Ars Moriendi
Ars Moriendi is a well known band in the underground of Austria's Styria. Formed in 1998, they have played over 100 gigs (most of them on weekends), their modern Thrash/Death Metal is made for the stage, they really kick ass live! I've met Michael (vox) at one of the promo gigs for their debut album "Journey To Your Agony" (after releasing two demos and the really good EP "Your Soul On Our Screen" last year) in Graz and asked him for some infos.
First of all, Ars Moriendi has been part of the underground scene for many years now, why did it take so long to record the debut?
Michael: One has to bear in mind that our band does exist since 1998, however, at the outset we were only still learning to play our instruments. Soon after we had the impression that we had command of these musical instruments – if only in part – we started to record or self-titled demo in the year 2000. We managed to give away 125 copies back then. After that some time passed by until the "successor" eventually came out in 2004. This was owing to the fact that we had begun to record our second demo three times (during three subsequent Christmas holidays). From that time on we started working in a far more professional way and for the first time in our band history we had a fixed and stable line-up, which put us in the lucky position of being able to plan long-term and arrange and play gigs in the more distant future. I think, this fully explains why it took eight years, which in fact had been only two or three years... ;)
Arcana Noctis: Did you write the songs especially for this album or are there older ones as well? What was the significance of the 3 track EP "Your Soul On Our Screen"? Was it meant as an appetizer just for the record company (for testing the reactions or something like that)? None of the songs are featured on the album, though they are very good, even better than some of the new ones... I think they could have been on "Journey..." without any doubt...
Michael: You have to be aware of the fact that all the songs were written over quite a long time-span. Immediately after our CD "Dissimulated" we started to compose and write new material. And the three songs on our EP "Your Soul On Our Screen" go back to that period. Actually we had planned to record a full album. However, financially this was impossible then – as we found out as soon as we got the cost estimate of the sound studio then. But we wanted to record again, creating a good sound, and since the production would have exceeded our financial limits, we only recorded three of the nine tracks we had completed at that time. They were intended to demonstrate our full musical "bandwidth". This was by no means an easy venture. But in our opinion it was the right decision, because owing to this EP we also got our record deal. Surely, one now won't need to wonder any longer, why the songs would perfectly fit onto the new album... ;)
Arcana Noctis: You've signed a contract with Noisehead Records. It's a very young label, right? What does such a label deal look like? Was the deal only for this record? Do they sell the CDs overseas as well? Tell me something about your expectations and about the label. Are they only interested in Austrian bands?
Michael: Well, that's a difficult topic I cannot comment on too much, because we've signed the contract with Mario not very long ago. On principle, it is meant for the time being, for this CD. Currently he is signing only Austrian bands. But he wants to expand this business as soon as he will have explored a market for distribution in other countries where he will have bands sign a contract. This is all still in the initial stage. As you said, it is a young, but enthusiastic and exemplarily committed label. :)
Arcana Noctis: A provocative question: Are you afraid of changes? I mean there are a lot of original passages on "Journey..." but there could have been even more... Or is it just simply your favourite style? There's an invisible chain reaction in the Metal scene, fans of older bands are founding their own ones, and play mostly exactly the same sound as their heroes! Not many bands have the courage (or inspiration) to change something... OK, Ars Moriendi has it's own sound in the main (especially the vocals) but what do you think about bands like Anathema for example?
Michael: Again, that is quite a tough question. One cannot simply provoke change after change. An idea needs to be born, dedicated people have to courageously rise to the challenge without fearing a possibly wrong perception of their work. BUT when I listen to our new CD, I can very well notice an extremely big change compared to our demo. Surely, we were not the aces on our instruments back then – but we also wanted to sound like that. "Dissimulated" had been developed much further. This was also when the real work started. "Your Soul...", again, went one step further and the "cream of the crop", the songs on "Journey..." (the newer ones) do also differ from the ones composed before. We are searching for our unique, own style. This is made harder, as well as more interesting by our personal musical predilections, which range from Metal and Rock to Pop and Alternative. To combine these styles calls for numerous compromises and concessions, which each of us is willing to make. Eventually, the result of all the mixing is Ars Moriendi. And that is how it should be. We will keep surprising with our music, I dare to predict. So don't worry about that! ;)
Arcana Noctis: What about the hidden track on "Journey..."? It doesn't sound bad at all, why didn't you put it on the track list in the booklet? ...and why does it end abruptly like that? A mistake? It's your first ballad, would you like to explain something about it?
