(In what might become an annual occurrence (we hope so!) Comrade Aleks engaged in the following interview of Bulgarian artist Tehina Spasova, focusing on the new album of her solo funeral doom band Destruction of Orion, which was released in May 2025.)
A year ago I learned about Destruction of Orion, a one-person band from Sofia, Bulgaria run by Tehina Spasova. Her first solo album Decreasing Brightness (2024) differed from other funeral releases with a new focus on the matter of extinction and dying. Tehina resorted to astronomy and used its scale to measure the grief and inevitable doom. Her new album States of Horror deals with this topic from another angle, so we tried to find out a bit more behind this album.
Hi Tehina! How are you? How is it going with the release of your new album States of Horror in physical format?
Hi! I’m fine, thank you! I hope you’re doing well! The album is fully prepared for manufacturing, but I experience certain international complications.
However, it’s good to know that you’ve reached that point finally. Do you release the album DIY or through a label?
I’m completely independent.
We spoke with you a year ago here, and Destruction of Orion’s album Decreasing Brightness showed the phenomenon of depression and unavoidable doom through the prism of astronomy, a quiet an original approach. Why did you change your focus this time and turn to more strict lyrics?
States of Horror’s got a whole different theme there. I feel like the lyrics are less direct this time. Everything depends on my current mind state, so most of it just happens in the process. This time the concept of the album came after the start of the recordings – it’s like the melodies that came out chose their own theme and direction.
You mean that you had the whole album composed, and the concept was born in the process of recording?
Every single track is composed in the process of recording. After a few of them got finished, their atmosphere gave the album its concept.
In general, the Destruction of Orion musical concept remains unchanged besides some nuances. How do you see your personal development in this new material as a composer?
I feel like I did better this time. A bit more experience surely helped me express my ideas more easily. I also had some technical improvements. I’m constantly searching for ways to improve the quality of my music, and a better sound was like releasing my imagination from a prison cell. And there’s more to come.
Did you update some of your equipment before recording or are technical improvements about an evolution of your skills?
I had major hardware and software updates that allowed me to overcome certain restrictions. There might be an evolution of skill as well. It’s like something’s been set free in the process of the recording of the whole album. Some of the innovations could be heard in a couple of the songs.
You recorded the album on your own. Did you think about a collaboration this time? Or is Destruction of Orion a personal thing that you wouldn’t like to share with anyone yet?
I see Destruction of Orion as the voice of my soul. I wouldn’t share it.
There are some narrations in your new songs spoken by different guests. Can you talk more about this part of the album?
Both my albums contain a little something by my closest ones. They’re a part of me, so I’ll always find a way to include them.
This year you took part in another project – in recording of the fourth album by Silent Deep Ocean. How did you come to this collaboration? How did it differ in comparison with Destruction of Orion?
I’m usually not crazy about collaborations – people have different views and sometimes this could even ruin friendships. But then there’s this exception. The person behind Silent Deep Ocean – Greg Ritchey – is a dear friend of mine, so we had a good time working on this particular album of his. I didn’t take any participation in the composing process of his tracks, and only added my vocals, and a tiny amount of guitars here and there. How they differ… I guess his project is more melodic than mine. Also, it contains a bigger variety of vocals.
It seems that the year was fruitful for you in the sense of creativity. Is it good or bad after all? Did it help you to get rid of some grief or just to channel part of it outside?
This is going to get a bit weird. I’m not even sure if it’s ok to talk about this. I experience not easily explainable emotions while making an album. This happened to me with both of them, and that’s why I released them prematurely. The thing is… While I’m making an album and it reaches a certain point, for example, when half of it gets finished, I start feeling like I’m going to die shortly, so I have to release it – to tell this story.
Sounds really weird… Do you hurry now to record the next album?
I think I’ll give it a bit more time. If I start working on it now, I’ll get the same issues until I release. There are new musical instruments that I’m expecting, and I really want to use them with the third release.
I interviewed Efthimis Karadimas, the leader of Nightfall, two months ago [here]. He launched an initiative “Metal Music Against Depression”. This initiative is aiming to assist the metal community to break the social stigma about mental health. Anyone in the scene, who believes he or she has a personal experience with such issues, is welcome to make a small video and send it over to this project. What do you think about such an initiative?
It’s a great initiative! And a needed one. But I feel like I’m the last person that could help with it.
What are your further plans for Destruction of Orion for the rest of this year?
I’m still catching my breath after the new release, so I have no plans other than practice playing more instruments that I’d be able to potentially use. I do have decent ideas for the third album, but I’ll try and give it some more time.
Then thanks for the interview Tehina! I hope that we’ll have a reason for another one soon!
Thank you so much for everything! It’d be an honor.
https://www.youtube.com/@inkmortuary
https://destructionoforion.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/destructionoforion