Exclusive Interview: Mercury’s Well talk writing and recording their self titled album!

The highly anticipated second part of our creature double feature of conversation with Reading based Progressive Death Metal trio Mercury’s Well is all about what went on behind the scenes as they wrote and recorded their recently released self titled album. So grab a beverage of choice, throw the record on, sit back, relax and read away. You will not be disappointed because from the worship of former Periphery bassist Adam “Nolly” Getgood to their… ah just read the damn thing already!

How did your previous experiences writing and recording EP “The Way Of Ashes” help to smooth the path for your self titled album?

Tiffin: “Going into record way of ashes we’d already written maybe 50% of the material that’s now on the album. Also our music taste changed massively during the process for Mwell, so things just got heavier and dumber”

Liam: “We learned a lot about how we wanted to sound and whilst we’re proud of what we did back then it definitely pushed us to do more”

Simon: “I think what we were keen for, with this album, was to not rush. We recorded the Way of Ashes within a week, and I think we were still quite green. So this time around, we wanted to go in as strong as possible, and importantly, take our time to do it right, and make sure that we could do the songs justice”

How does the writing process of a new track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? How does it evolve from there before you consider it the finished article?

Tiffin: “Most of the time it’s Simon coming to practice saying “hey I wrote a new song” and then Liam and I tearing it apart and fiddling about with sections. Simon’s made the sandwich, Liam chose the crisps and I’m the drink. The perfect meal deal of song witting”

Liam: “It normally starts with a hook and it builds from there. Simon does a lot of the writing and me and Tiffin will chip in with bits we think will work or ideas and suggestions. You never really know when it’s finished. You get to a point where adding anything else just feels like padding”

Simon: “Usually, I’ll show up with most, or all of a song; and that’s come from months of ruminating over certain riffs and slowly seeing where and when they click into place with other passages. I also spend a lot of time writing lyrics that don’t get used, but there’ll be certain phrases I’ll keep in mind. Then I’ll take it to the guys at practice and they’ll tell me what they like and what they don’t like, it’s up to them to write their parts too. Sometimes I’ll have to take songs back to the drawing board and work out new sections based on what Liam and Tiffin don’t like, other times we’ll just hash it out together. Occasionally, the planets align and we end up with something like “Fire”, where we just start jamming on a riff for like 20 minutes until we edit it down into something more manageable”

You recorded the album with Matt Bew at Whitehouse Studios in Reading, who also produced and mastered. What was it like working with him and how did you come to choose him for the role in the first instance?

Tiffin: “Matt was such an obvious choice for us once we’d heard what he’d done with Blemerald’s album. As a fellow three piece pumping out massive riffs we could admire the
depth and weight of their album and it’s something that we knew we needed for mwell”

Liam: “We’ve been using Whitehouse as a practice space for years and we heard the work Matt had done for Black Emerald and Morass of Molasses and we were very impressed with the way they sounded so it was really a no brainer. Matt was a pleasure to work with. He wanted the best and he got us to give our best whilst being very encouraging and an all round stand up guy!”

Simon: “Matt had done stuff that was quite similar, we thought, to what we had been working on. Black Emerald’s album came out a bit before we started recording and it sounded awesome so we got in touch. We like Matt’s energy, and he was keen to push us to make the best record we could. It was hard work at times, but very rewarding”

In the liner notes for the album it’s mentioned that there were additional compositional elements by Sammy Ragheb. What role did he play and how do you feel it enhanced the process by having an outside ear on the material as it was being written?

Tiffin: “Sammy’s my best mate and former housemate. Whilst Simon and Sammy demoed the album in our dining room I completed Spider-Man on Sammy’s PlayStation. We as a band, and me personally would not be here with Sammy”

Liam: “Sammy is one of our best mates and has been coming to practices and shows to hang out for years. He’s a great musician and gives great feedback from a more outside perspective. We wouldn’t be where we are without the help of Sammy”

Simon: “Sammy has been an incredible supporter of MWell for years; we rely on him so much. We’d never be where we are without his support. We’re quite keenly attuned, and he’s keyed into what MW are about. If Sammy has some insight into what we’re writing, it’s usually worth considering!”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound?

Tiffin: “I went on YouTube and just copied Nolly’s set up. A Dingwall NG2, going through an inbuilt dark glass preamp into the darkglass x7 preamp pedal and then out through ANOTHER darkglass preamp, this time the B7K. I use the x7 for more grit and sculpting whilst the B7K is the main bulk of my tone”

Liam: “Drumwise there’s not a lot to say. For recording I used a Yamaha Custom Noveau with G2 Evans skins so nothing super fancy. I’m a big fan of Sabian cymbals and am using the AAX line. They sound bright and clear! Snare wise I’m using a Mapex Black Panther Warbird. It’s smaller than your traditional snare being 12″; instead of 14″; so you can crank it very high to get a nice sharp tone that cuts through but doesn’t overpower everything else, I love the sound of it. Kick pedals I use are Pearl Redlines. Just a great versatile bit of kit they are”

Simon: “I use an Ibanez RGDIX7MBP; it’s a very attractive guitar and it sounds beautiful. For strings, always been a fan of Ernie Ball. Pedals I run with the classic TS-9; for ethereal tones I use the EarthQuaker Devices Astral Destiny. I use a Boss NS-2 to arrange the whole chain through my Orange Crush 120 amp, and normally, whatever suitable cab is provided. Though on record we used an Orange 412”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer?

Tiffin: “Please Dingwall, notice me. I want more of your Canadian wood”

Liam: “Sticks on demand would be great haha But seriously it would mean a lot for a brand to think we’re good enough to be part of the marketing for their gear but I think that’s a long way off!”

Simon: “It’d be pretty huge to land an endorsement from Ibanez or Orange”

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