3/4 members of MENTAL CAVITY have served time in I EXIST (Resist Records / Prosthetic Records) and although the band’s debut is packed wall to wall with solid riffs and groove, they have gone for an even more abrasive approach. Taking influences from death metal, hardcore and doom, this ep is a short burst of riffy aggression! We sat down with the band to learn some details about their work, its relation to their main project, and plans for the future! See the full interview below.
Catch the band live tomorrow in Sydney, alongside BURNING SEASON, YEAR OF THE RAT and CONTROLLED!
Hey Aaron! Thanks so much for your time! How are you? Where are you at the moment?
Thanks for having me! I’m good, I am at my house in Melbourne in Australia at the moment.
Alright, so please tell us about the background of MENTAL CAVITY. How did you come to focus on this new project?
Well, it basically came about as a side project for our other band I EXIST, 3 of us are in that band, and we’re taking a little breather at the moment while our singer goes overseas for a while. We just wanted to keep doing things while I EXIST was chilling, so MENTAL CAVITY started.
Considering your other bands, do you see each one as its own world? Concept wise, did you always want to isolate each and every new project from one another?
Yeah all our bands really are their own thing, where we are from though, every band shares members as it’s a relatively small place, so it’s not uncommon to have been in a bunch of bands with the same people before. The concepts are all different though yeah, this band definitely has elements of I EXIST in it, but it’s another thing.
What are your most beloved memories from your previous bands related endeavours?
Probably touring in Europe with I Exist, playing with EYEHATEGOD as they’re my favourite band and just making tons of friends, both here in Australia and overseas as well.
The crushing riffs on your debut record are thick and dense as hell! How does this groovy style differ from your previous writing habits? What served as the main inspirations?
Thanks! It doesn’t differ too much to be honest, I suppose the main difference for this band is just the approach. We wanted everything to be relatively simple, but still really heavy and find a way to work melody into music that doesn’t usually have it. My main inspirations were probably TRAGEDY, AUTOPSY, DEATH BREATH, EYEHATEGOD and CROWBAR.
When you all approach writing and recording, do you find yourselves consciously drawing from different influences, or leaving all that in the subconscious and letting sounds flow?
I think when you start off in a new band you’re always trying to mimic your influences, but as you start jamming and writing your own songs you let the band speak for itself and influence itself. I think you can hear that in the newer music we are writing as well. I think it really does come from the subconscious yeah.
Is the metallic side of your sound the medium of writing that appeals to you so much that you’d want to conquer it more on your next release?
Yeah probably, that’s the stuff that I listen to the most, so it definitely has influenced us a lot. We’re working on a new album now and it is definitely a continuation down that path.
Lyrics wise, what do you really want people to take away from what they’re hearing?
The lyrics in this band are pretty focused on the elements of society and the world we don’t like, a way to vent some frustrations I suppose? All I’d ask that people take away is the ability to do this themselves, if you want to say something just say it.
Photo by Photoyunist
Is Canberra a place where you get a lot of ideas for your tracks? Tell us about your area and how’s is it like living there?
Well I don’t actually live there anymore, though I did grow up there. It’s a really nice place to live, a lot of people don’t like it, but I think it does have an effect on how you sound musically, I think it mainly comes from being quite insular, at least when I was living there – you really just play music with your friends and their bands and influence each others sounds a lot. It was a great environment to build up a partnership with the guys that I still play with today.
How about your local hardcore and metal scene? How thriving is it nowadays?
Australia has some amazing bands and people working within it’s alternative music scene, like anything there are some people who are destined to be dickheads, but overall it’s great.
Any cool local names of bands, venues and labels you’d like to share?
MINDSNARE, SHACKLES, LORD SWORD, SUMERU, OUTRIGHT, ENDLESS HEIGHTS, LUCA BRASI, WITCHSKULL, listen to them!
Crowbar in Brisbane, The Reverence and Bendigo in Melbourne, all great venues.
Resist, Clarity, Poison City, Life Lair Regret, Lacklustre, Arrest, all doing cool label stuff!
Ok, so where can we see you live in the coming months?
If you’re in Australia you can see us in Sydney on June 3 with Year of the Rat, and on July 1 at Damnation Fest!
Apart from touring, what are your next steps, as well as ambitions with MENTAL CAVITY?
We’re about to go and record a new album, then just play shows as much as we can, and have as many people hear our music as possible!
Lastly, what recent record inspired you? How varied is your taste?
‘Heartless’ by PALLBEARER, probably my album of the year, fantastic record! Also ’24K Magic’ by Bruno Mars, total ripper. I guess that shows I like some different things haha. /span>
Great! Thanks so much for your time Aaron! Feel free to drop your final words and take care. Cheers from Warsaw!
Thanks heaps for having me, check out MENTAL CAVITY on the internet, just search, you’ll find us! BRUTAL! /span>
