Exclusive Interview: Force Of Mortality talk “New Dark World”!

Oxford isn’t just the home of a World famous University. A thriving music scene in a multicultural environment and a good number of solid Metal venues makes it a place for bands to grow and a number have risen to prominence. Residents Force Of Mortality spent most of 2019 recording their debut full length album “New Dark World“, the follow up to 2017’s debut EP “Reincarnate The Immortal“. Single “Driver” appeared in September 2020 as the first taste and having reviewed the record, we chatted to the power trio and this is what they had to say…

Back in 2018 when guitarist LJ departed the group, how did the decision to record the album “New Dark World” as a trio come about with Colin “The Doctor” Lewis putting down his 4 string to lay down some guitar parts? We were always going to try and hire another guitarist, but at the same time Danny was going to be a father and we knew he was going to take time out with his new born. So hiring a new guitarist was put on the back burner. What we agreed, was that Danny would get all the drum parts down at the end of 2018 and Mazza and Dr Col would lay down everything else, which meant Dr. Col filling on rhythm guitar duties for the recordings

When it comes to performing the songs live, will you be looking for a replacement lead guitarist, bassist or playing with a backing track to fill the void? Funnily enough  we have been experimenting with the bass guitar when rehearsing in the studio to fill in for that missing guitar. But ultimately we want to find a new guitarist.

The album itself has plenty of moments that sound like they belong on a Quentin Tarantino movie soundtrack; outside of the World of Music, what were your inspirations for the record? Musically the inspiration comes from our own personal influences and our own style. But outside of music, lyrically some of the tracks come from issues happening in our world today (Divided Nation), while other tracks (Hades) come from an interest in the other side so to speak, the god of the underworld. Some are stories (The Fall, Driver, King of Kings) and some are taken from popular culture (Born To Fire, My Serenity).

What was it like having drummer Danny “DB” Bhatt in the producer’s chair as opposed to working with someone external to the band? Danny has recorded, mixed and mastered all our recordings, so it is normal for us to do it this way. It would be very strange for us to go somewhere else and have somebody else produce our music! We are very lucky that Danny has all the equipment we need and a studio along with a passion for the production side (he has a BSc in Sound Engineering and a MSc in Applied Acoustics) and a very good ear. This allows us to take our time when recording – and re-recording plus we don’t have the pack up the 15 mic’s for the drum kit!

There aren’t any guest appearances on “New Dark World” so if you could have anyone join you for one of the songs live, which song would you pick and who would be your guest of choice?

Mazza: for me it would have to be Divided Nation and Ryan McCombs from Soil on vocals, his voice for that track would kick ass.

Dr Col: I would pick the instrumental, Even Badder. This track really works when you have three guitarists, so I would want Danny’s sister, Dagina to come and play that third part, as she was also involved in its early development. Unfortunately, she passed away unexpectedly in late 2016.

DB: I would share Dr Col’s sentiment for this question.

If Force of Mortality went out on a pub crawl and ended up in a tattoo parlour, who would end up with new ink? Force of Mortality going on a pub crawl isn’t an image that springs easily to mind! With a new father and a non-drinker in the ranks, it falls to Mazza – who also is the only one of us which already has a tattoo to step up and loves whiskey.

The Oxford scene has some decent venues and has brought us many solid bands over the years, who would be your recommended local scene band? Desert Storm, a great local band with a unique sound  with enthusiasm to match and they are making great strides on the metal scene.

“New Dark World” by Force Of Mortality is out now and available over at bandcamp.