ILLT
Hometown: Oslo, Norway
Album: Urhat, out September 17 via Indie Records
RIYL: Outlets. Responsibility. Extremity.
Everyone needs an outlet, some place where they can funnel all the negativity and frustration in a healthy manner. Whether it’s reading, athletics, art, video games, most well-adjusted adults (laughs, what is that?) have something that helps ground them in what matters when reality becomes a bit much. Few have something quite as star-studded and excellent as ILLT, the creative conduit for guitarist/bassist/mastermind Roy Westad. While his day job is as a composer and guitarist, ILLT has always scratched at the back of Westad’s mind, as his love for extreme metal needed some way to come to fruition. Urhat indeed does feel like a glorious passion project— featuring members of Soilwork, Megadeth, and Nile, few can be elevated to such a supergroup status when the mastermind is not as well known. One listen to ILLT and you’ll clearly see why the talent eagerly jumped on board. Brimming with creativity, passion, and a keen balance between melody and extremity, this is any metal fan’s ideal scenario: a possible favorite act that came out of seemingly nowhere.
Westad reflects on the act’s creation and mission:
“ILLT is first and foremost an outlet for my negative feelings towards humanity and the state we’re in, and I carry around a lot of hatred regarding certain aspects of our existence. I tend to walk around with my guard down and take in way too much of the harrowing shit that’s going on out there. On a personal level, I am able to fully function as a father, fiancé, and friend, but I have always carried this darkness around with me. It surfaces sometimes but having ILLT as a channel where I can actually bring up and harness these dark thoughts has really made life a lot easier to handle. Urhat is addressing both my views on the present state of humanity, but it also asks how we got here: Were we destined to fail all the time? Is it a natural de-evolution we’re seeing now? Maybe it’s all action/reaction, and it will get better before it gets worse again. I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good. That said, I do feel hope on a personal level, but not on behalf of humanity as a whole.”
Check out the track “Scythian King” here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW0E5qqy6rw
For more from ILLT, find them on Facebook.
Photo courtesy of ILLT and Jørn Veberg
