Interviu Metalhead Meeting Festival 2017: MartYriuM

Continuam seria de interviuri blitzkrieg cu maltezii de la MartYriuM care vor concerta pe scena de la Arenele Romane incepand cu ora 16:15, deschizand cea de-a doua zi a festivalului METALHEAD Meeting 2017.

Proiectul MartYriuM a luat nastere in 1999 fiind fondat de catre chitaristul Count Mortem a carui viziune muzicala a pus bazele scenei de metal extrem din Malta. MartYriuM se afla la cel de-al patrulea album de studio, “Destiny Wore A Bondage Mask” (2016), si este una dintre cele mai apreciate trupe "female fronted" din Europa.

Metalhead: Hello and thank you for taking a little time to answer a few questions for our readers. Is this the first time you come to Romania?

MartYriuM: A horns up to you and all the readers! This will be our first time visiting Romania, and apart from being excited about the Metalhead Meeting Festival we are looking forward to feed on the dark energies from the ancient forests of Transylvania and the unholy land of Dracula.

Metalhead: What kind of energy you expect from the Romanian public?

MartYriuM: We are hoping to have that special connection with the crowd through our Ritual - setlist ! Each song is carefully crafted to invoke an air of unhallowed witchery which will surely anoint the audience. So we are expecting to awaken ominous energies mixed with that solid brutality, that defines death metal, that will make you want to bang your head and tear the place apart…whether we are calling Baalzebub while crawling on stage in our own Filth or playing aggressive riffs and projecting agonizing screams \m/

Metalhead: How would you describe your music to somebody who has never heard your band before?

MartYriuM: MartYriuM has a signature sound which is a combination of sinister orchestrations and extreme black/death metal riffs. The vocals dominate in deep growls and raw screams, and each song includes clean and soprano parts. So we don't really fall in the 'black metal' or the 'symphonic metal' category, but call our genre 'Industrial Blackened Death Metal from Beyond'. Each album reveals a mixture of many musical influences and has a character of its own which shows the development of the band throughout the years (we have been together from 1999).

Metalhead: What is your favourite song to perform live?

MartYriuM: Probably the songs that we are writing for our upcoming album. The set-list for MHM is mostly made up of new material. One of the new songs is called 'Betrothed to Damnation' it is rich in evil voices tempting us to madness from the otherside, and it is about the abandonment of God and Man and becoming the spouse of Damnation itself.

Metalhead: What are the main elements that inspire your work?

MartYriuM: We find inspiration in many things…Listening to a diverse range of music helps us improve and get new ideas, some of the bands that we like are Lost Soul, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Dark Funeral, Gojira, Dimmu Borgir, Samael, Carnifex just to name a few. Besides metal we also listen to movie sound tracks and classical music.

Lyrical inspiration comes from strange dreams or scenarios that paint a picture. For example walking in a street and noticing an abandoned house, the way the flickering street lamp creates menacing shadows on the age worn rock, i can't help but imagine what miserable spirits it may hold…And sometimes a guardian demon whispers verses from the book of vile secrets in my ear.

Metalhead: What do you think is your biggest achievement as a band and what was the biggest problem that you had to overcome as a band?

MartYriuM: 2017 was a great year for MartYriuM! We are booked for many festivals and have a very active tour plan. The summer festival season kicks off this weekend with the MetalGate Czech Death Fest, then Metalhead Meeting (Romania), Gothoom in (Slovakia), Carpathian Alliance (Ukraine), MetalHead Mission (Ukraine), Moscow Black Metal Convention (Russia), Blackened Life (Russia), Warhorns (UK) and many more.

Another great achievement for MartYriuM was signing with The Flaming Arts Booking and Management and we are happy with the way they work and develop the band.

Apart from creating music and touring, MartYriuM contribute to the metal scene by organizing festivals in Malta with our event organization VOTSFestival.com . It started off as a single female fronted metal festival - "Voices of the Succubi" which is headlined by Xandria this year and held on the 2nd September. Shortly after we expanded to two more events: "Unholy Gathering of the Unblessed" pioneered this year on the 11th November and headlined by Sinister, and also "Dark Winter Meeting" headed by Hate 28th January 2018.

Despite Malta being a small island, the metal scene is very strong here and all the bands that perform get positive feedback from the crowd \m/ !

The only negative thing that we can mention is the free and easily accessible downloading of CD's, unfortunately this is a concern for every band since the digital age took over the world.

Metalhead: How do you feel about the internet in the music business and how important are live concerts for a band nowadays?

MartYriuM: The popularity of the internet, especially social media, provided bands with many opportunities. Artists can easily advertise their music and the number of active bands is constantly growing making our community stronger than ever. However the internet is also the sole reason for piracy and the fall of music sales, so we are even-headed on this matter.

Live concerts are the chance to visually express your art and make it come to life, stage presence and delivery are just as important as the music itself. MartYriuM have always delivered a theatrical performance, from the early black metal days when acts involved burning the bible…to the more recent blood drinking and throwing decomposed liver off stage. Due to traveling via plane we will not be carrying any kind of entrails (which we will save for local gigs), instead you can see cursed concoctions from our own unhallowed rituals.

Metalhead: What are you preparing for your show at Metalhead Meeting Festival (new songs, anything special related to your performance)?

MartYriuM: You can expect a contrast of very dark atmosphere and Satanic imagery to sheer death metal brutality! We have new songs, new props and a special performance for the MHM crowd!

Metalhead: Thank you for answering, any message you want to send those who will come to see you perform at Metalhead Meeting Festival?

MartYriuM: We summon forth the disciples of The Evil Presence to crawl out of the shadows and join the Ranks of the Martyrs on the night of MHM Metal Festival!

Cea de-a sasea editie METALHEAD Meeting Festival va asteapta pe 24 si 25 iunie, la Arenele Romane din Bucuresti, cu un lineup de zile mari. Pe scena sa vor urca: Cradle Of Filth, Sepultura, Behemoth, Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions Set), Ross The Boss (classic Manowar Set) Agnostic Front, Myrkur, Bucovina, Nox Vorago, Materia, Pokerface, MartYrium, Arkana Code, Cretura, Diying Gorgeous Lies, Within The Nova, Enemynside, 5Rand si Selector.

Biletele de o zi, abonamentele si pachetele promotionale pentru acest eveniment sunt disponibile pe www.iabilet.ro si in reteaua fizica iabilet.ro/retea

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