jab right back into the heavy groove with some pretty dark melodic lickage over it before it descends back into the chill arrangement. Really like the back-and-forth going on in this song I think that it pushes the concept of the brief moments of vocalizations punctuated this heavy banger are kind of the moments in Trauma when we can actually express ourselves but then another wave hits you and you're just unable to vocalize you're unable to to describe what you're going through. I dig the storytelling using the instrumentals I think it achieves a real state of emotional investment by far my favorite track on the entire album Trauma brings the hooks brings the bangers and brings the fills all in one.

(11:16) The Tormentor  is a really interesting track it has this kind of 80's sort of horror movie vibe in its intro a creepy synth driven soundscape permeated by these compressed drums and pulsating bass. It's pretty cool kind of subvertitive and ethereal before jumping right into a surprise blast beat, the only blast beat on the entire fucking album and that's why it's so damn crazy when it just comes
out of nowhere. I don't think I've quite achieved the same level of emotional investment as Trauma does but I'd be remiss if I left out just how much this track left me smiling the first time I listened to it and it goes straight into this insane blast out of the slow jam kind of intro. It's one, it's unexpected and glorious, one of the best standout moments on the whole album. Followed by another sick instrumental passage chock full of tasty fucking licks. I really dig the vocal delivery here as well, similar to Trauma, The Tormentor focuses on oppression pain agony both physical and emotional. I'd say that this, False Hope and Trauma would have to be my top picks for the entire album, with Auxilium just coming just underneath the mark. I'd say that it really delivers this cerebral ethereal mix of styles and moves. Ultimately it's just fucking interesting stuff it's really interesting to listen
to.

(12:42) All right here we are fuckers, Despair, that last track on the album. Despair feels like a culmination of everything that we've been through so far. This one has a real dreamscape, it's spacey chords, choir like vocal arrangements and I think there's kind of trance-like tone of uncertainty and restlessness. It feels like the end of a long journey tired but ultimately accomplished. I think my major issue with this song, if any is it it does end quite abruptly. I felt like it could have maybe done another 20 or so seconds, just to sort of fade out and unwind. I feel like it would have given the listener a chance to sit there and unwind from the listen, really kind of feel that finality as things just sort of peter off into nothingness. Overall I dig Despair. I think it resolves the album fairly well and has a unique but familiar feeling giving the album a sense of closure. I do think that it could have stood to have a little bit more of an outro there, just again - without repeating myself to just allow the album to kind of gently come to a slow halt. It just kind of feels like the brakes get pumped a little bit suddenly there and it kind of pulls you out of it just a little bit.

So yeah that was The Relapse. It's definitely not an album for everybody but I think the for those of you who take the time to listen to it will probably find this are quite deceptively layered nuanced and dynamic album with some interesting writing choices. I don't think that every choice necessarily works here but for a DIY standalone self made release I'm actually quite impressed with how it does manage to stick to its guns tonally and conceptually. With a few missteps here and there but overall I'm fairly confident in recommending this album for anyone who feels like something a little off the beaten path, trying something a little bit different. Anyway guys that's enough from me today. I hope you've enjoyed today's fucking review. Shout out to Mr. Tatius Wolff again for getting in touch with me and recommending that I review his album. Please go ahead and check it out, get it off Bandcamp if you can, and don't forget to Like and subscribe all that good shit. And until I see you fuckers next time, Stay Sick!

Friday 14 June 2019

Press: Brandon Morningstar's Breakfast Binge with Tatius Wolff (6-14-19)



This show featured a live interview with the man behind the Tatius Wolff project. It was a great experience for both parties involved and featured some amazing music throughout the show.

https://www.mixcloud.com/Brandon_Morningstar/breakfast-binge-6-14-19/

In case you missed my 2 hr (!!!!) live interview with Brandon Morningstar - Host of the Breakfast Binge​ ! Do me a big favour, and give this guy's FB page a like! Here is the podcast of it all. I'm amazed and really thankful that so much time was given to me and my project! Big thank you again Brandon, was a pleasure being on your show!



Wednesday 12 June 2019

Video Tutorial: How Do I Write Metal - Part 4

This is the fourth video of the series on writing a metal song from scratch through to a release. It's a bit longer than the other ones. This episode is an update on how the song sounds after tracking all the bass lines and shuffling the riffs that don't sound quite right where they are. It then continues onto creating the drum tracks using free groove libraries as a starting point.

Hit that Like, Subscribe and click that Bell!

MT Power Drumkit 2 - https://www.powerdrumkit.com/
Steven Slate Drums 5 Free - https://stevenslatedrums.com/ssd5/#SSD5FREE
Reaper Digital Audio Workstation - https://www.reaper.fm/




#songwriting #solometal #alternativemetal #deathmetal #gothicmetal #industrialmetal #progressivemetal #newmusic #soloartist #songcomposer #composingmusic #mtpowerdrumkit #stevenslatedrums #reaperdaw

Click here to return to the start of the series

Monday 10 June 2019

Official Release - The Relapse

Sydney, Australia: Alternative solo metal band “Tatius Wolff” from Blue Mountains, Australia officially releases the full length concept album, “The Relapse”.

