Once and awhile a band comes forth that fuses what you know together for dynamic results.  Llexi Leon, the founder of the fringe element known as Eternal Descent, is a master of the guitar and song structure.  Losing faith, the debut album from Eternal Descent, is a monstrous display of musical ability and technique, one that will keep the listener on the edge.  Join Llexi as he guides you through his mind. 

Jeffrey Easton/Metal Exiles interviewing Llexi Leon of Eternal Descent 
 

Metal Exiles: What made you start playing guitar and who made you want to pick it up? 
 
Llexi: The first time I picked up a guitar was when I was around 8 years old! It 
was a classical acoustic and i learned to play a bit in school. They were 
group lessons and I didn’t really get into it. Later when i was about 13, I 
started listening to a lot of Metallica, and being a typical 90s kid, I got 
myself an electric guitar and started riffing out tunes like Enter Sandman. 
I started taking my music seriously from when i was about 16 years old, and 
have done since! Funny that at the moment I’m getting right back into 
classical/acoustic guitar playing, and you'll hear a lot of both on the new 
CD, along with the heavier electric sounds. 
 
Metal Exiles: What other things were you into that have cumulated into Eternal Descent? 
 
Llexi: I suppose I’ve always loved romantic and baroque era classical music, 
there’s a lot of that weaving its way into Eternal Descent tunes. I also play 
violin and piano, and you certainly hear a lot of my piano ideas 
throughout the Eternal Descent tracks. The story element comes from my love 
of movies, comics anime and manga. 
 
Metal Exiles: What gave you the idea behind the concept of Eternal Descent? 
 
Llexi: It just came to me one day. I was experimenting with some surround sound 
explosive sound scapes against some string parts I was working on. The 
symphonic soundtrack vibe mixed with the very realistic sounds of 
destruction and chaos from the explosive sfx, really conjured up a lot of 
imagery in my mind. From there i started to create these 'sound scapes' 
a lot, and try to get ideas for characters and locations. The more I let my 
mind wander, the more content i came up with! 
 
Metal Exiles: The music covers so many genres, was it hard to put the songs together? 
 
Llexi: Pretty much everything I’ve ever attempted to record has been an 
experimental fusion of some kind. I was never into the idea of sounding 
like the someone or something else. I always set out to do something a bit 
different when I start writing & recording, so I wouldn’t say it was hard, 
its just the way I do things! 
 
Metal Exiles: What is the idea for the story and where did it come from? 
 
Llexi: I wouldn’t want to give the plot away, but its certainly a fairly dark 
fantasy tale. There is a nice modern feel to the characters and locations, 
and a bit of a Rockstar pop culture element which gives it a more urban and 
gritty feel than most the gothic fantasy stuff out there. At the same time, 
there's still plenty of room for demons, monsters, alternate realities, love 
interests, and so forth! The story comes from all sorts of inspirations, 
just like the music. Everything from comic books like SPAWN and Ghost Rider 
to literary classics like Dante's Inferno. 
 
Metal Exiles: You did most of the music yourself. Why did you do it mostly alone and not hire a band? 
 
Llexi: I had a pretty clear vision for how I wanted everything to be, it was 
easier to just get stuck in and do it myself! I was never big on the idea 
of being in some rock band and showing off on stage. I'm much more into the 
writing/producing side of things than the performance side of things, and 
wanted to promote my music and my ideas, rather than promote myself as an 
artist. These days, everyone makes such a big deal over a bands image, its 
all about looks and cookie cutter genres. So that’s kept me away from live 
performance too. I hope people will think Eternal Descent is great because 
it captures the imagination and provides escapism and entertainment, not 
because of my image or some supermodel band member! Ranting aside, i do 
have plans for live shows eventually. In the coming months ill find some 
performers interested in collaborating for live performances of the 
project, so that future tours can be arranged. The live focus will be on 
projected visuals and effects, not the performers. 
 
