photo by Lauren Lamp

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Erik Moggridge (Aerial Ruin) and Dylan Desmond (Bell Witch), whose bands have collaborated on an album named Stygian Bough Volume 1, which will be released by Profound Lore on June 26th, and we thank Bailey Sattler and Rebecca Laverty for helping to make this discussion happen.)

Bell Witch are well-known to our readers and widely praised among modern doom metal bands as one with unique vision and inspiration, varying from funeral doom to sludge. Started in Seattle, 2010, as a duet of Dylan Desmond (bass, vocals) and Adrian Guerra (drums, vocals), Bell Witch brought forth three full-length works, though the last one, 2017’s fantastic Mirror Reaper (2017) appeared after Adrian’s death and featured the work of Jesse Shreibman (organ, drums, vocals). And as Dylan has continued Bell Witch’s toll as a duet alongside Jesse, there was always another man who took part in all the band’s albums as an honoured guest.

And that man is Erik Moggridge, who performed guitars in the legendary death / thrash crew Epidemic back in late ’80s and in the psycho death experiments of Old Grandad. Who could have predicted that his acoustic project Aerial Ruin would inspire such deep devotion among fans and would take part in a tight collaboration with Bell Witch? What do both projects have in common? What led to their fresh collaboration, Stygian Bough: Volume 1? We’ll find out in this inspiring interview together with Dylan and Erik themselves! Continue reading »