Guitarist Moloch of Mesopotamian Black Metal band, Melechesh, talks about their latest release ‘The Epigenesis‘

Greetings from MetalIndia Magazine. How are you doing?
Very good. Nice to do an interview with you guys again!

Please tell us something about the new album ‘The Epigenesis’. How is it different from your previous releases?
It’s always a good balance between new and old. We owe it to ourselves to keep on exploring the style of music we created. So you can expect a Melechesh album with all the characteristic that define our style (middle eastern drums patters/guitar scales & black thrash metal) but we allowed ourselves to add new elements: using more traditional instruments (Yayli Tanbur, Tar, Sitar, Santur), adding some subtle elements of prog rock, more “live” and jamming like parts (allowing us some improvisation in the studio). It’s an album that has many aspects to it: from very simple 3 riff tracks to complex pieces, mid tempo grove to blasting beats, instrumentals, etc. In this sense it’s a very comprehensive album.

Please tell us about the artwork? What does it represent and who designed it?
The artwork was designed by John Coulthart with whom we had already worked for “Emissaries”. His art fits our music perfectly and he’s great to work with because he’s very creative and professional. The cover represents many things that are in the album and are encompassed by the idea of “Epigenesis”: spiritual evolution, that metaphysical link between creation and destruction, enlightenment, human creation as partaking in a cosmological creation, etc. All this is allegorically illustrated by an unorthodox mix of symbolism taken from various mystical traditions (Kabbalah, Byzantine, etc.) and Mesopotamian mythology.

You have used a number of traditional instruments in the new album. What are those and did you play them or did you invite guest players?
We played a few and had guest musicians play the rest. I personally played the Baglama saz and some percussion while Ashmedi did the Sitar parts and percussion. Being in Istanbul allowed us to have great guest musicians like Cahit Berkay (a 70’s ethnorock legend) who played saz and Yayli Tanbur (a long bowed luth). A very talented Tar artist called Nevican Ozelone showed up to the studio one day, we asked him if we would participate and he glady accepted. As for the Santur player, we actually met him in the street, Ashmedi went up to him and was like “hey do you want to play on a black metal album?” and he said “Yes!”

Why did you decide to record at Babajim Records in Istanbul? How does it compare with your previous recording studios?
For many reasons, first and foremost it’s an amazing studio, with amazing equipment and Grammy award winning staff. Istanbul is a very inspiring place, and this helped a lot during the recording. Also the resources there are amazing especially if you are looking for guest musicians. I would easily say that this has been our best recording experience so far. It’s been the longest also (more than 2 monthes!). And finally going to Istanbul is a statement: why go West when you can East to record a metal album? There are a lot of things happening in the Middle East (and India as well) when it comes to metal and people are not paying enough attention to it.

This is your first release with Nuclear Blast Records. How has your experience been so far?
It’s been great, they have been pushing the album and the band to new territories which is what we were looking.

It’s been 4 years from your last release ‘Emissaries’. What has been going on with Melechesh in the past 4 years?
We did a European tour, played many festivals and took our time to think of the new direction to take, whether conceptually, lyrically, musically and visually. We did not rush into the Studio after Emissaries because we did not want to record the same album twice. As I said earlier, we owe it to ourselves and to the people who love our music to move forward. At the end of the day, it’s the journey that makes it worthwhile so you better think of where you’re heading to fully appreciate it…and this takes time!

You have recruited a new bassist, Rahm. How did you get in touch with him? How has he contributed to the new album?
Rahm has been playing live with us for quite some time so it was natural that he joins the band. But the music was already written by the time he joined.

Any touring plans to promote the new album? Any plans to play in India/Asia?
We have the “awakening the giants” tour which is a short album release tour in Benelux, Germany and France in December. This will help us warm up for upcoming tours in Europe (with Nile in January/February) and the US (with Rotting Christ in March/April). So far we have nothing in India and Asia but it’s a dream for us to be there, so I’m hoping it will happen one day.

Any Indian bands you have heard/would like to hear?
Unfortunately not. The band that comes to mind is Rudra but they’re from Singapore. I remember there was this thrash metal band in the 90’s I think and they had a clip on Headbanger’s ball, I’m almost sure they’re Indian but I can’t remember their name! But I can tell you that we listen to a lot of classical Indian music of which we are very fond. I would do anything to go back in time and see Nikhil Banerjee play live!

Thank you for your time and wish you all the best for ‘The Epigenesis’. Any messages for your fans.
Greetings to all the headbangers in India, we REALLY hope that we will be able to play live there one day.

Visit Melechesh at Myspace, Facebook and their Official Website