“I was trying to create a world of mine that was similar to those games that I love,” explained Braydon Hill, the creative force behind dark shoegaze project ZERUEL. Now that the long awaited Ruin;Rebirth has arrived, we sat down with Hill to talk about the road that led there. Going from delving into the difficulties of creating music as a side-project to the unexpected creative opportunities that came within the COVID-19 lockdowns, our conversation explored the making of th

ZERUEL is an artist as mysterious as he is prolific. With the release of only one EP, he’s already been opening for groups like DEAFHEAVEN on their UK and EU tour alongside PORTRAYAL OF GUILT, and also shoegaze hall of fame-ers LSD AND THE SEARCH FOR GOD, whose studio discography ironically contains less tracks than the upcoming ZERUEL album this review is about. Some accounts refer to “him” as a singular artist, others refer to “them” as a band. It’s hard to know what the in

The Palais is not the sort of venue you’d expect to host a blackgaze band. More often than not, it’s a place of shimmering disco balls, falling confetti, and late-night revelry. But on a cold Sunday in Nottingham, the glittering walls and mirrored corners became the backdrop for a night of sonic intensity, as Deafheaven and support transformed the space into something darker, heavier, and unforgettable. With the first support slot taken by metalcore/shoegaze solo artist Zerue