From
Mortal zine
1. How is it going?
I’m not bad here. I hope you and all the readers in Slovakia are
fine too on this wintry morning. This is my first interview from Slovakia
so I hope you all know enough of Mourning Beloveth at the end of this
interview.
2. The Band MOURNING BELOVETH is not so well known down here in Slovakia,
however try herein to review your previous recordings.
Sure. The band was formed in 1993 and released the first demo (Untitled)
in 1996 with 2 songs + 1 piano interlude. This demo sold over 400 copies
and made a deacent inpact on the Doom Metal underground. The songs were
very rough but despite the fact that they were recorded and mixed in 10
hours the result was a fair representation of the band at that time. We
got some good reviews and plenty of interviews throughout the world.
Our next demo called ‘Autumnal Fires’ was recorded and released
in 1998. This had 3 songs intertwined again with 2 piano sections. This
further increased the worldly awareness of Mourning Beloveth and we obtained
some distribution for the band in some countries and more reviews/interviews
etc. We got demo of the issue in the major German underground Mag ‘Moondance’
which was a major achievement for us and many good reviews in big print
magazines also with high profile interviews. This demo helped gain us
a support slot with the mighty Cathedral in Ireland and was a great learning
experience and a privilidge. This demo was the one that started to best
describe what sound MB had started to emulate as their own and gave us
a better indetity with which to work from.
3. Are your compositions influenced by your Irish cultural origin?
No not at all. There are no Celtic sounding pieces of music in our conmpositions
at all. The only thing I will say is that Irish music/metal bands etc
would all have in common is the similar strains of melancholia and underlying
torment that breathes though the music of each genre. There are celtic
rhythms and patterns in the music of Irish bands like Primordial Cruachan
and Waylander not to mention Irish Celtic Doomers Mael Mordha but in Mourning
Beloveth we don’t go for the in your face approach of Irishness
with our music. We let the music breath the despair and pain that our
history has left us with.
4. What part of composing the new songs is the most important for the
band?
We have no set method of composing our songs really. We really only get
the chance to meet up as a band in the rehearsal room so we bring in our
ideas and lyrics and we bounce them off each other to come up with other
ideas and ways of intermingling all the ideas. Frank(guitarist/vocs) would
probably write the majority of our music with other guitarist Brian following
up and then myself. Darren(vocs) writes all the lyrics and occasionally
asks for some help. Sometimes we just jam together to warm up at the start
of rehearsal and this gets us in the mood for writing and sometimes we
get partial songs from just jamming together with no set main riff to
start with. This is my favourite way of writing as I think it’s
the true essence of Mourning Beloveth as a band and everything just gels
together more naturally,yeah I like that.
5. What about the role of Stuart Anstis in the Cradle of Filth .Is he
of a fulltime line-up or additional one? Are you satisfied of his working
for the band?
Stuart first came upon the scene when the label I have Sentinel asked
him to master the In Unison 19 band Irish Compilation we released 2 years
ago. e is a good friend of Brian who started the label with me. Stuart
set up his own mastering facility after he left Cradle of Filth. We then
asked him to re-master Mourning Beloveth’s 1st CD ‘Dust’
,also re-released by Sentinel. He said he would like to do the mastering
of our new cd ‘The Sullen Sulcus’ so we approached him again
and that is his only involvement with Mourning Beloveth. He has done a
brilliant job on the mastering process for us though. I didn’t think
mastering a cd could make such a noticeable difference but it brought
everything up in the mix and all the music sounds louder and more full.
Actually he has a band called ‘BASTARDSUN’ and Sentinel is
releasing their first album next year so watch the Sentinel website for
more on that in the near future. It is great to have worked with such
a legend as Stuart all the same and nice to have him as a friend
6. What are the themes of your lyrics? Are those of Sadness, melancholy
or gloominess as the way of the doom metal is?
As I said Darren writes all the lyrics but yes his lyrics deal with those
aspects.
Doom Metal does have those themes running through its lyrics and should
do
so to help preserve what the music is about and where it comes from
7. A reviews compare are the band to My Dying Bride...what do you think
of it and M.D.B. in general?
