Funeral Mass exclusive interview

 

1- Hello andwelcome to Metal Music Midwest, first off, thanks for taking the time todo the interview, could you give our readers a brief description of thegroup? Where is the band from?

Welcome. We are Funeral Mass, a melodic black metal from Gdańsk, Poland. 2018 was the year when mine and Jerzy's thrash metal band broke up. We've decided to create some more ambitious music, and show up with something new and better. The ideas showed up very quickly, our music style also started to shape, and we already released two full albums, At the Crossroads of Dark Paths and Forgotten Kingdoms of the North. We are now preparing to release our next work.

2- Shadow of the Raventhrone is the band's 3rd full album, how long did it take to write?

Very long time, but I think different musicians would understand this term differently. For us, the writing and recording process of our newest album was for sure the longest one ever. The first ideas started to show up even before the release of our previous album, but they were never used, so I think above 2 years of just writing songs. There are also many dropouts, different variations of lyrics, etc.

3- What musicalinfluence inspires the band’scompositions?  

I think most inspiration we take comes from the early melodic black metal scene, especially Scandinavian, but also the modern groups from our country and all around the world have done a great impact on our music style.

4- The group started in 2018, can you tell us how did you all meet?

I, Jerzy, and our ex-drummer Jakub knew each other from our old black thrash metal band (Jerzy played in this band only for a couple of months). Early 2018 was when this group collapsed, and we decided to try our skills in some more ambitious project, that's how Funeral Mass was formed.

5- The new album title is Shadow of the Raventhrone, can you give us details about the content and more in-depth meaning of thistitle?

Our fictions realm, it's a forgotten and cursed land beneath the mountains where the great castle of "Raventhrone" stands. Where the shadow of the great mountains reaches, it is where the dark Ravelord rules. The title track will also expand this concept enough.

6- Each member ofthis project is part of another band, how do you maintain a good balanceworking together?

Yeah, at this moment our drummer Ignacy and Guitarist Dmytro are playing in some other projects also, Jerzy tried his powers in some other bands some time ago. Well, I think that covid times showed the musicians, or at least us, that the best way to practice and invent new things is not to make pointless rehearsals every week but to just sit down at home and play the instrument, so we can gather fully ready for rehearsal and then gigs. Also, you know, people don't play music to achieve some kind of life success, but they do it mostly because of passion and simply for fun, I think this fact makes everybody always able to find the time for each project or band.

7- Have youperformed any shows in your area? if so, how receptive and supportive are thepeople to your music?

We used to play in our region very often, but after the coronavirus, many cool clubs and other places simply collapsed or completely changed its view on the importance of metal gigs, and many bands are very disappointed because of this. 

Yes, people in Gdańsk are very supportive, the gigs here are always great and gather many people, well, I think that all metal fans in Poland are very committed to this music. 

8- Are there anyupcoming shows or tours you can tell us about?

A big show - "Black Danzig III" on the eleventh of November, where we will support Voidhanger and Death Worship. A gig in Bydgoszcz, a great, kinda legendary party called "The Last Words of Death", where we will also play with some solid bands. Beyond that, nothing is confirmed at this moment. 

9- Thanks for yourparticipation, finally, what is the best way to get a hold of the band, in casesomeone wants to book or promote the band? Any final words?

I think our email, (funeralmass.metal@gmal.com) is the most decent form as facebook sucks nowadays. 

Thanks for this interview, and big thanks to everybody for going through all I wanted to say. 

Cheers, Kamil.

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