Onfido’s music is born from chaos and grit, a collision of raw emotion and meticulous craft. Here’s how *Noir Eternal* came to life, from late-night demos to a storm-battered studio, plus the gear that shapes our sound.
The Songwriting Process
Writing *Noir Eternal* started in a haze of coffee and insomnia. Jace begins with lyrics, scrawled in tattered notebooks during sleepless nights. For “Shadow Anthem,” he wrote the chorus — “We rise, we fall, through the void, we’ll break the wall” — on a bar napkin after a fight with Lira. Lira builds riffs in solitude, her Stratocaster screaming through a battered Marshall amp. She crafted “Veil of Knives” during a thunderstorm, the chords mimicking the rain’s fury. Vera and Draven join later, layering bass and drums in a rented warehouse. Vera’s bassline for “Oblivion’s Prayer” was born from a dream, its haunting pulse setting the song’s tone. The band jams for hours, letting accidents spark magic — a dropped pick led to the glitchy intro of “Cinder Requiem.” Songs evolve through arguments, with Jace’s poetic sprawl clashing against Lira’s raw energy, but Vera’s calm mediation keeps them focused. The Noir Collective’s X posts, full of lyric guesses, often inspire final tweaks.
Recording *Noir Eternal*
*Noir Eternal* was recorded in a crumbling coastal studio, its windows rattling from winter storms. The isolation fueled the album’s dark heart. Jace’s vocals were a battle — he blew out his voice on “Iron Psalm,” forcing a week of silence before nailing the take. Lira broke her favorite guitar mid-solo on “Silent Knives,” but the cracked tone made the final cut. Draven’s drum kit, a vintage Ludwig, was miked to capture every crack, especially on “Ruin’s Echo.” Vera insisted on analog tape for her bass, giving “Noir Eternal” its warm, gritty pulse. Producer Sarah Veil, a holdover from *Ashes of Elysium*, pushed the band to their limits, scrapping half of “Ashen Void” for a rawer version. A power outage during “Dust Anthem” forced an acoustic take, which became the album’s closer. The Collective on X followed the process, hyping leaked studio clips. The storms outside bled into the music, making *Noir Eternal* a sonic tempest.
Studio Anecdotes
The studio was a pressure cooker. Jace once locked himself in the vocal booth for 12 hours, emerging with “Oblivion’s Prayer” fully formed but refusing to speak for days. Lira and Draven got into a drunken bet over who could play “Cinder Requiem” faster, trashing a mic stand in the process. Vera, ever the sage, kept a journal of the chaos, later sharing excerpts on X that fans turned into memes. A stray cat wandered into the studio during “Eternal Relic,” its purr accidentally recorded in the background — listen closely at 2:47. The band lived on cheap whiskey and ramen, sleeping on the studio floor when storms cut power. One night, Lira climbed the roof during a gale, screaming lyrics to “Veil of Knives” as lightning flashed. The Collective called it “mythic” on X, and Jace later admitted it inspired the song’s bridge. These moments of madness shaped *Noir Eternal*’s soul.
The Gear
Jace Marrow (Vocals): Uses a Shure SM58 mic for its raw clarity, paired with a Neumann U87 for studio warmth. His vocal effects include a TC-Helicon VoiceLive for subtle reverb on “Shadow Anthem.”
Lira Kain (Guitar): Plays a 1978 Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall DSL40CR amp. Her pedalboard is chaos: Boss DD-8 Delay, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff for fuzz, and a Pro Co RAT for “Veil of Knives”’s bite.
Vera Nox (Bass): Wields a Fender Precision Bass, run through an Ampeg SVT-7PRO. She uses a Dunlop Cry Baby for “Noir Eternal”’s sludgy intro and an Eventide H9 for ambient textures.
Draven Holt (Drums): Pounds a Ludwig Classic Maple kit with Zildjian K Custom cymbals. His kick drum, a 22” Ludwig, drives “Iron Psalm”’s thunder. He mics with Shure Beta 52A for depth.