ZERUEL: When The Screen Fades From Black

“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 this album and what it meant to take ZERUEL’s cinematic, game inspired sound to bigger stages on tour with metal icons like PORTRAYAL OF GUILT and DEAFHEAVEN.

Musical career’s are rarely a linear path for even the most accomplished artists, and Hill's journey has been no exception. “I was more of an athlete,” Hill explained, admitting music didn’t become a serious pursuit until his teenage years. Even then, his early experiments were a far-cry from the dark, atmospheric sounds that define ZERUEL. “I was starting off with electric… I don’t wanna say EDM, but kind of hip-hop, electric-pop influenced kind of stuff,” he recalled.  Shortly into this journey, it was another lifelong passion that began shaping Hill’s musical direction. “I’ve always done OST’s, because I was super inspired by Final Fantasy and the Souls games and that sort of stuff,” he explained. It was these cinematic, emotionally charged soundtracks that would go on to leave a lasting imprint on his music, with their influence now thoroughly interwoven into ZERUEL’s immersive sound. 

It wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill that Hill decided to take music more seriously. With lockdowns keeping everyone indoors, he had the time and inspiration to pursue the creative ideas he had been mulling over. “When COVID came around, [artists] would be going live to make music and they’d be showing their setups,” he recalled. It was this that gave him the motivation to invest in a home studio, with the help of his dad. “I had to prove that I was serious and stuff, so I was doing stuff on GarageBand,” he joked.

Our conversation turned to Ruin;Rebirth, ZERUEL’s long-awaited debut album and the successor to the project’s earlier EP, Awakening. Naturally, discussion shifted to the stark, black-and-white aesthetic of the project and where the inspiration for this came from. “I’m a huge soulsborne, and soulslike and metroidvania kind of gamer,” Hill detailed. Midway through writing the album, the release of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree reinforced this creative vision. “That sealed the deal,” he said, confirming the direction the project would ultimately take.

When asked what song he was most excited for fans to hear, Hill pointed to And For An Angel Who’s Fallen. “It captures the whole album sound in one” he explained. “It has the clean, ethereal ghostly kind of vibe. Kinda like you’re just starting in one of those games. Then it has the kind of boss battle type of moment where it’s really heavy.” While he sees the track as the albums defining statement, its emotional core lies elsewhere.

For Hill, the most meaningful song is A Feather Falling With Wind. Although the band had been performing this for months before its release, its themes of acceptance and grief make it particularly personal and poignant. More broadly, Hill wanted Ruin;Rebirth to be more hopeful than ZERUEL’s earlier work. “Wherever you are, whatever may have happened, it’s not the end, and you can always come back from it,” he said when discussing core messages of the album. It was one that was shaped by his own experiences writing it. Juggling two jobs and even briefly considering a career as a professional MMA or Muay Thai fighter, music became both a creative outlet and a welcome escape. Most importantly, though, “it was fun to make.”

One of the challenges Hill faced while developing Ruin;Rebirth was stepping behind the microphone. While he’d spent time developing his clean singing, the album marked his first serious attempt at incorporating classic metal screams. “I started learning harsher vocals for this album, because I wanted to have those boss battle, heavier parts,” he said, once again drawing inspiration from the video games that have shaped ZERUEL’s identity. 

The real test came while on the road. Touring alongside DEAFHEAVEN and PORTRAYAL OF GUILT gave Hill the opportunity to put those newly acquired screams to the test night after night, while also taking advice from the frontmen of both bands. “I would ask questions specifically to George and Matt about vocals, because I’m kinda new to harsh vocals, and they helped out with that,” he mentioned.  Hill couldn’t hide his excitement. “That tour is probably top three moments of my life, it was amazing. Everyone showed us so much love,” he said with a grin. The opportunity arrived in fitting fashion; “when I got the email, me and my band were actually at a rehearsal.” If the moment wasn’t surreal enough, he laughed, before continuing, “my drummer actually pulled up his shirt and he had a SUNBATHER shirt on.” 

Despite the tour being a highlight, Hill singles Damnation Festival 2025 as his favourite live music memory. “That was actually the biggest crowd we’d played for, but when we started it wasn’t that big of a crowd,” he recalled. “My drummer said there were people singing the words at that show,” he added, a moment that made the performance more special. Another standout came from Barcelona, where the venues lighting techs unexpected elevated the set, offering shifting and dynamic lighting that matched the band, despite a lack of setlist. “It gives us more aura, as they say,” he joked.

From the beginning, Braydon Hill set out to create music inspired by the games he loves. With Ruin;Rebirth, the vision is alive and if this debut is anything to go by, ZERUEL’s journey is just beginning.

Ruin;Rebirth was released on 19th June 2026 via Rise Records.

Words: Chloe Sodeau

Photos: Zeruel

With thanks to: Good As Gold and Zeruel