MORTEM ATRA – Interview with the band

Amidst their busy schedule ahead of their much-awaited forthcoming release through Pitch Black Records, we were fortunate enough to get hold of Mortem Atra to answer a few questions. Mortem Atra play a compelling take on Melodic Death Metal, and are, no doubt one among the best Cyprus Death Metal Acts.

Your new album, “A Dark Lament”, is scheduled for release next month. What is going through your mind? Excited, or nervous?!

We are very excited, but we are very nervous as well. Releasing this album wasn’t easy for us; we’ve put a lot of energy and effort into this. Apart from that, we have gone through a lot of tough times the last four years. So, for this long anticipated result, we are both excited and nervous at the same time.

How would you describe Cyprus Death Metal Culture? How is it different from the Gothenburg, “At The Gates”- worship bands?

A huge metal scene like the melodic death metal movement from Sweden wasn’t something that left Cyprus untouched. Surely there are local bands that have, and will be influenced and inspired by this genre of death metal, and many more to come, we are sure of that. Having keyboards and both brutal male and clean female vocals is something that Mortem Atra have incorporated from the very beginning, not many bands on the island have this. Bands like “At the Gates” you’ve mentioned, have helped us shape our musical style. Having said that, we must state that there is a growing death metal scene in Cyprus for quite a few years now. We are rising…

You’re signed to Pitch Black Records. Have you always considered getting signed to a label ever since you started off as a collective, or was this more of a spontaneous decision to get signed?

No, it wasn’t spontaneous, it was planned. Having a good and reliable record company like Pitch Black Records backing us up, is something that we intended in the first place. Professionalism in the band’s promotional interests only leads to win-win situations. Plus, we know the manager of the company, and he’s a great guy, so it was easy for Mortem Atra to make this decision.

Seeing the link to your MySpace page gave me a nostalgic experience and took me straight back to 2007. Nowadays it’s rare to see someone use MySpace. How would you justify this sudden change and its impact on the Music Industry?

Well, we are not using MySpace anymore to be honest, must have been our old account. We have a bit more modern social media accounts now, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and stuff like that. But to answer your question, social media platforms like MySpace really made all this possible. For small bands like us, getting started or getting known even in our country was, and still is frankly, quite a battle. Sharing our songs and other information on platforms like MySpace or Facebook nowadays, assisted and boosted us all the same, and gained us a spot in the Cyprus metal scene, hopefully worldwide someday.

Unfortunately, you lost your bandmate, Tasos in 2016. Is your upcoming album a eulogy for his contribution? And how has the recording process changed since his passing?

Tasos passed away on July 1st 2016, after a short battle with cancer. To say we were devastated would be an understatement. We still feel like we are missing a member, we are not sure if this will ever pass. This album is not just a eulogy, but a greater dedication to our fallen brother; we owe him at least that. And to answer the latter question, drums were recorded prior to his passing, but there was a substantial amount of delay in the process for obvious reasons.

Shortly after Tasos’s tragic death, you had posted for an audition for the new drummer on your social media channels. What made you choose Antonis Papas as your drummer? Anything in particular that brought him near to Tasos?

Antonis was the drummer of the band “Progeny of Erebus”, a death metal act from the same city as Mortem Atra. We were affiliated with them, as we had done a couple of gigs together, plus Tasos’s brother in law was the rhythm guitarist in Progeny. We knew Antonis and his capabilities beforehand. In addition to that, Antonis covered Tasos in a couple of gigs when Tasos wasn’t feeling too well. So it was a no brainer for us inviting Antonis. Actually, we had a hard time persuading him to join the band, as he was a student abroad, and wasn’t sure whether or not he could make it schedule-wise. But now as he is finishing his studies and returning to Cyprus, we’ll get back on track.

According to you, which is an essential entity in an album? Is it the originality, or memorability or the songwriting?

All three abovementioned things count in an album, at least as we see it. You can’t just focus on songwriting; where’s the originality then? Why should someone listen to you or invite you to play a gig when they can’t remember your tunes because they’re so common? All three should coexist if one wants a balanced outcome. That’s what we try to achieve.

What is your opinion on Elitism? Do you think it should exist in Metal?

All metal genres are worth listening to, and all have great bands and potentials from newcomers. Mortem Atra has diverse influences exactly because this does not apply to us; we do not snob anything. No, elitism has no place in metal, no place in Mortem Atra, and to generalize it, no place in our society whatsoever.

What is next for Mortem Atra? Would you like to share any upcoming plan of yours with your fans across the world?

We are planning several gigs both in Cyprus and abroad for the following summer, promoting our album. After that, and without any delay, we’ll start the songwriting process for the second album. We already have a few songs ready, so hopefully it won’t take us long to complete. After that, the sky’s the limit. But we’ll take each day as it comes…