Mortal Form Interview

  Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Everything is going pretty well at the moment. In cooperation with My Kingdom Music (ITA) we released our 2nd album “The Reckoning” on the 13th of May 2013 and the reactions so far are great. We`re pretty excited about that. The album release party also kicked ass. We did a after party show for Artillery, Gama Bomb, Torture Squad and Tantara in our hometown. Besides that we also put a video clip online for the songs “At Fever Pitch” (go check it out!) and are negotiating with a booking agency that can help us with arranging gigs for autumn this year. I guess we can`t complain.

How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

The sound can be best described as a combination of modern death and thrash metal with a melodic touch. It differs from our previous album in the way that “The Reckoning” has become more of a thrash then a death metal album this time. The songs are more high paced and there are more melodic elements added to the songs then before. It has become a mature album and a logical next step in Mortal Form`s band sound. Also the vocals are different due to a line-up change. The deep death grunt of our previous vocalist made place for the more thrash alike vocals of our new vocalist Ralf that makes Mortal Form sound more aggressive.    

What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new music?

For Mortal Form lyrics are very important. They display our meaning or point of view on different (actual) subjects. Just like on our previous release, “Taste the Blood”, the lyrics on “The Reckoning” are based on a theme. Where the lyrics on “Taste the Blood” were mainly based on war & conflict, the lyrics on “The Reckoning” handle about disasters caused by nature & mankind. Inspired by shocking events of nature like the big flooding in Holland of 1953, the always returning Tornado season in the USA or, more recent, the Tsunami. But also the riots in relation to the Arabic Spring or the constant torture of prisoners in Asia have been a lyrical inspiration.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name?

At the time Mortal Form was found we were searching for a good sounding band name and came up with Mortal Form without a deeper thought behind the name. The only explanation of the band`s name is that a Mortal Form can appear in different shapes and forms. This has a relation with our music, in the way that we also play different styles of metal and combine these together.


What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

The best shows we ever played were, without doubt, the Zwarte Cross festival in 2009 (one of the bigger outdoor (metal) festivals in Holland) and the Eindhoven Metal Meeting (biggest indoor metal festival in Holland) in 2010. By playing these shows we were offered the opportunity to play with some great international metal acts and present our music to a bigger crowd (Thanks to TMR Music Promotions).

Our stage performance can best be described as a sledge hammer hitting you right on the head. Mortal Form is definitely known for their tight live sound and active performance. We have a reputation to keep up on this point!

Do you have any touring plans for the new album?

We have just one gig planned at this moment. Furthermore the summer period is always a relatively quiet period due to the closure of the Dutch venues in this period (at least most of them) and our own well deserved vacations (hehehe). Besides that the summer festivals had their programs ready before the release of “The Reckoning” so hopefully we can attend some of these festivals in 2014.  Our main focus is autumn / winter 2013. We hope to do a lot of shows in this period. As I said before we hope to have a booking agency to back us up on that one at that time. We also hope to do some shows abroad. There are a lot of fans outside of Holland who would like to see us.  


On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new recording by fans of death and thrash metal?

At this point most of the reviews are very positive! We are really satisfied! We don`t have so much reactions from the fans so far, since “The Reckoning” has just been released recently. We hope that everybody likes it!

What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

At the moment I`m also active guitar player in the stoner/grind/metal act Colonel Decker. Our other guitarist Vince used to play in the black/death act Autumnal Reaper but they quit some time ago. At the moment he sometimes plays as a stand in guitarist for the pagan metal act Heidevolk. Our vocalist Ralle is also active member of the German thrash act Witchtower.  

What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

That’s a little hard to predict, but I can guarantee you that it will remain a mixture of death and thrash metal with a melodic touch. We started writing new songs some time ago and the new songs pretty much cover what we have always done. Perhaps we`ll be exploring the edges a little more. From very hard and intense to fragile and serene. But as I said before, with Mortal Form it`s a little hard to predict. We do have our own rehearsal space since a few months and we are planning to record our own demo`s there in a while. That means we have more time to work on the songs at home so I hope, and think, that technically there will also be a musical improvement in the future.

What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

That`s always a hard question because we all listen to a very wide range of metal and rock music. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we don`t really keep up with all new bands at this moment and that we tend to reach back to the good old classics. Bands that mainly influenced Mortal Form are mostly thrash and death metal acts as Slayer, Kreator, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Cannibal Corpse, Vader, Hypocrisy, The Haunted, Iron Maiden but also less know acts as Hypnosia (RIP, go check em out!!!), The Crown, Dies Irae and many others. On the other hand we also listen to black metal as well as rock and stoner music so the list of bands that I could mention here is really too big (from Gorgoroth to The Sword).

Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for your interest in Mortal Form and keep up the good work with your magazine! I hope to meet all of you at one of our gigs in autumn / winter this year! Stay Brutal!