"A chilling slab of experimental metal, resonating emotionally with those who understand the full impact of debilitating medical conditions. Have a listen for yourself, but prepare to be shocked and inspired in equal measure." - The Haze Magazine

"A deliciously massive wall of sound, but still leaving room for all the other elements that appear in the soundscapes that make TATIUS WOLFF sound as unique as it does." - Subterranean Noise - Underground Rock and Metal

"Bringing together elements of bands like Deftones and Nine Inch Nails, Tatius Wolff is a really interesting take on alternative metal. I almost want to call it atmospheric alt-metal to be honest. It’s such a different sounding record." - Metal Public Radio

"Very well put together and dynamic album. Lots of interesting elements to keep you engaged. Lots of Meshuggah influences but has vibes reminiscent of the big modern prog bands (Between The Buried and Me, The Contortionist). Some industrial Nine Inch Nails feels at times." - Random metalhead

"Some fantastic atmospheres! Cool keys & lo-fi drums. It's a pretty original sound. Reminds me of Type O Negative, Dark Tranquillity, and Samael." - Random metalhead


Available at:
iTunes / Apple Music - https://tinyurl.com/yxcc7bt2
Instagram/Facebook
Pandora
Saavn
Tidal
Anghami
MediaNet
ClaroMusica
KKBox

Sunday 9 June 2019

Video Tutorial: How Do I Write Metal - Part 3

This is the third video of the series on writing a metal song from scratch through to a release. This episode explains using reference tracks for tone matching, using different tones for double tracked guitars, how I quickly populate the skeleton song with more guitar riffs that continue to move around as the song develops.

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#songwriting #solometal #alternativemetal #deathmetal #gothicmetal #industrialmetal #progressivemetal #newmusic #soloartist #songcomposer #composingmusic #deadducksoftware #tseaudio #Igniteamps #reaperdaw

Click here to return to the start of this series!

Wednesday 5 June 2019

Video Tutorial: How Do I Write Metal - Part 2

This is the second video of the series on writing a metal song from scratch through to a release. This episode explains how I create the skeleton structure of the song, adding guitar riffs. phase aligning double tracked guitars,  and what free VSTs I use to create guitar and bass tones.

Hit that Like, Subscribe and click that Bell!




#songwriting #metalsongs #solometal #alternativemetal #deathmetal #gothicmetal #industrialmetal #progressivemetal #songcomposer #soloartist #composingmusic #deadducksoftware #tseaudio #Igniteamps #kalthalleenstudios

Click here to return to the start or here to continue to the next part of this series!

Saturday 1 June 2019

Video Tutorial: How Do I Write Metal - Part 1

This is a multi part series on writing a metal song from nothing through to a release. This episode explains how this particular song started and the layout of my composition template.

Hit that Like, Subscribe and Bell!

Reaper Digital Audio Workstation - https://www.reaper.fm/



#songwriting #metalsongs #solometal #alternativemetal #deathmetal #gothicmetal #industrialmetal #progressivemetal #newmusic #soloartist #songcomposer #composingmusic #reaper #reaperdaw #studio

Click here for the next in the series!

Thursday 30 May 2019

Exceptional - Verse 2

Pulling favours from school buddies, brotherhood of cognac. But when the chance shows it's face, I'll stab them in the back. I can fake charisma, pretending like I care. These chicken shit patriots, and their conspiracy love affair.

Sunday 26 May 2019

Latest track work in progress - Exceptional

I just finished tracking rhythm guitars and bass. Drums are pretty close to finished. Solo needs work. Now to work on vocals (a world of pain right there...).

Guitar tones are 90's Meshuggah based, with solo using a Swedish Buzzsaw death metal tone. Bass is run through a Sansamp clone with a bit of grit. Drums are SSD 5 free kit.


Thursday 23 May 2019

Press: False Hope Single Review - The Aussie Metalhead


How the fuck are you greasy cancresores doing today?!?

It's been a couple of weeks since my last video, so I figured I'd smash out a single review from the Sydney based alt metal solo project "Tatius Wolff".

This hard working, DIY attitude mofo has written and recorded a full length concept album!

The full length is entitled Relapse, and is scheduled for release mid 2019!

I hope you enjoy the review, don't forget to check out the tune and it's accompanied lyric video!


Exceptional - Verse 1

No future concerns, no past regrets. Exploit these useless slaves, everyone forgets. It's dog eat dog, get out my way, let me hoard my wealth. It's every man, for himself.


Saturday 11 May 2019

Improvising a solo on the latest track - Exceptional

Here's a little video of me improvising a solo for the song I'm writing at the moment. Apologies about the sound quality, I was so preoccupied with the camera, I forgot to hit record on my PC, so it's just the camera audio (and I lost the solo forever 😢).

