In a time when extreme metal seems to be drowning in algorithms and clinical production, Barren Path emerges like a suffering body refusing to heal. Formed by Mitchell Luna—the voice and fractured spirit behind projects like Noisear, Shock Withdrawal, and Ozaru—the band takes grindcore as its starting point but transforms it into an emotionally devastating experience. We spoke with Mitch Luna about the project's origins, the darkness behind the album, and the brutal honesty of making music without masks. In this conversation, the vocalist guides us through the corridors of pain, resistance, and the sonic purge that defines Barren Path.
Barren Path emerged amidst a kind of Brutal Death Grind revival, but Barren Path sounds different; more desperate, more human, one could say. How did the project begin, and what did you guys want to express from the start?
Thank you for the kind words! The project started shortly after Gridlink disbanded. Takafumi and Bryan wanted to continue to record music together, and take this back to the more “Amber Gray” style sound of their early material, just with more focus on aggression. They contacted me and there was no way I could say no, haha. I think the human element comes from the way Takafumi writes, and how they were recorded. No click track, and it’s a pretty raw sounding recording. The lyrics are also mostly about personal experiences.
All of your last names sound like they belong to different cultures and scenes. From Latin to Asian, what surprised you most when you first worked together? Was there a pivotal moment that solidified the band?
We are from all different sorts of cultures and walks of life, haha. We have an Argentinian in the band. Takafumi is obviously from Japan, and I am first generation American from Colombian/Cuban parents. I grew up speaking Spanish and learned English in school. I can’t speak for Bryan and Rory, but I would assume their upbringing was a rather American one. There wasn’t really a big surprise when we all worked together, as we all have worked together before in one project or another. We have been creating this type of music for a while, so it came rather naturally. Everyone else besides me was in Gridlink, and I have played with Mauro for years in Maruta, also Shock Withdrawal. I recorded 2 tracks for Takafumi’s solo album, recorded stuff with Bryan in Noisear, etc.
The new album has a very precise intensity. What was the recording process like? Were there any technical challenges, risky decisions, or last-minute changes that shaped the final result?
Takafumi and Bryan tracked together in Texas. Everyone else recorded their parts individually. I wouldn’t say there were any last minute changes besides Takafumi encouraging me to perform some spoken word parts on the songs. That was totally his idea, and I was nervous about it at first. I think I am satisfied with the end result, but I still am filled with self-doubt on certain days, haha
Along the same lines, the album Grieving has a title laden with pain. What kind of grief or loss does this album address? Is it something personal or collective? Or where does the title come from?
From the beginning I made the conscious choice to write about personal things and experiences, and Takafumi agreed that this was the proper approach. I dealt with a best friend passing away a few years back, and someone who is close to me who has been dealing with mental illness and destructive behavior for well over a decade now. Those sort of moments and memories that you put in an imaginary ziplock bag and pack them up really tight and hope they don’t start to leak into your brain too much. I have probably said too much already, and I would rather not explain more. I am always grateful for friends and positive social interactions and I would never want to burden anyone and vent about my problems in person. I guess this is why I write lyrics about these experiences. Everyone has fucking problems. It doesn’t make me special or make my voice more important than anyone else’s. I just happen to be very lucky that I can collaborate with musicians and use that as a way to express myself, even though it’s in the form of convoluted indecipherable grindcore lyrics, haha.
Many know you from Maruta or Shock Withdrawal, but Barren Path sounds more introspective, almost spiritual in its rawness. What differentiates this band from your previous projects?
I would say that the Barren Path album and the last Shock Withdrawal have some of the same lyrical themes. With Maruta, it was mostly existential/political/ social on the first 2 albums, and half of the 3rd. I feel like I exhausted myself with this, and somehow the political spectrum has become even more bizarre and I don’t feel like pointing out the obvious anymore, haha.
Musically, the album seems to move between Death, Grindcore, and some crunchy sludge sound. How would you describe Barren Path's sound without using genre labels?
We are fans of all various types of extreme music. We are just trying to keep it real! Not too worried about genre labels, this is just our interpretation of grindcore!
Beyond the obvious grindcore influences, what bands, albums, or even styles outside of metal have impacted your songwriting in Barren Path?
This is where Takafumi would probably say “Cats, Karate, and Tony Iommi”.
Barren Path "The Insufferable Weight" - Official music video
Grieving's production sounds organic, almost like an open wound. Was it a deliberate decision to maintain that raw sound, or did it emerge naturally in the studio?
Absolutely deliberate. We wanted it to sound raw and human. Irving the engineer also plays in various bands with Bryan (Trucido, Cognizant) and he totally understood what he had to do.
The lyrics seem to speak of decadence, trauma, and redemption. What role does personal catharsis play in your songwriting process?
Absolutely! I feel like I already kinda answered that in a previous question. But yes, keeping it all honest, even though it’s sometimes obscured in metaphor.
How do you decide on the metrics and accentuation of the vocal phrases at that speed? Is it important that the message is understood, or do you recommend that the band's fans read and learn the lyrics directly from the booklet?
I feel like the delivery is more important, but every single syllable is accounted for. You can read and follow along and it’s all perfectly in there. Obviously with that style of vocals, it’ll be hard to grasp what I am saying just by listening though. In my head I always come up with a pattern first, and then retrofit the lyrics into that. I have to adjust it a ton of times, so it makes sense lyrically but that’s all part of the frustrating process, haha
At a time when many bands are striving for polish and digital perfection, Barren Path is choosing the opposite. Do you feel that musical extremism can still be a political act or a form of resistance?
This is grindcore, leaning towards deathgrind. Imperfections are embraced. We aren’t trying to make palatable music for the mases. Also: Extreme music is usually always political in one way or another. Even there is just a hint of it.
What tuning do Takafumi and Rory use, and how do they divide roles between riffs, dissonances, and melodies? What pedals/amps are key to achieving Barren Path’s sound?
We were tuned to B standard. I used Engl amp I played basic riffs. Rory added his harmonies. - Takafumi
In my review of Grieving I wrote: “an album so short it feels like a hit-and-run in fast motion: And even though the label says 'LP', this is an EP with an apocalypse complex”...was it intentional that the album be so short? 12 songs in 13 minutes and 31 seconds feels like taking a super crash course in Grindcore!!
It just sort of happened that way! Takafumi flew to Texas to meet with Bryan and record a few songs when he was ready.
So, what do you hope the listener will feel when listening to this album from beginning to end? And what's next for Barren Path in the coming months: tours, collaborations, new material?
I prefer the listener interpret however they want. No hopes, just enjoy it if you are a fan of forward thinking grindcore. We have some west coast USA dates in the works and a performance at Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle planned next year. Also slowly working on new material.