Michael: During the recording session, Heiko had the idea to put such a song as sort of an "outro" on the CD. He composed it in the studio and Mike played it in last. Thus, it is only a "hidden track", because it was intended to function as an outro. There is no title track. It is not possible to "chain" only one track to the title, since there is a concept behind about 80% of the texts – this concept is my life. The outro is – as its name already suggests – the end of my, of our, journey... The text, however, can be found in the booklet! ;)
Arcana Noctis: And what about the "Christian Youth" flyer in the booklet? How does this fit together with your sound and your attitude? What are your political stands, your ideals, opinions to religion and controversial stuff...?
Michael: Yeah, hehe, I expected this question, of course! :) Well, we have been rehearsing in the Christian Youth Centre since 1998 and we "grew up" and got better in there, spending a lot of time together there. In addition, Heiko is working there and I am a voluntary assistant. We two are closely connected to the people at the Spektrum and they support us in every possible way. And to show our gratitude, their logo can be found in our booklet. That's it. Certainly one could argue "THAT doesn't fit at all!!" if we were a Black Metal band. But we are not and we also have no anti-Christian, anti-religious or war-glorifying lyrics. And that's why I can see no problem here. Our private views on all these issues, I think, are none of the others' business and I also won't begin to comment on them in my lyrics, because they are private and personal. According to my opinion they ought to be of no relevance for the music or at least the Metal music. We have to deal with these issues, attitudes, views and opinions each and every day – unless one should live with a lack of interest in history and does not enjoy reading newspapers and only watches the news about twice a month... ;)
Arcana Noctis: There will be soon a NS Black Metal shop/label in Graz! What do you think about it and about the NS individuals with their "War and Destruction" slogans in the extreme Metal scene in general? I want your honest opinion!
Michael: Well, let's put it this way: Black Metal musicians almost always have the aim of provocation and the shop illustrates fairly well how this works. All it takes is to address the biggest taboo issue, in which Germany and Austria play the role of the pseudo-victims, the Third Reich and its symbolism and some people will immediately climb the barricades to prohibit something they might not even know enough about. The pessimistically tent to "paint it black", try to demonstrate their pseudo-left-wing ideas or try to be pseudo-moralists or whatsoever... Still, I am not in favour of the re-introduction of extremely right-wing ideas. I only could not understand the rigidity of the measures taken against this shop. But as I said before – I would want all these political discussions to be kept out of Metal.
Arcana Noctis: Do you have any message at all in your lyrics or are they all fictional? Are they important to you?
Michael: Yes, all my lyrics are of great importance to me. I just need them in order to fight my inner fights, thus they are realistic, using many stylistic pictures, of course. The title of the CD is sort of the program I would say. And when you read the lyrics, you read myself... If you understand them, of course! ;) I am also grateful for interpretations of my lyrics, haha...
Arcana Noctis: What do you expect for the future and what are your plans? You know you can't live with this kind of music without having "common" jobs... Is it frustrating to play only on weekends and only in front of small audiences?
Michael: Hm, well, actually we have already achieved more than we had thought. There has always been this dream of the record deal – but it has been hard work to get it and now the work really begins... It is not necessarily frustrating to play in front of a smaller audience or not to be able to make a living, just by playing our music. Almost always we are treated very nicely and friendly and welcomed warmly by the audience. It is the most important thing for me to see that there is strong company and a sense of belonging together. Surely, there is also a lot of envy in our small scene, accompanied by quarrels and other bad emotions from time to time. That's a pity... But maybe that's just a part of the human nature... Ourselves, for example, try and have always tried to work together with all the others. If you can rely on other people, there is nothing better than a long and close collaboration of bands – just the way we work together with Perishing Mankind, a collaboration that has been launched by their guitarist Gernot and myself.
