Exclusive Interview: Necronomicon Ex Mortis talk 80’s Shred, Horror Imagery and their self titled EP!

Produced and mixed by Charlie Waymire at Ultimate Studios (Tarja, Teenage Wrist) the debut self titled EP from Chicago Illinois quintet Necronomicon Ex Mortis is a gory good time in a World painted in blood and soaked in Old School Death Metal inspirations. Those nostalgic qualities combined with a modern edge have found them many fans including this writer and so an interview was something we simply had to do. Cue evil laughter…

How have you found the reaction to your self titled debut EP so far?  “The response has been great, so far! The reviews have been largely positive and fair, and we’ve gotten a good amount of exposure for a band made up of nerds from Berklee. More than anything, the release has “lit a fire” so to speak, for more releases and more music”

The record shows some extreme love for 90’s Death Metal and 80’s shred alongside 80’s horror movies on VHS, horror video games and HP Lovecraft, so if you had to pick the one most influential element, which would it be and why? “The most influential element in the music is the desire to bring back the “golden days” of shred; the late 80s. However, the other elements, like 90s riffs and horror imagery, are there to provide a platform that’s a little different than something you would hear on an instrumental record from that golden era”

We mentioned in our review that if it wasn’t for your obvious love of Old School Death Metal bands we could easily see you going down a more technical route like Archspire or Inferi. So looking into your crystal ball, where do you see yourselves in the next five years? “In an ideal world, 5 years down the road we will be signed and touring on a semi regular basis. In complete truth, we have a good amount of music already written. Some songs veer towards the more technical side of things, whereas others stay firmly in the old school style, and there’s definitely more than a few twists thrown in for good measure. Hopefully with each release, we settle in more and more to what makes us sound like “us.””

Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For An Autopsy and Malevolence recently released a three way split EP titled “The Aggression Sessions” – one original cut and one cover from each making its appearance. So if you were invited to participate in such an endeavour, what would your cover be? “On one hand, it would be incredibly fun to take a non-metal song and do it in a death metal style. On the other, this would be prime time to pay tribute to one of the many bands I looked up to as a lad. So, given the two options, I’ll provide one answer for each. For a non-metal tune made heavy, it would have to be Friday I’m In Love by The Cure. For a heavy tune made even heavier, I would jump at the chance to cover Into the Pit by Testament – all for the chance to play Alex Skolnick’s solo!”

They say that the first bite is with the eye and Lucas Korte has done a fantastic job with the cover artwork for the record. Of all the artists available, what was it that made you choose him for this all important first outing? “Back in another life, Michael Nystrom Bala played in a different band that used Lucas for the artwork. Lucas is a solid dude that does great work, so seeing as how the connection already existed, it just made sense to go to him again for the art”

What’s next for Necronomicon Ex Mortis? “If all works out as planned, we have a split coming up with a more established band! If that doesn’t work out, we will take the 3 songs we’ve recorded and release them as “EP #2.” I’m also happy to say we have studio time planned out for a 3rd release as well. After 3 releases, we plan to start approaching labels so we can put out a full length album that will be undoubtedly filled with horror and far too many notes”

“Self Titled” by Necronomicon Ex Mortis is out now and available over at bandcamp.