Exclusive Interview: Mercury’s Well talk self titled album!

Having given you not only a review of the bands new self titled album which dropped earlier this month, but also it’s predecessor “The Way Of Ashes” and the album release show to boot, it only seems logical that a creature double feature interview should complete the collection of honours for Reading Progressive Death Metal three piece Mercury’s Well. We like to call it rounding it off in style, the collection of the metaphorical Oscar after the critically acclaimed movie… or maybe it’s simply the phone call after a first date asking  to go out for another drink. Either way, the album is a bloody good one and so we’re going to keep talking about it. Here’s the first of two exclusive interviews with vocalist and guitarist Simon Davies, bass guitarist James Tiffin and drummer Liam Fog that will give you a bit more insight into what they’re all about…

How have you found the reaction to your self titled debut album so far?

Tiffin: “Honestly I find it mental that we actually have music on easily accessible platforms, let alone people saying really nice things about it!”

Liam: “Pretty overwhelming, the amount of response and feedback we’ve gotten has been terrific. We’re just glad people are listening!”

Simon: “The response has been phenomenal, vastly outpacing our previous release and lots of positive feedback so far”

What was behind the decision to re-record “Blood” from your 2015 debut EP “The Way Of Ashes” for the self-titled record and then to make it the lead single with a full music video as well as an animatic video?

Tiffin: “Blood was the first song we wrote when I joined the band and it’s such a noticeable pivotal moment for mwells material and really shows off what we can do”

Liam: “We always felt it was a strong song and wanted to enhance it further. It encapsulates our sound quite nicely so we really wanted to do it justice”

Simon: ““Blood” for us, was something of a turning point in how we defined our sound, and how we could write songs. It’s been on our set list for a long time, and over the years it’s evolved. We felt it was deserving of a re-recording and we had better ideas for what we wanted to do with that as a music video. The animatic came about because I wanted to flesh out the ideas we had come up with a little further so we could portray them visually to Jake Owens, who directed and filmed”

There’s a real intelligence to the record with cuts like “Götterdämmerung” referencing “Twilight of the Gods“, the last of Richard Wagner’s operas which refers to Ragnarök. Did you wonder if the listeners would understand the references or do you make the music for yourselves first and those who are interested will work it out at their leisure?

Tiffin: “Never in a million years did I think the word “intelligence” would be used to describe anything mwell did (unless prefixed with “a complete lack of”). We’re all a bunch of idiots, but Simon is at least a vaguely well read idiot”

Liam: “Simon has always written for us first and foremost. If we don’t get something out of it then what’s the point but it is fun to see people actually go back and look for deeper meaning within the lyrics”

Simon: “For me, the titles should be reflective of the lyrics and encapsulate the core mood ,or theme, of the song. Zenith; an emotional apex, Nadir; depths of despair. As far as Götterdämmerung is concerned, the song was about the end of the world, and since I like to draw on my German heritage, it made sense as a title”

Album opener “Fire” has a real anthemic quality to it, you must have been stoked to witness those who came to the album release show scream that back to you? Oh and there was that cancan…

Tiffin: “Fire’s a strange old beast as it was originally just a riff I jammed at practice that just got bigger and bigger. It’s got such a punchy simplicity to it that I think is a great opener so it was wicked to see people enjoying it. I however did not see the cancan…”

Liam: “Yeah that was nuts, really good belter that one! Personally would’ve liked to have some ballroom dancing but I’ll take a can can”

Simon: “It was a great surprise to see people shouting back at us! I think I missed the cancan”

[Ed: I was there reviewing the show, there was a 4 person line doing the cancan in the middle of the dance floor while the band where hammering out some Mastodon sized riffs. It was a moment I’ll never forget!]

You may be a Progressive Death Metal act, but there is an awful lot of nuance and even a couple of Post-Hardcore riffs in the record. If we are the product of our genes and our influences, what is in your Jeans and who do you consider to be your influences?

Tiffin: “When it comes to bass my main influences have always been Rage, Chillis and Nolly Getgood. I just love riffs to be honest. Vocally, it’s Phil Bozeman’s rendition of Unanswered every time. That man isn’t human. Other than that Papa Het will always be the GOAT”

Liam: “For me I’m heavily inspired by Mastodon and Killing Joke in my drum styles. I love that almost tribal feel Paul Fergusson (Killing Joke) gives on the kit. I grew up listening to a lot of punk from my dad which led me into things like metal and hardcore but that punk sensibility has stayed with me”

Simon: “I think “Prog” or “Progressive” music should be about nuance, I like trying to balance a number of influences as a guitarist within the framework of Metal. I enjoy stuff like Beck and Porcupine Tree, and try to put a bit of weird flair into the riffs I’m working on. Otherwise I try and write stuff I can’t play, to push myself. For heavier vocals, I look to things like Cult of Luna as one of my key influences”

What’s next for Mercury’s Well?

Tiffin: “Playing smash bros, raising kids and writing our second album that will never be as good as our first”

Liam: “Gonna start writing some new stuff! We have some cool ideas and we want to start bringing those to life”

Simon: “We’ve got a lot going on in our personal lives at the moment, so I don’t see a lot of shows on the horizon for us presently. We’re looking at spending some time to work on new material, it’s a more comfortable speed for where we’re at in life generally. Maybe the music will reflect that, I’m not sure”

“Mercury’s Well” by Mercury’s Well is out now and available over at bandcamp.