Arcana Noctis: Why do you think it's hard to play on bigger festivals as an Austrian band? ...not to mention playing in the U.S.A. for example... Why do you think there are only a few Austrian Metal bands that are known widely... or Austrian bands/musicians/movies in general... I think there are a lot of great ones...
Michael: Presumably, this is due to the support schemes, which are required to make Austrian "products" known abroad. But it also has to do with the attitudes of many people. Let's take the Spring Metal Festival, which is being organised by Metallic Arts and will be held in March this year. I can hardly remember or count how many times I wrote mails to Chris of Metallic Arts, how many times I talked to him and so on – just to get the opportunity to perform at one of the events he organises. I never got a positive answer or – actually – no answer at all. Until that evening in December when I finally got an e-mail. Thus, the key-word is persistence! :) Without a certain amount of persistence one would not get on in life and by no means in the music business. If someone put his head in the sand after one single denial or honest criticism, s/he just would never manage to get any further. Everything it takes is time. No band with a let's say 2-months-band-history would immediately be invited to play at the Wacken festival... there are simply too many out there... And additionally it takes a little bit of luck and some connections plus a well-developed network.
Arcana Noctis: You know that most of the Metal fans are very young... most of them will probably throw away your CDs (OK this is the worst case scenario, but things like that, you know what I mean...) in some years! The music you play will for certain never reach a doctor (PhD) for example... How about that?
Michael: Okay, our music is mainly listened to by young people, but I also know that some persons with respectable degrees like Masters, PhDs and so on, listen to our songs! So this is not entirely true... And if our younger fans earn their PhD degrees – well, who knows which kind of music we'll be playing then!? ;)
Arcana Noctis: On "Journey..." there are some great keyboards and electronic sounds, and (as I've read in the booklet) ... orchestrations? What does this mean? Are there real instruments like violins? Tell me all about the writing and recording process, how long does it take to make an album? Is it expensive? Do you pay all by yourselves?
Michael: Yep, "orchestrations" stands for the keyboards, the samples, certain computer programs and stuff like that. Nowadays these measures allow the simulation of a real orchestra to a certain extent. This is just the cheaper way. Surely we, or above all Heiko, our main "sound-prodigy", would definitely prefer a real orchestra. This also explains that Heiko is responsible for all the sounds and samples. How long it takes, depends... "Dissimulated" kept us busy 3 years and two months, "Your Soul..." only about one moth and everything was done. "Journey..." took us slightly longer, owing to some health problems I had to cope with. And how much it costs... well, it is truly expensive for a hobby! :) We played all the instruments by ourselves for the recording, I did the vocals and Heiko the orchestration in addition to his instrument. Just the way it's supposed to be! ;)
Arcana Noctis: Did you miss a question? Say whatever you need to! ...something to our readers... Do you appreciate webzines, and non profit magazines in general?
Michael: Thank you very much, this was the most detailed interview I ever did... I cannot think of anything else, except that my fingers are sore as a consequence of all the typing. :) Everything that serves the Metal scene and is done out of a real conviction and dedication to the scene I consider remarkable indeed. I would say that no other scene stand on such strong pillars, all constructed out of the dedication an enthusiasm of people who are responsible for its stability. That's why I also see our scene among one of the best ones to be found... Anyway, I really hope that our fans and those who will turn into fans in the future, will keep supporting us or start to do so... And I wish the same to Arcana Noctis!!!
Thanks, Dr(!).Winter... hehehe ;)
Arcana Noctis: Thanxxx very much for the interview, and all the best for the future! I personally hope to hear a further development on the next record, because I think Ars Moriendi is one of the most promising bands around here! Cheerz!
