A few questions - interview with death doom metal band from United States - MOTHER OF GRAVES.
Answered Chris Morrison (Guitars), thank you!
Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?
Hello, thanks for the interview! We are Mother of Graves from the Indianapolis, Indiana area in the United States. The idea for the band started in late 2016, but we didn’t officially form until 2019. Mother of Graves plays a melodic style of death/doom metal. We released our debut EP, In Somber Dreams, in early 2021.
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
We recorded the album at our guitarist Ben’s studio, mostly. Drums were tracked at 1857 studios as they have a big room and lots of great drum microphones, etc. The environment was great and laid back since we were able to take our time in the studio and not have to worry about hourly rates piling up. Ben engineered, produced, and mixed the album. He did a great job getting sounds and getting the best performance out of all of us. Then we sent it off to Dan Swano at Unisound for mastering who did a great job with the final product.
How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
The new album will be released on 10/14/2022 on Vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital by Wise Blood Records. This vinyl run is limited to 200, and we expect those to sell out quickly. I believe the cassettes may also be a limited run of 200.
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?
Our vocalist, Brandon, writes all the lyrics. He has spoken about how isolation during the pandemic resulted in him diving deep into his own self. The lyrics address loss, love, grief, anger, burdens, mistakes, etc. Basically he takes these deep emotions, and life experiences, and transforms them into his great poetry. The words are not really a concept, but a true release and an outlet for Brandon. These are all things that people relate to. Sometimes you bury the feelings and thoughts deep inside, but in this band we use the words and music as a cathartic release. It is deeply meaningful for all of us.
Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?
Nate Vaught of Brainvault Designs made the logo for us. We wanted something different, not a typical death metal logo. I knew I wanted some sort of illustration involved, kind of like the King Diamond logo or that early bat and demon Morbid Angel logo. So we got a cool skull in ours, haha! Paolo Girardi painted the album cover for us, and he did a phenomenal job. The gatefold is killer! David Jaggar did the layouts for the album and our t-shirt designs. As far as social media, it is very important. We used to have tape-trading way back in the day. Now we basically do the same thing, but instead it involves communicating with like-minded metal fans online. There are some great communities out there that I am happy to be a part of. I enjoy interacting with fans and learning about new bands, etc. For a band that isn’t that well known, like us, it is important to stay active to spread the word and get people engaged.
Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takés care about you?
This is our second time working with Wise Blood Records. Sean runs a fantastic label, is a great person, and truly supports the metal community. His label is relatively new, but he does an amazing job with getting the releases heard by as many people as possible. He has unlocked so many doors for us, and we could not be happier to work with him again for this release.
Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
I am not sure I idolize anyone; however, I definitely draw inspiration from bands like the “Peaceville Three,” Katatonia, Tiamat, Edge of Sanity, and bands like that. But I listen to a wide variety of metal, and non metal, and get as much inspiration from what some of our friends’ bands are doing.
Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?
No, none. We did not shop anything around. We knew we wanted to work with Sean and Wise Blood again, so we are glad he wanted to work with us again as well. We did get a few labels reaching out to us with varying levels of interest, but we decided Wise Blood was the place to be for this album.
How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?
Surprisingly we have only played two shows so far. We aren’t the type of band that is going to be out playing live at every opportunity. Our focus is more on writing bleak songs. We love the writing and creating aspect. We want our shows to be special and that is hard to accomplish if you are playing every weekend. That being said, we are looking to book some shows for 2023 to support the album. We would love to play some more festivals. Club gigs are great as well. I really enjoy both the bigger festival atmosphere as well as the intimate club show.
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
We just want this album to reach as many people as possible. We hope it resonates with people the way it does with us. As far as plans, as mentioned before we hope to support the album with festival appearances and select shows. Then the plan is to continue writing for the next album.
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
@motherofgraves on Twitter and Instagram
Motherofgraves@gmail.com
Thanx for the interview.
Thank you very much! Cheers!
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