Exploring the Arcane: An Interview with Withering Soul’s Christopher Grimes

Exploring the Arcane: An Interview with Withering Soul’s Christopher Grimes

For more than two decades, Chicago’s Withering Soul has carved out a distinct place in the American extreme metal landscape. Blending melodic death metal, black metal, and a fascination with the supernatural, the band has evolved through lineup changes, stylistic shifts, and the unpredictable chaos of the music world. Now, with the release of Passage of the Arcane on Liminal Dread Productions, the band enters one of its strongest eras yet—an album steeped in folklore, historical mysteries, and the darker corners of human experience.

I sat down with guitarist, vocalist, and founding member Christopher Grimes to talk about the new record, the stories behind its haunting themes, the band’s 25‑year journey, and what lies ahead for Withering Soul as they prepare to bring these songs to the stage for the first time.

We’re here with Christopher Grimes from Withering Soul. Let’s start at the beginning—give me a little background on the band. How long have you guys been together?
We’re talking about almost a quarter of a century now, which is wild to think about. I started the band around 2000 with my older brother. I was a strapping 19‑year‑old, and it began as a side project—we were just making demos for fun. I was in college at the time, so it was basically a long‑distance project for a while.

When I moved back home, we recruited some members, went through a few lineup changes and the usual growing pains, and eventually finished our first album, Apparitions of the Surreal. That recording process was… interesting. I used an old-school four‑track tape recorder for the drums, and a lot of the guitar was done on my brother’s beige desktop computer—back in the days of dial‑up, 56k modems, LimeWire, all that good stuff.

We released that album ourselves, got a new lineup together, and started playing shows around the Chicagoland area. We opened for some bigger bands—Dark Funeral and Enslaved were the most memorable. We even opened for Finntroll at one point. Things were going well, we had momentum, and we moved on to our next album, No Closure.

Stylistically, that one was pretty different from what we’re doing now. It leaned more toward the gothic side. I was really into keyboards and synthesizers back then—big fan of Dimmu Borgir, Limbonic Art, and a lot of bands from that era. We put the album out and got our first label support from Mortal Music. The album got good reviews overall—some mixed opinions, of course—but I’m proud of it. You’re always your own worst critic when you listen back years later, thinking, “I should’ve done this differently,” but that’s part of the process.

Around that time, Rick—our current drummer—joined the band. We kept grinding, played more shows, and eventually released Adverse Portrait in 2015. That album was much closer to the direction we’re in now: more guitar‑driven, melodic death metal meets black metal.

Fast‑forward to the pandemic. We hit a crossroads. We were having issues with our vocalist—nothing I want to speak negatively about, it just is what it is. We were ready to finish recording our next album, Last Contact, and the only thing left was vocals. So I ended up taking on the vocal duties myself just to get the album done. This was right after COVID hit, around 2020, when the whole world shut down. I think everyone was going a little crazy.

I spent a lot of time practicing vocals in my car, basically doing karaoke at intersections. I’m sure people thought, “Who’s this crazy guy yelling next to me?” But eventually I sharpened my craft and got the hang of writing lyrics—something I both love and hate. Fitting words into a song is way harder than people think. You have to learn cadence, rhythm, phrasing… it’s a whole new skill set. But I’m proud of what I did on Last Contact. It was my first real attempt at vocals on an album.

Around that time, we recruited Joel, our current bass player. He’s phenomenal—honestly, the closest thing to Steve DiGiorgio I can think of in terms of style and skill. And Rick has continued to level up as a drummer—he’s always been great, but he’s become even tighter and more polished.

That brings us to our current album, Passage of the Arcane. We really took our time with this one, making sure every song was exactly how we wanted it. We spent a lot of time “baking” the material, so to speak. We’re extremely proud of it and believe in it heavily. The response has been amazing.

We released it through Liminal Dread Productions—they were really impressed with the album. A lot of people overseas have connected with it, and we’ve gotten great reviews and promotion. Hopefully we’ll be playing some festivals or maybe doing a tour this summer. We’ll see what happens.

