OccultBlackMetalZine: Mrakomor Interview

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Mrakomor Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?

Mrakomor is my solo project, where I take care of all musical instruments. From a young age, black metal completely captivated me with its rawness and honesty, so I also started creating. After 2000, the black metal community in the Czech Republic met on the chat portal xChat in a chat room called Black metal, where I was in contact with the big names of the black metal underground, for all of them I would like to mention the Trist project, which was a great inspiration to me.

2.Recently you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

I've always been a big fan of Burzum. So the slower and more depressing concept of black metal has always been close to me. But from the beginning, even on the unofficial recordings, which exist today only on cassettes, i had a slightly different vision than just copying. My music was raw underground black metal with a very raw sound but at the same time a more depressing mood with a slow tempo. My music could be compared to the DSBM (Depressive Suicidal Black Metal) genre, but for me, depression is rather formed by melodic lines that have a sentimental and nostalgic mood. Which combined with a very brutal sound creates an interesting mix, so i tried to project this into the new EP as well.

3.You where also on a 13 year hiatus, what was the cause of the break and the decision behind making a comeback?

Duties came and everyday life took me time from my music, but all the time I often strummed the guitar. You can say that I created the new EP in my spare time for the whole thirteen years. And the main motive to release new official material was disgust with this world and its superficiality. I needed to get those emotions out of me. It was my kind of psychotherapy. Black metal is psychotherapy!!!

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?

In addition to music, I also devoted myself to poetry, I wrote a lot of poems. that's what my lyrics look like, there are a lot of metaphors and every text should resemble dream scenes that are seemingly unrelated, but in the end somehow speak to a person. I think the lyrics are strong point of the album, although they are in Czech, but on YouTube all the songs are available with a video that includes an English translation. The lyrics express themselves about today's time and its superficiality, when interpersonal relationships suffer and people are dependent only on pleasures. This is an idea that runs like a red thread throughout the album. The title of the EP is In Decades Of Decadence and we are living in decades of decadence right now! We traded souls for pleasures.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ;Mrakomor'?

If there is something that is a specialty here in the Czech Republic, it is people's love for TV fairy tales with live actors. Mrakomor means CloudPlague in English. He is an evil wizard from a fairy tale that was filmed in the seventies. Although he is the main negative character, his negative actions are caused by his desire for the princess, so he somehow personifies black metal. There is a lot of evil in black metal, but somewhere behind it is love and a sincere feeling for the music.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?

The EP cover is a photo taken by me. I spend a lot of time in the part of the Czech Republic called the Sudetenland. Before the Second World War, Germans lived here and it was a prosperous area, but after the war, the Germans were pushed out and most of the buildings and things fell into disrepair and it became a poor region. On the cover is one of the abandoned buildings that shone with newness a few decades ago, but now they are just ruins. It pretty much matches the themes and mood of the EP.

7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

I prefer to work and record solo. As I said, music is therapy for me and a break from people. I also like to work with emotions in my work, and expressing emotions in a group of several musicians would not be authentic for me. So still solo because it feels more real to me.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

I am not opposed to cooperation with the label. I've already been approached by some, but it's not my main goal. My main goal is to get my music out to people so they can listen to the material and maybe it will tell them something. A label could definitely help, so why not.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of depressive black metal?

I was surprised by the response the EP had. For example, I had no idea how many people there are in South America who like similar music, a large number of people support me even from such a far corner of the world. I'm very grateful for that, but thank you to everyone who liked the EP and maybe put one of the songs on their playlist, I'm glad I can talk to them and that is most important.

10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

In another thirteen years :D No, that was a joke. Black metal got me in its grip again and now it just won't let me go!!! I already have ideas and I would like to release a long-playing record within two to three years, I would also like to work on the production to improve the sound quality, but to preserve the rawness and undergroundness, these are my next plans. But most of all, I have to gather some emotions to make the album real, and that can't be planned.

11.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?

As I already wrote, I was most influenced by Burzum, especially the album Det som engang var, it was my gateway to the world of black metal and despite the fact that I always liked to listen to fast hitting black metal, this was always a matter of my heart. From the Czech bands, I would like to mention Holomráz and especially Trist, which was a one-man project from the Czech Republic, which is no longer active, but I recommend everyone to find it, you won't regret it, it is on Spotify.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I would like to thank you for this opportunity and also everyone that like my music, it means a lot to me and I appreciate it and what can I say in conclusion?

Some say that black metal is a long dead genre with nothing to offer, but that's not true!!! Black metal is emotion in its purest form. It doesn't matter the quality of the production or the speed of the guitar solo, it only matters the genuineness and authenticity and that's why black metal will always be alive because the emotions it can express are endless!

MRAKOMOR