Tuesday 8 January 2013

MABUSE INTERVIEW - NORWEGIAN DEATH/THRASH ATTACK!!

WHO ARE THEY : MABUSE
WHERE ARE THEY FROM - Oslo, Norway
FOR FANS OF : Deathhammer, Sadus, Hellhammer, Aura Noir, Death
LATEST RELEASE :- "Stench Of Death" Demo 2012. (self released)
WEBSITES:- http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mabuse/253819114688432?sk=info



I was first introduced to this band via Fenriz after his keen ear for
new extreme talent picked up on this bands music and their debut demo
"Stench Of Death" which was released old school style on cassette tape
only, I checked out the tracks streaming online and was instantly
impressed with this young Oslo based bands aggressive and manic take
on death/thrash with totally possessed sounding vocals which rival the
vocalist in fellow Norwegians Deathhammer for being purely OTT
sounding. The band's main core is currently made up of a two piece  -
Jonas on guitar/vocals and Andreas on drums/lead guitar, vocals. It
was Jonas who I interviewed to find out more about this still rather
unknown entity.Hails Jonas! Please tell us a brief history on Mabuse and who

currently does what in the band?

In short, I (Jonas) had a bunch of riffs, but no band. It came up somehow in a conversation at 2010s Til Dovre Faller festival and Andreas said he might be able to help me out. I took it up with him a few months later, and we had a few rehearsals before we (he) recorded the demo. And that was pretty much it. I do most stuff except the drums, which Andreas handles. Although he also played two of the four lead parts of Dentist Death plus some vocal parts here and there.

Your debut demo "Stench of Death" is a fine piece of aggressive
death/thrash madness...please tell the readers about about it in your
own words, is it still available? what has the overall response been
like to it so far? Are you satisfied with how it turned out overall?


I don't know if there's much to tell about it, it just straight forward death/thrash. The style is like what some bands sounded like in '87 when thrash was well on it's way moving into death metal. The tape sold out really fast, and that took me by surprise. The feedback has been really good. I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out, but I hate the bass sound. Luckily the sound of the tape is way superior to the tracks online, so somebody should rip the tape and but it online, hehe.

I know you pressed it up old school style on cassette tapes..any
chance of it being released on CD or vinyl format? Have any labels
expressed an interest in doing that?


I'm not interested in re-releasing it, on any format really. I'm looking forward and my attention is on the next release.

Your demo recieved praise from Fenriz in Darkthrone and you guys were
made a "band of the week" - how did that make you feel? Are you guys
big fans of Darkthrone?


That was pretty cool, as it makes it easier for a broader audience to discover the music. I've discovered a bunch of really good bands through that blog. Fans of Darkthrone? For sure, both old and new. Can't wait for the new album as I really like the direction they've taken with the last 3-4 albums.





The vocals are fucking MANIC!!!! Just pure aggression and insane
sounding!!! How did you settle upon such a vocal style?!


I had never done any vocals before the recording of Stench of Death, and the ending of Crushing Death Strike is the first proper attempt I did. The week before we recorded the vocals I listened a lot to early Autopsy, as Reifert has the most awesome vocals in extreme metal and I wanted to do something in that style. But when I tried I sounded like a bloated version of late '90s Max Cavalera and it sounded like shit, so I just tried my own thing and it worked pretty good. The vocals on the demo is the part I'm most satisfied with. Andreas' vocals are awesome so I wanted him to do some stuff as well.

The band recorded the demo as a 2 piece - will you remain as a 2 piece
or do you plan to expand the line up at some point? I guess it is
rather hard to play live right now as just a 2 piece or is playing

live not a big priority for the band? Maybe you do actually have some
help with gigs and have already played live?

Playing live is definitely something I've thought about, but as we like 500 km apart and we've several bands outside of Mabuse I don't think it will happen with us two. I'd have to pull together a whole live band, and that's not easy. It might happen some day.

Have you written much new material since the demo was recorded? What
will your next release be? Another demo or maybes you will do an
album? What can we expect from the newer material, is it in the same
vein?


I've got enough material for a full length album, material that was written in the same period as the demo, so it's in the same vein. We're working on an 7" EP, but with other bands and stuff like that it takes some time. I hope we'll be done with the recording before the winter. Until then my focus is on Mion's Hill, another band I have with two of the guys from Condor. We have a demo tape out now called 'Festering Curses'. Old-school metal with influences from bands such as Hellhammer, Death Strike, Mayhems 'Deathcrush' etc.

What bands fuel and shape the sound of MABUSE?

It would be easier to name records that bands. Scream Bloody Gore, Severed Survival, Black Thrash Attack to name a few. Not that we sound like those records, but they've definitely shaped our sound, altough some people have pointed out that Mabuse sounds like Mantas 'Death by Metal'.

Please explain your band name? Why did you choose that name?

I came across the caracter Dr. Mabuse in a book I read, and it seemed like a fitting theme for death metal. There weren't any bands listed on MA who'd used the name, and that helped as I wanted an original name. Like, how many bands out there are named Tormentor?

Lyrically where do you get your inspiration from?

Dreams, other death metal records, horror movies.

Your opinion on your local scene and the scene in Norway in general?
What otheer bands from NORWAY do you feel an affinty with? What bands
from your country would you recommend the metal maniacs from across
the world who will be reading this?


The Norwegian scene is fucking awesome, there's so many good bands around. Good support too, different bands go to other bands gigs. Just to get the obvious band out of the way you have Nekromantheon, Deathhammer, Diskord, Obliteration and One Tail, One Head. Then you have bands such as Black Magic, Condor, Gouge (check them out and fry your brain), Töxic Death, Execration, Reptillian, Inculter, Gravlund, Repellent, Sküll, and the list goes on.

What is your opinion on the retro death and thrash metal boom that has
literally exploded like a fucking huge musical bomb in recent years -
why do you think old school thrash and old school death metal is
having such a resurgence in recent times?


I don't know, stuff like that usually comes and goes in waves? It seems like metal in general has been peaking since the early 2000s. I'm just glad there's lots of band playing GOOD metal.

Future plans for 2012/2013?

7" EP. Four tracks. It will be released by Duplicate Records.


Last words are yours Jonas - plug merch, websites, etc....many thanks
for answering this short interview!


Don't have any merch to push on people yet. Just check out the band I mentioned earlier and buy their stuff.



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