South America is known for some extreme metal bands and Mortuorial Eclipse from Argentina fit in that category. This amazing Blackened Death Metal band has just unleashed its debut album titled "The Aethyrs’ Call” and, believe me, it will knock you off your feet. Pest Webzine decided to get to know this band a bit better and had a nice conversation with NefaSs, vocalist and guitarist.
The band was formed six years ago but only now have you released your debut album. Why the long wait? Lack of support from labels?!First of all we would like to thank very much to all the staff of "Pest Webzine” for their support!
The delay in release our first CD has many reasons: during the first period of the band, all the members were involved in others parallel projects so in the first years we only recorded a few demo songs but never released them.
When we decided to record an official album we were forced to make some changes in the line up and this stole us some time too. "The Aethyrs´ Call” is a self production and it means that each cent came from the band members.
It is very difficult for an extreme metal band in our country to get support from any of the local labels , that's why we decided to release it locally through our own label: ISHTAR GATE PROD.
You are labeled as Symphonic Blackened Death… is this really the best definition for your sound?
It’s just an easy way to know what you shall find in our music… People and specially the press need this but we actually don’t care about how Mortuorial Eclipse is labeled.
Lyrically you deal with Ancient Cultures, Heritage, Old Wisdom. I searched the internet to find out about Aethyr and several results came up. So, please enlighten us and tell us who is the Aethyr Mortuorial Eclipse refer to?
We find most of our inspiration in ancient wisdom and lost cultures. As a result of this mixture, we came up with the concept of "The Aethyrs ´ Call” as a way of symbolizing this attraction and seduction from this immense and deep ocean of the forgotten knowledge’s and forbidden arts.
Who is he calling and why?
It’s not a Character but we decided to personify it in the cover art of the album.
Have you ever written or considered writing songs in Spanish?All our songs are written in English. Since the beginning we choose this language for our lyrics considering it is one of the most practical idioms and it´s spoken in every corner of the world. If we write lyrics in Spanish (our language, we are limiting it only for Spanish speaking people. It happens the same with German, Polish and so on...
The cover of the album seems to be quite complex in its meaning. Would you care to explain it? Where is that place? Why is the man’s covered in a cloth? He is holding one of those incense spreaders priests use in churches?
The cover is mainly a Photo of the great Australian Photographer Peter Stanton. The first time I saw it I felt that it was exactly what we wanted to transmit with the concept of the music. The character is a lady showing the entrance door of a ritualistic construction in ruins but keeping it essence. The place is Baalbek in Libano, but some photo manipulation has been made.
Mortuorial Eclipse are using several official channels in order to promote their name, namely Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, Myspace, Soundcloud and YouTube. How important are these channels in your promotion?
New channels and social networks allow us reach many people in different parts of the world. It gives us a firsthand feedback and helps us spreading the message of the band. Nowadays we look at the web like a new dimension of the world, many people spend a lot of time there sharing their interests and points of view… they work, learn, create and coexist without the need of being in the same place.
In Europe, "The Aethyrs´Call" was firstly released by Art Gates Records but, at the end of July, Wretched Decay Records (Extreme Metal Label from the United Kingdom) will release it again. Why? How did this opportunity come up?We know the guys from AGR for some years now and when we finished the album, we started working together. They are from Spain and they are doing a great job! Some time ago we got in touch with WDR and they offered us a good deal. We are open to new partners if it doesn’t affect our actual relations.
Ishtar Gate Productions is the label that deals with your releases in Argentina and North and South America. Considering that you deal with different labels, how easy or difficult is it working with so many different contracts and all that?
Ishtar Gate Productions is our own label and it’s only for Argentina even though we work worldwide as all the labels do. Nowadays with the internet and the new ways and formats for music is it useful having some geographic restrictions. People buy where they want. Distribution and promotion make the difference.
Mortuorial Eclipse have reached the number 1 in ReverbNation’s Córdoba ranking and number 3 in Argentina’s ReverbNation chart. That’s quite an achievement! How did you feel when you found out about this?
Great! It shows that all this work is being recognized. Extreme Metal is not very popular in our country and to reach number 1 at the local chart is really exciting for an underground metal band.
Now you’ll be on the spotlight… how is the band’s reaction to this? Did you ever imagine your debut would achieve such a status?