Let’s talk about Passage of the Arcane. It’s a very evocative title. What does “the arcane” represent to you personally and musically?
Personally—and lyrically—we’ve always had a supernatural or paranormal thread running through our music. That’s probably the one constant throughout Withering Soul’s history. For this album, I had a loose concept in mind as the songs were coming together. I wanted each track to be its own story, but all connected by a theme: places around the world where humanity has perished, or where strange, unexplained things have happened. Not just American lore—anywhere. Each song is like its own little anthology entry.

We did something similar on our last album, but this time the concept really solidified. For example, the first full song, “Attrition Horizon,” is based on the Flannan Isles incident. It’s a lighthouse off the coast of Scotland where, in the early 1900s, the lighthouse keepers vanished without a trace. When the relief boat arrived, the men were gone. The logbook and everything inside the lighthouse were intact, but the keepers were nowhere to be found. Some people think they were swept away by a rogue wave; others have different theories. It’s a fascinating mystery, and it made for a great lyrical subject.

The next track, “Grievance Eludes the Light,” is loosely inspired by the Bell Witch haunting in Tennessee. It’s one of those infamous pieces of American folklore. A pioneer family in the early 1800s moved into a house and started experiencing all kinds of terrifying phenomena. It seemed like something—some entity or force—was targeting them. One by one, family members fell ill, almost as if something was trying to kill them. That sense of dread and inevitability shaped the song’s theme.

You also released a new single, “Gallery of the End.” Tell me about that one.
That one’s a bit different from the others. As a kid, I was fascinated by abandoned buildings and ghost towns. Across America, there are all these remnants of towns that used to exist—places that once had life, but now only have echoes. I’ve always liked the idea that these places still hold some kind of energy or story, even if it’s fading.

“Gallery of the End” is about that erosion—how the structures decay, the stories decay, and eventually people forget the town ever existed. It also touches on the struggles early settlers faced in these isolated places, where there was no safety net and no guarantee of survival.

Let’s jump to the end of the album—“Burden of the Valiant.” What’s the story behind that one?
That one was really fun to write. It’s loosely based on the Franklin Expedition, the true story of two British naval ships that set out to find the Northwest Passage through Canada. If you’ve ever seen the show The Terror—I think it was on AMC or Paramount—that’s what it’s about. It became one of my favorite shows.

The expedition had a crew of around 200–300 men. They got trapped in the ice and ended up stranded for over two years. For a long time, no one knew what happened to them—they just vanished from history. Rescue parties only found scattered clues, bits of information from local Inuit people, and remnants of their camps.

“Burden of the Valiant” is about that sense of duty they carried. These were men who had completed successful missions before, and they were confident—almost driven—to finish what they started. They were brave, committed, and determined to push the boundaries of the known world. Tragically, they perished in the attempt. The song reflects that weight, that burden of exploration and ambition.

We’re getting all kinds of history lessons on this album—thank you for that. Now, you’ve got an upcoming live show in the New Year at Livewire Lounge in Chicago. What are you looking forward to most about that show? I’m guessing it’ll be the first time you’ve played a lot of these songs live.
Yeah, you pretty much nailed it. Playing these songs live for the first time is always exciting. We’ve been practicing our asses off, trying to get as tight as possible. Some of the new material is more technical—one or two songs especially—so it’s been a big challenge for me to sing and play guitar at the same time.

But I’m getting to the point where it’s becoming fluid. Singing and playing simultaneously is almost like drumming in a way—you’re using both sides of your brain, coordinating two different things and trying to keep them aligned. You have to know the guitar parts well enough that you don’t even think about them.

But yeah, what I’m most excited about is seeing our friends and fans come out, and seeing how people react to the new album. We’ve also got a great lineup on the bill. Xeamora from St. Louis is driving up—we played with them over the summer. Niveous from Milwaukee is joining us; great group of guys, we’ve played with them before. Then we’ve got Mudtomb, some friends of ours from Chicago, and Lurid, who are really making a name for themselves. It’s mostly black metal bands, but we’re all unique enough that it won’t feel like every band sounds the same. It should be a diverse show with a lot of good energy.

Has Withering Soul ever made it to the West Coast? Any shows out here—or would you like to, especially with the new album out?
Absolutely, we’d love to. We haven’t made it to California yet, but we did play a festival in Tacoma about three years ago. It was with a bunch of death and black metal bands. It was a two‑day festival, great crowd, great energy. I loved driving around the Pacific Northwest—if I have an excuse to go back, I’ll take it.