Friday 10 May 2019

Writing a chorus for Exceptional

So I've said before I just jot down what comes into my head when it comes to lyrics, no matter how bad it sounds. I'm a big fan of using a thesaurus to prompt me for other words that might suit what I'm trying to write. And good old rhymezone.com - always great for finding a word that's going to complete a chorus or verse.

So I started with the word 'superior' - I'm writing a chorus where a psychopath is convinced that they are a superior human being. Using the thesaurus, I was already thinking of calling the song "Exceptional" anyway, and exceptional was in the list of synonyms and actually worked better.

"Call me so exceptional"

Now, what rhymes with 'exceptional' - well rhymezone came up with professional. And another word that came up in the thesaurus for superior was high-calibre, hence the second line.

"High-calibre professional"

Now it's time to use the word 'superior'. What rhymes with that - inferior!

"Elite and superior, you saps so inferior"

And rinse-and-repeat

"I'm simply so exceptional"

And there you have it - the first draft of the chorus.

Tuesday 7 May 2019

Tatius Wolff announces second single The Tormentor from upcoming album The Relapse

Alternative solo metal band “Tatius Wolff” from Blue Mountains, Australia, presents this second single “The Tormentor” released Tuesday 7 May. It’s from the upcoming full length concept album, “The Relapse” due out mid 2019.


You can download the single for free from here: https://tatius-wolff.bandcamp.com/track/the-tormentor

This is the associated lyric video for the song.


The concept album, The Relapse, describes the journey of a debilitating illness from initial shock through to reconciliation. The Tormentor was originally written about bullying, from both perspectives of the bully-er and bully-ee. I have been both in my life and there is a connection between this and being bullied by a sickness.

The Tormentor

I thought about you today, although I couldn’t remember your name.
The hurt on your face, hate scarred and pained.

And you keep it all inside. Yes you keep it all inside! Keep it all inside!

You despised my presence,  unprovoked attacks,
Relentless in anger, so cruel and black.
Insecurities so, regrettably shamed,
Part of you, just like me, I feared most untamed.
The damage rebuilt, repaired in full,
What I did and said, were the actions of a fool.
Courage to be true, something I could never do,
Let alone expose the part of me, that was just like you.

And you keep it all inside! Keep it all inside! Keep it all inside!

Fight me coward! Just turn around!
I want to give you a piece, so stand your ground!
Show me some courage! Bet you can't find a thing!
Maybe you'll stop being scared, stand up and take a swing!

I'll keep on pushing! I'll knock you down!
All in the hope, that you'll stand up and wear that crown!
Don't be the victim! Or despair personified!
Stop doing what you always do, and keeping it all inside!

And you keep it all inside! Keep it all inside! Keep it all inside!

Sunday 5 May 2019

Press: Album Review – The Relapse - CORIN'S COPY-WRITE

Album Review – The Relapse - CORIN'S COPY-WRITE:

Album Review – The Relapse
May 3, 2019

Written by CORIN SHEARSTON

Ambitiously developing his prolificness after releasing three-track single Thumbscrews two June’s ago, Tatius Wolff’s second solo release The Relapse comes with a conceptual backstory deeper than a large amount of modern metal. After a sudden hospitalisation due to a bowel infection in October 2017, with a relapsing health decline five weeks later, Australian-Maltese metal musician Stephan ‘Wolff’ Borg decided to channel his vulnerability and uncertainty into producing a full-length concept album informed by the impact of illness. Formerly the lead guitarist of Maltese doom-death metal group Oblique Visions, Wolff’s solo project is inspired largely by 90s alternative and industrial metal groups like Type O Negative, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones and Tool. Channelling a love of concept albums such as Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Wolff wrote, performed, programmed and produced the nine sonically and thematically challenging tracks that constitute The Relapse.

The album’s release on June 8th signifies an advanced level of studio proficiency and artistic vision to see the project run its course, based off subject matter that resonates deeply with its creator. At it’s core, The Relapse is self-described by Wolff as an ‘emotional roller-coaster ride’. “I wanted to expose my vulnerabilities”, states the artist, speaking to online blog AEA Zine. “I guess the whole process was a bit cathartic, as I explored and unpacked my personal experience.” We hear album-defining tracks such as ‘The Shock’ and ‘The Tormentor’ undergo constant transformation, warping through layers of icy synth, pounding programmed drums, grisly distortion and ominous, reverberating vocals to instil an insidious feeling of cold dread. As far as lyrics go, they’re non-specific enough to be universally relatable. Although the album wasn’t written to be pessimistic, Wolff understands how it could be viewed as such, though for him it was “just a life experience”.

Through a symbiotic relationship between man and machine, Tatius Wolff has ultimately delivered a chilling slab of experimental metal, resonating emotionally with those who understand the full impact of debilitating medical conditions. As for the future, looking out from early May 2019, a 15 track concept project and/or a conceptual set of three EPs have already been vaguely theorised. To relate to the creative force of The Relapse, Wolff nihilistically says “as long as the music makes you move, it doesn’t matter”. Have a listen for yourself, but prepare to be shocked and inspired in equal measure. An achievement in artistic expression as personal as it is professional.

• ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR THE HAZE MAGAZINE, MAY 2019

http://www.thehazemag.com.au/

Thursday 2 May 2019

Press: AEA zine - Interview with Stephan Wolff of TATIUS WOLFF

AEA zine: Interview with Stephan Wolff of TATIUS WOLFF:

Interview with Stephan Wolff of TATIUS WOLFF


Why did you decide to found Tatius Wolff as a solo project instead of seeking musicians to form a complete band? Was it a matter of creative freedom or wanting to manage things independently, or both?
When I returned to Australia from Malta in 1998, I unsuccessfully tried to find a metal band to join. Eventually I gave up and stopped playing music for 17 years. In 2015, I wanted to learn bass and soon after, my first band from Malta, melodic doom death metal outfit Oblique Visions, asked me to start writing songs with them again. This kick started my passion but the distance made it difficult, and so eventually I found the courage to start a solo project. To this day, I am still looking for a band to join primarily to play live again.
I do like the creative freedom as a solo musician, my own creative outlet - and it means I'm a bit more relaxed style-wise if I do play in another band. Having complete control is a positive and negative. It's very easy to overdo certain aspects of your music if you are not careful and aware of your own personal flaws.
As an older 90's metal head, I do enjoy mentoring upcoming bands and solo artists, sharing my experiences and knowledge.

How many releases did you release with Oblique Visions while you were working with them? Are those releases still available? Is the band still recording and releasing new material?
We recorded a demo in our garage in 1994 called The Fallen. We played songs from this demo that never made it to our CD in a 20 year reunion gig in 2017, and they still sounded great 23 years later. That gig and the original demo songs can be found on YouTube.
In 1995 we self-financed 1000 CD's, Seas Of Serenity full length album. We spent two weeks recording and mixing it. It was well received and I still discover comments about how much people enjoy it two decades later.
We've discussed releasing the songs again on modern platforms, but I don't think we made a decision. Oblique Visions are still together, and they've found an excellent replacement for me, so they're busy writing new material - hopefully they'll release something in the near future.

How long were you an active musician in Malta and why did you decide to move to Australia? What led you to taking up music again after your seventeen year absence?
I was born and grew up in Australia and moved to Malta in 1990. I met the drummer from Oblique Visions at school and I played with them until 1998. My father had since returned to Australia and I still considered it my home at the time, so I decided to move back. It was a real cross-roads moment for me, I've had a few moments of regret because we could have done well as Oblique Visions but I was just blinded by family and personal priorities, so I chose a different route.
In 2014 I decided I wanted to play bass, so I bought a cheap one (the one you hear on the album) and started playing again. Then Oblique Visions asked me to start writing music with them and it just snowballed from there.

What aspects of alternative and gothic metal do you mix when writing compositions for this project? How do you define alternative and gothic metal and apply that definition to your songwriting, making it melodic and progressive?
I don't do it consciously - it just happens. I've always had a melancholic streak, so bands like Type O Negative just incredibly impressed me. Before I was a fan of Tool, I listened to Pink Floyd endlessly, especially The Wall. I just hear the music in my head and work out a way to play it.
I'm not a fan of genres, although I get why they exist. To be honest, I just recycled the genres of my favourite bands and said they were the genres of my music. Alternative metal (Tool), gothic metal (Type O Negative), industrial metal (Nine Inch Nails) and progressive metal (Tool/NIN). Please don't take this seriously, but I would define them simplistically like this - alternative metal is not brutal, not extreme metal vocals, gothic metal is pretty much doom metal (I don't know the difference personally), industrial has synths and sound samples of machines. While progressive is ... well ... not like what everyone else is doing.

Are you involved in other bands at present, or is Tatius Wolff your sole project? Do you produce each of your releases independently?
I would love to play live again and have tried to join bands, but I think I'm too intense as a band member. I think about this stuff 24x7, I have my methods, my shortcuts and I'm pretty sure I come across as controlling when for me, it's just me putting it out there that I have a way I do stuff. So yes, Tatius Wolff is my only project at the moment - and I'm already working on my next 15 track concept project, so I've got plenty to do.
Yeah, to date I've done everything without any real budget. I'm an IT engineer by trade and love to do stuff DIY. Even if it isn't perfect, I'm ok with that. It would be wonderful to get a deal where I could do my stuff professionally, but the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim.

What are the advantages of producing your material DIY instead of hiring professionals to produce your work?
While I have very little experience, the only advantage is saving money. If I had the budget to sink tens of thousands of dollars to have my music produced and promoted by professionals, then I would definitely choose that path. But I'm a big believer in learning as much as I can when you first start out, especially out of necessity. Then when you finally do have the budget to hire professionals, you'll know exactly what it's like to do what they're doing. You'll appreciate the value they bring to the project. You'll be able to describe your wishes and vision with more articulation because you've done it all before.
Now that I've got a bit of experience under my belt, I have the confidence to continue doing it all myself and hopefully an opportunity to hire professionals to do aspects of my project will happen in the future.