When you give it all to get the best from you it will certainly bring good results. We have worked very hard and we do it every day. We have really good partners in this crusade, as ATR GATE RECORDS are, and this has a strong influence in the way things are going on. Working with people with experience helps us learning more and more every day.
The reviews "The Aethyr’s Call” has been receiving are quite awesome. Do you pay attention to what’s written about it? How much importance do you attribute to those words?It’s our first release. All reviews are very important to collect the opinion of the specialized press and to obtain a fresh feedback from many parts of the world. The repercussion of "The Aethyrs` Call” exceeded the expectations and it’s really great for a debut album.
The edition of "The Aethyr’s Call” has just run out in Argentina. Are you preparing a new edition? Will there be any changes to it?
Yes, the first edition has run out really fast and it was a good surprise for us. We are planning a new national edition for the coming months and we are thinking on adding some bonus track on it and perhaps a new art format for the booklet.
Having your tracks from "The Aethyr’s Call” available online won’t put off some people from buying the album?
Most people who bought the CD (if not all) have listened to the band on the internet before buying. We think the Internet is a good tool to spread Mortuorial Eclipse’s overture. If we cannot fight piracy, we must deal with it and try to use it in our favour.
What are your expectations for Mortuorial Eclipse?
We are focused on increasing the aggressiveness and intensity of our music and we hope to take it everywhere we can! The wheel will not stop now!!!
Recently Nefass was at Musikmess in Frankfurt, Germany. Musikmesse is an International Fair for Musical Instruments, Sheet Music, Music Production & Music Business Connections. Were you there to promote the band and the debut album?
Yes! I ‘ve got a job beside the band that allows me to travel a lot and it gives us a good chance to meet new people from the music industry and to get in touch with other professional musicians and possible partners for the band.
Have got any gigs planned so far?
At the moment we are booked for an Extreme Festival: Guttural Forest Fest in Buenos Aires and we are planning a gig in Córdoba, our city, too.
How is it like being an extreme metal band in Argentina? Is the mentality of the argentinian society open minded towards extreme metal acts?
Not at all! The metal scene in our country is really retrograde and poor. The extreme Metal Scene is different, even though it’s a small crew, there is a good relation between the bands and the metalheads. The mentality of the argentinian people is not ready for the IDEAS of Extreme music in general, that's why the scene is growing so slowly here.
European bands all appreciate playing in South America. What’s so special about you then? What’s your opinion on European metal?
There is a Huge thirst for Metal in South America. People here really admire European bands and are ready to show their support every time a band decides to come. The long distances make tours a bit expensive so it’s not as common as it is in Europe to see extreme metal gigs, it’s reserved to big cities like Buenos Aires, Santiago, etc.
As an extreme metal fan, is there a band you’d love touring with? Which one and why? Which bands inspire you?
Huff many! I think every band has a difference essence that you can learn and enjoy in different ways! We’ve made really good friends while touring and it’s great. This is something great about European Metal Festivals: such a big number of big bands at the same time! It’s an experience we yearn to have soon!
It’s a common fact that some of the best Blackened Death bands hail from Scandinavia. Do you agree? Which are the ones you listen to and that marked you in some way or form?
Yes! That’s True! Among the bands that influence our music we can mention bands like Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth, Opeth, Septic Flesh and many more from Europe. Also American Death Metal Mosnters like Morbid Angel and Nile are musical references for us.
Which one would you say was the album (metal or not) that changed your mind, that made you realize metal was your thing?
Don’t need to think too much about it! For me it was " FAR BEYOND DRIVEN ” from Pantera and "CHAOS AD” from Sepultura!
What can we expect from Mortuorial Eclipse in the near future?
We are working on a video at the moment! Stay tuned! The composition progress of our next album has just started and you will find more extreme and aggressive music with a protagonist Orchestra leading the Armageddon!
Please share a final message with Pest Webzine’s readers! Thanks for your time and music! Hail!
It’s a pleasure to write this lines for "PW”! We invite all the readers to visit our website at www.mortuorialeclipse.com.ar and also to drop by ARG’s store where you can purchase "The Aethyrs` Call” and much more awesome material! Check www.artgatesrecords.com/catalog
Darkness is Spirit while Light is only matter! Best Regards!
Questions by Sónia Fonseca
Answers by Nefass (vocals and guitar)
May 2013