Interviews: Moonskin

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Melodic Death Metal band, Moonskin from Canada. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

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

The idea for the name came from a high school nickname. I am a descendant of the Doukhobours, who were a pacifist sect of exiled refugees of Ukrainian/Russian heritage. The original Doukhobour leader, who likely is a great ancestor, was named Sylvan, who I was also almost named after. This leader was known for “mooning” people, and I was told by my parents (In jest) that I was almost named after him and that the name in English translated to Moonskin. Understanding this to mean my name was almost Moonskin, upon making the mistake of telling friends, the nickname stuck, and thus was a strong candidate when choosing a name for the project.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Melodic Death Metal has the beauty of striking a perfect balance between aggression and melody, between consonance and dissonance. Years ago, while discovering metal, a kid brought a metal cd to art class. It had all the classics on it, Metallica, Slayer, Ozzy, and Panterra, but what really hit home was “Black Widow” by Children of Bodom. It was the perfect song, with a crazy catchy melody, aggressive vocals, and dissonant heavy guitars. To me, it’s the perfect sound.

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

Technically yes, because the band is a one-man act masquerading as a band, but future plans include bringing on many guest performers, and solidifying a lineup based on the right fit!

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Since there are five iterations of me: In Flames, Children Of Bodom, Meshuggah, Lamb of God, and Six Feet Under. 5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? The greatest inspiration is being out in the forest at night, when the moon comes out (its rays filtering through the trees) and you imagine, what if some nightmares were real? What if you suddenly heard a howl emanating eerily from somewhere within the trees. That kind of scary, haunting situation really gets the creative juices flowing. Outside of nature, just really good music, of which I’ll list the bands below!

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last live gig was with an old Band, Northwind. I think we played in Calgary or Vancouver, Canada!

7. Where would you like to act?

I would love to do a festival circuit, and play all the big European and American festivals!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Any of the bands mentioned as inspirations would be really cool.

9. Whom not?

Probably any mumble rap artist wouldn’t be a good pairing. Years ago, with a very old band, we were asked to play a family fun event. The audience consisted of a few diehard metal fans, some reggae lovers who were asking us to play ska, and a bunch of old people in lawn chairs. We started the show with a big apology for our sound as we were quite certain it would be offensive to most gathered.

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

Never stage fright, only pre-show nerves. I feel like those are a given no matter how much you’ve practiced or how good you are. The biggest tip, practice until you can play the songs in your sleep, know them so well that even if someone messes up or loses their spot, you can improvise until you are all back together. The closest thing to happen that was similar to stage fright was having an extremely attractive girl in the front row, who was really into the music, like really into the music, dancing like she was having some sort of spiritual experience and looking at me like I was Jesus. I forgot the lyrics and had to fake them for the rest of the song.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

In Flames, Children of Bodom, Meshuggah, Lamb of God, Six Feet Under, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Stratovarius, Omnium Gatherum, Slayer, Rivers of Nihil, Arch Enemy, Wintersun, Rammstein, Rob Zombie, Metallica, HIM, AC/DC.

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

I had one whom I didn’t know at all ask me to be part of his wedding party.

13. What do you think of your fans?

I appreciate anyone who listens to the music. This project was originally meant to get out all the really good tracks that didn’t meet the sound of other bands I played in previously but has morphed into a project for making the best music possible. So to everyone who loves it, it's all gratitude!

14. What do you think of our site?

It’s pretty damn cool, wish I knew about it sooner! I’ve been struggling to find good new melodic metal bands, so have already been perusing and adding bands to the playlist!

15. Something to add?

If you like the music, please give it a like, follow, subscribe, and all that. There’s a backlog of unrecorded material to be released soon, and some hopefully big things in the works that I am not allowed to talk about yet!