Interview with Mortician
What´s the name of your band? At that time we were looking for something creepy and thought about the German name “Leichenbestatter”. So we ended up with the English translation “Mortician”.
How was the band formed? Thomas and Roland took guitar lessons and both were big Kiss fans. After some playback Kiss shows they found out that it is much more exciting to play live and so they started in 1983 to look for some like-minded metal heads.
Can you tell about your band? As mentioned in the beginning it was Thomas and Roland but it took not long to bring Siegfried (vocals) Manfred (drum) and myself (bass) on board. We immediately started to write our own songs and played them for our friends in the rehearsal room. It took as about one year before we had our first gig on March 31st 1984.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? Except of Manfred, he comes from Frastanz we all lived in Satteins which in in 3km distance. Beside our instruments we all did a lot of drinking, hanging around and traveling to concerts at Zürich and Munich because in our area there were no big bands playing.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? As all of the young bands in the 80ies and I think still today we wanted to become famous an tour the world.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? I can tell you the bands we were listening to at that time. Judas Priest, Metallica, Saxon, Accept, Exodus, Kiss, Mötley Crue, Ozzy, Slayer.
So I think we are strongly linked to that style.
Where was your first gig? In Frastanz (A) on the 31st of March in 1984
Where was the latest gig? In Innsbruck (A) at the Alpine Steel Festival
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Thomas is doing most of the guitar riffs and Daniel and myself are writing the lyrics. Together we then arrange the song to bring in the harmony and expression we want to get.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? In terms of humor we are quite on the same level. There is a dry sense of humor we all like to share and which, if one of us is down, is used to bring him up on track!
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? There is nothing at all bad with the band. The band gives us compensation to our daily life, let us forget about problems for a view hours and makes it possible that we can do what we like to do. Playing and listening to Heavy Metal.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? Simply because we like it. The songs are about many different topics like horror, music, sex, politics, personal experiences, jobs and even sports, …
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? Only own material
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?
1987 Street Warrior (demo tape)
1987 No War (vinyl EP)
1989 Break the Rules (demo tape)
2009 No War and More (CD sampler of all our released stuff in the 80ies)
2011 Mortician (first full album)
2014 Shout for Heavy Metal (full album)
2015 Shout for Heavy Metal (vinyl album)
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes there are some. You have to search for Mortician Austria
How old are you? We are between 30 and 46
At what age did you start playing? Thomas with14, Daniel with 17, Alex with 18 and myself with 15 years
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 16 to 19 years
Best/worst gig you've played? The two best gigs were Up The Hammers Festival in 2010 in Athens and the Keep it True Festival In Germany at the same year. The worst we do not remember. To drunken J .
What places will you be playing in in the immediate future? Satteins (A), Brno (CZ), Athens (GR)
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? There are so many good bands I’ve seen but one of the most impressive one was Metallica at the 100 Club at London in 1987
Is it always the same songs live? Some songs are fixed on the set list but others vary. It always depend if we are headlining or doing support.
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Keep it True and Up the Hammers
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? No, not really. Mostly we have single shows but we had a one week tour with Lillian Axe in 2012
How big crowds do you usually play for? A range between 150 and 250
What are the plans for the rest of the year? We concentrate to practice with our new drummer Alex and we will hit the stage again for some CD release shows.
Where do you usually play? Mostly in Austria and Germany.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? There is nothing special we do. Some worm up of our limbs and two, three drinks!
What are your goals with your music? The goal is to do our own songs and style and for sure we want to reach the people which are into the same kind of music.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? In our case for sure we got the inspiration from the old school bands
What are your sources of inspiration? If we talk about lyrics the inspiration comes during daily life. Things pop up in my mind and immediately a movie starts in my head. I make some notes on my mobile and continue when I`ve a quiet hour.
What's the first step when making a new song? Usually Thomas is presenting the riffs and then Daniel and myself check if the lyrics fit. Sometimes we bring the lyrics with a melody in our mind and then Thomas is creating the riff to this melody. The arrangement is then done by all of us.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? If it’s purchased in an online shop why not! I personally prefer online shops then you have all your songs with you on the mobile or on a tablet.
What would be your dreams for the band? Playing some big festivals
What would be your greatest fears for the future? War
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Daniels beer shower! He usually gives it to himself but you never know.
Have you been in any other bands? Me not but Thomas played many years in Art of Fear and Daniel played with Dust n’ Bones and Grey Star
How important are your fans? The fans are what it is all about. No fans no drive. No fans no live shows. No fans no party. So it’s the most important part of the business!
How often do you rehearse? Once a week we all meet together to rehearse, talk and have some beers.
Where do you rehearse? At our hometown Satteins. In the basement of an old textile factory.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Eagle Spy, Inner Self
Do you have any webpages? www.mortician.at And on facebook under Mortician Austria
Describe your show, visually and musically We do not dress very special. Some rivet belts, black clothes but the most important effect is Daniel our singer. His energy on stage and the ambition to involve the audience is one of our biggest trump live. And now with Alex at the drums we have an original Mexican blooded metal character which kicks ass as hell. Musically we try to bring a big fat wave of riffs and powerful sound on stage.
How do you view the music industry of today? To be honest we do not care and think too much about the industry. We are glad to be with Pure Underground-Records who are supporting us on the release and taking care of the distribution of our albums. For live shows we take care of our own. So far no management is involved.
What advice would you like to give other bands?
As long as you have fun. Keep on doing it! And never feel pushed to change your stile if you are not into it.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? To find the right members so that you can say we are “one band” and to get enough possibilities to play live.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? The near to the audience and the party afterwards is clearly a plus. A minus is if we have to carry all our stuff by our own to the third floor or the basement of the club.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? The next show is in Satteins on a football fest on the 22nd of May. There we support a well know cover band and after that there will be a big metal party in the bar. After that we play a show in Landeck (A) on the 20th of June and on the 19th of September we play in Brno (CZ). This will be the chance for some Check Metal Heads to see us live. Another, brand new, highlight will be the Metal Rites Festival in Athens (GR) on the 27th of September.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence Old school Heavy Metal
Do you have anything to add? If someone of you who read this interview owns a club or is organizing music events. Go in contact with us and we will find a way that Mortician comes to Sweden to rock your venue! E-mail to: [email protected] And for merch just contact us on the same e-mail. Thank you for taking your time and your interest in Mortician. Metal Forever!