As someone who still prefers the term brutal when it comes to death metal/extreme metal vocals, I’ve researched videos by trained professionals who demonstrate the proper technique for those vocals so a singer does not damage his (or her) vocal cords. Would you consider branching out into those vocal styles if they could be done properly and they fit a given song?
I have tried and it requires a lot of skill. I'm sure with lots of practice I could manage to do something with brutal vocals technique - but I need to have the desire to sink the amount of time it takes to become proficient. I don't do things by halves, so it would be either commit to the long term goal of becoming really good at it or don't start at all. Time will tell if I get more into that style.

After releasing four singles for TW from 2017 to 2019 you are planning to release your debut full length The Relapse this June. The Relapse is a conceptual album about being suddenly struck with a debilitating illness and the ensuing journey from initial shock to reconciliation. What was the inspiration for this concept?
In October 2017 I found myself suddenly hospitalized with a bowel infection. After years of never being sick this was a huge shock to me. I didn't take this incident seriously enough and I didn't treat this issue with the respect I should have. Five weeks later, I was back in hospital with a bowel obstruction. I was surprised how helpless I was. I thought I wasn't going to get better for a very long time and I felt absolutely terrible, depressed, insignificant and irrelevant to the universe. I had to accept this was mostly out of my control and do what I had to, to stay out of hospital.

Some people would read your description of The Relapse and assume it’s pessimistic. How do you personally see it, having lived the experiences you write about?
Having a health issue relapse (return) will always be a significant experience to that person, and even if you've never had that happen to you, I'd hope you can relate to the themes anyway. I'm guessing that a lot of people have been suddenly hit with health issues at some point in their life, whether it's physical or mental illness. And I think we all go through a similar cycle of emotions with such an experience, telling ourselves we're fine and then finding out that's not the case.
I certainly didn't set out to make it pessimistic although I can see why someone could view it that way. For me it was just a life experience. A challenge that I had to face as much mental as physical, that in the end, I had to accept making changes to my lifestyle to get it under control.

Was it a difficult experience for you to capture those experiences in your lyrics? Looking back on the writing process, would you consider it cathartic?
For me at least, rather than trying to get the lyrics perfect the first time, the first thing I write is usually pretty crap. I try not to be critical about the lyrics initially knowing I will continue to shape them into something better every time I play the song.
So when I decided to write this album, I wanted to do something personal and expose my vulnerabilities. This is actually quite a scary thing to do. Sometimes I'd write a lyric and wonder if I'd went too far, if I'd given out too much information and what would people think of me. I guess the whole process was a bit cathartic, as I explored and unpacked my personal experience.

Having made it through your personal experiences, can you discuss how the lyrics on The Relapse reflect them?
Yeah, so the lyrics are meant to be vague and open to interpretation. Most of the songs contain two different characters of the same story. I didn't it to be specific to my experience, but rather anyone who has been in something similar would be able to relate to the emotions I was trying to convey. Each track in order takes you through an emotional roller-coaster ride, which reflects my own personal development as a musician as well as the real experience.

How much has readjusting your life spilled over into your recording career? In what ways will it affect your song and lyric writing, compared to the singles you released previously?
None really. The singles of 2017 were political in nature, which I do feel strongly about. But I wanted this concept album to be something much more vulnerable, hence the topic I chose. For the next album, I am still trying to land on another concept, which could be anything from a dark local tragedy to a film score. I will adjust my lyrics accordingly based on the concept. The music will be very similar, but may be less industrial, more blues or more death metal.

In what ways were your first singles political? What issues did you address in each of them? Were there any specific incidents that made you want to write about them?
Thumbscrews is about our western society being driven politically by fear, and the parallel to our former enemies who found themselves in a similar position. While Green was about the military industrial complex. I don't think there were any specific incidents that drove me to write these songs. They were primarily experiments as my first singles as a solo musician, to understand what was involved in releasing music. And I didn't have the courage to do vocals yet, so the vocals are all sampled.

What do you consider the most intense songs you recorded for The Relapse? How much feeling did you channel into them?
The Tormentor carries a lot of emotion. It describes bullying from the bully's point of view and is reflective of being bullied by a sickness. I think it's the heaviest and most intense song on the album. It goes back and forth between dark brooding song and intensely manic drums and guitars. It's the only song on the album with a blast beat. But I really enjoyed writing it, especially the Type O Negative inspired gothic metal breakdown in the middle.

How often have you had to adjust your lyrics while putting a song together? When you were writing The Relapse, were there any lyrics you ended up scrapping because they were too personal?
I'll continue to modify lyrics as the song gets more mature, taking more artistic license to the truth, etc. "Never let the truth ruin a good story" they say! If a phrase doesn't sit well, I'll do what I have to do to make it work in the song. Saying that though, I can't think of anything in particular that I scrapped from the original lyrics that didn't make the final song. As I said above, I write anything on the first pass expecting to cull it later on if it's crap anyway - so even if I did cull something, it would have been simply part of my own process of writing.

