Milwaukee Metal Monthly: Niveous summons black metal sci-fi concept record ‘Cult Of The Void Star’

Welcome back to Milwaukee Metal Monthly, the column where I discuss a genre of music that often gets the cold shoulder.

This month, we’re gonna do another one of those profile-type dealies, like I did back in February’s installment. Obviously, I only spoke to one band this time around, but it was a fascinating conversation—half on-record as the official discussion, and then a half hour of just hanging out and shootin’ the shit—and you’ll see how and why shortly. It wasn’t originally the plan to have a single-interview column, but given the wealth of stuff that came out, it’s the correct play.

The band in question is a Milwaukee-based black metal trio called Niveous consisting of guitarist Zygrath, bassist and vocalist Vokar, and drummer and vocalist Nortaath. (The band opted to be referred to by their “aliases,” as Vokar put it, so I obliged.) We met in late June at Burnhearts to discuss their splendid debut long-player, Cult Of The Void Star, and the upcoming album release show at X-Ray Arcade on July 18. (Side note: longtime readers of this column might recognize the band’s name because I picked their 2025 EP Endless Snowfall as one of my favorites of last year in the December 2025 installment.)

<a href="https://niveous-blackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/endless-snowfall">Endless Snowfall by Niveous</a>

Speaking of snow: a hallmark of black metal is winter as a major theme, both lyrically and aesthetically. In other words, it’s niveous—which, as I discovered, means “of or relating to snow” or “resembling snow (as in whiteness).” Milwaukee’s Niveous aren’t the only one, though.

“It’s hard to find a one-word band name,” says Vokar with a smirk early on. “I think there’s a few other musical projects that go under that moniker.” Then Nortaath jumps in: “We’re the only [Niveous] on Metal Archives. Which is what really matters.” (I’m pretty much forced to agree, since I called that site “basically, the gold standard for information on all things metal” back in the initial issue of MMM.)

Returning to the band: Zygrath, Vokar, and Nortaath were kind and loquacious, making my job easy. The way they interacted with each other suggested a kind of mind meld. Much like when I talked to Shadows Taller Than Souls last year, Niveous are kinda like the Beastie Boys, at least conversationally. Since they tend to finish each other’s thoughts, and all riff in a similar fashion, it might be more accurate to say that talking to them is closer to talking to a single three-headed person rather than three distinct people.

Perhaps it makes sense, then, that they seem to have their (sitcom-y?) roles to play within the band. Zygrath tends to be the nerdiest, especially when it comes to playing and writing. He’ll mention dissonance and tone as ways to take a rock riff and bend it into black metal, or say something like, “Branching back into black metal [after playing death metal] was a way for me to sort of expand my musicality and the realm of what I can play.” Vokar, meanwhile, is the jovial one, laughing and chuckling often, and sporting an I’m-just-happy-to-be-here grin throughout. And then there’s Nortaath, the artsy, intellectual, and thoughtful one who painted the cover and did the layout of Void Star. “To me, presentation matters a lot,” he explains. “So, you look at the palette on the cover. We have a lotta purple. We have a lotta blue. A lotta muted colors.”

<a href="https://niveous-blackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/cult-of-the-void-star">Cult of the Void Star by Niveous</a>

The band’s origin story is one of shared interest, with maybe a hint of kismet. Niveous formed in the summer of 2024. Zygrath and Vokar already knew each other from playing in the Milwaukee band Cryptual, whose vocalist is Jason Ellis. (I spoke to Ellis for the WMSE DJ installment of this column.)

“[Vokar] and I and [Nortaath] saw each other at shows, and we just started talking,” recalls Zygrath. “We realized we all loved black metal. I played in black metal bands in the past. I’m originally from the upper peninsula of Michigan. I played in a black metal band up there for many years called Arioch. And I wanted to reignite that musical side of me—to start playing black metal again—because I’d only played death metal [after Arioch].”

Niveous share members with another Milwaukee metal band, too. “Me and [Nortaath] were in a [Milwaukee-based] death metal band called Outer Graves,” explains Vokar. “We left that, and I wanted to do black metal again. Me and [Nortaath] are both from Utah. I relocated eight years ago, and he came, what, four years ago.”

Then Noraath picks up the story: “[Vokar and I] started a band called Winterlore when I was 15, and [Vokar was] 16. Three records in that band. So we’ve been playing black metal for 20 years. So, actually, it was a big departure for me to even try to play death metal. Doing this band was a return to form for me. I always wanted to go back to black metal. Death metal was fun, but it just didn’t have the same expression.”

