Mithras might not be a name that you would recognize in extreme metal, but it will be soon thanks to their recent signing to the legendary Candlelight Records. Their 2003 album Worlds Beyond the Veil will be re-released through Candlelight on March 8 followed shortly by the re-release of their 2002 album Forever Advancing... Legions in May. Mithras are prepared to take the metal world by storm in the next few months with their fresh and intriguing sound.

Leon: Hi, this is Leon Macey. I play drums and all the guitars on the albums. The other members are Rayner Coss (bass/oratory) and Lee du-Caine (live guitars).

Leon: It feels great! We’ve had 2 albums out so far, both on Golden Lake Productions, our debut ‘Forever advancing…… legions’ (released 2002) and ‘Worlds beyond the veil’ (released 2003). We have signed for a further 3 albums with Candlelight and they will soon be repressing the first 2 albums. It’s good that we now have a platform for our music to reach more people.

Leon: Mithras is just the name that suits the band. Mithras was an ancient roman god, who was hidden, and it’s very interesting historically. We aren’t really a death metal band, we consider ‘death metal’ to be bands who actually sing about death/gore etc., none of our lyrics are about that. We consider ourselves more an ‘extreme’ metal band.

Our lyrics are related to our spirituality, particularly those on ‘Worlds…’ which is about dreams, the possibility of other life in the universe, transcending after death, all tied up in the concept of the album.

Leon: We are quite content to stay as a 2 piece for writing and recording after spending years wasting time with people who promised everything and delivered nothing. Working as a 2 piece works best for us in practical and creative terms.

We did both albums as a 2 piece pretty much; on our new album ‘Worlds beyond the veil’ we spent 2 years with just Rayner and I working on the songs and fitting the drums and bass around the original guitar parts.

Leon: For ‘Worlds...’ I got into a blank meditative state and then just let the music flow out of the guitar with the tape running. I used these original guitar tracks as the basis for all the songs. We worked on the bass/vocals and drums along to a CD of the guitar parts at rehearsal, and then I re-recorded them a few times changing the tempos of the parts as the arrangements of the drums and vocals developed. Some parts needed to be an exact speed to keep the feel of the original takes and solos. We spent the most time getting the right feel for each song, and worked on the drumming and vocals a lot. On our first album it turned out a lot faster than we intended, so this time, we really concentrated on getting the exact tempos to make sure it didn’t speed out of control!

Leon: Hmm… I don’t think I can break it down that simply. I’d say metal bands we like are old Metallica, Slayer, Emperor, Morbid Angel, Bal-Sagoth, and for the ambient side, Dreamtribe, Dead Can Dance and loads of obscure bands. I don’t listen to bands when writing, so it’s hard to say which bands have influenced us most.

Leon: Our sound is becoming more atmospheric, maybe a bit more ambient. ‘Worlds…’ is a lot more focused than ‘Forever…’ and it’s as brutal but just more Mithras-like. It’s less like other bands. I think we have transcended the death metal genre, really! I don’t know of any other known bands that use guitars in the way we do, to create soundscapes. This is core to what sets us apart, the timeless sounding looping melodies which are the music we want to hear.

Leon: In a good way I feel. We aren’t part of any scene which has kept us isolated. If you went to London, there is a ‘scene’ of sorts but we aren’t part of it. There are quite a few extreme metal bands about, a few good up and coming ones such as Pulverised, but I’m not sure about any others. There’s a level of predictability in what people want to listen to in the UK, which affects which bands can become successful.

Leon: I think it’s getting slightly stagnant again after a period of renewal in the late 90s. Not much is catching my ear at the moment. In terms of extreme metal, the latest Enslaved album is good.

Leon: Neither, I go ‘commando’!