Agony In Red

MORTUARY

Mortuary is from France and is surely one of the best bands of brutal death metal that you will have the chance to listen to lately. I'd advice you to check this band out for a variety of reasons. First of all because of their amazing music and secondly because of the nice and clever answers they offered us. Check it out!

1.FIRST OF ALL POINT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND’S HISTORY AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO THE READERS.

MORTUARY is formed in Nancy ( France) in 1989. We play death metal with thrash influences We have recorded 3 demos then a self financed 7 song cd called "Hazards Of Creation". We played many gigs with CORONER, OBITUARY, KRABATHOR, AGRESSOR and many other bands. In 1997 we signed our first record deal with a french label "Thunder prod" and released our second album "Eradicate" and made many gigs in France to promote it. When Thunder stopped its activities a few month later, we signed with Pavement Music that re-released "Eradicate" in USA and Canada. After several inner problems, we signed in 2003 with a promising and young French label "Anvil corp", which released our new album "Agony in Red". The current line-up is Patrick (vocals), Alexis (guitar), Jean Noel ( bass); at the present time we are working with a new drummer Julien who is learning the songs. Nevertheless, Dirk who played drums on "Agony in Red", will play the future gigs till Julien is ready. We are also working with a new promising guitarist Paul.

2. CONGRATULATIONS FOR “AGONY IN RED”! WHY DID YOU NAME YOUR ALBUM THIS WAY? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST?

Thanx a lot. We wanted to name this album this way cos I think every colors can be associated with feelings, emotions or life stages. With black you think about death or something very dark, white is synonimous to purity or grace, grey is for melancholy or sadness, blue means the space or the escape, green for the nature or oxygen, etc … For me red precede black, the agony before the nothingness. Agony is a carmin atmosphere that slowly, wraps up the listener.

3. TELL US A FEW GENERAL THINGS ABOUT THIS RELEASE. WHERE WAS IT RECORDED? WHO WAS THE PRODUCER? HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU? DID ANYTHING WEIRD OR FUNNY OCCUR DURING THE RECORDING SESSIONS?
It was during the sessions. We wanted to make Alan believe that the strange sound came out of the amplifiers during the recording cos one of us, hidden in the recording room, was screaming like a beast in the ambient microphone. For a long time, he was searching where the sound came from. It was very funny.

4. HOW COME HAVE YOU DECIDED TO COVER A HARD ROCK SONG LIKE “DYNAMITE” ORIGINALLY BY SCORPIONS AND NOT A SONG FROM ANOTHER DEATH METAL BAND? YOU KNOW I ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT “DYNAMITE” COULD BE DONE AN EXCELLENT COVER AND YOU PROVED ME RIGHT! IT’S A POWERFUL AND DYNAMIC SONG.

When we decided to cover a band, we didn’t want to cover a death metal band cos too many bands already did it in the past. We want to bring something new, show a different side of our personality. Moreover we were born along with the heavy metal scene. We are old Scorpions fans. "Blackout" is a fantastic album where you can find some of the most aggressive Scorpion's songs ever written like "Dynamite" or "Now". "China White" with his haunting rhythms or its powerful guitar riffs is so brutal and bewitched. I'm really happy that you share our choice about this song. It ‘s a monumental song ! ! !

5. WHERE ARE YOUR LYRICS REFERRING TO? TELL US SOME GENERAL THINGS ABOUT THEM. WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE LYRICS?

Almost all of the lyrics are influenced by the books I read like B. WERBER , J.C GRANGE, S.BRUSSOLO (French writters) or C.BARKER, S.KING, E.A.POE and of course H.P.LOVECRAFT. I am also influenced by all that I see, I hear. I love writting short fiction stories about life, death, art, corrupted mind, the nefast influence of television on your mind, solitude face our fate, etc…

6. WHAT KIND OF PROCEDURE DO YOU FOLLOW WHILST COMPOSING SONGS? DO YOU TRY TO FOCUS ON AN EVENT, A SITUATION OR A FEELING IN ORDER TO KEEP A SPECIFIC FEELING? AFTER ALL DON'T WE SAY THAT AN ARTIST CAN BETTER EXPRESS HIMSELF THROUGH BITTER AND HARD TIMES? DID IT WORK WITH MORTUARY?