Yes we get that a lot, Its because we are as great as them I guess ha
ha. No but seriously, I reckon it’s because of the similar style
of music we play really. The long riffs and the dark brooding passages
with sad lyrics. The main difference with us and MDB is they play a lot
of fast bits where we might have the very odd fast piece and even at that
it isn’t really fast at all. We didn’t mind it in the beginning
as it was nice to be mentioned in the same sentence as They are a great
band indeed and are mainly responsible for forging this style of music
back in the early 90’s along with Paradise Lost and Anathema. Since
the 2nd demo though we have been commented on forging our own path to
Doomdom and even with our 1st cd and now our 2nd we have left these tags
behind and are making our own name in the scene. I guess though that we
will still be compared to these bands at times but who cares. We are Mourning
Beloveth and we play our own music. These tags are given to us, we don’t
ask for them and if that what people need to figure us out fine .
9 How should you present your last record to the people without any
information’s of the band?
I think this is all explained above.
Where has the album been recorded and what about the time spent in the
studio?
The new cd was recorded in Academy Studios in the Uk. The first cd was
also recorded in Academy but in the original building back in 2000. The
premises moved last year. We had a great time recording with only one
really bad as regards stress and that was just myself really. We were
using the same engineer/producer Mags. He is a great person to work with
and very helpful . We had him for the 1st cd too so he had got used to
us and kinda knew what to expect from us and what we expected him to come
up with. This time we spent 10 days in the studio and completed all 6
songs with time to spare. We all stayed together in the front room of
a friend of ours-All Hail Ross!! And after 2 weeks of sweat/beer/smoke
and rotten socks it was a relief to be finished. Spending that time together
made us even closer as a band and we are ready now for our tour around
Europe in Feb in a bus for 2 weeks.
10 What label will release your album and why did you choose
them for?
Aftermath Music from Norway will release it for us in mid-December. We
sent out many promo of the new cd in June/July in the hope of finding
a label and Aftermath were the first back with interest and remained the
more probable label for us in the end. Haavard from Aftermath had been
in touch with us before as had some more but was interested I suppose
from the time we release ‘Dust’ on our own. He has some other
great bands on the label like Poema Arcanvs from Chile and Runemagick(ex-Century
Media) so we are going to a well respected label and a good home for us
we think. From the initial promotion thing he has started I reckon we
have done well for ourselves and I don’t think you will hear the
last of us for a long time.
11 There is very poor info about an Irish scene in Slovakia. Could you
tell me more of your underground? .
The Irish scene is very small compared to the rest of the Metal Community
worldwide. With us being on the extreme western end of Europe kind of
makes us forgotten about for most things anyway, Metal being a small portion
of that. Primordial(Hammerheart Recs) would be the biggest Metal band
from Ireland and they are probably one of the biggest if not the biggest
on Hammerheart Records right now. The next biggest would be Cruachan who
were on Century Media but are now also signed to Hammerheart. They are
very popular for their Celtic stylised Metal and do very well for themselves.
They played in St Petersburg in Russia on St.Patricks Day!!A huge achievement
for an Irish band.
Then we have Waylander ,signed to Blackened records who did well while
they were on Century Media but are not as popular now.Next we have Abaddon
Incarnate(ex-Seasons of Mist) and are now signed to my label Sentinel.
They are friends of ours and approached us to release their 2nd cd last
year. They play Brutal Death/Grind . They have completed 3 tours already
this year and are very popular in the Death/Grind scene. Irond in Russia
have licenced their cd from us and we are working on an Indonesian release
right now also. Apart from those signed band above there are a good few
bands here who have released their own albums and are doing well on their
own without a label like Riffmaster General who play thrash/heavy metal
with big Megadeth/Maiden influences. Other bands like Primal Dawn(brutal/death),Old
Season(technical/prog doom),Revile(thrash),Scald(psychotic grind),Hexxed(death/speed),Lunar
Gate(atmospheric/prog doom),Carnun Rising(black/death),Belinus(dark/black),Coldwar(metal/core),Corrupted(thrash),Condemned(death/grind),Scavenger(power/death).
