For more than a decade, Justin Lawnchair has been the sole member of progressive death metal band The Biscuit Merchant.

Across 10 albums, the Ann Arbor artist charts a cacophonous course through dark waters that touches on numerous extreme metal styles: Biscuit Merchant songs feature the technological precision of thrash, the blackened passions of death metal, and the Viking majesty of European power metal.

Lawnchair recently completed the latest chapter in a conceptual multiple-album project called ALPHA. Each title in the series begins with a different letter of the alphabet, eventually numbering 26 when complete. The new album, Tempora, is number 10, and like the others, opens with riffs and themes that connect it to its predecessor, 2024’s Visible Scars.

The difference with this record is that it has a more defined narrative than the other episodes. Tempora tells the tale of humankind’s reaction to the threat of domination by an alien intelligence—to build and deploy a weapon that might destroy the entire universe if it works, and will definitely destroy humanity if it doesn’t. Either way, mankind chooses to leave nothing for their enemies to conquer. Rings true, right?

“Victorious," the first single on Tempora, is a gargantuan slab of rolling riff, demonic verse, and heroic chorus that manages to be punishing and hooky in equal measure, and it depicts the turning point of the story.

With one man tackling every guitar, drum, keyboard, and vocal on every track, Tempora never betrays the fact that The Biscuit Merchant is a single baker—the interplay between instruments feels organic, blood pumping beneath the shiny metal surfaces of the sound. Despite Lawnchair’s dedication to his solo recording status, he recently recruited a group of flesh-and-blood humans to play these songs live with him, and The Biscuit Merchant now can bring its message to the masses in person.

Will there still be a human race when the 26th chapter of the ALPHA megaproject is completed? What is the meaning of this arcane organizational system, releasing albums based on the alphabet but not in alphabetical order? How does a band with a sound and vision so brutal choose a non-sequitur as a moniker?

If Lawnchair knows these answers, he is not talking, but he did acquiesce to a few other questions, which help dissolve a bit of the mystery surrounding this extreme local phenomenon.

Q: There is a long tradition of one-man bands in the more extreme corners of metal. Why do you think metal as a genre lends itself to this approach? Was choosing this route an aesthetic choice or a necessity in the beginning?
A: I think it's because it's more of a niche style. You can find people wanting to play classic rock just about anywhere. But even in a metro area, extreme metal musicians can be hard to find. And that's even worse if you live in a corn field like where I grew up. So, at the beginning, it was a complete necessity.

Some of my friends were into metal, and we played in various "bands" over the years, but nobody was wanting, or able, to play the thrashy stuff I was writing. Later on, I became enamored with the idea of being able to do everything myself. I loved the idea of everything being from my own brain, top to bottom. I love playing in bands and writing with other people, but there's a certain freedom that I get from what I do with The Biscuit Merchant that I can't get anywhere else.

Q: Was 2019’s Journey to Arrhythmia the first Biscuit Merchant release? What kind of musical or artistic projects were you involved in prior to this?
A: Technically, yes. The 2019 release of Journey is actually a remake of the first album I recorded back in 2009. The recording quality back then was absolutely abysmal, and the 2019 one is really only marginally improved. There were five other "albums" that I did between 2010-2011 that are basically instrumental riff tapes with MIDI drums and bass. And then, when I restarted the project in 2017, I made three other "real" albums with vocals and actual songs.

Knucklewalker, Nature Rejoices, and Ongaku are currently not on Spotify or Bandcamp because the recording quality is not up to par with my current output. But they can be found on my Patreon, and probably on YouTube and other places on the interwebs if you know where to look. I also played in a ska band from Toledo called The Kerplunks from 2014-2017. We played a lot of live shows and did some recordings, but I don't think any of them survived the transition to the digital age.

Q: Without playing live gigs, how do you promote The Biscuit Merchant? Have there been any physical releases, or is the music only available through digital means?
A: It was tough. I've worked with PR companies off and on over the years, but it was mostly self-promotion. I would just post about the recording process and the finished albums on Twitter, mostly. It led to some fairly steady growth from album to album. Being able to play shows and get your music out there to a captive audience is a big advantage, though.

Seeing the new fans and followers flow into Spotify and Instagram each time we play a show feels super tangible and rewarding. I've done physical CDs of each album except Journey, and up until we started playing shows, they were Patreon exclusives. Now, you can buy a physical CD at a show, and I'm looking into selling physical copies and shirts through Bandcamp as well.

Q: After years of writing and recording the material yourself, what was it that motivated you to put together a band to play in the real world? Will the band be just for performing live, or are you going to write for them?
A: People asked for it. A lot of reviews and fans of last year's album, Visible Scars, mentioned that it would be cool to see the songs live. I started to enjoy the idea myself, but it was definitely contingent on finding the right musicians. Once I got together with Anton, Dan, and Dhruv, it was an absolute no-brainer.

My current intention is to continue to write and record the albums on my own, and the band will be there to play the songs live at shows, and hopefully a tour some day. After doing 10 albums this way, I'm pretty committed to seeing it through. 

Q: What is it like to hear these songs up on their feet with the force of a full band behind them? How has the material changed with the influence of other souls?
A: Coolest thing ever. Seriously. The first time we got together and learned “Parasite” was a transformative experience for me. Aside from being incredibly bizarre to hear other people playing my songs, it felt incredibly validating to actually play the songs again after not thinking about them for a while. Best of all, my bandmates will add their own touches to the existing parts. It's never enough to completely change the vibe of the song, but there's definitely some changes if you're paying close attention.

And I love the idea of the songs sounding a bit different from the studio in a live setting. I personally don't love when bands use backing/click tracks live because it sounds a bit too much like the albums. Without the click, our live performances breathe and flow like an actual monster, and I think it makes for a unique experience. Much more exciting than listening on Spotify.

Q: Apocalyptic themes are not uncommon in popular culture today. Why do you think doomsday weighs so heavily on people’s imaginations?
A: I think our collective trauma from COVID has certainly kept doomsday at the forefront of our minds. We've had the misfortune of living through multiple "generational" tragedies in our lifetimes, so I think we are uniquely predisposed to apocalyptic thought. That said, I think the end times might be the longest-running trope in all media. They've been writing about it since ancient times.

Fred Beldin is a writer and musician living in Ann Arbor. His work can be found at thesearetheendtimes.com. 

The Biscuit Merchant plays Sanctuary in Detroit on July 25, opening for Hubris, Outrun the Sunlight, and Annex Void.