Interviews

Hello there! Nice one, the new Mors Principium Est album 'The Unborn'. How are reactions so far? Hi! So far 95% positive. It's been chosen album of the month in few sites and mags and has also received great feedback from the fans.

How would you describe the music from 'The Unborn' if you were the one writing the review?
Modern melodic speed/death metal with dark vibes and lots of hooks. It's kind of hard to describe our own music but I would go with something like that.

For those not familiar with Mors Principium Est, can you give us a brief history of the band so far?
We started in 1998 with an odd mixture of power and black metal. Luckily our style began to change into melodic death metal and after a few demos, Listenable records offered us a recording contract for three albums. Our first one, entitled Inhumanity was released in 2003 and our second effort got released just this spring. That one is called 'The Unborn'.

The meaning of the band name is (translated from Latin): "Death Is The Beginning". To you, is it just a cool sounding name or is there a philosophy behind it?
No, not a real philosophy but I think it tributes our genre very well. We have no religious message or anything like that, although there has been a rumour going on saying that we are actually a gospel band but that's not true. We thought about changing it to a shorter one because people might have a hard time remembering or spelling it but we just couldn't come up with anything as original.

In my cd review, I compared the new album with Dark Tranquillity, The Haunted and Soilwork. Do these comparisons bother you or is it a potential selling argument?
No they don't bother, we like those bands very much and could even call them as one of our biggest influences. I just hope that it doesn't sound like we are trying copy or steal directly from someone because I like to think we have our own sound.

What bands are Mors Principium Est's main influences?
Well the whole Göteborg-genre, including aforementioned bands is probably the biggest one and can be heard most in our music. On individual level our influences vary greatly. I for example love electronic stuff and also have found classical music lately. Then again Mikko, our drummer listens to Cannibal Corpse and grind bands a lot. Ville loves black metal, Jirkko and Teemu prog stuff and Joona power/hair metal. From all that stuff comes the sound of MPE.

Did the band choose to do 'Blood Of Heroes' (a Megadeth cover from their 'Youthanasia' album) or was it bullshit record label politics to sell more cd's?
We are in a nice position as a band because Listenable gives us completely free hands concerning music. Not a lot of recording bands get that. So the Megadeth cover was our idea, an old one really, and we just thought now was the right time to release it. We all like Megadeth, even more older stuff than 'Youthanasia' but those albums have been covered so much that we decided to skip them.

'The Unborn' is released in two versions: a regular ten track version and a limited edition twelve song digipack, including the Megadeth song plus 'No More'. Can this song be considered as a left over from the 'The Unborn' sessions?
No, that is a song written and recorded before our recording career even began. Actually at the same time with blood of heroes. It's a bit experimental song so one might easily think it's written to 'The Unborn'.

Why not release only the twelve-track version, giving people worth their money?
Now you're asking things that are not in our control, this is Listenable's business more than ours. We have no further info why.

The band released three demos before 'Inhumanity'. Any chance of them being released on cd officially?
No. We feel they suck and also are so different from our current material that it's not even considered.

If you were a tour promoter or booking agent with all the contacts in the world of showbiz, with whom would Mors Principium Est be touring right now?
Probably not with anyone because I'm still studying and the others go to work or school too. A tour would mess that up big time. I'm just not the kind of person who risks everything to try to be rockstar and never go to work. I love music and all that but I'm still realistic. Maybe later with Metallica might be nice though...

In the meantime the band has played on the BWBK two-day festival in Cleveland - Ohio, on the seventh of May. You guys shared the stage with some great bands like Trouble, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, Death Angel and Raven.
Yep, been there, done that. A very nice trip all together. We had fun, made a lot of new friends and really enjoyed seeing all those great bands.

What does the bands future hold in store and when will we be able to see the band some kick ass gigs in Europe?
We don't know right know, things are a bit difficult without a booking agency and we are constantly trying to find one. But I think we can work something out this year.

The band has a website, but unfortunately the offered information is a bit meagre. When will we be able to enjoy a better website?
The new one came online just few months ago so not for a while anyway. Besides, we like our website!

Anything to say or add?
Thanks for the interview and have a great summer!