Leon Macey of Mithras
Interviewed by
Patrick Rennick
on
9/14/2009
Transcribed by
Patrick Rennick
Photos by Alex York
Death metal was the name coined for the demonic offspring of the thrash movement.
Stillborn in the late 80's, the riffs were darker, the drums faster, and the vocals seemingly inhuman. Lyrically the genre became infamous for describing in loving detail the most gruesome scenes imaginable. Today, this now international scene has grown outside the bounds of the once unifying themes of murder and mutilation. Modern death metal bands are just as likely to explore topics such as cosmic purpose, science fiction, history, and inner turmoil as they are grisly murders and regurgitated guts. Musically the genre has also changed, continually pushing the envelope on speed, technicality, and even melody while also incorporating a variety of other musical styles. The current trend however seems to be an arms race of sorts; a pissing contest of raw technical ability waged unfortunately at the expense of memorable songs.
Hidden among this seemingly endless barrage of stubborn imitators and fretboard masochists there are thankfully still some bands who proudly carry the spirit of pioneers such as Morbid Angel and Death, crafting evocative soundscapes of brutality and otherworldly realms. England’s Mithras is such a band and they could very well be the future of death metal. Boasting an enticing fusion of technical prowess, progressive tendencies, vast soundscapes, and simply epic songs, Mithras is responsible for some of the freshest, most forward-thinking death metal in recent memory. Founding member and mastermind Leon Macey reveals a perspective far removed from a love of dismemberment when he shares the ambitions that lead to the band’s formation in the late 90's.
“To be honest, I just wanted to write music I was happy with and that could get me closer to an elusive feeling of oneness that I heard in certain musical pieces and dreams,” he says. “That and to crush, shred, and play heavy extreme metal obviously! I'd already been in a thrash/death band and wanted to do something much more extreme and uncompromising without clichéd lyrics, and Mithras was born of that desire…
“Since before the debut record I've had a certain aesthetic and sound in mind which I've been guided by, the clashing chords and double kicks and ethereal sounding leads, huge soundscapes. These aesthetics have evolved a bit over the years as we explored different motifs, but Mithras still has the core sound and vision.”
The challenging music of Mithras is complemented with fittingly provocative lyrics. While themes of death and destruction via war and conflict are present they merely serve as the backdrop for journeys into unknown planes of existence, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and the wonder and terror of omniscient omnipotents.
“There's a story/concept running through all the first three albums, describing the journey of a man across strange worlds and weird places, meeting strange challenges, a sci-fi story I suppose. These stories tie in thematically with the music and together become more than the sum of their parts. We also have written words which accompany the instrumental pieces, which lend extra possibilities and dimensions to what we can do with the whole.”
Macey elaborates further on the fate of a central character from their third album, Behind the Shadows Lie Madness, known as “The Traveler.” This man finds himself in a perilous position as the last shred of hope for a nearly annihilated human race.
“He sacrifices himself to save the other people and to finally end the chase he's so weary of,” explains Macey. “The use of the word “vessel” in the words to “Into The Unknown” deliberately plays on the meaning of a the human body as a “vessel”, so you could maybe say it's his physical remains coming to lay at rest there.”
In December of 2008, following the release of their widely acclaimed third album, longstanding vocalist and bassist Rayner Cross parted ways with the band leaving in his wake an uncertain future.
“Rayner left Mithras partly as he wanted to spend his time concentrating on other stuff,” begins Macey. “And to simplify it, couldn't commit to Mithras to the level I needed him to. I was basically doing everything band related and he wasn't so motivated anymore. I think we'd both reached the end of the road in terms of making Mithras music together. But, we made some great records together over the ten years he was in the band which will live far beyond any regrets in the here and now.”
Australian musician Sam Bean was announced shortly after to take over bass duties.
“I've been playing in Sam's band The Senseless as drummer since 2007,” says Macey, “And he was the first to ask to audition when Rayner left, simple as that really. I knew he had the intelligence, the chops, the experience, and a similar musical background to me. Then he came to the actual audition and destroyed, nailing three songs and ending by blowing the bass cab up - we knew he was the right guy!
“I think Sam will open up new possibilities in Mithras; vocally he's brilliant, with a wide vocal range and great phrasing, and he can handle some really complex bass work. Musically, he fully understands composition and song creation as he's written plenty of records already, including his own solo works, so I'm really optimistic about his contribution to the next record. Live he's doing an amazing job already.”
In addition to his intricate and un-conventional guitar work, Macey is also responsible for writing and playing the breakneck drums heard on all the Mithras albums. For years the band had always struggled to find a live drummer able to make the commitment to learning the material and allowing the band to tour. Fortunately, former member Ben White recently returned to the fold with some burning sticks.
“Ben has actually been in Mithras a few times, playing some extra leads and a few keys on our debut Forever Advancing… Legions in 2001,” begins Macey. “And then some live drum and guitar work around the time of Worlds Beyond the Veil in 2003. He actually got in touch when we were looking for a live drummer in 2008, and he'd improved ridiculously since we last jammed with him in 2004. So he got the live drummer slot easily.
“However, right now, it looks like I'll be handling all the drumming on the next Mithras record. I've got the recording setup and experience of three intense records, four if you count the new The Senseless record The Floating World, under my drumming belt already and have pretty fixed ideas about what drum parts and arrangements I want in Mithras. As we all live far apart, it's simply easier and more convenient for everyone to do it myself than to spend ages rehearsing in a band situation, which I've never really done and don't find very stimulating. Ben will be handling live drums and concentrating on that for the meantime, which is a difficult enough task as it is!”