A bit later, Nortaath adds some detail to Niveous’ backstory: “We were lucky enough to find [Zygrath]. And then when we started the band, [Vokar] hit me up. After Outer Graves, I was kinda like, ‘Maybe I’ll take a break from music.’ And he was like, ‘Let’s just get together maybe just, like, once every couple weeks. Maybe just see what happens.'”

Unsurprisingly, the trio clicked immediately. Here’s a demonstration of their tag-team explanation. Vokar starts: “We formed in July [of 2024] and we recorded [Endless Snowfall] in September.” Then Nortaath: “Yeah, the first time we jammed, we wrote the first song on the EP [‘Into The Abyssal Maw’]. The second time we jammed, we wrote most of the second [‘Glacial Kingdom: Frozen Utopia’].” And then Zygrath: “We were just like, ‘Yeah, let’s jam and see how it goes.’ I had a couple riffs that I was workin’ on. That’s pretty much all I do is sit at home and write riffs. So I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got some stuff.'” And then Noraath brings it home: “Like, ‘Okay, this is real. We found the perfect bandmate.'”

As for the band’s aesthetic, similar to Force from last month’s installment, Niveous have a throwback vibe that they lean (heavily) into: the snow theme, their logo, their on-stage appearance, etc. In other words, they borrow heavily from the first and second waves of black metal like Darkthrone, Bathory, and Immortal because, according to Zokar, “it’s what we all grew up listening to.”

Nortaath then develops the idea: “We try to hybridize. A lot of our compositions are taking elements from first and second wave. And countries of origin—Finish riffs, Norwegian riffs. All the nuanced details of black metal. We try to combine it into something and give it a little bit more of a modern approach.”

Then, as usual, Zygrath adds a few music-geek details: “I’m a big fan of the modern black metal bands. I’m a big fan of what a lotta those bands are doing, where they’re grabbing elements from first and second wave, but they’re putting their own spin on it. They’re making it darker. They’re adding more dissonance. They’re adding more experimentation to it. And that was something that really inspired me. I wanted to kind of channel some of that into a lot of the stuff we’re doing, while also keeping it traditional and not aping it, per se.”

This time, though, it’s Nortaath who concludes: “We’re trying to basically just make the black metal that we would really be stoked about hearing.”

Which brings us to Cult Of The Void Star, an album that—fun fact—was recorded in just four days in Steve Albini’s studio Electrical Audio Recordings in Chicago, and was recorded, engineered, and mixed by Shane Hochstetler, owner of Milwaukee’s Howl Street Recordings. With lyrics like “Bound in suffering / United in pain / Light is fleeting / The void is eternal,” it’s a black metal record, yes, but it’s also a high-concept sci-fi concept record, which is, let’s say, unusual for the genre. But that’s because Niveous are following in the footsteps of one of heavy metal’s best storytellers.

“King Diamond is really what drove me the most to want to do concept albums,” proclaims Vokar. “After [his album] Fatal Portrait, everything beyond that was concepts. I remember being probably fifteen when The Puppet Master came out, and I bought the deluxe version that had a DVD of just him with candlelight telling me the story. After that, I was like, ‘I wanna do a concept album someday.'”

If details and aspects of the record’s conceptual narrative—including a monolith from space that crashes into Earth, an ancient race called the Sorn, and a resistance leader named Cala Garin—sound closer to ’70s prog rock than ’90s black metal, that’s simply a matter of influence.

“One of my favorite records and movies is Pink Floyd’s The Wall,” says Nortaath. “Ya know, to have an album that really tells an arc, that feels like by the time you’re done with it you’re like, ‘Okay, that was a journey through a lotta different themes.’ We tried to capture that on the new record. Each song has time-signature changes, key changes, tempo changes. We don’t focus on ‘Let’s play to a click [track] and make one whole song all this [one] tempo.’ We really like the push and pull and organic feel of it all.”

And in case you’re wondering about the vinyl, Void Star is available in that format, and is my vote for the way to go because each vinyl comes in a unique color—that is, “within a spectrum,” as Nortaath clarifies. (It’s also available on cassette.) Naturally, I had to ask how a black metal band might reconcile or otherwise explain offering a pink or purple vinyl. “Good question,” replies Vokar with a laugh. “Never thought about that.”