Metal Exiles: Where did you find Elysha West and what attracted you to her style? 
 
Llexi: Elsyha's husband is a guy named Keefe West, who was my first electric 
guitar tutor! She's an excellent vocalist, capable of a huge variety of 
performance styles. Keefe suggested we try getting her voice on a couple of 
the tracks, and i really enjoyed working with them both. So far, Elysha has 
been able to handle anything I've thrown at her, the vocals always come out 
great! 

 
Metal Exiles: Do you feel that she conveys the idea of the story perfectly and will she 
continue to work with you? 
 
Llexi: Elysha will defiantly continue to sing on Eternal Descent CDs, however I’m 
changing the direction of the storytelling a little. Now there are actual 
character voice-overs within the tracks. These voice-overs will tie in 
directly with the text in the comic books! There will still be lyrics and 
vocal solos as well though. A few people will be on vocal duties, myself 
included! 
 
Metal Exiles: The look of the album and ensuing ideas including the website are based on Anime. Why did you decide to go in that direction? 
 
Llexi: Originally I used to draw a lot of anime style characters for fun, so my 
early designs were in that style. It was really by chance that I ended up 
working with REIQ on the first album artwork, he's a phenomenal artist, and 
did a great job fleshing out the characters for the album artwork. As it 
happens, the comic book we have coming out this year is actually being done 
by some Marvel comics guys, so it has more of an American feel too it. Id 
like to see the eternal descent characters brought to life by as many 
artists as possible really! Its great to work with all those guys, and see 
all the different interpretations. 
 
Metal Exiles: You have a guitar instructional video on YouTube. Do you think you will 
get to the point that you can do a full length DVD of your instruction and 
what would you like to teach? 
 
Llexi: That video is a bit of a joke really! I just had a number of emails asking 
me this same question about a diminished arpeggio sequence in the song 
'into darkness', so the video was a quick answer for everyone! I probably 
will do something more extensive at some point. I think I have a few cool 
licks and ideas that aspiring guitarists might enjoy. I'd certainly like 
to go into more detail about the theory behind my harmony ideas and solo 
lines. I use a lot of flat 6's and 9's in Eternal Descent harmony, as well as 
a lot of wide intervals in my solo playing. There are a few elements that 
have formed the trademark sound for Eternal Descent, it would be cool to 
explain those structures. 
 
Metal Exiles: What guitar line do you use and what effects did you use to create this 
sound? 
 
Llexi: Well, there’s a lot of weird guitar sounds on the first album, mainly from 
playing around with running guitars through analogue synths, a good example 
is the solo on city falls. Its a phatt fuzzy volatile sound, very evil, 
very cool! I'm big into ESP guitars, but I also have a heavily customized 
Gibson Les Paul that’s a main guitar, and a couple vintage fenders for a 
variety of tones. 
 
Metal Exiles: You have a game from the story in the works. When can we expect this and what will it look like? 
 
Llexi: It's going to look just like the comic book and all the other visuals you 
can see on our MySpace page. I’m using the same creative team for all the 
development of the game, and it should really be true to the style of the 
project. As for when, I can't really say at the moment, its very early days! 
 
Metal Exiles: This would translate into a major live show. Can we expect this sometime soon? 
 
Llexi: Yes, I'll get there eventually! Once the new CD is on the shelves, and the 
comic has been released, I will be turning my attentions to arranging live 
shows with some very cool projected visuals. 
 
Metal Exiles: What does the future hold for you and your project? 
 
Llexi: I have a lot I want to get done, certainly I'd like to see an ongoing comic 
series in the future, and some feature length animations. I've got loads of 
material in the works for new albums, including some very cool symphonic 
metal stuff, and in contrast, some really tranquil ambient sound scapes. So 
there's a lot more to come! 
 
Losing Faith and Eternal Descent will be remembered for a long time as fuel to the innovative fire, if you miss this record then you miss the opening stop.