Albums of Purgatory interview Mnemic

Firstly, whats the band up to right now?

At the moment we’re just rehearsing for our live appereance, due to the new bass-player. We’re going on a small European tour in September with danish death metal rockers Illdisposed. In other news we’re promoting the album and doing interviews.

How would you describe the Mnemic sound?

That would be a tough one...well, groove meets polyrhytmics, meets techno meets metal...in other words a high tech matrix-metal mix....or something like that. It’s hard to label it. It’s pretty individual...but since you ask me...there you go.

How did you get involved with the band?

Well, Brylle (drummer) and Rune (rythm-guitarist) played in a death metal band before and when they split up, they kept on playing, but they wanted to do something different. I asked them to join cause I wanted to go into the same direction, then I introduced a singer to the band and that’s how it all started.

Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?

Well, the first one was a bit of a blur, we had a different singer at that time, and we played with masks. Then Slipknot just came out and we dropped the idea very quik. But it was a sold out gig and it went pretty well. The audience seemed to enjoy our music and we got a good response. So I’m happy with it. It was a long time ago though.

What sort of reaction have you been getting so far for Mechanical Spin Phenomena?

Only good response. Everybody seems to like our music. We’re satisfyed with that it goes the way we’ve planned. No bad reviews....but they will come haha...sure not everybody likes the same music that comes out. Everybody is talking about that there is a big buzz around the band, and this is a good thing for us. We’re a new band and we try to get to as many people as possible.

Are you involved in any other projects and if so how do they compare to Mnemic?

Well at the moment I’m involved in a another band which is a thrash type of thing, within the links of (old) Slayer, Testament etc. And I’m also involved in a techno group thing, where I have to lay down guitar tracks etc.. And also a death-grind band within the links of old Carcass/Napalm Death but this is evolving in a slow pace due to that it’s so new. My first priority is and always will be Mnemic.

What are your favourite Mnemic tracks?

All of them. (The fast ones haha!)

What are your favourite all time songs?

Hmmm this is a hard one...there are so many!

Suffocation; Liege of Inveracity (Effigy Of The Forgotten)
Judas Priest; All Songs (Only with Rob Halford)
Meshuggah; Future Breed Machine
Front Line Assembly; All
And many more.....

What the first record you ever bought?
I think that was Alice Cooper....can remember wich one.

Which album was it that got you into metal and can you explain why?

I think that was Alice Cooper, cause he looked so evil with all of that silly make-up....but I became more interested in Death Metal when I first heard of Suffocation.

Whats the last album you purchased and what did you think of it?

I think it was Herbie Hancock “Future Shock” – it was pretty old school jazz. I'm also into alot of jazz and I enjoy Herbie Hancock.

What would be your dream band line-up?

There are so many to choose from..but here is one;

Vocals; Devin Townsend

Guitar; Robert Fripp

Bass; Victor Wooten

Drums; Dave Lambardo

If you could do a cover for a tribute album to any band, which song of which
band would you pick and why?

I would do a cover of Liege of Inveracity with Suffocation, cause I always wanted to play that song.

But since the sound is so crappy on the album I’ve never figured out how to play it right. (We do jam this song sometimes in the rehearsal, but never really play it exact how it should be played)

What do you think of the position of metal and music in general today?

It’s big and it’s getting bigger, and I love it...with all the Headbangers Ball and all that stuff comming back, it’s awesome. There is one thing though...too much crappy nu-metal...but hey if it wasn’t for Korn then we’d probably still have too much of that pop shit on the TV-set....and there wouldn’t be as much “soft-metal” as it is today.

Which other bands stand out for you at the moment?

The Haunted – great band! And Björk.

Do you have any funny stories about the band you can share with us?
Well, I’ll probably get my arse kicked if I tell.....but there is one though.

We drank 8 bottles of Vodka in 2 days when we played here in Denmark....pretty funny how people mess things up when they are on serious drinking.

and finally, what do you see in the future for Mnemic?

I see us touring Europe and the States, get aired on MTV2 at the Headbangers Ball, and hopefully make a living out of this....but hey, it’s just something that I hope for....it might get real, but we have a long way a head of us....we'll see about that.

Thanks again for the interview and good luck for the future.

You too, and thanks for the support.

Visit www.mnemic.comto see us in action and to get the latest news about the band.