Stijn Van Cauter ()''Van'' in isolation: . is a

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

and

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

producer from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He has several solo projects, including ''Beyond Black Void'', ''I Dream No More'', and ''Fall of the Grey-Winged One''. His most notable solo project is ''Until Death Overtakes Me''.

Music career

1997-2001

Van Cauter had been experimenting with music production since 1997. In May 1999, he founded the doom metal project ''Macabre Destiny''. He decided to change the name of the project to ''Until Death Overtakes Me'' in February 2000. Three new members, "EDS", Jo Renette, and "PT", joined the project that same year, transforming it into a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

. In 2001, Van Cauter began recording the

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

''Deep Dark Red'' by himself. He decided to abandon the use of

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and started using

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

instead. The demo was not released because it had involved earlier material drafted by Van Cauter alone, and he thought it would not represent the band properly. While recording the second demo, ''Absence of Life'', "EDS" and "PT" left the band. Renette also left the band after the recording was complete.

2002-present

With the departure of all other band members, Van Cauter decided to transform ''Until Death Overtakes Me'' into a solo project once again. He released his first album, ''Symphony I: Deep Dark Red'', in February 2002. Shortly after that, Van Cauter began exploring other musical genres and emerged with new solo projects. He then founded the one-man project ''I Dream No More''. Van Cauter says he discovered the drone doom genre while working on his first album for ''I Dream No More'', called ''Fade - Die'', which was released in April 2002. He experimented with making heavy

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

s on a

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

. As a result, he started yet another solo project, called ''Fall of the Grey-Winged One''. In June 2002 he released the album ''Aeons of Dreams''. Van Cauter describes the album as "drone sound with some ambient and

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

elements." Around May of that year, Van Cauter dropped out of school. The excess free time allowed him to concentrate on his music, and as a result he founded three more solo projects: ''The Ethereal'', ''Organium'' and ''Dreams of Dying Stars''. In January 2003, he released the first album, ''Desolate'', under ''Beyond Black Void''. In the summer of that year Van Cauter joined the

band

Pantheist Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...

, as a live musician. He remained in the band for the next 10 months, during which he has toured with it, on one occasion alongside funeral doom pioneers

Skepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

. He was also asked to record the

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

for one track in Pantheist's debut album. In May 2003, Van Cauter founded a small

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, called ''NULLL Records''. He started two more projects, ''Tear Your Soul Apart'' - intent on experimenting more with

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

and

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

sounds, and the more drone-focused ''In The Mist''. Van Cauter says that the album ''Lost'', released under ''In The Mist'', is one of his most favourite works.

Influences

Van Cauter says that he has a rather grim

worldview A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural p ...

. According to his website, his music is influenced by his own way of life, his dreams, feelings, and a striving to honor true music.

Personal life

Van Cauter enjoys

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

and is the owner and founder of the

NULLL Records.

Discography

Stijn Van Cauter has several solo projects. His discography is listed here per project.

Aeonic Dirge

* 2017: ''Beta Crucis'' * 2017: ''Sigma Lunaris'' * 2019: ''Markab Sinistris'' * 2021: ''Dreamer of Stars'' * 2023: ''Rift Spirits''

Arcane Voidsplitter

* 2017: ''To Reach Beyond'' * 2019: ''Voice of the Stars'' * 2020: ''Cosmic Mind'' * 2022: ''Cold Stars''

Artix Intex

* 2018: ''Aberrancis

Bateaux Inconnus

* 2018: ''Slow Rivers'' * 2022: ''Seas and Mirrors''

Beyond Black Void

* 2003: ''Desolate'' * 2010: ''Eridanus Supervoid'' * 2011: ''Neyon Moru'' * 2019: ''Voidgaze'' * 2021: ''Wraith Crack''

Catnoms For Fluffy

* 2017: ''Flight'' * 2018: ''Vast'' * 2020: ''Moon''

