MOON Interview with Miasmyr

XM: Let’s get started by getting our readers up to date with what you have been up to so far this year with Moon?
Miasmyr: Caduceus Chalice is being released at the end of June. I’m also working on two EPs at the moment which should be out later this year.   Currently we’re getting together a new live lineup to play in August and more shows in the second part of the year.

XM: I suppose that a lot of our readers do not really know Moon. I would like to ask you to give us a small introduction and tell us something about the history.
Miasmyr: Moon is obscure black metal with emphasis on ritualism and astral projection. The music serves as guided imagery for an inner descent into the arcane world. It has been a solo project which began in 2008 with the release of several Eps and demos. This year marks the release of the first full length CD Caduceus Chalice. There is also a lineup to play live which has been active since 2009.

XM: ‘Caduceus Chalice’ is your latest release on Moribund Records. What was the recording process like for this album?
Miasmyr: This has been a solo project recorded in a basement studio. The focus is on creating a strong ambience for an introspective mode of thinking. Much attention was given to the quality of tone and timbre to suit the desired atmosphere and character. This meant the use of unorthodox effects and layering of parts to give a greater sense of dimension.

XM: What are your expectations for the album?
Miasmyr: My wish is for those who will appreciate this music to have exposure to it. Music such as this is of selective taste but those who it might appeal to will get a lot out of it.

XM: What kind of mind frame do you get in to write your own music or how do you come up with material to write about?
Miasmyr: I conceive the overall idea of a piece first. There goes through a period of growth; recording and listening back allowing more ideas to come into mind. The music and lyrical concepts are intertwined as connections are made between the two during this developmental period.

XM: What is the band's ultimate goal, artistically speaking?
Miasmyr: The goal is to break down the veneer of the rational mind and give unlife to the inner world of nihilistic abstraction in arcane descent. It is guided imagery for the Astral Nightside and the Underworld, that which takes you inside yourself and opens to the sea of Leviathan.

XM: There are a lot of Black Metal bands out now that comprise of one sole member. What has been the hardest part of being solo and what has been the greatest part of working alone?
Miasmyr: The advantage is the complete control one has and the nature of the music is introspective and singular in vision so it would be hard to collaborate and go as deep. The disadvantage is there is a lot more leg work for one person.

XM: Do you still feel as part of the Black Metal underground movement/scene? Does it look better now or was the Metal underground better in the late 80s?
Miasmyr: The early 90s gave way to a new wave of darkness with more deeply established ideology but it became stagnant by the end of the decade. There is more around now that doesn’t carbon copy other bands or go with the flow. There is greater diversity which means there isn’t a single Black Metal movement but many individuals; the darkness has been lifted from one place and spread throughout the world all connecting with the undercurrent that binds them. That said I choose to make the music I feel like, I don’t attempt to adhere to other people’s sound or perspectives.

XM: I don’t really hear of a lot of metal bands that are from Australia, how do you feel the overall scene is?
Miasmyr: It’s usually quite easy to pick if a band is from Norway, Sweden, France or Poland but Australia doesn’t have a Black Metal identity in the same way. It was once identified with the retro thrash black of Destroyer 666, Vomitor, Spear of Longinus and Sadistik Execution. That music still lives but the output overall is more diverse and individualistic. The city I live in (Brisbane) has some interesting bands Portal, Impetuous Ritual, Spire, Mongrels Cross and Embrace the Solar Winds; each takes their own approach to invoking nihilistic darkness. Moon is similar to them in this way as it chooses its own path.

XM: Which is a greater challenge to you, to satisfy all your earthly desires, or to feed your intellectual needs?
Miasmyr: The inner drive fulfills both of these desires as it is indulgence on the most arcane and abhorrent level. Much breaking down of framework within the mind and new cognitive concepts are required to abstract and experience the inner world.

XM: Do you find any single one, at least, of the Ten Commandments to be worthy in your system of values?
Miasmyr: No but its interesting to note that the seventh commandment was originally, “though shalt only be allowed to covet his neighbors’ wife if she gives consent” and was only later changed by the Rabbinical Jewish interpreters to suit their beliefs at the time to “thou shalt not commit adultery”.

XM: If you could have been involved in the production, writing or recording of any album which would it be and why?
Miasmyr: Caduceus Chalice is a project I was very closely connected with during its production. It’s the privilege of creating a unique emanation of nihilistic unhinging such as this that is the greatest reward.

XM: What is the first thing to come to mind when you hear the words X-PLOSIVE METAL?
Miasmyr: All metal all the time!

XM: Could you just briefly take us through Moon’s plans for the 2011?
Miasmyr: There is the release of Caduceus Chalice at the end of June, playing with Pestilential Shadows August 12 and two EPs to be released before the end of the year. Further live shows are to be confirmed.

XM: On behalf of xplosivemetal.com I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions with us. Anything else you'd like to mention or promote?
Miasmyr: Caduceus Chalice is to be released June 28 through Moribund Cult.

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