Michael: I cannot tell you yet, which direction the new album will take, because our two new members will surely also account for the one or the other surprise! ;)
Best regards,
Michael
First of all, Ars Moriendi has been part of the underground scene for many years now, why did it take so long to record the debut?
Michael: One has to bear in mind that our band does exist since 1998, however, at the outset we were only still learning to play our instruments. Soon after we had the impression that we had command of these musical instruments – if only in part – we started to record or self-titled demo in the year 2000. We managed to give away 125 copies back then. After that some time passed by until the "successor" eventually came out in 2004. This was owing to the fact that we had begun to record our second demo three times (during three subsequent Christmas holidays). From that time on we started working in a far more professional way and for the first time in our band history we had a fixed and stable line-up, which put us in the lucky position of being able to plan long-term and arrange and play gigs in the more distant future. I think, this fully explains why it took eight years, which in fact had been only two or three years... ;)Arcana Noctis: Did you write the songs especially for this album or are there older ones as well? What was the significance of the 3 track EP "Your Soul On Our Screen"? Was it meant as an appetizer just for the record company (for testing the reactions or something like that)? None of the songs are featured on the album, though they are very good, even better than some of the new ones... I think they could have been on "Journey..." without any doubt...
Michael: You have to be aware of the fact that all the songs were written over quite a long time-span. Immediately after our CD "Dissimulated" we started to compose and write new material. And the three songs on our EP "Your Soul On Our Screen" go back to that period. Actually we had planned to record a full album. However, financially this was impossible then – as we found out as soon as we got the cost estimate of the sound studio then. But we wanted to record again, creating a good sound, and since the production would have exceeded our financial limits, we only recorded three of the nine tracks we had completed at that time. They were intended to demonstrate our full musical "bandwidth". This was by no means an easy venture. But in our opinion it was the right decision, because owing to this EP we also got our record deal. Surely, one now won't need to wonder any longer, why the songs would perfectly fit onto the new album... ;)
Arcana Noctis: You've signed a contract with Noisehead Records. It's a very young label, right? What does such a label deal look like? Was the deal only for this record? Do they sell the CDs overseas as well? Tell me something about your expectations and about the label. Are they only interested in Austrian bands?
Michael: Well, that's a difficult topic I cannot comment on too much, because we've signed the contract with Mario not very long ago. On principle, it is meant for the time being, for this CD. Currently he is signing only Austrian bands. But he wants to expand this business as soon as he will have explored a market for distribution in other countries where he will have bands sign a contract. This is all still in the initial stage. As you said, it is a young, but enthusiastic and exemplarily committed label. :)
Arcana Noctis: A provocative question: Are you afraid of changes? I mean there are a lot of original passages on "Journey..." but there could have been even more... Or is it just simply your favourite style? There's an invisible chain reaction in the Metal scene, fans of older bands are founding their own ones, and play mostly exactly the same sound as their heroes! Not many bands have the courage (or inspiration) to change something... OK, Ars Moriendi has it's own sound in the main (especially the vocals) but what do you think about bands like Anathema for example?
Michael: Again, that is quite a tough question. One cannot simply provoke change after change. An idea needs to be born, dedicated people have to courageously rise to the challenge without fearing a possibly wrong perception of their work. BUT when I listen to our new CD, I can very well notice an extremely big change compared to our demo. Surely, we were not the aces on our instruments back then – but we also wanted to sound like that. "Dissimulated" had been developed much further. This was also when the real work started. "Your Soul...", again, went one step further and the "cream of the crop", the songs on "Journey..." (the newer ones) do also differ from the ones composed before. We are searching for our unique, own style. This is made harder, as well as more interesting by our personal musical predilections, which range from Metal and Rock to Pop and Alternative. To combine these styles calls for numerous compromises and concessions, which each of us is willing to make. Eventually, the result of all the mixing is Ars Moriendi. And that is how it should be. We will keep surprising with our music, I dare to predict. So don't worry about that! ;)
Arcana Noctis: What about the hidden track on "Journey..."? It doesn't sound bad at all, why didn't you put it on the track list in the booklet? ...and why does it end abruptly like that? A mistake? It's your first ballad, would you like to explain something about it?