Then Nortaath discusses the artistic merits: “In part, you think about releasing a physical record. Somebody buys the vinyl, the first thing they pull out is the striking record contrasted with everything else—the booklet and also the two-panel insert, which has a giant band photo on it. It gives you more of an immersive experience. You feel like you’re stepping into this story. There’s transparent ink, and I really like the vinyl. To me, it looks almost like evil sorcerer mana.”

Then back to Vokar: “And, honestly, we did an eco[-friendly] press, so we didn’t know exactly what they were gonna look like.”

And then Nortaath with the kicker: “Yeah, we didn’t really know it was gonna be pink.”

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One thing they did know was that there’s a sect of the genre that is, let’s say, unpalatable to reasonable and/or decent people. Thankfully, Niveous don’t in any way endorse that ideology, or want any part of it. In fact, I point out that a black metal band with a pink vinyl probably doesn’t align with Nazis. “Yeah,” confirms Nortaath. “If anything, if that sets us apart even further from them, that’s better.” Vokar then adds: “We don’t stand for that.”

As proof, they did their due diligence when looking for a label. “We’ve made a conscious effort to not do anything to intentionally associate us with that,” says Zygrath. Then Nortaath takes it from there: “When we shopped around for labels, we did extensive background checks on [labels’] entire rosters and their histories. We don’t wanna be connected to anybody that’s even relative to that ideology.”

Adds Vokar with a chuckle, “As you know, it’s a minefield.” I then say I thought we’d kinda answered that question in 1945, but here we are 80 years later debating it again. “Right,” Nortaath responds. “It’s unfortunate.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, black metal isn’t all that popular currently. “Death metal is really hot [right now],” says Nortaath. Then Vokar picks it up: “Yeah, death metal has made a huge resurgence lately. Black metal kinda had a comeback, like, ten years ago, and now it’s kinda faded. I think navigating the [National Socialist] stuff is why a lotta people avoid it. But, ya know what? We just try our best to avoid it and play metal that has nothing to do with that.”

I then say that while Void Star is a solid record, Niveous, sadly, will have that spectre of, “Do these guys agree with certain viewpoints?” just because they chose this style of music. But Vokar has an optimistic response: “The only benefit of how the world is right now is, a lotta those clowns feel pretty confident in exposing themselves. So it’s much easier to navigate. I don’t think there’s as many cloak-and-dagger NS guys. They feel pretty comfortable letting people know.”

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Niveous, then, just wanna entertain and put on a good show. And that includes Vokar and Nortaath wearing corpse paint, and Vokar and Zygrath donning cloaks when they perform. “We wanted a nice aesthetic, and we wanted corpse paint to pay tribute [to older black metal bands],” says Vokar. “And [Zygrath] didn’t wanna wear glasses with corpse paint.”

Then Zygrath clarifies: “Yeah, I have to wear glasses when I play ’cause if I don’t wear them, I can’’ see anything. So, my work-around is to wear a veil. It looks super-sick.”

Then Nortaath: “I wear a tattered, post-apocalyptic look, mostly to keep myself cool while I play drums.”

Back to Zygrath for some in-the-weeds stuff: “And, also, after seeing Icelandic black metal bands of today doing a similar aesthetic, that really inspired me to want to go all-in. They’re very stylized-looking and tattered. It’s great. It took hold for me when I saw a lotta those bands play live. So when [Vokar and Nortaath] brought up the idea of doing something like that, I was all-in.”

And then Nortaath concludes the topic: “It all ties into the conceptual narrative. We have the costumes, and then we’re coming up with a story. I always wanted to do a big concept record with a narrative. And we’re like, ‘Well, we might as well just make it where we’re the one consistent cast of the story.'”

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And that story is gonna continue on future releases, but it isn’t fully mapped out yet. “I have some ideas for the next one,” says Vokar. “We’ll sit down and kinda get a roadmap and bounce ideas off each other. That’s what we did for [Void Star].”

Adds Nortaath: “We’re certainly not done. We’re already dipping our toes into the next record.”

Back to Vokar: “We already have a couple tracks done.”

But more immediately, there’s the aforementioned album release show on July 18. “I think people should come out,” says Nortaath. “It’s gonna be a good show. We’re gonna have a good surprise.”

The show is an entire night of black metal bands, including Madison’s Keys To The Astral Gates And Mystic Doors, whose logo is almost sarcastically over-the-top. “I can’t wait to meet ’em,” beams Nortaath. “I bet they’re nerds like we are.”