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1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new ep?
Since returning from Wacken and signing to M-Theory, we have been putting our nose to the grindstone on working on new material. Dynamically, it is a much different game as this is the first time this current lineup is writing completely new material from scratch. The new EP are songs that have been written and performed for years now, with this being the first actual recordings of them. The new tracks are definitely something else since both guitars can be uncompromising with their melody, harmony, and technicality since our vocalist is free to focus on his performance alone. Previously we had the "lead vocals done by the guitarist" thing going on and that kind of forced us to simplify earlier songs. The hard part now is trying to keep restrained so that there isn't too much going on!
2.You have a new ep coming out towards the end of February, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
It's more developed, the song are much longer and more epic, while also more cohesive. The technicality of it is roughly the same, however it does showcase a much more "dense" sound with its orchestration, the speed of the drums and the layering of harmonies. There are also connected interlude tracks that give the whole thing a more dramatic atmosphere.
3.A lot of your lyrics cover Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
The lyrics are inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, however it isn't a direct correlation to any stories in the canon such as the Iliad or Homer's Odyssey. We actually try to craft our own stories and mythos with an original lore inspired by this era of mythology. Some recurring names in our lyrics are "Archaio", "Archi", "Arkosh", "Agapi", and "Theama" which describe gods, demigods, prophets and such which are taken from Greek roots. Lyrics in many of our songs have a large overarching story which goes through the mythos of creation, love, hate, corruption and destruction.
4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?
A big one is definitely nature and the mysticism that surrounds it. An inside joke we've had going on is that there are 2 types of black metal bands: ones that sing about Satan, and ones that sing about trees. I guess you can say that we're more of the latter, but we definitely hold the occult close to our hearts in many ways. For some upcoming material, we are experimenting with incorporating different lores from more modern sources such as Dark Souls or even Magic the Gathering. One could say that Black Metal has done enough with singing about Lord of the Rings so it's time to try something different!
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mythraeum'?
A Mithraeum is an abandoned underground Temple from ancient Rome. While the name comes from the god Mithras, not all these ancient sites are dedicated to any known or specific deity. It's more the feeling of stumbling into some hidden temple ruins and being in awe of what wonderful and terrible things may happen therein. The concept of underground cults from centuries ago fascinates us because most of the time when we think of cults, it has more of a modern connotation such as the Heaven's Gates or the People's Temple. Even occultism is fairly modern with most of the practices going back just 100 years with Anton LaVey founding the Church of Satan, Aleister Crowley starting Thelema, and Helena Blavatsky with the Theosophy society. The fact that these are literal underground cults of the Romans going back to the 1st century is pretty amazing!
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new ep cover?
This is more of a dramatic reditioning of a literal Mithraeum. It's presented in a much wider space though, as if the temple was hidden deep in the catacombs of the earth. In reality the Mithraea were relatively small long hallway type ritual chambers. The top of the entrance shows the band's sigil, which is a combination of all the letters of the name "Mythraeum", a very classic standard way of creating a sigil in magical practices. It is surrounded by a type of ouroboros made up of two trees, which is representative of the two tree-like deities forming together as one as mentioned in the lyrics of "Terrestrial Despair".
7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Wacken definitely comes to mind first and foremost. Nothing really beats the sight of thousands of people in a foreign land going crazy and cheering for your performance. We also have played Tijuana more recently at the Black Box and it was a blast! Such a welcoming crowd and a lot of support and enthusiasm from that scene. Our shows really do the best to blend the brutality and intensity of a death metal show and the atmosphere and ritualistic nature of a black metal show. We start the show by lighting frankincense on our totems to give everything a distinctive aura. They say that smell is strongly associated with memory, so why not make a memorable show with an olfactory experience that the audience can associate with us? Luckily for them, this is not a Watain show, so we don't fill the place with the smell of rotting flesh, but not to say that isn't awesome either! Additionally, we do have a ritual at every show during the song "The Harbinger's Chant" where our vocalist Plague anoints people in the audience with blood from a chalice. Aside from that we have had shows featuring a belly dancer and a liturgy-like section where a robed figure comes out and smudges incense around with a censer.
8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new ep is released?
We only have one show planned for June 17th at the Brick by Brick. This will feature all black metal bands and we are pretty excited to headline this show! The bands playing include Imperialist, Withermoon, Druide, and Son ov Leviathan, which are all black metal bands that hail from Southern California! We don't have a tour planned for this EP release as we are going to be writing and recording for the next few months. However we are definitely looking to have a tour in the near future for the full length album!
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
We have gotten a lot of support and positive words from many new fans, especially after Wacken. We really would like to play some shows in Europe soon with some of these bands we've met and keep in close touch with some of the other competitors at the Metal Battle that took place there.
10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Our guitarist, Wraith, has a few projects going on. He is in a death metal band, Corpsemaker that is currently planning to compete in the next Metal Battle. Also he has 2 studio projects going on: Orphan Feast, a grindcore project and Gannondorf, an experimental black metal band that he is working on with long time friend and associate Dan Morris. Our other guitarist, Algiz, is in a progressive/Jazz metal band Fadrait, in which they are also competing at the Metal Battle and are working on a new album. This band has a really unique sound that blends many styles together and are definitely a must listen for fans of Opeth, Cynic, and Ulver! He is also recently joined the folk metal band Helsott, along with his brother on drums. Finally, our drummer, Hagalaz has 2 other projects: Cerulean, an experimental black metal band along the likes of Deathspell Omega, and Ashen Earth, which is a blend of melodeath, black metal, and progressive metal. Very awesome sound, think early Enslaved!
11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We want to really explore what kind of complexities we can put into our music while also making it palatable and melodic. It really is a tricky balance to make something sound really unique but also have enough of a hook in the songs to bring in new listeners. We want to bring in a combination of technical, epic, and atmospheric without it being too much and end up sounding like a "band just for other musicians". We are also looking to write more songs that are sweet, shorter and to the point since most of the material we put out is normal 6-7 minute songs and it can be difficult playing shows where you can only fit in 4 songs!
12.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?
The second and third wave of black metal has had a massive influence on our sound. Dissection, Emperor, Mayhem, and Immortal are probably some of the more noticable influences, as well as bands such as Moonsorrow, Behemoth, Kalmah, and Wintersun. But we also like to throw in some little tidbits from technical death metal bands such as Spawn of Possession and Necrophagist; not too much though, too much spice will ruin the mix! Some of the bands we have been listening to nowadays includes Akhlys, Imperial Triumphant, Axis of Perdition, Naglfar, Dodecahedron, First Fragment, Hate, Thulcandra, Danheim, Vreid, Melechesh, Aeternam, Thyrfing, and Necrophobic.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Yes, we want to give a big shout out to our manager Eric Dow for being a huge help to us and being a good friend, and everyone at the label M-Theory Audio! We owe a lot to them and have a very hopeful future ahead working together! Lastly we'd like to mention that we are also going to be working on a music video which was part of our crowdfunding campaign to get to Wacken and it is going to be featuring some of the patrons who contributed. Thanks a whole bunch for giving us a chance to tell everyone a bit of what we are about. Hails!
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