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Hi,
first off I just want to congratulate you on your new album. To
new fans could your please fill us in on the history behind it
all?
Lev
- Thanks
a lot ...
Ok. It started in 2000 as a story and a project, but turned pretty
quick into a band of five persons with the same structure, same
goals and great personalities. We
started to record a private pre-demo, which we brought to our
producer Zet (from Ram-zet), and we started to record the Demo,
that later would become “All The Beauty…”. We sent it out to
several European labels, and Massacre from
Germany
was quick and professional to respond. We went back into the
studio to refine a little, and released the “All The Beauty…”
album late 2002. We got tremendous press feedback, and understood,
that there was a future out there for Mortal Love. We did a few
gigs in
Norway. Then we played the Gothica4 festival in
Budapest, which helped us reaching the eastern parts of
Europe. Then we went back into “Space Valley Studio” in
Norway
to start recording “I Have Lost…” in the summer of 2004. We
played some more gigs, and finished the album and cover in
December 2004. Then Massacre saw a great potential in “I Have
Lost…”, and gave it some more time to develop. Mixing it
in
Germany
to get a larger refined expression.
Massacre decided to put out a single and a video for the
song “Adoration”. We made a video, and the single was released
29/03-05. Now we are just eager to see what happens to “I Have
Lost…” and Mortal Love.
How
has your new album been received by the media?
Lev
- As
far as I’m concerned there has been a very positive hype around
“I Have Lost…”. We have already done 10-15 interviews for
the forthcoming album. Seems like there is a wider knowledge on
what Mortal Love is about this time around.
I
know artists are not happy to categorize their music, but how
would you describe your music to an outsider?
Lev
- The
“All The Beauty…” CD was categorized as Goth-Metal, and I
think that it may just be correct. For the “I Have Lost…” CD
I really don’t know. It's still the same genre, maybe a bit more
over to rock/prog-metal. But since we have Cat on the vocal, I
think the closest you get is Goth-metal.
Where
does your inspiration come from, both musically and lyrically?
Lev
- The
lyrics are related to our story that goes thru both “All The Beauty…”
and “I Have Lost…”. It’s inspired by the tragedy in
romance and love. Our story is true though, and we relate very
much to it. Other than that I can only speak for myself. Lyrically
I’m inspired by N.Peart (Rush), E. Costello, Jeff Buckley,
Marillion etc. We come from very different genres and bands, that
have inspired us on “I Have Lost…” are: Type O Negative,
Cradle of Filth, 30 Seconds to Mars, Tory Amos, Jeff Buckley,
Dimmu Borgir, The Gathering etc. Maybe these are not the kind of
inspiration sources you think of at once when you hear “I Have
Lost…”, but they are in there somewhere!!!
What
topics do you deal with in your lyrics and why?
Lev - Like
I’ve mentioned before, we have a story that kind of runs thru
the lyrics, making stops by certain feelings, and then a lyric is
created. Why? I think it is
very strong and personal. A person is letting you see right thru
the soul and mind. Maybe it’s a small story on a World scale,
but for each person, that have experienced this, it the most
tearing, self-destructive, melancholy and desperate thing to ever
happen.
Who
has produced and mixed the album, and are you pleased with the end
result?
Lev - Zet
from Ram-zet plays a big part for Mortal Love as a producer. He
pushes us in the right direction all the time. Knowing what is
best for the product. He has produced all Mortal Love stuff, and
knows us and our music very well. That’s an important thing for
a band. A person you know that you can rely on in studio is a
tremendous safety for us.
It was mixed by Andy Horn (Famous Kitchen in
Germany). He gave the product the greatness and finesse that it
deserved. He did a great
job, and it was kind of new to us having an external person mixing
our music. We learned a lot throughout that mixing period.
Who
has done the artwork? And how important do you feel it is to have
a great cover?
Lev - Tore
L Larsen, who also did the “All The Beauty…” cover. He knew
the story, our needs and delivered exactly what we wanted. The
most important thing for us regarding the cover was to bring the
feeling and sensation from our music and lyrics on print.
We are very proud of the product, but didn’t make it
“to sell more CD’s”. We made it because it was what the
product needed. I myself think, that it’s a bit overrated. To
have a great cover don’t say nothing to me about the music. You
can have a simple or crappy cover, as long as the music is good, I
don’t care. I still see the importance in the industry to have a
beautiful or great cover. And one more thing …a cover may look
great to someone, but as long as it doesn’t fit the product I
think a band has failed.
Do
you have any touring plans?
Lev - Not
as we speak. It depends on the interest and sales of “I Have
Lost…”. We are doing a couple of festivals in
Norway
this summer. (Quart festival - the largest one in
Norway
with bands like Audioslave and Foo Fighters). And we do hope that
“I Have Lost…” will bring us to
Europe
at some stage.
How
do you feel about the co-operation with your label, and are you
satisfied?
Lev - Massacre
has done a great job for us. They’ve done a lot to promote us
with the “I Have Lost…” release. They have paid for the
whole package; the single, the video and the record. We are
satisfied with them, and hopefully they are with us!
The
internet is a very important source for many music fans - how do
you use the internet and how important is it for you and other
bands?
Lev - The
internet provides an exceptional way to promote ourselves over the
whole world. We have reached all the corners of the world, thanks
to the internet. Smaller bands, that have not yet had their
breakthrough, can learn lot from the fans, and make a name,
without concerning about how much money a record label is willing
to put into them. Loads of people have bought our album after
listening to us on internet either on our site, or on an online
radio. This is a great thing;
because the music speaks for it self. You hear a song, and like it
because of the music. Not a highlighted TV commercial or that kind
of crap. I have found several bands, that I support on the net. If
it wasn’t for the net, I would never have heard about them!
How
do you see the metal scene at the moment?
Lev - Interesting
how minor bands are finally having the success that they deserve.
Loads of bands standing on the edge of a great career, pushing
dinosaurs down from the throne. I
think and hope the music industry would be less cynical. Go for a
new band with potential, rather than squeezing the last
penny out of some old “used to be” band.
To
finish things off - could you pls. make an all-time Top 5 or sort
of the 5 most important albums in your opinion?
Lev - Ohhh
… really hard. But I’ll jump into it with both eyes closed:
- The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper
- Led Zeppelin - IV
- Rush - Moving Pictures
- Jeff Buckley - Grace
- David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Not
that much Metal. But in like 10-15 years maybe I would rate
different, because my music interests really blossomed with
Metallica, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Faith No More.
Thanks
for showing interest in Mortal Love … and stay tuned!
LEV
- MORTAL LOVE
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