Michael: During the recording session, Heiko had the idea to put such a song as sort of an "outro" on the CD. He composed it in the studio and Mike played it in last. Thus, it is only a "hidden track", because it was intended to function as an outro. There is no title track. It is not possible to "chain" only one track to the title, since there is a concept behind about 80% of the texts – this concept is my life. The outro is – as its name already suggests – the end of my, of our, journey... The text, however, can be found in the booklet! ;)
Arcana Noctis: And what about the "Christian Youth" flyer in the booklet? How does this fit together with your sound and your attitude? What are your political stands, your ideals, opinions to religion and controversial stuff...?
Michael: Yeah, hehe, I expected this question, of course! :) Well, we have been rehearsing in the Christian Youth Centre since 1998 and we "grew up" and got better in there, spending a lot of time together there. In addition, Heiko is working there and I am a voluntary assistant. We two are closely connected to the people at the Spektrum and they support us in every possible way. And to show our gratitude, their logo can be found in our booklet. That's it. Certainly one could argue "THAT doesn't fit at all!!" if we were a Black Metal band. But we are not and we also have no anti-Christian, anti-religious or war-glorifying lyrics. And that's why I can see no problem here. Our private views on all these issues, I think, are none of the others' business and I also won't begin to comment on them in my lyrics, because they are private and personal. According to my opinion they ought to be of no relevance for the music or at least the Metal music. We have to deal with these issues, attitudes, views and opinions each and every day – unless one should live with a lack of interest in history and does not enjoy reading newspapers and only watches the news about twice a month... ;)
Arcana Noctis: There will be soon a NS Black Metal shop/label in Graz! What do you think about it and about the NS individuals with their "War and Destruction" slogans in the extreme Metal scene in general? I want your honest opinion!Michael: Well, let's put it this way: Black Metal musicians almost always have the aim of provocation and the shop illustrates fairly well how this works. All it takes is to address the biggest taboo issue, in which Germany and Austria play the role of the pseudo-victims, the Third Reich and its symbolism and some people will immediately climb the barricades to prohibit something they might not even know enough about. The pessimistically tent to "paint it black", try to demonstrate their pseudo-left-wing ideas or try to be pseudo-moralists or whatsoever... Still, I am not in favour of the re-introduction of extremely right-wing ideas. I only could not understand the rigidity of the measures taken against this shop. But as I said before – I would want all these political discussions to be kept out of Metal.
Arcana Noctis: Do you have any message at all in your lyrics or are they all fictional? Are they important to you?
Michael: Yes, all my lyrics are of great importance to me. I just need them in order to fight my inner fights, thus they are realistic, using many stylistic pictures, of course. The title of the CD is sort of the program I would say. And when you read the lyrics, you read myself... If you understand them, of course! ;) I am also grateful for interpretations of my lyrics, haha...
Arcana Noctis: What do you expect for the future and what are your plans? You know you can't live with this kind of music without having "common" jobs... Is it frustrating to play only on weekends and only in front of small audiences?
Michael: Hm, well, actually we have already achieved more than we had thought. There has always been this dream of the record deal – but it has been hard work to get it and now the work really begins... It is not necessarily frustrating to play in front of a smaller audience or not to be able to make a living, just by playing our music. Almost always we are treated very nicely and friendly and welcomed warmly by the audience. It is the most important thing for me to see that there is strong company and a sense of belonging together. Surely, there is also a lot of envy in our small scene, accompanied by quarrels and other bad emotions from time to time. That's a pity... But maybe that's just a part of the human nature... Ourselves, for example, try and have always tried to work together with all the others. If you can rely on other people, there is nothing better than a long and close collaboration of bands – just the way we work together with Perishing Mankind, a collaboration that has been launched by their guitarist Gernot and myself.
