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From Metal Coven zine

1)So, would you please be so kind to kind and introduce your band to our readers.

Mourning Beloveth began existence in '94 with a view to release all the negative emotions that build up inside us each day. We released our first untitled demo in 96 our second , Autumnal Fires" in '98 and our debut , self financed cd this year. Sixty one minutes of heaviness and misery awaits the listener. The current , and only line up is Darren-vocals , Frank-guitar , Adrian-Bass , Brian-guitar and Tim on drums.

2)How comes that you play this deeply mournful style of metal with such a rainy, heavy atmosphere? Is it the irish rain, the good ol' Kilkenny and Guinness beer or even the irish whiskey? are you fed up with all the sheep roaming the hills? Is it the eternal and solemn atmosphere of the whole country?

Do you often sit at the coast and watch the endless sea that makes you think small and unimportant we as human inhabitants of this earth actually are? What gives you the inspirations for this music? The main reason that we write this music is a vent for our negative emotions. We live in a world of shit and each breath we take is a breath closer to our graves. The feeling that is most prominent in our music is one of loss and a lack of hope. This loss can take any form, be it the loss of a loved one or even the loss of a moment in ones life that they wish could last forever. From this , the lack of hope we feel is apparent , in that it seems we wake each morning just to step closer to the grave. There seems to be no feeling left in the world anymore with everyone running around, no time to sit and think about yourself or the people around you. The Irish aspect is something I have been thinking about lately in that for centuries we have been the oppressed by our own lack of initiative and the fact that part of our country is run by a foreign government (but this is not a political interview so I will leave it there).We seem to be isolated from most of the world out here by ourselves on the Atlantic sea and so ,like a person who is left alone for a while , they become solemn and depressed. I am not saying that all Irish people are depressed but it would explain why, when we enjoy ourselves it is usually at the extreme end of enjoyment. Your other part of the question is very observant. Yes I feel that we are a very unimportant part of this world and if we keep thinking that we are the most important part it will come back to haunt us. The beauty of staring at a sunrise over the sea also brings a feeling of melancholy in that we are so small compared to the vastness of a cruel sea, or how in one fail swoop of its power nature can destroy a lifetime of memories.

3) I cannot think about too many bands playing that extremely mournful style of doom metal anymore, While Heaven Wept is one, Anathema used to be one in 1993 (they're too much alternarock for my taste now), there is not much more left but Mourning Beloveth. Do you keep a tradition or do you feel you innovate this genre?

We are not innovators of any scene and never have claimed to be but hopefully in the future…We feel we are keeping the candle of the early ninties doom/death scene alive. The memories of such bands as Paradise Lost , My dying Bride and Anathema would be our major influences. It seems to me that each of these bands are missing a few strings from there bows with there last few releases. After LGOTS My Dying Bride went downhill , Anathema after The Silent Enigma and Paradise Lost after Shades of God. Hopefully we can keep the fire burning in the hearts of the few and lonely. I do not think we are the only band however , check out Evoken , Mournful Congregation , Worship and Skepticism for uncommercial doom metal.

4) What do you think about this phrase "Doom is where the heart lies". My buddy Patrick Walker of UK doomsters Warning said it once to me. What means the term "DOOM" to you? I think it is the most spiritual kind of rock music, you cannot get deeper into the soul than with doom. Is doom a commercial kind of music in the sense of becoming big stars? Would you ever change your style to receive more reactions from the audience or to hit a wider audience?

This comes from an old saying "Home is where the heart lies" but it is a good twist on that saying. For me doom is the truest form of metal around. Anyone who plays or listens to doom does it for himself or herself and not to look cool or to become rich. It is a vent for inner turmoil. Doom takes the listener into a world of pain loss and misery and shows them they are not the only ones suffering. When we write, play or rehearse a song we do not feel misery or sorrow, we feel like a weight has been lifted from our shoulders and some old ghosts have been laid to rest. Hopefully this is the feeling the listener also gets from listening to our music but in the end we write for a cathartic purpose. For this reason I feel doom is banished to the abyss of the few and lonely, those who like to sit back and think about there own existence and not of the latest trend. We will never sell a lot of records but as long as we enjoy what we are doing that is all that counts and if some people like what we do that is even better. I was speaking with our drummer about this topic last week and he said that for ever 100 metal fans there is only one doom fan. This is probably an accurate reflection on the metal scene but that one person who likes your music or doom it is usually a person who LIKES the music and nothing else. It is good to meet likeminded people; it makes the lonliness of this world all the more bearable. Mourning Beloveth will obviously evolve in some direction which is unclear at the moment but as long as we stay true to ourselves and do not become so self obsorbed that all we can see is how much money will this make us , we will be happy.

5) Are you familiar with the Irish scene? Bands like Cruachan and Primordial also play dark metal since a couple of years now. What else is hiding there?

The Irish scene seems to be blossoming at the moment with plenty of underground gigs as well as more established acts hitting these shores. Other bands worth a mention are Waylander (Celtic warrior metal) , one cd on Century Media and an upcoming release on Blackened. Mael Mordha (Celtic Doom) with one cd demo out ,Karnayna (Melodic Celtic Death) one demo out , Kingdom (Melodic Death Metal) one cd demo out , Scald (Torturous Death) with 3 cd demos out and many more too numerous to mention. We also now have our first record label Sentinel run by an ex Misantrophy employee and our bassist Adrian with an upcoming release by Irish Brutal Death Gods Abaddon Incarnate. Sentinel have just released a double cd compilation entitled In Unison , a definitive guide to the Irish underground.

6) Is it still that expensive to buy a CD in an irish music shop? I've been there in 1992 and CDs cost about 14 pounds which was then about ten deutschmarks more than it would cost me here.

Most Irish stores are a fucking ripoff that is why I buy most of my stuff on mailorder. When the cd was first introduced it was suppose to become the cheapest way of listening to music…..it has had the opposite affect and the shops know they can get away with it. Since the economic boom here in Ireland the prices have risen again so my advice is stick to the mailorder and fuck the shops. How did you enjoy your stay in Ireland? Did you enjoy our miserable weather.

7 )There are no folk influences within your music. can it be, an irish band without folk influences?

Yes an Irish band with folk influences we have never had the inclination, and probably never will, to use them. There are a lot of Irish bands with no folk influences, take note.

8)So how is the scene like in Ireland? Are there many places you can play? Do you reach many people with your music?

For the last couple of years we have had a regular venue in Slatterys in Dublin but this has now been sold and become a trendy bar (typical money grabbing fucks) , the scene then died for a few months but recently some foreign bands have come to our shores and this has opened the minds of the venue owners in that they see that they can sell a lot of beer and tickets to metallers. The attendance at underground gigs is poor however with the average gig pull in approx 100 people. Primordial usually have 200-300 at gigs which is not bad .What I cannot understand is why when a foreign band comes to these shore the attendance can rise dramatically up to 600 people , where are these people when theie local bands are playing? But I am sure it is like this in every scene.

9) Are there any funny stories about or around Mourning Beloveth, even the name indicates something else?

Due to the fact that beer kills braincells and after every gig we all get shitfaced I cannot remember any funny stories , or do not want to!!! Some not so funny stories when we are sober , recently we played a gig in Kilkenny and during our set an amp fell on our guitarist. That was funny for the rest of us but not for him. Also when searching for a printers for the cover of our second demo we brought in an example of an inlay card whose quality we liked. When we showed the inlay to the printer she threw us out of the shop as on the front cover was depicted a dead foetus!

10) I leave the last few words to the band!

Check out the Irish scene and remember DOOM or be Doomed!