Men An Tol Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days? We have been quiet lately as our drummer moved cities so we only do shows when we he can make it to do them. Writing new music with some new elements and hoping to get our digital release out on CD within the year. We also plan on doing a few shows around New Zealand next year.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the album? Our music is black metal based but we try to incorporate other styles into it and try to create an atmosphere. There are some depressive elements in our songs and we like having raw and basic riffs which is mainly because we are not great at playing our instruments.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music? Our lyrics are mainly nature based, talking about the power of the wilderness and the relationships that man has with his surroundings. Along with the harshness of nature and how death comes to those you disrespect it. 4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name? We're all interested in history and ancient culture and saw the relationship created between people and the earth when it comes to creating stone monuments and the Men An Tol stones in Cornwall, England related to us with our heritage and interests with the past.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance? We ran our own wee festival two years in a row, called Swampfest held in a paddock on the family farm beside a creek. After the September 2010 quake the water table rose significantly and what was sort of a swamp became very much a swamp. We’ve travelled south Memories of Swampfest include skinheads headbutting the stage and a stoned guy in a bathrobe with mud up to his knees. Our stage performance is pretty subdued – we aren’t all that accomplished as musicians so most of the time we are focussing on not fucking up. 6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? With our in Wellington it’s difficult to say yes to any gig opportunities without a fair bit of warning. After the response to our album we are very keen to record again, so we’re taking gig offers as they come, and are hoping to do a few New Zealand shows in 2014. 7.The album had a cover of Black Forest's Herne The Hunter, what was the decision behind doing your own version of the song? Black Forest was the first local band that we saw that was truly inspiring without having to be drunk. Christchurch has a very strong death metal scene, and a very strong punk scene. Without really fitting into either Black Forest kind of matched our vision for proper black metal except with way more punk badassery and general awesome. Pretty much we just wish we were as cool as them so we started drinking VBs and wearing our jeans sewn together with dental floss. We took a video of Black Forest playing in Dunedin and for years watching Herne the Hunter was a cornerstone of our Friday drinking hangouts, which meant we knew exactly how to play it by the time we tried it at a practice one day. The reason we covered it on the album was because covering Bathory’s a fine day to die was too hard. 8. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label ore received any interest? No and No. We are concerned with the high level of Facebook likes at the moment and being signed won’t help that situation at all.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal? We’re just genuinely excited that anyone anywhere is listening to it. I think our downloads have netted us about $65 so far so we’re already doing far better than our wildest dreams. Our last payday getting $20 each for playing with Wellington band Bulletbelt in Timaru, 2 hours south of Christchurch. Our petrol bill was about $80 though. 10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases? We have typically gone for more ambient styles of metal and longer songs made up of separate movements – While our attitude is that everything needs to be four times as slow and four times as long, we are keen to add more punk elements and strip it back a bit. We have an old 70’s Yamaha organ that I think we should start using but the others aren’t keen. 11.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays? Bands with songs over 10 minutes are usually good. Hearing Drudkh play the same riff for 15 minutes was a turning point for us, as was Varg’s 20 minute keyboard opuses. Otherwise bands that we’re currently listening to include Krallice, Burzum, Drudkh, Wolves in the Throne room, Satanic Warmaster, Reverend Bizarre, Anaal Nathrakh, Agalloch, Bathory Falkenbach. 12.Outside of music what are some of your interests? Drinking, listening to music, going to gigs and going on day trips to the mountains. 13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview? Download our album it's free!

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