Mortuary Drape Interview (Wildness Perversion)

When a new album by the Italians Mortuary Drape is announced, I always remember the first time I heard them with “Into the Drape” (1992) and with a friend from school we were fascinated, and after that production, the curiosity to look for more in Their catalog included their first album “All the Witches Dance” (1994), with the tremendous photo of a desecrated grave as adverse stories on the cover. Where I remember that that album destroyed my brain with its music, and from there I began to follow the band with each new production they released in 1997, 2000, and 2004. So, after that last album, the band took a tremendous break from 10 years to release “Spiritual Independence” (2014), an album that left me in an auditory coma, because the band presented an album of great proportions on a general level. Now, after almost 10 years we have their new album “Black Mirror”.

Para leer la entrevista en español: Entrevista a Mortuary Drape 

Metallerium: Welcome to Metallerium website Wildness Perversion! Thank you for taking the time for this interview! First, how are you?  

Mortuary Drape:  Hi, we are fine, thank you. we apologize for the long wait but luckily, we are doing a lot of them, and it takes time to answer them all well, we must follow the order of reception and we are not always able to answer within the deadlines.  

Metallerium: Talking about the pandemic and its consequences, what dark feelings have overcome you after the small apocalypse that was the Covid 19 pandemic? Perhaps this situation inspires you to create a new album or perhaps a new EP?  

Mortuary Drape: We also worked on the new album during that period but each at our own home, it wasn't a period of great inspiration because our songs before were born from my ideas, and then they were developed by all the band members in our rehearsal room, not being able to travel and meeting in pandemic period slowed down the process of arranging the songs and this is also the reason that made us postpone the recordings by two years.  

Metallerium: I have read stories of some music legends like Tom G. Warrior, in which his music was completely marked by the difficult situation that his life meant, both as a child and as a teenager, and it seems to be a pattern among darker music creators. In your case, did you have a quiet life, or perhaps you have something to tell us? Are you the personification of Mortuary Drape with the Wildness Perversion?  

Mortuary Drape: I'm a simple person who loves creating my music, I like to experiment musically and vocally, I was first a drummer, then a drummer singer and now I've moved on to vocal parts and that's it. 

The band members allow me to take them in my direction too, we don't set limits and perhaps this is the most beautiful and fantastic thing that can exist when you make your music. Within the band everyone has their stage name, mine is linked to the story of the song Abbot present on one of our albums, nothing linked to my past or a difficult childhood as you say, I'm happy with my life, and if I leave something with my songs that will be my victory.  

Metallerium: Mortuary Drape was one of the first bands that I discovered within the Black Metal Underground, which in my opinion, created its style. Could we say that Mortuary Drape carried the banner of Italian Metal very high? Do you think that being born in Italy, a country that loves all types of art, had a lot to do with the type of music you make?  

Mortuary Drape: Thank you for what you say, our intent since 1986 was to create our style, none of us ever thought of playing to resemble some band we listened to, also because in those times metal was absorbed by listening to bands of different styles, to make you better understand what I'm saying, I listened to Rush, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Bathory, Venom, Exodus, PFM, Goblin, Dark Angel, etc.

As you can see nothing can be associated with Mortuary Drape.

Our main goal was to unite the image, the music, and the lyrics of the songs so that these three things were at one point.  

Metallerium: Now, we heard your new album “Black Mirror”, I find it in the usual dark dramatic line, with much more emphasis on the melodic parts that you have always had. What is behind this “Black Mirror”?  

Mortuary Drape: In my opinion, it is a more mature and uncompromising album, we did what came from within us.... it may seem obvious but never like this time have I felt truly satisfied with all the songs and I wouldn't change anything that you can hear listening. It is certainly an album that needs several listens to perceive all its nuances and it was also the most difficult work in terms of timing and writing the songs and arrangements.  

Metallerium: The 30th anniversary of “All The Witches Dance” (1994) is approaching, an album that influenced me a lot. Maybe you have some kind of anniversary or live concert scheduled with this album for next year?  

Mortuary Drape: We've already done a 25th-anniversary tour which went very well, the public response to this album is always very good and I'm sure that if we prepared the 30th it would be a success too. Instead, we are working to organize a European tour, a South American one, and also one for North America to play several Black Mirror songs live. Naturally, we will also play most of our best-known songs which are always well-received by those who come to our concerts. concerts. We are working on this, and we believe we will be able to do everything by 2025, a couple of years are a must for a good promotion.  

Metallerium: At the beginning of the band, at the end of the 80s, you were active in the global underground scene. Do you consider that this was the golden era of Metal Underground in general? Today in 2023, can we say that the underground still exists? If practically all the old customs have been displaced by technology, where new productions are released first through digital media, where fans add a song to their digital playlist and only buy the most exclusive editions to use it as decoration, if you have also perceived this. Do you think the underground still exists? What would be the bases that support it?  

Mortuary Drape: Many things have changed and nothing today can be compared to what happened in the 80s, times are too fast now, you don't have time to publish a song that the next day is already everywhere, after a week it's already old and there it's the possibility that your song could be quickly forgotten. Then there are the usual people who rush to publish it on their channel as soon as the album comes out, everyone is looking for likes and listens, today it's the numbers that count, and unfortunately no longer good music. If you don't make a video clip it's not good, if you don't make a video interview it's not good, all lovers of speed, of the immediate... in the immediate future idiotic things are written and said, the answers must be thought out, calibrated, everything must have its technical times. Hurrying is a bad thing.  

Metallerium:  We're very close to finishing this interview, so. What are the plans that the band has for this new album? Videos, maybe more albums, or who knows?  

Mortuary Drape: We will play concerts and participate in festivals, this is our priority, there is time for the new album, we make music to say something and if we have nothing to communicate we don't publish anything. I think that you have to throw out an album when you have something to say and not work as happens in the factory, ours is art and art has no time for racing.  

Metallerium: Well, the sad moment came in this interview. Congratulations on this new album, it's great. I hope you liked the interview and maybe you have something to add to your Latin fans and Metallerium readers.  

Mortuary Drape: Thanks to you for the interview, I tell readers that the most immediate way to support bands is to buy merchandise and go to concerts. Reflected in the black mirror lies the face of your restless death. www.mortuary13drape.com