Do you plan to release more singles with political themes, or will you solely concentrate on longer conceptual albums?
Very possibly both! I have an idea for a concept three EP set which I only came up with this week. If the idea continues to have legs, then I will pursue it and it will definitely have political and societal themes in it.

Is there anything you want to tell the readers about the ideas you have in mind for this three EP set? What political and societal themes are you going to write about for it?
It's still very early days yet, but the backstory is based on three characters with very different political and social views. I am still working out the details, if they meet face to face, etc. But that's the jist of it.

Are you basing those characters on today’s political climate? Will you be touching on sensitive news topics to develop these characters?
I think the characters I am working with have been around for millennia. These characters are faceless and are not based on a specific person, but many different people with similar character traits. I'll give you one example - I have a character that has a violent streak. But I'm sure to everyone's surprise I'm basing him on two very unlikely people - Nelson Mandela and Jose Mujica. Both these "terrorists" (I use this term very loosely as I have great respect for both of them) end up becoming presidents, even though they had violent beginnings as freedom fighters.

Going by how much of the storyline you presently have to work with, how do you think people will respond to the finished project?
I have no idea. I hope some people will dig deep into the details and see the story for what it is. But I suspect, the majority of listeners won't be interested in the themes, and may not even recognize the characters that I'm am trying to connect them with. As long as the music makes you move, it doesn't matter. And as long as I'm enjoying the creation of these works, it shouldn't be a problem.

Provided that you continue to develop Tatius Wolff, how much of a chance does this project have of helping redefine underground music?
Haha - none that I am aware of. I might be helping bring back a revival of 90's metal. It's all very cyclical and a fellow solo metal artist I know, Ben Bernard of Blood Stained Glass, calls it the "20 Year Resonance". Kids grow up listening to their parents’ music and then rebel against the previous decade. If that is the case, then I might have a chance to be heard with my 90's inspired metal!
Thank you for your time - it was a pleasure to be interviewed with such depth and curiosity. Keep up the great work!

-Dave Wolff

Sunday 28 April 2019

The Next Project

So, being a solo artist, I'm not well positioned to go play live straight after this album's release. As a result, I found myself planning my next project because ... what was I waiting for?

Most bands will tour after they release and album. Get in front of crowds, sell merchandise. There are many solo metal musicians around the world that play live to backing tracks. But we don't see it much in Australia, and truth be told, I'm probably not ready to put myself out there to that extent. Not one to sit idle, I started looking for my next project concept to sink my teeth into.

The Next Project

So the first single is out, the second is about a week away. The whole album is out in 5 weeks or so. So my mind has been ticking away - well, what are we doing next!?

As a result, a couple of things happened this week, which spawned off a whole new concept for me to write about. It's aligned to the themes I covered in my 2017 singles, so kinda looping back in that aspect, but making this a big complex tangled web of a story.

Here's What Happened

Firstly, so you might have seen my recent post about a solo metal band from Argentina called Hermit's Maze. Basically, a fan of their's published a book that was inspired by their music.

Around the same time, I was also asking around the FB groups if there were any hobbyist filmmakers that wanted a free soundtrack, because I'm really interested in writing a film score.

And finally, I was looking at some fonts - yes fonts - kinda looking for inspiration of what the next generation of the Tatius Wolff logo will look like and I see ...

I'm thinking, "what a cool font. Maybe I need a psychopath in my concept?" So, where do we find a lot of psychopaths in the real world - why big corporate CEO's and politicians! Maybe, I can write the story about a psychopath politician and all his interactions with his followers and enemies. And so was born the first character for my EP series, a psychopath politician.

TLDR;

So I've decided to basically write a concept album plot split over 3 EP's, At the moment, the concept has 3 main characters, where essentially each EP will focus on each character and how they relate to the other two characters.

I'm still trying to get some intertwining plot lines. The other two characters are followers, the Patriots, and his enemies, the Guerrillas (haven't thought of a better name for these guys yet).

So yeah - that's the latest in my DIY solo metal adventures!

Thursday 25 April 2019

Press: The Relapse - Ross Rubin, Metal Public Radio

"Man, Tatius Wolff…

What a bizarre, yet interesting little record we have here. I for the life of me, have no idea what to make of this thing. It’s so far out of my normal comfort zone, but it’s definitely cool. Bringing together elements of bands like Deftones and Nine Inch Nails, Tatius Wolff is a really interesting take on alternative metal. I almost want to call it atmospheric alt-metal to be honest. It’s such a different sounding record. Definitely check it out, but expect something very different than I’d normally be plugging." - Ross Rubin, Metal Public Radio

Saturday 20 April 2019

Tatius Wolff - Dispel the Myths!

