Mourning Beloveth – The Doom Of Ireland
Irish Doom merchants Mourning Beloveth have existed since '92, and have steadily made themselves a name as one of metal's finest doom bands, on par with such stalwarts as My Dying Bride and Anathema. Their latest release – A Murderous Circus, released last year, is another somber masterpiece, and the band's bassist – Adrian Butler, was kind enough to educate me further about the band and its music.
Hey Adrian, what is the band doing these days?
These days we are trying to secure another rehearsal space. It seems that every time we tour or record we lose the previous space we had. Brian and Frank are getting some new stuff together which I will hear next week when I get back to Ireland. I live in Spain now but am managing to keep up with things in the band. Our 1st 2 album are getting re-released by Grau this month too and the vinyl of Dust will be available in the coming month I hear. Nothing else strange for us though, just plodding away. We should be recording our next album sometime early next year.
What can you tell us about your latest album, A Murderous Circus?
The new album was recorded in Studio E in Germany during 3 weeks of November 2004. The engineer was Markus Stock of Empyrium/The Vision Bleak fame. We had heard some previous work from there namely Bethlehem and the sound was something we though that might suit the new direction we had going. There were other factors of course like the cost etc(Studios are very expensive here in Ireland) and the fact that it is better to travel away from home if possible to record. In my opinion anyway it put better constructive pressure on you to get the job done and help stay focused on the job at hand.
Who thought up the cover of the album, and what does it mean?
The cover is a gel of backrounds our artist had from before along with a picture of a daughter of a friend of his. We had to make some changes to the original to make it more like what we were looking for but basically the image was pulled from a bank of stuff Lukasz had. Darren(Voc) spoke to Lukasz about the different ideologies behind the lyrics and the themes throughout the album to help come up with some sort of concept and the resulting coverart and inlay show this fruition of ideas and some trial and error.
How would you compare the album to your former releases, in what ways is it similar or different?
It’s a lot stronger in terms of songwriting I think. There are a good few different influences creeping in there but it’s a very stripped back and simplified album soundwise than before. The full wall of sound that we had on Dust and the Sullen Sulcus is not there in strength but the rawness and complicity of the new riffs make a different picture in terms of the newer MB sound.
Your bio states that the band started out in 92', but has not released a full album since 2000, why such a long time?
Well we had 2 demos in between that period, the self-titled demo in 1996 and Autumnal Fires in 1998. We didn't really give ourselves a goal I suppose, just stayed in the shed and practiced the few songs we had. We wasted a lot of time this way but we have made up for it now and this period benefitted us on reflection by getting used to playing with each other and knowing one anothers own personal style and abilities.
You started out working as a sound engineer for the band, how did you join it as a bass player?
I was attending a sound engineering college with Alan (singer from Primordial) and we had to do a recording project for our course so I knew the lads(myself Brian and Frank used to be in band together previously-Hemlock), I knew Tim from school and Darren from just hanging out in town at Winkles corner ha ha. So I asked the lads if they wanted to do a night session and try to record their first demo in 10 hours straight and we managed it. I was asked to join the band a couple of weeks later and the lineup has remained unchanged ever since which is a record for some bands I suppose.
Your initial recording contained a Piano, does your current material also contain classical instruments?
No, we just used the piano for short interludes between the songs on both demos. The piano duties were handles by our friend Dermod who now plays in a band Frank sings in called Old Season.
To what other doom/death bands would you say your music can be compared to?
Well, MDB as you mention below, Old Anathema and Paradise lost, now I mainly speak for these bands with regard to our older stuff including some of our Dust album . The latter material has swayed more in a direction of not having to rely on keyboards or violins to enhance the sound. We made a conscious decision not to use these instruments again and to concentrate on making a more metalized albumSome say we have a sound similar to Evoken, Primordial and some other bands. For me, I don't care really, we are original enough and compose music from our own souls and hearts.
What is it about that certain genre that holds an appeal for you?
It’s a very personal movement if you want to call it perhaps. I like the way slow and daunting music can creep into your mind if done well and can take you away on whatever journey the combination of guitars and percussion make.
What do the lyrics of the band speak of?
Generally its the effects and abuse of our personal lives ,the world we live in and the downward spiral of helplessness that surrounds us. Darren write all the lyrics and more or less comes up with the concept for the album artwork and vision if you like.
You recorded Dust and The Sullen Sulcus with Mags, why did you choose a different studio and producer for the current album?
We wanted a change and to see what might actually happen. The new songs were sounding a bit different too so we wanted to see what a different production would possibly do for us.
The Irish metal scene is mainly known for bands such as Primordial, is there an active extreme metal scene there?
There is a great metal scene in Ireland. Check out www.metalireland.com There are great bands like Abaddon Incarnate, Cruachan,Waylander,Primal Dawn, Wreck of the Hesperus,Primed, lots really, I am a bit out of touch with things there right now but you should check out the Metal Ireland website. I have a record label called Sentinel Records(Darren is now also part of Sentinel) and we have just released the Primordial/Mael Morda 7”The picture disc features a live version of PRIMORDIAL's "The Soul Must Sleep" recorded in Vienna, Austria in 2003 and the title track from MAEL MORDHA's recently recorded debut album "Cluain Tarbh". The release is part of a special series of five split recordings featuring 10 of Ireland's top metal acts. The latest disc is limited to just 500 copies and is available directly from my website. Sentinel released a split 7” with Mourning Beloveth/Lunar Gate a few years ago of which there are few copies left and we also re-released the Dust album in 2002
Does doom metal require a different approach to bass playing than other metal genres?
Great! Another bass question, that’s the 2nd ever in the space of one month hah! I can’t speak for all Doom bass players but I think the majority of us try to fill in that void that 6 strings and a set of drums can’t reach. The bass notes when so low can catch your chest and pull you along with the song as does the rhythm of the drums or the guitar melodies. Its not so much a different approach you need to have, its more like a different method of knowing where to fill in the gaps in a song.
How and why did you sign with Grau Records for this release?
We met Tom at one of the gigs with While Heaven Wept before the Doom Shall Rise date for a chat and we talked some. We as a band then talked some more and when Tom came along to the DSR gig later that week we more or less settled it verbally. We are now with them for a further 3 albums so we have a nice period of not having to worry about looking for a label for a long time. Grau are a good company too and look after us well enough so no complaints there.