The drums on Mithras albums have always been a point of contention for naysayers within the metal community (further evidence of the increased fixation on technical skill within the metal realm as of late). Macey seems happy to inform anyone who is curious about his drum recording techniques. He regularly posts answers to questions posed to him on the Mithras forums and has even written a FAQ addressing this topic among others.
“I always tried to set the drumming bar as high as I could on the records,” begins Macey. But while this was cool in the respect of making impressive albums it made finding anyone able to replicate the parts from the records for live shows nearly impossible. I did some pretty ruthless practice to get to a level of speed many people back then said was impossible.
“I think some people and drummers gripe as they don't feel I've provided enough “proof” of the 300 b.p.m. section from Worlds Beyond the Veil or some of my other drum work, despite putting up the isolated stuff from that record. What has to be taken into account is that when we recorded Worlds… it wasn't like today when bands have video cameras on phones, digital video cameras and webcams practically up their arses so they can put every facet of a recording session on YouTube as a promo, or to show off. We had a small budget and everyone in the studio was concentrating on making the most of the studio time. We have some video footage from some recording sessions on the first two records, but it was mostly just shot in gaps between recordings by guests who were visiting us to relieve the tension, so it's mostly goofing about.
“I've drummed at a few gigs, in front of plenty of decent musicians who know I can do, or could do at the time, what I said I could and recorded on the records so that's good enough for me. It's not like I've never played outside a hidden bunker or have never been seen drumming by anyone. All this said my drumming on The Floating World will probably re-upset a bunch of folks, as it's more insane than anything in Mithras.”
With a newly formed lineup Mithras stand poised to finally take their challenging brand of death metal overseas. It’s hard to believe that a band on the receiving end of such a wealth of critical acclaim over the years may very well be able to count the number of shows they have played on their collective fingers. Macey explains.
“Well, we have played a few shows here and there over the years,” he begins. “But our 2008 show in London, Rayner's farewell show, was the first for three years! We've already confirmed another two shows for 2009, taking the total to four, which will be a record for us believe it or not.
“Rayner and I decided last year that we absolutely had to do some shows and were lucky enough to get Ben in with his new found drum skills. Up ‘till then we'd never found anyone who could drum the parts properly and keep them in the band for long enough; so our aspiration / intention was always to gig but was very hard to realise in practice.
“I'm not sure we're going to undertake any actual “touring” quite yet, we're aiming at big “one off” shows right now… Preparations wise, we've been rehearsing at least every month as a band as we all live far apart. Obviously, we are all spending a lot of time practicing individually. I know Sam's been burning the candle at both ends getting the set down and nailing the vocals but it's been worth it as we're playing better than ever, ever ever!
“We want to reach as wide an audience as possible with our upcoming shows. Mithras are still unknown to a lot of people, as we've simply not been able to gig due to lack of live members. We're going to get out there and do some more UK and European fests and one day make it to the States for a few shows - we have a great following out there! We're going to re-jig our set a bit and put some songs in we've barely or never played in a live situation for the next few shows, it'll be cool.”
Perhaps the band’s biggest performance to date was this summer’s Brutal Assault Festival in the Czech Republic, placing them alongside death metal legends, Suffocation, Pestilence, Atheist, Cynic, and Grave among others. Macey reflects on the outing.
“It was a bemusing experience playing to such a big audience at night, as you really can't see much,” he begins. “What I could see was that we had about 2/3 of the audience for the first four songs, which were pretty brutal numbers, with everyone listening intently, and sometimes a pit kicking off. Once we hit the slower more crowd friendly numbers, if you can say that about any Mithras material [laughter], the audience swelled and people seemed to really get into it. Sam did a great job with the show and we're more confident than ever about our shows now. Since returning to the UK, we've had some awesome feedback from people at Brutal Assault, saying although they didn't know us previously that we were one of the best bands, which is about as good a result as we could have hoped for!”
Despite the recent lineup changes and an upcoming festival appearance at the UK’s Damnation Festival, Macey is already taking the first steps towards crafting the next Mithras juggernaut, while also putting a package together to commemorate the band’s earlier years.
“I've got songs in the embryonic stages, I can't really say much other than it's some fucked up shit,” he says. “It'll be fast/slow/evil/serene/beautiful/chaotic/mechanical. I'll be pushing the boat out a bit and I'm sure Sam will want to make a statement with his first Mithras record.
“Beyond concentrating on the live shows, I've got to find some time to finish up a release called The Sands of Time. It's been in development hell for some time as I've been so busy with the line-up changes, live shows and recording duties for The Senseless but it's my main priority from now on.
“Sands of Time will celebrate 10 years of Mithras and take the form of a CD /DVD package. It's pretty extensive so bear with me!
“The CD features all our demos: Gods Among Men, Dreaming In Splendour, and Bequeath Thy Visions; unreleased recordings including a Tomb of Kings demo and some really rare old songs which we rerecorded right before going into the studio to record Worlds, which I'm remixing to a pro standard. All the material has been remastered so it sounds as good as possible without ruining the original character. The CD is 78 minutes or so.
“The DVD will feature 5-6 songs from Rayner's farewell show in London 2008, shot with two cameras and with professionally mixed audio. The other material spans various live shows, some studio footage and some other bits and bobs.
“I'm not sure whether Sands of Time will be distributed through the shops, I may just keep it available through the Mithras site only, for simplicity and convenience, but it'll be available at “mithras.bigcartel.com” at the very least.