ADRENALIN: Speaking of side projects, what is the future status of Cut Throat, Abigail, Enoch and Blood from the Soul (a project with Shane Embury of Napalm Death)?

MIRAI: Now we're too busy to do these projects. I'd love to finish up the album for Blood from the Soul, but both Shane and I have been really busy. Also Abigail is not our project or anything but a real band by Yasuyuki Suzuki.

ADRENALIN: You had some history with the band Mayhem specifically the release of your first full length album Scorn Defeat ('93) on Euronymous' label Deathlike Silence Records.  How do you feel this relationship helped the band and how long did it set you back if at all upon Euronymous' death and subsequent folding of the record company into the hands of Voices of Wonder?

MIRAI: I'm quite sure that we'd ended up as a demo band without Euronymous.  We were sending out the demo to many labels back then, but there was nobody but Euronymous who was interested in signing a Japanese band influenced by 80s metal when almost everybody was enthusiastic about death metal and grindcore.  When we singed to DSP, black metal was nothing but a very very small movement but we felt it was something very creative. And everything changed when Burzum was featured on a cover of Kerrang!.

Well, if Euronymous hadn't been murdered, the release might have been even delayed more as he was pretty much slow in doing things

ADRENALIN: At the time of your Mayhem connection you also decided to don the famous corpse paint that seemed to

be prevalent among most of the Scandinavian black metal bands of the time.  Since then most bands as well as yourselves have one by one taken the paint off.  Was this more of a response to the perceived absurdness of the look or just a natural progression and maturity?

MIRAI: I still think corpse paint is cool. Like long hair and leather jacket, it's the symbol that gives you the idea what kind of music the bands play. We just want to have the photos that fit the musical style all the time. We had psychedelic photos when our music was pretty much druggy. I won't call it progression or maturity as they are something just different.

ADRENALIN: You've chosen to present the vocals differently on a few of the albums ranging from traditional harsh black metal screams to more of the clear presentation.  Your most recent work, Hangman's Hymn, has seen a return to the harsh end of vocals but this time coupled with the wonderfully eerie female background vocals of Mikannibal who also adds in alto sax to the mix.  What made you go back to the heavier vocal range and do you expect to return to clean vocals on any future releases?

Next Page
Previous Page