Sunday, November 3, 2013

Markradonn Interview

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

Haniel Adhar: Hey, thanks for setting this interview and for taking the time to check out MARKRADONN.
We just released our debut EP, Final Dying Breath, and we are currently working on the rest of the production for the full-album, which will have 4 more songs that will be longer, deeper, and more ambitious than the songs you already heard.
We are also working on our fund raiser, which is to support the band and to help us generate the revenue we need to finish the album, as well as move the band forward. You can find the page here:  http://www.gofundme.com/Markradonn
And we are focusing on getting ready to play some live gigs soon.


2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the ep?

Haniel Adhar: That is a good question…I’d have to say raw, barbaric, aggressive, but a degree of melody and atmosphere. It’s not for the weak minded, trendy people of the world; it is only for metal heads that are looking for something different and unexpected. Anyone looking for the conventional sort of death metal will be disappointed.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new ep explores?

Haniel Adhar: Well, these are preview songs of the album, and each is a “chapter” and tells their own part of the story. “Final Dying Breath” is about the last moments of the protagonist’s life, where with his last breath he curses the name of the one he hates the most; Internal Hate Unbounded is about how his hatred and contempt took control of him, and that he’d rather kill himself than deal with the torment that he has to endure; Frenzied Winter Sorrow is the actual beginning of the story, where he loses his mind in a blizzard of conflicting emotions, and eventually his senses become numb and dead, feeling nothing as he submits to the emptiness. I wrote that one when I was experiencing seasonal depression, and I wanted to convey what I was experiencing in words as best as I could, and the music of that song is supposed to reflect that.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Markradonn?

Haniel Adhar: That’s something I will reveal in time.


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

Haniel Adhar: We have not played a show yet. In the middle of the production of the CD, we lost two members, and we replaced them with Nick and Beka (brass instruments), and Allen our rhythm guitarist was still living in NY.  He moved down here, shortly after that our bassist had a death in his family and had to leave town for a while. So, now we have everything back on track and are looking forward to performing live soon.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Haniel Adhar: Not at this very moment, but we hope to be able to use the full ensemble live.


7.The ep came out on Blunt Face Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Haniel Adhar: I was introduced to Otto Kinzel IV when Destiny of Dying Supernova promotions sent him our information and some demos. He was impressed with what he heard, gave me a call, and we decided to work together. Bluntface is a small label that tries to focus on more obscure and avant garde music, which I thought was a great place for us to be. Otto also worked with me on the production, and he was the one responsible for the mastering.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?

Haniel Adhar: The response has been outstanding, to be honest. So far, we have gotten a lot of great reviews, and a couple of cautiously optimistic and skeptical ones, but no bad reviews. A lot of people listening to the EP songs aren’t exactly sure what they are hearing, and the words “unexpected” and “unpredictable” keep coming up, which is probably a good thing since all we ever hear about from many reviewers is how metal is stale and formulaic nowadays.
As far as the fans, we have a really dedicated fanbase. A lot of musicians like us, and people who want something a little different to listen to. We’ve raised some money, sold some CDs and merch, and everyone seems to be enjoying the “first taste” of what we are planning. We are all very happy about this and are looking forward to giving the fans something that they can look forward to.


9.Are there any other musical projects going on these days?

Haniel Adhar:  I myself personally am so busy with Markradonn that I really don’t have a lot of time to do any other projects, at least not at the moment. But I have been talking to other guys about laying down some solos or putting together something.
Tim, our drummer, is also in a band called American Party Machine. They put on a hell of a live show and are pretty wild dudes. They just got back from playing a big show in NY and they are always gigging around here.
Jon, our timpani player, is in a band called The Brass Band of Central Florida. It’s a pretty extraordinary musical group, and they just recently performed a brass arrangement of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” and it was a life changing experience to witness.


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

Haniel Adhar: This is a good question. It is hard to say in this interview, but I can tell you that the music will only get more aggressive, more unpredictable, and more complex. What you have heard on the EP is only a sample or preview of what we are working on. Keep in mind that this is a Death Metal band, and we will retain a strong death metal foundation indefinitely. Whilst we may take a different approach with each song, the key elements of death metal will remain at the core of the band. Expect the vocals to get more brutal and more diverse, the brass and timpani to be bigger and more epic-sounding, the hand percussion to have a bigger role, and a bigger focus on guitar and guitar-synth solos. But, in a nutshell, expect the unexpected. Funding is important as well, so the more money we raise the more we will be able to do moving forward.


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

Haniel Adhar: Much of what I am listening to lately has been underground, unsigned, unknown, and indie metal bands. For some reason, these bands just sound better to my ear. A lot of bands that are “mainstream” or “big budget” sound over produced and off an assembly line, and I respect, enjoy, and appreciate the sincerity of the underground bands. Local acts like Armageddon III, Murderfly, and Diabolic Intent, as well as bands from other regions like Nekropsy, Tyrant’s Blood (Canada), Aberration Nexus (from Australia, and I played a solo on one of their songs, “Burn the Book of Lies”), Prayer of the Dying (Malta), and my brother in law’s band Maelstrom. I also like Naraka (Canada), Dark Measure (San Diego), Arcaena (Boston area, and they are recording their debut album now), Anachral Necrosis.
As far as the stuff that influences Markradonn, wow…there are a lot. I am big time into soundtrack music, like Basil Poledouris (Conan the Barbarian with Arnold, Robocop, the original, and Starship Troopers),  Jerry Goldsmith (Poltergeist, Star Trek: The motion Picture, and Alien), Allan Sylvestri (Predator), James Horner (Commando, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, 48hrs), John Barry (The Black Hole, James Bond Films), and Bernard Hermann (The Hitchcock films, Psycho). This stuff is huge for me and I attempt to incorporate some of these types of ideas in Markradonn. I also like musicians like Al DiMeola, Allan Holdsworth, and anything John McLaughlin is associated with, such as Shakti and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
But the real core of this band musically comes from death metal and black metal. I have always loved insanely brutal bands like Suffocation and Immolation, and atmospheric bands like Arcturus and Winds, so my aim is to really combine many elements from both sorts of “styles” and use the live instruments (as you heard on the EP) in place of digital keyboards and such. It is also important to note that Alf Svenson’s project Oxyplegatz had a profound influence in the whole “concept/saga” idea (see: Sidereal Journey) as well as Master’s Hammer and their use of timpani and the “black metal operetta” idea.


12.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Haniel Adhar: Outside of music I am a Doctor of Natural Medicine, and a Professor of Food Allergies at my college. I am big time into horror movies, old school console gaming, and of course, Ancient Alien stuff.  I have a lot of projects that I am always working on, and music is just one of them. I also played a couple of years of Semi-pro football a few years back, so I also like sports as well.


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

Haniel Adhar: Hey, thanks for setting this interview up. It was a lot of fun. And to the fans out there, please support us by checking out or funding page. Fan support means everything to underground metal bands.
http://www.gofundme.com/Markradonn

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