“This album is really rooted in human struggles”, Cepheidae Variable
Between stars, unknown worlds and creatures seemingly born from science fiction, Primordial Reverie Ascendant tells a story of exploration, but also of doubt, loss, sacrifice and transformation. Cepheidae Variable’s album, due for release in January 2027, unfolds as a continuous narrative, where progressive metal, death metal, cinematic atmospheres and orchestral textures accompany every stage of its protagonist’s journey.
By Sandra Pinto
In this interview with LOOK mag, Ryan Koepke discusses the creation of Primordial Reverie Ascendant, the relationship between storytelling and music, the challenge of giving a voice to such an ambitious narrative, and the personal themes that found their way into several of the album’s songs. A journey through the stars that, ultimately, is just as much about what we carry within us as it is about the worlds we leave behind.
Primordial Reverie Ascendant follows a space adventurer determined to travel among the stars and discover new worlds. Where did the idea for this concept come from, and what made you want to tell this story through an album?
This concept developed throughout the writing process. It wasn’t until the album was 1/3 written before it started to become more concrete. Initially the biggest drive was to explore as many musical ideas as I could while retaining cohesion. Once things started shifting more from their fantasy beginnings to sci-fi in tonality. I started to think more about what the overarching story would be. This changed many times throughout the writing process. Originally I justified the tonal shifts of the album to travelling throughout different biomes. The story also mirrors the inception of Cepheidae Variable. At times I thought of it as a metaphor for the creative process. Songs such as Carving a Dragon, or The Waiting Storm, symbolize the creation of the project as well as the years of being a musician with nothing to show for it.
Although the story is set in space, many of its themes — desire, doubt, sacrifice, acceptance and self-discovery — are deeply human. How much of this journey is actually an exploration of the protagonist’s inner world?
Almost the entire story is rooted in human struggles, and can be taken metaphorically. The exception to this is the track Entropic Harvester, which we’ve described as the most physical song on the album. From the onset, we intended to have each track explore or expand upon certain emotional themes that mirror the material journey that is taking place. Naturally a lot of these themes are things we’ve struggled with or worked through in our lives, or been in proximity to.
The album seems to follow a very deliberate narrative progression, with each track representing a different stage of the protagonist’s journey. How did you approach the relationship between the storytelling and the music?
Personally the storytelling aspect of music always comes first, which I don’t think is entirely normal for musicians. The details of the story aren’t important in the early writing stage, however the narrative is. I treat an album like a piece of literature, always thinking about how each song progresses the mood and energy, but also how the album as a whole is progressing. There are some very deliberate decisions made as a result of this. Instead of trying to make each section and piece the most grandiose it can be, I’m always considering the peaks and valleys of the emotional journey I’m trying to convey.
“Entropic Harvester” is described as one of the most technically demanding tracks on the album, featuring multiple time-signature changes, evolving motifs and intricate guitar solos. What was the most challenging aspect of writing and recording this song?
This song actually came together probably the smoothest of the tracks on this album. It’s just very challenging to play. Outside of the guitar solos nothing on its own is particularly technical; however as a whole it is very unrelenting and lengthy. I think the hardest parts to record were actually the slower sections. The verses required a lot of nuance to get that sneaking around feel with the instrumentation. I re-recorded the guitars in the verses countless times until I got it to flow just the way I wanted. By this point in the album writing process, I had so many motifs and movements I was gravitating towards that the melodies and flow came fairly easily.
The Entropic Harvester itself takes the form of a giant mechanical spider that consumes life it considers to be wasted energy. What does this creature represent within the broader story?
The Entropic Harvester serves as a necessary antagonist to reinforce the central theme of disillusionment. Though there is still an emotional aspect to this song that continues the themes of resolve, and adaptability. The concept behind this being is fairly simplistic. It’s a creature who sees life as disorder, and consumes it. It has no malice or emotional drive. There is more to this, however it is being explored in a follow-up album that will run parallel to this story.