I’ve noticed Milwaukee Metal Fest is back. I don’t think you guys have played it before, but have you ever been?
We’ve never been lucky enough to play Milwaukee Metal Fest, though we’ve definitely tried. (If you’re listening… hint.) But no, we haven’t played it yet.

Rick and I went last year and had a great time. We saw Down, Enslaved, Rotting Christ, Dusk, Avernus—just a solid lineup. We went on Friday. And I’m old enough to have gone way back during the original run of Milwaukee Metal Fest. My first one was in 1999, then I went again in 2001 and 2002. I saw a ton of bands. It was a great time to be young, full of wanderlust, discovering new music.

Same here—I went during those years too. I remember seeing the first U.S. performances of bands like Gorgoroth and Opeth. But one Chicago band I remember seeing early on was Venificum, around the time their first EP came out. I noticed in your credits that you were in Venificum for about two seconds. What was that experience like, and do you still keep in touch with the members?
Yeah, that’s funny—small world. It’s cool that you saw them in their early days. They were actually one of the first Chicago bands we became friends with when Withering Soul was starting out. I know all the guys pretty well, from the early lineup to the later years.

I played session bass for Venificum for a couple of shows around 2005. Then I came back toward the end of their run, after they released their last album—In Tranquil Absurd, I think that came out around 2010 or 2011. I played bass with them for about two or three years.

They’re great guys. Jason, the keyboardist, has always been kind of the visionary of that band—great songwriter, very creative, very talented. Josh handled vocals on In Tranquil Absurd—he wasn’t the original vocalist, but he did a great job. John, who played guitar on the previous album, came back for that one as well. And my friend Mike Maselbas was on lead guitar—he’s in the band Glacier now.

Let’s talk about another band you’re involved with—Blood of the Wolf. Are you still active with them, and is there any new music coming out?
Definitely. It’s going to be a busy year. Blood of the Wolf has a new album coming out next month, actually. We just started rehearsing again, getting everything back up to speed. Rick—who drums for Withering Soul—is drumming for Blood of the Wolf again as well. He was in the band right before the pandemic. So yeah, next year is shaping up to be a very busy one for me.

Are you currently involved with any other bands or projects we haven’t talked about yet?
Nothing right now. Two bands is usually my limit. I’ve tried doing three before, and… yeah, if I could quit my day job, then maybe I’d take on a third band. But for now, two is plenty.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first Withering Soul demo, and the band has been around for 25–26 years now. When you look back on that demo—and the fact that you’ve been doing this for so long—what do you think of it in retrospect?
To answer the simple part first: the demo is what it is. I wouldn’t be proud of it if it were something I made today, but it was a product of its time. Mike and I were learning a lot back then. I was just figuring out how to program drums. It was cool for what it was. We don’t play any of those songs live anymore—I don’t think they’re relevant now—but it was a fun experiment.

As for the 25 years… all I can say is perseverance. I don’t have a reason to hang it up. Writing and recording music has always been a passion of mine. Hearing songs come to life—there’s no greater high than that. As long as I stay creative, as long as I still have ideas, and as long as it still sounds like Withering Soul, I’ll keep doing it.

What’s coming up for you in the new year?
The goal is to get us on some really good shows—whether we have to book them ourselves or a promoter is kind enough to bring us on. We want to keep the momentum going.

Do you have any messages for Withering Soul fans or metal fans reading this?
Just always stick to what you believe in. That’s all I can say. Stick to what you’re passionate about.

In Conclusion

As Withering Soul enters another brilliant year in music, the band shows no signs of slowing down. Passage of the Arcane stands as both a reflection of their evolution and a testament to their enduring creative fire — an album rooted in mystery, history, and the darker corners of human experience. With new shows on the horizon, fresh material from Blood of the Wolf, and a renewed sense of momentum, Christopher Grimes continues to push forward with the same perseverance that has carried the band from its earliest demos to its most ambitious work yet.

For fans old and new, the message is simple: stay true to what drives you. And for Withering Soul, that passion remains as fierce as ever.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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