[IMGLEFT]http://www.russell.ultimatemetal.com/Interview/mnemicfront.jpg[/IMGLEFT]By Philip Whitehouse
It's strange to consider that my interview with Denmark's premier young cyber-metal group was very nearly destroyed by the loss of something as innocuous and low-tech as a mere piece of paper. The recently updated guest list, in fact, which was to let the security staff know that, rather than being one of the group of autograph hunters outside the venue's side entrance, I was in fact, supposed to be on the inside. Still, technology came through the end, with frenzied pay-and-cell-phone calls to the promoter and the guitarist Mircea finally paying off and buying my entrance to the venue. After a tour of the backstage area which revealed that every room was occupied, your intrepid interviewer and Mnemic guitarist Mircea settled by the bar of the Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall, about three quarters of an hour before their set as main support to Fear Factory.
The release of The Audio Injected Soul seems to have kicked off quite a wave of success for Mnemic. It entered the Danish album charts at number 97 (the highest placing yet for an extreme metal release), gained the band five nominations in the Danish metal awards, and received widespread critical acclaim. Has all this come as a surprise for the band, or have they taken this newfound adulation in their stride?
"Wow, good question..." Answers Mircea. "I think that we're really happy with what's happening right now. I can't really believe that so much stuff has happened to us. We feel extremely lucky. Either we're damned lucky or we're just good! Perhaps it's a combination of both things."
The general consensus seems to be for the second opinion, seeing as the reviews for this latest album have been overwhelmingly positive. This is especially significant when considering that on first album Mechanical Spin Phenomena, people were damning Mnemic with constant comparisons to Fear Factory and Meshuggah.
"No, people seem to appreciate us more this time around. We developed this time." Which is a statement that is easy to back up when faced with the music on The Audio Injected Soul - the songs are crafted in a more accessible way, yet still manage to blend technicality and heaviness in equal measure. "When we wrote the album, it was more like we wrote something that sounded good to our own ears, and we didn't think too much about 'oh, this sounds too much like Fear Factory'." Mircea continues. "It's pretty cool that people accept us right now - the media, the journalists - we're definitely very happy about it."
Mnemic's current touring opportunities have increased their profile considerably as well. Supporting Fear Factory on the European leg of their current tour, for instance, must be a welcome gig for the band, seeing as their appreciation for Fear Factory saw them covering 'Self Bias Resistor' during their early performances."
"Yeah, we did that!" Exclaims Mircea, with no hint of embarassment in being caught out in a moment of fanboy worship. "It's really awesome to go on a tour with Fear Factory, we're fans of their music, and I know Christian (Olde Wolbers, FF guitarist) is a big fan of our music. He's been playing some of our stuff too, and I was like, "Wow! That's really, really cool!" It rapidly transpires throughout the interview that Mircea regards a lot of what's happening around Mnemic at the moment to be "really, really cool" - which highlights what an endearingly personable band this is. Despite the mechanical precision and clinical brutality of their sound, the guys behind the band are fans too. Bearing that in mind, I enquire as to whether there any other artists that Mnemic could see themselves aspiring to tour with?"
"Definitely, I would really love to go out with Devin Townsend - that would be one of my dreams come true." Mircea answers immediately. "Slipknot would be really cool to tour with. It really just depends on who offers us the tours, because being a young band like us, it's hard. But I spoke to Chris Sadler, the drummer from Lamb Of God, and he told us "We need you guys on our next tour," which was pretty cool. People and the media are starting to embrace us!"
So it seems that you're not just getting respect from audiences, you're gaining recognition from your peers also.
"Yeah, definitely, and it's really amazing. On tour, I think it was two days ago, Byron (Stroud, FF and Strapping Young Lad bassist) burned me a copy of the Strapping Young Lad album, and he phoned Devin and was like "Is it cool if I give this to Mnemic?", and he was like "Yeah, yeah, of course!". So, we've been in touch with Devin too, which is really cool." While relating all of this, Mircea radiates the air of someone who can't believe his luck to be in close proximity to musicians and artists that he admires, let alone to have them praising his band's work. This isn't casual name-dropping, this is genuine awe.
Steering the conversation away from idol-worship, I point out that there seems to be a real progression in song writing on The Audio Injected Soul compared to Mechanical Spin Phenomena. It seems a lot more confident, and the inclusion of 3D sound effects is an interestingly unique addition.
"That was actually an idea I had two or three years ago." Mircea replies. "This new sound technique was developed three years ago, and it's been used in gaming technology, and things like that. It was actually developed in our home town." A little patriotic pride seeps through here... "I listened to a demo CD, and it was amazing to hear! I thought, "Whoa, if we could record with this technique, that would be really, really cool!" So, we got in touch with the people, and told them we'd like to use it on an album, and they were like, "Oh, yeah, of course!" because no one had really used it in the music industry. So, using this technology, we could take a guitar track and start spinning it around a listener's head. You have to really listen to the music using headphones."
