Stepping into the Meet The Band spotlight this week is the one-man black metal project Via Doloris. Gildas le Pape (ex-Satyricon) handles vocals, guitars and bass, with the legendary Frost (Satyricon, 1349) brought in as a session drummer for debut album Guerre et Paix. le Pape introduces us to Via Doloris.
Chad Bowar: Give us a brief history of Via Doloris.
Gildas le Pape: I started making music for Via Doloris in late 2020. At that time I had really no idea of how it would end up. I found a special vibe that I really liked and relied on throughout the composition process. Once the music was created, I came up with the concept, the lyrics, and pre-produced the songs. Then I recruited Frost on drums in March 2023. We started the rehearsals, and later that year began the production of the album.
Describe the songwriting process for Guerre et Paix.
It has been more or less the same for all the songs: I usually start with guitar melodies and riffs. I constantly record ideas on my phone, and when I get to work with VD, I sort these ideas, and develop them further. They are sorted by matching atmosphere or sometimes tonality if I feel it is important to keep the original key. From there I build the guitar arrangements, the drums parts, and start making the songs. I try a lot of combinations, until everything feels right. This can take a lot of time. I can be looking for the right arrangement for quite a long time before keeping an idea. I also often write new parts for a song, based on its atmosphere, once it is set. Usually, when I’ve decided to go for a specific solution, I don’t look back. Eventually comes the vocal arrangements, based on various texts that I have written and that I choose and re-arrange according to the song.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?
It was a great experience to work in the studio with Frost. He’s really impressive. It is not the first time that I record with him, as I was involved on the whole Satyricon album – Satyricon, but it is still special.
Are there any disadvantages to producing the album yourself?
Yes, it is a constant challenge, if you don’t set any limits for yourself. And I’m not great at that. When you’re creating, composing, playing, singing and producing yourself, there is not much help to get, but that’s also a choice I made in this case. I’m very satisfied with the way things turned out, though it came with a cost.
What was the biggest challenge in its creation?
The cost I just mentioned, without a doubt.
How would you characterize its style/sound?
Describing a production is very subjective. I think that first of all, the sound serves the music. The sound picture is dominated by guitars, that are clean, but not clinical. The style, well… it sounds like black metal to me, at least, in its form. People with an extensive black metal culture will classify the music better than me. To me VD is just music, it could be many different styles. It happens that the instrumentation is metal in this case, but if you listen closely, there are no real metal riffs. No reference to thrash metal or heavy music. The music could have had a different form, could have been classified as a different style, but still keep the unique Via Doloris vibe, I think.
What lyrical topics do you cover?
The lyrical themes of Via Doloris can be interpreted in various ways, but, undoubtedly, the human condition is in focus. A journey through the struggles of existence, from a certain point of view.
How was the video shoot for “For The Glory”?
It was a long process, too. Linnea Syversen and I outlined the main ideas together, and as you can see in the video, we filmed in several different locations. Nature is omnipresent in the universe of Via Doloris, and so it is in the video. We created something out of almost nothing, without any references, and we are quite proud of the result.
How did you come to sign with Season Of Mist?
I’ve known SOM and Michael for many years, and had been talking to him about VD before actually producing the album. He was interested, and when heard the final result, he made an offer.
What are your goals and expectations for the album?
I hope the album finds its way to the people that will be able to appreciate it.
How did you go about designing the cover art?
This is a very much a one-man-band as you have understood, so why not also do the cover myself? The cover is actually a continuation of the video process we started with Linnea. It is based on one of her pictures taken during the shooting. It illustrates the concept of Guerre et Paix quite well I think, which means “War and Peace” in French.
It’s also available on vinyl. Are you a collector?
I am glad we can release the album on vinyl. I’m not a collector myself but I appreciate beautiful things!
Do you have plans to play live shows?
This possibility is currently being studied.
What are some of your non-musical interests and hobbies?
Music has a central place in my life. Besides that, I nerd out on a lot of things. Perhaps you’ll know one day!
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Take a break from the outside world, and listen to Guerre et Paix. Music for the soul, meeting you perhaps not where you expect it.
(interview published March 21, 2026)
Watch Via Doloris – “For The Glory” Video
