1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. Death Motif formed in 2013 (or late in 2012, I can't quite remember and it probably doesn't make a difference), originally as a four piece. Our original drummer was Josh Dawkins from Lions of Tsavo. We kept the writing process really loose at the time because we didn't really have a vision for what we wanted to do. We just kind of decided to kick ideas around until something really struck us. The song that struck us turned out to be "Hiding in the Tall Grass" from our first EP. We decided to cultivate the black metal/alt metal/death and roll sound that fell out of that and see where it took us. Shortly after the release of our first EP, Josh and Death Motif had to part ways, and I found Nikos hanging out in a practice room at our rehearsal complex with his dog. He joined shortly thereafter in April of 2014.
2.So far you have released 2 ep's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings?
2. The first EP was an exploration of what we could do to make black metal and death metal sound like rock and roll. That came mostly from necessity, because our original drummer got into a motorcycle crash and broke his leg pretty badly when we had been together for just a few months. He was laid up for six or eight months, but we kept writing in that time, so we wrote groovy music that he could play with one leg propped up on an old office chair.
Nikos has an extremely different style and approach to the music; he's an extremely technical drummer. So once he joined and we started writing music together, we took the elements that we thought really worked from the first batch of songs and just took the next step, which under the circumstances was to write some really groovy, really moody music that is also kind of hyperactive and has a tendency to make abrupt changes.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3. We write narratives about unfortunate events, either real or imagined. The songs that I wrote tend to deal with more real life stuff, things that have happened around me to people that I know (or knew). Donner has a slightly different approach to his subject matter, which I can't give very much insight into.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Death Motif'?
4. Donner came up with the name. I'm not sure if it referred to anything specific, but it seems to me that our name has evolved from whatever it started out as to being a concise descriptor of our music. Death Motif's motif is death. Tragic death.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5. We've played some really cool shows. I'm not sure I could say which ones were the best, but I can say that we recently played with Primitive Man in Houston, and that bill had a lot of really excellent bands on it, including our friends Krvshr and Bummer. We also recently played a really great show with our friends in Manifest Insanity and The Blood Royale which was a mega jam party.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
6. Our next shows we have scheduled are going to be really cool. We're playing a super stacked bill on September 25 that is going to be bro-down of the highest order, and then we get to play with Today is the Day on October 9. We're trying to get out of town more in the fall; our goal is to find a way to get a midwest tour moving in the spring.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
7. We haven't been approached by any labels. We would really like to have some tour support so that we can get out and play new places, but that hasn't been offered to us in any way yet, so we'll realistically try to do some DIY touring and see how far we can get outside of Austin.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
8. Our music has been pretty well received so far. If anybody really hates it, they've been too polite to mention it to me, at least. Black metal has the benefit of being (at least to me) a pretty flexible subgenre of music, so people who are in to black metal tend to appreciate the obtuse approach we take. But we're anything but trve black metal.
9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9. Writing has begun for what is tentatively planned on being a full length album right now. We're four or five songs in, and I'm extremely excited about the music that we have written and ready to go. It's far and away our best stuff yet, and our boundaries are really being pushed in some really wild directions. Death Motif makes it a point in the writing process to keep elements that consider to be crucial to "our sound" and to force them into different contexts that we have never explored before. Our fastest, slowest, ugliest and most daring music is in process right now. I can't get enough of playing it
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10. The collective list for Death Motif's influences is really scattered. Nothing is off the table for us.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11. I won't speak for the other guys, but I don't really have any non-musical interests. I have a one year old daughter that I spend a lot of time chasing around, and beyond that I spend all my time messing with my pedal board or writing.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. I recommend the Game of Thrones books. They're pretty good.
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