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February 9, 2010 |
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Harry Noctifer
February 9, 2005
By Marty Ogilvie
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Greece's MORS IN TABULA have recently unleashed their 4-song promo CD to the metal-hungry masses. Heavy, atmospheric, incredibly well performed and produced, and touching on the best elements of death, black, and industrial metal, the band have managed to do the near impossible. They've created a fresh, unique, and creative album that will scare the hell out of you! Clocking in at just over 16 minutes, this is a brilliant trip to the most haunting of places, with Harry Noctifer and George Julius (both are guitarists/vocalists) acting as your tour guides. This truly is a band to watch out for! Harry Noctifer took time out of his schedule to chat with me about MORS IN TABULA, their fabulous new CD, and the state of today's extreme music scene.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me today Harry, and congratulations on a great CD! I can't stop listening to it!
Hello Marty, and thank you for the awesome review of our "Promo CD 2004". You know, it's really a great feeling to see your hard work being recognized. We have unleashed our souls out there through our music. So...watch out for MORS IN TABULA!
Can you give the METALEATER.COM readers an overview of how you and George came to form MORS IN TABULA?
The band was formed at the end of 2003 by George, after the splitting up of our former band, REGENT. He had this concept in mind, influenced by horror movie soundtracks, and wanted to create something different, bizarre, and of course extreme and really heavy.
Two months later, he proposed we join forces with him. We were so hungry to create, and started rehearsing and recording. After three months, we had finished all the material we needed for a debut album, and we are promoting it through our "Promo CD 2004".
One of the things that really impresses me about MORS IN TABULA is your attention to detail...from the sound bytes, to that haunting (but, oh so cool) church bell in "Eye Of The Abyss". This is something that a lot of bands seem to overlook these days. How did paying attention to the "little things" come in to play during the recording process?
All of these "little things" are very important things to us. We are obsessed with details; in fact, our music is based on those. I think this is the key that makes MORS' music unique. We've spent lots of hours in the studio experimenting with samples and effects. The satisfaction came with the result. At this point, I must admit we had precious help from our producer, Dimitris N., who did a hell of a job and also allowed us to work freely, focus on our goal, and give 100% of ourselves. What other bands do with details, it is their own matter.
"M/K Ultra" is an interesting song title. Care to share the meaning of it?
"M/K Ultra" is a complicated story. Some say it's a fairytale, but it is believed that it was a brainwashing program of the CIA, which pre-programmed people to become assassins without their knowledge. Some say that this experiment really did exist, and some not, but...do we live among angels? Who knows??
On your website, you and George list your favorite bands, and it's quite a diverse list for both of you guys. How does having a wide range of musical tastes affect your songwriting?
We listen to everything that has to do with music, as long as it's original of course. I think it's every musician's obligation to do that. Every music genre has something interesting to offer. I don't think there are good or bad genres, but there are good and bad artists. We grew up in the 80's and I think we are very lucky because we lived when the metal scene at its best. From the classic N.W.O.B.H.M. (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal), to the early thrash and metal days. We don't focus on a standard music genre. We represent a new way of making extreme music. We take all of our influences and transform them into a very modern and extreme feeling.
You released the album as an independent. Has there been any label interest?
We've been approached by two labels so far, but we didn't have the guarantees we wanted to ensure a bright future for the band, so we rejected them. We strongly believe in our music and we don't want to be prisoned under any contract which does not ensure us the standards we want.
On the album, you were aided by three session players. What will happen when it comes time to tour? Will they be made permanent members?
The only permanent members of the band are George and I. You know, it's difficult these days to find the right bandmates to fit in a band, especially in Greece. And I mean those to communicate with, to share our thoughts and ambitions with. So, we hired session musicians for the recordings and for the tours.
Which bands would be included with MORS on your ultimate tour?
The perfect tour for us would be with the bands we grew up listening to, like JUDAS PRIEST, KING DIAMOND, SLAYER, MORBID ANGEL, and nowadays kickass bands like SLIPKNOT. It sounds crazy for now, of course, but I think that would be the perfect tour for MORS IN TABULA.
Your website is really well done. How important is it these days for a band to have a website that catches your eye?
It depends on how any band sees this matter, but for sure this is the best way to get exposed. Our obsession for the details lead us to make our website as best as we could, dark and mysterious, to fit our music and to express our personalities - not just to make it "catchy". We cooperated with Set H Design. Seth himself is a unique artist and friend. We asked him to do all of the artwork and he created Hell...and believe me, it was more than we could ever imagine. Now he is working on the new PARADISE LOST artwork.
How do you feel the extreme music scene looking these days?
I strongly believe we are living in the era of the underground. There are amazing underground bands which create much better and much more interesting music than the ones that like to call themselves "big bands". Many of the big bands have nothing more to offer and I think they should really break up, and instead be remembered as "big bands", not humiliating themselves by making more albums. Also, the tragic thing is that some big bands "borrow" from lesser known bands and they claim it's their own progress and development. Many of the underground jewels deserve much more recognition because they live for music, not dollars or euros.
Only the underground labels have noticed that and sign all these unique bands. Major labels don't get the meaning. They don't seem to care and they always try to "build" bands according to their need of making more money. They keep the "big bands" alive to ensure their standard profit. Now, for MORS IN TABULA, we'll always try to create the music that expresses ourselves. If not, we'll probably break up before being humiliated.
What's next for MORS IN TABULA? Can we expect a full length CD sometime soon?
We work on new material. We are never satisfied. We promote out music to the press through our promo CD, and for the fans through our website where there are two downloadable songs - "Bloodpath" and "Noctifer". We were proposed some gigs in Greece, and if it's possible, we'll try to do some out of Greece. Now, about a full length CD, we are on a label hunt and I think we've got a very good "weapon" for this hunting.
Any final words for the readers of METALEATER.COM?
Yes. Hell-o my precious souls. Thank you for supporting the band and sending us all these amazing emails and regards. The new era has descended. MORS IN TABULA send you our darkest regards. [FIN]
» Official MORS IN TABULA Website
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