This seems to fit into the general concept of the record, particularly the artwork (also created by Mercia) depicting a heart being pierced by needles protruding from headphones.
"The Audio Injected Soul is more a feeling that we wanted to induce in the listener. Imagine putting on your favourite record and feeling it grow inside you. And that's what we wanted to do, we wanted to inject the Mnemic venom into everyone. And that's more what the concept of the record is about, and that's where the three dimensional sound comes into the picture."
So it's not so much a concept in terms of a lyrical thread running through the songs?
"No, not at all, I mean, in terms of the lyrics... More everyday kind of stuff. I mean, 'Door 2.12' is about our singer, Michael - he works at a flower shop, and every morning he has to go out and decorate coffins... and that's pretty sick! And 'Door 2.12' is a door at the morgue - the numbers are so small you can barely see them - it's very cryptic stuff."
Mnemic have been around since around '98, but the debut album wasn't released until 2003 - I take it we won't be having any Metallica style five year gaps between albums in future?
"No, no, definitely not. We're gonna tour as much as possible right now. We'll start writing when we're out on the road. I've started writing stuff already, as for recording, I dunno, we'll probably start late 2005 and release something spring 2006."
Any plans for any Mnemic side projects at the moment, or are you all focusing on this band alone?
"Actually our drummer and singer have a project band, called... ermm... Fuck! I can't remember..." We both laugh, and I give Mircea a moment to wrack his brains. "Ermm... callled... Smacksoul! That's it..." I ask whether Mircea remembers what they sound like, laughing. "They've got an Ocean Machine kind of vibe... I play in a band called Koldborn in Denmark, just helping them out. But I've been looking into doing my own stuff too. But for the moment, we're concentrating on this band. I do a lot of graphics too, album covers and stuff... A lot of stuff is happening right now though, so, I don't know."
Talking about having a lot of stuff going on, I was reading an older interview recently comparing Mnemic to fellow Danes, Raunchy, and Mnemic were quoted as saying that they were perhaps a little lazy and not really working 24/7 for their music - but that's definitely what you guys are doing now.
"Exactly. I mean, us compared to Raunchy - I wouldn't compare us to them musically or individually, because they're totally different people. I never want to say anything bad about them, because they're great guys." Mircea continues with admirable diplomacy. "But they don't know how to work when it comes to the band, I mean, the drummer is an engineer, he works for a company... When you're building up a band, you've really gotta put your heart and soul into it, but they don't really do that, they're like, playing weekends in Denmark, having fun, drinking beer, and that's it! They're not, for instance, driving sixteen hours for one gig." At this point I wonder about different approaches to being in a band. If the guys are earning a living and still having fun with their music, and don't want to take it any higher than that, then surely that's their choice? Perhaps raising the stakes to a level where their music is their living would destroy the fun in it? With this in mind, I ask whether any of this hard work that goes along with such persistence and constant touring ever suck the fun out of the experience at all, or do Mnemic still enjoy what they, do despite the hard graft?
"Definitely, It's hard work, but on the other hand, we're living our dreams right now!" Answers Mircea with no hesitation. "There's a lot of stuff happening, we're touring with Fear Factory now, we're gonna tour the US with Soilwork and Hypocrisy next year, it's crazy! The more we can get, the more we can tour, then the more records we can spit out, and make a living out of what we're doing!"
So there are a lot of ambitions being fulfilled right now? Are there any accolades left to aim for? For instance, maybe sweeping all five of those Danish Metal awards?
"To be honest, I really don't care about that."
So the recognition in the nominations themselves is good enough?
"Yeah, but I'm not so much into that stuff. I'd rather listen to what people have to say, than going to an awards ceremony that's been judged by a panel."
So, I take it that it would mean more to you if you step out on stage tonight, start playing, and the pit just explodes?
"Absolutely! I mean, the Grammys and things like that, they bring out a kind of rock-starrish feel, and we're not really rock stars. We believe in the music and being on stage."
Where can you see Mnemic's music progressing from here?
"I really can't tell - either it's going to be really fast and brutal, or really mellow, or maybe a mixture of those two. It's going to be really dynamic... but at this early stage, it's too early to tell."
At this point, first act Fony are about to take the stage, and I leave Mircea to prepare for Mnemic's set. I'm left with the impression that for all the comparisons to sonically similar bands, Mnemic's music is the accurate representation of the group in sonic form. Any references to Fear Factory, Meshuggah or Strapping Young Lad shouldn't be seen as plagiarism, but simply powerful influences seeping through an individualistic vision. Mnemic aren't a band to reinvent the wheel simply to avoid criticism - they let the music do the talking, and those prepared to allow the 'Mnemic venom' enter their heads will hear the whole story, not just the obvious threads.