So you see there are lots of bands with many varying styles in Ireland
. I suppose the country being so small helps bands gain their own identity
with each one doing their own thing which makes it that bit special. I
haven’t seen any 2nd or 3rd generation Irish style bands yet from
Ireland. Apart from those I mentioned above I’ve probably left out
more but this country is now thriving with talent and its just up to them
and labels around to get the attention they deserve. A good site to check
up on Irish bands is www.metalireland.com Here you will find all the info
about the Irish scene.
12 How do you find living in your city....what would you show me there
if I will visit you?
I don’t like the city and never have really. I lived there for 6
years before I had enough and moved to the outskirts .Just too much scum
around to deal with everyday. Well I would take you to Dublin city first
I suppose as that where I live close to and show you the usual tourist
type stuff although I’m not a great tour guide and its probably
better you join a tour bus etc. I would take you to the metal bars . Horray!!!
we’ve got 2 in Dublin . I would show you the bullet holes in the
walls of the main post office(GPO)where the Irish army fought its last
battle in the war of Independence in 1916. Where the scumbags live so
as to show you where not to go. The crypt in Christchurch Cathedral, the
Guinness brewery, The Jameson Whiskey distillery, the heroin addicts on
O’Connell St which the police do nothing about,. I’d show
you enough interesting things I suppose. If we had time I’d drive
you to the countryside to show you the real Ireland and up to Belfast
too if you wanted. I like it up there, just a pity about all the crap
we have here. How’s that?
13 Do you know something of Slovakia?
I know of a few bands like Silent Streams of Godless Elegy, Love History,
and Endless but not much of their music unfortunately. I found a link
to a Slovakian site with lots of links but none of them work. I am always
looking for other zines etc to send promos to so anybody out there let
me know. To me the scene there is kinda a few years ahead of what the
Irish scene here is going through. It looks like there a re a lot of very
good bands there. We were supposed to be playing with Dissolving of Prodigy
in February in Prague but this can’t happen now because of the insurance
for our tour van, a pity.
14 Can you remember for the very first recording you had bought?
The first metal thing I ever bought was a Guns N’ Roses ‘Appetite
for Destruction’ cassette. Now some might not call that metal but
for me it was a start. That’s when I was possessed by the demon
himself and began to plod the path to deviance he he he .
15 How should you review these albums?
MY DYING BRIDE – Symphonaire Infernus... This is a great release.
I just wish I was more into them when it was released, sad but true
THE GATHERING – Always... I know the band but not this album . I
heard some of their music before but I don’t own anything by them
ORPHANED LAND – Sahara. Same as above
PARADISE LOST – Gothic. I like this album. The song Gothic was one
of the first metal songs I played on the bass. I played in a cover band
for 1 gig would you believe and this was one of the songs so this is a
favourite yes.
TIAMAT – Wildhoney. I like this too. Very raw compared to the latest
stuff but it is fine by me.
16. What is your relation to the phenomenon – internet?
Just 2 weeks ago I was going through all my old letters from when I started
to contact people in the underground and the thought struck me that there
was no e-mail address on any of the letters. The metal scene has come
on so much since those days and people are more reachable now. The personal
approach of writing letters is just about gone and that was cool. But
now you can write to 1000 different magazines if you want with the same
message and its cheaper too than buying a stamp. We promoted the first
demo without the use of the internet and we managed to sell over 400 copies.
The computer age was starting to thrive then when we did the 2nd and from
then on its been easier altogether. Imagine if the internet was banned
tomorrow!-what a state the world would be in and would people go back
to the letter writing ways?
Anyway that’s the end of the interview I guess. Thanks
for the questions. I hope you readers can get time to check us out and
maybe someone there would like to distribute our stuff there. I hope to
visit your country sometime to play and we will meet up for a few drinks.
Can you please mention and check out these websites.
www.mourningbeloveth.com Mourning Beloveth Homepage
www.aftermath-music.com The website of Mourning Beloveth’s Rec Label
www.sentinelireland.com My label and home of Mourning Beloveth’s
‘Dust’ Re-release
www.metalireland.com Homepage for Irish Metal bands
www.emeraldpromotions.8m.com Irelands Premier Metal Promoters
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