Kathodos reflects on dormant creative periods, collaboration with Lavinia, and plans for a parasomnia trilogy

Transmission 272: Interview with Kathodos

Kathodos is an American experimental ritual dark ambient band. The project emerged in 2019 as what its creator describes as an “experiment in darkness”—a departure from his earlier work as a rock musician into something bleaker and more unsettling. The band’s debut album “Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus” arrives via Rune Serpent Europa on 28 October 2025.

Title: Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus
Artist: Kathodos
Release Date: 2025-10-28
Genres: Ambient, Darkwave, Drone, Experimental Music, Industrial Music
Label: Rune Serpent Europa
Description: Kathodos talks Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus, Nurse With Wound's influence, Eyes Wide Shut, Lavinia collaboration, and Rune Serpent Europa's October release.

Originally released digitally in spring 2024 on a now-defunct netlabel without promotion, the album found its audience through word of mouth among those who stumbled upon it. Conceived as a sequence of strange dreams, the album moves through states of confusion, beauty, terror, comedy, and psychosis. Hypnotizing drones meet occult rituals and odd lyrics, while hidden meanings lurk beneath maddening architecture and intricate instrumentation.

What specific moment or realization pushed you to abandon the structures of rock music for the abstract darkness of Kathodos?

There were a few reasons. First, I wanted more creative control of the music I was making. The only way to gain full control of a musical project is to do it yourself. Second, the lyrics I was writing for my rock project weren’t satisfying me anymore. I grew bored with the topics I was writing about. I wanted to do something a little less lyrical and focus on creating darker music. Thus, Kathodos was born.

However, the early material was very different from what I have released so far. The early material was more ambient or dark ambient and not the experimental ritual experience Kathodos is now. It took a lot of time and strange life experiences to refine the current sound. Fun fact, some of the early material I wrote for Kathodos turned into material I released for my dungeon synth project, Dark Secrets Sleep.

Was there a particular album or artist that acted as a gateway, showing you what was sonically possible in the experimental and dark ambient music scene?

Yes, there are a few artists that influenced the sound of Kathodos. I’d say the artist that made the biggest impact on my music was Nurse With Wound. Their album, ‘Soliloquy for Lilith’, showed me how dark and unsettling drone music can be. I incorporated many unnerving drones as a backdrop in my debut album, ‘Parasomnia Pavor Nocturnus’. I also loved what NWW was doing with tribal beats and I included some moments in my album that feature tribal beats. Another artist who influenced me was Coil. I love how they had unique song structures while still having a lead vocal presence in some of their songs.

This style influenced Kathodos songs like ‘…Window’ or ‘A Memory Dwindles…’. I was also influenced by Current 93 to a lesser degree. The dark folk sound they are famous for shows up in many Kathodos songs like ‘Phantom of the Throne Room’ or ‘Hanging Tree’. However, Kathodos was only loosely influenced by these artists as my ultimate goal was to create something entirely unique, which meant a lot of the material had to have little to no influences at all.

Who were the key non-musical influences, the writers, filmmakers, or painters, that shaped your initial “experiment in darkness” back in 2019?

Not too many non-musical artists influenced material on ‘Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus’. However, there was a big film influence on my track, ‘The Dark Priests’. This track was directly influenced by a scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 film, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’. In the film, there is an incredibly dark scene featuring a Satanic Mass, where worshippers are clad in masks and black robes. This scene was extremely influential to this song as it intends to transport listeners to an occult ritual. Depending on what your religious beliefs are, this track could either represent your worst nightmare or be an extremely satisfying experience.

As far as painters go, one may think that the works of Odilon Redon influenced my work due to his art being featured on the cover of my debut album as well as on the CD booklet, but that is not the case. I discovered his art after writing the album and thought it represented my music perfectly when I was looking for cover art. There are no writers who influenced my music, but ‘…Window’ has a similar lyrical vibe to ‘The Telltale Heart’ by Edgar Allen Poe. Lavinia pointed this out to me after it was written and I agree with her.

How literal is the “dream sequence” concept for Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus? Are these tracks direct sonic translations of your own nightmares and dreams?

The ‘dream sequence’ concept is more abstract than literal. Some of the sounds reflect some dreamscapes that I have had in the past, but the goal was to take listeners on a journey of strange dream sequences that convey all kinds of experiences and emotions such melancholy, suffocation, terror, confusion, passion, beauty, discomfort, the occult, the bizarre, and even comedy. It’s a 6-track album the runs just over an hour. So, my goal is to for the listener to take an hour of their life and experience all the peculiar sounds and emotions of what could realistically be a sequence of 6 dreams/nightmares in a row.

At what point in the process did you realize the project needed another voice, and what made Lavinia the right collaborator for these specific tracks?

I’d say I recruited Lavinia for her ability to play guitar, which is something I cannot do. I also had recorded some falsetto parts in ‘A Memory Dwindles…’ that I wasn’t satisfied with so I asked her to replace my vocals with her voice. I also needed someone to orate the spoken word track, ‘Message Sent to Earth’ and her speaking voice sounded better than mine did (laughs). She also added some additional vocals to some of the other songs to aid the atmosphere.

How does the visceral, flesh-and-spirit art of Saturno Buttò connect with your sonic interpretation in the track “Death & Rebirth”?

‘Death & Rebirth’ was recorded before Luke of Rune Serpent Europa reached out to me regarding participation in the compilation dedicated to Saturno Butto’s art. It was recorded for a future release but I had no real direction for it. When Luke asked if I wanted to provide a short song for the compilation, I selected ‘Death & Rebirth’ after reviewing Butto’s work. I think the song is naturally very artistic and it was a perfect fit for a musical compilation representing the art of Saturno Butto.

The project lay dormant for long stretches. What happens in those silent periods?

There were periods of inactivity for Kathodos. However, I have been making music on a consistent basis throughout the years. I have many tracks that I have written and even recorded that have not been released publicly. Some of these songs are meant for Kathodos, others are written for other projects I have not made public yet, and some are written without a clear direction. I have written/recorded songs in a plethora of different genres and there are even some projects that are publicly available that I use a different name for.

As most Kathodos fans know, I am the sole creator behind the dungeon synth project, Dark Secrets Sleep, and the vocalist of black metal band, Hymnicide. All of that said, there are silent periods where all music activity ceases. Sometimes, I need to take time away in order to refresh myself and avoid becoming stale. Other times when music activity stops, it can be explained by life events that happen. None of us can control for what life brings us and we are at its mercy when some unforeseen terror takes hold.

With a second album already in the works, are you planning to continue exploring the subconscious and oneiric themes?

Yes, the second album will also focus on sleep parasomnia. I plan to do a trilogy of albums focusing on parasomnia. The second album will focus on somniloquy, which is a fancy word for sleeping talking. The album will have a similar concept of each track representing a disparate dream sequence. A few songs are written and some recordings have been made. Given my obligations to other projects and me recently taking a little break from Kathodos, I don’t have a timeframe of when this album will be released.

Hopefully, it will be released within the next year or two. In the meantime, I will be releasing various singles, EPs, and compilations that will most likely not be featured on the second album. If you’re interested in hearing this extra material, be sure to follow my Bandcamp page at kathodos.bandcamp.com.

Photos courtesy of Kathodos

Matteo Damiani

Matteo Damiani is an Italian photographer and author. Curator of the sites Retrofuturista.com; weirditaly.com; china-underground.com and others