In Revolver's new Dec/Jan 2019 issue — which is on newsstands now and available via our webstore — we explore the theme of "Dreams and Nightmares" with the help of King Diamond, Myrkur, Alex Grey, Robert Englund, City Morgue, Venom Prison and others. Since the topic proved particularly compelling and revealing, we've asked some more of our favorite artists about their dreams and nightmares — including Wristmeetrazor's Justin Fornof, who is gearing up for the January 18th release of his band's savage new album, Misery Never Forgets. The singer shared visions, both conscious and subconscious, of bath houses, cages and Genesis P-Orridge.
WHAT'S THE LAST DREAM YOU HAD?
JUSTIN FORNOF My most recent dream involved me walking around an Ancient Roman bath house — of sorts — fully nude, engaging in completely casual conversations with friends. However, they were all fully clothed. I'm sure a dream book would say this means something, but really, I'm just comfortable not wearing clothes.
WHAT GIVES YOU NIGHTMARES?
I've always been very interested in examining my own sleep patterns. My nightmares are most common when my mind is most active and I'm sleep deprived — which I think is somewhat of a common cause. I don't eat before bed, so it can't be anything like that. I do, however, only sleep about four hours a night. That might be responsible.
WHAT'S THE MOST TERRIFYING NIGHTMARE YOU'VE EVER HAD?
Terrifying is a bit subjective. I much prefer the dreams that result in half-waking sleep terror states with demons or monsters or something of that sort, to some of the more practical nightmares. The most volatile nightmare I've ever had involved me being trapped in a very small cage, blindfolded and forced to listen to my mother cry. There was nothing artistic about it. I believe it resulted in sleep paralysis. The whole episode might have been a moment of sleep paralysis.
DO YOU HAVE ANY RECURRING DREAMS OR NIGHTMARES?
My own death. When I was eight-years-old I had a surgery that required that I be put under using anesthesia. However, they misdiagnosed the amount of anesthesia needed to put me to sleep, and as a result it took an additional several minutes for me to successfully lose consciousness. The dream that followed was a very detailed depiction of my death on the operating table and my descent to the fictionalized "Hell" — specifically, the Hell most popularized in Catholicism. Unquenchable fire, a gnashing of teeth and so on. From that day forward, I regularly returned to that place, though the methods in which I was sent would vary. I used to have a recurring theme of having my limbs torn off by a strong magnetic pull and it resulting in being in "Hell." At this point it's become something of a second home. That one — unlike the others — may very well might be a metaphor.
HAVE ANY OF YOUR DREAMS OR NIGHTMARES COME TRUE?
I dream of betrayal pretty often. People are scum, so those typically all come true. If anything, dreaming presents the mental preparation for suffering.
DO YOU BELIEVE YOUR DREAMS HAVE MEANING? DO THEY HAVE A PURPOSE?
This plays into my answer to the previous question, dreams always have a purpose, but don't always have meaning. As an adult, I find that dreaming is my mind's attempt at emotional preparation. At least the dreams that don't involve lots of graphic violence, sex or both.
HAVE YOUR DREAMS EVER INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED YOUR MUSIC?
A song on our new record, Misery Never Forgets, is about a girl I used to see during sleep paralysis visions. The song is called "Expiry Date : 12 Hours." I don't see her anymore. I'm sure she'll be back. Grief, anxiety and sleep deprivation are a hell of a combination.
WHO WOULD BE YOUR DREAM MUSICIAN TO COLLABORATE WITH, AND WHY?
Genesis P-Orridge. They are one of the few true living legends left. Though I'm not sure the intersection of ego created by the two of us would be something many could bear.
WHAT'S YOUR DREAM FOR 2019?
My dream is to put out a record that lots of people enjoy, travel extensively for that record and continue being able to express myself in an authentic and relatable way.
