.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Mardom was formed in 2019. It was initially my solo project up to the recording of “Longing for a New Dawn”. The actual line up is rather simple, that is myself, Morgomir and there is Kres taking charge of vocals.
2.In October you have your first full length coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous ep's?
In terms of musicianship, I feel the song compositions and structure have grown more mature and refined. The production is improved too compared to previous releases, but it still remains raw and not too polished, like we intended.
Likewise, the sound and atmosphere has become even more intense and darker, delivering a greater sense of melancholy than previous albums.
3.A lot of the music also goes back to the earlier days of depressive black metal, what are your thoughts on how that genre has evolved over the years, some fans have seemed to lose interest in the modern stuff the genre produces
I never felt that is where Mardom belongs, although I can understand why people might sense connection to those earlier days of the genre with our latest release. In my eyes black metal should be as cold and depressive as possible, and there is no need for a separate subgenre to express it.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?
Everything and nothing. They are mostly inspired by dreams and some personal obscure visions as well. On the debut EP we explored themes of natural decay, hatred and the inherent human vanity, while also venturing into imaginary realms, places and unknown ancient times. Lyricwise the “Dead Soul Age” shares a similar essence, but thematically is more consistent. One might sense a strong feeling of omnipresent vision of destruction and inevitable doom throughout the lyrics of the new album.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mardom'?
In my belief Mardom is a realm, or domain of wraith-like entities (Mares) from Slavic and Germanic folklore. That name was inspired by Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult album and the song title, which came out roughly the same time Mardom was founded, in 2019. I consider them as our influence music-wise as well.
Some years ago I learned that the word Mardom means “people” in Persian.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The album cover is a photo we captured somewhere in a forest near my home. I had envisioned the overall idea and initially we made several concept arts, with Kres doing some drawings. But then we thought we could as well take a photograph, as more realism would enhance the vision better. We think it fits the concept of the album well, and it's worth noting that it has almost become a tradition for all our album covers to be photos.
7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The atmosphere among the audience was very good at most of our concerts and in my eyes each is worthy of remembrance. We received some complimentary feedback every time we performed, which is of course very rewarding. Seeing people going wild to your own songs is a truly incredible feeling. Nevertheless we have not always been satisfied with our stage performance, sometimes caused by technical issues we could not prevent... although it seems most of that isn’t even noticed by the crowd.
8.Do you have any touring and show plans for the new album?
No. We have no plans for touring and sadly there won’t be any shows as long as our line-up remains incomplete.
9.The new album is coming out on 'Personal Records', how would you compare working with this label to 'Via Nocturna'?
Both labels provided us support in releasing our music and growing more visibility, each in their own way and I guess what they could at the moment, so for that we are grateful to both.
Personal Records reached us a long time ago, probably shortly after release of debut EP. Since then they have been on our radar and they were really into in our new material and offered us a fair deal, so that made it an easy choice. We also feel that this label is where we fit better than we have with Via Nocturna, which seemed to be invested in more pathetic and not related to extreme metal activities, rather than promoting our music.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of depressive black metal?
Well, we don’t pay much attention to that. When we get feedback we usually don’t know if they are fans of this or that. "Average" black metal fans seem to appreciate it.
11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We only intend to create more music we like and don't have any specific plans. One certain thing is that we won't stray any far from the path we are already on.
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?
There are too many to name them all, and it’s probably to be expected that most of the bands and musical styles that have had a significant influence on my part are the forefathers of black metal of early nineties. There is a lot of more modern BM inspirations to Mardom’s music as well, such as Windir, Djevel, Dumal or even some more recent albums of Horna, Enslaved or Darkthrone etc. I am personally influenced by European classical and folk music too.
I often stick to the albums I like and don’t often venture into discovering new music nowadays, whether it be a bad or good thing. Sometimes being more narrow minded can actually prevent some complications and dilemmas caused by having too many influences
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for your attention. To all darkness enthusiasts, consider checking out new Mardom album on October 4th.
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