MORTUARY’s music is the reflection of the band members’state of mind. Our music is more aggressive coz we lived many problems these last five years; we feel hate so we compose songs of hatred. The more we live hard times, the more violent our music is. When we are composing new songs, Alex or Jean Noel bring riffs or melodies then we structure it together with different ideas.

7. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE APPEARANCES OR TOURING?

We have some plans for September in France and in Belgium, but our dream will be touring with other bands for one or two weeks through Europe. We are ready for live plans everywhere !

8. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THAT IS NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOUR MUSIC TO ATTRACT HIS ATTENTION? WHICH IS THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE ELEMENT IN YOUR MUSIC?

If you want your adrenalin starting to boil inside you and you’re looking for violent emotions: Listen to Mortuary ! ! ! I think the pleasure to transcribe our inner violence in the music is the most recognizable element.

9. IF YOU COULD PICK OUT ONE SONG ONLY FROM YOUR RELEASE, WHICH WOULD THAT BE AND IF YOU HAD THE MONEY TO MAKE AN EXPENSIVE VIDEO CLIP, HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE?

I will choose "Televiolence". This song is very short but very dynamic. You have to listen to it like if you receive an uppercut right on your head! As the song is very speedy, it will be shot in a quickened way, with many pictures; on the screen, we could see many pregnant women walking in the streets. But instead of having a child, a TV set would be incrusted in their womb where a lobotomized fœtus would be trapped; Swimming in a liquid colored with pictures of propaganda, violence, sexual act. Brainwashing before birth. We are absorbing tons of stupid pictures and useless infos, TV becomes a hard drug that we are slaves to.

10. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET THE CREATURE THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHICH WOULD YOU TELL HIM WAS HIS MOST SERIOUS MISTAKE?

I’d tell him that the most serious mistake he did, is to create a "superior" race with conscience that doesn’t know how to use it and a predator instinct that uses only by pleasure and greed. The human appearance is a great conception but all elements inside its soul are perverted. Certainly the most infected race of the creation. What a mess ! ! !

11. IF WE LIVED IN A WORLD WITHOUT ANY MUSIC, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? HOW WOULD YOU PIPE ALL YOUR FEELINGS AND NEGATIVE ENERGY?

Without any music, I couldn’t exist ! I think I would pipe my energy writting books or texts ; a kind of poetry if I had some talent. Then I would read it listening to all of the sounds of nature. The wind through the trees, the waves, echoes in a moutain, etc …

12. YOU ARE GRANTED ONE WISH. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH IT?

Learn to fly .

13. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET AN IMPORTANT PERSONALITY OR MUSICIAN (DEAD OR ALIVE) WHO WOULD THAT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK HIM?

I would like to meet H.P LOVECRAFT, cos he is one of the best writers I've ever read. I remember when I was reading his tales, I was deeply impressed by the fantastic gift he had to describe his characters or landscapes. I felt a big trouble inside myself and it was often difficult to come back to reality. The question that I would ask him: What's the name of the planet you come from? He was out of time, out of the world. I am also very impressed by some other writers like E.A.POE or Clive BARKER for their method of narration.

14. WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?

First of all, certainly the best interview and the more interesting questions I have answered to for a long time. The title could be "The essential interview".

15. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?

I would like to thanx you again for your great interview and I hope we will get in touch. A big hello to the Greek death-thrashers, listen to our music and enjoy it. I hope we could meet you on stage. Thanks for anyone that support us.
Be you, do not change.
Pat and MORTUARY

Christine "azriel" Parastatidou

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