Interviews About Albums: Moose Cult - Moose Cult (2023)

In this new interview, we sat down with the UK Death Metal/Doom Metal/Heavy Metal band Moose Cult to ask some questions about their new album "Moose Cult". 

1. What can you say about this new release?

This is the first album from a new project between members of Monsterworks (Jon/guitar, vocals, and Hugo/bass) and collaborators James Knoerl/drums and Tommy Loose/lead guitar.

I (Jon) had a lot of musical material building up over the pandemic and so Moose Cult became another outlet for that. The vibe for the album was set after the opening, self-titled, track was written. The rest fell into place pretty easily.

2. What is the meaning of the release name?

The band name Moose Cult (the album is self-titled) came from a random quote in a Greta Thunberg interview I read where she refers to her and her friends as a “crazy Moose Cult”. Since I have a particular interest in environmental issues and wanted that message in the music, it seemed like a cool name that would be tongue-in-cheek.

3. Which one is the composer of the release?

I wrote most of the music/arrangements and lyrics. Then, as is our tradition over many albums working together, Hugo contributed a faster/grinding track, which is called Dire Logic.

However, I look to the other players to put as much of their personality into it as possible. So, James does a lot of flashy drum stuff far beyond what I originally mapped out in the programmed demo drums. Likewise, Tommy has no prescription for guitar solos other than “put something crazy in that bit”

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

Mountain. It encapsulates all the epic moods from the album in one place, and it has a cool piano bit at the end which gives a different flavor.

5. Is there a special message in this release? If there is what it is?

As alluded to above, this is an "envirometal" album because it brings together the two most important things to me: metal and environmentalism/preservation of nature, etc.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

It's always best if people make their own interpretations, but these lines from the Moose Cult title track hit home for me:

"Every culture leaves a trail of failure

Primal urge to live beyond its ….means"

That is to say, I think most of humanity sucks no matter where you are from. People often feel entitled to their standard of living or that their culture is better than another. I tend to see the worst in everybody! Empires rise but invariably fall in the end. I favor balance with nature and faith in science. No cultures I can think of nail both.

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

Musically, the main influences are the classics like Sabbath and Priest but through the lens of doom and death metal. I’ve always considered a perfect album balance in terms of pace and mood found in Sabotage and Sad Wings of Destiny, so I aim to emulate that. Also, keeping an album to around 40 minutes is important. It makes for a more focused listening experience.

The lyrics always come later, well after the music is written, so I can’t say for sure that the lyrical subject matter influences the music too much, but it probably does in some subconscious way.

8. Something to add?

A second Moose Cult album is already half-recorded, so there will be more to come from this band. Thanks for listening!