Interviews: Mythraeum

 

I'm thrilled to be interviewing the black metal band Mythraeum from the USA today. With their unique blend of aggression and melody, Mythraeum has been gaining a following in the black metal community. To stay up to date with their latest music and updates, make sure to follow them on their Facebook page.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

A mythraeum/mithraeum is a Roman underground temple built for the worship of an ancient, not well-understood cult. It's not clear whether it's from zoroastrian/hindu/greek inspiration due to its secretive and initiatory nature of it. We think our music hearkens to the feeling of discovering a hidden temple underground and getting lost in the mysterious rituals that have been performed there.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

The creative difficulty and willpower needed for extreme metal is a huge release to perform. It'd be difficult to find another way of expressing as much emotion and musical artistry as we get to. Melodic Black Metal allows us to be as aggressive as we could want, while still bringing the audience along with us wherever we want to take a song.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Yes, We've all known each other for years. Some of us had played in each other's other bands, some have been friends for a decade, or both.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Plague: Moonsorrow

Hagalaz: Imperial Triumphant

Algiz: Opeth

Wraith: Axis of Perdition

Specter: Spawn of Possession

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

We have loose ideas about the lore, gods/demons, and philosophy of Mythraeum. Often Wraith or Algiz will write a riff or two, find ways to connect them into a grander overall structure, and then see what ideas we had been pondering over that fit with the feeling of the song.

6. Where was your last gig?

In Tijuana, Mexico. Opening for Mayhem

7. Where would you like to act?

Anywhere there are people that want to spend time engaging with us and the music we make.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

At the stage we're at, we'd be thrilled to tour with any like-minded bands with whom we could all benefit from growing an audience.

9. Whom not?

I can't think of anyone specific, but I wouldn't want to play with a lineup where we have little expectation of the audience is interested in what we're doing. I don't imagine us playing a pop or country festival anytime soon.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Of course. One of the advantages of black metal is you get to act a little while playing. Playing a slight characterization on stage helps you forget your fear and put it all into the performance. Tips would be, Play it with all you got and you have nothing to be nervous about. The more you give in to the performance, the less you think and worry about it. Specifically with black metal-- just for the short moment you're on stage, you are the one the audience should be afraid of.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Emperor, Windir, Mayhem, Dissection, Behemoth

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

It's all been fairly normal. A guitar pick, a drumstick, more blood on their foreheads from the ritual we do, to wear a coyote pelt from our merch table for the rest of the show...

13. What do you think of your fans?

Each one of us needs music in our lives, but without fans, we wouldn't be compelled to spend energy on publicizing our work.

14. What do you think of our site?

I scrolled through a couple pages and only found two bands I'd heard of before, but five bands I've now enjoyed whole albums from based on their artwork and articles. Your site is a solid resource for promoting underground music.

15. Something to add?

We Just released “Halls of Mythras” with M-Theory Audio, available on every music streaming app. It is a Live video from Wacken Open Air last summer and a lyric video as well, both on YouTube. We'll be recording a full-length album shortly, so follow our Facebook, Instagram, or M-Theory Audio to get updates on it. Catch our next show live at Brick By Brick San Diego on June 17, 2023, with Imperialist, Withermoon, Druide, and Son Ov Leviathan.