There is a strong cinematic quality throughout the album, alongside progressive metal, death metal elements, orchestral textures and atmospheric passages. How did you find the right balance between technical complexity and storytelling?
It’s extremely important for me as a songwriter to utilize technicality as a means to an end. I love technical music, but I find it often detracts when used without purpose. I have some core writing rules I try to abide by. Part of this is that I think there are only so many ways you can elevate the emotion a song is trying to convey. Once you’ve checked off most of these, technicality is kind of the one thing left to bring things further. Technicality is all relative though. What I see as something at the peak of my technical ability, could be the start for another. So long as there is room to elevate and pull back, then you’re in a good place.
Chad Bernatchez joins the project as the vocalist for this album. What were you looking for in his voice, and how did his contribution help shape the character and emotional dimension of the protagonist?
I didn’t really have a lot of expectations going into this. I knew from his work with Voidchaser that his harsh vocals were very rhythmic, and he often did a lot of harmonization. I had a couple of things that were very important to me. Firstly it was to give him a lot of creative control so that the project was enjoyable for him, and didn’t feel like work. Secondly I really wanted to showcase his vocals in a different light than Voidchaser. Where they go for a very atmospheric wall of sound, here I wanted to treat harmonization in that way, but with a much more grounded lead vocal that captures as much of his natural voice and emotion as I could. The story was largely developed prior to him writing lyrics, but none of the concepts were fleshed out. He really helped develop the personal human aspects of the character, and also had some great contributions to the overarching story. I was especially happy with his take on The Conduit, where he introduced the idea of a godlike figure and self sacrifice.
Tracks such as “Zephyr of Ouroboros” and “The Conduit” introduce ideas of cycles, death, transformation and sacrificing who you are for what you want to become. Were these themes part of the concept from the beginning, or did they emerge as the album developed?
Zephyr of Ouroboros was a deeply personal song. It was in the midst of being written when my father had a cancer diagnosis I was fairly emotional about. It gave me a bit of an existential dread that I worked through with my writing. He is healthy now, but given our family history I wasn’t as optimistic as I probably should have been. The Conduit’s themes were actually expanded heavily by Chad. Originally it was a fairly abstract idea of an artifact in space that somehow allowed travel across the universe. He re-interpreted this as a god that is offering us the means to do so. There is a very metaphorical layer to this in self-sacrifice, and the idea that this action may have consequences. However our protagonist is determined regardless of the outcome. This god being is also central to the overall lore of the band, and plays a very important part of the subsequent album currently in the writing stages.
“Singularity” brings together musical themes from across the record while leaving the protagonist facing regret, self-reflection and inevitability. How important was it for the music itself to reflect the idea that reaching something new does not necessarily resolve what we carry within us?
I’d be hesitant to say it was particularly important. Only because regardless of this having a story we developed, I consider it very fluid and encourage listeners to interpret it however it resonates with them. The inspirations for these concepts are a bit too personal to speak of publicly for me. They were inspired by various people in my life. Things don’t always work out negatively though. If this story were in reverse, and the protagonist had traveled from the doomed planet of the Entropic Harvester to her homeland. I’d say that was a pretty good decision.
With Primordial Reverie Ascendant arriving in January 2027, what do you hope listeners will discover when they experience the album as a complete journey rather than as a collection of individual songs?
I think this album really works as a full piece. I don’t consider every song a masterpiece on their own, they all progress the emotional arc how I intended. Musically I hope people will notice the amount of detail that has gone into the tracks, as well as the recurring themes that give it cohesion throughout. Some of my favorite details are very subtle. Such as in Chromatic Haven when Chad’s lead vocal is “I’m so far from home”, however the harmonization is singing “I feel so alone”. Or the outro where we have 3 separate layered vocal lines and various harmonies occurring. I hope people experience it as a whole, because selfishly this is how I consume music. Albums that have really stuck with me throughout the years were emotionally provocative in a way I think I only get when I invest more of my time into them.
Official Website: https://
Bandcamp: https://
Facebook: https://www.
Instagram: https://www.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.
Apple Music: https://music.apple.
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.