Tatius Wolff - Dispel the Myths!

So I've finally released a single from my album. I finally have something to show for my 2 years of learning, making mistakes, experimenting to deliver something I am proud of. So I wanted to take this opportunity to expose all of my dirty little secrets, some of which stop many artists from moving forward.

I want every one of you that can't afford to buy the plugins, software and equipment to know it can still be done and it shouldn't stop you releasing your music!

Myth: I have to spend money for a good sound!

I can honestly say I have spent very little making this album.You don't always need the best most expensive equipment! Here is a quick list of stuff that I did buy while making it.

Instruments

My 8 string is the old model Ibanez RG8 with the shit pickups. I got it for AU$500. It is on every single track and usually playing rhythm. It needed some EQ going into my virtual setup, but it is the backbone of the album - shit pickups and all!

My bass on every track is a cheap Monterey MBE-40BK. In 2014, I was given a gift card which I had to use and I had just decided to start playing music again and learn to play bass. I used it to buy a AU$112 "new" Chinese made bass guitar. It was so cheap, it was broken when I got it home. I had to repair it myself. But the pickups and tone actually sounded alright. This wasn't a bargain but it did the job and a good one at that.

Audio Equipment

When I first started playing guitar again in 2015, I tried recording using my SoundBlaster card - ah no, don't try it, it doesn't work. So I went and found a USB interface I could afford, an M-Audio M-Track 2 channel USB interface. At the time, I had no idea about this stuff. If I had known about the Focusrite Scarlett, I would have probably gone down that path - but I didn't. So for most of the album, I'm using the M-Audio interface, until ...

... two thirds into the album, it started to play up. The output would go all white noise on me. So I had to replace it with a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Really nice interface - haven't had any issues with it yet.

Microphones - well let's just say, that for the songs, "The Shock" and "Despair", the vocals are recorded on my phone sitting in my car late at night while no one (I think) was watching. I didn't have a mic at the time, I definitely couldn't afford to buy one. I then saw a YouTube video about the cheapest microphone on Amazon, NEEWER NW-800, a bundle with stand and spit guard. For my first microphone, a step up from my phone, I'd give it a go. This is the microphone you hear on the rest of the album. My singing, which is not fantastic and was pretty shit in the 2 tracks mentioned above, wasn't going to sound any better with a fantastic mic. Like the RG8, it need some EQ before it hit the tracking chain, but it worked.

Studio monitors - ah, I don't have any. Not that I don't want any, I just didn't have the cash to spend on them. I bought a pair of headphones initially, KRK KNS-6400's a couple of years ago and started with those. I then recently bought a pair of AKG K702's. But for this album, that's what I mixed with. I have 4 kids, so night time is the usual time I get to do my music, and without a dedicated sound proofed studio - headphones were my only choice. I am currently trying to get a pair of Kali Audio LP-8's.

Audio Plugins & Software

So you may have figured out by now, I am just cheap most of the time. I'm also an engineer at heart, so I like to make things work, regardless of the situation. And I love a challenge.

After a short stint using Ableton Live 8, I switched and never looked back to Reaper. I paid my US$60 for a license and can't recommend it enough. It has been able to do everything that I have thrown at it. I haven't checked out Cakewalk, but if it works for you, then why wouldn't you use it.

Now about plugins or VST's. So this is always a fun one! I'm in these Facebook groups and even watching YouTube, I'm pretty sure the consensus is you need to buy plugins to get that "amazing" sound.

Now I personally like that old saying "A bad craftsman always blames his tools". I wanted to be sure that I knew what I was doing with the most basic and freely available audio plugins first before I go and drop any money on them. And it worked out for me.

EVERY SINGLE VST PLUGIN USED ON EVERY TRACK OF MY ALBUM IS FREELY AVAILABLE

Free VST bundles I can't live without - Variety Of Sound, Antress, Dead Duck Software FX and Instruments, DSK Synths, Ignite Amps, MT Power Drum Kit 2 (groove library), Nick Crow Labs, LePou's Amps, Tokyo Dawn Labs, TSE, VLadG, YouLean and Steve Slate Drums 5 (free). I also use SM Drums and The Metal Kick Drum drum samples.

It can be done! Was it simple - yes and no. Sometimes I had to fix stuff up because of simple flaws but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Other times I had to use a chain of plugins to do exactly what I wanted, instead of it all being in the one plugin. But it can be done is what I'm trying to say - even if you don't have $1.

I used free VST's and impulse responses on everything. I recorded and tracked everything within the DAW. At the time, my Marshall JCM800 wasn't even working, so I was unable to use it on the album. This was probably a good thing, because it removed the complexity of trying to mic and record my guitars traditionally.

And just on the subject of recording, mixing and mastering - I've spent a two years learning how to do these from YouTube primarily and lots, and lots of helpful people giving me mix critiques and advice. I didn't spend any money on training. If I had, would I have learnt quicker and better?Possibly. But I personally tracked, recorded, mixed and mastered all the tracks. With lots of advice from other people. As long as you're not wasting their time or asking them to do the work for you, I think most people are ok to have a listen and give some advice. But it's always a difficult line to walk between technical flaw and personal taste.