It's strange to consider that my interview with Denmark's premier young cyber-metal group was very nearly destroyed by the loss of something as innocuous and low-tech as a mere piece of paper. The recently updated guest list, in fact, which was to let the security staff know that, rather than being one of the group of autograph hunters outside the venue's side entrance, I was in fact, supposed to be on the inside. Still, technology came through the end, with frenzied pay-and-cell-phone calls to the promoter and the guitarist Mircea finally paying off and buying my entrance to the venue. After a tour of the backstage area which revealed that every room was occupied, your intrepid interviewer and Mnemic guitarist Mircea settled by the bar of the Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall, about three quarters of an hour before their set as main support to Fear Factory.
The release of The Audio Injected Soul seems to have kicked off quite a wave of success for Mnemic. It entered the Danish album charts at number 97 (the highest placing yet for an extreme metal release), gained the band five nominations in the Danish metal awards, and received widespread critical acclaim. Has all this come as a surprise for the band, or have they taken this newfound adulation in their stride?
"Wow, good question..." Answers Mircea. "I think that we're really happy with what's happening right now. I can't really believe that so much stuff has happened to us. We feel extremely lucky. Either we're damned lucky or we're just good! Perhaps it's a combination of both things."
The general consensus seems to be for the second opinion, seeing as the reviews for this latest album have been overwhelmingly positive. This is especially significant when considering that on first album Mechanical Spin Phenomena, people were damning Mnemic with constant comparisons to Fear Factory and Meshuggah.
"No, people seem to appreciate us more this time around. We developed this time." Which is a statement that is easy to back up when faced with the music on The Audio Injected Soul - the songs are crafted in a more accessible way, yet still manage to blend technicality and heaviness in equal measure. "When we wrote the album, it was more like we wrote something that sounded good to our own ears, and we didn't think too much about 'oh, this sounds too much like Fear Factory'." Mircea continues. "It's pretty cool that people accept us right now - the media, the journalists - we're definitely very happy about it."
Mnemic's current touring opportunities have increased their profile considerably as well. Supporting Fear Factory on the European leg of their current tour, for instance, must be a welcome gig for the band, seeing as their appreciation for Fear Factory saw them covering 'Self Bias Resistor' during their early performances."
"Yeah, we did that!" Exclaims Mircea, with no hint of embarassment in being caught out in a moment of fanboy worship. "It's really awesome to go on a tour with Fear Factory, we're fans of their music, and I know Christian (Olde Wolbers, FF guitarist) is a big fan of our music. He's been playing some of our stuff too, and I was like, "Wow! That's really, really cool!" It rapidly transpires throughout the interview that Mircea regards a lot of what's happening around Mnemic at the moment to be "really, really cool" - which highlights what an endearingly personable band this is. Despite the mechanical precision and clinical brutality of their sound, the guys behind the band are fans too. Bearing that in mind, I enquire as to whether there any other artists that Mnemic could see themselves aspiring to tour with?"
"Definitely, I would really love to go out with Devin Townsend - that would be one of my dreams come true." Mircea answers immediately. "Slipknot would be really cool to tour with. It really just depends on who offers us the tours, because being a young band like us, it's hard. But I spoke to Chris Sadler, the drummer from Lamb Of God, and he told us "We need you guys on our next tour," which was pretty cool. People and the media are starting to embrace us!"
So it seems that you're not just getting respect from audiences, you're gaining recognition from your peers also.
"Yeah, definitely, and it's really amazing. On tour, I think it was two days ago, Byron (Stroud, FF and Strapping Young Lad bassist) burned me a copy of the Strapping Young Lad album, and he phoned Devin and was like "Is it cool if I give this to Mnemic?", and he was like "Yeah, yeah, of course!". So, we've been in touch with Devin too, which is really cool." While relating all of this, Mircea radiates the air of someone who can't believe his luck to be in close proximity to musicians and artists that he admires, let alone to have them praising his band's work. This isn't casual name-dropping, this is genuine awe.
Steering the conversation away from idol-worship, I point out that there seems to be a real progression in song writing on The Audio Injected Soul compared to Mechanical Spin Phenomena. It seems a lot more confident, and the inclusion of 3D sound effects is an interestingly unique addition.
"That was actually an idea I had two or three years ago." Mircea replies. "This new sound technique was developed three years ago, and it's been used in gaming technology, and things like that. It was actually developed in our home town." A little patriotic pride seeps through here... "I listened to a demo CD, and it was amazing to hear! I thought, "Whoa, if we could record with this technique, that would be really, really cool!" So, we got in touch with the people, and told them we'd like to use it on an album, and they were like, "Oh, yeah, of course!" because no one had really used it in the music industry. So, using this technology, we could take a guitar track and start spinning it around a listener's head. You have to really listen to the music using headphones."