Cold Aeon

* 2008: ''Infra Sub Ultra'' * 2021: ''Frostverse''

Desperandum Gothica

* 2017: ''I'' * 2018: ''II'' * 2022: ''III''

Dreams of Dying Stars

* 2003: ''Stardance'' * 2004: ''Interludium II - Aeon E'' * 2004: ''Funeral in the Void'' * 2005: ''Interludium V - Buried in the Void''

Ekket-Faug

* 2022: ''Reaching Lichdom Supreme''

Fall of the Grey-Winged One

* 2002: ''Aeons of Dreams'' * 2003: ''Death Time Emptiness'' * 2004: ''Interludium III - Inritus'' * 2009: ''Channelers'' * 2020: ''Propagating Drone Fields'' * 2020: ''The Hive'' * 2021: ''Propagating Drone Fields''

Forbidden Fields

* 2003: ''Field I: Night'' * 2009: ''Field II: of Trees...'' * 2020: ''Field III: New Voyages'' * 2021: ''Field IV: The Mystic''

Gruulvoqh

* 2018: ''The End of Gruulvoqh'' * 2019: ''The Eternal Traveller'' * 2021: ''Dreams of the Savant''

I Dream No More

* 2000: ''Until Death Overtakes Me/I Dream No More'' * 2002: ''Fade – Die'' * 2009: ''I Dream No More/Dios Incandescente'' * 2010: ''La Ultima Frontera'' * 2020: ''The Final Border'' * 2022: ''The Citadel Fleets of Ekket-Faug''

In Somnis

* 2003: ''The Memory You’ve Become''

In the Mist

* 2002: ''Lost'' * 2018: ''A Return to the Mist''

Inframonolithium

* 2017: ''Demo I: Laments'' * 2018: ''Mysterium'' * 2019: ''The Lightless''

Nachtwald Weitstrider

* 2017: ''Sternwald'' * 2018: ''Wächter des Waldes'' * 2020: ''Forests of the Old World'' * 2022: ''The Wizard’s Path''

Organium

* 2006: ''The Rage'' * 2007: ''Interludium IV - Levitation''

Tear Your Soul Apart

* 2002: ''Undigested Remains'' * 2003: ''In Pain''

The Ethereal

* 2002: ''From Funeral Skies'' * 2008: ''Infra Sub Ultra'' * 2010: ''Endlight''

The Nulll Collective

* 2009: ''Silent Night'' * 2010: ''Exocation'' * 2010: ''RepulsUgloid'' * 2010: ''De Monstris'' * 2010: ''Cerberus Trisector'' * 2010: ''Jingle Bells'' * 2022: ''Cerberus Tirsector''

The Sad Sun

* 2004: ''Church of the Flagellation'' * 2008: ''Infra Sub Ultra'' * 2009: ''The Sad Sun''

The Sonitus Ignotus Ensemble

* 2017: ''Christmas Though and Dreams''

Until Death Overtakes Me

* 2000: ''Until Death Overtakes Me / I Dream No More'' * 2001: ''Symphony I - Deep Dark Red'' * 2001: ''Symphony II - Absence of Life'' * 2002: ''Symphony I - Deep Dark Red'' * 2003: ''Prelude to Monolith'' * 2004: ''Interludium I - Funeral Path'' * 2006: ''Symphony III - Monolith'' * 2009: ''Days Without Hope'' * 2016: ''Well of Dreams'' * 2016: ''Antemortem'' * 2017: ''Hell & Rain'' * 2017: ''Flow of Infinity'' * 2018: ''They Know'' * 2018: ''Missing'' * 2019: ''Herald of Sorrow'' * 2020: ''And Be No More'' * 2021: ''As Dead as Time'' * 2022: ''Collapse of Light'' * 2023: ''Decay Into Irrelevance''

References

External links

Stijn Van Cauter
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Cauter, Stijn Belgian electronic musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people)