Graphics and Video Editing Software

So I did all my own artwork and videos for this album. I did purchase my Roman soldier logo 2 years ago when I started. But there are plenty of free sites to get artwork and photography from. I've used GIMP for years for my artwork and was previously using Lightworks as a video editing tool (False Hope lyric video). But it has some limitations, so I've recently moved to Kdenlive which is an awesome bit of software. I'm doing The Tormentor lyric video on this and it is a very powerful free piece of software. I did buy Superstring for US$40 for the lyric videos. But the other stuff is from Plane9 which is free.

Again, like learning audio engineering, I've been lucky enough to find photographers and graphic designers that are willing to give me advice and help me out. Sometimes you just have to ask and don't take their time or help for granted.

Friday 19 April 2019

Press: The Relapse Album Review - Subterranean Noise - Underground Rock and Metal

Source: https://www.facebook.com/subterraneannoisereviews/photos/a.2032449397051384/2032444360385221/

TATIUS WOLFF (Australia)
"The Relapse" (Digital album)
(Independent)
Release date: June 8th 2019
BANDCAMP: https://tatius-wolff.bandcamp.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/tatiuswolff/

TATIUS WOLFF is the brainchild of Sydney based multi instrumentalist Stephan "Wolff" Borg, who was first introduced to the metal genre when he joined the Maltese doom/death metal band Oblique Visions as a lead guitarist back in the early nineties. They released the "The Fallen" demo in 1994, and then their self financed full length CD "Seas of Serenity" the following year. Borg stayed with the band until he moved back to Australia in 1998.
After his departure from Oblique Visions, Borg had little luck finding a band that lived up to his musical ideologies, and went into a musical hiatus, one that would go on for 17 years.

He formed TATIUS WOLFF in March 2017, and released "Thumbscrews", a three track single which clearly indicated influences by acts like Type O Negative, Deftones and Tool, but with a more 90's type of sound and production.

"The Relapse" is TATIUS WOLFF's first full length, due for release on June 8th, and is a concept album that tells the story of being suddenly stuck by a debilitating illness, and the journey through the trials, tribulations, hope and despair.

"Auxilium" is the instrumental opening track, and already during the first few seconds is becomes apparent that Mr. Borg has dared to explore more djent and progressive oriented realms after "Thumbscrews". And quite successfully so, might I add. The bass and guitars are perfectly mixed, and form a deliciously massive wall of sound, but still leaving room for all the other elements that appear in the soundscapes that make TATIUS WOLFF sound as unique as it does, as well as adding that extra layer to the atmosphere that depicts the story throughout the eight tracks featured on "The Relapse".

"The Shock" is with its seven minutes the longest track on the album, and continues where the opener left off, though I am tempted to draw parallells back to 2017's single release. Whereas said opener functioned splendidly as a dramatic overture, "The Shock" is initially more melody based. There are tasty sections with piano, and even some odd time signatures. Borg's vocals are not at all polished, but they bring an authentic intensity and honest emotion that leaves no doubt that he is putting his heart into telling his story.

The third track "Recovery", as well as the title track, has themes and melodies that wouldn't sound misplaced on a Paradise Lost or a Tiamat record; thus again confirming the composer's fascination for music from the time when said bands were at the top of their game. "Proelium" is a nice little instrumental that incorporates what seems to be a late 80's Running Wild inspired melody line. "Trauma" is delightfully brutal, before progressing into a clean section with a dark, yet soothing atmosphere. However, I feel these tracks suffer a bit from the drum patterns that make them appear somewhat less consistent.

"The Tormentor" on the other hand is a really strong track that leads no way out of the darkness, but also makes it colder. A bone chilling, almost disturbing introduction grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go until it completely crushes you in what is sure to be one of the most fierce and intense sections to appear during the album's 37 short minutes. The track as a whole has a lot of different variations in textures and intensity; shifting between gloomy and dark moods to fast, infernal passages that punch the air out of your lungs if you try to keep up. With such contrasts within one track you would think it would be difficult to make the song flow naturally, but Borg does it really well on this one.

"Despair" is the last track on the album, and judging from the title it doesn't mark much of a bright ending to the story, but musically it is a worthy conclusion to the album. Concept albums like "The Relapse" are often very personal, and I sincerely hope Mr. Borg has a great feel of accomplishment after creating and releasing his debut. He sure is entitled to.

Download free singles and preorder the album at https://tatius-wolff.bandcamp.com/

7/10

Håvard Lunde

TRACKLIST:
1. Auxilium
2. The Shock
3. Recovery
4. The Relapse
5. Proelium
6. Trauma
7. The Tormentor
8. Despair

TATIUS WOLFF:
- Stephan "Wolff" Borg: all instruments, recording, mixing, mastering