Arcana Noctis: Why do you think it's hard to play on bigger festivals as an Austrian band? ...not to mention playing in the U.S.A. for example... Why do you think there are only a few Austrian Metal bands that are known widely... or Austrian bands/musicians/movies in general... I think there are a lot of great ones...
Michael: Presumably, this is due to the support schemes, which are required to make Austrian "products" known abroad. But it also has to do with the attitudes of many people. Let's take the Spring Metal Festival, which is being organised by Metallic Arts and will be held in March this year. I can hardly remember or count how many times I wrote mails to Chris of Metallic Arts, how many times I talked to him and so on – just to get the opportunity to perform at one of the events he organises. I never got a positive answer or – actually – no answer at all. Until that evening in December when I finally got an e-mail. Thus, the key-word is persistence! :) Without a certain amount of persistence one would not get on in life and by no means in the music business. If someone put his head in the sand after one single denial or honest criticism, s/he just would never manage to get any further. Everything it takes is time. No band with a let's say 2-months-band-history would immediately be invited to play at the Wacken festival... there are simply too many out there... And additionally it takes a little bit of luck and some connections plus a well-developed network.
Arcana Noctis: You know that most of the Metal fans are very young... most of them will probably throw away your CDs (OK this is the worst case scenario, but things like that, you know what I mean...) in some years! The music you play will for certain never reach a doctor (PhD) for example... How about that?
Michael: Okay, our music is mainly listened to by young people, but I also know that some persons with respectable degrees like Masters, PhDs and so on, listen to our songs! So this is not entirely true... And if our younger fans earn their PhD degrees – well, who knows which kind of music we'll be playing then!? ;)
Arcana Noctis: On "Journey..." there are some great keyboards and electronic sounds, and (as I've read in the booklet) ... orchestrations? What does this mean? Are there real instruments like violins? Tell me all about the writing and recording process, how long does it take to make an album? Is it expensive? Do you pay all by yourselves?
Michael: Yep, "orchestrations" stands for the keyboards, the samples, certain computer programs and stuff like that. Nowadays these measures allow the simulation of a real orchestra to a certain extent. This is just the cheaper way. Surely we, or above all Heiko, our main "sound-prodigy", would definitely prefer a real orchestra. This also explains that Heiko is responsible for all the sounds and samples. How long it takes, depends... "Dissimulated" kept us busy 3 years and two months, "Your Soul..." only about one moth and everything was done. "Journey..." took us slightly longer, owing to some health problems I had to cope with. And how much it costs... well, it is truly expensive for a hobby! :) We played all the instruments by ourselves for the recording, I did the vocals and Heiko the orchestration in addition to his instrument. Just the way it's supposed to be! ;)
Arcana Noctis: Did you miss a question? Say whatever you need to! ...something to our readers... Do you appreciate webzines, and non profit magazines in general?
Michael: Thank you very much, this was the most detailed interview I ever did... I cannot think of anything else, except that my fingers are sore as a consequence of all the typing. :) Everything that serves the Metal scene and is done out of a real conviction and dedication to the scene I consider remarkable indeed. I would say that no other scene stand on such strong pillars, all constructed out of the dedication an enthusiasm of people who are responsible for its stability. That's why I also see our scene among one of the best ones to be found... Anyway, I really hope that our fans and those who will turn into fans in the future, will keep supporting us or start to do so... And I wish the same to Arcana Noctis!!!
Thanks, Dr(!).Winter... hehehe ;)
Arcana Noctis: Thanxxx very much for the interview, and all the best for the future! I personally hope to hear a further development on the next record, because I think Ars Moriendi is one of the most promising bands around here! Cheerz!
Michael: I cannot tell you yet, which direction the new album will take, because our two new members will surely also account for the one or the other surprise! ;)
Best regards,
Michael