This seems to fit into the general concept of the record, particularly the artwork (also created by Mercia) depicting a heart being pierced by needles protruding from headphones.
"The Audio Injected Soul is more a feeling that we wanted to induce in the listener. Imagine putting on your favourite record and feeling it grow inside you. And that's what we wanted to do, we wanted to inject the Mnemic venom into everyone. And that's more what the concept of the record is about, and that's where the three dimensional sound comes into the picture."
So it's not so much a concept in terms of a lyrical thread running through the songs?
"No, not at all, I mean, in terms of the lyrics... More everyday kind of stuff. I mean, 'Door 2.12' is about our singer, Michael - he works at a flower shop, and every morning he has to go out and decorate coffins... and that's pretty sick! And 'Door 2.12' is a door at the morgue - the numbers are so small you can barely see them - it's very cryptic stuff."
Mnemic have been around since around '98, but the debut album wasn't released until 2003 - I take it we won't be having any Metallica style five year gaps between albums in future?
"No, no, definitely not. We're gonna tour as much as possible right now. We'll start writing when we're out on the road. I've started writing stuff already, as for recording, I dunno, we'll probably start late 2005 and release something spring 2006."
Any plans for any Mnemic side projects at the moment, or are you all focusing on this band alone?
"Actually our drummer and singer have a project band, called... ermm... Fuck! I can't remember..." We both laugh, and I give Mircea a moment to wrack his brains. "Ermm... callled... Smacksoul! That's it..." I ask whether Mircea remembers what they sound like, laughing. "They've got an Ocean Machine kind of vibe... I play in a band called Koldborn in Denmark, just helping them out. But I've been looking into doing my own stuff too. But for the moment, we're concentrating on this band. I do a lot of graphics too, album covers and stuff... A lot of stuff is happening right now though, so, I don't know."
Talking about having a lot of stuff going on, I was reading an older interview recently comparing Mnemic to fellow Danes, Raunchy, and Mnemic were quoted as saying that they were perhaps a little lazy and not really working 24/7 for their music - but that's definitely what you guys are doing now.
"Exactly. I mean, us compared to Raunchy - I wouldn't compare us to them musically or individually, because they're totally different people. I never want to say anything bad about them, because they're great guys." Mircea continues with admirable diplomacy. "But they don't know how to work when it comes to the band, I mean, the drummer is an engineer, he works for a company... When you're building up a band, you've really gotta put your heart and soul into it, but they don't really do that, they're like, playing weekends in Denmark, having fun, drinking beer, and that's it! They're not, for instance, driving sixteen hours for one gig." At this point I wonder about different approaches to being in a band. If the guys are earning a living and still having fun with their music, and don't want to take it any higher than that, then surely that's their choice? Perhaps raising the stakes to a level where their music is their living would destroy the fun in it? With this in mind, I ask whether any of this hard work that goes along with such persistence and constant touring ever suck the fun out of the experience at all, or do Mnemic still enjoy what they, do despite the hard graft?
"Definitely, It's hard work, but on the other hand, we're living our dreams right now!" Answers Mircea with no hesitation. "There's a lot of stuff happening, we're touring with Fear Factory now, we're gonna tour the US with Soilwork and Hypocrisy next year, it's crazy! The more we can get, the more we can tour, then the more records we can spit out, and make a living out of what we're doing!"
So there are a lot of ambitions being fulfilled right now? Are there any accolades left to aim for? For instance, maybe sweeping all five of those Danish Metal awards?
"To be honest, I really don't care about that."
So the recognition in the nominations themselves is good enough?
"Yeah, but I'm not so much into that stuff. I'd rather listen to what people have to say, than going to an awards ceremony that's been judged by a panel."
So, I take it that it would mean more to you if you step out on stage tonight, start playing, and the pit just explodes?
"Absolutely! I mean, the Grammys and things like that, they bring out a kind of rock-starrish feel, and we're not really rock stars. We believe in the music and being on stage."
Where can you see Mnemic's music progressing from here?
"I really can't tell - either it's going to be really fast and brutal, or really mellow, or maybe a mixture of those two. It's going to be really dynamic... but at this early stage, it's too early to tell."
At this point, first act Fony are about to take the stage, and I leave Mircea to prepare for Mnemic's set. I'm left with the impression that for all the comparisons to sonically similar bands, Mnemic's music is the accurate representation of the group in sonic form. Any references to Fear Factory, Meshuggah or Strapping Young Lad shouldn't be seen as plagiarism, but simply powerful influences seeping through an individualistic vision. Mnemic aren't a band to reinvent the wheel simply to avoid criticism - they let the music do the talking, and those prepared to allow the 'Mnemic venom' enter their heads will hear the whole story, not just the obvious threads.
