Memoria Interview

1.Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

We’re a 5-piece blackened metal band from Perth, Western Australia, and part of Daniel Vrangsinn’s label and art experiment Misantrof AntiRecords.  We aim to produce challenging music and show people the ugly horn that often protrudes from the centre of their selfish skulls. We’ve only been around a few years as a full live band so we have a lot of work to do.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material and how it differs from the older release?

The material on ‘Death Calls the Islands’ is an adaptation of all the best aspects of Scandinavian (particularly Norwegian) black metal. We are hopefully building on the combination of high end noise, melody and atmosphere that epitomizes the great black metal bands.

The new album only differs in the fact it is predominantly in a black metal format, whereas ‘The Midnight Ball’ and the soundtrack ‘Memorioquia:Auradeutung’ are extensions of acoustic/classical and ambient/electronic features of many early 90s heavy bands.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Our preference is to write lyrics that lead to certain atmospheres and emotions that are cryptic enough to be enjoyed on a surrealist level but relate to the horror that people face everyday looking at their own reflection… or within their household. Isolation and transformation are often key themes and we often blend influences from written fiction with an introspective look at different psychopathologies.  I guess we differ as a black metal band in the fact we do not use Satanism or dominant themes of anti-christianity. Anti-religious themes are there…but there’s plenty of material outside the freak-show of the church.


4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Memoria is the Spanish and Italian word for Memory. I guess it’s inspired by the observation that humans are generally slaves to their experiences…the recall of which is often self-serving and different from reality. As we have also utilized melodies that seem Spanish or are variations/mutations of Mediterranean music…the name seemed to fit.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Our best shows have been local shows. There are some good venues near where we live and several great Perth metal bands (Nails of Imposition; Khariot) that we love to play with. These shows have the most preparation, the best opportunities to get our sound right and the least amount of stress.

On stage we oscillate between de-humanizing oppression and having a great time making live music. It’s very loud with lots of noise between tracks…no jokes, anecdotes or bullshit to make people feel comfortable…we want you uncomfortable. No corpse-paint…we leave this to the Norwegian masters.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

We’re currently negotiating several shows in Norway, Sweden and Croatia for early 2013…so hopefully things work out and we’ll be in Europe next year.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by extreme metal fans?

Signing with Misantrof AntiRecords has definitely been the most important development for Memoria. We’ve gone from absolute obscurity to having thousands of people freely download and share our music. The feedback from people with a respectable opinion has been very positive. We have Vrangsinn and Carpathian Forest promoting our songs, with a tour of Norway possibly in the works…we are very happy.


8.Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Val (guitars) plays in technical death band ‘Nails of Imposition’, whilst Andrew (vocals) has just started work on a noise project called ‘Bolt Gun’’. We all have day-jobs so most of us find that Memoria is enough at the moment.

9.What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

We definitely have at least one more metal album up our sleeve and are working on demo tracks at the moment. This will be an epic black metal album that extends and improves on the atmospheres of ‘Death Calls the Islands’. It will be harsh, brutal but also very melodic.






10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Classical/Spanish guitar is an important base for most of our songs as they usually start off as a single guitar piece. Direct influences include bands such as Emperor; Ulver; Enslaved; DHG; Burzum; Opeth; Dawn; Moonsorrow; Ministry. Perhaps also experimental projects such as Bad Sector and sound artists like Alan Lamb. The next album also has a lot of musical influences from Swans.

At the moment I’m listening to a lot of Bohren und der Club of Gore; Altar of Plagues; Disciplin; and Esoteric.

11.Does Occultism play any role in your music?

Not really. We like to use sinister imagery within the lyrics, however I personally find more inspiration in the horrible and self-destructive behavior of the people outside my front door.

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

The same as most extreme metal musicians in their 30s…family, work, drinking beer, listening to music.

13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this intervew?

Just to encourage your readers to share music, purchase albums when you can, buy band merchandise from your favorite bands and visit the Misantrof website HYPERLINK "http://www.misantrof.net/" www.misantrof.net/